Wearing Technology On Your Sleeve

You think the switch from typewriter to computer was a revolution? The next stage could see many of us interacting with computers inserted into our very clothes. A new project is exploring a range of applications where wearable technology could significantly improve productivity and even help save lives.

"Assimilate, assimilate!” You trekkies out there will recognise the Borg mantra for the bloodcurdling ‘assimilation’ of humans by machines. On the other side of the sci-fi divide, many may recall Star Wars’ recently revived Darth Vader, the half-man, half-machine dark lord of intergalactic evil.

From science fiction to science fact, the pairing of man and machine has always been at the forefront of our fears of what the technological future might have in store. But it has also been the basis of many of our conceptions for dealing with the challenges of the future: efficient multi-medial communications, improved ecologically friendly transport and revolutionary medical applications. After all, for every space villain there is a light sabre ready to be used to chop his head off.

Today’s instances of the association between man and technology are perhaps not as impressive to the jaded cinemagoer, but just as ambitious for the impact they could have on our daily lives. The focus, though, is perhaps not so much on assimilation as it is on integration and usability European researchers have been carrying out wide-ranging testing of new wearable technology with applications in a variety of fields and with the potential of protecting and even saving lives. The vital innovation is that the technology facilitates a new form of human-computer interaction comprising small, easily accessible body-worn computers that are always on and always responsive.

If you have a desktop application, then there is always a screen, a keyboard and a computer unit, but if you have a wearable computing solution, then it can be completely different,” says Michael Lawo, technical manager of the WearIT@work project. “You can have speech control in one instance, gesture control in another, though the application should always be the same,” he says. The Open Wearable Computing Framework being developed essentially comprises a central, easily wearable and hardware-independent computing unit which gives access to an ICT environment. Some of the basic components include wireless communication, positioning systems, speech recognition, interface devices, and low-level software platforms or toolboxes allowing these features to work together.

New paradigm

The pattern of this EU-funded project is woven as much out of applications as it is technology. It uses a number of commercial, off-the-shelf components and brings them together to create a new tool with the potential to revolutionise the way we work.

“Wearable computing is a completely new working paradigm,” says Lawo. “It is a technology which can support you in a particular environment. Instead of working at the computer, you are directly supported by the technology, a bit like when you are driving a car and you get information from the navigation system supporting you in your primary tasks.”

WearIT@work, the largest civilian wearable computing effort worldwide, is currently being tested in four different fields. These include aircraft maintenance, emergency response, car production and healthcare. Pilot projects in the areas of bush-fire prevention, e-inclusion and cultural heritage have also recently been launched.

In most cases, the technology is being applied to people who are not accustomed to using computers at the workplace, such as blue-collar workers. “The basic idea was to make the technology available to the workers and directly improve productivity,” says Lawo.

“We address fields where there are no similar applications today. Take the example of an aircraft technician. There is a person doing paperwork who has to find the relevant documentation on a computer. He has to find the aircraft maintenance manual and the parts manual, and produce a printout. These documents are handed over to the technician who then goes to the aircraft to do his work. He then has to write a report on a sheet of paper. And that is the way things work today. What we are doing is giving the worker support and direct access to the ICT system from the workplace. We get rid of the paper.”

Working with fire

With a considerable number of applications potentially possible, perhaps the most challenging test case for the project is the one involving emergency response teams, in collaboration with the Paris Fire Brigade. The technology helps support the communication, collaboration and information processes of rescue forces.

The efficiency and safety of firemen can be considerably improved by a number of light, easy-to-use and resistant devices, such as biosensors monitoring their physiological condition and improved localisation of hazards, personnel and retreat paths.

The technology has largely been well received by workers. “They recognise that this is a new technology where you can monitor working activities, but they do not hesitate to use it, and they see the advantage of it,” says Lawo.

Difficulties might nonetheless emerge in the future. “As soon as you come to the actual introduction of the technology and start negotiating with the unions, privacy will undoubtedly be an issue,” says Lawo.

WearIT@work already has some 42 partners, including IT giants Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Siemens, but Lawo says the project is always on the lookout for new ventures.

“Research will continue for components or for positioning systems. There is a lot of further research that can be carried out, but you can basically already do quite a lot with the application and with the technology that already exist,” he confirms.

Testing is due to continue until mid-2008 and will be followed by an initial 12-month period where the focus will shift to exploitation. “What we really want to do is introduce the system into everyday working methods,” says Lawo.

Source: sciencedaily.com

Research in Motion, Micron Technology, Circuit City

Research in Motion posts $0.65 third quarter EPS, vs. $0.31 a year ago, on a sharp revenue rise. It sees $0.66-$0.70 fourth quarter EPS on revenue of $1.80-$1.87 billion. Bear Stearns upgrades to outperform from peer perform.
Micron Technology posts $0.34 first quarter loss per share, vs. $0.21 loss a year ago, as $62 million writedown offsets slight revenue rise. The memory chip maker estimates capital expenditures aggregating between $2.5-$3.0 billion for fiscal year 2008, of which approximately $500 million is estimated to be funded by contributions from joint venture partners.
Circuit City Stores posts $1.26 third quarter loss per share, vs. $0.12 loss a year ago, on 3.1% sales decline, $102.8 million tax expense. The retailer says third quarter non-GAAP loss was $0.64, which is seen as worse than expected.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Merrill Lynch may get up to $5 billion in a capital infusion from Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investor.
Respironics agrees to be acquired by Royal Philips Electronics for $66 per share, or about $5.1 billion.
Jabil Circuit posts $0.30 first quarter GAAP EPS, vs. $0.20 a year ago, on 4.5% revenue rise. It sees second quarter revenue of $3-$3.1 billion and GAAP net ranging from $0.03 loss to $0.01 EPS. It sees fiscal year 2008 revenue of $13-$13.4 billion, GAAP EPS of $0.69-$0.99. S&P downgrades to sell from hold.
KeyCorp sees fourth quarter loss of up to $0.05 due to additional reserves for loan losses, separation expense, losses associated with volatility in the fixed income markets and the strategic decision to exit certain business activities. It estimates provision for loan losses will exceed the level of its net charge-offs in the fourth quarter by $250-$270 million. It plans to eliminate 570 existing positions and an additional 300 open positions.
iStar Financial declares special cash dividend of $0.25 per common share payable on Jan. 14, 2008 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 31, 2007.
Computer Sciences posts previously delayed preliminary results for the first and second quarters. The delay was due to the discovery of certain accounting errors in prior fiscal years relating to CSC's accounting for income taxes and for the effect of foreign currency exchange rate movements on certain intra-co. balances. For first quarter, it posts $0.80 vs. $0.60 non-GAAP EPS on 7.8% revenue rise. For second quarter, it posts $0.54 vs. $0.68 non-GAAP EPS as higher-than-expected effective tax rate offset 11% revenue rise. It sees third quarter revenue of $4-$4.2 billion, EPS excluding items of $0.95-$1.05.
Red Hat posts $0.10, vs. $0.07 a year ago, third quarter GAAP EPS on 28% revenue rise. Non-GAAP EPS were $0.19 vs. $0.14. It elects James M. Whitehurst as President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Red Hat, effective Jan. 1, 2008, succeeding Matthew J. Szulik., who will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Tibco Software posts $0.18, vs. $0.14 a year ago, fourth quarter non-GAAP EPS on 16% revenue rise.
Marsh & McLennan Companies says its Board of Directors has initiated a search for CEO to replace Michael G. Cherkasky, who has served as President and CEO of MMC since October 2004. Says board will continue to evaluate strategies to enhance shareholder value. Source: businessweek.com

WiBro Technology Allows Journalists to Work Faster

The reason Koreans were able to follow seemingly every movement of Lee Myung-bak after his election is wireless broadcasting, or WiBro, technology. Reporters trailed Lee on motorcycles, videotaping his every move like paparazzi. They then quickly transmitted their video footage to their networks by simply connecting their cameras to laptop computers.
What made that quick transmission possible was WiBro, which can send data at speeds of up to 24.8 Mbps, which is as fast as high-speed Internet connections used at home. With WiBro, users can send data even while traveling in a car moving at speeds of more than 60 km/h.
Satellite or optic cable systems are usually used to transmit data for broadcasting, but they need a relay vehicle or an expensive portable image compressor. WiBro enables massive amounts of data to be sent using laptops or handset-sized terminals at remarkably fast speeds, allowing users greater mobility.
A KT employee said, "Broadcasting during the presidential election served as an opportunity to prove the potential of WiBro. Sooner or later, most broadcasting and visual data transmission systems will adopt the technology."
Source: chosun.com

