The Newspaper Shop -- Tuesday edition

[walktalker]

We're tuesday alright

Microsoft details Win XP Media Center
Microsoft on Tuesday gave an official name to an upcoming version of Windows XP that aims to make the PC a permanent part of the home entertainment center. Originally code-named Freestyle, this entertainment version of Windows -- which will go by the name Windows XP Media Center Edition -- will appear on new PCs and PC hybrids in time for the holidays, the company revealed on Tuesday. With Windows Media Center, consumers will be able to use a TV remote control to catalog songs, videos and pictures, as well as check TV listings. Windows Media Center brings the number of XP versions to five.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-944072.html

Update to OpenGL graphics spec released
Silicon Graphics (SGI) and a group of other major players in the computer graphics industry have released the latest specification for the OpenGL application programming interface, OpenGL 1.4. The new version includes a number of improvements designed to better take advantage of the latest 3D graphics hardware. SGI and Nokia also said that they are planning to work on a version of OpenGL for mobile phones, handheld computers and other portable devices. For gaming, OpenGL has been largely superseded with the Windows operating system by Microsoft's DirectX.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-944147.html

Radio: Don't make us pay Web fees
Radio stations have asked a federal appeals court to rule that they do not have to pay musicians and recording companies when they play music on the Internet because they do not pay royalties for regular, over-the-air broadcasts. In a motion filed late Monday, a group of radio stations said a federal court in Philadelphia and the U.S. Copyright Office had misinterpreted the law when they said that radio stations had to pay musicians and recording companies when they stream their songs over the Internet. The Copyright Office established a rate of 0.07 cent per listener per song in June, which means that Internet-only "Webcasters" and broadcast giants like Clear Channel Communications would be on the hook for 70 cents for each song played to an audience of 1,000 listeners.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-944218.html

Hackers could soon face a life sentence
The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow for life prison sentences for malicious computer hackers. By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also expands police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping without first obtaining a court order. The Bush administration had asked Congress to approve the Cyber Security Enhancement Act (CSEA) as a way of responding to electronic intrusions, denial of service attacks and the threat of "cyber-terrorism." The CSEA had been written before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year, but the events spurred legislators toward Monday evening's near-unanimous vote.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-944067.html

Apple launches QuickTime 6
Apple Computer released the final version of its QuickTime 6 digital media software on Monday, marking a stand-down in a dispute over licensing fees. The company also is considering serving up CEO Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote address on Wednesday in MPEG-4 format, which could be viewed using QuickTime 6. That would make the keynote the first major event streamed in MPEG-4 format over the Web. For certain, the keynote address would be available in QuickTime format for users of version 5.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-944013.html

Universal appoints head of anti-piracy
Universal Music Group has created a new full-time position to help it combat piracy. Lawyer and former music-television producer David Benjamin will fill the role as UMG's new senior vice president of anti-piracy. UMG said Benjamin would work with industry trade groups as well as the company's artists, songwriters, and publishing divisions to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution of the labels' music. "Complementing UMG's ongoing efforts to find new ways to make music available to consumers, we intend to use a combination of consumer education, technology and litigation to aggressively combat piracy," Benjamin said in a statement.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-944216.html?tag=fd_top

Moxi moves into cable boxes
Scientific-Atlanta, one of the leading manufacturers of set-top boxes for cable TV providers, announced an agreement Tuesday to incorporate Moxi home entertainment functions in an upcoming product. The Explorer Media Center will combine standard cable receiver functions with digital video recording, MP3 playback and other tasks handled by Moxi's service. Charter Communications, one of the leading U.S. cable operators, said it will begin offering the Explorer to subscribers next year.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-944201.html?tag=fd_top

New cellular company, new number -- still
Wireless telephone carriers on Tuesday were given another year to make it possible for their customers to keep the same phone number, even if they switch to a competitor. Major carriers will now have until Nov. 24, 2003, to make that service available, the Federal Communications Commission ruled. The FCC had previously set a November 2002 deadline by which the companies would have to allow cell phone customers to keep their phone numbers if they change service providers. The FCC was acting upon a petition from Verizon Wireless to drop the plan entirely, grant a delay or exempt Verizon from the program entirely. Other carriers have filed papers supporting Verizon's petition.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-944168.html?tag=fd_top

Magnetic Random-Access Memory
Your computer has a leak. The dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) technology inside it relies on electrons stored in microscopic cells. The electrons escape frequently, though, and the cells must be electrically recharged thousands of times per second to keep your electronic files intact. But a new kind of memory may end that. Magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) stores data in the spin of electrons inside tiny magnetic sandwiches. The sandwiches don’t lose their magnetism — or memory — even if the power goes out. What’s more, MRAM has the potential to store as much data as DRAM, write it faster and access it almost instantly — all while consuming less energy.
http://www.technologyreview.com/arti...ualize0702.asp

