A BRIGHTER FUTURE ZONE

BRIGHTER LED LIGHTS COULD REPLACE LIGHT BULBS WITHIN THREE YEARS

Researchers have made LED light bulbs that are brighter and use less power than both standard light-bulbs and energy-efficient light-bulbs, using nano-imprint lithography to make microscopic holes on the surface of the LEDs so that more light escapes. With current LEDs, much of the light is trapped within the LED's structure.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109083914.htm

HOMELAND SECURITY ZONE

BIG BROTHER REALLY "IS" WATCHING

The year is 2012.

As soon as you walk into the airport, the machines are watching. Are you a tourist -- or a terrorist posing as one?

As you answer a few questions at the security checkpoint, the systems begin sizing you up. An array of sensors -- video, audio, laser, infrared -- feeds a stream of real-time data about you to a computer that uses specially developed algorithms to spot suspicious people. The system interprets your gestures and facial expressions, analyzes your voice and virtually probes your body to determine your temperature, heart rate, respiration rate and other physiological characteristics -- all in an effort to determine whether you are trying to deceive. Fail the test, and you'll be pulled aside for a more aggressive interrogation and searches. That scenario may sound like science fiction, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is deadly serous about making it a reality.

http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/2627531/1176609/94774/2/

LAPTOPS ARE SUBJECT TO SEARCHES

"The government contends that it is perfectly free to inspect every laptop that enters the country, whether or not there is anything suspicious about the computer or its owner," reports the New York Times. "Rummaging through a computer's hard drive, the government says, is no different than looking through a suitcase. One federal appeals court has agreed, and a second seems ready to follow suit."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/us/07bar.html?_r=2&ex=1357448400&en=419cf2aae451c531&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

NATURAL DISASTER ZONE

SHORT ON FUND-RAISING, RED CROSS WILL CUT JOBS

Facing a $200 million operating deficit, the American Red Cross is preparing to cut as much as one-third of its headquarters staff, up to 1,000 employees, and pare regional management.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/us/16charity.html?th&emc=th

CYBERZONE

TIME WARNER WILL LINK WEB PRICES WITH USAGE

Time Warner Cable will experiment with a new pricing structure for high-speed Internet access later this year, charging customers based on how much data they download.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Time-Warner-Cable-Internet.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=101009A61BI2&nl=2

INSTANT BOOT-UP

A Silicon Valley startup bypasses Windows to start computers faster, getting people online in seconds.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20072/?nlid=809

SOFTWARE BEING DEVELOPED TO LOCATE WEB FRAUDSTERS

Yong Guan, the Litton Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University is developing technologies to fight cyber crime and make online activities such as shopping more secure. Guan and the Iowa State University Research Foundation have developed a technology that detects "click fraud" -- falsely driving up hits to ads posted on Web sites. Those false hits result in higher costs for pay-per-click advertising.

The research could also help millions of computer users who don't have the time or expertise to protect their machines with the latest security patches and safeguards. One technology extracts criminal evidence from computers, network hardware, cell phones, and other devices. "Network attack attribution" will help investigators find the origins of cyber criminals and attackers; click fraud detection will protect Internet advertising; and auction fraud technology identifies the people who run bogus Internet auctions.

Guan also is working on projects to improve the security of working with wireless networks, and a project to help protect the identity of Internet users. One application could protect the identities -- and medical records -- of people who use online pharmacies, and another could preserve the anonymity of people using an online voting system.

http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20080116A6

FCC WADES INTO NET NEUTRALITY SWAMP WITH COMCAST PROBE

A group of public policy organizations has filed a petition and complaint with the Federal Communication Commission against Comcast over the way the Internet service provider has managed its Internet traffic. More specifically, the groups are comprised of the Free Press, Public Knowledge, and Media Access Project organizations.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61223.html

VENTURE CAPITALISTS RAISE CLOSE TO $35 BILLION IN 2007

US venture capitalists raised almost $35bn (*24bn) last year, making it the best year for the industry since the technology bubble burst in 2001.

http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/333972/MjcwNDU2OjE2MTY3/

DIGITAL ADS COMING TO THE GROCERY CART

Microsoft's acquisition of aQuantive, an online advertising company, last year for $6 billion shored up the company's capacity to serve video ads onto grocery cart screens.

http://www.bpm-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=033000KRQEXC&nl=3

