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walktalker · 26-11-01, 08:57 PM

XBox vs. Cube Is a Waiting Game
For some people -- they know who they are -- one question looms above all this year. These folks are up nights, fevered, shivering and lost in a fog of indecision. Their big question is not How will we win the war against terrorism? or When will the economy rebound? Rather, it's this: XBox or GameCube? This holiday season, Microsoft and Nintendo have released video game systems that are, by themselves, not bad: Both Microsoft's XBox and Nintendo's GameCube offer spectacular graphics and sound, and many of their games will keep you playing for hours on end.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48567,00.html

Experts Rip Cloning 'Story'
Scientists say they've cloned the first human embryo, but critics are calling the announcement a shameless cry for funding. Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts, announced on Sunday that they have cloned the first human embryo –- an issue that has been hotly debated this year among bioethicists and in Congress.
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,48629,00.html

Dinosaur Killer Spread Wide
The devastating destruction wrought by the collision between Earth and a large asteroid 65 million years ago spread far beyond the locale of the North American impact, a New Zealand-led group of scientists has found. The scientists, whose work is published in the latest issue of Science, examined pollen grains preserved in exposed coal seams from a mine on the west coast of New Zealand. The coal, the scientists found, has the highest concentration of iridium -- the calling card of extra-terrestrial objects -- known in non-marine rocks anywhere in the world.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48615,00.html

NASA's Mission: Fiscal Health
President Bush is trying to reform a space station program that has been blowing its budget since before his father was president. The former president presided over the darkest days of NASA's ill-fated Space Station Freedom project, before cost explosions and design woes led to its demise in 1993. In its place came the International Space Station, a cooperative venture with Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,48455,00.html

Boohoo Tells a Dot-Com Disaster
When reading the new book about the famous failed European fashion site Boo.com, it's difficult to pinpoint why it's so hard to muster up the requisite pity for the fate of its founders. Perhaps it's because before they pulled the plug on their beloved Web business, Boo's co-founders managed to pack in more high living than most people get in a lifetime, between the Concorde jets, celebrity-filled nightclubs and five-star hotels.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,48470,00.html

Intelligence Relative, Study Says
Think you're smart? Really smart? Well, it might not matter as long as someone's just a little bit smarter, according to some new research. A pair of British mathematicians pitted computerized "minibrains" against each other in a battle of wits, and found that brains with an edge could beat the system and their competitors. The researchers say the results could provide a new perspective on intelligence, but critics are skeptical.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48576,00.html

The Little Engine That Could Be
The development of a fuel-powered miniature engine, touted as a more efficient and longer lasting alternative for the battery, may push the Energizer Bunny to the unemployment lines. No bigger than a regular shirt button, the micro gas turbine engine uses the same process for producing electricity as its big brother electricity stations -- burning fossil fuel and running it through a power plant.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48400,00.html

Perfume Smells Like Geek Spirit
into the eyes of the woman he'd loved for years. As he moved in for the kiss, he caught a whiff of her shoulder and immediately thought of his computer. So much for passion. While smelling like "digital" is the last thing most of us would consider a turn-on, real geeks might find the scent to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.
http://www.wired.com/news/holidays/0,1882,48395,00.html

Windows XP fails to spark demand for PCs
Even Microsoft's ballyhooed new operating system isn't thrilling personal computer shoppers or firing up the high-tech economy. Sales of PCs loaded with Microsoft's Windows XP have been largely flat since it was launched last month, says market researcher NPD Intelect. The tech industry had hoped that XP, boosted with $1 billion in advertising, would drive up PC sales, thus sales of computer chips and related products.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/t.../xp-demand.htm

Digital music: Fast-forwarding tapes to oblivion?
Every time Dan Stark's teenage daughter visits from California, his 2001 Chevy Tahoe becomes home to entertainment's technological past and future. Stark, 48, a marketing director for Boyd Gaming in Las Vegas, still revels in a collection of old radio shows he has preserved on cassette tapes. But 14-year-old Kaitlyn, a high school freshman, finds the tapes (and her dad's affection for talk radio) passé. "A lot of artists aren't even putting out cassettes," she says. She'd rather listen to CDs burned from MP3 files she downloads off the Internet. Not inclined to fuss for control of the stereo, Stark had his SUV fitted with a custom rear-seat listening station. He can pop in a cassette; she can plug in headphones at the same time and listen to a CD.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/t...ssette-rip.htm

eBlaster, The V-Chip's Tougher Big Brother
At some point during the last decade or so, we stopped trusting ourselves to be good parents. Under assault by the likes of "Dawson's Creek," 2 Live Crew and Duke Nukem, we started seeking out lawmakers and computer engineers to do what we despaired of doing: protect our children, particularly our older children, from the influences of the nasty media. The result has been an unprecedented flurry of regulations and regulatory devices aimed at teenagers, including V-chips, Internet filters and the labeling of CDs, TV shows and movies. Never mind that there's no evidence that such measures do anything other than make the undesirable desirable.
http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/13842-1.html

