FUTURE ZONE

TECH INNOVATION...TO COME

Read about corporate prediction markets, clothing equipped with

computer chips, and a greener way to make plastics in

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/04/09/technology/techspecial/index.html

MUZZLE AWARDS ZONE

GIVING CREDIT WHERE NO CREDIT IS DUE

FEMA, FCC Win Dubious Muzzle Awards, Cited for Free-Speech Violations

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which staged a fake news

conference, was among the "winners" Tuesday of the 2008 Jefferson

Muzzle Awards, given for egregious First Amendment violations. FEMA

made the list, compiled by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the

Protection of Free Expression, for staging the news conference during

the California wildfires. "We haven't [previously] had anything that

fell into the falsification or disinformation category; this is a

first," said center director Bob O'Neil.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1207651592429

HOMELAND SECURITY ZONE

DHS ON CYBERSECURITY CENTER

The Department of Homeland Security gave more details Tuesday about a

cybersecurity center it has created to coordinate information on

attacks against the government and the private sector. The center was

created in...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/09/BUU11025OI.DTL

FBI DATA TRANSFERS VIA TELECOMS QUESTIONED

When FBI investigators probing New York prostitution rings, Boston

organized crime or potential terrorist plots anywhere want access to

a suspect's telephone contacts, technicians at a telecommunications

carrier served with a government order can, with the click of a

mouse, instantly transfer key data along a computer circuit to an FBI

technology office in Quantico.

The circuits -- little-known electronic connections between telecom

firms and FBI monitoring personnel around the country -- are used to

tell the government who is calling whom, along with the time and

duration of a conversation and even the locations of those involved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040702364.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

CHERTOFF: "REVERSE MANHATTAN PROJECT" NEEDED

After working for years to prevent cyberterrorist attacks on the U.S.,

the Department of Homeland Security has approached the private sector

for help. At a talk given to information security professionals at the

RSA Security Conference, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff

warned that a cyberterrorist attack would hurt the U.S. as much as the

attacks on the World Trade Center buildings on Sept. 11, 2001.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/62517.html

NATURAL DISASTER ZONE

CELL TEXT MESSAGE FOR ALERTS APPROVED

Federal regulators approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency

alert system using text messages delivered to cellphones.

The plan stems from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a

2006 federal law that requires upgrades to the nation's emergency

alert system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission

with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.

Under the plan individuals could opt to receive messages

alerting them of national threats, impending natural

disasters like hurricanes and also messages concerning

child abduction.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120783324710504763.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/washington/10alert.html?th&emc=th

CYBERZONE

WINDOW IS "COLLAPSING," GARTNER ANALYSTS WARN

Calling the situation "untenable" and describing Windows as

"collapsing," a pair of Gartner analysts yesterday said Microsoft

Corp. must make radical changes to its operating system or risk

becoming a has-been.

In a presentation at a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas,

analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not

responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of

legacy code and decisions, and faces serious competition on a whole

host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the software

developer acts.

"For Microsoft, its ecosystem and its customers, the situation is

untenable," ...

http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/3109937/255221/107920/2/

THE INTERNET's BLACK HOLE

A surprisingly large fraction of Web traffic gets sucked into

temporary black holes, in which information between two computers

disappears en route. A new online observatory monitors Internet black

holes so network administrators -- and frustrated Web users -- can

diagnose problems in real time

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408144817.htm

DARPA's BIRTHDAY

The Idea Factory That Spawned the Internet Turns 50

http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W0RH01C4E04AF02BE2BE4352BE5230

OPEN SOURCE 3D PRINTER COPIES ITSELF

Self-replicating printer frees-up 3D printing under GNU

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/tech/2F5C3C5D68A380EDCC257423006E71CD

ADOBE TV TO FEATURE PRODUCTS IN NEW MEDIA PLAYER

Adobe Systems has released its free AIR-based Media Player 1.0 along

with a new Adobe TV network. Adobe said the customizable,

cross-platform player provides revenue opportunities for publishers.

