CHARLOTTE (AP) — Airline travelers in the Carolinas should expect longer waits as security is upgraded at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
Multiple media outlets report that officials plan to close a security checkpoint Monday through the end of April to install full-body scanners.
Charlotte is one of a new wave of airports getting the equipment as the country beefs up effort to find hidden explosives after an attempted Christmas Day bombing.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-04-05-charlotte-airport-security_N.htm
A major earthquake of 7.2 magnitude which struck at forty seconds after 3:40 p.m. PDT on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010 was centered 39 miles (63 kilometers) SSE of Calexico, CA in the upper Baja California peninsula of Mexico, near the town of Guadalupe Victoria. There are reports of extensive damage to buildings in Mexicali and elsewhere within the northern Baja California peninsula of Mexico. Tremors from the quake lasted about forty seconds, rattling windows, knocking objects from shelves, and causing water main breaks and building cracks in San Diego, 140 miles to the north and west.
http://www.examiner.com/x-18134-AirlinesAirport-Examiner~y2010m4d5-Earthquake-closes-San-Diego-Airport
St. Paul, Minn. — Travelers unfamiliar with the two airline terminals at Minneapolis St. Paul airport will soon have new signs to direct them.
Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan says workers tonight begin putting up the new signs on roadways leading to the airport. Hogan says many air travelers are confused because MSP unlike most airports in the country has two terminals on two different roads.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/04/05/new-signs/
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 5 (Reuters) - Jazz Air LP (JAZ_u.TO) will start flying to sun destinations for tour operator Thomas Cook Canada (TCG.L) later this year, it said on Monday, after signing a deal that it expects will add C$100 million ($100 million) a year to its revenues.
The deal sees Jazz spreading its wings significantly for the first time beyond Air Canada (ACa.TO) (ACb.TO), which until now has been responsible for 99 percent of the regional carrier's revenue.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idCAN0517629920100405?rpc=44
(AP) — United Airlines is offering to bring its flight attendants up to the pay scale of Continental Airlines workers in exchange for changes in work rules.
A letter, from a United executive to the head of the flight attendant union, suggests that some senior flight attendants would get raises of more than 10 percent if they were brought up to the pay of those at Continental.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=37694&ba=1
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced modifications to US aviation security measures Friday, drawing mixed reactions from security experts who applauded the modifications but questioned their implementation.Napolitano announced that 14 nations whose citizens faced automatic secondary screening under strict rules put into place after the Christmas Day bombing attempt of US-bound Northwest Airlines Flight 253 would instead fall under an enhanced security regime that includes multiple measures to spot terrorists and criminals without a reliance on 100 percent secondary screening.
http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/12771/128/
Two of Denver’s three major airlines plan to add more WiFi capability to planes using Denver International Airport soon, which will enable flyers to catch up with the national trend of carriers offering wireless Internet service to passengers.
Read more: United, Southwest to add more WiFi availability - Denver Business Journal:
SunPass is good for more than just paying tolls on Florida's Turnpike. Now you can use it to pay for parking at Palm Beach International Airport.
The airport is the first in South Florida to accept SunPass as payment for parking. Plans are in the works to bring it to airports in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
SunPass users will pay the same parking rate as cash and credit card customers. But they must have an account that's automatically replenished with a credit or debit card. That's to ensure customers have enough money in their accounts to pay for parking.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-sunpass-airport-parking-20100405,0,3594.story
"Stanford Law School has released a wiki called WhatApp?, where users can rate all manner of web apps, browsers, mobile platforms, mobile apps, and social network apps on their security, privacy, and openness. Currently, the wiki 'lists some 200+ apps, but most of them have not been reviewed yet. So they need a lot of help,' writes blogger Dan Tynan. 'To review an app you select it from the list, then fill out a 9-question form rating its privacy, security, and openness, ranging from 5 (very private, secure, and open) to 1 (a steaming pile of vulnerabilities and violations).'"
