P2P-Zone - View Single Post - The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

walktalker · 28-06-01, 09:00 PM

New Tools for the Schools
Representatives from industry, academia and nonprofit organizations released new applications and programs at the National Educational Computing Conference this week, jockeying for the attention of the 15,000 educators in attendance. "There are things here that we've seen or read about," said Peggy Spitzer, a curriculum coordinator for the West Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota. "The value of this setup is being able to compare multiple vendors. You can talk to people face-to-face."
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44882,00.html

Net Experience Is Best Teacher
One of the largest challenges to implementing technology in the classroom is providing teachers with enough training and support so they can comfortably use the tools to help their students learn. One effort toward bridging that gap is taking place at the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS) in Evanston, Illinois, where researchers and teachers are working together to develop technology-rich science curricula. The center, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a joint project among Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the Chicago and Detroit public school districts.
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44869,00.html

Static Fears for Hearing Impaired
Imagine trying to pay attention to your teacher but being distracted -- not by the warm breeze coming in from the window but by bursts of static, police radios or walkie talkies. If you're a child with a hearing loss using an Assistive Listening Device -- also known as an FM system or an ALD -- this scenario could easily be a regular classroom experience. That is, unless Congress alters rules regarding the FCC's auctioning of certain bands of the radio spectrum. To stop random signals -- such as the drive-in window of a local McDonald's that one child heard -- a number of hearing aid and ALD manufacturers approached the FCC to open up a new spectrum.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,44696,00.html

Bill might exempt digital goods from Net tax
A key House committee plans to consider legislation that would exempt digital music, software and other intangible goods sold over the Internet from sales taxes, committee members said Wednesday. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin said his committee would take up a bill in July that would prohibit states and municipalities from taxing digital items downloaded over the Internet, even if Congress allows states to tax other online sales.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/t...27-net-tax.htm

UK Govt protects right to spam
The British Government once again voiced its commitment to the wired economy by attempting to talk its European partners into overturning their commitment to outlaw spam. The Government, it seems, is happy for Net users to be bombarded with junk email containing all manner of pornographic filth, scams, frauds, deceptions and get-rich-quick schemes that prey on the vulnerable. The Government is also happy that Net users pick up the tab for this pestering intrusion. It's their time online, their phone bill, their subscription costs - let punters pay for it.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/23/20029.html

Desperately Seeking Bioinformaticians
As the biotech sector continues to grow, more and more professionals are needed who can bridge the gap between biological research and software development. The problem is that very few training programs in bioinformatics exist. Also, not many scientists are competent in both arenas and few managers know how to recognize and hire for both skills. It's hard to say what makes for good training in an area that has yet to be fully defined. That's where bioinformatics experts such as Cynthia Gibas come in.
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/bios/

Security of Napster-like software criticised
Napster-like file sharing tools could leave users open to attack, according to research presented at a major technology conference. Steven Bellovin, a computer scientist from AT&T's Communications Information Systems Research Department, will deliver the warning at the Advanced Computing Systems Association's USENIX 2001 conference in Boston on 28 June. He will highlight a number of potential vulnerabilities in file sharing applications such as Napster and Gnutella. "The premise of the talk is that there are security implications for the computers, completely without regard to the copyright issues," Bellovin toldNew Scientist.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns9999944

Designer cat controversy
Allergy-proof cats could be the next genetically modified animals to be born. A biotechnology company intends to alter the genetic makeup of moggies to create the perfect pet for allergic cat lovers. Transgenic Pets claims sufferers will soon be able to own a cat without fear of a runny nose or streaming eyes. But animal welfare groups say the plans raise serious animal welfare and ethical issues.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1411802.stm

Computing power on tap
Imagine that every time you plugged in a toaster, you had to decide which power station should supply the electricity. Worse still, you could select only from those power stations that were built by the company that made the toaster. If the power station chosen happened to be running at full capacity, no toast. Replace the toaster with a personal computer and electrical power with processing power, and this gives a measure of the frustration facing those who dream of distributing large computing problems to dozens, hundreds or even millions of computers via the Internet. A growing band of computer engineers and scientists want to take the toaster analogy to its logical conclusion with a proposal they call the Grid.
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/...tory_id=662301

