Is the US Ready For the Switch To DTV?

tonsofpcs writes "On Monday, September 8, Wilmington, NC will be the first television market (#135) to make the switch to DTV by shutting off their analog transmitters. This forum will be posting updates throughout the coming months to keep everyone updated on how the transition works so that we are all prepared come February 17, 2009. So far, it seems Wilmington will still be going ahead as planned, despite Tropical Storm Hanna's proximity."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 7 Sep 2008 | 12:24 pm

Leo Hickman on whether the world ends on Wednesday

Leo Hickman: I don't believe we're about to disappear down Cern's black hole. But ... what if?
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 12:00 pm

Why Is the Internet So Infuriatingly Slow?

Anti-Globalism writes "The major ISPs all tell a similar story: A mere 5 percent of their customers are using around 50 percent of the bandwidth, sometimes more, during peak hours. While these 'power users' are sharing three-gig movies and playing online games, poor granny is twiddling her thumbs waiting for Ancestry.com to load."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 7 Sep 2008 | 11:32 am

Chinese Mainland Issues New Policies to Ease Cross-Strait Travel

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) [Xinhua: "Chinese Mainland Issues New Policies To Ease Cross- Strait Travel"] XIAMEN, Sept.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am

Kenya, Tanzania on Collision Course Over Soda Ash Project

Text of report by Juma Kwayera entitled "Nema makes fresh bid to stop Tanzania's soda ash project" published by Kenyan privately- owned daily newspaper The Standard website on 7 September; subheading inserted editorially Kenya and Tanzania are headed for a fresh round of confrontation after the former restated its previous position that the planned construction of a soda ash and salt extraction factory on the shores of Lake is economic assault.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am

No ChaChing For ChaCha Guides

ChaCha used to be a ridiculous human powered web based search engine that's best use appeared to be for killing time when bored. They raised a boatload of money from Jeff Bezos and others and eventually...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 10:29 am

Browser Wars: A Disturbance in The Force

So Google has released Chrome, its entry in the browser wars (bonus points, Google, for promoting it with a Scott McCloud comic). I know, I know, it uses the same rendering engine as Safari... but even...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 10:18 am

Office 2.0 Day 2 Recap

The Office 2.0 conference took place in San Francisco this week and I attended and took notes for ReadWriteWeb. The Day 1 recap is here and Day 2 is below. The sessions highlighted in this post are Going...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 10:15 am

China to launch space mission in late September

China will launch its third manned space mission in late September, featuring its first-ever space walk, a state news agency said. The Shenzhou 7 launch is to take place between Sept. 25
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 9:34 am

Everyone Needs To Calm Down

I haven't had a lot of time to jump into the fracas this weekend emerging about TechCrunch50 because the team has been busy organizing the conference, working with the Expert Panelists on scheduling issues...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:39 am

Canadian Researchers Say Hard Thinking Leads to Big Meals

Anti-Globalism writes with an excerpt from a story at Ars Technica, according to which "a preliminary study from a group of researchers in Quebec suggest that working on a computer may have an additional impact on our waistlines: taxing mental effort appears to cause people to eat significantly more food, even though it doesn't burn many more calories than sitting around and relaxing. The publication, published in a journal called Psychosomatic Medicine, arose from a pilot study that the researchers were performing in order to determine whether a potential connection between mental effort and eating was worth following up on."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:36 am

Selectable Tolerance to Herbicides By Mutated Acetolactate Synthase Genes Integrated into the Chloroplast Genome of Tobacco1[OA]

By Shimizu, Masanori Goto, Maki; Hanai, Moeko; Shimizu, Tsutomu; Izawa, Norihiko; Kanamoto, Hirosuke; Tomizawa, Ken-Ichi; Yokota, Akiho; Kobayashi, Hirokazu Strategies employed for the production of genetically modified (GM) crops are premised on (1) the avoidance of gene transfer in the field; (2) the use of genes derived from edible organisms such as plants; (3) preventing the appearance of herbicideresistant weeds; and (4) maintaining transgenes without obstructing plant cell propagation.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Apoplastic Polyamine Oxidation Plays Different Roles in Local Responses of Tobacco to Infection By the Necrotrophic Fungus Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum and the Biotrophic Bacterium Pseudomonas Viridiflava1[W]

