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Whats New / Re: Whats this all about then?
« on: January 19, 2012, 12:13:30 pm »
Indeed! Hence the fact i havn't used this site in over a month! It even got taken offline due to lack of use!!!
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2
World News / NASA Spots Possible Earth 'Twin' 600 Light-Years Away
« on: December 07, 2011, 09:20:53 am »
NASA's Kepler mission on Monday confirmed the discovery of a small planet 600 light-years away from Earth in the "habitable zone" of a star not unlike our own sun.
About 2.4 times the size of Earth, the newly confirmed planet -- called "Kepler-22b" -- is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone, or the region where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface.
This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The diagram shows an artist's rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles the sun. Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech
Though scientists don't yet know if Kepler-22b is primarily rocky, gaseous or liquid in composition, its discovery is a step closer to finding planets similar to Earth.
"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA.
Of 54 habitable-zone planet candidates reported in Feb. 2011, Kepler-22b is the first to be confirmed. The discovery will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.
A 290-Day Orbit
While Kepler-22b is larger than Earth, its orbit of 290 days around a sun-like star is much like that of our own world. Though it is smaller and cooler, the planet's host star also belongs to the same class -- dubbed "G-type" -- as our sun.
To discover such planets and planet candidates, Kepler measures dips in the brightness of more than 150,000 stars as indications of planets crossing in front of them. At least three such "transits" are required to verify that a signal is a planet.
A variety of instruments are used to review and verify observations made by the Kepler spacecraft, including ground-based telescopes and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Making that task more difficult, Kepler observes a star field in the constellations Cygnus and Lyra that can only be seen from ground-based observatories between spring and early fall.
More Than 1,000 New Candidates
"Fortune smiled upon us with the detection of this planet," said William Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Center, who led the team that discovered Kepler-22b.
"The first transit was captured just three days after we declared the spacecraft operationally ready," Borucki added. "We witnessed the defining third transit over the 2010 holiday season."
Kepler has also discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Included among those are 10 that are close to Earth's size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star, but follow-up observations will be necessary to determine whether they are true planets.
'A Crucial Step'
"The discovery that the planet Kepler-22b is in the habitable zone around a sun-like star is a crucial step towards discovering life outside the solar system," Mario Livio, a senior astrophysicist with the Space Telescope Science Institute, told TechNewsWorld.
While the fact that liquid water can exist on the surface of the planet "does not necessarily mean that there is life there, we think that liquid water is a NECESSARY ingredient for life," Livio explained.
Planets discovered by Kepler "are not the easiest targets for follow-up observations because of their distance," he added. Still, "they provide the important information that these planets do exist, and with time, they will provide us with information about the frequency of such planets."
Future telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope and its successors, will attempt to identify "biosignatures" in the atmospheres of these planets, Livio noted.
'We Couldn't Get There'
The discovery is an interesting one, but even if Kepler-22b does turn out to be habitable, it likely won't have any practical implications for humans anytime soon, Paul Czysz, a professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at St. Louis University, told TechNewsWorld.
"We couldn't get there if we had to," Czysz said.
The star system closest to Earth, Alpha Centauri, is just over four light-years away from Earth, he pointed out, meaning that it would take more than four years to travel there at the speed of light, or 40 years at one-tenth of the speed of light.
'We're Isolated'
We can't yet even come close to speeds of one-tenth of the speed of light, however, making the prospect of trying to travel the 600 light-years to Kepler-22b completely prohibitive, Czysz said.
Humans also haven't yet come up with a transmitter than can send a signal that far, Czysz added, making any prospect of trying to send a message in case there's life on Kepler-22b equally bleak.
"As it stands right now," he concluded, "we're isolated.
About 2.4 times the size of Earth, the newly confirmed planet -- called "Kepler-22b" -- is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone, or the region where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface.
This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The diagram shows an artist's rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles the sun. Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech
Though scientists don't yet know if Kepler-22b is primarily rocky, gaseous or liquid in composition, its discovery is a step closer to finding planets similar to Earth.
"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA.
Of 54 habitable-zone planet candidates reported in Feb. 2011, Kepler-22b is the first to be confirmed. The discovery will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.
A 290-Day Orbit
While Kepler-22b is larger than Earth, its orbit of 290 days around a sun-like star is much like that of our own world. Though it is smaller and cooler, the planet's host star also belongs to the same class -- dubbed "G-type" -- as our sun.
To discover such planets and planet candidates, Kepler measures dips in the brightness of more than 150,000 stars as indications of planets crossing in front of them. At least three such "transits" are required to verify that a signal is a planet.
A variety of instruments are used to review and verify observations made by the Kepler spacecraft, including ground-based telescopes and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Making that task more difficult, Kepler observes a star field in the constellations Cygnus and Lyra that can only be seen from ground-based observatories between spring and early fall.
More Than 1,000 New Candidates
"Fortune smiled upon us with the detection of this planet," said William Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Center, who led the team that discovered Kepler-22b.
