Daily Slice

Tools and Tricks for Information Junkies

2008-04-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Just because you're an information junkie doesn't mean you have to suffer from information overload. You just have to use the right tools to sort out what you want. Instead of trying to drink up the entire Web, use tools like RSS, social sharing and implicit and explicit ratings systems to make what's relevant to your interests stand out.

I am an information junkie, and I suffer from information overload.

There, I've said it! And even though sometimes it seems like a momentous task to wade through the virtually endless supply of information to find and view the information that I want without wasting hours each day, there is hope. The truth is there are great tools and technologies now at our disposal, and even more exciting ones on the horizon, for tackling the information overload challenge.

First Things First
First, the reality is that many people are not aware of the advances in the "mechanics" of information capture and organization. Surprisingly, the most common tactic by far is still to simply bookmark Web pages in the browser "favorites" or "bookmark" menu. Although using the favorites menu in the browser works well for quickly storing a Web page that you might want to re-visit, in terms of organizing more than a handful of links or viewing more than one piece of information at a time, it falls far short.

For sites that have information that I want to see on an ongoing basis, I am a big fan of RSS (really simple syndication). RSS allows me to select just the information, or feeds, with which I want to stay current. Any new information that gets published in those feeds is automatically sent to me, eliminating the need for me to visit those Web sites. If you're not using RSS, go to a site you frequent and look for a link to a page where they keep all their RSS feeds. You'll find that almost every site now syndicates their content via RSS.

Browsers have features built in to subscribe to and view RSS feeds, but with a browser, I'm limited to selecting and viewing feeds one at a time. A better experience cruising RSS feeds is to use start pages like iGoogle and My Yahoo that let me organize multiple feeds in viewing panes on a page, so I can quickly scan the information for new items of interest.

Similarly, Web widgets allow me to embed a wide selection of content or functionality into my start page (or any Web page), and I can use desktop widgets to display information directly on my desktop, without needing to have my browser open. For example, you might use desktop widgets to display the local weather on your desktop and a Web widget for alerting you to discount airfares between specific cities.

But even with these technologies, some problems still exist.

As convenient as start pages and widgets are for letting me view information that I know I want to monitor on an ongoing basis, they are not meant for letting me easily collect items that I happen to come across as I'm browsing, and they don't provide visual display for Web pages (as opposed to RSS feeds and widgets). Browsers are great for letting me quickly collect Web pages, and even RSS feeds, but they are cumbersome for organizing the information. (For example, some browsers don't yet support tagging, and some don't let me select more than one item to move or delete at a time.) Browsers also only let me view one item at a time.

But there are developments happening in the industry to merge the best features of each of these product types into a single product, eliminating the need to choose and use various products based on different types of content or based on the preferred way someone likes to work. These new products work with the browsers to allow collecting any type of objects while browsing, with superior organization capabilities that make it easier to organize, and hence more easily find, objects when they're needed.

For example, sometimes I want to organize by folders and subfolders, sometimes I want to assign multiple tags to an object so that I don't have to search for it later (I can just find it by any of its tags), and sometimes I just want to flag something as important and view it later. These products also provide me with the at-a-glance viewing capabilities of start pages, so I can view large sets of content at once, without having to bring up each one sequentially. They aim to be one single place from where I manage all of my online information.

So far, however, I've only addressed the mechanics of collecting, organizing and viewing information.

The thornier symptom of information overload is finding what I want to read in the first place.

Find the Needles, Lose the Haystack
With seemingly endless sources of information at our disposal, we're still often mired down trying to find the right data amidst an overwhelming surplus of information. How do we quickly locate and parse the necessary bits of data for work productivity and personal activities? How do we separate good from bad in the nebulous online realm? Even simple tasks like shopping or making travel decisions can sometimes seem overwhelming.

We're seeing some new and interesting approaches to help sift through the online debris to more easily find the gems.

For example, social bookmarking and rating sites like Digg and Reddit have emerged to help people find articles that others have ranked highly. Searching by category lets me drill into different subject areas to see what's most popular with the crowd. The same approach is being used by YouTube for videos and Flickr for photos, and on and on.

These sites are great for me when I want a brief diversion. However, what if I want to find a needle in a haystack? These sites tell me what a huge community of millions of people think is the best content. So the latest Britney snafus and Angelina rumors filter to the top. Of course this doesn't show me the most pertinent content, just the most widely read or recommended. What I really need is a way to find the very best material, instead of merely bringing the lowest common denominator to the forefront. Ultimately, what I really want is not to find the best content for everyone, but the very best content for me.

By contrast, collaborative filtering addresses this need by either explicitly (Netflix) or implicitly (Amazon) learning about my likes and dislikes and tailoring the experience based on what it has learned from other users like me. Though there are still some kinks to be worked out, collaborative filtering promises to help each one of us find just the information that is most likely to be of interest to us. StumbleUpon is one of the market leaders in this space, combining an interesting and offbeat universe of content that one might find on Digg with the personalization aspects of Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) .

Another technique that's been gaining popularity is social sharing. Although it's similar to collaborative filtering in that I can benefit from the interests of others, the way I determine whose profile I like is explicit instead of algorithmic. For example, once someone has already done the work of identifying the information they're interested in, I can subscribe to the feeds or pages they've identified (provided they first agree to make them public). A person like me has already done the work to find the content they like. I can benefit from the work they've already done. And users can give out as much or as little personal information as they want; they can still remain anonymous if they choose. The content is what holds the value.

What's on the Horizon?
Ultimately, the confluence of these different technologies offers the promise to raise the bar on how we cope with information overload.

When I manage all of my content from a single place, when I bring together the "cream of the crop" of content across different domains, from different sources and services, it opens up the possibility for an entire new level of personalization. If I have the ability to apply the explicit ratings of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) , the implicit recommendations of Amazon, and explicit social sharing across all of my information, not just my movies or books, then I can have a system that crosses domains to deliver high-level personalization across a larger set of content, while providing the filters that deliver only the most targeted information to me.

Sound far-fetched? Not as far-fetched as you might think. This is one of the reasons that most of the social sites are busy creating application programming interface access to their applications.

Ultimately, information overload is a surmountable challenge. The trick is to distill down the overwhelming amount of information to the manageable subset that is the most targeted to our various areas of interest. Certainly we'll never be free of the vast sea of data hitting us every day, but I believe the day is near when I will be able to say, "I am still an information junkie, but I no longer suffer from information overload!"

Regenerative Medicine Seen As Means To Repair Wounded Warriors

2008-04-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Defense Department has launched a five-year, Army-led cooperative effort to leverage cutting-edge medical technology to develop new ways to assist servicemembers who’ve suffered severe, disfiguring wounds during their wartime service.

The newly established Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, known by the acronym AFIRM, will serve as the military’s operational agency for the effort, Dr. S. Ward Casscells, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

A key component of the initiative is to harness stem cell research and technology in finding innovative ways to use a patient’s natural cellular structure to reconstruct new skin, muscles and tendons, and even ears, noses and fingers, Casscells said.

Just more than 900 U.S. servicemembers have undergone amputations of some kind due to injuries suffered in wartime service in Afghanistan or Iraq, Casscells said. Other troops have been badly burned or suffered spinal cord injuries or significant vision loss.

“Getting these people up to where they are functioning and reintegrated, employed, (and) able to help their families and be fully participating members of society” is the task at hand in which AFIRM will play a major role, Casscells said.

AFIRM will fall under the auspices of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command, based at Fort Detrick, Md., and it also will work in conjunction with U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, in San Antonio.

The Medical Research and Material Command is the Army’s lead medical research, development and related-material acquisition agency. It comes under U.S. Army Medical Command, which is led by Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the Army’s surgeon general. Schoomaker accompanied Casscells at the news conference.

“The cells that we’re talking about actually exist in our bodies today,” Schoomaker pointed out. “We, even as adults, possess in our bodies small quantities of cells which have the potential, under the right kind of stimulation, to become any one of a number of different kinds of cells.

For example, Schoomaker said, the human body routinely regenerates bone marrow or liver cells.

AFIRM will have an overall budget of about $250 million for the initial five-year period, of which about $80 million will be provided by the Defense Department, Schoomaker said. Other program funding will be provided by the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md., the Department of Veterans Affairs, and local public and private matching funding.

Rutgers University, in N.J.; Wake Forest University, in N.C.; and the University of Pittsburgh also will participate in the initiative.