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0220020SF73A&nl=2

OPINION: A NEW KIND OF WEB--SEE THESE 11 SITES

Check out these examples of how the Web is evolving to present

information in new ways

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9072458&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1

NEW LASER CHIP IMPERVIOUS TO OVERHEATING

QD Laser, a j/v between Fujitsu and Mitsui, has said that

it will begin mass-producing a new laser chip for optical

communications networks. The chip's special feature is that

it maintains its optical output power even as it heats up,

something other chips can't do, thus eliminating the need

for cooling systems and consequently cutting power

consumption by 2/3. QD started shipping samples in

February, and will boost production to 10K units a year in

August, rising to 50K units next year.

http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/AC/TNKS/Nni20080310D10JSN02.htm

SCIENCE ZONE

CYCLING FOR FOOD: PROGRESS ON PEDAL-POWERED GRAIN CRUSHER

Students have produced a fairly simple mechanical device that people

in developing countries can use to process anything from corn to

barley. If it's successful, the grain crusher can help produce food

for residents of Third World countries and enable some people to

generate an income as they travel from community to community

crushing foodstuff for a price.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318221759.htm

ENERGY ZONE

SUGAR-POWERED CARS: MOST EFFICIENT TO PRODUCE HYDROGEN

Sugar-powered cars may be in your future. Chemists report development

of a "revolutionary" process for converting plant sugars into

hydrogen, which could be used to cheaply and efficiently power

vehicles equipped with hydrogen fuel cells without producing any

pollutants. ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409170347.htm

ALGAE COULD BE MAJOR HYDROGEN FUEL SOURCE

As gas prices continue to soar to record highs, motorists are crying

out for an alternative that won't cramp their pocketbooks. Scientists

are answering that call by working to chemically manipulate algae for

production of the next generation of renewable fuels -- hydrogen gas.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401141539.htm

HYDROGEN-POWERED PLAN TAKES OFF

The first hydrogen-powered aircraft is successfully tested in the

skies above Spain, its makers say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/technology/7330311.stm

ENVIRONMENT ZONE

SUPER COMPUTERS CREATE MULTI-CENTURY CLIMATE SIMULATIONS

Using state-of-the-art super computers climate scientists have

performed a 400-year high-resolution global ocean-atmosphere

simulation with results that are more similar to actual observations

of surface winds and sea surface temperatures.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402084336.htm

HARMFUL ALGAE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF GLOBAL WARMING

You know that green scum creeping across the surface of your local

public water reservoir? Or maybe it's choking out a favorite fishing

spot or livestock watering hole. It's probably cyanobacteria --

blue-green algae -- and, according to an article in Science, relishes

the weather extremes that accompany global warming.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080403140928.htm

ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

ASIA's FIGHT FOR WEB RIGHTS

Rebecca MacKinnon, an assistant professor at the University of Hong

Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre, charts a way forward for

Internet companies seeking to respect freedom of expression in Asia.

http://www.feer.com/essays/2008/april/asias-fight-for-web-rights

A&E MAKES HISTORY IN KOREA

A&E's international division will launch a History HD video-on-demand

service in Korea under a partnership with Korea Telecom, the

company's first such Asian offering, after the formation of similar

services in the U.S., U.K., Scandinavia and central Europe, the

network said. The Korean service, which A&E expects to debut this

summer, will become part of Korea Telecom MegaTV, an eight-month-old

IPTV service with 550,000 subscribers.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983609.html?categoryid=19&cs=1

WIRELESS ZONE

WHEN ROSES WON'T DO, E-MAIL A FRAGRANCE

After satisfying the senses of sight and sound through video streams

and music downloads, NTT Communications aims to tap into the sense of

smell with a new system that allows users to send fragrances from

their cell phones.

A trial of the service will take place later this month during which

users will be able to select and send certain fragrance recipes to an

in-home unit that is responsible for concocting and releasing the

various fragrances. Each holds 16 cartridges of base fragrances or

essences that are mixed to produce the various scents in a similar

way that a printer mixes inks to produce other colors.

http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/3097437/1176609/107448/2/

http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E1800257425001B1F2B.html?ref=technology

SITE CITES

  CROWD DYNAMICS

" The tools and theories needed to analyze social interactions are

just now reaching the level of sophistication - in accuracy, in

robustness - necessary to leave the lab and enter commercial

duty.............Now, new equations describing "crowd dynamics" are

about to change our lives. And not always for the better. This is one

of the most significant technology trends I have seen in years; it

may also be one of the most pernicious...."

  http://blog.steinberg.org/?p=7

HOW STEREOTYPING YOURSELF CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR SUCCESS (OR FAILURE)

People's performance on intellectual and athletic tasks is shaped by

awareness of stereotypes about the groups to which they belong. New

research explains why- and how we can break free from the

expectations of others

http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe1915777c650c74711c77&ls=fdfb15737467027b72147874&m=ff3310707762&l=fef61c7471640d&s=fe2615717c670174701272&jb=ffcf14&t=