FUTURE ZONE

THE DIGITAL UTILITY

In a new book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the world, from Edison to Google, Nicholas Carr argues that we're moving from the era of the personal computer to an age of utility computing--by which he means the expansion of grid computing, the distribution of computing and storage over the Internet, until it accounts for the bulk of what the human race does digitally.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20227/?a=f

HOMELAND SECURITY ZONE

NATIONAL DRAGNET IS A CLICK AWAY

Authorities to Gain Fast and Expansive Access to Records

Several thousand law enforcement agencies are

creating the foundation of a domestic

intelligence system through computer networks

that analyze vast amounts of police information

to fight crime and root out terror plots.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/05/AR2008030503656.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

HIGH RISK TERRORIST TARGET CITIES LISTED

Researchers have rated the risk level for 132 cities based on factors including critical industries, ports, railroads, population, natural environment and other factors. Surprisingly, Boise, Idaho, is considered high risk, while Tucson ranks low.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304092842.htm

FBI WILL REPORT MORE IMPROPER USE OF TERROR SUBPOENAS

The FBI improperly used national security letters in 2006 to obtain personal data on Americans during terror and spy investigations, Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday. Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the privacy breach by FBI agents and lawyers occurred a year before the bureau enacted sweeping new reforms to prevent future lapses. Details on the abuses will be outlined in the coming days in a report by the Justice Department's inspector general.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/05/AR2008030500463.html

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1204716628871

DHS TESTS OF RADIATION DETECTORS WERE INCONCLUSIVE

Department of Homeland Security tests of new

radiation detection machines last year did not

show whether the costly devices performed well

enough to be used as planned at ports and borders

to protect the country against nuclear attacks or

dirty bombs, according to a new report about the

process.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030402834.html?wpisrc=newsletter

U.S. SEEKS TERRORISTS IN WEB WORLDS

US intelligence officers could soon be visiting virtual worlds as they seek out terror groups using online spaces.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/technology/7274377.stm

NATURAL DISASTER ZONE

MORE PEOPLE+WEALTH=INCREASE IN HURRICANE LOSSES

Increased Hurricane Losses Due To More People,

Wealth Along Coastlines, Not Stronger Storms A

team of scientists have found that the economic

damages from hurricanes have increased in the

U.S. over time due to greater population,

infrastructure, and wealth on the U.S.

coastlines, and not to any spike in the number or

intensity of hurricanes.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080228074324.htm

CYBERZONE

MORE AMERICANS TURNING TO WEB FOR NEWS

Study: Web outpaces other media as major news source

Nearly half of respondents to a We Media/Zogby

Interactive survey named the Internet as their

main source of news and information, compared to

fewer than one in three who turn to TV for their

news, 11% for radio and 10% for newspapers.

Persons over 65 still favor means other than the

Web as their main source of news, with the study

finding that 38% of older adults turn to TV as

their primary news source. Nearly 70 percent of

Americans believe traditional journalism is out

of touch, and nearly half are turning to the

Internet to get their news, according to a new

survey.

While most people think journalism is important

to the quality of life, 64 percent are

dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in

their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive

online poll showed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/01/AR2008030100582.html

MIND CONTROL: THE LATEST ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

The Epoc headset allows gamers to control avatars

by thought alone. Could this be the answer to

accessibility of Second Life and other games?

Could it also be an affordable solution for

general

assistive technology (AT)?

http://www.it-director.com/r/c/10317/n/08576d838d60657

MEMORY TRICK BREAKS PC ENCRYPTION

Encrypted information held on a laptop is more

vulnerable than previously thought, US research

shows.

Full story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/technology/7275407.stm

POWER LINE NETWORKS PICK UP SPEED

At the Cebit trade show, DS2 and Devolo are showing faster power line networks, supporting speeds of up to 400Mbps -- twice the maximum capacity that the technology provides today.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/04/Power-line-networks-pick-up-speed_1.html?source=NLC-TB&cgd=2008-03-04

TAX BOARD RULES TELECOM SHOULD PAY TAX FOR PUBLIC PROPERTY

The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board ruled that

local communities can tax telecom's poles and

wires on public land. The state estimates it

could gain $78 million a year for local

communities to ease residents' property tax

burdens.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/03/04/verizon_must_pay_tax_on_public_way_poles_wires/

http://www.wirelessweek.com/Tax-Board-Rules-Telecom-Pay-Property.aspx

SCIENCE ZONE

CYBER GOGGLES FOR HUMAN TAGGING

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have

developed a smart video goggle system that

records everything the wearer looks at,

recognizes and assigns names to objects that

appear in the video, and creates an easily

searchable database of the recorded footage.

