Privacy group wants Google cash

Google users who signed-up to Buzz found some of their contact details made public by default

A leading US privacy group has filed an objection to agreements Google has reached over its social network Buzz.

The Buzz experiment was heavily criticised because it automatically enrolled all Gmail users without seeking prior permission.

Legal action was taken by a group of Gmail users, with Google agreeing to set up a $8.5m (£5.2m) privacy fund.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is unhappy that it is not one of the beneficiaries of the fund.
This is despite the fact that it filed the original complaint about the service with the Federal Trade Commission.
It has asked for $1.75m (£1.09m), claiming that it is a more independent group than some of those being given money.

It said that the majority of funds would be allocated to groups that "receive support from Google for lobbying, consulting or similar services".

It asked the court to reject a deal "that encourages organisations to stand by quietly while others do the actual work of safeguarding internet privacy".

It declined to say which groups provided lobbying services.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Brookings Institution are among those who have received funds.

Moving on Earlier this week, Google reached an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission, following the conclusion of its investigation.

The FTC said that Google wrongly used information from Google Mail users to create Buzz.
Google has agreed to undergo a privacy review once every two years for the next 20 years.
In a statement after the FTC settlement, Google said it had "put this incident behind us".

"We are 100% focused on ensuring that our new privacy procedures effectively protect the interests of all our users," it said.

It declined to comment directly on the EPIC case.
Apologies Buzz was launched as an application within Gmail in February 2010.

Like rival Facebook, it allowed users to post status updates, share content and read and comment on friends' posts.

But it also gave users a ready-made circle of friends based on the people they most frequently e-mailed.
This list could automatically be made public, which privacy experts said could be a huge problem for journalists, businesses or people having an illicit affair.

Following anger from users, Google made changes and apologised for insufficient testing of the service.

Continue Reading...

Are you experienced? Business and the web user experience

Short attention span: User experience designers want you to stick with one choice for longer

 

It is a bright Thursday morning and, like millions of people all over the world, I am sitting in front of a computer. Unlike them, however, it is not to work.

Instead, I am a test subject sitting inside a research lab at the London offices of internet giant Google.

A researcher explains that the computer will record everything I do, while a camera pointing at me will track my facial expressions.

With clipboard in hand, she tells me to imagine that I am looking to buy something and want to find out more online.

So I start the PC and head to the web.
Then the questions start: What am I looking for? How do I decide what looks interesting? Why click on one

link rather than another?
The new architects The experiment may seem odd, but it is precisely what thousands of businesses now do each day as part of what is known as user experience design.

In the past, companies would simply slap information on a website — but today, with so much competition online, top destinations put a great deal of thought into making their products better.


As a result, designing online user experiences is now an important process for any company that is serious about the web, from huge names such as Google and Facebook all the way down to small businesses.
"User experience designers are the digital equivalent of architects," says Andy Budd, the managing director of web agency Clearleft, based in Brighton, England.


"Just as architects are crafting the physical world around you, user experience designers are doing the same with the digital landscape you use every single day."

Google takes the user experience seriously, despite its famously spartan homepage

Practitioners, who refer to what they do simply as "UX", try to understand people's desires and motivations in order to make sure that online services are satisfying, pleasurable and a joy to use.

By observing people's behaviour online, asking them careful questions and testing different options, researchers can sometimes be the difference between a visitor sticking with a site or getting frustrated and going somewhere else.

Many online businesses are still dominated by usability decisions made by engineers or graphics designers, who tend to prioritise efficiency or beauty over the needs of users.

But over the last few years, user experience design has emerged as a distinct concept.
Primarily championed by scientist and researcher Donald Norman in the 1990s, it developed more rapidly as the web became more prevalent in people's lives.

In recent years it has evolved into a fast-growing field that many see as integral to building great products.
Google, for example, now has hundreds of UX experts working all over the world, each of them operating in labs similar to the one I am sitting in.

Pattern recognition

The researcher who has been grilling me about the way I use the web is Lidia Oshlyansky.

She joined the Californian company last year, having previously done a similar job for the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia.

