Robots of the future, technology today

At the RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition in San Jose, Calif., we get a look at some robotics that could make their way to the market in the next few years. Also, we have a special look at Tokyo, a city well-known for its efficiency and as an epicenter for technology.
When you first see Zeno, you might think you're looking at a robot of the distant future. Actually, this humanoid robot--complete with an interesting back story--is set to be available in 2009 for a pretty reasonable price tag. Take a look at a Zeno prototype and hear what makes this robot different from others targeted at the consumer market.
And be sure to take a look at all the other wild robotics on display at the RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition. CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos talks to several developers who are trying to use robotics for daily needs and purposes.
Kanellos also takes a look at Tokyo, a city well-known for its tech and innovation. From the geek-oriented Akihabara neighborhood to temples hidden amid the city, Tokyo boasts a mix of past, present, and future. It's seen as a model for other cities dealing with a booming population. Source: news.zdnet.com

Workers stressed by new technology

Workers are being left stressed and miserable by technological advances in the workplace, a new survey has shown.
Pressure to reply to excessive emails, the constant bleep of the BlackBerry and problems with the photocopier are just some of the pressures and interruptions bemoaned by 3,000 office workers polled by the business forum Leaders in London.
Three quarters of those surveyed said that the endless onslaught of new technology made them feel under pressure to be constantly available, even outside of working hours, and 28% felt less productive because of it.
A quarter said that they struggle to keep up with the most basic office equipment and 22% admitted wasting up to 30 minutes a day trying to get printers, photocopiers and faxes to work.
A total of 43% check their PDAs and BlackBerries as often as every ten minutes. Three quarters of those surveyed said that they had checked their emails at numerous social occasions, including weddings, birthday parties and even romantic dates. 26% take time out of their holidays to check their inboxes.
Nearly two in three felt that the pressure to be regularly on call meant that they spent barely 15 minutes working without interruptions during a typical day.
Ros Oxley, managing director of Leaders in London said: "Our busy and hectic lifestyles, both in and out of the office, means that we often rely on technology designed to help us to work smarter wherever we are.
"Leaving the Blackberry off can be a good thing, as everyone needs a balance between work and play. Ensuring that there are choices in the way we communicate in the work place is essential for British business to continue thriving."
Source: The Press Associations

Kenya: Councils Must Use Technology to Streamline Their Operations

At a recent meeting to showcase the use of information and communication technologies by local authorities in East Africa, a participant confessed to me that at his council offices computers are used "just like typewriters".
To her, the change in technology over the years has not been as dramatic as might be believed.

And I thought she was right. For as long as computers are used solely for word processing, the full value of computerisation will never be realised.
The magic wand of technology lies in integrated systems and interconnectivity, not in stand-alone machines doing letter writing. We get the best of computers only when these machines begin to talk to one another.
Lately, Kenya's local authorities have shown that they want to be on the road to the digital world.
The system that links automation in revenue to budgeting and finance and the expenditure components, which began as a trial at four local authorities - Nyeri, Mavoko, Kirinyaga and Karatina - has now been extended to cover 60 others and hopefully to all the 175.
This is a good beginning for the Local Authorities Integrated Financial Operations Management System (LAIFOMS). Hopefully then computers will have some meaning beyond being enhanced typewriters.
The benefits of providing online (e-government) services at the local authority level are apparent. There will be better keeping of records, better access to information (such as land rates billing) and faster processing of licences.
By using databases and websites, residents will access important information on issues of taxation and expenditure from anywhere, thus promoting citizen participation and transparency.
The challenge, however, is how to provide such online and SMS services using ICTs without being expensive and even extravagant.
For anyone implementing technology at the local authority level, the first thing to do is get a strategy - a road map of what exactly you want to do.
It is important to build a business case for the investment in technology. Do not computerise just because it is the trendy thing to. It is never about technology itself, but rather what technology can do for the council.
There will always be some technology out for sale, and it is what you need now to help you to deliver services cost-effectively that you want to go for.
Then think of some compelling content. What do people look for in websites?
Why not advertise jobs and even procurement online? In Rwanda the councils provide easy way for people to get marriage certificates in an effort to discourage come-we-stay marriages.
Would it not be great for the people of East Africa if they were to hunt for jobs across the borders using technology?
The Kinondoni municipal council in Dar es Salaam has successfully implemented the satellite-based Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping to manage its billboard services.
It would be good to benchmark with such organisations to avoid disastrous results that come with innovations that are not well thought out.
Get the staff and end-users to buy into the project you want to implement. If the councillors are hard to be brought on board, as is always the case, make sure that at least the town clerk is converted.
But be careful not to introduce technology in police uniforms. Even if your primary objective is to curb corruption, never say you are building a system that will catch thieves. No-one will use it and if you try to force them, the system will always be down.
Tell them it is going to rake in revenue for the council which will use it to, in turn, to improve their salaries.
And for heavens sake pay your staff well. It is crucial that good workers are retained and re-trained.
In Uganda, ICT literacy is now a pre-condition for employment in the local government sector.
One of the easiest and quickest ways to success in technology is engaging a public-private sector partnership. But this too has to be done with some caution.
The model must be designed in a way that ensures everyone is a winner. Be careful not to sign those memorandums of understanding with lengthy disclaimers in small font, especially from a briefcase consultant (or is it a con sultans?). Look for reputable partners who have implemented this kind of partnership successfully elsewhere.
There are many ideas in Kenya now "whose time has come", and e-government for local authorities is certainly one of them.
Andrew LimoNairobi

IP vendor sues 22 companies for patent violations

Wi-LAN wants licensing agreements for the rights to use its technology

TECHNOLOGY that makes it easier for people to have an affair is being used increasingly to find proof of it, say divorce lawyers.
Some love cheats have been rumbled after their partner entered their name on an internet search engine and found they were registered with online dating agencies.
Even where care has been taken to delete emails and texts, they can still be retrieved as proof of unfaithfulness.
Katie McColgan, head of family law at Berry Smith solicitors in Cardiff, said more and more divorce proceedings are starting after spouses used mobile phone or computer records as ammunition to accuse their partners of cheating.
She said, “Repeated calls to one particular number is not in itself evidence that someone is having an affair, but it is often enough to start the accusations rolling.
“Often the suspicious party cannot resist telephoning the number in question and the third party will admit the relationship, even if initially the guilty partner does not.”
She said emails and texts also catch out cheating partners.
“People try to delete them but occasionally they forget. In any case, there is nearly always a way of retrieving information from computers if a person is determined enough.
“I have even had clients who have tracked down their unfaithful partners by a Google search of their name which has revealed their membership of internet dating sites,” she said.
“People should remember that the emergence of so many new ways to communicate over the past 10 years is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, mobile phones and emails make it easier to cheat, but at the same time they leave traces that can have devastating consequences.
“If you cheat by technology then you can be caught by technology, and once trust is gone it can be very difficult to save your marriage or long-term relationship.”
Wendy Hopkins, of Cardiff-based Hopkins Law, said many affairs would blow over in the pre-mobile age because illicit communication was by meeting in person rather than using gadgetry. Now a partner is more likely to find out.
She said, “If they haven’t got the code to get into their partner’s mobile, sometimes the phone will be left on by mistake and there’s a message saying, ‘I really enjoyed seeing you last night and can’t wait to see you again’.
“People are in denial – they don’t want to accept that the other person is being unfaithful. But if they find something out, there’s no denying it.”
She said websites such as Friends Reunited put people in touch with friends from their carefree days, and an affair between them could be a way to recreate their youth and escape from their responsibilities.
John Hughes, a private investigator from Mold, Flintshire, said changes to the law could make it easier for love cheats to get away with affairs. They could even take action under the Data Protection Act for unauthorised access to records.
The Government is moving towards licensing private investigators, which would weed out those willing to delve into someone else’s mobile or computer for evidence.
“We’re fully compliant with the Data Protection Act,” said Mr Hughes, proprietor of Intec Enquiry Agency.
“You can only retrieve emails with the consent of the owner of the computer.
“It’s a grey area if the computer belongs to the family and if we’re suspicious about ownership of the equipment we won’t take the risk.
“If someone brought me their wife’s mobile phone, I wouldn’t investigate it but there are people out there who would.” Real-life techno-cheatsCase 1A wife suspicious of her husband’s behaviour ran a Google search on his name. It located him on some dating websites, where he identified himself as free, single and very available. She inspected the phone records and bank statements, which she never previously checked because she preferred to leave the finances to him. They soon revealed that all those “business trips” away were actually trysts.
Case 2A husband, married for 18 years, carried his mobile phone with him at all times but slipped up when he left it on his office desk at home.
A saucy text message arrived from his girlfriend. His teenage daughter innocently opened it and was horrified. She told her mother a couple of days later, and the mother phoned the sender. The girlfriend said the relationship had been going on for months.
Case 3A wife thought she could outwit her husband by deleting her emails to her boyfriend and keeping secret the password to her Hotmail account. But the husband was something of a computer expert and guessed the answer to her “secret question” – recorded when you set up an account in case you ever need to retrieve a forgotten password.
That gave him instant access to her email. He also managed to retrieve emails she thought she had erased for good.

