Articles from Internet

Mice infest London's Westminster Palace (like attracts like, LM).

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/04/Mice_infest_Londons_Westminster_Palace_435918.html

The British House of Lords has a momentous decision to make: Should it get cats to chase the mice that have infested one of Britain's most famous buildings?
London's Houses of Parliament, also known as Westminster Palace, has rodents, and the peers aren't exactly sure what to do about it.
Ivan Anthony Moore-Brabazon, the House's administration chief, on Wednesday turned down suggestions to acquire cats.
He says the felines could ingest mice poison or wander around the chamber and disrupt business.
He favours the current tactic of using poison and mousetraps.
Parliament staff have reported daily sightings of the rodents in the palace's restaurants and bars.
The performers' union Equity says nearby theatres in London's West End are facing similar problems, with three-quarters of actors and stage managers reporting infestations of mice, rats and fleas, according to The Guardian newspaper.
Thursday, March 04, 2010 » 11:15am

'Climategate' professor innocent

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Environment/2010/04/01/Climategate_professor_innocent_446628.html

The British professor at the centre of the 'climategate' row over global warming did not distort his data, MPs have found.
The Commons Science and Technology Committee said there is no case to answer against Professor Phil Jones.
The University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit was plunged into controversy after hacked emails appeared to show scientists hid and manipulated climate data and refused to comply with a Freedom of Information request to release the information.
The saga called into question the science behind climate change and led sceptics to accuse scientists of misleading the public.
CRU head Prof Jones talked about using a 'trick' in one email to 'hide the decline' in temperature records sourced from tree ring data in the 1960s.
But the MPs said the phrases were colloquialisms and did not represent a systematic attempt to mislead.
The report found Professor Jones had no case to answer over allegations of dishonesty and his scientific reputation was intact - although one of the committee's MPs, Graham Stringer, said the inquiry could have been more thorough on the issue.
But some of the leaked emails suggested a 'blunt refusal' by Prof Jones to share scientific data, the committee said.
The committee concluded that climate scientists must publish all their raw data and methods to ensure the research is 'irreproachable'.
Committee chairman Phil Willis said a 'culture of non-disclosure' at the UEA in response to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests for climate data was 'reprehensible'.
'Climate change is a matter of global importance,' Mr Willis said.
'Governments are spending trillions of pounds on mitigating global warming and the quality of the science has to be irreproachable.'
Prof Jones stepped down in December pending the outcome of an inquiry by the university into more than 1,000 e-mails sent by him and colleagues.
The report is one of three into the university's climate unit.
The university said it welcomed the report and accepted the need for greater transparency in climate science.
Thursday, April 01, 2010 » 08:59am

Surge in illegal downloading

(We've already created Collective Holographic Knowledge with our Holographic New Earth, when
every single one of us know everything about Life on Earth. So illegal downloading is a Scare Tactics
and nothing else!)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/20/Surge_in_illegal_downloading_442211.html

Online piracy seems to have become a way of life for Britons, with 82 per cent of people surveyed admitting illegal downloading.
A large number of searches for 'free music' prompted the survey of British attitudes towards internet piracy.
Of 1,607 people questioned, nearly a third said they had downloaded a film while it was still showing in the cinema. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) said they had streamed movies online.
Of those that said they had downloaded files illegally, 35 per cent said they had used torrent websites.
Peer-to-peer websites were more commonly used, with 78 per cent saying they had used them.
Over half of those polled - 52 per cent - said they'd tried streaming illegal video and music content.
The survey found men are more likely to download illegal files, with 85 per cent saying they had, compared to 79 per cent of women.
When asked, 'What are your thoughts with regards to illegal downloading?', nearly half, 47 per cent, said they did not think of it as crime, whilst 11% said they would never do it.
Saving money was 64 per cent of people's reason for downloading, whilst per cent admitted to being 'too impatient' to wait for films and music to be officially released.
MP3s are the most downloaded files, according to the study, with three quarters of respondents admitting to having downloaded music illegally, whilst 71 per cent of people admitted to having streamed or downloaded movies online.
Mark Pearson, managing director of the MyVoucherCodes.co.uk website that commissioned the survey said the reason people do it is because it is so easy.
'Government and internet service provider initiatives against piracy seem to be falling flat in honesty, and if we're to combat illegal downloading, the issues of availability and repercussions needs to be seriously looked at,' he said.
Liz Bales, Director-General of film and TV anti-piracy body the Industry Trust for IP Awareness said people need to realise that if they continue to watch content illegally there will no money to make it.
She said: 'If the public is allowed to be hoodwinked by the idea of 'free' it poses a threat to the future creation and diversity of film and TV.
'Without the public's support for genuine content, the films and TV shows they love simply couldn't get made.'
Saturday, March 20, 2010 » 09:36am

Texan accused of disabling 100 cars

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/18/Texan_accused_of_disabling_100_cars_441494.html

A man fired from a Texas auto dealership used an internet service to remotely disable ignitions and set off car horns of more than 100 vehicles sold at his old workplace, police say.
Austin police arrested Omar Ramos-Lopez, 20, on Wednesday, charging him with felony breach of computer security.
Ramos-Lopez used a former colleague's password to deactivate starters and set off car horns, police said. Several car owners said they had to call tow trucks and were left stranded at work or home.
'He caused these customers, now victims, to miss work,' Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said on Wednesday.
'They didn't get paid. They had to get tow trucks. They didn't know what was going on with their vehicles.'
Ramos-Lopez was in the Travis County Jail on Wednesday with bond set at $US3,000 ($A3,250).
The Texas Auto Centre dealership in Austin installs GPS devices that can prevent cars from starting. The system is used to repossess cars when buyers are overdue on payments, said Jeremy Norton, a controller at the dealership where Ramos-Lopez worked. Car horns can be activated when repo agents go to collect vehicles and believe the owners are hiding them.
'We are taking extra measures to make sure this never happens again,' Norton said.
Starting in mid-February, dealership employees noticed unusual changes to their business records. Someone was going into the system and changing customers' names, such as having dead rapper Tupac Shakur buying a 2009 vehicle, Norton said.
Soon, customers began calling saying their cars wouldn't start, or that their horns were going off incessantly, forcing them to disengage the battery. Norton said the dealership originally thought the cars had mechanical problems.
Then employees noticed someone had ordered $US130,000 ($A140,830) in parts and equipment from the company that makes the GPS devices.
Police said they were able to trace the sabotage to Ramos-Lopez's computer, leading to his arrest.
Norton said Ramos-Lopez didn't seem unusually upset about being fired.
'I think he thought what he was doing was a harmless prank,' Norton said. 'He didn't see the ramifications of it.'
Thursday, March 18, 2010 » 01:41pm

'Brighter outlook for Australia'

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Finance/2010/03/25/Brighter_outlook_for_Australia_444114.html

Australia's economic outlook appears to be considerably brighter than most other advanced economies, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says.
RBA Assistant Governor Philip Lowe said underlying inflation had 'moderated significantly' and was expected to decline from 3.25 per cent to about 2.5 per cent during 2010.
Dr Lowe reiterated the central bank's view that the Australian economy had 'relatively limited spare capacity' and that it was likely interest rates would move towards 'more normal' levels.
'Our central scenario is for the world economy to grow at around an average pace over the next couple of years, with strong growth in a number of our major trading partners in Asia,' Dr Lowe said in a speech in Sydney on Thursday.
There were significant risks as the flow-on effects of the global events of the past 18 months continued to reverberate around the world economy, however, he said.
'While we need to watch these flow-on effects carefully, the outlook for Australia appears to be considerably brighter than that for most other advanced economies.'
Dr Lowe told the Australian Industry Group's tenth annual economic forum that Australia must contain inflation pressures and inflationary expectations.
'Expansion of the supply side of the economy is obviously important here,' Dr Lowe said in his speech, entitled Recent developments in the global and Australian economies.
Addressing potential bottlenecks and ensuring labour and capital markets were sufficiently flexible was important, so that resources were able to move to where they are most productive, he said.
'With the economy having relatively limited spare capacity, it is likely that interest rates will need to continue their gradual move towards more normal levels.'
Dr Lowe said most indicators suggested the established housing market had been 'very buoyant'.
High auction clearance rates, steady house price increases of around one per cent a month and a 'quite tight' rental market had been recorded as total housing loan approvals declined in October, November, December and January.
Dr Lowe said the declines were broader than just from first-home buyers following the scaling back of special government stimulus.
'Some lenders have also tightened terms and conditions, including by further reducing maximum loan-to-valuation ratios and in the lower-priced suburbs of the capital cities, housing prices have broadly moved sideways since October, after earlier significant rises,' he said.
It was too early to tell whether these contrary signs indicated that some cooling in the property market is in prospect, he said.
'It is, however, clearly desirable to avoid significant imbalances developing in the housing market, both in terms of the supply-demand situation and the price and financing dynamics.
'The pick-up in dwelling construction that is occurring will be helpful here, although further increases are likely to be needed over the medium term.'
Australia currently was not seeing factors such as those that caused concern in 2002 and 2003, when maximum loan to valuation ratios (LVRs) were being raised, loan servicing requirements were being eased, new types of mortgage products introduced and risk spreads were being compressed.
'This is good news, as it would obviously be unhelpful if a speculative cycle were to emerge on the back of the recent strength in housing prices,' Dr Lowe said.
'This is an area that lenders and current and prospective home owners will need to watch carefully over the months ahead.'
Dr Lowe said economic data over recent months had been 'on the firm side'.
'Employment growth has been robust, business and consumer confidence is above average, the housing market has been strong and there are signs that the period of business deleveraging is coming to an end,' Dr Lowe said.
'Collectively, these outcomes provide us with some confidence that the economy is now in a reasonably solid upswing.'
But he noted that over the course of 2010 the nature of the upswing was likely to change.
Strong public sector growth was likely to be overtaken by private-sector business investment, particularly in the resources sector, he said.
'This expected rise in business investment is underpinned by the strong outlook for the terms of trade.'
Thursday, March 25, 2010 » 01:40pm

Australian Menace - Cane Toads !

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/25/Golfers_take_swing_at_cane_toads_444058.html

Golf, it seems, is the natural enemy of the cane toad.
For decades Queenslanders have armed themselves with clubs to vent their frustration with the pest species, or exercise the inner sadist, through rounds of 'Cane Toad golf'
Come this weekend, toads will have a new golfing accessory to fear - the glove.
Toads caught during this year's Toad Day Out in north Queensland will be recycled to make leather for wallets and, ironically golf gloves.
'Apparently there is quite a market for toad-skin golf gloves in Japan,' Cairns organiser Lisa Ahrens said.
Dalrymple MP Shane Knuth, who was the driving force behind the Toad Day Out concept, said it was hoped some 20,000 toads would be handed in to drop off points in Townsville, Cairns and Charters
Towers.
He said there would be prizes for those who caught the biggest and the most toads and Westpac had agreed to pay a $1 bounty per toad caught to charity groups.
Thursday, March 25, 2010

Tourism Australia launches new campaign

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Finance/2010/03/31/Tourism_Australia_launches_new_campaign_446400.html

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 » 04:04pm
There is nothing like Australia.
That's the new tag line Tourism Australia will be using to promote the nation to international tourists as part of a fresh campaign to harness the power of online and social media.
The body is sure that, unlike the previous 'Where they bloody hell are you?' campaign, it will be a success.
Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said the new campaign was built to last.
'We have tried the Lara Bingle approach,' he said at the launch of the campaign in Sydney on Wednesday.
'We have to have a strategy that survives ... we actually think this has some longevity.'
The campaign will be rolled out in two stages.
The first stage invites the Australian public to submit photos and short descriptions of where they live and their favourite holiday places to show the world why they should visit.
All of the entries will be used to create an interactive map of Australia, while a number of the best will be used online and in print advertising.
'Australian are the experts on what is unique and special about their country and we want to share this with potential travellers in a way that will make them want to come and visit our country,' Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said.
Australians will be able to start logging their photos and stories on a special website from April 16 to May 12.
Mr McEvoy said online and social media was becoming increasingly important for promoting Australia internationally as a tourist destination.
'We've had a lot of success on our Facebook page,' he said.
'This kind of success proves that the digital space is where we can really make our mark and the marketing of Australia is no longer about the traditional 30 second television commercial.'
The second phase of the There's nothing like Australia' campaign, will be announced in May and will include video material for broadcast in cinemas, television and online.

Bidding war for radio telescope

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/01/Bidding_war_for_radio_telescope_446635.html

South Africa is in a bidding race against Australia to host the world's most powerful radio telescope.
Known as the Square Kilometre Array or SKA, the telescope is expected to be 10,000 times faster than similar existing instruments.
South Africa's Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor stressed the instrument's contribution to research.
'The SKA is one of the great scientific projects of the 21st century.
'It's a new generation radio telescope, which will be 50 times more sensitive than any of the existing radio telescopes currently in operation in 25 countries around the world,' said Ms Pandor.
The SKA telescope will be able to probe the first stars and black holes, shed light on how the universe is expanding and even scan for alien life.
Thursday, April 01, 2010

Mars radar could help stave off drought

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/02/Mars_radar_could_help_stave_off_drought_446917.html

Technology used to discover underground ice on Mars could also be used in the search for water on Earth and help ward off conflict in the arid Middle East, a NASA scientist said on Thursday.
A probe launched by the US space agency NASA discovered in 2007 that the desert which covers Mars sat on enough frozen water to submerge the Red Planet.
The same radar technology should be used in the vast deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, scientist Essam Heggy told a UN-sponsored water conference in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.
'We (in the region) are best placed to use this technology,' Heggy told participants at the United Nations Development Program-sponsored conference.
The equipment, dubbed Marsis, consists of a radar sounder with a 40m antenna fitted to an orbiter that is able to bounce radio waves 3.7km beneath the surface of Mars.
Heggy said the technology could detect water up to 1km beneath the dense deserts that cover much of the Middle East and North Africa and which experts say threaten to consume more land in the next century.
Scans taken by NASA showed an especially arid region of Darfur in Sudan sat on top of 6,000-year-old valleys and lakes.
The 'water that was at the surface is now on the subsurface level', said Heggy, a planetary scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
'If we don't have these images we're shooting in the dark.'
Middle East countries, which include the world's largest oil exporters, spend more on oil discovery than any other region in the world but devote the least amount of funds to water exploration, Heggy said.
'Water has no substitute. But still, we're not looking for it,' he said, adding that its scarcity could trigger potential water-related conflicts in the region.
'Water is a resource, like any other resource. And we have seen conflicts over resources,' he said.
Friday, April 02, 2010 » 03:36am

Deadly new legal drug bound for UK (United Kingdom)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/04/02/Deadly_new_legal_drug_bound_for_UK_446987.html

A British 'legal drugs' manufacturer based in Belgium has told Sky News the UK is about to be flooded with a deadly new drug called naphyrone.
Dave Llewellyn, who admits supplying large quantities of mephedrone to customers in the UK, said the new chemical is so dangerous he was refusing to sell it on his website - although it would not be against the law.
'This stuff is absolutely evil - it's going to cause all sorts of psychological problems,' he told Sky News.
'It will cause long-term brain damage from the very first hit and eventually it's going to end up with bodies.'
Naphyrone is already being marketed as a mephedrone replacement, but according to Mr Llewellyn it is far more toxic than many illegal drugs like cocaine and ecstasy.
The substance is sold online under the name NRG-1 and costs as little as 25 pence a hit.
The fact it is so cheap means, according to Mr Llewellyn, that it is likely to become hugely popular with youngsters.
'I think it really could be Europe's crystal meth. I can see an epidemic where people are getting into it without realising what they're getting into and then having to go back for more.'
For the moment naphyrone is not widely available in the UK, but its presence is a concern for many established scientists.
Medical director of the charity Addaction Dr Ken Checinski has warned those considering taking the designer drug to think again.
'We know a little about its chemistry. We know it's a variant of other substances both legal and illegal that can cause psychological and physical harm,' he said.
The Government is currently trying to outlaw mephedrone - but naphyrone is likely to escape the ban for the moment.
Mephedrone has been linked to the deaths of a number of people across Europe.
Mr Llewellyn says the UK's lucrative legal drugs market, which is worth hundreds of millions of pounds every year, is being targeted by dealers based in the Far East.
'The Chinese have been getting this ready for the last six months to take over the moment mephedrone is banned.
'It has been ready but why have two things banned at the same time - they want to keep their factories churning over these chemicals.'
Naphyrone will present legislators with another headache.
It is also likely to reignite the debate about how best to deal with the wave of new legal synthetic drugs which continue to hit the market, despite the ban of previous substances
Friday, April 02, 2010 » 08:03am

Japan plugs in to electric car

Recharging Electric cars in few countries 2010

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/02/Japan_plugs_in_to_electric_car_446932.html

A four-seater, bubble-shaped car made by Mitsubishi has become the first mass-market electric vehicle to go on sale in Japan.
The zero-emission i-MiEV, which has until now only been available to businesses to buy, is fitted with a lithium-ion battery pack that powers an electric motor.
It gives the compact city car a top speed of 130kmh and a range between charges of 160 kilometres.
When the battery runs down, the user plugs the onboard charger into a mains power socket and the car will fully recharge itself in six to seven hours.
It takes just 30 minutes to recharge from a more powerful charging station, but in Japan there are currently only 60 nationwide.
The Japanese government has offered consumers incentives to buy the car and with these discounts the price of a new iMiev is nearly $A33,200.
As the first private Japanese customers handed over their deposits on new i-MiEVs, Mitsubishi explained that the vehicle was being sold on a lease basis.
'Through the maintenance lease, owning the i-MiEV is made easier for the customer as the leasing company takes care of all government incentive paperwork and inspection and maintenance of the vehicle can be taken care of precisely and with peace of mind at Mitsubishi Motors sales outlets,' the firm said.
'In addition, the lease fees reflect the low maintenance fees inherent to a minicar.'
Mitsubishi plans to sell 4,000 i-MiEV vehicles in Japan over the next 12 months and 5,000 more overseas, mainly in Europe.
Meanwhile, rival Nissan is hoping to produce 50,000 of its green model Leaf worldwide in the car's first year after it goes on sale in December
Friday, April 02, 2010 » 05:48am

Childhood food allergy 'an epidemic'

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/09/Childhood_food_allergy_an_epidemic_438017.html

Childhood allergy rates have hit 'epidemic proportions' in Australia, prompting health experts to broaden their efforts to combat the mysterious condition.
Canberra-based allergy expert Dr Ray Mullins said 15,000 Australian children born this year would develop a potentially fatal food allergy before they reached school age.
Food allergies - particularly allergies to peanuts and tree nuts - were a growing problem with no known cause, and they now affected three to six per cent of children under the age of three.
'This translates to 65,000 little kids with food allergy before they reach school age, (including) 25,000 now with peanut or tree nut allergies', Dr Mullins told AAP on Tuesday.
'On current birth rates, another 15,000 kids born every year will develop food allergy in the first few years of life.
'It's a public health problem of epidemic proportions.'
Dr Mullins, president of the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), points to a WA-based study which found about 80 per cent of schools had at least one student at risk of a severe allergic reaction to food - anaphylaxis.
One in seven of the schools reported a student had suffered an anaphylactic reaction - requiring in emergency injection with adrenaline - in the past 12 months.
Dr Mullins said there were 'lots of theories' about what was driving the nation's rising incidence of food allergy in children.
'Lots of work is being done to find reasons for the increase, and ways to intervene, they are still on the remote horizon,' he said.
'In the meantime we have an immediate need to teach people to look after these kids, to care for them appropriately.'
ASCIA on Wednesday launched an online food allergy training course targeted at childcare workers, teachers and other people who care for children.
The free course covers the basics of food allergy, its major triggers, how to identify someone suffering anaphylaxis and its first-response treatment including how to use an adrenaline injector such as an EpiPen.
Dr Mullins said the unique resource was designed to use in remote areas where face-to-face training was not possible, or as a refresher for staff.
It was a necessary move 'given the size of the problem and the increasing numbers of kids that we are seeing day by day,' he said.
'To our knowledge this is the first time anything like this has been made available anywhere in the world - It is a world first,' Dr Mullins also said.
The free course can be found online at www.allergy.org.au/etraining.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 » 08:46pm

Row over hotels refusing gay couples

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/04/05/Row_over_hotels_refusing_gay_couples_447914.html

Bed and breakfasts run by Christians should be allowed to turn away gay couples on religious grounds, a leading Conservative has said.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said hotels should not be allowed to discriminate against homosexuals.
But, in a secret recording, he suggested individuals should have the right to decide who stays in their home.
The comments, made at a meeting of the Centre for Policy Studies thinktank, have sparked anger among gay rights activists.
After his remarks were published in The Observer, Mr Grayling said he was not opposed to gay rights and would not be pressing for a change in the law.
The row comes after the owner of the Swiss BandB in Cookham, Berkshire, was reported to the police for refusing to take in a gay couple on the grounds it was against her Christian principles.
The recording of the meeting on Wednesday shows Mr Grayling said: 'I think we need to allow people to have their own consciences.
'I took the view that if it's a question of somebody who's doing a BandB in their own home, that individual should have the right to decide who does and who doesn't come into their own home.'
The couple who were refused a room by the Swiss BandB told Sky News Mr Grayling's comments were 'nearly as bad as being turned away from the BandB in the first place'.
'You don't expect that sort of attitude from a public figure. You expect it from some anonymous bigot, maybe, but not from someone in his position,' Michael Black said, sitting next to his partner John Morgan.
Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told Sky News the row said a 'great deal' about the Conservatives.
'I think what it shows is that the Tories haven't really changed. When the camera is on they say one thing, when the camera is off they say another,' he said.
'The law is the law and we should live within it,' he added.
Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the gay rights group Stonewall, said the comments would be 'very alarming to a lot of gay people who may have been thinking of voting Conservative'.
He said allowing BandB owners to turn away gay couples would be contrary to sex equality legislation brought in in 2007 - which Mr Grayling backed.
'The legal position is perfectly clear,' Mr Summerskill told The Observer.
'If you are going to offer the public a commercial service - and BandBs are a commercial service - then people cannot be refused that service on the grounds of sexuality.'
He added: 'I don't think anyone, including the Tories, wants to go back to the days where there is a sign outside saying: 'No gays, no blacks, no Irish'.'
Mr Grayling said: 'Any suggestion that I am against gay rights is wholly wrong.
'It is a matter of record that I voted for civil partnerships. I also voted in favour of the legislation that prohibited bed and breakfast owners from discriminating against gay people.
'However, this is a difficult area and on Wednesday I made comments which reflected my view that we must be sensitive to the genuinely held principles of faith groups in this country.'
Monday, April 05, 2010 » 07:38a

Aus leads in nuclear cleanup technology

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/15/Aus_leads_in_nuclear_cleanup_technology_451511.html

Australia is poised to lead the world in providing technology to clean up dangerous nuclear waste, the head of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has announced in the US.
A day after 47 nations, including Australia, attended the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in Washington DC where securing nuclear materials was one of the top issues, ANSTO chief executive Dr Adi Paterson launched a new initiative to tap into the growing global demand for the treatment of 'difficult' nuclear wastes.
ANSTO is the world leader in hot isostatic pressing (HIP) technology and Dr Paterson was buoyed by the US Department of Energy's (DoE) recent decision to select HIP as the technology to treat the radioactive wastes known as the Idaho Calcines.
'The DoE announcement is a turning point that will lead to widespread acceptance of the technology for legacy clean-up campaigns, not only in the United States, but around the world,' Dr Paterson told an Austrade event at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC on Wednesday (local time).
ANSTO plans to build a plant at Lucas Heights to process its waste from medical radioisotope production using HIP technology.
To address the growing global demand for the technology ANSTO announced it would establish a dedicated business group to pursue international opportunities.
Dr Paterson said two European countries had expressed interest in specialised applications using this technology.
Other producers of radioisotopes had also indicated interest in early construction of plants to deal with their waste, he said.
Thursday, April 15, 2010 » 10:12am

Toyota recalling 870,000 minivans

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/17/Toyota_recalling_870000_minivans_452233.html

Toyota is recalling nearly 900 thousand of its Sienna minivans in the United States and Canada because of corrosion problems.
The corrosion problem is located within the minivans spare tyre carrier and affects 1998 models through to 2010.
The announcement comes a day after the world's biggest car manufacturer said it would suspend production and worldwide sales of its Lexus GX 460, and would conduct safety tests on all its SUVs due to reports of a rollover risk.
Saturday, April 17, 2010 » 02:21pm

Hotel customers supply pedal power

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2010/04/18/Hotel_customers_supply_pedal_power_452450.html

