Science & Technology
Technology Archive
AA09161
Wollman, Dana IS TECHNOLOGY TEARING APART FAMILY LIFE? Laptop, March 2009, pp. 92-97
Full Text: [HTML format, 6 pages]
The author notes that text messaging, social networking and online video are changing the dynamics between parents and children; technology today is the new "rock-and-roll", with the older generation trying to make sense of it, if not openly embrace, it. Some believe that social networking will improve family interaction, while others argue that the new technology threatens to rip apart not just family unity but the fabric of society itself, as more individuals communicate only through their high-tech devices, decreasing the amount of time they actually interact on a personal level. Eye contact, emotional resonance and body language are lost if humans rely primarily on texting, instant-messaging or FaceBook as means of communication. Family togetherness, like evening meals or weekend activities, gets short-changed once again as children use their gadgets as a substitute for family participation.
GLOBAL SEMICONDUCTOR SALES FELL BY 2.8 PERCENT IN 2008.
Semiconductor Industry Association. February 2, 2009.
Full Text: [HTML format, with links to PDF format data table]
Global sales of semiconductors were severely impacted by the world-wide economic turmoil in 2008 resulting in the first year-on-year drop in sales since 2001, the report says. Total sales for 2008 were $248.6 billion compared to $255.6 billion in 2007, a decrease of 2.8 percent. Sales fell from $22.3 billion in December 2007 to $17.4 billion in December 2008, a decline of 22 percent. December sales declined by 16.6 percent from November 2008 when sales were $20.9 billion.
AA08308
Roth, Daniel DRIVEN (Wired, Vol. 16, No. 9, Sept. 2008, pp. 118-127; 158)
Full Text: [HTML format]
Electric cars have been the future for over 100 years, but the problem has always been the battery: heavy, expensive, and very slow to recharge. Enter Shai Agassi and his company Better Place, with a plan to sell electricity (mainly from renewable sources such as wind and sun) along the same lines as cellphone airtime minutes. Instead of gas stations on each corner, Agassi envisages blanketing a country with a network of "smart" charge spots: "Drivers could plug in anywhere, anytime, and would subscribe to a specific plan -- unlimited miles each month, a maximum number of miles each month, or pay as you go." By 2008, Agassi had $200 million in committed capital and two countries ready to roll out the plan. It's just possible that Agassi could revolutionize the auto industry -- and help save the planet at the same time.
AA Behar, Michael A STAR IS BORN (Wired, Vol. 16, No. 9, Sept. 2008, pp. 128-133; 160)
Full Text: [HTML format]
Until now, high definition digital movie cameras have lacked control over depth of field, keeping everything in focus; have been very expensive (around $150,000); and have had lower resolution and color fidelity than 35-millimeter film. Enter Red One, which costs $17,500, records motion in 4,096 lines of horizontal resolution (with a lossless compression format to overcome the file-size problem) and has the same depth of field control as a film camera. It's not surprising that film directors such as Steven Soderbergh and Peter Jackson are very excited.
BRIDGING THE GLOBAL DIGITAL DIVIDE, ONE LAPTOP AT A TIME. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. June 11, 2008.
Full Text: [PDF format, 4 pages]
The non-profit One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program unveiled the second version of its XO laptop, which is designed to bring affordable, modern technology to children in developing countries. The researchers of the study say that the focus on third world countries is promising, but they question whether these efforts will be effective. Non-profits see technology as a way to improve education. Meanwhile, technology companies see a good cause and billions of potential customers. [Note: contains copyrighted material]
AA08134
Waldrop, M. Mitchell SCIENCE 2.0 Scientific American, vol. 298, no. 5, May 2008, pp. 69-73
Full text available from your nearest American Library
Is posting raw results online for all to see a tool or a risk? Science 2.0 refers to the new practice of scientists posting raw experimental results, theories, claims of discovery and draft papers on the Web for others to see and comment on. Proponents say these "open access" practices make scientific progress more collaborative and productive. Critics say scientists who put preliminary findings online risk having others copy or exploit the work to gain credit or even patents. Despite pros and cons, Science 2.0 sites are starting to proliferate; one example is the OpenWetWare projects started by biological engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
AA08001
SPREADING THE LOAD Economist, vol. 385, no. 8558, December 8, 2007, pp. 19-21
Full text available from your nearest American Library
A new wave of science projects on the web is harnessing volunteers' computers, and their talents, in novel ways. There is nothing new about networks of amateurs helping scientists do their jobs -- ornithologists rely on bird-watchers to keep track of changing patterns of migration, astronomers have long profited from enthusiasts scanning the skies to spot new comets, and archaeologists benefit from amateurs' findings. However, volunteer computing is a huge untapped resource; the potential for such citizen science is expanding rapidly because of the greatly increased processor power of personal computers, and a similarly speedy growth of the bandwidth available to ordinary Internet users. People with no special tools other than a PC and a broadband Internet connection can take part in complex scientific projects; one such undertaking is Africa@home, co-ordinated by the University of Geneva, which enlists volunteers to extract useful cartographic information on such positions as roads, villages, and fields, from satellite images of regions in Africa, to assist in humanitarian projects.
