Sci-Tech Today

WorldWide Telescope Brings the Universe to Your Desktop

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:06:07 -0500

Where is Saturn in relation to the moon? Does the Milky Way really have a supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy? Microsoft has some answers.

Indeed, Microsoft likes to think the final frontier got a little closer this week with its public beta launch of the WorldWide Telescope software.

WorldWide Telescope is a rich Web application that brings together images from ground- and space-based observatories across the world to allow people to explore the night sky through their computers.

"The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said. "By combining terabytes of incredible imagery and data with easy-to-use software for viewing and moving through all that information, the WorldWide Telescope opens the door to new ways to see and experience the wonders of space."

Navigating the Galaxies

Microsoft Research blended software and Web 2.0 services to create the high-performance Microsoft Visual Experience Engine. This engine allows users to pan and zoom around the heavens. WorldWide Telescope stitches together terabytes of high-resolution images of celestial bodies and displays them in a way that relates to their position in the sky.

The service goes beyond simple browsing of images. Users can choose which telescope they want to look through, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, the Spitzer Space Telescope, or others. They can view the locations of planets in the night sky -- in the past, present or future. They can view the universe through different wavelengths of light to reveal hidden structures in other parts of the galaxy. Taken as a whole, the application provides a top-to-bottom view of the science of astronomy.

Users have two options. They can freely browse through the solar system, galaxy and beyond, or take a guided...

China Quake Toll Hits 15K; 26K Believed Buried

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:54:40 -0500

Military helicopters dropped food and medicine to Chinese earthquake survivors who remained cut off Wednesday in remote mountain villages behind roads clogged by landslides. The official death toll rose to nearly 15,000, and tens of thousands more were feared buried or missing.

As help began to arrive in some of the hardest-to-reach areas, some victims trapped for more than two days under collapsed buildings were still being pulled out alive. But the enormous scale of the devastation meant that resources were stretched thin, and makeshift aid stations and refugee centers were springing up over the disaster area the size of Maryland.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted government officials as saying rescuers who hiked Wednesday into the city of Yingxiu in Wenchuan county -- the epicenter of Monday's magnitude 7.9 quake -- found it "much worse than expected."

The official death toll rose Wednesday to 14,866, Xinhua said, but it was not immediately clear if that number included the 7,700 reported dead in Yingxiu. In Sichuan province alone, another 25,788 people were buried and 14,051 missing, provincial vice governor Li Chengyun said, according to Xinhua.

The toll was expected to rise further once rescuers reach other towns in Wenchuan that remain cut off from the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu more than two days after the quake. Roads leading to Wenchuan from all directions were still being cleared of debris, Feng Zhenglin, deputy minister of railway and transportation, said in Beijing.

The death toll for Mianyang city was also confirmed at 5,430, up from 3,629, on Wednesday, Xinhua said, with more than 18,000 people there still thought to be buried under crushed buildings.

At a middle school Sichuan province's Qingchuan county where students were taking a noon nap when the quake demolished a three-story building, 178 children were confirmed dead in the rubble and another 23...

HP To Challenge IBM with $13.9 Billion EDS Acquisition

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:45:06 -0500

Two king-pins in the technology industry announced Tuesday a merger agreement valued at $13.9 billion, with Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) set to acquire computer consulting firm Electronic Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: EDS) in an effort to compete more aggressively with rival IBM in the technology services business.

The deal, which is set to close later this year, will more than double HP's revenue derived from I.T. services, which the company says amounted to $16.6 billion in fiscal '07.

The acquistion will produce a new services group under the EDS moniker with an HP tagline. Known as "EDS -- An HP Company," the services group will be based in EDS's current headquarters in Plano, Texas, with Ronald A. Rittenmeyer, the current CEO of EDS, continuing at the helm.

Enough To Beat IBM?

Combining forces with EDS makes HP "a lot more competitive by having a whole lot more services personnel," according to Roger Kay, principal analyst with Endpoint Technologies. "IBM is the gold standard. This gives them a better shot at it."

HP's roots in services go back to its 2002 acquisition of Compaq, which itself bought Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) back in 1998. "They have a pretty good services group, but they wanted to compete with IBM," Kay said. "This puts them closer to that goal."

One question is how well the companies will integrate, but Kay doesn't expect many problems on that front. HP CEO Mark Hurd is "known as good at integrating," Kay said.

'Significant Premium' for Shareholders

The new EDS will provide a broad array of enterprise-oriented consulting services, such as IT outsourcing of services for the data center, networking services, managed security services, etc. The companies will offer application development, modernization and management, integration, as well as related technology services.

In addition, the 'new' EDS will handle business process outsourcing, including health claims, financial processing,...

Microsoft Exec Chosen To Run Gates Foundation

Tue, 13 May 2008 09:59:08 -0500

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said Monday that Microsoft Corp. executive Jeff Raikes will take over in September as chief executive of the world's largest charitable foundation.

The foundation has been looking for a new leader since chief executive Patty Stonesifer announced in February that she would step down.