Antigen Presentation Technology

Generex Biotechnology Awarded Patent in Japan For Its Antigen Presentation Technology
WORCESTER, Mass., Dec. 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Generex Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq:GNBT) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, Inc., has been awarded a Japanese patent strengthening its proprietary antigen presentation technology platform. The patent, entitled "Regulation of Antigen Presentation", strengthens specific aspects the Antigen Express peptide vaccine and immunomodulation technology.
The technology protected under the patent relates to specific methods for enhancing antigen-specific T helper cell stimulation using small synthetic peptides. Both prophylactic and immunotherapeutic vaccine peptides are currently under development at Antigen Express. The most advanced of these is an immunotherapeutic vaccine that has entered Phase II clinical trials in breast cancer patients and a Phase I trial in patients with prostate cancer. Other vaccine peptides, designed using the same technology, are being tested in a Phase I clinical trial for their ability to generate an immune response against the potentially pandemic H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The importance of antigen-specific T helper stimulation in controlling the immune response has been demonstrated in many areas of immunology ranging from protection against infectious diseases to oncology to autoimmunity. Consequently, specific means for controlling T helper cell stimulation offers the possibility of a wide range of therapeutics. Antigen Express has aggressively pursued development and intellectual property coverage of its technology platforms as well product development.
Source: money.cnn.com

Toshiba Licenses Chipset Technology For HDTVs

The Japanese consumer electronics maker plans to implement Rambus' XDR memory controller interface cell and memory controller within HDTV chipsets.

Toshiba has licensed Rambus' high-speed memory technology for use in chipsets for high-definition TVs, the companies said Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Japanese consumer electronics maker plans to implement Rambus' XDR memory controller interface cell and memory controller within HDTV chipsets built with Toshiba's 65 nanometer manufacturing process. The XDR architecture operates at 4.8 Gbps for image processing.

HDTVs require as much memory bandwidth as PCs in order to deliver advanced features, Hideki Moriyama, deputy general manager at Toshiba's semiconductor company, said in a joint statement. "With the XDR memory architecture, we are able to achieve both superior performance and a reduced bill of materials for our customers' HDTV applications."

Among the advanced features delivered by the Rambus technology are image resolution of 1080 pixels or more, 120Hz refresh rates, 12-bit color, multiple HD picture in picture data streams, and advanced image enhancement algorithms, according to the companies.

Rambus is a technology licensing company specializing in the design and development of high-speed memory architectures. Headquartered in Los Altos, Calif., the company has regional offices in North Carolina, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Other XDR licensees include Elpida Memory, Qimonda AG, and Samsung Electronics.

Rambus this year was the center of an antitrust ruling by the Federal Trade Commission. The regulator in February set maximum royalty rates for some Rambus memory technologies and ordered the intellectual property vendor to establish internal procedures to fully disclose its patents and patent applications to standards groups. The order followed an FTC ruling in August that Rambus monopolized the memory chip market.

The FTC action was interpreted by experts as a clear message to the semiconductor industry about the need to disclose patents in industry standards deliberations. The case stemmed from Rambus' participation in standards talks at Jedec in the mid-1990s.
Source: informationweek.com

Top 10 Hot Business Technology Trends for 2008

Verizon Business Identifies Top 10 Hot Business Technology Trends for 2008

Leading Global Communications Company Helps CIOs Achieve Their New Year's Resolutions

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- With the holiday season in full swing and the new year only weeks away, chief information officers are making their lists and checking them twice to determine which key information technology initiatives will take flight in 2008. Verizon Business has identified ten business technology trends that are driving those New Year's "resolutions."

"As a leader and trusted partner delivering communications and computing solutions to global enterprises, we know that CIOs are up at night charting the course for their IT organizations," said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Business. "They're responding to the business challenges of their enterprises -- solving technical problems, boosting the efficiency of their organizations, wringing costs out of the business -- delivering business benefits that are not merely financial or technical, but environmental as well. We can help our customers gain a competitive edge by unlocking the opportunities associated with the trends, techniques and technologies that will drive their businesses forward in the years ahead."


Here's Verizon Business' list of ten hot trends for 2008:

Continued Globalization


Successful companies will continue to expand their borders in 2008 with workers, offices and facilities located around the world. While globalization can help multinational companies control costs, new challenges will emerge such as deploying a reliable communications infrastructure, whether an office is located in Seoul, Rio de Janeiro or Rome. Businesses will increasingly require high-performance networks that enable applications designed to run on the corporate campus to also provide a consistent experience and operate securely no matter where users are located or where the applications reside.

Securing the Extended Enterprise

The coming year will see an even greater proliferation of data as companies look to open their boundaries to connect partners, suppliers and customers. More than ever, companies will need to keep track of where their data resides and then develop a strategy to safeguard it. They will also need to protect every end point, application, user and device connected to their networks as well as verify that those connecting to their networks are authorized users. This task will require considerable expertise, especially on a global basis.

Global Greening

Increasingly, converging communications and computing (IT) technologies will be the great enablers to help business and government address global warming by reducing their energy footprints. Use of audio, video and Web conferencing services will more often supersede business travel and reduce carbon emissions while helping increase productivity of employees who are actually working rather than waiting in long airport security lines.

Location-based services integrated into mobile devices and IP-based presence services will also improve the efficiency of field operations by directing delivery drivers and the like to their destinations with greater efficiency and reduced fuel consumption. More consumers and businesses will opt out of paper invoices and statements in favor of electronic options that provide far greater flexibility while saving trees.

Virtualization and On-demand Computing (a.k.a. Computing as a Service)

As companies seek to maximize the efficient use of their infrastructure, achieve their green objectives and strengthen security, no technology holds more promise. Multiple dedicated servers -- which may be underutilized and consume space, power and cooling in the data center -- can now be replaced with virtual servers sharing network-based resources such as common storage. Businesses will continue to adopt this model because it helps them achieve data center consolidation and further reduce expenses. It also allows businesses to respond quickly to changing business needs and paves the way for "computing as a service" where the sharing of the resources are managed in the service provider's network.

Telepresence

Coming soon to a boardroom near you, the next generation of virtual meetings, enabled by immersive video technology, will bring people across the globe together face-to-face without ever having to hit the road. While today's state-of-the-art immersive video equipment is expensive, widely available and ever-more-affordable IP bandwidth will help lower the total cost of these high-end video conferencing solutions.

In addition to internal company gatherings, telepresence will enable meetings with customers, partners and suppliers, and, increasingly, high-end telepresence systems will be able to interoperate with traditional video-conferencing equipment.

Outsourcing/Out-tasking

While outsourcing is not new, strong adoption is and will continue to be in 2008. What will become even more compelling is out-tasking -- the process by which a company decides which functions to keep in house and which to hand off to a third party. Flexibility, scalability and the ability to achieve higher performance, increased reliability and stronger security will make out-tasking the preferred model. This trend is the result of the growing complexity of managing today's extended network as well as applications such as VoIP and the need for strong mobility and portability capabilities for end users. With out-tasking, companies can focus on what they do best and leave the rest of the IT work to someone else.

Smartphones and Managed Mobility

Professionals will call on their smartphones to work harder in 2008, relying more and more on mobile e-mail, integrated calendars and contacts lists while away from the office. As a result, businesses will spend more on mobile devices and will need to manage and secure numerous devices as part of an overall global enterprise mobility solution. Managed Mobility will become the next frontier, helping businesses track, monitor, secure and manage the mobile devices accessing their corporate networks.

Unified Communications

The complexity of managing multiple communications devices will ease dramatically as more companies adopt unified communications to enhance workforce collaboration both in and away from the office. With the increasing prevalence of voice over IP in the workplace has come the ability to streamline communications while enhancing capabilities. These include a single number that reaches you on any device and "rich presence" -- enabling individuals to view who is on the network and how best to reach them whether by phone, instant message or e-mail.