Hydrogen Hybrid Technologies Announces First Korean Installations

Tough emissions laws makes Korea a prime market for hydrogen-based product

Hydrogen Hybrid Technologies Inc. (OTCBB: HYHY) President Ira Lyons announced that, earlier today, company staff had begun installations of Hydrogen Fuel Injection (HFI) products on transport trucks in Korea, in partnership with an experienced local emissions control vendor, Winner Ltd.
The government of Korea has recently enacted legislation that has required a dramatic improvement in the exhaust emissions from transport trucks operating in the capital of Seoul and surrounding communities. Fully 70% of the land mass of Korea are covered by the new regulations, meaning that transport truck companies will have to improve their vehicles if they hope to remain viable.
Trucking companies that retrofit their vehicles with technology selected from a list of government approved products will be able to continue to operate in the new low-emission areas. The first HFI installations will be subjected to extensive trials to provide the data that Winner will utilize to have Hydrogen Fuel Injection added to the list of qualified technologies. The goal is to have that process concluded, before the end of 2007, at which time Winner will aggressively market HFI to the 360,000 trucks that are affected by the new regulations. Winner believes that, based on the costs and benefits offered by each of the approved technologies, that it could reasonably capture one third of the eligible trucks.
HFI technology is installed as an add-on to diesel and gasoline engines where it significantly reduces a wide variety of emissions (CO, PM, HC, CO2 and NOx) while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption. HFI units are being used by over 150 fleets of long-haul transport trucks, ambulances, municipal buses and other heavy equipment, earning HFI the dominant position as the world's most widely-used on-board electrolysers. The technology is based on electrolysis and the units split water, on-board the ambulance, then vent the hydrogen and oxygen directly into the air intake of the engine. Adding hydrogen significantly improves the efficiency of combustion, in the engine, with significant financial and environmental benefits.
HFI is distributed through the world's largest retail distribution network for any hydrogen product, with over 140 Certified Installation Centres all across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Korea and the United Kingdom. Geographical distribution has been expanded during 2007 and units are installed in Europe, South America and China. The product is the first emission control technology to receive "Environmental Technology Verification" (ETV) by the Canadian government and the first hydrogen technology to receive ETV recognition anywhere in the world.
Company President, Ira Lyons, said "The formal launch of the HFI technology in Korea opens another chapter in the expansion of the most cost-effective emissions control technology in the world". "Korea has adopted some of the most aggressive emissions control regulations in the world and this has ensured a keen interest and a massive potential market for our products", Lyons added.
About Hydrogen Hybrid Technologies Inc: The OEM licensee of the world's most advanced on-board hydrogen generating system, the Hydrogen Fuel Injection system. This technology is patented, or patent-pending, worldwide and has been actively marketed for over seven years. The system offers unparalleled benefits for virtually any internal combustion engine, with increased horsepower, decreased emissions and a minimum 10% improvement in fuel economy guaranteed. The company's products are marketed through a network of certified installation centres in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
Contacts:
Hydrogen Hybrid Technologies Inc.
Ira Lyons
(905) 697-4880
Source: money.cnn.com

New Technology Puts Guilty Verdict To The Test

ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2007) — An academic at the University of Sheffield has used groundbreaking technology to investigate the potential innocence of a woman convicted of poisoning a child in her care.
Professor Sean Spence, who has pioneered the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to detect lies, carried out groundbreaking experiments on the woman who, despite protesting her innocence, was sentenced to four years in prison.
Using the technology, Professor Spence examined the woman´s brain activity as she alternately confirmed her account of events and that of her accusers. The tests demonstrated that when she agreed with her accusers´ account of events she activated extensive regions of her frontal lobes and also took significantly longer to respond -- these findings have previously been found to be consistent with false or untrue statements.
Although the technology has previously been claimed to be 90% accurate - far better than polygraph tests -- its use has also been open to debate. Lie detection tests are already used regularly in parts of the US justice system, as well as by businesses. But these are the first brain scanning tests of their kind, carried out on a real-life case, reported in the world literature.
Professor Spence said: "This research provides a fresh opportunity for the British legal system as it has the potential to reduce the number of miscarriages of justice. However, it is important to note that, at the moment, this research doesn't prove that this woman is innocent. Instead, what it clearly demonstrates is that her brain responds as if she were innocent."
"If proved to be accurate, and these findings replicated, this technology could be used alongside other factors to address questions of guilt versus innocence."
This research was published in the journal European Psychiatry.The report is entitled, 'Munchausen's syndrome by proxy or a miscarriage of justice? An initial application of functional neuroimaging to the question of guilt versus innocence.'
Adapted from materials provided by University of Sheffield.

Select Indian firms can import US technology without licence

Washington (PTI): The United States has put in place a mechanism that would enable select companies in India and China to import sensitive technology from America, without requiring to have import licenses for individual articles.
"We have put in place an innovative mechanism, Validated End User Programme, or VEU. Through this programme, American companies will find it easier to export certain US products to customers that meet the security standards of a US government inter-agency review," US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has said.
"To be approved, companies will need to have a strong export compliance programme and a track record of using US high technology responsibly," he said at the Bureau of Industry and Security Conference on Export Controls and Policy.
The Programme was created earlier this year, and eligibility has been extended to India and China. Earlier this month, the US had announced the approval of an initial group of five companies in China which have met the security requirements for this programme, he said.

FTC reviews ads shaped by online use

FTC reviews ads shaped by online use
ADDRESSING PRIVACY CONCERNS, GOOGLE, YAHOO SAY DATA DELETED IN 18 MONTHS
WASHINGTON - The explosive growth of Internet advertising, targeting users with ads shaped by their online behavior, is getting an unusual two-day review by federal regulators as consumer and privacy groups call for more protections for users.
The Federal Trade Commission's town-hall sessions on the "white-hot issue," as commissioner Jon Leibowitz described it Thursday, even had its own buzz word: "behavioral advertising."
About $20 billion will be spent on online advertising this year, estimated Randall Rothenberg, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and much of it is targeted according to individuals' online behavior. Those dollars help pay for a variety of popular free services and tools, but in return users give up some personal data.
"That's the real paradox," Leibowitz said, addressing the town hall. "Your online experience seems private, but you never know who's peering over your shoulder."
Officials from Internet giants Google, Yahoo and Microsoft defended their privacy practices Thursday, pointing out that they now store user data for 18 months or less before it is destroyed.
Google products "have a high degree of transparency" about information collected, and the goal for its users is "less ads, more relevance," said Tim Armstrong, president of advertising.
Ad networks and small publishers said their users' trust and confidence is critical. Users would rather get ads customized to their interests than generic pop-ups or "those ads about reconnecting to your high school sweetheart," said Dave Morgan, who founded Tacoda, an advertising network.
But a coalition of nine consumer, technology and privacy groups told the FTC that users usually don't know the privacy policies of the sites they visit, or how personal data is tracked, stored and used. They called for a new set of protections to keep up with the technological advances of behavioral advertising.
The FTC should require advertisers to make "more robust disclosures" about behavioral tracking, state their policies clearly and be subject to aggressive audits of their actions, the groups said. The coalition includes the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Consumer Federation of America.
The groups also recommended a "Do Not Track" registry, similar to the popular "Do Not Call" list maintained by the FTC, which bars telemarketers' phone calls. A "Do Not Track" list would prevent companies from cataloging a user's Web site visits.
In recent years, the FTC has become more interested in investigating, and possibly regulating, online business practices. The commission has become the main enforcement agency targeting spyware abuses.
Leibowitz, one of five commissioners, said he was sympathetic to the possibility of additional regulation. He cited one FTC study that found teenage users on MySpace were targeted with banner ads for R-rated movies, showing that "sophisticated behavioral marketing has eroded some parental control."
The "good news" on online advertising, Leibowitz said, is that "because of competition, search engines are tripping over each other to improve privacy."
"Consumers need better information and more meaningful choices," Leibowitz said. He complained that too many online privacy policies "are posted inconspicuously, with fine-print legalese and techno-talk."
The town hall, which continues today, is held as the FTC is reviewing Google's proposed $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, a leading online ad tracker. The merger, if approved, would allow Google, the leader in text-based search advertising, to branch into display advertising.
Critics have warned the deal would be anti-competitive and could raise privacy concerns.

