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Web-Crawling Program Spots Disease Outbreaks

timothy — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:40:00 +0000

no1home writes "There is a story at Discovery Channel's site about a new utility for mapping disease. The premise is to have bots crawl the web looking for stories about disease outbreaks and log them onto a map. '"We were originally thinking about how we could expand disease surveillance and pick up outbreaks earlier than traditional methods," said John Brownstein of Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston, who created HealthMap in September of 2006 with Clark Friefeld, a software developer at Harvard Medical School.' But then it was noticed by Google.org and has since grown into its own website, HealthMap Global disease alert map, and claims to be able to identify 95% of all disease outbreaks, some of them before WHO or CDC."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Another breakthrough purportedly brings us closer to quantum computing

Darren Murph — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:56:00 +0000

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

In reality, quite a bit of time has passed since we've heard of the next great leap in the (seemingly) never-ending journey towards quantum computing, but we're incredibly relieved to learn that at least someone is still out there, somewhere, pressing on. An international team of researchers have reportedly shown that they can "control the quantum state of a single electron in a silicon transistor, even putting the electron in two places at once." Essentially, the team is using tiny semiconductor transistors to "control the state of a quantum system," but there is still a long ways to go before any of this is meaningful. The crew managed to discover a few things by chance, yet to create a quantum computer, they would need to "position atoms of arsenic (or some other material) in the transistors more reliably." For those of you way too geeked out, fret not -- we'll let you know when all of this technobabble finally amounts to something.

[Thanks, Chris]

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FBI Fights Testing For False DNA Matches

timothy — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Statesman writes "The Los Angeles Times reports that an Arizona crime lab technician found two felons with remarkably similar genetic profiles, so similar that they would ordinarily be accepted in court as a match, but one felon was black and the other white. The FBI estimated the odds of unrelated people sharing those genetic markers to be as remote as 1 in 113 billion. Dozens of similar matches have been found, and these findings raise questions about the accuracy of the FBI's DNA statistics. Scientists and legal experts want to test the accuracy of official statistics using the nearly 6 million profiles in CODIS, the national system that includes most state and local databases. The FBI has tried to block distribution of the Arizona results and is blocking people from performing similar searches using CODIS. A legal fight is brewing over whether the nation's genetic databases ought to be opened to wider scrutiny. At stake is the credibility of the odds often cited in DNA cases, which can suggest an all but certain link between a suspect and a crime scene."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AMD becomes takeover target

Allan Gunneson — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:33:44 +0000

With AMD's woeful acquisition of ATI, the company has taken write-downs and charges for months. There is no doubt that AMD made a strategic error in its purchase of ATI but how long can the beleaguered chip maker bleed dollars from its corporate veins?

$948 million in charges were taken by the company on July 11, 2008 and $880 million of these charges were ATI related. AMD reported yet another loss for its most recent quarter on Thursday, July 17, 2008.

Indeed, after reporting this loss, AMD replaced its CEO, Hector Ruiz, with Dirk Meyer. Mr. Meyer was previously president and COO having worked at AMD for 12 years.

The stock is at a five-year low and management and some wonder if AMD has the vision necessary to dig the company out of the hole they have created for themselves.

This is a prediction that AMD/ATI will be the target of a takeover bid before 12-31-2008. For this prediction to be judged, a takeover bid for AMD must be publicly announced before 12-31-2008. This takeover can be in any form; friendly, hostile or reverse. Bets will close on December 26, 2008, while judgment will occur on January 1, 2009, unless events dictate an early judgment.

Kohjinsha SC3 convertible UMPC hits the test bench

Darren Murph — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:50:00 +0000

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Shortly after the Kohjinsha SC3 was removed from the comfy confines of its packaging and exposed for all to see, said UMPC has managed to get reviewed. Initially, impressions were quite positive, as the reviewer noted that build quality was "superb," the size was adorably small and the display satisfied all expectations. As for sheer performance, the Menlow-based rig excelled as it churned through applications with no huge lag issues; however, all that computing made the unit exceptionally warm, though it did remain quiet even when breaking a sweat. Battery life was shorter than advertised (only 2.5 hours), but aside from that, there wasn't a whole lot to gripe about. Think it's too good to be true? Head on down to the read link for videos, benchmarks and impressions.