Soft phones -- IP-based phones that can plug into any IP network -- can control costs, particularly in this era of globalization where workers may need to connect from home with their colleagues in other regions of the world.

Work-Life Balance

The steady growth of communications technology in our lives has created a "love-hate" relationship with the smart phones and wireless laptops that increasingly blur the lines between the workplace and our personal lives. In 2008, professionals will continue to grapple with achieving a work-life balance. Telecommuting is one useful option. Meanwhile, businesses face the challenge of securing their data in a mobile work environment while also providing the collaboration and mobility tools their workforce needs to get the job done virtually anywhere. Secure Socket Layer (SSL)-based remote access solutions will help businesses meet this challenge.

The CIO as Business Strategist

CIOs will take on an even more pivotal role in determining how to invest capital most effectively to help their companies reduce costs, increase productivity and achieve a wide range of corporate objectives. CIOs also will be responsible for making supply-chain management decisions and environmental improvements. Today's successful organization is reaching new heights through the tight integration of business and technology. By presenting a strategic point of view from the technology side, CIOs have become today's top business strategists, and with this comes a change in the boardroom.

"To these predictions," concluded Gofus, "we will add one more: Businesses worldwide will begin to rely more heavily on Verizon Business and other global communications providers to help navigate these challenging waters and deliver a comprehensive suite of integrated, communications and IT solutions, including managed and professional services that enable them to focus on their core business."
Source: money.cnn.com

Scientists create glowing cats

South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said.
Three Turkish Angora cats were born in January and February through cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in the dark. One died at birth, but the two others survived, the ministry said.
The ministry claimed it was the first time cats with modified genes have been cloned.
Scientists from Gyeongsang National University and Sunchon National University took skin cells from a cat and inserted the fluorescent gene into them before transplanting the genetically modified cells into eggs.
The development means other genes can also be inserted in the course of cloning, paving the way for producing lab cats with genetic diseases, including those of humans, to help develop new treatments, the ministry said.
"Cats have similar genes to those of humans," said veterinary professor Kong Il-keun of Gyeongsang National University. "We can make genetically modified cats that can be used to develop new cures for genetic diseases."
Keitaro Kato, a geneticist at Kinki University in western Japan who has cloned fish, said the research could be significant if it eventually helps treat people with hereditary diseases.
"People with genetic disorders usually have to receive treatment throughout their lives that is very hard on them," Kato said.
"If these results can help to make their lives easier, then I think it's a wonderful thing."
South Korea's scientific reputation suffered a heavy blow after much-hailed stem-cell breakthroughs by scientist Hwang Woo-suk were found to be faked in late 2005. He remains on trial on fraud and other charges.
Source: ukpres.google.com

Kids prefer outdoors to technology

Children and teenagers rank outdoor activities and hanging out with friends well above sitting in front of a TV or a computer, a new study has found.
More encouraging to parents, young people have not increased the total time they spend using computers and mobile phones in the past 12 years.
Most parents think their children benefit from technology but only 11 per cent of those surveyed allowed their kids to have internet access in their bedrooms, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) study found.
The government authority regulates internet, telecommunications and broadcasting in Australia, which includes supporting parents in filtering what their children view over the world wide web.
The ACMA report, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007, took 18 months to complete and surveyed 751 family households with children between the ages of eight and 17.
Children spend 51 per cent of their free time engaging in their four favourite pursuits, which focus around outdoor activities and hanging out with other people.
Watching TV ranked fifth followed by reading/drawing, listening to recorded music and playing video or computer games.
The study found children spent the other 49 per cent of their free time using electronic devices such as TVs, iPods, mobile phones, computers and gaming devices.
The proportion of time spent on physical activity and with friends has not changed since a 1995 report produced by the former Australian Broadcasting Authority.
The current study did not measure how children use multiple technologies at once, but ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said their ability to multi-task was baffling.
"Their ability to actually fit in nine hours, 10, 11 or 12 hours into the traditional seven hours of discretionary time is a marvel of the modern world," Mr Chapman told reporters in Sydney.
Nearly 100 per cent of households surveyed have three TVs, two DVD players, two computers and three mobile phones.
About 91 per cent have internet access, 76 per cent have access to broadband services and 77 per cent have an electronic gaming console in the home.
The survey found the average child watches about two hours of TV a day and is on the internet about 1.25 hours a day.
Internet usage increases to 2.5 hours per day for young people between the ages of 15-17.
For mobile phone usage, just over half of children surveyed used a phone over a period of three days with an average daily usage time of 19 minutes.
A resounding 96 per cent of parents saw the benefits of their children using the internet, 82 per cent favoured TV and 80 per cent saw the safety and security of keeping in touch with their children via mobile phones.
Mr Chapman said ACMA has struck a balance in its education programs to schools and family households to shield children from unsavoury content without stifling technology.
"We don't have any anecdotal evidence that we are standing in the way of industry," he said.
"And through this research and other feedback mechanisms, we're putting more investment into some of the emerging technology."
Source: smh.com.au

Korean Mobile TV Technology Adopted as Global Standard

A Korean-made mobile broadcasting technology has been adopted as a global standard. Developed by adding a multimedia aspect to Europe's digital audio broadcasting (DAB) technology, terrestrial digital mobile broadcasting (T-DMB) enables clear reception of video and audio while on the move.
The Ministry of Information and Communication said Saturday that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) confirmed T-DMB as a global standard after getting approval from its 191 member nations. Other mobile telecommunication technologies adopted as global standards include U.S. company Qualcomm's MediaFLO, Finnish company Nokia's DVB-H and Japan's OneSeg.
"The adoption of T-DMB by the ITU as a global standard lays the foundation for Korea working more aggressively to enter the global mobile telecommunications market," a ministry official said. "It will greatly contribute to increasing exports of T-DMB equipment."
Some 7.8 million T-DMB devices are currently in use in Korea. The technology is being pilot-tested in 11 nations including Germany, the Vatican, Ghana, Indonesia, Britain, France, the Netherlands, China, South Africa and Canada.
Source: chosun.com

New disaster warning technology on anvil

NEW DELHI: India may soon have a satellite technology-driven emergency warning system, devised by an Indian itself, providing forewarnings on impending disasters.

Developed by US-based wireless technology major WorldSpace's Senior Vice-President S Rangarajan, the system has been named Addressable Radio for Emergency Alert (AREA) and would help in reaching out to people in remote areas during times of both natural and man-made disasters.

"We are planning to introduce the product in India as early as possible. Optimistically, we expect to launch the system especially in the coastal districts, which are prone to natural disasters, by 2008. Later, we plan to move to other regions," Rangarajan said.

Rangarajan was formerly programme director at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

AREA is expected to deliver the 'disaster alert' within seconds of its transmission from the authorised authority and also has the provision to get connected to a siren.

Further, the device can be powered by small solar panels and the antennas are compact in size. In normal times, the system can be used for infotainment purposes.

"The receiver automatically turns on even when it is not in use at the time of the alert," Rangarajan added.

In terms of cost, each system would be costing a few thousand rupees depending on AREA configuration -- whether it is attached to a computer or a fixed location, with public address for the community, among others.