"The first transit was captured just three days after we declared the spacecraft operationally ready," Borucki added. "We witnessed the defining third transit over the 2010 holiday season."
Kepler has also discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Included among those are 10 that are close to Earth's size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star, but follow-up observations will be necessary to determine whether they are true planets.
'A Crucial Step'
"The discovery that the planet Kepler-22b is in the habitable zone around a sun-like star is a crucial step towards discovering life outside the solar system," Mario Livio, a senior astrophysicist with the Space Telescope Science Institute, told TechNewsWorld.
While the fact that liquid water can exist on the surface of the planet "does not necessarily mean that there is life there, we think that liquid water is a NECESSARY ingredient for life," Livio explained.
Planets discovered by Kepler "are not the easiest targets for follow-up observations because of their distance," he added. Still, "they provide the important information that these planets do exist, and with time, they will provide us with information about the frequency of such planets."
Future telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope and its successors, will attempt to identify "biosignatures" in the atmospheres of these planets, Livio noted.
'We Couldn't Get There'
The discovery is an interesting one, but even if Kepler-22b does turn out to be habitable, it likely won't have any practical implications for humans anytime soon, Paul Czysz, a professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at St. Louis University, told TechNewsWorld.
"We couldn't get there if we had to," Czysz said.
The star system closest to Earth, Alpha Centauri, is just over four light-years away from Earth, he pointed out, meaning that it would take more than four years to travel there at the speed of light, or 40 years at one-tenth of the speed of light.
'We're Isolated'
We can't yet even come close to speeds of one-tenth of the speed of light, however, making the prospect of trying to travel the 600 light-years to Kepler-22b completely prohibitive, Czysz said.
Humans also haven't yet come up with a transmitter than can send a signal that far, Czysz added, making any prospect of trying to send a message in case there's life on Kepler-22b equally bleak.
"As it stands right now," he concluded, "we're isolated.
3
World News / X-Factor Winner 2011
« on: December 07, 2011, 09:14:44 am »Eagle-eyed X Factor fans spotted the item 'Amelia Lily X Factor 2011 Winners single' in HMV's online music section yesterday, with searches for winner's singles by her fellow finalists Little Mix and Marcus Collins producing no results.
However X Factor chiefs have strenuously denied that HMV have any kind of inside knowledge about the upcoming final, or that the winner of this year's competition has already been decided.
Caren Davis, head of publicity for The X Factor, said: 'This is absolutely nothing to do with The X Factor, HMV have admitted this was due to a technical error on their site.
A source close to the talent show admitted that show bosses were 'very annoyed' about the error.
The X Factor final, taking place at Wembley Arena this weekend, is still open to a public vote, with the results not being counted until Sunday.
A screen grab of the Amelia Lily single made available by HMV (Picture: HMV.com)
.While all three finalists have recorded versions of the song, fans of the show were quick to make allegations of a fix on Twitter when the blunder appeared on HMV's website.
One user wrote: 'So considerate of HMV to tell me the #xfactor winner's single that I can pre-order
', while another predicted: 'Oh, awkward, HMV. Amelia Lily's 'Winner's Single' available for pre-order. Twitter going into meltdown in 3...2...1...'HMV.com crashed as shocked fans flocked to the site to see the item for themselves, but at time of writing it is now back up and running.
Responding to the incident, HMV spokeman Gennaro Castaldo said: 'It was just an error ? all three winner's singles will go up for pre-order, but we will only process the orders for the winner.
'All three are uploaded to the site, but whoever was loading them only did one so far and hadn't done the other two and not realised what a frenzy it would cause. There's no conspiracy or no insider knowledge'.
A statement was also later released on HMV's official Twitter feed, which read: 'HMV.com has been authorised to accept pre-orders for the X Factor winner's single recorded by each of the 3 finalists.
'However, these have been temporarily removed so that all three finalists? details can go up tomorrow morning.
'Once up, fans will be able to pre-order the single by their preferred finalist but only orders for the eventual winner's CD will be processed.'
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/884058-x-factor-fix-fears-played-down-as-hmv-apologises-for-amelia-lily-error#ixzz1fq3mucjT
6
Remixes / Guys and girls
« on: December 05, 2011, 08:04:10 pm »
Name a song and ill try and mix it! See what it comes out like!
7
Remixes / Swagger Jagger Remix - By me!
« on: December 05, 2011, 08:01:32 pm »
Original by Cher Lloyd
http://mattbatchelor.co.uk/music/swaggerjaggerremix.mp3
Hope this works!
And it was my First attempt!
http://mattbatchelor.co.uk/music/swaggerjaggerremix.mp3
Hope this works!
And it was my First attempt!
8
Technology / How do you setup a VPN at home?
« on: December 05, 2011, 08:58:47 am »
Whats required to setup your own VPN?
9
Whats New / Whats this all about then?
« on: November 23, 2011, 12:05:54 pm »
Sooo! Tell me what your blog is about?
