For anyone who's consulted Wikipedia, the largest web/text-based version of wiki technology, the pitch for Wikitecture is easy to understand: a wiki, only instead of words, everyone can edit 3D objects... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 12:01 pm
The problem with putting up a post on the weekend is that some of you probably don’t, since you have lives and don’t read blogs on Sundays. So I’d like to point out a weekend post about... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:38 am
Venezuelan President Huge Chavez just can't seem to stop himself from doing stuff that gooses oil prices higher: Tensions between the radical government of Venezuela and pro-US Colombia reached new... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:37 am
Well, at last, attention is being paid to the hand job that news media have been giving Barack Obama. Howie Kurtz was pretty much alone in questioning Obamedia (here he was on their slathering over the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:35 am
While I was in London, the Daily Mail opened a campaign — and quickly declared victory — to ban ecologically dangerous plastic bags from stores. Even the Guardian praised it as Martin Kettle... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:35 am
The Guardian has a fairly frightening story today with “climate science maverick” James Lovelock arguing that we shouldn’t even bother with the feel-good green gimmicks — carbon... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:35 am
Here is the financial quote du jour. It comes from a hedge fund manager who is (rightly) pissed that such funds can't market their services, open a normal website, etc., and so he is suing the SEC. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:29 am
WirePosted writes "A CDC research study released this past week indicates that the physical and mental health of many Americans is being adversely affected by a lack of sleep. According to the study, a part of the organization's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, one in ten US citizens are consistently failing to get enough sleep every night. Almost 40% of the people surveyed didn't get enough sleep for more than a week every month. The article notes that this trend can have far-ranging implications for health beyond simple fatigue."
THERE are more teaching assistants, the blackboards have been replaced by screens and computers are an everyday part of lessons - but the children haven't changed. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
By Allison Bruce, Ventura County Star, Calif. Mar. 3--The Star has launched a new business Web page. You can see some of the new features and information that we have to offer at http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/business. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
SATLYNX, a leading provider of satellite telecommunications, announced today the introduction of a range of broadband services in the Middle East and African markets though its partner Lunasat. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
By Hunter T. George, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Mar. 3--Question: You've seen the signs along the highway that tell drivers to tune to an AM radio station for a traffic advisory. A Tillicum reader wants to know why she can rarely hear the messages. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
By David Kihara By DAVID KIHARA REVIEW-JOURNAL Bail was lowered Friday for former University Medical Center chief executive Lacy Thomas, but he was ordered to turn over his passport to authorities. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
Google has launched Google Sites, an addition to its Google Apps suite for collaborative website creation, which it said will enable users to gather and share information such as videos, calendars, presentations, attachments, and text. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
Sycamore Networks, a provider of bandwidth management solutions, has reported revenue of $41.5 million for the second quarter ended January 26, 2008, compared with $39.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
By Cynthia Ann Peterson FOR IT policies to be effective, a good understanding of what happens on individual desktops is key. Many corporate IT managers have a keen view of the network, but endpoint familiarity may not be as good. This view seems to also apply to the IT industry as a whole. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
CHICAGO, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aladdin Knowledge Systems , an information security leader specializing in authentication, software DRM and content security, today announced the release of Aladdin eSafe 6 Feature Release 2. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, the parent company of Brazilian airlines GOL Transportes Aereos and VRG Linhas Aereas, has announced an interline agreement between VRG and Korean Air, according to which passengers of both airlines can purchase tickets to all destinations served by VRG and Korean Air. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 3 Mar 2008 | 11:00 am
In case folks hadn't noticed, there still extensive renovations going on here. Most things work, but some things don't, and so feel free to let me know if you notice any paintings askew or taps left on,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 10:54 am
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top cell phone maker, Nokia , said on Monday it would launch its Nokia 6650 model exclusively to Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile clients. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 10:52 am
BEIJING (Reuters) - China Mobile, the world's largest mobile phone operator, said on Monday it had not officially entered into talks with Apple Inc to bring iPhones to the mainland, but was Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 10:47 am
By Andrew Liszewski I usually try to leave the timewasters until later in the week when people have had a few days to get some actual work done, but this one’s just too fun to put off. Phun is basically... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 10:30 am
It's become a truism that 2006 represented Second Life's first dot com boom, when the world attracted an unsupportable rush of companies interested in marketing in this new medium-- and like the Internet... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 9:50 am
jades writes "The University of Waterloo (Canada), sometimes billed as the 'MIT of the North' is establishing a residence 'incubator'. Meant to challenge 70 of their very top students in the tech and business fields, students will live together and work on 'the future of mobile communications, the web and digital media'. It's called 'VeloCity', and it launches in Fall 2008 after renovations are completed this summer."