AREA is the result of a joint effort by primarily three players -- Sri Lanka's Sarvodaya, Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies (LIRNEasia) and WorldSpace.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Flying with Wi-Fi

Warren Adelman's colleagues know him as "Thumbs": Like many executives, he is adept at checking e-mail on his BlackBerry and does it almost constantly.
Unable to do so during flights, however, Adelman welcomes business trips as "an opportunity to decompress a little bit from the constant flow of e-mail, perhaps catch up on a book."
"It's one of the few downtime environments you get in this day and age," said Adelman, president and chief operating officer of GoDaddy.com, a registration company for Internet domain names.
An invasion of his sanctuary is imminent, though, as airlines around the world plan to provide in-flight Internet services.
Last week, JetBlue Airways began offering e-mail and instant messaging on one aircraft. Broader high-speed services, such as Web surfing, are to come next year on some flights of American Airlines, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines.
And in-flight entertainment provider Panasonic Avionics Corp., a unit of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., has been testing Internet offerings with Australia's Qantas Airways.
Airlines see airborne Internet access, which typically uses Wi-Fi technology deemed safe for flights, as producing both revenue and a competitive edge against one another and over trains, buses and automobiles.
Frequent fliers say the temptation to go online would be overwhelming, though they are divided over whether they would welcome -- or regret -- the service.
Jay Pease, a regional marketing director for Exstream Software, said he needs to rest during trans-Atlantic flights. But he often has trouble sleeping, and he worries that "the temptation would be there to say, 'I'll just log on and surf the Internet for a while.' "
Jon Carson, chief executive with online fundraising company cMarket, said that with all the interruptions on the ground, "I get some of my best work done on the plane."
Good decisions and breakthroughs arise from "the kind of deeper, reflecting thinking" not possible when messages continually arrive, he said.
Adelman's colleague, GoDaddy General Counsel Christine Jones, disagreed.
"I would seriously turn cartwheels," said Jones, who admits to responding to e-mail while sitting in church. "The carriers that don't offer it will start hearing from their customers, your frequent fliers, 'Hey guys, you have to get on board with it.' "
Robert Tas, chief executive of online advertising company Active Athlete Media, said he usually winds up reading printouts of articles, reports and other things he could read online. With Web access, he could dig deeper into items of interest.
"Reading time is still important," Tas said. "Having the Internet would allow me to do it more efficiently."
Frequent travelers said catching up with e-mail in the air frees up their time at their destination -- in the hotel or back home with family.
"If I ended up feeling bad about it and resenting it, I would turn off my computer," said Andy Halliday, chief executive of the collaborative tribute site Tribbit.com. "It's still a choice. Right now you don't have that choice."
Tim Winship, editor at large for the Web site Smarter Travel, predicts those magazines and books people save for long flights will start piling up again.
"The net effect of bringing Internet access onto airplanes is that there will be less reading accomplished," Winship said.
Jim Lanzone, chief executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp's search company Ask.com, spent a recent 10-hour flight from San Francisco to London reading magazines and Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up." He also watched TV shows on his iPod.
He doesn't mind that Internet access would cut into all that.
"If I had something on deadline, I'm not going to be able to relax anyway," Lanzone said. "I can enjoy DVDs, music and books more because I'll be able to get things off my mind."
Source: indystar.com

Indian-American appointed CISCO chief technology officer

SILICON VALLEY: An Indian-American has been appointed as the new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Cisco system, a leading supplier of networking equipments.

Padmasree Warrior will occupy the post which has been left vacant since July after the company promoted former CTO Charles Giancarlo to the post of chief development officer.

"Cisco is the global leader in networking with a deep heritage in technology. I am excited at the opportunity to join a world class company poised to lead the next era of Internet evolution," 47-year-old Warrior said in a statement.

I look forward to enabling future growth together with Cisco's top talent worldwide. Cisco's customer centric culture and purposeful commitment to innovation are integral parts of my leadership portfolio, she said.

"Padmasree's new role will help to develop and promote Cisco's future technology leadership. She is a technology visionary, an excellent leader with a strong industry voice and business acumen, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our leadership team," Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers said in a statement.

As CTO, Warrior will play a key leadership role in the continued development and communication of Cisco's technology strategy and vision.

Warrior holds a MS degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University and a BS degree in chemical engineering from IIT Delhi. In 2007 she was awarded Doctor of Engineering, Honoris Causa from New York's Polytechnic University.

Warrior comes from Motorola where she served as executive vice president and chief technology officer and is best known for her work in seamless mobility.

Scotland at risk of falling behind in technology race’

LEADING SCOTTISH business figures have warned that the Scottish government must plan for the future or risk falling behind in the global technology race.
Citing global competition and worrying evidence that the country is slipping behind its international competitors, seven industry leaders joined in calling upon the government to invest in creating a national digital infrastructure. Speaking at the Sunday Herald's Digital Future debate in Glasgow last week week, the key players outlined an urgent requirement to prioritise future planning and appoint technology tsars to spearhead the process.
Raymond O'Hare, regional director of Microsoft Scotland, said: "Scotland is in danger of having no digital future, because it has no digital leadership. There are amazing new technologies just around the corner, and what worries me is that if we had them today most of us could not use them, because we do not have a technology infrastructure capable of doing the job. "Technology should be viewed in Scotland as the fifth infrastructure - right up there with road, rail, sea and airlines - as I believe that any money invested in IT would realise a far greater return. We need to think carefully about this, and consider whether the country needs a joined-up digital strategy and the appointment of a national chief information officer."
O'Hare, ScotlandIS chief executive Polly Purvis, BT Scotland's Brendan Dick, economist Neil MacCallum, Graham Technology's Steven Thurlow, Cisco chief Gordon Thomson and digital media mogul Steve Leach were unanimous in identifying the country's lack of long-term planning as a critical strategic flaw.
"We have many small companies already producing technology products in use around the world. We are good and we are world-class, but we need to build on that. I believe we need a game plan, a national framework that we can all get behind and ensure Scotland's digital future," said Purvis.
While pointing out that broadband is available to 99% of the Scottish population, BT Scotland director Brendan Dick said that 40% of the country's businesses were still not using IT, and called upon the minister for enterprise, energy and tourism, Jim Mather, to help drive a national campaign to extend the benefits of technology into every aspect of life.
"We're fundamentally missing a trick," Dick said. "There is an opportunity for the new administration to tackle the issue of digital inclusion so that we create a population that can exploit what we have. We are a small country, so we have to get together around the table, create awareness, and market and drive demand for using ICT information and communications technology in a way that has been lacking for years in this country," he said.
Cisco chief Thomson added: "Lots of businesses still don't have the skills to utilise technology and maximise their efficiency, and we have to help them get better at it. Research and development investment in Scotland is only half the UK average, and that strikes me as a level of complacency we cannot afford."
While Neil MacCallum identified digital media as "the new electricity of our age" and stressed the need for technology to be prioritised within the national economic strategy, Steven Thurlow and Bigmouthmedia CEO Steve Leach called upon Scotland to start by looking at the positives.
"Scotland has some major advantages. We have a great standard of living, relatively low costs and three of the world's top universities in the central belt producing some excellent IT people, but we're particularly bad at marketing ourselves as a nation.
"We need to address that urgently, and I'd support the creation of a national marketing post to lead the effort," said Leach.
Jim Mather welcomed the business leaders' call for action. Unable to attend the debate due to a diary conflict, he has requested a video of the event and has promised to give a comprehensive response to the issues raised in the Sunday Herald next week.
Source: sundayherald.com

Microsoft set to challenge VMware with Hyper-V

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- VMware Inc.'s public offering in August brought virtualization technology to the general public and gave the company a large, and early, head start in the market.
Microsoft Corp. introduced Hyper-V, the beta version of its virtualization software technology formerly known as Veridien.
Microsoft's Hyper-V debut came earlier than many technology analysts had expected, and it sets the software giant up for possibly releasing a full version of the virtualization technology in the first half of 2008, or about six months ahead of many expectations.
Virtualization is a technology that allows software applications and operating systems to be separated from their hardware systems and then shared over servers and storage infrastructure. Businesses then use virtualization technology to better manage large pools of data over fewer hardware systems.
The technology became a hot topic this year after EMC Corp. spun out 10% of its ownership stake in VMware. EMC still owns about 86% of VMware.
While VMware is considered the leader in virtualization, and has a head start of several years over many of its competitors, the entrance of Microsoft is seen as something that can't be ignored, even if it may be a year or more before the company shows signs of taking a significant part of VMware's market share.
Walter Pritchard, an analyst with Cowen & Co., said in research note that the reports Microsoft gets from the beta version of Hyper-V will be go a long way toward gauging the company's success in the virtualization market, and that Microsoft would be better off delaying a full release if it means ensuring a well-made product.
"Positive feedback would make it more likely Hyper-V becomes a legitimate challenger to VMware," Pritchard said. "The offering is too important for Microsoft to risk quality in order to ship early."
Pritchard said that Microsoft's entrance into virtualization shows "real competition is likely," and estimates that Hyper-V's performance could help the company's shares outperform the overall market by 10% over the next year.
Microsoft shares rose 58 cents to $35.81 Friday, while VMware gave up 98 cents a share to trade at $95.04.
At Citigroup, analyst Brent Thill said that despite Microsoft's entry, "VMware's competitive position remains unchallenged," and that he expects Hyper-V will initially lack importance features such as being able to move live virtual machines on the fly and dynamic load balancing.
However, Thill believes that Hyper-V will gain a foothold in what he called the "less demanding" small-and-medium business market and corporate server environments where Microsoft's Windows operating system dominates.
Thill said that since Hyper-V will be a feature of the Windows Server 2008 release next year, Microsoft will have several "home turf advantages" in the market.
Thill said those advantages include the fact that about 67% of data center servers already run Microsoft's Windows Server operating system and customers that run Windows Server are already comfortable with Microsoft's products.
Source: marketwatch.com