By Marina, Maria Maiale, Santiago Javier; Rossi, Franco Ruben; Romero, Matias Fernando; Rivas, Elisa Isabel; Garriz, Andres; Ruiz, Oscar Adolfo; Pieckenstain, Fernando Luis The role of polyamine (PA) metabolism in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) defense against pathogens with contrasting pathogenic strategies was evaluated.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Mailshot

By Anonymous LETTER OF THE MONTH Many elements are at work May I be permitted to comment on the article 'How to win hands down' in the July issue of SHP? There are several statements in this article, which, I feel, could be misunderstood by those not adequately informed.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Residents Facing Eviction

By Jennifer McLain ROSEMEAD - Trailer park residents are fighting a property owner they say has plans to turn their homes into a parking lot little by little.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

God Game is a Revelation

A COMPUTER game has been launched in which users play God. Spore, by the creators of The Sims, allows gamers to create a single- celled creature which evolves during a quest to conquer outer space. (c) 2008 Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Homes, Preservation

Homes, preservation Re "The hills are alive with debate on development:" In the third paragraph, the article stated: "To developers the more than 480 acres of hillside land is an opportunity to build large houses for the affluent with a view that stretches across the valley." In March, 2008, everyone in the city of Montebello received a publication from Cook Hill Properties, LLC entitled, "Planning the Vision." This vision specifically stated that the current General Plan allows for the development of nearly 4,000 homes on 487 acres.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Glendora Show a Hit

Glendora show a hit The glow rings were flying, the stage lights flashing and after the last song ended, Glendora's biggest community fundraiser, The Flashback Classic Car and Motorcycle Show, came to a close. This event, 21 years strong, is our largest end of the summer party.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Sunday Speakout

School drop-offs What kind of gall do these people have parking in a private driveway while they drop their kids off at school? Los Alamitos coyotes Good for Los Alamitos - they got rid of their coyotes, while Long Beach can't solve this problem.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Groundbreaking to Mark Start of Alondra Park Construction Project

A public groundbreaking ceremony will be held Monday for the multi-million dollar construction project at Alondra Park. The ceremony will be at 4:30 p.m. in the park, near Redondo Beach Boulevard and Yukon Avenue in Lawndale.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Drug Enforcement ; Strange but True Bizarre Stories From Around the World

A BEAR in Panguitch, Utah, raided a marijuana farm so often the growers ran away. County Sheriff Danny Perkins said: "We're so tough on drugs that even the wildlife are getting in on the action." (c) 2008 Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Pounds 30K CHEAT NAILED BY HIS VAN

A BENEFIT fraudster handed cash after claiming to have split from his wife was caught when his van's tracking device proved he still lived at their home. Simon Daly, 35, of Portsmouth, had pocketed pounds 30,000 from the scam. (c) 2008 Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Letter: Mail Box - LET's CALL TIME ON CIVIC BINGES

By Ann Ferguson WHEN the news is full of stories about paedophiles such as Gary Glitter, the BBC seem to be giving perverts the message: "Don't worry, you can get away with it". Their drama Fiona's Story on BBC1 last week was a disgrace.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Cut a Dash This Autumn ; HERE TO HELP BEAT THE CRUNCH

FASHION store H&M are offering 20 per cent off clothes if you sign up to their newsletter. Fill in the form on the website at www.hm.com and a voucher will be emailed to you. Burton are giving men 10 per cent off online purchases.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Whopping Great Idea ; HERE TO HELP BEAT THE CRUNCH

BURGERKing are offering a whopping 12-voucher booklet if you fill in your details at www.burgerking.co.uk. Click on the "Download pounds 30 of vouchers now" link and follow the instructions for a printout voucher booklet. Vouchers are valid until October12 but not at some motorway branches.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Come Now..Tickets Please ; Pounds 10 Tee-Email

THANKFULLY the Glasgow-Edinburgh trains are not that busy. Thanks to Claire Collins, of Ayr, who sent in this picture to win my weekly tenner.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

