One Bill who isn't in on the tech world

The tech world often likes to think itself above earthly concerns such as politics.

But former President Clinton administered a healthy dose of it to Microsoft on Friday in an appearance on the Redmond campus with Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

After speaking to employees and media, Clinton was asked his feelings on the outcome of the landmark U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft, which was initiated during his administration.

"I don't know enough about the outcome to know," Clinton told reporters. "You know, in our administration, we had no contact between the White House and the Justice Department over the enforcement of the law. ... " Hmm ... wonder if he was making comparisons with, ahem, other administrations.

Clinton went on to say that the first time he heard about the Microsoft case was when he read about it in the newspaper.

"I had no knowledge of it," he said.

Really?

"I'm not dodging, this question," he said. "If I knew enough to give you an answer, I would, but, then, since I'm so ignorant about this, there's no point in demonstrating it by giving you an answer that would only show that I don't know what I'm talking about."

All in all, a pretty unsatisfying answer. But that's politics.

Corn-fed beast

Thinking of embracing alternative fuels, but too attached to your monster-truck lifestyle? Boy, Ford's got the car for you — and it's big.

The Detroit automaker's F-250 Super Chief was on display last week at the Seattle Auto Show, and it sports a "tri-flex" engine that can run on hydrogen (yes, hydrogen), gasoline or an e85 gas-ethanol blend.

The 11,500-pound behemoth, heavier than a Hummer H2, is luxurious. The model shown had hardwood floors, a wet bar — and, according to Ford reps, several video monitors not visible from the outside.

The Super Chief seems to suggest that concern about CO2 emissions and runaway consumption are not mutually exclusive — an idea that could send shivers through the spines of many environmentalists.

Although most Ford trucks can run on e85, the Super Chief is still a concept vehicle, somewhat in the realm of science fiction. For starters: good luck finding a hydrogen pump — there are only 122 in the U.S. and Canada, none in Washington state.

For those insisting on green (or yellow) fuel, there's plenty of corn out there to feed this beast's ravenous appetite.

Based on our calculations, the Super Chief, which has an e85 milage of about nine miles a gallon, could easily burn through 2 ½ football fields' worth of corn a year in the hands of the average American driver. These trucks are a Midwestern farmer's dream come true.

Atom by atom

What will they think of next?

A University of Maryland professor is developing templates that nature can follow to build what's called "self-assembling" structures.

According to a release from the university, the templates Ray Phaneuf is working on cause atoms to arrange themselves in a pattern that form, say, a semiconductor, a cellphone component or a sensor in a wearable device

The idea is that this process could be used to mass produce tiny devices or components in a way that would be efficient and fast enough for commercial use.

"While we understand how to make working nanoscale devices, making things out of a countable number of atoms takes a long time," Phaneuf said. "Industry needs to be able to mass-produce them on a practical time scale."

Nature sometimes needs a little nudge.

Download, a column of news bits, observations and miscellany, is gathered by The Seattle Times technology staff. We can be reached at 206-464-2265 or biztech@seattletimes.com.