A luxury hotel in Copenhagen is taking green energy to a new level, guests will be able to help provide electricity by pedalling bikes hooked up to generators.
Every guest at the 366-room Crowne Plaza hotel who generates 100 watt hours will in return get a meal worth 200 kroner ($A39), hotel spokesman Frederikke Toemmergaard said.
Two bicyles will be set up with little screens mounted on the handle bars so riders can see how much electricty they have generated for the hotel, which bills itself as 'one of the world's greenest'.
Thanks to the set-up, guests will be able 'to reduce their carbon footprint and save money and energy', Toemmergaard said.
'A person in bad shape has to pedal about 10 minutes to generate 10 watt hours and someone in good shape can generate up to 100 watt hours in 60 minutes,' she said.
The 26-floor hotel claims to be the first hotel in Denmark to have all of its energy provided with renewable sources thanks to solar panels and a groundwater-based cooling and heating system.
Sunday, April 18, 2010 » 11:35am

Rooftop farming booming in New York

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/04/25/Rooftop_farming_booming_in_New_York_454957.html

Urban farming is a growth industry in New York city's concrete jungle and with little open land free, agriculturalists and beekeepers have taken to the rooftops to pursue their passion.
Andrew Cote uses the emergency fire ladder to climb up to the roof of his East Village building, where he tends to 250 bee hives.
Cote, a professor of Japanese literature doubles up as president of the New York City Beekeepers Association, and is happy the city authorised beekeeping in mid-March after an 11-year ban.
'The city wants to plant one million trees, and the trees need to be pollinated,' Cote told AFP.
The ban forced beekeepers into hiding, fearing a $US2,000 ($A2,157.5) fine if caught. Now Cote believes the bees are vital to helping keep the city green.
'Our bees pollinate, and they clean the air. It is a way to connect with nature,' he said.
Bees also produce around 100 pounds of honey per hive per year, he said -- honey that he sells at the city's various farmer's markets.
Cote said he has received several requests to install rooftop beehives, and the demand is such that on Sunday he is scheduled to offer a course for aspiring apiculturalists.
On the other side of Manhattan, in the posh Upper East Side, Eli Zabar, owner of the upscale 'Vinegar Factory' delicatessen, inspects the crops he is growing on the roof of the old factory bought in 1991.
'I began the green houses 15 years ago,' Zabar told AFP.
'I grow heirloom tomatoes, lots of different kinds of lettuce, herbs, basil, rosemary, thyme, raspberries, figs, beets.
'We use the heat of the bakeries and pastries, we recycle the heat. With the use of the heat we have eliminated our (carbon) footprint.
'You harvest in the morning, you sell in the afternoon, you don't refrigerate, it tastes better... We pick everything ripe and ready to eat. All our products here are organic.'
Depending on the hour of the time of day, Zabar says with a smile, 'the green houses smell of bread, brownie or croissant'.
About half of the items Zabar sells in his deli comes from rooftop farms.
From Manhattan to Brooklyn, whether on rooftops, backyards or in any of the city's 600 community gardens, urban farming is a growing phenomenon.
The movement is helped along by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who seeks to turn the city into a sustainable development champion. Through 'PlaNYC 2030,' a program he launched on Earth Day 2007, people who install 'green roofs' can get a tax break.
At Randall's Island, in New York's East River, the city's Parks and Recreation Department is currently testing 16 different types of vegetation that could be placed on the roofs of schools, hospitals or other public buildings.
'These are patches of succulent vegetation, like sedum, which protect the roofs, (and) isolate the buildings from the heat because the UV (ultra-violet) sun is not hitting,' said senior project manager John Robilotti.
The rooftop vegetation also helps maintain a steady temperature inside and captures storm water, which would otherwise run off into the street.
'The water that does come out is filtered and kept in tanks, and we use it to water when there is no rain,' Robilotti said.
'(The roofs) absorb carbon and create oxygen, so we take carbon from the carbon cycle. And they attract birds, butterflies, bees. We even saw a red-tailed hawk.'
Sunday, April 25, 2010 » 05:05pm

Shanghai launches World Expo 2010

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/05/01/Shanghai_launches_World_Expo_2010_457057.html

A proud Shanghai has celebrated the opening of the 2010 World Expo with a lavish riverside display of fireworks, fountains and laser lights that rival the stunning launch of the Beijing Olympics in its extravagance.
In a toast at a gala dinner on Friday for dignitaries invited to watch the ceremony, President Hu Jintao said he was confident the world would 'witness a successful, splendid and unforgettable World Expo'.
The star-studded indoor festivities included action star Jackie Chan, Japanese singer Shinji Tanimura, concert pianist Lang Lang and Italian opera star Andrea Bocelli, among 2300 performers.
Afterwards, guests moved outside for a lights, music and fireworks jubilee that lit up the drab banks of the Huangpu river with 1,200 searchlights, powerful lasers and mobile fountains.
The normally tea-coloured waters glowed with 6000 rosy-hued 0.5-metre LED balls and lights from a parade of flag boats representing nations participating in the Expo.
The expo opens to the public on Saturday and is expected to draw 70 million people over six months to pavilions from almost 200 nations designed to reflect the urban sustainability theme, Better City, Better Life.
For Shanghai, the expo marks an emphatic comeback as a major world city after decades of spartan industrialism following the 1949 communist revolution.
Like the 2008 Olympics, the event is showcasing China's growing economic and geopolitical sway, both for the world and for its own public.
China is splashing out 28.6 billion yuan ($A4.53 billion) on the expo itself, and many billions more on other improvements for this city of 20 million.
Freshly painted buildings, new highways, subway lines and airport terminals - all proclaim the country's newfound status as a modern, increasingly affluent industrial giant.
Shanghai residents had crowded into areas near the river from the early afternoon, hoping to get a glimpse of the evening celebrations attended by Hu and other leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Expo organisers had insisted on keeping details of their plans for the evening performances hush-hush, saying they did not want to spoil the surprise.
The elaborate outdoor performances, focused on the themes, Welcome to China, Harmonious Gathering, and Celebration, were centred on what organisers said is the world's largest LED screen, at 280 metres long and 33 metres high, and a fountain shooting water 80 metres high.
'This show couldn't be done anywhere but in China,' said David Atkins, the Australian executive producer of the outdoor performance, whose company was also behind the ceremonies for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the recent winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Saturday, May 01, 2010 » 06:13am

1000 cleaners to scrub graffiti in NSW

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/05/02/1000_cleaners_to_scrub_graffiti_in_NSW_457323.html

An army of volunteers will put on gloves and goggles and pick up buckets and rags across NSW today to try to remove unsightly graffiti from various hotspots.
More than one thousand volunteers are set to scrub 28 local government areas free from graffiti for the state's inaugural Graffiti Action Day.
They'll be instructed in removing graffiti safely and effectively before they remove the unsightly artwork from 142 designated sites.
Peter McLean from Keep Australia Beautiful NSW says Graffiti Action Day shows just how easy it is to remove graffiti quickly and effectively.
Sunday, May 02, 2010 » 05:32am

British spend months discussing weather

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/05/15/British_spend_months_discussing_weather_462122.html

Famously weather-obsessed British people spend on average six months of their lives talking about whether it's going to rain or shine, according to a survey published on Friday.
Speculation about whether it's going to be wet, complaints about the cold and exclamations about the heat are also the first points of conversation with strangers or business acquaintances for 58 percent of Britons, it said.
The study of 2,018 adults by pollsters ICM found Britons talk about the weather for about 49 hours every year and the subject comes up more often than work, TV, sport or gossip.
Nineteen percent of over 65s questioned also believe they can predict the weather as well as a professional weatherman.
The most usual explanation for the British fascination with weather is that it is so changeable here - although this does not explain why other meteorologically-challenged countries are not similarly interested.
Whatever the reason, 'these findings prove that we really are a nation obsessed by our climate,' said Paul Llewellyn of Lloyds TSB Insurance, which commissioned the poll.
Saturday, May 15, 2010 » 04:13am

Euthanasia computer seminar

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/04/Euthanasia_computer_seminar_447818.html

Euthanasia groups will hold computer seminars around Australia to teach people how they can defy the federal government's proposed internet filter to obtain suicide information.
Exit International says its 'Hacking Masterclass' will show the elderly and dying how to use proxy servers and virtual networks so they can slip past the filter and find information on 'safe suicide'.
It was divulged last year that the government plans to block access to certain websites discussing euthanasia and assisted suicide, which is against the law, as well as sites devoted to pornographic and other illegal activities.
The federal government and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy have been widely criticised for the censorship move, by the United States government among others.
Exit International founder and director Philip Nitschke said 100 people had already signed up to the first five-and-a-half-hour 'Safe Suicide Workshop' to be held in the western Perth suburb of Floreat on Wednesday.
Sunday, April 04, 2010 » 09:43pm

From Pornography to Parliament

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/13/From_porn_to_Parliament_439487.html

An award-winning British porn director has been selected as a Liberal Democrat candidate.
Anna Arrowsmith, who has twice been named adult entertainment director of the year, is standing for election in Gravesham, Kent.
Party leader Nick Clegg said her work was 'not exactly my cup of tea' but praised her for not being a 'cardboard cut-out Westminster politician'.
He told GMTV it was important that people like her, who care about their local area, get involved in politics.
When news of her selection was confirmed, Mrs Arrowsmith wrote on her Twitter page: 'From porn to Parliament, here I come!'
Using the pseudonym Anna Span, she has shot more than 250 explicit scenes for stations such as Television X.
She was named best director at the 2008 and 2009 UK Adult Film and Television Awards and now runs adult entertainment company Easy on the Eye productions.
Mrs Arrowsmith, who has an MA in philosophy, said she wants to make porn more female-friendly.
She decided to stand as a reaction to the expenses scandal and the lack of women in Parliament.
'If people don't know what I do for a living then they would never know. The local party and the local people who I have so far met have seen that I'm very driven,' she said.
'I'm not campaigning on behalf of my old industry. I'm campaigning on behalf of the people in the Gravesham area.
'When people get to see me, they will realise that I'm used to project managing and that I'm driven to achieve change rather than just promising it.'
The married 38-year-old lives in Groombridge, near Tunbridge Wells.
Saturday, March 13, 2010 »

UK town creates own currency

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2010/04/03/UK_town_creates_own_currency_447394.html

A town in Gloucestershire in the UK has launched its own form of local currency.
The new form of cash is designed to encourage shoppers to think locally when spending.
The residents of Stroud can exchange sterling for 'Stroud pounds', which come in one, two, five and 10 pound denominations.
Each pound is worth one sterling.
Thirty businesses have signed up for the program already.
'Stroud pounds' have been in circulation for six months, and local cafe owner Nick Allen has been a member business for several months.
'I like the idea of looking at models of economy that are no longer about feeding the big boys where we become self initiators,' Mr Allen said.
'I see the Stroud pound as having that potential.'
Clare Gerbrands, another local business person, is not so positive.
'We don't take the Stroud Pound because it doesn't really make sense for our business,' she said.
'It would cost us GBP 60 to join, then we have to pay 2% on any currency we buy and 3% on any we sell back which is 5%.
'So we can't actually pay any of our business costs with Stroud Pounds.'
But the founders of the scheme say it will eventually pay off for the business owners of Stroud, with flow on effects for the environment.
Molly Scott-Cato, director of the Stroud Pound Co-op, says it's a truly eco-friendly way of doing business.
'At the moment we're relying very much on a trading system where a lot of what we need for our everyday life comes from the other side of the world,' she said.
'With climate change those systems of supply might not be so reliable as they have been.
'So we feel it's safer if we've got people producing, especially food and our basic needs in the local economy and then trading it with each other so that we're more self reliant at home really.
Saturday, April 03, 2010 » 02:12pm

Pentagon locks down after shooting (USA)

(I think it was staged, they just needed an excuse to secure Pentagon even more, LM).

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/05/Pentagon_locks_down_after_shooting_436353.html

A gunman coolly drew a weapon from his pocket and opened fire at the teeming subway entrance to the Pentagon complex on Thursday evening, wounding two police officers before being shot and critically wounded, officials said.
Authorities said all three were taken to a hospital.
Richard Keevill, chief of Pentagon police, said the two officers suffered grazing wounds that were not life-threatening.
The suspect, believed to be a US citizen, walked up to a security checkpoint at the Pentagon in an apparent attempt to get inside the Defence Department headquarters, at about 6.40pm (1040 AEDT on Friday).
'He just reached in his pocket, pulled out a gun and started shooting,' Keevill said. 'He walked up very cool. He had no real emotion on his face.'(Probably a Clone, LM).
The Pentagon officers returned fire with semiautomatic weapons.
'His (the suspect's) injury is pretty critical,' Keevill said.
The rush-hour assault happened outside a massively fortified building that nevertheless is near busy crowds of transit riders.
The subway station is immediately adjacent to the Pentagon building.
Since a redesign following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, riders can no longer disembark directly into the building.
Riders take a long escalator ride to the surface from the underground station, then pass through a security check outside the doors of the building, where further security awaits.
In the immediate aftermath, all Pentagon entrances were secured, then all were reopened except one from the subway, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
A Pentagon official working late in the building said people inside first heard of the shooting on television. They were later told the building was locked down and to stay in place. The huge five-sided building is crisscrossed by 10 main corridors.
Then at around 7.30pm (1140 AEDT), they heard an announcement on the public address system that they could leave through Corridor 3 - one widely used to get access to one of the parking lots.
'We really don't know anything, just that we can leave now through that corridor,' one official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak about the incident.
Friday, March 05, 2010 » 01:46pm

Alcohol interlocks for Queensland Drink Driver

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National-Regional/2010/03/10/Alcohol_interlocks_for_Qld_drink_driver_438295.html

Drink drivers will be forced to fork out for alcohol interlocks and use them for at least one year under new Queensland laws.
Premier Anna Bligh said legislation would be introduced in state parliament on Wednesday to mandate the use of the technology for those convicted of high-level or repeat drink driving or of dangerous driving while drunk.
The mandatory condition would be attached to their licence for 12 months.
Alcohol interlocks are an in-vehicle breath test connected to the ignition that only allows the car to be started if a breath test is passed.
Ms Bligh said the conditions would be imposed on first-time drink drivers caught with a blood alcohol limit of more than 0.15 per cent and those who have been caught with readings between 0.05 and 0.15 twice in five years.
Those charged with dangerous driving while drunk or who refuse to give breath or blood specimens will also be targeted.
'This device will force known drink drivers to take responsibility for their behaviour and not drink and drive,' the premier told parliament.
'This will not only inconvenience drink drivers, they will be out of pocket as they will have to pay for these devices and they are not cheap.'
She said the devices would also give other motorists some extra assurance of greater protection from dangerous drink drivers.
There were 71 road crash fatalities involving drink drivers last year, Ms Bligh said.
And tens of thousands of Queenslanders continued to get into their vehicles over the alcohol limit, thousands of them repeatedly.
'This is a bold move, a move designed to save lives,' Ms Bligh said.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 » 01:43pm

Federal border protection under pressure (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/07/Federal_border_protection_under_pressure_437064.html

The federal goverment's border protection policies are again under scrutiny after two boats of asylum seekers were intercepted in two days.
Authorities picked up a boat carrying 28 passengers and two crew, north-west of Adele Island, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
On Saturday authorities intercepted a boat carrying 80 passengers and three crew.
Both boats are being taken to detention facilities on Christmas Island.
20 boats have arrived so far this year.
The opposition's spokesman for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison, said more than 4000 people had arrived illegally on boats since the Rudd government changed its border protection policies.
The government's policies were enticing asylum seekers, Mr Morrison said.
'There is no shortage of potential customers for people smugglers under the Rudd government's policies,' Mr Morrison said in a statement.
But Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said 'situations around the world' meant there were large numbers of displaced people looking for resettlement.
Sunday, March 07, 2010 » 10:51am

Soldier jailed for refusing second tour (England)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/03/06/Soldier_jailed_for_refusing_second_tour_436834.html

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton went absent without leave rather than serve a second tour of duty in the country. He later campaigned against the conflict.
The 27-year-old was jailed for nine months and had his rank reduced at a military court in Colchester, Essex, after admitting the Awol charge.
The court martial hearing was told Glenton went missing on June 11, 2007, when he was due to return to Dalton Barracks in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
He was absent for 737 days before handing himself in, prosecutor Group Captain Tim Backer said.
Glenton, from York, had already performed a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006 serving with the Royal Logistic Corps, the hearing was told.
On his return, he was ordered to go back to the conflict zone after nine months, although army guidelines suggest soldiers should not be deployed again within 18 months.
Nick Wrack, speaking in mitigation, said Glenton suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after his first stint in the war zone.
When the soldier raised concerns about going back out, he suffered bullying, Mr Wrack said.
'When he first raised with his staff sergeant his reluctance to be deployed again, instead of being dealt with in a sensible way it resulted in the sergeant at the time bullying and intimidating Lance Corporal Glenton,' said Mr Wrack.
'He was called a coward and a malingerer.
'When this information was brought to his commanding officer, the sergeant was spoken to, but this reinforced the bullying.'
Glenton was the first serving member of the armed forces to have headed up an anti-war demonstration since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001
Saturday, March 06, 2010 » 05:22pm

Dutch group endorses right to suicide

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/03/09/Dutch_group_endorses_right_to_suicide_437865.html

A campaign to give elderly people in the Netherlands the right to assisted suicide says it has gathered more than 100,000 signatures, hoping to push the boundaries another notch in the country that first legalised euthanasia.
The signatures are enough to force a debate in parliament, where it is certain to face resistance. Even if widely approved, the proposal would normally go through a lengthy process of committee work and consensus-building that could take years.
The legalisation of euthanasia for the terminally ill in 2002 was preceded by decades of discussion and quiet negotiation that attached stringent conditions and medical supervision.
Spokeswoman Marie-Jose Grotenhuis of the 'Of Free Will' campaign said on Monday that the group had hoped for the 40,000 signatures needed to bring the idea to parliament when it launched its initiative in February. It has so far received 112,500 signatures, in a country of 16 million.
The group proposes training non-doctors to administer a lethal potion to people over the age of 70 who 'consider their lives complete' and want to die. The assistants would need to be certified and make sure that patients were not acting on a whim or due to a temporary depression, but from a heartfelt and enduring desire to die.
'We've been overwhelmed by the amount of reactions, especially because people took it so seriously and reactions were mostly positive,' Grotenhuis told reporters Monday.
Many religious groups oppose any form of suicide on principle. The Royal Dutch Medical Association - which played a key role in supporting the nation's euthanasia law - says it opposes the assisted suicide idea in part because it believes it would undermine doctors' position in the current euthanasia policy.
Under Dutch law, two doctors must agree a patient is suffering unbearably from illness with no hope of recovery, and wants to die, before he or she can be given a lethal cocktail of sedatives.
Several European countries allow some assistance to terminally ill people who wish to die.
In Switzerland assisting someone to die is not illegal as long as there is no 'selfish motivation.' Belgium has followed the Dutch model, while Britain and France allow terminally ill people to refuse treatment but stop short of allowing active euthanasia.
The Dutch doctors' association says it fears patients would use an assisted suicide policy as a way of getting around their own doctors.
Grotenhuis said on Monday her group would wait for national elections on June 9 before bringing the matter before parliament.
Around 2500 euthanasia cases were reported in the Netherlands in 2009, a number that has risen gradually in the past decade. An official panel set up to review euthanasia cases attributes the rise to greater willingness of doctors to disclose the practice.
Medical association spokesman Sander Hofman said on Monday that not all doctors agree that assisted suicide should be banned or that doctors should play no role whatsoever when one of their patients is determined to commit suicide.
'For instance, a doctor probably has a role in easing the suffering of a person who is refusing to eat or drink,'
he said.
He said the organisation was setting up internal debate panels to discuss the matter further.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 » 04:12pm

Nitschke hosts UK euthanasia workshop

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/16/Nitschke_hosts_UK_euthanasia_workshop_440493.html

Australian right-to-die activist Dr Philip Nitschke has arrived in London to hold a workshop on voluntary euthanasia.
Dr Nitschke was detained in France as he prepared to travel to Britain, but released a short time later.
'We spent 12 hours detained at Heathrow a year ago and I spent half-an-hour detained as I tried to get on Eurostar in Paris two days ago while the authorities decided whether I was a fit and just person to come into your country,' Dr Nitschke told Sky News on Monday.
'I was fortunate in that they - after much flurry of phone calls back and forth - decided that I could have a strict 10 days in Britain.'
Dr Nitschke, director of assisted suicide group Exit International, rejected any suggestion that those attending the meeting were vulnerable.
'They (authorities) have allowed me to come in and I'm grateful for that because we've got a growing number of members of Exit and they want choices,' he said.
'The best way to give them those choices is to be able to come here and run these sort of sessions so that they get their questions answered.'
His arrival comes amid intense debate over assisted suicide in the UK.
After years of campaigning, multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy last year won a landmark court case forcing the government to say when it would be likely to prosecute in assisted suicide cases.
Guidelines released last month by Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC said that where the decision was 'voluntary, clear, settled and informed', and where the person who helped them acted 'wholly compassionately', prosecution was less likely.
But assisted suicide remains illegal with a possible jail term of 14 years.
ProLife Alliance chair Dominica Roberts objected to Dr Nitschke coming to the UK, saying: 'I do think that perhaps he's not a desirable person to be allowed to come here frightening our disabled and elderly people'.
Dying Well Group chairwoman Illora Finlay called for Dr Nitschke to be monitored while in Britain.
'I hope that he will be closely observed because I find the kind of suicide message that he's pedalling extremely worrying,' she told Sky.
Baroness Finlay also said people didn't need to kill themselves to 'die well'.
'The vast majority of deaths in this country are now much, much more peaceful, much better than they used to be because of all of the advances that we've made within the medical care of people that are dying,' she said.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 » 06:53am

British couple appeal Dubai conviction

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/15/British_couple_appeal_Dubai_conviction_440030.html

A British couple is appealing a jail sentence after being accused of sharing a passionate kiss in a Dubai restaurant.
Cosmopolitan Dubai has the most lenient social codes in the Gulf, but authorities can still crack down on people charged with pushing the limits.
Ayman Najifi, a Briton working in Dubai, and a female tourist were arrested in November after a complaint about public kissing. They were convicted of inappropriate behaviour and other charges - bringing a month in jail.
The couple says it was just a 'peck on the cheek.' A court Sunday set the appeal for April 4.
In 2008, two Britons were sentenced to three months in jail for what authorities described as sex on the beach. The sentences were suspended.
Monday, March 15, 2010 » 09:03am

Hungarian parliament's Holocaust Bill

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/02/23/Hungarian_parliaments_Holocaust_Bill_432273.html

Hungary's parliament has approved a bill making Holocaust denial punishable by up to three years in prison, but the measure may be unconstitutional.
Lawmakers on Monday passed the bill submitted by Attila Mesterhazy, the prime ministerial candidate of the governing Socialist Party, by 197-1, with 142 abstentions.
Earlier attempts to ban Holocaust denial have been rejected by the courts for infringing on freedom of speech. Efforts to modify the Constitution to ensure the bill's legality have also failed.
Mesterhazy's proposal was backed by the Socialists and most of the Alliance of Free Democrats, a former coalition partner.
An opposition proposal to include the denial of Nazi and Communist crimes in the bill was rejected.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 » 12:30pm

Selective NSW school classes by internet (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National-Regional/2010/02/23/Selective_NSW_school_classes_by_internet_432282.html

Gifted students in remote areas of western NSW will now be able to study at a selective high school without leaving home.
The new virtual school, announced on Tuesday by the state government, means students won't have to travel long distances to regional centres for selective maths, English and science classes.
Students enrolled in the program will spend half their day doing selective classes by internet and half in their local schools.
'It's a great example of technology changing education for the better,' Education Minister Verity Firth told reporters in Sydney.
Partially selective schools had been very successful, she said.
'The government has made the decision to expand the number of places because we don't believe access to selective education should be determined by geography,' Ms Firth said.
More than 200 students applied to be part of the new program and Ms Firth met via video link with the 30 who were chosen.
They come from 17 schools in western NSW, from Blayney in the central west to Broken Hill in the far west.
If the program proves successful it could be made available in other areas of NSW, Ms Firth said.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 » 12:56pm

Four more US banks closed down

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Finance/2010/02/20/Four_more_US_banks_closed_down_431172.html

Regulators shut four banks from California to Florida on Friday, boosting to 20 the number of US bank failures this year following the 140 closures last year in the worst financial climate in decades...
The other seized banks were smaller and located in Florida and Texas.
They were Marco Community Bank, with a single office on Marco Island, a wealthy barrier island near Naples on Florida's Gulf Coast, and La Coste National Bank of La ...
Florida is among the states with the highest concentration of bank failures and where the meltdown in the real estate market brought an avalanche of soured mortgage loans.
Last year saw the failure of 14 banks in the state. Also high on the list are California, Georgia and Illinois.
As the economy has weakened, with unemployment rising, home prices tumbling and loan defaults soaring, bank failures have accelerated and sapped billions of dollars out of the federal deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year.
The 140 bank failures last year were the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis. They cost the insurance fund more than $US30 billion ($A33.26 billion). There were 25 bank failures in 2008 and just three in 2007.
Banks have been especially hurt by failed real estate loans, both residential and commercial. Banks that had lent to seemingly solid businesses are suffering losses as buildings sit vacant. As development projects collapse, builders are defaulting on their loans.
Smaller banks are more vulnerable to the losses than their bigger Wall Street counterparts, because commercial real estate makes up a larger portion of their portfolio.
If the economic recovery falters, defaults on the high-risk loans could spike. Many regional banks hold large concentrations of these loans...
The report said the defaults could crimp lending and cause the eviction of families from rental properties. Bank failures also could contribute to job losses and hurt the economic recovery.
Saturday, February 20, 2010 » 08:33pm