Congress to weigh in on digital TV
Congress will step in this fall to encourage Hollywood, Silicon Valley and consumers to make the long-delayed switch to digital broadcast television, a key lawmaker said on Monday. Rep. Billy Tauzin, who chairs the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, said his staff has begun to prepare a comprehensive bill that would resolve questions swirling around the new medium, hoping free, over-the-air digital broadcasts would become commonplace before too long.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-944046.html?tag=cd_mh

Tech execs: Hands off P2P
Technology executives said Monday that they're ready to work with Hollywood to prevent piracy but they're concerned that studios' efforts could undermine file-swapping technology. In a joint missive to studio chiefs, signed by Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, Intel's Craig Barrett, Dell Computer's Michael Dell and others, technology CEOs said they were ready to sit down with movie industry representatives to discuss anti-piracy issues -- but only if the studios agree that technology can't solve all their problems. With several conditions attached, the letter represented only a qualified olive branch extended toward the studios, which have criticized technology companies for turning a blind eye to Net piracy.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-943946.html?tag=cd_mh

Now That's a Big Molecule
The largest, tallest DNA model in the world wooed visitors to the Tomorrow's World Roadshow at Earls Court London last weekend, smashing a Guinness record in the process. Standing 40 feet tall and containing about 300 base pairs, the gigantic molecule broke its own record when 50 base pairs were added by roadshow visitors to the original record-breaking 250 made by the Children of Staffordshire and Cheshire and a group of Science celebrities including Francis Crick the DNA pioneer, earlier this year. Assembled at the Potteries Shopping Centre in Stoke-on-Trent the older version of the record-breaking molecule was 35.36 feet tall and contained over 15,000 atoms.
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,53714,00.html

Israel Blocks Palestinian ISP
For hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, getting to work, school or the market has been virtually impossible since Israel's latest anti-terror campaign began. Now, they won't be able to get online, either. Early Monday morning, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops took over the offices of Palnet, the leading Palestinian Internet service provider, shutting down the firm's operations. The move -- part of Israel's 3-week-old "Operation Determined Path," which has kept seven of the eight major Palestinian cities under strict curfew -- reduced Internet access to a trickle in the West Bank and Gaza.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53873,00.html

Norway Says No Way to Microsoft
The Norwegian government has joined a growing number of countries in what appears to be a budding public sector revolt against Microsoft's market dominance. The government says it will not renew a contract with the U.S. software giant though it means losing discounts of up to 20 percent on public sector buys that amounted to roughly $27.8 million last year. In announcing the decision, Norway's minister of labor and government administration said he wanted to make it easier for other software companies to compete for public agency business.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,53898,00.html

China's E-Mail Going Postal
It almost sounds like a cool idea, until you remember whose idea it is. China's postal agency launched a new service this week that will enable computer users to have e-mails delivered in hard-copy form to recipients who don't have e-mail. The e-mails will be printed out by postal employees, placed into envelopes, and sent with the rest of the mail to the sender's assigned destination. Oh, and it won't be read by anyone. A spokeswoman for China Post says so.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53860,00.html

The Bandwidth Capital of the World
At first glance, Seoul seems like just another sprawling metropolis: Its buildings, hastily constructed with dubious financing in the months leading up to South Korea's 1997 economic crisis, are the sort of blocky, concrete-and-glass high-rises that give many modern cities the air of prefab homogeneity. There's none of the high tech visual overload you see in Tokyo, or the clean-scrubbed, old-meets-new urbanism of Scandinavia — nothing to indicate that Seoul is the most wired city on the planet. Burrow a bit, though, down the alleys, up flights of stairs, or into the corners of malls, and you find something that sets Seoul apart and fosters its passion for broadband: online game rooms, or PC baangs, as they are called here. There are 26,000 of them, tucked into every spare sliver of real estate. Filled with late-model PCs packed tightly into rows, these rabbit warrens of high-bandwidth connectivity are where young adults gather to play games, video-chat, hang out, and hook up.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.08/korea.html

Sonar OK'd for U.S. Navy
The Bush administration is letting the Navy use a powerful low-frequency sonar that can detect enemy submarines but which environmentalists fear will harm whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. The Navy says the $300 million system, intended to sweep 80 percent of the world's oceans, is important to national security because other nations such as Russia, Germany and China are developing super-quiet submarines to avoid traditional detection.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53888,00.html

SETI: We'll Find 'Alien' by 2027
Scientists searching the stars for aliens are convinced an E.T. is out there -- it's just that they haven't had the know-how to detect such a being. But now technological advances have opened the way for scientists to check millions of previously unknown star systems, dramatically increasing the chances of finding intelligent life in outer space in the next 25 years, the world's largest private extraterrestrial agency believes.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,53887,00.html

Public quizzed on gene test kits
The UK public is to be asked for its views on the availability of personal genetic tests. The Human Genetics Commission is launching a three-month consultation exercise asking whether genetic tests should be sold direct to the public, or should only be available through a doctor. Technological developments mean genetic testing is easier and more readily available than ever before. It could soon be possible for anyone to carry out genetic tests over the internet, without the involvement of a clinic.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/hea...00/2129990.stm

