Technology News

The Register

Mounties taser bed-ridden octagenarian
Knife-wielding old-timer in hospital shocker

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have once again demonstrated their enthusiasm for the Taser by zapping an 82-year-old hospital patient, CBC News reports.?

12 May 2008 at 4:01am

Hippies reclaim summer of code
Overthrow the soft-o-crats!

Google, the internet's number-one search and advertising engine, is a 19,000-person multinational that coins in $18bn in annual revenue. The giant is this summer hosting its codefest Google Summer of Code.?

12 May 2008 at 12:02am

UK.gov torpedoes personal carbon credit plans
'Not a universally desirable outcome' - no, really?

The British government has come out firmly against plans for personal carbon trading, diplomatically saying the idea is "ahead of its time", would cost too much to implement, probably wouldn't see widespread participation, and anyway wouldn't deliver much in the way of benefits.?

11 May 2008 at 3:02am

Extreme porn, hard drives and election strain
Phwoar, pass us some lethal skunk

Comments Windows XP Service Pack 3 dropped this week, later than expected but finally here. This triggered an unending litany of cynicism and doubt from you. Keep up the good work.?

10 May 2008 at 6:02am

Web fan-owned football club heads to Wembley final
A grand day out for the minnows

Ebbsfleet United, the English semi-professional team owned by fans who bought their shares on the Net, is off to Wembley today for the FA Trophy Final.?

10 May 2008 at 2:02am

Shareholder sees golf as AMD cure all
Better than a kick in the tail

Cash-strapped AMD didn't bother to tell investors how it plans to reorganize manufacturing operations and return to profitability during its annual shareholder meeting yesterday ? but apparently nobody was concerned.?

9 May 2008 at 8:10pm

Texas realizes Amazon is in Texas
Online Tax Squabble Part Deux

Texas may soon follow in the footsteps of those clever New Yorkers, asking Amazon for some serious sales tax dollars. Or maybe not.?

9 May 2008 at 7:25pm

Sick of JavaOne? - You will be
Suspected Norovirus stalks halls

With Sun Microsystems banging on about Web 2.0 and mashups for days, anyone would be excused for feeling ready to hurl by day-three of its annual JavaOne conference.?

9 May 2008 at 7:19pm

Gordon Brown claims a Brit invented the iPod
Grosse Pointe, Surrey?

Bad news for Tony Fadell, a Michiganite and inventor of the iPod. In an interview yesterday, Gordon Brown claimed the ubiquitous device in the name of Mother England.?

9 May 2008 at 6:37pm

Circuit City runs up the white flag
Of course you can look at our books, Mr. Corporate Raider, sir

Circuit City's days as an independent are numbered. The ailing US electronics retailer last month received an unsolicited bid from Blockbuster, the ailing video store operator.?

9 May 2008 at 5:48pm

Wired

May 12, 1941: Fog of War Shrouds Computer Advance

1941: German engineer Konrad Zuse unveils the Z3, now generally recognized as the first fully functional, programmable computer.

Because Zuse designed and built his computer inside Nazi Germany, which was already at war, his achievement went unnoticed outside Germany until after the Third Reich's collapse. In the meantime, the Harvard Mark 1, a computer produced by an American team, appeared in 1944 and is still occasionally cited as the first of its kind.

Complicating Zuse's claim of priority, an air raid destroyed his computer, as well as all accompanying photographs and documentation. Zuse rebuilt the Z3 15 years after the war ended, to demonstrate its capabilities and to establish his claim to the patents associated with the machine.

The Z3, Zuse's third computer in a series of four, used the simple binary system for performing complicated mathematical computations -- its outstanding feature.

Zuse is also remembered for devising Plankalkül (calculation plan), an early programming language designed, although never implemented, for engineering purposes. Additionally, he's credited with founding the world's first computer startup company, Zuse-Ingenieurbüro Hopferau, or Zuse Engineering Office of Hopferau (Bavaria), in 1946.

Zuse's achievement, according to his son, was even more remarkable considering he worked independently, even in isolation, and remained unaware of contemporary developments in computer science. And unlike computer pioneers in the Allied countries, Zuse received precious little support from his government. The Nazis saw little military value in his computers and provided only very minimal funding.

