Boston newspaper prints local bloggers’ posts
While most newspapers are trying to stake bigger claims online, one new publication is pulling material off the Internet to be printed in ink. John Wilpers, editor in chief of BostonNow, a free weekday daily introduced last month, said he wanted to fill the paper with items that local bloggers submitted to the BostonNow Web site.
BostonNow also hopes to help connect bloggers with fans. With a current circulation of about 85,000, BostonNow potentially offers a much larger readership than most local bloggers are used to. The greater exposure could translate into increased ad revenue for their own sites.
Source: Luke Jerod Kummer, The New York Times, May 7, 2007
MySpace to acquire Photobucket
MySpace, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., has reached a preliminary deal to acquire Photobucket, the world’s top photo-sharing site, for around $250 million (125 million pounds) in cash, a source familiar with the deal said on Monday. Photobucket functions like a kind of Swiss bank for depositing and transmitting photos, helping Web users post their photos on other social networking sites, instead of trying to keep the users locked up on its own site.
Source: Kenneth Li & Eric Auchard, Reuters, May 10, 2007
You’re a Nobody Unless Your Name Googles Well
Before Abigail Garvey got married in 2000, anyone could easily Google her. Then she swapped her maiden name for her husband’s last name, Wilson, and dropped out of sight. So when Ms. Wilson, now 32, was pregnant with her first child, she ran every baby name she and her husband, Justin, considered through Google to make sure her baby wouldn’t be born unsearchable. Her top choice: Kohler, an old family name that had the key, rare distinction of being uncommon on the Web when paired with Wilson. “Justin and I wanted our son’s name to be as special as he is,” she explains.
Source: Kevin J. Delaney, The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2007 (Paid registration required)
Net encyclopedia to list all plants, animals
From apples to zebras, all 1.8 million known plant and animal species will be listed in an Internet-based Encyclopedia of Life under a $100 million project, scientists said Tuesday. The 10-year plan, launched with initial grants of $12.5 million from two U.S.-based foundations, could aid everyone from children with biology homework to governments planning how to protect endangered species.
Source: Reuters, May 8, 2007
Congress rethinks the Real ID Act
Opposition is growing to a forthcoming digital ID card for American citizens, but it may be too late to make sweeping changes to the controversial identification requirements. During a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) savaged the Real ID Act as an unwarranted intrusion into Americans’ personal lives that a Republican-controlled Senate enacted two years ago without a single hearing or debate. “Americans deeply value their privacy,” said Leahy, who heads the influential Senate Judiciary committee. “Americans have traditionally recognized the danger of an overreaching government.” He said Real ID will “effectively create a national ID card.”
Source: Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com, May 8, 2007
Smart cameras to tackle abandoned-luggage alarms
A suitcase lies abandoned in a busy airport terminal. Was it planted by a bomber or carelessly left for a couple of minutes while the owner went to buy coffee? One of the most common headaches facing security staff may soon be remedied with the help of “intelligent security cameras” developed by European scientists. A newly concluded research project relies on formulas known as algorithms to enable computers to analyze video images and spot potential threats, from abandoned baggage to people loitering suspiciously.
Source: Reuters, May 11, 2007
Shredded East German Files Reassembled
German researchers said Wednesday that they were launching an attempt to reassemble millions of shredded East German secret police files using complicated computerized algorithms.
Some 16,250 sacks containing pieces of 45 million shredded documents were found and confiscated after the reunification of Germany in 1990. Reconstruction work began 12 years ago but 24 people have been able to reassemble the contents of only 323 sacks.
Source: David Rising, Associated Press, May 11, 2007
