Thursday, December 21, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
How Well Can You Smell?
[q url="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2729958/&/amp;page=1"]Imagine yourself blindfolded and wearing earplugs: Could you follow a chocolate scent with only your nose to guide you?
Surprisingly, most of us can, according to a new study published in Nature Neuroscience this week.
Researchers put blindfolds, earplugs and gloves
on human volunteers, and asked them to find a chocolate scent trail on
the ground and track it to the end like a dog would. Researchers found
that volunteers could use some of the same smell techniques animals use
to follow scent trails.
Tags: trail | scent | chocolate | ability | Chicago | Berkeley | America
Monday, December 18, 2006
Google to put NASA data on the Web
[q url="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic/&/amp;taxonomyName=software/&/amp;articleId=9006201/&/amp;taxonomyId=18/&/amp;intsrc=kc_top"]Google Inc. and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have signed a formal collaboration agreement that calls for Google to help make NASA information readily accessible on the Web.
Google and NASA announced the signing of their Space Act Agreement, which calls for them to collaborate on making it easy for people to find weather visualization and forecasting data, see high-resolution 3-D maps of the moon and Mars ,and track, in real time, the international space station and the space shuttle.
In short, the partnership seeks to make NASA's work "accessible to everyone," Google and NASA said in a statement. Although NASA has collected massive amounts of information about the Earth and the universe, this information is scattered and hard to find and is difficult for the average person to understand, they said.
sourceTags: data | collaboration | Web | NASA | Google | aeronautics
C4 and Skype duo confer over online TV plans
[q url="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2510391,00.html"]Channel 4 is in talks with the billionaire entrepreneurs behind Skype and Kazaa to supply content to the pair's internet television venture.
Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström made an estimated $2.5 billion (£1.3 billion) from the sale of Skype, the internet telephony service, to eBay last year. They are expected to unveil their eagerly awaited internet TV service, being developed under the codename Project Venice, next year.
Channel 4 said today that it was in talks with the Project Venice team to supply content via its 4oD service, which is available on some broadband platforms and allows viewers to watch recently aired programs on a pay-per-view basis and access archive material.
sourceTags: SERVICE | internet | Venice | Skype | Kazaa | Channel 4
C4 and Skype duo confer over online TV plans
[q url="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2510391,00.html"]Channel 4 is in talks with the billionaire entrepreneurs behind Skype and Kazaa to supply content to the pair's internet television venture.
Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström made an estimated $2.5 billion (£1.3 billion) from the sale of Skype, the internet telephony service, to eBay last year. They are expected to unveil their eagerly awaited internet TV service, being developed under the codename Project Venice, next year.
Channel 4 said today that it was in talks with the Project Venice team to supply content via its 4oD service, which is available on some broadband platforms and allows viewers to watch recently aired programs on a pay-per-view basis and access archive material.
A spokesperson for the channel said: "These days consumers want to be able to watch what they want, when they want. We're aiming to make Channel 4's content available on as many platforms as possible."
sourceTags: SERVICE | internet | content | billionaire | Venice | Skype | project | Kazaa | CHANNEL
Spacewalkers try to free jammed array
[q url="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/4410494.html"]Two astronauts stepped outside the international space station on an impromptu spacewalk Monday to try to fold up a stubborn, accordion-like solar array.
Space shuttle Discovery's Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang were assigned to get the jammed array to retract completely into a box. It was the fourth spacewalk of Discovery's flight to the orbiting outpost.
The electricity-generating array became stuck last Wednesday in the halfway-retracted position as it was being folded up by remote control. After repeated efforts to get it to retract _ including attempts to shake it loose by having an astronaut exercise vigorously aboard the space station _ NASA decided to send two cosmic mechanics out to fix it.
sourceTags: spacewalk | jammed | array | Space shuttle | Houston | Discovery
Donald to Miss USA: Go Back to Kentucky
[q url="http://ww.tmz.com/2006/12/16/donald-to-miss-usa-go-back-to-kentucky/"]Donald Trump has told hard-partying Miss USA Tara Connor to pack her bags and move out of her Trump Plaza apartment.
"She does not live here anymore," a doorman at the posh property tells the New York Post. "She is not allowed on Trump property. I don't think it was her choice, really."
Trump says pageant officials are still looking into the "situation," and plan to make an announcement Tuesday. But we already broke the news that the Kentucky native will be passing the tiara over to runner-up Tamiko Nash.
Since being crowned in April, Tara has been seen partying with Travis Barker, Ryan Seacrest and MTV VJ Damien Fahey. "Honestly, she's kind of like Lindsay Lohan," says a source.
source
Tags: Tara Connor | tara | New York | Miss USA | Kentucky
Friday, December 15, 2006
Gibson tells critics: 'Get over it'
[q url="http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=204435714//&/amp;/amp;p=zx44364zx"]Mel Gibson has told his detractors: “Get the hell over it.”
The Hollywood star, who issued a grovelling apology to the Jewish community in the summer after unleashing an anti-Semitic rant when he was arrested for drink-driving, said the way he had been treated since was “out of proportion“.
He also defended his new movie Apocalypto against charges that it is excessively violent in its portrayal of the last days of the Mayan civilisation.
source
Tags: proportion | movie | critics | Apology | Mel Gibson | hollywood | Apocalypto
Don't Hug Angelina
[q url="http://showbiz.sky.com/showbiz/article/0,,50001-1244263,00.html"]We love a good hug.
We find that it cures most ills and makes us feel all warm inside.
So we'd better be careful to keep our emotions in check if we were ever to bump into Angelina Jolie.
Ange, mother-of-three, is an anti-hugger of the highest proportions.
In fact, she steers clear of any snuggling-type activity and even refuses to cry.
