Researchers from the Nanomaterials Research Centre at Massey University in New Zealand have developed synthetic dyes that can be used to generate electricity at one tenth of the cost of current silicon-based solar panels. These photosynthesis-like compounds work in low-light conditions and can be cheaply incorporated into window-panes and building materials, thereby turning them into generators of electricity
Microsoft says that it’s dropping DRM from some of the catalog in the Zune store. This is the other shoe-drop we’ve all been waiting for since Apple announced last week that it would sell the entire EMI catalog (albeit at a 30% higher price) without DRM through the iTunes Music Store. Interestingly, Microsoft seems to be implying that it’s going to sell DRM-free tracks from labels other than EMI
The day when you can charge your cell phone or iPod just by going for a stroll around the block could be a step closer, thanks to a nano-generator. About a year ago, Zhong Lin Wang of Georgia Tech in the US discovered that, when he disturbed zinc oxide nanowires, they gave off a tiny electrical current, a phenomenon called piezoelectricity. At the time, he had to use the tip of an atomic force microscope — a $250,000 instrument — to create about one-billionth of a watt of power. Not exactly energy efficiency. But with his latest experiment, Wang has improved his design at least a thousand-fold
At least one legal expert is shocked that Hells Angels motorcycle club members may have had as much as 11 days notice about police raids on their clubhouse and homes. An Internet weblog revealed the confidential court documents that gave authorities the power to seize the Hells Angels clubhouse on Eastern Avenue, the Toronto Star reported. The blogger reportedly posted a digital copy of the secret court order on 25 March. That order transferred control of the clubhouse, a home in east Toronto and another in Barrie from the motorcycle club to the federal government
The Gaim project is being renamed. This follows a lengthy and, unfortunately, secret legal process with AOL, which also prevented any code releases except betas. The project will now be known as Pidgin IM. Development is being migrated off of sourceforge.net as well and is now being hosted on developer.pidgin.im
Mozilla’s research group has developed a set of content sharing tools that will allow users to swap links and more efficiently track personal content like blog posts, movies, and photos
Michigan is spending $38 million to distribute an iPod to every child, for learning purposes. The plan included measures to tax soda and satellite TV services to pay for it, among other things, to raise funds. If you recall, Duke University tried something like this with mixed results. How financially strained will Michigan residents feel about paying higher taxes to buy someone else’s kid an iPod?
Although antivirus companies will probably create a hype saying that iPods are prone to infections, a virus called Podloso
is a newly found virus that is just a proof of concept code that can infect iPods running Linux. Once launched, the virus scans the device’s hard disk and infects all executable .elf format files. Any attempt to launch these files will cause the virus to display a message on the screen which says, You are infected with Oslo the first iPodLinux Virus
Azureus has announced the beta release of Vuze, a reinvention of the one of Internet’s most popular peer-to-peer file sharing applications as a commercial distribution platform for HD content. The Vuze application, formerly called Zudeo, represents a marked change from Azureus’ older P-to-P software, which required some technical proficiency to get running
Hitachi has started to ship its 1TB hard disk drives introduced early this year commercially. But the hard drive that represents a milestone in desktop data storage costs a little less than two times higher compared to slightly less capacious one, which makes it not very affordable
Despite the huge variation in body size and shape, Great Danes and Chihuahuas are both members of the same species: Canis lupus familiaris. Now, a new study conducted by an international team of scientists led by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has identified the gene responsible for this great range of dog sizes. The answer, it seems involve a number of different versions of the gene that encodes for insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1). The gene, IGF1, was identified following genetic analysis that began with screening 463 Portuguese water dogs, a breed that has a lot of diversity in size
Telstra has dusted off its project to build a residential broadband network worth at least $4 billion, laying out a proposal for competitor access at a closed industry meeting in Sydney. The updated network plan for a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network features the latest copper-wire-based broadband technology, VDSL2, which offers speeds of up to 100Mb per second, five times faster than currently available ADSL2+. The plan is also likely to strand up to $500 million worth of investment in ADSL2+ technology by Telstra’s rivals, including Optus, iiNet, Primus and Internode
Microsoft has released an emergency security patch to plug a hole in several versions of Windows — including Vista, which the software maker has touted as its most secure operating system ever. Microsoft was so worried about the hole — which allowed hackers to break into personal computers and install malicious software — that it pushed out the critical security fix a week ahead of a regularly scheduled update
The military-appointed government of Thailand has blocked access to YouTube and several other Internet sites in a crackdown on material seen as denigrating the country’s monarch. We have blocked YouTube because it contains a video insulting to our king,
Winai Yoosabai, head of the censorship unit at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said
Scientists have developed a way of converting one blood group into another. The technique potentially enables blood from groups A, B and AB to be converted into group O negative, which can be safely transplanted into any patient. The method, which makes use of newly discovered enzymes, may help relieve shortages of blood for transfusions
Along with James Doohan’s cremated remains will also travel the ashes of one of NASA’s first space travelers, Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper, aboard a privately-built rocket set to launch from New Mexico this month. The launch of a SpaceLoft XL rocket built by the private firm UP Aerospace is scheduled for 28 April. SL-2, as it has been dubbed, will lift off from Spaceport America, a state-funded launch site near Upham, New Mexico and about 72km north of the city of Las Cruces
Google has thrown its hat into the ring against Microsoft and (reportedly) Yahoo and AOL over the sale of DoubleClick. Google’s entry into the bidding may boost the price for the remaining pieces of DoubleClick (parts of the company having already been sold off) to $2 billion, twice what its current owners paid for the whole thing
Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury is awesome, he’s turning down endorsement deals and bring a $15 basketball shoe to market. If you’ve ever wondered why basketball shoes were so expensive, the answer is — because they can be. It’s an interesting culture hack, and parents/kids who can’t afford $150+ for pricey shoes can still hit the court
Behold, the world’s first open-source car. Cumbersomely dubbed c,mm,n
(say common
), the vehicle was introduced at AutoRAI in Amsterdam. The project is a product of the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment, better known as the Stichting Natuur en Milieu
, along with a trio of universities: Eindhoven, Enschede, and Delft. So how is the c,mm,n open-source? The entire vehicle’s genetic makeup (specifications, technical drawings, etc.) are available online to anyone, and the car’s creators hope that people will adapt it to their needs and wants, with the caveat that they must share their modifications with the rest of the community
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