Tracking Monolignols During Wood Development in Lodgepole Pine1[W][OA]

By Kaneda, Minako Rensing, Kim H; Wong, John C T; Banno, Brian; Mansfield, Shawn D; Samuels, A Lacey Secondary xylem (wood) formation in gymnosperms requires that the tracheid protoplasts first build an elaborate secondary cell wall from an array of polysaccharides and then reinforce it with lignin, an amorphous, three-dimensional product of the random radical coupling ofmonolignols.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 7 Sep 2008 | 8:00 am

EA's big bet on Spore - San Jose Mercury News

BusinessWeek

EA's big bet on Spore San Jose Mercury News - 5 hours ago By Steve Johnson In unveiling their much-anticipated and long-delayed video game "Spore" in North America today, executives at Electronic Arts hope to counter critics who have faulted the Redwood City company for becoming fat and happy in recent years ... In the Beginning, Finally Washington Post Sims creator hopes to soar with Spore San Francisco Chronicle MTV.com - InformationWeek - Macworld - CRN all 224 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 7 Sep 2008 | 7:07 am

NASA chief rips 'jihad' on shuttle - Chicago Tribune

Houston Chronicle

NASA chief rips 'jihad' on shuttle Chicago Tribune - 5 hours ago CAPE CANAVERAL - In an internal e-mail obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin lashed out last month at the White House for what he called a "jihad" to shut down the space shuttle, expressed frustration at the lack of funding ... NASA administrator decries White House 'jihad' to end shuttle program TMCnet Congress reluctant to depend on Russia Florida Today Houston Chronicle - Spaceflight Now - WFtv.com - The Write Stuff all 31 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 7 Sep 2008 | 7:05 am

Beware of e-mail news alerts -- Storm Worm might be lurking inside

Scam Watch The pitch: "CNN.com Daily Top 10" or "My MSNBC Alert"
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am

Medical info on your cellphone might be hard to call up

It may be hard to find your 'medical bracelet' if it's programmed into your cellphone. Cellphone services are...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am

CT scans can be better medicine for doctors than for patients

They provide detailed views of internal organs, but the price is increased doses of radiation. When Maureen Scanlan...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 7:00 am

Warmth Opens Arctic Routes, Experts Say - New York Times

Warmth Opens Arctic Routes, Experts Say New York Times - 6 hours ago By ANDREW C. REVKIN Leading ice specialists in Europe and the United States for the first time have agreed that a ring of navigable waters has opened all around the fringes of the cap of sea ice drifting on the warming Arctic Ocean. Arctic Region Continues Meltdown, Turns Into Open Waters eFluxMedia Most Popular International Zimbabwe Independent DailyTech - Seattle Times - NewsHour - Reuters UK all 50 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 7 Sep 2008 | 6:23 am

International day of protest against surveillance Oct 11

Tom sez, "An international protest against undue surveillance is being held next month on the 11th of October. It is 'a broad movement of campaigners and organizations is calling on everybody to join action...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:41 am

International day of protest against surveillance Oct 11

Tom sez, "An international protest against undue surveillance is being held next month on the 11th of October. It is 'a broad movement of campaigners and organizations is calling on everybody to join action against excessive surveillance by governments and businesses'. We need to get this on the radar for the elections in the USA this year, the EU parliamentary elections next year and many more."

Surveillance mania is spreading. Governments and businesses register, monitor and control our behaviour ever more thoroughly. No matter what we do, who we phone and talk to, where we go, whom we are friends with, what our interests are, which groups we participate in - "big brother" government and "little brothers" in business know it more and more thoroughly. The resulting lack of privacy and confidentiality is putting at risk the freedom of confession, the freedom of speech as well as the work of doctors, helplines, lawyers and journalists.

The manifold agenda of security sector reform encompasses the convergence of police, intelligence agencies and the military, threatening to melt down the division and balance of powers. Using methods of mass surveillance, the borderless cooperation of the military, intelligence services and police authorities is leading towards the construction of "Fortresses" in Europe and on other continents, directed against refugees and different-looking people but also affecting, for example, political activists, the poor and under-priviledged, and sports fans.

