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RHN Bind Update Brings Down RHEL Namedalexs writes "Red Hat's response to update bind through RHN, patching the DNS hole, made a fatal error which will revert all name servers to caching only servers. This meant that anyone running their own DNS service promptly lost all of their DNS records for which they were acting as primary or secondary name servers. Expect quite a few services provided by servers running RHEL to, errr, die until their system administrators can restore their named.conf. Instead of installing etc/named.conf to etc/named.rpmnew, Red Hat moved the current etc/named.conf to etc/named.conf.rpmsave and replaced etc/named.conf with the default caching only configuration. The fix is easy enough, but this is a schoolboy error which I am surprised Red Hat made. Unfortunately we were hit and our servers went down overnight while RHN dropped its bomb and I am frankly surprised there has not been more of an uproar about this."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 18 Jul 2008 | 12:14 pm RFID badges at HOPE hackercon form automatic social nets and ironyThis weekend, the Attendee Meta-Data (AMD) project at the Last HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth) in NYC will introduce a new location-aware social networking system to track and bring together hackers based on a huge array of matching interests. Conference goers will be given unprecedented ability to connect with new people, find the talks they're most interested in attending, see what's happening and where in real time, and experience and talk about the way RFID technology is changing the world.The AMD social networking site lets visitors "tag" themselves based on a diverse set of interests. Old-school hackers, network security experts, cryptographers, political activists, law geeks, lockpickers, reverse engineers, bloggers, privacy advocates, and far more—visitors can label themselves with multiple interests, to become discoverable by fellow visitors from around the world with similar interests, in the same room or across the building. Attendees can then use email or text messages to "ping" the people they discover on the site—new contacts and old friends alike.Link (Thanks, aestetix!) Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:55 am Nintendo Touts Wii Music After Major E3 Announcement - dBTechno
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:46 am New Worm Transcodes MP3s to Try to Infect PCs (PC World)PC World - A new variety of malicious software could pose a danger to those who download music files on peer-to-peer networks.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:30 am Rich Wet Environments In Mars’s Past May Have Supported Life - eFluxMedia
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:30 am US Fights Child Porn - Techtree.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:15 am Russia To Study Martian Moons Once AgainRobbie writes "The Russian space program once faced bleak prospects, receiving meager government funding. Meanwhile, the United States and the ESA continued to send automatic probes to the Red Planet. NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers are now crawling on the planet's surface, while their Russian prototypes never lifted off and are now on display at the Space Research Institute's museum. However, the situation seems to be improving today. Under a stage-by-stage national program for studying Mars, the Phobos-Grunt automatic probe will be launched in October 2009. This cutting-edge modular spacecraft costs just 1.5 billion rubles ($64.4 million)."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:02 am Honeywell Reports Second Quarter Sales Up 13% to $9.7 Billion and Earnings Up 23% to $0.96 Per ShareCompany Raises 2008 EPS Guidance to $3.75 - 3.85 MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced second quarter 2008...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am Stryker CEO Stephen MacMillan to join TI board of directorsDALLAS, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced that Stephen MacMillan, president and chief executive officer of Stryker...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am DEMOfall 08 Sessions AnnouncedAs mentioned earlier this week, ReadWriteWeb is partnering with a couple of conferences this year and one of them is DEMOfall 08, the long-running launchpad for startups. DEMOfall 08 is on September 7-9...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am ATCi Introduces Affordable Flyaway Antenna Package Tailored for Southeast Asia ApplicationsLease/Rent Business Model Allows Commercial Users Ability to Offer Backhaul Services PHOENIX, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Antenna Technology Communications Inc. (ATCi), aSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 11:00 am IT Judge: SCO Owes Novell $2.5M for Unix Infringements - DailyTech
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:57 am Smoking skeleton garden-ornamentGrimgarden's "Doomies" are little ceramic fellers shaped like hooded death. Fill them with incense cones and they waft magic stench through your poisoned herbs and carnivorous fly-traps. Link (Thanks, Stefan!)
Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:50 am Double-digit growth for Microsoft and IBM (USATODAY.com)USATODAY.com - Despite a sagging economy, tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM (IBM) on Thursday reported double-digit growth in quarterly revenue and profits.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:40 am Apple's new App Store for iPhone stuff is addictive (USATODAY.com)USATODAY.com - Some are useful. Many frivolous. A bunch will waste your time. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Bottom line: The App Store turns the iPhone into an important new computing platform.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:40 am Google Buys Russian Contextual Ads Service for $140mBREAKING NOW: Google is buying Russian contextual advertising company ZAO Begun for $140 million from Rambler Media, a UK-registered company. Rambler owns 50.1 percent of Begun, so to secrue the deal it...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:35 am OhGizmo Review - RedPost Sign (Beta)By Luke Anderson Digital picture frames are nothing new, however, the guys over at RedPost are taking the idea a little bit further than most companies. Rather than selling a puny 7-inch screen with an...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:23 am SF's silent sysadmin pleads not guilty - Register
