CYBERZONE

SONY SETS MAY 23 FOR FIRST BLU-RAY DISK RELEASES Sony Pictures said it aims to deliver its new Blu-ray DVD format to U.S. stores on May 23 to coincide with the entry of compatible disc players, a new step in an industry war for control of home movie viewing.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment will first release eight Blu-ray titles, followed by another eight in mid-June. The first movie titles include "50 First Dates," "The Fifth Element," "Hitch" and "House of Flying Daggers."

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-02-28T065634Z_01_N28268573_RTRUKOC_0_US-SONYPICTURES-BLURAY.xml

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY OPENS A WORLD OF WORK TO DISABLED PEOPLE An abundance of new technology is allowing disabled people to work from home or to operate computers for the first time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/technology/01disable.html?th&emc=th

HOW DO YOU DIGITIZE A MILLION BOOKS? PLEASE TELL US

Needed: scanning software for 430 languages and a system to organize the next big leap in the information age.

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe5b1173726107757717-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff011674776105

OPEN SOURCE ZONE

IBM & HARVARD LINKING UP TO CHALLENGE MICROSOFT

IBM is joining with Harvard University to create an open-source initiative that could challenge Microsoft's planned InfoCard online identity management system, the company is expected to announce today. Microsoft...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/02/27/BUGKNHELS51.DTL

OPEN SOURCE OPTIONS TO MS

Open-source programs offer alternatives to Microsoft Office Some find they work fine, others say they lack some features Just as Microsoft Corp. prepares to release an all-new version of Office, some computer users are learning to live without the ubiquitous desktop software -- or at least trying to. For Rob Blackwelder, trying...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/02/27/BUG2IHECTQ1.DTL

SURVEYING THE OPEN SOURCE LANDSCAPE IN HIGHER ED

A new study from the Alliance for Higher Education Competitivenesspaints a picture of higher education as very interested in, but cautious about, open source software. Based on a survey of officials at more than 200 campuses, the study found that although two-thirds are investigating open source, only one-quarter are currently implementing open source applications.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/03/01/open

SCIENCE ZONE

WEARABLE HEALTH REPORTS

The U.S. Army is testing medical sensors that can monitor everything from sleep patterns to whether a soldier is injured. By Katherine Bourzac

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe5c1173726107757716-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff011674776105

MIND CONTROL SHARK PATROL

Several groups around the world have now gained ethical approval to develop implants that monitor and control the behaviour of animals, from sharks and tuna to rats and monkeys. A team funded by the US military even claim to have created a neural probe that will be able to manipulate a shark's brain signals or decode them to tell us more about how the animals interact with the world. More controversially, the Pentagon hope to use remote-controlled sharks as stealth spies, exploiting their ability to move quietly through water...

http://www.prq0.com/apps/redir.asp?link=XcdfcicbCD,ZccdgbjehiEC&oid=UcjjbCB&iclitemid=YcdhajeaaCF&tid=WicfbbeCB

POWER ZONE

UNIV of HAWAI'I DEVELOPS CHARCOAL-FIRED FUEL CELL

Michael Antal holds charcoal from macadamia nut shells that can be used to cook food, as a filter or with his newly developed fuel cell.University of Hawai'i researcher Michael Antal has developed a working fuel cell that uses charcoal as its fuel and operates at bread-baking temperatures. The Antal system, which he calls an aqueous alkali biocarbon fuel cell, is unlike other fuel cell technology both in that it uses a renewable fuel and that it does not require particularly high temperatures.

http://honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060226/NEWS11/602260346/1001

THE METHANOL ECONOMY

Forget about the hydrogen economy. Methanol is the key to weaning the world off oil. George Olah tells us how to do it. By Kevin Bullis

<http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe5e11747467007a7216-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff011674776105>http://www.technologyreview.com/BizTech/wtr_16466,296,p1.html

EMERGENCY POWER FROM AN AIR FILLED HOSE

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220060017289%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20060017289&RS=DN/20060017289

BIO BRIEFS

Austin--Startup Torquin seeks to boost Austin biotech industry

http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/2170086

Jacksonville--State funding could bolster bid for local biotech incubator

http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/2170087

Kansas City--Biotech firm readies for venture stage: Proteon gets $1.2M, passes animal trials

http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/2170088

Seattle--Light Sciences sets stage for additional spinoffs: Oncology unit still basking in $67M VC glow

http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/2170089

South Florida--Florida biotechs see more opportunities

http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/2170090

ASIA-PACIFIC ZONE

INTEL INVESTS $300 MILLION IN VIETNAM FACILITY

Intel confirms plans for an assembly and test facility in Vietnam, marking the first such investment by the semiconductor industry in the country.

http://email.electronicnews.com/cgi-bin2/DM/y/epZm0HRQ8K0DbD0CjTA0E3

CHINA's MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS TO EXCEED 44O MILLION IN 2006