"When you're doing user experience testing, you're looking for patterns," she says.
"If one person says something about the way they use the product, that's interesting — but if lots of people are saying similar things, then you might have found something important."

The fact that a company such as Google spends so much time perfecting its web design may surprise some.
It is, after all, famous for its spartan homepage and dedication to speed above everything else.

In fact, to many people it seems that Google is almost anti-design, especially compared with a rival such as Apple, known for its focus on luxurious products.

"We have this reputation, and it's been touted quite a bit," admits Ms Oshlyansky.
"But there is actually an emphasis on the user experience."
Still, she points out, making things fast can be an important part of a user's experience of an online service: "Speed is part of what we do, though."

Google's Lidia Oshlyansky says user experience testing is all about spotting patterns

Since the world of user experience design is still young, many professionals began their careers doing something very different.

Ms Oshlyansky, for example, spent several years as a social worker in Chicago before deciding to change track.


Today her job involves travelling around the world to study ordinary web surfers and find out how they think and use Google's products.

Once she has collected the raw information and understood what it means, she works with the company's engineers and web designers to improve what a product does.

This can be as simple as using different words to describe things to users, or changing the size, shape or prominence of buttons.


Sometimes it becomes more complicated, with new features being added to help people do what they need to do or getting rid of aspects of a service that can impede its purpose.

Even though the benefits of this research can be clear — more engaged customers, and more of them — Ms Oshlyansky says it can be a battle to explain the difference a good UX practitioner can make to a product, especially since many people believe they have an innate sense for design.

Still, says Mr Budd, demand for smart designers is outstripping supply as more businesses realise that how a user feels about their service can often be as important as what it does for them.

"I wouldn't say that good user experience design was vital to the success of every online business any more than I would say that good customer service was vital to every offline business," he says.

"But it can be a strong competitive advantage, and will continue to grow in importance over time."
Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Cyber security summit signs UK-US university deal

Thousands of cyber security experts will need to be trained in the next few years, the summit concluded

A conference on cyber security has ended with a university deal to train a new generation of experts in fighting off criminal and terrorist IT attacks.

The summit in Cardiff agreed that the UK and the US would need to produce many thousands of people with this expertise over the next few years.

Delegates at the University of Wales event included the UN, the US defence department, Microsoft and IBM.

The US says government systems are under continued attack.

The US federal government recently announced plans to spend more than $13bn a year within the next five years on protecting its systems.

In the UK, cyber crime is costing the economy up to £27bn every year, it is estimated.
US officials say cyber criminals, terrorists and other nations are getting better at penetrating state and private networks, whether to spy, to steal data or damage critical infrastructure.

Last week, the head of the Pentagon's cyber command said the US military lacked the people and resources to defend the country adequately from concerted cyber attacks.

The two-day summit was organised by the University of Wales Global Academy and the Geospatial Data Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

It also included professors from Harvard University, the University of Oxford, University of Memphis, Boston University and the University of Central Florida.

'Overriding issue' The University of Wales and the Geospatial Data Centre at MIT signed an agreement to jointly develop cyber security leadership and training programmes.

University of Wales vice-chancellor Professor Marc Clement said he believed the summit was a "major coup" for Wales and the deal signed would put Wales at the forefront of cyber security defence.

He said the university hoped to "work closely with many of the participating academics to take forward the agenda identified by the summit and to advance relations between MIT and the University of Wales".

He added: "We now plan to develop a joint training programme for taking forward educational developments in the field of cyber-physical security, an area that the summit agreed was the overriding issue for government, business, and universities."

Professor John Williams, director of the Geospatial Data Centre, said: "Cyber-physical security is now considered the number one threat to national security, being deemed more critical than conventional nuclear attacks.

"Last year alone, the US logged over 300,000 virus attacks on their networks and noted that organised crime now makes more money from cyber crime than any other activity."

Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Spiders and crabs inspire robot locomotion

The worm robot mimics the movements of real world worms

 

The walking patterns of crabs, lobsters and spiders are helping to inspire new ways of getting robots to move around.