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:16 am Tech firms offer investors a mixed snapshotSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc, IBM and Microsoft Corp reported quarterly results on Thursday, giving investors a mixed snapshot of the health of the technology sector amid a slowing...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:05 am A Great Engineering Leadership Opportunity In LondonThis will test my recent efforts to make AVC a globally relevant blog. Our portfolio company Covestor is looking for someone to head up their engineering organization in Central London. Here is the...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 10:05 am This Week On BotJunkieBy Evan Ackerman Wow, it seems like an eternity since I’ve summed up what’s been going on over at BotJunkie… While I was gone, Luke did an excellent job keeping everything up to date...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 9:52 am China Digital TV to Report Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results on August 6, 2008BEIJING, July 18 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- China Digital TV Holding Co. Ltd. ("China Digital TV") (NYSE: STV), the leading provider of conditional access systems...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 9:39 am Moopz Merges Fragmented FriendFeed Conversations Into One PlaceIt used to be that if a user posted a link on FriendFeed, they would get a few comments and likes and that would be it. If someone reposted that link, it would have its own set of comments for the user...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 9:37 am Erik Huggers confirmed as BBC director of future media and technologyErik Huggers has been confirmed by the BBC as its new director of future media and technology, replacing Ashley Highfield. Huggers, who MediaGuardian.co.uk revealed would get the job on Tuesday, will...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 9:35 am EU sweep on ringtone scams includes two Maltese websites - Times of Malta
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 9:07 am MTS Publishes 2007 Online Annual ReviewMOSCOW, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS" - NYSE: MBT), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, today published...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 9:00 am AccessibilityBallou Pont Party Originally uploaded by fredwilson. I got my start in the venture business with a summer job in 1986. Back then the way you got in to see a VC was you sent (via mail) a business plan...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:51 am Prototype Back To The Future Shoe Up For AuctionBy Luke Anderson Have you ever wanted to get your hands on the real shoes from Back to the Future II? No, I’m not talking about the Hyperdunks that Nike recently announced, but rather something a...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:38 am Russia's Rambler sells ad unit to Google (Reuters)Reuters - Rambler Media, the British-registered owner of Russia's Rambler Internet portal, said on Friday it has agreed to sell the Begun advertising agency to Google Inc for $140 million.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:21 am Tracking System Ensures That Your Kids Really Are At The MallBy Luke Anderson Have you ever wondered where your kid was, and thought it would be nice if you had some way to track them down at any time? I don’t have kids yet, but I seriously hope I don’t...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:19 am How To Cross-Post Content From Koinup To Flickr To TwitterKoinup Burt recently told me about this cool feature from his MMO social network Koinup (a partner to this blog): CrossPost, which lets simultaneously upload a screenshot to both your Koinup and Flickr...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:17 am New Infinite Matrix ish with my "Nimby and the D-Hoppers," Tesanovic, and Dubinianska Infinite Matrix editor Eileen Gunn sez, "I've put up a new issue of the Infinite Matrix -- in honor of Cory's birthday and because I have three great stories the world needs to read: a reprint of Cory's fine Nimby and the Dimension Hoppers and two excellent stories by writers from Eastern Europe: Serbian activist and writer Yasmina Tesanovic's charming Cats and Cars at and Ukrainian SF writer Yana Dubinianska's spine-tingling Barge over Black Water. " Nimby and the D-Hoppers is one of my most widely reprinted stories, and it's one of a very small handful of stories that I hadn't yet published for free online, though it has been released as CC-licensed podcasts and a CC licensed comic. As with the other adaptations, the text is Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.
And yup, yesterday was my birthday! I'm 37, which means I'm now in my prime. It sure beats being a total square at 36.
Link Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:16 am I am the Very Model of a Modern SF NovelistMary sez, "Jim C. Hines, author of Goblin Quest, has just written lyrics to go with the Gilbert and Sullivan perennial 'Modern Major General' AND he's released them under a Creative Commons license. They are ripe with video potential."I am the Very Model of a Modern SF NovelistLink (Thanks, Mary!) Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:09 am Giant squid dissection video Rachel sez, "Yesterday the Melbourne Museum conducted a dissection of a giant squid that was open to the public. Now the whole 1.5 hour operation can be downloaded or viewed online. " Link, WMV Link, Coral Cache mirror of WMV Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:07 am Science fiction from George DysonGeorge Dyson, one of my all-time-favorite science writers, has written a short science fiction story for Edge. Bruce Sterling describes it thusly: "Amazingly, this piece reads almost exactly like I would have imagined it. Try to imagine Hugo Gernsback writing "Ralph 124C41+" only Hugo used to live in a treehouse, is a comprehensive scholar of extinct technologies, and has an IQ high enough to boil mercury."Google was inverting the von Neumann matrix—by coaxing the matrix into inverting itself. Von Neumann's "Numerical Inverting of Matrices of High Order," published (with Herman Goldstine) in 1947, confirmed his ambition to build a machine that could invert matrices of non-trivial size. A 1950 postscript, "Matrix Inversion by a Monte Carlo Method," describes how a statistical, random-walk procedure credited to von Neumann and Stan Ulam "can be used to invert a class of n-th order matrices with only n2 arithmetic operations in addition to the scanning and discriminating required to play the solitaire game." The aggregate of all our searches for unpredictable (but meaningful) strings of bits, is, in effect, a Monte Carlo process for inverting the matrix that constitutes the World Wide Web.Link (via Beyond the Beyond) Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:02 am Westell to Host First Quarter FY'09 Earnings Call on July 24Westell Technologies Inc. Senior Vice President & CFO: Amy Forster 630.375.4271 afors@westell.com or Westell Technologies Trade/Business Press: Jim Jay 630.375.4707 JJay@westell.com Westell Technologies, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Characterization and Improvement in the Corrosion Performance of a Hot-Chamber Diecast Mg Alloy Thin Plate By the Removal of Interdendritic Phases at the Die Chill LayerBy Uan, Jun-Yen Li, Ching-Fei; Yu, Bing-Lung This work presents results concerning the effect of the die chill layer on the corrosion performance of a hot-chamber diecast AZ91D thin plate, with particular attention to the role of interdendritic phases (primary beta (Al^sub 17^Mg^sub 12^) and surrounding alpha phase).Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Harmful Chemical ReturnsMILWAUKEE - A flame retardant that was taken out of children's pajamas more than 30 years ago after it was found to cause cancer is being used with increasing regularity in furniture, paint, even baby carriers and bassinets - and manufacturers are under no obligation to let the public know about it.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am NFU Defends Growers' Environmental CredentialsBy Anonymous NFU vice-president Paul Temple has defended the effectiveness of Environmental Stewardship while giving evidence to the Environment Audit Committee.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Lifeguard: Then and Now, Just the Best JobBy Dianna Marder, The Philadelphia Inquirer Jul. 18--OCEAN CITY, N.J. -- I love the last beach in this city -- the one at 60th Street where the municipality ends and Corson's Inlet State Park begins.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am New Fire Burns in Dismal SwampAuthorities say lightning is the likely culprit behind a new fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. A spokesman for the multi-departmental crew said the latest fire was discovered Saturday. The overall fire started June 9 and has charred 4,664 acres.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Storms Leave Trails Drenched and TatteredBy Chris Hubbuch, La Crosse Tribune, Wis. Jul. 18--Storms this week have left La Crosse nearly 10 1/2 inches ahead of normal precipitation. The city received 7 inches of rain in June -- including almost 3 inches in a single day.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Plan for Natural Gas Port Off Fort Lauderdale Clears ReviewBy David Fleshler, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Jul. 17--A proposed natural gas port off northern Fort Lauderdale passed its final federal environmental review this week, despite intense opposition in neighborhoods that would face the terminals for giant fuel tankers.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Water Resources Management in TanzaniaBy Mwakalila, Shadrack Introduction The current national interest in the Great Ruaha Basin in southwest Tanzania (Figure 1) has been driven by major concerns over water availability generally in Tanzania.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Livingston Co. Board Approves Wind FarmBy Tony Sapochetti, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. Jul. 18--PONTIAC -- Electricity-generating wind towers soon may dot the landscape of northeastern Livingston County, now that the County Board has approved the Streator Cayuga Ridge South Wind Farm.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Fisherman Drowns in Palm Beach County CanalBy Dianna Cahn, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Jul. 17--A man who jumped into a canal off North Congress Avenue west of West Palm Beach drowned Thursday afternoon despite efforts by fire-rescue divers who searched the murky waters for 20 minutes before finding him, authorities said.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Dow Industrial Firms: Intel Corp.Intel Corp.'s second-quarter profit jumped 25 percent as blossoming sales of laptop chips helped the company cruise past Wall Street's estimates. Intel said its net income was $1.6 billion, or 28 cents per share, in the three-month period ending June 28.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am NEC Names Mentor As Second UK Distributor for SpectraView KitBy Nias, Simon Electronics manufacturer NEC has revealed that Mentor Distribution is set to become one of two exclusive UK distributors for its SpectraView range of colour-calibrated monitors.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am HP to Streamline Imaging Arm As Part of Its Print 2.0 StrategyBy Sheahan, Tim HP has announced it is to reorganise its Imaging and Printing group by consolidating the division from five groups down to three, in a bid to enable revenue growth and reduce costs within the company.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Affiliates Are Evolving the Consumer RelationshipBy Nikkel, Paul Comment AOL's purchase of buy.at shows that the major media players have recognised that an important part of future online advertising lies in the affiliate CPA (cost-per-action) model.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am The Web Isn't a Popularity ContestBy Anonymous Editorial Word that price-comparison site BeatThatQuote.com has outdone Facebook to become the fastest growing site of 2007 cast out ripples of surprise, not to mention some relief from the relentless reports of the latter's success.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Has the Net Grown Out of 'Poking'?By Furness, Victoria Analysis In January, Linkedln, the online network for professionals, announced it was expanding into Europe with the opening of a London office and the appointment of Kevin Eyres as managing director, Europe.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Alta Loma Woman Awarded $18,000 PrizeBy Michael Sorba For Michelle Gualer, it was almost too good to be true. At the beginning of July, the 42-year-old Alta Loma woman got an e-mail from Los Angeles-based home builder KB Home saying she had won $18,000. Gualer thought it was a scam.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Yahoo! and Microsoft: Who Wins?By Gill, Joe Analysis Announcing its $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo! on 1 February, Microsoft chief executive Steve Balmer grandly stated that the deal was part of the computer company's plans to transform itself by embracing online services and investing successfully in search and advertising.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Summer Brings Dining Changes: ClosedBy Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Jul. 18--Lest you think restaurants are in the summer doldrums, at least several are changing things up a little. Balzac Wine Bar, off E. Brady St. at 1716 N. Arlington Place, is making some seasonal menu changes, starting Wednesday.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 Jul 2008 | 8:00 am Clean water video from WorldVisionWorldVision's new PSA for action on providing clean water in the developing world is really effective and sobering. Link (Thanks, Kate!)