10
World News / Shake-up of unfair dismissal rules to be considered
« on: November 23, 2011, 11:44:36 am »
Staff who work for small businesses could lose their right to claim unfair dismissal under plans being considered.
Ministers want views on whether firms with 10 or fewer employees should be able to sack staff without risk of a tribunal if they pay compensation.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said he wanted the process for getting rid of staff to be "simpler and quicker".
Unions oppose the idea. Labour called for measures to make it easier to hire people, rather than to fire them.
Announcing a consultation on changes to employment legislation, Mr Cable said he wanted to help firms expand without making existing staff feel insecure.
The key points include:
a "call for evidence" on whether "micro-firms" can dismiss staff without their agreement and without them being taken to a tribunal if they pay compensation
a consultation on "protected conversations", which would allow employers to have frank discussions about poor performance with workers without fear that they could be used as evidence in a tribunal
a "call for evidence" on the length of time required for a consultation period on planned redundancies. It is currently 90 days, but the government is considering reducing that to 30
a requirement for all claims to go to the conciliation service Acas before reaching employment tribunal
options for a "rapid resolution scheme" for more simple cases to be settled within three months
The business secretary also confirmed plans to make people work two years before they can make a claim for unfair dismissal from April - up from one year at present.
Mr Cable said the proposals would not erode workers' rights but would cut "unnecessary bureaucracy" and reduce the number of cases going to employment tribunal, which have risen 40% in the past three years.
In a speech to the manufacturers organisation EEF, he said he wanted a "radical slimming down of the existing dismissal process" which would help firms grow but protect individual rights.
Ahead of the speech, he told the BBC that he was not encouraging a "hire and fire" culture, saying that would be "unhelpful" in the difficult economic climate.
But he added: "We want to create an environment in which entrepreneurs want to start businesses, expand, take on staff and feel confident that they can do that and, if they run into difficulties with a particular employee, they can have a conversation with them without worrying they are going to be taken to a tribunal."
A recent government-commissioned report suggested that unproductive workers, should lose their right to claim unfair dismissal.
The Lib Dems were reported to have rejected these proposals from the businessman and Conservative donor Adrian Beecroft, believing they would not help the labour market at a difficult time for the economy.
Business group the CBI welcomed the overall strategy and called for it to be implemented quickly.
Continue reading the main story
?
Start Quote
This will just sweep abuse under the carpet?
End Quote
Paul Kenny
GMB union
Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Mandatory Acas involvement and new claimant fees will make the system fairer by ensuring that baseless claims are weeded out, and the pressure to settle is reduced.
"The proposal to investigate a fast-track scheme for simple claims could also help.
"Once these reforms are in place, firms won't have to waste time and money and can focus on running their business and delivering growth instead. It will also mean that genuine grievances get a better hearing."
But Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said the agenda was "being driven by the CBI, who want the balance of power in the workplace tilted even more against the ordinary worker".
"These changes will make it harder for hundreds of thousands of workers to bring cases of victimisation, unfairness and bullying at work," he said.
'Retrograde step'
"This will just sweep abuse under the carpet."
Mr Kenny also said a plan to require only one judge to preside over unfair dismissal cases was "retrograde" as it would remove "the voice of business and the shop floor" from proceedings.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour agreed the tribunal system needed reform.
But he said: "Watering down people's rights at work by doubling the service requirement to claim for unfair dismissal from one to two years is not a substitute for a credible plan for growth.
"Instead of seeking to make it easier to fire people the government should be looking to make it easier to hire people at a time when their reckless economic policies have pushed up unemployment to a 17-year high."
Some 218,000 claims were received by employment tribunals last year.
Source: BBC News
Ministers want views on whether firms with 10 or fewer employees should be able to sack staff without risk of a tribunal if they pay compensation.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said he wanted the process for getting rid of staff to be "simpler and quicker".
Unions oppose the idea. Labour called for measures to make it easier to hire people, rather than to fire them.
Announcing a consultation on changes to employment legislation, Mr Cable said he wanted to help firms expand without making existing staff feel insecure.
The key points include:
a "call for evidence" on whether "micro-firms" can dismiss staff without their agreement and without them being taken to a tribunal if they pay compensation
a consultation on "protected conversations", which would allow employers to have frank discussions about poor performance with workers without fear that they could be used as evidence in a tribunal
a "call for evidence" on the length of time required for a consultation period on planned redundancies. It is currently 90 days, but the government is considering reducing that to 30
a requirement for all claims to go to the conciliation service Acas before reaching employment tribunal
options for a "rapid resolution scheme" for more simple cases to be settled within three months
The business secretary also confirmed plans to make people work two years before they can make a claim for unfair dismissal from April - up from one year at present.
Mr Cable said the proposals would not erode workers' rights but would cut "unnecessary bureaucracy" and reduce the number of cases going to employment tribunal, which have risen 40% in the past three years.
