V4 N41 -  20 March 2005

iTHINK ZONE
 

EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF THE NEW DUDE IN TOWN

Ever since VoIP became "hot" in the past year, everyone wants a piece of them. Municipalities, States, the IRS, Congress, et al. The greatest attack is coming from those who have to live by regulation but hate it: the legacy phone companies. The issue of termination fees is still unsettled. This article gives a rather solid perspective on the subject.
READ ON
http://cyberzone.pacific-tier.com/iThink.htm
[Posted March 17 ]

OTHERS' THINK ZONE

OVERINFORMATION
Mobiles, music players and PDA's have freed up the way we communicate and entertain ourselves, but now we're travelling around with absolutely truckloads of information. Judy Friedlander looks at just how information heavy we've become.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/overinformation/

METCALFE's LAW CHALLENGED
"The fundamental fallacy underlying Metcalfe's (Law) is in the assumption that all connections or all groups are equally valuable,"
the researchers report. The researchers propose a less dramatic rule of thumb: the value of a network with n members is not n squared, but rather n times the logarithm of n. That means, for example, that the total value of two networks with 1,048,576 members each is only 5 percent more valuable together compared to separate. Metcalfe's Law predicts a 100 percent increase in value by merging the networks.
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1033_3-5616549.html?pagewanted=print&position=

THE SCIENCE BEHIND COMMON SENSE
One of the major principles of life that was discarded during the past half-century, and particularly during the last quarter-century, was the deceptively simple notion we call common sense. The idea that there could be such a thing as true folk wisdom was increasingly disdained, to be replaced by a usually laudable desire for scientific evidence and an often excessive regard for experts.
http://www.techcentralstation.com/031005B.html

CYBERZONE

NTL TRIALS 18 mbps BROADBAND
Broadband speeds could soon reach new heights as cable operator NTL pilots ADSL2+, a technology that offers a maximum download speeds of
18 mbps. Such rates are only possible over short distances, but NTL says that 95 percent of homes are within one kilometer of its high-speed fiber network. This means ADSL2+, a faster version of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line technology, should run at high speeds over the copper wire that runs between NTL's roadside cabinets and individual homes.
http://news.com.com/NTL+trials+18+mbps+broadband/2100-1034_3-5620918.html

NEED A BUILDING? JUST ADD WATER
Engineers in London have come up with a "building in a bag" -- a sack of cement-impregnated fabric. To erect the structure, all you have to do is add water to the bag and inflate it with air. Twelve hours later, the Nissen-shaped shelter is dried out and ready for use.
http://wired.com/news/print/0,1294,66872,00.html

SATELLITE TAKES BROADBAND TO NEW HEIGHTS

With the launch of a powerful new satellite, Inmarsat now can go forward with plans to roll out its Broadband Global Area Network service, based on next-generation wireless technology, providing both voice and data communications. The London, England-based company satellite will deliver 3G-compatible broadband data services to mobile users.BGAN is an IP and circuit-switched service providing connections at speeds of up to 432 Kbps, according to Inmarsat spokesperson John Warehand. It targets media companies, oil and gas firms and government agencies that require high-speed Internet access in remote sites where there is no available network, or where the network is unreliable, he said. The I-4 satellites are part of an eight-year, US$1.5 billion project to deploy a next-generation satellite network. Inmarsat already offers narrowband data services, including in-flight Internet connections for airlines.

NVIDIA AND OPEN SOURCE
"Sandia National Labs, Kitware Inc., and NVIDIA Corporation has announced a breakthrough in large data scientific visualization, attaining rendering rates of over 1.5 billion polygons per second..."
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1gu1,1,74ej,iyi,jcj3,9ffi

BIO/NANO/MEMS ZONE

DENGUE MOSQUITOES KICK THE BUCKET
A biodegradable bucket made from cornstarch could be the latest weapon against dengue fever in Australia's far north.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/tech/InnovationRepublish_1323471.htm

GREEN TEA EXTRACT GIVE HOPE FOR CANCER CURE Polyphenol EGCG taken from green tea leaves inhibits cancer cell growth, researchers have found. EGCG binds to a key enzyme--dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)--that stops the enzyme from triggering the manufacture of new DNA in tumor cells.