IBM to step up data security services

BOSTON: IBM, the world's largest technology services company, said Thursday that it would spend $1.5 billion next year to develop and market products that help customers secure data and comply with new rules for guarding information.
International Business Machines announced its plans about a year after it acquired Internet Security Systems for $1.23 billion. IBM has integrated that business into its services division.
IBM said it would sell security products alongside technology services, hardware and software, posing a challenge to companies that specialize in security. Those companies, including McAfee, Check Point Software Technologies and Websense, say they have an edge over big technology companies like IBM because they are able to focus on security.
IBM counters that it is able to integrate security into every aspect of a company's technology systems operations, giving it the edge. "Security is broken," Val Rahmani, general manager of IBM's infrastructure management services, said by telephone. "There has been a perfect storm of threats."
IBM, based in Armonk, New York, expanded its security products last year by buying Internet Security Systems. The company is challenging EMC and Hewlett-Packard in sales of corporate security services, which protect everything from desktop computers to data centers.
"IBM is making key advances by using its ISS acquisition to provide a global view of security," said Eric Domage, an analyst at IDC.
As part of its security plan, IBM is putting 200 researchers in locations like Tokyo, Zurich and India. A partner, PGP, supplies encryption software for laptops and mobile handheld devices, while another, Fidelis Security Systems, monitors Internet gateways to prevent leaks of personal and classified information. A board that includes members from IBM's services, software and hardware units is overseeing the effort, Rahmani said.
The Payment Card Industry, a group that represents credit and debit card issuers, imposed new security standards after a series of security breaches.
As businesses adapt to stricter rules, technology security companies are racing to help, said Avivah Litan, an analyst with Gartner. "Almost every vendor that has anything to sell in the security market is positioning their products and services to help retailers meet PCI compliance," Litan said.

3 technology hubs in India

HCL Tech to invest Rs 2,750 cr in 3 technology hubs in India


NEW DELHI: HCL Technologies, the country’s fifth-largest software and services firm, would invest Rs 2,750 crore, or about $625 million, over the next five years to set up three technology hubs across the country. The first such hub was inaugurated by commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath on Thursday at Greater Noida. “These hubs are fashioned after those of IBM and HP. We are going to build technologies of the future here. From invention of new technologies to operationalising, these hubs would do it all,” said HCL Technologies chairman and chief strategy officer Shiv Nadar. The technology hubs would develop new frameworks and applications. HCL would also work with its partners in developing intellectual property. “We would have beta sites in these hubs where our employees would have access to new technology developed by our partners and would test it,” said HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar. All the hubs would be set up in SEZs. HCL would invest Rs 1,000 crore in the 46-acre Greater Noida hub over the next five years. The hub is expected to employ 15,000 people and generate revenue worth $1 billion over the same period. The next two hubs would come up at Chennai and Bangalore. Both are expected to be inaugurated in the later half of next year. While the Chennai hub would be similar in size to the Greater Noida one and entail a similar investment of Rs 1,000 crore, the smaller Bangalore hub would be developed at an investment of Rs 750 crore. Both these hubs are under construction. The Greater Noida hub would focus on core technologies in home entertainment, media, publishing and content delivery space. The Bangalore one would focus on technologies in financial services while the Chennai hub would focus on lifesciences. HCL also plans to set up such hubs in tier-II cities like Madurai and Nagpur. The investment plans for these cities has not been finalised so far, said HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar. “These hubs would help us grow our revenue from the output-based pricing model, which is currently insignificant. We will bundle IP developed at these hubs with our solutions and this will help us deliver greater value to our customers,” said Mr Nayar. HCL Technologies would also start operations in Poland next month. The company would start software engineering, infrastructure management and BPO work there. “With our Poland operations, we plan to cater to the financial services hub which is Europe,” said Mr Nayar, The company also plans to set up technology centres in the US. “We could set up some of our own tech centres or acquire some of the technology companies in the US,” said Mr Nadar.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

2007 UBS Global Technology & Services

Vocus to Present at 2007 UBS Global Technology & Services Conference

LANHAM, Md., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vocus, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand software for public relations management, announced today that company Chief Financial Officer Steve Vintz and Chief Marketing Officer Bill Wagner will deliver a presentation on behalf of the company at the 2007 UBS Global Technology & Services Conference on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 11:15am ET at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York, New York.
Interested parties will be able to listen to and view Vocus' presentation by logging on through the Investor Relations Section of the Vocus' Corporate Website at http://onlinepressroom.net/vocus/ir/.

Privacy groups seek Internet 'Do Not Track' list

Washington Post
WASHINGTON – Privacy, consumer and technology groups Wednesday proposed the creation of a "Do Not Track" list similar to the "Do Not Call" phone list so people can prevent companies from tracking which Web sites they visit.
This proposal comes as Internet giants are looking to step up the tracking of users' online behavior to tailor ads to their interests. Nine groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Consumer Federation of America and the World Privacy Forum, submitted the proposal to the Federal Trade Commission ahead of a two-day conference on behavioral advertising.
The Do Not Track list is modeled after the popular Do Not Call registry maintained by the FTC. Since 2003, telemarketers have been barred from calling numbers submitted to the list, which has about 145 million numbers.
"Consumers obviously know the Do Not Call list and have reacted well to it," said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America. "As an analogy, it helps socialize an important concern and idea."
The FTC does not regulate ad networks' privacy policies, but a group called the Network Advertising Initiative, comprising 11 advertiser members, said the industry polices itself. People can opt out of advertising by downloading a small piece of data known as a cookie.
Privacy advocates say self-regulation has not been sufficient for several reasons. First, not all behavioral advertising firms join the advertising initiative. Pam Dixon, executive director at the World Privacy Forum, said only about 25 percent of advertising networks are members. Second, the opt-out process is technical and requires a separate download for each ad network, so few customers use it.
Finally, Web-tracking technology has advanced since the initiative was created, so its members have developed new ways of tracking behavior even if a user has downloaded the cookie. Wednesday, America Online, announced an improvement on this system, but it still drew criticism from privacy groups who say the program relies on technology that allows loopholes.
AOL defended the technology and its improvement on it.
"Most of this behavioral advertising business model is built around cookie information. I don't know of anybody who's using a get-around technology, and if they are, they really ought to be called out," said Jules Polonetsky, AOL chief privacy officer.
The advertising initiative, for its part, argues that a Do Not Track registry isn't necessary, the voluntary program is user-friendly and most unwanted ads can be avoided using the cookie technology.
"We think this [CDT] proposal is redundant and overwrought," said J. Trevor Hughes, NAI executive director.
Making Do Not Track technology work would involve substantial technical challenges, according to Richard Smith, a Boston-based Internet consultant and privacy advocate.
"It would require either a change to Web browsers or an add-on to a browser to make it all work," Mr. Smith said. Companies such as Microsoft and Mozilla that offer Internet browsers are unlikely to cooperate because they rely on online advertising revenue, either directly or indirectly, he said.
Privacy advocates want the FTC to maintain a list of all advertising networks. Consumers could then essentially opt out of each network.
"You still receive ads," said Ari Schwartz, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology Deputy, who helped craft the proposal. "Companies just won't be able to track what sites you visit."
The FTC has considered extending the concept of the Do Not Call list to the Internet before, FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said.
"It's a really promising idea that would empower consumers to choose their own level of privacy protections," he said. "We still need to learn a little more about it. For example, would there be a problem with malefactors getting folks' e-mail addresses? We looked at the notion of doing a Do Not Spam registry, and we decided against it because we were afraid the list of people opting out could get into the wrong hands."
Mr. Leibowitz also said that the FTC would probably need legislators' approval and increased appropriations before it could implement a Do Not Track registry, just as it did for the Do Not Call registry.