People who constantly feel watched and under surveillance cannot freely and courageously stand up for their rights and for a just society. Mass surveillance is thereby threatening the fabric of a democratic and open society. Mass surveillance is also endangering the work and commitment of civil society organizations.

International Action Day "Freedom not fear - Stop the surveillance mania!" on 11 October 2008 (Thanks, Tom!)

Source: Boing Boing | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:41 am

Genome quilts

Artist Beverly St. Clair uses quilts to encode genetic information: it's beautiful and comfy! My idea for genome quilts grew from the juxtaposition of two experiences at Wesleyan University in November...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:37 am

Genome quilts

Artist Beverly St. Clair uses quilts to encode genetic information: it's beautiful and comfy!

My idea for genome quilts grew from the juxtaposition of two experiences at Wesleyan University in November 2001. First I viewed an exhibit of work by Anni Albers, an artist I have admired for many years. The show included her serigraphs of triangles arranged in a grid. I was struck by their similarity to quilt patterns. The next day I attended a lecture about the Human Genome Project and was impressed by the beautiful shapes of the proteins illustrated and the interesting patterns made by the microarrays. I realized that I could use a simple quilt block to represent each of the four bases in DNA: cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine. A square bisected into a light and dark triangle is rotated in four orientations to resemble the letters C, G, A, and T. These blocks are placed in sequences determined by the base sequence, so one can read the genetic code by looking at the quilt. The color and fabric choices influence the overall design. The quilts are visually pleasing, with their strong colors and seemingly traditional design, but they hide and reveal an entirely other construct of information.

Genome Quilts (Thanks, Marilyn!)

Source: Boing Boing | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:37 am

TCP/IP Meets Physical Reality

An anonymous reader writes "When Google is clouding the borderline between web and the desktop, a much, much smaller project is blurring the border between the Internet and the physical reality: the newly released Contiki operating system version 2.2.1. Contiki runs on networked wireless sensors that are used for anything from road tunnel monitoring for fire rescue operations to collecting vital statistics from ice hockey players. These sensors typically have as little as a few kilobytes of memory and a few milliwatts of power budget — a thousandth of the resources of a typical PC computer — yet Contiki provides them with full TCP/IP connectivity. Meanwhile, San Francisco is monitoring parking spaces with wireless technology."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:31 am

Google at 10: Larry, Sergey & Me

It is not clear how old Google is - some argue that world’s largest search engine operator is 13 - after all it operated in stealth for about 3 years before launching in September 1998. Many major...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:29 am

Perfect Partner

The rev Timothy Woods has moved into the manse behind the URC Church in Kingsteignton, and will be sharing his time between the Avenue Church (Methodist/URC) and the Newton Abbot Methodist Circuit.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:00 am

What's a Nice Firm Like You Doing Ruling the World?

By Emily Dugan Google once reviled computer superpowers but domination is just what it is achieving - and goodwill is evaporating, finds Emily Dugan There are not many companies whose trade names have become verbs.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 7 Sep 2008 | 5:00 am

42 Unique Billboards That Push the Advertising Envelope (CLUSTER)

(TrendHunter.com) When a billboard is boring, its a brutal waste of money; a unique billboard, however, is positively compelling. Consider these clever marketing ploys that use the giant canvas a billboard...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 4:00 am

Visualize Vimeo User Activity with Vimeo Toys

What we thought might have been an AIR app in the making, may be something entirely different. With social video sharing sites such as Youtube and Vimeo it can be hard to keep the recommendations flowing...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 3:29 am

Eat less meat to fight climate change: UN expert

People should cut their consumption of meat to help combat climate change, a top United Nations expert told a British Sunday newspaper. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 3:17 am

Furniture made out of used books

Designer Laura Cahill wanted to make art without wasting new material. She did a bunch of research, and found out that used books are the most common unwanted objects; they're also notoriously hard to...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 3:00 am

Furniture made out of used books

Designer Laura Cahill wanted to make art without wasting new material. She did a bunch of research, and found out that used books are the most common unwanted objects; they're also notoriously hard to recycle because of the kind of glue bookbinders used to use. So she took her second-hand book collection and turned it into beautiful pieces of furniture.