Closer study of the neural networks controlling the legs of invertebrates has revealed the rhythmic nerve impulses that govern gait.

These have been adapted into modular control elements that can be transferred into robots to help mimic natural movement.

European researchers have already put the control systems into a robot worm.

Smart step

The rhythmic impulses are known as central pattern generators (CPGs), and are among the best known of all neural circuits, according to Fernando Herrero, one of the Spanish researchers employing them to control a robot.

CPGs allow the body to automate certain repetitive tasks, such as chewing or walking. Although the activity requires some initial input to get started, the repetitive motion effectively runs on autopilot.

One reason that CPGs are so well understood is that the relative simplicity of invertebrate neural systems, compared with those of mammals, makes it much easier to map how their nerves interconnect.

This access, said Mr Herrero, has allowed researchers to understand the ways in which CPGs generate the rhythmic impulses that help a spider or crab scuttle around.

Research is also allowing the impulses and rhythms to be recorded and used to generate control sequences for a robot's artificial limbs.

Traditionally, said Mr Herrero, robot makers get their creations moving by defining a series of rules that dictates what the legs of that machine should do to get about.

"CPGs autonomously generate rhythms without specifying any rule and thus can deal better with unexpected situations," he said.

Even better, said Mr Herrero, CPGs are discrete circuits that can be linked together, like building blocks, to create ever more complex behaviour.

Instead of trying to define rules for all the limbs on a robot and get their movements co-ordinated, CPGs make it possible to build up from one joint or sub-section of a limb.

Multi-legged animals are proving popular models for robots because they are more stable.

 

"You can concentrate first on each part of each leg, and design a controller mini-CPG for the ankle, for the knee, the hip and so on," he said. "Then, you connect them in such a way that you get a leg-CPG, that is, the ankle, knee and hips mechanism act co-ordinately."

Using control systems inspired by nature means that they also have some basic intelligence, said Mr Herrero. That allows the machines to modify their rhythm to cope with the unexpected and then return to pumping out the original tempo.

Mr Herrero, along with colleagues Pablo Varona and Francisco Rodriguez, has used CPGs as a control system to make a worm robot writhe around like the real thing. The robot is based on similar machines created by Dr Juan Gomez from Madrid's Carlos III University.

The worm robot has eight sections and its control system was derived by letting the movement rhythm evolve in a simulator. Once evolved, the system was downloaded to a robot which then undulated like a worm and managed to move around with ease.

"The key is to combine the right set of bio-inspired strategies with human engineering approaches to build a new generation of more autonomous robots," said Mr Herrero.

The research was detailed in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.
Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Hackers target business secrets

Many net-savvy thieves are scouring corporate networks for saleable secrets

 

Intellectual property and business secrets are fast becoming a target for cyber thieves, a study suggests.

Compiled by security firm McAfee, the research found that some hackers are starting to specialise in data stolen from corporate networks.

McAfee said deals were being done for trade secrets, marketing plans, R&D reports and source code.

It urged companies to know who looks after their data as it moves into the cloud or third-party hosting centres.

"Cyber criminals are targeting this information based on what their clients are asking for," said Raj Samani, chief technology officer in Europe for McAfee.

He said some business data had always been scooped up when net thieves compromised PCs using viruses and trojans in a search for logins or credit card details.

The difference now was that there exists a ready market for the data they are finding. In some cases, said Mr Samani, thieves were running campaigns to get at particular companies or certain types of information.

The McAfee report mentioned cases in Germany, Brazil and Italy in which trade secrets were either stolen by an insider or cyber thieves tried to get hold of via a concerted attack.

In some cases, said the McAfee report, companies made the job of the criminals easier because they did little to censor useful information about a corporate's culture or structure revealed in e-mails and other messages.

Such information could prove key for thieves mounting a "social engineering" in which they pose as employees to penetrate networks.

The report detailed efforts by firms to watch casual and contract employees and the use of behavioural analysis software to spot anomalous activity on a corporate network.

Perimeter defences Thefts of intellectual property or key documents could be hard to detect, said Mr Samani.
"You may not even know it's stolen because they just take a copy of it," he said.