Renesas Technology Uses Magma Blast Fusion to Increase Speed

Renesas Technology Uses Magma Blast Fusion to Increase Speed and Enhance Capabilities of Next-Generation SoC Device for Car Navigation Systems
Advanced, Integrated Physical Design Capabilities Deliver 600 MHz Operating Speed and Performance Up to 1 GIPS
SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 31, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Magma(r) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of semiconductor design software, today announced that Renesas Technology used Blast Fusion(r), Blast Noise(r), Blast Rail(tm) and Blast Yield(tm) physical design software to implement a new system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution that offers significant performance and capability enhancements for car navigation systems and other in-vehicle car information system products. The single-chip SH7775 32-bit processor, running at speeds up to 600MHz, achieves performance as high as 1 GIPS (giga instructions per second) and up to 4.2 GFLOPS (giga floating-point operations per second). The SH7775 also offers over 50 percent better performance than previous generations. Magma's advanced, integrated physical design capabilities were critical to enabling Renesas Technology to deliver these improvements and meet the time-to-market requirements of this complex device.
"The ability to deliver complex, high-performance SoC solutions at a reasonable cost is what keeps Renesas on the leading edge," said Mr. Okada, director of the SoC Business Unit at Renesas Technology. "Magma software plays a key role in enabling us to shorten our development schedule even as we add more sophisticated capabilities to our products."
"The Renesas Technology SH7775 is truly an accomplishment and demonstrates the advantages of Blast Fusion's ability to concurrently address timing, area, signal integrity and power," said Kam Kittrell, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "We are pleased to contribute to the success of one of the world's leading semiconductor system solutions providers."

Cisco, Wipro Enter Technology Alliance

NEW DELHI (AP) — Cisco Systems Inc. and Indian software company Wipro Ltd. agreed Wednesday to develop information technology in an alliance that could fetch $1 billion in new business annually for the two companies.
Under the agreement, San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco and Wipro will develop and deliver software services that incorporate Cisco's networking technology and Wipro's expertise in outsourcing, according to a joint statement. The services will be offered globally, with an initial focus on India, the Middle East and Africa.
"This strategic alliance illustrates Cisco's commitment to building relationships with new partners in emerging parts of the world," said Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalization Officer at Cisco. Three years from now, the alliance could mean an extra $1 billion in annual revenues to the two companies, Elfrink said.
Cisco will set up a center at Wipro's campus in Bangalore, where the companies will work together to develop new products, the statement said. In the future, Cisco and Wipro will collaborate to develop solutions to support sectors such as health care, financial services, retail, real estate and transportation.
Global technology companies have increasingly partnered with Indian outsourcing firms to expand their customer base and streamline their operations.
Cisco said Tuesday it was doubling the amount of capital it has invested in India to $200 million to support innovations by companies there.

China developing new heavy-duty carrier rockets

TIANJIN, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- China is building a new range of carrier rockets designed to send heavyweight satellites into space, boosting the current carrying capacity by nearly three times, a space expert has said.
The Long March 5 rockets will be able to carry payloads of up to 25 tons for low earth orbit satellites, up from the current limit of 9.2 tons, said Wu Yansheng, president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), which is developing the new series of launch vehicles.
"Meanwhile, the carrying capacity can reach 14 tons from the current 2.6 to 5.4 tons while sending satellites into geosynchronous orbit, like Chang'e-1," Wu said.
China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. on Oct. 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province.
In addition to bigger capacity, the Long March 5 rockets will be designed using pollution-free technologies, Wu said.
"The new generation of carrier rockets are expected to blast off within six to seven years," said Ma Xingrui, general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The Long March 5 rockets will lift off from a new space launch center in Wenchang, in the southern island province of Hainan. The new center, the fourth in China, is expected to be completed in 2012 and formally put into use in 2013.
The new series of rockets will be made in a new base located at the Binhai New Area in the northern port city of Tianjin, and construction on the base has kicked off on Tuesday.
The first phase of the carrier rocket base, to cover 3,000 mu (200 hectares) in area, will be completed at the end of 2009. A total of 4.5 billion yuan (600 million U.S. dollars) will be invested in the project, said Yu Liegui, deputy head of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense.
"After completion, the base will meet the demands of China's space technology development and peaceful use of space for 30 to 50 years, and help achieve a rapid development for China's launch vehicle technology and a sustainable development for the country's aerospace," Yu said.
China has launched 103 Long March carrier rockets since April 24, 1970, when the Long March-1 successfully sent Dongfanghong-1 satellite into the space.
source: chinaview.cn

Education: Role of technology

By: Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro
One of the few things on which there is consensus across the entire ideological spectrum in economics and politics is that literacy and education are perhaps the most significant drivers of development and democracy. For societies to improve their literacy levels and the quality of their education, multiple complex factors must be worked upon. Information and communication technology (ICT) can facilitate improvement on several of these dimensions. To me, use of ICT for literacy is almost intuitive, given the challenge of reaching out to large numbers which a country like India faces. ICT provides us an effective tool for connecting with a large number of remotely located learners at a low cost.
My perspective on the use of ICT for education and literacy is based on our interaction with the parents and schools in over 1,300 villages in 2000, through the Azim Premji Foundation. Through these interactions we gained the following perspective: Parental feedback indicates strong demand for computers; they also consider computer interface as an enabler for knowing English; ICT can strengthen our efforts for universalising primary education and; ICT could also be the solution to a uniform high quality of instructions without replacing teachers. But more than that, we learnt that ICT also has a huge role in attracting children to the school, and creating excitement in and around the school.
To me ICT is not about the computers or the educational CDs or the Internet or the specific device or medium we use. It is really about a different process that we deploy for the purpose of enhancing the quality of education. It is about providing alternative learning experiences to the children who currently do not have options other than text book as a learning tool.
If someone asks me what we should try through ICT in the schools, I would have the following response: A change of culture – openness, responsiveness and opening windows for new thinking, an atmosphere of innovation; an alternative paradigm in pedagogy – interactive, away from the chalk and talk, self paced and contextualised learning; an attempt to achieve equity and; bringing excitement and motivation.
Mere introduction of ICT will not automatically create the kind of impact or change that we intend to cause. Technology will induce change only if accompanied by changes in ideas, processes and way of viewing things. Technology is likely to create bigger transformation where the current situation and culture are considered to need improvement.

UN Partners With Microsoft To Bring Information Technology To Africa

Ishita Sukhadwala - AHN News Writer
Kigali, Rwanda (AHN) - The United Nations telecommunications agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and computer giant Microsoft have formed collaboration to bring benefits of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to millions of people in Africa, it was announced Monday.
The partnership was announced at the Connect Africa Summit in Rwanda which unveiled ITU Global View, a virtual earth-based online platform which displays and tracks ICT related development projects in Africa.
ITU Global View is based on Microsoft's Virtual Earth and integrates a broad range of data sources related to ICT progress in support of goals set by World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
The software was developed jointly with IDV Solutions and the online platform will be hosted and maintained by ITU.
It will be open to all stakeholders -- governments, industry, international and regional organizations, as well as civil society -- allowing users to check status, identify gaps and avoid overlap in collaborative efforts to achieve the WSIS goals.
The WSIS goals aim to make technology available to all segments of society, in urban and rural areas, and in all regions, especially in Africa, by 2015.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said: "Connect Africa is a call to action for the private sector, and we are encouraged by the progress we have made together with Microsoft to broaden the scope of capacity building in Africa", reports All Africa.
Referring to those on the continent still not connected to the Internet, Michael Rawding, Vice President, Unlimited Potential Group which is part of Microsoft said "bringing the benefits of technology to the next five billion people will require new approaches to development and new partnerships between international organizations, governments and the private sector."
It is hoped that the new technology partnership will help with Africa's fight against poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy and environmental degradation.

MoD tests technology to turn tanks 'invisible'

When James Bond appeared in Die Another Day with an invisible Aston Martin, many cinema-goers thought the producers had gone a little too far.
YouTube: Japanese demonstration of an 'invisibility cloak'
But the Ministry of Defence has just revealed it is testing prototype technology that can make tanks and troops disappear.