The bench is pretty self-explanatory, but for flower vases and lamp posts, Cahill uses a band saw to cut the books into desired shapes and sizes, and then wraps the spines around test tubes to make the cylindrical core. It's such a cool, eco-friendly concept.

via Dezeen

( Lisa Katayama is a guest blogger.)

Source: Boing Boing | 7 Sep 2008 | 3:00 am

China space mission set for late September: report

China's third manned space flight, which will feature China's first attempted space walk, will blast off in late September, state media reported. The launch of the Shenzhou...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 2:37 am

Google-focused satellite enters orbit (CNET)

CNET - The GeoEye-1 satellite that launched into orbit Saturday is on a mission from Google.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 7 Sep 2008 | 2:33 am

Russian Google Competitor Embraces Open Source Messaging

rm writes "Internet search and mail provider Yandex, which many view to be Google's main competitor in Russia, has recently added an instant messaging capability to its mail notifier application Ya.Online. As it turns out, the IM service is based on the open XMPP protocol, with connectivity to all other public Jabber servers available from day one. MacOS X and GNU/Linux versions of the app were also released (complete with sources under the GPL) and are determined to be based on the Psi IM client. Yandex looks to be a firm believer in open-source, also running a mirror site for FOSS and actively promoting its branded version of Firefox. Here's hoping that its affair with XMPP will help eliminate ICQ's enormous foothold in Russia."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 7 Sep 2008 | 2:25 am

China counts down to third manned space launch

BEIJING (Reuters) - China, still patting itself on the back after a hugely successful Olympics, will launch a three-man space flight this month, with all systems already in final...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 7 Sep 2008 | 2:12 am

Chris Shipley 1, Internet lynch mob 0 (CNET)

CNET - On the eve of the dueling demo-fests, Demo impresario Chris Shipley confesses that she has had it with the shoddy reporting, invective and arrogance that has attended most of the commentary on the phony faceoff between her conference and TechCrunch.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 7 Sep 2008 | 12:51 am

Wi-Fi, Now Available On the ISS

Grant Henninger writes "Rejoice! The next time you have an extra $20 million and decide to visit the International Space Station you won't need to leave the window to tell all your friends how cool it is. The ISS now has a new Wi-Fi network, so all you'll need to do is fire up Twitterrific and announce how much better you are than your Earth-based friends."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 7 Sep 2008 | 12:08 am

Gates outacts Seinfeld in Back To The Future - CNET News

Canada.com

Gates outacts Seinfeld in Back To The Future CNET News - 12 hours ago Which is why Crispin Porter Bogusky, the agency responsible for the otherworldly new Microsoft TV spot featuring the clowning Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, is already happy. Microsoft's Renewed Vista Strategy PC World Journals week in review: news from One Microsoft Way Ars Technica eFluxMedia - InformationWeek - New York Times - CRN all 526 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 7 Sep 2008 | 12:01 am

Verizon Network Performs Well Under Hanna's Soaking

No Major Service Outages; Crews to Work Sunday on Service Restoral BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- As of late this afternoon today (Sept. 6),...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 11:46 pm

GeoEye launches high-resolution satellite

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - GeoEye Inc said it successfully launched into space on Saturday its new GeoEye-1 satellite, which will provide the U.S. government, Google Earth users and others...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 11:25 pm

Ronald J. Riley / InventorEd - Largest Website for Inventors Sued by Internet Lawfirm

SARASOTA, Fla., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Dozier Internet Law: Ronald J. Riley and Inventored.org Sued. Dozier Internet Law has filed a lawsuit in the Circuit...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 11:19 pm

Barbara Ellen: Remember St Elton, you were young once, too

Bravo to Lily Allen for telling Elton John to 'F-off' while they were co-hosting the GQ awards. She seems to be regretting it (her Facebook page says she's 'dying inside'), but it sounds hilarious: Lily...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 11:08 pm

UK digs deep in dark matter race

A unique laboratory at the bottom of a Cleveland mine could be the first to discover what is holding the universe together
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 11:03 pm

