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Issue no. 3, 2006 Published: Jan 20, 2006
European patent policy back on the IT agenda
Firefox gets a fifth of European market
Inventor develops anti-malaria wristwatch
New chip to detect bird flu
Magnetic thinking
Balloons to help scientists clear cloudy picture
Clever car keeps an eye on stray pedestrians
Every inch of Netherlands viewable online
Computer to predict terrorist damage
Dutch open Big Brother-style prison

European patent policy back on the IT agenda
The European patent system is back on the IT agenda for 2006 after the European Commission launched a consultation on future patent policy, six months after the European Parliament rejected the EC's controversial technology patents directive. Internal market and services commissioner Charlie McCreevy announced the plan to seek views on how to improve the patent system in Europe and push forward the long-delayed Community Patent initiative, prompting anti-software patent campaigners to raise the alert. McCreevy said the Community Patent remains central to EU policy and also invited businesses and individuals alike to enter into a debate on ways to improve the current patent system in Europe, and explore possible areas for harmonisation across the EU. The Community Patent plan to create a single European patent system has been debated since the 1970s but stalled in 2004 as the Competitive Council failed to agree on the details. It has been expected to return to the political agenda since July 2005 when the European Parliament voted unanimously to reject the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented interventions, CII.
Computer Business Review Jan 17, 2006	back to top

Firefox gets a fifth of European market
The Mozilla Firefox browser has achieved a market share of more than 20 per cent in Europe, according to the latest figures released by French web metrics firm XiTi. XiTi, which based its figures on a sample of 32.5m website visits, said Finland has the highest proportion of Firefox users, followed by Slovenia and Germany. It found that the open-source browser is used by 38, 36 and 30 per cent of users in these countries, respectively. The UK has one of the lowest proportions of Firefox users in Europe, accounting for only 11 per cent of website visits there. The 20-per cent overall figure for Europe is an average calculated from the figures obtained for each European country, according to XiTi. But XiTi's figures should probably be taken with a grain of salt, as Firefox usage tends to be highest over the weekend, according to Mozilla Europe. The Firefox browser is less used during the week, as enterprises are more conservative when it comes to using a newer browser.
ZDNet UK Jan 17, 2006	back to top

Inventor develops anti-malaria wristwatch
A South African inventor has developed an anti-malaria wristwatch to help combat one of Africa's biggest killers by monitoring the blood of those who wear it and sounding an alarm when the parasite is detected. Gervan Lubbe said his 'Malaria Monitor' wristwatch, due to launch next month, could save lives and keep millions out of hospital by heading off the disease before patients even feel ill. Malaria, caused by a parasite carried by mosquitoes, kills more than a million people every year and makes 300 million seriously ill, according to the World Health Organisation. Ninety per cent of deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa. The sturdy digital timepiece pricks the wrist with a tiny needle four times a day and tests the blood for malaria parasites. If the parasite count tops 50 an alarm sounds and a brightly-coloured picture of a mosquito flashes on the watch face. The wearer must take three tablets that kill all traces of the disease within 48 hours.
ABC News / Reuters Jan 18, 2006	back to top

New chip to detect bird flu
STMicroelectronics is planning to market a disposable laboratory microchip that can confirm within about an hour a human case of bird flu at a limited cost, the European chip maker said on Wednesday. STMicroelectronics is developing a test that could be available to healthcare providers this autumn, with Singapore-based medical diagnostics company Veredus Laboratories. Bird flu or the H5N1 virus has killed at least 79 people since 2003, according to the latest WHO tally, which does not include some of the most recent cases reported in Turkey and Indonesia. Veredus is developing an application, based on STMicro's technology, to identify if a patient is infected with the H5N1 strain or a subtype of influenza in a single test that could replace the several tests currently used to detect the illness. The diagnostic is built on STMicro's 'In-Check' platform, which is described as a complete laboratory on a chip.
ABC News / Reuters Jan 18, 2006	back to top