'Invisibility' technology could save the lives of British soldiers
It is developing special cameras that film the surrounding scenery and project it on to the men or their vehicles clad in reflective materials. As a result enemies look straight "through" them. Recent trials have had some success, according to the MoD, and use of the technology on the battlefield could be just a few years away.
Should it work, the technology could help cut down battlefield losses in future conflicts.
Military chiefs are also interested in a far more advanced technique that uses nano-technology to create Harry Potter style "invisibility cloaks".
Far-fetched as it sounds, invisibility expert Prof Sir John Pendry from Imperial College London said early experiments were encouraging.
He told The Daily Telegraph: "There are certain approaches to hiding things.
"The camera and projector approach is a pretty simple one and therefore it's probably realistic that it could be deployed in the near future."
He said Japanese academic Professor Susumu Tachi has already made himself "disappear" using a friend to project the background on to a reflective coat that acts as a photographic screen.
More exciting still is the prospect of a true invisibility cloak which does not rely on cameras, he said.
"Don't hold your breath - it's not going to be around this year or next, but may be in 10 years," he predicted.
But when it does the results could be amazing, he said. Whereas the camera/projector method only makes an object "invisible" from one angle, the cloak would make it disappear viewed from any direction.
Prof Pendry explained: "It doesn't use a video camera, rather the object to be hidden is wrapped in a cloak that guides light around it, like a chicane.
"Of course your eye doesn't know that because it only senses the direction of the rays that enter the eye.
"As a result the object becomes invisible."
The theory behind the method, that uses materials that refract light in ways not found in nature, has already been proven.
"Researchers at Duke University in the US have already built a material that works for radar," he said.
"But doing it with visible light will take a lot longer."
Although his research has been funded by the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), he said he had talked to the MoD about it. "They are interested," he said.
An MoD spokesman confirmed it was looking at the technology.
She said: "We're researching new technologies to help disguise vehicles, and we've already had some results in making them 'appear' invisible. It's still early days."
Tests into “high tech camouflage” techniques in conjunction with the privatised defence firm QinetiQ are ongoing, the MOD confirmed.

Ghana: Country Must Commit Itself to Science, Technology -Aliu

Sebastian R. FreikuKumasi
VICE PRESIDENT, Alhaji Aliu Mahama has stated that the government sees development of science and technology as an important ingredient that must be supported to speed up the nation's development efforts.
He has suggested that Ghana must commit itself to scientific research and technological development before the close of the 50th independence anniversary came to a close.
According to him, scientific research and technological development were fundamentally crucial to appreciable strides to be made for national development.
Veep Aliu has suggested the establishment of a Science and Technology Development Trust Fund on which the private entities would be made to contribute to the fund.
The Vice President made the suggestions as contained in a key note address read on his behalf by Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, during the 18th Annual General Meeting of the Research Staff Association (RSA) of CSIR in Kumasi.
The theme for the two-day meeting was; " Ghana@50: redefining the role of Science and Technology for National Development."
He said Ghana could not afford to waste the next 50 years without taking advantage of the benefits that scientific research and technological innovations brought to boost our development.
According to the Vice president, the government was seriously considering the option of establishing the fund to provide a sustainable source of funding for scientific research and technology development efforts for the national interest, which effort, he believed, would set Ghana on the path of advancing in science and technology to accelerate national development.
He pointed to the evidence of contribution of science and Technology to the development of nations like Malaysia and South Korea and said Ghana could also reach that stage if "We seriously commit ourselves to scientific research and technology development."
Alhaji Mahama Aliu indicated that without an injection of scientific and technological innovations into our programmes to deal with food, security, health and infrastructural developments, achieving a middle income status and confronting abject poverty could not be achieved within the next 15 years.
He said scientific research and technology development I was an expensive endeavour and required both high quality human resources and capital Investments. "Above all, it requires committed leadership and political will, especially when there is not always a guarantee that desired results and impacts can be seen or felt at the first, second or third attempts of exploration and experimentation," he said.
The Vice President assured that the government was systematically dealing with salary disparities and related issues which scientists had agitated against over the years.
Dr. B. N. Nuertey, President of the RSA, welcoming the participants drawn from all 13 research institutions to the AGM in Kumasi, said since 2004 researches of CSIR had been battling with the government to implement government's own decisions and recommendations contained in its own white paper concerning salaries and allowances between research scientists of CSIR and university lecturers.
Dr. Nuertey noted that that problem had persisted and survived three ministerial renaming from MEST to MES to MESS and through five ministerial appointments from Prof. Dominic Fobih through Prof. Kassim Kasanga, Christine Churcher, Paapa Owusu Ankomah and back to Prof. Fobih.
The RSA President further noted that any of the ministerial changes involved time to study the CSIR problem and therefore never got resolved.
He has therefore suggested the formulation of policies by the government to ensure continuous funding for development of science and technology to address the problem if Ghana was to attain the middle income status by 2015.
Mrs. Belinda Serwaa Addo, Regional Director of Education, who deputised for the sector minister, not that a redefined role of science and technology would lead to a more independent economy.
The minister stated that the government was negotiating with the leadership of CSIR over conditions of service and that it would cooperate with the institute to improve upon existing conditions.
He also announced that a proposal for the institution of a science and technology policy would be proposed to Cabinet for consideration.

Israeli water technology to sparkle at two-day expo

The fourth annual International Water Technologies and Environmental Control Exhibition (WATEC) begins Tuesday in Tel Aviv, and will spotlight cutting-edge technologies aimed at managing the world's water resources, reducing global pollution and promoting the use of alternative energy.
The WATEC Israel 2007 exhibition, which runs from October 30 to November 1 at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center, will host 250 exhibitions and five conferences on pressing environmental issues such as water reuse, renewable and clean energy sources and the international standardization of water technologies.
The exhibition, whose site spans 20,000 meters, is considered to be one of the leading water and environmental technology conventions in the world. NIS 20 million was invested in the three-day event.
The forum will highlight Israeli developments in the field, and emphasize the country's leading international role in water resource management. The exhibition is aimed at strengthening Israel's reputation as the "Silicon Valley" of the global water and environmental technologies market.
CEOs from Veolia Water, Siemens and General Electric, three of the largest water technology companies in the world, will be speaking at this week's symposium.
More than 2000 visitors and 100 delegations from 80 countries worldwide enrolled to survey the latest developments in water and environmental technologies on display at WATEC.
The convention will feature three conferences running Tuesday-Wednesday, including the WATEC conference, the 9th annual national desalination conference and the Ernst and Young-sponsored CleanTech seminar on investment strategies in the renewable energy industry.
The two-day WATEC forum will focus on the Israeli experience with water management, Australian water resources and the environmental challenges mounting in the world's developing regions, such as Asia, Africa and South America. Shimon Peres will be on hand to deliver closing session remarks on the Red Sea-Dead Sea canal.
The international law firm Greenburg Traurig will host a one-day global resources conference Wednesday on the role of water and environmental technologies in the global marketplace. Thursday, WATEC will host a closed-door workshop on to promote water security in the face of terrorism.
The exhibition opens daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets cost $150 or NIS 630 for a one-day pass, and $280 or NIS 1160 for full participation.

Security With Advanced Technology

Security With Advanced Technology Focuses on Current Revenue Opportunities, Restructures Executive Leadership and Reduces Overhead

SWAT Expands Current Product Offerings While Continuing to Evaluate Development Work on Its IM-5

