CYBERZONE

BRITISH CCTVs TALKS BACK AND SCOLDS OFFENDERS

"Talking" CCTV cameras that tell off people seen carrying out anti-social acts are to be extended to 20 areas.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/england/6524495.stm

GEORGE ORWELL THOUGHT OF IT FIRST!

21 TECHNOLOGY FLOPS

Hype is the coin of the realm in the technology business. If you listen to vendors and the media, it may sometimes seem as though every new product, service, concept or even security threat will be the Next Big Thing. Some live up to all the fuss, but many don't -- and some fail spectacularly. __Take the Michelangelo virus...

http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/1421208/1423585/58036/2/

HOW MANY OF THEM DO YOU HAVE IN THE CLOSET?

WEB PROVIDES "VIRTUAL SWAP MEET" FOR PATENTS & COPYRIGHTS

Traditional companies may do battle with new challenges to accepted notions of IP The age of collaboration that the Internet has introduced is changing the rules of intellectual property protection, creating new copyright strategies and enabling a virtual online "swap meet" for companies holding patents they no longer need and those searching for new technologies. From budding composers and musicians to huge companies like IBM and Procter & Gamble, the opportunities the Web creates are being seized to develop new ways of doing business.

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1175711402139

SECURITY RISK? SANTA CLARA COUNTY STOPS SELLING DATA FOR ELECTRONIC MAPS

After years of selling data to make electronic maps of Santa Clara County, officials have temporarily stopped the practice, saying they didn't want some of the information to end up in the hands of terrorists. The decision came as a lawsuit over the price the county charges for the information is entering its final stages, and the plaintiff in the case says the county is using homeland security as a smoke screen so it can continue to sell the information at a high

price.http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5582629?nclick_check=1

AUSTRALIA TO LAY OWN BROADBAND LINKS TO U.S .

The near-monopoly that Telecom half-owned joint venture Southern Cross enjoys, carrying internet traffic to and from Australia and New Zealand to the rest of the world, is set to be shattered by two new submarine cables that will hook Australia up to alternative cables running through Hawaii and Guam.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,104084~4011620a28~,00.html

FCC ADOPTS NEW PRETEXTING RULES

Under new FCC rules, telecom companies, as well as other carriers, will have to get customer permission before releasing personal information to third parties and will also be required to prove to regulators each year that they are in compliance.

http://news.com.com/FCC+imposes+rules+to+prevent+pretexting/2100-1037_3-6172705.html

SCIENCE ZONE

BILLIONS AT RISK FROM NEW BLIGHT

A formidable disease is on its way and almost nobody has heard of it. Ug99 is a virulent strain of black stem rust fungus that attacks wheat plants - a crop that feeds more people than any other food source on Earth. Since the Green Revolution of the 1960s, farmers have been successfully growing disease-resistant wheat varieties. But Ug99 has evolved. There are now precious few wheat crops anywhere that are resistant to it. The blight has already crossed from Africa into Asia and there are fears it will spread further into regions where a billion people depend on wheat for their survival http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19425983.700.html?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19425983.700

SOLAR POWER BREAKTHROUGH AT MASSEY

New solar cells developed by Massey University don't need direct sunlight to operate and use a patented range of dyes that can be impregnated in roofs, window glass and eventually even clothing to produce power.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,104084~4017784a28~,00.html

SOLAR STORMS AFFECT GPS

A solar eruption in December disrupted the Global Positioning System, a satellite-based navigational system used widely by the U.S.

military, scientists and civilians, researchers reported Wednesday.

http://news.com.com/Experts+Solar+storm+put+heat+on+GPS/2100-11397_3-6173567.html

IBM BROWSER HELPS BLIND "SEE THE WEB"

IT giant IBM has developed a multimedia browser to make content accessible to vision impaired people http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/technology/6507189.stm

THE PROMISE OF PLASMONICS

A technology that squeezes electromagnetic waves into minuscule structures may yield a new generation of superfast computer chips and ultrasensitive molecular detectors

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe2a15727263017d7c1575-fdfb15737467027b72147874-ff3310707762-fef61c7471640d-fe2615717c670174701272

FANCAR AIRCRAFT

Engineers at Urban Aeronautics (Yavne, Israel) are developing the prototype X-Hawk Fancraft(TM), a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicle whose rotors, unlike a helicopter, are contained in the body of the craft. Originally envisioned as a medical evacuation vehicle, X- Hawk’s modular cargo bay allows for tailor-made, task-specific configurations that would enable the aircraft to be an all-around workhorse. Some other applications could include power line maintenance, bridge inspection, and ship-to-shore taxi service.

Quieter than a helicopter, a vane system enables the X-Hawk to maneuver laterally without the need to roll. This is essential if a mission necessitates hovering directly in contact with the side of a structure.

http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20070403A2

ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

JAPAN's FIRST INTERNET-BASED UNIVERSITY OPENS

Cyber University, Japan's first university that provides courses via the Internet, opened Sunday with an entrance ceremony in Fukuoka, transmitted in real time to students' computers. The four-year university has two departments - information technology and world heritage - each taking about 600 students.

Students can receive classes any time and any place via personal computers connected to a broadband communication network. After four years, they receive a bachelor's degree. Japan Cyber Educational Institute is a non-listed stock company with a capital of 500 million yen.

Internet and telecom conglomerate Softbank Corp owns 71% of the institute while the remainder is held by Kyushu Electric Power Co, RKB Mainichi Broadcasting Corp and other businesses. (Kyodo News)

POSSIBLE THAT CHINESE GOV'T OFFERED US$1 BILLION TO INTEL

Bob Johnson, an analyst from market research company Gartner, says that the Chinese government might have offered a US$1 billion incentive as well as some other preferential offerings to Intel to encourage Intel to build its chip factory in Dalian in China's northeast Liaoning Province.

http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/04/04/5207-chinese-government-perhaps-offered-us1-billion-to-intel/

WIRELESS ZONE

THE ULTRAFAST FUTURE OF WIRELESS

A new metal film could help control terahertz radiation and lead to wireless devices that are thousands of times faster than today's Wi-Fi.

searchers at the University of Utah have found a way to control terahertz radiation with more precision than ever before, potentially laying the foundation for a new breed of wireless devices that can take advantage of the previously untapped frequencies. Although still years from commercialization, routers and receivers that use terahertz radiation--which technically ranges from about 100 gigahertz to 10 terahertz--could eventually pack more data onto airwaves, speeding up wireless Internet links a thousand times,\ http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18475/

RFID-ENABLED VENDING MACHINES INSTALLED AT ATLANTA AIRPORT

Thirsty travelers passing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport can now buy their soft drinks without having to fumble for exact change. SkyeTek Inc. announced yesterday that its radio frequency identification (RFID) readers have been installed in more than 50 soft drink vending machines throughout the airport. The readers will let customers purchase products from the machines using RFID-chipped credit cards.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9015462&source=NLT_PM&nlid=8

BEAM ME A COKE, SCOTTY!

SITE CITE

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS

What happens when our attention fails, and what does this say about our brains? Does research on the subject tell us how we might better pay attention? As Yale economist Robert J. Shiller notes, "the ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence."

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe2715727263017d7c1578-fdfb15737467027b72147874-ff3310707762-fef61c7471640d-fe2615717c670174701272