CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – President Barack Obama boldly predicted Thursday his new plans for space exploration would lead American astronauts on historic, almost fantastic journeys to an asteroid and then to Mars — and in his lifetime — relying on rockets and propulsion still to be imagined and built.
"I expect to be around to see it," he said of pioneering U.S. trips starting with a landing on an asteroid — a colossal feat in itself — before the long-dreamed-of expedition to Mars. He spoke near the historic Kennedy Space Center launch pads that sent the first men to the moon, a blunt rejoinder to critics, including several former astronauts, who contend his planned changes will instead deal a staggering blow to the nation's manned space program.
"We want to leap into the future," not continue on the same path as before, Obama said as he sought to reassure NASA workers that America's space adventures would soar on despite the impending termination of space shuttle flights.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_sc/us_obama_space;_ylt=AtQKQ21SUlUue9GDS01hUkIjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJpaW1wZmNpBGFzc2V0Ay9hcC8yMDEwMDQxNi9hcF9vbl9zYy91c19vYmFtYV9zcGFjZQRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9tYnN0b25lBHNsawNvbnRvbWFyc29iYW0-
San Francisco – MySQL, the open source database now property of Oracle, has stayed the same in such aspects as its availability under the GPL, but some traits will change under its new management. For example, Oracle will be more tight-lipped about product plans, a MySQL official said Thursday.
Devotees of the database also can expect continued improvements in areas such as performance and a stronger emphasis on Windows, said Kaj Arno, vice president of the MySQL community for the still-functioning Sun Microsystems branch in Munich. (Oracle's Sun acquisition has not been completed yet in Germany.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20100415/tc_infoworld/120913;_ylt=AqVaLWE49DLfcXmTPLpo2V4jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJqM2F1MWRmBGFzc2V0A2luZm93b3JsZC8yMDEwMDQxNS8xMjA5MTMEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwN5bl9hcnRpY2xlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDbXlzcWxvZmZpY2lh
SHATTERING ASSUMPTIONS: New study finds that young adults generally care as much about online privacy as older Americans, despite all their raunchy postings.
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: Researchers say young adults are sometimes encouraged by sites to reveal personal information to participate in social networks, even though they may prefer not to.
WHAT THIS MEANS: Lawmakers and educators shouldn't assume that young adults aren't looking for privacy protections.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100415/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_young_adults_privacy_summary_box;_ylt=Aq6w4WdrOD9_hUZoZqbe2NIjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNjN2t1dm1pBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDE1L3VzX3RlY195b3VuZ19hZHVsdHNfcHJpdmFjeV9zdW1tYXJ5X2JveARwb3MDOARzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3N1bW1hcnlib3hzdA--
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Advanced Micro Devices Inc reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue as PC and server spending rebounded, but investors cashed out of a rally triggered by stellar Intel Corp results.
The company -- which had posted 12 consecutive quarters of losses until the previous quarter -- said on Thursday its second-quarter sales would be seasonally weaker, striking a muted tone in contrast with Intel's bullish comments on corporate spending bouncing back in 2010.
Shares of AMD, which in Thursday's regular session hit levels not seen since November 2007, slid 5 percent as investors sold out. The stock had added 8 percent since Intel's better-than-expected results.
"The stock was a little ahead of itself," said Broadpoint Amtech analyst Doug Freedman. He said the company's real earnings growth will come in the back half of the year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100416/tc_nm/us_amd;_ylt=ArdyisHYFf_Wm1q3oTfQKaojtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJiNjVrcjZjBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDE2L3VzX2FtZARwb3MDNQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2FtZHJldmVudWViZQ--
One week after a critical bug was made public, Oracle has patched its Java virtual machine to fix an exploit that could be used to sneak malicious software onto a computer.
That's a good thing, because earlier this week, security vendor AVG said that it had spotted the exploit for this bug being used in a real-world cyber-attack.
Oracle released its Java SE 6 version 20 update Thursday morning. It addresses three security bugs in Java, including the vulnerability exploited in AVG's attack, which was made public last week by Google researcher Tavis Ormandy.
