"As tuition costs continue to rise, it seems counterintuitive that professors at top universities would give away their courses for free. But that's exactly what they're doing, on web-based platforms known as "Massive Open Online Courses." Spencer Michels reports on how a boom in online learning could change higher education."

The European project SARTRE focuses on an alternative to single, completely autonomous vehicles such as those developed at Google by Sebastian Thrun or those of the autonomous taxi developed by the AutoNOMOS Project or by the MadeInGermany project, both by Raúl Rojas. Instead, SARTRE develops road trains - convoys of vehicles that autonomously follow a lead vehicle driven by a professional driver.

Such vehicle platoons function much like an improved version of adaptive cruise control, matching a car's movements to the distance, speed, and the direction of the car in front. Once in a platoon, this allows drivers to relax and do other things like reading or even taking a nap while the platoon drives toward its long distance destination.

SARTRE has now shown what this could look like in a real-world demonstration of a single autonomous car following a human-driven test vehicle in highway conditions.

For more information, see SARTRE: Autonomous car platoons.

"This book takes a single line of code--the extremely concise BASIC program for the Commodore 64 inscribed in the title--and uses it as a lens through which to consider the phenomenon of creative computing and the way computer programs exist in culture. The authors of this collaboratively written book treat code not as merely functional but as a text--in the case of 10 PRINT, a text that appeared in many different printed sources--that yields a story about its making, its purpose, its assumptions, and more. They consider randomness and regularity in computing and art, the maze in culture, the popular BASIC programming language, and the highly influential Commodore 64 computer."

A free screening of the new film Codebreaker will be shown on Thursday, November 29 at 5:30pm in Hodson Auditorium at johns Hopkins University. The screening will be followed by a reception and question and answer session with the film's executive producer, Patrick Sammon.

Codebreaker tells the remarkable and tragic story of one of the 20th century's most important people. Alan Turing set in motion the digital revolution and his World War II codebreaking helped turn the tide of war. This maverick British genius is one of the most important scientists ever, yet few people have heard his name, know his story, or understand his legacy. Historians say by breaking the Nazis' Naval Enigma code, Turing helped shorten the Second World War by two years, saving millions of lives. As the founding father of computer science and artificial intelligence, Alan Turing envisioned our digital world long before anyone else. Built on a solid historical foundation of true events, Turing is our storyteller as he defiantly searches for answers. Documentary elements seamlessly interconnect with drama scenes to offer a three dimensional picture of Turing, his accomplishments, his tragic end, and his lasting legacy. (Running time 81 minutes). Learn more about Codebreaker and view a two-minute trailer at the film's web site.