V4 N48 -  8 May 2005

iTHINK ZONE
 

Envisioneering

It never ceases to amaze me. Almost everyone peers into the future through a rear-view mirror. The future is imagined as a continuation of the past. I suppose there is a certain security in that; much like a padded cell. Hardly anyone practices creative envisioneering.

READ ON
http://cyberzone.pacific-tier.com/iThink.htm
[Posted April 27 ]
 

OTHERS' THINK ZONE

KISS AND MAKE UP
Look at the world's worst trouble spots and you can't fail to notice they have one thing in common: tit-for-tat attacks between warring parties. Escalation of violence is incredibly destructive, yet we humans find it very difficult to break the vicious cycles. It seems we are not good at conflict resolution. Perhaps we should learn a lesson or two from the spotted hyena. Indeed, no less than 27 species of primates, dolphins and even goats can settle an argument. So why do we find it so hard?
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg18624981.300


CYBERZONE

UBUNTU LINUX ENCOURAGES SHARING AND COPYING
Free operating system Ubuntu Linux has been heralded as one of the most exciting software projects ever created, writes Michael Herman.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,77463~3275743a28~,00.html

NEW LAW CLEARS WAY FOR DVD FILTERING TECHNOLOGY
President George Bush signed a copyright bill that aims to legalize technology that allows users to automatically skip over or mute objectionable content in movie DVDs. Contained in DVD players and other devices, the filtering technology allows parents to prevent their children from seeing scenes involving sex, violence or foul language in movies.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/43043.html

PERSONAL SUPERCOMPUTER GOES ON SALE
The computer packs as much punch as a mini supercomputer and is targeted at researchers unwilling to wait their turn on more powerful
machines The DC-96 computer, developed by Orion Multisystems, offers a peak computing power of 230 gigaflops and 192 gigabytes of memory for $100,000.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7340

THE SPEEDY WAY TO CAPTURE A CITY
Imagine if the first soldiers to enter an enemy city could map every aspect of every street, sending an instant 3D map back to their base
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624985.800

VIDEO CONERENCING GETS QUANTUM SECURITY
Quantum cryptography has been sped up to the point that it can be used to secure video conferencing, currently over a distance of about 120 kilometers.Scientists from Toshiba's Cambridge Research Laboratory have invented a system capable of generating 100 quantum keys every second, each consisting of 128 bits. This is fast enough for every individual frame of video to be protected by its own encryption.
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050425/full/050425-9.html

VoIP ZONE

VONAGE CHANGES 911 REGISTRATION PROCESS
Vonage said it has changed its registration process to make 911 services an opt-out rather than opt-in option.
http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/articles/2005/vonage-voip-911-opt-out.htm

STATE, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS PUSH FOR CELL PHONE TAXES
A growing number of state and local governments are pushing for higher cell phone taxes, making wireless prices more expensive for the average consumer. The new taxes add between $2 to $10 or more per month to consumer cell phone bills on top of existing federal and state taxes and fees for E911. Local and state governments see cell phone taxes as a way to make up for tax revenues lost from the declining number of landline phones. According to the FCC, the number of landlines nationwide dropped from 167 million in 2000 to 132 million in 2004. The number of cell phone subscribers grew from 109 million to 182 million during the same time.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-05-08-cellphone-taxes_x.htm

8X8 TO CONTINUE WITH LOW PRICE FOR VoIP VIDEOPHONE
8x8, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) carrier has decided to continue with its promotional price of $99 for the VoIP videophone and make it permanent. The decision was taken after the low price increased the sales considerably and the company had to manufacture more phones. According to the Vice president - Marketing & Sales, Huw Rees, the reduction in the initial set up price had encouraged the consumers to purchase it. The cost of the service has also been reduced to $19.95 per month. The only condition associated with the purchase is that the consumers must agree to continue with the service for at least two years.


BIO/NANO/MEMS ZONE

BIRD FLU SPECIAL REPORT
Health authorities fear a new flu pandemic could kill billions of
people. Read all the latest developments, plus ther Expert Guide,
including an FAQ and more.
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/bird-flu

A VISION OF TERROR
A new generation of software called Starlight 3.0, developed for the Department of Homeland Security by the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL), can unravel the complex web of relationships between people, places, and events. And other new software can even
provide answers to unasked questions.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/05/wo/wo_051005gartner.asp

MOBILE PHONES TRACK DEPRESSION IN TEENAGERS
Depression affects 30 per cent of young people and can lead to suicide. That startling statistic led a Melbourne research team to develop a mobile phone program to track the beginnings of depression in young people. This is a totally new concept based on the idea that at-risk young people will talk to their friends rather than parents or professionals - and that the majority will use a mobile phone, which makes the mobile phone an ideal way of collecting data.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1357807.htm

BIO-BRIEFS ZONE

Albany--NY stem-cell effort lags, scientist says: Researcher wants more state support
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419562

Philadelphia--Del.'s congressman is honored for backing stem cell research
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419563

Pittsburgh--UPMC, IBM deal marries medicine, IT: Romoff envisions
'new steel industry' for region
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419564

San Francisco--Stem cell research leader warns of moral backlash
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419565

San Francisco--After passing Amgen, Genentech goes neck and neck with Merck
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419566

San Jose--Pioneering stem-cell research faces legal, political chill
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419567

San Jose--From Herceptin to receptors, Shepard aims to best cancer
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419568

Seattle--Bearish market savages NW biotech companies
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419569

Seattle--Amgen seeks height rezone
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1419570

ASIA ZONE

SHANGHAI TV TO PROVIDE IPTV
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) in China announced that Shanghai Television Station has received the country's
first IPTV license. Shanghai TV, a subsidiary of the government owned Shanghai Media Group, has also got approval to provide its cell phone
users audio and video content. According to sources China Central TV had also unsuccessfully applied for the IPTV license since it is a
profitable business for the fixed line providers. China has a broadband users base of 28.33 million that is increasing at the rate of approximately 15.77% annually.

THE FILTHY TRUTH ABOUT DIESEL 'MULES'
With almost as many on the road as cars and trucks, is it time to clean up China's rural three-wheeled vehicles?
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624986.300

GOOGLE STEPS UP FIGHT FOR THE CHINESE MARKET
Web services leader Google Inc has won a licence to operate  in China and has bought a web address as it battles Yahoo Inc in the  world's
second-largest internet market.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,77463~3277281a28~,00.html

WIRELESS ZONE

MILPITAS KEEPS CONNECTED
The mesh network empowering first respondents in the California city didn't reach everywhere, but with handoff help from NetMotion, everyone can now stay connected.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1l95,1,iz6r,lw92,jcj3,9ffi

WATCHING VIDEO AT HOTSPOTS
A partnership between mutually admiring companies with compatible technologies is giving public access Wi-Fi a content push in the form
of movies on demand.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1lul,1,fm75,z8w,jcj3,9ffi

SITE CITES

HOURCLASS PROBLEM
You have two hourglasses. One empties in 7 minutes. The other empties in 4 minutes. How can you use these two hourgalsses to measure exactly 9 minutes?
http://abc.net.au/science/surfingscientist/teachstuff.htm#conundrum9
 

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