See also: For Love of Water: infuriating and incredible documentary about world's water-crisis Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:57 am Canadian DMCA video contest: Bill C61 in 61 secondsMichael Geist sez, "Tens of thousands of Canadians have spoken out against Bill C-61 [Ed: the Canadian DMCA] over the past month. In addition to the letters, MP meetings, and town halls, many have created mashups, videos, comics, posters, photos, and other creative art to express their disappointment and concern with Industry Minister Jim Prentice's plan for copyright in Canada. To build on this creativity, the Fair Copyright for Canada group is launching a new YouTube video competition. C-61 in 61 Seconds invites everyone to post a video - whether rant, mashup, or something new - on the copyright bill." Link (Thanks, Michael!) Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:50 am YouTomb: where copyright-clobbered youtubes go to dieMIT's FreeCulture club has started "YouTomb" -- a graveyard for youtubes taken off the Internet due to copyright complaints.Link (Thanks, Marilyn!) Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:47 am Dublin Air Traffic Contol Brought Down By Faulty NICNot so very long ago after passengers were left hanging by a similar glitch at LAX, Gilby4mPuck writes with another story of NIC failure leading to a disruption of air traffic, this time in Ireland, excerpting: "Data showing the location, height and speed of approaching planes disappeared from screens for 10 minutes each time. ... Thales ATM stated that in 10 similar air traffic control Centres worldwide with over 500,000 flight hours (50 years), this is the first time an incident of this type has been reported. ... '[They] confirmed the root cause of the hardware system malfunction as an intermittent malfunctioning network card which consequently overcame the built-in system redundancy,' said an IAA spokeswoman."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:40 am Cop busts guy for taking his pic: "It's illegal to take a picture of a law enforcement officer... if you don't give it to me, you're going to jail"Bernardo sez,I read in Dispatches From the Culture Wars about Scott Conover, who was arrested for taking a picture of a policeman during a traffic stop.Link (Thanks, Bernardo!) Source: Boing Boing | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:29 am Celebrity Squares: WALL-E directing animator Angus MacLaneWhat's your favourite piece of technology? Well, the first thought I had was maybe, like, the wheel? If you think about it, we use the wheel all the time, so I use that more than any other piece of technology...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:17 am IBM 2Q profit soars on services strength (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:15 am Microsoft 4Q profit rises; Web ad business rocky (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:14 am Microsoft 4Q profit rises; Web ad business rockyWith a Yahoo Inc. search deal uncertain at best, Microsoft Corp. plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more than expected in the next year to whip its unprofitable online...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:14 am Economic worries loom over Google's 2Q earnings (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:11 am AMD changes CEO as turnaround pressure intensifies (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:08 am House panelists seek opt-in rule for Web tracking - Los Angeles Times
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:01 am Google, Microsoft take a hit on Wall StreetNervous investors penalize two of the planet's most powerful technology companies for showing some financial strain from the faltering economy. ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am House panelists seek opt-in rule for Web trackingA key House lawmaker said Thursday that Internet service providers should be prohibited from tracking customers' Web activities to deliver targeted ads without those users' clear approval.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am Business BriefingTHE ECONOMY Mortgage rates fall across boardSource: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am AMD chief is out after latest lossHector Ruiz is being replaced as CEO by Dirk Meyer, the struggling chip maker's chief operating officer. Advanced...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 7:00 am Nokia's single-chip phones sales volumes high: report (Reuters)Reuters - Nokia (NOK1V.HE) has reached high volumes in single-chip mobile phone sales, the company's head was quoted in a newspaper as saying on Friday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 6:47 am Nokia's single-chip phones sales volumes high: reportHELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia has reached high volumes in single-chip mobile phone sales, the company's head was quoted in a newspaper as saying on Friday.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 6:47 am Nintendo seizes lead in US console war - GamePro.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 5:56 am GPS Tracking Device Beats Radar Gun in CourtMojoKid writes "According to a release issued by Rocky Mountain Tracking, an 18-year old man, Shaun Malone, was able to successfully contest a speeding ticket in court using the data from a GPS device installed in his car. This wasn't just any old make-a-left-turn-100-feet-ahead-onto-Maple-Street GPS; this was a vehicle-tracking GPS device — the kind used by trucking fleets — or in this case, overprotective parents. The device was installed in Malone's car by his parents, and the press release makes no mention if the teenager knew that the device was installed in his vehicle at the time."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:51 am IBM 2Q profit soars on services strengthIBM Corp.'s earnings, used to gauge the health of global technology spending, were a bright spot in an otherwise dreary economic landscape.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:27 am Microsoft 4Q profit rises, Web ad business rockyWith a Yahoo Inc. search deal uncertain at best, Microsoft Corp. plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more than expected in the next year to whip its unprofitable online operations into shape...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:26 am Microsoft 4Q profit rises; Web ad business rockyWith a Yahoo Inc. search deal uncertain at best, Microsoft Corp. plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more than expected in the next year to whip its unprofitable online operations into shape...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:26 am AMD changes CEO as turnaround pressure intensifiesUnder Hector Ruiz's leadership, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. rose to challenge larger rival Intel Corp. as never before in AMD's nearly 40-year history.Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:26 am Wii becomes top-selling video game console in US (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:15 am IBM 2Q profit soars on services strengthIBM Corp.'s earnings, used to gauge the health of global technology spending, were a bright spot in an otherwise dreary economic landscape. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company reported...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:12 am Microsoft 4Q profit rises, Web ad business rockyWith a Yahoo Inc. search deal uncertain at best, Microsoft Corp. plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more than expected in the next year to whip its unprofitable online...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:11 am Exactly what the Wiimote was supposed to be in the beginning. - IGN
