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Issue no. 23, 2005 Published: Aug 19, 2005
Internet body postpones decision on sex domain
Nanotech transistor powers up
Laser spots paper 'fingerprints'
'Pyramid power' probes universe
Why computers are like the weather
Key computer breakthrough
EU researchers talk up universal audio codec
Pee-powered battery smaller than a credit card
Researchers develop phone call boredom spotter
Computer characters mugged in virtual crime spree

Internet body postpones decision on sex domain
ICANN, the group that oversees Internet domain names, said this week it had postponed a decision to set up a special .xxx domain for sex sites that has drawn opposition from conservative activists. ICANN was scheduled to hear the proposal on Tuesday but postponed its decision until September 15 after the US Commerce Department asked for more time to hear objections. The Commerce Department said it had received nearly 6,000 letters and e-mails from people who are concerned that it would make life easier for the online sex industry. An internal ICANN group that represents the US and other governments also asked for more time for public input. The group did not say which governments had objected to the domain.
Reuters Aug 17, 2005	back to top

Nanotech transistor powers up
The first electrical switch made entirely from carbon nanotubes has been unveiled. Its inventors at the University of California hope that it could help to replace silicon chips with faster, cheaper, smaller components. The device is a Y-shaped nanotube that behaves like a transistor, such as those found in every electronic device. Current flowing from one branch to another can be switched on and off by applying a voltage to the third. The switching is perfect - the current is either on or off, with nothing in between. The scientists made their Y-shaped nanotubes by adding a titanium-iron catalyst to a pot of straight nanotubes while they are growing. When a catalyst particle sticks to the side of a nanotube, it forms the base of a new branch. The team is now trying to extend the alphabet of branched nanotubes with T- and X-shapes that could allow different functions.
Nature Materials Aug 14, 2005	back to top

Laser spots paper 'fingerprints'
A low-cost scanning system could help in the fight against document and ID fraud, according to its developers at Imperial College London. The Laser Surface Authentication (LSA) system scans tiny surface variations of paper, plastic, metal and ceramics to detect the material's 'fingerprint'. The system then records the naturally occurring pattern of imperfections. The imperfections are so minute that they are virtually impossible to replicate. The system could be used on materials such as passports, ID cards, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, banknotes, and packaging. It offers a much simpler, cheaper and largely foolproof way to authenticate and track sensitive documents than current methods, such as holographs. If deployed, it means that a passport, for example, could be quickly scanned using the system and its laser speckles recorded and encoded in a unique serial number or onto a database before being issued. It could then be quickly re-scanned and checked against its record when authentication is required.
BBC News Aug 03, 2005	back to top

'Pyramid power' probes universe
Using a network of radio antennae across the Netherlands, scientists from the Netherlands's Foundation for Research in Astronomy, or Astron, hope to unlock the secrets of the early universe. Conventional parabolic telescopes work in teams and the information from each is then patched together to give astronomers a complete picture of what is out there. However, to reach the far end of the universe would require a telescope 100 times the size of conventional dishes. Instead, scientists working on Astron's Lofar project have created 20 to 25,000 simple pyramidal radio antennae, which are being put in place 350km across the north of the Netherlands and will make up the world's largest radio telescope. The antennae's raw data is piped across an enormous fibre-optic network to be processed by Stella, Europe's most powerful supercomputer. The technology could also be used to make underground geological maps and movies and for localised weather monitoring.
BBC News Jul 08, 2005	back to top

Why computers are like the weather
If you think the complex microchips that drive modern computers are models of deterministic precision, think again. Their behaviour is inherently unpredictable and chaotic, a property one normally associates with the weather. Researchers at the National Research Institute for Information and Automation in Orsay, France, say that chaos theory can explain the unpredictable behaviour. The team ran a standard program repeatedly on a simulator which engineers routinely use to design and test microprocessors, and found that the time taken to complete the task varied greatly from one run to the next. But within the irregularity, the team detected a pattern, the mathematical signature of 'deterministic chaos', a property that governs other chaotic systems such as weather. Such systems are extremely sensitive - a small change at one point can lead to wide fluctuations at a later time. For complex microprocessors, this means that the precise course of a computation, including how long it takes, is sensitive to the processor's state when the computation began.
New Scientist Jul 11, 2005	back to top