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/1819231/Naming-and-Shaming-Toxic-Web-Apps
"Concepts outlined in Microsoft's internal 'Midori' OS documents are materializing in .NET, according to an SD Times report. Midori is a new operating system project that is designed for distributed concurrency. Microsoft has assigned some of its all-star programmers to the project, while recruiting others. It is also working on other projects to replace Windows that make the OS act more like a hypervisor."
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/199232/Midori-Concepts-Materialize-In-NET
"The Blu-ray Disc Association announced upcoming specifications for high-capacity write-once and rewritable discs. The BDA proposed two new formats, BDXL, the name given to new 100GB and 128GB discs; and IH-BD, a so-called 'Intra-Hybrid' disc that will incorporate both read-only and rewritable layers. Specifications for both disc types will be published during the upcoming months. Both formats will be incompatible with existing hardware; however, new players designed to take advantage of the new formats will be able to play back existing Blu-ray discs, which are available in both 25 and 50GB capacity points."
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/2010236/Blu-ray-Proposes-Incompatible-BD-XL-and-IH-BD-Formats
"Ars Technica is reporting that Microsoft has announced on its Windows Server blog the end of its support for Itanium. 'Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2, and Visual Studio 2010 will represent the last versions to support Intel's Itanium architecture.' Does this mean the end of Itanium? Will it be missed, or was it destined to be another DEC Alpha waiting for its last sunset?"
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/2034233/Microsoft-Announces-End-of-the-Line-For-Itanium-Support
"The CEO of Unity discusses 'gamification' — applying game design and technology to real-world applications beyond 'gamespace.' The military is using game design theory for some training programs — not just 'the 3-D, realistic, virtual world experiences, but also the built-in use of frustration and reward.' (And similar training packages were adopted by Unilever, the giant corporation which owns Ben & Jerry's ice cream.) Medical professionals have licensed a 'Google Earth for the human body,' and game design is also being used to build tax software. ('It has to be the most boring field, but I mean that's the point. You can make it slightly challenging and give people little reasons to play these tax tools — beyond, you know, not going to prison!') While some companies conduct team-building exercises using Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, others use game technology to standardize their in-house employee training programs. The interviewer adds, 'I know I'd feel better about job training if it felt more like killing zombies.'"
http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/2110207/Game-CEO-Sees-Gamification-of-Work-and-Military
"Canonical is bringing its Ubuntu One cloud service (which we discussed last month) to handheld devices with a new mobile contact synchronization feature that is powered by Funambol. Canonical's Ubuntu One application for the iPhone is now available from the iTunes Music Store. Android and other mobile operating systems will be supported with Funambol's standard client application. The mobile sync feature is currently in the beta testing stage but will be generally available to Ubuntu One subscribers when Ubuntu 10.04 is released later this month. Canonical says that it is boosting its Ubuntu One server infrastructure in order to support what it anticipates will be record loads."
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/233206/Ubuntu-One-Gets-iPhone-App-For-Contact-Sync
"A paper (PDF) to be presented later this month at the IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium in Atlanta describes a new approach to memory management that allows software applications to run up to 20% faster on multicore processors. Yan Solihin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at NCSU and co-author of the paper, says that using the technique is just a matter of linking to a library in a program that makes heavy use of memory allocation. The technique could be especially valuable for programs that are difficult to parallelize, such as word processors and Web browsers."
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/2342205/Memory-Management-Technique-Speeds-Apps-By-20
"NASA space shuttle Discovery rocketed into orbit this morning and, despite some communications problems, is slated to dock with the International Space Station in the wee hours of Wednesday, April 7. After this mission NASA has only three shuttles scheduled to launch, though speculation persists that the program may be extended. NetworkWorld has a roundup of what the last Shuttle missions consist of and what happens next."
http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/04/06/0016207/Afters-Discoverys-Launch-Whats-Left-For-the-Shuttle
Dozens of delightful islands with white-sand beaches, swaying palms and a colourful culture.. .the Caribbean is a dream destination.
