By Stephen Shankland

A Ph.D. graduate from CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute has discovered new uses for Nintendo’s Wii-remote.  The motion-detecting, infrared device has been used as a virtual head tracker, a virtual whiteboard on a wall, and a finger-pointing multi-touch user interface.

According to the article, Nintendo’s console comes with a sensor-bar that recognizes the infrared light emitted by the wii-remote.  The graduate, Lee, attached the sensor bar to his head, and the wii-remote to the TV.  He claims to have constructed a system that tracks head movement and location.*

On January 31, 2008, Sandisk announced new 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB versions of its SD cards.  The cards will be shipping in the March and April time frame.   The cards read and write 50% faster than the previous versions. 

The 32 GB card can hold up to 8000 10 megapixel images or 40 hours of standard definition video. 

The 8 GB card will be $100, and the 16 GB will be $180.  Both of them will be coming out in March.  The 32 GB card will come out in April and cost $350.

My Opinion:

32 GB is huge for an SD card.  I don’t foresee any reason for the SD cards to get any bigger.  SD cards are a great medium for cameras, and at 32 GB, they could be used for a number of new things.  If it ever becomes possible to boot from an SD card, I may consider putting operating systems on the cards.  Currently, I believe the price tag is too high, but surely the price will drop before too long – probably when a 64 GB card comes out.

A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or early March. The satellite, which can’t be controlled, contains hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret. It was not clear how long ago the satellite lost power, or under what circumstances.

The spacecraft contains rocket fuel, a colorless liquid with an ammonia-like odor. It’s a toxic chemical and can cause harm to anyone who contacts it.

Such an uncontrolled re-entry could risk exposure of U.S. secrets. Spy satellites typically are disposed of through a controlled re-entry into the ocean so that no one else can access the spacecraft.

The largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA spacecraft was Skylab a 78-ton space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.

In 2000, NASA engineers directed a safe de-orbit of the 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, using rockets aboard the satellite to bring it down into the Pacific Ocean.

OPINION

I think that the government is making a big deal out of this because there are things on the satellite that they don’t want anybody to find. Chances are they will locate its position and get to it three hours before the rest of the world even knows it came down.

DJ Rash

Feb 04, 2008--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intel to Tell Specs of Itanium Upgrade

BY:  Agam Shah

Intel is expected to give details about Tukwila, its next generation of 64-bit Itanium processors that will be used in servers.

The new processor, due in 2008, has a quad-core design that doubles the performance of current systems with Intel's Itanium 9100 dual-core processors.

The processor will run at up to 2GHz and include the QuickPath Interconnect system architecture with a built in memory controller for improved communication between system components. The QuickPath Interconnect architecture will also be part of Nehalem, Intel's next-generation x86 processor due out later in 2008.

Tukwila is targeted at servers running enterprise applications, so the design includes a RAS (reliability, availability and serviceability) feature to reduce data corruption and ensure reliable system performance.

The system is built on the first 2 billion transistor microprocessor. The Tukwila processor will be manufactured using the 65-nanometer process technology.

Intel is working with Microsoft and other companies to deliver the Tukwila systems.

DJ Rash

At what do we risk having more security than privacy? This seems to be the battle of the century. What are we as US citizens willing to give up for security? Although privacy and security are not at different ends of the spectrum sometimes it feels like we have to choose. Since 9/11 security has increased majorly to protect us causing our privacy to decrease. Since 9/11 two things with airline security have increased: reinforcing the cockpit doors and passengers realizing they have to fight back. But there are also things that are hurting our security like national ID cards and data mining. The possibility of it really being liberty versus privacy instead of security versus privacy have been considered.

But it should be no surprise that people choose security over privacy. In a recent poll it was actually 51 to 29 percent. Since security is vital to survive while privacy is a private social thing.

In my opinion I think that they are both equal. I want to be secure and not have to worry about anything but at the same time I want to have my own privacy.

Wired.com

The strike is finally over! Or so we think. We have all waited these past 3 months for new movies and new episodes of shows like The Office to come out and now it may be just time for that to finally happen. A breakthrough with contracts between Hollywood and striking writers has finally been reached. There were not specific details on the agreement but this could lead to a deal early next week.

Major points that had been brought up were how much writers are paid for projects delivered online after they have been broadcasted on TV. The studios have been insisting that programs be streamed online for a certain period of time. The Writers Guild of America said they are fighting for a piece of the future with a belief that Internet delivered entertainment would claim a dominant market share. Although the agreement is not finalized the prospects are solid.

In my opinion I don’t understand why we are so worried about these writers because there are other writers out there that can write just as good or possibly even better. For some reason we are giving the greedier people what they want by compromising with them. So two years from now if they do the strike again are we going to raise their wages more and give them everything they want again? In reality we are doing everything for them and not thinking about the general entertainment business. This I think is setting us up for some big problems with entertainment in the near future.