Magnetic thinking
Computers already use magnets to store their memories. Now scientists are trying to make their whole 'brain' go magnetic. Conventional computers do their 'thinking' by shuttling electrons through arrangements of transistors called logic gates. But in order for those thoughts to be stored as computer memories, the electrical signals have to be translated by bulky components into magnetic fields on the metallic grains that cover your hard drive. This additional step takes up extra room in a computer. Moreover, transistors get so hot that it is becoming increasingly difficult to pack more of them on to silicon chips without melting something important. Now, scientist at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, have created such a logic gate from a pattern of tiny nickel-iron magnets, each around 100 nanometres long. Their magnetic fields can point in one of two directions, which represent the computer bits '1' or '0'. Because each nanomagnet influences the state of its neighbour, a range of input signals at one side of the pattern can trigger a predictable outcome at the other.
Nature / Science Jan 12, 2006	back to top

Balloons to help scientists clear cloudy picture
Scientists from 10 countries will release 1,000 weather balloons in Australia's city of Darwin over the next month as part an international experiment to try to find out the nature of tropical clouds. The Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment involves scientists from Australia, Europe, the United States and Japan and aims to find out how the high-altitude cirrus clouds are formed and break up. The experiment will see weather balloons launched from five sites every three hours over the next month. Measurements of heat and water exchange will then be taken from satellites, planes, ships and ground stations within a 250 km radius. Organisers of the experiment said the information would help them better understand what impact cirrus clouds have on tropical climates and how they can better forecast the intensity of tropical storms.
Yahoo / Reuters Jan 19, 2006	back to top

Clever car keeps an eye on stray pedestrians
A prototype vehicle capable of spotting pedestrians who stray into the road has been built by Volkswagen and other companies. The Save-U system was developed by a consortium including Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, and several other technical companies. A prototype has already undergone successful testing in the UK. The pedestrian-recognition technology uses three different types of sensor to identify a person, or even a cyclist, in the road ahead. The system harnesses an array of radar sensors, as well as visual and infrared cameras. A connected computer can then identify an impending impact and either alert the driver or take its own evasive action. This might mean applying the brakes or activating external safety features, such as outer airbags.
New Scientist Jan 12, 2006	back to top

Every inch of Netherlands viewable online
A website launched by Dutch real estate agents will allow house-hunters and the merely curious to view every inch of the Netherlands - up close - starting next week. Funda.nl, which lists 75 per cent of the Dutch property that is for sale and is used by 2.6m visitors every month, will offer a database of 15 million photographs initially, growing it to 21 million images by year-end. Full-circle pictures taken at 20 metre intervals in metropolitan areas and every 50 metres in rural areas will show the entire country at street level, with satellite images supplied by Google Earth offering a bird's-eye view. The pictures, put together by Cyclomedia, a spin-off of Delft Technical University, show views taken from public roads and are intended to help house hunters who want to check if their dream house is located next to a garbage dump. Google Earth, which allows internet users to zoom in on locations around the world, caused concern when it was launched last year. Governments feared terrorists might use the service to help plot attacks.
CNET News / Reuters Jan 17, 2006	back to top

Computer to predict terrorist damage
The Japanese government plans to put into operation a computer simulator that can predict the damage caused by a large-scale terrorist attack. The system contains data about the damage that can be expected from different types of attack, including missile strikes and the release of poison gas. In the event an attack takes place, topographic, climatic and other data would be entered to generate an estimate of injuries and damage. Although Japan has not suffered an attack by Islamist terrorists on its home soil, concerns have been high that the dispatch of troops to Iraq and high-profile support for the US could make it a target for militants.
The Japan Times Jan 18, 2006	back to top

Dutch open Big Brother-style prison
A hi-tech jail opened this week in the Netherlands. Dutch authorities are convinced the newly dubbed 'big brother prison' is the future of correctional facilities: cheap and efficient, while not coddling criminals or violating their fundamental rights. Detainees in the Lelystad jail will be kept in six-man cells, where they can do their cooking and washing and run their schedules via a touch-screen monitor by their beds. Inmates have limited choices for activities and they are locked in cells at night. Camera surveillance is only in public spaces. Cell microphones, linked to the control centre, are equipped with sounds analysed by emotion recognition software to alert guards to any violence. The jail's estimated cost per prisoner per night is EUR 105, compared with EUR 140 for other jails. The jail requires only six guards for 150 prisoners, instead of the usual 15. With good behaviour inmates can build up credits to watch more TV or get more channels. They can also earn more phone calls, longer visiting hours, or even 'buy' a switch to another room.
The Guardian Jan 19, 2006	back to top