AA08015
THE RACE TO BUILD THE 100 MPG CAR Hagerman, Eric Wired, Vol. 16, no. 1, January 2008, pp. 102-117
Full text available from your nearest American Library
The U.S.-based X Prize Foundation dangles money to induce innovation; in hopes of jump-starting a commercial space-travel industry, the foundation offered the $10 million Ansari X Prize for Spaceflight to a team that successfully sent a rocket plane to the edge of Earth's atmosphere twice in two weeks in 2004. Now the foundation sets its sights on urging the tinkerers of the world to build a better automobile, a car that can run 100 miles on a single gallon of gas. The winning design must also emit less than 200 grams of greenhouse gases per mile, and its makers must have a production plan for making 10,000 vehicles a year. "We don't want toys," says one advisor to the X Prize Foundation. Forty-three teams are in the running, and several are profiled in this article. Hagerman notes that the giant automakers are not competing, but will be watching what the entrants develop for possible adaptation to their own lines.
AA07267
Ratliff, Evan THE WHOLE EARTH, CATALOGED Wired, July 2007, pp. 154-159
Full Text: Available on the publisher's website
Obtaining maps and directions online has been a growing practice for about a decade, but further technological developments are allowing users to customize maps, and make them available to others in ways that redefine cartography. Sites like Platial.com allow users to share their commentary, photographs, or points of interest on map locations for other users. This development is more than another online pastime for the technologically adept, Ratliff writes. Mapmaking has always been a tool of dominance of the land, but now easy-to-use shareware allows anyone to become a cartographer. That can lead to entirely new views of the Earth in all its rich chaotic complexity. According to one expert quoted by Ratliff, "It's as close to Babel as we get."
AA07268
Svoboda, Elizabeth THE ASTEROID HUNTERS Discover, Vol. 28, no. 7, July 2007, pp. 50-55
Full text available from your nearest American Library
Improvements in telescope technology and sophisticated computer programs are allowing amateur astronomers to carry out professional research-grade work. In part due to budgetary constraints, the professional astronomy community and NASA are increasingly turning to amateur backyard astronomers to help identify and track asteroids and other near-Earth objects. The author writes that amateurs have made many significant discoveries of asteroids, including one that is between two and four miles wide.
AA07267
Ratliff, Evan THE WHOLE EARTH, CATALOGED Wired, July 2007, pp. 154-159
Full Text: Available on the publisher's website
Obtaining maps and directions online has been a growing practice for about a decade, but further technological developments are allowing users to customize maps, and make them available to others in ways that redefine cartography. Sites like Platial.com allow users to share their commentary, photographs, or points of interest on map locations for other users. This development is more than another online pastime for the technologically adept, Ratliff writes. Mapmaking has always been a tool of dominance of the land, but now easy-to-use shareware allows anyone to become a cartographer. That can lead to entirely new views of the Earth in all its rich chaotic complexity. According to one expert quoted by Ratliff, "It's as close to Babel as we get."
AA07268
Svoboda, Elizabeth THE ASTEROID HUNTERS Discover, Vol. 28, no. 7, July 2007, pp. 50-55
Full text available from your nearest American Library
Improvements in telescope technology and sophisticated computer programs are allowing amateur astronomers to carry out professional research-grade work. In part due to budgetary constraints, the professional astronomy community and NASA are increasingly turning to amateur backyard astronomers to help identify and track asteroids and other near-Earth objects. The author writes that amateurs have made many significant discoveries of asteroids, including one that is between two and four miles wide.