DNA Chips Target Cancer
Around the same time that Leventhal underwent surgery, researchers at Stanford University and Santa Clara, CA-based startup Affymetrix were beginning to build the first "DNA microarrays." More commonly known as DNA chips, these are DNA-covered silicon, glass or plastic wafers capable of analyzing thousands of genes at a time to, for example, identify the ones that are active in a sample of cells. Now these microarrays appear poised to join the war on cancer. DNA chips, predicts National Cancer Institute director Richard Klausner, are "going to have a huge effect" on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
http://www.techreview.com/magazine/jul01/wortman.asp

'Old' Napster Sued Again As 'New' Napster Is Readied
Napster's top executive has been saying his company really is on the verge of launching the much-anticipated subscription service that could receive blessings from record companies instead of lawsuits. But the kind of unauthorized music swapping Hank Barry wants Napster to put behind it is continuing to draw fresh legal fire. This week, copyright-infringement lawsuits were filed by outfits as diverse as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - the Hollywood folks behind the Oscars) and a Beaverton, Or., company whose recordings are supposed to help listeners tune up their brain waves.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167428.html

Opera Releases Customize-Your-Own Web Browser
Opera Software has enhanced its Opera Web browser to support major customization by users, before they download the basic edition from the firm's Web site. The feature, known as Opera Composer, allows users to customize their copy or copies of the browser. The browser is widely used on older PCs because of its minimalist approach to Windows resources, much more than, say Microsoft Internet Explorer or the Netscape family of browsers. Pal Hvistendahl, a spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that Composer option on Opera's Web site allows users to customize their own hot list and bookmarks, choose between including e-mail and news, and even give their browser its own name.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167403.html

Can smart antennas cure cell ills?
Stroll the canyons of Manhattan on a summer’s morning and, when the streets line up just so, you will be bathed in brilliant sunlight. As a wireless engineer would put it, you are now receiving a direct signal from the solar base station. Too bad your cell phone doesn’t always keep such a direct line to the wireless base stations and frequently ends up without much of a signal. Wouldn’t it be great if the base station could track your movements and train its output on you? That is the appeal of the adaptive, or smart, antenna.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/593922.asp?0dm=C12MT

