The Official TecKnow Blog

Facebook Privacy: A How-To Guide

2010-05-31T01:57:00.000-07:00

Facebook
is a few weeks away from announcing something historic: 500 million users.

I want you to you think about that number for a minute; as a reference point, there are 300 million people living in the United States.

Need another reference point? A few weeks ago Facebook had more visitors than Google
! If you don’t have Facebook account you’re in the minority. If you do, well, you’re in for yet another round of changes to your account.

But this time, the changes are good.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced new privacy features for the site on Wednesday following a firestorm of criticism. In April Facebook angered users when it opened up our accounts and basically made it difficult to understand what we were sharing. Even Einstein would’ve needed help to understand the 170 different settings.

The newly announced controls are simpler but don’t think for a minute that your information is private. Facebook believes you want to share information with your friends, and it’s “on” by default -- after all, you signed up didn’t you? This time around you have “turn on” the level of privacy you want.

The old set-up had a wall of text that was difficult to navigate, the new controls are laid out nicely in a simple to-read chart. To access your new and improved settings head on over to the account tab in the upper right hand corner of your page, then click “privacy.”

Here’s how it all breaks down:

Everything you post is now in your control. That’s a big improvement and that means you can choose exactly who sees every post you make, down to that cousin you want to avoid.

Now to the setting you’ve all been waiting for. A new simple on/off switch that turns off access to your information by third party sites and Facebook partners. Critics argued that Facebook made it nearly impossible to find this functionality before Wednesday’s announcement. Count me as one of those critics.

Another important change is the user directory. Prior to the announcement I could search for Alyssa Milano and get information about her hometown, favorite activities, etc. Not that I was looking, but if I were, I’d now only see her name, gender, profile photo, and networks. So much for snooping.

Facebook is finally back on the right track with these changes. After all, no one wins with a convoluted approach to privacy.

Intel Shows Off Mind-Reading Software

2010-04-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK-- Mind reading may no longer be the domain of psychics and fortune tellers -- now some computers can do it, too.

Software that uses brain scans to determine what items people are thinking about was among the technological innovations showcased Wednesday by Intel Corp., which drew back the curtain on a number of projects that are still under development.

The software analyzes functional MRI scans to determine what parts of a person's brain is being activated as he or she thinks. In tests, it guessed with 90 percent accuracy which of two words a person was thinking about, said Intel Labs researcher Dean Pomerleau.

Eventually, the technology could help the severely physically disabled to communicate. And Pomerleau sees it as an early step toward one day being able to control technology with our minds.

"The vision is being able to interface to information, to your devices and to other people without having an intermediary device," he said.

The system works best when a person is first scanned while thinking of dozens of different concrete nouns -- words like "bear" or "hammer." When test subjects are then asked to pick one of two new terms and think about it, the software uses the earlier results as a baseline to determine what the person is thinking.

The software works by analyzing the shared attributes of different words. For example, a person who is thinking of a bear uses the same parts of the brain that light up when he or she thinks of a puppy or something else furry. A person thinking of a bear also shows activity in the amygdala -- home of the fight-or-flight response.

While Intel primarily makes computer processors and other hardware, it often works to develop and demonstrate new technologies in an effort to stimulate the market and advance its reputation. Other innovations on display at Wednesday's Intel event in Manhattan included:

--Cell phone technology that would use motion, GPS and audio data gathered through users' cell phones to track what they're doing and who they're with. The technology can distinguish activities such as walking, giving a business presentation and driving. It also compares audio readings from different cell phones to determine who is in the same room.

This would allow users to share their activity information with their close friends and watch avatar versions of their friends throughout the day. It would also let users track and analyze data about how they spend their time.

--"Dispute Finder" technology that monitors users' conversations and Internet browsing to warn them when they encounter contested or inaccurate information. The software mines the Internet to find instances in which writers have claimed something is untrue. It then uses speech recognition technology to monitor conversations.

--A transparent holographic shopping display that could be used in department stores to point consumers to featured items. Shoppers could also use the giant screen to search the store's inventory, call up maps, and send item information to their cell phones.

--A TV set-top box that connects wirelessly to your laptop and monitors your Internet search history, as well as your TV viewing, to offer relevant video.

Lost in Space

2010-04-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

When America's space shuttle program ends in September, the U.S. will be completely dependent on Russian rockets for launching men and women into space -- and bringing them back. But what will happen to America's astronauts if relations between the U.S. and Russia sour?

Until American companies come to market with commercial rockets and launch vehicles to replace the shuttle, the only nation ever to put a man on the Moon won't even be able to put a man into orbit. And that, experts tell "tecknow12.blogspot.com", has the potential to be a "tragic mistake," one that could hold America's astronauts in orbit hostage to the whims of the Kremlin.

"The U.S. has surrendered its advantage in space, conceding the high ground to others who are probably our enemies," said Jane Orient, a science policy expert and professor at the University of Arizona. "We are apparently leaving seven astronauts in space as hostages. Their loss would be a tragedy, but only a small part of the total disaster. It would symbolize the lack of respect that America has for its pioneers."

Former rocket scientist Shannah B. Godfrey is equally outspoken in her criticism and concerns, noting the need for constant training and condition to remain prepared for a crisis in space.

"Remember a few years ago when china 'accidentally' hit a satellite in space?" she asked, adding that "they were subtly sending us a message that they could cripple us instantly by taking out our satellites."

" Think of the intelligence data that would be lost: GPS capabilities, cell phones, many other communications, etc. We may need to send people up in a hurry to replace, repair, and man satellites and other stations, too. I can’t fathom why we would put ourselves in such a vulnerable position."

NASA scoffs at concerns that Russia could strand American astronauts in space.

"There are always Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station, providing enough crew seats for a return to Earth," said NASA spokesman John Yembrick.

