Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending August 9, 2014)

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.

August 8, 2014

The Amazon Fire’s Fanciest Features Fail to Impress
The Amazon Fire Phone tries hard to impress but often ends up just being annoying.
Stacking Cells Could Make Solar as Cheap as Natural Gas
A novel manufacturing method could make it practical to stack solar cells and convert more of the energy in sunlight into electricity.
This Company Thinks Your Car Wants Google Glass
A heads-up display could be safer than glancing at your smartphone while driving—but some features may be more distracting than others.
A Room Where Executives Go to Get Help from IBM’s Watson
Researchers at IBM are testing a version of Watson designed to listen and contribute to business meetings.
Challenges Remain for Technologies to Fight Ebola
Efforts to contain Ebola in West Africa suffer from a lack of effective tools to treat and prevent the disease, although several are in development.
European Space Agency Reaches Verge of Breakthrough Comet Landing
Images sent back from space probe bring a historic comet mission into clear focus.
How a Simple Spambot Became the Second Most Powerful Member of an Italian Social Network
The surprising story of how an experiment to automate the creation of popularity and influence became successful beyond all expectation.