UK digs deep for secrets of cosmos

Unique laboratory at bottom of Cleveland mine could be first to discover what is holding the universe together
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 11:03 pm

Hacker Conventions Ranked By Bandwidth-Per-Visitor

Anonymous Coward writes "Ever wondered how much bandwidth you will get at a hacker con? This web page tells you how much. It shows the total bandwidth and bandwidth for each visitor for all the recent hacker cons." It looks like Defcon attendees get the short end of the stick, while those at metarheinmain chaosdays are practically swimming in bandwidth. There are a lot of other cons (a few examples listed here) which I'd like to see added to this list.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Sep 2008 | 10:50 pm

MyGoodDeed.org Calls Plan by Obama and McCain to Appear Together at Ground Zero on 9/11 in a Show of Unity 'Remarkable, Refreshing and Welcome'

Organizers Urge the DNC and RNC to Respect and Honor the 9/11 Campaign Moratorium NEW YORK, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MyGoodDeed.org, the nonprofit group...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 9:53 pm

Google Chrome Reflects A Desktop In Decline - InformationWeek

PR Web (press release)

Google Chrome Reflects A Desktop In Decline InformationWeek - 15 hours ago After 10 years as a company, Google is making the Chrome browser key to the coming of age of cloud computing, or software as a service. Browser Wars: A Disturbance in The Force ReadWriteWeb Happy Birthday Google Turns 10 Years Old Today, Hold Up No ... Mosnar Communications Inc Blog CNET News - Computerworld - Seeking Alpha - Pittsburgh Post Gazette all 254 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Sep 2008 | 9:46 pm

4.0 earthquake centered near Alamo - San Jose Mercury News

The Southern Ledger

4.0 earthquake centered near Alamo San Jose Mercury News - 15 hours ago By Roman Gokhman ALAMO - A magnitude 4.0 earthquake that shook the East Bay on Friday evening jangled a few nerves but caused little damage. Small quake rattles Calif.'s East Bay United Press International Earthquake rattles SF Bay area during Giants' game USA Today San Diego Union Tribune - San Francisco Chronicle - Newsweek - eFluxMedia all 330 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Sep 2008 | 9:42 pm

AT&T Slaps Family With a $19,370 Cell Phone Bill

theodp writes "Mama, don't let your babies send e-mail and photos from Vancouver. A Portland family racked up nearly $20,000 in charges on their AT&T bill after their son headed north to Vancouver and used a laptop with an AirCard twenty-one times to send photos and e-mails back home. The family said they wished they would have received some kind of warning before receiving their chock-full-of-international-fees 200-page bill in the mail for $19,370. Guess they didn't read the fine print in that 'Stay connected whether you are traveling across town, the US, or the world' AT&T AirCard pitch. Hey, at least it wasn't $85,000."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Sep 2008 | 9:38 pm

Satellite launches for Google hi-res imaging; can we track humans by shadows?

Google is really watching now. John Battelle blogs:

Not content to lease data from others who have satellites, Google today launched its own satellite into space. (Via BeetTv, thanks Andy.) Talk about web meets world....this is yet another indicator of the integration of virtual and physical. And it brings Google one step closer to what I think could be the company's Waterloo - a viral meme that Google is sensing too much, knows too much, and is too powerful. It may not be rational, but no one ever accused humans of being entirely rational.

And via the linked AP article:

A Delta 2 rocket carrying the GeoEye-1 satellite lifted off at 11:50 a.m. Saturday. Video on the GeoEye Web site showed the satellite separating from the rocket moments later on its way to an eventual polar orbit. The satellite makers say GeoEye-1 has the highest resolution of any commercial imaging system. It can collect images from orbit with enough detail to show home plate on a baseball diamond.

And snip from a related article by Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides on Wired News:

In a speech last month to a security conference in the UK, Stoica explained that by using shadows you can read the length and rhythm of someone's gait and do an identification, even from above. He has written software that isolates the shadow from video, and adjusts for time of day and camera angle to deal with elongated and foreshortened shadows. Stoica shot video from the top of a six story building to test out his software and was able to get usable gait data on his subjects.