Dr. Anthony Atala, a surgeon and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest, also attended the news conference. Atala’s current research keys on growing new human cells and tissue.

“All the parts of your body, tissues and organs, have a natural repository of cells that are ready to replicate when an injury occurs,” Atala told reporters.

Medical technicians now can select cells from human donors and, through a series of scientific processes, can “regrow” new tissue, Atala said.

“Then, you can plant that (regenerated tissue) back into the same patient, thus avoiding rejection,” Atala said.

Special techniques are being developed to employ regrown tissue in the fabrication of new muscles and tendons, Atala observed, or for the repair/replacement of damaged or missing extremities such as noses, ears and fingers.

Continued advancement in regenerative medicine would greatly benefit those servicemembers and veterans who’ve been severely scarred by war, Schoomaker said.

The three-star general cited animals like salamanders that can regrow lost tails or limbs. “Why can’t a mammal do the same thing?” he asked.

Chemotherapy's Damage To The Brain

2008-04-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

A commonly used chemotherapy drug causes healthy brain cells to die off long after treatment has ended and may be one of the underlying biological causes of the cognitive side effects -- or "chemo brain" -- that many cancer patients experience. That is the conclusion of a study published today in the Journal of Biology.

A team of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Harvard Medical School have linked the widely used chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to a progressing collapse of populations of stem cells and their progeny in the central nervous system.

"This study is the first model of a delayed degeneration syndrome that involves a global disruption of the myelin-forming cells that are essential for normal neuronal function," said Mark Noble, Ph.D., director of the University of Rochester Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute and senior author of the study. "Because of our growing knowledge of stem cells and their biology, we can now begin to understand and define the molecular mechanisms behind the cognitive difficulties that linger and worsen in a significant number of cancer patients."

Cancer patients have long complained of neurological side effects such as short-term memory loss and, in extreme cases, seizures, vision loss, and even dementia. Until very recently, these cognitive side effects were often dismissed as the byproduct of fatigue, depression, and anxiety related to cancer diagnosis and treatment. Now a growing body of evidence has documented the scope of these conditions, collectively referred to as chemo brain. And while it is increasingly acknowledged by the scientific community that many chemotherapy agents may have a negative impact on brain function in a subset of cancer patients, the precise mechanisms that underlie this dysfunction have not been identified.

Virtually all cancer survivors experience short-term memory loss and difficulty concentrating during and shortly after treatment. A study two years ago by researchers with the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester showed that upwards of 82% of breast cancer patients reported that they suffer from some form of cognitive impairment.

While these effects tend to wear off over time, a subset of patients, particularly those who have been administered high doses of chemotherapy, begin to experience these cognitive side effects months or longer after treatment has ceased and the drugs have long since departed their systems. For example, a recent study estimates that somewhere between 15 and 20 percent of the nation's 2.4 million female breast cancer survivors have lingering cognitive problems years after treatment. Another study showed that 50 percent of women had not recovered their previous level of cognitive function one year after treatment.

Two years ago, Noble and his team showed that three common chemotherapy drugs used to treat a wide range of cancers were more toxic to healthy brain cells than the cancer cells they were intended to treat. While these experiments were among the first to establish a biological basis for the acute onset of chemo brain, they did not explain the lingering impact that many patients experience.

The scientists conducted a similar series of experiments in which they exposed both individual cell populations and mice to doses of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in amounts comparable to those used in cancer patients. 5-FU is among a class of drugs called antimetabolites that block cell division and has been used in cancer treatment for more than 40 years. The drug, which is often administered in a "cocktail" with other chemotherapy drugs, is currently used to treat breast, ovarian, stomach, colon, pancreatic and other forms of cancer.

The researchers discovered that months after exposure, specific populations of cells in the central nervous -- oligodendrocytes and dividing precursor cells from which they are generated -- underwent such extensive damage that, after 6 months, these cells had all but disappeared in the mice.

Oligodendrocytes play an important role in the central nervous system and are responsible for producing myelin, the fatty substance that, like insulation on electrical wires, coats nerve cells and enables signals between cells to be transmitted rapidly and efficiently. The myelin membranes are constantly being turned over, and without a healthy population of oligodendrocytes, the membranes cannot be renewed and eventually break down, resulting in a disruption of normal impulse transmission between nerve cells.

These findings parallel observations in studies of cancer survivors with cognitive difficulties. MRI scans of these patients' brains revealed a condition similar to leukoencephalopathy. This demyelination -- or the loss of white matter -- can be associated with multiple neurological problems.

"It is clear that, in some patients, chemotherapy appears to trigger a degenerative condition in the central nervous system," said Noble. "Because these treatments will clearly remain the standard of care for many years to come, it is critical that we understand their precise impact on the central nervous system, and then use this knowledge as the basis for discovering means of preventing such side effects."

Noble points out that not all cancer patients experience these cognitive difficulties, and determining why some patients are more vulnerable may be an important step in developing new ways to prevent these side effects. Because of this study, researchers now have a model which, for the first time, allows scientists to begin to examine this condition in a systematic manner.

Feet Hurt? Stop Wearing Shoes

2008-04-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the foot, and humans have been wrecking that perfection with every step since they first donned shoes, New York magazine's Adam Sternbergh says.

"Everyone who wears shoes walks wrong," he says, echoing the headline of his recent article, "You Walk Wrong."

Sternbergh calls the ubiquity of footwear a "conspiracy of idiocy." He points out the probability that at no point did any shoemaker say, "Let's design something that works with your foot." In the Middle Ages, for example, people began wearing shoes with higher heels to avoid stepping in other people's excrement. Today, high heels are considered sexy. Whatever their reasons for wearing the shoes they wear, people don't usually consider whether a shoe actually works with their foot, he says.

The human foot works pretty well on its own, Sternbergh says, and it doesn't need a lifetime of help from shoes. He explains the basic illogic of footwear by comparing the concept to a perpetual cast. "Imagine if someone put a cast on your arm when you were 3 years old and you never took it off," he says. "Your arm would stop working. That's kind of what's happened with our feet."

Sternbergh cites a 1940s study of barefoot rickshaw drivers in India. Scientists found that the drivers had unusually healthy feet. Sternbergh says subsequent evidence supports the conclusion that feet don't need shoes.

Why are shoes on virtually every foot, then? Sternbergh says the rationale that most urban and suburban people use is that the ground is hard and our feet need the cushioning of footwear. "But in many places in the world, the ground is quite hard," he says. "[Our ancestors] were able to absorb the shock."

Sternbergh concedes that in most settings, some form of foot covering makes sense. "I'm not going to convince anyone to walk barefoot," he says, acknowledging that he continues to wear shoes as a bulwark against glass, grime and gross things.

He may still wear shoes, but Sternbergh has switched to a model from England called the Vivo Barefoot from the Clark shoe family. Galahad Clark, son of the inventor of the Wallabee — a particularly successful, if traditional, shoe — helped develop the Vivo Barefoot. Sternbergh says the shoe is basically a slipper with a Kevlar sole, to prevent puncturing.

"They kill your heels," he says. "A traditional shoe advocate would say you need to switch back to sneakers that have a big cushiony heel." But a barefoot-walking advocate would say, "You're walking wrong," Sternbergh says. He asked Clark for advice or instruction, but Clark said walking in the shoe is instinctual.

"You'll find that your walk starts to change," Sternbergh says. "You land on your heel, but it's a much softer landing. ... A traditional shoe with a lot of cushioning is designed to allow you to walk with the bad habits that you have because you've been wearing shoes all your life."

For those who cling to their typical footwear, Sternbergh is sympathetic. "Shoes perpetuate shoes," he says, referring to the cycle of coddled feet forever needing high-tech swaddling. "It's a classic self-perpetuating system."

Court Rules ISP Subscriber Info is Private

2008-04-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Internet users have an expectation that their Internet Protocol address is private, New Jersey's supreme court ruled this week.

Authorities must obtain a subpoena from a grand jury or trial court in order to access subscriber information, the court ruled.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that people have an expectation to privacy online and that the authorities can't just demand citizens' Internet protocol (IP) addresses from their Internet service providers without a grand jury warrant.

The ruling was handed down in the case of a woman who was charged with hacking into her employer's computer system.

The court threw out the case, but said the police can investigate it again if they go through proper channels.

The Case
Here's what happened: Jersey Diesel had its IP address and mailing address listings in one of its suppliers' databases altered without permission.