Years later, Zuse was generously funded by Siemens and some other German companies when he rebuilt his Z1 computer as part of a retro computing project.

A replica of the Z3 (and the Z4) is on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

(Source: Various)

by Tony Long
11 May 2008 at 8:00pm

Hydrogen Cars Won't Make a Difference for 40 Years

President Bush, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the big automakers agree on this much: They love hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology and its promise of a zero-emission, petroleum-free future.

Unfortunately, experts say it will be 40 years or more before hydrogen has any meaningful impact on gasoline consumption or global warming, and we can't afford to wait that long. In the meantime, fuel cells are diverting resources from more immediate solutions.

"As a climate strategy, it's not very good," said Dr. Joseph Romm, executive director of the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions and author of The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate. "We don't have the time."

Climate experts and alternative-fuel researchers, including some hydrogen proponents, agree that hydrogen is at best a long-term solution. In the short and medium term, however, other technologies offer far greater benefit at far less cost: Cleaner internal combustion engines, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

Some worry that these near-term solutions are being short-changed. But hydrogen advocates counter that the answer isn't cutting hydrogen funding, but increasing funding for research into a wide variety of alternatives to oil.

"The few million we're spending to change our energy policy is like sending one platoon to Normandy," said Paul Williamson, director of the Hydrogen and Alternative Energy Research and Development program at the University of Montana. "It's just not going to happen."

To some extent, politicians and policymakers recognize that hydrogen remains a long way off, which is one reason the California Air Resources Board has told automakers to build 58,000 plug-in hybrids by 2014. And automakers are building cleaner gasoline and diesel engines while developing hybrids.

But the emphasis remains squarely on hydrogen.

Congress appropriated $283.5 million for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative this year, bringing its investment to $1.16 billion since 2004. California's "Hydrogen Highway" may be floundering, but the Air Resources Board is handing out $7.7 million to build hydrogen stations even though the last three agencies to receive state funding gave it back.

Many hurdles remain to be cleared before hydrogen is a viable source of energy -- not the least of which are making, storing and distributing it on a large scale. Meeting these challenges will require, in the words of several hydrogen proponents, a "Manhattan Project"-level of research and funding. And we're a long way from the hydrogen economy President Bush envisioned in his 2003 State of the Union.

The transition has begun though, and California is leading the way even as it keeps relaxing the rule dictating how many electric and hydrogen vehicles automakers must build. There are 175 fuel cell vehicles in California and more coming. Honda will begin leasing its hydrogen-powered Clarity FCX this summer and General Motors will put its Equinox fuel cell vehicles in 100 driveways this year. Hyundai plans to begin mass-producing fuel cells cars in 2012, and GM -- which has invested more than $1 billion in hydrogen -- says it will have 1,000 vehicles on the road in California by 2014.

But few people expect to see fuel cell vehicles in showrooms before 2020, and we won't see any large-scale benefit from them until 30 years after that.

"2050 is when hydrogen might -- might -- have a significant impact," said John Heywood, director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The timeline has more to do with economics than science. There are roughly 240 million vehicles in America and about 16 million new vehicles sold each year. That means it takes about 15 years to turn over the fleet. But it takes even longer for new technologies to penetrate the market.

Heywood cites hybrids as an example. They may seem ubiquitous, but after 10 years, hybrids accounted for just 2.2 percent of domestic auto sales last year. Run the numbers and Heywood estimates fuel cell vehicles will need 25 years to make up 35 percent of new vehicle sales and 20 years beyond that to get to 35 percent of the U.S. fleet.

We can't wait that long. Scientists increasingly agree that industrialized nations must cut greenhouse gas emissions as much as 80 percent by 2050 if we are to curb global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency says fuel economy may have to rise to 75 mpg within 30 years to hit that target. California law requires easing emissions even further than that by 2050. Hitting these targets will require putting 379,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2020 and 7.6 million by 2050, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Hydrogen critics argue that plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles are the answer. But electricity brings its own challenges. Plug-in technology can cut fuel consumption by up to 62 percent, but it adds $8,000 to $11,000 to the cost of the car, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (.pdf). EVs like the Subaru R1e and Mitsubishi's MiEV have a range of no more than 100 miles. The Tesla Roadster gets 220 miles and charges in about 3½ hours, but it costs $98,000 and its lithium-ion battery pack which weighs 1,000 pounds.