Hormone food scandal rocks Europe
Scientists are meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to try and resolve Europe's latest food scandal: illegal steroid hormones in animal feed, meat and even soft drinks. The contamination may involve eight of the 15 European Union countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain. Before the meeting began, the European Commissioner for health and consumer protection, David Byrne, blamed the incident on "fraudulent exchange and disposal of pharmaceutical waste", and pledged new controls on animal feed.The first signs of trouble emerged in early July on Dutch pig farms with a wave of infertility among sows. Tests of the pigs' feed revealed medroxy progesterone acetate (MPA), a synthetic progesterone that can cause infertility.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992551

Hand-held X-ray gun
Cheap, portable X-ray sources could soon replace the cumbersome, fragile devices currently used for biomedical imaging. US scientists have created a hand-held prototype in which X-rays are produced by beams of electrons emitted from tiny filaments of pure carbon. The instrument uses the same principle as existing X-ray sources: high-energy electrons strike a piece of metal, stimulating its atoms to emit X-rays. But the new device works at much lower temperatures, and consumes less power. It might therefore cost less and last longer. It could also be miniaturized to deliver X-rays to a small volume of space, providing high-resolution images and minimizing the risk of damaging the surrounding tissue.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/020715/020715-1.html

Volkswagen's canoe-skinny mini could do New York to D.C. on 1 gallon of gas
To listen to automakers snipe about tightening fuel economy standards, you'd think it impossible to squeeze more miles from a barrel of Extract of Arabia. This, of course, is not the case, particularly if you design a vehicle expressly to drive far and drink little. Forget power, space, and speed: Volkswagen AG's latest idea-on-wheels does not address the requirements of the average American family driver. What it can do is travel more than 100 kilometers on a single liter of fuel. Translation: 235 miles per gallon. The car's designers combined highly tuned aerodynamics, exotic materials, and a 0.3-liter diesel engine to achieve 0.99 liters per 100 kilometers.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/auto/ar...320360,00.html

Can newspapers help make record companies obsolete?
MP3 download sections are not yet common in daily newspapers, but if enough of them pick up on the idea, newspapers could become as strong a promotional force in the music industry as traditional record companies. Howard Parnell, managing editor for local news at washingtonpost.com, came up with the idea of a Post-sponsored MP3 download site. He lived in the Boston area for 15 years, and liked the download area at Boston.com (which apparently closed for a while but has since returned), and thought something similar might go over well in the Washington, D.C., area. He says, "I grew up in this town, and I'm a big fan of the local music scene."
http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/15/146221

"Peer-to-peer" internet identity scheme unveiled
The first specifications for a new universal internet identity scheme have been unveiled by a consortium of US companies. The scheme is aimed at making it easy for internet users to shop, do business and communicate online without having to enter personal information or even a password at every site they visit. But the project will also make protecting users' vital information considerably more complicated. The Liberty Alliance was first proposed by Sun Microsystems in September 2001 as an alternative to Microsoft's "single sign-on" identity scheme, Passport.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992550

S. Korean students plan cyber attack
Activists threatened on Tuesday to launch cyber-attacks on White House, U.S. Embassy and military Web sites to protest the deaths of two South Korean girls fatally struck by a U.S. armored vehicle. The South Korean activists planned to try to incapacitate the Web servers by flooding them with a massive number of simultaneous “hits” — or visits of the sites — on Wednesday. “Our aim is to temporarily shut down the servers to show our anger,” said Yoon Su-keun, an organizer of the anti-U.S. protest. Yoon said activists want an apology from President Bush and punishment for the two soldiers who were in the vehicle that struck the girls on a narrow road north of Seoul on June 13.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/781237.asp?0si=-

100 years of keeping cool
The news that air conditioning is celebrating its hundredth birthday this week came on a sweltering hot day when the knob broke off the window unit that cools my blistering hot, west-facing, 13th floor apartment. Of all the revolutionary shifts that have altered the way we live these past 100 years, air conditioning has been among the most slowly adopted. It’s only in the past 50 years that it has had a widespread impact in our homes, and in the past twenty or so that it’s become almost standard in cars. So as you swelter through this summer of global warming, and as you muse about the relief you get from the A/C you normally take for granted, you might begin to think that Willis Carrier was a genius — creating a way to keep us all cool.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/773447.asp?0si=-

Hem... More news later on

[goldie]

You can walk the walk AND talk the talk!!

[JackSpratts]

The Walktalker NUService?

I give it four stars **** and two thumbs up! - Jack Spratts

[ab-NORM-al]

great news, man.... newsman!
bookmarked a bunch of that...prolly never read it again

but i got excited enuff to think i will anyway

if you read all that and more (to sort out the crap ...we're not getting any, so i figure), ..uh, THAS alot of reading

YOU ARE THE NEWSMAN!

yes you am!


(flips virtual silver dollar )