Wall St. Bears Claw Back Into the Black (Reuters)

Reuters - Short-sellers, Wall Street's dwindling\band of ultra-cynics, are seeing green again.


Carlyle Looks Toward Commercial Aerospace (Reuters)

Reuters - Private investment firm Carlyle Group,\which has a reputation for making well-timed and occasionally\controversial plays in the defense industry, has quietly placed\its bets on another part of the market.


Oil and Economy Cloud Stocks' Outlook (Reuters)

Reuters - Soaring crude prices plus worries\about the economy and the outlook for earnings are expected to\hang over the stock market next week during the depth of the\summer doldrums.


Iraq Halts Oil Exports from Main Southern Pipeline (Reuters)

Reuters - Authorities have halted oil export\flows from the main pipeline in southern Iraq after\intelligence showed a rebel militia could strike\infrastructure, an oil official said on Saturday.


Oil prices soar to all-time record, posing new menace to US economy (AFP)

AFP - Tearaway world oil prices, toppling records and straining wallets, present a new economic menace barely three months before the US presidential elections.


Stocks End Up, But Near Year Lows (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks ended slightly higher on Friday\but stayed near lows for the year as oil prices surged past  #36;46\a barrel, offsetting a positive outlook from computer maker\Dell Inc. (DELL.O)


Money Funds Fell in Latest Week (AP)

AP - Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds fell by  #36;1.17 billion in the latest week to  #36;849.98 trillion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.


Fed minutes show dissent over inflation (USATODAY.com)

USATODAY.com - Retail sales bounced back a bit in July, and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, the government said Thursday, indicating the economy is improving from a midsummer slump.


Safety Net (Forbes.com)

Forbes.com - After earning a PH.D. in Sociology, Danny Bazil Riley started to work as the general manager at a commercial real estate firm at an annual base salary of  #36;70,000. Soon after, a financial planner stopped by his desk to drop off brochures about insurance benefits available through his employer. But, at 32, "buying insurance was the furthest thing from my mind," says Riley.


Wall St. Bears Claw Back Into the Black

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Short-sellers, Wall Street's dwindling  band of ultra-cynics, are seeing green again.


Oil and Economy Cloud Stocks' Outlook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Soaring crude prices plus worries  about the economy and the outlook for earnings are expected to  hang over the stock market next week during the depth of the  summer doldrums.


No Need for OPEC to Pump More-Iran Gov

TEHRAN (Reuters) - OPEC can do nothing to douse scorching  oil prices when markets are already oversupplied by 2.8 million  barrels per day (bpd) of crude, Iran's OPEC governor said  Saturday, warning that prices could fall sharply.


Non-OPEC Nations Should Up Output-Purnomo

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Non-OPEC oil exporters should consider  increasing output to cool record crude prices, OPEC President  Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Sunday.


Google IPO Auction Off to Rocky Start

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The auction for Google  Inc.'s highly anticipated initial public offering got off to a  rocky start on Friday after the Web search company sidestepped  a bullet from U.S. securities regulators.


Dollar Falls Broadly on Record Trade Gap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar tumbled broadly on Friday  after data showing a record U.S. trade deficit in June cast  fresh doubts on the economy's recovery and its ability to draw  foreign capital to fund the growing gap.


Rescuing an Old Saver

If you think you may need to help your elderly relatives with their finances, don't be shy about having the money talk -- soon.


Kids Rule for Back-to-School

The purchasing power of kids is a big part of why the back-to-school season has become such a huge marketing phenomenon.


In a Down Market, Head Toward Value Funds

There is little cause for celebration in the stock market these days, but investors in value-focused mutual funds have reason to feel a bit smug -- if only because they've lost less than the folks who stuck with growth.


US trade deficit swells in June

The US trade deficit has exploded 19 to a record \$55.8bn as oil costs drove imports higher, according to a latest figures.


Shell 'could be target for Total'

Oil giant Shell could be bracing itself for a takeover attempt, possibly from French rival Total, a  press report claims.


Google IPO faces Playboy slip-up

The bidding gets underway for Google's public offering, despite last-minute worries over an interview with its bosses in Playboy magazine.


Eurozone economy keeps growing

Official figures show the 12-nation eurozone economy continues to grow, but there are warnings it may slow down later in the year.


Expansion slows in Japan

Economic growth in Japan slows down as the country experiences a drop in domestic and corporate spending.


Rand falls on shock SA rate cut

Interest rates are trimmed to 7.5 by the South African central bank,  but the lack of warning hits the rand and surprises markets.


Car prices down across the board

The cost of buying both new and second hand cars fell sharply over the past five years, a new survey has found.


South Korea lowers interest rates

South Korea's central bank cuts interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 3.5 in a bid to drive growth in the economy.