Its owner, Timothy Wilson, suspected one of his employees, Sheila Reed, with whom he had argued the day the changes were made. The police were called, and they used a municipal court subpoena to get Reid's IP address and other detailed information from Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) , her Internet service provider.

A grand jury returned an indictment in 2005 charging Reid with second-degree computer theft for hacking into her employer's computer system from her home PC.

The initial trial court granted Reid's motion to suppress the evidence on the grounds that the subpoena was improperly issued; after a series of appeals, the case landed in front of the supreme court, which ruled unanimously that Article 1 of New Jersey's state constitution extends a reasonable expectation of privacy to Internet subscriber information, which can only be obtained from ISPs by serving them with a subpoena from a grand jury or a trial jury, or from the State Commission of Investigation.

The police can go back and get the information again from Comcast, but need a grand jury subpoena to do so.

The Other Side

The New Jersey court's ruling runs counter to that handed down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in July 2007 in the case of the U.S. v. Forrester, in which two California men were charged with trying to set up a massive ecstasy lab in an insulated shipping container near Escondido.

In that case, the federal government installed a device at an ISP used by one of the suspects, capturing his to/from e-mail addresses, the IP addresses of Web sites he visited and the total volume of information sent from his account.

The court ruled that getting users' e-mail and IP addresses without a warrant is the same as reading information on the outside of an envelope sent by regular mail or recording every number a suspect dials, because they only deal with information and not content.

The New Jersey court's ruling will open the door for a flood of legal actions over the right to sue in a bid to get a final ruling on the issue of online privacy . "That's a tried and true methodology," Owen Seitel, founding partner of San Francisco legal firm Idell & Seitel, which has an Internet law practice, told the E-Commerce Times.

However, that may not amount to anything.

For one thing, it may not affect rulings in other jurisdictions because "courts are not beholden to rulings in other states," Seitel said.

And, if the Patriot Act or national security is invoked, state court rulings will have even less clout because in those cases "the feds will basically say, 'That's nice, New Jersey, that you afford this to your citizens, but in this situation federal law will hold primacy, and we're going to do what we're going to do,'" Seitel said.

That will also hold true if business interests are affected. "Now, everything is couched in terms of interstate commerce, there's no such thing as intrastate commerce any more, so any time a state tries to pass laws that even touch on interstate commerce, the feds will come in," Seitel said.

Freedom!

No Home Yet for PS3 Fans

2008-04-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sony's virtual world for PlayStation 3 users, Home, has suffered its second delay since the initiative was announced a year ago. The environment, which doubles as an interface for online content, simply isn't ready, said Kazuo Hirai, president of the Sony Computer Entertainment division.

Sony Computer Entertainment pushed back its open beta test for the launch of Playstation's Home, a 3-D virtual world, from the summer to the fall, marking the second time the company has delayed the launch of the product.

Unlike traditional games, Home is a sandbox world designed to allow players the flexibility to build, create and interact with other players without directed goals. However, Home is more than just a virtual world, it's Sony's answer to the Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Xbox Live online service, which is why the company is reticent to roll out its product before the kinks have been worked out. A disastrous launch could set back the already reeling Playstation 3 console, which has lagged behind Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox360.

"We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," said Kazuo Hirai, president of the Sony Computer Entertainment division.

Big Launch

The successful Home launch would not only place Sony ahead of Microsoft in the online space but also create new revenue streams for the console, which traditionally has been sold as a loss leader.

Third-party game developers now create games that play, by and large, cross-platform, which means console developers need to find new ways to leverage their existing intellectual property. For Sony, that means virtual worlds, said Christopher Sherman, executive director for Virtual Worlds Management.

"Consumer entertainment companies like Sony are looking at virtual worlds as new revenue streams," Sherman told LinuxInsider. "Virtual worlds are a new media format that companies with existing IP are looking to leverage. Leverage your current IP and customer base in virtual worlds. Revenue opportunities include advertising , subscriptions and micro-transactions."

Enterprise Interest

Sony's dip into the virtual world creation business could pay dividends for other divisions under the corporate umbrella.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) , Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) have been working on virtual world applications that can be used in corporate settings. Tools such as virtual work space and teleconferencing are already being tested in Second Life, a popular virtual world run by Linden Lab.

For Sony, the launch of Home would give the company's other divisions easy access to emerging software tools.

"It's a whole new ball game for the Fortune 1,000 IT department, most of which haven't likely seen the technology come their way just yet," Sherman said. "Just as e-mail and instant messaging came before it, IT departments are going to have to get their arms around virtual worlds."

Hooked on Tech: How Much Is Too Much?

2008-04-21T14:08:00.001-07:00

What's the difference between being a tech fan and a tech junkie? Should psychiatrists look at Internet addiction on the same level as addiction to drugs or alcohol? And if one's classified as an "Internet addict," are they truly addicted to being online, or is the Web just the medium though which they pursue their real vices like gambling and compulsive shopping?

Having an interest in computers and the Internet is one thing, but can going overboard with it qualify you for a deviant behavior diagnosis from a clinical therapists? That may depend on how much time you sit at the keyboard and how much that impacts your job, your family and your other important interests.

Jennifer Hall Goodwin, president of business services firm Internet Girl Friday, has given it her own layman's term: "Screen Addiction." She sees it from time to time in her career, and it's even brought about the end of budding romance.

She stopped dating one guy after two months because he wouldn't or couldn't turn off the computer screen. He would wake up and then sit down at his computer to play some online game for 12 to 14 hours, she said. When he got up from that, he would turn on the TV. When he actually left his house, he would head straight to work and then to his favorite Las Vegas hangout to sit at the video poker screens.

"He rotated between these three screens. I kept pointing out that he was wasting his life away on screens. When he told me to 'hold that thought; I just found another treasure chest,' I dumped him," Goodwin told TechNewsWorld. "I have met more than one person that doesn't even realize they are addicted. I'm talking about smart, educated 30-somethings."

Addiction Symptoms

Beyond personal anecdotes, is it possible that people can really develop a clinical addiction to computer technology, and especially the Internet? It's a serious contention among psychologists and those who treat addiction professionally.

People can become overloaded by technology and suffer consequences in their relationships, according to John O'Neill, director of Addiction Services for The Menninger Clinic. Treatment includes developing normal/healthy use, cognitive behavioral therapy, appropriate screening and boundary development, he said.

"This topic is still very controversial. We are seeing more people having this type of addiction. It is not officially classified as a real problem. Internet addiction disorders have numerous similarities with more traditional addictions," O'Neill told TechNewsWorld.

For instance, the symptoms are very pronounced in people who have trouble limiting their time on the Internet. Their use of chatting, e-shopping and porn sites starts to impact on their work and family lives, he said.

Risk Takers

Those who spend excessive amounts of time glued to a computer share a trait common with those addicted to substance abuse. For instance, they start taking risks at work by being on the Internet instead of working, O'Neill explained.

They could lose their job and risk losing their families. People suffering from this affliction often feel they cannot stop doing it.

"When they are not online, they become irritable and frustrated. These people are not swayed by the threat of consequences. They still do it," said O'Neill. These are the same traits observed when researching people with chemical dependencies of some kind, he added.

Internet Addiction?

The March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry carried an article by a psychiatrist who treats addictions, Jerald J. Block, M.D. He argued in his editorial, "Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction," that a disorder he called "Internet addiction" appears to be a common disorder that merits inclusion in the therapists' handbook.

The DSM, or The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is an American handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

"I'm starting to see some disturbing signs related to this disorder. Actually, I view this as more of a syndrome and not a true disease. In psychiatry there are categories of illness. The DSM lists all possible categories," Block told TechNewsWorld.

Internet addiction is a serious problem, according to Block. He believes the clinical profession needs to do a better job in dealing with it because the term "Internet addiction" is somewhat of a misnomer.

It is more accurately described as pathological computer use because the affliction does not always involve the Internet. It may manifest itself with excessive game playing as well. It can be a single-user game that consumers the player's time excessively, according to Block. Excessive cell phone use might also be included in the description.

Dissenting View

Not all clinicians share Block's view, however. Including a nomenclature for pathological computer use in the DSM is controversial, and therapists are split on the issue of inclusion, according to Linda R. Young, Ph.D., a counseling psychologist. However, she said, she is unaware of any statistics measuring what proportion of psychologists supports the inclusion in the DSM to be published in 2012.

"The DSM-IV-TR already includes 'compulsive gambling disorder' as a specific problem within the diagnosis of 'impulse control disorders', and some psychologists who work with Internet-based impulsive and compulsive use problems, including me, share the view that Internet use problems could also be listed there," Young told TechNewsWorld.

