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Sunday - July 20, 2008

NASA has Houston. Benjamin Higginbotham has Eden Prairie. What, you've never heard of it? The southwest suburb of Minneapolis serves as ground control for his SpaceVidcast, a daily Internet show about space travel. An admitted tech-obsessed geek, Higginbotham, 30, gets excited when he boasts about the motorized satellite dish on his roof that he can control from anywhere in the world or the equipment upgrade that will allow him to go completely high-def. However, he becomes downright giddy when talking about sending people back to the moon, on to Mars and beyond. [More...]

BOOK REVIEW
The Freewheeling Web's Privacy Noose

Saturday - July 19, 2008

It's no secret that individual privacy has already suffered since the Internet era began, but privacy law expert Daniel Solove believes things are likely to get even worse, and he illustrates his vision in living color with a wealth of examples from the here and now. In The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet, Solove begins his dark tale with the classic story of "dog poop girl." [More...]

Samsung, Sun Give NAND Devices 5 Lives

Friday - July 18, 2008

Samsung and Sun Microsystems have partnered to develop a single-level-cell NAND flash memory device for use in solid state drives with significantly high endurance levels, the two companies said Wednesday. The new device will provide much higher endurance levels than other flash memory devices currently available, according to the companies. [More...]

WEEKLY RECAP
Network Held Hostage, Cyberterror Battle Plan, Evil Genius Wannabe

Friday - July 18, 2008

A City of San Francisco systems administrator is a living testimonial to the importance of preventing any one person in an organization from having too much power. Terry Childs, who is now in jail, holds in his brain the passwords that will let city officials access San Francisco's Fiber Wide Area Network. [More...]

Gore Pitches 10-Year Plan to Wean US Off Dirty Fuels

Friday - July 18, 2008

Former Vice President Al Gore called Thursday for a "man on the moon" effort to switch all of the nation's electricity production to wind, solar and other carbon-free sources within 10 years, a goal that he said would solve global warming as well as economic and natural security crises caused by dependence on fossil fuels. [More...]

EXPERT ADVICE
The Part-Time CSO

Friday - July 18, 2008

Physicists tell us that time is not constant. Interesting as that may be for physicists, it's also a concept that the rest of us can get behind once we put a little bit of a different spin on it. I'm not suggesting that we should all get out our lab coats and play make-believe cosmologist. [More...]

Security Sleuths Sound Alarm on Asprox Flare-Up

Thursday - July 17, 2008

Web security firm Finjan issued a warning Thursday about a new wave of mass Web attacks that it said has affected more than 1,000 Web site domains, including government, retail, healthcare and advertising sites. Security vendors have been aware of the attack toolkit, dubbed "Asprox," for several years. However, they have noticed an uptick in the popularity of the malware since 2007. [More...]

Obama Calls for Cyberterror Czar

Thursday - July 17, 2008

The presidential campaign is turning a focus to cyberterrorism. Democrat Barack Obama has unveiled plans for a "national cyber advisor" position as well as updated standards for protecting computer-based infrastructures if he is elected. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has spoken of the need for increased cyber security in recent weeks as well. [More...]

SPACE
Early Martian Water World May Have Harbored Life

Thursday - July 17, 2008

Nearly 4 billion years ago, much of the surface of Mars was like a soppy carpet. The planet was covered by a thick atmosphere, and it was warm but not exactly picturesque. Those conditions, an international team of three dozen scientists has concluded, could have supported primitive forms of life. However, over time -- some 800 million years -- Mars dried up and took on the rocky, desert-like appearance that exists today. [More...]

ANALYSIS
All Signs Point to Virtualization

Thursday - July 17, 2008

Virtualization has evolved from a development tool running on the desktop to an essential component of IT infrastructure strategy. Companies use virtualization as a means to increase desktop, server and storage utilization, to consolidate data center operations and utility costs, and to reduce the data center's floor space. [More...]

PRODUCT REVIEW
Wireless Headphone System Lets Lots of Listeners Hear the Tune

Thursday - July 17, 2008

The i2i Stream digital music broadcaster is the latest wireless music delivery innovation from Aerielle. It enables users to stream audio wirelessly from any device, including iPods, MP3 players, computers and home entertainment systems. The concept of wireless voice and music transmission over short distances from player device to listener is nothing new. [More...]

Microsoft Doubles Live Mesh Test Force

Wednesday - July 16, 2008

After unveiling its Live Mesh cloud computing service back in April, Microsoft on Wednesday opened up the software's preview version to a larger number of early users in the United States. "This week we did two things," wrote the Live Mesh Team on its official blog. "[We] doubled the maximum number of users we'll allow to access the Live Mesh Technology Preview," and "[we] simplified the Tech Preview sign-up process." [More...]

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