Yahoo has bought Koprol.com, an Indonesian mobile location-based-services Web company similar to Foursquare in the US. The purchase gives Yahoo an expert in location-based mobile services, including helping people find nearby local businesses complete with reviews, on their mobile phones, as well as seeing where friends are and what they’re doing, and more. Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Yahoo had reportedly been seeking a deal for New York City-based Foursquare valued at over US$100 million
Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who triggered anxiety among parents over his suggestion of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, was struck off the medical register today for offences relating to dishonesty and failing to act in the best interests of vulnerable child patients. But as leading doctors and medical institutions condemned him and hailed an end to the controversy which caused measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates to drop dangerously low, Wakefield launched a fresh war of words from New York, portraying himself to the media as a victim of the British establishment and insisting he would fight on in the interests of children with autism
Because of Google’s large market share in the Internet search engine business, hackers developed a vested interest in ensuring that their attacks are effective in poisoning Google results, according to software company Symantec. Google’s breadth and speed of indexing also play a role,
added Symantec, a company involved in providing security, storage and systems management solutions. Symantec reported that search engine results poisoned with links to fake antivirus software have been a constant problem for Internet users. However, it is an effective way for cyber attackers to infect users’ machines
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says he plans to introduce legislation for the Federal Government’s internet filter in the second half of the year. Senator Conroy had intended to introduce the legislation in the first half of 2010
Eircom will from today begin a process that will lead to cutting off the broadband service of customers found to be repeatedly sharing music online illegally. Ireland is the first country in the world where a system of graduated response
is being put in place. Under the pilot scheme, Eircom customers who illegally share copyrighted music will get three warnings before having their broadband service cut off for a year
Scared of snoops finding out what you’re searching for on Google? Have no fear: the comany has introduced encrypted search which gives the user the option to use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to prevent packet sniffing which in turn could reveal user’s searches on the site
Iceland’s supply of renewable power has won its first high-profile international data centre customer. Web browser developer Opera Software was announced today as the first customer of the Thor Data Centre. The facility in Hafnarfjorour is one of several new data centre projects underway in Iceland, which has been actively marketing itself as a destination for data centres
Quantum teleportation has achieved a new milestone or, should we say, a new ten-milestone: scientists have recently had success teleporting information between photons over a free space distance of nearly ten miles, an unprecedented length. The researchers who have accomplished this feat note that this brings us closer to communicating information without needing a traditional signal, and that the ten miles they have reached could span the distance between the surface of the earth and space
For those of you who are new to my straps, some background– I started building watch straps back in the summer of 2005. I have large wrists and had a difficult time finding straps that would fit properly or were of the quality that I expected from a high-end watch strap so I decided to build my own. Since then, with the help of my partner Paolo, an Italian-born/trained leather master with nearly 40 years experience, I have built my brand around quality, craftsmanship, and customer service. I choose high-quality leathers that not only look great, but feel great as well. In addition to building the best watch straps, I also produce a few other items from belts to key fobs to wallets. Personally, I love simple, functional design and my products all reflect that — via Greg Steven Design
Google’s doodles start to become more interactive. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, Google created a doodle that lets you play the game. Go to Google’s home page and the game starts automatically after 10 seconds
An internet firm linked to many of the internet’s criminal gangs has been shut down. The US Federal Trade Commission said Belize-based 3FN aided gangs that ran botnets, carried out phishing attacks and traded in images of child abuse. The servers and net hardware of 3FN have been seized and are due to be sold off as the firm is dismantled. The operators of 3FN must also pay back $1.08m they are reputed to have made by hosting criminal sites
The US District Court of California has issued a permanent injunction against the BitTorrent search engine isoHunt, forcing it to shut down in the United States. IsoHunt is expected to block all access to US visitors in response to the decision, but no action has been taken thus far
Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium’s genetic software
and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species dictated
by the synthetic DNA
ASIC is finally going to get the power to intercept phone calls in its pursuit of insider traders, years after the US authorities were given the right to use phone taps to pursue convictions. Minister for Corporate Law Chris Bowen yesterday released draft legislation that will also increase criminal penalties for insider trading and sharemarket manipulation. Following a period of exposure for discussion, the federal government should be able to pass the increased powers into law later this year
Hewlett-Packard says it’s developing a next-generation wristwatch for the US military. The printing and computer company says the watch will have a flexible display that shows maps and other strategic information to soldiers in remote combat fields. The watch’s screen will be made of plastic and it will run on solar energy, making it less likely to malfunction or run out of power in a tense scenario. We call it a Dick Tracy watch,
said Carl Taussig, director of information surfaces at HP Labs in Palo Alto, California, in a reference to the comic-strip detective whose high-tech wristwatch doubled as a two-way radio
An expedition into the mountains of Papua New Guinea has revealed what may be the world’s smallest species of kangaroo. A research team that ventured into the Foja Mountains in 2008 have this week released their findings of a number of species new to science, including a new dwarf wallaby, Dorcopsulus. The wallaby inhabits the floor of the montane forests, and has been called beautiful
and gentle
by expeditioner Dr Kristofer Helgen, a zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution of Washington DC
Since the release of Time Machine, backing your Mac up has never been easier. If you want to back up different sets of files to more than one drive, though, this script will help you do so — via lifehacker
Office 2010 ramps up its attempts to protect viewers from dodgy documents, popping a warning and restricting editing on anything that gets emailed to you. If that seems like overkill, here’s how to fix it — via Lifehacker Australia
Get these beautiful printable CD cases by Tomoko Suzuki for Canon. You can choose from 2 designs: music and travel — via CRAFT
Struggling to make next month’s rent, you might be tempted to dig out some necklaces and rings you don’t wear and try to sell it to your friendly neighbourhood jeweller. But you might actually be buying a ticket to a sick magic show. The jeweller performs a blistering series of slight of hand tricks, whipping out calculators, spouting off fees, keeping your eye on the supposedly worthless diamonds under a tenth of a carat while double-deducting for the base metal. By the end, you slink out in a dizzied blur, accepting 1/5th of what the piece is actually worth. In this exclusive excerpt from the latest issue of Harper’s, ex-jeweller Clancy Martin takes you on a journey to the dark underbelly of the jewellery game — via The Consumerist
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