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:08 am Amazon Plans an Online Store for Movies and TV Shows - New York Times
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:06 am July 18, 1876: Royal Commissioners Wrinkle Their Noses1876: The British government appoints a Royal Commission on Noxious Vapours to look into the growing problem of industrial air pollution. Its report two years later would bring better regulation but warn of impeding economic growth. England had been trying to do something about air quality for centuries. King Edward I in 1306 prohibited burning sea coal in London, because of all the smoke it caused. By act of Parliament, anyone who sold and burned the outlawed coal could be punished by torture or hanging. Richard II and Henry V issued further regulations and restrictions in the following centuries. The Industrial Revolution worsened things, with factories putting out a toxic soup of new pollutants. The 1853 Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metropolis) Act provided for an inspector to work with the metropolitan police to reduce "nuisance from the smoke of furnaces in the Metropolis and from steam vessels above London Bridge." A similar act four years later applied to Scotland. A new process for manufacturing alkali (sodium carbonate, used in manufacturing glass and other products) was releasing huge volumes of the byproduct hydrochloric acid into the air. That led to a deluge of lawsuits and a loud public outcry. This resulted in passage of the Alkali Act in 1863. It required a minimum 95 percent capture of the acid and set dilution standards for what was emitted: 0.2 grains of HCl per cubic foot. Chief inspector Robert Smith and four assistant inspectors worked with manufacturers to show them how to transform what would be pollution into marketable byproducts. The Alkali Act was extended and amended in 1874 to require manufacturers to use the "best practicable means" of controlling the acid vapors. Still, things were so bad by 1876 that the Conservative government of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli appointed the Royal Commission on Noxious Vapours. The commissioners visited industrial areas around England, inspecting "alkali works, cement works, chemical manure works, coke ovens, copper works of all descriptions, glass, lead and metal works, potteries and salt works." The commission asked 14,000 questions of 196 witnesses, including "manufacturers, landowners, farmers, clergymen, occupiers of houses, lands and gardens, land-agents, scientific witnesses, medical persons, local officers" and the Alkali Act inspectors. Witnesses complained of damage to trees, crops, vegetation and human health. They said the noxious industrial gases were carried far and wide by the wind and caused coughing, difficulty breathing and nausea. The alkali manufacturers gave the commission a statement rebutting the allegations. The commission made 10 recommendations in August 1878. New legislation increased the frequency of inspections and made the inspectors' reports public records. The commission concluded (.pdf) that "it is not a question of a few manufactories, but of industries all over the country, which in relation to man are causing pollution of the air in degrees sufficient to make them common-law nuisances." So, the Alkali Acts were extended to include the production of sulfuric acid, chemical fertilizer works and coke ovens. But witnesses who argued that noxious vapors were inevitable if the nation was to prosper had their effect. The commission noted that regulation was only practical if it did not involve "ruinous expenditure." And courts remained reluctant to shut down polluters if the result would destroy the industry of a town. London suffered a killer smog in December 1952 that killed as many as 12,000 people. Britain passed its Clean Air Act in 1956. The United States passed a weak Clean Air Act in 1963 and strengthened it in 1970. Source: Various 
Source: Wired Top Stories | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:00 am Gallery: VC Money Drives Solar-Tech Innovation Around the World : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comSAN FRANCISCO -- Despite uneven support from the U.S. government, solar power is experiencing a global explosion. Concerns over climate change and rising energy prices have driven billions of dollars into developing the efficiency and variety of technologies that capture power from the sun. And we're not just talking about new photovoltaic panels. The entire production chain is being re-engineered, from materials to manufacturing process to solar tracking. Check out the hottest advances in sun-energy harvesting on display at this week's Intersolar North America conference. Left: China's Red-Hot Solar Water Tech These strange-looking pipes are actually part of a solar hot-water heater produced by the Chinese company WesTech. Stick these on your roof, and they collect heat energy from the sun, heating the water inside, and insulating like a thermos to keep warm. While U.S. residential setups usually employ other, more-expensive technologies, Chinese systems often just use evacuated tubes like these. Lower price points have helped drive the Chinese domestic market: An estimated one in 10 Chinese households owns one. And now, Chinese companies with big manufacturing capacity are trying to bring their low-cost tech to the United States.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comSolar-panel placement is like sunbathing: You want maximum exposure to the sun's most direct rays. That’s the idea behind this rotating rack for solar panels. As the sun moves across the sky, the superstructure and circular track rotate to keep the panels in the most direct sunlight. SunCarrier (pictured) and RW Energy, which make similar systems, claim the rigs increase the efficiency of solar panels by 30 percent.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comPhotovoltaics have long been the province of scientists and green idealists. That's one reason why less than 1 percent of the world's energy is derived from solar power. To make a dent in the world energy market, solar players are going to have to scale up -- and fast. One major way, said Ian Chen of Multicontact, which makes solar-panel connectors, is the way industry has always done it: automation. It's not just "doing the same process you've been doing in a garage but at a larger scale," he said. To cut costs and increase production, solar companies are having to design processes for automation from the ground up.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comThis machine from Adept uses machine vision and a vacuum to pluck solar cells off a conveyor belt. This speedy, spidery robot -- the Quattro -- can be had for under six figures, according to Jay Sacharia, the company's head of corporate marketing.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comYou could be staring at the future of solar power. SolFocus' concentrating solar panels use mirrors to focus the sun's rays on a small amount of highly efficient photovoltaic material. First, the primary mirror -- the curved backstop -- concentrates the light onto a smaller mirror that you can see the back of in the image. That second mirror bounces the light down the unit's optical rod to the waiting PV cell. The setup allows SolFocus to capture light over a large area while keeping costs down. How much? Stephanie Southerland, head of corporate development, said the company's goal is "cost parity with fossil fuels by 2010." Talk like that has tickled investors' imaginations: They've already poured $95 million into the company through two rounds of financing.