Google auction begins on Friday

An auction of shares in Google, the web search engine which could be floated for as much as \$36bn, takes place on Friday.


HP shares tumble on profit news

Hewlett-Packard shares fall after disappointing third-quarter profits, while the firm warns the final quarter will also fall short of expectations.


Mauritian textile firm cuts jobs

One of the oldest textile operators on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius last week shut seven factories and cut 900 jobs.


Chad seeks refugee aid from IMF

Chad asks the IMF for a loan to pay for looking after more than 100,000 refugees from conflict-torn Darfur in western Sudan.


Japan nuclear firm shuts plants

The company running the Japanese nuclear plant hit by a fatal accident is to close its reactors for safety checks.


Veteran inventor in market float

Trevor Baylis, the veteran inventor famous for creating the Freeplay clockwork radio, is planning to float his company on the stock market.


Saudi Arabia to open up oil taps

Saudi Arabia says it is ready to push an extra 1.3 million barrels a day of oil into the market, to help reverse surging prices.


Saudi phone sector gets \$1bn lift

A group led by the UAE's Etisalat plans to spend \$1bn (544m) on expansion after winning two mobile phone licences in Saudi Arabia.


Indians fill rail skills shortage

Network Rail flies in specialist Indian engineers to work on the West Coast Mainline because of a UK skills shortage.


Steady as they go

BEDFORD -- Scientists at NitroMed Inc. hope their experimental drugs will cure heart disease someday. But lately their focus has been on more mundane matters.


Google IPO: Type in 'confusing,' 'secrecy'

I've submitted my bid to buy shares of Google Inc. in the computer search company's giant auction-style initial public offering. That could turn out to be the good news or the bad news.


A bargain hunter's paradise

Massachusetts bargain hunters showed up in droves and shopped hard on yesterday's sales tax holiday, buying everything from treadmills and snow blowers to candles and chandeliers, and crediting the 5-percent tax break with bringing them into the stores.


Researchers seek to untangle the e-mail thread

E-mail is a victim of its own success. That's the conclusion of IBM Corp. researchers in Cambridge, who have spent nearly a decade conducting field tests at IBM and other companies about how employees work and use electronic mail. It's clear to them that e-mail has become the Internet's killer application.


Microsoft Corp. 2.0: a kinder corporate culture

Even a genius can mess up. Bill Gates was a brilliant technologist when he cofounded Microsoft , but as he guided it to greatness in both size and historical consequence, he blundered. He terrorized underlings with his temper and parceled out praise like Scrooge gave to charity. Only the lash inspired the necessary aggressiveness to beat the competition, he thought.


Letters

Target the abusers of legal weapons We can all share the outrage, expressed by columnist Steve Bailey (''Summer Sizzler, quot; Aug. 11), at the killings in the city's poor neighborhoods. But there's no need to share his ignorance. He argues for renewal of the so-called assault weapon ban, claiming that otherwise, ''UZIs and AK-47s could again be flooding the streets. quot; His ...


Somewhere between gleam and gloom

President Bush has been saying that the US economy has ''turned the corner. quot; Democratic presidential candidate Senator John F. Kerry, in the wake of this month's poor jobs report, quipped that it was more like a U-turn.


Technology company sues five ex-employees

A Marlborough-based technology company is suing five former employees, including three senior managers, for allegedly conspiring against their employer while working on opening a competing business.


Grant to aid Lynn Central Square

Central Square in Lynn should be looking a bit brighter. New sidewalks, curbs, fences, lights, landscaping, and road improvements are planned for the Gateway Artisan Block, a key area of the square, with \$830,000 in state grant money given to Lynn last week.


State grant to aid Lynn; Bank gives Salem \$10k


A New Legal Chapter for a 90's Flameout

A lawsuit against Gary Winnick, the former chief of Global Crossing, refocuses attention on what Mr. Winnick knew about his company's finances as it imploded.


Will Russia, the Oil Superpower, Flex Its Muscles?

Russia is again emerging as a superpower - but the reason has less to do with nuclear weapons than with oil.


Switching Titles, if Not Gears, at Dell

Kevin B. Rollins, the new chief executive of Dell, talks about Dell's transitory slip in customer service, and why he sees a broader technology recovery taking place.


For Sale: The Ultimate Status Symbol

With the country in need of cash and rich people dying to show off their wealth, Mr. Stein proposes a unique solution: having the government sell titles of nobility.


Quality Gets Swept Away

Quality Distribution is hammered after reporting a large loss for the second quarter.


Making Your Insurer Pay

If Hurricane Charley blows your house down, how can you make your insurance company pay?


Delightful Dell

The company's results show that it's not grim all over tech world. Just all of it that isn't Dell.