US plane crash purposely hit tax office

Plane crashes Taxation office in USA, Feb. 2010

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/02/19/US_plane_crash_purposely_hit_tax_office_430595.html

A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service has crashed his small plane into an office building housing nearly 200 federal tax employees, officials say, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as thick plumes of black smoke poured into the air.
A US law official identified the pilot as Joseph Stack and said investigators were looking at an anti-government message on the internet linked to him.
The website outlines problems with the IRS and says violence 'is the only answer.'
Federal law enforcement officials have said they were investigating whether the pilot, who is presumed to have died in the crash on on Thursday, slammed into the Austin building on purpose in an effort to blow up IRS offices. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
'Violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer,' the long note on Stack's website reads, citing past problems with the tax-collecting agency.
'I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well,' the note, dated Thursday, reads.
At least one person who worked in the building was unaccounted for and two people were hospitalised, said Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton. She did not have any information about the pilot.
About 190 IRS employees work in the building, and IRS spokesman Richard C. Sanford the agency is trying to account for all of its workers.
After the low-flying plane crashed into the building, flames shot out, windows exploded and workers scrambled to safety. Thick smoke billowed out of the second and third stories hours later as fire crews battled the blaze.
In a neighbourhood about 9 1/2 kilometres from the crash site, a home listed as belonging to Stack was on fire earlier on Thursday.
Two law enforcement officials said Stack had apparently set fire to his home before the suicidal plane flight.
Elbert Hutchins, who lives one house away from the house on a quiet, tree-lined middle class neighbourhood, said the house caught fire about 9:15am local time. He said a woman and her teenage daughter drove up to the house before firefighters arrived.
'They both were very, very distraught,' said Hutchins, a retiree who said he didn't know the family well. ''That's our house!' they cried 'That's our house!' '
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the agency confirmed the plane took off from an airport in Georgetown, Texas, and the pilot didn't file a flight plan.
Sitting at her desk in another building about a half-mile from the crash, Michelle Santibanez said she felt vibrations after the crash. She and her co-workers ran to the windows, where they saw a scene that reminded them of the September 11, 2001 US terror attacks, she said.
'It was the same kind of scenario with window panels falling out and desks falling out and paperwork flying,' said Santibanez, an accountant.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said an investigator from the board's Dallas office has been dispatched to the scene of the accident to start an investigation.
The FAA and NTSB officials said they had no information on whether the crash was intentional. The White House also said President Barack Obama was briefed about the crash.
As a precaution, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command launched two F-16 aircraft from Houston's Ellington Field, and is conducting an air patrol over the crash area.
Friday, February 19, 2010 » 07:42am

Speculation on Secret Economy Talks (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2010/02/06/Speculation_on_secret_economy_talks_425568.html

There are reports some of the world's top central bankers are gathering in Sydney for two days of secret talks on the fragile global economy. News Limited claims delegates from banks in Europe, Asia and the U.S. will attend the meeting amid tight security. The gathering coincides with a massive tumble on global sharemarkets amid fears the debt problems faced by several European nations could trigger another credit crisis. Key employment figures released in the U.S. this morning are also concerning. Revised data shows the number people who've lost their jobs since the beginning of the recession is actually 1.4 million more than first thought. The global worries also hit our sharemarket yesterday, the All Ordinaries plunged 2.5 per cent to a three month low wiping $31 billion dollars off the market.
Saturday, February 06, 2010 » 10:50am

Obama Visit to be a Boon for Queensland Tourism (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/02/02/Obama_visit_to_be_a_boon_for_Qld_tourism_424198.html

The premier says it's a long shot but tourism chiefs are already salivating at the thought of US President Barack Obama and his family sunning themselves in Queensland.
They remember what happened after the last presidential visit to the Sunshine State in 1996.
Images of then president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary heading out from Port Douglas to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef flooded news bulletins and newspapers in the United States.
Soon afterwards, tourism officials were gleefully graphing a 55 per cent jump in the number of Americans heading to north Queensland on holiday.
You can't buy that kind of publicity and Premier Anna Bligh knows it.
She's written to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urging him to send the Obamas north to his home state, after the president has completed his official duties during his planned visit in March.
And north Queensland's tourism leaders have been quick to talk up how much the region has to offer, both in terms of a holiday and a political backdrop.
With memories of the Clinton presidential visit still fresh in Port Douglas, north of Cairns, the local tourism board has gone into overdrive trying to secure a repeat.
They've lobbied the White House, the US ambassador, the Australian government and the Queensland government, and set up advocacy groups on Facebook and Twitter.
Tourism Port Douglas Daintree executive Doug Ryan says the group has been promoting the sleepy seaside town's relative isolation and natural beauty.
'We suggested it might be a good place for him and (his wife) Michelle to relax for a bit.'
But if sitting on a beach sipping cocktails from a coconut isn't the image the president's hoping to project, Mr Ryan says Port Douglas - on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest - is an ideal place for him to talk about climate change and other environmental issues.
'Those two things tied in with global warming, it would be a great place for him to make an environmental comment and to experience first hand what's going on up here,' he says.
Security is another of the town's selling points - it's long been popular with the rich and famous and the town's small size helped simplify security arrangements for the Clinton visit.
'It's a small town, we don't have large crowds so things like controlling security are much easier here,' Mr Ryan says.
President Clinton clearly thought so. After leaving the White House, he returned for a holiday in 2001 and was there when he learned of the September 11 attacks.
Ms Bligh admits it's a 'long shot', but says she's pulled out all the stops to get the Obamas to come to Queensland, including extending an invitation during her recent trade mission there.
'The president is a busy man but tourism has taken a real beating in Queensland during the global financial crisis and I will be doing everything I can to encourage him to come here.'
She says any visit by the president would be a boon for the industry, noting: 'A visit from President Obama would get huge coverage back in the States.'
Even more so if the president does as the White House has said and brings his glamorous wife and daughters Malia and Sasha.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 » 05:13pm

Endeavour blasts off into space

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/09/Endeavour_blasts_off_into_space_426647.html
The US space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of six astronauts have lifted off on a mission to deliver a module dubbed Tranquility to the International Space Station.
The pre-dawn launch on Monday was the last one in darkness if the rest of the shuttle schedule holds. Only four more shuttle flights are left.
Endeavour is carrying a new room for the International Space Station and an observation deck. These are the last major pieces for the orbiting complex.
The shuttle is scheduled to reach the space station on Wednesday. Its flight was delayed a day by cloudy weather.

The Obama Administration has yet to provide specifics on what happens after the last mission this autumn. NASA's back-to-the-moon Constellation program is a casualty under the new budget plan.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 » 09:25am

TV prices drop as market prepares for 3D

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/10/TV_prices_drop_as_market_prepares_for_3D_426973.html

Those in the market for a new television are reportedly either grabbing big bargains or holding off as the market prepares for the introduction of the next big thing - 3D. The Courier Mail reports recent research shows LED screen prices have dropped more than 19-hundred dollars over the past year. Comparison website GetPrice has told the paper searches for 3D TVs have soared ahead of their introduction in about two months.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 » 06:39am

Israel opens electric car grid

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/08/Israel_opens_electric_car_grid_426249.html

Israel is on schedule to inaugurate a revolutionary electric car grid with dozens of recharge stations and thousands of cars on the road by next year, the project's developers say.
The California-based company Better Place hopes Israel's model will lead a shift toward electric transportation worldwide.
Between 70 and 100 recharge stations will open across the country by 2011 to service a fleet of electric vehicles, the company said on Sunday at a news conference unveiling a visitor centre north of Tel Aviv.
Beginning in September, the company will test hundreds of cars and install a preliminary infrastructure before the project's commercial launch.
When the grid is complete, drivers will be able to recharge their vehicles using plugs installed next to parking spaces. On longer trips, motorists can stop at stations where a machine can replace the car's lithium ion battery. The cars, developed with Renault-Nissan, have a range of about 160km before the battery must be replaced.
Better Place has said users will pay for a monthly package that will include the price of the car, the battery and use of the grid. But it has yet to announce the cost, saying only that the price will be equal to or less than the price of a regular car.
The company, founded by Israel-American businessman Shai Agassi, a former top executive at German software giant SAP, raised $US350 million ($A405 million) from an HSBC-led investor consortium last month, one of the largest clean-tech investments in history. The new financing values Better Place at $US1.25 billion ($A1.45 billion).
Agassi said on Sunday his goal was to help end global dependence on oil.
'Israel has taken on the problem (of oil dependency) and has decided independently to solve this for the entire world,' he said.
The visitor centre offers interactive tours, test drives of the electric car, and an automated station to get on the wait list to buy the new car
Monday, February 08, 2010 » 09:44am

Rent free smart home up for grabs (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Environment/2010/02/08/Rent_free_smart_home_up_for_grabs_426266.html
The search is on for a family to live in Australia's first ever smart home.
The three-bedroom home in Newington, in Sydney's west, comes with rooftop solar panels, a fuel cell that converts natural gas into electricity, water saving appliances, state-of-the-art lighting and a worm farm.
An electric car is an added bonus.
The NSW government wants a family to live in the house rent free for a year, while keeping a blog on the pros and cons of the home.
Advertisements by Sydney Water and Energy Australia are asking for applications from people who are experienced writers, but don't specify what kind of writing.
'This is a groundbreaking project that will help us see what works and what doesn't for a real family so that we can plan for the households of the future,' Energy Minister John Robertson said in a statement on Monday.
The home is being fitted out over the coming months, and is expected to welcome its first tenants in the middle of the year.
Interested families can go to www.tenderlink.com/energy to apply for the chance to live in the home.
Monday, February 08, 2010 » 10:52am

'Vegetative' man 'talks' using thoughts

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/02/05/Vegetative_man_talks_using_thoughts_425072.html

A patient presumed to be in a vegetative state for five years has been able to communicate with doctors using just his thoughts, according to a study.
British and Belgian researchers used a brain scanning technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging on the man, who suffered brain damage in a road accident in 2003.
The tests showed he was able to think 'yes' or 'no' answers to questions by wilfully changing his brain activity.
Experts said the result means all patients in coma-like states should be reassessed and it may change the way they are cared for in future.
After detecting signs of awareness, the doctors scanned the man's brain while he was asked to say 'yes' or 'no' to questions like 'is your father's name Thomas?'.
The results showed that, by changing his brain activity, the man communicated his answer.
'We were astonished when we saw the results of the patient's scan and that he was able to correctly answer the questions that were asked by simply changing his thoughts,' said Dr Adrian Owen, co-author of the Medical Research Council study.
'Not only did these scans tell us that the patient was not in a vegetative state but, more importantly, for the first time in five years it provided the patient with a way of communicating his thoughts to the outside world.'
The man, now 29 years old, was one of 23 patients diagnosed as being in a vegetative state who were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The scans detected signs of awareness in four of the patients, the researchers wrote in their study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The fMRI method used can decipher the brain's answers to questions in healthy people with 100% accuracy, but it has never been tried before in patients unable to move or speak.
A bitter right-to-die row erupted in the United States in 2005 over the fate of Terri Schiavo, a 41-year-old woman who had been in a vegetative state since a heart attack in 1990.
Mrs Schiavo's case went back and forth through the US courts and even prompted then President George Bush to intervene as her husband fought for doctors to let her die
Friday, February 05, 2010 » 02:49am

US telescope sees Pluto changing color

Planet Pluto is showing colors

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/05/US_telescope_sees_Pluto_changing_color_425194.html

Pluto is changing its looks, donning more rouge in its complexion and altering its iceball surface.
Newly released US Hubble Space Telescope photos show the distant one-time planet - demoted to 'dwarf planet' status in 2006 - is changing colour and its ice sheets are shifting.
The photos, released by NASA on Thursday, paint a Pluto that is significantly redder than it had been for the past several decades.
To the layman, it has a yellow-orange hue, but astronomers say it has about 20 per cent more red than it used to have.
The pictures show icy frozen nitrogen on Pluto's surface growing and shrinking, brightening in the north and darkening in the south.
Astronomers say Pluto's surface is changing more than the surfaces of other bodies in the solar system. That is unexpected because a season lasts 120 years in some regions of Pluto.
'It's a little bit of a surprise to see these changes happening so big and so fast,' said astronomer Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute.
'This is unprecedented.'
From 1954 to 2000, Pluto did not change in colour when it was photographed from Earth. But after that, it did.
The red levels increased by 20 per cent, maybe up to 30 per cent, and stabilised from about 2000 to 2002, Buie said.
It's not as red as Mars, however, Buie said.
Buie said he can explain the redness, but not why it changed so dramatically and so recently.
The planet has a lot of methane, which contains carbon and hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen gets stripped off by solar winds and other factors, leaving carbon-rich areas on the surface, which tend to be red and dark.
The Hubble photos were taken in 2002 and the analysis took a few years. But why Pluto changed so quickly was such a mystery that Buie held off for years on announcing what he had found, worried that he might be wrong.
However, since Pluto's moon Charon had not changed colour in the same telescope images, he decided the Pluto findings were not an instrument mistake.
His analysis also found that nitrogen ice was shifting in size and density in surprising ways. It's horribly cold on Pluto with, paradoxically, the bright spots being the coldest at about -230C.
Astronomers are still arguing about the temperatures of the warm dark spots, which Buie believes may be 17C warmer than the darker areas.
Part of the difficulty in figuring out what is going on with Pluto is that it takes the dwarf planet 248 years to circle the sun, so astronomers don't know what conditions are like when it's is farthest from the sun.
The last time Pluto was at its farthest point was in 1870, which was decades before Pluto was discovered. Unlike Earth, Pluto's four seasons are not equal lengths of time.
Buie's explanation makes sense, said retired NASA astronomer Stephen Maran, co-author of a book on Pluto.
'Pluto is interesting and poorly understood, whether it qualifies as a planet or not,' he said.
Pluto is changing its looks, donning more rouge in its complexion and altering its iceball surface.
Newly released US Hubble Space Telescope photos show the distant one-time planet - demoted to 'dwarf planet' status in 2006 - is changing colour and its ice sheets are shifting.
The photos, released by NASA on Thursday, paint a Pluto that is significantly redder than it had been for the past several decades.
To the layman, it has a yellow-orange hue, but astronomers say it has about 20 per cent more red than it used to have.
The pictures show icy frozen nitrogen on Pluto's surface growing and shrinking, brightening in the north and darkening in the south.
Astronomers say Pluto's surface is changing more than the surfaces of other bodies in the solar system. That is unexpected because a season lasts 120 years in some regions of Pluto.
'It's a little bit of a surprise to see these changes happening so big and so fast,' said astronomer Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute.
'This is unprecedented.'
From 1954 to 2000, Pluto did not change in colour when it was photographed from Earth. But after that, it did.
The red levels increased by 20 per cent, maybe up to 30 per cent, and stabilised from about 2000 to 2002, Buie said.
It's not as red as Mars, however, Buie said.
Buie said he can explain the redness, but not why it changed so dramatically and so recently.
The planet has a lot of methane, which contains carbon and hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen gets stripped off by solar winds and other factors, leaving carbon-rich areas on the surface, which tend to be red and dark.
The Hubble photos were taken in 2002 and the analysis took a few years. But why Pluto changed so quickly was such a mystery that Buie held off for years on announcing what he had found, worried that he might be wrong.
However, since Pluto's moon Charon had not changed colour in the same telescope images, he decided the Pluto findings were not an instrument mistake.
His analysis also found that nitrogen ice was shifting in size and density in surprising ways. It's horribly cold on Pluto with, paradoxically, the bright spots being the coldest at about -230C.
Astronomers are still arguing about the temperatures of the warm dark spots, which Buie believes may be 17C warmer than the darker areas.
Part of the difficulty in figuring out what is going on with Pluto is that it takes the dwarf planet 248 years to circle the sun, so astronomers don't know what conditions are like when it's is farthest from the sun.
The last time Pluto was at its farthest point was in 1870, which was decades before Pluto was discovered. Unlike Earth, Pluto's four seasons are not equal lengths of time.
Buie's explanation makes sense, said retired NASA astronomer Stephen Maran, co-author of a book on Pluto.
'Pluto is interesting and poorly understood, whether it qualifies as a planet or not,' he said.
Friday, February 05, 2010 » 09:07am

MPs (Members of the Parliament of Australia) are Forced to Repay Travel and (other) Perks (illegal benefits)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/02/01/MPs_forced_to_repay_travel_perks_423584.html

Dozens of former MPs have reportedly been forced to repay tens of thousands of dollars in wrongly claimed travel entitlements.
The Herald Sun newspaper says 38 MPs wrongly claimed flights for spouses and children, taxi of chauffeured car trips, rail trips or valet parking under the Gold Pass scheme.
Among those under the microscope were former ministers Peter Reith, Graham Richardson, Larry Anthony, Alan Griffiths, Ian Sinclair, Alexander Downer, Brian Howe, John Brown, Barry Jones and Dame Margaret Guilfoyle, the newspaper said.
The revelation comes as the federal government considers winding back or ending the scheme.
Mr Reith has repaid $2,841 for flights his wife Julie took to Launceston, Cairns and the Gold Coast, and $47,707 worth of phone calls made by his son and other people while he served as a minister.
Former Labor senator Margaret Reynolds repaid $8,556 for exceeding the limit of 25 free return flights a year.
Mr Sinclair repaid $3,081 for Comcar trips and a further $915 for flights to his Lord Howe Island holiday house taken by his wife Rosemary.
The scheme entitles former MPs to anything between six months and five years of free business class travel, depending on their length of service.
Their spouses can travel free as long as they travel with them.
Those MPs with at least 20 years' parliamentary service or six years as a minister qualify for a lifetime Gold Pass.
Since 2001, about 270 former MPs have taken 20,000 fights under the Gold Pass scheme, costing taxpayers $8.3 million
Monday, February 01, 2010 » 08:39am

British Parliamentary Expenses Charges

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2010/02/06/British_parliamentary_expenses_charges_425506.html

British prosecutors have announced criminal charges against four lawmakers over alleged abuse of parliamentary expenses, a dramatic twist in a scandal that has rocked politics in this country.
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said charges of false accounting would be brought against three Labour members of the elected House of Commons (MPs) and one Conservative member of the unelected House of Lords.
'In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned,' Starmer said on Friday.
'Accordingly, summonses in these cases have been obtained from the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court and will now be served on the individuals in question.'
The three MPs - who all deny wrongdoing - are from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour party, and news of the charges is likely to hurt him ahead of the next election, which must be held by June.
A party spokesman said they had already been barred from standing as Labour candidates in the vote, which opinion polls suggest Labour is going to lose to the main opposition Conservatives after 13 years in office.
'The Labour party has zero tolerance for criminal behaviour and will take the strongest possible disciplinary action against any party member found guilty of breaking the law,' a spokesman said.
Lord Hanningfield, the Conservative peer who faces charges, also protested his innocence but immediately resigned his position as a business spokesman for his party and his membership was suspended, a party spokesman said.
Brown's government introduced a new system of expenses after the publication of leaked parliamentary expenses in May - showing how lawmakers claimed for everything from flatscreen TVs to massage chairs - caused a major scandal.
An investigation into the row by former civil servant Thomas Legg concluded on Thursday that MPs should repay STG1.1 million ($A2.0 million) in expenses, and slammed the 'deeply flawed' system.
Starmer said on Friday that former minister Elliot Morley MP faces two charges of allegedly dishonestly claiming mortgage expenses, including claiming STG16,000 ($A29,154.52) for a mortgage that no longer existed.
His fellow MP David Chaytor faces three charges, including on allegations that he used false invoices to claim for IT services and that he claimed almost STG13,000 ($A23,688.05) in rent for a London property that he in fact owned.
Chaytor has previously apologised 'unreservedly' for what he called an 'unforgivable error in my accounting procedures'.
The third MP to be named was Jim Devine, who faces two charges. He is accused of claiming thousands of pounds worth of cleaning services and stationery using false invoices.
In a statement, the three Labour MPs said: 'We totally refute any charges that we have committed an offence and we will defend our position robustly.'
Paul White, known as Lord Hanningfield, faces six charges over allegations that he claimed expenses 'to which he knew he was not entitled' including for staying overnight in London when records show he was actually driven home.
'I totally refute the charges and will vigorously defend myself against them,' the peer said in a statement, adding: 'All the claims I have ever made were made in good faith.'
Saturday, February 06, 2010 » 07:00am

Possible Jail Time for Google Staff

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2009/11/26/Possible_jail_time_for_Google_staff_398507.html

Italian prosecutors sought six-month to a year sentences for four Google executives on Wednesday over an Internet video showing the bullying of a teenager with Down Syndrome, the company said.
The four executives have been on trial in a Milan court over the video, which prosecutors argue Google had a legal responsibility to prevent being shown.
In the video, uploaded using a Google video site where it remained for nearly two months in late 2006, the teenager was bullied by four students in front of more than a dozen others who did not intervene.
'One year has been requested for three executives,' a Google Italy spokeswoman said, adding six months had been urged for the fourth company official on trial.
A verdict in the trial is expected on December 23, the spokeswoman said. Wednesday's hearing was closed to the public.
The maximum sentence for such charges -- complicity in defamation and harm to private life -- is three years in prison.
The Google executives on trial are David Carl Drummond, the head of Google Italy's managing board at the time; George De Los Reyes, a board member who has since quit; Peter Fleitcher, in charge of privacy protection in Europe; and Arvind Desikan, head of videos for Europe.
Prosecutors sought the six-month sentence for Desikan."

Thursday, November 26, 2009 » 04:32am

Real Estate Agents: Dubai Boom Is Ending

Dubai

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/10/27/real-estate-agents-dubai-boom-is-ending/

Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai's explosive growth the city is now so swamped in debt it's asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills.
The move has caused a drop on world markets and raised questions about Dubai's reputation as a magnet for international investment.
The fallout came swiftly after a statement that Dubai's main development engine Dubai World will ask creditors for a standstill on paying back its $US60 billion debt until at least May.
Markets took the news badly - with the Dubai woes and the continued fall of the US dollar giving investors twin worries...
Wall Street was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and most markets in the Middle East were silent because of a major Islamic feast.
A six-year real estate boom in Dubai that spurred a $475 billion building frenzy has ended, according to agents who say sales are collapsing amid fears that the global economic downturn will hit the sheikdom.
“Last month was a real disaster and worse is coming I guess,” Mehdi Zoghbi, an agent at Middle East Real Estate Consultants, told Zawya Dow Jones Sunday.
Zoghbi says that desperate sellers are now offering off-plan properties on the secondary market for a zero premium, effectively accepting a loss on their investment in order to offload quickly. Dubai, the first Gulf sheikdom to allow foreigners rights to buy homes, may also be the first to see a crash in property prices.
“Our commissions have fallen by up to 70% recently,” said Khaled Daji, an agent at Al Jabal Real Estate. “The most hit are the projects under development and those luxurious high end. We plan to survive for another six months to see how this crisis unfolds.”
But the city’s biggest developers like Emaar Properties PJSC and Nakheel are adamant that sales remain robust. Mohammed Alabbar, Emaar’s chairman and one of the architects of Dubai’s real estate boom, said in the company’s third-quarter statement that “we are very confident of our company’s fundamentals and future growth.”
That hasn’t stopped investors dropping the company’s shares. Emaar’s stock has fallen 62% since the beginning of the year, that’s more than the 48% fall in the Dubai Financial Market’s main index over the same period, according to Zawya.com data. Earlier this month, Colliers International said the growth of property prices in Dubai slowed to 16% in the second quarter of 2008 from 42% in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley warned in August that property hotspot Dubai could see a 10% fall in prices by 2010.
A collapse in real estate prices will add to pressure on Dubai’s economy, which doesn’t benefit from the vast oil income enjoyed by neighboring Abu Dhabi. Property and construction are estimated to account for about 30% of the emirate’s economy.
Meanwhile, the nerve - and wallets - of Dubai’s shoppers will be tested this week when, against a tide of global economic woe, the region’s largest shopping mall opens. Covering an area of more than 50 soccer fields, Dubai Mall will have more than 1,200 shops; one of the world’s largest indoor gaming arcades; an Olympic-size ice rink; the world’s largest indoor Gold Souk; and one of the world’s biggest aquariums, which will be home to more than 33,000 types of sea life, including over 400 sharks
Friday, November 27, 2009 » 06:19am

Man and woman urinate on Anzac memorial, Australia

(Good, they perhaps were fed up with many years of hypocracy of sending people to war to die and then building memorials for them, LM)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National-Regional/2009/12/04/Man_and_woman_urinate_on_Anzac_memorial_401807.html

A 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old woman will face court after being caught urinating in the Shrine of Remembrance in Brisbane's Anzac Square War Memorial.
Police issued the duo with a Notice to Appear just before midnight (AEST) on Thursday.
Anzac Square War Memorial, located on Adelaide Street in Brisbane's CBD, is one of the state's main dedications to Australia's military heritage and hosts one of the city's main Anzac Dawn Services each year.
The woman is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 21.
No court date has yet been set for the man.
Friday, December 04, 2009 » 10:10am

Disfigured man to read news in Britain

Disfigured man reading News

Saturday, November 14, 2009 » 09:20am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/11/14/Disfigured_man_to_read_news_in_Britain_393705.html

A charity chief with a facial disfigurement is to read the news on British television for a week in a challenge to prejudice.
James Partridge, chief executive of Changing Faces, suffered severe burns in a car accident at the age of 18.
His charity provides support and counselling to children, young people, their families and adults with disfigurements.
Mr Partridge will present the Five News lunchtime bulletin for a week from November 16.
A YouGov survey for the station found 64% of those who responded said disfigurement would not cause them to change channel.
And 44% said they thought it would be a good idea for people with facial disfigurements to present TV shows.
Only one in five said they would feel uncomfortable seeing a disfigured presenter.
Mr Partridge launched Changing Faces in 1992 and in March this year the charity held a panel discussion with members of the broadcasting industry.
TV news was among the issues raised, and the panel questioned whether there could ever be a newsreader with a disfigurement, or whether it would prove too distracting for viewers.
The charity found the response was that it may only prove to be a distraction because there 'wasn't enough of it' on mainstream television.
Head of campaigns at Changing Faces Winnie Coutinho said: 'We believe that television can play a big role in changing attitudes and breaking down prejudices.
'Changing Faces is keen to learn whether the public would really accept someone with a disfigurement in this role once they see James Partridge reading the news next week.'
David Kermode, Five News editor, said: 'James makes a welcome addition to our presenting line-up for the week that he is with us.
'We are all looking forward to working with him and, at the same time, creating some debate around an important issue in society."