It appears to work in the same way as the cancer drug methotrexate, but in practice would probably have fewer side effects. The researchers are using EGCG as the starting point to design and develop effective new anti-cancer drugs that kill tumor cells but inflict less damage on healthy cells.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4348059.stm

VIRTUAL THERAPY
Future Watch: Virtual reality is beginning to catch on as a way to treat patients suffering from a variety of ills, from phobias to the intense pain from burns. But the technology needs to improve.
http://www.computerworld.com/newsletter/0%2C4902%2C100306%2C0.html?nlid=EMC

RESEARCH: KIMCHI MAY BE EFFECTIVE AGAINSE AVIAN FLU Kimchi, a traditional Korean vegetable dish, has been found to be effective in treating avian influenza and other viral diseases affecting poultry.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200503/200503080010.html

BIO-BRIEFS ZONE

Austin--Computer sciences could be key to attracting more biotech
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311074

Baltimore---Stem cell funding debate is economic, not just religious
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311075

Birmingham--Biotech needs public support and influential backers
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311076

Birmingham--National biotech expert: Birmingham has the right stuff
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311077

East Bay--Wareham hikes bet on life sciences
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311078

Philadelphia--Life Sciences: Nonprofit research unit established by Hepatitis B. Foundation
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311079

Phoenix--Biotech pioneer makes bold move http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311080

Phoenix--Firms working to thwart bioterrorism
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311081

Phoenix--Biotech Progress Report
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311082

Phoenix--Project seeks to quicken recognition of 'horses' and 'zebras'
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311083

Raleigh/Durham--Drug's withdrawal puts 300 jobs in play
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311084

San Francisco--DiaDexus pressing regulators to let it market heart disease test
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311085

Seattle--Major biotech bills speed ahead
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311086

Washington--Biotech shifts 60 Calif. workers to Maryland
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1311087

ASIA ZONE

NANJING TO RECRUIT PUBLIC SERVANTS WORLDWIDE http://english.people.com.cn//200503/15/eng20050315_176926.html

TOTAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN ACTUAL USE TOPS US$570 BILLION IN CHINA http://english.people.com.cn//200503/15/eng20050315_176936.html

SHANGHAI PICKED TO BE "SPACEFLIGHT KINGDOM"
A "spaceflight kingdom," covering about 1,200 mu (80 hectares), will begin construction in southwest Shanghai. The Spaceflight New Area, located in the Minxing District, will integrate scientific research and production as well as logistics; it w ill become the new development cradle of Shanghai-made rockets, satellites and airships.  The first phase of the project is predicted to be completed in 2007 and the second phase in 2010.
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-05zd.html

CHINA TELECOMS TO INVEST US$25.4 BILLION Chinese telecommunications companies will invest close to $25.4 billion in fixed assets this year. According to analysts the major part of investment will go into the network development and management since the four major telecom companies of China, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and China Netcom have told the foreign investors that the funds will be ploughed back into their core business. The companies are planning to introduce soft switching NGN networks. Some of the companies situated in the provinces will also modernize their networks in tune with the NGN networks.

GLOBE TELECOM BUYS BACK SOME SINGTEL SHARES Philippines-based Globe Telecom has bought back its 4.2 million shares from Singapore Telecom for $73 million. This has brought down the share of SingTel to 44.6% from 45.1% in Globe Telecom. Globe Telecom had earlier announced that it will exchange one common share for 15 common shares at the rate of $17.6 per share. Although after selling the shares SingTel received nearly $73.6 million the company will show a net loss of $14.2 million in its quarter result ending March 31, 2005.

CHINA MOBILE REGISTERS US$5 BILLION NET PROFIT China Mobile (Hong Kong), the Chinese wireless company has reported an increase of 18% in the net profit for the year 2004 to $5 billion. The company has also announced a dividend for 2004. The revenue was pegged at $23.24 billion with an increase of 21% over 2003. China Mobile is the subsidiary of China Mobile Communications Corp., controlled by the Chinese government. The number of wireless subscribers of China Mobile is over 204 million, the largest in the world in terms of subscribers. The capital expenditure incurred on account of development of infrastructure to cater to the increase in subscribe base also registered an increase of 8.3% from $7.2 billion in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2004. The company is also planning to expand its services in the international market.

WIRELESS ZONE

AT&T SAYS WiMAX IS THE 4G WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY Two corporate customers in New Jersey will have broadband services delivered by AT&T using WiMax technology on a commercial trial basis beginning the first week of May, with plans for full deployment in 2006.
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=C4523D:1F8551F

SITE CITES

HOW HUMAN BEHAVIOR DRIVES INVESTMENT ACTIVITY Understanding human behavior is crucial for investors, according to Alliance Capital Management CEO Lewis A. Sanders, who talked about behavioral finance and its role in pricing anomalies and forecasting bias during a presentation last month at Wharton. "Capital markets themselves are derivative of the biases and preferences people bring to decision-making," Sanders told his audience, adding that insights into behavioral finance hold true across fixed-income, debt or equity markets and national boundaries. "People are people wherever you find them."
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1064.cfm

Marty Plotnick's CyberZone is a weekly review of Hawaii technology and international technology news.  The Hawaii Technology Calendar is available on the front page of this site, with links and descriptions of events relevant to the Hawaii technology and telecommunications community.  CyberZone takes special interest in researching and collecting links to stories from international technology news sources of interest to CyberZone's readers.  If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements to his site and information resource please contact Marty Plotnick at martycri@lava.net