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comLumeta's new solar panels are the first "solar stickers." Developed by a roofing-and-construction company for easy installation, contractors simply peel-and-stick the panels onto flat roofs. While the panels are lighter than traditional racked systems, they lose the optimal angle to the sun by sticking flat on the roof. Lumeta COO Stephen Torres told Wired.com in May that this downside costs his company's panels about 5 percent of their power production.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.com"Integrated solar" has been a catch phrase for a long time. It refers to solar panels that can be manufactured directly into buildings and products. At the conference, Global Solar was showing off a thin-film, building-integrated product it calls PowerFlex Solar Strings. These striplike solar cells offer 70 to 90 watts per meter of material, according to the company. Global Solar also uses its technology in solar chargers like the one pictured, which generates 6.5 watts and goes for about $100. Charles Gambill, the company's corporate product director, said it could charge a cellphone in two to three hours. And most important, it looks just like Wall-E's fold-up charger.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comConsidering that Intersolar was held in conjunction with Semicon West, it's no surprise that semiconductor companies were crawling around the showroom floor. What was surprising was the buzz surrounding Applied Materials' entrance into the photovoltaic market. One show participant, Nathan Singsen of SolarFrameWorks, even went so far as saying, "Applied Materials will probably take over the whole solar industry." Chris Beitel, Applied Materials' thin-film manager, would probably agree. He argues that Applied's experience scaling and optimizing semiconductor production will be directly applicable to similar problems in PV. "We can go to a new level of scale." As proof, Applied showed off this extra-large thin-film panel, which it manufactures for Signet Solar. Solar companies appear to buy the rap: Beitel said they've already signed $3 billion worth of contracts.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comAs solar companies receive more venture capital, they can afford to invest in new materials that could drive innovation. That's where Agilent's Nano Indenter comes into play. It measures the mechanical properties, like stiffness and elasticity, of ultrathin materials. The indenter presses on the material at nanoscale and measures the shape and nature of the impression that it makes.  : Photo: Emily Lang/Wired.comSilicon wafers have to be sliced and diced in order to become the chips that go into your PC and phone. A similar process has to occur to make solar cells. Chipmakers used to use diamond blades, but the German company Jenoptik has a new way: thermal laser-beam separation. The company's representatives said using lasers instead of diamonds provides a cleaner cut, which reduces the amount of wasted material.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 18 Jul 2008 | 4:00 am Fast-Booting OS for Usually-Off Appliance PCs?An anonymous reader writes "I have some older computer equipment at work that I want to re-purpose as application appliances. The machines will sit, unpowered, until needed, then powered up. No way around the 'sitting powered off' — company directive. What is the quickest-booting OS I could use for them? I know about LinuxBIOS, but that would require new hardware, which does not go along which the re-purposing theme. Some of them do not need to be connected to a network, so an old version of Linux or Windows 98 are possible. DOS is too old to consider. So what are my options?"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 18 Jul 2008 | 2:00 am Sex Drive: Coming Soon: Your Own Personal Sex Machines (NSFW)(Editor's note: Links in this story that are not safe for work are marked NSFW.) UNIVERSAL CITY, California -- It's the ultimate revenge of the nerds as product developers use their big brains to create sex machines that kick pleasure into overdrive. In fact, the very nature of the sex "toy" is changing as a new generation of sex-positive engineers infiltrates the industry. From the smooth, silent glide of the Monkey Rocker Tango to Le Chair's ability to put two people into a dozen compromising positions, the new products and prototypes unveiled at this week's Adult Novelty Expo straddle the line between toy (a passive, frivolous object) and machine (a substantial apparatus that inspires commitment and even emotional attachment). Here are some of the most interesting. Power Bullet
The gigantic Power Bullet gives you the stealth option, because it doubles as a muscle massager and hides its complex machinery inside a velvety, matte-black cylinder. It wouldn't be out of place in a Pilates studio or a physical therapist's office for people to roll up and down their quadriceps, but straddling it on a pillow is going to be a lot more effective at relaxing muscles and relieving stress. Its motors provide a deep throbbing touch and its single button offers a simplicity much appreciated by tired tech workers with wrist pain. I'm just sayin'. - - - Imatah
As you can see in this photo, Imatah spokesmodel Danka takes the machine's debut very seriously. That's a custom-made dildo mounted on a plate connected to a mechanism that can pump straight in and out or move in an oval pattern. The Imatah weighs about 5 pounds and comes with a fabric sleeve that hides its legs and prevents the machine from falling off the bed when you use it. "The machine becomes part of you!" gushes inventor James Hatami, who is working with Fleshlight (NSFW) to add functionality for male users. The Imatah requires only a 12-volt power supply "so you don't electrocute yourself," Hatami says. - - - Monkey Rocker
The original Monkey Rocker (NSFW) is an amazing cybersex accessory, a silent machine that responds to your body motions without any complicated control panels or need for batteries. It's handmade from powder-coated, 100 percent recovered and recycled wood fiber -- PermaCore MDF, if you want to get technical -- and supports up to 400 pounds. - - - Monkey Rocker Tango
The new Monkey Rocker Tango brings the cybersex experience offline -- when you meet your online lover in person, you can both ride it at the same time (as long as your combined weight is less than 450 pounds). The Tango also works for folks who skip the whole cybersex thing and just have a regular ol' fashioned, in-person relationship. (Weird!) - - - Le Chair
In a surprise departure from its inexpensive signature collections from porn stars and sex therapists, an upcoming robotic sex chair from California Exotic Novelties (NSFW) is based on love furniture already available in Japan. This prototype, called Le Chair, comes with motors in the seat and back supports that can pound, vibrate or stroke. One seat adjusts up and down to place lovers in optimal positions for various intimate activities, and both sides provide arm and leg support as well. A representative confided that the company plans to work with programs to help get Le Chairs to war veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan at low or no cost. At right, we have Le Chair with people in it, to give you an idea of its scale. For this picture, we have raised one seat and reclined its back support. If the woman were to lie back, her pelvis would be positioned conveniently for her partner's mouth. The target audience for Le Chair is "adventurous people" and "people with physical limitations," says California Exotic Novelties, although of course it's fun for everyone. - - - Menage-A-Tool