Just as the casino or poker Web site is not the problem per se, the Internet is not the problem, per se, she said. Rather, the Internet is the medium through which dysfunctional coping may be sought. Further, treatment may vary depending on whether shopping, gaming, gambling or sex is the activity that is sought.

"Anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive and relationship disorders already have their own diagnostic codes in the DSM-IV-TR. And in the vast majority of cases of compulsive Internet use, there are also underlying problems related to inability to regulate mood, feel competent or maintain healthy relationships. Therefore, 'Internet addiction' may not be the most appropriate term, but is certainly one that the public can most easily relate to," said Young.

Use or Abuse?

What may matter most in determining a computer user's diagnosis is the degree of the behavior. People have to develop healthier ways to use the Internet, according to O'Neill.

This is a growing problem in our cyber-centric world, he suggested. How do you set limits where everywhere you go there are hot spots?

"Sufing the Web doesn't make you an Internet addict any more than drinking wine makes you an alcoholic. I'm not saying that. You have to look at the person and what the Internet activity is doing to that person and his or her family," O'Neill explained.

The problem gets out of hand because the person's family or friends are not a part of that activity. To qualify as an addiction, the Internet use has to have a real significant impact, he noted. It happens when the person is not able to look at his or her involvement with the Internet activity and set limits.

Acura NSX Ripped To Shreds In Horrific Street Race Accident

2008-04-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

SAN DIEGO - A driver was lucky to survive a wreck that shredded apart the Acura sports car he was driving after it hit a light pole.

The crash took place Wednesday in the San Diego neighborhood of Sorrento Valley at Miratech Drive and Camino Santa Fe shortly after 3 p.m. The debris field left by the crash was strewn across several hundred feet of roadway and an adjoining hillside where the black car came to a rest. The engine and the front end of the car, including the steering wheel with the air bag deployed, wound up in the middle of Camino Santa Fe. The main body of the car, including the driver buckled into his seat, wound up in a ditch.

"I saw the car in the gutter with a guy sitting in it without any front," said witness Dennis Richardson. "He was holding onto the gearshift, and I think he was still in shock and still wanting to shift gears. It was nuts."

Witnesses said the driver was racing another car which sped off after the crash, NBC 7/39 reported. The second vehicle was a black Honda Civic with tinted window and a "Tuned By Reese" sticker on the back, witnesses said.

The surrounding streets were blocked off by police as they investigated the crash and work crews cleaned up the crash scene.

The driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, including a fractured neck.

Police want to speak with the driver of the black Honda.

How to Decode PLU Stickers on Produce

2008-04-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Those pesky PLU code stickers that you have to peel off your fruit and vegetables do more than just convey prices to the cashier. If you know how to read them, says Marion Owen at PlanTea.com, they can tell you a thing or two.

Conventional produce gets a four-digit number.

Organic produce gets a five-digit number that starts with 9.

Genetically modified items also get a five-digit code, but that code starts with 8.

Examples4139: Conventional Granny Smith apple94139: Organic Granny Smith84139: GMO Granny Smith

If you want a full list of PLU codes, hit up the International Federation for Produce Standards, where you can look up the look-up the look-up codes and find out even more info. For instance, some PLUs are restricted to items grown in certain regions. (4138, for instance, denotes a Granny Smith grown in East/Central North America.) But if you want to decode those at the store, you'd have some memorizin' to do. And if you're really into it, here's the IFPS's PLU Codes User Guide (pdf).

PayPal Plans To Ban Unsafe Browsers

2008-04-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Alternative Details brings news that PayPal is developing a plan to stop users from accessing its financial services if they aren't using browsers with anti-phishing protection. PayPal is recommending the use of blacklists, anti-fraud warning pages, and EV SSL certificates. Browsers without anti-phishing features will be considered "unsafe." It seems likely Safari will be included in this category given PayPal's warning about the Apple browser last month.

"'At PayPal, we are in the process of reimplementing controls which will first warn our customers when logging in to PayPal of those browsers that we consider unsafe. Later, we plan on blocking customers from accessing the site from the most unsafe--usually the oldest--browsers,' he declared. Barrett only mentioned old, out-of-support versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer among this group of 'unsafe browsers,' but it's clear his warning extends to Apple's Safari browser, which offers no anti-phishing protection and does not support the use of EV SSL certificates."

Student-Built Prototype Vehicle Breaks Mileage Record

2008-04-17T18:04:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, start your fuel-efficient engines” were the words that kicked off the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon™ Americas; and that’s exactly what more than 300 students from Canada, Mexico, and the United States did today. Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Ind., set a new mileage record at the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas, a challenge to design, build and test fuel-efficient prototype vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel.

The team’s combustion-engine prototype vehicle achieved an astonishing 2,843.4 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,208.6 kilometers per liter. Despite wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour and various teams’ mechanical issues, competition was steep this year with three teams breaking the 2007 mileage record set by Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The 2008 Shell Eco-marathon™ Americas welcomed 32 teams from four high schools and 23 universities from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The entries include 25 vehicles powered by combustion engines, four by fuel cell/hydrogen technology, one by diesel fuel, one by LPG (liquid petroleum gas) and two by solar power.

Category winners for the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas include:
Grand PrizeWith mileage of 2,843.4 mpg (1,208.6 kilometers per liter) the Supermileage Team from Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind. won a $10,000 grand prize with their vehicle, 6th Gen.

Combustion EngineThe 6th Gen vehicle from Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind., took first place in this category with its 2,843.4 mpg (1,208.6 kilometers per liter) run.
Fuel Cell/HydrogenPenn State’s HFV Team from University Park, Pa., achieved 1,668.3 mpg (709.1 kilometers per liter) in its Blood, Sweat and Gears vehicle.

SolarThe Purdue Solar Racing team from West Lafayette, Ind., took first place with its solar vehicle Pulsar, which achieved 2,861.8 mpg (1,216.4 kilometers per liter).

Mileage wasn’t the only challengeAchieving the best fuel economy in a category isn’t the only win. Addressing challenges on and off the track and turning them into successes through teamwork and innovation is also a victory for student teams. Months of planning helped teams stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency.

The weather conditions created challenges for students and required one team to switch to a heavier driver, which resulted in a vehicle redesign.

While the team from Mexico was working through their technical issues, the 17-member team from Université Laval was on hold for two days waiting for their vehicle to clear U.S. customs. With only one day left to compete, the Canadian team worked well into the night to fully assemble their car and clear inspection within 12 hours. In their first attempt, the team from Quebec moved into fifth place.

The event also allowed students to gain practical experience by applying concepts taught in the classroom. While designing and financing the vehicle is done before students get to track, teams are constantly making modifications to improve vehicle performance.

Event photos, complete results, videos, and pod casts are available at www.shell.com/us/ecomarathon.

The Truth Behind the "Naked Woman" in Cheneys Sunglasses

2008-04-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

Cheney's Sunglasses show reflection that some think is a naked woman, well it's not.

Although some debated it was a naked woman in the reflection of Vice President Dick Cheney's sunglasses, although it appears to be.

If you blow up the picture, you can see Cheney is just gripping the handle of a fishing rod.

Sorry Guys!

How To: Using Your Cell in Europe Without Breaking the Bank

2008-04-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

For Americans traveling in Europe, cell phone conversations can cost a pretty penny unless a few precautions are taken. Changing out a SIM card to one that uses a local carrier can cut costs significantly. Changing out the SIM also changes your phone's number, but call forwarding services can help you work around that.

Q: I'm heading to Europe this summer, and I want to bring my cell phone, but international roaming looks expensive. How do I keep costs down?

A: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Switch out your SIM card -- the little chip in the phone that carries your account information -- for a prepaid local one, and pay local rates.

Don't be intimidated by the prospect. The SIM card, or Subscriber Identity Module, is almost always located in the phone's battery compartment. You'll probably have to remove the battery to get at it, but you don't need any special tools. If you can't figure it out, get a European to show you -- they're used to switching SIM cards when they switch carriers.

Substantial Savings
You do need to do some homework first, but it's worth it, unless you're just staying in the foreign country for a few days. U.S. carriers generally charge about US$1.29 per minute for international roaming, while local prepaid rates are around 20 U.S. cents per minute for outgoing calls, and incoming calls are free.