Slashdot.org

Myspace recently patched up a security hole that allowed hackers to script to be able to view private pictures. The vulnerability got patched soon after, a hacker to run a automated script to run over 44000 profiles that downloaded all private pictures which resulted in a 17 Gigabyte zip file with more than 560000 pictures. Witch he/she uploaded to piratebay under the name (tribalwar.com).

 Dakota Vanek

Feb 04, 2008--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cellphones to Monitor Highway Traffic
from:  Slashdot.org  February 02, 2008

On Feburary 08, 2008 about 100 UC Berkeley students will participate in the Mobile Century experiment using GPS mobile phones as car monitors.

Students with GPS-equipped Nokia N95 cell phones will drive for 10 miles down a stretch of I-880 between Hayward and Fremont, California. These new phones will store the cars’ speed and position every 3 seconds.

Opinion: I think that this is an invasion of privacy and if my GPS phone gives information I will fix it to make sure it does not.

Dakota Vanek

Summarized from PCMAG

Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 5.5 may be the cure for malware problems. This version 5 was a complete “start over” as programming goes, but version 5.5 worked out any kinks within the work. This program is accurate at the cleanup of malware, and it blocks the installation of almost all malware. It updates with no work from the user. However, a slow scan to clean the maleware off of an infested pc may cause to be a problem. This program had problems with the scan and clean, but was solved with a full scan in Safe Mode. It also has no local help system.

Cleaning the system with this program might be hard, but the end result is worth it. It does an excellent job keeping the system clean after it’s been fully scanned.

This program is around $40 dollars, but to keep your computer safe, it is worth the cash. After all, its cheaper to buy an antivirus than to buy a new pc, or to put your infested one in the shop.

Mozilla uped the threat ranking for the unpatched Firefox bug to a high rate on Tuesday. They  promised a fix is coming in the next version (2.0.0.12) release on Febuary 5.

Mozilla created another demo to read the sessionstore.js file. This will display information regarding your current session, windows, tabs, cookies, etc.

Mozilla rated the threat as a low threat and they started working on a patch. Only people who have installed  Flat packed add-ons are at risk.

It didn't take long for Apple's new laptop, the MacBook Air to come out. The Air crams far more laptop than seems possible into an incredibly slim package, avoiding many of the compromises users of ultralight laptops have had to accept in the past. It has a 13.3-in. display, a full-size keyboard, and decent processing power in a case that tapers from just over three-quarters of an inch thick to less than a quarter-inch at the front, with the heavy starting price of $1,799.

The Air's sleek case is an unbroken shell of aluminum with a little door on one side concealing the headphone jack, a connector for a special cable to hook up a projector or external monitor, and a lonely USB port. The One USB port is the main flaw in the Apple’s Air. 

Battery and Connectivity Limitations

Apple made two dubious design decisions that could limit the appeal of the Air to a smallish subset of users who put a high premium on mobility. Apple claims people will get five hours on a charge.

The second big issue is the exclusive reliance on Wi-Fi for connectivity. Wi-Fi is far from ubiquitous, and it's often unavailable in hotel rooms. Wireless broadband services are becoming a more attractive alternative as their coverage improves. But Apple's external USB modem is a clunky approach compared with the built-in connectivity in many Windows notebooks. Meanwhile, it would be nice if Apple would end its pigheaded insistence on a single mouse button, as it has on desktop mice.

Even after prolonged use, the case stays fairly cool to the touch. Against that, you need to weigh the inconvenience caused by all the things Apple chose to leave out. The product might not have been quite as smooth and shiny with these elements, but it would have had greater rational, as well as emotional, appeal.

Even thou I think that the one USB port and the no Cd/Dvd does have its limits you have to think how often will you use a Cd drive on a Laptop?

Bill Gerhardt

Feb 04, 2008--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mac Air…. The great little thing?

By Bill Gerhardt

The new Mac air has a ton of things to like about it, the LCD screen is 13.3 inches widescreen is a very lovely site. Multi-touch trackpad and the world of wireless is very up-to-date, with nearly 5 hours of battery life. However not even Apple can be perfect with the fact that now Cd nor Dvd drive, only one USB port and the fact that if you don’t buy the expansions from Apple the almost too slim laptop becomes lopsided on the side where the headphone jack, the USB and the Micro- DVI is located. The hardware is 2GB of RAM and a 80 Giga-a-byte hard drive and the Intel core duo processor. I still believe its almost a must buy for any one who likes a Mac and all of its features. And your also not limited to just the one USB port, you can buy a USB hub that has 4 more USB ports. You can also buy the Cd/Dvd drive for a little under $100.