Now going from six stories to satellites in low Earth orbit is probably a stretch. The best commercial low Earth orbit satellite (GeoEye- launching this Sunday to power better Google Maps) will have 41 cm resolution. The best known military spy sat can see at least down to 10 cm (though who knows what classified hardware can do). GeoEye is also only taking stills as it flies over, not the kinds of video footage that Stoica was using. To do that, you might need to go up to geostationary orbit which is much farther out and according to one expert, just wouldn't have the resolution. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying overhead, on the other hand, might work just fine for this.

Either way, you may want to practice skipping from place to place when it is sunny out.

Spy Software Could ID You By Your Shadow (Wired Science)

Clarification, 725pm PT: One anonymous BB commenter was among several who took issue with the implication that Google actually owned the satellite, the launch vehicle, or exclusive usage rights to all resulting data. That's not accurate. In the discussion thread for this BB post, "anonymous #27" said:

Google is the "exclusive online mapping site" customer for GeoEye-1 data; it is not the exclusive customer for the imagery. Many other customers, including and especially the NGA, will be using GeoEye-1 data. Also, the Google logo was on the launch vehicle, not the spacecraft, and Google did not pay for the placement.

This Reuters item released a few hours ago covers those ownership/exclusivity matters, and is a helpful read. Here's a press release from GeoEye about the launch, also released this afternoon.

And in related news, Google is evidently planning offshore data barges, to avoid property taxes and keep hard-workin' servers cool with the power of the ocean. (via Tim O'Reilly/Twitter)

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Sep 2008 | 9:31 pm

GeoEye-1 Satellite Launches Into Space From Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

DULLES, Va., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GeoEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEOY), a premier provider of satellite, aerial and geospatial information, announced today the...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 8:33 pm

Identifying a Culprit In a Bloodbath

worromot writes "A group of geneticists published a method to determine if a given individual's DNA is present in a mixture (e.g., in a pool of blood on a carpet). An individual's DNA can comprise less than 1% of the mixture. (The article is in open access on PLoS Genetics website.) While this is a potential boon for forensics, there are more immediate worries about the privacy of the participants of the genetics studies that had been under way for many years. As Science magazine writes, 'The discovery that a type of genetic data that is widely shared and often posted online can be traced back to individuals has prompted the US National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust to strip some genetic data from their publicly accessible Web sites and NIH to recommend that other institutions do the same.' The gravest worry was that an individual who had someone's genetic code could determine, based on the pooled data, whether the person participated in a disease study and whether they were in the disease group, or thereby glean private health information. NIH plans to ask institutions that have posted pooled data on their own Web sites to take these down, too."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Sep 2008 | 8:29 pm

AT&T Won't Sell Me an iPhone at any price - Computerworld

iPhonesTalk

AT&T Won't Sell Me an iPhone at any price Computerworld - 16 hours ago SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- After months of cajoling, I finally convinced my wife to buy an iPhone. She went to the local AT&T store today, and was actually turned down. Apple Nixes 'Pull My Finger' App, Even Though It's A Gas InformationWeek App Stores: Microsoft, Google Follow Apple BusinessWeek CNET News - Ars Technica - VentureBeat - Palluxo! - Mac Dose of All Things Apple all 26 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Sep 2008 | 8:27 pm

Comcast appeals FCC ruling on net neutrality - Afterdawn.com

MediaPost Publications

Comcast appeals FCC ruling on net neutrality Afterdawn.com - 17 hours ago One month after being found guilty of breaking net neutrality laws, the large US ISP Comcast has appealed the decision in hopes of having the ruling overturned. Comcast Appeals FCC “Data Discrimination” Ruling DailyTech Comcast Appeals FCC Ruling Washington Post Ars Technica - PC Magazine - USA Today - PC World all 470 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Sep 2008 | 7:41 pm

Rosetta spacecraft takes asteroid photos - United Press International

Khaleej Times

Rosetta spacecraft takes asteroid photos United Press International - 17 hours ago PARIS, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- The Rosetta spacecraft has captured images of an asteroid in orbit more than 220 million miles from Earth, a European Space Agency official says. European space probe completes asteroid fly by Reuters Spacecraft flies by remote asteroid, camera stops The Associated Press eFluxMedia - Taipei Times - Sky & Telescope - Detroit Free Press all 602 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Sep 2008 | 7:33 pm

