newswirk.com » Technology

Ancient fire treatment

admin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:25:55 +0000

Though our forebears cooked with fire some 800,000 years ago, the consensus so far was that people hadn’t used fire to heat-treat materials until around 25,000 years ago. The new finding pushes that back at least 45,000 years.The international team of researchers published their findings this week in the journal Science. The work by lead author Kyle Brown, an American doctoral student at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, rewrites the history book for the use of fire as an engineering tool.Scientists had been puzzled by the fine-grained and often reddish coloured silicate blades and axes excavated from prehistoric sites at Pinnacle Point on the South African coast. Researchers spent six years looking for the same type of silcrete rock that they found in tools at Pinnacle Point, a Middle Stone Age site on the South African coast. It wasn’t until they happened across such a piece of silcrete embedded in ash that they realised that they could get the deep red, glossy and brittle silcrete such as the one found in tools by putting regular silcrete in fire. They estimate that stones were heated to around 300 degrees Celsius, probably by cooking them under fire in a process that could last for up to 40 hours. This resulted in stones that were easier to shape into tools by using other rocks, and that could be used as knives, hunting weapons or for exchange for other goods.

China Software Filter plan

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:19:55 +0000

China will not force the mass installation of the software on PCs, but the software will be installed on computers in schools, Internet cafes and in other public places, the minister added.The industry and information technology minister, Li Yizhong, said today that the notion that the Green Dam programme would be required on every new computer was “a misunderstanding” spawned by poorly written regulations.The government had argued that the software was necessary to clear the Chinese web of “harmful content”. But critics said it was a misguided attempt to put the internet genie back in the bottle by a Communist party that now had to answer to about 300 million web users.China announced earlier this year that it planned compulsory installation of the Green Dam-Youth Escort software, ostensibly meant to protect young online users from pornography.Criticism of the new policy was rampant abroad, at home and even on China’s own state-run media, a sign that officials may disagree about it internally.

Glacier shrinking

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:35:30 +0000

The latest study compares records of snow and ice thickness and densities over the years, the factors used to calculate mass. The glaciers have lost mass as melting outpaced new snow and ice accumulation, and for all three, the losses were especially dramatic over the past 15 years, according to the USGS study.The three glaciers — Gulkana and Wolverine in Alaska and South Cascade in Washington — are considered benchmarks for those in alpine and maritime climates because they closely parallel other glaciers in their regions. They have also been the subject of close scientific scrutiny since 1957.

Moonfest 2009

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:00:23 +0000

For those who remember being glued to the TV on July 20, 1969, when Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin walked on the moon, and for a beleaguered space agency hoping to recapture lunar glory, Monday’s 40th anniversary of the first landing is a powerful historical beacon.The moon landing was “nothing less than a turning point in human evolution,” Chaikin said. “We didn’t go to the moon for the sake of experimentation; we went because we wanted to beat the Russians. But what we got as a bonus was a whole new perspective on ourselves.We have all seen the pictures, but in those distant Apollo years, 24 travelers saw the real thing: The whole Earth, hanging in space, visibly alive in a deserted cosmos. Almost without thinking about it, this band of test pilots achieved the dream of the philosophers of old: to behold the entire world.

Honda CEO on Honda stock

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:04:36 +0000

The sporty hybrid CR-Z, which was inspired by the CRX and unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, will enter the Japanese market next February.Analysts believe the Japanese company’s reputation for quality and its strong balance sheet should let it weather the current downturn and increase market share once consumers start buying big ticket items again. Government aid programs in the U.S. and Japan should also help it manage during the slump.With consumer spending weak and America’s auto industry in shambles, automakers sure don’t hold a lot of investment appeal these days.If you look under Honda’s hood, you can see why the company has a higher market value than its peers — even over top carmaker Toyota. Honda has long focused on small, fuel-efficient cars, while its Civic and Accord are consistently top sellers with high resale values, according to JD Power and Associates.

Shrinking sheep in island

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:01:50 +0000

As for the future of the sheep, the team believes that they are still shrinking. Scientists first began studying Soay sheep, on the island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, in 1985.Since then, the sheep have decreased in size by 5% – their legs getting steadily shorter and their body weight decreasing. The wild Soay sheep that live on the island of Hirta in the North Atlantic have been under careful scientific observation since 1985, partly because the island ecosystem is a simple one consisting of the sheep and the vegetation they eat.Further research will look at how much of the shrinkage is caused by a shift in sheep genetics and how much is the “young mum” effect where the lambs of young mothers are smaller because the mothers themselves are not yet fully grown.

Icann,s new CEO

admin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:34:12 +0000

Beckstrom is the former director of the U.S. National Cybersecurity Center, where he created a group of leaders from the nation’s top six cybersecurity centers comprising the civilian, military and intelligence communities. He has co-authored four books and most recently wrote “The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations,” which discusses how organizations can become virtually self-perpetuating, regardless of the status of their leadership.Rod Beckstrom will take the helm at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The announcement that Beckstrom would be CEO and president was made at the end of ICANN’s 35th international meeting in Sydney, Australia. ICANN – an international nonprofit corporation that, among other tasks, consigns and manages Internet domain names and IP addresses – announced Beckstrom’s appointment at its annual meeting in Australia on Friday.

PC makers and China

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:17:19 +0000

China is set to require computer makers such as Dell Inc. (DELL), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGY) to include the Web-filtering software, officially called Green Dam Youth Escort, in any PCs sold in China. The Chinese government claims that the software, known as Green Dam, is necessary to prevent children from gaining access to online pornography and other content deemed to be harmful.China is pressuring PC makers to install a controversial piece of Web-filtering software called Green Dam with all new computers sold in the country beginning July 1. The government says the move is to protect children from pornography and other inappropriate content, but many suspect it also wants to use the software to restrict political information.PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Apple do not disclose how much of their sales come from China. The companies have also not commented on what impact they might face by not complying with the Chinese government’s request.

Privacy and Facebook

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:58:56 +0000

The choices that Facebook users will have when updating their page include options for everyone to see the message; only allowing friends and people in specific networks to see the updates; friends of friends allows anyone who is friends with a friend to see it; friends only; and, custom, which lets individuals pick and choose who sees the updates.Facebook users who have their profile open to everyone are eligible for the beta test of the changes to Publisher. Users who have already implemented some privacy settings — such as friends and networks or friends only — are not. Facebook users will be able to display many different faces once the social network’s new privacy settings become generally available. They can restrict all the juicy stuff to their innermost circle and post a spanking-clean profile for the benefit of grandma and would-be employers. The combinations will be endless, since users will be able to control who gets to see each update they post.

US blocks import of Sharp TVs

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:04:34 +0000

In a notice posted on its Web site today, the ITC said unlicensed Sharp LCD devices, including display panels and modules, and LCD televisions made overseas that use Samsung’s patented invention should be banned from the U.S.
The ban is subject to review by President Obama, and the underlying patent case can be appealed to a U.S. court that specializes in patent law.The exclusion order, which is subject to review by the U.S. president, blocks Sharp and other companies from importing LCD panels that use the technology without a license from Samsung. Televisions and monitors that use these displays also cannot be imported.