There are a couple of hurdles here, though. For one, not all U.S. phones work in Europe because of differing radio frequencies and technologies. The chance that your phone will work are best if your carrier is T-Mobile USA or AT&T (NYSE: T) , but check your manual or the carrier's Web site to see if you have a "world phone."

Except for a handful of models, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) phones don't work in Europe (and don't use SIM cards), but do work in parts of South America.

Call Forwarding

If you do have a "world phone," it still has to be unlocked for it to accept a SIM card from another carrier. Contact the carrier: It may give you the code to unlock the phone. Otherwise, an independent cell-phone store may be able to do it for a fee.

Putting a local SIM card in your phone means you're now using a local number. The good thing about this is that locals can call you cheaply, instead of dialing your U.S. number. The downside is that people calling you on your U.S. number won't reach you, just your voicemail.
Of course, there's a way to deal with this as well.

Most U.S. cell phones can be set to forward calls to another U.S. number, but they won't forward overseas. To get around that, set up an account with a Web site like TollFreeForwarding.com. It gives you a U.S. toll-free number that will forward to an international number for $10 a month, with about 90 minutes of talk time included for calls forwarded to Western Europe. Then, set your phone to forward to the toll-free number (ask your carrier for instructions). Incoming calls will bounce from your U.S. number to the toll-free number to the overseas number.

Here, You Do It
Now, you may complain that all this is a bit complicated. There are services that take care of the details for you, like RangeRoamer and Call in Europe. You can buy or rent a world phone from them before your trip, complete with a SIM card. The prices aren't quite as low as local SIM cards, but they're better than roaming rates.

Both services will also help you set up forwarding from your U.S. number to the overseas phone.
Lastly, remember to turn your phone off when you go to bed! U.S. callers may have no idea it's 3 a.m. in Europe when they call you to chat at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Comcast Steers for High Ground With P2P Bill of Rights

2008-04-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Comcast moved from "no we didn't block traffic" to "we did, but we had to" to "we think there might be a better way, and yeah, OK, file-sharers have rights too" quicker than you could say "Net neutrality." Anyone care for a sip of self-regulation?

Taken aback by the intense outcry that arose over reports that it blocked or slowed down traffic to peer-to-peer file-sharing Web sites, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) has graciously offered to police itself.

The company will begin testing technology from Pando Networks that's designed to smooth the journey of BitTorrent data through its pipes.

In addition, Comcast and Pando have called for a P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. As to what rights consumers would have under such a document, they have yet to be determined. The two companies intend to collaborate with other Internet service providers, P2P companies and content providers to set a framework.

The bill would clarify what choices P2P users would have and what would be in their control -- their own computers' resources, for example -- as well as establish the processes and practices ISPs should use to manage P2P applications running on their networks, according to the companies.

Net Neutrality Nerves
Comcast appears to be borrowing from the playbook used by beleaguered industries the world over. When unsavory new regulations or laws loom, offer to self-regulate.
Lest there be any doubt that Comcast wants to set the tone and parameters of the debate, CTO Tony Werner makes that perfectly clear: "Working together, Comcast and Pando can help lead the discussion about what consumers should expect in terms of a 'P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities' for P2P users and ISPs."

While Comcast is still in control -- at least, for now -- there's some irony in its current predicament. Until several months ago there was little danger that net neutrality legislation would pass -- until, that is, Comcast gave advocates heavy ammunition to support their lobbying efforts.

Last fall, The Associated Press reported that Comcast had been interfering with customers' file-sharing activities by masquerading as users and interrupting P2P connections.
Comcast initially denied the allegations. However, it cooperated with the Federal Communications Commission investigation that followed. Indeed, that cooperation was perhaps over-zealous; Comcast reportedly bused in paid supporters to fill seats at a public hearing in Boston, effectively barring its critics from attending the event.

Keeping Regulators at Bay
Through establishment of a bill of rights, Comcast hopes to keep Congress at bay and limit any new FCC pronouncements on net neutrality. To date, those have been fairly light, T. Barton Carter, a professor of communication and law at Boston University, told TechNewsWorld.
He pointed to a couple of potential problems with self-regulation: One, Comcast hasn't been policing itself until now. Two, there is a strong incentive for the cable provider to block certain traffic, especially if that traffic is a competitive threat.

"Delivery of movies over the Internet, for instance, can compete with its services," Carter said.
That said, Comcast and other ISPs need to have some control over their networks, he granted, to keep out viruses and for other maintenance reasons. Also, "government regulation is by definition slow, and you tend to get a situation where the technology is moving faster than the regulation."

Demonoid Reborn Under New Admin!

2008-04-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

One of the most loved BitTorrent trackers, Demonoid, that was pulled down on November 9, 2007 by Canadian Recording Industry Association is now back up again. But TorrentFreak reports that Deimos, the administrator of Demonoid has decided to step down owing to real life issues.

Apparently, he has handed over the job of maintaining the site to a fellow friend, who has all the time and knowledge required. Here’s the message posted by Deimos on the SubDemon forums:

Hello Everyone,

It is with great sadness (and not a little relief) that I announce that I will be stepping down as admin of Demonoid, with effect from today.

Demonoid is currently suffering from a number of things, prime amongst these being my distraction with real-world issues, and so I have handed the reins over to a new administrator - a close friend of mine, which I trust completely and has the knowledge and time to take care of the site.

He will, in due course, be making his own announcements about the future of Demonoid. Of course, speculation over the future of the site is fun, but it is ultimately fruitless - you will all, in the near future, become aware of what the future holds. I trust that you will all give your support to the new admin as he finds his feet while he resurrects Demonoid.

Thanks again for your support in making Demonoid what it was and is.

Goodbye and good wishes - it has been a blast!

- Deimos

I’m glad to see Demonoid up and running again. It was once called as the best private tracker.

Download High-Res YouTube Videos in MP4 format

2008-04-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Lately, YouTube has been offering videos in two resolutions – normal and high quality. While the normal resolution videos are encoded in flash .flv format, the higher resolution videos are encoded in MP4 format. We’ve seen enough tools like DoenloadHelper which saves YouTube videos in .flv format. Now, if you want to download high quality YouTube videos in MP4 format, there are two methods:

The first method is a browser bookmarklet, which can be added into your bookmarks toolbar. Drag and drop this link into your bookmark or links toolbar (FireFox, Opera) or right-click the link and add it to your favorites (IE). Some people find Bookmarklet to be a little annoying to use, if that’s the case then skip down to the next method.

The second method involves a Greasemonkey script (install now). The script automatically adds the "Download as MP4" link under the video information box on the right side of the video page. Just right click that link and select "Save As" from the right-click context menu. Remember, you’ll need to add .mp4 extension to the filename manually.

iPods and some new mobile phones (including N95) support MP4 video format. This means you no longer have to reformat YouTube videos to fill them in your iPod. Of course, the above mentioned trick violates YouTube’s Terms of Service, but the same file is stored in your browser cache when you watch that video. Technically, watching the video on YouTube and downloading it to your computer does the same thing.

Windows XP SP3 Scheduled Release Date: April 29th

2008-04-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

If you’ve been anxiously waiting for Windows XP Service Pack 3 to be available, then your wait should be over by April 29th. These are the dates set by Microsoft for SP3:

April 14, 2008: Support is available for the release version of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP
April 21, 2008: Original Equipment Manufacturers, Volume License, Connect, and MSDN and TechNet subscribers
April 29, 2008: Microsoft Update, Windows Update, Download Center
June 10, 2008: Automatic Updates

There you have it! OEMs, License Customers, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will get XP SP3 on April 21. Rests for us have to wait till April 29th for the SP3 to be available on Microsoft Download Center. Like always, automatic updates are delayed by over a month.

But since TechNet and MSDN subscribers get their hands on SP3 a week before we do, there is a possibility that SP3 might leak before the actual release date

Google adapts copyright-ID technology for child-porn fight

2008-04-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

The fight against child pornography is getting an assist from technology designed by Google Inc. to help identify copyright-protected clips on its YouTube video-sharing site.

Four Google employees used their "20 percent time" — during which the company encourages them to pursue unofficial, out-of-the-box projects — to customize the copyright software for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's program for identifying children in sexually explicit photos and video.

Software already has been used to match known images, but when new ones are submitted by law enforcement and service providers, analysts generally make identifications manually, often based on recollections. The center has recently employed facial-recognition technology to make those IDs easier, but with limited success.

With the new Google tools, analysts can also seek matches based on other attributes, such as the color and shape of a couch or the wallpaper pattern in the background of a photo.