Raikes has been president in Microsoft's business software division, responsible for such things as the Office software suite, Microsoft's server software and applications that help businesses track customers and business processes.

In the past decade, the Gates Foundation has given away more than $16 billion, mostly in global health, global development and U.S. education.

Raikes will be the foundation's second leader since its inception in 1997. He has much in common with Stonesifer, another former Microsoft executive and friend of Bill and Melinda Gates, the co-chairs of their family foundation, which now has more than 500 employees and an endowment of $37.3 billion (EU24.17 billion).

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the Gates Foundation," Raikes said Monday. "This is truly a dream job."

Melinda Gates said that when their friend Raikes expressed interest in the job, his selection was far from a done deal, however.

Raikes, 49, who announced in January he was retiring from Microsoft in September, said he thought before Stonesifer's announcement that he would like to play a role in the foundation's future but was unsure what he would like to do.

He went through the same screening process as the more than 150 other candidates. As a finalist, he was interviewed by top executives of the foundation and needed the blessing of the foundation's third-biggest donor, Warren Buffett, head of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Melinda Gates said she and her husband each interviewed "quite a few" candidates, but they kept coming back to the same idea.

"We really wanted to find someone to build the...

Video Games Boom Blox, Echochrome Offer Pure Fun

Wed, 14 May 2008 07:13:57 -0500

For hardcore gamers, controlling a video-game character is second nature. You use one joystick to run, use another stick to look around, press the right trigger to shoot and use various buttons to open doors, take cover or talk to other characters.

It all seems so obvious that I'm surprised when someone else of my generation doesn't get it. My brother-in-law, for example, is an experienced hunter and golfer -- but he has trouble firing a gun or swinging a club in virtual reality. Perhaps game controls have just gotten too complicated.

A game like Grand Theft Auto IV is designed for die-hards who can drive, shoot and talk on a cell phone (virtually, that is) simultaneously. After a few hours, though, you long for something simpler, where you're only doing one thing at a time. Such simple pleasures should be part of any gamer's diet, especially if you want to play with friends who aren't as hardcore.

-Boom Blox (Electronic Arts, for the Wii, $39.99): This is the first fruit of a much ballyhooed collaboration between EA and Steven Spielberg, but if you're expecting an Indiana Jones-style spectacle, you'll be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're seeking a fun-for-the-whole-family experience, Boom Blox delivers.

The core gameplay involves one action: throwing a ball at a pile of blocks. Some blocks disappear when you hit them; other cause explosions or fireworks. Most of the time the object is to knock over the entire structure, but you may be limited to a certain number of balls or score more points for hitting particular blocks. There's also a Jenga-like game in which you want to remove as many blocks as possible before the tower topples.

For such a simple concept, Boom Blox has a lot of variety, with dozens of single-player puzzles and a good assortment of...

Families Make Case for Vaccine Link to Autism

Wed, 14 May 2008 07:16:04 -0500

Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be rewarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link, government lawyers argued Monday on the first day of a hearing in federal court.

Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism. The theory at issue Monday was whether vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal caused autism.

Lynn Ricciardella, a Justice Department lawyer, said that theory has not moved beyond the realm of speculation. She said that the Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have rejected any link between thimerosal and autism.

"There is no scientific debate," Ricciardella said. "The debate is over."

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Medical experts don't have a comprehensive understanding of what causes autism, but they do know there is a strong hereditary component.

Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities.

Under a two-decades-old program, individuals claiming injury from a vaccine must file a petition for "no-fault" compensation with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The secretary of Health and Human Services replaces the vaccine manufacturer or vaccine administrator to defend the claim.

Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether thousands of families can be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will try to show they were happy, healthy and developing normally -- but, after being exposed to vaccines with...

Disney To Create High-Tech Ad-Testing Lab

Wed, 14 May 2008 07:19:21 -0500

Will people remember three-second video ads on their mobile phones? Do high-definition commercials on big screens get people's hearts racing more than other pitches? Is the sports ticker crawl distracting or does it add value to the 30-second TV spot?

A laboratory in Austin, Texas, to be founded by The Walt Disney Co. by the end of the year aims to answer these questions and more by testing the biometric reactions of a pool of up to 4,000 people to advertising that takes advantage of the latest technology.

In a controlled living room setting, scientists will measure heart rate and skin conductivity and track the gaze of participants who are exposed to new ad models over the Internet, mobile devices and TV screens.

The first results are expected by early 2009.

The media giant, which owns ABC and ESPN, is seeking to learn whether consumers are more engaged by new and interactive ads and ultimately if the company can charge more for them.

Disney planned to announce the formation of the lab to advertisers attending its upfront sales pitch for the coming TV season in New York on Tuesday.

"One of the reasons for engaging in an initiative like this is to determine, once and for all, if there is additional value," Artie Bulgrin, senior vice president of research and sales development for ESPN, told The Associated Press.