"The reality is, as much as everyone in the industry has hoped for affordable, high energy batteries, they don't exist yet," said Ron Cogan, editor of GreenCar.com and Green Car Journal. "We're not there yet with battery electric vehicles or hydrogen. We're on a path to both."

And we'll need both if we're to address global warming and our dependence on oil, climate experts say. Even critics like Romm aren't suggesting we scrap hydrogen entirely. For all its challenges, hydrogen still presents the opportunity, however distant, for a sustainable source of energy that can displace petroleum.

For now, the issue isn't electrics or hydrogen but electrics and hydrogen.

"Given that timeline and the number of vehicles we're talking about, we have to keep working on battery electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicles at the same time," said Spencer Quong of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Both of them have huge challenges, and if we don't work on both of them, we won't meet our objectives."

by Chuck Squatriglia
11 May 2008 at 8:00pm

Carly Fiorina: McCain Different Than Bush on the Environment. Really
McCain is set to lay out specifics of his position on global climate change Monday. His chief surrogate and economic advisor Carly Fiorina (remember her?) tries to distance her candidate from the Bush administration when it comes to the environment, talking up the differences on a weekend TV show.

by Threat Level
11 May 2008 at 5:30pm

Meet the Pulverizers: New Munitions Tear Up Rock and Concrete Quick
New munitions called Pam, Barnie and Bam Bam tear apart rock and concrete easily -- and that's hard to do with traditional explosives. The new blasters use a two-step process: A "shaped charge" drills a hole, then explosives are fired into the hole, and -- ka-boom.

by Danger Room
11 May 2008 at 12:00pm

Families to Plead Case for Vaccine Link to Autism
Claiming that Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in vaccines, triggers autism, attorneys for two Oregon boys take on mainstream medicine in a federal court Monday.

by Associated Press
10 May 2008 at 11:30pm

Tricky Exposes His Roots, Crowdsources Remixes
Adrian Thaws, better known as Tricky, has come a long way from his days in Massive Attack with a successful solo career and film career. His next CD, Knowle West Boy, explores his roots in a "white ghetto" with a post-punk, Two-Tone, dancehall sound. Fans can remix the single "Council Estate."

by Listening Post
10 May 2008 at 11:00pm

China to Make Its Own Jumbo Jets
State media reports Sunday that the Chinese central government and the Shanghai government are major shareholders in a homegrown company that will make passenger jumbo jets. The idea is that China Commercial Aircraft will make the country less dependent on Boeing and Airbus.

by Associated Press
10 May 2008 at 11:00pm

Indie Musician's Tumblelog Packs Music, Photos
Singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur uses his tumblelog, "Bag Is Hot," to build his next two EPs and a full-length CD, due for release in 2008. Sample the goods on the photo and music journal posted by the indie musician discovered and signed by Peter Gabriel.

by Listening Post
10 May 2008 at 7:00pm

Nintendo Taps U.S. Indie Talent in Search of WiiWare Hits
Japanese gaming visionary Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo says the most unique videogames come from America. Nintendo's games-on-demand download service launches Monday, and the company shifts its focus from Japanese studios to U.S. garage developers to find the next brilliant game.

by Game|Life
10 May 2008 at 5:00pm

News Corp. Pulls Bid for Newsday
Despite Rupert Murdoch's boast lthat he was about to close a deal for the Long Island newspaper, a News Corp. rep says the company has withdrawn its $580 million bid to purchase Newsday. News Corp. already owns two New York papers, WSJ and New York Post.

by Associated Press
10 May 2008 at 3:00pm

MacWorld News

Could Apple, NBC be patching up differences?
Apple and NBC were embroiled in a feud last year over iTunes pricing. But signs point to a thaw in the frosty relations between the two companies, as NBC shows have appeared on the U.K. version of the iTunes Store.
9 May 2008 at 7:11pm