Bill Gerhardt

 http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

Apple Introduces Macbook Air

By Peter Cohen   2/4/08

During his Macworld Expo keynote address on Tuesday morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, a computer that the company billed as the world's thinnest notebook -- small enough to fit inside an interoffice mailing envelope. It's priced starting at $1,799 and will be available within two weeks.

Sporting a silvery finish, the MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display that has a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. The backlighting saves power and provides "instant on" response from the moment you turn it on, according to Jobs. The device has a slightly wedge-shaped profile. It weighs about 3 pounds, and sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches. It's 12.8 inches wide and 8.95 inches deep.

The MacBook Air also features a built-in iSight webcam and a full sized MacBook-style black keyboard, and has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness. The trackpad is also capable of recognizing multi-touch gestures, similar to using an iPhone or iPod touch. As a result, the MacBook Air's trackpad is disproportionately large, compared to the size of trackpads found on the MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Like the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air features a slimmed down MagSafe connector for power. It comes with a 45 watt power adapter. A flip-down door on one side reveals USB 2.0, Micro-DVI (to connect an external display) and a headphone jack. The MacBook Air also includes 802.11n-based wireless networking support and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Apple estimates that with wireless networking turned on, the MacBook Air can get about 5 hours of battery life.

No internal optical drive is included, but Apple will offer a $99 USB 2.0-based add-on SuperDrive for users who need it. For users that opt not to get the optical drive, Apple is offering a new software feature on this machine called Remote Disk; it enables you to "borrow" the optical drive of another Mac or PC on the same network as the MacBook Air, to use for installing software, for example.

My opinion: The low battery life and Remote Disk feature could become quite the hassle to even the most advance users. The computer isn’t worth the $1800 release price

Cody Akins

Solar Cells That Don’t Need the Sun

From PC magazine  2-1-08

Nanotechnology has now made it possible to bypass the biggest problem with today’s solar panels; the sun.  Solar panels, as we all know, don’t do much good without the sun, but thanks to researchers at Idaho National Laboratories there are now foldable solar panels that operate at 80 percent efficiency as opposed to the 40 percent yield of the old panels.

The surface of the panels is printed with tiny nano-antennae that capture infra-red radiation which is put off by the sun and is available at night. 

Scientists are now working on a way of converting the light to energy, they think they may be able to build a tiny capacitor to capture the energy while still keeping the solar panel cost effective.

Aaron W. Claypool

Quinn Norton   08.16.06

This article talked about how the Pirate Bay was taken down by Swedish Police on May 31.  Swedish police had shutdown the “media pirating” website known as ThePirateBay.org.

The Swedish Police had taken the website with force and a warrant, hauling off several large trucks full of servers and other equipment.  They also arrested several people including two of the administrators. 

Only three days after this event took place and the thought that the website was down for good had quickly spread, the website was back up and running.  It was a very glitchy website but was fixed fairly quickly considering the loss of so much data from the Swedish Police’s raid. 

The website was moved to the Netherlands for temporary hosting.  The founders of the site had quickly set up again and are now prepared and encouraging another attack to shut them down.  They are because the site is now set up in many different countries and has many fail safes to prevent further attacks.

I admire the fact that a website like this one could recover from something like this and become even more popular and stronger. 

By:Jessica Mintz

Review From Wired Magazine                                   

Some scientists have come to believe that alternative life-forms may have developed and evolved in the past, organisms that didn’t use DNA. In fact, they believe RNA based life forms have developed in the past (Essentially life forms completely alien to standard biology, which would follow an entirely foreign track of evolution).  

As odd as it may sound, chemically and physically it is possible for an organism without DNA to develop and function. Such life forms might have been overcome by DNA based life, causing their extinction, but the possibility remains that such organisms exist in some form on our planet.

This poses intriguing possibilities for genetic research, and I think that attempts to create synthetic RNA based life may lead to very unique discoveries into the possibilities of life. It also seems possible that with time actual living organisms based on alternative evolutionary paths could be found, and more exciting than that is the possibility of actually creating synthetic life based entirely on theoretical evolutionary paths.

Joe Hopkins

 Feb 04, 2008--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chemist Spins His Cyclotron to Create Impossibly Heavy Metals

Wired Magazine                                                       2/4/08

Dave Morissey (a scientist) recently proved that the amount of neutrons an atom can hold is far larger than previously believed. By adding extra neutrons to an atom you create “heavy” atoms.

Using a cyclotron his team shot atoms with calcium isotopes at half the speed of light. This caused fragments of a new isotope to form, heavy with neutrons. This could be used to find the isotope limits of roughly 107 other elements.

This may not strike the average individual as a very important development, but I believe that this could lead to interesting discoveries. Heavy metals could possibly be used to one day create metals and alloys infinitely stronger, lighter, or more durable than the common metals and alloys used today. It also helps answer many questions concerning the potential isotopes for many elements.