AA07242
Swope, Christopher WORKING WITHOUT WIRES. Governing, Vol. 20, No. 8, May 2007, pp. 28-34
Full text
A number of cities in the U.S. are installing wireless broadband networks to provide free public access to the Internet. While these projects are usually public-private partnerships and limited to selected public areas, the city of Corpus Christi, Texas took a different approach. This city of 282,000 installed its own WiFi network covering 147 square miles and found that most use was by city agencies, not residents or businesses. The network provides high-speed data exchange between field employees, such as police, firefighters and building inspectors, and their offices, and allows real-time monitoring of public parks, city vehicles, and water and gas meters. Other uses are under development. While Corpus Christi recently sold its network to a commercial company which will maintain and upgrade the system and charge a fee for access, other municipalities continue to watch and learn from the city's experience with WiFi.
INTERNET CRIME REPORT JANUARY 1, 2006 - DECEMBER 31, 2006.
National White Collar Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. Web posted March 18, 2007.
Full Report: [pdf format, 27 pages]
The 2006 Internet Crime Report is the sixth annual compilation of criminal complaints received by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). In 2006, IC3 processed more than 200,481 complaints composed primarily of fraud types such as auction fraud, non-delivery, and credit/debit card fraud. The total dollar loss was $198.44 million-up from $183.12 million in 2005. Electronic mail and webpages were the two primary mechanisms for the fraudulent contact.
AA07053
CAN COAL COME CLEAN? Folger, Tim Discover, vol. 27, no. 12, December 2006, pp. 42-47
Full text available from your nearest American Library
The author notes that with fossil fuel prices rising, and nuclear power in a political stalemate, global appetite for coal is soaring. Over 150 coal-fired power plants will be built in the U.S. over the next two decades, and China is expected to construct over 550 plants in the next eight years. Although abundant, coal is the filthiest fuel, both in its extraction and combustion. Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants, of which there are only four worldwide, will probably be the "means by which we survive our coal-fueled future," notes Folger. In the IGCC process, the coal is converted into gas; all impurities are extracted before the combustion process, and the carbon dioxide is sequestered. The only drawback is economic -- the plants are more expensive to build and there is currently no incentive for capturing carbon in the U.S., India or China, the three biggest consumers of coal. The author notes, however, that the "mounting evidence of climate change will spook the world into action"; several observers expect mandatory economy-wide changes to be in place in the next few years, including measures by China and India, which both have large populations at risk from rising sea levels.
ONLINE HEALTH SEARCH 2006.
Susannah Fox. Pew Internet & American Life Project. October 29, 2006
Full Report: [pdf format, 22 pages]
According to this new report, eighty percent of U.S. internet users, or roughly 113 million adults, have searched for information on at least one of the seventeen health topics listed in the study. Most internet users start at a general search engine when researching health and medical advice online. Certain groups of internet users are the most likely to have sought health information online: women, internet users younger than 65, college graduates, those with more online experience, and those with broadband access at home.
Fifteen percent of online health information seekers say they "always" check the source and date of the health information they find online, while another 10 percent say they do so "most of the time." Three-quarters say they check the source and date "only sometimes," "hardly ever," or "never," which translates to about 85 million Americans gathering health advice online without consistently examining the quality indicators of the information they find. Most health seekers are pleased about what they find online, but some are frustrated or confused.
Among the internet users who say their last search had any kind of impact:
- Fifty-eight percent say the information they found in their last search affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition.
- Fifty-five percent say the information changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of someone they help take care of.
- Fifty-four percent say the information led them to ask a doctor new questions or to get a second opinion from another doctor.
INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN EARLY STAGES OF TRANSITION AND KEY CHALLENGES REMAIN.
United States Government Accountability Office. (GAO-06-675) June 30, 2006. Web-posted July 31, 2006.
Full Report: [pdf format, 30 pages]
The Internet protocol (IP) defines how and where information such as text, voice, music, and video moves across networks. Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4), which is widely used today, may not be able to accommodate the increasing number of devices that are using the Internet. As a result, IP version 6 (IPv6) was developed to allow millions more users by increasing the amount of available IP address space.
Transitioning to IPv6 presents several challenges. Significant ones include managing information security in an environment that is more vulnerable to threats; incorporating IPv6 features into applications' business cases to identify new and better ways of meeting mission goals; and interfacing with partners that may be in various stages of the transition.
In this report GAO assesses:
- The status of federal agencies' efforts to transition to IPv6;
- What emerging applications are being planned or implemented that take advantage of IPv6 features; and
- Key challenges industry and government agencies face as they transition to the new protocol.
GAO reports that federal agencies have taken steps to plan for the transition to IPv6, but several agencies have not completed key activities. For example, as of April 2006, almost all of the 24 major agencies have assigned an official to lead and coordinate the IPv6 transition. However, ten agencies had not developed IPv6-related policies and enforcement mechanisms. Until agencies complete key planning activities, their transition efforts risk not being successful. To help address this, agencies are required to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) their status in completing these.