That flaw affects the Windows version of Java 6 10 and later, Ormandy said in a note disclosing the problem, posted to a security discussion list last week.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100415/tc_pcworld/afterattacksoraclepatchesjavabug;_ylt=AolDYZgE9ndKvL8TkfuiS5MjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNhamR0MWgyBGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMDA0MTUvYWZ0ZXJhdHRhY2tzb3JhY2xlcGF0Y2hlc2phdmFidWcEcG9zAzMEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNhZnRlcmF0dGFja3M-
Toshiba, the world's fifth-largest personal computer maker says it will launch slate devices later in 2010, including models that run either the Microsoft Windows 7 or Google Android operating systems.
Jeff Barney, general manager of digital products for Toshiba America, tells Reuters that his company is exploring several tablet form factors, including a dual-screen tablet that runs Windows, and another slate with a 10-inch display. He predicts that these new tablets won't cannibalize netbook sales, despite the overlap in functionality. The Android-based device would cost less than the Windows tablet, Reuters reports. Both tablets, like the Apple iPad, would be used primarily for media consumption, including online video, music, e-books, and other digitized content.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100416/tc_pcworld/toshibatodebutipadstyletabletslaterthisyear;_ylt=Ajx2Vbvi0fuK48ADJ5iR0WAjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNsdXE1c2M5BGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMDA0MTYvdG9zaGliYXRvZGVidXRpcGFkc3R5bGV0YWJsZXRzbGF0ZXJ0aGlzeWVhcgRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3Rvc2hpYmF0b2RlYg--
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Sales of video game gear and software in the United States climbed 6 percent in March, industry tracker NPD said on Thursday, bouncing back somewhat after declining for two straight months.
Hardware sales slipped 4 percent in the month, but software sales jumped 10 percent.
Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii was the top-selling home console in the month, selling 557,500 units, while Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 console came in second with 338,400 and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 was third with 313,900 units.
The top-selling game in March was Sony's "God of War III."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100415/media_nm/us_npd_videogames;_ylt=AgCBgQZ6MPEH_IGh47fS2qojtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJuOXY4M2JqBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDE1L3VzX25wZF92aWRlb2dhbWVzBHBvcwMxNwRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3ZpZGVvZ2FtZXNhbA--
NEW YORK – Before it bought online video service YouTube, employees of Google Inc. believed YouTube's business was risky because it relied on pirated content and recommended pursuing a different strategy, newly released documents showed Thursday.
The internal Google documents, marked "highly confidential," were obtained and released by media company Viacom Inc. in part to bolster its case in a $1 billion copyright lawsuit against Google and YouTube.
Viacom alleges the companies built YouTube's success by promoting the unlicensed use of video taken from Viacom cable channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, rather than paying the creators.
Google bought YouTube for $1.76 billion in November 2006.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_hi_te/us_viacom_youtube;_ylt=AlvTZI30bt.KextgXdKbaRYjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJuajJ0cTMyBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDE2L3VzX3ZpYWNvbV95b3V0dWJlBHBvcwMxNQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA25ld3JvdW5kb2Zkbw--
Television has changed a lot over the years--from black-and-white tube sets to Technicolor consoles to plasma and LCD high-definition TVs.
But the medium is still evolving. Tech companies are producing bigger (yet thinner) TV screens and immersive, customizable viewing experiences with Internet connectivity, widgets, and apps; and broadcasters are looking at ways to move beyond high-definition.
We still have a long way to go before our home entertainment systems look like something out of Minority Report, but some of the new technologies are pretty impressive: 3D TV that approximates what you'd get in a movie theater, multiple monitors designed to present a wall-size picture, and ultra-definition resolution are just some of the innovations you can look forward to.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100416/tc_pcworld/thefutureoftv3dwindowwallsvisiblelightcommunicationandmore;_ylt=AqKdxcD.Pbb3ES5WHt8AdfMjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTQ1czdtcDkwBGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMDA0MTYvdGhlZnV0dXJlb2Z0djNkd2luZG93d2FsbHN2aXNpYmxlbGlnaHRjb21tdW5pY2F0aW9uYW5kbW9yZQRwb3MDMTEEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawN0aGVmdXR1cmVvZnQ-
NEW YORK – All the dirty laundry younger people seem to air on social networks these days might lead older Americans to conclude that today's tech-savvy generation doesn't care about privacy.
Such an assumption fits happily with declarations that privacy is dead, as online marketers and social sites such as Facebook try to persuade people to share even more about who they are, what they are thinking and where they are at any given time.
