-
-
Truckin' From Diesel To Veg Oil
Discovery-News.com: A diesel-guzzling truck is converted to run on fryer oil. Take a trip with James Williams on the journey to veggie fuel automotion. Discovery-News.com: A diesel-guzzling truck is converted to run on fryer oil. Take a trip with James Williams on the journey to veggie... more
-
Energy Efficiency in the Data Center
Learn the practical solutions you can implement now to dramatically reduce energy consumption in your data center. Our expert guests will be available to answer your data center energy questions during the broadcast.
Watch the show here:
http://www.cisco.com/go/semreg/augustdc/165189_22
Learn the practical solutions you can implement now to dramatically reduce energy consumption in your data center. Our expert guests ... more -
Wine in a can
Yes, the day has come. Now I won't look like such a boozer drinking cheap wine form the bottle all the time. But wait, this is only a concept? Yes, the day has come. Now I won't look like such a boozer drinking cheap wine form the bottle all the time. But wait, this is only a ... more
-
N.Y. AG pushes Comcast to block child-porn access
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's attorney general notified Comcast Corp. on Monday that the state will take legal action if the company - the nation's second-largest Internet service provider - doesn't agree to eliminate access to child pornography.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants major Internet access providers to agree on steps to remove certain news groups that contain child pornography and purge their servers of Web sites that contain child porn.
New York has already reached such agreements with AT&T Inc., AOL, Verizon Communications Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc.
"Last week, Comcast joined with nearly the entire cable industry and 48 state attorneys general and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to sign an unprecedented, and highly praised, industrywide agreement to fight child pornography," Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said. "Comcast has been working with the New York attorney general and we expect to become a signatory to his agreement as well."
Cuomo was not one of the 48 attorneys general to publicly support the efforts of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and the National Association for Missing and Exploited children, because he said it was not as tough on online child pornography as his own code of conduct.
According to Cuomo's office, the agreement that Comcast and others in the cable industry agreed to has targeted Web sites with child pornography but had weak language when it came to eliminating news groups - where illegal images can proliferate.
Cuomo was also concerned that the agreement Comcast has signed so far would not require the most thorough reporting to law enforcement. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's attorney general notified Comcast Corp. on Monday that the state will take legal action if the compan... more -
Microsoft's Real Problem: The Second Coming of Apple
It has been so long since Microsoft had anything real to worry about in these businesses that it's easy to take their perpetual domination for granted. Don't.
We've written frequently about the cloud computing threat: Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and other web-based services companies offering functionality and apps for free that Microsoft currently charges a boatload for. Microsoft is aware of this threat and is moving to try to combat it. But if it smoothly navigates a technology paradigm shift of this magnitude, it will be one of the first dominant technology vendors in history to do so. (Think IBM's transition from mainframes, DEC, etc.)
The second major threat, however, comes from a company that Microsoft once left on the edge of death: Apple (In fact, Microsoft actually helped save Apple once, by becoming a shareholder, so it could demonstrate to regulators that it did, in fact, have a competitor. At the time, it didn't). It has been so long since Microsoft had anything real to worry about in these businesses that it's easy to take their perpetual domina... more -
Cheap Chargers in the UK cause electrocution
Hundreds of thousands of unsafe chargers for mobile phones, games consoles and music devices could have made their way into the UK.
Trading standards officers studying dangerous chargers being imported from China say vast numbers are available on the internet and in shops.
Their tests show one brand can overheat or cause electrocution.
One of the chargers concerned has the code marking DE62347066. Others have no code and are called Travel Charger.
A specific warning has already been issued about chargers for Nintendo DS and DS Lite machines, but which could also be used to charge Gameboy machines.
Mr Holden said that the chargers were being sold for about £5 on the internet and about £6 in shops. Safe chargers, which have been checked properly, retail for around £15.
Officers have primarily found unsafe chargers for use with games consoles, although others are available to use with music devices and mobile phones.
Wires become detached after being used for a while leading to a risk of electric shocks. The pins do not fit properly into UK sockets causing overheating.
Numerous suppliers were bringing them into the UK, Mr Holden said.
Concerns were raised about the safety of chargers 18 months ago following the death of British boy Connor Dean O'Keeffe.
BE CAREFUL PEOPLE- Spend the extra 10 euros Hundreds of thousands of unsafe chargers for mobile phones, games consoles and music devices could have made their way into the UK. ... more -
Video Games- Not going anywhere soon!
"The video game industry looks set for at least another year or two of strong growth, driven by geographical expansion, a strong hardware lineup and growing pool of casual gamers, industry executives said.