To strengthen agencies' IPv6 transition planning efforts, GAO recommends that the Director of OMB direct federal agencies to work through the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council Architecture and Infrastructure Committee and the IPv6 Working Group to address challenges the agencies face.
WHY SMALL BUSINESSES BECOME THE VICTIMS OF CYBER ATTACKS.
e-Based Security, LLC. July 2006.
Full Report: [pdf format, 11 pages]
[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]
Computer security research has shown that small business owners have anywhere from 3 to 50 PCs, at least one server, and no full-time, dedicated IT person. Small businesses frequently have a network computer security system composed of a firewall and, for each desktop, at least one anti-virus program installed, and an anti-spyware/adware program such as Ad-aware and SpyBot Search and Destroy.
Studies have shown that most small business owners think that these measures, combined with regular software updates or patches, provide sufficient computer security, especially if they have seen no attacks or security breaches. As this report notes, however, most malware "flies under the radar," so that small business owners are likely unaware that they are being affected. Written in clear and concise language, this report should raise alarm bells for small business owners (and non-profit organization managers) about the inadequacies of the computer security systems they have in place.
The report presents specific examples of up-to-date "malware," including a "Google Toolbar" scam; infected PowerPoint presentations, which Windows will automatically open, even if ".ppt" files are blocked; and new and ever-changing ways of introducing malware via email. The report provides important and precise information on how to block malware.
AA06208
Roush, Wade INSIDE THE SPYWARE SCANDAL (Technology Review, May/June 2006, pg. 49-57)
View article on ProQuest (password required)
In 2005, Sony BMG Music Entertainment company put antipiracy software on their CDs. In doing so, they spied on their own customers and gave hackers the power to access people's computers. The author tells the story of how Sony installed secret software on its customers computers that prevented listeners from making more than three copies of their music, and secretly contacted Sony via the Internet every time a PC user played a copy-protected disk. The scandal ignited a dispute in the public sphere over the ways consumers should be allowed to use copyrighted digital information, and over how far copyright holders can go to secure their intellectual property against piracy.
THIRD ANNUAL BSA AND IDC GLOBAL SOFTWARE PIRACY STUDY.
Business Software Association (BSA); IDC. Web-posted May 23, 2006.
Full Report [pdf format, 21 pages]
This is the third annual global software piracy study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and conducted by IDC. According to the study, thirty-five percent of the packaged software installed on personal computers (PC) worldwide in 2005 was illegal, amounting to $34 billion in global losses due to software piracy. However, some improvements in a number of markets indicate education, enforcement and policy efforts are beginning to pay off in emerging economies such as China, Russia and India, and in Central/Eastern Europe and the Middle East & Africa.
Other findings of the study include the following points:
- The four countries with the largest percentage point drop in their piracy rate during the past year were China (4 points), Russia (4 points), Ukraine (6 points) and Morocco (4 points).
- The countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam (90 percent), Zimbabwe (90 percent), Indonesia (87 percent), China (86 percent) and Pakistan (86 percent).
- The countries with the lowest piracy rates were the United States (21 percent), New Zealand (23 percent), Austria (26 percent) and Finland (26 percent).
AA06058
Fischetti, Mark. PROTECTING NEW ORLEANS. (Scientific American, Vol. 294, No. 2, February 2006, pp. 64-71)
Full text available from your nearest IRC
Millions of people worldwide live on river deltas that are vulnerable to flooding as human activity contributes to land sinking and sea levels rising. When Hurrican Katrina struck New Orleans in August of last year, levees (dikes) protecting the city failed during the storm surge, flooding wide areas of the city; loss of life and property was substantial. Plans are being developed to reconstruct and improve the levee system to protect from surges caused by category 5 storms, as well as restore coastal marshes that provide a natural buffer to hurricanes. Fischetti, a Scientific American contributing editor, reviews storm surge defenses used in other countries, which experts suggest should be considered for New Orleans. Diagrams illustrate floating and sluice gates used along the Netherlands coast, hydraulic disks on the River Thames near London, and flaps being installed to protect Venice, Italy. He notes the need to coordinate physical protection across governmental jurisdictions, incorporate scientific data into the plans, and address the issues of people living in such vulnerable areas.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE.