But as every island has its own flavour and special things to see and do, why spend two weeks at one destination when you could visit up to 10 in one holiday?
That's the beauty of a P&O Cruises Caribbean two-week itinerary: P&O Cruises has developed tailormade fortnights so you never visit the same place twice.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/products/holiday-to-an-odyssey-of-idyllic-islands/
From Oman's opulent palaces to shimmering deserts, this undiscovered corner of Arabia is a tantalising mix of ancient and modern discovers the renowned British journalist Charles Garside, as he heads for the oasis, so says a report that appeared in a recent edition of the British daily tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail. Commenting on Oman’s growing popularity as a unique tourist destination, Usama Bin Karim Al Haremi of Oman Air’s Corporate Communications and Media said that the National Carrier has been tasked with boosting tourism in Oman, adding that the ministry of Tourism and Oman Air, continue to promote the Sultanate as a high quality destination aimed primarily at responsible tourists.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/products/unique-tourist-destination-ancient-meets-modern-in-oman-/
The Swedish tourism industry will continue to grow next year, according to a new prognosis released by branch organization RTS.
Despite that business trips to the country have plummeted since the financial crisis began two years ago, leisure travelers more than made up for the loss in profits in 2009.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/news/swedish-tourism-to-keep-on-growing/
Mexican tourism revenue may decline for a second year as violent clashes between drug gangs and a weak U.S. job market threaten to spoil its spring break party.
Cancun and Acapulco hotels are seeing a smaller-than-normal influx of college-age revelers this month after recent reports of bloodshed, tour operators there said. Acapulco’s tourism marketing agency predicts the number of spring breakers will drop 30 percent this year to 17,500, said Piquis Rochin, director of international promotions for the organization.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/news/mexicos-tourism-revenue-continues-to-fall/
Under the high patronage of President Ben Ali, the general elected assembly of the C was held on Saturday in the presence of a large number of professionals.
On the occasion, Mr. Slim Tlatli, Minister of Tourism, said that the meeting is an opportunity to ensure the best positioning of Tunisian tourism increase and increase the number of tourists to reach ten million tourists in the coming year.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/news/tunisia-local-hotels-federation-looks-at-ways-of-boosting-tourism/
It was learned that the Seychelles Tourist Board (STB) was recently nominated for the position as "Best Tourist Board in Africa" for the upcoming annual "The Good Safari Guide" awards, which are due to be held on May 7 in Durban, South Africa, just ahead of the INDABA tourism trade show.
It seems the outstanding work of the STB since its major re-organization a year ago has born fruits and got STB recognized by not only its peers but also a number of travel writers, journalists, travel agents, and tour operators who reportedly sent in their nominations in recent weeks.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/news/seychelles-tourist-board-nominated-for-best-tourist-board-in-africa/
In a boost to Morocco's burgeoning tourism market, the owner of the Ramada hotel group has announced that it plans to construct eight properties in the North African country.
At the opening of the new Ramada Fes, Fawaz Majid Al Badr, the CEO of hotel owner the Al-Tameer investment group, told reporters and guests that the Kuwaiti group would build a further seven properties in the country.
http://www.world-tourism-news.eu/news/new-hotels-promised-as-morocco-tourism-recovers/
All Tom's Barbecue Potato Chips have been recalled, Lance Inc. and the FDA today announced.
The chips contain salmonella-contaminated hydrolyzed vegetable protein, a flavoring agent that's now led to the recall of 177 U.S. products -- and counting.
Tom's Barbecue Potato Chips are sold in 1-ounce, 2.25 ounce, and 8.5-ounce flexible packages. The recalled products carry expiration dates ranging from May 14, 2010, to July 16, 2010.
The possible salmonella contamination comes from the seasoning used on the barbecue variety of Tom's chips but not in other Tom's chip flavors.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20100401/recall-toms-bbq-potato-chips
Listeria contamination has led Parkers Farm Inc. to recall peanut butter, cheese, salsa, and other foods from a long list of major food retailers.