GROCERY CHAINS CAUTIOUSLY EMBRACE DIGITAL COUPONS

Some coupon users are clicking instead of clipping these days to get their grocery discounts. Supermarket chains are trying out paperless, or digital, coupons, to help the thrifty-minded save time while saving money. Shoppers load the online discounts onto their store loyalty cards, receiving the credit at the checkout.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61186.html

STORAGE PROJECT RISE IN IMPORTANCE

Private-sector archive capacity will hit 27,000 petabytes (27 billion gigabytes) by 2010, according to a study by Enterprise Strategy Group Inc. Skyrocketing rates of e-mail growth account for much of this figure.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=storage&articleId=307657&taxonomyId=19&intsrc=kc_feat

CREATING A WEB OF WORLDS

Metaplace wants to enable its users to build virtual worlds that could exist anywhere on the Web. With Metaplace, designers can build worlds using a markup language, style sheets, modules, and a scripting language. Every world acts like a Web server, and every object in a world has a URL.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20048/

SCIENCE ZONE

STUDY FINDS CELL PROTEIN THAT STOPS HIV

U.S. scientists have found a key protein in dendritic cells can stop the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS from replicating.

UCLA researchers found the protein prevents HIV budding -- part of the virus' life cycle that is crucial to its abil...

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/173421,study-finds-cell-protein-that-stops-hiv.html

CAMERA PHONE USED TO CONTROL COMPUTERS IN 3D

A camera-equipped cellphone can be used to control a computer as if it was a three-dimensional mouse, thanks to prototype software developed by UK researchers. The software makes it possible to move and manipulate onscreen items simply by waving a handset around in front of a screen, a bit like the motion-sensitive Nintendo Wii controller.

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13187-cameraphone-used-to-control-computers-in-3d.html

ENERGY ZONE

SILICON NANOWIRES TURN HEAT TO ELECTRICITY

Cal Tech and University of California, Berkeley research teams reported that they could increase silicon nanowires' ability to convert heat into electric current by as much as 100 times. The discovery could lead to new ways to cool computer chips, build refrigerators, or get more power out of car engines.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan08/5879

SWITCHGRASS MAKES BETTER ETHANOL THAN CORN

Midwestern farms prove switchgrass could be the right crop for producing ethanol to replace gasoline http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2415767366067a731c75&ls=fdfb15737467027b72147874&m=ff3310707762&l=fef61c7471640d&s=fe2615717c670174701272&jb=ffcf14&t=

MORE INSIGHTS INTO USING BACTERIA TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY FROM WASTE

Researchers at the Biodesign Institute are using the tiniest organisms on the planet -- bacteria -- as a viable option to make electricity. In a new study featured in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51072>

ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

10 GIGABIT DATA LINK THRILLS AUSSIE RESEARCHERS

World-best collaborative research between Australian and United States universities has taken a giant leap forward with the successful launch today of a 1 gigabit per second data connection between the two countries. - http://www.stuff.co.nz/4359293a28.html

NHK JAPAN PLANS 33 MILLION PIXEL TV STANDARD

NHK plans to develop and launch a higher-quality 33.2 million pixel broadcast standard by 2015.

http://www.bhfo.org/news/latest-news/japanese-33-million-pixel-tv-standard.html

INTEL'S CLASSMATE PC GOES ON SALE TO CONSUMERS IN INDIA

Intel's Classmate PC isn't just for students anymore. HCL Infosystems plans to sell a version of the Classmate PC to consumers and businesses in India who want a rugged, low-cost laptop.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/17/Intel-Classmate-PC-goes-on-sale-to-consumers-in-India_1.html?source=NLC-TB&cgd=2008-01-1

INTERNET BOOSTING AUSTRALIAN ORGANISED CRIME

Internet technology has given organised criminals unprecedented powers to operate "at arm's length" from their victims and across national borders, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) says.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4360956a28.html

WIRELESS ZONE

CHINA MOBILE REBUFFS APPLE's iPHONE DEMANDS

Talks between China Mobile Ltd. and Apple Inc. over the launch of iPhone handsets in China have been called off, officials at the Chinese company said Monday. "We can only say...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2008/01/14/financial/f060114S05.DTL

SITE CITES

NO CHILD LEFT OFFLINE

The Fast Interview: MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte on Intel's "dishonesty" and the long, tough road to the $100 laptop.

http://trax.fastcompany.com/k/w/mailman/fasttake/20080116/olpcintel