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To Stet Or Not To Stet, That Is the Question

timothy — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:10:00 +0000

theodp writes "The NY Times' Virginia Heffernan confesses to being stumped by how to excerpt the language on message boards and blogs. For example, Heffernan notes she could quote kavya on Yahoo Answers word for word ('How is babby formed? How girl get pragnent?'), but worries that doing so makes kavya look like an idiot rather that the sweetly earnest 7-year-old that he or she might be. Is it better to paraphrase or revise the question into 'How is a baby formed?' For now, Heffernan is going to let things stand (stet) and treat message boards like novels, preserving idiosyncrasies of language as far as possible and taking them as intentional — a 'wuz' on the Internet remains 'wuz' in the paper."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

WASP Knife Will Freeze and Blow Up Your Organs [Scary Ass Weapons]

Elaine Chow — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Add this to my “Things to hyperventilate over” list: British police are on the lookout for something called a WASP Knife, a weapon that injects a ball of compressed gas into its victim that then...

Air Force Wants to Use Millions in Anti-Terrorism Funds to Build Luxury “Comfort Capsules” [Patriotism]

Matt Buchanan — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Over the past three years, according to the Washington Post, the Air Force has asked to pull $16.2 million from counter-terrorism funds to build "comfort capsules," sealed rooms installed in large...

iPhone Dev Team unleashes Pwnage Tool 2.0

Paul Miller — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:16:00 +0000

Filed under: Cellphones

Sort of. Pwnage Tool 2.0 can't handle 3G iPhones just yet, and we're also faced with the teensy little problem of the Dev Team's server being totally destroyed by downloads already -- mirror please? -- but the friendly little jailbreak app has finally been unleashed upon the earth. We'd never suggest trying out software like this right out of the gate, but, um, let us know how it goes, yeah?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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HealthMap Gives Lowdown on Disease Outbreaks, Could Save Lives [Web Tools]

Elaine Chow — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Scientists are using the power of the web to track and find real disease outbreaks. Every hour, HealthMap, an infectious disease-tracking website, feeds off of news, public health list serves, and...

Real-World 3G Monthly Cost With Taxes and Fees?

timothy — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:56:00 +0000

Kristl writes "I have called AT&T and walked into several AT&T stores to ask 'How much will an AT&T phone plan cost per month with taxes and fees and everything?'. No one can answer this question. They are evasive and become testy when I push them on it. Their answer is they can't tell me what the government is going to charge me as the fees can vary month to month, but I've been an AT&T customer for several years, and my taxes and fees have not varied more than a dollar in all of that time. So I question them: 'Can you just tell me what the taxes and fees will be for a 3G plan in California that has the basic calling plan, basic data plan, and the basic text plan?' I even do the math for them, that's $75. Okay AT&T, what are the taxes and fees on $75? Oh, they can't tell me that, as the taxes and fees can vary from month to month." There more to this justified rant (below); real-world numbers in comments could help answer the questions that cell carriers seem content to sidestep as completely as possible.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

iPhone Pwnage Tool 2.0 Now Available (Jailbreak and Unlock) [Iphone Unlock]

Jason Chen — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:28:04 +0000

The iPhone 2.0 Pwnage Tool is now available, weighing in at 19.7MB. It came slightly earlier than expected, but I'm sure nobody's complaining that they can now unlock their iPhones and iPod Touches a...

Eee PC 1000H Price Drops, Now $549 [Asus Eee Pc 1000h]

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Looks like Asus listened to us when we complained about the price of their biggest and best Eee PC yet, the Eee PC 1000H. It's been on sale for less than a week, but Newegg's already dropped the...

Behind the IMAX in The Dark Knight [Batman]

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:00:00 +0000

One of the many exciting aspects of The Dark Knight is how the movie incorporated IMAX shots. Friends who watched the film have called the shots absolutely stunning and incredibly immersive; another...