Chrysler's Bling King

After a tough year, Detroit's troubled carmaker is back -- thanks to a maverick designer and a car that is dazzling the hip-hop crowd


What's Cool In the Pool ... ... And Hot On the Deck

Americans are spending more on tricking out the places where they swim. Here's a look at the new wave of accessories


The Age of Doom

In 1993 six geeks had a digital nightmare that changed the culture. It's about to get far creepier


Hip Hop's Online Shop

Celebrity fashion is booming. These webpreneurs are bringing it to main street


Stoking the Steamroller

No other recording artist can channel American middle-class tastes quite like Chip Davis and his best-selling band


Coming to The Rescue

Got a unique problem? Not to worry: you can find a financial planner for every specialized need


The New Customers Are In Town

Today's customers are increasingly demanding, in Asia as elsewhere in the world.  Henry Astorga describes the complex reality faced by today's marketers, which includes much higher expectations than we have been used to.  Today's customers want performance, and they want it now!


Barrel of Monkeys, 2004 Edition: Notes on Philippine Elections

Well, it's election time in the Republic of the Philippines, and that means the monkeys are rolling around in those political barrels, having as much fun as they can while laughing their heads off at the strange goings-on that characterize a democratic process loosely based on the American model  but that de facto looks more like a Fellini movie crossed with a Tom and Jerry cartoon - column includes a useful election-year glossary!


Oldsmobile: The final parking lot

Why General Motors dropped the Oldsmobile. The four brand  paradoxes GM had to face - the name, the product, image re-positioning, and the consumer - all added up to a brand that had little hope of rebranding.


Not All Jobs Belong To The White Man: Asian Minorities, Affirmative Action, And The Quest For Parity At Work

Although a smattering of Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Indians, Thais, and others may crow about seeing their kind sitting in prominent positions in corporations and organizations in the USA, these accomplishments become mere cultural high-fives and ritualistic chest-thumping goaded and impishly patronized by 'mainstream society' - the milder and gentler term for the white-dominated populace.


Downhome Pinoy Blues, Intersecting Life Paths, and Heartbreak Songs

The Blues is alive and well in the Philippines, as evidenced by this appreciation of the Pinoy Blues band 'Lampano Alley', penned by columnist Clarence Henderson as a counterpoint to his usual economics, business, and culture fare.


The Real Time Modern Manila Blues: Bill Monroe Meets Muddy Waters in the Orient

Globalization does strange things to people. A day in the life of a Manila Philippines based business consultant - proving that you really CAN talk about Muddy Walters, bluegrass and work all on the same page...


Best Asian Tourism Destinations

The new APMF survey of the best Asian tourism destinations has just kicked off, but it's crowded at the top, with Chiang Mai in Thailand just leading from perennial favourites Hong Kong, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, and Bali in  Indonesia. Be one of the first to vote and let us know your reasons.


What are the best cities for business in Asia?

One of our new categories in the APMF Sense of Place survey is for best Asian business city. After a couple of days, Singapore leads the pack, followed by Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong. Enter your vote and comments and make your views count. More new categories include best city for livability, and best tourism destinations.


IT alligator tales

I grew up in New York, where giant alligators -- sometimes more ornately described as albino alligators -- were rumored to roam the citys sewer systems. According to legend, vacationers picked up the tiny crocodilians in Florida, brought them home to New York, and eventually flushed the little buggers when they grew too big for the local concrete jungle.


IT Myth 5: Most IT projects fail

Do most IT projects fail? Some point to the number of giant consultancies such as IBM Global Services, Capgemini, and Sapient, who feed off bad experiences encountered by enterprises. Sapient is a company founded on the realization that IT projects are not successful, says Sapient CTO Ben Gaucherin.


BEA grabs CA exec to head product group

BEA Systems Inc. has hired the Computer Associates International Inc. executive responsible for CA's Unicenter line of enterprise management software to head BEA's product development group.


Autodesk tackles project collaboration

Autodesk  this week unwrapped an updated version of its hosted project collaboration service targeted at the construction and manufacturing industries. Autodesk Buzzsaw lets multiple, dispersed project participants -- including building owners, developers, architects, construction teams, and facility managers -- share and manage data throughout the life of a project, according to Autodesk officials.


U.K.'s NHS taps Gartner to help plan \$9B IT overhaul

LONDON -- The U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) has tapped IT researcher Gartner Inc. to provide market intelligence services as the health organization forges ahead with a mammoth, 5 billion (\$9.2 billion) project to upgrade its information technology infrastructure.


Play Boys: Google IPO a Go Anyway

Even though Google's two founders gave an interview to Playboy magazine in the midst of its IPO filing, the SEC allowed the company's offering to go ahead. The boys filed the interview with the SEC and corrected mistakes in it.


More Big Boobs in Playboy

An interview with Google's co-founders due out in the current issue of Playboy may delay the company's IPO. Securities regulations restrict what executives can say while preparing to sell stock for the first time.