Security With Advanced Technology (NASDAQ: SWAT) (NASDAQ: SWATW) announced today that significant cost cutting measures have been implemented including an approximate 25% reduction in full-time staff. Additionally, Jeff McGonegal, the Company's CFO, has agreed to become Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Scott Sutton will continue in his role as President. In connection with these changes, the Company's focus and resource allocation for approximately the next six months will be in support of near term product revenue opportunities. Such opportunities will be directed through three business segments: the Veritas Tactical segment, the Avurt segment and the Vizer segment. Ben Cook will lead the Veritas Tactical division, focusing on non-lethal products and training to the law enforcement and military markets both domestically and internationally. Greg Milan will lead the Avurt division covering non-lethal products for the consumer markets. Corey Holland leads the Vizer division which sells facility based and mobile transportation products for access control, digital video surveillance and technology based security product offerings.
Currently available and being sold through the Veritas Tactical and Avurt divisions are the new SWAT C-8 and P-8 launchers. The consumer based model, the C-8 and the agency based model the P-8 are pistol-sized personal-protection devices that shoot semi-automatically up to eight .68 caliber PAVA filled projectiles at over 400 feet per second utilizing patented technologies. These launchers' PAVA powder filled projectiles are non-lethal, but will cause an attacker's nose, throat and eyes to burn, temporarily disabling, regardless of whether the attacker is human or animal. In addition to the effect of the PAVA itself, based upon the velocity of the projectile, a significant painful impact is delivered to the target, similar to being hit by a blunt object. With a range of approximately 75 feet the SWAT C-8 and P-8s can stop an attacker at significantly greater distances than conventional stun guns and pepper spray products currently being sold in the marketplace. The launcher's unique patented proprietary magazine design houses both its disposable CO-2 canister and 8 PAVA projectiles and is designed to be rapidly reloaded. The launchers will also fire inert practice rounds, marking rounds and plastic glass breaking rounds. SWAT has begun initial sales of these launchers and is in discussions with additional potential agency customers ranging from police departments and correctional facilities to security guards.
The P-8 and C-8 launchers are being produced for SWAT under an expanding arrangement with Tiberius Arms. The products have been created using what we believe to be the state of the art Tiberius patented proprietary pneumatic air system and rapid change magazine. Tiberius is also in advanced prototype assembly of our new Mark IV rifle launcher that is scheduled to be available for customer demos and trials in December 2007, with production units planned to ship in January 2008.
Veritas Tactical recently introduced the new less-lethal P-8 launcher and a prototype of the new Mark IV launcher at the Milipol show in Paris and the Land Warfare show in Australia and both products received great interest from attendees for these new agency products.
SWAT's new Avurt IM-5 launcher was previously anticipated to commence shipping in late August. Due to re-tooling of certain parts to overcome certain deficiencies, including lower than specified projectile velocity, the launch of this product continues to experience engineering delays. While progress is being made on the product, currently the Company does not have an anticipated launch date. Customers who pre-ordered the Avurt IM-5 launcher have been offered the C-8 as a replacement launcher should they chose to receive a consumer based launcher product now.
Vizer continues to market and sell its facility and mobile based product line. Sales of Vizer's facility access products and mobile digital video recording devices (the ShiftWatch(TM) product line) accounted for approximately 70% of the Company's consolidated sales for the first half of 2007. Based upon Vizer's current backlog and advancing installations of the ShiftWatch current generation products, Vizer sales are anticipated to increase in the second half of 2007.
"We believe this new lean and mean structure for SWAT will better enable us to pursue its goals and focus on the non-lethal product market," stated Greg Pusey, Chairman of Security With Advanced Technology. "We are actively pursuing specific product and technology avenues of what we believe to be superior technology in the non-lethal sector. Our goal is to become the premier non-lethal solution to police, military and civilians, worldwide. I would encourage anyone interested in true non-lethal protection to consider acquiring one of our new C-8 pistols. I bought one for personal use recently and found it to be a powerful tool and also effective against animals as well as a means of home protection."
The SWAT-C-8 is available and shipping to consumers today. The SWAT-C-8 is available in blue or blaze orange and retails for $399.99. For more information about the SWAT-C-8 launcher or to order please visit http://www.avurt.com/ or call 1-877-MY-AVURT (692-8878). For additional information on Tiberius Arms please visit http://www.tiberiusarms.com/.
About Security With Advanced Technology, Inc.
Security With Advanced Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of high-tech security products and services, which include non-lethal personal protection devices, surveillance and intrusion detection systems and mobile digital video surveillance solutions. SWAT's products and services are designed for government agencies, military and law enforcement, in addition to transportation, commercial facilities and non-lethal personal protection segments. For additional information visit http://www.swat-systems.com/ or call the corporate headquarters at (800) 498-7965.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in the press release that address activities, events or developments that the company believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions made based on experience, expected future developments and other factors the company believes are appropriate under the circumstances. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company and may not materialize, including, without limitation, the efficacy of the company's products and services, the company's ability to secure its ownership of, right to use and protect its intellectual property and proprietary technology and the company's ability to complete development of and launch its products and services. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Furthermore, the company does not intend (and is not obligated) to update publicly any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. The contents of this release should be considered in conjunction with the warnings and cautionary statements contained in the company's recent filings with the SEC. Contacts:
Jeff McGonegal
CEO
303/ 475-3786
Greg Pusey
Chairman
303/ 722-4008
Scott Sutton
President
303/ 439-0372

Africa: UN Partners With Microsoft to Bring Technology Benefits to Millions

The United Nations telecommunications agency and technology giant Microsoft have announced a new partnership to help bring the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT) to millions in Africa, a key aim of a global summit that kicked off today in Rwanda.
As part of the partnership, announced today at the Connect Africa Summit, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Microsoft will launch ITU Global View, a virtual earth-based online platform to showcase and track ICT-related development projects on the continent.

They also agreed to support programmes providing skills development and capacity building, particularly for young people, the delivery of relevant applications and services in Africa, and collaboration on cybersecurity.
The Connect Africa Summit brings together governments, industry, development banks and international organizations to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to expand the development of ICT infrastructure and ensure that it is used effectively to close the technology gaps throughout Africa.
"Connect Africa is a call to action for the private sector, and we are encouraged by the progress we have made together with Microsoft to broaden the scope of capacity building in Africa," said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.
Michael Rawding, Vice President, Unlimited Potential Group, Microsoft Corp., referring to the 1 billion people already connected to the Internet, stated that "bringing the benefits of technology to the next 5 billion people will require new approaches to development and new partnerships between international organizations, governments and the private sector."
The company is seeking - through its Unlimited Potential vision - to work with governments, organizations and industry partners to reach the next 1 billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology by 2015.
The two-day Summit offers a venue for leaders from various sectors to focus on the crucial factors needed to advance ICT investment and boost growth in Africa, including the expansion of broadband infrastructure.
"This meeting illustrates the power and potential of public-private partnerships," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates, noting that the Summit brings together the African Union, the African Development Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, African governments and the private sector to address the barriers to connectivity in the region.

In a message delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang, Mr. Ban said that narrowing the digital divide is part and parcel of global efforts to achieve development for all.
He noted that information and communication technologies have much to contribute to the fight against poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy and environmental degradation - all key aspects of the global targets to be achieved by 2015 known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The benefits offered by ICT must be made available to all segments of society, in urban and rural areas, and in all regions, especially in Africa, the one region not on track to meet the Goals by 2015, Mr. Ban stated, calling for redoubling efforts and forming a true partnership for development.

South Africa: Police Use Best Technology to Fight Crime

Pretoria South African Police Services (SAPS) management is committed to ensuring that police use the best and most modern technology to prevent and combat crime. This is according to police spokesperson Captain Percy Morokane in response to the recent South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) report which called for more efficiency on the part of the Criminal Justice System, which includes the police services, courts and correctional services. SAPS has taken note of the recent reports by the SAHRC with regard to a need for a review of the current Crime Prevention Strategy," he said. Captain Morokane said the SAPS has a newly acquired and installed Genetic Sample Processing Systems at the Forensic Laboratory in Pretoria which is used for DNA Analysis - a breakthrough in terms of turn-around efficiency. The police have established a Biometric Identification and Enhancement Solution capability within the Criminal Record Centre to deal with biometrics, which will facilitate the identification of criminals. Recent successes achieved in the past two weeks alone - notably in Gauteng and various other parts of the country - can be attributed to the implementation of the National Crime Prevention Strategy. Captain Morokane stated that one of the major National Crime Prevention Strategy successes is the establishment of the High-Technology Centre to coordinate information and the utilisation of skills and technology to support investigators in identifying suspects, oppose bail, apprehend wanted suspects and establish links between cases of a serious nature. Measures aimed at eradicating crime must be shared by forming sustainable partnerships with various stakeholders, he said. These will include big business, non-government agencies (NGOI's), faith-based religious organisations, other law enforcement agencies and the communities. Captain Morokane explained that the key policy documents governing policing in South Africa are: Section 205 of the Constitution; the SAPS Act, 1995; 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy, which is complimented by the 2000 SAPS Operational Strategy. The aim of the Operational Strategy is to improve service delivery by preventing, combating and investigating crime. The SAPS strategic plan for 2005 to 2010 sets out several operational priorities such as combating organised crime, serious and violent crime, crime against women and children and improving service delivery to communities. "The key organisational priorities that underpin these operational priorities are human resources, budgeting and resource management. The ultimate aim of the SAPS is to stabilise the levels of crime over the medium term," he said.

Provost University implements SonaSoft's Sonasafe technology

SAN JOSE: The Information Technology department of office of the Provost University at Southern California (USC) successfully implemented Sonasoft's SonaSafe solution to protect the Exchange server. Sonasoft provides a one-stop shop for the backup, high availability and disaster recovery needs of the office of Provost.They used tapes as a backup medium, which they found to be unreliable and time-consuming. It was taking them hours and sometimes a full day to restore the backups. Also, they were looking for an integrated solution that would help with backup, recovery and high availability. Following a careful investigation and research, USC deployed SonaSafe for Exchange for such programmes.SonaSafe's point and click technology has made life easier for USC's IT staff. It is very easy to create plans for backup, recovery and also replication. USC particularly likes the web console because it is user-friendly, easy to navigate and can be accessed from anywhere via a VPN tunnel. Sonasoft has not only cut back on the time it took them to backup and recover, but it has also given the IT staff peace of mind because now they are able to failover to the replicated server with just a few points and clicks. Sonasoft's ability to recover single emails or folders in a matter of seconds or minutes is particularly appealing, as compared to hours or a day of time that they found quite common using other backup software."The replication feature that Sonasoft offers is better than the competition. I not only depend on the replicated server at the DR site for business continuity, but I can also use it for maintenance purposes. I can now check my replication by failing over just one mailbox so I know it is working. This was something that really attracted me to Sonasoft", said Ali Sadr, Computer Systems Director, Office of the Provost, USC.
India Post News Service

Can the Semiconductor Industry Get Out of the Rut?