Defending against these threats was getting harder, he said, because key workers with access to the most valuable information were out and about using mobile devices far from the defences surrounding a corporate HQ.

"Smartphones and laptops have crossed the perimeter," said Mr Samani.
The report comes in the wake of a series of incidents which reveal how cyber criminals are branching out from their traditional territory of spam and viruses.

2010 saw the arrival of the Stuxnet virus which targeted industrial plant equipment and 2011 has been marked by targeted attacks on petrochemical firms, the London Stock Exchange, the European Commission and many others.

Mr Samani said that, as firms start to use cloud-based services to make data easier to get at, they had to work hard to ensure they know who can see that key corporate information.

Otherwise, he warned, in the event of a breach, companies could find themselves losing the trust of customers or attracting the attention of regulators.

"You can transfer the work but you cannot transfer the liability," said Mr Samani.
Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

China 'to overtake US on science' in two years

China is on course to overtake the US in scientific output possibly as soon as 2013 - far earlier than expected.

That is the conclusion of a major new study by the Royal Society, the UK's national science academy.
The country that invented the compass, gunpowder, paper and printing is set for a globally important comeback.

An analysis of published research - one of the key measures of scientific effort - reveals an "especially striking" rise by Chinese science.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

There are many millions of graduates but they are mandated to publish so the numbers are high”

End Quote Dr Cong Cao Nottingham University

The study, Knowledge, Networks and Nations, charts the challenge to the traditional dominance of the United States, Europe and Japan. 

The figures are based on the papers published in recognised international journals listed by the Scopus service of the publishers Elsevier.

In 1996, the first year of the analysis, the US published 292,513 papers - more than 10 times China's 25,474.
By 2008, the US total had increased very slightly to 316,317 while China's had surged more than seven-fold to 184,080.

Previous estimates for the rate of expansion of Chinese science had suggested that China might overtake the US sometime after 2020.

But this study shows that China, after displacing the UK as the world's second leading producer of research, could go on to overtake America in as little as two years' time.

"Projections vary, but a simple linear interpretation of Elsevier's publishing data suggests that this could take place as early as 2013," it says.

Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, chair of the report, said he was "not surprised" by this increase because of China's massive boost to investment in R&D.

Chinese spending has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006.

"I think this is positive, of great benefit, though some might see it as a threat and it does serve as a wake-up call for us not to become complacent."

The report stresses that American research output will not decline in absolute terms and raises the possibility of countries like Japan and France rising to meet the Chinese challenge.

"But the potential for China to match American output in terms of sheer numbers in the near to medium term is clear."

Quality questions The authors describe "dramatic" changes in the global scientific landscape and warn that this has implications for a nation's competitiveness.

According to the report, "The scientific league tables are not just about prestige - they are a barometer of a country's ability to compete on the world stage".

Along with the growth of the Chinese economy, this is yet another indicator of China's extraordinarily rapid rise as a global force.

However the report points out that a growing volume of research publications does not necessarily mean in increase in quality.

One key indicator of the value of any research is the number of times it is quoted by other scientists in their work.

Although China has risen in the "citation" rankings, its performance on this measure lags behind its investment and publication rate.

"It will take some time for the absolute output of emerging nations to challenge the rate at which this research is referenced by the international scientific community."

The UK's scientific papers are still the second most-cited in the world, after the US.

Dr Cong Cao, associate professor at Nottingham University's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, agrees with the assessment that the quantity of China's science is yet not matched by its quality.

A sociologist originally from Shanghai, Dr Cao told the BBC: "There are many millions of graduates but they are mandated to publish so the numbers are high.

"It will take many years for some of the research to catch up to Western standards."

As to China's motivation, Dr Cao believes that there is a determination not to be dependent on foreign know-how - and to reclaim the country's historic role as a global leader in technology.
Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Amazon unveils cloud music player

Amazon has unveiled an online music service that lets users upload songs and play them from a range of devices.

The internet retailer launched its Cloud Player in the US, ahead of rivals Apple and Google which are rumoured to be developing similar systems.