Armed police end Greenpeace timber export ship protest

Armed police have removed four activists from a timber cargo ship on the South Pacific island of Papua New Guinea, ending a three-day protest against logging, environmentalists said...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 7:21 pm

The Great Zero Challenge Remains Unaccepted

An anonymous reader writes "Not even data recovery companies will accept The Great Zero Challenge and only four months remain! We've all heard how easily data can be recovered from hard drives. We're told to make multiple overwrites with random data, to degauss drives and even physically destroy them just to be extra safe. Let's get the word out. The challenge is almost over! It's put up or shut up time. Can you recover the data?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 6 Sep 2008 | 7:21 pm

Angry Tyra Banks Godzilla, Angry Tyra Banks Chipmunk.

I can't quite put into words why these two YouTube videos of a high-drama moment with Tyra Banks are so fun to watch over and over and over again. Maybe you can figure it out. Top: slow-mo rage-out. Bottom: Chipmunk version of same. Serving suggestion: watch them both at the same time and flip out. (via clayton cubitt)

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Sep 2008 | 7:11 pm

NYT on "ambient awareness," ethereal intimacy, and internet ESP

I'm reading and re-reading a NYT Magazine piece that explores ambient telepresence, as made mundane by Twitter, Facebook, AIM, and the like. The writer, Clive Thompson, has riffed on this before in Wired. In both, he really nails a number of things I've been struggling to put into words for years. It's a terrific read.

This is the paradox of ambient awareness. Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting. This was never before possible, because in the real world, no friend would bother to call you up and detail the sandwiches she was eating. The ambient information becomes like “a type of E.S.P.,” as Haley described it to me, an invisible dimension floating over everyday life.

“It’s like I can distantly read everyone’s mind,” Haley went on to say. “I love that. I feel like I’m getting to something raw about my friends. It’s like I’ve got this heads-up display for them.” It can also lead to more real-life contact, because when one member of Haley’s group decides to go out to a bar or see a band and Twitters about his plans, the others see it, and some decide to drop by — ad hoc, self-organizing socializing. And when they do socialize face to face, it feels oddly as if they’ve never actually been apart. They don’t need to ask, “So, what have you been up to?” because they already know. Instead, they’ll begin discussing something that one of the friends Twittered that afternoon, as if picking up a conversation in the middle.

Brave New World of Digital Intimacy (NYT)

Source: Boing Boing | 6 Sep 2008 | 6:58 pm

The Democratic and Republican National Convention Speeches, as Seen Through Wordle

The national conventions are over and done, and what remains are the words that the politicians spoke (or didn't). To re-cap those words, we thought we'd create a Wordle gallery of the most notable candidates', spouses', and supporters' speeches.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Sep 2008 | 6:46 pm

Metallica: Master of YouTube?

Over eight years after Metallica raised the ire of fans by delivering a list of unauthorized file sharers to Napster's headquarters, the band has launched a YouTube promotion featuring fans covering its songs as part of its ongoing repentance.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Sep 2008 | 5:52 pm

Land Of Big Science - Newsweek

Land Of Big Science Newsweek - 19 hours ago The Large Hadron Collider is a symptom of America's decline in particle physics and, some fear, in science overall. By Fred Guterl, William Underhill and Sarah Garland | NEWSWEEK Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link. The Final Touches For The Large Hadron Collider's Launch eFluxMedia When European physicists bring their monstrous supercollider to ... Chicago Tribune Telegraph.co.uk - Ars Technica - Register - TG Daily all 403 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Sep 2008 | 5:13 pm

Cassini Detects Partial Rings With Saturn's Moons

The latest images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show faint, partial rings orbiting with two of Saturn's small inner moons.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Sep 2008 | 4:35 pm

Kevin Anderson on life before Google

What was the internet like before Google? When I first logged on to the internet in 1990 at university, navigating it was both easy and difficult. It was easier because it there was just so much less of...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 6 Sep 2008 | 12:58 pm