Nasty Worm Wriggling Into Comps

SAN FRANCISCO – A nasty worm has wriggled into millions of computers and continues to spread, leaving security experts wondering whether the attack is a harbinger of evil deeds to come.

US software protection firm F-Secure says a computer worm known as "Conficker" or "Downadup" had infected more than nine million computers by Tuesday and was spreading at a rate of one million machines daily.

The malicious software had yet to do any noticeable damage, prompting debate as to whether it is impotent, waiting to detonate, or a test run by cybercriminals intent on profiting from the weakness in the future.

"This is enormous; possibly the biggest virus we have ever seen," said software security specialist David Perry of Trend Micro. - Newsmax.com

Non-Windows Operating Systems are reportedly free from the infection.

Windows 7

Yesterday at CES, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the public availability of the Windows 7 beta release. At PC World we've been running our own evaluations of the forthcoming replacement to Microsoft's much-derided Windows Vista for some time now, and we just couldn't wait to take this new version for a spin. Here's one editor's take on the latest Windows 7 user experience.

This being an early beta release, I won't get persnickety about the performance issues and minor functionality glitches I experienced during my first day with Windows 7. Let there be no doubt, however, that in the weeks and months to come the PC World Test Center will continue to put the new OS through its paces to see what it's made of. - PC World

Sounds exciting.

Tech. Improves Spinal Surgery

ScienceDaily (Dec. 23, 2008) — Using a three-dimensional (3D) image-guided system to help place screws in the spines of patients results in safe and accurate surgery with a decrease in the number of misplaced screws, and subsequent injuries, seen in more traditional operations, say neurosurgeons at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

In the Dec. 9 online edition of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, Mayo physicians published the largest study yet using 3D image-guided technology to place screws in the spine for spinal fusion procedures. The screws are used to stabilize the spine in patients who suffer from collapsed discs or compressed nerves.

Less than 1 percent of the screws were misplaced in the study.

Palm Pilots May Bridge Gap

ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2008) — Palm Pilots already perform a variety of functions, and in the future, they may be used as a therapeutic tool that benefits people with personality disorders. In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher used Palm Pilots as electronic diaries to record and analyze mood variability in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and found that the devices helped bridge an important communication gap between therapists and patients.

BPD is said to affect only about 2% of the population.

PC Magazine To Go Digital

The January 2009 issue (Volume 28, Issue 1) of PC Magazine will mark a monumental transition for the publication. It is the last printed edition of this venerable publication. Of course, as with any technology-related enterprise, this is not the end, but the beginning of something exciting and new.

Starting in February 2009, PC Magazine will become a 100-percent digital publication. So, in addition to our popular network of Websites, which includes our centerpiece, PCMag.com, as well as ExtremeTech, blogs like Gearlog and AppScout, and audio and video content that includes PCMag Radio, Cranky Geeks and DL.TV, we'll offer PC Magazine Digital Edition to all of our print subscribers. The PC Magazine Digital Edition has actually been available since 2002. So for thousands of you, the benefits of this unique medium are already clear. And those benefits will continue to multiply in the coming months, as we work hard to enhance your digital experience. - PCMag.com

Shucks! It's not like I actually read it though.

Arctic Air Temps At Record High

Less summer ice - which deflects solar radiation - has resulted in a rise in both the ocean and atmospheric temperature.

	A boat skims through melting ice on the west coast of Greenland

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says autumn air temperatures in the region are at a record 5ºC (9ºF) above average.

The annual NOAA report, which monitors climate change, said there has been a near-record loss of summer sea ice, though not as much as last year which was the warmest on record for the Arctic, continuing a trend that began in the mid-1960s.

They also report a loss of surface ice in Greenland. - Telegram.co.uk

Mars is too close!

Royal Society Scientist Loses Post

The Rev Professor Michael Reiss, who was director of education at Britain's scientific academy as well as an ordained Church of England minister, sparked controversy last week when he suggested that pupils should learn about the idea that evolution is wrong and the Earth is only 10,000 years old.

He claimed just "banging on" about natural selection would not lead devout Christian or Muslim children to change their beliefs, and said creationism should be treated as a "world view" rather than a misconception.

Two Nobel laureates condemned his "dangerous" and "outrageous" views while the renowned zoologist and atheist Professor Richard Dawkins compared putting a clergyman in charge of education at the Royal Society to a Monty Python sketch. - Telegraph

In the words of Matt Hurton: "Teaching creationism is like teaching about magic fairies instead of gravity."

New Brochure Aimed To Reduce Abortions

New York, Sep 7, 2008 / 01:17 am (CNA).- Concerned Women of America (CWA) of New York has launched a new international project that aims to reduce the abortion rate for babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, which reportedly stands at 90 percent. The project was developed in consultation with major Down syndrome groups in the United States.

According to a CWA of New York press release, the project makes available a free informational brochure titled “When you've learned that your baby may have Down syndrome ... There is help and hope!”

The brochure offers reassurance to families facing a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis and informs them of resources and support groups to help them and their baby. It features the photographs of children and young adults with Down syndrome along with their family members.

You can look at the Brochure online here: http://downsyndromebrochure.com/

Google Browser: Chrome

Chrome, a new browser is hitting or has already hit the web.(the beta version) Google has teamed up with Mozilla firefox to create a whole new web browser from scratch that fits in with today's main stream uses, They are going head to head with internet explorer. Microsoft is pretty confident with its own flawed internet explorer stating that they arrive with every Windows OS, so they would probably dominate the market. Chrome is said to be more simple and faster than explorer but need s more polish. The BETA version is available.

Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks

COMBINED NEWS SERVICES August 28, 2008 Arctic sea ice, which melts partly during each polar summer, has shrunk more this year than in any on record except for 2007, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has found.