Key computer breakthrough
Russian scientists have invented a computer keyboard where each key has its own tiny video screen. It means the symbols on the keys can be changed to show different languages or symbols at a stroke. Every single key of the Art.Lebedev Studio's all-purpose Optimus keyboard is a 32 x 32 pixel OLED display. The keyboard will enable the users to switch from the Arabic, Cyrillic or Latin alphabet or HTLM code in a matter of seconds. But it could also be programmed for the use of any given software, like Photoshop, computer games or music composition programmes. The keyboard will have an aluminium case and polycarbonate keys and is due to be released on the market in 2006.
Ananova Aug 17, 2005	back to top

EU researchers talk up universal audio codec
European researchers say they have created unique software capable of coding any piece of recorded music, or speech for any device. The team is working under the aegis of the EU's Information Society Technologies (IST) initiative to promote technology development. Its project, ARDOR, has developed the codec, short for COmpressor-DECompressor, to act as a universal engine for all media players. At the moment there are dozens of standardised sound codecs. Basically each application has its own dedicated codec and these codecs are optimised for specific input signals, such as speech or music, and specific constraints like bit rate. The vast number of device-specific codecs means that music cannot be easily ported between players. However, the ARDOR-developed generic codec will, if adopted, enable it to code any piece of recorded music or speech for any device, with the bit rate, or file size of each piece of music automatically adapted for each receiving device. The researchers say the codec will work on all devices from mobile phones to professional broadcasting equipment.
VNUnet UK Aug 18, 2005	back to top

Pee-powered battery smaller than a credit card
The first urine-powered paper battery has been created by physicists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. The credit-card sized unit could be a useful power source for cheap healthcare test kits for diseases like diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cellphone, they say. Current biochips need an external reader such as a laser scanner or an external source of power, such as conventional batteries, to perform diagnostic tests. The new technology houses both the sensors and the battery on one plastic chip. The urine-powered battery was able to generate a voltage of about 1.5 volts – with a corresponding power of 1.5 micro-watts – using just 0.2 millilitres of urine. And if a second droplet of urine was added 15 hours after the battery was first activated, the replenished urine could generate still more electricity. The battery is currently suited for use with disposable devices – it is not yet ready to power laptops or iPods.
New Scientist / Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering Aug 15, 2005	back to top

Researchers develop phone call boredom spotter
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing software that measures how interested a phone caller is in your conversation or how annoying you might be sounding. The concept of the Jerk-O-Meter is based on an unpublished study about the topic, as well as a related MIT paper called 'Voices of Attraction' that analysed 60 five-minute speed-dating sessions. The paper concluded that you could actually measure a person's interest level in a conversation based on verbal and non-verbal clues. The Jerk-O-Meter analyses speech patterns and tonal changes to measure on a scale of one to 100 how engaged the subject is about the call. If it detects that the recipient is losing interest in the call it flashes up messages like 'Don't be a jerk!' or 'Be a little nicer now'. The final code should be ready next year and the first applications will probably be in the telesales industry.
VNUnet UK / ZDNet Aug 12, 2005	back to top

Computer characters mugged in virtual crime spree
A Chinese exchange student has been arrested in Japan on suspicion carrying out a virtual mugging spree by using software 'bots' to beat up and rob characters in the online computer game Lineage II. The stolen virtual possessions were then exchanged for real cash. Several players had their characters beaten and robbed of valuable virtual objects, which could have included the Earring of Wisdom or the Shield of Nightmare. The items were then fenced through a Japanese auction website, according to NCsoft, which makes Lineage II. The assailant was a character controlled by a software bot, rather than a human player, making it unbeatable. By performing tasks within a game repetitively or very quickly, bots can easily outplay human-controlled characters, giving unscrupulous players an unfair advantage. Many games firms employ countermeasures to detect this bot activity. For example, they can ask the character questions or present them with an unfamiliar situation and monitor their response.
New Scientist / Mainichi Daily News Aug 18, 2005	back to top