1:46 PM
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/20/robots-perform-synchronized-interpretive-dance-for-the-holidays/
UC-SD researchers got $1 million from NSF to develop a new type of ocean-probing instruments that use swarms of autonomous underwater robots:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/11-09OceanDrilling.asp
The Navy wanted a large fleet of Littoral Combat Ships, where each was supposed to be affordable and have "plug-n-play" mission modules to allow it to be reconfigured into different configurations. The ships were supposed to take 2 years to build and cost $223 million each...but they ended up taking 4 years to build and over $700 million each. Twice the time and more than 3x the money!
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/navys-affordable-shoreline-ship-477-million-overbudget/
Google gave its first demo of its Chrome Operating System. It is interesting for an OS to work completely off the internet without any hard drive support. I like the fast booting and some of the aspects of the new OS, but they really need developer support to make this a viable option:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/11/google-gives-first-demonstation-of-its-chromium-operating-system.html
Commentary on why the Chrome OS will fail:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/why-chrome-os-will-fail-big-time-287?source=IFWNLE_nlt_daily_2009-11-20
Deutsche Telekom is looking for an American partner to help them come up with the billions needed for them to get to 4G;
http://www.reuters.com/article/americasMergersNews/idUSLK60453020091120
13-year-old boy was arrested when he approached an undercover cop (who was pretending to be a prostitute) for sex:
http://blog.al.com/live/2009/11/13-year-old_boy_arrested_in_mo.html
"Massive error" in the wording of a 2005 Texas constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages might have accidentally invalidated *all* marriages in the state of Texas since 2005!
http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1770189.html
6:17 PM
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE5AI2BL20091119
The US is now equipping some MRAP vehicles with autonomous guns that shoots down antitank rockets headed for it while shooting at enemy soldiers without any human input:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/19/mrap_crosshairs_trials/
Fly paper captures insects, and a new device can grab cancer cells in the blood to guide cancer treatment:
http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-create-fly-paper-112652.aspx
The Texas population is expected to nearly double over the next 50 years, and their water supply cannot come close to keeping pace. Officials estimate that almost every Texas will not have sufficient water and that Texas will have $90 billion in economic losses:
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/nation/story/1337802.html
More than half of the energy consumed worldwide is wasted, most of it in the form of excess heat. New MIT technology will allow conversion of waste heat into electricity--heat from things like car engines and computer chips can be converted to electricity!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/miot-mbw111809.php
University of Colorado study found that there is no performance advantage for athletes that use a prostheses made for running:
http://www.coloradodaily.com/cu-boulder/ci_13795879
SMU study found that using a prostheses gave a double-amputee Olympic hopeful a clear and major advantage over his competition, taking 10 seconds or more off his 400-meter time:
http://blog.smu.edu/research/2009/11/researchers_pistorius_artifici.html
Vodafone wants Verizon Wireless to pay a dividend to get value from its 45% ownership, but Verizon wants to have Verizon Wireless reduce its $32 billion in debt ($10 billion owed to Verizon). Speculation is that Verizon wants Vodafone to get frustrated and sell its 45% of Verizon Wireless at a reduced price to Verizon (which owns the other 55%):
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3/141bb5bc-a687-11de-bd14-00144feabdc0.html?catid=67&SID=google
A T-Mobile UK employee stole the customer data of 100,000s of T-Mobile's customers and sold the information for a substantial amount to a third party:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/t-mobile-worker-sold-100-000s-customer-names-substantial-amount/2009-11-18?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
Arkansas policeman used a taser on a 10-year-old girl with her mother's permission:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575494,00.html
A woman left $40k of rare US coins in bags near a Catholic shrine so that the Virgin Mary could watch over her life savings while she was out of town. The shrine thought they had received a huge anonymous donation, but 6 days after the shrine found the coins the woman returned from her trip and claimed them:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/18/ap/national/main5697577.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesHeadlines
4:59 PM
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/air-force-zaps-drones-in-laser-test/
