Link Collection

Security officials are increasingly relying on full-body scanners to screen passengers, but scientists have been reporting that the cancer risk is FAR higher (20x!) than previously estimated. It turns out that the amount of radiation is small, but it is concentrated on the skin...one of the most radiation-sensitive organs of the human body. They worry that children especially are at risk of getting skin cancer from the scanners and say that the head and neck areas should not be scanned--those are the highest skin cancer risks and areas where people cannot hide weapons. Security officials say that scanning the head and neck is safe (without any scientific evidence!) so they refuse to take the suggestion from scientists:
http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2010/07/full-body-scanners-pose-cancer-risk-at-airports-us-scientists-warn/98552/1

It is pretty cool that photographs of an exoplanet have been released by astronomers. Thank you to Ben for the link!
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2000787,00.html?hpt=T2

Intel is closing its WiMAX office in Taiwan and shifting all the WiMAX people to other standards, but they say that they are still committed to WiMAX. I happen to have a former PhD student who is leading a group in Taiwan and his company used to be WiMAX-only and now they are shifting him and his group to LTE:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200253/intel_is_closing_its_wimax_program_office_in_taiwan.html

Google is strongly supporting HTML5 but Google-owned YouTube says that Flash is the best platform for video distribution. One big problem for HTML5 is that not all Web browsers support H.264 and other problems include the lack of ability to adjust buffering rates, protect content, and ability to play back videos in full screen mode:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/youtube-backs-adobe-flash-over-html5-849?source=IFWNLE_nlt_daily_2010-07-01

PC world gives 5 good reasons to doubt the rumor that Verizon will have the iPhone in January:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100630/tc_pcworld/iphoneonverizon5reasonstodoubtthelatestrumors_1

Interesting e-mail conversation with an iPhone 4 user who posted a video of his reception issues when holding his iPhone, where first an Apple engineer contacted him and then he exchanged several e-mails with Steve Jobs. About his unhappiness with the iPhone 4 reception issue, Steve Jobs' final e-mail to him states "Retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it.":
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/07/01/exclusive-conversation-with-steve-jobs-on-the-iphone-4-antenna-problems/

Two lawsuits were filed in Federal Court in Maryland seeking class-action status that demand Apple and AT&T to pay compensatory and punitive damages and stop selling the iPhone 4 until they fix the reception problems:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9178771/Apple_AT_T_sued_over_iPhone_4_antenna_problems?taxonomyId=152

Two other lawsuits were filed in Federal Court in San Francisco seeking class-action status over the iPhone 4 reception problems. The lawyers sure work quickly--all of these lawsuits were filed within 6 days after the iPhone 4 went on sale!
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-01/apple-is-sued-over-new-iphone-reception-by-consumers.html

Just weeks after launching their line of Kin line of social networking-focused phones, Microsoft has ended the line and are going to shift all of those workers to Windows Mobile 7. After a nationwide advertising push (including numerous TV commercials) for the phones, Business Insider reported that Microsoft sold just *500* Kin phones!

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/microsoft-quits-kin-focuses-windows-phone-7/2010-06-30

Oil futures broker lost his job after making 7 unauthorized trades worth $520 million after a weekend of heavy drinking. He cost his company $10 million and actually managed to increase the global price of a barrel of oil by $1.65, a record in 2009:
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/830380--drunken-broker-who-doesn-t-remember-spending-520m-banned-from-trading?bn=1

Texas Tech professor was doing a lecture via teleconference so that the students could see the material he had on his laptop. He thought that the teleconference was over right after the lecture and he started searching for porn right after the lecture was over...shocking his students that were still watching the feed from his computer. He couldn't wait a minute after the lecture to start searching for porn?
http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=b60de4f7-3fe6-4fa9-a71a-903a9c108d73

Maggots falling from an overhead bin from a spoiled container of meat forced an US Airways flight to return to the gate so the bin could be cleaned. A passenger had the container in a carry-on bag but it is unknown why that person chose to buy meat in Atlanta to carry on to Charlotte:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/30/national/main6635516.shtml