Hardware makers' broader reach beyond the established markets of North America, Europe and Japan would open up new business opportunities for hundreds of software makers and follow the lead of other technology sectors turning to emerging markets for growth.
"With the overall market expanding like this, we should be able do better and better if we really buckle down."
Another growth driver is the widest variety ever of game hardware available, which caters for a broader range of game players and enables software publishers to create multiple revenue streams from a single title
"The video game industry looks set for at least another year or two of strong growth, driven by geographical expansion, a strong hardw... more -
Cities Gone Wireless: Safety Or Surveillance?
While some cities have seen their dreams of providing wireless Internet access for all fade, others have forged ahead with wireless networks for an altogether different purpose: surveillance.
Municipal surveillance is no longer confined to isolated street corners. Cities are mapping out vast wireless zones to create safety nets. Oklahoma City just rolled out the world's largest municipal network, linking hundreds of video surveillance cameras installed across the city. Such networks also extend to public transportation: Chicago has installed the largest network of bus surveillance in the U.S., with cameras on its entire fleet of more than 2,100 buses.
A few years ago, many cities plunged head-first into providing free wireless to the masses — especially to low-income communities — as a way of bridging the digital divide and marketing themselves to Internet startups. That didn't pan out so well in Philadelphia, which saw its much-publicized partnership with Earthlink collapse last year after the Internet service provider decided to exit the municipal wireless business.
Today, public safety is the "largest and most successful sector" in the municipal wireless market, according to MuniWireless.com, a Web site devoted to tracking wireless broadband projects and technologies. Its 2007 state of the market report found that 75 percent of cities and towns with active or planned wireless networks were using them for public safety purposes. That represents a 10 percent increase from 2006.
Concerns About Potential Abuse
Only preliminary studies have been conducted in the United States. An analysis of those studies by the ACLU concludes that "video surveillance systems in the U.S. show little to no positive impact on crime." The ACLU examined independent studies conducted in the U.S. and abroad from 2000 to '08.
"The surveillance cameras are virtually worthless as a crime-fighting device," the ACLU's Steinhardt says. "They are certainly not worth the expenditure."
Beyond the debate over the effectiveness of video surveillance as a crime-fighting tool, the ACLU has raised concerns about the potential for abuse in a variety of ways — from criminal or personal use of surveillance systems, to discriminatory targeting and voyeurism. The ACLU says video surveillance systems lack an adequate system of checks and balances and that their presence has a "chilling effect" on public life.
U.K.-based Privacy International, along with the U.S.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, has published annual surveys on global surveillance for more than a decade. Privacy International's 2007 report ranked the U.S. as the worst country in the democratic world when it comes to putting laws on the books to protect privacy and enforcing them; it classified America as a country where surveillance is "endemic." While some cities have seen their dreams of providing wireless Internet access for all fade, others have forged ahead with wireless n... more -
Add Laptop Location Tracking Security, for Free
A new open source project allows computer users to add surreptitious location tracking to their systems. Windows, Mac and Linux versions are available.
Adeona, from researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego, anonymously sends data to servers on a free storage system called OpenDHT. The data, which is encrypted, includes IP addresses, information about neighboring routers, and so forth. If your notebook ever gets stolen you can log into the system from another computer, access the data and notify authorities with it. Working with ISPs they should be able to locate it. The Mac version also uses a freeware program called isightcapture to take a picture of whoever is using the system.
Commercial versions of such products, such as CompuTrace's LoJack for Laptops, have been available for a long time. Typically they also offer a remote wiping function, which would seem to be a major advantage, at least for businesses.
It's not clear whether the location tracking information in the commercial products is any different from this free version. The ultimate version would use GPS hardware, but this is not typically included in notebook computers. Perhaps it should be.
A new open source project allows computer users to add surreptitious location tracking to their systems. Windows, Mac and Linux versio... more -
Listen with your elbows? Interactive Exhibit Uses Bone Conduction Technology
Most large museums and art galleries today provide some kind of personal audio device that visitors can carry with them if they wish to learn more about the various exhibits on display. A similar idea has been implemented at the Brühl’s Terrace in Dresden, Germany, but instead of having to wear headphones or hold some device to their ear, visitors simply need to rest their elbows on a metal rail and cover their ears with their hands. Using bone conduction technology (or what they call ‘Touched Echo’) the sounds of airplanes and explosions simulating the air raid that occurred on February 13, 1945 are transmitted from the metal rail through the visitor’s arms and directly into the inner ear. The sounds are completely inaudible to someone who isn’t touching the rail, and since the terrace is located outside the bone conduction system is a perfect solution because it’s completely weatherproof. I’ve also included a video that demonstrates how the system is used and what the simulated air raid sounds like.
