Google has rolled out some spectacular new layers for Google Earth. Astronaut Photography of Earth
is filled with images from the last 40 years of NASA Earth exploration, and Earth City Lights
has stunning views of our home planet at night, as viewed from space
The launch of Australian Screen was met with an unfortunate fate: by 10.00am the site had crashed. The new site, which serves excerpts of Australian film and television archives crashed once users — primarily teachers and students — began accessing the new service
Tuesday, there wasn’t even a fuss. Wednesday, the world was a little different. By executive order, the Secretary of the Treasury may now seize the property of any person who undermines efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq. The Secretary may make his determination in secret and after the fact. The UK’s Guardian has an article explaining how the new authority will only be used to go after terrorists — via Slashdot
Scientists at Seoul National University Korea are seeking to commercially clone dogs this year — the world’s first attempt to create canine clones for money. Senior researcher Kim Min-kyu at the Seoul-based University is spearheading the efforts based on his team’s expertise in cloning dogs. As per Mr. Kim early last month, they signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Customs Service to clone its drug-sniffing dogs. They have already obtained somatic cells of the expensive dogs and will attempt to clone them in July or August to get puppies late this year at the earliest — via Slashdot
Australia will create a wildlife corridor spanning the continent to allow animals and plants to flee the effects of global warming. The 2,800-kilometre climate spine
, approved by state and national governments, will link the country’s entire east coast, from the snow-capped Australian alps in the south to the tropical north — the distance from London to Romania. The creation of the corridor was agreed by state and federal governments this year amid international warnings that the country — already the world’s driest inhabited continent — is suffering from an accelerated Greenhouse effect
Cleantech America, a San Francisco company, said Friday it plans to build the world’s largest solar power farm near Fresno, California. The 80-megawatt farm is to occupy as much as 640 acres (260 hectares) and upon completion in 2011 will be 17 times the size of the largest US solar farm. The farm will also be about seven times the size of the world’s biggest plant and double the largest planned farm, both in Germany
A young German entrepreneur has won a legal battle against Google on the use of its Gmail
brand for free electronic mail service. The regional court in the northern city of Hamburg ruled that Google may not use the name in Germany, upholding 33-year-old businessman Daniel Giersch’s claim to have a copyright on the name for an email service he has been developing for seven years
A court has ruled that the Belgian ISP Scarlet Extended SA is responsible for blocking illegal file-sharing on its network, setting a precedent that could affect other ISPs in Europe, according to a recording industry group. Belgium’s Court of First Instance has given the Internet service provider six months to install technology to prevent its customers from sharing pirated music and video files. The music industry has long sought to hold ISPs responsible for illegal file-sharing on their networks, although in the US it has been largely unsuccessful. ISPs have argued that they provide a service like a post office or a telephone company, and shouldn’t be required to police the traffic on their networks
Smokers across England have sparked up at work and in the pub for the last time as the ban on smoking in enclosed public places begins. The new law, which came into effect at 0600 BST, is intended to cut deaths from second-hand smoke. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already have similar bans in place
Warner Music Group, Sony BMG and the billionaire Len Blavatnik on Thursday announced the creation of a digital music venture in Russia to sell products in one of the world’s biggest markets for pirated content
The BBC has been accused of forcing people to use Microsoft operating systems and has been threatened with a complaint to the European Commission. The charge concerns the use of Microsoft technology in the corporation’s forthcoming DRM iPlayer. The BBC has said it does intend to allow access to its content from computers with other operating systems
Microsoft will begin selling PCs in India next month as part of its Unlimited Potential
program, an event that will mark the software giant’s first entry into the PC sales business. Dubbed the IQ PC, the machines will cost RS21,000 (about $525), are manufactured in partnership with Zenith, and will sport AMD Athlon CPUs. Aimed primarily at students, the desktop PCs will initially be made available in a limited number of retail outlets in Pune and Bangalore. After a three-month trial, the program will be expanded if sales are strong enough to warrant it
Banks in New Zealand are seeking access to customer PCs used for online banking transactions to verify whether they have enough security protection. Under the terms of a new banking Code of Practice, banks may request access in the event of a disputed transaction to see if security protection in is place and up to date. The code, issued by the Bankers’ Association last week after lengthy drafting and consultation, now has a new section dealing with Internet banking
The United Nations (UN) has agreed to send a high-level delegation to Tasmania to assess the threat of logging on the World Heritage-listed forests. Twenty-one countries passed a vote supporting the resolution at today’s meeting of the UN’s World Heritage Committee in Christchurch, New Zealand. Wilderness Society spokesman Alec Marr says it is recognition that logging on the edge of the World Heritage area in Tasmania is a threat to old-growth forests
The UK government has announced that it will publish guidance for schools on how creationism and intelligent design relate to science teaching, and has reiterated that it sees no place for either on the science curriculum. It has also defined Intelligent Design
, the idea that life is too complex to have arisen without the guiding hand of a greater intelligence, as a religion, along with creationism
A small New York state college will be the site of the first large-scale wireless LAN based on the draft 802.11n high-throughput standard. Within the next two weeks, Morrisville State College will start initial testing of thin access points from Meru, plus the vendor’s existing 802.11abg devices and early models of its recently announced 11n device, the AP300. Even at this stage, the net is posing intriguing new challenges for Morrisville, Meru and IBM Global Technology Services, the systems integrator for the project
YouTube has announced international versions of its web video service. The video site, owned by Google, has launched nine versions across Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. Each site is translated into local languages and has country-specific video rankings and comments
Flickr said on Monday it is moving to further internationalise its service by creating versions in seven major languages besides English. Flickr said it is set to introduce sites in French, German, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and traditional Chinese, with other languages to follow. A Japanese site remains in the works with independently operated Yahoo Japan
Germany will store digital fingerprints in addition to digital photos in passports as one of several biometric security measures planned to fight organised crime and international terrorism. All new passports issued from November will store two digital fingerprints in an embedded chip, which, since 2005, includes a digital photo, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said Friday. While fingerprints will be stored exclusively in passport chips, photos will continue to be saved additionally in databases of local authorities. A new amendment gives police and other authorized government officials online access to these databases
The largest and most valuable collection of ancient Chinese art and artifacts in the world is being entered into the digital universe in Taiwan by museum curators and tech managers intent on freeing it from its physical boundaries. The goal is to make the massive collection available on the Internet. Researchers will be able to find rare documents in an easy-to-use database, teachers will be able to download information and images they can use in course work, and visitors will enjoy vivid exhibitions, films, music, access to favorite works of art and virtual tours
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