UNU-MERIT: I&T Weekly

	Search \| Sitemap \| Intranet \| PhD Intranet

Subscribe to I&T Weekly A free e-zine about Innovation & Technology developments

text html Please type the above code:
	RSS feed

Previous Issues I&T Weekly

>> back to archive

Previous issues of I&T Weekly:

2013: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

2012: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]

2011: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

2010: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

2009: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

2008: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

2007: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

2006: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

2005: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

2004: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]

2003: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

2002: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

2001: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

Issue no. 5, 2001 Published: Sep 14, 2001
Attack threatens to further weaken IT results
Gartner offers all research free of charge
Videophones give reporters an edge
ICANN approves new domain names
Germany seeks females for computer science
Robot brains become more human
E-paper moving closer
Nanotechnology 'future of data storage'
Reading your mouse movements
Video games getting tougher
ISPs get an eyeful of porn bonanza

Attack threatens to further weaken IT results
US technology companies, already hard hit by a global slowdown in information technology spending, are in danger of missing revenue forecasts because much of their sales for their current quarter is booked in the last two weeks of September. The disruption to business because of the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, could not come at a worst time for US tech companies. Corporate technology buyers typically wait until the last few weeks of the quarter to place large orders because that is the time they can ask for large discounts. For some companies, as much as 70 per cent of their sales are normally booked in the last month of the quarter.
Financial Times Sep 13, 2001	back to top

Gartner offers all research free of charge
Business and technology researcher Gartner is giving free access to its vault of research to help companies and organisations decide what course of action to take in response to the terrorist attack on the US. Research reports compiled by Gartner ordinarily are obtained only by clients paying a fee for various services, or are sold individually to non-clients. Reports commonly cost into the thousands of dollars. How long the reports will be available free was not clear. Gartner set a user ID of ''emergency'' with the password ''response'' for free access to its site at https://gartner11.gartnerweb.com/bin/login?show=gg@00093132.html Gartner is also holding a series of open forums via conference call to make recommendations on plotting post-attack plans and how to deal with the after-effects of the catastrophe.
Newsbytes Sep 13, 2001	back to top

Videophones give reporters an edge
For the past days, a crisis was brought viscerally close to home, boosted by the media's use of satellite communications technology that allows reporters to send back video reports from places where satellite camera trucks and ordinary camera crews could not go. CNN uses a satellite videophone created specifically for such purposes by British company 7E Communications. The size of laptop computers, the machines have allowed the cable news network to transmit footage from areas unreachable by competitors using more traditional means. The device weighs about 10 pounds can be operated by a single reporter. Reporters using the units can power them with an ordinary camera battery, or a car battery. A high-quality camcorder or video camera is used to capture the video images, which the videophone then relays via satellite to a remote station.
New York Times / CNET News Sep 13, 2001	back to top

ICANN approves new domain names
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Monday cleared the way for domain names ending in ''.museum'', ''.coop'' and ''.aero''. The group postponed action on ''.pro''. Contracts for ''.biz'', ''.info'', and ''.name'' were approved earlier by ICANN and will be activated later this year. ICANN officials said a final agreement was delayed by disagreements between companies in the joint venture that plans to run ''.pro''. The delay likely means ''.pro'' names will not be usable until next year. The ''.pro'' suffix was one of seven approved by ICANN last year as the first major addressing expansion since the 1980s. At the time, ICANN had hoped the names would become operational by mid-2001.
Nando Times / AP Sep 11, 2001	back to top

Germany seeks females for computer science
Germany is starting a campaign to try to encourage females to enter the field of ''informatics'', a profession comparable to computer science in the US, but which also includes a mixture of networks, applications systems and information technology. The campaign will be waged in an effort to combat a severe shortage in Germany of informatics specialists. Germany already relaxed work permit requirements to allow more foreign informatics specialists to work in Germany and the Stuttgart region has launched a PR campaign to trying to lure Germans working in the US back home.
Newsbytes Sep 14, 2001	back to top