By Wente, Scott ST. PAUL - Agreement on new federal agriculture policies still could be at least two months away, and top negotiators told a conservation group Saturday that may put in-creased funding for their favorite projects at risk. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
LONG BEACH - Eighth District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich is the third of three incumbent Long Beach City Council members - Suja Lowenthal and Patrick O'Donnell are the others - to be re-elected without opposition this year. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By McKee, Jennifer HELENA - Coalbed methane drillers in Alberta face some stiffer environmental laws but far fewer lawsuits than their American counterparts, an energy company president told Gov. Brian Schweitzer and a group of invited industry and environmental representatives Wednesday. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By Dennison, Mike HELENA - This weekend in Great Falls, hunting groups, wildlife managers and others will raise the alarm about how runaway oil-and- gas development in Montana could have a huge effect on wildlife. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By Doran, Ryan L.L. Bean, long synonymous with environment, has gone green in its new state store. With the help of the 4Elements Group of Stamford, the new L.L. Bean store in South Windsor has become the first retail structure in Connecticut to be LEED registered with the U.S. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By Soule, Alexander The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Broadwater Energy L.L.C.'s proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound would have only a minor adverse impact on the environment, a key declaration for the project to proceed. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
After an extensive selection process, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center selected Caruana & Associates to design the Todd Cancer Institute, a $28 million, 62,000-square-foot project. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By Williams, Walt CHARLESTON - The state's top environmental official defended a proposal to designate several West Virginia streams "waters of special concern" in an address to lawmakers meant to clear up what one lawmaker said had been inaccurate characterizations about the effort. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By Paul Eakins LONG BEACH - The City Council's Public Safety Committee on Tuesday will discuss strengthening local dangerous dog laws following two separate pit bull attacks in recent months. The committee is meeting at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 333 W. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
By Frances Clare This is me, with my best friend, "Mr. Kind Heart". He is a handsome goose who lives in Long Beach at the El Dorado Park duck pond. I have been visiting him daily for the past three years, along with the other wonderful birds at the park. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 3 Mar 2008 | 8:00 am
TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Electric Corp said it planned to exit its loss-making mobile phone business, becoming the latest Japanese electronics maker to withdraw from a market dominated Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:44 am
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook, the social network site that has enjoyed spectacular international growth in the past year, despite being published only in English until recently, said... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:38 am
South Korean shares tumbled Monday following a decline Friday on Wall Street amid bearish economic and corporate news in the United States. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:31 am
An anonymous reader writes "Via the sci-fi blog io9 comes a fantastic project that not only has a great premise but backs a great cause. The San Francisco writing center called 826 Valencia works to teach kids passion for the written word. The program really works, and has expanded to other cities across the country in an effort to get more young people writing. To fund these outreach programs, the organization has opened some ... unique businesses in their new locales. The LA chapter, for example, features a Time Travel mart. The imaginative place features dozens of products like Robot Milk, Viking Oderant, and Olde Fashioned English Gunpowder. Other centers around the country offer similar themed experiences, like the NYC Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. or Seattle's Greenwood Space Travel Supply Corporation."