Users are given 5Gb of storage space, roughly equivalent to 1,200 tracks, but can opt to pay for additional capacity.

Cloud Player works with Blackberry, Palm and Android mobiles, although there is no support for Apple's iOS.

Commenting on the launch, Amazon's vice president of movies and music, Bill Carr said: "Our customers have told us they don't want to download music to their work computers or phones because they find it hard to move music around to different devices."

Rival systems Although a number of smaller cloud music services already exist, such as mSpot and AudioBox, Amazon is the first of the big technology companies to venture into this area.

Speculation has been rife that Apple would launch a cloud based version of iTunes since it purchased the online music service Lala in December 2009.

It is widely expected that its offering will come as part of a broader re-launch of the MobileMe platform.
Google, which already offers cloud services in the form of Gmail and Google Documents, is also believed to be testing a music storage system, or "locker".
Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Australia PM Julia Gillard's computer 'hacked'

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's parliamentary computer and those of at least two senior ministers are suspected of being hacked, according to a newspaper report. 

he cyber attacks are believed to have been on the Australian Parliament House email network
 
The government was alerted to the security breach by a US intelligence tip-off, Sydney's Daily Telegraph said.

It is reported that several thousand emails may have been accessed from the computers of at least 10 ministers.

The Australian authorities have refused to confirm or deny on the reports.

The cyber attacks are believed to have targeted the Australian Parliament House email network, the less secure of two networks used by MPs.

Among the computers allegedly breached were those belonging to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith.

Reports suggest the hackers may have been trying to access information on Australia's lucrative mining industry.

Sydney's Daily Telegraph quoted four unnamed government sources as saying Chinese intelligence agencies were among a number of suspected hackers.

The government says it will not comment on specific intelligence matters.
However, Attorney-General Robert McClelland said that the Australian authorities were "constantly strengthening cyber security measures".

The US recently said China's cyber-warfare capabilities were formidable, though China routinely denies hacking claims.
Source :: bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

Asian dominance of the internet speed

The network develops faster internet world 
Asian countries occupy the top spot in Internet speed, according to a global survey by Akamai network.

Akamai data shows global Internet speed is only about 1.7 Mbps (megabits per second) but some Asian countries already have high speed.

Average speed internet
 
    * South Korea 12Mbps
    * Hong Kong 9Mbps
    * Japan 7.8Mbps
    * Romania 6.3Mbps
    * Latvia 6.3Mbps
    * Sweden 6.1Mbps
    * Netherlands 5.9Mbps
    * Czechs Republic 5.4Mbps
    * Denmark 5.3Mbps
    * Switzerland 5.2Mbps

Fastest broadband network in the world is in the city of Masan, South Korea.

Speed ​​internet in South Korea an average of 12 Mbps with a maximum level of 33 Mpbs.

"100 Mbps is available in South Korea but the price is not affordable by the community, about several hundred dollars per month," said David Belson, Akamai's marketing chief.Asian Domination

Akamai Reports were first researching the internet with mobile phone network amid growing data needs.

Akamai showed 83 out of 109 mobile phone network providers offer speeds of more than 2Mpbs.Impaired global internet
 
    * Russia 12%
    * U.S. 10%
    * China 9.1%
    * Taiwan 6.1%
    * Brazil 6.0%
    * Italy 4.4%
    * Germany 3.9%
    * Romania 3.2%
    * Japan 2.9%
    * Poland 2.4%

Average speed internet via mobile phones globally average 105 Kbps to 7.2 Mbps.

Asia dominates list of internet speed by more than half of the top 100 cities are in Japan. Only 12 cities in the United States are included in the list.

The top twenty cities are in Japan or South Korea with the exception of the city of Umea in Sweden, in places to 18.

Other city in Europe that occupies the top 100, including Baden-Baden in Germany, Wageningen in the Netherlands and Timisoara in Romania.

The report also examines what he called attacks on Internet traffic, such as the number of spam. Russia was in the top spot with 12% of this disorder.

Akamai provides about 15 to 30% of the Internet.