And some scientists agree that these fears are misplaced. Dr. Howard C. Hayden, an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Connecticut, believes there will be "no problem" in serving the International Space Station. "I can't imagine that the Russians would avoid a rescue mission simply because relations had soured," Hayden told "tecknow12.blogspot.com". "That would bring very loud international condemnation. They'd go out of their way to establish their moral high ground."

But others are less confident; they worry about problems that may result from relying too much upon others.

"The looming, multi-year gap in U.S. human spaceflight capability is a major embarrassment that represents a failure of U.S. leadership," John Lindner, a professor of physics and astronomy at The College of Wooster in Ohio, told "tecknow12.blogspot.com".

The Obama administration's decision to end the space shuttle program is causing great concern among politicians on both side of the aisle as well. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has said that reliance on the Russians could last even longer than NASA anticipates, since replacements for the aging spacecraft are far from ready. It's a situation he finds "unacceptable."

"The administration's ill-conceived proposal to rely on commercial rockets that are unproven and untested for human transport to space ensures that our astronauts will likely be hitching a ride with the Russians for the indefinite future," Shelby said. "That outcome is unacceptable when we already have a sound plan in progress with Constellation."

And Florida lawmakers including democrats Bill Nelson and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas have raised their concerns as well.

"The President made a mistake" in canceling the shuttle program, Nelson said recently.

In his 2011 budget request, President Obama announced that NASA would cancel its Constellation shuttle replacement program and encourage private companies -- including SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Corp., and others -- to develop spacecraft to carry astronauts to low-Earth orbit.

That would free NASA to focus on other missions, such as monitoring climate change.

"The re-tasking of NASA as a climate monitoring agency in the stimulus bill, with a vast increase in its budget but a diminution in its role in the exploration of space, is a strategic error of heroic proportions," Lord Christopher Monckton, a former special adviser for science to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, told "tecknow12.blogspot.com". Monckton is well known as an skeptic of global warming.

Realizing the shift in space power, Russia's space agency this week convinced NASA to sign a fresh contract for taxi service to space: $55.8 million per astronaut to fly into space on Soyuz capsules in 2013 and 2014. NASA currently pays less than half as much -- $26.3 million per astronaut -- when it hitches a ride aboard Russian spacecraft.

"The contract modification covers crew return and rescue capabilities aboard the Soyuz spacecraft," Yembrick said.

Since no American firm currently has a vehicle capable of regular access to space, NASA does not really know when it will be master of its destiny again -- and that doesn't sit well with some members of Congress, who have made it illegal to end the Constellation program without congressional approval.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and others have proposed extending the shuttle's life beyond the last three flights scheduled this year. Hutchison wants the shuttle extended two years while NASA develops a new heavy-lift rocket replacement.

Other experts worry that the administration's plan will not actually encourage U.S. commercial space development, as a transition period is required for it to succeed.

"The problem with the new administration's plan comes into focus with this very issue," says Michael Carroll, author of the book, "The Seventh Landing: Going Back to the Moon, This Time to Stay."

"Without shuttles, we have absolutely no access to the ISS without Russia. It is fine to encourage private sector involvement in space transportation, and I believe that is the way to go in the future. But there must be a transition."

Lord Monckton believes the Obama plan will be harmful to U.S. defense interests as well, since the U.S. launch capability is now quite limited. "The administration's change of policy in space was calculated to do maximal damage to the defense interests of the U.S., and without even yielding a financial saving," Monckton told "tecknow12.blogspot.com".

Apple Releases iPhone OS 4.0

2010-04-09T04:13:00.000-07:00

Did you hear that? That was the sound of millions of iPhone owners shouting, "It's about time!"

Apple Wednesday rolled out over 100 new features and over 1,500 new developer tools in the latest version of the iPhone software, version 4.0 set to ship this summer. It includes the highly anticipated multitasking feature, something users have been clamoring for since the first iPhone launched in 2007. With multitasking users can run applications
in the background while grinding out other tasks, like listening to Pandora Internet radio while typing out an e-mail.

What took so long? Well it was all about the battery life, apparently. I've used multitasking on my Google Nexus One phone with tragic results. The battery drains right before my eyes. Apple claims to have solved this problem; it appears the company is allowing key functions of an application to continue running while closing non-essential functions. For example, running Pandora doesn't mean I have to see the album art in the background. All I care about is the music blaring through my headphones, right?

This means (you guessed it) it's time to upgrade your iPhone. If you have a first generation model, however, Apple basically just made your device obsolete today. Many of the newly announced features like multitasking wont run on older devices.

"The hardware just can't do it," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Another big feature of the new OS is folders for organizing your applications. Often I find myself paging through six or seven pages of apps just to find the one I want. With folders you'll be able to organize apps into smaller sections. It works simply by dragging and dropping one application on top of another. Viola! A folder is born.

Also, get ready for a new 'unified' e-mail in-box. I don't know about you but I have four e-mail accounts active on my iPhone, and trying to navigate between them is a royal pain. The single, unified in-box will solve that problem. It even has conversation threading to keep track of certain conversations, just like in Gmail.

Not to be outdone, games get a boost too with the all new Game Center. Think of it as a community center where friends can share high scores, track achievements and invite others to jump in and play a game together over the network.

One glaring omission from the new OS is native turn-by-turn directions. With every other major platform including an application that offers directions, from Microsoft's Windows 7 Phone to Google's Android, it's surprising Apple wouldn't offer up it up for the iPhone. Instead we're left shelling out nearly a 100 dollars for third-party applications.

It's not shocking, but Apple also announced that it is bringing iBooks to the iPhone. The app looks just like the iPad version and puts the company in direct competition with Amazon -- not that there was any doubt about that occurring. Basically, if you own an iPad and an iPhone you'll have access to the same book across both devices.