AMD Vows Not to Repeat Missteps

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. apologized to Wall Street for botching its handling of a high-end chip line. But the chip maker still faces skepticism about its prospects.
At a meeting with analysts, AMD executives vowed not to repeat stumbles that helped shave nearly 40% off its market value since mid-October. The company predicted it will return to profitability on an operating basis in the third quarter of next year, though a net profit will take longer because of factors that include write-offs associated with its 2006 acquisition of ATI Technologies.
Source: wsj.com

Developing technology to protect information

What we need is legislation to protect information and to prosecute those data mining corporations such as Lockheed Martin that collate and distribute the information for a price.
We also need to oppose legislation such as the US PATRIOT Act as it applies wherever a US corporation has access to information and has it stored, whether in the US or elsewhere. For instance, a government agency using Lockheed Martin or Accenture or another firm with a US presence, will be required to disclose the information demanded by a US Agency while simultaneously being prohibited from informing the subject of such disclosure of information that their personal privacy has been compromised. We need to wake up to the police state that is supported by information techology and our complacency. ps. I've likey just earned myself a one-way ticket to Syria, accommodations included...
Source: zdnet.co.uk

Adobe takes data access technology open source; Will the enterprise bite?

Adobe on Thursday said it will open source a data access technology called BlazeDS. The goal: Speed up the adoption of enterprise rich Internet applications.
BlazeDS connects data, which can be housed in the enterprise or pushed out, to Adobe Flex and AIR applications. Adobe says the data access technologies were previously available as part of Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES. Now those technologies will be contributed to the third version of the Lesser General Public License. Adobe Labs has more details and the announcement. Techmeme also has a roundup.
Adobe is obviously trying to prod enterprises to use its software to develop more rich Internet applications (RIAs). Adobe says pushing data via RIAs could create better self-service, live help and performance monitoring applications. It’s not a stretch to see a business intelligence type of dashboard delivered through an RIA in the future.
The company added in a statement that it will support BlazeDS via Adobe LiveCycle Data Services, Community Edition–a subscription service that supports BlazeDS, offers indemnity and developer tools.
The remaining question: Will Adobe’s move enable enterprise RIAs? It’s possible over time, but in my interactions I haven’t heard much about RIAs from enterprise folks. In fact, these folks are still trying to wrap their heads around Web 2.0 and how it equates to Enterprise 2.0. BlazeDS could be a big part of that, but don’t expect a groundswell right out of the gate.
Source: zdnet.com

Second Life Technology Chief Resigns After Disagreement With CEO

Ed Sutherland - AHN Editor
San Francisco, CA (AHN) - Cory Ondrejka, the 26-year-old chief technology officer of virtual-reality site Second Life, resigned Thursday. Ondrejka's departure followed differences with the CEO of Linden Labs, owner of Second Life.
In a statement, Linden Labs CEO Philip Rosedale said the company and the role of technology chief is changing. "Cory abd I are in agreement that our paths, at this point at least, lie in different directions," Rosedale said.
According to the AP, Second Life users have experienced technical problems impacting users, including security.
Ondrejka, a Navy vet, rose to the No. 4 spot at Linden Labs and pioneered the introduction of virtual property and sales by Second Life users of possessions, including real estate, for real money. Source: allheadlinenews.com

Looking ahead - technology in 2008

SMARTER mobile phones, smaller memory sticks, flashing T-shirts and barcodes on every corner: a look into the world of technology in 2008.
Leaner chips for smaller PCs, smarter phones
When Apple released the iPhone, they proved you can develop a mobile phone with an easy to use interface in a sleek, sexy package.
But one of the most exciting features of the iPhone is that it functions like a computer - a true smartphone.
This has been made possible by the development of smarter, smaller, less power hungry computer chips, and the field is set for even better models.
Intel's Silverthorne 45nm processor, scheduled for release in the first half of 2008, delivers computer performance comparable to a desktop or laptop computer, on a 74mm x 143mm sized motherboard.
The Silverthorne processor uses 10 times less power than today's low power processors and can work alongside WiFi, 3G and WiMAX.
Expect many more smart phones, including the Australian version of the iPhone, and an avalanche of paperback-sized laptops to hit the market in 2008.
More bytes for your data
As computer processors get smaller, so does the physical size of computer memory, but there is a limit.
As the components become more cramped, they create more heat and cause weird quantum effects to occur.
Fortunately researchers at the Centre for Applied Nanoionics have made a breakthrough.
By using trace amounts of copper, mixed with Msilicon, they believe they can develop flash memory sticks that will hold terabytes, or thousands of gigabytes.
While it may be sometime later this decade before we see terabyte-sized memory in the stores, an alternative that is sure to appear in 2008 is remote storage.
Remote data storage frees up space on a hard drive and acts as a back-up in case the computer is stolen or destroyed.
Several companies such as Apple's .Mac and Symantec's Norton 360 already offer remote data storage, but with Google looking at offering a similar product, expect to see this area grow rapidly.
The end of the plain old telephone
For the past few years Voice over IP (VoIP) has been little more than a cheap way to make phone calls. However, the introduction of Naked DSL (broadband with a conventional phone service) to Australia, and the rapid growth of wireless internet, will see many VoIP providers offer these services as more people migrate across from the traditional plain old telephone service (POTS).
Services that should appear in the near future include voicemail delivered to your email inbox, fax converted and emailed as pdf documents, and the ability to direct multiple phone numbers to the one handset.
Radio goes digital
Expect to hear a bit about digital radio ahead of its official start date of January 1, 2009.
Digital radio will allow radio stations to broadcast multiple channels, along with images and data, such as radar images during the weather, or pictures of artists during a song.
Despite it being available in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Australian broadcasters have elected to wait until the release of DAB+ (digital audio broadcast), which provides better audio quality.
A number of manufacturers have indicated they will have DAB+ products ready for sale during 2008, including a plug-in which would allow listeners to tune into digital radio through an iPod.
The book is dead...
Reading text on a screen always seems harder than reading it on paper, which probably explains why electronic books haven't taken off.
But this hasn't stopped online book store Amazon having a go with its electronic book named Kindle.
The Kindle uses a unique electronic ink technology to produce a screen display that mimics the appearance of print on paper.
The screen is not backlit, to extend battery life, and the text can be easily read under most lighting conditions, indoors and out.
Users can download books through Amazon's WhisperNet, which operates via a mobile phone network, which are charged to an Amazon account.
Kindle can be configured to automatically download newspapers and magazine, and can play MP3 files and Audible spoken word books.
At this stage there is no word on when it will be released in Australia.
Source: news.com.au