I personally believe that this recent discovery could lead to very interesting future developments in the world of chemistry and the physical sciences. 

Joe Hopkins

Summarized from PCMag

February 2008

Firefox 3 Beta

Mozilla has now released there beta of FireFox 3. It is available in 20 different languages and runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows machines.

Besides those minor changes, there is a lot more to this beta than meets the eye. The download manager has been modified so you can pause and resume your downloads. There is a new type of bookmarks manager labeled places where helpful search, backup, and preview functions have been added.

Besides these changes there are many more changes that are promised. Better browser speed and stability have been promised but have not been shown in the beta yet.

I like FireFox browsers and think that this new upgrade will be good. Mozilla usually doesn’t disappoint me and I don’t think they will start now.

Ben Lagle

 Feb 04, 2008--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summarized from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2255707,00.asp

February 4, 2008

On Monday, Kodak introduced a new chip that will enhance the picture taking power of cell phones. They call it the KAC-05020 Image Sensor and it is smaller than most other cameras and has the ability to take up to a 5 megapixel picture.

Companies interested in this new chip will probably get to take a better look at it in the second quarter of this year. Kodak expects to make about $350 million a year from this year’s new items. Although some people think this is an exaggeration, not much has been released by them so no one can know for sure.

I think this new camera sounds awesome. It won’t be long before they start making cameras on phones that take pictures just as well as any other digital camera. This is a major breakthrough in my opinion.

Ben Lagle

November 27, 2007

The single-card system was not getting the respect that it should be getting, now comes the Gateway FX530XT with a single “factory over clocked” it comes with a 8800 GTX graphic card.

The FX530XT’s performance has a quad-core Intel QX6700 processor; it’s over clocked with 2.66 GHz to 3.2 GHz. It has 4 GB of ram.

This computer play’s games really well on the 24 inch widescreen. FX530XT chalked up an imposing 139 frames per second. It also plays high depth DVD’s, thanks to the blue-ray drive.

The motherboard doesn’t support SLI; this won’t allow you to add a second n NVIDIA graphics card. It already has an impressive performance.

 Opinion: I think this would be an amazing computer to have because the pro’s of it is it’s a single graphic card’s dual graphic system. Simple air cooling, Blue ray for high depth DVD.

Joseph Ubaldo

Feb 04, 2008--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rhapsody Taking over Yahoo Music Unlimited

02.04.08

In 2005 yahoo first launched its music service, at the time there was a little competitor to the other company. However music unlimited has floundered all over the internet.

The Major- labeled record companies anonymously spoke at to the press admitting that the search company is approached them looking for based ads on music model similar to the last ones.

As of 01.04.08 Rhapsody will become yahoo music provider, it will be replacing music unlimited. The release issued by Rhapsody this morning showing the strategic partnership is a complete buyout.

In the middle of 2008 people who were current yahoo music unlimited customers will be migrated to Rhapsody with a simple click through process.

Opinion: I think it’s a good idea to try something new because people have been having problems with the yahoo unlimited music. I think with the new Rhapsody coming in and taking over it will help the unlimited music systems. Also they will make a lot of money with there new partnership coming in.

Joseph Ubaldo

Does it really matter where and how you conduct a story. Columnist Tim Harford doesn’t believe it does, yet people still write in expensive places like London and Bangalore.

Place where the population pushes 2,000 isn’t always a bad place to write at but there are better opportunities in “super cities.” But with networking to the internet and cell phones you don’t always have to be where the story is.

Technology is all you really need to communicate with the outside world, that and a good opinion about one of the problems in this world.

Microsoft offered 42 million to yahoo to buy it out. If Microsoft bought out yahoo it would make the software competition increase dramatically. Yahoo, who stands second best to Google, will examine the bid thoroughly. With Google owning 75 percent of the paid world search, Google clearly has the dominate position, and they want to keep it that way.

 Many people think that Microsoft will use this advantage to gain ground control over Google. Google doesn’t want this and they are offering help and opinion to Yahoo. People think that this is more than just a battle for ground but preserving the principle of the internet. But companies like AT&T Inc., Time Warner Inc. and News Corp. aren’t planning in getting involved. In meaning they don’t see it as much of a threat, or too big of a threat that they can’t do anything about it.

People who have been in this situation and others on the opposite side think yahoo has little choice but to sell out. Google is doing the same as Microsoft by giving a $3.1 billion deal to buy online ad service DoubleClick Inc. last year a couple days after that. So no one is innocent in this situation.

Opinion: this is what happens when you get in the way of a head to head competition with two huge name companies, you either have to sell out or turn down millions of dollars either way it’s a lot pressure on one company.