In a speech to the manufacturers organisation EEF, he said he wanted a "radical slimming down of the existing dismissal process" which would help firms grow but protect individual rights.
Ahead of the speech, he told the BBC that he was not encouraging a "hire and fire" culture, saying that would be "unhelpful" in the difficult economic climate.
But he added: "We want to create an environment in which entrepreneurs want to start businesses, expand, take on staff and feel confident that they can do that and, if they run into difficulties with a particular employee, they can have a conversation with them without worrying they are going to be taken to a tribunal."
A recent government-commissioned report suggested that unproductive workers, should lose their right to claim unfair dismissal.
The Lib Dems were reported to have rejected these proposals from the businessman and Conservative donor Adrian Beecroft, believing they would not help the labour market at a difficult time for the economy.
Business group the CBI welcomed the overall strategy and called for it to be implemented quickly.
Continue reading the main story
?
Start Quote
This will just sweep abuse under the carpet?
End Quote
Paul Kenny
GMB union
Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Mandatory Acas involvement and new claimant fees will make the system fairer by ensuring that baseless claims are weeded out, and the pressure to settle is reduced.
"The proposal to investigate a fast-track scheme for simple claims could also help.
"Once these reforms are in place, firms won't have to waste time and money and can focus on running their business and delivering growth instead. It will also mean that genuine grievances get a better hearing."
But Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said the agenda was "being driven by the CBI, who want the balance of power in the workplace tilted even more against the ordinary worker".
"These changes will make it harder for hundreds of thousands of workers to bring cases of victimisation, unfairness and bullying at work," he said.
'Retrograde step'
"This will just sweep abuse under the carpet."
Mr Kenny also said a plan to require only one judge to preside over unfair dismissal cases was "retrograde" as it would remove "the voice of business and the shop floor" from proceedings.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour agreed the tribunal system needed reform.
But he said: "Watering down people's rights at work by doubling the service requirement to claim for unfair dismissal from one to two years is not a substitute for a credible plan for growth.
"Instead of seeking to make it easier to fire people the government should be looking to make it easier to hire people at a time when their reckless economic policies have pushed up unemployment to a 17-year high."
Some 218,000 claims were received by employment tribunals last year.
Source: BBC News
11
World News / UN human rights chief Navi Pillay condemns Cairo deaths
« on: November 23, 2011, 11:43:26 am »
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has condemned the "clearly excessive use of force" by Egypt's security forces during clashes with protesters.
Ms Pillay called for an independent inquiry into the death of at least 30 people since the weekend.
Critics of Egypt's ruling military council are still occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square despite its pledge of a speedier handover to civilian rule.
Street battles are continuing for a fifth day in the capital.
"I urge the Egyptian authorities to end the clearly excessive use of force against protesters in Tahrir square and elsewhere in the country, including the apparent improper use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition," Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
"Some of the images coming out of Tahrir, including the brutal beating of already subdued protesters, are deeply shocking," she added.
"There should be a prompt, impartial and independent investigation, and accountability for those found responsible for the abuses that have taken place should be ensured," Ms Pillay said.
Wednesday's street battles in Cairo are focusing on the interior ministry building, near Tahrir Square.
Security forces have been using tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
There have also been clashes in several Egyptian cities including Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and Aswan.
'Mubarak copy pasted'
The unrest continued despite the promise of a speedier transition to civilian rule by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).
He said presidential elections would be held by July 2012 - the council had previously said they might not happen until late 2012 or 2013.
That move, coupled with a draft constitution produced earlier in the month that would exempt the military and its budget from civilian oversight, prompted the days of mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square that began on Friday.
In his address, Field Marshal Tantawi also confirmed that parliamentary elections scheduled to begin on 28 November would be held as planned.
The violence is the worst since a wave of street protests toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February, after three decades in power.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that when the army first took over, they had the trust of the overwhelming majority of ordinary Egyptians - but now the protesters want them to hand over power immediately.
After Field Marshal Tantawi spoke, protesters in Tahrir Square chanted: "We are not leaving, he (Tantawi) leaves."
One protester told AFP news agency: "Tantawi is Mubarak, copy pasted. He's Mubarak in a military uniform."
Source: BBC News
Ms Pillay called for an independent inquiry into the death of at least 30 people since the weekend.
Critics of Egypt's ruling military council are still occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square despite its pledge of a speedier handover to civilian rule.
Street battles are continuing for a fifth day in the capital.
"I urge the Egyptian authorities to end the clearly excessive use of force against protesters in Tahrir square and elsewhere in the country, including the apparent improper use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition," Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
"Some of the images coming out of Tahrir, including the brutal beating of already subdued protesters, are deeply shocking," she added.
"There should be a prompt, impartial and independent investigation, and accountability for those found responsible for the abuses that have taken place should be ensured," Ms Pillay said.
Wednesday's street battles in Cairo are focusing on the interior ministry building, near Tahrir Square.
Security forces have been using tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
There have also been clashes in several Egyptian cities including Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and Aswan.