In the first quarter of this year, more than 487 million unique IP addresses of 233 countries or areas related to the company network.
Source :: http://www.bbc.co.uk

Continue Reading...

10 Most Popular Laptop Brands

Apple is still the brand most often discussed on the Internet.
 
 Design and reliability of Apple laptops made always positive ditanggap than other products on the Internet. However, it does not mean Windows-based laptops are not good. LG and Sony are also often discussed as an alternative.
 
 The surprise was big brands such as Samsung and Acer did not even get into the top 10 most popular laptop brands on the Internet.
 
 Apple could be located at the top and always a hot topic discussed because he simply could satisfy consumers. There is no way the price. It ranges in price to Apple's product line is relatively expensive, especially when compared to similar laptops. However, with Apple, consumers are guaranteed satisfaction.
 
 Meanwhile, the premium Sony Vaio laptop recognized a similarity with the Mac, in terms of performance and graphics. Therefore, the Vaio often touted 'Mac of Windows'. Naturally, if he is to inhabit the ranks of big three in the list.
 
 "Midfielder" such as Hewlett-Packards (HP) and Asus has a collection of laptops with prices varied. Thus, those who buy cheap laptops still get the same after-sales service to those who buy expensive laptops. It is also often a hot topic in discussions on the Internet. 

The speed of spreading rumors and complaints in social media will change the statistics. Here are 10 most popular laptop brands on the Internet, published Amplicate: 

Statistics from Amplicate collecting opinions online that involve more than 73 million messages on Twitter, Facebook, and Amplicate own. This rating to calculate the topics currently discussed in social media. Calculations were based on both positive and negative opinions in a period of 3 months.
Source :: Vivanews

Continue Reading...

Robot It Off When Disaster Communications Solutions

Disasters come and go hard-prone areas. This robot can help.

 All things paralyzed during a disaster occurred, including communication systems. In fact, to build communication networks in disaster areas are often time-consuming, and it is fatal, inhibit the work of rescue teams to save lives.

However, the latest system of robots that can fly autonomously currently being developed by the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). These flying robots can form a wireless emergency network for faster, more reliable, and more affordable.

This robot is part of Swarming Micro Air Vehicle Networks (SMAVNET) or research project the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (LIS) EPFL that aims to study the intelligence of animals, imitating and collective behavior of animal or insect colony. "The goal, to create a system that can be applied in skrenario disaster," said research scientist LIS, Jean-Christophe Zufferey like CNN loaded.

"We started the research at EPFL on the robot, inspired from biology in 2001, ranging from robotic insects that could avoid the possibility bumped into the wall or the ground. After the success, we move forward with conducting research in the outdoors."

Then, it started the manufacture of "flying wing" or "flying wing" - one of the 10 devices that were flown at the same time - as part of the project SMAVNET.

Flying wings are made of lightweight plastic foam lithium-powered batteries in the motor behind it. Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) - so he was called, was launched like a Frisbee. See video demonstration here.

Once airborne, the autopilot system will control the height, speed, and rate beloknya. At the same time MAVs avoid air collisions by communicating with one another via optical flow sensor.

The sensor is mounted in front of each MAV, enabling it to detect the distance between the object and change direction if they are too close to each other. His inspiration came from a crowd of ants that go hand in hand from their nest to a food source. "The sensor is similar to that found on a computer mouse - they are really good optical detector," said Zufferey.

SMAVNET final data for the project are currently being gathered prior to LIS researchers began a follow-up project called "Swarmix" - which will explore how the swarm robots can be used to assist in handling the disaster area.

The idea, which was flown the same group of MAVs will be equipped with small wireless module to form an ad-hoc network that can be used to communicate with rescue teams.

Small flying robot has the advantage rather than a network device on the ground. At least, the difficult post-disaster field no longer be a hindrance. The tool also does not depend on expensive sensors or equipment lava.

However, this tool is not perfect. Need some modification. The most obvious problem is the resistance - the small size of MAVs can only survive in air for 30 to 60 minutes. Solar energy is being considered to solve this problem.

Conversely, there are advantages of small size of the aircraft - which weighs about 420 grams, which will not cause damage if it hit something or someone.