This is not a revolutionary but rather an evolutionary upgrade to the iPhone's software. But iBooks, Game Center, multitasking, and a unified in-box will nonetheless make for a nice summer treat for iPhone owners.

Einstein equations indicate possibility of black hole formation at the LHC

2010-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the concerns that has been voiced about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is that it could result in the formation of black holes that could destroy the world. While most scientists dismiss claims that anything produced in the LHC would destroy the planet, there are some that think that black formation could be seen with LHC collisions of sufficiently high energy. This idea has gotten a further boost from recent efforts by Matthew Choptuik at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and Frans Pretorius, at Princeton University in New Jersey.

“What we did was a calculation,” Choptuik tells PhysOrg.com. “We solved some of the Einstein field equations describing head on soliton collisions at certain energies.” Choptuik and Pretorius present their work, and their conclusions, in Physical Review Letters: “Ultrarelativistic Particle Collisions.”

“Our calculation produced results that most were expecting, but no one had done the calculation before. People were just sort of assuming that it would work out,” Choptuik says. “Now that these simulations have been done, some scientists will have a better idea of what to look for in terms of trying to see if black holes are formed in LHC collisions.”

Choptuik points out that there has been an effort for more than 50 years to marry particle physics with the idea of gravity. “At the level of classical physics we think we understand gravity pretty well,” he explains. “However, at the quantum mechanical level, gravity is not at all well understood. Scientists have been looking for a way to understand quantum gravity in the same way as we understand how the smallest particles work on a quantum level. While solving these equations doesn’t answer all the questions, it does substantiate what we have already assumed.”

One of the keys to the principles behind these field calculations is string theory. String theory suggests that there are several dimensions beyond the three spatial dimensions (plus time) that we see in classical physics. “If extra dimensions do exist, they could be as large as 10s to 100s of a micrometer. And if those extra dimensions are big enough, then there is a chance that the particle collisions at the LHC might be able to form black holes,” Choptuik says.

Of course, these black holes would be quite tiny, and difficult to detect. On top of that, they would evaporate almost instantly, making it even more difficult to detect whether they had even existed. “In collision like this, you would have to look at the debris,” Choptuik explains. “You’d look at the decay pattern in space. In a normal collision, you would get jets of debris. If a black hole was created and evaporated, the pattern would look more spherical than jet-like.”

However, the fact that the solution of these Einstein field equations suggests that black hole formation could be possible at the LHC is a far cry from actually detecting it. “Some are already taking this very seriously,” Choptuik says. “However, I don’t think that we are likely to actually see any black holes at the LHC, even if it is possible.”

Freaky Physics Proves Parallel Universes Exist

2010-04-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

Look past the details of a wonky discovery by a group of California scientists -- that a quantum state is now observable with the human eye -- and consider its implications: Time travel may be feasible. Doc Brown would be proud.

The strange discovery by quantum physicists at the University of California Santa Barbara means that an object you can see in front of you may exist simultaneously in a parallel universe -- a multi-state condition that has scientists theorizing that traveling through time may be much more than just the plaything of science fiction writers.

And it's all because of a tiny bit of metal -- a "paddle" about the width of a human hair, an item that is incredibly small but still something you can see with the naked eye.
UC Santa Barbara's Andrew Cleland cooled that paddle in a refrigerator, dimmed the lights and, under a special bell jar, sucked out all the air to eliminate vibrations. He then plucked it like a tuning fork and noted that it moved and stood still at the same time.
That sounds contradictory, and it's nearly impossible to understand if your last name isn't Einstein. But it actually happened. It's a freaky fact that's at the heart of quantum mechanics.
How Is That Possible?
To even try to understand it, you have to think really, really small. Smaller than an atom. Electrons, which circle the nucleus of an atom, are swirling around in multiple states at the same time -- they're hard to pin down. It's only when we measure the position of an electron that we force it to have a specific location. Cleland's breakthrough lies in taking that hard-to-grasp yet true fact about the atomic particle and applying it to something visible with the naked eye.

What does it all mean? Let's say you're in Oklahoma visiting your aunt. But in another universe, where your atomic particles just can't keep up, you're actually at home watching "The Simpsons." That may sound far-fetched, but it's based on real science.

"When you observe something in one state, one theory is it split the universe into two parts," Cleland told FoxNews.com, trying to explain how there can be multiple universes and we can see only one of them.

The multi-verse theory says the entire universe "freezes" during observation, and we see only one reality. You see a soccer ball flying through the air, but maybe in a second universe the ball has dropped already. Or you were looking the other way. Or they don't even play soccer over there.

Sean Carroll, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology and a popular author, accepts the scientific basis for the multi-verse -- even if it cannot be proven.

"Unless you can imagine some super-advanced alien civilization that has figured this out, we aren't affected by the possible existence of other universes," Carroll said. But he does think "someone could devise a machine that lets one universe communicate with another."

It all comes down to how we understand time.

Carroll suggests that we don't exactly feel time -- we perceive its passing. For example, time moves fast on a rollercoaster and very slowly during a dull college lecture. It races when you're late for work . . . but the last few minutes before quitting time seem like hours.

Back to the Future

"Time seems to be a one-way street that runs from the past to the present," says Fred Alan Wolf, a.k.a. Dr. Quantum, a physicist and author. "But take into consideration theories that look at the level of quantum fields ... particles that travel both forward and backward in time. If we leave out the forward-and-backwards-in-time part, we miss out on some of the physics."

Wolf says that time -- at least in quantum mechanics -- doesn't move straight like an arrow. It zig-zags, and he thinks it may be possible to build a machine that lets you bend time.