Adobe fixes Photoshop Express
Adobe has released an updated version of Photoshop Express, its online photo sharing software, days after delaying the update because of a last-minute bug discovery.
9 May 2008 at 5:16pm

TapeDeck audio recorder debuts
TapeDeck is a new audio recorder app that looks like a cassette tape deck from the 1980s.
9 May 2008 at 4:03pm

RepTools 2008 sports rebuilt user interface
RepTools 2008 is a new version of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software with a rebuilt user interface and other changes.
9 May 2008 at 3:36pm

Parallels update adds Vista SP1, XP SP3 support
Parallels added support for the most recent versions of Vista and XP, in addition to fixing other bugs.
9 May 2008 at 1:23pm

Microsoft to appeal $1.3 billion EU fine
Microsoft is appealing the $1.3 billion fine imposed on it by the European Union for failing to honor a 2004 antitrust agreement.
9 May 2008 at 1:17pm

Ableton releases Orchestral Instruments for Live
Ableton has released orchestral instruments consisting of Strings, Brass, Woodwinds and Percussion in separate collections.
9 May 2008 at 12:47pm

Apple settles two Canadian iPod lawsuits
Apple Canada offered Canadian iPod customers $45 to settle two lawsuits.
9 May 2008 at 12:08pm

O2: iPhone is no longer available in UK
O2 has confirmed reports that the iPhone is not currently available anywhere in the UK, and customers may have to wait for the putative 3G Apple iPhone.
9 May 2008 at 11:50am

Google takes Street View snaps in Paris; lawsuits may follow
Google has begun scanning the streets and buildings of Paris to expand its Street View service.
9 May 2008 at 11:42am

Mac Rumors

3G iPhone to be Sold in Italy in June 2008
Electronic Weekly's David Manners writes (via CNet.com.au) about a revealing encounter he had with Luigi Licciardi, executive vice president for technology and operations at Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM). Licciardi confirms what everyone essentially k...
12 May 2008 at 12:59am

3G iPhone in May, Another Device at WWDC?
In April, SwitchToaMac.com published a rumor that Apple would be launching the 3G iPhone earlier than expected... in May. At the time, we dismissed it, as the rumor didn't seem to correspond with the circulating expectations that the new iPhone woul...
11 May 2008 at 3:42pm

Latest iPhone 2.0 Firmware Has 3G On/Off Option

Earlier today we posted a screenshot on our dedicated iPhone blog (RSS) that claimed to depict a new On/Off option to enable 3G speeds. This new preference was found in the latest iPhone 2.0 Beta 5 distributed to developers. By default, th...
10 May 2008 at 8:06pm

Online Apple Store is Out of iPhones

Both the U.S. and U.K. online Apple Stores are currently out of both the 8GB and 16GB iPhones.

Customers trying to order the iPhone will find that both models are "currently unavailable." This comes just days after UK's O2 c...
10 May 2008 at 12:39pm

Apple to Provide Refunds for Notebook Power Adapters?
In another class action suit settlement, Apple has reportedly agreed to give refunds of $25-$79 to as many as 2.3 million PowerBook and iBook owners who purchased faulty power adapters that were prone to spark.

Customers who bought ce...

9 May 2008 at 11:19am

Jeff Han's Multitouch Screen Hits Mainstream
Longtime MacRumors readers will remember the excitement surrounding Jeff Han's early multitouch videos which predated the launch of the Apple iPhone. Han and his team had explored new user interface designs surrounding the use of a large multi-touc...
8 May 2008 at 11:02pm

Early Canadian iPod Owners Get $45 Credit from Apple
The Gazette reports that two class-action lawsuits against Apple Canada have been settled with a $45 credit being offered to Canadian residents who purchased a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation iPod prior to June 24, 2004.

The basis of the l...
8 May 2008 at 10:10pm

Apple Developing Wiimote-Like Controller?
AppleInsider reports on a new Apple patent application that was published today that reveals Apple has done research on a 3D remote similar to the Nintendo Wii remote.