Not only provide communication network during a disaster, these aircraft can also be used in a variety of missions, aerial photography, mapping of 2D and 3D, as well as for environmental monitoring.
When will this product be marketed? Zufferey said, wait until two to four years.
Source :: Vivanews

Continue Reading...

Ancestor of Man is Alien Mars?

Scientists are proving whether there are genetic similarities between the creatures of Mars.
 
Mars became the focus of attention in the context of human space exploration. There are two things that look out of the red planet: whether there is life there, and whether Mars could be human colonies, if later on Earth could not sustain life.

But the latest research being done by intelligent scientists from two world renowned universities, MIT and Harvard was more advanced and revolutionary. Want to prove whether there is a chance the tree of life on Earth has a root on Mars. The researchers also created an instrument to prove that allegation.

The instrument is called the Search for Extra-Terrestrial or SETG Genome. Instruments are being developed that will examine samples of dust from Mars, isolating the genetic material that may exist - in the form of insects or other living things that died a few million years ago.

With this instrument, scientists can use standard biochemical techniques to analyze each genetic sequence generated and compares the findings on Earth.

"This long-term project," said researchers from MIT, Chris Carr as published Space.com. "Jikan later we found no association with the Earth, the Earth could be a creature from Mars. Or vice versa, starting from Earth and sent to Mars."

The idea that living organisms on Earth came from Mars might not exist in the minds of everyone. However, this is not a crazy idea.

For, though the current Martian surface cool, dry, and without life - there is plenty of evidence the planet is warmer and wetter billions of years ago.

Just as on Earth, when all life depends on water. Ancient Mars may have been a supporter of some form of life - perhaps even before Earth. Similarly, the researchers said.

If this happens, Martian microbes might have been mengkolonialisasi Earth, when a giant asteroid off to Mars and making the particles spurted and then experienced travel between rooms. The researchers estimate there are 1 billion tons of Martian rocks that traveled in those years.

And microbes that are very strong, so it may be that some of them could have survived the asteroid impact and toward her new home on another planet. Car added, orbital dynamics show is 100 times easier to Mars rocks to Earth than vice versa.

However, Carr said, very little chance to find something on the surface of Mars. Ways you can do is dig. "There are two possibilities, Mars has life or not at all. But we want to make sure."

Meanwhile, U.S. space agency was optimistic opinion of the scientists. "It makes no sense that life on Mars associated with life on Earth - and called that the two planets share the genetics," said astrobiologist from NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, Chris McKay. However, "in any case, it will be important to test this hypothesis."

Chavez: Capitalism Annihilate Mars Life
If the scientists based their theory of life on Mars with some scientific facts, whatever that is in the head of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez when he says: "capitalism to end life on Mars."

"I always say, well listen, not strange if Mars did have a civilization. But maybe there came capitalism, imperialism, and see what he does on this planet," he said Tuesday, March 22, 2011, as published Irish Times.

Laughter of the audience the president's speech this quirky formations. However, Chavez has cleverly parse his words mean it. He warned that the same process with Mars, environmental degradation is happening on Earth.

"See! Be careful! Here on planet Earth, land hundreds of years ago is a dense forest into dry-baked. River of the desert everywhere. How is the progress of risk risked life on this planet, not the long term, but even in the medium term.

Source :: Vivanews

Continue Reading...

Know Your Network Devices

The need of data processing information in an enterprise that involves a computer network is considered very significant. There are several things that must be considered in building a network of computers, especially computer networking devices. The devices that are used should be tailored to the needs.