Consider Sergei Krikalev, the Russian astronaut who flew six space missions. Richard Gott, a physicist at Princeton University, says Krikalev aged 1/48th of a second less than the rest of us because he orbited at very high speeds. And to age less than someone means you've jumped into the future -- you did not experience the same present. In a sense, he says, Krikalev time-traveled to the future -- and back again!

"Newton said all time is universal and all clocks tick the same way," Gott says. "Now with Einstein's theory of Special Relativity we know that travel into the future is possible. With Einstein's theory of gravity, the laws of physics as we understand them today suggest that even time travel to the past is possible in principle. But to see whether time travel to the past can actually be realized we may have to learn new laws of physics that step in at the quantum level."

And for that, you start with a very tiny paddle in a bell jar.

Cleland has proved that quantum mechanics scale to slightly larger sizes. The next challenge is to learn how to control quantum mechanics and use it for even larger objects. Do so -- and we might be able to warp to parallel universes just by manipulating a few electrons.

"Our concepts of cause and effect will fly out the window," says Ben Bova, the science fiction author. "People will -- for various reasons -- try to fix the past or escape into the future. But we may never notice these effects, if the universe actually diverges. Maybe somebody already has invented a time machine and our history is being constantly altered, but we don’t notice the kinks in our path through time."

New 3D Screens Ditch Clunky Glasses

2010-04-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

TOKYO -- Sharp's latest 3D displays deliver bright, clear imagery without the cumbersome glasses usually required for such technology. Now the bad news: They only work on a 3-inch screen held one foot from the viewer's face.

Sharp Corp. demonstrated liquid crystal screens Friday for mobile devices that showed 3D animation, touch-panel screens that switched from one 3D photo to another and a display connected to a 3D video camera.

Movies and TVs in 3D are no longer surprising. Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. of Japan, as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics, already sell or are planning 3D TVs.

The drawback until now has been the need for special glasses, which show different images to the right eye and the left eye. Sharp's 3D technology doesn't require them because the displays are designed to shoot different images to each eye.

The technology may be applied to TVs in the future, said Executive Managing Officer Yoshisuke Hasegawa. But he acknowledged it now works better when the distance between the viewer and the screen is fixed.

The 3D animation on the handheld screen looked like a miniature version of the 3D animation we are used to seeing on larger TV screens, though images were less convincing than those seen in a darkened cinema.

Photos on the touch screen were less clear and even a bit blurry from certain angles, though Sharp said its latest technology does away with such "ghosting" effects.
Still, the system promises gaming and technology fans the potential for pop-up e-mail messages and taking 3D photos of friends.

The technology is likely to show up in the next DSi portable game machine, which Nintendo Co. says will be 3D. Sharp refused to confirm the names of companies it was supplying.
Sharp expects 3D to replace two-dimensional displays the same way color replaced black-and-white in movies and television.

"The arrival of mobile 3D is just around the corner," Hasegawa told reporters.

Sharp tried to sell 3D products in the past but failed, largely because of poor image quality. This time, the Osaka-based company has made breakthroughs for displays that are twice as bright and clear as existing 3D displays.

The displays can continue to show 3D images when they are turned to the side, a key feature for smartphones, according to Sharp. Mass production of the 3D LCDs is set to start in the first half of fiscal 2010, which began April 1, it said.

Apple iPad hits shops in America

2010-04-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Apple's latest product, the iPad tablet computer, has gone on sale in America.

The first generation model has wi-fi but not 3G connectivity, and unlike other tablet devices, it is not yet available outside the US.

The New York Apple store in Manhattan opened its doors to a 500-strong crowd at 0900 EST (1400 BST).

Queues for the new iPad were considerably smaller than the crowds which gathered for the launch of the iPhone in 2007, according to reports.

However people had travelled to the US from around the world to purchase a device.

'Huge hit for some'

Apple took pre-orders online but some early adopters began queuing outside stores the day before its release.

The company's co-founder Steve Wozniak joined a queue outside an Apple store in California on Friday evening.

He said he had pre-ordered the device, which is retailing in the US at $499 - $829 (£328 - £545). European prices have not yet been announced.

"It's going to be a huge hit among a very small section of the public - Mac lovers and early adopters," said the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

"The bigger question is whether there is that big a market between the smartphone and the laptop for it to fill," he said.

"Newspapers and magazines are certainly hoping so but the jury's still out."

In Palo Alto, California, tech expert and former Microsoft "technology evangelist" Robert Scoble, who spent the night outside a store with Chatroulette creator Andrey Ternovskiy, said there were only around 30 in the queue.

Greg Packer and Cheline Lundin are reported to have been the first in line in New York and Chicago respectively. Mr Packer began his wait outside Manhattan's Fifth Avenue Apple store on 30 March.

The device appealed to him because it is "like a mini laptop," he said in a YouTube clip.
AFP reported 15 people waiting outside the Apple store in New York on Friday afternoon, including a mother, daughter and grandmother.

Mother Jeanney Mullen said she was planning to buy one for herself and her 11 -year-old daughter Giovanna.
Her own mother had come along to buy a third for Ms Mullen's boss, as store customers were limited to two devices each.

Mixed reviews

However not everybody shares their enthusiasm.

Journalist and sci-fi author Cory Doctorow has attacked the iPad for being too locked-down.

"Buying an iPad for your kids isn't a means of jump-starting the realisation that the world is yours to take apart and reassemble; it's a way of telling your offspring that even changing the batteries is something you have to leave to the professionals," he wrote on website Boing Boing.

While Apple has pitched the iPad as a "third" device between a phone and a PC, the tablet does not synchronise easily with the two according to Ian Fogg, an expert analyst at Forrester.

"Apple has left too much in the hands of consumers to transfer and manage manually," he wrote in a blog post.

"Tethered sync is a 20th Century product feature."

