CYBERZONE

PUPILS WRITE WITH BOTH HANDS SIMULTANEOUSLY

A school in India is reportedly teaching its students to use both their hands to write on different subjects simultaneously All 72 pupils of the Veena Vadini School at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh use both their hands "with equal ease", reports Asian News International.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1753515.html

BM OPENS THE LID ON RESEARCH CENTERS

Citing the benefits of collaboration to innovative thinking, IBM has announced plans to open its research centers to business partners, creating what it called an "innovation ecosystem" of software developers, systems integrators, consultants, venture capitalists, academics, and others. IBM pointed to a survey it conducted recently of CEOs in which a large portion of respondents said many of the best ideas came from collaborations with external partners and clients. The PartnerWorld Industry Networks Program will give IBM partners access to the company's research centers, which are funded with considerable amounts of money annually to foster new ideas. Donn Atkins, general manager of IBM Global Business Partners, said the new program, along with other initiatives, is intended to help partners and clients be "more creative, dynamic, and competitive."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20060314/bs_nf/42091

VERIZON's FIOS TV SERVICE TAKES OF IN TEXAS

Customers are flocking to Verizon Communications' FiOS TV service in Keller, Texas, the first market in which Verizon launched video. Although certain pre-existing conditions made Keller a good place to roll out the service, the telecom's success may portend good results in other markets, too.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_12/b3976057.htm?chan=tc?campaign_id=rss_tech

MISSOURI LAUNCHES INTERNET-BASED TELEVISION NETWORK

The Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) has begun broadcasting programs to schools using an Internet-based technology often referred to as IPTV. The service combines the best features of traditional television with interactive capabilities provided through the Internet.

http://news.techlearning.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/huzh0FjRB80E2V0D3LA0EJ

INDIANA GOVERNOR SIGNS STATEWIDE VIDEO FRANCHISE LAW Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a statewide cable franchise law, opening the way for telecoms to offer TV services without obtaining  local approvals. The law, which also applies to cable providers,  requires applicants get an answer within 15 days of applying.

http://www.smartbrief.com/alchemy/servlet/encodeServlet?issueid=46727E97-35C

0-4B44-B1A6-97ADAF109643&lmid=1635407

ONLINE LIBRARY TRIES TO AVOID PROBLEMS OF E-PUBLISHING

Houston-based Questia Media is a digital-library company whose executives believe they have seen past the errors of e-publishing. CEOTroy Williams and Chairman Rod Canion, who founded Compaq, survived the fallout from failed electronic publishing efforts and now count about 150,000 subscribers to their company's academic offerings, which target high schools and their students. Questia continues, in part, because although users did not warm to the idea of reading a novel on a screen, they are much more willing to conduct academic research online, said Williams. Much of Questia's current library of 65,000 books consists of hard-to-find materials. Much of the library content is copyrighted, so Questia has worked out agreements with publishers and other copyright holders, most of whom are happy to have high school students exposed to their materials.

http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6048801.html

ENERGY ZONE

A SUPER POWER GRID FOR EUROPE

A radical proposal for a high-tech power grid could make possible the continent's vast expansion of renewable energy sources. By Peter Fairley

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe58117677670c7e7312-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff0

11674776105

SCIENCE ZONE

The Knowledge -- Part 1

Soviet scientists were developing plague-like bioweapons in the 1980s. Why aren't we listening more to a key defector?

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe5a11757d61007e7513-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff0

11674776105

The Knowledge -- Part 2

Terrorists could buy reagents on the Web, build a DNA synthesizer, and create a deadly virus. But it would be no easy feat.

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe631176756004787413-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff011674776105

The Knowledge -- Part 3

The current revolution in biotechnology is more likely to be exploited by national militaries than by terrorists.

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe59117677670c7e7311-fdec1573716c0d7f72137473-ff011674776105

DO-IT-YOURSELF NANOTECH

A simple new method could allow students to build complex molecule-scale structures -- and lead to advanced nanoelectronics. By Kevin Bullis

http://www.technologyreview.com/NanoTech/wtr_16598,303,p1.html

HEALING WOUNDS WITH SAND

Sachets of sand-like material called QuikClot are carried by every US marine and navy soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan. When poured into a bleeding wound, it accelerates clotting by more than 80%, dramatically increasing the likelihood of survival. Unfortunately a chemical reaction during clotting can heat QuikClot enough to cause serious burns: tolerable in life-or-death situations but less acceptable for civilian use. But a new generation of materials from QuikClot's makers will soon offer even faster, cooler clotting. Make room in your first-aid kit...

http://www.prq0.com/apps/redir.asp?link=XcdhadhjDB,ZccdgbjehiEC&oid=UcjjbCB&iclitemid=YcdhbbjdeDA&tid=WicgfeeCJ

WHAT DO ICE AND MULLUSKS HAVE IN COMMON?

A team of researchers in the Materials Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has managed to imitate the complex structures found in ice and mollusk shells, and the ultra-strong material could lead to everything from stronger artificial bone to airplane parts.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,70371-0.html?tw=wn_index_4

ASIA-PACIFIC ZONE

REPORT SLAMS WELLINGTON INCUBATOR

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has issued a scathing report on Wellington's hi-tech business incubator T-Up, which has since opted to make its way in the world without government support.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,77463~3602385a28~,00.html

MOBILE WiMAX GETS THUMBS-UP IN JAPAN

Only for those travelling 120kmph or less.The long-range wireless broadband technology, which received its official certification late last year, is set to be rolled out in the land of the rising sun by telecoms operator KDDI. The company has just completed field trials of the technology in area around the city of Osaka, in order to assess how mobile WiMax performs in an urban environment.

KDDI also put the technology under the spotlight to measure the high-speed handover between base stations, which it said is satisfactory at speeds of up to 120kmph. The operator also demonstrated handover between mobile WiMax and 3G variant EV-DO. In addition, the Japanese operator is working on a system that will choose the right radio technology - cellular, wi-fi, or mobile WiMax, for example - depending on what activity the user is carrying out at the time.

http://networks.silicon.com/broadband/0,39024864,39157155,00.htm

WIRELESS ZONE

WIRELESS CONNCECTIONS BRING BROADBAND TO RURAL VIRGINIA COUNTY

Unable to get broadband services from traditional ISPs, many residents of Loudoun County, Va., have decided to buy high-speed Internet access from small companies and cooperatives that offer wireless broadband access. Although the wireless services aren't without glitches -- a customer of one startup provider lost connectivity every day at 5:30 p.m. when a farmer's tractor blocked the signal -- they do meet the needs of many customers who have no other options. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/13/AR2006031301797.html

CONGRESSIONAL BILLS WOULD LET WIRELESS ISPs USE VACANT AIRWARES

Two bills gaining support in Congress would give wireless broadband providers access to vacant frequencies between analog TV channels, allowing them to offer high-speed connectivity in rural areas. The proposals are opposed by the broadcast industry, which says the service would interfere with the planned DTV transition.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2006-03-13-wireless-rural_x.htm

SITE CITE

DUCT TAPE

Most people believe that duct tape was invented for air-conditioning ducts - but it wasn't, and in fact, for some time, was not allowed to be used for that purpose

http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1577701.htm