Gravity satellite yields 'Potato Earth' view

It looks like a giant potato in space. And yet, the information in this model is the sharpest view we have of how gravity varies across the Earth. The globe has been released by the team working on Europe's Goce satellite. It is a highly exaggerated rendering, but it neatly illustrates how the tug we feel from the mass of rock under our feet is not...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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