The Army wants to be able to instantly get surveillance information over a potential enemy, but there are delays to get spy drones or satellites or fighter jets over the location desired. So, the Army is looking for missiles that can carry surveillance drones inside:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/army-eyes-missiles-filled-with-flying-spy-bots/
The US ship that was boarded by pirates and had its captain taken hostage in April (Navy snipers rescued him by shooting the pirates holding him in a lifeboat) was attacked by pirates this morning. This time they were able to use Long Range Acoustic Devices and small-arms fire to repel the pirates:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/maersk-alabama-repels-pirates-with-sonic-blaster-bullets/
Legislation has been introduced that would forbid federal employees from using popular file-sharing technology such as LimeWire. This is because a junior staffer exposed her home computer by the use of peer-to-peer technology and documents were accessed and given to the Washington Post about dozens of Ethics investigations:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703841.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Novel approach will determine if it is feasible to inject CO2 deep underground where it would react with rocks and remain for thousands of years. Computer simulations indicate that this should basically turn the greenhouse gas into *stone* and mitigate the impact of global warming, and now they are moving towards real-world experiments to see if this really can work:
https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1269&mode=2&featurestory=DA_526764
Structural engineers say that the eyebar design is an inherently unsafe design for bridges...unfortunately, a LOT of California's aging bridges (such as the Bay Bridge) use this flawed design:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/worries-about-safety-california-bridges-eyebar-design
Engineer discovered why a pinch of flour (or any small particles) thrown into a bowl of water will disperse in a dramatic fashion, radiating outward as if it was exploding. He says that repulsive hydrodynamic force causes the particles to disperse, and when many particles simultaneously are trapped in a liquid surface where air meets water, an explosive dispersion occurs:
http://www.njit.edu/news/2009/2009-407.php
The state of California is requiring all new TVs up to 58 inches to be more energy efficient by 2011 or they will be banned from store shelves. The Energy Commission states that TVs account for about 10% of a home's electricity use and worry that TV energy use will rise by 8% a year as consumers buy larger TVs:
http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-CA-TV-energy-efficient-111809.aspx
Report rates New Zealand and the least-corrupt country in the world and Somalia as the world's most corrupt country (just ahead of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, and Iraq). The US was rated 19th least corrupt country out of the 180 countries listed:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/new-zealand-rated-least-corrupt-country-somalia-declared-most-corrupt
Federal judge rejected AT&T's request to force Verizon to stop or alter their commercials...so we'll see those commercials on TV all the time, at least until the next hearing on December 16.
http://www.ajc.com/business/judge-rejects-at-t-203765.html
Picochip completed a $20 million funding round and plans to IPO in 2011:
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=184758
For Eric--great story about how the #1 recruit in Texas (according to this recruiting service) overcame living without his parents from age 7-10 and having to take care of younger children in Africa when he was so young at the time. It is funny how he mistakenly went to a football tryout at a school in Texas because he thought it was a tryout for soccer:
http://insidetexas.com/news/story.php?article=1677
5:35 PM
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/syria-to-nuke-watchdog-nothing-here-move-along/
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are found in common household items ranging from sunscreen to paint to vitamins and a study published in the journal Cancer Research found that it caused systemic genetic damage in mice. They also do a variety of damaging things such as chromosomal damage and inflammation that increase the risk for cancer...the scary thing is that so many of the things around us have these nanoparticles and our bodies have no way to eliminate them. The tiny particles can go everywhere in our bodies, even through cells, and can interfere with sub-cellular mechanisms:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoc--nui111609.php
Verizon Wireless responded in court to AT&T lawsuit over their commercials by stating that AT&T is suing them because "Verizon's ads are true, and the truth hurts." Verizon says that it has spent billions for its 3G network while AT&T has only spent "tens of millions" on its 3G network, and that AT&T admitted Verizon's claim that Verizon has 5x the 3G coverage that AT&T does:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=27394
Verizon is getting VERY aggressive with its DSL offer to try to beat the cable modem companies--customers that sign a 12-month contract get the first 6 months for FREE!