Facebook claimants vow to continue legal action

2010-04-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

The two Americans who were awarded millions of dollars after claiming they had come up with the idea for Facebook say their legal battle isn't over.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss studied at Harvard University alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, where they started a site called ConnectU.

In 2008 a protracted legal battle between the two sides ended with the payment of an undisclosed sum.

Facebook said that that it now considers "the matter concluded".

The Winklevoss twins spoke to the BBC on the eve of the Boat Race, in which they will both row for Oxford.

Cameron Winklevoss refused to confirm the extent of the 2008 settlement - thought to be $65m - but said: "I think it is safe to say the chapter is not closed on the matter."

Social network shock

His brother Tyler said: "It's our duty to stand for principles. We're willing to wait around and make sure that's what right has been made right."

The two brothers started work on ConnectU in 2003. They thought that computer science student Mark Zuckerberg was working with them, until he launched a similar site called thefacebook.com.

Mr Zuckerberg's site became hugely popular on the Harvard campus and then, under the name Facebook, turned into a global success.

"It was really just a sense of shock," said Tyler Winklevoss. "It turned into how can we right this wrong."

The settlement of the battle between Facebook and ConnectU involved the award of Facebook shares to the Winklevoss twins.

The continuing dispute appears to centre on the value of those shares in a company which has not been publicly floated.

In a statement about the dispute Facebook told the BBC:

"The settlement has been enforced by the courts and attempts to delay that decision have been denied twice.

"We hope that discussion of spurious and false allegations and other matters that were concluded years ago are not distracting anyone from their preparations for the race. We consider the matter concluded."

The brothers also revealed that after years of avoiding the social network they themselves have joined Facebook.

"We weren't on it for a long period of time," said Cameron Winklevoss. "But it's a utility and we're deserving to take part in that. It's a great way to keep in touch with people back home."

Thanks To: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

The Death of the Couch-Potato Gamer

2010-03-29T00:57:00.000-07:00

In the world of gaming, the motion wars are in full effect.

Now that motion-control game controllers like Sony's PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Project Natal are suiting up, jumping off the couch, and preparing to do battle with the best-selling Nintendo Wii, there's no place left for couch-potato gamers.

Having spent quality time last year with Natal I was anxious to get my hands on Sony's glowing orb Move controller, which I did this week. And you can color me impressed.

If you've seen a Nintendo Wii before then you already know how it works: You slap on a wrist strap, grab a virtual tennis racket, baseball bat, or sword and let the gaming begin. You'll find the games intuitive and easy to get acquainted, whether you're playing table tennis or gladiators.

I have to admit I wasn't expecting to be wowed by Sony's Move. The idea of using a controller with a glowing ball on top of it seemed far a field from Microsoft's evolutionary Project Natal which ditches the Wii styled controller all together. But not so fast!

"The Wii controller can only be tracked based on its previous position -- it's jumpy, it's not smooth. The Sony Move controller is tracked exactly in 3D."

The game play was remarkably accurate and snappy, all in a 3D environment. Holding a sword, I was able turn it quickly in every direction imaginable: forward, backward, up, down, in, out, sideways, you name it. I felt like William Wallace in Braveheart -- without the biceps, tight abs and bulging pectorals. A boy can dream.

If you're used to getting away with those little flicking motions while playing tennis on the Wii, you'll be in for a rude awakening on the Move. Sony uses your full range of motion; no more phoning it in when you should aually be working your body.

If you already own a Playstation 3 you won't need a whole new system. Simply purchase the new Move controller and the Sony Eye camera for the top of your television and you're up and running. The Sony Move is a promising step for a company that's failed to impress lately. Two words: PSP GO!

The real question, though, is will a family that's already purchased a Nintendo Wii be compelled to purchase another motion-controlled system -- albeit one with better graphics and tighter controls? If Christmas sales are any indication, the Wii doesn't show any sign of slowing down.

Now that motion-control gaming has been nearly perfected, I'm tired of tennis, ping pong and bowling. I hope someone's paying attention when I say this: I want a light saber game and I want it soon. And I'm not ashamed to admit that.

The Internet's most successful scams

2010-03-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

Most people think they'll never fall for a scam. In fact, that frame of mind is precisely what con artists look for. Those who believe that they know better are often the last to raise their defenses when criminals are nearby. Yes, Virginia, people lose money online. A lot of it. They wire cash to London, they can't help investigating the one-in-a-million chance they really are related to a dead prince from Africa, and they sometimes even travel to Nigeria to find out. Just in case.

Many of the scams you read about are sensational, such as the silly "hit man" scam created by real amateurs (recipients get an e-mail that says send me all your money or I'll kill you). And you've also seen lists that offer oddly skewed results, such as the recent FBI announcement that scammers pretending to be FBI agents are now the most prevalent Internet crime. You’d figure those numbers are a bit exaggerated because victims of FBI scams are a bit more likely to report those scams to the agency.

Fantastic stories like these only serve to convince many consumers to let their guard down even more, helping to increase the pool of marks for the professional scammers.

I know, because I hear from victims all the time. My inbox is littered with people whose notes say,"I know I should have known better, but ...." And with that, they beg me for help restoring their ravaged bank accounts. In fact, every single victim I've ever interviewed says they had an inkling that something was wrong from the outset, but they ignored that feeling. That’s why the single most important factor in avoiding fraud is this: Learn to trust the feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Usually, I can't help restore those bank accounts. But I can help you, if your turn hasn't come up yet. And even if you are convinced you'd never fall for any online con, someone in your circle of friends or family is vulnerable. Please forward this story to him or her.

Because I hear from so many victims all year long, I know what people really fall for. Here are the top 5 ways cyberthieves separate people from their money, based on my 12 years of writing about Net cons.

1.) Online dating scams

Anyone out there never done anything dumb for love? If you are raising your hand, congratulations. You may now relinquish your credentials as a human being. The rest of you should read on.