UK banks to reveal salaries

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/11/27/UK_banks_to_reveal_salaries_399210.html

British banks should be forced to reveal how many employees are earning more than GBP 1million (A$1.8 million), according to new proposals.
Sir David Walker's review of banking governance and pay stopped short of demanding that high-earning individuals are named.
Chancellor Alistair Darling welcomed the final report and promised the Government would act fast to implement the recommendations.
He said the Walker review represented the 'blueprint for how banks must be run in the future'.
The review, to be published later today, follows a series of interim recommendations made by Sir David in July.
He denied the updated report had softened, adding: 'if anything it is a bit hardened'.
It would be the first time details on employees' total pay - including salary, pension and bonuses - are revealed outside the banks' boardrooms.
The top earners will be bracketed in bands of 1m (A$1.8 million) to 2.5m (A$4.5 million), 2.5m (A$4.5 million) to 5m (A$9 million) and in bands of 5m (A$9 million) thereafter.
The Treasury said draft regulations will be published in the New Year and brought into effect soon afterwards.
It would make the salaries earned in the 2010 performance year the first to come under public scrutiny."

Friday, November 27, 2009 » 04:37pm

Jetman's adventure fails

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2009/11/26/Jetmans_adventure_fails_398649.html

A Swiss adventurer went down in the Atlantic on Wednesday while trying to fly from Morocco to Spain with jet-powered wings strapped to his back. A rescue helicopter pulled him from the water and he appeared unhurt.
Yves Rossy took off from Tangiers but halfway through an expected 15-minute flight he ditched into the wind-swept waters.
Winds were certainly difficult today, the organisers' Twitter web feed said.
Live television footage of the attempt showed Rossy waving while in the water waiting to be rescued.
He's a courageous man, Stuart Sterzel, spokesman for sponsors Webtel.mobi, told reporters on a beach outside the southern Spanish town where Rossy was supposed to land.
He said Rossy would probably attempt the crossing again in the new year.
Sterzel said the Spanish coast guard would retrieve the wing and the parachute from the sea.
Rossy, a 50-year-old former fighter pilot, had attempted the feat wearing a homemade wing spanning 2.5 metres and powered by four kerosene-fuelled jet engines.
A small plane took him to an altitude of 1,950 metres where he then jumped out and began his flight.
His endeavour had been billed as the first intercontinental crossing by man using jet-powered wings - over the North Atlantic between Africa and Europe.
Rossy provided the first public demonstration of his homemade aircraft in May 2008, doing figure eights over the Alps before touching down near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.
He flew across the English Channel in September last year, going from Calais, France, to Dover, England.
This time the weather was of particular concern because Rossy had to fly over the spot where the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. This makes for high winds that can suddenly change direction, or blow in two directions at once at different altitudes, organisers said."

Thursday, November 26, 2009 » 11:07am

Four hospitalised after UK concert (The same is happening at some concerts in Russia, LM)

Sunday, November 15, 2009 » 12:46pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2009/11/15/Four_hospitalised_after_UK_concert_394147.html

Four people had to be taken to hospital after being crushed at a concert in Birmingham to mark the switching on of the city's Christmas lights.
It is thought a metal barrier collapsed, leaving one woman in her 30s suffering serious injuries to her pelvis, shoulder and leg.
She had to be immobilised with a neck collar, spinal board and a leg splint before being moved to Birmingham City Hospital.
A teenage girl suffered injuries to her back and legs, while a teenage boy had a suspected fractured wrist. Another woman sustained a fractured ankle.
Dozens more suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said crews set up a temporary medical triage area at the scene.
'A total of 60 patients were assessed in the triage area by ambulance crews,' she said.
'The remaining 56 patients suffered minor crush injuries and a range of minor medical complaints.
'They did not require further hospital treatment and were all discharged by ambulance crews at the scene.'
Footage on the Sunday Mercury website showed people fleeing the concert site.
The Sugababes had been due to perform, but only X Factor runners-up JLS managed to take to the stage before the event was cancelled.
Victoria Royce-Pagett, who was in the crowd with her daughter, told Sky News they were trapped within the surging crowd.
'The frenzy started and people started running towards the front and we got caught within the crowds, so we had no choice but to go with the flow,' she said.
'People were throwing bottles, cans of Coke - I saw one girl actually get her head split open by a can of Coke.
'We were in a situation where we realised we had to wait until JLS had played before we could get out.
'So we waited for people to start pushing forward so we could make our way backwards, and when we did find ourselves in a space, we witnessed the gates being pushed open and the final surge of the crowd.
'It was extraordinarily terrifying for myself and my daughter.'
Steve Hollingworth from Birmingham City Council said they would review what went wrong.
'We certainly have safety advisory groups prior to all events with all emergency services involved,' he told Sky News.
'We had a plan, everybody was happy with that plan and I say this is an unprecedented event.
'The amount of people who turned up for this event and the amount of people outside put pressure on the barrier and it gave way.
'Once that happened, the utmost importance was the safety of people there and that's why it was cancelled.'

Flasher causes bus to hit police station

Friday, November 13, 2009 » 05:44pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/11/13/Flasher_causes_bus_to_hit_police_station_393594.html

A flasher on board a Hamilton bus in New Zealand has led the driver to crash into a police station.
A 14-year-old male passenger allegedly exposed himself to a female passenger on the bus on Friday morning, causing her to scream.
The bus driver called his company office, who advised him to take the bus to the nearest police station.
When the bus arrived at the Hamilton North Community Policing Centre, the driver activated the emergency door lock, thinking the bus was in neutral.
But the bus was still in gear and rolled into the station entranceway, hitting an arch, cracking the bus windscreen and causing minor damage to the building.
No one was injured and the 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged with carrying out an indecent act.

NASA bombs the moon's surface

Saturday, October 10, 2009 » 06:26am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/10/10/NASA_bombs_the_moons_surface_381285.html

The US has blasted the surface of the moon with two rockets to look for water beThe United States has blasted the surface of the moon with two rockets on a mission to look for water below the lunar surface that could be used by astronauts on future space missions.At 1130 GMT (2230 AEDT) on Friday the LCROSS satellite crashed into the Cabeus crater floor near the moon's south pole at around 9,000km/h, followed four minutes later by a shepherding spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact.
Grainy thermal images carried on the US space agency's television station showed colder blue sites and warmer red sites on the moon's surface, but there was no apparent light flash as the rockets made impact.
NASA said the blasts would kick up a plume of lunar dirt to an altitude of about 10km and produce a flash lasting about 30 seconds.
Cameras mounted on the 891kg shepherding spacecraft were to beam live footage of the initial impact as the craft flew through the debris plume, collecting and relaying key data back to Earth before it too plowed into the moon.
'The LCROSS science team is making their preliminary assessment of approximately four minutes of data collected from the LCROSS Spacecraft. Observatories involved in the LCROSS Observation Campaign are reporting in,' the mission website said after the impact.
'We don't anticipate anything about presence or absence of water immediately. It's going to take us some time,' cautioned Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the $US79 million ($A87.19 million) LCROSS mission, which is also the first preparatory mission of the Constellation program that aims to send Americans back to the moon by 2020.
Colaprete projected it would take several days for analysts to evaluate the data and several weeks to determine whether and how much hydrogen-bearing compounds were found.
Ahead of the launch, Victoria Friedensen, LCROSS program executive, said she was feeling 'a lot of exhilaration, a little sadness'.
'I never thought I'd work on something as interesting,' she told NASA television.
NASA scientists will be looking at what spews out after 350 tonnes of debris is ejected from the cold, dark Cabeus crater, staking its hopes on water in the form of ice.
The crater is 100km across and between 2.5 and four km deep.
'We're hunting for how water ice was stored and trapped in these permanently shadowed areas over billions of years and we want to find out how much there is,' explained Peter Schultz, a professor of geological sciences at Brown University who helped design the mission.
The mission comes just two weeks after India hailed the discovery of water on the moon with its Chandrayaan-1 satellite mission in partnership with NASA.
Scientists had previously theorised that, except for the possibility of ice at the bottom of craters, the moon was totally dry.
Finding water on Earth's natural satellite would be a major breakthrough in space exploration and pave the way toward future lunar bases for drinking water or fuel, or even man living on another planet.
'This could be the place that we could go to mine water for a permanent lunar base,' said Schultz.
'It tells us something about how water was delivered to the moon and other planets in a sort of cosmic rain, meaning impacts from comets over eons.'
Friedensen said interest levels in the project were high because of the potential if water was found.
'If we had it there, we could actually make exploration be a bit more sustainable,' she said. 'We could make fuel on the moon.'
But much uncertainty surrounds NASA's future missions to the moon, as a key review panel appointed by President Barack Obama's administration said existing budgets bar a return to it before 2020.
The last manned mission to the moon, Apollo 17, took place in 1972."

Spooky forest set up in London (sounds like barricades, LM)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 » 09:52am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/11/17/Spooky_forest_set_up_in_London_394958.html

A 'ghost forest' has been installed at London's Trafalgar Square, to highlight the dangers of deforestation and climate change.
Ten huge tree stumps from rainforests in Ghana were transported to the UK for the installation.
Over the last decade, 90 per cent of Ghana's forests have been destroyed, but the country is now on the path of conservation.
The exhibition will be moved to Copenhagen for the climate change conference next month.

Zero interest loans for (religious, LM) low earners (Australia)

Friday, October 16, 2009 » 08:53am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/10/16/Zero_interest_loans_for_low_earners_383434.html

Low income earners hit by the global financial crisis will be helped back onto their feet with zero interest loans to buy household goods plus savings schemes.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin announced the $33 million plan was expected to benefit more than 30,000 people.
They said funding for national financial support services will expand the availability of no-interest loans to buy essential household items like fridges and washing machines plus extending matched-savings schemes to help more people develop and achieve long-term savings goals.
This scheme is to be the centrepiece of a major speech delivered by Mr Rudd in Melbourne on Thursday night.
Mr Rudd and Ms Macklin said the Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service will receive $18.5 million to expand its No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS), StepUP and AddsUP programs.
'This will enable Good Shepherd's loans and matched savings programs to be extended to around 25,000 more people in up to 350 locations across Australia,' they said in a joint statement.
'In partnership with the National Australia Bank, Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service offers no interest loans of between $800 and $2000 for the purchase of essential household items.'
In one case, a mother took out a NILS loan to pay for car repairs so she could drive her disabled daughter to school and medical appointments.
Mr Rudd and Ms Macklin said the government was providing $14.5 million to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, in partnership with ANZ, to expand Australia's largest matched savings scheme, Saver Plus.
This will more than double the program's reach to provide services for an additional 7600 needy people in 60 additional communities.
'This scheme helps people on low incomes save for education and training purchases, with ANZ matching their savings, dollar-for-dollar, up to $1000,' they said.
'For example, with the addition of the matched savings to her own savings, a mother was able to buy her children a computer to do their schoolwork. She now regularly saves the same amount every week.'
An evaluation of the Saver Plus scheme by Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology found that 70 per cent of participants were still saving at the same rate two to three years after completing the scheme.
Funding to the Brotherhood of St Laurence will also be used to pilot the new Progress Loans program, which provides loans to people otherwise excluded from mainstream credit.
'These services are all crucial to helping low income households successfully manage their finances and develop financial capability,' they said."

Mass Allergic Reaction in Victoria School (Australia)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 » 03:22pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/11/11/Mass_allergic_reaction_in_Vic_school_392789.html

Dozens of children at a Melbourne primary school have suffered an apparent mass allergic reaction. Ambulances were called to Strathaird School at Narre Warren, in Melbourne's south-east, after 37 children developed itchy and puffy eyes. One child fainted, before all affected students were moved to the school gymnasium. The cause of the incident is not yet known."

China toughens media control

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/01/China_toughens_media_control_423784.html

China intensified its clampdown on local and foreign media last year with reporters facing violence, censorship and arbitrary detention, a press watchdog says.
Beijing also closed down social networking sites and moved to restrict online news under numerous regulations introduced in 2009 by local censors to control what the media says, the International Federation of Journalists said.
'Banned topics range from events associated with social unrest and public protests against authorities to reports of photos of an actress topless on a Caribbean beach,' the Brussels-based group said.
Signs that China was loosening controls on media in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics had faded by early last year, according to the report entitled China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009 released in Hong Kong on Sunday.
'Authorities sought to re-exert control on the media and information focusing in particular on the rising power of the internet as a means for social expression and organising,' the report said.
It highlighted a catalogue of restrictions imposed on the media, including banning journalists from going to Sichuan to report on the 2008 earthquake and telling the media to only use the official Xinhua news agency to report on the tainted milk scandal case.
Incidents of violence against foreign media declined last year, which the IFJ said was due to their reduced presence in China after the Olympics.
'Even so, foreign journalists still encountered many obstacles and difficulties through 2009, including acts of violence, destruction of work materials and equipment, prevention of access to public spaces,surveillance and reprimands,' the report said.
Authorities targeted journalists' sources, Chinese assistants and drivers 'to obstruct foreign media reporting on events in China'.
Local journalists were forced into self censorship over concerns about losing their media accreditation, the report said, adding that the 'biggest taboo' for Chinese media was the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
'We ... call on the international community to take a principled stand to oppose all forms of restrictions on the rights of journalists to do their work in China, including the steady stream of official bans as well as new rules in 2009 which make it virtually impossible for local journalists who work in traditional or online media to receive the accreditation they need in order to conduct their profession,' IFJ general secretary Aiden White said.
Monday, February 01, 2010 » 04:10pm

***********************************

Synthetic Robotic Humans

Pioneering US robot lost at sea

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/10/Pioneering_US_robot_lost_at_sea_438219.html

A pioneering deep-sea robot made by Massachusetts researchers in the US has been lost off the coast of Chile.
Researchers abruptly lost contact with the $US1.1 million ($A1.2 million) robot on Friday after it reached the Pacific Ocean floor, nearly 3km down.
Scientists believe a glass sphere that helped keep the robot buoyant may have imploded under the water pressure, destroying onboard communications.
It was the robot's 222nd research dive.
The robot was known as ABE. It was made at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and was launched in 1995.
ABE had greater range and technical abilities than human-occupied submersibles or vehicles connected by cables to surface ships.
It was the first autonomous robot to make detailed maps of mid-ocean ridges and locate hydrothermal vents, where hot liquid spews from the ocean floor.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 » 10:15am

The secret to a perfect kebab- a robot

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/03/31/The_secret_to_a_perfect_kebab-_a_robot_446399.html

It goes by the uninspiring name.
'FFDR-V1004', but Ahmet Kalyoncu is convinced his meat-cutting robot will transform the doner kebab industry, which held its first conference in Berlin last weekend.
'It's going to change the market,' said the 34-year-old Cypriot, while crowds gathered around the machine as it sliced the meat off a huge doner kebab spit, at tremendous speed, and, as he put it, 'without ever getting bored'.
The robot has a digital camera to sense the changing thickness of the meat, producing a perfect, tasty, wafer-thin slice every time. FFDR-V1004 is also phenomenally efficient, creating as many as 120 portions of kebab in an hour.
'I got the idea from my cousin who is an engineer,' said Kalyoncu, the European sales manager for the 'Doner-Robotu' company, who now lives in Vienna and spent his formative years slicing kebabs in south London after school.
'It's the first kebab robot anywhere in the world,' he told AFP, speaking English with a strong cockney accent.
As well as the speed, the main advantage of the robot is hygiene, he said.
'Doner kebab slicers, when they are cutting the meat, get very sweaty because they are close to the grill. We take that problem out, so it's better in the end for the customer.'
But is Kalyoncu not worried his robot could put kebab shop owners out of work?
'At the end of the day, you still need people to stay there. What we're saying is: it's more hygienic and it's easier. Why not just let the machine do the work?'
Judging by the interest around his machine, many of Germany's army of kebab shop owners may soon be doing exactly that.
Although many people assume the doner kebab is a Turkish delicacy, in fact the world's first doner was sliced in Berlin in 1971.
Doner folklore has it that a Turkish immigrant in Berlin, Mahmut Aygun, first put his wafer-thin strips of meat in an open pitta bread, added salad and lashings of sauce and hey presto, the doner kebab was born.
And nearly 40 years later, Germany is the snack's undisputed home.
'There are more than 15,000 kebab shops in Germany, employing some 74,000 people,' said Tarkan Tasyumruk, president of the Association of Turkish Doner Producers in Europe (ATDID), as he opened the fair.
'Annual sales in Germany amount to 2.5 billion euros ($A3.65 billion). That shows we are one of the biggest fast-foods in Germany,' he added to a packed audience including Turkey's vice-consul.
According to ATDID figures, every day, more than 400 tonnes of doner kebab meat is produced in Germany by around 350 firms. 'There are more producers in Germany than the rest of Europe put together,' said Tasyumruk.
The doner kebab has become at least as popular a fast-food snack in Germany as the home-grown currywurst (sausage sprinkled with curry powder) or frankfurters, driven mainly by the largest Turkish population outside Turkey.
Priced at between 2.50 and four euros, an estimated 400 million doners are gobbled up every year in Germany, working out at five for every person.
'I would say we are the most successful fast food in the country,' added Tasyumruk.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 » 04:04pm

Robots fight it out in Tokyo

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/22/Robots_fight_it_out_in_Tokyo_442800.html

Robots from Japan, China, and South Korea have battled it out in the Robo-one fighting competition in Tokyo.
46 teams took part in the competition that pits two legged robots against each other, in a bid to win the title of best robot.
Competing Robots have to knock down the opposing robot three times, using everything from punching to tackling the opponent.
The winner of the tournament takes home $12,000 in prize money.
Monday, March 22, 2010 » 04:22am

Scientists develop walking robot maid

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/01/18/Scientists_develop_walking_robot_maid_418742.html

A walking robot maid which can clean a home, dump clothes in a washing machine and even heat food in a microwave has been developed by South Korean scientists.
Mahru-Z has a human-like body including a rotating head, arms, legs and six fingers plus three-dimensional vision to recognise chores that need to be tackled, media reports said on Monday.
'The most distinctive strength of Mahru-Z is its visual ability to observe objects, recognise the tasks needed to be completed, and execute them,' You Bum-Jae, head of the cognitive robot centre at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, told the Korea Times.
'It recognises people, can turn on microwave ovens, washing machines and toasters, and also pick up sandwiches, cups and whatever else it senses as objects.'
The institute took two years to develop Mahru-Z, which is 1.3 metres tall and weighs 55 kilograms.
It could also work with an earlier maid robot called Marhu-M which moves on wheels, since both can be remotely controlled through a computer server.
Apart from tackling chores, researchers say Mahru-Z can also be used in conditions too difficult or dangerous for humans.
But mass production for commercial use is some way away.
The science institute spends about four billion won ($A3.8 million) every year on robot research.
It began receiving state funds for the project in 2006.
Monday, January 18, 2010 » 09:57pm

Web Moderator Robots

''Computers Of The Future'' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40tS8A-SJ6c&feature=related

Microsoft patents web moderator robots

FROM: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5006025.ece?Submitted=true

The problem with the internet, as we all know, is that it gives free rein to loonies. Once upon a time, green inkers would rant away on writing paper, seal their 30-page global conspiracy theory into a recycled envelope and post it to a newspaper, which would drop it harmlessly into a wastepaper basket. Now they infiltrate chat rooms, scrawl anonymous abuse in web discussions and even have their own video blogs.
Sometimes this is entertaining; sometimes it can be offensive. So Microsoft has just been awarded a patent for technology designed to automatically detect and remove “undesired words or phrases” from all manner of digital communications, ranging from YouTube broadcasts to internet chat and songs.
The patent describes a system that listens out for phonemes (word fragments) likely to be part of a swearword. If it thinks it hears a forbidden phrase, the software either fades out the offending syllables or simply replaces the rude word with a similar-sounding but clean alternative lifted from earlier speech without a second’s delay.
With Microsoft’s software put in place by parents, children could listen to the most explicit rap music and hear nothing stronger than “gosh darn mother flippers”. Theoretically, the software could monitor thousands of digital TV broadcasts, radio stations and web chats simultaneously.
That’s all to the good, as long as the targets are “trolls” (internet slang for people whose aim is to disrupt the web community). There’s a danger, though, that it could go too far. Who’s to say that an overzealous Microsoft employee might not accidentally on purpose blacklist the names of rivals such as Apple and Linux?
Worse, there are governments around the world that would probably go further still, suppressing dissent not with guns and clubs but by preventing people from even discussing concepts such as “protest” or “freedom”. And that, I’m sure you’ll agree, is a freaking scary idea."

Mint robot puts shine on hardwood floors

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/01/11/Mint_robot_puts_shine_on_hardwood_floors_416237.html

Evolution Robotics is betting that folks with hardwood or tile floors are craving mechanical maids to keep them beautiful.
The firm used the Consumer Electronics Show ending on Sunday in Las Vegas to show off a Mint Cleaner that automatically dusts or wet mops hard-surface floors using cleaning cloths such as Swiffer.
'We are using a lot of technology to very meticulously clean an area,' Teresa Bridwell of Evolution said while a small, square Mint robot quietly tended to a spill on a mock floor set up at a demonstration booth.
'It's not random. It can sense everything in the room. If the furniture moves or there are kids or pets there, no problem.'
The robots are designed to get into room corners and edges and under furniture or baseboards. An advanced navigation system uses light sensor feedback to let Mint clean around obstacles and avoid missing spots.
'To do the job well, Evolution had to rewrite the book on how floor cleaning is done,' said the California firm's chief executive Paolo Pirjanian.
'Mint packs aerospace-grade technologies that were specifically tailored to deliver consumers with an appliance that cleans like they do, while still providing a hassle-free experience.'
Mint robots can operate for three to four hours, cleaning approximately a thousand square feet (93 square metres), before needing to be recharged.
The devices will be priced less than $US250 ($A273) each when they hit the market in the second half of this year, according to Bridwell.
Evolution believes that folks drawn to robotic floor cleaners such as iRobot's disk-shaped Roomba will see advantage in also having a device specially designed for un-carpeted floors.
'We think people will want both,' Bridwell said.
Monday, January 11, 2010 » 02:14pm

Robodoc: surgeon of the future in theatres now

November 4, 2008 - 11:45AM
Source: ABC

http://www.bigpond.com/news/technology/content/20081104/2409667.asp

A mechanical snake that can enter the body through natural orifices to perform operations is just one futuristic device researchers believe will transform traditional surgical techniques.

With a world recession looming and healthcare budgets under pressure, it may seem an odd time to be bullish about hi-tech surgery.

Robots, after all, are not cheap.

The average selling price of the market-leading da Vinci system from California's Intuitive Surgical is $1.98 million.