Generally, computer network equipment required is:

• Network Card (LAN Card) is installed on a PC function to be able to communicate with other computers that are interconnected with the network using a Local Area Network (LAN). To connect it using a coaxial cable, twisted pair and can be used also wireless LAN.
• Hub. Shaped tool box with some holes in the back of this is the tool as a recipient of signals from a computer, then mentranmisikan to another computer that is connected in one network and the appliance is a signal booster on UTP cable.
• Switch. Basically a switch function similar to the Hub. What distinguishes it is the switch knows the MAC address that serves to sort out which data should be transmitted. While the hub does not recognize the MAC address so it can not pick and sort out which data should be transmitted and what is not.
• Router, a device connecting the computer network as data packets between two network segments, and even more.
• Repeater, this device serves to strengthen the signal for connecting a remote device.
• Bridge, this device serves to bridge the two networks. In fact, the bridge can connect networks that have a medium of communication and network topology that is different though.
• Modem, this device is used to convert analog signals into digital signals and vice versa digital to analog. This tool has a role linking computers to the Internet. The tool is divided in 2 types of internal modem and external modem.
• Cable, it was the path that connects each device. There are 3 types of cable commonly used in building a network such as coaxial cables, UTP cables and fiber optic cable.
• Connector, this tool is a device used as an interface cable mounted on the end of the cable. There are several kinds of connectors in accordance with the type of cable to be used, such as: BNC connector for coaxial cable, RJ45 connector for UTP cable types and ST connectors for fiber optic cable.
• Crimping tools, this tool is used to attach the cable to the RJ45 connector.
• Cabel Tester, the tool is used to check the cables and RJ45 connectors are already installed if installed correctly or not. 

Source :: Anneahira

Continue Reading...

Doraemon: Legendary Cartoon Film

Magic bag, bamboo propellers, doors everywhere, and the passage of time. Magical items were identical with a cartoon character that has long adorned the glass screen and cheer on from generation to generation. Cartoon characters that still exist, timeless, and still remain interesting to watch. Who else if not Doraemon. 

Derived from the Rising Sun 

Manga artists who fabricate Doraemon and his friends named Fujiko F Fuji. From the name alone, was predictable that the authors are from the State of the Rising Sun, Japan. Country is famous for its culture of hard work it was and still produce famous manga artist who is able to produce comics and cartoon characters often filmed. Because of its popularity, Doraemon become cultural ambassadors of Japanese animation appointed directly by the Japanese foreign minister. 

Continue Reading...

Caring Notebook From Two Sides

Caring for notebook or laptop can actually be practically easy. Support equipment maintenance became more varied and easily available. Caring Notebook preferably on two sides, namely the hardware side (hardware) and the software (software).

Notebook Hardware Maintenance 

To treat the notebook from the hardware side, we can start by providing physical protection for notebooks. Because it is mobile or can be easily moved, we must provide good protection. Gunakakan softcase or pocket protector to avoid scratches or collision with hard objects. 

To bring a notebook, use a bag that holds a special place to put the notebook. Better to use a bag that has the ability to hold water in anticipation of rain. A variety of bags with various models and price range available in the market. 

Continue Reading...

Some Light in the Windows Game

The presence of light in computer games is beneficial to briefly rest the mind from work. Some games will direct light are installed as soon as you install Windows on a computer. Among these are game Minesweeper and Solitaire. 

Minesweeper 

In the game Minesweeper, there are boxes of board games like chess board, but all gray. At the beginning of the game, the box is all sealed box. Left-click to open the box. But be careful, because there are many mines underneath. If you click on the box of existing mine, the game ends alias game over. 

If you click the box that there are no mines, it would appear a number or a blank box. Figures ranged from 1-7. Figures 1 means there is a mine in one box nearby, can be above, below, right, left, top right, top left, bottom right or bottom left. Figures 2 means there are 2 mines near the box numbered 2, and so on.

Continue Reading...

Sneezing for Environmental Hazards

If inhaled an hour, the amount of virus is sufficient to trigger infection.

According to a recent report published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, a single sneeze could contaminate a room for a period of more than one hour.

Researchers from Virginia Tech, the United States to analyze air samples from three pieces of the aircraft, the waiting room at a health clinic, and three treatment rooms. As a result, half of the air samples obtained contain contaminated air particles flu virus.

"From an average, one cubic meter of air sampled was recorded containing more than 16 thousand flu virus particles," said Linsey Marr, head of the team of researchers from Virginia Tech, as quoted from MedIndia, Monday, February 7, 2011.

Continue Reading...