Harvard Business School Working Papers. November 2005
Full Report [pdf format, 41 pages]
The purpose of this paper is to understand the health and wellbeing of the Information Technology industry. This goal is accomplished by introducing the concept of an Information Technology 'ecosystem' which is the large network of firms that drive the delivery of information technology products and services. At the beginning of the 21st century the Information Technology ecosystem went through a deep recession and retrenchment. About the same time Microsoft Corporation entered into a Consent Decree with the US Department of Justice that resolved their multi-year antitrust dispute. The data shows that since this time, the Information Technology ecosystem has regained its health, competitiveness, productivity, and is delivering significant levels of innovation from both new market entrants as well as incumbent market leaders such as Microsoft.
EXPANDING THE FRONTIERS OF OUR DIGITAL FUTURE: REDUCING SOFTWARE PIRACY TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL IT BENEFITS.
Business Software Alliance. December 2005.
Full Report: [pdf format, 32 pages]
[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]
This paper is based upon findings from an analysis (conducted by IDC) of the Information Technology (IT) sector's economic impact in 70 countries, and the benefits that can accrue to countries that reduce software piracy. It finds that the IT sector's ability to create economic benefits can not only continue, but accelerate. However, the continued growth, vitality and innovation of the global IT sector are increasingly dependent upon reducing software piracy worldwide.
The paper discusses five key findings:
- Lower software piracy produces higher IT benefits.
- Cutting software piracy globally can generate faster IT growth.
- Faster IT growth can increase global economic output.
- Countries with the highest piracy rates have the most to gain through reductions.
- Every region benefits.
RUSSIA AND THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION.
D. J. Peterson. The RAND Corporation. Web-posted December 2005.
Full Report: [pdf format, 140 pages]
[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]
This report examines the sources, dynamics, and consequences of Russia's increasing reliance on information and communications technologies to strengthen the transparency and performance of its government institutions; reform industry and stimulate economic growth; and improve the information access and quality of life for Russian citizens.
Based on a study that was conducted between 1999 and 2005, it builds on a number of RAND Corporation studies about the impact of the Information Revolution around the world. This report seeks to bring to light emerging opportunities and challenges facing Russia's domestic development as well as its international posture. It should assist decision-makers in government, business, and nongovernmental institutions in Russia and internationally to make more-informed choices regarding technology investment, management, and policy in Russia.
A principal conclusion that emerges from this study is that while information technologies in Russia have had a big impact on the lives of many Russian citizens who have access to those technologies, an Information Revolution in Russia's government, economy, and society, such as many of its supporters have anticipated and hoped for, remains off in the distance.
AA05418
Greene, Kate PHOTO CHOP SHOP (Technology Review, December 6, 2005)
Full text available from your nearest IRC
Digital forensics has emerged as a growth industry to combat the ease with which images can be manipulated and altered with software programs like Photoshop. Recent cases of newspapers doctoring photos, coupled with the concern that digitally altered images could be used as court evidence, led Polytechnic University computer scientist Nasir Memon to join the effort to expose digital alterations. One method of detecting tampering, known as digital watermarking, adds identifying data to an image, which is corrupted when the image is altered in any way, though the process is costly and not widely practiced. Because not every photo submitted in court has a digital watermark, digital forensics can be used to determine if an image has been altered and then match it to the camera used to take the picture. Memon developed software to identify a camera's manufacturer by identifying the company's unique interpolation algorithm, which compensates for the red, blue, or green sensors that were not functioning in a given pixel at the time the picture was taken. A more specific application, developed by Jessica Fridrich of the State University of New York, can match a photo to a specific camera by zooming in on unique imperfections known as noise; this software can still match a photo even if its file has been compressed, unlike Memon's technique.
AA06028
Talbot, David THE INTERNET IS BROKEN (Technology Review, vol. 108, no. 11, December 2005/January 2006, pg. 62-69)
View article on ProQuest (password required)
The Internet's fundamental flaws -- its lack of security, decreased ability to accommodate new technologies, and that it is hard to manage -- cost companies billions, impede innovation, and threaten national security. It's time for a clean-slate approach, says MIT's David Clark. Nearly 1 billion people use the Internet and critical industries like banking increasingly rely on it. But the originally simple communications technology has become a complex patchwork of plugs and workarounds; it's difficult to manage and increasingly fragile. Clark says it's time to rethink the Internet's basic architecture -- to potentially start over with a new design that involves putting existing pieces together in a different way. The article describes Clark's specific recommendations for a future design.