'Mubarak copy pasted'
The unrest continued despite the promise of a speedier transition to civilian rule by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).
He said presidential elections would be held by July 2012 - the council had previously said they might not happen until late 2012 or 2013.
That move, coupled with a draft constitution produced earlier in the month that would exempt the military and its budget from civilian oversight, prompted the days of mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square that began on Friday.
In his address, Field Marshal Tantawi also confirmed that parliamentary elections scheduled to begin on 28 November would be held as planned.
The violence is the worst since a wave of street protests toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February, after three decades in power.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that when the army first took over, they had the trust of the overwhelming majority of ordinary Egyptians - but now the protesters want them to hand over power immediately.
After Field Marshal Tantawi spoke, protesters in Tahrir Square chanted: "We are not leaving, he (Tantawi) leaves."
One protester told AFP news agency: "Tantawi is Mubarak, copy pasted. He's Mubarak in a military uniform."
Source: BBC News
12
Technology / Long-lasting all-weather night-vision material unveiled
« on: November 23, 2011, 11:42:19 am »
A US-based team of scientists claims to have invented a material that releases over two weeks of night-vision light after just one minute's exposure to the sun.
The University of Georgia team says the near-infrared emitting substance could offer the military "secret" illumination at nighttime.
It says the all-weather material could also revolutionise diagnostic medicine.
The details are published in the latest issue of the Nature Materials journal.
The material combines the well-known near infrared-light emitter trivalent chromium ion with zinc gallogermanates - a complex oxide compound.
The chromium ions normally release all of their near infrared-light in the space of a few milliseconds after being exposed to "excitation light", such as sunlight.
However, the zinc and gallogermanates create a "labyrinth of traps" for the energy causing it to be released over an extended period of up to 360-hours.
Night-vision paint
The scientists tested this material in a variety of conditions and found it could be rapidly and repeatedly charged even if the day was cloudy, overcast or rainy.
The team said the phosphorescent substance did not need to be exposed to direct sunlight. It took on a charge in shadows, underwater or even submerged in a corrosive bleach solution. Fluorescent lights also activated the process.
Lead author, Zhengwei Pan, said the material could be added to ceramic discs or mixed into paints and inks by the army and others.
"The military and security services could use this for identification purposes - either to locate people or equipment in the night so that only people with night vision goggles could see them," Prof Pan told the BBC.
"We are also experimenting with nanoparticles of the substance to see if we can bind them to cancer cells to help researchers and doctors identify them."
Prof Pan said the substance could also help develop next-generation solar energy cells thanks to its efficiency at collecting and storing sunlight.
Source: BBC News
The University of Georgia team says the near-infrared emitting substance could offer the military "secret" illumination at nighttime.
It says the all-weather material could also revolutionise diagnostic medicine.
The details are published in the latest issue of the Nature Materials journal.
The material combines the well-known near infrared-light emitter trivalent chromium ion with zinc gallogermanates - a complex oxide compound.
The chromium ions normally release all of their near infrared-light in the space of a few milliseconds after being exposed to "excitation light", such as sunlight.
However, the zinc and gallogermanates create a "labyrinth of traps" for the energy causing it to be released over an extended period of up to 360-hours.
Night-vision paint
The scientists tested this material in a variety of conditions and found it could be rapidly and repeatedly charged even if the day was cloudy, overcast or rainy.
The team said the phosphorescent substance did not need to be exposed to direct sunlight. It took on a charge in shadows, underwater or even submerged in a corrosive bleach solution. Fluorescent lights also activated the process.
Lead author, Zhengwei Pan, said the material could be added to ceramic discs or mixed into paints and inks by the army and others.
"The military and security services could use this for identification purposes - either to locate people or equipment in the night so that only people with night vision goggles could see them," Prof Pan told the BBC.
"We are also experimenting with nanoparticles of the substance to see if we can bind them to cancer cells to help researchers and doctors identify them."
Prof Pan said the substance could also help develop next-generation solar energy cells thanks to its efficiency at collecting and storing sunlight.
Source: BBC News
13
Technology / Personal data 'lost by 132 councils'
« on: November 23, 2011, 11:41:14 am »
Private data has been lost by or stolen from UK local councils more than 1,000 times since 2008, a report says.
The data included details relating to children and vulnerable people in care, campaign group Big Brother Watch said.
Some 132 authorities said they had had a total of 1,035 cases of data loss or theft between 2008 and 2011.
The Information Commissioner said it was vital councils kept data secure. The Local Government Association for England and Wales declined to comment.
Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said the research - based on answers to freedom of information requests - showed a "shockingly lax attitude" to protection of confidential information by some councils.
Some 263 councils reported no losses, while a further 38 did not respond.
The report revealed that information about at least 3,100 children and young people was compromised in 118 cases.
Lost 'in street'
At least 244 laptops and portable computers, 98 memory sticks and 93 mobile devices went missing.