China eyes the Moon
China says it will launch a manned flight into space before 2005 to be followed by a mission to the moon. A senior scientist, Liang Sili, told officials that further unmanned flights were necessary to ensure that astronauts were "100% safe" in outer space. Officials did not give any details of the Moon exploration plan, but the state-run Xinhua news agency said China hoped the mission would take place "in the next decade or longer".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/wor...00/1672032.stm

Internet users more chic than geek
Far from being friendless "nerds", internet users lead more sociable lives than non-surfers, according to new research in the UK. A survey of 2500 randomly selected Britons revealed that internet users are more likely to belong to a community group, voluntary organisation or to go to church regularly. They also tend to be better paid and more educated than non-users. There is a huge divide between those who surf and those who don't, says Andrew Oswald at Warwick University, who carried out the study. But contrary to popular opinion surfers are not slouched over their computer all day, he says: "They simply watch less television."
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991606

Judge To Consider Microsoft Class Action Settlement
approve Microsoft's $1 billion plan to settle more than 100 class action antitrust lawsuits. U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Motz is slated to hear testimony on the settlement, which would resolve a slew of private antitrust claims that Microsoft used its monopoly in the computer operating system market to overcharge consumers for its products. Under the proposed settlement, Microsoft would provide up to $1 billion in free software and refurbished computers to approximately 12,500 of the nation's poorest schools.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172424.html

Online Music Worth $1.6 Bil By 2005
Much of the focus regarding the online distribution of music has been on legal maneuvering as record labels attempt to defeat file-sharing services in the courts. According to a study by market research company IDC, over the next four years consumers will see the emergence of a new way of purchasing and listening to music. The existence of free music services will inhibit the growth of fee-based music service providers (MSPs) for at least the next two years, the IDC study predicted. However, the company predicted revenues from MSPs will grow from $57.1 million in 2001 to $1.6 billion by 2005.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172423.html

Thirty Nations Sign Global Cybercrime Treaty
The United States and 29 other nations signed a treaty last Friday establishing common tools and rules for fighting Internet crime. On Nov. 23, foreign ministers from the United States, Canada, Japan and South Africa joined their counterparts in 26 other countries in signing the Council of Europe’s “Convention on Cybercrime,” an international treaty designed to harmonize laws and penalties for crimes committed via the Internet. The convention streamlines definitions and civil and criminal penalties for hacking, copyright infringement, computer-related fraud, and child pornography.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172398.html

