CYBERZONE

U.S. UNPREPARED FOR NUCLEAR TERROR ATTACK, EXPERTS SAY
Current state of preparedness highlights the need for education, planning and a more robust infrastructure for citizen, government, health and emergency responder coordination.
http://www.govtech.net/digitalcommunities/story.php?id=104230&utm_source=digicomm&utm_medium=enews&utm_content=story

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION FIRST TO DEPLOY 700 MHZ WIRELESS
The National Capital Region (NCR), which includes the District of Columbia and 18 other jurisdictions in Virginia and Maryland, will be the first in the nation to establish a public-safety regional wireless network at 700 MHz, according to a release yesterday. NCR has competitively selected Alcatel-Lucent as its equipment infrastructure vendor to deploy the new Regional Wireless Broadband Network (RWBN). It will provide a seamless interoperable, redundant wireless broadband network of networks with the capacity to transmit video, data and voice communications with peak speeds of nearly 5 Mbps using only a paired 1.25 MHz channel.
http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.print.php?id=104189

TED CONFERENCE OPEN FOR NEW IDEAS THIS WEEKEND
Exclusive gathering of notables starts today in Monterey with talks, inspiration on agenda Imagine going to school and learning how to tie your shoe correctly one moment and studying the rise of obesity the next. Then you might hear a 14-year-old piano virtuoso perform and improvise a piece on the spot, followed by a talk on global warming. They are just some of the presentations that the 1,000 or so invitation-only attendees have been treated to each year at the four-day Ted Conference, a gathering that mixes "technology, entertainment and design."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/03/07/BUGCHOGF0F1.DTL

WHY ARE WOMEN EXITING TECHNOLOGY?
A quick scan of almost any I.T. department -- from the trenches to the corner office -- confirms it: Women who embrace technology as a lifelong career remain a rare breed.
  http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=020000NI176K&nl=2

U.S. DOT BANS VISTA, OFFICE 2007, IE 7 UPGRADES--AT LEAST FOR NOW
http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/1321397/255221/53685/2/

THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION
The growth of portable technology has sparked fears that people are becoming addicted to their gadgets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/programmes/click_online/6411495.stm

MICROSOFT EXPLORES CAMERA PHONES FOR MAP SEARCHES
Lost in Seattle with nothing but a camera phone? Just snap a picture of a nearby building, send off the photo to a database and soon you'll get back a map and information about where you are.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,104084~3985969a28~,00.html

SCIENCE ZONE

AUTOMOBILE SOFTWARE PATCH INCREASES FUEL EFFICIENCY
A researcher at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (Eindhoven, the Netherlands) has developed a software patch that can increase a car’s fuel effciency to a total fuel savings of 2.6%, without having to replace any of the parts of the car. Uploading a software patch to the car’s computer and adding one small cable suffices.

Via the patch, excess power can be used to charge the car battery. The generator can be turned off when it is inefficient for the engine to power it, which leads to reduced fuel consumption. The car can also brake electrically, generating energy that can be stored in the battery. Finally, it is possible to partly shut off the electric energy systems, such as rear-window and seat heating, for further improvement of the power supply system.
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20070306A2

U.S. MULLS BACKING "MEDICINE RICE"
The US gives initial backing to growing rice modified with human proteins that could produce medicine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/americas/6422297.stm

NEW DIOXIN CLEANING DEVICE
A Kyushu-based energy start-up called Hydrogen Energy Laboratory Project Co., has invented a low-cost device for reducing dioxins in incinerator fumes and ash. The device uses both heat and a special ceramic that gives off far-infrared rays to break down the dioxin molecules to a level about 1/3 of the safety standard set by the government (1 part per billion of incinerator ash). The residue is then baked into pellets and could be used for building material. The device can process about 50 tons of incinerator ash per day at a cost of JPY1bn. This is about 1/6 the cost of normal gasification furnaces. (Source: TT commentary from nikkei.co.jp, Mar 2, 2007)
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/AC/TNKS/Nni20070301D01JSN02.htm

TWO METHODS FOR SEISMIC MEASUREMENTS
Methods are available for the determination of building stability in the event of an earthquake. These methods involve the development of existing shaking table technology to allow more efficient characterization of structural properties.
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20070306A3

An approach accompanied by a comprehensive algorithm and a software tool has been disclosed that increases the accuracy and reduces the cost for the evaluation of structures under seismic conditions.
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20070306A4


ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

NEW ZEALAND VODAFONE MAY CUT MOBILE SERVICE IN QUAKE
Vodafone may stop people phoning one another in areas affected by an earthquake or other civil emergency by temporarily cutting off public access to its mobile network.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,104084~3982468a28~,00.html

CHINA BANS NEW INTERNET CAFES FOR A YEAR
BEIJING: Fearful of soaring internet addiction and juvenile crime, China has banned the opening of new internet cafes this year, state media reported.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,104084~3983900a28~,00.html

CHINA TIGHTENING CONTROL OVER NET ACCESS, U.S. SAYS
The Chinese government took steps during 2006 to increase its control and monitoring of Internet access by the country's growing Internet population, the U.S. Department of State said in a human-rights report released on Tuesday.
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=168C502:ECCF9AA50A17C8DC851FC784F9A06B45EFF29049075316B4

GLOBAL IMPACT OF ASIA's POLLUTION
The Asian "brown cloud" of pollution is affecting weather systems globally, according to research.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/6421303.stm

SPECIAL TEXT (NO LINK) ON SECRETS OF YOUR CELL PHONE SURVIVAL

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELL PHONE COULD DO

EMERGENCY CALLS
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

UNLOCKING YOUR CAR
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).
NOTE: Does NOT work on a Prius as it uses RFID technology

HIDDEN BATTERY POWER
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

HOW TO DISABLE A STOLEN MOBILE PHONE
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

FREE 411 CALLS
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: US +1  8003733411  Call , or US +1  8003733411  Call  without incurring any charge at all.