Ernie Allen, the center's president, appreciates the new tool.

The center used to be "dependent on the memory of the analyst who was already overwhelmed by the sheer number of content we were receiving," he said, adding that its 11 analysts processed 5 million child-pornography images last year.

Allen said the center's work helps prosecutors build evidence and police locate children who have been forced to engage in sexual acts.

Google's contribution grew out of an existing partnership between the center and leading technology companies, including Yahoo Inc., Time Warner Inc.'s AOL and Microsoft Corp.

"The keys here were organization, scalability and search," Google research scientist Shumeet Baluja wrote about the project on a company blog. "In particular, the tools we provided will aid in organizing and indexing NCMEC's information so that analysts can both deal with new images and videos more efficiently and also reference historical material more effectively."

Quick Review: BlackBerry Pearl 8120

2008-04-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 is the first device we have subjected to our new ‘Quick Review’ section, we will offer a quick reviews and a simplified, shorter review that’s easy to understand and quick to follow.

Pros

- a stylish alternative to other BlackBerry models
- exceptional email integration
- easy to set up
- SureType keyboard is faster than many QWERTY models
- good call quality

Cons

- doing simple tasks is sometimes too hard, i.e. changing the ringtone
- some popular email formats are not supported
- no 3G or HSDPA
- subpar camera quality
- Pearl trackball not to everyone’s tastes

Bottom Line

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 adds WiFi to the fashion-concious Pearl line that has already flaunted its great mobile email capability and good productivity. However, the lack of HSDPA data — and the strange omission of GPS — leaves the 8120 behind many similarly-priced competitors.

Artificial Cornea Gives Hope To The Blind

2008-04-15T10:58:00.001-07:00

Major advancements in technology like this one are what makes the future worth looking forward to. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have invented an artificial cornea that may well be the key to restoring sight for our people with damaged corneas.

“Our artificial corneas are based on a commercially available polymer which absorbs no water and allows no cells to grow on it,” says IAP project manager Dr. Joachim Storsberg. “Once our partner Dr. Schmidt Intraokularlinsen GmbH has suitably shaped the polymers, we selectively coat the implants: We lay masks on them and apply a special protein to the edge of the cornea, which the cells of the natural cornea can latch onto. In this way, the cornea implant can firmly connect with the natural part of the cornea, while the center remains free of cells and therefore clear.” What is special about this protein is that it can survive the later thermal sterilization of the artificial cornea without being damaged, as it does not have the three-dimensional structure typical of large proteins. Such a structure would be destroyed during the sterilization process, leading to changes in the material’s properties. The optical front part of the implant is coated with a hydrophilic polymer, so that it is constantly moistened with tear fluid.

Researchers in Dr. Karin Kobuch’s working group at Regensburg University Hospital have already tested these corneas in the laboratory and found that their cells graft very well at the edge and cease growing where the coating stops. The optical center of the implant thus remains clear. The first implants have already been tested in rabbits’ eyes - with promising results. If further tests are successful, the technology will be tried on humans in 2008.”

Triple Your Wi-Fi’s Signal Strength With Wi-Fire

2008-04-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

hField Technologies’ Wi-Fire is a compact high-performance USB Wi-Fi Adapter for Mac and PC that extends the Wi-Fi range upwards of 1,000 feet. Being a college student, I am blessed with a campus offering a strong Wi-Fi signal wherever I go, right? …. Well, wrong. Dreaded dead spots exist and, to my dismay, my dorm room seems to be the epicenter of a dead spot, a barren wasteland of former Wi-Fi signal.

My solutions included hardwiring—too easy. Setting up a router? Forbidden. And as this epic conundrum reached a head, an epiphany hit me like a ton of bricks (as they tend to do). However, this epiphany came in the form of a small device called the Wi-Fire from a startup company that I had never heard of. The device triples the power of the internal receptor, making it virtually impossible not to get a signal, regardless of where you are.

On my current winter break, my internet cut out on me and, although I am not condoning it, I continued surfing without a problem off of an unsecured network down the street. The device uses a directional antenna with an arrow to ensure a strong signal. According to hField’s site, “the Wi-Fire provides interoperability with any 802.11 b/g access point and multiplies the effectiveness of wireless networks allowing users to connect to a WiFi network from up to 1,000 feet, more than three times the range of Airport cards and other 802.11 adapters, at significantly higher speeds, and even in locations where no wireless signal could be detected previously.”

If you’re looking to improve your internet connectivity and thereby improve your efficiency in any setting whether it’s the airport, park or even dorm room, look no further than this valuable gizmo from hField Technologies, Inc.

The device is 3 x 4 x 3/8 inches in size. It folds up for transportation and connects to the Mac and PC using USB. The device retails for $79 in the U.S.

Can the brain be rebooted to stop drug addiction?

2008-04-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Scientists for the first time have identified long-term changes in mice brains that may shed light on why addicts get hooked on drugs—in this case methamphetamines—and have such a tough time kicking the habit. The findings, reported in the journal Neuron, could set the stage for new ways to block cravings—and help addicts dry out.

Researchers, using fluorescent tracer dye, discovered that mice given methamphetamines for 10 days (roughly equivalent to a human using it for two years) had suppressed activity in a certain area of their brains. Much to their surprise, normal function did not return even when the drug was stopped, but did when they administered a single dose of it again after the mice had been in withdrawal.

Study co-author Nigel Bamford, a pediatric neurologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, says that if similar changes occur in humans, it will indicate that an effective way to fight addiction may be to design therapies that target the affected area—the striatum, a forebrain region that controls movement but also has been linked to habit-forming behavior.

Previous research has shown that the drug stimulates nerve cells in the midbrain to release dopamine into the synapses (connections between neurons) in the striatum. Dopamine (which is connected to reward processing, motivation and attention) is one of the brain's primary neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers by which one neuron triggers its neighbor to fire a nerve impulse.

In this case, Bamford says, the excess dopamine affected the flow of information from the cortex (the brain's central processing unit) to the striatum. Specifically, it appeared to partially block nerve cells in the cortex from releasing glutamate, another neurotransmitter, which is responsible for excitation. "Dopamine provides a filtering effect that may help you concentrate on the novel object or pleasurable stimulus," Bamford says. Too much could explain addictive or compulsive behavior, because it would help a user ignore other things and focus a lot of attention on one particular goal.

Researchers found that chronic use of the drug kept the brain in this state of "chronic depression," in essence suppressing the neural terminals controlling the flow of signals between the cortex and striatium—even after a long period of several weeks. But normal activity resumed after the drug was reintroduced.

Bamford believes the key lies in other neurons found in the striatum, which release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that, he says, acts like a "memory switch". When dopamine is released by meth use, it lessens acetylcholine levels in the striatum; continued drug use reduces it to as low as 10 percent. This decrease, in turn, affects glutamate levels, which also drop perilously low, thereby resulting in the chronic depression of information flow in the brain.

When methamphetamine is administered after a period of withdrawal, however, the dopamine released by the midbrain neurons has the opposite effect on the acetylcholine cells, prompting them to release the chemical into the striatum. This, in turn, stimulates the production of glutamate, somehow causing the system to reset itself to a pre-addictive state.

Bamford says that if researchers can pinpoint the resetting mechanism, it would enable them to design nonaddictive drugs to trigger it."

The identification of this quite complicated mechanism gives you different opportunities to address the root of the problem so the synapse can be renormalized without the use of the psychostimulant," he says. "A better target would be to determine how these [acetylcholine neurons] are learning to stay depressed and work directly with those."

The Inconvenient Truth about Earth Hour

2008-04-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

On March 29, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., hundreds of thousands of people, and countless more businesses across Canada, shut off their lights as a symbolic gesture of concern over global warming. It was perhaps one of the most successful environmental awareness campaigns in recent history.

While organizers of the event correctly pointed out that Earth Hour was mostly about raising awareness, that didn't stop proud proclamations about drops in electricity demand during that hour. Some reports showed electricity demand was down 8.7 per cent for Toronto and 3.5 per cent in Vancouver.

The inconvenient truth, however, is that despite falling energy use, CO2 emissions actually rose during Earth Hour relative to comparable days in the past three years.

The flaw of Earth Hour's publicity campaign is that it fell into the fallacy of equating energy use with greenhouse gas emissions. The two are indeed related, but the relationship is more complex than the simple act of flicking the light switch would suggest.

