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walktalker · 15-10-01, 02:19 PM

SirCam: Will It or Won't It?
Antiviral companies disagree over whether the SirCam virus will or won't detonate on Tuesday. Analysis of the worm's code indicated that on Oct. 16, the worm is coded to generate a number that has a 1-in-20 chance of matching a number contained in its code. If it matches, some experts said, an infected drive will be freed of all its files. But other experts said that SirCam's author -- still unidentified -- made a major error in his programming, and the worm will try but not be able to delete files on infected machines on Oct. 16.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,47582,00.html

RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC

Look out, music pirates: The recording industry wants the right to hack into your computer and delete your stolen MP3s. It's no joke. Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tried to glue this hacking-authorization amendment onto a mammoth anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved last week. An RIAA-drafted amendment according to a draft obtained by Wired News would immunize all copyright holders -- including the movie and e-book industry -- for any data losses caused by their hacking efforts or other computer intrusions "that are reasonably intended to impede or prevent" electronic piracy.
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47552,00.html

Cancer Fight Dips Into Microchips
Researchers here have developed a diagnostic tool that offers instant detection of cancerous cells –- and it's just the size of a microchip. The device employs nanotechnology, microchip fabrication techniques and good, old-fashioned physics to detect cancerous cells in less space than a matchbox. It works by pumping cells through a tiny channel the width of a human hair, and applying a dye that sticks to cancerous cells. The cells are run under a laser, and those with dye fluoresce under the light.
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,47500,00.html

When Land Lines Will Be a Memory

Americans are snapping up cell phones in record numbers. But are cell phones becoming their only phones? That depends on who is asked. Telephone companies that rely on providing home phone services say no. Per-minute charges and spotty coverage on mobiles, they say, are enough to keep people from tossing their home phones. And while cell phone usage is expected to surpass home phone ownership in 2005, analysts disagree on when, if ever, land lines would become obsolete.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,47348,00.html

Woman Enigma Cracker Was Dissed
A British woman cracked a key component of Germany's top-secret Enigma encoding machine before World War II began, but her supervisors dismissed her theory as too simple, according to a new book published on Monday. British newspapers ran excerpts of the book, Action This Day, which claims that discoveries made by a female codebreaker known only as "Mrs. BB" could have opened the secrets of the encoding machine and shortened the war. Codebreakers including Alan Turing, the father of the modern computer, were trying in the late 1930s to break the Enigma cypher, the key to Germany's communication system.
http://www.wired.com/news/women/0,1540,47560,00.html

Blue-Laser DVD Tech Unveiled
Matsushita Electric Industrial unveiled on Monday a recordable DVD that stores 50 gigabytes of data per side -- more than 10 times the storage capacity of current DVDs. The company said the new technology, which uses blue-laser light and a semi-transparent material that permits recording of data on two separate layers, can hold more than four hours of digital high-definition motion pictures on one side of a disc. Matsushita (MC), which already markets a DVD-RAM recorder using conventional red-laser technology, gave no target date for bringing its blue-laser, dual-layer DVD products to market.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47572,00.html

Hair, Hair, the Protein's Here
Researchers have defined the function of a protein produced by the key gene associated with hair loss. It's called the hairless gene protein, but "hairless" is a misnomer because the gene is necessary for hair growth; and if it's not functioning, complete hairlessness results. The gene was discovered about 75 years ago, when a researcher discovered hairless mice that were lacking the gene. But no one knew about the protein that it produced. The discovery is key since proteins do the work instructed by genes. But no one should cancel Propecia orders just yet. Researchers have a long way to go before they find an actual therapy.
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47543,00.html

Kiwi Grass Slows Farmers' Baud

For farmers struggling with infuriatingly slow Internet connections, one solution could be to trim the grass underneath electric fences, according to a government agency looking into the problem. Last year, a probe into New Zealand's telecommunications system found the speed and reach of dialup Internet service in rural areas was being restricted by electric fence interference. "Electric fences can interfere with ordinary telephone services, but it comes over as a click," said Brian Johns, telecommunications policy adviser at the Ministry of Economic Development. "That's annoying, but not necessarily fatal to a voice conversation, because you can still speak over it. But if you've got a data connection operating over the telephone, be it a fax or an Internet service, then it's not nearly as forgiving."
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,47446,00.html