WEB SPAMMING TAXONOMY
Zoltan Gyongyi and Hector Garcia-Molina. Computer Science Department, Stanford University, November 2005
Download the document [pdf format, 9 pages]
Web spamming refers to actions intended to mislead search engines into ranking some pages higher than they deserve. Recently, the amount of web spam has increased dramatically, leading to a degradation of search results. This paper presents a comprehensive taxonomy of current spamming techniques, which we believe can help in developing appropriate countermeasures.
AA05313
Roush, Wade KILLER MAPS (Technology Review, vol. 108, no. 10, October 2005, pp. 54-60)
View article on ProQuest (password required)
This article describes the growing access consumers have to advanced geographical visualization tools -- formerly known as maps -- through companies like Google (Google Earth), Microsoft (MSN Virtual Earth) and Yahoo (SmartView). Google Earth is a free download application; MSN Virtual Earth and SmartView run inside a browser. These new digital maps combine detailed aerial and satellite maps, high-powered graphics and animation, and comprehensive local search functions. With Google Earth, for example, a user can find a location, get turn-by-turn directions, practice the drive using an aerial camera that flies along the route, see photographs of the area, book a hotel room, find a restaurant, build a sightseeing agenda, and even check the area's crime rate. What's really moving the technology forward is something called application programming interfaces (AIPs). These are instructions that companies like Google and Microsoft release to allow programmers to build online services that tap into the company's own map programs. Such "mash-ups" are easy to make and only require that locations have been geotagged -- or encoded with latitude and longitude information. A Google official describes Google Earth as "a browser for the Earth."
SPAM ISSUES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Web-posted September 2005
Download the document [pdf format, 32 pages]
Note: Contains copyrighted material.
Issued by the OECD's Task Force on Spam, this paper discusses the challenges faced by developing economies in fighting spam. Spam, the Task Force found, is a more serious issue in developing countries than in OECD countries, as spam heavily drains developing countries' more scare and costly resources. The paper's main emphasis is on issues facing Internet Service Providers. Following a review of the economic and technical aspects of spam, the paper suggests several technical and legislative solutions. It addresses the education and empowerment of users, including giving users access to secure computing resources and making them more sensitized to Internet abuse issues. The paper also examines what developing economies can do to combat spam on their own, and the various ways in which developed economies can contribute their expertise and resources to help in these initiatives.
AA05274
Goetz, Thomas; McHugh, Josh; Rose, Frank THE TV OF TOMORROW (Wired, September 2005, pp. 102-117)
View article on publisher's website
The authors of this series of articles predict a world where TV becomes synonymous with the Internet and there are millions of sources of video entertainment. Downloading TV clips from Web logs and video sites, Americans are already watching parts of their favorite shows on their computers, rather than on TV. Enthusiasts even download entire shows and trade them with friends online. The distinction between the traditional networks, cable channels, and Web video sources will fade, the authors assert. There are already several Internet startups with names like Akimbo, Brightcove, and Dave TV that potentially offer unlimited TV programming in the form of Internet video downloads for a fee. The Internet company Yahoo is positioning itself to deliver large amounts of video quickly. Major U.S. telephone companies are planning to offer high-quality video feeds through fiber optic cable. The next challenge: intelligent indexing systems that allow viewers to search quickly through giant video archives for whatever they want. One of the beneficiaries: sports, to be available on everything from large screens to computers to cell phone screens, all places, all times.
AA05275
Kouzes, Richard T. DETECTING ILLICIT NUCLEAR MATERIALS (American Scientist, vol. 93, no. 5, September-October 2005, pp. 422-427)
Full text available from your nearest IRC
According to the author -- who works on disarmament, nonproliferation and homeland security at the Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory -- installing radiological monitoring equipment in the United States and overseas is helping thwart nuclear terrorism. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, fear has grown that the wrong people might acquire dangerous nuclear materials. The possibility became more frightening after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. U.S. and European authorities have worked to keep terrorists from acquiring materials they could use to build a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb -- one that disperses radioactive debris over a wide area. A major part of the effort involves outfitting U.S. and overseas shipping ports and other border crossings with equipment that can detect nuclear materials' telltale radiation. The author outlines the many-layered program the U.S. in now undertaking and describes some technical challenges.