28-06-01, 09:00 PM	#4
walktalker The local newspaper man Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Montreal Posts: 2,036	Warning, more news inside New Tools for the Schools Representatives from industry, academia and nonprofit organizations released new applications and programs at the National Educational Computing Conference this week, jockeying for the attention of the 15,000 educators in attendance. "There are things here that we've seen or read about," said Peggy Spitzer, a curriculum coordinator for the West Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota. "The value of this setup is being able to compare multiple vendors. You can talk to people face-to-face." http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44882,00.html Net Experience Is Best Teacher One of the largest challenges to implementing technology in the classroom is providing teachers with enough training and support so they can comfortably use the tools to help their students learn. One effort toward bridging that gap is taking place at the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS) in Evanston, Illinois, where researchers and teachers are working together to develop technology-rich science curricula. The center, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a joint project among Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the Chicago and Detroit public school districts. http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44869,00.html Static Fears for Hearing Impaired Imagine trying to pay attention to your teacher but being distracted -- not by the warm breeze coming in from the window but by bursts of static, police radios or walkie talkies. If you're a child with a hearing loss using an Assistive Listening Device -- also known as an FM system or an ALD -- this scenario could easily be a regular classroom experience. That is, unless Congress alters rules regarding the FCC's auctioning of certain bands of the radio spectrum. To stop random signals -- such as the drive-in window of a local McDonald's that one child heard -- a number of hearing aid and ALD manufacturers approached the FCC to open up a new spectrum. http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,44696,00.html Bill might exempt digital goods from Net tax A key House committee plans to consider legislation that would exempt digital music, software and other intangible goods sold over the Internet from sales taxes, committee members said Wednesday. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin said his committee would take up a bill in July that would prohibit states and municipalities from taxing digital items downloaded over the Internet, even if Congress allows states to tax other online sales. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/t...27-net-tax.htm UK Govt protects right to spam The British Government once again voiced its commitment to the wired economy by attempting to talk its European partners into overturning their commitment to outlaw spam. The Government, it seems, is happy for Net users to be bombarded with junk email containing all manner of pornographic filth, scams, frauds, deceptions and get-rich-quick schemes that prey on the vulnerable. The Government is also happy that Net users pick up the tab for this pestering intrusion. It's their time online, their phone bill, their subscription costs - let punters pay for it. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/23/20029.html Desperately Seeking Bioinformaticians As the biotech sector continues to grow, more and more professionals are needed who can bridge the gap between biological research and software development. The problem is that very few training programs in bioinformatics exist. Also, not many scientists are competent in both arenas and few managers know how to recognize and hire for both skills. It's hard to say what makes for good training in an area that has yet to be fully defined. That's where bioinformatics experts such as Cynthia Gibas come in. http://www.sfgate.com/technology/bios/ Security of Napster-like software criticised Napster-like file sharing tools could leave users open to attack, according to research presented at a major technology conference. Steven Bellovin, a computer scientist from AT&T's Communications Information Systems Research Department, will deliver the warning at the Advanced Computing Systems Association's USENIX 2001 conference in Boston on 28 June. He will highlight a number of potential vulnerabilities in file sharing applications such as Napster and Gnutella. "The premise of the talk is that there are security implications for the computers, completely without regard to the copyright issues," Bellovin toldNew Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns9999944 Designer cat controversy Allergy-proof cats could be the next genetically modified animals to be born. A biotechnology company intends to alter the genetic makeup of moggies to create the perfect pet for allergic cat lovers. Transgenic Pets claims sufferers will soon be able to own a cat without fear of a runny nose or streaming eyes. But animal welfare groups say the plans raise serious animal welfare and ethical issues. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1411802.stm Computing power on tap Imagine that every time you plugged in a toaster, you had to decide which power station should supply the electricity. Worse still, you could select only from those power stations that were built by the company that made the toaster. If the power station chosen happened to be running at full capacity, no toast. Replace the toaster with a personal computer and electrical power with processing power, and this gives a measure of the frustration facing those who dream of distributing large computing problems to dozens, hundreds or even millions of computers via the Internet. A growing band of computer engineers and scientists want to take the toaster analogy to its logical conclusion with a proposal they call the Grid. http://www.economist.com/science/tq/...tory_id=662301 DNA Chips Target Cancer Around the same time that Leventhal underwent surgery, researchers at Stanford University and Santa Clara, CA-based startup Affymetrix were beginning to build the first "DNA microarrays." More commonly known as DNA chips, these are DNA-covered silicon, glass or plastic wafers capable of analyzing thousands of genes at a time to, for example, identify the ones that are active in a sample of cells. Now these microarrays appear poised to join the war on cancer. DNA chips, predicts National Cancer Institute director Richard Klausner, are "going to have a huge effect" on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. http://www.techreview.com/magazine/jul01/wortman.asp 'Old' Napster Sued Again As 'New' Napster Is Readied Napster's top executive has been saying his company really is on the verge of launching the much-anticipated subscription service that could receive blessings from record companies instead of lawsuits. But the kind of unauthorized music swapping Hank Barry wants Napster to put behind it is continuing to draw fresh legal fire. This week, copyright-infringement lawsuits were filed by outfits as diverse as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - the Hollywood folks behind the Oscars) and a Beaverton, Or., company whose recordings are supposed to help listeners tune up their brain waves. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167428.html Opera Releases Customize-Your-Own Web Browser Opera Software has enhanced its Opera Web browser to support major customization by users, before they download the basic edition from the firm's Web site. The feature, known as Opera Composer, allows users to customize their copy or copies of the browser. The browser is widely used on older PCs because of its minimalist approach to Windows resources, much more than, say Microsoft Internet Explorer or the Netscape family of browsers. Pal Hvistendahl, a spokesperson for the company, told Newsbytes that Composer option on Opera's Web site allows users to customize their own hot list and bookmarks, choose between including e-mail and news, and even give their browser its own name. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167403.html Can smart antennas cure cell ills? Stroll the canyons of Manhattan on a summer’s morning and, when the streets line up just so, you will be bathed in brilliant sunlight. As a wireless engineer would put it, you are now receiving a direct signal from the solar base station. Too bad your cell phone doesn’t always keep such a direct line to the wireless base stations and frequently ends up without much of a signal. Wouldn’t it be great if the base station could track your movements and train its output on you? That is the appeal of the adaptive, or smart, antenna. http://www.msnbc.com/news/593922.asp?0dm=C12MT __________________ This post was sponsored by Netcoco, who wants cookies, cookies, cookies and, you guessed it, more cookies