Scientists said the data provided more ominous indications that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is now at its second lowest level in about 30 years.

With several weeks left of the melting season, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported yesterday that sea ice in the Arctic now covers about 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point since satellite measurements began in 1979 was 1.65 million square miles, measured on Sept. 16, 2007. - Washington Times

This makes the global warming argument compelling, but like everything else there is strong evidence form both sides.

Xbox 360 Lowered To $199

SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp., in a move to court the mass market with its videogame products, plans to sharply cut the price of its Xbox 360 game consoles--including offering its least expensive model at $199.

The price cuts, effective Sept. 5, signal an increasing aggressiveness by Microsoft of Redmond, Wash., to boost sales of the Xbox 360 before the crucial holiday shopping season. The price cut in its low-end console, which had been priced at $279, marks the first time that one of the latest generations of consoles from game makers has fallen below $200.

Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, said three-quarters of sales for game consoles historically have occurred after hardware makers dropped the prices of their machines below that mark. - Wall Street Journal

This is absolutely nuts in a great sort of way for Microsoft. I remember just a few years ago when the PS2 was over $200.

Hadron Collider Constructed In Switzerland

Swiss scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have announced the start-up date for the world's largest particle accelerator which has caused controversy due to the slim possibility the device may create a black hole and destroy the Earth.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which has cost $10 billion, has been constructed under the city of Geneva on the French/Swiss border and is designed to slam together particles of matter to create conditions similar to those that existed shortly after the big bang.

But re-creating the conditions of the big bang has led some to hold fears the LHC could create a variety of doomsday scenarios including spawning many black holes on a micro scale which would join together and expand, rapidly enveloping the Earth and surrounding solar system. - Brisbane Times

Sweet, another waste of money!

Invisibility Cloak

Researchers have taken the next step on the road to constructing a cloak of invisibility or a powerful "superlens" capable of capturing fine details invisible to current lenses. A group from the University of California, Berkeley, this week is publishing the first demonstrations of materials capable of bending visible or near-visible light the "wrong" way in three dimensions.

Both are examples of metamaterials—specially designed structures that cause light to do things it normally wouldn't—in this case, bending backward, an effect called negative refraction. Researchers have built metamaterials capable of negatively refracting microwaves, but despite some successes bending visible light in two dimensions, they've had a harder time making three-dimensional versions.

In a study to be published in Nature, the Berkeley group, led by Xiang Zhang, bent red light using a fishnet-shaped stack of 21 layers of silver and magnesium fluoride, each a few tens of nanometers thick (see diagram). (One nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) The group will also report in Science that it bent near-infrared light using a thinner sheet of aluminum oxide containing silver nanowires. The researchers believe that the second material ought to work on red light as well. - Scientific American

Cool, dude!

Coolest P.C Case

Now, how about that? Read about it here: http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2005/10/19/wmd_g-gnome/1

Apple Considers Unlimited Downloads

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. is mulling a plan to upend its iTunes business by giving people unlimited free access to the music library if they're willing to pay more for the iPod and iPhone devices they use for playing and storing the digital media, according to a report published Wednesday.

Some analysts threw cold water on the plan outlined in the Financial Times, however, saying Cupertino-based Apple would risk creating an "accounting nightmare" and alienating some artists if it started giving away songs on its iTunes online store.

Rumors have buzzed through the industry for a couple years that Apple might open iTunes for free downloads. Meanwhile, Apple's rivals are experimenting with new ways to distribute music online — including giving it away. - Yahoo!

LimeWire, ftw.

Marriage with Robots???

Apparently by the year 2050, people will be able to have relationships with smart robots... Weird.
If you want to know more about it visit this.

I really don't feel right posting the facts in here... So look for yourself.
:)

Virtually Killing Cancer Boosts Morale

When 12-year-old Taylor Carol contracted a rare, virulent form of leukemia, it took aggressive medical treatment to save his life. That and a video game.

Taylor gives part of the credit for his recovery to the hours he spent playing Re-Mission, a computer game that lets children with cancer fight back by zapping simulated cancer cells.

"It's just such a morale boost, being able to kill what's been keeping you in the hospital bed and away from your friends," Taylor said.

His father, Jim Taylor, a technology entrepreneur and philanthropist in Dana Point, Calif., said the game helped his son endure a painful bone marrow transplant and months of chemotherapy.

"When a kid has cancer, everything's being done to them," he said. "The game gave the kid a chance to feel like he was in charge." - The Boston Globe

"Video games harm children." Yeah right.

HD Format War

Yet another shoe has dropped in the ongoing hi-def format war between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD (which, at this point, means there's a pile of footwear approaching Imelda Marcos proportions lying around... and a growing need for air freshener), with Warner Bros. Entertainment and its associated labels (Warner Home Video, New Line, HBO) announcing that they are dropping their format neutrality and going Blu-ray exclusive, joining the ranks of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lionsgate. Warner was the last major studio to remain format neutral, after Paramount/Dreamworks threw its lot in with the HD DVD camp last summer. Warner will continue to ship titles in both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats through May, after which, all new hi-def releases will be exclusively Blu-ray.

Market analysts say that, in terms of content, Blu-ray maintains about a 2-to-1 sales advantage over HD DVD. The installed base of players in the United States, including set-top boxes and hi-def capable gaming consoles, is estimated at 2.7 million to 750,000 in Blu-ray's favor, despite a lower average cost for HD DVD hardware.

So... for those of you who haven't been paying attention, here's how the sides stack up now, among the major content providers:

Blu-ray Disc: Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner

HD DVD: Paramount/Dreamworks, Universal

Neutral: ...

Source: David Anderson

Thanks to David for being insightful and informative as always.