Some critics, including British fertility expert Robert Winston, have questioned the cost-effectiveness of robots when other treatments, such as cancer drugs, are being rationed.

But proponents note prices will inevitably fall as usage and competition increase, as happened with once-costly computers.

Tens of thousands of prostate, heart and other procedures are already being performed by robots, and experts predict machines will be used to penetrate deeper into ailing bodies in the years ahead.

In a university laboratory behind London's Science Museum, researchers are working on a new generation of hi-tech gadgets to take minimally invasive robotic surgery to the next level.

The prospect of robot arms probing into the abdomen may be alarming but their precision can mean less trauma, quicker recovery, a shorter stay in hospital and reduced tissue damage.

Among men needing prostate operations - the biggest group to go under the robotic knife at present - that means less risk of impotence, according to doctors who use the devices.

"It's not the easiest concept to describe to a patient," surgeon and co-director of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery at Imperial College London, Professor Ara Darzi, said.

In his experience, patients are soon won over once the benefits are explained.

"Patients need to be reassured that this is not a machine operating independently. This is an enabling machine," he said.

Eye-tracking system

Sitting at a console and looking at a stereoscopic viewer, Professor Darzi can direct his robot's multi-jointed pincers inside the patient's body using a series of joysticks and foot controls as he conducts gall bladder, cancer and other operations.

They may be state-of-the-art, but these robots are just the start.

"This is the tip of the iceberg - this is the first car ever invented," Professor Darzi said.

"There is a huge amount of work in this field which will significantly enhance the ability of the surgeon to provide a much more precise, accurate procedure."

One idea that could soon become a reality is a device that uses the surgeon's gaze to direct tools by tracking the light reflected from the user's eyes, making operations simpler and less invasive.

Positive results with the eye-tracking system were presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Nice, France in September.

The natural orifice "I-snake" camera and surgery system, which would do away with the need for incisions altogether, is further down the track. The team at Imperial hope to have their oral or rectal access system ready for tests within 3.5 years.

Work is also under way on "augmented reality" software. This could use data from past patient scans to help surgeons visualise tumours or other structures underneath living tissue.

Another possibility is artificially stabilising the image of moving organs, such as a beating heart, by creating robotic instruments that move in tandem with the patient's body.

"Currently, robots are used in relatively simple procedures," joint head of the Imperial unit, Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, said.

"But in future, you will see them used in more advanced procedures, like beating-heart surgery."

Professor Darzi and Professor Yang are not alone.

In May this year, doctors at the University of Calgary in Canada used a robot called neuroArm to remove a tumour from a 21-year-old woman's brain in the first operation of its kind.

Privately held US firm Satiety, meanwhile, is testing a stomach stapler for obese patients that slides down the throat rather than requiring abdominal surgery.

Researchers at Germany's DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics are working on a lightweight system called MIRO using the same robotic arm technology as is used in space.

And business is booming at Intuitive Surgical, whose installed base of more than 1,030 da Vinci robots at hospitals throughout the world is due to perform at least 130,000 prostatectomies, hysterectomies, heart valve operations and other procedures this year.

- Reuters

World's first sex robot Roxxxy unveiled

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/01/11/Worlds_first_sex_robot_Roxxxy_unveiled_416115.html
A life-size robotic girlfriend complete with flesh-like synthetic skin has been introduced to adoring fans at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.
In what is billed as a world first, a life-size robotic girlfriend complete with artificial intelligence and flesh-like synthetic skin was introduced to adoring fans at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.
'She can't vacuum, she can't cook but she can do almost anything else if you know what I mean,' TrueCompanion's Douglas Hines said while introducing AFP to Roxxxy.
'She's a companion. She has a personality. She hears you. She listens to you. She speaks. She feels your touch. She goes to sleep. We are trying to replicate a personality of a person.'
Roxxxy stands 170cm tall, weighs 54.43kg, 'has a full C cup and is ready for action,' according to Hines, who was an artificial intelligence engineer at Bell Labs before starting TrueCompanion.
The anatomically-correct robot has an articulated skeleton that can move like a person but can't walk or independently move its limbs.
Robotic movement is built into 'the three inputs' and a mechanical heart that powers a liquid cooling system.
Roxxxy comes with five personalities. Wild Wendy is outgoing and adventurous, while Frigid Farrah is reserved and shy.
There is a young naive personality along with a Mature Martha that Hines described as having a 'matriarchal kind of caring'. S M Susan is geared for more adventurous types.
Aspiring partners can customise Roxxxy features, including race, hair colour and breast size. A male sex robot named Rocky is in development.
People ordering the robots online at www.truecompanion.com detail their tastes and interests much like online dating sites but here, the information is used to get the mechanical girlfriend in sync with her mate.
'She knows exactly what you like,' Hines said of Roxxxy, noting that Rocky will also come with personalities.
'If you like Porsches, she likes Porsches. If you like soccer, she likes soccer.'
Roxxxy will chat with her flesh-and-blood mate, and touching her elicits comments varying according to personalities.
She is wirelessly linked to the internet for software updates, technical support and to send her man email messages.
People can customise 'true companion' personalities and then share the programs with others online on the company's website, according to Hines.
'Just think about wife or girlfriend swapping without actually giving the person to someone else,' Hines said. 'You can share the personality online.'
Inspiration for the sex robot sprang from the September 11, 2001 attacks, when planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and an empty field in Pennsylvania.
'I had a friend who passed away in 9/11,' Hines said. 'I promised myself I would create a program to store his personality, and that became the foundation for Roxxxy True Companion.'
Hines sees his creation as not only a recreational innovation but as an outlet for the shy, people with sexual dysfunction, and those who want to experiment without risk.
Roxxxy versions are priced from $US7,000 ($A7,634) to $US9,000 ($A9,815), depending on features. The sex robot is available in Europe and the United States and will eventually be available globally, according to Hines.
Monday, January 11, 2010 » 08:37am

Robotic hand controlled with thoughts

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/12/03/Robotic_hand_controlled_with_thoughts_401297.html

A group of European scientists say they have successfully connected a robotic hand to a man who had lost an arm, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial hand and control it with his thoughts.
The experiment lasted a month. Scientists say it was the first time an amputee has been able to make complex movements using his mind to control a biomechanic hand connected to his nervous system.
The Italian-led team said at a news conference on Wednesday in Rome that last year they implanted electrodes into the arm of the patient, who had lost his left hand and forearm in a car accident.
The electrodes were removed after a month, during which the man learned to wiggle the robotic fingers and make other movements.

Robot joins NZ retirement home staff

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Health/2009/11/23/Robot_joins_NZ_retirement_home_staff_397458.html

Residents of an Auckland retirement village now have a robot helper, thanks to new research into inexpensive robotic assistants for the elderly.
The Korean YUJIN robot will work alongside human staff at the Selwyn Retirement Village in Pt Chevalier, where its tasks will include taking vital signs and giving reminders.
The robot is on trial following a University of Auckland study into older people's attitudes towards robot helpers.
'Robotic assistants could provide a range of benefits in healthcare as the population ages, but designers must first understand older people's attitudes and expectations of robots before they can be accepted,' said Dr Bruce MacDonald, who heads the three-year HealthBots research group.
The group aims to develop inexpensive robots to help rest home staff and extend the amount of time older people can stay in their own homes.
Residents, their families and staff at Selwyn Village were surveyed on what tasks healthcare robots could perform, and what they should look like.
The results show residents would like robots to help with detecting falls, contacting health professionals, cleaning, lifting, and giving reminders to take medicine.
The ideal helper would be a well-spoken middle-aged' robot, standing an unimposing 1.25m tall, with wheels and a screen on its silver body.
It should not be too human-like, with some residents preferring it to be faceless.
Staff expressed concerns about robots taking away jobs, but Dr MacDonald said robots were intended to alleviate staff shortages.
Tasks such as personal care, assessing moods, and providing medical advice were best carried out by human helpers, he said.
The Rev Duncan Macdonald, chief executive of the Selwyn Foundation which manages the rest home, said he was delighted to take part in the 'groundbreaking' project.
'This type of assistive technology is in line with our philosophy of supporting residents to remain as independent as possible,' he said.
The HealthBots researchers hope the project will provide access to new high-value export markets for New Zealand."
Monday, November 23, 2009 » 01:49pm

Robots to serve shoppers in the UAE

robots in the shop

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 » 02:34am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/11/04/Robots_to_serve_shoppers_in_the_UAE_390098.html

A laboratory in the UAE has built what it says is the world's first Arabic-speaking robot which could soon go into mass production to serve as staff in shopping malls.
Ibn Sina, named after the 11th century Islamic philosopher and scientist commonly known in English as Avicenna, was designed by a team at UAE University in the city of Al-Ain, which is part of Abu Dhabi emirate.
'It is the world's first Arabic-speaking conversational humanoid robot,' Nikolaos Mavridis, assistant professor of computer science at the university who led the team, told AFP in an interview.
'He enables us to do research and he is also quite an educational tool because the students love to do projects on him.'
Mavridis, a Greek expat who has worked with a team of about 12 people, including Emiratis and international students, said the robot could be used as a receptionist, sales staff or shopping assistants in malls.
'There is a number of things he can do on his own, answer a couple of questions, connect to the Internet to get information and show you things on the screen regarding what you want to buy,' he said.
'We're very close to being able to get him to work as a receptionist or a helper in a mall. If we work on it in a group of five people, we will be able to develop those skills in six months to make him ready for full operations.
'Already we have had him work for a full day in Al-Ain Mall,' he said.
Ibn Sina sports a white cloak, golden-trimmed robe, a turban and grey beard, a look Mavridis said aims to reflect the appearance of the original character, who was born near Bukhara in then Uzbekistan.
Speaking in classical Arabic, he answers questions with human-like facial expressions.
The artistic and mechanical design of Ibn Sina, including motors which allow it to make facial expressions, was carried out by Hanson Robotics, while the software was devised by Mavridis and his team.
The team worked for more than a year on developing the software system that consists of the mind of the robot, including developing his vision, speech, memory and motion.
Mavridis said the lab has already been approached by companies interested in the robot either for shopping malls or as receptionists.
Ibn Sina was developed using funding that was injected to set up the lab and the College of Information Technology at the university, which came directly from the ruler of Abu Dhabi."

Japanses robots take over kitchens

kitchen robot

kitchen robot

Sunday, August 09, 2009 » 02:02pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2009/08/09/Japanses_robots_take_over_kitchens_360672.html

Japan has taken it's obsession with technology to the next level with robots taking over kitchens to create the country's traditional 'ramen' noodles.
In the central Japanese city of Nagoya at the 'fua-men' ramen noodle soup shop, robots are serving up to 80 bowls of noodles a day.
'The benefits of using robots as ramen chefs include the accuracy of timing in boiling noodles, precise movements in adding toppings and consistency in the taste and temperature of the soup,' said Kenji Nagaya, president of local robot manufacturer Aisei.
The noodle shop was opened by Nagoya's robot factory less than a month ago a a bid to demonstrate the latest robot technology.
The noodle shop sells regular noodle bowls for around seven dollars but is yet to boast a profit which can be largely attributed to the initially investments made in the research and development of the robots.
However, the restaurant is gaining a reputation.
'I don't feel any difference in taste between this ramen and one cooked by a human chef,' Yoshikazu Yamada, a first-time customer, said after slurping his noodles.
The robots are entrusted with tasks such as pre-boiling noodles, pouring soup into the bowls and sprinkling toppings onto the noodles while humans step in to take care of making the sop stock, taking orders and receiving money.
The ramen-machines also provide entertainment.
In between tasks they can be seen performing tricks such as spinning dishes and mock duelling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Empathetic virtual humans on the way
By Science Online's Anna Salleh
December 5, 2008 - 1:00PM
Source: ABC

http://www.bigpond.com/news/technology/content/20081205/2438907.asp

Humans may soon be able to develop long-term relationships with virtual humans that are capable of reading and adapting to our emotions, say French researchers.
Professor Catherine Pelachaud, director of research from the Paris Institute of Technology presented her research this week at a meeting of the ARC Network in Human Communication Science in Sydney.
Professor Pelachaud and colleagues are developing virtual humans, called Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs), that can act autonomously in a virtual environment.
As well as speaking, the agents communicate with facial expressions, head movements, hand gestures and gaze.
Professor Pelachaud and US researcher Professor Justine Cassell developed the first autonomous agents in 1994. Since then the focus has been on making the agents more expressive and more able to read and adapt to the emotions of users.
Professor Pelachaud says people have high expectations of virtual humans and often lose interest quickly in them because they do not appear to be very 'human'.
Professor Pelachaud hopes to develop agents that maintain the interest of users over a longer term.
In one project, called Semaine, the researchers are developing four agents with different personalities.
"We've been working on creating distinctive agents," she said.
They are testing how real humans respond when confronted by agents who are variously aggressive, gloomy, energetically positive or pragmatic.
Professor Pelachaud says this is providing basic data for developing agents that could be useful in teaching and medical programs, and for virtual assistants in information kiosks or virtual characters in entertainment.
Empathetic agents
In related research, the researchers are developing an agent that they say can empathise with real humans.
For example, a virtual agent on a screen can be taught to detect, via webcam, the emotion of a person looking at the screen.
The agent can then react appropriately.
Professor Pelachaud says this could be useful in applications where a person is seeking information from the agent.
She says if the agent gets it wrong and detects the person becoming upset, it could show empathy through non-verbal signs, and this could help reduce the frustration the person feels.
"Having an agent that shows empathy can enhance the relationship between a user and an agent," she said.
"The user may still not get the information, but at least they won't feel so negative from the interaction."
Interactive story-telling
Professor Pelachaud and colleagues are also researching the use of agents in interactive television and storytelling as part of the CALLAS project.
One prototype demonstrates emotional interaction between the audience and an agent, who acts as a virtual audience member, which is able to relate to the human audience via webcam and microphone.
"The agent, through its participation of watching the movie and its display of emotion, could enhance the emotional experience of the audience," she says.
Both human and virtual audience members react to a virtual scenario in which a second agent is involved.
In the scenario the second agent is walking around in a kitchen, in which normally inanimate objects do randomly frightening things.
For example, a knife might suddenly fly through the air towards them or the stove might suddenly catch alight.
The human and virtual audience react with fear as these things occur and the agent in the scene responds to their fear.
The research is funded by the French Government and European Union.

****************************

The Situation in International Airports

Georgia, Gruzia, Racha, Katastrofa, ZOSLI (Mudslides/Implosion in Georgia, Caucasus, Sep. 2009 on Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_KmyAR9TjI&feature=related

Aussies set for value European holidays

http://www.bigpondnews.com/articles/Finance/2010/05/15/Aussies_set_for_value_European_holidays_462125.html

Australian travellers are gearing up for a value-packed European holiday season, with predictions the Australian dollar could soon buy more than 75 euro cents.
But analysts warn the currency's stellar run against the US dollar and the euro may be shortlived if Europe slips into another recession.
'It's fantastic value now,' Flight Centre spokesman Haydn Long said.
'It doesn't tend to influence where people go, but it does tend to influence what they do when they get there.'
He said airfare prices were slightly up on 12 months ago, but 'well down' on two years ago.
Since the release of the trillion dollar sovereign debt rescue package for Europe on Monday, the Australian dollar has continued to strengthen, buying a record 71.5 euro cents on Friday.
Foreign exchange analysts expect the local currency to push even higher over the coming months after posting gains of more than 30 per cent against the euro since October 2008.
Just 19 months ago, in the midst of the financial crisis, the Australian dollar hit an all time low of 48 euro cents.
Commonwealth Bank currency strategist Joe Capurso said despite the sovereign debt package announcement earlier in the week, the euro was on a 'downward path'.
'You've got the sovereign debt crisis, that means austerity measures, that means recession and that means a weak euro,' Mr Capurso said.
'There might be a bit more upside to the Aussie/Euro.'
While the loan package eased concerns of a wave of imminent debt defaults within the eurozone, investors are still concerned that highly indebted countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland will not be able to get their public finances under control.
Mr Capurso said the sovereign debt crisis was forcing those smaller economies to raise taxes and make deep spending cuts.
'That's going to throw a fair few of them into quite deep recessions for years,' he said.
'The other economies, the bigger ones, are going to have to do something similar, but on a much smaller scale, so the risks that Europe as a whole has another recession, even though they've just got out of one, are going to push the euro lower.'
With the outlook for the global economy currently at around four per cent growth, the Australian dollar was positioned strongly against the euro, he said.
But Mr Capurso said it was a fine balance for the Australian dollar, as a severe European recession would hit Australia's currency.
'If the situation in Europe deteriorates to the extent that they have another deep recession, then that will cut back the view on the world economy and that will bring down the Aussie against a whole bunch of currencies,' he said.
Macquarie Group interest rate strategist Rory Robertson said markets were impressed that the European Central Bank (ECB) and the EU had acted to ensure that no eurozone government would default during the next few years.
'But the problem remains that the European economy is going nowhere fast,' he said.
'That boils down to the main unused avenue for growth.
'With interest rates close to zero, the main unused avenue so far is for the euro to continue to decline.'
Nomura Australia economist Stephen Roberts said some of the European economies with debt problems would experience a 'prolonged period of difficult economic conditions'.
There was a 'very strong possibility' the Australian dollar would appreciate further against the euro over the next few months, he said.
Saturday, May 15, 2010 » 03:18am

United, Continental become the biggest

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Finance/2010/05/04/United_Continental_become_the_biggest_458258.html

United Airlines and Continental Airlines on Monday sealed a $3 billion merger to become the world's biggest carrier in an industry desperate to cut costs to survive the recession.
The new United Airlines will have a strong presence in Asia, Europe and Latin America and the companies said they hoped to generate annual savings and new revenues of up to $US1.2 billion ($A1.3 billion) by 2013.
The giant new entity will have a market capitalisation of about $US6.75 billion and account for about seven per cent of global airline capacity, ahead of US rival Delta, which has about six per cent, according to media estimates.
Delta bought Northwest Airlines in 2008 to create what was then the world's biggest carrier.
Jeff Smisek, the Continental chief executive who moves to the same position in the new company, said however this merger would create 'a stronger, more efficient airline, both operationally and financially, better positioned to succeed in a highly competitive global aviation industry.'
The deal needs approval from shareholders of the two carriers and US anti-trust authorities, who turned down a United-US Airways deal in 2001.
But Smisek told reporters: 'We are confident. There are no material antitrust concerns. We are increasing competition we are not reducing competition with more consumer choice better consumer choice.'
Airlines around the world are struggling with fallout from the recession, terrorism and crisis events such as the Icelandic volcano.
The economic crisis and the rise of low-cost carriers has driven airline alliances and steep cost cutting. British Airways is tying up with with Spanish carrier Iberia to avoid being sidelined by European rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
United and Continental both had a turnover of more than three billion dollars in 2009 but both reported losses.
'Together, we will have the financial strength necessary to make critical investments to continue to improve our products and services and to achieve and sustain profitability,' Smisek argued.
Glenn Tilton, president and chief executive of United parent, UAL Corporation, will serve as non-executive chairman of the new United Continental Holdings Inc board until the end of 2012.
He called the deal 'a merger of equals to create a world-class and truly global airline with an unparallelled network.'
A statement announcing the merger said the boards of both airlines had unanimously approved the deal.
Under the accord, Continental shareholders will receive 1.05 shares of United stock for each Continental share. United shareholders would own approximately 55 per cent of the equity in the new company and Continental shareholders 45 per cent.
The companies said they expected to complete the transaction by the end of 2010.
The merged giant will maintain United's base in Chicago as its headquarters, while Continental's home city of Houston, Texas will be the number one air hub, the statement said.
While no announcement of job cuts was made, pilots' unions for both carriers demanded job security and pensions guarantees.
The combined company would have annual revenues of approximately $US29 billion and a cash balance of approximately $US7.4 billion dollars as of the end of first quarter 2010, officials said.
The companies said the new airline will serve more than 144 million passengers per year with 370 destinations in 59 countries.
The combined company promised to offer enhanced service to Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East from its 10 US hubs.
They said there were no international route overlaps and only 'minimal' domestic copying.
US Airways broke off merger talks with United last month, but said it expected consolidation of the fragmented airline sector in the near future.
'It remains our belief that consolidation makes sense in an industry as fragmented as ours,' said US Airways chairman Doug Parker.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010 » 02:14pm

Domestic fares drop 30 per cent (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/05/13/Domestic_fares_drop_30_per_cent_461467.html

Domestic air fare prices have dropped 30 per cent since September and are expected to keep falling.
The Australian has reported that cheap ticket prices fell 18 per cent in April.
Fares are now at their lowest point since records began in 1992.
Tiger airways has posted flights from Sydney to the Gold Coast for as little as $28 as part of a new sale.
More discount flights have been advertised between Sydney and Melbourne with passengers paying similar rates.
Thursday, May 13, 2010 » 09:09am

Airports affected by ash cloud reopen

http://go.bigpond.com/home/

Restrictions on flights to and from airports in Spain, Portugal and Morocco were lifted following days of disruption caused by volcanic ash cloud. In Spain, all airports resumed normal operations, with Valencia, the last to see restrictions lifted, reopening from 0600 GMT (1600 AEST), said the Spanish air traffic control organisation Aena. A ban on flights was also lifted at all Portuguese airports on Wednesday, said Portugal's NAV air traffic authority.
'There is no more disruption,' said a statement issued by the authority. However, flights from Tunisia to Morocco and some European destinations were disrupted, although Tunisia's transport ministry said that flights had only been delayed and none cancelled. 'There has been some disruption since Tuesday to flights leaving Tunisian airports destined for Spain, Portugal and Italy because of the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption,' the ministry said.
In Morocco, the main airports, in particular Casablanca and Rabat, reopened at 0600 GMT (1600 AEST) on Wednesday after overnight restrictions. Algerian officials said the ash had reached as far as the east of the capital Algiers but that air traffic remained normal so far. The ash from Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano, which began erupting on April 14, last month caused the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II. Volcanologists in Iceland said the latest ash cloud problems, which first forced closures of Spanish airports from last Saturday, were caused by ash left over from previous weeks which can travel around in the atmosphere due to winds.
Thursday, May 13, 2010 » 08:59am

Iceland volcanic ash sells online

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/05/14/Iceland_volcanic_ash_sells_online_461758.html

An Icelandic internet company has turned the volcanic ash cloud that led to Europe's biggest aerial shutdown since World War II into a charity money-spinner, its chief executive says.
The online shop, nammi.is, which sells various products from the north Atlantic island, is offering 160-gram jars of the ash from Eyjafjpoll volcano for $US23.80 ($A26.60), with the proceeds all going to charity.
'The response has been enormous since we started this 10 days ago,' Sofus Gustavsson said, whose company has sold the ash to 60 countries so far.
In all, 133 countries have made inquiries and almost a million visitors have gone onto the website since the offer began.
'It all started when one of our foreign clients, who is a collector, inquired if we could get him some ash from the volcano. I thought right away that this was a brilliant idea,' the website's chief executive explained.
'My father lives nearby the volcano and I asked him if he could get me some ash. He shovelled a whole lot and brought it to me.'
To meet demand, Gustavsson's father has since made three more trips to collect the ash, and every time it has been different, 'it is now much coarser than it was earlier,' the Icelandic businessman said.
There are two other companies also selling volcanic ash, but both with the aim of turning a profit.
Instead, Gustavsson is donating the proceeds to Iceland's search and rescue services. 'I thought there was something wrong about profiting from something that is ruining peoples lives, the farmers near the volcano, for example.'
Friday, May 14, 2010 » 05:31am

Ash hits London again, Heathrow to close

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/05/17/Ash_cloud_shuts_UK_airports_462746.html