But it's not quite true, a new study finds. Despite mounds of anecdotes about college students sharing booze-chugging party photos, posting raunchy messages and badmouthing potential employers online, young adults generally care as much about privacy as older Americans.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100415/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_young_adults_privacy;_ylt=AuhNHsO9vcBwpzJiG6Z4bhwjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTMwNTl2dG0yBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDE1L3VzX3RlY195b3VuZ19hZHVsdHNfcHJpdmFjeQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3N0dWR5eW91bmdhZA--
The ambitiously named Incredible doesn't quite scale the heights of HTC's recently announced Evo 4G (or at least on paper it doesn't), but hey — it still looks impressive in its own right. (Maybe "HTC Impressive" would have been a better name?)
The blogosphere has been rife for the past week or so with leaked details about Verizon's third Android smartphone (set for release on April 29; $199 with a two-year contract and after a mail-in $100 rebate), but now we finally have the official Incredible specs, courtesy of Verizon.
Weighing in at about 4.5 ounces and measuring a little less than a half-inch thick, the Incredible gets off on the right foot with an eye-popping, 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display. In back, you'll find the 8-megapixel camera and its dual LED flash for snapping pictures in low light — nice, although the Incredible lacks the Evo 4G's front-facing camera for video conferencing.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100415/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc1634;_ylt=AvXx6cwp1edMNXXi920EPjkjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1ZWJrMzJvBGFzc2V0A3l0ZWNoX2dhZGcvMjAxMDA0MTUveXRlY2hfZ2FkZ190YzE2MzQEcG9zAzMEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNhbmRyb2lkLXBvd2U-
Attention to whomever is trying to send faxes to my voice line from the phone number identified by my Caller ID as "000-000-0000:" That activity has just been made illegal by the federal government.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010, which nearly completes this bill's movement through the legislative process. The Senate already passed a version of the bill in February. And, as with the Do Not Call List legislation several years back, this is a bill that has nothing but broad support from the people and minimal cost associated with it. There's no real obstacle preventing the president from signing it into law pretty soon.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_wguy/20100415/tc_ytech_wguy/ytech_wguy_tc1637;_ylt=AnpNnXWc_vY2rIL0aQmPK6kjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1ZnYyZzkwBGFzc2V0A3l0ZWNoX3dndXkvMjAxMDA0MTUveXRlY2hfd2d1eV90YzE2MzcEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNwaG9ueWNhbGxlcmk-
SAN FRANCISCO – Coming off a stellar first quarter, Google Inc. seems to have regained the momentum that it lost shortly after the U.S. recession started in December 2007.
But it looks like it's going to take a lot longer for the Internet search leader's stock price to rebound to its pre-recession levels.
The shares fell nearly 5 percent late Thursday after the company released first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations.
Earnings rose 37 percent and revenue surged 23 percent. The latter figure represented Google's highest growth rate since the summer of 2008.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_google;_ylt=Amu5HJvoFONsfp6XJybgmpYjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJnYjdkM2ZqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDE2L3VzX2Vhcm5zX2dvb2dsZQRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZ29vZ2xlMXFncm93
The steady rain of leaks about HTC's Incredible smartphone has turned into a downpour, and the buzz has become a steady drone. If the Incredible is Verizon's next launch, the company is making a smart move, said 451 Group analyst Chris Hazelton. It will give consumers their first opportunity to actually handle a phone that is expected to be strikingly similar to the much-ballyhooed Nexus One.
With a name like "Incredible," you'd better be good.
Based on leaked documents published on Tuesday, phone enthusiasts are buzzing over prospects that what's rumored to be Verizon's next big phone will live up to its name and more.
Various Web sites published what were purported to be manuals and spec sheets for the new phone. They indicate that the Incredible will share many similarities with Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) well-received -- but lightly bought -- Nexus One, including its 1 Ghz Snapdragon processor and 3.7-inch OLED capacitive screen. It will feature the HTC Sense user interface layered over Android 2.1.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Will-HTC-Incredible-Live-Up-to-Its-Name-69764.html
A sensor in your cellphone could alert you to a toxic leak in your immediate vicinity -- or it could alert government officials to a major terrorist attack with a chemical weapon. Putting the crowdsourcing concept to work, it would be possible to assess the location, nature and the severity of such an attack in seconds. It's unclear how many citizens would want such a capability on their phones, however.