http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Verizon-promos-DSL-free-111709.aspx
5:56 PM
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/us-struggles-with-electronic-fratricide-in-afghanistan/
The US UAVs being used to gather intelligence against the Somali pirates will not be armed...yet:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/us-will-not-arm-drones-flying-reconnaissance-missions-over-gulf-aden-yet
Illinois officials are interested in holding some of the Gitmo detainees--they say that could provide up to 2,000 jobs and up to $1 billion in federal money to their state:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/illinois-officials-say-holding-gitmo-inmates-would-be-economic-boost
New "spectral sensing" cognitive radio has been developed that will allow any radio product to transmit without interference over the "whitespace" frequencies:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/interference-free-radio-cambridge-consultants
New book analyzes the threat that bioterrorism has for the world and how the healthcare system around the world must adapt to deal with thethreat:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/bioterrorism-poses-new-challenges-health-care-systems-worldwide
Utah engineer developed a cheap way to remove oil sheen from polluted water:
http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=111209-1
North Dakota's oil production could increase another 50% next year as they expand their export capacity--they are projected to hit 400,000 barrels of oil daily by 2014:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/11/09/business-energy-nd-oil-bonanza_7101356.html
Research study found that Vitamin D and calcium supplements substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556697
Palm's CEO defended their webOS and criticized the Android OS in this interview:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/technology/companies/16palm.html?_r=2&ref=technology
Analyst report predicts that RIM will be the biggest beneficiary of the move towards smartphones and states that RIM will be the top cellphone maker for the US market by 2014:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/report-rim-benefit-most-move-toward-smartphones/2009-11-16?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
Google bought an open-source alternative to Skype:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/11/google-acquires-open-source-alternative.html
Qualcomm is far in the lead in the 4G patent market:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/qualcomm-takes-lead-4g-patent-holder?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
AT&T sent a letter to all of its customers to defend its 3G network that has been targeted by Verizon ads...though relying on EDGE for coverage to get the numbers up may not satisfy its customers:
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/11/12/att-rebuts-verizon-ads-again/
New iPhone App will allow the user to use the iPhone to lock or unlock a car, turn the alarm on/off, start the car, open the trunk, or press the panic button (which can help find a lost car):
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/11/16/app-watch-unlock-and-warm-up-your-car-with-your-iphone/
Apple filed for a patent last year that would display ads on almost anything that has a screen...and the user will be required to pay attention to the ad before the device will work again!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/business/15digi.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Man in Alaska needed money to pay for a parking ticket...so he robbed his MOM at gunpoint:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/1011780.html
This area in Spain is planning to add self-pleasuring to its sex ed curriculum:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/12/spain-sex-education
7:24 PM
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/new-darpa-treatment-freeze-troops-with-brain-injuries/
Data for NASA's LCROSS mission shows that water was uncovered when the rocket hit into the moon:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/prelim_water_results.html
Researchers have developed the Artificial Retina that could be used to give sight back to the blind or near-blind. In clinical trials, patients with vision loss were able to identify objects, increase mobility and detect movement:
http://www.rdmag.com/Awards/RD-100-Awards/2009/07/Artificial-Retina-Generates-Sight/?wnnvz=cIpb87iV1KLzkFCg
Research is looking into the coastal pollution in Hawaii, trying to prevent the coral reefs from being eliminated due to pollution:
http://storybank.stanford.edu/stories/tracing-source-coastal-pollution-hawaii
Researchers found that photosynthesis can be used to turn algae into a clean and sustainable source of hydrogen:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uota-uka111209.php
Report states that Michael Jackson planned to have a robotic twin of himself made:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/13/michael_jackson_robot_twin/