The present invention can include multi-dimensional (e.g., 2-D or ...

8 May 2008 at 12:01pm

iPhone No Longer Available in UK [Updated]

Engadget reports that O2 has posted a notice on their website that both the 8GB and 16GB iPhones are no longer available in the UK. This confirms earlier reports that O2 had end-of-life'd the 8GB iPhone, though it appears even the 16GB iPhon...
8 May 2008 at 2:22am

AT&T Officially Lists Wi-Fi Hotspot Access with iPhone Plans [Updated]

AT&T's iPhone website (under 'Plans' tab) has been updated to reveal that each iPhone plan now includes access to their "more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks all for use in the U.S."

It was first revealed last w...
7 May 2008 at 11:02pm

Boston Globe Tech News

Backups are a breeze online
You've been through this before. A smart-aleck technology columnist tells you to back up your computer files or else. Sure enough, you choose "or else," because making spare copies of your files is too much bother.
by Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff
30 Apr 2008 at 11:00pm

Wee hands born to hold the remote
video games It's scary to see how quickly kids learn to use Nintendo's Wii game controllers. It's as if their wee hands were born to hold the Remote and Nunchuk.
by Mark Baard
4 May 2008 at 11:00pm

Keying in on a new image
OLED Yo, Rockefeller! I've got a keyboard for you: the Optimus Maximus , a dazzling device with 113 keys, each of which is also an OLED display.
by Mark Baard
27 Apr 2008 at 11:00pm

Robot mower takes orders via phone
smart mowing I am no fan of robotic mowers. My experiences with the machines have been marred by battery failures, jammed blades, and bumper shells that refuse to stay in place. Programming some robotic mowers' onboard computers can also be a bit of a pain.
by Mark Baard
20 Apr 2008 at 11:00pm

Phone makers zeroing in on touch
haptics The longer I wait to make my predictions for 2008, the more accurate I expect they'll be.
by Mark Baard
6 Apr 2008 at 11:00pm

Avatars for those going mobile
In Second Life, I'm Markbaard Meredith, a pale, pointed-eared chap with a Captain Kirk tunic and acid wash jeans, who puffs a Dunhill pipe while shopping for new threads.
by Mark Baard
30 Mar 2008 at 11:00pm

Samsung Ace misses mark for Sprint TV
MOBILE VIDEO I tend to kvetch a lot about the crummy state of mobile video. The picture quality and sound you get simply depend on too many variables to make it worth paying for.
by Mark Baard
23 Mar 2008 at 11:00pm

Cheap thrills from a little music-maker
RETRO Firebox.com has the perfect cheap-o gift for New Music nuts: an updated version of a tiny electronic organ, which has been appearing in Bowie and Kraftwerk songs since the late 1960s.
by Mark Baard
16 Mar 2008 at 11:00pm

A headset for the (noisy) open road
Bluetooth technology Ponch never had trouble hearing Jon over the roar of the Santa Monica Freeway in California. But a lot has changed since the "CHiPs" duo rode out against smugglers and bank robbers decades ago. More cars on the road, aircraft overhead, and the roar of SUVs make it tough for any two bikers to hear each other without ...
by Mark Baard
9 Mar 2008 at 11:00pm

Handy Iomega drives keep you backed up
Hardware I've just severed my .Mac account. I used the service for Apple newbies for at least six years, so I'd have some place other than my chaotic home office to back up my files. But at $150 to $200 a year for 30GB of storage, max, I never felt I got my money's worth.
by Mark Baard
2 Mar 2008 at 11:00pm

Slashdot

Government Efficiency and Network Theory
Science News reports on a study relating (in a loose way) the efficiency of a national government with the size of its cabinet. Researchers in Vienna found that the development level of countries, as a proxy for the efficiency of their governments, is in general lower for countries with more members in the national cabinets. They then went on to model cabinet members as nodes in a network and found support for the observed correlation. There was even specific evidence for the decades-old observation of English historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson that decision-making is severely impaired in committees of more than 20 people. The US is getting close to Parkinson's cutoff, at 17.