In our latest short, The Turing Problem, we described the importance of a wholly imaginary invention--Alan Turing's theoretical "universal machine." But thanks to a listener, we found out that someone actually figured out a way to build one! And there's video.

Alan Turing's mental leaps about machines and computers were some of the most innovative ideas of the 20th century. But the world wasn't kind to him. In this short, Robert wonders how Turing's personal life shaped his understanding of mechanical minds and human emotions.

George Dyson discusses the men and women, led by John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, who built one of the first computers. In Turing’s Cathedral, Dyson shows how their work would break the distinction between numbers that mean things and numbers that do things—and our universe would never be the same.

We want to help solve your digital music collection conundrums! Our series on Supercollectors continues with answers to your questions about digital music – from ripping CDs to storing MP3s. Eliot Van Buskirk of Evolver.FM and San Francisco-based music and technology writer Geeta Dayal join us to take your calls.

Steve Jobs, Apple's iconic co-founder, died Wednesday at age 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Widely credited with transforming the way people use computers, listen to music, and communicate, Jobs's influence and vision shaped each of Apple's popular devices. Jobs, a college dropout inspired by the spirit of the 60s, founded Apple in a garage with Steve Wozniak in 1976. In a statement on its website, Apple wrote, "Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives."

UK authorities have arrested a 19-year-old under suspicion for his potential connection to the hacking group LulzSec. The group has claimed to have pulled off attacks on PBS, Sony and the Senate.

The group has a mischievous persona. It has set up a hotline for people to call in and suggest sites that should be attacked. The recorded voice that answers claims, in an exaggerated French accent, that "Pierre Dubois and Franvois Deluxe" are not available because they’re out hacking websites. Yesterday, they announced that they're teaming up with Anonymous, another hacking group with a deeper political bent.

In what is becoming an annual tradition, news of a targeted cyber-attack from China has once again made headlines.  Commenting on the attacks targeting the Google email accounts high-level US government officials, Secretary of State Hillary voiced her concern over what could have been a serious breach of security.  Compounded by the recent news of yet another attack against the user name and password information of tens of thousands of visitors to a Sony website, we wonder: what is the current state of cyber security to our nation's most vital intelligence assets? 

In 2006, Robert Epstein decided to turn to his computer for some help finding a date. He was single at the time, and it seemed like everyone was getting into online dating. So he started searching through photos and sending messages, reaching out to women who caught his interest. And ...

Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that federal prosecutors in New Jersey are now investigating whether some smartphone applications are illegally grabbing or transmit your personal information without the proper disclosure. It’s an issue that came up during Leonard’s discussions with WSJ editor Julia Angwin in August 2010 and last month.

The online music service Pandora is one of the companies that has received a subpoena, but the WSJ tested 101 apps and found that 56 of them were transmitting information about the device without the user’s consent.

Do you think that you’ll change the way you use your smartphone? Will you cut back on the apps you use on your iPhone or Droid? Should information gathering be a criminal offense? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. 

Brian Christian looks at how computers are reshaping our ideas of what it means to be human and tells about his experience participating in the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against humans. The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive gives an account of his participation in the Turing Test, and he examines the philosophical, bio­logical, and moral issues it raises.

This week’s Please Explain is about computer worms and viruses. Richard Ford, from the Center for Security Science at the Florida Institute of Technology, and Lance Ulanoff, Editor in Chief of PC Magazine, tell us how viruses and worms are created, how they infiltrate individual computers, explain the damage they can wreak and how we can best protect our machines.

Computers can speak and understand spoken language. They can also convert text to speech, speech to text, and so much more. Julia Hirschberg, Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University, and Steve Lohr, New York Times technology reporter, explain how computers can converse with humans, identify voices and dialects, detect deception, recognize human emotions, and generate images to illustrate text.

It's not just Friday, it's "Follow-Up Friday"! Mark Malaspina, the Chief Officer of Operations & Strategic Partnerships at Computers for Youth, follows up on a story about broadband access to disadvantaged areas by discussing his organization's efforts to help low-income children perform better in school and how they can leverage technology to improve their learning environment at home. Then, Ben Zimmer, "On Language" columnist for the New York Times, discusses the various phrases that have come into the lexicon as a result of flight attendant Steven Slater's quitting-by-emergency-slide.

One of the oldest written languages in the world is in danger of being forgotten. People in China send text messages more than any other population in the world, and many experts believe that this could lead to its people forgetting how to write Chinese characters. The phenomenon has been called, tibiwangzi: literally (take pen, forget character).

Algorithms are used to solve problems. They’re used in math, computer programming, and on Wall Street, but we also use algorithms to tie our shoes or to bake a loaf of bread. On this week’s Please Explain, Daniel Bienstock, Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, at Columbia University, and Harry Lewis, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard, tell us what algorithms are and how they work to solve problems both simple and complex. Harry Lewis is the author of Blown to Bits and Excellence without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future.

OK, she's a computer, but is composer Emily Howell really all that different? 

If you had told me, 13 years ago, that Apple would one day be deemed more valuable than Microsoft, I would have laughed and laughed and laughed. I wanted it to happen, mind you, but knew it would only come about in some science fiction world where the better product was actually rewarded by consumers and the markets worked as perfect dowsing rods for business acumen. I would have chuckled ruefully, and gone home through a Microsoft-dominated world to talk to my aging Mac Powerbook 520.

Today, at 4 p.m., the unthinkable happened: Apple Inc. finished the day worth more (in the eyes of those buying its stock) than its once-chief rival, Microsoft Corporation. As the markets closed, Apple's stock price put the company at $222 billion, just over Microsoft's $219 billion.

This ex-geek says: Booyah.

Rumors have been swirling for weeks about a new Apple product that's scheduled to be unveiled next week. The legions of Apple rumor-mongers suspect the company is about to launch a new tablet device, which Apple fans hope will have the kind of game-changing impact of the iPhone. We try and separate fact from fiction and look at how useful such a device might be.