Most large museums and art galleries today provide some kind of personal audio device that visitors can carry with them if they wish t... more -
First iPhone 3G caught in the wild, unboxed and handled
If you're a prospective iPhone 3G buyer, get ready to make a mess of your keyboard, desk, and any nearby objects that may be hit by spittle flying out of your mouth. Some lucky, lucky Portuguese man or woman has already had the pleasure of cracking open the box and booting up their new device. Feast your eyes on the above pic and one more after the break, and keep reminding yourself that you've only got three more days to wait. If you're a prospective iPhone 3G buyer, get ready to make a mess of your keyboard, desk, and any nearby objects that may be hit by sp... more
-
world's first iPhone 3G owner (in waiting)
See that guy? That's Jonny Gladwell from Auckland New Zealand. He's special no matter how you define the word. He's camped outside of Vodafone NZ right now which puts him on a path to be the world's first iPhone 3G owner.
See that guy? That's Jonny Gladwell from Auckland New Zealand. He's special no matter how you define the word. He's camped outside of ... more -
MobileMe Launching on July 9th Between 6pm-12am PT
Apple has announced the launch date and time for their MobileMe service. The revamped .Mac service will offer web-based email, calendar, addressbook, photo gallery and storage capabilities as well as "Push" sync services. Apple announced MobileMe at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference Apple has announced the launch date and time for their MobileMe service. The revamped .Mac service will offer web-based email, calenda... more
-
Robot Who Helps Save Lives
"The new Disney movie WALL-E features robots of the future actively helping humans. But the future is now. This ScienCentral News video reports on a real robot that could help us take care of elderly relatives from miles away."
I think this awesome how we are progressing the robotronic field can't wait till we actually do have these things in our home. I am all for making life alot easier for the human race. especailly for the elderly. "The new Disney movie WALL-E features robots of the future actively helping humans. But the future is now. This ScienCentral News vide... more -
Trajan is the Movie Font
Anybody else sick of all this Trajan? What is Trajan? Trajan is the movie font.
-
Essential viewing: Top 10 TEDTalks
TED's top 10 online videos from the past two years. Features Jill Bolte Taylor, Ken Robinson, Tony Robbins, and, yes, Al Gore.
-
The Mini Sleeping Bag for Macbook air
The Mini Sleeping Bag air is a cute idea designed and built to fit Macbook Air.
Forget about the brown envelope hype and its imitations,start carrying the sleeping bag air mini to catch some stare from the crowd.
Using the construction of normal durable sleeping bag design. It is specially crafted to be slim-fitting to complement the air itself and well-protect with its quilted foam high quality nylon sleeve decorated with premium leather trim at the sides.
BONUS: The online store allows designers and creatives to submit their own design for personalize mini sleeping bags.
The Mini Sleeping Bag air is a cute idea designed and built to fit Macbook Air. ... more -
More 'Star Trek' Tech Comes to Life - InternetNews:The Blog - Andy Patrizio
Are tricorders really far behind?
-
Can Blind Individuals Take Advantage of This New Technology?
iPhone 3G;
Can Blind and People with Disabilities Take Advantage of This New Technology?
Seems promising, GPS navigation, Half Price. iPhone 3G; Can Blind and People with Disabilities Take Advantage of This New Technology? ... more -
Brain downloads 'will make lessons pointless'
Children will learn by downloading information directly into their brains within 30 years, the head of Britain's top private schools organisation has predicted.
Chris Parry, the new chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, said "Matrix-style" technology would render traditional lessons obsolete.
He told the Times Educational Supplement: "It's a very short route from wireless technology to actually getting the electrical connections in your brain to absorb that knowledge."
Mr Parry, a former Rear Admiral, spent three years determining the future strategic context for the military in a senior role at the Ministry of Defence.
He is now preparing the ISC's 1,300 private schools, which collectively teach half a million children, for a high-tech future.
He told the TES that the Keanu Reeves thriller may not look like science fiction in 30 years' time.
"Within 30 years, sitting down and learning something will be a thing of the past," Mr Parry said.
"I think people will be able to directly access, Matrix-style, all the vocabulary you need for a foreign language, leaving you just to clear up the grammar."
Children will learn by downloading information directly into their brains within 30 years, the head of Britain's top private schools o... more
-
related topics
Technolgy
Contributors (57)
Technolgy
