The IEEE working group that is putting the finishing touches on the 802.11n 100Mbps wireless LAN standard is about to launch a new project, for a 1Gbps WLAN standard. That would mean gigabit Wi-Fi
Greek hackers were able to gain momentary access to a CERN computer system of the Large Hadron Collider while the first particles were zipping around the particle accelerator on 10 September. Scientists working at CERN were worried about what the hackers could do because they were one step away
from the computer control system of one of the huge detectors of the machine, a vast magnet that weighs 12,500 tons, measuring around 21m in length and 15m wide/high. If they had hacked into a second computer network, they could have turned off parts of the vast detector and, said the insider, it is hard enough to make these things work if no one is messing with it
— via Slashdot
Keeping in step with rival Web browsers from Microsoft and Google, Mozilla has announced a privacy mode
for Firefox 3.1. The update is scheduled to be released in beta form in October
SanDisk has announced a new, 32-gigabyte CompactFlash card that it said can record more than 80 minutes of high-definition video. Called the Extreme III CompactFlash card, it targets photographers
A recently released study has claims that the current Intellectual Property
situation in the world is not working well. Driven by a fear of losing out, and bolstered by an attitude that profit is the aim of IP, progress is hampered. Not only by the entertainment industry, also in biotechnology where medicines are sometimes restricted or withheld, causing deaths
Schools in South Australia have complained they are being short-changed under Kevin Rudd’s education revolution, forcing them to buy cheaper laptops and spend up to 30 per cent of their grants on Microsoft licensing and government fees. South Australian public schools are paying $250 for licensing fees for each new computer and a $40 state government administration fee. They also pay $6 a student to cover existing licenses. Replacement computers do not attract the $250 fee. It is understood the NSW, Victorian and West Australian governments will absorb the licensing fees, passing the entire $1000 grant to schools
The federal Government’s plan to implement content filters at the internet service provider level is one step closer to reality with live trials set to commence after next month. The Government will seek expressions of interest in the second half of October for ISPs to participate in live trials
Google will begin selling ads on some cable networks owned by NBC Universal in a new partnership that will expand Google’s efforts to become a force in television advertising. Under the agreement, NBC Universal will make a relatively small amount of advertising time on networks like MSNBC, CNBC, Sci Fi and Oxygen available for sale through Google’s TV Ads program in the coming months, the companies said. The partnership could later be extended to other NBC Universal properties
Scientists say an understanding of how the Twin Towers collapsed will help them develop the materials needed to build fusion reactors. New research shows how steel will fail at high temperatures because of the magnetic properties of the metal. The New York buildings fell when their steel backbones lost strength in the fires that followed the plane impacts. Dr Sergei Dudarev told the British Association Science Festival that improved steels were now being sought. The principal scientist at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) said one of the first applications for these better performing metals would be in the wall linings of fusion reactors where temperatures would be in a similar range to those experienced in the Twin Towers’ fires
Google this week said it would anonymise user data received through search requests entered in its search engine and Chrome browser. In response to concerns over privacy, the company announced on Monday in the UK that it would anonymise the data within 24 hours of it being gathered. Writing on the official Google blog, senior vice president of operations Urs Holzle also noted that the data was, in any case, of limited potential use
to Google
Google is to halve the amount of time it stores users’ personal search data in response to continued pressure from the EU over its privacy policy. The search giant has said it will anonymise identifiable IP addresses on its server logs after nine months
Google is helping develop a system to bring high-speed internet connections to three billion people developing countries in Africa and elsewhere. The 03b Networks system aims to use satellites to provide broadband services at the same speeds as those on offer in rich countries. The service, which is due to begin in 2010, is also backed by cable operator Liberty Global and the bank HSBC. It aims to tap into booming mobile phone usage in the developing world. It will target markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East
A bid to save Britain’s computing heritage has been given a $100,000 (£57,000) boost by a joint donation from US hi-tech firms IBM and PGP. The donation will help curate and restore exhibits at the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Pa The two firms said they hoped the money would kick-start further donations from the technology industry to make up an estimated £7m needed to run the museum. Exhibits include Colossus, thought by many to be the world’s first computer
Over a period of twelve hours, between this Thursday night and Friday morning, American Rights Counsel LLC sent out over 4000 bogus DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, all making copyright infringement claims against videos with content critical of the Church of Scientology. Clips included footage of Australian and German news reports about Scientology, A Message to Anonymous/Scientology, and footage from a Clearwater City Commission meeting. Many accounts were suspended by YouTube in response to multiple allegations of copyright infringement. YouTube has yet to comment on the issue, and many of the accounts and videos pulled over the weekend have now been restored after those affected filed counter claims. However, the guilty-until-proven innocent method of dealing with notices like this may have to be re-evaluated. While filing a false DMCA notice is a criminal offense, prosecution in these cases rarely comes about
In its never-ending quest to organise the world’s information, Google started to digitise old editions from newspapers like Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, St Petersburg Times, Today’s News-Herald and make them available at Google News Archive
Sony Australia has issued a recall for over 4000 Vaio TZ series laptops that could potentially overheat or burn a user. The company said it recently discovered flaws with certain TZ series notebooks sold between May 2007 and July 2008
Apple has admitted that a British man played a part in developing the iconic and extremely profitable iPod, although he has so far received no money for his invention. In 1979 Kane Kramer from Hertfordshire filed a patent for a digital music player that stored just three and a half minutes of music to a solid state chip — limiting media options to just one short song. Nonetheless, a company was set up by Kramer to bring the IXI to a commercial release, but it slipped into the public domain in 1988 when the firm failed to raise the £60,000 needed to renew international patents. Because of this patent lapse, Kramer has received no money from the sale of any of the 163 million iPods Apple has so far sold. However, Apple recently contacted Kramer and hired him as a consultant in a legal case against another company that claimed the iPod infringed on its own patents, Burst
An advanced electricity network, which uses distributed energy resources — local, low emission and renewable power — is the vision of a national, collaborative research cluster for Australia’s future energy supply. The Intelligent Grid Cluster — officially launched in Sydney today by Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research — is a major collaborative research venture between the CSIRO and the university sector under the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship
US computer maker Dell is planning to sell its factories around the world to contract manufacturers within 18 months in a bid to save more than $US3 billion ($A3.7 billion) in costs. Most of the factories would be sold to manufacturers in low-cost Asian countries, who would then produce computers for the Texas-based company
Samsung is eyeing a possible acquisition of memory chip-maker SanDisk. The company, which is the world’s largest computer memory maker in the world, said it was considering various opportunities
with regard to SanDisk but nothing has been decided yet
RSS – Posts