The word tweet
may have entered the international lexicon thanks to an explosion in 140-character microblogging messages, but an attempt by Twitter’s founders to trademark it has been rejected
Stress tests conducted by Sydney-based researchers have revealed that the infrastructure-on-demand services offered by Amazon, Google and Microsoft suffer from regular performance and availability issues
Historians, literary detectives and even courts of law rely on methods that identify the author of a text by their writing style. But a new study suggests that some of these so-called stylometry techniques are easily fooled, even by people without linguistic or literary training
Little more than a week after Nambu Network said it would shutter its URL-shortener tr.im, and just days after the service was reactivated, its founder now says he will take the code open-source and give up the attractive URL
A model who was slammed with derogatory terms by an anonymous blogger has the right to learn the identity of her online heckler, a judge ruled. In August 2008, a user of Blogger.com, Google’s blogging service, created Skanks in NYC
, a site that assailed Liskula Cohen, 37, a Canadian-born onetime cover girl who has appeared in Vogue and other fashion magazines. The blog featured photos of Cohen captioned with terms including psychotic
, ho
, and skank
. On Monday, New York Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden ruled that Google must hand over to Cohen any identifying information it possesses about the blog’s creator
Civil libertarians have questioned the dramatic increase in the number of CCTV cameras operating in Melbourne’s CBD, saying they could potentially invade the privacy of citizens. The Melbourne City Council today released a map of the 54 CCTV cameras placed in city trouble spots in a bid to deter and capture footage of violence. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the cameras would be an important part of efforts by the council and Victoria Police to lessen city crime
Last week, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture decided to shut down or block 28 file-sharing sites. The original complaint came from local anti-piracy outfit MAPiNET. In what appears to be a revenge attack, hackers targeted their website and diverted it to some of the world’s biggest torrent sites
Seven million people could be criminalised under government plans to crack down on internet piracy, to be included in this autumn’s Queen’s Speech. The illicit downloading of music and films on the internet, a practice engaged in by one in 12 of the population, could lead to severe restrictions on internet access and a fine of up to £50,000. Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, is said to be persuaded by the argument for tough laws to curb illegal file-sharing after an intensive lobbying campaign by influential people in the music and film industry. But Tom Watson, the former minister for digital engagement, today criticises the proposed crackdown as extreme and calls for a more measured approach that would target those who uploaded illegal content, rather than the millions who downloaded the files
Researchers have created the tiniest laser since its invention nearly 50 years ago, paving the way for a host of innovations, including superfast computers that use light instead of electrons to process information, advanced sensors and imaging. Because the new device, called a spaser
, is the first of its kind to emit visible light, it represents a critical component for possible future technologies based on nanophotonic
circuitry
A campaign has been launched to win a posthumous apology for computer pioneer Alan Turing over his conviction for homosexuality. The brilliant mathematician, who spent his key years at Manchester University, is hailed as one of the founders of modern computing. But a conviction for homosexuality effectively ended his career. Troubled Turing went on to commit suicide in 1954, aged just 41. Now a group of admirers of the scientist — named as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century by Time Magazine — are lobbying the government to make a posthumous apology
IBM is looking to the building blocks of our bodies — DNA — to be the structure of next-generation microchips. As chipmakers compete to develop ever-smaller chips at cheaper prices, designers are struggling to cut costs. Artificial DNA nanostructures, or DNA origami
may provide a cheap framework on which to build tiny microchips
The first national broadband network rollout, in Tasmania, will cost an estimated $20,000 for each premises that takes up the superfast internet connection — and business leaders say its impact may be minimal. The Rudd and Bartlett governments, which are jointly undertaking the rollout, refuse to reveal the taxpayer-funded plan’s cost, business plan or an estimate of the take-up. However industry sources told The Australian that the take-up rate had been estimated at 17 per cent of the 200,000 target premises — homes and businesses
There’s a disturbing new development in Australia. A law proposal was disclosed to the public that would get ISPs to spy on the contents of all communications to monitor for compliance. Presumably, the amendments would get Australian ISPs to monitor their networks for p2p activity and hand all their information to copyright holders
Chinese officials appear to have retreated from their controversial plan to install an internet filtering system on computers in the country. The industry and information technology minister, Li Yizhong, said today that the notion that the Green Dam programme would be required on every new computer was a misunderstanding
spawned by poorly written regulations
A security researcher has found that hackers are using Twitter as a means to distribute instructions to a network of compromised computers, known as a botnet. The traditional way of managing botnets is using IRC, but botnet owners are continuously working on finding new ways of keeping their networks up and running, and Twitter seems to be the latest trick. A now-suspended Twitter account was being used to post tweets that had links new commands or executables to download and run, which would then be used by the botnet code on infected machines
The popular Digsby instant messenger client not only bundles half a dozen optional
crapware applications, it’s also using your computer to crawl the web, do stock market research, and more. It’s time to uninstall
Sony has moved to open the e-book market by adopting the ePub format for its Readers. Unlike Amazon’s Kindle, which only runs e-books sold by Amazon, users of Sony’s devices will be able to obtain a variety of e-books. The e-book market is heating up, with new devices from Sony, a textbook-focus Kindle, and an expected entry from Apple
A team of Yale University researchers has discovered a repulsive
light force that can be used to control components on silicon microchips, meaning future nanodevices could be controlled by light rather than electricity. The team previously discovered an attractive
force of light and showed how it could be manipulated to move components in semiconducting micro- and nano-electrical systems–tiny mechanical switches on a chip. The scientists have now uncovered a complementary repulsive force
Good news for television viewers with confirmation that Optus will launch its new satellite on 22 August by an Ariane-5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. Optus Satellite Paul Sheridan said, The Optus D3 Satellite will increase Optus’ total satellite capacity, support existing customers including Foxtel and Sky New Zealand and enable the development of new business opportunities for broadcast television and the direct-to-home market
. The satellite will enable more channels and features on Foxtel, including the capacity for more free to air channels to be made available to subscribers. Foxtel has previously touted 20 new channels by the end of the year, but now Foxtel’s Patrick Delany yesterday confirmed 20 SD plus 10 HD channels
As its ten-year-old file system — GFS — struggles to keep up with Gmail, YouTube, and other apps it was never designed to support, Google is brewing a replacement. According to the company, it’s two years into a GFS sequel designed specifically for customer-facing apps that require ultra low latency — via Slashdot
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