It can function as a memory aid for the elderly,

or search through hours of video footage to find

particular images.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-03/cyber-goggles-human-tagging

THE WORLD's SMALLEST CRIME LAB

George Mason University researchers have built a

microwave smaller than an ant that can heat

pinhead-size drops of liquid to precise

temperatures--critical for the kind of

lab-on-a-chip devices investigators could someday

use in the field. One big potential payoff: a

portable DNA-analysis kit that could use

crime-scene evidence, such as a drop of blood, to

produce the genetic fingerprint of the culprit.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-03/world%E2%80%99s-smallest-crime-lab

WHY FLU VIRUS LOVES THE COLD

Influenza viruses coat themselves in fatty

material that hardens and protects them in colder

temperatures, a finding that could explain why

winter is the flu season, US researchers report.

http://abcmail.net.au/t/101690/681895/2131/0/

ENERGY ZONE

CALIFORNIA COWS TO SUPPLY RENEWABLE GAS ENERGY

California is blessed with many renewable sources

of energy, from surging Sierra rivers to strong

coastal winds. Now, add another source to that

list - cow manure. Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

will unveil its latest...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/03/04/BUEUVCV51.DTL

INEXPENSIVE SOLAR CELLS MADE MORE EFFICIENT WITH NEW SENSITIZERS

Scientists have developed new sensitizers that

should help an inexpensive type of solar cell to

be more efficient. The sensitizers are based on

the dye indoline. ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080228112015.htm

HYDROGEN GAS FUELED VEHICLES A STEP CLOSER

Environmentally friendly hydrogen gas fueled

vehicles can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas

emissions and lessen the country's dependence on

sources of fossil fuel. Though several hydrogen

vehicles exist on the market today, there is

still much room for improvement in the way that

hydrogen is stored on-board the vehicle. With

current technologies, hydrogen gas storage tanks

have to be as large as or larger than the trunk

of a car to carry enough gas to travel only one

to two hundred miles. Researchers have just

solved a decade old mystery that could one day

lead to commercially practical designs of storage

materials for use in environmentally friendly

hydrogen gas fueled vehicles.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227082835.htm

SUN TO MIRRORS TO WATTS

As prices rise for fossil fuels and worries grow

about their contribution to global warming, solar

thermal plants are being viewed as a renewable

power source with huge potential. The technology

involves covering acres of desert with mirrors

that focus intense sunlight on a fluid, heating

it enough to make steam. The steam turns a

turbine and generates electricity. Some experts

say that solar thermal plants could meet most of

the galloping growth in power demand in Phoenix,

Las Vegas and the rest of the southwestern United

States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/business/06solar.html?_r=2&ref=science&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

ENVIRONMENT ZONE

GADGET LETS YOU TRACK YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

An innovation called Carbon Hero may help reduce

global warming by making people more aware of

their carbon footprint. The device uses satellite

navigation technology to track journeys. With

Carbon Hero, to see the effect a journey is

having on the environment you just need to look

at your mobile phone. The feedback loop is almost

immediate.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225122328.htm

ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

THE YUPPIFICATION OF AKIHABARA

The saying goes that in Akihabara, you can find

whatever you desire. Tokyoís Electric Town is a

place where dreams and fantasy become reality,

not just for local ìotaku,î but for the shoppers

and tourists who come to share their ...

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/feature/1348

A Really Great Article

FILIPINOS SENT 1 BILLION TEXT MESSAGES DAILY IN 2007

Filipinos doubled the number of text messages

they sent last year to an average of 1 billion

daily, industry data showed. -

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4426489a28.html

PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE TELE EXCEEDS 2007 PROFIT TARGET

http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=22013&email=text

WIRELESS ZONE

TATA ROLLING OUT LARGE WiMax NETWORK IN INDIA

Tata Communications plans to connect 200,000

retail customers using WiMax by March 2009, the

company said The company expects to invest US$500

million in this venture over the next three

years, a company spokesman said. India is

relatively under-served in broadband Internet

services, particularly for consumers. The

country, with a population of 1.1 billion, had

3.24 million broadband subscribers at the end of

January this year, according to the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India. This figure, which

includes connections of a speed higher than 256

Kbps (kilobits per second), is a fraction of

India's mobile connections, totaling 242 million

at the end of January.

http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18482574020038E227.html?ref=technology

SITE CITE

WHAT CAUSED WESTWARD EXPANSION IN THE UNITED STATES?

Western Expansion during the nineteenth century helped determine geographic distribution and economic activity in the United States today. Using economic modeling to understand a historical event, researchers examined which specific market forces were the most important drivers of the migration. He found that without a decrease in transportation costs, only 30 percent of the US population would have been in the West in 1900, compared to an actual historical figure of 60 percent. The new study reveals that the price of land was less important than technological innovation.