Adidas Says Japan Tests Prove Soccer Goal-Line Technology Works

Technology designed to determine whether a soccer ball has crossed a goal line proved ``satisfactory'' at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, the system's developers Adidas AG and Cairos Technologies AG said.
Tests during the tournament's opening matches show the system is working and soccer's lawmakers must decide whether to approve the technology for wider use, Adidas's Head of FIFA Affairs Gunter Pfau said.
``Until now we are very satisfied,'' Pfau said during a press conference at Yokohama International Stadium, south of Tokyo. ``No ball was damaged, all the systems during the games worked and the players' feedback here has been very positive.''
The International Football Association Board, which establishes the laws of soccer, says goal-line technology must be proven to be 100 percent accurate before its use in other tournaments, including the World Cup. Both companies declined to comment on the degree of accuracy shown by the tests.
The IFAB is comprised of the sport's governing Federation Internationale de Football Association, which has four votes, and representatives from the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations, in recognition of their role in codifying the original laws of the game.
The companies presented the results to the IFAB yesterday, Pfau said.
Magnetic Sensors
The system was used in the Club World Cup match on Dec. 9 between African champions Etoile Sportive du Sahel and Mexico's Pachucha, who had a shot by Gabriel Caballero cleared off the line. Etoile won the match 1-0.
The system uses magnetic fields and a sensor attached to the inside of a football with a 12-point suspension system. Wires cut into the pitch around and behind the penalty area emit a magnetic field which, when data is fed to a central computer, can track the location of the ball and show whether a shot has crossed the line, Adidas said in a statement.
An encrypted signal is sent to watches worn by the referee and match officials to indicate a goal.
It is the first time goal-line technology has been tested in a professional tournament. An earlier system, using radio transmissions to track the ball across the pitch, was ruled to be inaccurate during testing at the Under-17 World Cup in Peru in 2005.
The sport's governing bodies are promoting the development of technology to help end uncertainty over disputed goals such as a strike by England's Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany.
Hitting the Crossbar
His second goal in the 4-2 win hit the crossbar and as it bounced down it wasn't clear whether it crossed the line. The referee consulted his assistant before allowing the goal.
``We are not trying to change history,'' Pfau joked showing a photo of Hurst's goal. ``This technology is for more transparency and to support the referee in making more accurate decisions.''
Adidas and Cairos are based in Germany.
A disallowed goal in the English Premier League this season resulted in assistant referee Ian Gosling being forced to miss one match after he failed to spot a shot by Fulham's David Healy crossed the line in a match against Middlesbrough on Aug. 18. Middlesbrough won the game 2-1.
``Everyone could see it was a goal,'' Fulham coach Lawrie Sanchez said after the game. ``It's one of those ones for the goal-line technology argument.''
Source: bloomberg.com

Voyager 2 Shows Solar System Is "Dented"

"NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft has found that our solar system is not round but is 'dented' by the local interstellar magnetic field, space experts said on Monday. The data were gathered by the craft on its 30-year journey when it crossed into a region called the 'termination shock.' The data showed that the southern hemisphere of the solar system's heliosphere is being pushed in. Voyager 2 is the second spacecraft to enter this region of the solar system, behind Voyager 1, which reached the northern region of the heliosheath in December 2004." Source: slashdot.org

IBM forms alliance around 32nm chip technology

MANILA, Philippines -- IBM has formed an alliance with semiconductor firms, including AMD and Samsung, to advance its 32-nanometer chip technology to rival that of Intel.

The alliance also includes "joint development partners" Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., Freescale and Infineon, according to an IBM statement.

This new technology involves a material called “high-k/metal gate” in producing next- generation 32 nanometer (or 32nm) microprocessors.

IBM said chips produced using this new technique will support a range of applications -- from low power computer microchips targeted at wireless and other consumer devices to high-performance microprocessors for games and enterprise computing.

This new approach to implementing high-k/metal gate will be available to IBM alliance members in the second half of 2009.

In January, IBM and its research partners (including Sony and Toshiba) introduced the "high-k/metal gate” technique as the basis for a long-sought improvement to the transistor -- the tiny on/off switch that serves as the basic building block of virtually all microchips made today.

Using high-k/metal gate, IBM said the size of a chip has been decreased by almost half while saving 45 percent in power use and increasing performance by 30 percent, based on tests conducted at IBM semicon facilities in New York.

Intel has previously announced its own roadmap to 32nm chips by 2008.
Source: inquirer.net

Nano-technology to dominate future

NANO-TECHNOLOGY is the science of the future and is completely going to dominate the world in the coming decade, opined expert in the field of applied nano-technology and inventor of the Right Brain Management (RBM) technique Dr VK Tripathi.


He was speaking to a select gathering of academicians, physicists and industrialists from the City while explaining the need for adopting nano-technology based courses in higher education curriculum, at the School of Physics Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalya (DAVV) on Wednesday.

He said nano-technology has three major uses in achieving breakthrough in human health from growing organs in laboratories from stem cells to cloning, mapping and converting particles into nano-particles and helping eliminate root cause of old age and death.

The father of modern nano-technology Alfred Huxley had stated in 1976, “the world will not be as we see it today as change in molecular structure will bring change in countenance of objects and will more importantly solve problems of finite natural resources”.

Explaining his role, Dr Tripathi said that three of his companies are into nano-technology, one in pharmaceutical manufacturing and has applied for 24 patents of, which two are in the final process and will hit the market soon.

Nano-particles like silver gel is being produced, sputtering technology a mechanical innovation has increased tensile strength in electromagnetically plated objects and core-less impregnable technology has bettered the heating, beating and treating method applied in the manufacturing sector.

He explained that his RBM technique is a zero failure road map to excellence by separating ego for clearing path of science, thus converting knowledge into product and increasing self-motivation amongst employees without any external stimulus. It is the only technique, which quantifies and measures attitude with zero subjectivity including indexes of alertness, self-correction and ego.

Attitude and ego have been ascertained to be the chief cause of Profit Before Tax (PBT) tendency and definite improvement can be brought about either by increasing availability and reducing price or by adopting this technique.

Dr Tripathi said that studies have found that humans use left part of their brain (knowledge, experience) up to 90 per cent, while a majority use just one per cent of the right side (creativity, imagination) and that too by an exceptional genius like Albert Einstein.

RBM working on nano-tech attributes like vaccine action, self–correction and implementation finds a lasting solution to the deteriorating attitude of people towards their duty.

DAVV Vice Chancellor Dr Rajkamal delivering the vote of thanks said that the students had been busy in exams and university officials in handling employees and therefore, a more appropriate platform and audience could not be provided this time but promised to make amends by inviting Dr Tripathi to deliver a lecture in the new auditorium in mid-January.

He assured that DAVV is in sync with the times and is striving for introducing futuristic courses like M Sc in Biotechnology and M Tech courses and is already running a course on nano-technology in particle/material physics.

Professors from the Physics department and professors having a scientific background along with industrialist Kennedy Gajra attended the interactive session.
Source: hindustantimes.com

Goal-line technology will be high on agenda in Tokyo

FIFA's executive committee will examine the outcome of their experiment with goal-line technology when they meet in Tokyo this Saturday.
The innovation is being trialed at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan but could be used more widely in future. Hibernian manager John Collins became the latest British manager to recommend the use of cameras to resolve goal disputes after his team's striker Clayton Donaldson claimed he had scored legitimately in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Inverness. Donaldson's shot hit the underside of the crossbar and appeared to bounce over the line, at a time when Inverness were 1-0 in front in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixture, however referee Kenny Clark decided against awarding a goal. Another notable occasion when goal-line technology would have resolved a disputed decision came in January 2005 when Tottenham midfielder Pedro Mendes saw his long-range shot dropped over the line by Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll in a Premier League match. Mendes was denied a goal, despite TV replays showing the ball clearly crossing the line. FIFA say goal-line technology will be "one of the main topics" of Saturday's meeting. Source: scotsman.com

Verizon to provide IP-shared trunk technology

December 11, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Verizon Business announced new IP trunking technology yesterday, to allow customers to tap on-demand, unused communications capacity over trunk links between switching systems.
A retailer with stores in one city in the U.S. could tap into unused trunking capacity in another city where stores are located, Verizon Business officials said. The new service, called Burstable Enterprise Shared Trunks, will be available in the U.S. in mid-January and globally later in the year.
Verizon Business, a division of Verizon Communications Inc., employs voice-over-IP services with Session Initiation Protocol signaling, which allows communications to travel between either IP or circuit-switched systems.
In addition to the Shared Trunks service, Verizon Business announced yesterday it will also begin offering in January managed network services over Nortel Networks' Communications Server 1000 IP-PBX and related software.
That software, Nortel's Business Communications Manager and CallPilot, is designed to offer voice applications such as "find me, follow me" and multimedia collaboration, as well as a means to integrate voice mail, e-mail and instant message.
Verizon's new services also include automatic call rerouting with Inbound Failover. Calls are automatically forwarded to another IP address in the event of a failure on the primary pathway, Verizon officials said. Source: computerworld.com

Internet upgrade with local technology

NEW Australian technology will be used to improve the speed and reliability of the high-speed optical networks that carry internet traffic across cities, countries and oceans.