Turning off a light bulb does not in itself reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Whether or not using electricity produces greenhouse gases depends on which kind of power plant is providing the electricity. If the power grid is predominantly being powered by nuclear fuel or hydroelectricity, there will be little greenhouse gas produced. However, if the power is coming from a coal-fired plant, there will be much more greenhouse gas produced.

In Ontario, power predominantly comes from a mix of nuclear, coal or hydroelectric power while in British Columbia and Quebec over 90 per cent of power comes from clean hydroelectricity. For every megawatt-hour of electricity produced from a coal power plant, a little over 1 tonne of CO2 is emitted.

When comparing power or electricity demand across days, it is important to control for things like weather, the amount of daylight, how many nuclear reactors are running and other possible factors. Using more than four years of hourly data, I estimated how much power would be expected to come from each source, and electricity consumption in each region of Ontario.

In Ontario, the total amount of electricity from coal and the subsequent CO2 emissions were higher during Earth Hour than on any last Saturday in March during the past four years. According to the Independent Electricity System Operator, 3,759 megawatt-hours of electricity were produced from coal in Ontario during Earth Hour, meaning approximately 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted from coal plants in Ontario during the hour.

Compared to the same hour of Saturdays in late spring with similar weather, nuclear operations, and so on, CO2 production was between 5 and 39 per cent higher during Earth Hour than in previous years. A comparison to only the previous Saturday would be misleading, because March 22, 2008, was much colder than the 29th, and weather is a major component in electricity demand. Regardless of what days are examined, the conclusion is that the mix of production sources, and not electricity consumption itself, has the most to do with emissions.
Furthermore, essentially all of the reductions in power production on March 29 came from hydroelectricity power production, and not from coal or natural gas. That is because when demand changes fairly quickly during the course of the day it is usually hydroelectric power that changes output to meet demand, while coal and nuclear remain unchanged.

Again, compared to what power production for all of Ontario normally would have been during Earth Hour, hydroelectricity production in Ontario was 24 per cent below what would be expected, while coal was up 18 per cent. Total power production was in fact above predicted for the entire night partly because power exports to the U.S. were high that night.

Likewise, in British Columbia or Quebec any reduction likely came from largely emission-free hydroelectric power. Even if power production did decline during Earth Hour, the fact remains that this drop did not come from power sources that contribute to global warming.

What really happened to electricity demand in Toronto and Ontario as whole on March 29, 2008 and during Earth Hour? Controlling for other factors, electricity consumption in Ontario as a whole and Toronto was down 5.6 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

What do these numbers mean? When compared to the general fluctuations in electricity demand over any given day, Earth Hour was not meaningful in the statistical sense. So far this year, there were more than 120 different hours where electricity demand was lower than predicted, by a greater degree than during Earth Hour.

Earth Hour was successful as a symbolic campaign to raise awareness about tackling climate change, but the exercise encourages the mistaken belief that we must reduce electricity consumption in radical ways to cut greenhouse gases.

So what did we really accomplish?

Wal-Mart Switches to MP3-Format Only

2008-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

When we last visited Wal-Mart’s attempt at DRM-free music, they had only managed to get EMI and Universal Music Group signed up for the DRM-free portion of their store. They’ve now decided to go all-MP3, but they’re still stuck without Warner Music Group and Sony BMG, which are unfortunately the top two record labels.

Most likely they will eventually match Amazon MP3, which has all four major record labels signed, but it’s surprising that Wal-Mart made this move without working out deals - and that they haven’t been able to work out a deal since August. When Amazon MP3 launched it was understandable that they were missing labels, as they vowed to be all MP3 from the start, but Wal-Mart?

The store redesign means that only those with IE can use the new store; others using, for example, Firefox are greeted with the following message:

We notice you’re not using Internet Explorer. Other browsers may be able to access our original Music Downloads store which has fewer user features than our latest version but offers the same music. We will be making enhancements to our updated version in the future to support the Firefox browser. If you want to take advantage of all the features in our updated design now, please get the latest version of Internet Explorer.

Of course, since Firefox is my browser of choice, I fell back on IE Tab.

No Mac or Linux support for their download app; in fact, Linux isn’t even mentioned, and for Mac their site says: "At this time, it isn’t possible to shop and download songs directly from
Wal-Mart Music Downloads to a Macintosh computer. However, you can transfer the MP3 files from a Windows computer to a Macintosh using a CD or other storage device."

How convenient for end users!

Emergency Text Message Alerts Approved by Regulators

2008-04-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

This isn’t a new idea (for example, China used text messages to warn citizens about Typhoon Kaemi in 2006), nor is the wrangling around it in the U.S. new, but on Wednesday an “emergency alert via SMS” plan finally received approval by regulators.

The discussion so far was prompted by the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law which requires upgrades to the emergency alert system.

Participation by carriers will be voluntary (I would expect them all to provide the service), as will participation by consumers, who will be able to opt-out.

The types of messages provided fall into three categories:

National Alert: from the President, probably involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Imminent Threats: natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes or events such as university shootings.

Amber Alerts

According to reports, the alerts would arrive with a unique “audio signature.”

Nice to see us finally catch up with China!

The Top 10 Online Scams

2008-04-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

1. The Nigerian scam, also known as 419
Most of you have received an email from a member of a Nigerian family with wealth. It is a desperate cry for help in getting a very large sum of money out of the country. A common variation is a woman in Africa who claimed that her husband had died, and that she wanted to leave millions of dollars of his estate to a good church. In every variation, the scammer is promising obscenely large payments for small unskilled tasks. This scam, like most scams, is too good to be true. Yet people still fall for this money transfer con game. They will use your emotions and willingness to help against you. They will promise you a large cut of their business or family fortune.

2. Advanced fees paid for a guaranteed loan or credit card
If you are thinking about applying for a “pre-approved” loan or a credit card that charges an up-front fee, ask yourself: “why would a bank do that?” These scams are obvious to people who take time to scrutinize the offer. Remember: reputable credit card companies do charge an annual fee but it is applied to the balance of the card, never at the sign-up. Furthermore, if you legitimately clear your credit balance each month, a legitimate bank will often wave the annual fee. As for these incredible, pre-approved loans for a half-a-million dollar homes: use your common sense. These people do not know you or your credit situation, yet they are willing to offer massive credit limits. Sadly, a percentage of all the recipients of their “amazing” offer will take the bait and pay the up-front fee. If only one in every thousand people fall for this scam, the scammers still win several hundred dollars. Alas, far too many victims, pressured by financial problems, willingly step into this con man’s trap. Most of us dream of hitting it big, quitting our jobs and retiring while still young enough to enjoy the fine things in life. Chances are you will receive at least one intriguing email from someone saying that you did indeed win a huge amount of money. The visions of a dream home, fabulous vacation, or other expensive goodies you could now afford with ease, could make you forget that you have never ever entered this lottery in the first place.

3. Lottery scams
This scam will usually come in the form of a conventional email message. It will inform you that you won millions of dollars and congratulate you repeatedly. The catch: before you can collect your “winnings”, you must pay the “processing” fee of several thousands of dollars.
Stop! The moment the bad guys cash your money order, you lose. Once you realize you have been suckered into paying $3000 to a con man, they are long gone with your money. Do not fall for this lottery scam.

4. Phishing emails and phony web pages
This is the most widespread Internet and email scam today. It is the modern day “sting” con game. “Phishing” is where digital thieves lure you into divulging your password info through convincing emails and web pages. These phishing emails and web pages resemble legitimate credit authorities like Citibank, eBay, or PayPal. They frighten or entice you into visiting a phony web page and entering your ID and password. Commonly, the guise is an urgent need to “confirm your identity”. They will even offer you a story of how your account has been attacked by hackers to lure you into entering your confidential information. The email message will require you to click on a link. But instead of leading you to the real login https: site, the link will secretly redirect you to a fake website. You then innocently enter your ID and password. This information is intercepted by the scammers, who later access your account and fleece you for several hundred dollars. This phishing con , like all cons, depends on people believing the legitimacy of their emails and web pages. Because it was born out of hacking techniques, “fishing” is stylistically spelled “phishing” by hackers. Tip: the beginning of the link address should have https://. Phishing fakes will just have http:// (no “s”). If still in doubt, make a phone call to the financial institution to verify if the email is legit. In the meantime, if an email seems suspicious to you, do not trust it. Being skeptical could save you hundreds of lost dollars.