Listeria is a bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in small children and older people. The contamination was detected in Parkers products tested by health departments in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
So far, Parkers Farm says there have been no reported illnesses.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20100112/food-recall-hits-big-chain-stores
Food poisoning costs the U.S. $152 billion, kills 5,000 people, and sends 325,000 to the hospital each year, new calculations suggest.
The figures come from a new study by former FDA economist Robert L. Scharff, PhD, JD, now an assistant professor at Ohio State University.
"This study illustrates how serious food-borne illness is as a problem for our society," Scharff said at a news teleconference announcing the findings.
The study, underwritten by the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University and Pew Charitable Trusts, considers the direct health care costs of food-borne illnesses as well as the costs of years of life lost.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20100303/food-poisoning-costs-152-billion-a-year
Vamman writes with a followup to news from 2009 that MekTek.net was going to release MechWarrior 4 for free after obtaining permission from Smith & Tinker, who licensed the MechWarrior rights from Microsoft. Now, almost a year later, the free release has yet to see the light of day, in large part due to Microsoft. Quoting:
"... the Free Release is held up at Microsoft and it is unknown to us and our studio when the Free Release will be given the final go ahead. Due to the demands placed upon us by industry lawyers to release the Mechwarrior4 Free release we were forced to insure our studio at a premium rate to meet the Microsoft standard. Our insurance policy is a one year lease and we are unable to tap out of this policy until next fall. In addition to our insurance costs we are also struggling with our server costs. Currently, our server fund has run dry and staff and beta members are paying out of their pockets to help keep MekTek online. At this point we don't know from month to month if we will be able to stay online."
http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/04/04/1514240/MechWarrior-4-Free-Release-Delayed-By-Microsoft
"According to IEEE Spectrum, Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, who had previously built a robot copy of himself, has now created a new android — and it's a 'she.' Geminoid F, a copy of a woman in her 20s with long dark hair, exhibits facial expressions more naturally than Ishiguro's previous android. 'Whereas the Geminoid HI-1 has some 50 actuators, the new Geminoid F has just 12. What's more, the HI-1 robot requires a large external box filled with compressors and valves. With Geminoid F, the researchers embedded air servo valves and an air servo control system into its body, so the android requires only a small external compressor.' It's also much better looking. Has the Japanese android master finally overcome the uncanny valley?"
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/04/04/1546259/Android-Copy-of-Young-Woman-Unveiled-In-Japan
"eWeek reports that the data Apple collects about users from its iPhone is so valuable that the company may build its own iPhone-centric search engine just to keep Google from gleaning insight from that data. 'The data generated on the iPhone OS platform must become an increasing priority for Apple and we believe the company has the resources to develop its own products in both maps and search in the next five years,' writes analyst Gene Munster. Google is currently the default search engine on the iPhone, but Google has increasingly encroached on Apple's mobile turf, offering the Android operating system and several mobile applications. As the search provider for the iPhone, Google sees what iPhone users are searching for, which can help it tailor software and services for its own mobile smartphones — a competitive advantage that has not gone unnoticed by Apple. Apple lacks the experience and engineering wherewithal to build a large, scalable search engine, but Munster says Apple could buy a search startup with a Web index, such as Cuil or Taptu, and use its index as the seed for its own search engine. 'Apple is in an inside position to tap into the current pent-up demand for better mobile search, and add a new competitive differentiation from other search providers and device makers,' adds IDC analyst Hadley Reynolds."
http://search.slashdot.org/story/10/04/04/1723215/Talk-of-an-Apple-Search-Engine-To-Thwart-Google
"A well-known hacker of the iPhone, who previously defeated Apple's restrictions on developers, has claimed in a video to have hacked the iPad. Just a day after release, the hacker, who goes by 'MuscleNerd' online, said that he has gained root access to the iPad..."