Several British and Irish airports have closed as the ash cloud returned, drifting south and east following fresh eruptions from the Icelandic volcano.
London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports will close for six hours as ash from an Icelandic volcano drifts further south, air safety officials say.
Heathrow will close for six hours from from 0000 GMT on Monday (10am AEST), the UK's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) says.
'The high density ash cloud continues to move further south in the early hours of Monday,' a statement from NATS says.
'For the period 1 am (0000 GMT) until 7am (0600 GMT) Monday, airports inside the no-fly zone as imposed by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority, aviation regulator), include; London Heathrow, Gatwick,' said NATS.
Manchester Airport in northwest England and Dublin Airport, among the 20 busiest in Europe, were among those affected by the cloud on Sunday, with the ash levels deemed too dangerous to fly through.
Manchester, Britain's busiest airport outside London, was among a host of northern British airports to shut from 1200 GMT to 1800 GMT (2200 AEST to 0400 AEST on Sunday), including all those in Northern Ireland.
Dublin, Ireland's main airport, was to close from 1800 GMT until at least 0800 GMT (0400 AEST to 1800 AEST) on Monday.
Europe's skies were closed for up to a week last month following the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano, in the biggest shutdown of the continent's airspace since World War II.
The volcanic ash, which can cause serious damage to jet engines, has continued to cause disruption on a smaller scale in certain parts of Europe.
A vulcanologist from the University of Iceland said Eyjafjoell activity had worsened in recent days.
'There is slightly increased activity for the past two days, there has been some ash fall around the glacier,' said Bjoern Oddsson, who was travelling to the volcano to assess the new situation.
'The column (of smoke) has increased and rises up to eight kilometres,' he told AFP, as opposed to six kilometres in previous days.
As for the effect on European flights triggered by the rise in activity, that 'all depends on the winds', said the geologist from the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland.
Travelling southwards towards the Atlantic Ocean, it should turn towards inner Iceland on Tuesday, according to weather forecasts.
In Britain, the other airports shut from 1200 GMT to 1800 GMT as the no-fly zone extended southwards and eastwards were regional air hubs such as East Midlands, Liverpool, Leeds-Bradford, Doncaster and Humberside.
Some Scottish airports, including their fourth busiest, Prestwick, shut down, while all Northern Ireland airports closed for the period. Isle of Man airport also shut.
National Air Traffic Services, which manages British airspace, said the no-fly zone had moved east and south for the six-hour period, and it would issue further updates as necessary.
Britain's Department of Transport had warned on Saturday British airspace was likely to face partial closures from Sunday until Tuesday due to the volcanic ash cloud.
Eurostar, which runs high-speed rail services linking London with Paris and Brussels via the Channel tunnel, said it was laying on extra trains to meet an expected surge in demand.
'We've planned four extra trains on Monday,' a spokeswoman told AFP. 'Two between London and Paris and two between Paris and London. It's because the trains are already very busy and have very little capacity left.'
In the Republic of Ireland, Cork and Shannon remain open until further notice, while Ireland West (Knock), Donegal and Sligo airports remain closed until at least 1100 GMT (2100 AEST) on Monday.
Kerry is open until further notice, Galway is closed until at least 0800 GMT (1800 AEST) on Monday and Waterford is to close from 2200 GMT (0800 AEST on Monday) until at least 0800 GMT (1800 AEST) on Monday.
North Atlantic overflights through Irish-controlled airspace remain unaffected.
In Scandinavia, the skies were open over Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and should remain so until at least Monday night.
There were no restrictions on German flights. Ash pollution should remain weak until at least Tuesday.
Monday, May 17, 2010 » 08:48am

Airport sorry for T-shirt incident

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/03/16/Airport_sorry_for_T-shirt_incident_440578.html

London's Gatwick Airport has apologised after a Briton wearing a T-shirt with the slogan Freedom or Die was asked to turn it inside-out because it could be threatening, a spokesman said on Monday. Lloyd Berks, 38, was stopped by security officers as he headed for a family skiing holiday in Austria, according to media reports.
'When I went through the metal detector, first they told me to take my trainers off, then they took my wallet off me. Then the guy who checked me told me to turn my T-shirt inside out,' he said, cited by The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
'He said: 'Some airlines get a bit worried by T-shirts with what you have got on, it might be a bit threatening'.
'I thought he was joking at first. It is turquoise and white, it is just a design T-shirt, it is not gothic or in your face and the slogan is quite small.
'I asked if I could cover it up with my cardigan and he said that would be OK,' added the Briton, who was travelling with his partner, Donna, 38, and children Callum, six, and Kaydee, four on February 27.
Gatwick apologised for the incident, a spokesman said, stressing that the airport 'does not apply a policy relating to appropriate/inappropriate T-shirt slogans worn by passengers passing through airport security'.
'While safety and security are our highest priorities, we also expect staff to apply common sense and judgement.
'The reported incident sounds unncessary. We would apologise to the passenger for any inconvenience or embarrassment caused.'
The security officer involved was spoken to about the incident as part of regular line-management assessment, said the spokesman. 'It was done with the best intention,' he said.
But he added: 'We thought it was a little bit over-zealous.'
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 » 09:15am

France, full body Scanner in the airport

Paris Airport Using Full-Body Scanner

France, Paris airport, full body Scanner, 22 Feb. 2010

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/23/Paris_airport_using_full-body_scanner_432150.html

France has started using a full-body security scanner for US-bound passengers at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.
The decision to try out the scanner for three months was prompted by security concerns after a man allegedly tried to ignite explosives hidden in his underwear on a Detroit-bound flight on December 25.
The scanner helps detect forbidden objects hidden under clothes.
Reactions varied among passengers who volunteered for the scan after the machine was installed on Monday. While some like 47-year-old Miami resident Michael Rammel said the scan was practical and fast, while others worried about potential harmful effects.
The director of France's civil aviation authority, Patrick Gandil, says there is no danger in using the scanner.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 » 07:43am

British airport partly evacuated

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/01/24/British_airport_partly_evacuated_420625.html

Police have evacuated part of a British airport and declared a chemical incident after a man tried to carry some non-identified white powder onto a plane.
A check-in area in Manchester Airport in northwest England was cleared after the substance was discovered in a bag carried by an Asian man planning to fly to London Heathrow.
Britain is on high alert after the terror threat assessment was raised to its second highest level on Friday suggesting an attack is highly likely.
Sunday, January 24, 2010 » 06:31am

Airport scanners 'may breach porn laws' (United Kingdom)

Australian airports, new security scanners

UK airports, new security scanners

Wednesday, January 06, 2010 » 07:44am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/01/06/Airport_scanners_may_breach_porn_laws_414395.html

The UK government says it's working to allay fears that body scanners being introduced at airports will break laws against creating indecent images of children.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this week Heathrow and other British airports will introduce body scanners, as part of efforts by countries to tighten security following the failed US airliner bomb plot on Christmas Day.
Privacy campaigners told the Guardian that the images created by the machines were so graphic they amounted to 'virtual strip searching' and have called for safeguards to protect the privacy of passengers involved.
Terri Dowty, of civil rights group Action On Rights For Children, said the scanners could breach child protection laws, which made it illegal to create an indecent image or a 'pseudo-image' of a child.
'They do not have the legal power to use full body scanners in this way,' she told the newspaper in comments published on Tuesday.
A Department for Transport spokesman said a code of practice was being drawn up for airport staff who will use the scanners.
'We understand the concerns expressed about privacy in relation to the deployment of body scanners,' he said.
'It is vital staff are properly trained and we are developing a code of practice to ensure these concerns are properly taken into account.
'Existing safeguards also mean those operating scanners are separated from the device, so unable to see the person to whom the image relates, and these anonymous images are deleted immediately,' he added.

Airline travellers face full body scans (Australia)

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/02/10/Airline_travellers_face_full_body_scans_426977.html

Airline travellers will soon be required to walk through full body scanners before catching a flight.
The controversial machines will start appearing next year alongside more police and sniffer dogs, as part of a $200 million plan to beef up anti-terrorism measures, announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday.
The Australian government is taking action following the attempted Christmas Day attack on a US-bound flight by Nigerian underpants bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
The government's recently released aviation white paper also called for increased security measures in the air and at airports.
The prime minister has committed the government to providing $32 million to introduce security screening at regional airports.
But opposition transport spokesman Warren Truss questioned whether the money would be enough for airports at towns like Dubbo in NSW, Carnarvon in Western Australia and Weipa in Far North Queensland.
Qantas says it will work closely with the government on the security upgrades.
Civil liberties groups say passengers should be allowed to opt out of having a full body scan for a body pat instead.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 » 08:36am

Flight uniforms fail to take off

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/01/10/Flight_uniforms_fail_to_take_off_415789.html

Air New Zealand's new uniforms are already under fire, with one flight attendant saying the candyfloss pink colour scheme makes them look like 'drag queens'.
The national carrier revealed the new uniforms, being introduced next year at the same time as a new aircraft fleet, the Dominion Post reported.
Airline spokesman Ed Sims described it as 'contemporary' but a flight attendant said it was more like the look used on the airline's annual flight to the Sydney Mardi Gras.
'The flight attendants look like drag queens off the Air New Zealand 'pink' flight,' the attendant said.
'I haven't worn that colour since I was five.'
The uniform would suit a range of body shapes and work requirements but would show up spilt food and drinks, she said
Sunday, January 10, 2010 » 08:47am

********************************

Technology can waste your time - Gates

US media raves over Apple iPad

Touch Screen Skin

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/03/US_media_raves_over_Apple_iPad_447263.html

US media outlets are gushing like star-struck lovers over the Apple iPad in early reviews ahead of its much-anticipated sales launch on Saturday.
The few blessed by Apple to receive review copies of the iconic California firm's latest creation were clearly smitten with the notepad-sized gadget.
'This beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop,' said the Wall Street Journal, calling it a 'game changer'.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs billed the iPad as 'revolutionary' when he unveiled the device in San Francisco in late January, saying it will carve out a home between smartphones and laptop computers.
The USA Today newspaper agreed, like most other media branches: the 'stunning' iPad is 'rewriting the rulebook,' it said.
'The iPad is not so much about what you can do - browse, do email, play games, read e-books and more - but how you can do it,' said tech reporter Edward C. Baig.
'Apple's tablet is fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast.'
New York Time's business columnist David Carr effused so lovingly about iPad in comments fired off on Twitter that Silicon Valley gossip website Valley Wag playfully likened it to romance.
'Killer apps: maps, books (so sexy!), YouTube (freaky pretty), plain old surfing,' Carr tweeted at the microblogging service before evidently slipping off for some private time with his iPad.
'Threshold of devices that you can take to the bathroom has been crossed,' he said in a subsequent message.
'Not a good bath read, but works well with other appliances.'
Carr went on to contend that the iPad makes surfing 'far less monogamous'.
The touch-screen devices allow users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the web or read electronic books.
The iPad also runs most of the 150,000 applications made for the iPod Touch and the iPhone.
The iPad model featuring Wi-Fi wireless connectivity will be available in Apple's US stores from Saturday, and the model that offers both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular connectivity in late April.
Prices for iPads range from $US499 to $US829 depending on features.
'Not only does it threaten to turn the digital publishing and electronic reader market on its head,' said Scott Steinberg, head of technology consulting firm TechSavvy Global.
'The iPad aims to provide a more comfortable and casual means of consuming audio, video and photo content as well as playing games.'
Software makers behind applications that have been hits on iPhones and iPod Touch devices have been scrambling to adapt programs to the larger screens and beefier processors in iPads.
'Once the specifics were finally known, our team began putting together our plans for the device the same day,' said Michael Murphey, chief executive of iVerse Media which tailored a digital comic book for the iPad.
Saturday, April 03, 2010 » 07:08am

Electronic underpants come to NSW

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/26/Electronic_underpants_come_to_NSW_444499.html

They are electronic undies that can send text messages and pages - and they're coming to NSW.
SIMsystem, the world's first electronic underpants, are to be introduced across NSW nursing homes to monitor incontinence.
An Australian invention, the SIMsystem first appeared on ABC's New Inventors program in 2008 and following successful trials in Victoria, will now be rolled out across NSW.
SIMsystem looks like a regular incontinence pad but comes with a sensor strip that alerts staff to wetness by text message or over the facility's paging system.
CEO of Simavita, the company that owns the product, Philippa Lewis, said the invention will halve the time spent on incontinence management at nursing homes.
'Incontinence management is a key area in which innovative technologies can benefit aged care,' Ms Lewis said on Friday.
'We developed SIMsystem to provide greater comfort and dignity to the elderly while aiming to significantly lower costs for aged care facilities.'
Friday, March 26, 2010 » 02:32pm

Google lost password system

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/21/Google_lost_password_system_453521.html

Among the losses Google sustained when intruders stole computer information in December was a company treasure: a password system, The New York Times says.
'Ever since Google disclosed in January that internet intruders had stolen information from its computers, the exact nature and extent of the theft has been a closely guarded company secret,' the report said on Tuesday, citing an unnamed person with direct knowledge of the investigation.
That person 'now says that the losses included one of Google's crown jewels, a password system that controls access by millions of users worldwide to almost all of the company's web services, including email and business applications,' the Times report said.
Named Gaia for the Greek goddess of the earth, the program 'was attacked in a lightning raid taking less than two days last December,' the report cited the person as saying.
The software program is meant to allow users and employees to sign in with a sole password once to operate a range of services.
While 'the intruders do not appear to have stolen passwords of Gmail users, ... the company quickly started making significant changes to the security of its networks after the intrusions.
'But the theft leaves open the possibility, however faint, that the intruders may find weaknesses that Google might not even be aware of,' the report cited experts as saying.
'The theft began with an instant message sent to a Google employee in China who was using Microsoft's Messenger program,' the report added, citing the unnamed person.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 » 10:07am

New 'stalking' app for mobile phones

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/18/New_stalking_app_for_mobile_phones_452367.html

A new social networking tool allows mobile phone users to identify people just by taking a photo.
The 'recogniser' application gives any mobile phone owner access to almost all online information about anyone they photograph.
IT expert Charlie Brown has expressed concerns about the application, saying it's a walk up start for stalkers and could see an increase in identity theft cases.
'You can pretty much know everything about (a person) that is listed on the internet within about 30 seconds,' he said.
Facebook and twitter accounts and business cards become available when recogniser matches an image of someone's face online.
Software developer Dan Garden says there is a lot of ways to use the application sensibly.
'During a party, you might want to figure out some more information about the person standing across the room from you.'
Police and government agencies use a similar device to identify criminals.
The application could be on mobile phones around the world by September this year.
Sunday, April 18, 2010 » 05:58am

Twitter bug, users lose followers

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/05/11/Twitter_bug_users_lose_followers_460619.html

Twitter was hit by a bug on Monday that caused users of the micro-blogging service to lose the followers of their accounts.
'We identified and resolved a bug that permitted a user to 'force' other users to follow them,' Twitter said.
'We're now working to rollback all abuse of the bug that took place,' the San Francisco-based startup said in a blog post.
Twitter's explanation came after a number of users of the fast-growing short-message service reported that the number of people listed as following their accounts had plummeted to zero.
'Follower/following numbers are currently at 0; we're aware and this too should shortly be resolved,' Twitter said.
Twitter, which allows users to pepper their followers with messages of 140 characters or less, said last month that it has topped 105 million registered users and is adding 300,000 new accounts a day
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 » 04:03am

Medical students to use Second Life

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/05/12/Medical_students_to_use_Second_Life_461015.html

Some of the state's medical students are entering a virtual world to help with their training.
The idea's to teach them how to diagnose health problems in a safe, yet realistic environment.
Second Life is an internet-based virtual reality computer game, which allows users to create their own individual avatar.
Now mental health students will be able to do things they could not in a classroom, such as interacting with patients in hospitals, or in crisis situations in ambulances.
They will then be able to recommend diagnosis while being supervised by an online teacher.
Trials are about to begin at the Riverina University.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 » 03:51am

iPhone allows for virtual open house

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/24/iPhone_allows_for_virtual_open_house_454533.html

Tech savvy house hunters are set for a virtual reality open home at the tip of their fingers for the first time.
A free iPhone application, to be launched by the Commonwealth Bank in the coming weeks, integrates information from the phone's camera and location devices to display property data.
House hunters will soon be able to snap a photo of a house they like on their iPhone and then view property information as a list through Google Maps or as augmented reality.
Augmented reality overlays data on top of the actual view of the house using the iPhone's camera.
Saturday, April 24, 2010 » 09:41am

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/22/Facebook_seeks_to_spread_its_influence_453830.html

Facebook on Wednesday set out to spread its influence across the internet by weaving its social networking service into all websites and making the web revolve around its users.
Facebook rolled out a series of changes in what was pitched as an inevitable evolution in people's relationships, activities and interests melding in online identities that follow them wherever they roam on the internet.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg outlined his vision of an 'open graph' after making a rock star entrance to cheers and applause at the California firm's third annual f8 developers conference in San Francisco.
'Today, the web exists as a series of unstructured links between pages,' said Zuckerberg, whose social network boasts more than 400 million users around the globe. 'The open graph puts people at the centre of the web.'
Freshly launched tools let developers install Facebook's recently adopted 'Like' icons that let people signal interests with a single click and share them automatically with friends at participating websites.
'We are going to make it possible to make those connections, then a lot of neat things become possible,' Zuckerberg said. 'People can have instantly social and personalised experiences everywhere they go.'
Internet radio service Pandora and technology colossus Microsoft, which owns a minor stake in Facebook, were among some 30 websites that have been testing the new software and have it in place.
Facebook's move has the potential to put the service at the heart of increasingly personalised online experiences and wrest traffic from other internet firms vying for people's attention and internet advertising dollars.
Thursday, April 22, 2010 » 06:20am

Attenborough to make 3D shows

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/04/Attenborough_to_make_3D_shows_447714.html

Sir David Attenborough is about to take his career into a whole new dimension, by making Europe's first ever
programme specifically for 3D TV homes.
The legendary broadcaster has signed up to write and present Flying Monsters 3D.
Sir David said he is thrilled to be involved.
'3D on television can now take you properly into those kind of worlds,' Attenborough said.
'You will actually be able to sense the world in a way you never did before. It will be fantastic.
'Having learnt my television skills in the days of black and white, and been involved in the introduction of colour, I'm thrilled to be a part of the first 3D TV projects.'
The programme will focus on flying dinosaurs, the size of small jet aeroplanes, who lived 200 million years ago.
The cutting edge CGI effects are being created by Zoo, who worked on the Harry Potter and Narnia films.
Anthony Geffen from Atlantic Productions is overseeing the project, he thinks it will be a watershed moment in the 3D home market.
'I think it's a big thing for 3D because David appeals right the way across the spectrum,' Mr Geffen said.
'Once David steps into the world of 3D, I think a huge new audience will want to see it and get involved. This is a significant moment.'
3D is of already big business in cinemas thanks to the success of Avatar and Alice In Wonderland.
Sunday, April 04, 2010 » 02:01pm

US readies for Apple iPad release

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/30/US_readies_for_Apple_iPad_release_445938.html

The Apple iPad will launches in the US on Saturday with an apparent deluge of early online orders indicating that the tablet computers will be another big hit for the company.
The iPad 'connects users with their apps and content in a far more intimate and fun way than ever before,' Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said on Monday.
'We can't wait for users to get their hands and fingers on it this weekend.'
Apple promised that its latest touch screen creation would be available in the company's retail shops and at Best Buy consumer electronics chain stores beginning at 9am in respective US time zones.
People who ordered iPad devices early should receive them on Saturday as well.
Demand for iPads has evidently blasted past Apple expectations and as of Monday notations at the online Apple Store alerted buyers that new orders would not be shipped until April 12 or 'late April' depending on models.
'It does have the appearance that Apple has another pretty big hit on its hands,' Altimeter Group partner Michael Gartenberg told AFP on Monday.
'It never hurts initially to have demand outstrip supply by a little bit. As a general rule, people want what they can't have.'
Apple likely wants to make certain that there are iPads on store shelves for people that show up on Saturday wanting to get their hands on a device that Jobs said must be held to be truly appreciated.
Apple has not released details of how many iPads will be available for the Saturday launch but some estimates put the figure as high as a several hundred thousand.
'My guess is that the numbers are going to be pretty impressive,' Gartenberg said of the iPad sales debut.
'This is significant considering these are people who haven't seen or touched an iPad and are simply going on Apple's word.'
Jobs unveiled the iPad in San Francisco on January 27, billing it as a 'revolutionary' device that will carve out a home between smartphones and laptop computers.
The iPad allows users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the web or read electronic books.
The iPad also runs most of the 150,000 applications made for the iPod music player and the iPhone. Apple has promised that the device would come with '12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad.'
While Apple is making a powerful debut in the tablet computer market 'everyone and their brother' will be fielding competing devices by the end of this year, according to analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
A major Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas early this year was rife with companies showing off new tablet computers. The iPad poses an immediate threat to Amazon.com's popular Kindle electronic readers.
'It isn't certain Apple will dominate the tablet market,' Enderle said. 'The key part will be content. If Apple doesn't get the content deals, the iPad stays with Apple fans.'
Newspapers and magazines are eagerly tailoring interactive, digital editions in a hope that the iPad heralds a new way to deliver content and bring in revenue.
The iPad model featuring Wi-Fi wireless connectivity will be available in Apple's US stores from April 3 and the model that offers both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular connectivity in late April, Apple said.
The company said both the Wi-Fi and 3G models would be available in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland in late April and in other countries later this year.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 » 02:22pm

Perth's broadband blackspots 'to go'

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/12/Perths_broadband_blackspots_to_go_438990.html

Perth's wireless broadband blackspots will be eliminated when Vivid Wireless launches the 4G wireless broadband network, its chairman Ryan Stokes says.
The new 4G network will be rolled out in other cities in the next 12 months, Mr Stokes told a briefing in Perth on Thursday.
The rollout would focus initially on wireless hot-spots such as universities and airports.
Mr Stokes is the son of Seven Network Ltd chairman Kerry Stokes and is also a director of the television group.
He said Perth was chosen as the starting point for the new network because it was under-serviced and was the Stokes family's hometown.
'Perth is where we can make the difference,' Mr Stokes said.
'There are a lot of blackspots in Perth ... as well as in the broader community.
'We will have full coverage in the city from day one. The country and particularly Perth needs competitive communications. We believe it will be embraced.'
Mr Stokes said the network would be the most advanced in Australia and one of the most advanced networks in the world.
'It will be dedicated to providing efficient, improved broadband,' he said.
'We believe we will reshape the communication environment and change expectations of how consumers access the internet.'
Mr Stokes said the service's speed and quality of coverage would surpass competitors' and remove 'bill shock' with simple and transparent billing conditions.
'Compared to other wireless offerings, we'll have a very efficient price point,' Mr Stokes told reporters after the briefing.
He said consumers would be able to access wireless broadband on multiple devices from the one account.
Friday, March 12, 2010 » 09:45am

'Mind-reading' brain-scan software

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/04/09/Mind-reading_brain-scan_software_449160.html

Mind reading may no longer be the domain of psychics and fortune tellers - now some computers can do it, too.
Intel Corp. showcased some of its technological innovations on Wednesday in Manhattan. Among the still-under-development projects was software that uses brain scans to determine what items people are thinking about.
The software analyses functional MRI scans to determine what parts of a person's brain is being activated as he or she thinks.
Intel Labs researcher Dean Pomerleau says that in tests, it guessed with 90 per cent accuracy which of two words a person was thinking about.
The technology could eventually help the severely physically disabled to communicate.
And, Pomerleau sees it as an early step toward being able to control technology with our minds.
Friday, April 09, 2010 » 06:07am

Microsoft create touch screen skin

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/19/Microsoft_create_touch_screen_skin_441739.html

Handheld phones and MP3 players could soon be a thing of the past after Microsoft developed a technology to turn your skin into a touch screen.
Users wear the 'Skinput' device strapped around the top of the arm which projects a screen onto the hand or forearm.
The technology transforms skin into an input interface by using acoustic signals that travel through the body to track touch and movement.
PHD student Chris Harrison developed the technology and believes it could replace touch screen phones in the future.
'Your palms could do everything an iPhone could do.
'If you consider your palm and fingers provide about as much surface area as an iPhone screen, you might begin to wonder if we shouldn't just use that as the touch screen surface.'
Although the prototype is still in its testing stage, developers say it could be used to create a new type of buttonless music player which simply uses the skin as a controller.
'You could just tap your fingers to advance to the next song, change the volume, or pause the current song,' Chris Harrison explained.
The prospect of using skin as a touch screen may be an exciting one, but Microsoft says improvements still need to be carried out to increase accuracy before 'Skinput' can become a commercial product.
Friday, March 19, 2010 » 05:26am

Facebook location feature to launch

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/11/Facebook_location_feature_to_launch_438562.html

Facebook users will be able to track where their friends are at any time with a new location feature due to be launched next month.
According to The New York Times, the social networking site plans to unveil a feature allowing its millions of users to share their current location with friends.
There have been mixed reactions to the new feature, with some users fearful of 'Facebook stalking' now being made easier.
The company has previously foreshadowed the feature, recently updating its privacy policy.
It now clarifies that; should a location sharing feature be implemented, users will have a choice over whether they participate.
In similar news, a new Twitter feature will plot tweets on a Google Map, according to reports.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 » 07:59am

Telstra unveils futuristic video phone

videophone for Australians

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/17/Telstra_unveils_futuristic_video_phone_441044.html