Robot brains become more human
Scientists have gone back to the brain to in an attempt to produce smarter robots. Scientists from the University of Sussex have found that by simulating the presence of one key chemical they can enhance the performance of the neural network. Neural networks are electronic circuits modelled on ideas about the way that brain functions. Many artificial intelligence researchers use them to form control programmes for robots because they can ''learn'' the best way to complete a task based on experience. But the scientists found that the simplified networks may be missing a vital part. Neurophysiologists have recently discovered that Nitric Oxide (NO) plays a vital role in many brain functions including learning and memory. The researchers have found a way to mimic the workings of NO in the neural networks they are evolving to create control programmes for robots, making the programmes much faster and far smaller than usual.
BBC News Sep 14, 2001	back to top

E-paper moving closer
Over the past couple of decades the technology world has been searching for a way to manufacture electronic ink and paper. Now two American companies, Gyricon Media and the E-ink Corporation, have developed similar minute capsules, filled with a dark solution and laden with white particles. The idea is that when an electrical charge is applied, the particles will move from one side of the capsule to the other, thereby creating a dark or white patch. The first commercial application for this technology has been through the development of electronic signs such as in-store displays connected via a wireless link.
BBC News Sep 10, 2001	back to top

Nanotechnology 'future of data storage'
Nanotechnology may be the future of data storage, according to researchers at an Australian university. The Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis team at Griffith University in Queensland have apparently created a hard drive capable of holding 1000 times as much data than those used in machines today. So far, the methodology is vague, but nanotechnology-enhanced hard drives could hold 1Gb of data in the space typically occupied by 1Mb. The system involves the microscopic manipulation of thermally grown oxide layers on standard silicon wafers. The researchers reckon that, as magnetic storage technology reaches its limits but processor technology continues to improve, hard drives are becoming a bottleneck in a computer's performance. Nanotech drives will provide a solution, say the Griffith team.
VNUnet UK Sep 13, 2001	back to top

Reading your mouse movements
A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have developed a way to record mouse movements on a page and learn how people behave when they are on the Internet. They found that certain movements of the mouse are common, allowing them to predict how someone used the Web. This sort of information would be invaluable to content providers who are looking for ways of increasing the effectiveness of their website. The researchers say that if you could analyse in real time how someone goes through a website, the content and navigation could be adapted to create a more personal experience. MIT's system works by including mouse movement data automatically with embedded scripting. The information is analysed and stored on a server. This collection technique is implemented using current technology and does not require any additional software on the user's browser.
BBC News Sep 10, 2001	back to top

Video games getting tougher
Computer games like Quake and Half-Life that pit human players against legions of belligerent computer-controlled foes look set to get much more challenging. Researchers are working on ways to turn the computerised cannon fodder into canny crackshots that can outthink as well as outgun you. The research has already produced opponents that can predict what human players will do next, tune their strategy accordingly and learn new tricks to surprise you. They use genetic algorithms that mimic evolution to develop control systems that help them react to other elements, such as obstacles, ammunition or enemies in the game world. The work may one day mean that players of computer games looking for a real challenge download artificial opponents that are veterans of many previous encounters rather than take on other people.
BBC News Sep 13, 2001	back to top

ISPs get an eyeful of porn bonanza
An online porn bonanza is set to sweep across Europe as ISPs look at 'adult content' to pump up flagging revenues, industry experts predict. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Internet analyst Kai Kaufmann said the European Internet industry is closely watching the performance of the pornography portal recently set up by Germany's top ISP, T-Online. The ISP's move to keep the content separate from its own core brand could set the agenda for other ISPs looking to supply paid-for content. According to Internet research firm Jupiter's latest research almost 40 per cent of Germany's total Web traffic in July 2001 was aimed at online porn sites. In the UK the figure was 25 per cent, while in France it was 26 per cent, in Italy 33 per cent and in Spain 42 per cent. Standard & Poor estimates that the Internet porn market will produce sales of $3bn by 2003.
VNUnet UK Sep 11, 2001	back to top