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/04/04/2223237/iPad-Jailbroken
"Several things are striking. First, the age distribution really is extremely skewed. The overwhelming majority are over 55. Here's what else you notice: a slight majority of the incidents involved someone either parking, pulling out of a parking space, in stop and go traffic, at a light or stop sign... in other words, probably starting up from a complete stop."
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/0019227/Toyota-Accelerator-Data-Skewed-Toward-Elderly
"NPR reports that former shuttle commander Chris Ferguson now moonlights as a drummer for MAX Q, a classic rock band comprised solely of astronauts. 'Perhaps we'll have some more time to practice here once the shuttle program comes to a slow end,' says Ferguson, raising the question — what does the future hold for NASA's elite astronaut corps after the agency mothballs its aging space shuttles in the coming months? NASA currently has about 80 active astronauts, as well as nine new astronaut candidates hired last year. But there will be fewer missions after the shuttle program ends, and those will be long-duration stays at the space station. When the Apollo program ended, astronauts had to wait years before the space shuttles were ready to fly, but the situation was different back then. Space historian Roger Launius says, 'Even before the end of the Apollo program, NASA had an approved, follow-on program — the space shuttle — and a firm schedule for getting it completed.' These days, no one knows what NASA will be doing next. Meanwhile, private companies are moving forward with their efforts, raising the possibility of astronauts for hire. NASA administrator and former astronaut Charlie Bolden talked about that prospect earlier this year, saying it would be a different approach for NASA to rent not just the space vehicle, but also a private crew of astronauts to go with it. 'When we talk about going to distant places like Mars, the moon, [or] an asteroid, we will not be able to take someone off the street, train them for a few weeks and expect them to go off and do the types of missions we will demand of them,' said Bolden."
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/04/04/2348227/Astronaut-Careers-May-Stall-Without-the-Shuttle
"What if you could light your entire building using no electricity or artificial lights – but just the natural light from our favorite star, the Sun? Enter the Sundolier, a powerful sunlight transport system that's like putting a solar robot on your roof to pump sunlight indoors. The manufacturer claims a single Sundolier unit can provide enough light to illuminate a 1,000-2,500 sq. ft. area [93-232 sq. m] without any other sources."
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/04/05/0054259/Pumping-Sunlight-Into-Homes
WASHINGTON — One of the aerospace industry’s most widely respected experts told House lawmakers March 24 that NASA’s proposal to rely on commercial crew taxis for operations in low Earth orbit is too risky and urged Congress not to approve the plan.
During a hearing before the House Science and Technology space and aeronautics subcommittee, former Martin Marietta Chief Executive A. Thomas Young said NASA should continue the Moon-bound Constellation program President Barack Obama proposed canceling in his 2011 budget request. Young said the Obama plan would leave the nation reliant on a private sector that is “a long way” from satisfying human space transportation needs. http://www.spacenews.com/policy/100326-young-hits-spaceflight-plan.html
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin could be forced to slow or stop work on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle this spring in order to preserve enough money to cover the cost of shutting down the project as soon as this fall, according to congressional sources.
Orion and the rest of NASA’s Constellation program are slated to end in 2011 as the U.S. space agency seeks to outsource human spaceflight to a fledgling commercial space sector.
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/100326-contractors-preserving-constellation-funds-closeout.html
PARIS — The European Space Agency (ESA) on March 31 exercised several options for its Sentinel-2B multispectral Earth observation satellite that have increased the program’s value to prime contractor Astrium Satellites to 105 million euros ($142 million), Astrium announced.
Sentinel-2B will be a near-identical copy of the Sentinel 2A satellite, also under construction by Astrium under a contract valued at 195 million euros signed in early 2008. As it did with the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-3 satellites under construction by Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, the 18-nation ESA negotiated directly with Astrium for a Sentinel-2B, rather than organizing a fresh competition, to reap the savings the manufacturer could offer in producing a second copy of essentially the same spacecraft.
http://www.spacenews.com/contracts/100331-options-boost-value-astrium-sentinel2b-deal.html
PARIS — Boeing officials on April 1 moved to defend the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) military satellite communications system following the U.S. Air Force’s notification to Congress that the program’s cost had climbed more than 25 percent higher than previous estimates.