GM Researching Windshields For Old Drivers

timothy — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:42:00 +0000

beuges writes "General Motors researchers are working on a high-tech windshield that users lasers and infra-red sensors to identify and enhance important objects for older drivers with vision problems. 'For example, during a foggy drive, a laser projects a blue line onto the windshield that follows the edge of the road. Or if infrared sensors detect a person or animal in the driver's path during a night drive, its outline is projected on the windshield to highlight its location.' And it's not only older drivers who will benefit: 'Some features would be helpful to drivers of all ages. If a driver is speeding, a pink box frames an approaching speed limit sign to draw the driver's attention.' The 65 and older population in the US will nearly double in about 20 years, meaning more people will be struggling to see the road like they used to."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle for $3000 [DIY]

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:15:00 +0000

For DIYers with a lot more technical know-how than cash, an Instructables user has put up a really interesting tutorial on building an electric motorcycle using just $3000. The vehicle has a 70mph...

Eee PC 1000H gets a $100 price drop

Nilay Patel — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:04:00 +0000

Filed under: Laptops

It's only been on sale for six days, but the pricetag on the Eee PC 1000H just dropped by $100, down to $549. We're not sure if early buyers will get that extra Benny back, but it certainly can't hurt to ask -- and ASUS, while you're at it, how about taking a little off the 901 as well?

[Via Mobile Stylus; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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The Father of Multi-Core Chips Talks Shop

timothy — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:40:00 +0000

pacopico writes "Stanford professor Kunle Olukotun designed the first mainstream multi-core chip, crafting what would become Sun Microsystems's Niagra product. Now, he's heading up Stanford's Pervasive Parallelism Lab where researchers are looking at 100s of core systems that might power robots, 3-D virtual worlds and insanely big server applications. The Register just interviewed Olukotun about this work and the future of multi-core chips. Weird and interesting stuff."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

FCC Asked to Get Carriers to Hurry Up Local Number Portability Already [Fcc]

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:30:00 +0000

With all the advances in technology we've had over the last couple of decades, you'd think that something as simple as changing your land line number into a cellular one would take hours at most. At...

First iPhone 2.0 Pwnage Tool Out Tomorrow [IPhone]

Matt Buchanan — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:02:06 +0000

The iPhone Dev hints rather strongly on their official blog that the much anticipated Pwnage tool that'll jailbreak phones running the 2.0 software so you can install unofficial apps alongside those...

Windows 95 Lead Architect Is a Mac Convert, Launches First iPhone App [Windows 95]

Matt Buchanan — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

After he left Microsoft, Satoshi Nakajima, the lead architect of Windows 95 and a "defining force" in the creation of Internet Explorer 3.0, wanted to understand why people were so into Apple. He...

Wii Is the New US Console Leader

timothy — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:33:00 +0000

stoolpigeon writes with this snippet from an AFP story carried by Google: "Nintendo said Thursday that its globally popular Wii has become the top-selling video game console in the United States, a crown coveted by rivals Microsoft and Sony. Market-tracking firm NPD Group reports that 666,000 Wii consoles were sold in the United States in June, raising the total sales count in the country to nearly 10.9 million units." I'd rather play board games than video games, but the Wii Fit makes one of these tempting anyhow.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Cryptex Phone Concept Makes Calls a Puzzling Experience [Concept]

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:15:00 +0000

Sometimes I pick up my phone and say to myself “Gee, this communication device just isn't cryptic enough. It's too user friendly and not enough like a puzzle out of the Da Vinci Code.” Apparently...

Vintage cassette tape holds Apple I BASIC, killer modem tune

Darren Murph — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Fair warning: this here post is nerdier than usual, and those who begin to feel nauseous at the mere mention of data-bending may want to refrain from continuing on. For you brave, hardened souls that are following through, feast your eyes on the "first piece of software ever sold by Apple." The Apple I BASIC cassette wasn't even included with all of the 200 Apple Is produced eons ago, but a few engineering souls have managed to extract the data and create an MP3 of the wave structure. Not surprisingly, the tone resembles that of a 1200 Baud connection, and if we should say so ourselves, would make for a wicked ringtone. Believe us, it gets even weirder in the read link, but you'll have to determine whether venturing down is something your brain can handle.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Robots of the Future Will Show Empathy, Be Good Listeners [Robots]

Elaine Chow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:45:00 +0000

European researchers are developing a software that will give robots the power to learn when a person is sad, happy or angry. The Feelix Growing project is putting together simple robots that can...