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Issue no. 30, 2007 Published: Sep 21, 2007
Copyright 'harming' the US economy
Microsoft loses anti-trust appeal
New web resource covers drinking water essentials
HP tackles electronic waste in Africa
Japan launches first lunar probe
Antimatter molecule could lead to ultra-powerful laser
Swarming robots system
'Pulp-based computing' makes normal paper smart

Copyright 'harming' the US economy
A new report by the Computer and Communications Industry Association suggests that allowing fair use of copyrighted material is better for the economy than locking down intellectual property. Industries that benefit from the fair use of content, such as media firms, educational establishments and software developers, contributed USD 4.5 trillion to the US economy in 2006, a 31% increase over 2002 revenues of USD 3.5tn. By contrast, the copyright-controlled industry contributed just USD 1.3 trillion, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 'The US economy is increasingly knowledge-based and benefits from the dynamic diversity of industries that depend on fair use exceptions to copyright protection,' the report stated. 'Through the growth of the internet and the related IT revolution, the US economy has benefited from the creation and rapid expansion of new industries, and a revival of productivity growth that supports higher living standards.' The report also found that one in eight US workers are employed by fair use industries and produce around USD 128,000 per head compared to the national average of USD 90,000 for industry in general.
VNUnet UK Sep 14, 2007	back to top

Microsoft loses anti-trust appeal
Microsoft has lost its appeal against a record EUR 497m fine imposed by the European Commission in a long-running competition dispute. The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position. A probe concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in server software and products such as media players. Microsoft has two months to appeal at the European Court of Justice. Microsoft has now been ordered to pay 80% of the Commission's legal costs, while the Commission has to carry a specific part of Microsoft's costs. The 2004 ruling ordered Microsoft to ensure its products could operate with other computer systems by sharing information with rival software companies. It was also ordered to make a version of its Windows operating system available without Microsoft's Media Player software.
BBC News Sep 17, 2007	back to top

New web resource covers drinking water essentials
The US National Academy of Sciences has launched a new web resource, providing information for decision-makers on global drinking water problems and the technology available to solve them. The 'Safe Drinking Water Is Essential' initiative was launched last week in Washington. The resource at http://www.drinking-water.org aims to help international decision-makers improve drinking water supplies in their countries by providing reliable scientific information. Over one billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water. Disease resulting from contaminated water leads to 1.8m deaths every year and can account for 80% of all illnesses in developing countries. The web resource is funded by the Global Health and Education Foundation, a US-based non-profit organisation. It provides information on how clean water can be protected and the different types of contamination and available treatments. It also demonstrates different ways to transport and dispense water to areas where supplies are not within walking distance. The resource also includes an interactive tool where users can find the best solution for different problems, such as the most effective treatment for a specific contamination, or technologies to fit a tight budget.
SciDev.Net Sep 14, 2007	back to top

HP tackles electronic waste in Africa
HP has announced a project to address the growing problem of electronic waste in Africa in cooperation with the Global Digital Solidarity Fund and the Swiss Institute for Materials Science and Technology. The collaboration aims to reduce the potential health and environmental hazards caused by the improper disposal of electronic waste, and to create jobs in disadvantaged communities. The group will undertake analysis and provide support for improved recycling processes over the coming year. The project aims to develop a blueprint for electronic waste management in Africa in conjunction with existing recycling schemes, and to deploy the initiative on a large scale by December 2008. The initial phase will consist of a pilot project in South Africa together with an analysis of existing practices in Morocco, Kenya and Tunisia. The initiative follows HP's previous programmes in Africa with organisations such as UNESCO and NEPAD.
VNUnet UK Sep 20, 2007	back to top

Japan launches first lunar probe
Japan's space agency has successfully launched its first lunar probe on a mission to explore the Moon. A rocket carrying the orbiter blasted off from the space centre on the remote southern island of Tanegashima. Over the course of a year, the orbiter will gather data on the Moon's origin and evolution. Japanese scientists say it is the most complex lunar mission since NASA's Apollo programme in the 1960s and 70s, when astronauts walked on the Moon. The three-tonne probe is called Selene, the Selenological and Engineering Explorer. It has been nicknamed Kaguya, after a princess in a folk story who ascended to the Moon. The probe will orbit the Earth before travelling the 380,000km to the Moon. There the main orbiting unit and two smaller satellites will be positioned 100km above the surface of the Moon. They will collect data on its geology, topography and environment.
BBC News Sep 14, 2007	back to top

Antimatter molecule could lead to ultra-powerful laser
An exotic molecule built from electrons and antimatter is being touted as a route to powerful gamma-ray lasers. An electron can hook up with its antiparticle, the positron, to form a hydrogen-like atom called positronium (Ps). It survives for less than 150 nanoseconds before it is annihilated in a puff of gamma radiation. It was known that two positronium atoms should be able to bind together to form a molecule, called Ps2, and now researchers from the University of California have made that happen. First, they trapped positrons in a thin film of porous silica. Those positrons captured electrons to form positronium atoms, and the pattern of decay rates signalled that some of these atoms had teamed up to form Ps2. If positronium atoms could be forced to merge into a kind of 'super-atom' condensate, it would decay in bursts of identical gamma rays, which could lead to gamma-ray lasers a million times more powerful than standard lasers.
New Scientist / Nature Sep 18, 2007	back to top

Swarming robots system
Set a swarm of robots to explore and map a large area and you will soon find that controlling them all becomes an overwhelming task. It is simply not possible to control more than handful of robots effectively using a central-command-like structure, says James McLurkin, a computer scientist at the MIT in Cambridge, US. Instead, he says, you are better off allowing the robots talk to each other and, after setting a primary goal such as mapping an area or following a leader, delegating control to them. Funded by the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, McLurkin has come up with just such a system. His robots share data from their onboard optical, electromagnetic, and acoustic sensors with their swarm-mates, and frequently evaluate their ability to complete the task. McLurkin says the beauty of this design is that the number of robots involved can be dramatically increased without placing an overwhelming burden on any central-command structure.
New scientist Sep 17, 2007	back to top

'Pulp-based computing' makes normal paper smart
Boxes that sense the weight of their contents and books that talk back when pages are turned could be developed using technology being tested by researchers at MIT in the US. They are making paper with wires, sensors, and chips embedded, a technology dubbed 'Pulp-based' computing. To make electronically-enhanced paper the team produces a layer of paper pulp and lays down wires or patterns of conductive ink on top. Adding another layer of pulp, pressing and drying it leaves electronics embedded within the paper. This can give the paper a range of new abilities. For example, a spiral of conductive ink can act as either a speaker or a touch sensor. Current running through the speaker spiral makes the paper vibrate and produce sound. The same spirals can also work as sensors to detect the touch or proximity of a finger, using the same technology behind laptop touch-pads. Touching the paper or holding a hand close to its surface changes the way electricity flows through the spiral. Adding two layers of conductive ink allows the paper to sense when it bends. If incorporated in a book, such pages could play sounds or light up as they are turned, supporting more interactive forms of storytelling. They could also allow cardboard boxes to sense the weight inside them by measuring the stresses on their walls.
New Scientist Sep 19, 2007	back to top