The increased average per-satellite cost, Boeing officials said, is due to the fact that the program suffered from intermittent funding, which interrupted industrial workflow,and to the Air Force’s recent decision to order two additional satellites. Boeing is prime contractor on the program.
http://www.spacenews.com/military/100401-boeing-defends-wgs-following-nunn-mccurdy.html
PARIS — The Bolivian government on April 1 signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese authorities under which China will build and launch Bolivia’s Tupac Katari telecommunications satellite, the Bolivian government announced.
Bolivian authorities did not say whether the agreement, which followed months of talks with China and the creation of the Bolivian Space Agency, means they have resolved frequency coordination issues that will make it difficult to operate a C- or Ku-band satellite in the geostationary arc covering Bolivia without infringing on international frequency-sharing rules.
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/100402-china-build-launch-bolivian-telecom-satellite.html
Orbital Sciences Corp. completed its $55 million acquisition of General Dynamics Corp.’s satellite manufacturing division under a deal announced in March, the company said April 2.
With the formal closing of the deal, Dulles, Va.-based Orbital acquires a 12,000-square-meter satellite manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Ariz., and 325 new employees, many of whom have security clearances to work on sensitive U.S. government programs.
http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/040210-orbital-closes-acquisition.html
WASHINGTON — As NASA devises its strategy for fostering development of a commercial successor to the space shuttle, the nation’s primary rocket builder is cautioning the agency not to count on industry for a substantial upfront investment in an endeavor rife with uncertainty.
“Not surprisingly, we are a little reluctant to commit,” Andrew Aldrin, director of business development for Denver-based United Launch Alliance (ULA), said during a March 30 event here sponsored by the Marshall Institute. “But this wasn’t always the case. Just remember, it was about 10 years ago that we invested billions in EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) systems for a [satellite launch] market that frankly looked much more solid than the [human spaceflight] market we are looking at today.”
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/100402-commercial-crew-plan--hinge-risk-sharing.html
WASHINGTON -- Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) plans to attempt the maiden launch of its Falcon 9 rocket no sooner than May 8, the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company said April 2. SpaceX previously had reserved April 12 for the launch attempt.
"SpaceX is working closely with Ensign Bickford Aerospace & Defense Co., supplier of key components of the Flight Termination System (FTS) that will be used on Falcon 9, to complete testing of the FTS hardware and provide final data to SpaceX and Air Force Range safety officials for review and acceptance," SpaceX said in a statement sent to reporters. "Certification of the Falcon 9 FTS and subsequent range availability will put the first Falcon 9 test launch towards the latter half of the anticipated March-May window, with the first attempt no earlier than May 8, 2010."
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/100403-spacex-slips-falcon-launch-may.html
Digg has long had a decent mobile site that displays well on an iPhone. But with its new native iPhone application, users can browse through the site's links and features with a lot more speed and snap. Unfortunately, Digg's comment and discussion boards are stuck on read-only if you're accessing the site's content through the iPhone app.
Digg's iPhone application is available for free at the App Store.
Last week, there was a pretty good amount of buzz going around for Digg's new native iPhone application. Really, generating any buzz at all about any particular iPhone app can be a pretty tough task, considering how many new ones launch each week. But in this case it's not so surprising, given that Digg itself is a buzz machine -- if a link to your site gets propelled to the front page for a few minutes, you may end up getting enough hits to crash your system.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Digg-Goes-a-Little-Deeper-With-New-iPhone-App-69651.html
Coders tempted to insert Easter Eggs into their projects should find another way to get their kicks. Back in the day, "snide little comments in the garbage at the end of files or some such nonsense" were funny, recalled blogger Robert Pogson. Now, "we have malware," he said. "There is no room for extraneous stuff in software. KISS applies."