Geology may give bin Laden away
Geologists are examining rocks visible in a recent videotape of Osama bin Laden, in hopes of shedding light on his whereabouts. In theory, by identifying the rock types, they might provide new clues to bin Laden's movements. But so far they disagree in their interpretations of the videotape. That's partly because of uncertainty about the rocks' color and distance from the camera. "You would be surprised at how many people wonder whether or not the geologic information in the picture will be useful. The short answer is 'yes, most definitely,' " said John Shroder Jr., a geologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who has worked in Afghanistan.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...5/MN232579.DTL

Microsoft To Prioritize Security Bugs
In an effort to help customers better respond to security threats, Microsoft said it will begin adding severity ratings to its security bulletins. Under the new severity rating system, vulnerabilities in Microsoft's products will henceforth be classified as either "critical," "moderate," or "low," according to a document released by the company's Security Response Center. In the past, Microsoft has issued security bulletins whenever a vulnerability could affect several customers, "no matter how unlikely or limited the impact," the company said.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171111.html

California Creates Identity Theft Law
Although California State Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, failed to get her employee e-mail surveillance bill signed into law this year, she today scored a victory with legislation that tries to prevent citizens from becoming the victims of identity theft. Gov. Gray Davis, D, today signed into law S.B. 168, which Bowen sponsored. The bill requires businesses to cease printing Social Security numbers on health plan and employer identification cards, as well as other kinds of IDs. It also forbids the future printing of Social Security numbers on bank statements and other documents sent by mail, and allows people to freeze access to their credit reports.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171055.html

Russia Says Question of Shuttleworth's Flight to ISS Remains Open
The question of the flight of South African tycoon Mark Shuttleworth to the International Space Station (ISS) as a space tourist remains open, spokesman for the head of the Russian Aerospace Agency Sergei Gorbunov told Interfax on Friday. He said the talks on the possible flight continue. Shuttleworth is planning to come to Moscow shortly for a final discussion of the contract. Gorbunov said that the South African billionaire has accepted many of the conditions put forward by the Russian side that he initially declined.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...te_011012.html

These Boots Are Made for Power

There are boots for wading, walking, hiking and skiing. But how about boots for power? SRI International, a research firm in Menlo Park, Calif., is working with the Defense Department to create a shoe that will convert the mechanical energy of walking into electric power to charge up gadgets, batteries and other devices. At the heart, or rather sole, of the experimental foot-ware is a heel made of a special elastic polymer. A tiny battery positively charges one side of the flexible material and the other negatively. As the material is compressed and released — such as by the foot pressure generated during walking — the distance between the positive and negative sides change, which in turn creates electricity.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scite...dge011012.html

Wearable computer could rescue lost spacewalkers
The cosmonauts spacewalking from the International Space Station on Monday face a challenging day's work, but their successors should have an easier time thanks to new wearable computers currently being developed. Researchers at Boeing and the MIT's Media Laboratory are developing a computer system that could be installed into a conventional space suit. Their prototype has already survived extreme electromagnetic radiation tests and been adapted so it does not ignite the pure oxygen which astronauts breathe.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991427

High-Speed Trains Are Catching Up
Welcome to the world of high-speed trains. Europeans and Japanese have been riding them for years, and while Americans have yet to jump aboard, all that may soon change. Whether it's high-speed rail connecting all 800 miles of California, or magnetic levitation, as proposed in Florida, engineers and politicians are reconsidering these alternative ways to sprint from city to city. Clearly, the events of September 11 have caused the public to take a second look at high-speed train travel.
http://www.techreview.com/web/heltzel/heltzel101101.asp

Split Screen Play
As president and CEO of the Japanese gaming giant Square, Suzuki thumbs the controls of an empire built on what many consider to be the best role-playing videogames on earth. Square's flagship Final Fantasy series - which launched in 1987 - has sold more than 33 million units worldwide and generated nearly $1 billion in sales. It's also come to define the bleeding edge of the RPG genre, with near-photo-realistic characters moving through a surreal, have-another-hit adventure space. And with each version, Square seems determined to top its previous high score. Over the years, the company has repeatedly shown its willingness to take risks.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.09/square.html