The sports media juggernaut says subscribers to its premium high-definition channels were economically better off and considers them more attractive to advertisers. Now, it will clinically test whether HD ads have more impact, Bulgrin said.

The lab will be headed by Duane Varan, executive director of the Interactive Television Research Institute at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

Varan said biometric testing helps cut to the heart of audience reactions to visual ads, which can sometimes be missed by focus group surveys.

"TV...

NATO Allies To Sign Deal on Cyber Defense Center

Wed, 14 May 2008 07:23:33 -0500

Estonia and six NATO allies sign a deal this week to provide staff and funds for a new research center designed to boost the alliance's defenses against cyber terrorism.

The agreement to be signed in Brussels on Wednesday comes a year after the small Baltic nation was exposed to an unprecedented wave of cyber attacks that crippled government and corporate computer networks.

The attacks lasted three weeks and followed deadly riots sparked by the relocation of a Soviet war memorial. Many Estonians suspect the Kremlin was behind the virtual strikes but Moscow has denied involvement.

The attacks showed how vulnerable individual countries are to cyber warfare and underscored the need for a joint NATO response, said Estonian Maj. Raul Rikk, who heads the center.

"The attacks against Estonia last year were cyber terrorism to say the least," Rikk told The Associated Press in a tour of the facility in Tallinn. "The job of the center is to create new capabilities to fight against new threats."

Despite tight security, the low-key appearance of the center makes it look like the offices of an IT company rather than a site where cyber war games are simulated. Rows of computers are lined up in classroom-like offices separated by a long corridor.

The defense ministers of NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Spain and Slovakia are to sign Wednesday's agreement that will ensure funds and staff for the center's operations. The United States will join the project as an observer, Rikk said.

The center will be operational in August, although the formal opening is planned for 2009. A staff of 30 specialists will conduct research and training on cyber warfare. They will also be ready to help NATO members respond to any future attacks against computer networks.

Rikk said the experts will be recruited from various NATO member states and fields...

Microsoft's OOXML Faces New EU Challenge

Wed, 14 May 2008 07:20:21 -0500

A British watchdog agency said Tuesday it had complained to European Union regulators that Microsoft Corp.'s new file format for storing documents discouraged competition.

Britain's agency for education and information technology said it wanted to feed information into an investigation the EU launched in January. That investigation is looking at whether the software giant deliberately withheld information from rivals that the rivals wanted so they could make their products compatible with Microsoft software.

This comes on the heels of EU antitrust action against Microsoft Corp. that has already resulted in US$2.63 billion (EU1.7 billion) in fines.

The watchdog, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, said it had told the European Commission that barriers to interoperability -- which would allow different software products work smoothly with each other -- hurt students and teachers.

"Impediments to interoperability limit choice," the agency said. "In the context of the education system, this can result in higher prices and a range of other unsatisfactory effects."

In an e-mailed statement, Microsoft spokeswoman Anne-Sophie de Brancion said the corporation would cooperate with both the British watchdog agency and the European Commission.

"Microsoft is deeply committed to education and interoperability," the statement said. "We believe that more and more schools are upgrading to Windows Vista and Office 2007 as they increasingly recognize the benefits of embracing technology to transform teaching and learning. We have funded the development of tools to promote interoperability between Office 2007 and products based on the ODF (OpenDocument Format) file format."

The watchdog agency was passing on to the European Commission -- the EU executive -- a complaint it initially filed in October with Britain's Office of Fair Trading. That complaint objected to "the existence of impediments to effective interoperability in relation to Microsoft's 2007 product."

This referred Microsoft's new file format, Office Open XML, which stores Word, Excel and PowerPoint...

Myanmar Cyclone Victims Getting Low-Quality Supplies

Wed, 14 May 2008 07:21:13 -0500

Many cyclone victims are getting spoiled food from Myanmar's junta instead of the high-quality supplies being delivered by foreign governments and charities, victims and aid workers said Tuesday.

A longtime foreign resident of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, told The Associated Press in Bangkok by telephone that angry government officials have complained to him about the military misappropriating aid.

He said the officials told him that quantities of the high-energy biscuits rushed in on the World Food Program's first flights were sent to a military warehouse.

They were exchanged by what the officials said were "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, the foreign resident said.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because identifying himself could jeopardize his safety.

He said it was not known if the high quality food was being sold on the black market or consumed by the military.

A government spokesman did not immediately respond to an e-mailed query from the AP seeking a comment. The allegations were impossible to confirm independently because of the massive restrictions imposed by the junta on journalists.

The military -- which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1962 -- has taken control of most aid sent by other countries including the United States, which made its first aid delivery Monday and sent in another cargo plane Tuesday with 19,900 pounds of blankets, water and mosquito netting. A third flight was to take in a 24,750-pound load. U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Douglas Powell said that the situation remained fluid, but that flights were expected to continue after Tuesday -- which appears to broaden the original agreement for three flights on Monday and Tuesday.

State television said the death toll had gone up by 2,335 to 34,273, and the number of missing stood at 27,838 after many of those...