This columnist is not sympathetic at all with AT&T's lawsuit that it trying to stop the Verizon ads that show its poor 3G network coverage...pointing out that AT&T's defense that most of its customers can get EDGE or GPRS coverage is not a strong defense of its 3G data network:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/hey-att-map-least-your-problems-328?source=IFWNLE_nlt_blogs_2009-11-13
Dell will start selling its first Android-based smartphone later this month in China:
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5AC34Z20091113
Blockbuster's loss increased by more than 5x last quarter and they will close another 100+ stores:
http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Blockbuster-Q3-loss-111309.aspx
5:32 PM
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/bomb-fighting-dog-mia-for-a-year-is-found-in-afghanistan/
ReconRobotics introduced a new 1.3-pound robot that can be used to locate victims, explosive devices, or hazardous materials:
http://urgentcomm.com/networks_and_systems/news/recon-robotics-rescue-20091112/
Prototype plane has been constructed for the project to build a solely solar-powered plane that can fly around the world in 2012:
http://news.discovery.com/tech/solar-powered-plane-rolls-out-in-switzerland.html
The state of New York saved $10k by not performing an ultrasound signals test on an 80-year-old bridge that connects New York and Vermont, inspecting underwater bridges every 5 years instead of the every 2 years that they inspect above-water bridges. In the 4 years since its last inspection, the bridge deteriorated and now it has to be demolished and replaced at a cost of $50 million...plus a huge economic cost to the communities that rely on the bridge:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/new-york-vermont-governors-champlain-bridge-beyond-saving
The estimate for swine flu deaths since April in the US has been raised from 1,200 to 4,000. The 10 million new doses of swine flu vaccine doses shipped every week should cut the spread of the swine flu before flu season hits the US:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/health/11flu.html
About 100 kids in the US die from the flu in a normal flu season, but in the first 6 months of this year (which is normally the lightest portion of the year for flu problems) 540 kids have died. The normal flu has 90% of deaths for people older than 65, but the swine flu has 90% of deaths for people younger than 65. The projected 5,400 deaths for children from the swine flu this year means that the death rate for children is 20-40 times greater than the normal flu:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/11/h1n1-swine-flu-deaths-and-vaccination.html
Group of students showed how specific strains of E. coli (which are not harmful to humans) could be used to mend cracks that occur in household water pipes, cooling pipes, or water pipes in power plants:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/ecoli-helps-mend-cracked-pipes
Instead of splitting their company into 2 pieces by spinning off their cell phone unit as planned, now Motorola might split into 3 pieces by selling off their Home and Networks Mobility unit for $4.5 bil:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/motorolas-possible-unit-sale-could-have-implications-handset-divison/2009-11-12?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
HP is buying networking technology company 3Com for $2.7 billion, a move seen as a move to compete better against Cisco:
http://www.telecomtv.com/comspace_newsDetail.aspx?n=45734&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10#
Nokia is having to recall 14 million cell phone chargers due to an electrical shock hazard:
http://www.telecomtv.com/comspace_newsDetail.aspx?n=45729&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10#
The UK tabloids and blogs have been fascinated with the town of Argleton in Lancashire, England that they have noticed on Google Maps. Google Maps displays photographs of homes, restaurants and hospitals in the city...but the city does not actually exist!
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/google-maps-mystery-phantom-town-exists-online/story?id=8987800
The Balloon boy's parents will plead guilty--the Mom to a misdemeanor and the Dad to a felony charge:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/12/balloon.boy.charges/index.html
Contestant on the reality show "Wipeout" died after suffering a stroke during an obstacle course challenge. The 33-year-old man had just gotten married 2 months ago and his wife was competing with him on the show:
http://www.thewrap.com/article/man-33-dies-after-suffering-stroke-abcs-wipeout-9994
New Jersey couple accidentally threw away a wedding ring...and three sanitation workers dug threw the 10 tons of trash in the local dump until they found the ring!
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/11/ap/strange/main5612248.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesHeadlines