The Italian Post Office was privatized recently, and they pulled the freely downloadable database of Italian postcodes, right before introducing a new series of postcodes, extensive changes to existing ones, and a new rule by which they would refuse the delivery of any letter with an imprecise postcode on it. Simultaneously they started selling a […]
Italian post-code database liberated from paywall Read More »
For the last couple of days, one of the top articles, with more then a hundred of others, in the health section of Google News was from The Times Online talking about the proficency of the search engine with diagnosing medical conditions. None of the articles, or even the blog posts picking up on this
Google AI achieves medical Expert System status Read More »
I will be speaking about the Technological Singularity at the University of Milan in Crema on November 22 at 4PM. The talk entitled “La prossima singolarità tecnologica: realtà o miraggio?” will be followed by a roundtable discussion, and should be fun! It will also be recorded, and I will be posting as soon as possible
Speaking about the Singularity Read More »
Marvin Minsky and David Orban Bergamoscienza is a wonderful event that for two weeks engulfs the cultural life of Bergamo, and is getting better and better organized each year. The opening conference this year was by Marvin Minsky, one of the original founders of the field of Artificial Intelligence. I started my professional life twenty
Marvin Minsky speaks at Bergamoscienza Read More »
Daniel Dennett and David Orban I had the fortune of meeting Daniel Dennett in Venice at the Future of Science conference on last Saturday. The theme of the conference this year was Evolution, and after the first day being dedicated to the evolution of the Universe, and the second to that of Life, the last
Daniel Dennett in Venice ruffles some priestly feathers Read More »
Slightly drunk I went to the University of Padua with Tommaso Dorigo, where we addended physics, and he found me about a year or two ago via my blog. We met for a dinner, and a long chat finding quickly out, that you can be on the same wavelength even after a very long time
Meeting a friend after twenty years Read More »
Instant prank Originally uploaded by david.orban. Somebody poured a bottle of bath foam in this public fountain. Funny.
Regardless of the still outstanding legal issues raised by publishers protecting their existing business models, Google is forging ahead quickly in making its Book Search initiative more and more useful. As reported by Bloomberg, based on an email exchange with Google, they have just added the possibility to download full copies of books that are
Google offers downloadable books! Read More »
Champion cookies Originally uploaded by david.orban. These are going to be very popular now.
I have always been fond of visiting the Duomo of Milan with non-Italian friends, showing them this great piece of art (it IS really big). A couple of days ago I went back again with Costin, and shot some photos. Apart from the obvious beauty of the building, and the great historical and cultural significance
The Duomo of Milan is a non-Disney spaceship Read More »