AA05239
Reiss, Spencer THE DOTCOM KING AND THE ROOFTOP SOLAR REVOLUTION (Wired, vol. 13, no. 7, July 2005)
View article on publisher's web site
Most of the entrepreneurs of the Internet boom of the 1990s have moved on to other things, but Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, the Pasadena, California-based high-tech incubator, is still going strong. Idealab's latest innovation: a low-cost, downsized, lightweight, rooftop-mountable solar concentrator, consisting of a field of movable mirrors in a two-metre-square frame, that focus sunlight on an elevated silicon wafer, generating electric power at double the efficiency of flat photovoltaic panels. Several prototypes are being subjected to accelerated-aging tests, to see how the sophisticated machinery and electronics hold up to the elements, and the first shipment of 1000 units from a low-cost offshore manufacturer will be delivered in the fall. Solar energy has the greatest potential to revolutionize how mankind obtains energy, notes the author, but it has also been the most challenging to harness. The solar industry's long-term strategy is to maintain government financial incentives for users to obtain solar equipment to keep it competitive with coal, gas and nuclear power; as technological improvements and large-scale manufacturing lower the costs, the author predicts that the market for solar "will explode."
AA05208
Chowdhury, Mushtaque ARSENIC CRISIS IN BANGLADESH (Scientific American, vol. 291, no. 2, August 2004, pp. 86-91)
Full text available from yournearest IRC
In the 1970s and 1980s, the government of Bangladesh undertook an ambitious project to bring clean drinking water to rural areas. With the help of international aid agencies, tubewells with pumps attached were drilled to underground aquifers. However, nobody checked the underground water for arsenic content; Bangladesh is now suffering from an epidemic of arsenic poisoning from years of use of well water in the villages. The telltale lesions on palms and the soles of the feet from arsenic poisoning usually show up only after years of drinking arsenic-tainted water. While no perfect technology exists for removing arsenic from water, the "three-pitcher" filter is the most promising. The challenge is to then dispose of the arsenic-tainted sludge. The author cautions that "the poorest nations [especially] should check the quality of their water constantly." An accompanying map shows major arsenic concentrations in aquifers occurring in the western U.S., Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Hungary, Romania, Nepal, India, Mongolia, parts of China and Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.
INTERNET: AN OVERVIEW OF KEY TECHNOLOGY POLICY ISSUES AFFECTING ITS USE AND GROWTH.
Marcia S. Smith. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Updated April 13, 2005
Download the document [pdf format, 47 pages]
In the decade between 1994 and 2004, the number of U.S. adults using the Internet increased from 15% to 64%. From electronic mail to accessing information to online purchasing ('electronic commerce'), the Internet touches almost every aspect of modern life. The extent to which use of the Internet continues to grow, however, may be affected by a number of technology policy issues being debated in Congress.
AA05145
Koerner, Brendan RISE OF THE GREEN MACHINE (Wired, vol. 13, no. 4, April 2005)
View article on publisher's website
Toyota was the first automobile manufacturer to bring hybrid cars to the United States. The Prius is the best selling hybrid, and Toyota has plans to bring hybrids to the masses, by making the internal combustion engine obsolete. The EPA currently rates these dual electric powered cars as a "Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle". On average, the vehicle can get 60 miles per gallon, and emits 95 percent fewer carcinogens into the atmosphere. The new Prius will get better performance, and will be marketed to middle America as a good investment for the environment, does not need to be plugged in, and will save over 60 percent on fuel costs at the gas pump. With gasoline prices at their highest in years, Toyota wants a hybrid vehicle in every garage in America by 2020.
AA05022
Tucker, William THE SOLUTION. (American Enterprise, vol. 16, no. 1, January/February 2005, pp. 20-26)
Full text available from your nearest IRC
The author describes the current energy predicament facing the U.S., and argues that nuclear power is the only viable solution to the U.S.' future energy needs. He notes that oil and gas supplies are projected to decline over the long term, and use of hydrogen in the transportation sector, though efficient, requires a great deal of electrical energy to generate; wind and solar power installations, though non-polluting, require large tracts of land. The dangers surrounding nuclear power have been blown out of proportion, in his view. He describes several new reactor designs, including a proposed Accelerator-Driven Subcritical (ADS) system, that generates nuclear energy only when fed neutrons by a particle accelerator, and is a nuclear "omnivore," capable of consuming even radioactive waste from conventional reactors.
A REVIEW OF THE FBI'S TRILOGY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION PROGRAM
James C. McGroddy and Herbert S. Lin. National Research Council
Download the document [pdf format, 78 pages]
Although the FBI has made significant progress in upgrading its information technology infrastructure some areas, several changes are needed to steer the effort toward success, says A Review of the FBI's Trilogy Information Technology Modernization Program. The FBI requested the report for advice on how to move forward with its "Trilogy" computer program, which aims to establish a high-speed network and user interface (known as the Virtual Case File) for all agents to use in organizing, accessing and analyzing information. The FBI has already updated the agents' desktop computers, the report notes, but the Virtual Case File application must not be rolled out for bureau-wide use until a contingency plan is in place for reverting to the current system should large-scale operational problems appear in the VCF. The FBI's senior leadership also needs to establish clearer links between the technology modernization efforts and the bureau's missions and policies, including those related to its new counterterrorism responsibilities. For Trilogy to succeed, the FBI needs to enhance its internal computer expertise and improve its management of outside contractors.