More news later on

26-11-01, 08:57 PM	#2
walktalker The local newspaper man Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Montreal Posts: 2,036	XBox vs. Cube Is a Waiting Game For some people -- they know who they are -- one question looms above all this year. These folks are up nights, fevered, shivering and lost in a fog of indecision. Their big question is not How will we win the war against terrorism? or When will the economy rebound? Rather, it's this: XBox or GameCube? This holiday season, Microsoft and Nintendo have released video game systems that are, by themselves, not bad: Both Microsoft's XBox and Nintendo's GameCube offer spectacular graphics and sound, and many of their games will keep you playing for hours on end. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48567,00.html Experts Rip Cloning 'Story' Scientists say they've cloned the first human embryo, but critics are calling the announcement a shameless cry for funding. Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts, announced on Sunday that they have cloned the first human embryo –- an issue that has been hotly debated this year among bioethicists and in Congress. http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,48629,00.html Dinosaur Killer Spread Wide The devastating destruction wrought by the collision between Earth and a large asteroid 65 million years ago spread far beyond the locale of the North American impact, a New Zealand-led group of scientists has found. The scientists, whose work is published in the latest issue of Science, examined pollen grains preserved in exposed coal seams from a mine on the west coast of New Zealand. The coal, the scientists found, has the highest concentration of iridium -- the calling card of extra-terrestrial objects -- known in non-marine rocks anywhere in the world. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48615,00.html NASA's Mission: Fiscal Health President Bush is trying to reform a space station program that has been blowing its budget since before his father was president. The former president presided over the darkest days of NASA's ill-fated Space Station Freedom project, before cost explosions and design woes led to its demise in 1993. In its place came the International Space Station, a cooperative venture with Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,48455,00.html Boohoo Tells a Dot-Com Disaster When reading the new book about the famous failed European fashion site Boo.com, it's difficult to pinpoint why it's so hard to muster up the requisite pity for the fate of its founders. Perhaps it's because before they pulled the plug on their beloved Web business, Boo's co-founders managed to pack in more high living than most people get in a lifetime, between the Concorde jets, celebrity-filled nightclubs and five-star hotels. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,48470,00.html Intelligence Relative, Study Says Think you're smart? Really smart? Well, it might not matter as long as someone's just a little bit smarter, according to some new research. A pair of British mathematicians pitted computerized "minibrains" against each other in a battle of wits, and found that brains with an edge could beat the system and their competitors. The researchers say the results could provide a new perspective on intelligence, but critics are skeptical. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48576,00.html The Little Engine That Could Be The development of a fuel-powered miniature engine, touted as a more efficient and longer lasting alternative for the battery, may push the Energizer Bunny to the unemployment lines. No bigger than a regular shirt button, the micro gas turbine engine uses the same process for producing electricity as its big brother electricity stations -- burning fossil fuel and running it through a power plant. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,48400,00.html Perfume Smells Like Geek Spirit into the eyes of the woman he'd loved for years. As he moved in for the kiss, he caught a whiff of her shoulder and immediately thought of his computer. So much for passion. While smelling like "digital" is the last thing most of us would consider a turn-on, real geeks might find the scent to be the ultimate aphrodisiac. http://www.wired.com/news/holidays/0,1882,48395,00.html Windows XP fails to spark demand for PCs Even Microsoft's ballyhooed new operating system isn't thrilling personal computer shoppers or firing up the high-tech economy. Sales of PCs loaded with Microsoft's Windows XP have been largely flat since it was launched last month, says market researcher NPD Intelect. The tech industry had hoped that XP, boosted with $1 billion in advertising, would drive up PC sales, thus sales of computer chips and related products. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/t.../xp-demand.htm Digital music: Fast-forwarding tapes to oblivion? Every time Dan Stark's teenage daughter visits from California, his 2001 Chevy Tahoe becomes home to entertainment's technological past and future. Stark, 48, a marketing director for Boyd Gaming in Las Vegas, still revels in a collection of old radio shows he has preserved on cassette tapes. But 14-year-old Kaitlyn, a high school freshman, finds the tapes (and her dad's affection for talk radio) passé. "A lot of artists aren't even putting out cassettes," she says. She'd rather listen to CDs burned from MP3 files she downloads off the Internet. Not inclined to fuss for control of the stereo, Stark had his SUV fitted with a custom rear-seat listening station. He can pop in a cassette; she can plug in headphones at the same time and listen to a CD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/t...ssette-rip.htm eBlaster, The V-Chip's Tougher Big Brother At some point during the last decade or so, we stopped trusting ourselves to be good parents. Under assault by the likes of "Dawson's Creek," 2 Live Crew and Duke Nukem, we started seeking out lawmakers and computer engineers to do what we despaired of doing: protect our children, particularly our older children, from the influences of the nasty media. The result has been an unprecedented flurry of regulations and regulatory devices aimed at teenagers, including V-chips, Internet filters and the labeling of CDs, TV shows and movies. Never mind that there's no evidence that such measures do anything other than make the undesirable desirable. http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/13842-1.html China eyes the Moon China says it will launch a manned flight into space before 2005 to be followed by a mission to the moon. A senior scientist, Liang Sili, told officials that further unmanned flights were necessary to ensure that astronauts were "100% safe" in outer space. Officials did not give any details of the Moon exploration plan, but the state-run Xinhua news agency said China hoped the mission would take place "in the next decade or longer". http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/wor...00/1672032.stm Internet users more chic than geek Far from being friendless "nerds", internet users lead more sociable lives than non-surfers, according to new research in the UK. A survey of 2500 randomly selected Britons revealed that internet users are more likely to belong to a community group, voluntary organisation or to go to church regularly. They also tend to be better paid and more educated than non-users. There is a huge divide between those who surf and those who don't, says Andrew Oswald at Warwick University, who carried out the study. But contrary to popular opinion surfers are not slouched over their computer all day, he says: "They simply watch less television." http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991606 Judge To Consider Microsoft Class Action Settlement approve Microsoft's $1 billion plan to settle more than 100 class action antitrust lawsuits. U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Motz is slated to hear testimony on the settlement, which would resolve a slew of private antitrust claims that Microsoft used its monopoly in the computer operating system market to overcharge consumers for its products. Under the proposed settlement, Microsoft would provide up to $1 billion in free software and refurbished computers to approximately 12,500 of the nation's poorest schools. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172424.html Online Music Worth $1.6 Bil By 2005 Much of the focus regarding the online distribution of music has been on legal maneuvering as record labels attempt to defeat file-sharing services in the courts. According to a study by market research company IDC, over the next four years consumers will see the emergence of a new way of purchasing and listening to music. The existence of free music services will inhibit the growth of fee-based music service providers (MSPs) for at least the next two years, the IDC study predicted. However, the company predicted revenues from MSPs will grow from $57.1 million in 2001 to $1.6 billion by 2005. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172423.html Thirty Nations Sign Global Cybercrime Treaty The United States and 29 other nations signed a treaty last Friday establishing common tools and rules for fighting Internet crime. On Nov. 23, foreign ministers from the United States, Canada, Japan and South Africa joined their counterparts in 26 other countries in signing the Council of Europe’s “Convention on Cybercrime,” an international treaty designed to harmonize laws and penalties for crimes committed via the Internet. The convention streamlines definitions and civil and criminal penalties for hacking, copyright infringement, computer-related fraud, and child pornography. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172398.html More news later on __________________ This post was sponsored by Netcoco, who wants cookies, cookies, cookies and, you guessed it, more cookies