A new product called MojoPac from RingCube Technologies lets iPod users take control of any desktop computer running Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system
The pharmaceutical industry won a victory Wednesday, defeating efforts by EU regulators to encourage more trade in lower- priced medicines
Sir Richard Branson is to invest $3 billion to fight global warming. The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years
A messaging service called VaporStream announced today at DEMOfall will allow any two parties to communicate electronically without leaving any record of their interaction on any computer or server. Messages cannot be forwarded, edited, printed or saved. After they’re read, they’re gone — via Slashdot
The Bush administration had to empty its secret prisons and transfer terror suspects to the military-run detention centre at Guantánamo this month in part because CIA interrogators had refused to carry out further interrogations and run the secret facilities, according to former CIA officials and people close to the program
A new report from the Housing and Urban Development Inspector General found that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson instructed staff to award HUD contracts to President Bush’s political allies and withhold them from his political opponents — via digg
A section of a fortress constructed during the 1670s has been found in Norway, giving experts a rare look at something previously only seen in sketches. The find is a casemate — a vaulted chamber in a fortress. The space was created by the supports for the outside wall, which at the same time is holding up a 400mm thick layer of timber that served as the floor for a cannon site
After three years of being laughed out of meetings, the US Marine Corps’ futuristic plans to deploy through space may finally be getting some traction. The Marine Corps calls the concept the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion Capability (Sustain). This plan, a growing group of Marine supporters say, is the natural evolution of the service’s proclivity for expeditionary warfare that began decades ago with amphibious landings. The concept is to deliver strategic equipment or a small squad of soldiers to any point on the globe — even the most hard-to-reach location — within hours of need. Once on the ground, those soldiers can carry out strategically critical missions like reconnaissance or destroying a specific target. At least, that’s their pitch — via Defense Tech
EEStor is working on a revolutionary new kind of battery. The most significant benefit would be its efficiency: a car powered by the EEStor unit could run on the equivalent of 45 cents per gallon, driving 500 miles on $9 worth of electricity after just five minutes to charge
In UMG v Lindor, the defendant Marie Lindor has made a motion to preclude the RIAA from introducing into the case songs as to which it has failed to produce the song files. Ms Lindor’s lawyers submitted to the Court the RIAA’s interrogatory responses where the record companies had stated under oath that their case was based upon (a) Media Sentry’s detection of song files being distributed
and (b) Media Sentry’s allegedly making perfect digital copies
of those files. Ms Lindor’s attorneys argued that the RIAA cannot prove that it made perfect digital copies of the songs if it doesn’t have the song files — via Boing Boing
Former President Bill Clinton has announced the creation of a $1 Billion investment fund devoted to renewable energy. This will be an investment fund as opposed to charity, and Clinton has said that; The Green Fund would focus on reducing dependence on fossil fuels, creating jobs, lessening pollution and helping to reduce global warming, all while making a profit
. Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn will be managing the fund
Microreactors have already been used for on-site reforming of fuels, such as methanol or propane, to produce hydrogen to be used in fuel cells. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have designed very efficient ceramic microreactors to do this task. The scientists say that their microreactors are much better than other fuel reformer systems. They are now trying to reform gasoline and diesel, which are more widely distributed than propane — via Slashdot
A robot that glides along a layer of mucus inside the human intestine could make medical examinations like colonoscopies less painful for patients, say Dutch scientists. They are working on a snail-inspired robot that should be far gentler on the gut’s delicate lining
It seems Wal-Mart is threatening retaliation against studios who decide to offer movies on iTunes. The retailer seems a bit miffed that someone would dare to undercut their prices. This wouldn’t be the first time they’ve turned on a supplier for dealing with Apple — via Slashdot
Richard Branson, the British magnate and adventurer, said Thursday that all future profits from his five airlines and train company, estimated at $3 billion through the next 10 years, would be invested in developing energy sources that do not contribute to global warming
Time Warner said Thursday that it had agreed to sell AOL France’s Internet access business to Neuf Cegetel, a French telecommunications network operator, for about $365 million in cash
A copyright dispute between Google and a group of publishers in Belgium escalated Friday as the Internet search engine defied a court order to publish an earlier decision in the case on its Belgian web sites
It looks like Microsoft is once again looking to save a few bucks at the expense of minimising piracy, as the company has reportedly confirmed to IDG News Service that every version of Vista — from Home Basic to Ultimate — will ship on a single DVD when the OS is finally released. Of course the downside to this strategy is that somehow, somewhere, some clever hacker is going to figure out a way to get Ultimate onto his/her machine without the upgrade fee (after disabling WGA of course), and people the world over will gleefully follow suit
Torpark is a modified version of Firefox that automatically routes you through the EFF’s TOR servers, thereby anonymising everything you do online
The head of an organisation that fights unwanted bulk e-mail said Friday that an Illinois company will remain on its block list despite a court order and a steep monetary judgment. Spamhaus suggested it did not defend the case because it did not believe a court in Illinois had jurisdiction over the UK-based organisation. Steve Linford, the head of the UK-based Spamhaus, insisted the company sends spam that is illegal in the United Kingdom and said Spamhaus will continue to list the Illinois company on its block list
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