Love-based cons are the easiest to perpetrate. Why? Because love always involves a leap of faith -- trusting something you can't see or touch. Just like Internet scams. For years, criminals have made haunts out of dating services and lonely-hearts chat rooms. Broken-hearted folks are rarely in their right minds, so they make easy targets.

I once knew the FBI agent in charge of investigating cyber-love scams. He put it this way: Men could learn a lot from con artist lovers. They send flowers and candy constantly while wooing a mark (purchased with stolen credit cards, of course). Gifts really do put women in an agreeable state of mind, he assured me.

Some cons spend months grooming their marks, waiting until after several "I love yous" before asking for $800 to be wired to the passport office in London to help clear up a paperwork mess so he can come to America for a visit.

Yes, it all sounds ridiculous. It's not. It's so profitable that criminals actually pay monthly fees on some dating services. Generally, the more you pay for a service the fewer criminals you'll see, and free Craigslist personal ads tend to be a cesspool. But I've heard from victims who never joined a dating service but were still conned into fake love from perfectly innocent-sounding places like Facebook groups or chat rooms devoted to hobbies like stitching or horses. It all starts with a simple e-mail, perhaps enhanced by a little Facebook research (“Hey, you love the New York Islanders and the Beatles, too! Wow”)

Since I've written about this scam many times, I've even heard from concerned family members who beg me to talk the deluded lover down off the cliff when he or she is about to send a bunch of money to a scammer. Usually, I fail. Love is blind; it's also really, really stubborn.

In the latest flavor of the scam, when a deluded lover actually wises up and confronts the criminal, he or she admits to the crime but then adds this twist: "Yes, at first it was just a con, but while we were talking I've really fallen in love with you."

For a whole lot more on this insidious, more-common-than-you'd-believe crime, visit romancescams.org. The group, founded by former victims, has been fighting back for nearly 10 years. They post blacklisted photos there, e-mail addresses and typical opening lines from scammers , and lots of additional helpful scam-fighting tools. If you fall in love and have any doubts, visit the site.

2.) Fake or "rogue" anti-virus software

We've all seen the pop-ups: "Your computer is infected! Get help now!"

If you've ever clicked through such an ad (really, a hijacking), you know that the price for freedom is $20 or $30 a month. At first, the ads were clunky and the threats idle. But now, many pop-ups are perfect replicas of windows you would see from Windows or an antivirus product. Some sites actually employ so-called ransomware, which disables your PC until you pay up or disinfect it with a strong antivirus product. That's why consumers forked over hundreds of millions of dollars to fake antivirus distributors in 2009, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Your best bet? Make a plan now. This is the one scam that just about anyone can fall for. The best protection of all is to back up your important files, so the day your computer is hacked, your digital life won't be on the line. It's also important to have a fire extinguisher nearby. A second PC or laptop is often your best help when disaster strikes. Many viruses disable Internet access, so you'll need a second computer to research your infection and download disinfectant software. Have a flash drive nearby, too, so you can move the inoculation from one computer to the other.

Meanwhile, if you aren't paying for antivirus software, at least employ one of the popular free products like AVG or Windows Defender

3.) Facebook impersonation

Facebook is no longer a Web site -- it's a full-fledged platform, rapidly approaching the scale of the Internet itself. Many young users spend more time on Facebook than on e-mail, and actually use Facebook as their e-mail service. That means scammers are now crawling all over the service, since they always go where the people go. There are hundreds of Facebook scams, such as phishing e-mails, Trojan horse infections, misleading advertisements and so on.

But the crime you should most worry about is Facebook impersonation. A criminal who hacks into your Facebook account can learn a staggering amount of information about you. Worse yet, he or she can gain trusted access to friends and family. We've seen plenty of stories that show Facebook friends can easily be tricked into sending money in response to believable pleas for help.

For this reason, it's time to upgrade your Facebook password. Treat it like an online banking site, because it's not a stretch to say that a criminal who hacks your Facebook account is only one small step away from stealing your money (“Hello, First National Bank, I've lost my password. But my high school mascot is the Owl and my mother's maiden name is Smith. Oh, and my first girlfriend's name was Mary. Can you reset the password now?”)

4.) Becoming a bot

You may not know it, but your computer might be a criminal. Botnets -- armies of hijacked home computers that send out spam or commit other crimes -- remain the biggest headache for security professionals. The various botnets ebb and flow in size, but at any given time, tens of millions of computers on the Web are under the influence of a criminal. No one thinks it's their PC, of course, but look at the odds. If one estimate claiming 100 million infections is accurate, then about one out of every 20 computers in the world is infected. In other words, someone in your extended family is aiding and abetting a spammer.

How can this be? Victims typically don’t notice the criminal activity. Cyberthieves can easily use your machine without leaving a trace or slowing down your PC performance. They do not deposit e-mails in your sent items folder. Instead of sending 1 million e-mails from your machine, they send one e-mail every hour from 1 million infected machines.

Any honest antivirus company will tell you that there is so much new malicious software created every day that the good guys simply can't keep up. The Web is jammed full of e-mails and Web sites that can turn your home computer into a bot. Your PC could very easily be safe today but at risk tomorrow. That's why it's so important to keep your computer's security tools up to date. But you shouldn't assume that this will keep you 100 percent safe. Avoid the Web's seedier side, and don't let the kids download illegal music or games, a main source of infections. And always keep on the lookout for strange programs, files or surprising hiccups from your machine.

5) The fakosphere

The Web is now littered with fake blogs, fake ads, fake acai berry products, fake work-at-home jobs and fake Web sites saying how great all these things are. You'll even see ads for such products on all major media Web sites, as they've become the Web's answer to late-night infomercials.