Australia's national technology research centre, NICTA, has signed a commercial licence agreement with Pennsylvania-based Optium, which will sell the technology, and is about to spin off its research into a stand-alone company with several million dollars of venture capital funding.

It will license to Optium new optical signal-to-noise ratio monitoring technology developed over the past few years at NICTA's Victoria Research Laboratory.

Noise is the natural enemy of data transmission: the further a signal goes the more noisy it gets, until the receiver cannot understand what it has been sent.

Putting amplifiers en route adds expense and complexity. So better knowledge about the noise in the system can save money and improve the accuracy and speed of data transfer.

Noise is also the main indication of a fault in a network, so knowing the level of noise helps diagnose breaks or degraded equipment.

Recent improvements in optical network technology made the old methods of measuring noise too expensive or unreliable. NICTA's research solves the problem.

NICTA entrepreneur-in-residence David Wright has been working to commercialise the research and will be a founder and chief executive of the new company, Monitoring Division, when it launches in the next two months.

He says it is one of a suite of network products that NICTA hopes to commercialise over the next year, with Optium's Australian arm.

"We are very excited about this," he said. "It is an example of how Australian companies can work together to release something to market on a global scale."

He is also in the final stages of closing "multimillion-dollar" venture capital funding.

Details, including financial details, of the Optium deal are confidential, but it involves an investment by Optium in bringing the technology to market. The NICTA spin-off will then get income from the licence as a proportion of sales. The licence covers several years.

Optium hopes to use the technology in telecommunications and cable TV networks around the world, in products that will hit the market next year.

Optium Australia's vice-president and general manager, Simon Poole, said NICTA's advanced technology would help customers get a true measure of the noise within a data transmission.

Project leader Trevor Anderson said: "This technology (provides) live information on actual performance and is faster and less complex than similar devices. These advantages enable network-wide awareness and significantly improves an operator's ability to manage high-speed optical networks."

NICTA, an alliance of university and government researchers with a focus on developing commercial spin-offs, was established in 2002 with $380 million in federal funding over 10 years. A five-year, $250 million deal was signed last May.
Source: theage.com.au

NaturalNano's Controlled Release Technology

Leading Consumer Products Manufacturer Validates NaturalNano's Controlled Release Technology

Demonstration of Halloysite Nanotubes (HNT(TM)) Fragrance-Loading Capability Expands Commercialization Opportunities for Extended Release Applications

NaturalNano, Inc. (OTCBB: NNAN) (FWB: N3N), a developer of advanced nanomaterials and additive technologies, received third-party validation from one of the world's leading personal care and household product companies of NaturalNano's proprietary technology for extended release of fragrances.

NaturalNano said that the results reported by a leading manufacturer on the Company's unique, fragrance-loaded nanomaterial additive validates NaturalNano's extended release applications and expands the commercial opportunities for its technology. These products are being developed utilizing technology NaturalNano has under exclusive license from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for several markets. Halloysite nanotubes, with their unique, hollow-tube structure, allow additives such as fragrances or antimicrobials to be inserted into the hollow nanotubes to create a slow or extended release of the additives over time. The NRL patents also cover many other forms of tubular materials, as well as halloysite. NaturalNano has commenced a licensing program to expand the utilization of the technology.

"This independent validation by a global brand serves as an endorsement of our technology and our overall research direction," said the Company's President Cathy Fleischer. "Delivering longer-lasting fragrances for some of the most widely purchased household products opens a new market for our extended release technology. By leveraging our patented procedures and expertise, we can market to a number of industries through the addition of materials such as fragrances, antimicrobials, lubricants, flame retardants, preservatives and herbicides."

This proprietary technology creates opportunities for NaturalNano in the $24 billion household cleaner market. NaturalNano's filled tube technology is also being developed for future use in markets including the $300 billion personal products market and the $135 billion agrichemical industry.

NaturalNano said it secured the validation report after providing a supply of halloysite nanotubes, loaded with fragrance utilizing NaturalNano's propriety process, for testing by the consumer products maker, whose name was not disclosed. The fragrance-laden halloysite nanotubes showed a clear advantage during lab testing in both the duration and potency of the fragrance. The Company also noted that it continues to work on several customer-driven filled-tube projects, for this manufacturer and others.

While extended release applications can add value in a number of industries, NaturalNano said it is currently focusing its efforts where there is the greatest near-term potential, including household products, personal care and other consumer categories. The initial fields represent just a fraction of the markets covered by the exclusive NRL license. Other significant markets for extended release are:


-- Cosmetics
-- Moisturizing Creams
-- Deodorants
-- Laundry Products
-- Carpet and Furniture Cleaners
-- Automotive and Clothing Fabrics


Fleischer concluded, "Extended release applications hold a great deal of promise for us, and we look forward to continuing this groundbreaking work with our joint development partners to create the next generation of unique consumer products."

Source: money.cnn.com

Xilinx XtremeDSP Solution Enables Dolby's LED-Backlit LCD Display Technology

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xilinx Inc., today announced that its Virtex(TM)-4 SX field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) chipsets have been approved for Dolby Laboratories, Inc.'s recent high dynamic range (HDR) innovations. Dolby joins a growing number of industry leaders leveraging the Xilinx high-performance XtremeDSP(TM) solutions to introduce innovative technologies.
"The Xilinx FPGA chipset enables the timely implementation of Dolby's complex high dynamic range algorithms for next generation LCD televisions with LED backlighting technology," said Guido Voltolina, director, Image Technology, Dolby Laboratories. "Working with Xilinx, Dolby now brings manufacturers one step closer to integrating our HDR technologies into LED-backlit LCD televisions."
"The inherent ability of FPGAs to implement highly parallel architectures enables astounding DSP performance -- up to two orders of magnitude higher than discrete DSP processors. Forward-thinking developers such as Dolby are leveraging the capabilities of our high-performance XtremeDSP solutions to deliver their innovative technology solutions efficiently and effectively," said Tim Erjavec, director of Embedded & DSP marketing at Xilinx.
Flexible architecture allows tailored solutions
Display technology preferences vary across geographies and end markets. By combining the flexibility of a programmable architecture with high-performance DSP capabilities, high-definition display developers can create tailored solutions based on the specific needs of each end customer or partner. At speeds of 500 MHz, Xilinx Virtex-4 SX DSP slices deliver an aggregate DSP bandwidth of 256 GigaMACs/second, while consuming a mere 57 micronW/MHz.
Dolby's LED-backlit LCD display technology
Dolby's HDR technologies provide improved contrast ratio and image quality by leveraging light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with local dimming. In addition it adds advanced high dynamic range capabilities to LED-backlit units, increasing both the brightness and contrast of an LCD display. Dolby HDR technologies offer a picture quality that virtually matches real-world perception of depth, detail and color, surpassing the picture quality of conventional LCD displays.