For those that lament the future that never was, take heart: while flying cars, jetpacks and intelligent robots remain the stuff of science-fiction, the video phone is a reality and is available now.
From today, Australians will be able to communicate face-to-face using desktop video phones using the Telstra VVX 1500 Business Media Phone.
The phone runs on the telco's IP telephony Next IP network, and is high-definition voice ready, allowing for clearer overall sound quality. It features a seven-inch touch screen display, six lines, a Gigabit Ethernet switch and an integrated camera in a sleek package.
Telstra's acting Executive Director, Data, IP Enterprise Services, Carol White says businesses that have already made the switch to VoIP on the Telstra network can now upgrade to the new video phones.
'Telstra has upgraded its network so that we can share video calls between business customers as easily as we share IP voice traffic,' she says.
Ms White says the combination of video and clear audio will be a game-changer for businesses looking to maintain good customer service but look after their bottom line.
'Video telephony represents a new opportunity for businesses looking to increase their face-to-face contact with customers, staff and suppliers,' Ms White says.
'HD voice calling delivers twice the clarity of ordinary phone calls and is like switching from AM to FM radio,' she adds.
Telstra also says the phone will appeal to carbon conscious customers.
The phone offers a 'genuine alternatives to some business trips ... helping to reduce a business' carbon footprint and travel expenses,' Ms White says.
Both HD voice calling and video telephony via the Telstra VVX 1500 Business Media Phone are available to Telstra Business and Telstra Enterprise Government customers from this week.
Telstra's hi-tech fixed-line video phone is available to hosted IP telephony customers on a rental arrangement with Telstra for $45 (GST exclusive) per month over three years.
So, while ray guns, moon holidays and spandex tunics remain firmly a thing of boyhood fantasies, Telstra has provided plenty of encouragement for frustrated futurists.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 » 12:46pm

Computing in Russia

in the office

Twitter users creating 50m tweets a day

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Finance/2010/02/23/Twitter_users_creating_50m_tweets_a_day_432244.html

Twitter users are creating 50 million messages of 140 characters or less each per day, the micro-blogging service said.
Kevin Weil, a member of Twitter's analytics team, said in a blog post that Twitter users were writing 5,000 'tweets' per day in 2007, 300,000 per day in 2008 and 2.5 million per day in 2009.
'Tweets grew 1,400 per cent last year to 35 million per day,' Weil said. 'Today, we are seeing 50 million tweets per day - that's an average of 600 tweets per second.'
Weil said the 50-million figure does not include messages from accounts identified as spam.
The number of actual 'tweets' delivered is far higher because many messages are delivered to multiple accounts, he added.
The San Francisco-based Twitter does not release figures on the total number of users of the service, which was launched in August 2006.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 » 11:24am

US military set free Facebook (and Twitter)

The Allowence of the use of Twitter by the army in USA, 2010

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/28/US_military_set_free_Facebook_434152.html

Everyone from troops in the field to the highest brass and civilian leaders will be allowed to Twitter, blog and use Facebook.
The new policy follows a seven-month review in which the Defense Department weighed the threats and benefits of allowing the wide use of emerging internet capabilities.
It seeks to manage the risks while acknowledging the internet is proving a powerful tool for myriad tasks including recruiting, public relations, collaboration with a wide range of people and for communications between troops and their families.
To guard security, the department allows commanders to cut off access - on a temporary basis only - if that is required to safeguard a mission or reserve bandwidth for official use.
The new directive also makes practices uniform across the entire department, in which different commands previously blocked certain things while others didn't.
Visiting sites for pornography, gambling or hate-crime activities is still prohibited on military computers.
'We need to take advantage of these capabilities that are out there,' said David M. Wennergren, deputy assistant secretary of defence for information technology.
'The idea is be responsible and use these tools to help get the job done.'
The new directive means that YouTube, MySpace and more than a dozen sites blocked by the Pentagon in May 2007 will be unblocked, he said.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 » 09:26am

Politicians turning to Twitter

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2010/02/19/Politicians_turning_to_Twitter_430705.html

In the lead-up to this year's federal election, Australian politicians are reaching out to voters like never before - in 140 characters or less.
Just as 2007 was the first Australian election to utilise social networking sites and the video sharing site YouTube, the country is gearing up for its first Twitter election.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is already followed by more than 900,000 tweeters, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey tweets nearly every day and new Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's account became active as soon as he won the top job.
Julie Posetti, a journalist and academic at the University of Canberra who has researched the use of Twitter by politicians, says the election will 'essentially be twitterised'.
Ms Posetti says there are parallels between the use of Twitter by MPs and how former prime minister John Howard famously used talkback radio during his 11-year reign.
'John Howard used talkback to great effect, but what Twitter offers is an even more personalised opportunity to engage one on one without the gatekeepers sitting there determining who or who not will get to air,' she told AAP.
'I do think we are are likely to see some exciting, explosive moments (during the election) courtesy of Twitter and as a public we need to applaud that.
'A bit of honesty and authenticity back in politics is something I am sure a lot of people would welcome.'
There are currently 39 federal MPs in the ALP, the coalition and the Greens who actively tweet.
Many do so via their iPhone or BlackBerry while sitting through question time in parliament.
In February, through Twitter, opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton responded to a complaint by Julia Gillard over an interjection he made.
'Telling (Health Minister Nicola Roxon) to get on her broomstick is hardly grossly unparliamentary' as joolia claimed,' Mr Dutton wrote.
When the tweet came to the attention of Speaker Harry Jenkins he acknowledged: 'If there is to be this continued critique of my performance ... I perhaps better update my skills to look at that social network.'
During the Liberal Party's leadership spill in November last year, Mr Hockey came under attack for Twitter canvassing the views of his followers on the government's proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Many read it as a sign that Mr Hockey, who at the time supported the ETS, was ready to backflip.
'He can't govern the nation by tweet,' Ms Gillard said.
'People don't expect their politicians to just text a message, 'What do you think the defence budget should be' and apparently a whole lot of tweets come back and you accept that.'
But Mr Hockey argued it was the same as canvassing opinions by phone and email or walking down the street.
'That's the great value of Twitter,' he told AAP.
'There's 8500 people out there who have different views.
'Some of them are quite plainly hostile, but they're all prepared to give an opinion and so it's useful.'
The shadow treasurer is one of the few politicians to offer personal insights into their lives, having for example tweeted about putting his newborn son Ignatius to sleep while driving around Sydney listening to ABC Newsradio.
However, many politicians do not know how to truly utilise Twitter and instead it has become a forum for mini-press releases and political spin.
Ms Posetti says many are just using it as a one-way broadcast medium and struggling to get beyond the impression of spin that has got so many voters disenchanted.
'They are managing to sidestep the gate keepers but in doing that they are regenerating spin,' she said.
Since Mr Abbott became Liberal leader his once dormant Twitter account has become active.
But with impersonal tweets that appear to have come from a staffer such as 'I will launch the Coalition's plan for direct action on the environment and climate change at 12:45pm' it is clear he is far from understanding the medium.
'It is a highly ineffective way to use the new media and really shows me what they think is just a broadcast platform,' Ms Posetti said.
In contrast, his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull had figured out how to use Twitter with a blend of personal and professional communication and real engagement with his followers, she said.
Mr Abbott should ask Mr Hockey for some advice.
'It's meaningless to use Twitter if it's simply a recycled political message,' Mr Hockey said.
'It has to be as if it came from your lips.'
In the 2007 election, Mr Rudd had a prominent presence on Facebook and MySpace, posting messages that connected with a younger generation of voters.
But then prime minister John Howard failed to recognise the benefit of the new media and his attempt to utilise it at the 11th hour failed dismally.
Mr Rudd's connection with a younger generation through social media is credited as one of the reasons he won the election.
According to Ms Posetti, if Mr Abbott does not realise the potential of Twitter he will suffer the same fate as his former leader.
'They're going to need to get their act together to compete with what is so far a more social media savvy government.'
Friday, February 19, 2010 » 12:00pm

'Minority Report' billboards developed

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/11/Minority_Report_billboards_developed_438569.html

Japanese researchers are currently developing a digital billboard that targets consumers using customised advertising based on their demographics.
Engineers have developed the billboard which uses built in cameras to identify a shopper's age and gender as they walk past, similar to one used in the Tom Cruise blockbuster 'Minority Report'.
The facial-recognition system, called the 'Next Generation Digital Signage Solution' offers consumers a product suited to their demographic.
Experts say the technology, being developed by Japanese electronics company NEC, would allow advertisers to develop more accurate campaigns.
Officials claimed a person would remain anonymous and that images of their face would be immediately erased. But critics warned it was an invasion of privacy.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 » 08:01am

Scientists develop telepathic computer

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/13/Scientists_develop_telepathic_computer_439342.html

A computer programme that can detect what a person is thinking has been developed by scientists.
The telepathic system looks at brain activity and deciphers thought patterns.
The research has been developed by experts at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL and published in the Current Biology journal.
It is a continuation of previous research and is a step forward as it can delve into people's memories and differentiate between them.
'In our previous experiment we were looking at basic memories, at someone's location in an environment,' said Professor Eleanor Maguire who led the study.
'What is more interesting is to look at 'episodic' memories - the complex, everyday memories that include much more information on where we are, what we are doing and how we feel.'
In the latest experiment ten volunteers were shown three short films and asked to memorise what they saw.
They then had to recall each of the films while an MRI scanner recorded brain activity and measured changes in blood flow.
A computer algorithm then studied the patterns and had to identify which film the volunteer was recalling just from looking at the pattern of their brain activity.
'The algorithm was able to predict correctly which of the three films the volunteer was recalling significantly above what would be explained by chance,' said Martin Chadwick, lead author of the study.
'This suggests that our memories are recorded in a regular pattern.'
Saturday, March 13, 2010 » 05:37am

France launches Torture TV

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Entertainment/2010/03/17/France_launches_torture_tv_441234.html

A French television experiment where unwitting contestants were encouraged to torture an actor has drawn comparisons with the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
The Game Of Death had all the trappings of a traditional television quiz show, with a roaring crowd and a glamorous and well-known hostess.
But contestants on the show did not realise they were taking part in an experiment to find out whether television could push them to outrageous lengths.
The game involved contestants posing questions to another 'player', who was actually an actor, and punishing him with 460 volts of electricity when he answered incorrectly.
Eventually the man's cries of 'Let me go' fell silent, and he appeared to have died.
Not knowing that their screaming victim was an actor, the apparently reluctant contestants followed the orders of the presenter, as well as chants of 'Punishment' from a studio audience who also believed the game was real.
The programme's producer and a team of psychologists recruited 80 volunteers, telling them they were taking part in a pilot for a new television show.
Producer Christophe Nick said 80% of contestants went all the way, shocking the victim with the maximum 460 volts until he appeared to die.
Out of 80 players, just 16 refused to shock the victim and walked out.
One contestant interviewed afterwards said she went along with the torture despite knowing that her own grandparents were Jews who had been persecuted by the Nazis.
'Since I was a little girl, I have always asked myself why the Nazis did it,' she said. 'How could they obey such orders? And there I was, obeying them myself.'
'I was worried about the contestant,' said another player. 'At the same time, I was afraid to spoil the programme.'
Some observers were sceptical of the manipulative way the participants were handled.
'There are elements of manipulation from the start,' said Jacques Semelin, a psychologist and historian who studies genocide and totalitarianism.
'They are obedient, but it's more than mere obedience - there is the audience, and the cameras everywhere.'
But for the film makers, the manipulative power of television was exactly the point.
'The questioners are in the grip of the authority of television,' said Jean-Leon Beauvois, a psychologist who took part in the documentary.
The programme draw parallels with an experiment carried out by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram.
His experiment measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience.
The study began in July 1961, three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.
Milgram devised the experiments to answer this question: 'Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 » 09:08pm

Google Buzz tweaked amid privacy fears

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2010/02/13/Google_Buzz_tweaked_amid_privacy_fears_428210.html

Facing a large number of privacy complaints, Google has made changes to Google Buzz, the new social networking tool it added to its free email service Gmail.
'There's been concern from some people who thought their contacts were being made public without their knowledge,' Gmail and Google Buzz product manager Todd Jackson said in a blog post.
'Others felt they had too little control over who could follow them and were upset that they lacked the ability to block people who didn't yet have public profiles from following them.'
Among the concerns aired in technology blogs and elsewhere was that Google Buzz was taking a user's Gmail contacts and automatically adding them to their public Buzz social network.
Several commentators noted that they did not necessarily want their email contacts made public like Facebook friends.
Jackson said Gmail users will now have to create a Google Buzz public profile and will be notified that 'lists of people you follow and the people following you will be displayed on your public profile'.
'You can view, edit and even hide these lists,' Jackson said. 'The lists of your followers/people you follow are not made public on your profile until after you go through this profile creation step.'
Jackson said Google was also giving users the ability to block anyone following their account.
He said 'tens of millions' of people have used Buzz since it was launched on Tuesday, 'creating over nine million posts and comments'.
'It's still early, and we have a long list of improvements on the way. We look forward to hearing more suggestions and will continue to improve the Buzz experience, with user transparency and control top of mind.'
Google Buzz allows Gmail users to get updates about what friends are doing online and offers ways to share video, photos and other digitised snippets.
Some technology analysts describe it as a direct challenge by Google to social networking stars Facebook and Twitter.
Saturday, February 13, 2010 » 11:09am

Google's ultra high-speed broadband plan

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/02/11/Googles_ultra_high-speed_broadband_plan_427427.html

Google has announced plans to build experimental ultra high-speed broadband networks that would deliver internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.
'We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States,' Google product managers Minnie Ingersoll and James Kelly said in a blog post on Wednesday.
'We'll deliver internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with one gigabit per second, fibre-to-the-home connections,' they said.
Google said it planned to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.
'Through our trial, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to the shared goal of delivering faster and better internet for everyone,' Ingersoll and Kelly said.
They said Google would operate an ''open access' network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers.'
Google invited communities around the country that wanted to take part in the high-speed broadband trial to make their interest known by March 26 and said the target communities would be announced later this year.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski welcomed the Google initiative.
'Big broadband creates big opportunities,' Genachowski said in a statement. 'This significant trial will provide an American testbed for the next generation of innovative, high-speed internet apps, devices, and services.'
US President Barack Obama has pledged to put broadband in every home and the FCC has embarked on an ambitious project to bring high-speed internet access to every corner of the United States.
Genachowski said the FCC's National Broadband Plan 'will build upon such private-sector initiatives' as Google's.
The United States was ranked 20th in broadband penetration in a survey of 58 countries released last year by Boston-based Strategy Analytics.
Median US broadband speeds are less than 5.0 megabits per second (Mbps) - capable of moving five million bits of data per second - according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, far slower than those of Japan (63 Mbps) and South Korea (49 Mbps).
Google's move into broadband service is its latest departure from its traditional internet search and advertising business.
The Mountain View, California, company has already asked for US government authority to buy and sell electricity in the United States and announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in 'green' energy projects.
Google has deployed a number of free productivity tools on the internet, its own web browser, Chrome, and is engaged in a vast and controversial project to digitise and sell millions of books online.
Google is developing its own computer operating system, Chrome, and its mobile telephone operating system, Android, is already being used by a number of leading handset makers.
Last month, Google released its own smartphone, the Nexus One.
Google shares were trading 0.50 per cent lower at 533.75 dollars at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) in New York.
Thursday, February 11, 2010

'All these tools of tech waste our time if we're not careful.'

Monday, July 27, 2009 » 08:27am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/07/27/Technology_can_waste_your_time_-_Gates_356220.html.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend.
Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with '10,000 people wanting to be my friends'.
Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he 'knew this person, did I not know this person'.
Gates also confided to the audience that he was 'not that big at text messaging' and that 'I'm not a 24-hour-a-day tech person'.
'I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer,' he said.
Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been 'hugely beneficial' but added: 'All these tools of tech waste our time if we're not careful.'

Microsoft icon Gates starts tweeting

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/01/20/Microsoft_icon_Gates_starts_tweeting_419397.html

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has started tweeting and his first messages included praise for efforts to raise funds for earthquake-hit Haiti.
Gates bid the Twitter community a 'Hello World' around midday on Tuesday, and then followed that message with three more that praised efforts to raise funds for earthquake-devastated Haiti.
The recently-retired Microsoft legend's Twitter page bore a blue check-mark icon used to verify identities of famous people using the wildly popular microblogging service.
As sundown neared in the Pacific state of Washington where Gates lives, he had logged four tweets and signed on to 'follow' messages at 40 other Twitter accounts including those of Microsoft and its new Bing search engine.
Twitter users that Gates was tracking ranged from Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan and US President Barack Obama to actress Ashley Tisdale, actor Ashton Kutcher, and CERN European Organisation for Nuclear Research.
Gates was also following tweets from prestigious TED conferences known for mind-bending themes and humanitarian missions.
'I'd like to welcome billgates to the twitterverse,' tweeted Kutcher, who had 4,396,936 followers at the microblogging services as of late Tuesday.
Slightly more than 61,000 people signed on to follow Gates on his opening day tweeting.
The number of people following Gates rose steadily as word of his arrival among the 'twitterati' ricocheted with increasing speed in 'retweets' through the day.
'Welcome to the club,' tweeted US television celebrity Ryan Seacrest of the popular American Idol program.
Twitter, fuelled by smartphones and online bursts of 140 characters, soared to lofty heights in the past year and the number of users reportedly topped 40 million by the end of 2009.
Twitter is said to have spurned takeover offers worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Google and Facebook and its influence as a communications and news-breaking tool has been validated in a number of ways.
In June, the State Department asked Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance on the service because it was being used by protesters angered by the results of Iran's disputed presidential election.
More recently, Google and Microsoft began integrating Twitter messages into their respective search engines, a new feature described as real-time search.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 » 03:25pm

Fears piracy case could cut web access

(Don't believe all these fear generating articles! If your website is educational and not money making tool, then you would not need to worry about. Internet is the Final Merging of Different Energies Worldwide before the Planetary Shift of Consciousness and this is the reason why all the fences/'laws' are in the process of being broken, LM).
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/01/31/Fears_piracy_case_could_cut_web_access_423360.html

Australian internet rights groups fear a piracy court case could force ISPs to become 'copyright cops' and cut web access to customers who illegally download.
The Federal Court is on Thursday expected to hand down its judgement in the case, which has pitted Hollywood and Australian film and TV producers against Australia's third-largest internet provider, iiNet.
The entertainment companies, which include Village Roadshow, Paramount Pictures Australia and Twentieth Century Fox International, say iiNet has not done enough to stop its customers illegally sharing movies on the net.
But iiNet argues it has never encouraged or authorised the illegal sharing or downloading of files in breach of copyright laws and specifically warned its users against doing so.
Electronic Frontiers Australia, which aims to protect the civil liberties of internet users, said the case goes further than any other similar case seen around the world in holding an ISP responsible for a customer's illegal activities.
'It doesn't seem to be a paradigm that we are used to seeing in the rest of offline life,' spokesman Geordie Guy told AFP.
'We've never seen a company which supplies electricity held responsible for supplying electricity to a house which grows illicit drugs, for example.'
The case hinges on more than 94,000 alleged infringements on the iiNet network over 59 weeks from June 2008, involving titles such as Batman Begins and Dark Knight.
The consortium of 34 Australian and US media content providers sent iiNet notifications of the infringements but say nothing was done about them.
The Australian Digital Alliance (ADA), which is pushing for intellectual property law reform, fears that if iiNet loses it could set a precedent leaving ISPs no choice but to terminate the access of internet users accused of making illegal downloads without each case coming to court.
The term intellectual property refers to areas such as copyright, designs, and patents, confidential information and trademarks.
'The ADA believes that access to essential services, such as the internet, should not be terminated without the fundamental protection of independent judicial oversight,' the alliance's Matt Dawes said.
Dawes said ISPs were under mounting pressure to regulate the activities of those who subscribe to their internet services.
'The strategy of compelling ISPs to act as 'copyright cops' enforcing private rights is a last-ditch response to the difficulties of preventing file-sharing,' he said.
BitTorrent websites were hard to shut down,, while individual file-sharers were too numerous to sue, added Dawes.
BitTorrent is a technology that allows online users to share parts of a large file such as a film or song over the internet. The parts are then stitched together on the end user's computer to create a complete file.
The chief executive of iiNet, Michael Malone, agreed in court that half or more than half of traffic by volume across the company's network was BitTorrent traffic, and that the technology was frequently used to illegally download movies and TV shows.
'Placing responsibility for reducing file-sharing on ISPs is inappropriate because it will shift the cost of copyright enforcement on to customers and has great potential for abuse without proper supervision,' Dawes said.
Whatever the court decides, there was likely to be legislative action in Australia to clarify how ISPs should implement a policy to terminate repeat copyright offenders, Dawes said.
David Crafti, who heads the recently formed Pirate Party Australia, which wants intellectual property law reforms, says the case could open up issues of privacy if ISPs were essentially expected to spy on their customers.
'In order to enforce copyright laws strictly, the problem is that nowadays what's actually required is invasions of privacy which are actually anathema to a free society,' he said.
Crafti said MPs had been slow to respond to the enormous changes brought about by the internet and needed to recognise there was currently no way to prevent illegal downloading without taking draconian measures.
'The way I see it, the internet is a utility. It should be on tap like water. And as soon as you start limiting that, you are limiting the freedom of your society,' he said.
Sunday, January 31, 2010 » 04:52pm

Fans weigh in on Apple's iPad

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/01/29/Fans_weigh_in_on_Apples_iPad_422489.html

Critics and fans have weighed in after Apple unveiled its iPad tablet computer, with opinion divided on whether the iconic California company had given birth to another game-changing product.
While some technology analysts predict the iPad will be the best-selling electronics device of 2010, others complain it has no camera or USB port, can't multitask, can't be used as a phone and doesn't support Adobe Flash.
Unveiling the new touchscreen device on Wednesday, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs admitted he was taking a gamble by trying to carve out an entirely new device category between the laptop computer and the smartphone.
'We think we've got the goods,' Jobs said. 'We think we've done it.'
Wall Street was uncertain. After gaining nearly one per cent on Wednesday, Apple shares were trading about 3.5 per cent lower at midday on Thursday, occasionally dipping below $US200.
A number of analysts described the iPad as a potentially powerful rival to Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader, but shares in the online retail giant were up nearly one per cent at midday after gaining 2.7 per cent on Wednesday.
Although consumers will have the final say, technology analysts and gadget reviewers were mixed on whether the iPad will be a smash hit like the iPod, which controls over 70 per cent of the market for MP3 players, or the iPhone, which completely transformed the smartphone arena.
Samuel Axon of tech blog Mashable was among those in the disappointed camp.
'The iPad isn't the transformational device so many Apple enthusiasts were hoping for,' Axon wrote. 'It won't turn all the content industries upside down, it won't be your primary computing device and it's not even a bigger, better iPhone.'
Michael Hiltzik, a technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, said: 'The iPad resembles a scaled-up iPhone -- without the phone.'
The tech blog of Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said after months of pre-launch hype, 'expectations for the new Apple product were so high they were difficult to fulfil'.
'In its current form, there are too few advantages compared with a notebook or a smartphone,' it said, asking whether consumers would be ready to pay to read newspapers on the iPad when they can get the same content online for free.
John Ridding, chief executive of Britain's Financial Times, one of the few newspapers to charge readers online, hopes they will.
'Apple's new iPad is a welcome innovation, providing another important channel for publishers,' Ridding said.
'We hope this launch marks a significant new step in the evolution of portable digital devices, providing a richer user experience and giving the FT the ability to deliver more interactive and dynamic content to our customers.'
Spain's El Pais said the iPad opens up a new avenue for content creators struggling to adapt to the digital era. 'The real revolution will not be technological but cultural and entrepreneurial,' it said.
'Books, videogames, movies, maps, newspapers and television shows will be distributed through the iPad,' it said.
'News publishers, movie studios, music labels and software developers have a unique opportunity to reinvent their sector,' El Pais said.
Om Malik of tech blog GigaOm said the iPad is 'made for the consumption of digital media: games, music, photos, videos, magazines, newspapers and e-books.
'The iPad's primary purpose is to help you consume the ever-expanding amount of digital content on offer,' he said, calling it the 'ideal device for today's world'.
Claudine Beaumont, technology writer for Britain's Daily Telegraph, hailed the sleekness of the iPad, its reading software and virtual keyboard.
'It won't replace your laptop, but I think it may have sounded the death knell for notebook computers,' she wrote.
MG Siegler of tech blog TechCrunch, after playing with the iPad, pronounced it 'beautiful and fast'.
'It felt like I was holding the future,' Siegler said, adding that while it may not be a 'must-have' device for many people right now it would appeal to the 75 million iPod Touch and iPhone users, something Apple CEO Jobs also alluded to in his speech.
'And as that user base keeps expanding, so too will the base of those that are interested in the iPad - many just don't know it yet,' Siegler said.
Users eager to judge for themselves will have to wait two months before the first iPads are shipped worldwide at an entry-level price of $US499 ($A560).
Friday, January 29, 2010 » 10:27am

In Australia, before you start talking over the phone, you'll hear a recorded message that your call (talk) is going to be monitored by operators 'for teaching and quality purposes'. Sometimes they ask your permission to do it, sometimes not. In Russia they don't bother to make you to listen to such recorded message: they just listen to what you say behind your back. And that has been going for the last 50 years. I let them do it , because I have nothing to hide! I was wondering how is the situation in other countries: are the authorities open about them listening everybody's phone conversations like in Australia?