The FTC recently issued an opinion clarifying that fake testimonials on Web sites are a violation of federal law, and some of the over-the-top ads have disappeared. But the fakosphere is far from dead.

I know it's tempting to obey one rule that will make your tummy flat, make your bank account fat or make your cancer disappear. But you can't believe everything you read online. Never purchase a product without searching Google using this search term: "(Product name) scam" and "(Product Name) complaint." Then, spend three minutes familiarizing yourself with the reputation of the item you are about to buy and the price you are about to pay. One or two complaints might say one thing, but 500 complaints should certainly scream at you that you should put that credit card back in your wallet.

Contributed By: http://redtape.msnbc.com

Whats with the iPad???

2010-03-23T08:31:00.001-07:00

The Apple iPad tablet is finally here, but it hasn’t drawn quite the same cheer from Apple enthusiasts and gadget fans that some observers expected.
About 60 percent of the 1,114 readers that took Wired.com’s iPad poll said they would not buy the iPad. Some 41 percent of the 892 readers who took a separate poll said the tablet did not live up to its hype, though they expect it to find a home among high-end consumers.
The iPad name was the focus of many jokes with, predictably, the comments hitting the “pad” aspect of it.
“I think they should have gone with iSlate for the name,” commenter Navi101 wrote in response to our live coverage of the event. “iPad makes me think of feminine products.”
There’s more. The Jezebel blog, written for women, published an entire article summing up the “best period-related iPad jokes.”
“Not gonna lie, the name iPad makes me shudder a bit,” tweeted Lisa Gumerman. “Kind of even makes me less interested in buying it.”
The iPad name is also symptomatic of the lack of women engineers in IT, said Eve Tahmincioglu on the Huffington Post blog.
“I suspect a room full of female computer engineers would not have named Apple’s new cybertablet the iPad,” she wrote. “This naming faux pas is a perfect example of why we need more women IT professionals in this world. Apple wants women to buy these gizmos, but is anyone really thinking about us gals?”
Still some Apple fans says that customers are likely to warm up to the name after the initial reaction. “It’s a poorly chosen name. But so was Wii, and everyone got over those jokes after the first week,” tweeted Rob Sheridan, creative director for Nine Inch Nails.
Other users focused on the real shortcomings of the device. “What? iPad has no [Adobe] Flash player. That’s what it needs for so many websites. That’s not good,” tweeted Andrea Bakes.
Others pointed to the lack of USB port and multitasking in the device as features that will be missed.
“I don’t understand no multitasking, I mean how can you expect anyone to use this for work?” commented ’spitfiredd’ on Wired.com.
Though Apple’s Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a device that would occupy the world between smartphones and laptops, potential customers aren’t convinced. A full 71 percent of 934 readers polled said they won’t buy an iPad, because they are happy with their smartphone and notebook.
Some Apple fans are not ready to give up on the device.
“I am not a fanboy at all, and I find it absolutely awe inspiring,” commented NickSA. “This is the future. Hats off to Apple, they have done it again — though personally I would wait till the second generation [of the device] for all the bugs to get ironed out.”
Ultimately, the question is, who really needs an iPad and is the data plan worth it. “Why would you take a iPad with you if you have a iPhone? Do you need to have both?,” commented jescott418. “Why spend an amount on two service plans with AT&T to basically do the same thing? I am scratching my head at who really needs this except for the base model for a coffee table piece.”
And as for the publishing industry, where some had pinned their hopes on the tablet, the iPad is unlikely to prove to be the digital savior that was wished for. About 59 percent of 824 readers who took the poll say the iPad won’t save the publishing industry.
That’s a few hundred readers that publishers won’t be able to count on.

Scientists in Germany invent invisibility cloak

2010-03-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

The creation of Harry Potter-style invisibility cloaks may be closer than you think.
German scientists have found a way to make an object vanish from view in three dimensions for the first time, according to a study published in the journal "Science."
The researchers placed a "cloak" over a tiny lump of gold and distorted the lighting, hitting so it appeared invisible.
"We put an object under a microscopic structure, a little like a reflective carpet," said Nicholas Stenger, one of the researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology who worked on the project.
"When we looked at it through a lens and did spectroscopy, no matter what angle we looked at the object from, we saw nothing. The bump became invisible."
The invisible cape was made up of crystals with air spaces in between that resembled piles of wood and bend light to hide the gold beneath.
The dimensions were tiny: the lump was 0.00004 inches high by 0.00005 inches wide, and the object used to cover it was 100 microns by 30 microns, with one micron being one-thousandth of a millimeter.
Researchers said the chances of making a life-size cloak suitable for a wizard's wardrobe was still many years away, and it would first be a rigid structure instead of a free flowing cape.
"Theoretically, it would be possible to do this on a large scale but technically, it's totally impossible with the knowledge we have know," said Stenger.
"But it could become a reality in 10 years."
Previous attempts to achieve invisibility only worked in two dimensions and if the object was viewed from a specific angle.
They also only worked for microwave frequencies, but this study works for infrared light, which is a key step closer to the spectrum visible to the naked eye.

Pros and Cons of a gap year

2010-03-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

A gap year is a welcome break for many students but can also be frustrating to others. It may indeed be a way to recharge your battery or to explore activities near home or afar that you never had time to experience before. However, students with lofty gap-year plans have been known to end up zoned out in front of “Full House” reruns or steamed up behind a fry-o-lator at the local Mickey D’s. Thus, before deciding on a year off before college, it’s important to assess your reasons for the change and to make sure you spend your time in an engaging way that meets these aims.