Well, it's April Fool's Day once again, and that means it's time to have some fun with recent news from the world of FOSS.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/SCO-Wins-Sony-Switches-to-Linux-Pigs-Take-to-the-Skies-69669.html
Electric cars are coming, and tech companies are already working with car manufacturers and utilities to develop ways to manage power consumption in the interest of saving money and distributing demand. Electric cars are destined to become one of the top residential electricity consumers -- in some cases, more than the summertime power draw of the air conditioner and water heater combined.
Spend a few minutes at Microsoft's Hohm Web site, enter a few details about your house, and it will spit out a series of recommendations about how best you can reduce your energy consumption, and maybe save some money in the process.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Hohm-May-Keep-Electric-Car-Charging-Costs-in-Check-69668.html
YouTube's streamlined new design has ruffled a few feathers, particularly among users who prefer the old five-star rating system to the new thumbs-up or thumbs-down options. Still, early impressions seem generally favorable. Playbacks are up, and more people are engaging by supplying comments and ratings.
After months of planning and testing, the Internet's No. 1 video-sharing site, YouTube, launched a new look and received mixed reviews.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/YouTubes-New-Look-Draws-Mostly-Cheers-69671.html
Does the world need another open source operating system for mobile devices? That's the question Intel and Nokia's mobile ambitions hinge upon. The two companies are hoping that developers who get at look at their joint MeeGo effort -- released in part on Thursday -- will say "Yes."
The MeeGo community, formed by Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK), on Thursday released the MeeGo distribution infrastructure and operating system base to developers. Images released are Intel Atom-based netbooks; ARM-based Nokia N900; and Intel Atom-based handsets running on the Moorestown chip.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Intel-Nokia-Hold-Their-Breath-as-Devs-Start-Noodling-With-MeeGo-69675.html
IBM is providing the FAA with a new streaming analytics system that will help the agency get the jump on any would-be cyberattackers. The software will allow the FAA to analyze data in motion, allowing real-time responses to any malware, intrusions, computer hijackings or other disturbances to its networks. It will also allow the agency to conduct deeper analyses of stored data.
IBM (NYSE: IBM) is joining forces with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to protect the nation's civilian aviation system from the ever-growing threat of cyberattacks. They are working on building a prototype security system capable of protecting the vast amount of information flowing daily through the FAA's computer networks.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/IBM-Teams-With-FAA-to-Neutralize-Cyberthreats-69672.html
TSMC's chips are used in devices ranging from mobile phones to computers. Demand plunged following the 2008 onset of the global crisis but began to recover during the second quarter of last year. Sales improved with "computer-related applications growing strongly" amid the emerging global recovery despite a seasonal decline in demand.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/TSMC-Says-Profit-More-Than-Doubles/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE63TY
In the space between handsets and laptops, manufacturers are scrambling to make "smartbooks," devices like Apple's iPad. Freescale unveiled its smartbook at Mobile World Congress. Such devices use cell phone-style chips such as ones made by Nvidia, Freescale and Qualcomm, which have the advantage of using less power.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Tablets-and-Smartbooks-Get-Noticed/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE673W
Christopher Tarnovsky's discovery shows a way that spies can acquire military and trade secrets. Tarnovsky figured out a way to break chips that carry a "Trusted Platform Module," or TPM, designation by essentially spying on them like a phone conversation. "You've trusted this chip . . . but your secrets aren't that safe," said Tarnovsky.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Hacker-Cracks-PC-Encryption-Chip/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE65R0
A Freescale Semiconductor processor with an E Ink controller could help slash e-reader costs. The Freescale i.MX508 uses ARM Cortex-8 technology and costs less than $10 in bulk. The i.MX508 powers faster page turns, applications and touch solutions. An analyst expects lower e-reader prices to compete with Apple's iPad and other devices.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/New-Chip-Could-Slash-E-Reader-Costs/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE68QK