I'm convinced that the man who goes by "Preston Penobscott" developed the Menage-A-Tool (NSFW) simply as an excuse to spend more time in his machine shop, machining things. The tool is an adjustable, lightweight rod with two attachments for various dildos, so you can penetrate two people at a time and still have one hand free for someone else. "The next one's gonna be hydraulic," he enthuses, already sketching out how he wants to make the new version even more adjustable so the dildos can go closer together for double penetration or further apart if whatever you're doing requires more space between your partners. See you in a fortnight, Regina Lynn - - -
Regina Lynn is the author of Sexier Sex: Lessons From the Brave New Sexual Frontier. She blogs at reginalynn.com. Source: Wired Top Stories | 18 Jul 2008 | 1:00 am GDocs vs. ThinkFree vs. Zoho vs. MS OfficeCWmike writes "Web-based productivity suites, once almost a contradiction in terms, have become real challengers to desktop applications. Google Docs, ThinkFree, and Zoho, have all made major improvements in recent months. They're becoming both broader, with more applications, and deeper, with more features and functionality in existing apps. The question is: Are these three applications really ready to take on a desktop-based heavy hitter like Microsoft Office?"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 18 Jul 2008 | 12:39 am GOP Threatens CafePress over Shirts, Stickers and LogosThe GOP is threatening to sue online vendor host CafePress for allowing vendors to sell trademarked GOP regalia such as T-shirts, stickers and images of the trademarked Republican elephant. Much of the paraphernalia is positive toward the Republican Party.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 11:42 pm Last-Ditch Resort: Move Polar Bears to Antarctica?If the most dire climate predictions come to pass, the Arctic ice cap will melt entirely, and polar bears could face extinction. So why not pack a few off to Antarctica, where the sea ice will never run out? It may seem like a preposterous question. But polar bears are just the tip of the "assisted colonization" iceberg. Other possibilities: moving African big game to the American Great Plains, or airlifting endangered species from one mountaintop to another as climate zones shrink. "It's a showdown. The impacts of climate change on animals have become apparent. And it's time to decide whether we're going to do something," said Notre Dame ecologist Jessica Hellmann, co-author of an influential 2007 Conservation Biology paper (.pdf). "Reducing CO2 is vital, but we might have to step in and intervene." Once dismissed as wrongheaded and dangerous, assisted colonization -- rescuing vanishing species by moving them someplace new -- is now being discussed by serious conservationists. And no wonder: Caught between climate change and human pressure, species are going extinct 100 times faster than at any point in human history. And some scientists say that figure is too conservative. The real extinction rate, they say, is a full 1,000 times higher than normal. The last time such annihilation took place was during the time of the dinosaurs. And though many conservationists say that saving species by transplanting them is foolish, others say there's no choice. "They want the world to be what it was before. But it's not going to happen," said Australian ecologist Hugh Possingham, author of an assisted-colonization article published Thursday in Science (citation page). The language of Possingham's paper is understated -- its centerpiece is a risk-benefit flow chart -- but the recommendations are radical. He proposes a systematic analysis of Earth's threatened species, identifying those suitable for last-ditch uprooting. That the scientific world's most august publication carries such a proposal marks a sea-level shift in conservationist consciousness, say researchers. Others have weighed the idea, but Possingham's team came down firmly in favor. Adding to the momentum, the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting in August will be preceded by a three-day discussion of assisted colonization, by ecologists, policy wonks and lawyers. But not everyone is in a rush. "I think it's a bad idea," said Duke University biologist Jason McLachlan, also a co-author of the Conservation Biology paper. "There are a million examples of invasive species introduced with good intentions that caused all sorts of damage." Unfortunately, perhaps, for the polar bear, it's a perfect example of McLachlan's objections. Cost and logistics aside, the bears would wreak havoc in an ecosystem unprepared for them. "Antarctic penguins and seals aren't adapted to surface predators," explained Steven Amstrup, the chief U.S. Geological Survey polar-bear researcher. "The bears would have a field day for a while, because they could walk right up to them and eat them. For a short period of time, it would be great, but in the end the whole system would probably collapse." Accounts of destruction wrought by invasive species are legion, from wild hogs in the southern United States and zebra mussels in the Great Lakes to cane toads in Australia and mongeese in Hawaii. An endangered species that now seems sympathetic could quickly become a villain. But assisted-colonization proponents believe their animals, unlike other invasive species, would be carefully selected and their effects anticipated. "You work out what the risks are before you take action," said Possingham. "You go through these decision trees, and start by doing some trials under very controlled circumstances, then we'll learn about it." Things could still go wrong, said Hellmann, but the consequences pale in comparison to those of climate change and inaction. And for animals whose natural habitat has been eradicated, or who live -- as did the golden toad of Costa Rica's cloud forest -- in rapidly changing places from which they cannot escape, there may be no other option. "If all other conservation methods fail, and evidence shows that a species is in danger of extinction, then assisted migration becomes an option that we should consider seriously," said Nature Conservancy ecologist Patrick Gonzalez. McLachlan, however, has other reasons for opposition. Assisted colonization could be seen as a quick-fix panacea, distracting people from the necessary task of preserving habitat and braking climate change. More philosophically, there's something troubling about treating nature as a zoological theme park. "We're destroying any semblance of the idea that a place has its own biota and history," he said. "It's not just saving a couple whooping cranes, it's redesigning the entire biota of Earth. And that's incredibly creepy to me." Hellmann agrees that assisted colonization could be mistaken as a convenient solution. But the purity of nature, she said, is now a myth. "You can find signatures of humanity in the deepest jungles and remote locations. This idea of pristine nature doesn't really apply," she said. "If assisted colonization will have benefits, it seems strange not to cross some arbitrary line."