Google Inc. is running an experiment of sorts to follow the swine flu’s path through Mexico. The company is trying to compile information from swine flu-related Google searches in Mexico to map out how the disease is spreading through the country. The Mexican effort is based on Google Flu Trends which the company launched last [...]
Archive for April, 2009
Research could instantly wake shut-down laptops
Researchers have developed a technology that could allow laptops to wake up instantly from a shut-down state without draining battery life the way sleep states do. University researchers have built ferroelectric material – commonly found on smartcards – on silicon, which could allow certain transistors to retain information after power is shut off. Scientists from [...]
Amazon to offer free cloud services to academics
Amazon is inviting students, educators and researchers to apply for grants that will give them free access to the company’s hosted computing services. The company expects to dole out up to US$1 million per year worth of services, depending on the quality of the applications, it said. Amazon has already made the offer to a [...]
Swedish factory fined $3,000 for robot attack
ROTM Evil geniuses take note: a near-fatal robot attack only costs an organization about $3,000 in Sweden these days. Swede online rag The Local has reported that a factory north of Stockholm has been fined 25,000 kronor (£2,100) after a malfunctioning bot nearly killed one of its workers. The robo-assault reportedly took place in 2007, [...]
Qld picks driver’s licence suppliers
Queensland Transport (QT) has selected two more core technology suppliers for the state’s chip-embedded drivers’ licences, which will use public key infrastructure (PKI) to encrypt drivers’ biometric information. Unisys, Leigh Mardon Australasia and Placard (whose involvement was revealed in January) will now commence supplying the technology, which will see the state’s 3 million conventional cards [...]
Google, NetApp Australia’s best employers
After its parent topped a 100 Best Places To Work survey in the US, Google Australia has claimed the No 1 spot in a similar Australian poll, with storage giant NetApp coming second. Google’s Sydney HQ, under construction in 2008 (Credit: Renai LeMay/ZDNet.com.au) BRW, which conducted the study, said Google had created a legendary corporate [...]
Building business applications with Silverlight 3
Mix09: Building Amazing Business Applications with Silverlight 3 Link
Europe funds secure operating system research
Money will ensure five more years of research into developing the Minux operating system A Dutch university has landed a European Research Council grant to continue work on a Unix-type operating system that aims to be more reliable and secure than Linux or Microsoft Windows. The EUR2.5 million (US$3.3 million) grant will fund three researchers [...]
McAfee launches service for cybercrime victims
The Web site is a first stop for people who want to take action after a cybercrime McAfee has launched a new Web site designed to help cybercrime victims recover from hacker attacks. The company bills its Cybercrime Response Unit as a kind of “online 911″ where consumers and small-business owners can figure out whether [...]