Startup InVisage Technologies says its new QuantumFilm image sensor could bring professional camera features to high-end mobile devices. InVisage said QuantumFilm has four times the performance of existing silicon sensors and is based on "quantum dot" nanocrystals. The first devices with QuantumFilm are expected by mid-2011.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE6C2C
SanDisk has released a 32GB MicroSD card with its biggest capacity to hold the overflowing data on mobile devices. While the 32-nanometer SanDisk 32GB MicroSD card is costly at $200, it can hold much more than current 16GB cards. IM Flash Technologies and Samsung also have solutions to contain the data from mobile devices.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE6CDY
Advanced Micro Devices has rolled out the Opteron 6000 series for servers with more cores and performance for less money. As AMD and Intel diverge in the x86 server space, AMD is looking to recover ground from Intel. AMD is already gaining support for its Opteron 6000 series from server makers Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer, Cray and SGI.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE6D8T
Nvidia is rolling out its GeForce GTX 480 and GeForce GTX 470 GPUs, the first in its Fermi line, targeted at hard-core gamers. The GPUs offer tessellation performance, but they reportedly run hot and consume energy, not a good choice for office applications. Microsoft's gaming division expects Nvidia's Fermi products to improve PC games.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=011000UE6D9F
I'm fully aware of the stakes involved for Western companies opening a window to business with Beijing, but the Great Firewall won't stop at Yahoo, Vietnam or Hong Kong. China has struggled to keep a vast country in line since the days of the Han Dynasty, and it is used to having its way -- and denying others their say.
For anyone thinking that the Google-China dynasty war would be resolved quickly -- and that mutual economic concerns would ultimately force both armies to ratchet down this uniquely 21-century cyberduel -- this was the week for the rudest of awakenings.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/The-Great-Firewall-of-China-Will-Engulf-the-Gutless-69677.html
3-D is gaining traction in the entertainment industry, with movies, televisions and DVDs drawing the interest of consumers. Mobile devices are next. Sharp claims that technology advances have vastly improved 3-D image quality on the small screen, and it will be making new 3-D LCD touchscreens available for a variety of devices. No special glasses are required.
Japanese electronics giant Sharp on Friday unveiled a liquid crystal display (LCD) touchscreen that lets viewers see three-dimensional images without special glasses.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Sharps-Next-Gen-Mobile-Touchscreens-3-D-for-the-Naked-Eye-69681.html
"The industry-accepted standard for confirming someone is who they say they are and that they control a domain is that 'the CA takes reasonable measures to verify,' which is very ambiguous at best and meaningless at worst," wrote world-renowned security expert Kurt Seifried in an article on SSL security keys published in the May 2010 issue of Linux Magazine.
Two university researchers discovered at a recent security conference that security companies often deal with governments that can compel certificate authorities to produce SSL security keys for them, which Betanews reported last week. Those keys can then be used to sign certificates as any other Web site, enabling a law enforcement authority -- hypothetically speaking, of course -- to spoof virtually any other site.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Fraudsters-Can-Easily-Buy-SSL-Certificates-Researcher-Finds-69686.html?wlc=1270451367
What’s going on April 7, 2010 from 12:30-2pm that you should know about? Only one of the best opportunities to help you decide what IPRO team you should be a part of. IPRO, or the Interprofessional Projects program, at IIT is one of the greatest opportunities you will have as a student at IIT. This experience allows you to work on an interdisciplinary team and share expertise in your field. Jobs today require individuals to work with multitudes of disciplines that you may have never encountered before. Being a part of an IPRO team allows you to get that experience and makes you a more valuable asset to companies you may work for in the future. On April 7th, there will be an IPRO Registration Fair in the McCormick Tribune Campus Center (MTCC) Center Court. There will be representatives from the 2010 Summer and Fall IPROs who can tell you what their projects are about.
http://technews.iit.edu/index.php?id=2644
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