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 11:30 pm US ISPs Announce Anti-Child-Porn AgreementAn anonymous reader writes "It seems that ISPs have gathered together with 45 attorney generals and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to form an agreement to crush child pornography. What does that mean? Probably the same as it meant for RoadRunner, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon customers — the end of the newsgroups." Here's the back-patting press-release from the various parties who signed on (the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the National Association of Attorneys General), though the actual text of the agreement does not seem to have been made public.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 17 Jul 2008 | 11:28 pm Multiple Experts Try Defining "Cloud Computing"jg21 writes "Even though IBM's Irving Wladawsky Berger reports a leading analyst as having said recently that 'There is a clear consensus that there is no real consensus on what cloud computing is,' here are no fewer than twenty attempts at a definition of the infrastructural paradigm shift that is sweeping across the Enterprise IT world — some of them really quite good. From the article: 'Cloud computing is...the user-friendly version of grid computing.' (Trevor Doerksen) and 'Cloud computing really is accessing resources and services needed to perform functions with dynamically changing needs. An application or service developer requests access from the cloud rather than a specific endpoint or named resource.' (Kevin Hartig)"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 17 Jul 2008 | 10:23 pm Schneier, UW Team Show Flaw In TrueCrypt DeniabilityAn anonymous reader writes "Bruce Schneier and colleagues from the University of Washington have figured out a way to break the deniability of TrueCrypt 5.1a's hidden files. What about the spanking-new TrueCrypt 6? Schneier says that 'The new version will definitely close some of the leakages, but it's unlikely that it closed all of them.' Meanwhile, PC World is reporting that the problems Schneier and colleagues found are bigger than just TrueCrypt. Among their discoveries: Word auto-saves the contents of encrypted files to the unencrypted portions of your disk, and this problem should apply to all non-full disk encryption software. Their research paper will appear at Usenix HotSec '08."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 17 Jul 2008 | 9:29 pm Google Misses, Stock Slides After HoursGoogle's Q2 profit rose 35 percent, but its $1.25 billion in earnings fell below estimates. After hours trading sent Google shares down about 10 percent.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 8:36 pm Liquid Mirror Telescopes Set For Magnetic UpgradeKentuckyFC writes "Liquid mirror telescopes start life as a puddle of mercury in a bowl. Set the bowl spinning and the mercury spreads out in a thin film giving the surface an almost perfect mirror finish. But these telescopes have two important limitations. First, they can only point straight up since tilting the mirror spills the mercury. And second, they cannot be made adaptive to correct for any blurring introduced by the Earth's atmosphere. But liquid mirror telescopes look set for an upgrade thanks to the work of a group of Canadian researchers. Their technique is to change the shape of the liquid mirror using powerful electromagnets. They use a ferromagnetic fluid of iron nanoparticles in oil instead of mercury which is too dense to be easily manipulated in this way. The work is just proof of principle at this stage but the idea is to use magnets to correct for the usual range of optical aberrations that telescopes have to deal with (abstract). And also to allow a liquid telescope to be tilted by using oil that is much more viscous than mercury and correcting any periodic deformation in the fluid that tilting might cause."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 17 Jul 2008 | 8:36 pm Moving Species to Save Them: Pros and ConsSome species might be better off after a climate-induced move, say scientists.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Jul 2008 | 7:30 pm Singing for Sex: Even Toadfish Do ItTo attract mates, male toadfish make up for their homeliness with a song.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Jul 2008 | 7:30 pm More Icebergs Scouring Antarctica's SeabedMore icebergs are scraping Antarctica's seabed, crushing plants and animals.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Jul 2008 | 7:02 pm Army Secretary: 'We're Falling Behind Online'The Army lags with communications technologies, from cell phones to Facebook, the service's chief complains. His advice to the generals: "Find a blog to be a part of," and learn social media "as a second language." Even if it means getting a teenager to be your "translator."
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 7:00 pm Mozilla Releases First Firefox 3 Update, Offers a Glimpse of 3.1The open source web browser Firefox 3 has been updated to address some stability and security issues. Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, has also released some details about future enhancements to the next version browser, which is due in late 2008. New features including an improved tab switcher and an updated interface.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 7:00 pm HP's Mini Notebook is a Real-Deal Eee PC KillerThe results are in and it turns out the Asus isn't the only company that can build an awesome mini notebook. HP's brand new miniature notebook gets a lot right and very little wrong with its initial offering in the diminutive computing space.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 6:55 pm HP's Mini Notebook is a Real-Deal Eee PC KillerThe results are in and it turns out the Asus isn't the only company that can build an awesome mini notebook. HP's brand new miniature notebook gets a lot right and very little wrong with its initial offering in the diminutive computing space.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 17 Jul 2008 | 6:55 pm Is the Internet Bad for Science?A sociologist who studied the citation patterns of 34 million journal articles that went online between 1998 and 2005 claims that using the Internet for research is leading to less-thorough scholarship.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 17 Jul 2008 | 6:40 pm Sexes May Need Different DinnersWhat do cricket diets have to say about the differing needs of men and women?Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Jul 2008 | 2:45 pm Invisible Carpet Idea Close to Actual InvisibilityAn invisible carpet using silica could hide anything under it from visible light.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Jul 2008 | 1:57 pm Nature's Own Nano Gold FoundNatural, microscopic plates of gold are found in salty groundwaters.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Jul 2008 | 1:12 pm IPhone Developer: Apple's Secrecy, Slowness Makes Things DifficultNetNewsWire developer Brent Simmons was one of the first to offer an iPhone app when Apple's iTunes App Store opened on Friday, July 11. But while Simmons loves the development platform, he says Apple's secrecy and slowness are making things difficult for programmers by making it hard to do beta testing, and keeping product updates from getting to users quickly.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 17 Jul 2008 | 12:21 pm
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