BOSTON, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Captaris, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAPA), a leading provider of software products that automate document-centric business processes, today... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
BILLERICA, Mass., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Axsun Technologies, Inc., a leading manufacturer of micro-optoelectronic spectrometers, announced the availability of a new... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
REHOVOT, Israel, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) provider of leading edge stand-alone metrology and the market leader of... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
BEIJING, March 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirMedia Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AMCN), the operator of the largest digital media network in China dedicated to air travel... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 7:00 am
Microsoft is one of Wal-Marts biggest suppliers. But that did not stop the Wal-Mart employee in charge of buying computers from panning Microsofts newest operating system, Vista. Is it really all that... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 5:36 am
Timmy writes "Wired Science has picked ten of the best videos from YouTube and their own show on PBS to highlight the wonderful things chemistry can do. Only four of them involve fire or explosions. The rest range from music videos about the polymerase chain reaction to reactions that repeatedly change color. One shows how to pour sodium acetate stalagmites. Another shows Chris Hardwick giving instructions for building a glow stick while making absurd comments."
LONGYEARBYEN, Norway This week, this remote Arctic settlement which bills itself as the northernmost town in the world is buzzing with excitement and expectation. It is not because a polar bear was... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 4:37 am
electrostatic writes "In a Nature.com oldie-but-goodie, a physicist says he has solved a problem that costs airlines millions every year: what is the quickest way to get passengers aboard an aircraft? Boarding is a serious issue for airlines, particularly those operating short flights that run several times a day, yet boarding times have steadily increased for decades. Back in 2005 Jason Steffen of the Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois said the method used by many airlines to this day is almost the worst. 'The best way to board, according to the researchers, would be a row-by-row, seat-by-seat, strict order. That would mean everyone lines up, row 25 first. I can't imagine fliers will go for that. Next best, they say, would be boarding all the window seats first, followed by those in the aisle. Obviously that's not practical, at least for couples or families traveling together.'"
Eirikso sez, "A while ago you wrote about the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and our experiment with distribution of a very popular TV-show DRM-free and in full quality through the use of BitTorrent. The experience so far has been very positive and we've now published some more thoughts on the project and some numbers. The load balancing of the BitTorrent protocol works perfectly well, people are happily seeding the files and the download time for one full 30 minute episode is still 3-5 minutes on a good broadband connection in Norway. We're closing in on 90 000 downloads of the torrent files and are running with a P2P ratio of about 95%. Saving huge on bandwidth cost."
Link
(Thanks, Eirikso!)
Fiery explosions, beautiful reactions and hilarious music videos are great reasons to be excited about chemistry. Wired Science presents some favorites.
Investing in a rock 'n' roll band might not seem like the world's most savvy business move. But new services hope to muster music fans' muscle to find, record and promote new groups. Commentary by Eliot Van Buskirk.
If the internet is alive, then this is its nerve stem: A room where the world's networks come to meet. You spend your whole day looking at the internet, but now's your chance to really see it.
Read what happens when a mysterious entrant blows away the competition in the Netflix Prize, a challenge to come up with an algorithm faster than the one Netflix uses to create movie recommendations.
tringtring writes "Computer World reports on an HP Labs researcher who foretells a future in which power management features will be built into the processor, memory, server, software and cooling systems. Coordination will be paramount. 'What happens if you turn all these elements on at the same time?' the principal research scientist at HP Labs asks. 'How do I make sure that the system doesn't explode?' This future is the vision of Parthasarathy Ranganathan, the man behind the "No Power Struggles" project at Hewlett-Packard. Power management systems will have to operate holistically, without one component conflicting with another, Ranganathan says. Ranganathan is just one of many researchers at the tech industry's biggest labs researching on how future data centers will handle increasing demands for processing capability and energy efficiency while simplifying IT."