More news later on

15-10-01, 02:19 PM	#2
walktalker The local newspaper man Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Montreal Posts: 2,036	SirCam: Will It or Won't It? Antiviral companies disagree over whether the SirCam virus will or won't detonate on Tuesday. Analysis of the worm's code indicated that on Oct. 16, the worm is coded to generate a number that has a 1-in-20 chance of matching a number contained in its code. If it matches, some experts said, an infected drive will be freed of all its files. But other experts said that SirCam's author -- still unidentified -- made a major error in his programming, and the worm will try but not be able to delete files on infected machines on Oct. 16. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,47582,00.html RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC Look out, music pirates: The recording industry wants the right to hack into your computer and delete your stolen MP3s. It's no joke. Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tried to glue this hacking-authorization amendment onto a mammoth anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved last week. An RIAA-drafted amendment according to a draft obtained by Wired News would immunize all copyright holders -- including the movie and e-book industry -- for any data losses caused by their hacking efforts or other computer intrusions "that are reasonably intended to impede or prevent" electronic piracy. http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47552,00.html Cancer Fight Dips Into Microchips Researchers here have developed a diagnostic tool that offers instant detection of cancerous cells –- and it's just the size of a microchip. The device employs nanotechnology, microchip fabrication techniques and good, old-fashioned physics to detect cancerous cells in less space than a matchbox. It works by pumping cells through a tiny channel the width of a human hair, and applying a dye that sticks to cancerous cells. The cells are run under a laser, and those with dye fluoresce under the light. http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,47500,00.html When Land Lines Will Be a Memory Americans are snapping up cell phones in record numbers. But are cell phones becoming their only phones? That depends on who is asked. Telephone companies that rely on providing home phone services say no. Per-minute charges and spotty coverage on mobiles, they say, are enough to keep people from tossing their home phones. And while cell phone usage is expected to surpass home phone ownership in 2005, analysts disagree on when, if ever, land lines would become obsolete. http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,47348,00.html Woman Enigma Cracker Was Dissed A British woman cracked a key component of Germany's top-secret Enigma encoding machine before World War II began, but her supervisors dismissed her theory as too simple, according to a new book published on Monday. British newspapers ran excerpts of the book, Action This Day, which claims that discoveries made by a female codebreaker known only as "Mrs. BB" could have opened the secrets of the encoding machine and shortened the war. Codebreakers including Alan Turing, the father of the modern computer, were trying in the late 1930s to break the Enigma cypher, the key to Germany's communication system. http://www.wired.com/news/women/0,1540,47560,00.html Blue-Laser DVD Tech Unveiled Matsushita Electric Industrial unveiled on Monday a recordable DVD that stores 50 gigabytes of data per side -- more than 10 times the storage capacity of current DVDs. The company said the new technology, which uses blue-laser light and a semi-transparent material that permits recording of data on two separate layers, can hold more than four hours of digital high-definition motion pictures on one side of a disc. Matsushita (MC), which already markets a DVD-RAM recorder using conventional red-laser technology, gave no target date for bringing its blue-laser, dual-layer DVD products to market. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47572,00.html Hair, Hair, the Protein's Here Researchers have defined the function of a protein produced by the key gene associated with hair loss. It's called the hairless gene protein, but "hairless" is a misnomer because the gene is necessary for hair growth; and if it's not functioning, complete hairlessness results. The gene was discovered about 75 years ago, when a researcher discovered hairless mice that were lacking the gene. But no one knew about the protein that it produced. The discovery is key since proteins do the work instructed by genes. But no one should cancel Propecia orders just yet. Researchers have a long way to go before they find an actual therapy. http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47543,00.html Kiwi Grass Slows Farmers' Baud For farmers struggling with infuriatingly slow Internet connections, one solution could be to trim the grass underneath electric fences, according to a government agency looking into the problem. Last year, a probe into New Zealand's telecommunications system found the speed and reach of dialup Internet service in rural areas was being restricted by electric fence interference. "Electric fences can interfere with ordinary telephone services, but it comes over as a click," said Brian Johns, telecommunications policy adviser at the Ministry of Economic Development. "That's annoying, but not necessarily fatal to a voice conversation, because you can still speak over it. But if you've got a data connection operating over the telephone, be it a fax or an Internet service, then it's not nearly as forgiving." http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,47446,00.html Geology may give bin Laden away Geologists are examining rocks visible in a recent videotape of Osama bin Laden, in hopes of shedding light on his whereabouts. In theory, by identifying the rock types, they might provide new clues to bin Laden's movements. But so far they disagree in their interpretations of the videotape. That's partly because of uncertainty about the rocks' color and distance from the camera. "You would be surprised at how many people wonder whether or not the geologic information in the picture will be useful. The short answer is 'yes, most definitely,' " said John Shroder Jr., a geologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who has worked in Afghanistan. