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Handhelds of Tomorrow

April 2002

Think thumb keyboards and portable hard drives—not the overhyped notions of cell phone Web browsers and “pen-based computing.”

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Features

  • From the archives: An MIT expert on national security technology tells us why the current missile defense project won’t ever be able to do its job–and offers a better alternative (from the April, 2002 issue).
  • Categorized in 17035

    Postol vs. the Pentagon

    Ted Postol is challenging the government’s claims about a proposed a missile defense system. He’s a prickly character, but he has a track record that’s hard to beat.
  • Categorized in 17036

    The Virtual Cell

    With human cells distilled into digital models, testing the effectiveness of a new drug could be as simple as typing a few lines into a computer.
  • Categorized in 17032

    Motorola’s Superchip

    Silicon is cheap; “compound semiconductors” are fast. Combining the two could yield cheaper cell phones and DVD players.
  • The director of MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab says the age of smart, mobile machines is already beginning. You just have to know where to find them–say, in oil wells.

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