Wow, Gates did a great job at TED this year. Why is he suddenly a great communicator and presenter? What has driven his transformation? I think it’s because he moved from presenting about his job to presenting about his passion, and suddenly he communicates well. So, is it possible that we can be so passionate about what we do that we can present software upgrades with as much care and thoughtfulness? I think so!

Suspended animation, augmented reality, and what sheep’s knuckles have to do with the future of cultural problem-solving. We’ve been busy live-tweeting from TED 2010, so yesterday’s highlights come mostly in photos and quotes — see Twitter for play-by-play updates.

Microsoft one-upped Google’s Street View application on Thursday when the software giant debuted some new features for its revamped Bing Maps application, taking panoramic views indoors. Bing Maps architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas gave a brief demonstration of four new features.

Harvard professor and expert on social networks Nicholas Christakis powerfully showed the impact of social networks and how they relate to our everyday lives. Christakis explained why obese people increase the probability of other people in their social network becoming obese.

moot, 21, was revealed as 4chan’s creator by the Wall Street Journal in 2008. He said in an interview with TIME on the same day his identity was disclosed that his “personal private life is very separate from (his) Internet life … There’s a firewall in between.” Which is fitting for a young man backed by an army known to the internet at large as “anonymous,” based in a community known primarily for it’s nameless, anything goes menu of pornography, schadenfraude and extraordinarily crass humor.

The founder of 4chan confounded and entertained TEDsters during his presentation today at the Long Beach theater. His message for the audience was that anonymity is something we should not be so eager to cast aside.

Michael Specter: "You're entitled to your own opinion -- but you're not entitled to your own facts."; Sam Harris: "Does the Taliban have a point of view on physics that is worth considering? ... No."; Kirk Citron looks for news stories that will matter in 100 years...

Following is a quick rundown of the top TED minds and their social entrepreneurial ideas.Following is a quick rundown of the top TED minds and their social entrepreneurial ideas.Micheal Spector destroyed any misinformation about vaccines and vitamins. He stated, “Vitamins only turn your urine brown,” meaning that vitamins are ineffective, while vaccines are a proven scientific solution to diseases.

If Microsoft founder Bill Gates unleashes more mosquitoes at this year’s Technology, Entertainment and Design conference, Nathan Myhrvold will be ready for him. Myhrvold demonstrated a Death Star laser designed to track and kill mosquitoes in flight. The device was crafted from parts purchased on eBay by scientists at Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures Laboratory.

Playing digital games is something people do for fun, right? It's not brain surgery, and it's certainly never going to change the world. Games — particularly alternate reality games — inspire large groups of people to pool their knowledge and skills to overcome obstacles, and this is precisely what’s needed to tackle global social issues, such as poverty, hunger, disease and climate change, McGonigal says.

Harris is no stranger to the argument that, to put it more mildly than he might, religion does more harm than good. His 2005 New York Times bestseller The End of Faith attempted to draw a straight line from faith to human atrocities. His subsequent Letter to a Christian Nation took on the fierce pushback he received from writing his first book.

Roth, a biochemist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award, will be speaking on Thursday at the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference about the possible medical benefits of H2S for humans and the results of new unpublished tests he’s conducted on suspended animation.

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Highlights from TED 2010, Thursday. Here's my round up of highlights from the second day of the TED 2010 presentations. My head is abuzz with all the thought-provoking ideas I learned today. By Mark Frauenfelder