The semiconductor industry, one of Korea's flagship industries, is stagnant. Since the beginning of the year, demand for the chips has been growing but prices are dropping sharply. The contract price for DRAM chips, the industry's main product, dwindled to less than US$2 as of September, from around $6 at the beginning of the year. It rallied at the beginning of the second half this year but immediately started to drop again.
The problem is there is no sign of recovery due to oversupply. Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system is not resulting in replacement of the PCs as expected. New products such as digital cameras or MP3 players, which once exploded the demand for Flash memory chips, did not arrive fast enough in the market, so the semiconductor industry is struggling to find a new breakthrough.
◆ Structural oversupply
The worldwide semiconductor industry has aggressively increased production for the past two or three years. Samsung Electronics planned to build eight new production lines for $33 billion by 2012, including the 15th line which started operation last year. Hynix Semiconductor in April broke ground for a new production line in Cheongju, aiming to complete four “fabs” -- fabrication facilities -- by 2010.
This year, Taiwanese chipmakers including ProMOS Technologies and Nanya Technology started to operate fabs capable of processing 60,000 wafers -- the board from which chips are cut -- and 62,000 wafers a month. At the beginning of the year, the world's fifth largest DRAM chipmaker Elpida Memory started to mass-produce 70-nanometer DRAM chips for the first time in the world, and formed a joint venture with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor to build four plants in Taiwan aiming at producing 240,000 wafers per month from 2011. The world's second largest Flash memory chipmaker Toshiba also started to mass-produce 56-nanometer NAND flash memory chips and the U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology established a joint venture with Intel, the world's top chipmaker, to compete with Korean firms.
◆ All bets are off
Lee Byung-joo, a research fellow at the LG Economic Research Institute, commented in a recent report, "Due to foreign chipmakers' aggressive investment in facilities, the position of Korean chipmakers which have led the world chip market, is now insecure." So far, each firm has made nearly a monopoly of each sector of the semiconductor industry ? for example, Samsung Electronics for memory chips and Intel for non-memory chips. These giants with the technology, money and production capacity have occupied the market, and when latecomers enter, the incumbents have cut prices to kill them. "This strategy works when the market is growing, but in a stagnant market or when consumers' needs change very slowly, it doesn't work," Lee said.
◆ Technology development can boomerang
Fast development in technology when demand is not that high can lead to oversupply, some experts say. Above all, Microsoft's Windows Vista has not generated a great deal of demand in the semiconductor industry yet. For stability reasons, there are few PCs with the Vista operating system in the market. The U.S. consultancy firm Forrester Research said last August that despite Microsoft's aggressive marketing, U.S. enterprises were slow to adopt Vista, and even the 2008 Beijing Olympics will apparently use Windows XP instead of Vista for its official PCs.
Under these circumstances, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor, and even Taiwanese chipmakers that have been considered behind in the technology, have increased the memory capacity more than twice with nano technologies. Moreover, most chipmakers adopted the 300-mm wafer process which can increase production 2.5 times over the 200-mm wafer process. In other words, supply has gone up fivefold since 2000 by technology leap alone. "Fast technology leaps without demand brought about oversupply, miring the chipmakers in the current situation," says a Mirae Asset Securities analyst.
◆ Restructuring?
Industry watchers expect the oversupply to last until the first half of the next year. Then the gap between industry leaders such as Samsung and latecomers will widen again and bring about restructuring of the industry, as in the late 1990s.
Not everyone agrees. Repeated restructuring in the past, they say, was enough, and there now remain only a handful of chipmakers worldwide -- Samsung Electronics, Hynix Semiconductor (Korea), Infineon Technologies, Qimonda (Germany), Micron Technology (the U.S.) and Elpida Memory (Japan), leaving aside Taiwan and China, where the governments are strategically fostering the semiconductor industry. Thus any further restructuring would have to be more brutal and will damage the players too.
Keyword/DRAM and Flash memory
DRAM is an acronym for Dynamic Random Access Memory. Usually, DRAM is used for auxiliary storage in the computer. It can process data at high speed, but if the power is off, the input data all disappear. However, the data stored in Flash memory do not disappear even after the power is off. Flash memory is used for storage for digital cameras, MP3 players and mobile phones.
Source: (englishnews@chosun.com )

Nokia Siemens, Qualcomm differ on mobile TV tech

Nokia Siemens, Qualcomm differ on mobile TV tech
New Delhi, Oct 28 Even as telecom operators are fighting over spectrum, equipment vendors, Nokia Siemens and Qualcomm, are pitched against each other over choosing the best technology for mobile TV services. While Nokia Siemens has told the Indian telecom regulator that the use of DVB-H technology should be encouraged, Qualcomm has said that individual operators should be given the freedom to choose the technology they want to deploy for offering broadcasting services on mobile handsets.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is in the process of finalising its policy with regard to mobile TV and had issued a consultation paper seeking views on whether technology should be regulated or be left to market forces.
Nokia Siemens opinion
In response, Nokia Siemens said, “Technology has been regulated mainly in areas of broadcasting. Technologies such as DVB-H have ensured that television can now fit into our pockets, be our constant companion and entertain us at all times. The industry has worked over a decade to come to this stage and in the process, DVB-H has clearly emerged as a standard that has found maximum acceptability.”
Qualcomm response
However, Nokia Siemen’s global rival Qualcomm has warned against settling on one standard as such a move will be against user interest as well as against sound regulatory practices.
“The technology for the mobile television service should not be regulated and the technology choice be left to the service provider. In case of mobile TV services, various access options exist and are supported by multiple technologies simultaneously in several countries. Therefore, it is highly likely that multiple mobile TV technologies will coexist together seamlessly in the market place,” Qualcomm said in its response to the TRAI paper.
Qualcomm pointed out that there are different technologies, such as MediaFLO, DVB-H, T-DMB, and ISDB-T which have been already commercially deployed. “India’s experience with competition between cellular technologies (CDMA, GSM) in the wireless telephony has demonstrated the huge benefits that users can derive from healthy competition in the market,” it added.
Even GSM operators such as Bharti Airtel and lobby group COAI are supporting open technology for mobile TV.
Nokia Siemens has already deployed DVB-H in India on Doordarshan’s platform. If TRAI regulates the technology, the fear among other technology vendors such as Qualcomm is that they might loose out on a segment that is slated to become a high revenue earner a few years from now.