For instance, if your main objective is to get a breather from classrooms, tests, and homework assignments, a gap year can be a great way to do that. Whether you’re working full time, pursuing an extracurricular interest (e.g., training for a triathlon or interning at the local TV station), or taking part in an organized travel, study, or volunteer program, it’s important to have focus. We advise you to come up with a plan–at least a preliminary one–before you commit to the year off. One complaint we often hear from dissatisfied “gappers” is that, once their friends headed off to college in the fall and they didn’t have any fulfilling activities on the docket, they regretted their decision.

The biggest plus of a gap year is that many students who take time off before college find that the break from academics enables them to return to the classroom the following fall with renewed vigor and focus (and even maturity ). Some parents (maybe yours?) and even some students, too, worry that a detour from college may lead to a long-term derailment, but this is rarely the case. Most gappers who take a year off of the academic treadmill are eager to climb back on when the time comes.

While often it makes sense to apply to college while still in high school (where you’ll have access to guidance counselors and their services, teachers for recommendations, etc.), and then defer admission once admitted, some students find that after a year away, their priorities change, and they’re interested in a different institution and/or major field. So one thing you’ll need to consider as you proceed is a timeline … will you make your college plans before your year off or during it?

Some students, too, view a gap year as a way to get into a “better” college than those that would have admitted them straight from high school. Typically, this is NOT an effective strategy. Most colleges base their decisions primarily on academic factors, so–if your year away does not include taking classes–then don’t expect it to offer a back-door route to a top-choice college. However, there ARE stories out there about applicants whose gap-year efforts were sufficiently impressive that they led to acceptances at colleges that had already said “no” once before or that probably would have previously been somewhat out of range.

If you ARE hoping that your gap year will lead to better college options, be sure to choose your activities especially carefully so that admission folks regard your time away from school as worthwhile or even unique. For instance, if your applications already point to a particular passion (silk-screening or ceramics, playing the sitar, volunteering in a shelter for battered women or AIDS babies, etc.) then perhaps you can take that interest and involvement to the next level. That is, you can pursue it full time or in an atypical way or locale.

Getting a job–even a menial one–to help defray college costs would also be construed as “worthwhile” by admission officials. Many left-leaning elite-college admission staffers have some degree of prejudice against silver-spoon kids who spend a summer–or a year–studying, traveling, or “volunteering,” only after Mom and Dad have written out a hefty check to pave the way. Thus, if you defer for a year, and then explain to colleges that your parents expect you to pay a portion of your own college expenses so you needed to earn significant cash before matriculating, then this could work in your favor when it comes to impressing admission committees.

Finally, keep in mind that, if you don’t have any gap-year plans that truly excite you, then you might want to postpone your break until you’ve had a year or two of college under your belt. Some students feel they most need a hiatus at the end of high school, while others find that they get more bang for their buck only after they’ve had a taste of college life first.

To Kill a Mocking Bird (Book Review)

2010-03-17T12:49:00.001-07:00

It seems appropriate that I finished this book the same day that we heard in the UK that America had elected its first black President. If anyone doesn’t see the importance of Barack Obama’s rise to power, they should read this book to see how far the nation has come.

This book sits uncomfortably with the usual age categories prescribed to fiction; it is narrated by a little girl so on the surface appears to be a children’s book, but the material is far darker than most children would be allowed to read. So why does Harper Lee choose to tell her story through a child? The answer becomes apparent throughout the novel – in a 1930’s American town full of hypocrisy and prejudice, only the children have minds pure enough to see injustice for what it is. The narrative also lends the story a ‘morality tale’ feeling, without it becoming preachy or self-righteous.

This novel has become one of my favourites already, and one I will definitely be lending to my future children when they’re old enough to appreciate it. I really recommend it to anyone who wants to understand American history better, or who just like a good story.

What is Mozilla?

2010-03-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

We’re a global community

of thousands who sincerely believe in the power of technology to enrich people’s lives.

We’re a public benefit organization

dedicated not to making money but to improving the way people everywhere experience the Internet.

And we’re an open source software project

whose code has been used as a platform for some of the Internet’s most innovative projects.

The common thread that runs throughout Mozilla is our belief that, as the most significant soci

al and technological development of our time, the Internet is a public resource that must remain open and accessible to all. With this in mind, our efforts are ultimately driven by our mission of encouraging choice, innovation and opportunity online.
To achieve these goals, we use a highly transparent, extremely collaborative process that brings together thousands of dedicated volunteers around the world with our small staff of employees to coordinate the creation of products like the Firefox web browser. This process is supported by the Mozilla Corporation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the non-profit Mozilla Foundation.
In the end, the Mozilla community, organization and technology is all focused on a single goal: making the Internet better for everyone.

Benefits Of Dangerous Sports

2010-03-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Most people tend to avoid doing dangerous sports. They are anxious about wounding themselves with a broken ankle or a scar on their skin while they are doing dangerous sports. However, doing dangerous sports has a lot of beneficial factors, so some people are attracted to dangerous sports.

First of all, doing dangerous sports can release stress from under stressful people. While people are doing dangerous sports, they have to focus on doing the sports, which means they forget a lot of things which they got from their job or relationship between people. For example, one of the dangerous sports is climbing cliffs. It is not easy because they have to climb very high slope with some rope; however, while climbing the cliff, they have to concentrate to climb.

Also, when they get to the top of the cliff, they will satisfy what they do. During this activity, they forget their stress from their job.

Another benefit of dangerous sports is they are more interesting and exciting sport than other sports. For example, golf is one of the boring sports because they have to walk after they hit a golf ball. It will take a few minutes as well as they usually walk alone. Also, golf requires the same way in 18 holes. However, there is three way sport which is comprised of bicycling, swimming, and running. This sport requires the ability to be able to bicycle, swim, and run. People doing this sport feel more excited because they can do three sports in only one match.

In conclusion, dangerous sports have more benefit for people doing them. Dangerous sport can give people more release from stress and excitement than other sports, so some people will still prefer to do dangerous sports.