Only 55 incidents were reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and only nine people lost their jobs as a result, according to the councils which responded.
Buckinghamshire and Kent reported the most data loss incidents with 72 cases each, followed by Essex with 62 and Northamptonshire with 48.
Cases included scanned case notes belonging to Kent council being found on Facebook and an unencrypted memory stick containing childcare data lost on a Durham street.
In Birmingham, one lost USB stick included the names, addresses, contact details, tenancy type and ethnic origin of 64,000 tenants. In that case, the member of staff was suspended and later resigned.
Mr Pickles said: "This research highlights a shockingly lax attitude to protecting confidential information across nearly a third of councils.
"The fact that only a tiny fraction of staff have been dismissed brings into question how seriously managers take protecting the privacy of their service users and local residents.
"Despite having access to increasing amounts of data and being responsible for even more services, local authorities are simply not able to say our personal information is safe with them."
New powers
The ICO has called for new powers to carry out compulsory audits in the local government sector.
An ICO spokesman said: "It's vital that local authorities properly live up to their legal responsibility to keep personal data secure, particularly where it is sensitive information about children and young people.
"Our concern isn't just that councils have the right policies and procedures in place; it's about bringing about a culture among staff whereby everyone takes their responsibilities seriously and effective data handling becomes second nature.
"We're calling for powers to conduct compulsory audits in the local government sector and will this week submit a formal business case to the Ministry of Justice asking the government to give us such powers."
Local government minister Grant Shapps welcomed the report saying it "reinforces the need for steps to protect the privacy of law-abiding local residents".
In October, MPs on the justice select committee called for tougher personal data abuse laws, suggesting courts should have the power to jail people who breach the Data Protection Act.
Wource: BBC News
The data included details relating to children and vulnerable people in care, campaign group Big Brother Watch said.
Some 132 authorities said they had had a total of 1,035 cases of data loss or theft between 2008 and 2011.
The Information Commissioner said it was vital councils kept data secure. The Local Government Association for England and Wales declined to comment.
Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said the research - based on answers to freedom of information requests - showed a "shockingly lax attitude" to protection of confidential information by some councils.
Some 263 councils reported no losses, while a further 38 did not respond.
The report revealed that information about at least 3,100 children and young people was compromised in 118 cases.
Lost 'in street'
At least 244 laptops and portable computers, 98 memory sticks and 93 mobile devices went missing.
Only 55 incidents were reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and only nine people lost their jobs as a result, according to the councils which responded.
Buckinghamshire and Kent reported the most data loss incidents with 72 cases each, followed by Essex with 62 and Northamptonshire with 48.
Cases included scanned case notes belonging to Kent council being found on Facebook and an unencrypted memory stick containing childcare data lost on a Durham street.
In Birmingham, one lost USB stick included the names, addresses, contact details, tenancy type and ethnic origin of 64,000 tenants. In that case, the member of staff was suspended and later resigned.
Mr Pickles said: "This research highlights a shockingly lax attitude to protecting confidential information across nearly a third of councils.
"The fact that only a tiny fraction of staff have been dismissed brings into question how seriously managers take protecting the privacy of their service users and local residents.
"Despite having access to increasing amounts of data and being responsible for even more services, local authorities are simply not able to say our personal information is safe with them."
New powers
The ICO has called for new powers to carry out compulsory audits in the local government sector.
An ICO spokesman said: "It's vital that local authorities properly live up to their legal responsibility to keep personal data secure, particularly where it is sensitive information about children and young people.
"Our concern isn't just that councils have the right policies and procedures in place; it's about bringing about a culture among staff whereby everyone takes their responsibilities seriously and effective data handling becomes second nature.
"We're calling for powers to conduct compulsory audits in the local government sector and will this week submit a formal business case to the Ministry of Justice asking the government to give us such powers."
Local government minister Grant Shapps welcomed the report saying it "reinforces the need for steps to protect the privacy of law-abiding local residents".
In October, MPs on the justice select committee called for tougher personal data abuse laws, suggesting courts should have the power to jail people who breach the Data Protection Act.
Wource: BBC News
14
Technology / Facebook users average 3.74 degrees of separation
« on: November 23, 2011, 11:40:33 am »
There are on average 3.74 degrees of separation between any one Facebook user and another, a study suggests.
The number of degrees represents the number of people in a friendship chain, excluding the people at either end.
Or, as the authors put it: "When considering another person in the world, a friend of your friend knows a friend of their friend."
The study was carried out in May and involved all of the social network's active members.
Facebook defines a user as active if they have logged on at least once over the past 28 days.
Some journalists misreported the news claiming there were 4.74 degrees of separation. However, this confused the number of degrees with the distance - or hops - between each of the people on the friendship chain.
The authors of the report say that they "assume that 'degree of separation' is the same as 'distance minus one'".
Kevin Bacon
The experiment is the biggest test to date for an idea first proposed by the Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy in 1929.
He suggested there were six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.