Books remain ideal learning tool for technology

Que Publishing held an online party in Second Life recently to fete the release of "Second Life: A Guide to Your Virtual World" -- 416 pages on navigating that user-generated community in which residents buy virtual property, go to virtual work, deal with virtual family members and do all of the other things that, in real life, make us grind our teeth.
Brian White's guide joined "Second Life: The Official Guide" and half a dozen other instructionals explaining how to maximize your "in-world" experience. By year's end, nearly 20 will be on the market, including the tender buddy flick of the SL community: "Alter Ego: Avatars and Their Creators."
Note: These are all books.
We are all flying thumbs and keystrokes and voice activation and touch-pad shortcuts. We are swimming in technologies and applications, but when it comes to understanding how to really use these shiny new inventions, we rely on a stubborn piece of dead tree, a centuries-old technology.
Richard Mansfield wrote "How to Do Everything With Second Life" in response to SL's steep learning curve: "The first week you're so confused, you go buy some clothing and instead of putting on a jacket you put on the box the jacket comes in. It's very embarrassing. The other avatars know you're new because you're walking around wearing a box."
His book has tips on shopping for new skin, spotting flaws when buying said skin, and what to do if you encounter a three-story-tall gay robot.
"Amp Your MySpace Page" has a six-step checklist on launching a multimedia blitz of self-promotion. "It's not enough just to have a profile on MySpace," the book cautions. "You want to ... develop an online following (and have) other users wanting to know what you're doing and wanting to be your friend."
How-tos on everything
And "YouTube 4 You" dedicates seven pages to browsing for videos (hint: Point and click) and a full chapter to watching them.
Don Norman, author of "The Design of Future Things," calls the book avalanche "both horrifying and amusing. ... Technologies really are being packaged in a way that's not intuitive or usable to the consumer," so publishers seize that market and rush-order them every time something vaguely new rolls out.
Call it the Case of the Missing Instruction Manual. New technologies have always needed some sort of user guide. In 1532, the hand plow was sold with one; in 1892, you could purchase "The Practical Telephone Handbook and Guide to the Telephonic Exchange."
Last century, companies usually provided their own manuals with the product. Norman says that's changing. Manufacturers have begun skipping the user guides altogether or placing manuals online and suggesting you e-mail tech support if you have a problem accessing the Internet.
To the rescue: a new breed of part instructional, part guidebook, part cultural commentary, with names like "Facebook Fanatic: Explode Your Popularity, Secure Your Privacy and Buzz Your Band on Facebook."
Yes, people actually buy these books. According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks sales from big-name venues like Borders and Amazon.com, "Second Life: The Official Guide" has sold about 12,000 copies to date.
Select audience
They're not "Da Vinci Code" numbers but, says Pat Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, for a certain type of customer, these books will always have appeal: "They're really for parents and grandparents who are trying to find out what their kids already know."
Which is sort of the problem. As any tween will tell you, your mom is not the groupie you want.
Says Jim Millot, director of business and technology books for Publishers Weekly, "The information in these books seems like perfect examples of material that could best go online." This from a guy whose vitality depends on the continued publication of books.
But here's the place in the article where librarians cheer. From a neuroscientific perspective, books are still the preferable way to learn something new, says University of Virginia cognitive psychologist Dan Willingham. People can read paper comfortably for several hours; computer screens cause eyestrain quickly. Books are organized linearly and come with indexes, so you can easily keep your place. You will never, in the middle of reading a book about iPhones, inadvertently click a few hyperlinks and end up reading about Brangelina.
And there's the comfort factor. Though studies have shown we retain information learned online as well as that learned on-page, we still appreciate a paper security blanket. It's what we're used to -- the ability to annotate and underline, and to refer back and forth from book to screen.
So White, with his in-world launch party and his marriage of old technology to new, could be on to something. "There was a huge amount of questioning over whether a traditional book would be the best format for this information," says White. "But as ironic as it seems, we're always going to need books to learn new technologies."
Source: Monica Hesse
WASHINGTON POST

Florida universities might add student fee for technology

Students may soon find more computers, better wireless connections and higher fees at Florida's public universities.The Legislature passed a bill this month to allow universities to impose a technology fee starting in fall 2009. The fee is included in a bill that also would raise tuition 5 percent this spring and allow future tuition increases based on the cost of living. The bill will become law unless Gov. Charlie Crist vetoes it.The Legislature passed the bill after hearing strong support from students around the state, said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, chairwoman of the Higher Education Appropriations Committee.
"They wanted the tech fee. We're in a high-tech world, and they want their schools to be wired," Lynn said.The Florida Student Association, which represents student governments, endorsed the idea."We believe there is value because a lot of our universities are at this point lacking the necessary support and resources for a high-quality education," said Ryan Moseley, University of Florida student government president, from Coconut Creek.The fee, which would have to be used on technology that enhances student learning, could be as high as 5 percent of tuition. Tuition is expected to be $77.39 per credit hour next semester. A 5 percent increase would be $3.87 per credit hour, or $58.05 for a student taking 15 credit hours.Officials from several universities said they would have a committee of students and employees identify their technology needs and decide how much of a fee, if any, they should impose.Bright Futures, the state's Lottery-funded scholarship program, will not cover the fee; nor will prepaid packages bought prior to the fee.Although some students and university officials say the revenue is needed, others are worried that students must pay so many fees that college is becoming unaffordable."It's getting to the point where everything's another access fee," said Tony Teixeira, FAU's student government president, from Fort Lauderdale. "Sooner or later, there's going to be a percentage of students who can't afford to take classes anymore," he said.Norman Tripp, chairman of FAU's board of trustees, said he thinks the university should look at all the student fees before deciding whether a technology fee is a good idea. He said every student fee, by itself, seems affordable. But full-time students already have to pay more than $500 in fees a semester, when health, athletic, capital improvement, transportation and other fees are added in.Although FAU is uncertain about the fee, Florida International University in Miami has been one of its biggest proponents. The university's older buildings don't have projectors and can't run computerized images the whole class can see, said Vivian Sanchez, senior vice president and chief financial officer."In this day and age where our student population is so wired in and technologically sophisticated, for us not to have basic technology in our classrooms is unacceptable," she said.Claudia Zequeira of the Orlando Sentinel contributed to this report.

TES To Transfer High-end Technology Product Output To Malaysia

PARIS, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- TES Electronic Solutions, a global electronics design and manufacturing services outfit, plans to transfer the production of some of its high-end technology products from its plants in Europe to its Malaysia plant by year-end.The French company has proposed to produce avionics and aeronautical boards for commercial and fighter planes with export market worth US$50 million (US$1=RM3.34) at its Penang plant.TES Electronic Solutions senior vice-president (worldwide operations), D. Vidya, said the Penang facility would produce the products transferred from the group's plants in France and Germany."They (Penang plant) have years of relevant experience and the people are qualified for the job," he told Bernama here.The Langon-based TES acquired the Penang plant from D'nonce Technology Bhd's subsidiary, AV Industries Sdn Bhd, in 2006 for RM6 million.Its worldwide clients include European defence company Thales and others like 3M and Agilent.Vidya said TES has proposed to invest between RM35 million and RM40 million to set laboratories and related facilities at the Penang plant.

French technology firm to attempt rescue deal for Iqon

A French technology company is prepared to make a significant investment in Iqon Technologies, a Co Louth computer firm that went into examinership on Friday with debts of almost €12 million.The French company expressed its interest in the past few weeks and negotiations on a rescue deal are ongoing, according to Ciaran O’Donoghue , a director and shareholder of Iqon.O’Donoghue said he was willing to invest further personal funds in the company, which employs more than 100 people in Dundalk.He said he was confident that the company would overcome its present financial difficulties. The company, which makes laptops and computer consoles, petitioned the High Court on Friday to be placed into examinership
Michael McAteer, a partner with accountancy firm Foster McAteer, was appointed examiner by Mr Justice Peter Kelly.McAteer will nowhave 70 days to restructure the company’s debts, during which time Iqon Technologies will have court protection from its creditors.O’Donoghue said that all of the company’s warranties and service would continue to be valid, and its customers would still be provided with after sales service. According to an affidavit filed last week, the company has debts of €11.8 million and assets of €5.4 million, leaving it with a deficit of €6.4 million.Microsoft Ireland Operations is owed €1.1million,while Japanese firm Dotop Technologies is owed almost €600,000.O’Donoghue, in his affidavit, said the company was profitable until 2005, but had experienced a significant downturn since then. It incurred losses of €1.6 million from January to August this year alone, he said.O’Donoghue said there were a number of factors behind the decline, such as the reduction in profit margins on laptops and increased competition in the market. In addition, the company had been hit by a high rate of product returns.Retail giant Tesco, which is Iqon’s biggest customer, had returned goods valued at almost €6 million in the past 18 months.The high rate of returns relates to Tesco’s ‘‘no quibble return policy”, whereby customers can bring back goods for any reason within a 12-month period.A significant number of people bought computers and then took them back almost a year later and exchanged them for a new machine. Iqon was forced to take back those returns, O’Donoghue said. The company also experienced a setback from a decision to diversify into software.‘‘Unfortunately, the product did not prove to be a commercial success,” said O’Donoghue. Iqon is owed more than €4 million by a related company, Iqon France, which was established by the directors of Iqon to target the French market.The company had hoped for a turnover of €35 million in France this year, but this will not be achieved.The court was told last week that the company had developed a new business plan, whereby it would focus on manufacturing external hard drive discs for Philips, expand into gaming PCs, and continue to manufacture computers on a smaller scale.The company’s directors are O’Donoghue and Dermot McElroy, who founded the firm, and Aidan Donnelly, the former general manager of Xerox Europe. McElroy and O’Donoghue are the main shareholders in the business, while Donnelly has a small stake.Recently-filed accounts show that Iqon made a pre-tax loss of more than €805,000 last year as turnover fell to €62.1 million.