Phone ban for young drivers in South Australia

Sunday, August 30, 2009 » 12:50pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/08/30/Phone_ban_for_young_drivers_in_SA_367761.html

Young drivers will be banned from any use of a mobile phone will driving under new laws coming into force in South Australia from Monday.
Acting Minister for Road Safety Paul Caica says Learner and P1 platers will not be able to use any of the hands-free technology that other drivers can still legally use while behind the wheel.
'From Monday, the only time a mobile phone can be used in a road vehicle being driven by a Learner or P1 licence holder is once they have pulled over and parked safely,' he said in a statement.
He said such bans were already in place in Victoria, Queensland and NSW.
'When you talk or text on a mobile phone, you can't effectively concentrate on driving and your risk of being involved in a crash increases by up to four times,' Mr Caica said.
'The need to concentrate is particularly important for young, inexperienced drivers who are still developing their driving capabilities.'
Drivers caught breaking the new law will face a fine of $218 and three demerit points.

'Widgets' are hot at gadget show

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/01/11/Widgets_are_hot_at_gadget_show_416235.html

All of the top television manufacturers at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are offering internet-enabled TV sets.
All of the top television manufacturers at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas are offering internet-enabled TV sets and most of the popular web brands have built the programs known as 'widgets' to run on them.
Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter and YouTube, to name just a few, are among the web titans which offer the miniature windows that pop up on TV screens while shows are on.
'They're really popular,' said Jeila Foroozani of US television maker Vizio. 'If you want to keep up with your Facebook account or your Twitter account you can just call it up anytime while you watch your shows.
'Right now we have 25 to 30 widgets,' she told AFP. 'By the end of 2010, we should have about 100 and then we'll just go up from there.'
Vizio, LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony use the Yahoo! widget platform for their TV applications and Yahoo! used CES as a stage to announce widget partnerships with Hisense, ViewSonic, MIPS Technologies and Sigma Designs.
ViewSonic's VMP80 media player will allow high-definition TV owners to view movies, TV shows, web videos and photos and go shopping and play games with TV widgets.
'Consumers can enjoy the greatest internet content while simultaneously viewing their favourite programming,' said ViewSonic Americas vice president Jeff Volpe.
Jean-Pierre Abello, director of product management for Yahoo!'s connected TV group, said Yahoo!'s widget gallery is 'very much like the iPhone app store.'
'We've done a lot of research to see what usage models work on television and what don't,' he said.
'On TV, what we've found out is that a simple widget doesn't take too much attention away from the TV and it's easy to navigate with a remote,' he said.
'It's off to the side and covers no more than a third of the screen,' he said. A viewer also has the option of seeing the widget and a full TV picture.
Christopher Rayner of Yahoo! partner LG said the growth of web-enabled TV sets is going to make widgets a 'huge, huge hit.'
'It's going to be a growing category because home theatre and computer online capabilities are just merging so fast,' Rayner said.
'The customer's going to be expecting to see this,' he said. 'The reason this hasn't grown so fast before is because in the past you had to have a set-top box or a hard line to get it.'
LG offers web-enabled TVs across its range of LCD, LED and plasma sets and analyst Rob Enderle of Silicon Valley's Enderle Group said 'it won't be long before every TV is web-connected in one shape or form.'
He noted that much of the growth has been spurred by Microsoft's Xbox 360 Live, which allows users to play each other over the internet on web-enabled TVs but also allows them to rent movies through services such as Netflix.
Yahoo!'s Abello said being able to access the web through your TV has some distinct advantages.
'You can now buy or rent the same movies from Amazon that you buy or rent on your PC,' he said. 'The difference is that you can watch them on a TV where you have immensely better video capabilities than you have on your PC.
'The image is not only bigger, it's better,' he said.
With web video on demand, social networks, games and online shopping now available, Scott Steinberg, the lead technology analyst for DigitalTrends.com, said the TV is becoming 'an interactive medium that everyone uses.'
'TVs are turning the living room back into the hearth of the home,' he said.
Monday, January 11, 2010 » 02:14pm

GM makes first electric car battery

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/01/11/GM_makes_first_electric_car_battery_416236.html

General Motors has made its first mass-produced electric car battery as it gears up to sell the new Chevrolet Volt to the general public later this year.
The lithium-ion battery was made at GM's Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant that will produce the batteries for the automaker's Volt assembly line in Detroit.
Regular production at both facilities is expected to begin in the fourth quarter.
GM Chairman and interim CEO Ed Whitacre Jr had told reporters on Wednesday that GM will send out some Volt models before November, when they are scheduled to hit showrooms.
He said the company might sell a few early, and it could send some to consumers before November.
GM has plans to test about 100 with utility companies before the showroom debut.
Monday, January 11, 2010 » 02:14pm

Brain chip to allow mind control

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/07/14/Brain_chip_to_allow_mind_control_352010.html

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 » 04:32am
A monkey fitted with a hi-tech brain chip has learned to move a complex robotic arm using mind control.
The animal can operate the robot with such dexterity that it can reach out to grab, and turn a handle.
The mechanical arm has an arm, elbow, wrist and simple hand, which the monkey controls with the power of thought.
Sky News was given exclusive access to the laboratory at Pittsburgh University in the United States.
The research is progressing so rapidly that scientists hope to start trials on paralysed patients within a year.
Neurobiologist Dr Andy Schwartz says, 'What we're trying to do is go to a very dextrous hand - where the functionality is very similar to the human hand. If we could help stroke patients there would be a huge market for this kind of device.'
They also hope to help patients who have been paralysed by spinal chord injuries or degenerative diseases of the nervous system.
Electrodes implanted in the monkey's motor cortex, the brain's movement control centre, pick up pulses within individual neurones.
The signals are relayed to a computer which analyses their pattern and strength to gauge what the monkey is trying to do. It then translates the signals to alter the speed and direction of the robotic arm.
The system is so quick that if the arm overshoots the monkey's intended target, it can rapidly correct the movement.
Dr Schwartz told Sky New, 'It's pretty amazing because monkeys aren't used to moving tools.
'We use them all the time. Imagine you're moving your arm to get that piece of food. Conveying that to a monkey is pretty difficult, yet the monkey learns it fairly rapidly.
'As the days go by, you see the monkeys start using it as if it is part of their own body.'
The monkey cannot feel the electrodes in its brain, and did not appear to be distressed by the wires leading from a socket on its head.
At Brown University in New England, scientists have just started the first clinical trials of a similar device. Braingate allows tetraplegic patients to control a computer cursor by thinking about moving their paralysed hand.
Matthew Nagel took part in the first tests of a prototype.
Before he died of an unrelated infection, he described how the Braingate device gave him back some freedom.
'I can't put it into words. I just use my brain. I said, 'cursor go up to the top right' and it did. And now I can control it all over the screen. It's wild,' he said.
The new trial will be on 15 patients. Scientists hope to prove that the technology is safe and effective enough to use on a wider scale.
Head of the research, Professor John Donoghue, said the ultimate aim is for patients to regain control of their own limbs, which are more sophisticated than any robotic arm.
'Our goal with Braingate is to have a physical replacement for a broken biological nervous system,' he says.
'So we'd like to have a physical system that senses what's going on in the brain, takes those signals inside your body and routes them off to the muscles, so when you think, you move.
'That's just what you or I do, so one day you could be sitting here with a person and you wouldn't know if they had it."

Businesses without phones for a week (Australia)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 » 07:31pm

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/09/16/Businesses_without_phones_for_a_week_373303.html

A contractor who accidentally cut Telstra cables in Sydney's CBD faces a one million repair bill as thousands of businesses prepare for a week without phone internet and mobile phone coverage.
More than two-thousand phone lines and 12 mobile phone towers were disabled when EnergyAustralia contractors cut through 10 thousand copper wires and multiple-fibre optic cables.
Telstra is unable to say how many businesses have been affected and says the work will take about a week to complete.
The Telco says it's had about 50 calls so far and it's possible the impact's less than expected.

Foldphone

Everyday, a technological gadget is being released on the market. Kyocera recently launched a “kinetic energy-powered phone that is capable of folding up like a wallet. Designed by industrial designer Susan McKinney, the EOS phone consists of a soft, semi-rigid polymer skin surrounding a flexible low-energy OLED display.”

New channels for Foxtel

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 » 06:54pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2009/09/29/New_channels_for_Foxtel_377645.html

Pay TV subscribers will have access to 12 new channel brands, including movie, sport and lifestyle offerings,
and a new free downloading service, as part of a push to win over customers.
Pay TV provider Foxtel today revealed plans for new channels to launch on November 15, including 12 new channel brands with fresh content, and 15 channels extended to high definition.
Regional Austar subscribers will also have access to the channels.
The 12 new channel brands will be Lifestyle You, with talent such as MasterChef's Sarah Wilson, racing royalty Kate Waterhouse, and TV presenter Antonia Kidman, a murder mystery channel 13th Street, an ad-free station called Kids Co, The Style Network, Discovery Turbo Max, Nat Geo Wild and new sports channel, Eurosport.
New movie channels will include Showtime Drama, Showtime Comedy, Showtime Action, Family Movie Channel (FMC), and Starpics, aimed at showing blocks of movies from one actor.
All three Fox Sports channels, and six movie channels, will be among 15 channels available in high definition.
There will also be eight new time shift channels, allowing viewers to watch content a couple of hours later.
Dubbed Foxtel's Next Generation, Hollywood starlet, the 21-year-old daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Rumer Willis, was on hand to help launch the new service, alongside a raft of pay TV talent, at Sydney's Fox Studios.
No expense was spared as organisers used Co2-powered rockets to launch the service.
Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams said it was the biggest announcement for Foxtel since the launch of digital in 2004.
It's reported to have cost the provider $50 million.
Foxtel Next generation not only offers our subscribers more viewing options, it uses technology to take the Foxtel experience online, Williams said.
As part of the announcement Foxtel announced a free online TV and movie download service called Foxtel Download, to allow viewers to download and watch up to 400 hours of movies from 38 channels on
their computers.
Every event from next year's Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games will be shown through Foxtel's multi-channels and will also be able to streamed online.
The Weather Channel will have more interactive functions and there would be a new service called Sky News Local.
A record-me service will allow viewers to record programs from promos or advertisements.
As part of Next Generation, packages will increase by a few dollars a month, but subscribers will be given a recording player IQ, for free.
Earlier in the day, Austar revealed their plans for regional subscribers, who would now have access to HD television for an incremental $5 a month.
Their offering includes 15 new standard definition channels and 13 new high definition channels.
Further channels and a catch-up service will be announced in early 2010.

Spain smashes infected computer network

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2010/03/04/Spain_smashes_infected_computer_network_436007.html

Spanish police have arrested three men suspected of building the world's biggest network of virus-infected computers which hijacked more than 13 million PCs.
The 'botnet' of infected computers affected machines in almost every country in the world in homes, universities, banks, government agencies and companies, including more than half of the largest US companies on the Fortune 1000 list.
It was designed to steal credit card data, online banking passwords, account information for social networking sites and other sensitive information.
'This is the biggest network of zombie computers ever discovered,' the head of a Spanish police unit specialised in tech crimes, Jose Antonio Berrocal, told a Madrid news conference, using the term for PCs that can be controlled remotely by outsiders.
The authorities provided no estimate for how much money could have been stolen from owners of infected computers but security experts said removing the virus from the affected PCs could cost tens of millions of dollars.
The 'botnet' network was shut down at the end of December in a joint operation carried out by Spanish police, the FBI and two private information security firms, Canada's Defence Intelligence and Spain's Panda Security.
Spanish police said it was so big it could have been used to 'carry out a cyberterrorism attack which would be much greater than those staged against Estonia or Georgia'.
Estonia suffered massive denial-of-service attacks in 2007 while Georgian websites suffered similar attacks a year later.
All three arrested suspects are Spanish nationals. They are between the ages of 25 and 31.
The authorities believe the suspected ringleader of the operation and his two alleged partners earned a living by renting out the botnet computer network they created to third parties who used them for criminal purposes.
'We were lucky that this network was in the hands of someone who was not conscious of the (full) extent of its potential for crime,' lead investigator Juan Salom said.
Police are looking for a fourth suspect who might be Venezuelan, he added.
While the authorities have dismantled major zombie computer networks in the past, arrests of the masterminds of such networks are rare.
Police found personal data from more than 800,000 computer users on the PC belonging to the 31-year-old suspected ringleader of the operation that was taken from his home in Spain's northern Basque region.
They described him as a 'petty criminal' who lived 'modestly' from his hacking activities.
His two alleged partners, aged 30 and 25, are from Murcia in southeastern Spain and Galicia in the northwest.
The Mariposa network they created, named after the Spanish word for butterfly, was first detected in May 2009 by Defence Intelligence which then alerted the FBI.
Thursday, March 04, 2010 » 02:08pm

YouTube extends video captioning

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/03/05/YouTube_extends_video_captioning_436320.html

YouTube, in a significant development for millions of deaf internet users, has extended automatic caption capability to all English-language videos on the video-sharing website.
YouTube users have been able to manually add captions to videos since 2008 and in November of last year the site began offering machine-generated captions for about a dozen partner channels.
Hiroto Tokusei, a YouTube product manager, said in a blog post on Thursday that the automatic caption, or auto-caption, feature was now being expanded to all videos on the site in English.
Auto-captioning uses speech-to-text technology to generate subtitles.
'Making video easily accessible is something we're working hard to address at YouTube,' said Tokusei, citing studies that predict that over 700 million people worldwide will suffer from hearing impairment by 2015.
The auto-captioning feature will make YouTube videos 'more accessible to people who have hearing disabilities or who speak different languages,' the YouTube project manager said.
While the auto-caption feature currently only works for videos where English is spoken, Tokusei said users can use Google's automatic translation service to simultaneously translate the captions into 50 other languages.
Auto-captioning in more languages will be added 'in the months to come.'
The YouTube project manager noted that auto-captioning is not yet perfect and a 'clearly spoken audio track' without background noise is needed to create quality captions.
Video owners do have the capability, however, of downloading auto-generated captions, improving their accuracy and then uploading a new version.
One of the chief advocates for captioning capability at YouTube has been Vint Cerf, the Google vice president who has been described as the 'Father of the internet.'
Cerf, who is hearing impaired and has been wearing hearing aids since the age of 13, made a personal appearance at the unveiling of the YouTube auto-caption features at Google's Washington offices in November.
Friday, March 05, 2010 » 09:48am

Police Use Twitter to Contact Criminals

Monday, November 02, 2009 » 08:42am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/11/02/Police_use_Twitter_to_contact_criminals_389321.html

Police have used social networking sites to track criminals, directly contacting wanted people as well as posting their photographs online.
Last week, authorities used Twitter to upload their first video. The clip showed a violent attack on a bus driver.
The experiment follows police posting a video of an assault on YouTube, that became one of the 50 most viewed videos in Australia.
'We've established our own YouTube channel and the hit rate has gone through the roof,' New South Wales Police public affairs director Strath Gordon said.
'We are using Twitpics to seek assistance finding missing persons or people wanted over particular crimes,'
'Today, we tweeted a guy wanted over a fraud matter.'

Free two minute calls come to Twitter

Sunday, September 20, 2009 » 05:13am

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/09/20/Free_two_minute_calls_come_to_Twitter_374295.html

It's the service that's expected to take speed dating to a whole new platform.
Australian Twitter users will soon be able to make two minute phone calls their followers, for free.
The service, which will be launched by the online telephone site Jajah, is expected to become the next big thing on the dating scene.
Twitter users will be able to register their phone number with the site, allowing them to make phone calls to their followers. But, brevity will be necessary, with the phone line automatically cutting out after two minutes.
'You tweet (family or friends), when you've got something really quick to say and you make a quick two-minute free call,' Jajah's head of marketing Paul Naphtali said.
'For dating, you approve each other and then you can call them,' he said.
The service has begun a trial in the US, and will be available in Australia shortly."

'Eye mouse' unveiled in Argentina

Sunday, August 30, 2009 » 06:02am

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/08/30/Eye_mouse_unveiled_in_Argentina_367636.html
High school students of the ORT technical school in Argentina have presented a new technology that could help severally disabled people get online at a very low cost.
The software and webcam system was developed by the two 18-year-olds so that one of their friend's who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) could use the computer.
Eye movements are translated by the Eye Mouse with a standard webcam into on-screen actions.
It means that people who suffer from SMA like Nicolas Rossi can control the computer with their eyes.
'I used to be able to use the mouse, a conventional mouse, but there came a moment when I could no longer use it. And well, they told me about this system. My friend developed it for me with the ORT and well, here we are'.
However, the eye mouse is not completely new as other conventional mouse substitues have been developed but they track head movements.
One of the developers of the Eye Mouse, Nicolas Amaro, says their system is relatively cheap and accessible for all.
'The interesting thing about the Eye Mouse is you can download the software for free from the school's website and the only cost that you would have is to create the helmet which includes a webcam, not a special webcam, any typical webcam that would cost around 100 pesos. After that you only need everyday elements you can buy in any hardware store. We estimate that the cost would be 120 or 110 pesos ($35.63)'.
Depending on the user's eye movements, the computer system selects and deselects sections of the computer screen.
Th user keeps their eye stationary until the computer reaches the section they want selected. They then look directly at the webcam.
There is a selection of onscreen letters designed for the user to compose emails or messages.
The technology allows those with limited hand and head motion to connect with the virtual world.
'The Eye Mouse is a system that allows disabled people that suffer from SMA or any other disability that does not allow them to use their hands or to communicate in any other way but by moving their eyes -- to use the computer, send emails, write whatever document, and also control the computer like they are clicking and moving the mouse.'
Thanks to his friends who developed it, Rossi, is now reconnected and using his computer again."

Skype may be axed

Sunday, August 16, 2009 » 12:19am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/08/15/Skype_may_be_axed_362846.html

The web phone call service Skype may be axed if its owner eBay loses a legal battle with its founders, the parent company has admitted.
Internet firm eBay bought the popular service, which allows users to make free calls through their internet connection, for more than GBP1 billion (over A$1.9 billion) in 2005.
But Joltid, a company run by Skype's founders, still owns the technology behind it.
It leases the peer-to-peer connection software to eBay.
A row over whether eBay broke its licence agreement could threaten a planned stock market flotation of the service - or force eBay to axe Skype altogether.
Documents to regulators in the United States revealed the extent of the legal wrangles.
eBay said it was 'confident' about the outcome but if it lost, 'continued operation of Skype's business as currently conducted would likely not be possible'.
Joltid accused eBay of modifying a code used in the system, which it said went against the agreed terms.
As a result, eBay launched legal action at the High Court arguing the software lease could not be terminated.
Joltid then made a counter-claim threatening to pull out of the licence agreement.
Skype has gained 480 million users worldwide thanks to a service which allows people to make voice or video calls for no additional cost other than that of their internet connection.
The documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal eBay is attempting to create new software in order to break its reliance on Joltid.

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IT repair shops hacking personal data

Thursday, July 23, 2009 » 09:09am
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/07/23/IT_repair_shops_hacking_personal_data_354973.html

Some computer repair shops in the UK are illegally accessing personal data on customers' hard drives - and even trying to hack their bank accounts, a Sky News investigation has found.
In one case, passwords, log-in details and holiday photographs were all copied onto a portable memory stick by a technician.
In other shops, customers were charged for non-existent work and simple faults were misdiagnosed.
An investigator from the Trading Standards Institute said he was 'shocked' by the findings.
The investigation was carried out using surveillance software loaded onto a brand-new laptop.
It operated without the user being aware that every event that took place on the computer was being logged.
Sky News' tests on other shops in London during the investigation reflected very badly on some of the industry's major names.
All activity on the screen was captured in still images, and the identity of whoever was using the computer was recorded using the laptop's built-in camera.
Sky engineers then created a simple, easily diagnosable fault, by loosening the connection of the internal memory chip.
This prevented Windows being able to load. To get things working again, the chip would simply need to be pushed back into position.
The investigation targeted six different computer repair shops. All but one misdiagnosed or overcharged for the fault.
The most serious offender was Revival Computers in Hammersmith, West London.
Shortly after identifying the real fault, an engineer called our undercover reporter to say the computer needed a new motherboard, which would cost 130 pounds.
Tests carried out by an internal Sky engineer after the diagnosis revealed there was nothing wrong with it.
The surveillance software then recorded one technician browsing through the files on the hard-drive, including private documents and intimate holiday photos, including some of our researcher in her bikini.
As he snooped through the files, he is seen smiling and showing the pictures to another colleague.
Later on in the same shop, a second technician loads up the machine and also looks through the photos, which are inside a folder clearly marked 'private'.
He then plugs his own portable memory stick into the laptop and copies files, including passwords and photos, into a folder labelled mamma jammas.
Inside one of the documents copied to the memory stick was a text file containing passwords for Facebook, Hotmail, eBay and a NatWest bank account.
Once the technician had discovered this information, he opened a web browser on the laptop and attempted to log into the back account for around five minutes.
The only reason he was unsuccessful was because the details were fake.
When confronted over the findings, staff at Laptop Revival said they did not want to respond to Sky News on camera.
However in a telephone conversation, they denied all knowledge of the alleged abuses.
When shown the findings, Richard Webb, an e-commerce investigator for Trading Standards said: 'I'm really quite shocked, both in the range of potential problems this has revealed - people overcharging, mis-describing the faults - but also people attempting to steal personal details.'
'It's a big abuse of trust. If you were expert in computers you wouldn't have to hand in your machine to be repaired. They know that.'
'They know you won't be able to tell what they've done afterwards, they know you're putting your trust in them and unfortunately, as we're seeing, there are too many people willing to abuse that trust.'
'What you've shown is that there is a much wider problem in the industry than we knew about.'
'It suggests we need to look at the area again and we do need to test it like you have done, but with a view of taking criminal enforcement action if these problems are found and evidenced.'

The Chinese Government Blocks YouTube

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2009/03/25/The_Chinese_government_blocks_YouTube_315371.html

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 » 09:53am

China has blocked access to YouTube since late on Monday, despite government claims it 'doesn't fear' the internet.
It comes after a video was posted that claimed to show a Tibetan protester being beaten to death by Chinese police.
The Chinese government claimed it was fake, but blocked YouTube.
YouTube was only intermittently available in March, the one-year anniversary of Tibetan protests against Chinese rule.
The government began an internet crackdown in January.
It closed hundreds of Chinese sites, including many popular with Tibetans."

China police want tougher net rules

Tuesday, November 03, 2009 » 07:30pm
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2009/11/03/China_police_want_tougher_net_rules_389992.html

China's police chief has called for a reinforced nationwide internet security system, in the nation's latest effort to oversee the activities of the world's largest online population.
'The internet is developing quickly, there are many loopholes in social management, and maintaining social stability faces unprecedented new challenges,' public security minister Meng Jianzhu said in rare public remarks.
'One must... actively establish... a comprehensive prevention and control social security system that covers the internet and the real world,' he said in a speech published on the ministry website Monday.
Internet use has expanded at a dizzying pace in China, which now has the world's largest online population of at least 338 million users.
In a bid to maintain control, authorities regularly censor internet content they deem unhealthy including pornography and violence, but also information critical of the government -- a system dubbed the 'Great Firewall of China.'
But many online users get around the system by using proxy servers that allow them to access blocked sites.
The internet has also become a platform for ordinary people who want to vent their frustrations at perceived injustices.
In one well-known example, a 21-year-old waitress in central China walked free from a trial in June despite stabbing to death an official who demanded sex after the case sparked nationwide internet outrage about government sleaze.
Such a crime would normally have incurred a serious penalty, such as life in jail or even the death sentence, but apparent official concern over the elevated online outcry is thought to have prompted her release.
The state China Daily newspaper said the government was increasingly concerned about 'fake information and new crimes based on the web'.
Residents in restive far-western Xinjiang are still experiencing internet and phone service outages nearly four months after deadly ethnic riots erupted in the regional capital Urumqi.
The government says separatists used the internet, telephones and text messages to spread rumours and foment hatred as the violence erupted on July 5, leaving 197 people dead, according to an official toll."

U.F.O During Moldova TV News, Eastern Europe, 2008. AWESOME!! (MUST SEE)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se0AfvfNXb0&feature=related

Branson to unveil tourist space ship

Sir Richard Branson is due to unveil a craft that could soon carry tourists into space.
The lunar-like landscape of western USA's Mojave desert will stage the Virgin Galactic launch later today.
The group's SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is the brainchild of aerospace engineer Burt Rutan.
SS2, which can carry six passengers and two pilots, is scheduled to begin test flights next year and start commercial flights between 2011 and 2012.
For the launch, the WhiteKnightTwo mothership will carry the smaller SS2 ship 50,000 feet into the sky, before it detaches and blasts up to the brink of space.
There, the tourists can experience five minutes of weightlessness in a cabin with circular windows on the sides and the ceiling.
Virgin Galactic, owned by Branson's Virgin Group and A

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