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2004.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 102 pages]
This review - issued every two years and updated annually - reports on the global status and trends in fields of nuclear science and technology. Topics covered include: nuclear power development, including innovative reactors and fuel cycle approaches; nuclear applications in fields of health, agriculture, water, and other areas; nuclear information and knowledge management; and issues of sustainable development in which nuclear technologies may play an important role. Besides providing an overview of the state of the art of nuclear technology in those areas, the annexes provide useful information on other nuclear technology issues, including:
- Annex I - Research Reactors - provides succinct yet thorough overviews on the basics of nuclear fuel cycles, storage conditions, fuel return programs and the status of decommissioned reactors in the world.
- Annex II - The Global Nuclear Power Picture - reviews the approximately 450 nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the world, their status, and the percentage of total electricity supplied in various nations by NPPs.
- Annex III - 50 Years of Nuclear Energy - is a brief history of nuclear technology.
- Annex IV - Advanced and Innovative Technologies - reviews the basics of Light Water Reactors (LWRs), Heavy Water Reactors (HWRs), Gas Cooled Reactors (GCRs), Fast Reactors, and Fusion.
- Annex V - Molecular Technology - reviews developments in genomics, molecular diagnostics, medical applications, livestock applications, biochips, biopharmaceuticals, nuclear magnetic resonance, vaccines, and gene therapy.
Other appendices review developments in radioisotope and radiation therapy, application of nuclear technology in desalination programs, and socio-economic issues related to use of nuclear technologies.
AA05008
Pelrine, Ronald E. DIAMAGNETIC LEVITATION (American Scientist, Vol. 92, no. 5, September-October 2004, pp. 428-435)
Full text available from your nearest IRC
Summary: Diamagnetic levitation is a simple technique for suspending objects that has been known since the 1930s but is just now finding practical application. Diamagnetic materials -- unlike ferromagnetic and paramagnetic materials -- overcome the inherent instability of magnetic fields by repelling permanent magnets, and this force can be exploited to levitate permanent magnets above fixed diametric materials, or levitate diamagnetic materials above one or more stationary magnets. Superconductors are an example -- they are perfectly conductive and highly diamagnetic. The author discusses design requirements of these magnets and potential applications (micromachine bearings, high-precision scientific sensors, tiltmeters and more), and some of the associated engineering problems that have kept diamagnetic materials from being commercially exploited. He thinks diamagnetic levitation will find practical use through incremental improvements in magnets, materials and designs.
The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress
View the website
The online presentation of The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress, comprising about 10,121 library items or approximately 49,084 digital images, documents the lives of Wilbur and Orville Wright and highlights their pioneering work which led to the world's first powered, controlled and sustained flight. Included in the collection are correspondence, diaries and notebooks, scrapbooks, drawings, printed matter, and other documents, as well as the Wrights' collection of glass-plate photographic negatives. The Wright Brothers' letters to aviation pioneer and mentor Octave Chanute, from the Octave Chanute Papers, were also selected for this online collection. The Wright Papers span the years 1881 to 1952 but largely cover 1900 to 1940. This online presentation includes the famous glass-plate negative of the "First Flight" at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, as well as diaries and letters in which Wilbur and Orville Wright recount their work that led to that day. -- From the introduction
AA04380
Vanderbilt, Tom THE REAL DA VINCI CODE (Wired, November 2004, pp. 210-212, 228-229)
View article on publisher's website
Almost 500 years after his death, Leonardo da Vinci is being credited with the invention of the first robot, according to scholars and devotees who comb the records left behind by the Renaissance artist and inventor. An Italian scholar and an American inventor have teamed up to coax reality from a mysterious da Vinci drawing of a device that appeared to be a small, spring-powered cart. Through closer examination of that drawing and those of other da Vinci machines, Minnesota roboticist Mark Rosheim produced an operable design for a front-wheel drive cart running on spring-loaded power that could be operated via remote control, run a specific course and turn in a programmed direction. The working parts of the machine are all based on devices used at the time, particularly in clockmaking. Rosheim says the discovery re-writes the history of robotics and adds another dimension to the talents of one of history's geniuses.