Source: money.cnn.com

Fashioning technology

Suits that power your iPod; shorts that chill your beer; and dresses that can be programmed to fit perfectly: Rachel Wells explores the brave new world of haute technology.
If you thought Maxwell Smart's shoe phone was a hoot, you ain't seen nothing yet. Exciting progress in the booming, intelligent clothing and textiles industry means mobile-phone shirts (just speak into the collar) and socks that mend themselves could soon be a reality. Meanwhile, iPod-playing suits and clothes that change size and shape to fit the wearer are already here. Such garments are set to become part of our daily wardrobes as advances in smart fabrics mean our clothes will do more than just preserve our modesty, protect us from the elements, or, for some of us, make a fashion statement.
In recent years, smart clothing has progressed significantly from wearable computers - where devices such as MP3 players or mobile phones are seamlessly integrated into clothing - to "intelligent" fabrics and clothes that can conduct electricity, change shape and even colour.
"The world is your oyster when it comes to the sorts of things you can do with clothing and technology. You're only limited by your imagination, really," says Dr Adam Best, a research scientist at the CSIRO division of energy technology, who has developed a shirt that produces electricity simply by being moved, such as when the wearer is walking.
The power shirts - or flexible, integrated-energy devices - are basically wearable batteries that charge whenever the person moves. While they are being developed for military purposes - for energy supply for soldiers in the field - Best says they could be used to power mobile phones, portable music players and other small electrical devices. "The technology basically enables you to get rid of the battery as we know it and will open up a whole new world for designers to put things in places that have merely been the realm of science fiction, so to speak," he says. "So, for example, you could quite easily build a device into your shirt, where your shirt literally becomes a mobile phone or iPod."
Dr Richard Helmer, of the CSIRO's Textile and Fibre Technology division, agrees. "Our clothing has the potential to play a very different role going into the future," he says. "There are people all over the world engineering all sorts of different functionality into clothing, from sensing things to doing things, to self-cleaning, all sorts of things." Helmer recently developed an "air-guitar" or a wearable-instrument shirt. With sensors embedded in the sleeves, the shirt can detect and interpret the air-guitarist's arm movements, wirelessly transmitting that information to a computer, which generates the appropriate sounds.

Helmer says the same technology could be adapted for uses from medical rehabilitation and sports training to virtual computer games. "You can use it for all sorts of things from interactive computer games to things like dance classes where you could wear an item of clothing that could tell you whether your technique or posture or whatever was correct. The possibilities are limitless really."
Helmer says that while military, medical and other industrial uses have driven a lot of the early research and development into intelligent clothing, more commercial applications for the technology are expected.
"Clothes are something that people wear around the clock and I can't see that changing in the next 100 years or so. So, to use that as a platform for new technology is really very exciting."
Smart clothing at a glance
Auto-fit clothing Electronics giant Philips has developed the ultimate in one-size-fits-all clothing that could spell the end of the "Sorry, we don't have your size" dilemma for ever. They have come up with a way to change the size and shape of clothing so that it fits the wearer perfectly. The fabric is woven with so-called "muscle wires" that are made up of shape-memory alloys that expand to just the right size when a current is passed through them. Once the electricity is removed, they remain exactly the right size. Philips says the technology could work for a variety of garments - from trousers to shirts, socks and jocks.
Hug Shirt Nominated by Time as one of the best inventions of last year, the Hug Shirt enables the wearer to send "virtual hugs" to loved ones from across the street or across the globe, simply by using their mobile phone. When a friend sends you a virtual hug, your mobile phone notifies the shirt wirelessly, via Bluetooth. The fully washable shirt then re-creates that person's distinctive cuddle, replicating his or her warmth, pressure, duration and even heartbeat.
iPod suit Earlier this year, British retail giant Marks & Spencer became the first retailer to sell the iPod suit. The suit - a collaboration between British smart-fabric specialist Eleksen and innovative tailors Bagir - features Eleksen's smart-fabric, touchpad technology that transforms the lapel into a five-button electronic control panel. The pad is then attached to a cable that runs beneath the lining of the jacket and plugs into the iPod, which has its own inside pocket. The lapels even have loops to hold and hide the earphones. The suit retails for about $350.

Solar bikini New Yorker Andrew Schneider is the brains behind the solar bikini that charges your iPod while you sunbathe. The bikini is covered with 40 flexible photovoltaic (solar) cells that feed into a USB connection that can plug straight into your iPod. Schneider says two hours of sunbaking is enough to charge an iPod shuffle. And, for the guys, Schneider is also developing solar-panel shorts, which, with the extra sun-capturing area, will be capable of generating enough power to chill a beer.
Smart shoes - Nike Air Zoom Moire Last year, Apple and Nike joined forces to launch a pair of smart running shoes that can tell the wearer how far they've run and how many calories they've burnt. The Nike + system is made up of a tiny transmitter that is slipped into the shoes and sends information to the iPod nano with each step. The information can be heard through voiced progress reports and can also be downloaded on to a computer later for a complete record of time, distance, pace and calories burnt. The runner can also call up a pre-chosen "power song" to play when they need a motivational boost.
Lumalive clothing Researchers at Philips Research have figured out how to integrate fabric and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that can display text, graphics or even animation on clothing. These could be used for promotional and advertising purposes, but safety applications could include visibility of emergency services crew or road workers. Or perhaps it could be used as a showy form of texting in a noisy bar. This technology differs from fabrics being developed in Britain that emit light. Clothes made from such electroluminescent yarns enable the wearer to be permanently visible and therefore improve personal safety for joggers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Self-healing clothes Researchers are working on developing smart synthetic systems that not only sense the presence of a defect in a fabric, but work to heal the damaged area. Such self-healing materials would significantly extend the lifetime, utility and durability of clothing and other products.
3rd Space vest The 3rd Space vest is embedded with pneumatic cells that allow computer gamers to physically feel game events such as getting hit, stabbed, or punched. The technology was designed by a US surgeon as a way to give medical exams via the internet to those in isolated communities with limited access to medical services. The medical version is used to poke and press patients' bodies remotely and get feedback on what they are feeling.
Smart Bra Scientists at the University of Bolton in Britain have developed a so-called "smart bra" that will allow users to detect early-stage breast cancer. The smart bra employs microwave antennas that pick up abnormal temperature changes in breast tissue, which are associated with cancer cells.

Source: theage.com.au

Uranium found at Tehran university

Iranian and United Nations nuclear officials began a new round of talks after traces of weapons-grade uranium that were found at a university in Tehran, it was reported.
Meanwhile, in Washington, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said the US and European allies Britain, France and Germany would continue to press Russia and China on the need to boost pressure on Iran to halt its controversial uranium enrichment.
It was not clear from Monday's IRNA news agency report how or when the weapons-grade uranium contamination was discovered at the Technology Faculty of a state university.
The meeting between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation and its Iranian hosts comes in the wake of a surprising US intelligence report last week that concluded Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons programme in late 2003 and had not resumed it since.
The weapons programme is separate from uranium enrichment, which Iran continues to undertake and which experts say could make it possible for Tehran to still develop a nuclear weapon between 2010 and 2015.
The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran has denied the charges, saying the uranium enrichment is only geared towards generating electricity, not a nuclear bomb.
Monday's talks also follow an IAEA report last month which stated Iran had been generally truthful about its past uranium enrichment activities. Much of the 10-page report focused on Iran's black-market procurements and past development of uranium enrichment technology.
But the talks in Tehran focused on the university find. It is believed this was the first time the incident was discussed.
The IAEA's mandate obliges it to investigate a country's nuclear activities and probe all suspicious findings, such as the traces at Tehran university.
In 2003, the IAEA revealed other incidents where traces of weapons-grade uranium were found elsewhere in the country, but Iran at the time said those traces came from imported equipment that had been contaminated before it was purchased.
Source: ukpress.google.com

Free VoIP calls for Christmas

Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony provider Jajah is offering its customers the chance to make free calls on Christmas day.

Jajah will reimburse new and existing customers for up to an hour's worth of calls, which will be credited to your account after Boxing day.

Unlike Skype, you don't actually need to be online to use Jajah's service - you don't even have to have a PC.

Jajah's Direct service allows you to call a local switchboard, input the number you want to call and it will text you back with a new number, which will connect you to the person you want to get in touch with.

Though the saving you make depends on several factors, Jajah's Daniel Mattes told Web User recently that the average saving you would make by using the service is 95 per cent.

Jajah explained that last Christmas, when it made a similar offer, it saw a surge of calls just after 3pm on Christmas Day.

"We're not suggesting people are bored with the Queen's message – perhaps it's just that 3:04pm brings most people across the world into an appropriate time zone for Christmas calls," said Jajah co-founder Roman Scharf.

"Free calls for Christmas struck a chord last year as cash-strapped Brits looked for any opportunity to peg back some Christmas pennies, and it's a gesture we're very pleased to be offering again," Scharf continued.