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...5/MN232579.DTL Microsoft To Prioritize Security Bugs In an effort to help customers better respond to security threats, Microsoft said it will begin adding severity ratings to its security bulletins. Under the new severity rating system, vulnerabilities in Microsoft's products will henceforth be classified as either "critical," "moderate," or "low," according to a document released by the company's Security Response Center. In the past, Microsoft has issued security bulletins whenever a vulnerability could affect several customers, "no matter how unlikely or limited the impact," the company said. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171111.html California Creates Identity Theft Law Although California State Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, failed to get her employee e-mail surveillance bill signed into law this year, she today scored a victory with legislation that tries to prevent citizens from becoming the victims of identity theft. Gov. Gray Davis, D, today signed into law S.B. 168, which Bowen sponsored. The bill requires businesses to cease printing Social Security numbers on health plan and employer identification cards, as well as other kinds of IDs. It also forbids the future printing of Social Security numbers on bank statements and other documents sent by mail, and allows people to freeze access to their credit reports. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171055.html Russia Says Question of Shuttleworth's Flight to ISS Remains Open The question of the flight of South African tycoon Mark Shuttleworth to the International Space Station (ISS) as a space tourist remains open, spokesman for the head of the Russian Aerospace Agency Sergei Gorbunov told Interfax on Friday. He said the talks on the possible flight continue. Shuttleworth is planning to come to Moscow shortly for a final discussion of the contract. Gorbunov said that the South African billionaire has accepted many of the conditions put forward by the Russian side that he initially declined. http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...te_011012.html These Boots Are Made for Power There are boots for wading, walking, hiking and skiing. But how about boots for power? SRI International, a research firm in Menlo Park, Calif., is working with the Defense Department to create a shoe that will convert the mechanical energy of walking into electric power to charge up gadgets, batteries and other devices. At the heart, or rather sole, of the experimental foot-ware is a heel made of a special elastic polymer. A tiny battery positively charges one side of the flexible material and the other negatively. As the material is compressed and released — such as by the foot pressure generated during walking — the distance between the positive and negative sides change, which in turn creates electricity. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scite...dge011012.html Wearable computer could rescue lost spacewalkers The cosmonauts spacewalking from the International Space Station on Monday face a challenging day's work, but their successors should have an easier time thanks to new wearable computers currently being developed. Researchers at Boeing and the MIT's Media Laboratory are developing a computer system that could be installed into a conventional space suit. Their prototype has already survived extreme electromagnetic radiation tests and been adapted so it does not ignite the pure oxygen which astronauts breathe. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991427 High-Speed Trains Are Catching Up Welcome to the world of high-speed trains. Europeans and Japanese have been riding them for years, and while Americans have yet to jump aboard, all that may soon change. Whether it's high-speed rail connecting all 800 miles of California, or magnetic levitation, as proposed in Florida, engineers and politicians are reconsidering these alternative ways to sprint from city to city. Clearly, the events of September 11 have caused the public to take a second look at high-speed train travel. http://www.techreview.com/web/heltzel/heltzel101101.asp Split Screen Play As president and CEO of the Japanese gaming giant Square, Suzuki thumbs the controls of an empire built on what many consider to be the best role-playing videogames on earth. Square's flagship Final Fantasy series - which launched in 1987 - has sold more than 33 million units worldwide and generated nearly $1 billion in sales. It's also come to define the bleeding edge of the RPG genre, with near-photo-realistic characters moving through a surreal, have-another-hit adventure space. And with each version, Square seems determined to top its previous high score. Over the years, the company has repeatedly shown its willingness to take risks. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.09/square.html More news later on __________________ This post was sponsored by Netcoco, who wants cookies, cookies, cookies and, you guessed it, more cookies