Advertising blogs churn out some of the Webs more scathing, and personal, vitriol. Last week, the bloggers absorbed some body blows of their own. Visitors to AgencySpy and AdScam, two sharp-tongued blogs... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 12:37 am
Many people who own the Apple iPhone speak with a sort of evangelical fervor about the product and the things it can do. E-mail! Music! Internet! Phone calls! It takes pictures! Three art students from... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 12:37 am
Apple TV, Vudu, Movielink, Unbox: the Internet is littered with ventures that offer the ability to download movies legally online. Few have had the predicted success. A new report by the Diffusion Group,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 12:37 am
SAN FRANCISCO Some of the largest book publishers in the world are stripping away the anticopying software on digital downloads of audio books. The trend will allow consumers who download audio books... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 12:37 am
LOS ANGELES When Michael D. Eisner left the Walt Disney Company in 2005 and set about remaking himself in new media, investing in a video-sharing Web site and starting a digital studio, some people in... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 3 Mar 2008 | 12:37 am
brandaman writes "Akamai, the largest content delivery network (CDN) with about 70% market share, recently won its lawsuit against the against second largest CDN - Limelight Networks. The suit asserted that Limelight was infringing on Akamai's patent which, upon examination, seems to be somewhat on the obvious side. 'In accordance with the invention, however, a base HTML document portion of a Web page is served from the Content Provider's site while one or more embedded objects for the page are served from the hosting servers, preferably, those hosting servers near the client machine. By serving the base HTML document from the Content Provider's site, the Content Provider maintains control over the content.' Limelight is obviously not pleased, and this is not the first lawsuit Akamai has won regarding its patents."
theodp writes "Slate has an interesting photo essay exploring the question of how to build a public library in the age of Google, Wikipedia, and Kindle. The grand old reading rooms and stacks of past civic monuments are giving way to a new library-as-urban-hangout concept, as evidenced by Seattle's Starbucks-meets-mega-bookstore central library and Salt Lake City's shop-lined education mall. Without some dramatic changes, The Extinction Timeline predicts libraries will R.I.P. in 2019."
An anonymous reader writes "The ThinkPad has long been a favorite of IT departments everywhere and is the preferred notebook for legions of no-nonsense users. As times have progressed the ThinkPad has improved but the X300 marks the most significant change in its design since the butterfly keyboard. While we've already discussed a few leaked specs, official news of big changes like LED-backlighting (the first on a ThinkPad) and a widescreen display accompany a number of important but smaller design tweaks. Current thinking is that these changes indicate that the X300 is the first step in a series of larger changes to the ThinkPad. The notebook has already received a number of favorable reviews, but the other changes - the ones that will ultimately trickle down to the rest of the ThinkPad line - are perhaps more interesting than this specific $2500+ notebook."
Here's a fine and spicy list of obsolete skills, arranged alphabetically. I like "Adjusting rabbit ears on top of a TV," "Filing cards in a library card catalog," "Reading Moon Tables or Tide Tables," and "Swapping floppy discs."
V
* Vantive?
* VCR Programming
* VESA Driver for Games
* Visual Basic 3 Programming
Ian Lamont writes "Telcos, ISPs, mobile phone companies and other communication service providers are known for their complex pricing plans and creative attempts to give less for more. But Larry Borsato asks why we as customers are willing to put up with anything less than 99.999% uptime? That's the gold standard, and one that we are used to thanks to regulated telephone service. When it comes to mobile phone service, cable TV, Internet access, service interruptions are the norm — and everyone seems willing to grin and bear it: 'We're so used cable and satellite television reception problems that we don't even notice them anymore. We know that many of our emails never reach their destination. Mobile phone companies compare who has the fewest dropped calls (after decades of mobile phones, why do we even still have dropped calls?) And the ubiquitous BlackBerry, which is a mission-critical device for millions, has experienced mass outages several times this month. All of these services are unregulated, which means there are no demands on reliability, other than what the marketplace demands.' So here's the question for you: Why does the marketplace demand so little when it comes to these services?"
Last week's entry on how to stop a 500-foot monster seems to have struck a chord, judging from the number of suggestions for the best military hardware to take down rampaging Cloverfield-type beasts in our urban centers. David Hambling reports on new options.
In Japan, the robotics revolution is an imperative, and the country is edging closer to a future where humans and intelligent robots routinely live side by side and interact socially. With more than a fifth of the population 65 or older, the country is banking on robots to replenish the work force and care for the elderly.
In Japan, the robotics revolution is an imperative, and the country is edging closer to a future where humans and intelligent robots routinely live side by side and interact socially. With more than a fifth of the population 65 or older, the country is banking on robots to replenish the work force and care for the elderly.