According to Wang Jianzhang, Director of the Comprehensive Planning Department of MII, said China's wireless phone users will reach 441 million, while Internet users is set to exceed 127 million in 2006. Not to be left behind, the country's fixed line segment will add 30 million new users taking the total customer base to 380 million in 2006, an 8.6 percent growth compared to 2005. Wang also added, in the fixed telephone segment, customers using personal access phone system will increase by 15.3 million to 101 million in 2006. According to MII estimates, tele-density in China is to reach 29 % for fixed lines and 34% for mobile phones. China's telecom firms would grow by over 20% with its annual revenue to reach over $171.43 billion in 2006 and the telecom industry revenue will be over $76 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%. According to MII statistics, China has over 111 million Internet users and mobile phone users had crossed 400 million by December 2005.

CHINA PLANS TO SPEND BILLIONS ON WIRELESS UPGRAGE

China plans to invest billions of dollars over the next several years on a massive upgrade of its cellular phone networks. Analysts and industry executives believe that Beijing probably will start awarding licenses for 3rd generation mobile networks in the next six months or so, to give state-owned mobile operators time to prepare services for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Researchers at the government-run China Academy of Telecommunications Research estimate that spending on 3G networks will total about $37 billion over the next five years, including installation costs. The world's telecom vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Nortel, Siemens, Alcatel, and Lucent are jostling for position ahead of the move to 3G. Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE also are expected to be aggressive competitors.

WIRELESS ZONE

AMERICANS CUT SIX MILLION PHONE LINES IN 2005

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) lost more than 6 million access lines in 2005, with the consumer/residential segment of the market leading the declines, according to statistics compiled by TMCnet.

http://www.tmcnet.com/enews/e-newsletters/Internet-Telephony/20060227/u1409984-six-million-access-lines-switched-off-2005.htm

PHILADELPHIA WI-I DEAL IS DONE

Mayor Street announced today that the deal between EarthLink, the Internet provider, and Wireless Philadelphia has been signed, clearing the way for Philadelphia to become a citywide wi-fi hotspot.Street will also transmit bills to City Council that will enable Earthlink, an Atlanta company, to install about 4,000 transmitters on city-owned lightpoles.Council members were told that the Internet service will be anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent cheaper than private- sector competitors.

Part of the deal requires Earthlink to provide computers and training to 10,000 low-income families as part of an effort to bridge the so-called "digital divide." The entire program would be no cost to city taxpayers, though the city loaned $750,000 to the nonprofit Wireless Philadelphia, the entity created by the Street administration to oversee the WiFi plan.

FULL ARTICLE

COMPLETE TERMS OF EARTHLINK CONTRACT WITH PHILADELPHIA

http://www.muniwireless.com/municipal/1079/

WIRELESS FOR BOSTON

CHASKA, MINN., population 17,500, is wireless: Anyone inside the town, just south of the Twin Cities, can get low-cost, Internet access through the air, no need to plug in or dial up.  It's a step forward that puts pressure on Boston to keep up with this trend. A new report from the Boston Foundation lays out a plan for going wireless, touching on the immense power that could be unleashed in education, commerce, and government.  Boston has a good foundation to build on. The city's public libraries are already wireless. So is Newbury Street. Several public and nonprofit projects have created wireless hotspots. And nonprofit organizations can teach people the skills they need to lead productive online lives. There is local brainpower from institutions and schools such as MIT, which is helping the city of Cambridge go wireless. And because Boston isn't the first horse out of the gate, it can learn from the experiences of other cities.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/02/27/wireless_for_boston?mode=PF

WI-VOD's BROADBAND STRATEGY FOR ARIZONA

The primary contractor for the statewide wireless deployment also plans to be the service provider.

http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,29cd,1,cehg,klp,jcj3,9ffi

Atlanta airport looking to expand wireless role Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is looking to expand the role of its wireless Internet service. The service, unveiled in October, covers every inch of the world's busiest air hub but comes with a charge that some other airports forgo. Airport officials are looking to use the wireless service for other functions, such as allowing police and fire crews to access airport security cameras during emergencies, airport spokesman Lance Lyttle said.More than 20,000 people a month use the service. The airport's four providers charge between $7.95 to $10.95 day, and $24.99 to $38 a month for access.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2006-03-02-hartsfield-wireless_x.htm?POE=TECISVA

SITE CITE

HOW DEEP DO YOU GO TO DODGE BULLETS UNDER WATER?

In films, a hero often evades bullets by jumping into a river or lake - but how far below the surface do they need to dive?

http://www.prq0.com/apps/redir.asp?link=XcddgiciDC,ZccdgbjehiEC&oid=UcjjbCB&iclitemid=YcdhagjheDI&tid=WicdhafCF