5. Items for sale overpayment scam
This one involves an item you might have listed for sale such as a car, truck or some other expensive item. The scammer finds your ad and sends you an email offering to pay much more than your asking price. The reason for overpayment is supposedly related to the international fees to ship the car overseas. In return, you are to send him the car and the cash for the difference. The money order you receive looks real so you deposit it into your account. In a couple of days (or the time it takes to clear) your bank informs you the money order was fake and demands you pay that amount back immediately. In most documented versions of this money order scam, the money order was indeed an authentic document, but it was never authorized by the bank it was stolen from. In the case of cashier’s checks, it is usually a convincing forgery. You have now lost the car, the cash you sent with the car, and you owe a hefty sum of money to your bank to cover for the bad money order or the fake cashier’s check.

6. Employment search overpayment scam
You have posted your resume, with at least some personal data accessible by potential employers, on a legitimate employment site. You receive a job offer to become a “financial representative” of an overseas company you have never even heard of before. The reason they want to hire you is that this company has problems accepting money from US customers and they need you to handle those payments. You will be paid 5 to 15 percent commission per transaction. If you apply, you will provide the scammer with your personal data, such as bank account information, so you can “get paid”. Instead, you will experience some, or all, of the following: identity theft, money stolen from your account, or may receive fake checks or money orders for payments which you deposit into your account but must send 85 – 95 percent of that to your “employer”. Soon you will owe much money to your bank!

7. Disaster Relief Scams
What do 9-11, Tsunami and Katrina have in common? These are all disasters, tragic events where people die, lose their loved ones, or everything they have. In times like these, good people pull together to help the survivors in any way they can, including online donations. Scammers set up fake charity websites and steal the money donated to the victims of disasters.
If your request for donation came via email, there is a chance of it being a phishing attempt. Do not click on the link in the email and volunteer your bank account or credit card information.
Your best bet is to contact the recognized charitable organization directly by phone or their website.

8. Travel scams
These scams are most active during the summer months. You receive an email with the offer to get amazingly low fares to some exotic destination but you must book it today or the offer expires that evening. If you call, you’ll find out the travel is free but the hotel rates are highly overpriced. Some can offer you rock-bottom prices but hide certain high fees until you “sign on the dotted line”. Others, in order to give you the “free” something, will make you sit through a timeshare pitch at the destination. Still others can just take your money and deliver nothing.
Also, getting your refund, should you decide to cancel, is usually a lost cause, often called a nightmare or mission-impossible. Your best strategy is to book your trip in person, through a reputable travel agency or proven legitimate online service like Travelocity or Expedia.

9. “Make Money Fast” chain emails
A classic pyramid scheme: you get an email with a list of names, you are asked to send 5 dollars (or so) by mail to the person whose name is at the top of the list, add your own name to the bottom, and forward the updated list to a number of other people. The author of this scam letter painstakingly explains that, if more and more people join this chain, when it’s your turn to receive the money, you might even become a millionaire! Bear in mind that, most times, the list of names is manipulated to keep the top name (the creator of the scam, or his friends) on top, permanently. As with the previously circulating snail-mail version of this chain, the email edition is just as illegal. Should you choose to participate, you risk being charged with fraud – definitely not something you want on your record, or resume.

10. “Turn Your Computer Into a Money-Making Machine!”
Although not a full blown scam, this scheme works as follows: You send someone money for instructions on where to go and what to download and install on your computer to turn it into a money-making machine… for spammers. At sign-up, you get a unique ID and you have to give them your PayPal account information for the “big money” deposits you’ll “soon” be receiving. The program that you are supposed to run, sometimes 24/7, opens multiple ad windows, repeatedly, thus generating per-click revenue for spammers. In other scenario, your ID is limited to a certain number of page clicks per day. In order to make any money whatsoever from this scheme, you are pretty much forced to scam the spammers by hiding your real IP address with Internet proxy services such as “findnot”, so you can make more page clicks.

Why Use Linux? Common Linux Myth's Busted!

2008-04-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

The other day I got into a somewhat heated discussion about why Linux is a viable alternative desktop OS. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to move the other side past the rhetoric and myths that seem to surround Linux. It is because of this discussion that I am writing this…as a way to give accurate information. Let’s start by looking at some of the most common myths.

Myth 1: “Linux is hard to install”
This could not be any further from the truth. Many Linux Distributions are as easy, if not easier, to install as Windows. Ubuntu, Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS are three of the most popular. The install is nothing more than a few mouse clicks and basic options like timezone, language and name. All these are explained well and you need to provide the same information when installing ANY operating system.

Myth 2: “Linux does not recognize my hardware”
Like all Operating Systems, Linux requires “drivers” in order to use a piece of hardware like a sound card or modem, etc. Also like other OSs, if your system is cutting edge with the latest and greatest, there may be challenges at first. This doesn’t happen with Microsoft Windows? A year after it’s release, Windows VISTA is still suffering from poor driver support! The fact is, if your system is 6 months old, hardware support is usually a non-issue.

Myth 3: “Linux is too complicated to use”
In what way? It has a graphical interface with a mouse and windows. It has an auto-updater to keep things current. It has software add/remove capabilities that allow you to insall programs with a couple mouse clicks. It even has many apps found in Windows and Mac OS X like Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin, Audacity, etc. It’s as easy as Windows…just different. Let’s put it this way, if all you ever knew was Linux and you decided to try Windows for the first time, I’m sure you would find Windows complicated and hard to use too.

Myth 4: “There are no applications available”
One of the points thrown at me during my discussion went something like, “Walk into a computer store and try to find a single Linux app on the shelf…you won’t find any”. Until now I’m not sure what that had to do with anything. There are many thousands of applications available, for free, and are readily available for download. Many Linux distros even come with a point and click interface to download and install these apps without effort. To say there are no applications available is not only a myth but a flat out lie.
Some reasons to use Linux

There are many more “myths” hanging over Linux, but those were some of the more common ones. Let’s now look at a few reasons why one should consider Linux.

Reason 1: Security
Viruses are less of a threat on Linux. The very way a Linux system is designed makes it very difficult for a virus to function as it does in Windows. This also applies to spyware, malware, etc. The fact that almost no viruses are written for Linux also adds a nicer sense of warmth. Wouldn’t be nice to read the almost endless stream of security holes in Windows and know it does not apply to you?

Reason 2: Updatability
Linux is in a constant state of development and improvement by professional and semi-professional developers who donate their time and skills to the various projects. In addition, the majority of the system and available applications are Open source, so if you wish and you had the ability, you could add any feature you needed. Linux also has the ability to expand the life of many systems as it’s reduced overhead and need for system resources means that it will run great on older machines.

Reason 3: Support
Yes, support. As hard as it is to accept, you can easily get support when you do run into difficulties. In addition to the plethora of online forms, both independant and those provided by the distro supplier, there are also more and more 3rd party service providers that offer service contracts for Linux systems. Good to have in a corporate/business environment. There is also support offered by more and more traditional Technology names such as Dell, IBM, Novell, Sun and others. And finally, for support a little closer to home, most major cities have Linux User Groups that can and do offer help and advice. Help and Support IS available and does not usually mean spending hours on hold to speak to someone in a call center on the other side of the planet.

Reason 4: Self-improvement
Personally, this is one of the most important reasons why I switched. Linux gave me the chance to learn new skills, gain deeper insights into how computers work and provided an excellent platform to develop on. Some people may be satisfied with going through life with blinders on and living the “status-quo”. For those that enjoy the how/what/why of life, Linux is an excellent choice.

Reason 5: Cost
Most people would put this at the top of the list. For me, cost is one of the least important reasons to switch to Linux. However, the cost advantage of Linux is huge. In a nutshell, you get the complete OS, thousands upon thousands of applications AND support for the grand total price of….$0! We’re not talking a watered down, feature deprived OS either…we’re talking a full-blown, complete, enterprise ready OS…for free. “But my time is worth something and the extra effort needed with Linux cost me money.”, alright…and how much does it cost you when Windows bluescreens in the middle of editing a large report that hasn’t been saved? Or how about when a virus or spyware prevents you from even using your system…probably costs you a lot.

So you see, you are going to hear a lot about why you should not use Linux, and they are going to give you many reasons why you shouldn’t…just very few good reasons.
If you are interested in trying Linux, I would recommend Ubuntu, Linux Mint or PCLinuxOS. Download their LiveCDs. Booting to a LiveCD allows you to try and use a complete Linux environment without making any changes to your hard drive. Once down, just reboot and go back into windows as normal.