The crying thing we can accept - but we're having a problem understanding the snuggling bit. The woman is going out with Brad Pitt, you know?
Anyhoo, here's what she had to say about the whole thing:
"It's not going to accomplish anything to cry. It's not going to help you to get a hug!
"I'm not a hugger. People make fun of me. It's something that I have a hard time with.
source
Tags: hug | People | Angelina Jolie
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Ange 'never meant to steal Brad'
[q url="http://entertainment.iafrica.com/news/520285.htm"]Angelina Jolie, speaking for the first time about meeting Brad Pitt while he was still married, revealed she never intended to break up his marriage with Jennifer Aniston.
The 31-year-old actress, who met the 'Troy' star on the set of 'Mr and Mrs Smith', has remained tight-lipped about the beginnings of their relationship which has since seen Pitt divorce Aniston, father a child with Jolie and adopt her two other children.
"Brad was a huge surprise to me," she told Vogue magazine of first meeting the 42-year-old actor.
"I, like most people, had a very distant impression of him from… the media. I am just as guilty!"
She first realised she was attracted to him while they were still on the 'Smith' set.
sourceI don't know, but love and hate always need at least two. People always have a good explenation on everything they do, this is just another one, and may not be true. Brad's divorce didn't come from the sky so beneath that, there must be something else.
Tags: STEAL | scene | meeting | DIVORCE | actress | People | Brad Pitt | Angelina Jolie
Microsoft patches IE, Windows Media Player flaws
[q url="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic//&/amp;/amp;taxonomyName=operating_systems//&/amp;/amp;articleId=9005928//&/amp;/amp;taxonomyId=89//&/amp;/amp;intsrc=kc_top"]Microsoft Corp. has rolled out its monthly security updates for December, patching critical flaws in Internet Explorer, Windows Media Format and the Visual Studio 2005 development software.
The seven security patches address 11 bugs, including two in its Windows Media Player software. However, no fixes were provided for two Microsoft World flaws that have been used in a small number of attacks over the past week.
Microsoft had said it would release only six patches on Tuesday, but the company added the Windows Media Format update at the last minute, after reports of attacks based on this vulnerability began surfacing. The Windows Media Format is used by Microsoft's Windows Media Player software.
sourceIt is very advised to install these updates when online.
Tags: Media Player | software | Security | patches | flaws | windows | Technology | Microsoft | IE
Ice Age 2040: The Meltdown of the North Pole
[q url="http://www.playfuls.com/news_003307_Ice_Age_2040_The_Meltdown_of_the_North_Pole.html"]Previous positive predictions about the ozone-layer recovery by 2040 have now received a serious coup: a new study suggests that by 2040 there will be no ice left for polar bears.
Already considered among the most endangered species of animals in the world, the polar bears are again threatened by the conclusions of a new study, published in scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters on Tuesday, which indicates that the Arctic pole will not be a barren desert of ice by this century’s half, but a warm ocean.
The North Pole is already significantly warmer than the South Pole because it lies at sea-level in the middle of an ocean (which acts as a reservoir of heat), rather than at altitude in a continental land mass.
Winter (January) temperatures at the North Pole can range from about −43°C (−45ºF) to −26°C (−15°F), perhaps averaging around −34°C (−30ºF). Summer temperatures (June, July and August) average around freezing point (0°C, 32°F).
The sea ice at the North Pole is typically around two or three meters thick, though occasionally the movement of floes exposes clear water. Some studies have indicated that the average ice thickness has decreased in recent years due to global warming.
sourceI'm also starting to worry about this, since our winter was not cold at all until yesterday. I'm starting to feel winter, but this was not the case last week or before, when we had a great summer-end sunny weather.
Tags: pole | journal | Coup | South Pole | research | North Pole | meltdown | GEOPHYSICAL | Arctic
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Scotland Yard 'to meet Litvinenko contact'
Mr Lugovoy, a successful businessman and former KGB officer who is undergoing tests for radiation contamination, said his doctors had given permission for the meeting with a team of Scotland Yard officers to go ahead.
The interview will take place under the supervision of the chief Russian prosecutor’s office and Russian officials are expected to lead the questioning.source
Tags: contact | Scotland | Russia | Litvinenko
Scotland Yard 'to meet Litvinenko contact'
Mr Lugovoy, a successful businessman and former KGB officer who is undergoing tests for radiation contamination, said his doctors had given permission for the meeting with a team of Scotland Yard officers to go ahead.
The interview will take place under the supervision of the chief Russian prosecutor’s office and Russian officials are expected to lead the questioning.source
Tags: contact | Scotland | Russia | Litvinenko
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Zune Grabs the Second Place in The MP3 Player Market
sourceMicrosoft’s iPod killer, Zune, achieved after its first week of sale 9 percent of the U.S. digital music player market and outdid SanDisk Corp.'s Sansa, according to the market researcher NPD Group.
With these 9 percent, Microsoft’s Zune is placed on the second position, behind Apple’s iPod, which remained the market leader with 63 percent.
"Microsoft attracted early adopters in a successful launch week for Zune, eking out Sandisk as the No. 2 digital audio player vendor," said Ross Rubin, NPD's director of industry analysis. "This was especially impressive given the Zune's single capacity configuration and relatively high price point."
The Zune represents the software giant's most ambitious attempt to date to challenge Apple's iPod. Microsoft is hoping to catch Apple with features not currently available on the iPod, including a slightly larger screen, an FM radio tuner and new technology that allows the device to locate other nearby Zunes and wirelessly exchange music and pictures with a few touches of the button.
Tags: player | Percent | iPod | zune | U.S. | SanDisk | Microsoft | MP | grabs