The theory was made popular by a play, movie and later a trivia game in which players try to link the actor Kevin Bacon to another Hollywood star within six steps.
Testing that the hypothesis proved true for the wider population has long posed a challenge.
Deep data
A previous attempt by the psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s involved delivering a letter. Volunteers were asked to make sure it reached a specific person, but they were told to only pass it through personal acquaintances who already knew each other.
The problem was that this only involved a few hundred initial subjects, and there was no way to know that the routes the letters took were the most direct ones possible.
Facebook's data scientist Lars Backstrom was able to work with a much bigger data sample.
His social network had 721 million members at the time of the experiment - representing around 10% of the global population - with a total of 69 billion friendships between them.
Despite the vast quantity of data, Mr Backstrom and four researchers from the University of Milan were able to crunch the data using a 24-core computer with a 1 terabyte hard disk. They said the hardware cost no more than a couple of thousand pounds.
Celebrities' "Facebook Pages" were excluded and the test was carried out before the network introduced "Subscriptions", a feature designed to link users to other people they might be interested in, even if they are not acquaintances.
Stabilising
Facebook limits users to having 5,000 friends, but the median figure was far lower at just 100 contacts, or 0.000014% of Facebook's total membership.
Despite this relatively small number, the results showed 99.6% of all pairs of users were connected by five degrees of separation, and 92% were connected by four degrees.
On average, the distance between any two members was 3.74 degrees.
That was shorter than the average 4.28 degrees of separation registered by Facebook's 2008 membership, when the network was smaller.
However, the researchers say the average distance "appears now to be stabilising", suggesting that even if the other nine tenths of the world join Facebook, our degree of separation will not get much smaller.
Source: BBC News
The number of degrees represents the number of people in a friendship chain, excluding the people at either end.
Or, as the authors put it: "When considering another person in the world, a friend of your friend knows a friend of their friend."
The study was carried out in May and involved all of the social network's active members.
Facebook defines a user as active if they have logged on at least once over the past 28 days.
Some journalists misreported the news claiming there were 4.74 degrees of separation. However, this confused the number of degrees with the distance - or hops - between each of the people on the friendship chain.
The authors of the report say that they "assume that 'degree of separation' is the same as 'distance minus one'".
Kevin Bacon
The experiment is the biggest test to date for an idea first proposed by the Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy in 1929.
He suggested there were six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.
The theory was made popular by a play, movie and later a trivia game in which players try to link the actor Kevin Bacon to another Hollywood star within six steps.
Testing that the hypothesis proved true for the wider population has long posed a challenge.
Deep data
A previous attempt by the psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s involved delivering a letter. Volunteers were asked to make sure it reached a specific person, but they were told to only pass it through personal acquaintances who already knew each other.
The problem was that this only involved a few hundred initial subjects, and there was no way to know that the routes the letters took were the most direct ones possible.
Facebook's data scientist Lars Backstrom was able to work with a much bigger data sample.
His social network had 721 million members at the time of the experiment - representing around 10% of the global population - with a total of 69 billion friendships between them.
Despite the vast quantity of data, Mr Backstrom and four researchers from the University of Milan were able to crunch the data using a 24-core computer with a 1 terabyte hard disk. They said the hardware cost no more than a couple of thousand pounds.
Celebrities' "Facebook Pages" were excluded and the test was carried out before the network introduced "Subscriptions", a feature designed to link users to other people they might be interested in, even if they are not acquaintances.
Stabilising
Facebook limits users to having 5,000 friends, but the median figure was far lower at just 100 contacts, or 0.000014% of Facebook's total membership.
Despite this relatively small number, the results showed 99.6% of all pairs of users were connected by five degrees of separation, and 92% were connected by four degrees.
On average, the distance between any two members was 3.74 degrees.
That was shorter than the average 4.28 degrees of separation registered by Facebook's 2008 membership, when the network was smaller.
However, the researchers say the average distance "appears now to be stabilising", suggesting that even if the other nine tenths of the world join Facebook, our degree of separation will not get much smaller.
Source: BBC News
15
Technology / Secret net Tor asks users to sign up to cloud services
« on: November 23, 2011, 11:38:33 am »
People involved in a project to maintain a secret layer of the internet have turned to Amazon to add bandwidth to the service.
The Tor Project offers a channel for people wanting to route their online communications anonymously.
It has been used by activists to avoid censorship as well as those seeking anonymity for more nefarious reasons.
Use of Amazon's cloud service will make it harder for governments to track, experts say.
Onion router
Amazon's cloud service - dubbed EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) offers virtual computer capacity.
The Tor developers are calling on people to sign up to the service in order to run a bridge - a vital point of the secret network through which communications are routed.
"By setting up a bridge, you donate bandwidth to the Tor network and help improve the safety and speed at which users can access the internet," the Tor project developers said in a blog.
"Setting up a Tor bridge on Amazon EC2 is simple and will only take you a couple of minutes," it promised.
