Pope’s message goes hi-tech in Australia
Pope Benedict XVI took a new hi-tech road to spreading his message Tuesday, sending a mobile phone text to pilgrims attending World Youth Day celebrations in Australia, organisers said. “Young friend, God and his people expect much from u because u have within you the Fathers supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus - BXVI,” read the first of the daily texts.
Source: AFP, July 14, 2008
For teens, the future is mobile
Marketers convened here this week to figure out how best to reach teens on the Internet. The answer: It’s all about the mobile phone. Advertisers are clamoring to reach teens in digital environments because that’s where they’re spending much of their time–either online, with cell phones or playing video games. What’s more, teens wield an estimated $200 billion annually in discretionary spending.
Source: Stefanie Olsen, CNET’s Digital Media blog, July 15, 2008
The first open-source challenge to the pioneering microblogging site Twitter launched earlier this month. Identi.ca, built using open-source software Laconica, was started by the Montreal-based company Control Yourself. The site is getting attention from microbloggers who hope that Identi.ca will improve upon Twitter, which has been plagued by problems.
Source: Erica Naone, Technology Review, July 17, 2008
Cyber-capos: How cybercriminals mirror the mafia and businesses
Cybercrime, the harvesting and sale of credit card and other data for online fraud and theft, is a “shadow economy” that mimics the real business world in its practices and the mafia in its structure, according to a new report from security firm Finjan. “The current cybercrime organizations bear an uncanny resemblance to organized crime organizations such as ‘La Cosa Nostra,’” concludes Finjan’s Malicious Code Research Center’s Web Security Trends Report for the second-quarter of 2008.
Source: Elinor Mills, CNET’s Security blog, July 16, 2008
US sees first airliner flight with laser defences
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trials of laser missile-dazzler defences on airliners have passed another milestone, with armaments maker BAE Systems announcing that its “JetEye” gear has made its first scheduled passenger flight. The JetEye-equipped plane, a Boeing 767 operated by American Airlines, made a routine trip from New York to Los Angeles.
Two further American 767s will also be equipped with JetEye for the trial, which is designed to find out the effects of the gear on airline operations and finances. The planes will fly with the new equipment until 2009.
Source: Lewis Page, The Register, July 17, 2008
Smart clothes revolutionize attire
Imagine an outfit that fits perfectly and eliminates the worry of sweat stains and body odor. Oh, and it plays your favorite music. It’s an idea that’s not far off in the future. New fabrics are being developed that can regulate body temperature, conduct electricity, play music, fight bacteria and odor, repel insects, soothe dry skin and have the capacity to custom shape themselves for your body. These new “smart fabrics” have medical and military purposes as well.
Source: Jessica Franklin, The Auburn Plainsman, Auburn University, Alabama, July 17, 2008
iTunes allows radiologists to save, sort and search personal learning files
iTunes has the ability to manage and organize PDF files just as easy as music files, allowing radiologists to better organize their personal files of articles and images, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Renji Hospital and Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China.
Source: American Roentgen Ray Society news release, July 18, 2008
Among the unlikelier announcements made at Wikipedia’s conference in Alexandria, Egypt, was the bold claim on Friday that the online encyclopedia was about to make history in print publishing: creating the book with the most credited individual authors ever — about 90,000.
Source: Noam Cohen, The New York Times, July 19, 2008