If the Department of Homeland Security has its way, cellphones will soon do more than transmit calls, GPS information and a host of data from the Web. They'll also monitor the air for toxic substances that could be part of a chemical warfare attack.
Anywhere a chemical threat breaks out -- a mall, a bus, subway, or office -- Cell-All will alert the authorities automatically. (Image by Paul Wedig. Click to enlarge.)
Just as antivirus software springs to life when it spies suspicious activity, so Cell-All, from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), regularly sniffs the surrounding air for certain volatile chemical compounds.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Air-Sniffing-Cellphones-Could-Aid-Chemical-Warfare-Defense-69760.html
GIMP is one of the most able-bodied open source photo manipulation apps in the world, and its feature set rivals those of many proprietary -- and often downright expensive -- offerings. Its features will fix flaws in photos as well as enable the user to artistically manipulate images in a multitude of formats. However, most photo editors this advanced do require a bit of a learning curve, and GIMP is no exception.
The Linux world is filled with numerous capable packages for just about every computing category. Graphics manipulation applications are no exception. In any list of able-bodied graphics candidates, GIMP 2.6 should be one of the top three contenders.
GIMP is Linux Speak for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a free powerhouse that sets the standard for displaying and tweaking all things photographic on a computer screen. It is a very close first cousin to the not-so-open-source program known as Adobe's (Nasdaq: ADBE) Photoshop.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/GIMP-Is-No-Lame-Photo-Tool-69753.html
President Obama will attempt to defuse the growing controversy over his administration's plans for space exploration in a speech on Thursday. The critics' arguments were bolstered this week by the publication of an open letter from renowned astronauts Neil Armstrong, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan, who called the president's decision not to go back to the moon "devastating."
Obama on Thursday will speak at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida about his plans for drastically changing the direction of the nation's human spaceflight program.
Included in those plans is a decision -- originally announced back in February -- to end the Constellation moon program and shift NASA's focus to developing new technologies for deeper space exploration instead.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Obama-to-Defend-Space-Vision-Against-Mounting-Criticism-69772.html
Application delivery controllers and server load balancers are devices that optimize Web and application infrastructure. These appliances can help reduce data center costs and optimize operations. While large enterprises often use purpose-built hardware-based load balancers, smaller organizations may be able to reap most or all of the same benefits by using virtual load balancers.
Today Web and application infrastructure continues to expand applications for e-commerce and communications with customers, partners and internal employees. For those responsible for deploying, maintaining, and supporting these network applications, there is an increasing need to get their highest performance out of data center equipment while simplifying the complexity that causes excess overhead and unnecessary costs.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Server-Load-Balancing-Not-Just-for-the-Big-Guys-Anymore-69767.html
The International Space Station will get its first humanoid robot this fall. Though R2 is only half a man -- he's got nothing from the waist down -- he's a lot stronger than the real people he's designed to help. Also, he'll be better suited to undertake some tasks that are too dangerous for ordinary mortals.
Moving slowly and deliberately, a pair of white-gloved hands reach out, grasp a white cloth and carefully pull it back, revealing a manila envelope. The hands then deftly move to the envelope, pick it up and present it to onlookers.
The scene is from a NASA video, and the hands belong to a character known as "R2," or Robonaut 2 -- a startlingly humanoid looking robot currently prepping to fly to the International Space Station aboard the last scheduled space shuttle mission in September.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/R2-Lands-Space-Station-Gig-69771.html
Opera made an unexpected appearance at the App Store this week. Submitting its Mini browser to Apple for approval seemed like a long shot, yet here it is. Opera certainly feels faster on its feet than Safari when it comes to loading pages. It also has a few features you won't find on the iPhone's built-in browser. Zoom control, however, just isn't the same.
Opera Mini, an application from Opera Software, is available for free at the App Store.
Opera Software can be quite the prima donna when it wants to, and apparently it knows how to use that attitude to get the results it wants. This company was a main player in the recent effort to require Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to offer a full menu of Web browsers each time Windows is installed in Europe. Not only must Windows ask the user which browser he or she wants to set as default (Internet Explorer or one of several rivals, including Opera), but the options must be listed in random order. Enough people picked Opera that the company considered the effort a success.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Opera-on-iPhone-Prestissimo-but-Just-a-Little-Flat-69762.html