Users wishing to take part in the bridging project, need to be subscribed to the Amazon service.
It normally costs $30 (?19) a month. However, Amazon is currently offering a year's worth of free storage as part of a promotion, which Tor developers believe their users will qualify for.
Amachai Shulman, chief technology officer of data security firm Imperva believes that cloud services could have a big impact on Tor.
"It creates more places and better places to hide," he said.
"With cloud services it will be easier to create a substantial number of bridges. Amazon is hosting millions of applications and it will be difficult for governments to distinguish between normal access to Amazon's cloud and Tor access," he said.
Tor is short for The Onion Router, so named because of the multi-layered nature of the way it is run. It is also known as the dark net.
It has been in development since 2002 and works by separating the way communications are routed via the internet from the person sending them.
Data is sent through a complex network of 'relays' or bridges run by volunteers around the world. When someone receives data routed via Tor it appears to come from the last person in the relay rather than from the original sender.
Internet addresses are encrypted to add to anonymity.
Ugly face
The Tor Project has been praised for offering people living in repressive regimes an opportunity to communicate freely with others without fear of punishment. Activists have used it in Iran and Egypt.
But it is also used to distribute copyrighted content.
The people behind the Newzbin 2 website are suggesting its members use the network to continue sharing illegal downloads after BT blocked access to the site in the UK.
Tor is also used by people wanting to share images of child abuse. Hacktivist group Anonymous recently launched Operation Darknet which targets such abuse groups operating via the network.
"There is an ugly face to Tor," said Mr Shulman. "Studies suggest that most of the bandwidth is taken by pirated content."
While cloud services are unlikely to make Tor mainstream, the more bridges there are, the more anonymous the network becomes.
Imperva research estimates that there are currently "a few thousand" exit nodes on Tor - the points at which communications reveal themselves on the wider internet.
"There could be far more other nodes but it gives a sense of the size of the community," said Mr Shulman.
Access to Tor is not limited to fixed line communications.
Android users can access it via an application called Orbot and earlier this week Apple approved Covert Browser for iPad to be sold in its App Store, the first official iOS app that allows users to route their online communications through Tor.
Source: BBC News
The Tor Project offers a channel for people wanting to route their online communications anonymously.
It has been used by activists to avoid censorship as well as those seeking anonymity for more nefarious reasons.
Use of Amazon's cloud service will make it harder for governments to track, experts say.
Onion router
Amazon's cloud service - dubbed EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) offers virtual computer capacity.
The Tor developers are calling on people to sign up to the service in order to run a bridge - a vital point of the secret network through which communications are routed.
"By setting up a bridge, you donate bandwidth to the Tor network and help improve the safety and speed at which users can access the internet," the Tor project developers said in a blog.
"Setting up a Tor bridge on Amazon EC2 is simple and will only take you a couple of minutes," it promised.
Users wishing to take part in the bridging project, need to be subscribed to the Amazon service.
It normally costs $30 (?19) a month. However, Amazon is currently offering a year's worth of free storage as part of a promotion, which Tor developers believe their users will qualify for.
Amachai Shulman, chief technology officer of data security firm Imperva believes that cloud services could have a big impact on Tor.
"It creates more places and better places to hide," he said.
"With cloud services it will be easier to create a substantial number of bridges. Amazon is hosting millions of applications and it will be difficult for governments to distinguish between normal access to Amazon's cloud and Tor access," he said.
Tor is short for The Onion Router, so named because of the multi-layered nature of the way it is run. It is also known as the dark net.
It has been in development since 2002 and works by separating the way communications are routed via the internet from the person sending them.
Data is sent through a complex network of 'relays' or bridges run by volunteers around the world. When someone receives data routed via Tor it appears to come from the last person in the relay rather than from the original sender.
Internet addresses are encrypted to add to anonymity.
Ugly face
The Tor Project has been praised for offering people living in repressive regimes an opportunity to communicate freely with others without fear of punishment. Activists have used it in Iran and Egypt.
But it is also used to distribute copyrighted content.
The people behind the Newzbin 2 website are suggesting its members use the network to continue sharing illegal downloads after BT blocked access to the site in the UK.
Tor is also used by people wanting to share images of child abuse. Hacktivist group Anonymous recently launched Operation Darknet which targets such abuse groups operating via the network.
"There is an ugly face to Tor," said Mr Shulman. "Studies suggest that most of the bandwidth is taken by pirated content."
While cloud services are unlikely to make Tor mainstream, the more bridges there are, the more anonymous the network becomes.
Imperva research estimates that there are currently "a few thousand" exit nodes on Tor - the points at which communications reveal themselves on the wider internet.
"There could be far more other nodes but it gives a sense of the size of the community," said Mr Shulman.
Access to Tor is not limited to fixed line communications.
Android users can access it via an application called Orbot and earlier this week Apple approved Covert Browser for iPad to be sold in its App Store, the first official iOS app that allows users to route their online communications through Tor.
Source: BBC News