3:03 PM
Lockheed demonstrated a surveillance robot that can operate autonomously around humans without being detected. The covert robot builds a 3D computer model of its surroundings and detects the proximity and direction of footsteps:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/lockheed-developing-autonomous-and-covert-rover
The FAA is upset that just *one* air traffic controller was in the tower at Reagan National Airport early Wednesday...and that he fell asleep on the job so passenger plane pilots had to land on their own! Reagan National's policy to have just 1 air traffic controller working that shift was unusual because most airports have at least 2 controllers at all times and Chicago has a minimum of 3:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/reagan-national-controller-drug-tested-and-suspended-after-falling-asleep-on-the-job/2011/03/24/ABPzu5RB_story.html
Berkeley and Stanford scientists are apparently close to proving that the pseudogap is not a gradual transition to superconductivity...instead, it is a previously undiscovered phase of matter:
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2011/03/24/pseudogap/
Hundreds to thousands of hours of expensive lawyer bills during discovery are being replaced by artificial intelligence software that costs a fraction to do even more complete research. Law firms have a staffing issue because they cannot bill out people who conduct document review, but they point out that people get bored and get headaches reading documents for weeks straight...computers don't have that problem:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/science/05legal.html?_r=1
Critics said that News Corp paid too much when they bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, but in 2007 News Corp actually valued MySpace on its books at $12 billion. Now there are talks that MySpace may be closed or sold off for a huge loss, especially after News Corp revealed that during February MySpace dropped from 73 million users to 63 million users. Last year at this time MySpace had 95 million users and was trying a lot of things to try to get more users:
http://www.telecomtv.com/comspace_newsDetail.aspx?n=47416&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10
Clearwire's Chairman and CEO made some interesting statements in articles today. He said that Clearwire will stop plans to release its own smartphones and will avoid raising new debt for as long as possible since they already pay $480 mil in interest each year. He also said that bankruptcy is a possibility for Clearwire, but that it is "always an ugly option":
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwire-will-halt-branded-smartphone-plans-avoid-new-debt/2011-03-25
Hackers took 2 days to defeat the security for the iPhone and BlackBerry at the Pwn2Own competition, but they gave up after 3 days for Android and Windows 7 phone. Experts weren't surprised to see the iPhone hacked so quickly because it has been the subject of frequent attacks by hackers and extensive research has been conducted on its weaknesses, but they *were* surprised that Android withstood hackers since it has been a major target of hackers. Windows 7 phone has not been studied much by hackers due to the short time it has been around and limited use by consumers, so experts say that its survival in the competition does not mean that it is more secure than other platforms:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/android-and-windows-7-phone-confound-hackers-competition
Apple's iAd program is apparently having a tough time in the mobile advertising agency, despite Apple's position in the market and the platforms they have. The ad agencies have not liked Apple's insistence on having total control over the ads (no transparency into which apps the ads are shown in, no use of 3rd-party measuring systems, etc.). Things are so bad that iAd salespeople have been applying for jobs elsewhere:
http://www.businessinsider.com/iads-2011-3
Experts say that Reese Witherspoon's decision to have a small, under-the-radar wedding is a good sign that she will have a long-lasting marriage:
http://www.popeater.com/2011/03/25/reese-witherspoon-wedding/
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/lockheed-developing-autonomous-and-covert-rover
The FAA is upset that just *one* air traffic controller was in the tower at Reagan National Airport early Wednesday...and that he fell asleep on the job so passenger plane pilots had to land on their own! Reagan National's policy to have just 1 air traffic controller working that shift was unusual because most airports have at least 2 controllers at all times and Chicago has a minimum of 3:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/reagan-national-controller-drug-tested-and-suspended-after-falling-asleep-on-the-job/2011/03/24/ABPzu5RB_story.html
Berkeley and Stanford scientists are apparently close to proving that the pseudogap is not a gradual transition to superconductivity...instead, it is a previously undiscovered phase of matter:
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2011/03/24/pseudogap/
Hundreds to thousands of hours of expensive lawyer bills during discovery are being replaced by artificial intelligence software that costs a fraction to do even more complete research. Law firms have a staffing issue because they cannot bill out people who conduct document review, but they point out that people get bored and get headaches reading documents for weeks straight...computers don't have that problem:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/science/05legal.html?_r=1
Critics said that News Corp paid too much when they bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, but in 2007 News Corp actually valued MySpace on its books at $12 billion. Now there are talks that MySpace may be closed or sold off for a huge loss, especially after News Corp revealed that during February MySpace dropped from 73 million users to 63 million users. Last year at this time MySpace had 95 million users and was trying a lot of things to try to get more users:
http://www.telecomtv.com/comspace_newsDetail.aspx?n=47416&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10
Clearwire's Chairman and CEO made some interesting statements in articles today. He said that Clearwire will stop plans to release its own smartphones and will avoid raising new debt for as long as possible since they already pay $480 mil in interest each year. He also said that bankruptcy is a possibility for Clearwire, but that it is "always an ugly option":
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwire-will-halt-branded-smartphone-plans-avoid-new-debt/2011-03-25
Hackers took 2 days to defeat the security for the iPhone and BlackBerry at the Pwn2Own competition, but they gave up after 3 days for Android and Windows 7 phone. Experts weren't surprised to see the iPhone hacked so quickly because it has been the subject of frequent attacks by hackers and extensive research has been conducted on its weaknesses, but they *were* surprised that Android withstood hackers since it has been a major target of hackers. Windows 7 phone has not been studied much by hackers due to the short time it has been around and limited use by consumers, so experts say that its survival in the competition does not mean that it is more secure than other platforms:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/android-and-windows-7-phone-confound-hackers-competition
Apple's iAd program is apparently having a tough time in the mobile advertising agency, despite Apple's position in the market and the platforms they have. The ad agencies have not liked Apple's insistence on having total control over the ads (no transparency into which apps the ads are shown in, no use of 3rd-party measuring systems, etc.). Things are so bad that iAd salespeople have been applying for jobs elsewhere:
http://www.businessinsider.com/iads-2011-3
Experts say that Reese Witherspoon's decision to have a small, under-the-radar wedding is a good sign that she will have a long-lasting marriage:
http://www.popeater.com/2011/03/25/reese-witherspoon-wedding/