Dutch Firm Beats Apple to Punch

A music retailer from the Netherlands beats Apple by launching a download service in Europe's latest market battleground. Also: Movie industry wrests agreement from defunct company.... Microsoft challenges Photoshop   hellip;. and more.


HP to Buy Synstar

Hewlett-Packard will pay \$297 million for the British company. Also: TiVo goes all out to attract customers   hellip;. Sprint offers service guarantees for business wireless subscribers   hellip;. and more.


A Personal Operator From Verizon

Verizon plans to offer a service that would act as a virtual switchboard operator, letting customers stay in touch at all times. The program would send phone calls, voicemails and e-mails wherever customers designate. By Elisa Batista.


Paid Search Growth May Slow

A new Internet advertising forecast shows a slowdown in paid search listings in the next five years. Will the projection affect Google's prospects when it goes public?


Fark Sells Out. France Surrenders

Blogs are the hottest thing on the Net, but are they messing with traditional publishing principles? One of the most popular, Fark.com, is allegedly selling links. Is it the wave of the future? By Daniel Terdiman.


'Madden,' 'ESPN' Football Score in Different Ways (Reuters)

Reuters - Was absenteeism a little high\on Tuesday among the guys at the office? EA Sports would like\to think it was because "Madden NFL 2005" came out that day,\and some fans of the football simulation are rabid enough to\take a sick day to play it.


Group to Propose New High-Speed Wireless Format (Reuters)

Reuters - A group of technology companies\including Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN.N), STMicroelectronics\(STM.PA) and Broadcom Corp. (BRCM.O), on Thursday said they\will propose a new wireless networking standard up to 10 times\the speed of the current generation.


AOL to Sell Cheap PCs to Minorities and Seniors (Reuters)

Reuters - America Online on Thursday said it\plans to sell a low-priced PC targeting low-income and minority\households who agree to sign up for a year of dialup Internet\service.


Companies Approve New High-Capacity Disc Format (Reuters)

Reuters - A group of consumer electronics\makers said on Wednesday they approved the format for a new\generation of discs that can store five times the data of DVDs\at the same cost -- enough to put a full season of "The\Sopranos" on one disc.


Missing June Deals Slow to Return for Software Cos. (Reuters)

Reuters - The mystery of what went wrong for the\software industry in late June when sales stalled at more than\20 brand-name companies is not even close to being solved\although the third quarter is nearly halfway over.


Hacker Cracks Apple's Streaming Technology (AP)

AP - The Norwegian hacker famed for developing DVD encryption-cracking software has apparently struck again  #151; this time breaking the locks on Apple Computer Inc.'s wireless music streaming technology.


European Download Services Go Mobile (Reuters)

Reuters - The ability to download complete\tracks directly over cell-phone networks to mobile phones is\becoming a reality in Europe.


Open Source Apps Developer SugarCRM Releases Sugar.Sales 1.1 (TechWeb)

TechWeb - News - August 13, 2004


Oracle Sales Data Seen Being Released (Reuters)

Reuters - Oracle Corp. sales documents\detailing highly confidential information, such as which\companies receive discounts on Oracle's business software\products and the size of the discounts, are likely to be made\public, a federal judge said on Friday.


Sun's Looking Glass Provides 3D View (PC World)

PC World - Developers get early code for new operating system 'skin' still being crafted.


Apple to open second Japanese retail store this month (MacCentral)

MacCentral - Apple Computer Inc. will open its second Japanese retail store later this month in the western Japanese city of Osaka, it said Thursday.


Charley's Force Took Experts by Surprise (AP)

AP - Hurricane Charley's 145-mph force took forecasters by surprise and showed just how shaky a science it still is to predict a storm's intensity  #151; even with all the latest satellite and radar technology.


Science, Politics Collide in Election Year (AP)

AP - With more than 4,000 scientists, including 48 Nobel Prize winners, having signed a statement opposing the Bush administration's use of scientific advice, this election year is seeing a new development in the uneasy relationship between science and politics.


Building Dedicated to Columbia Astronauts (AP)

AP - A former dormitory converted to classrooms at the Pensacola Naval Air Station was dedicated Friday to two Columbia astronauts who were among the seven who died in the shuttle disaster Feb. 1, 2003.


Russian Cargo Craft Docks at Space Station (AP)

AP - A Russian cargo ship docked with the international space station Saturday, bringing food, water, fuel and other items to the two-man Russian-American crew, a space official said.


Bangkok's Canals Losing to Urban Sprawl (AP)

AP - Along the banks of the canal, women in rowboats grill fish and sell fresh bananas. Families eat on floating pavilions, rocked gently by waves from passing boats.


T. Rex Had Teen Growth Spurt, Scientists Say (Reuters)

Reuters - Tyrannosaurus Rex grew incredibly fast\during a teenaged growth spurt that saw the dinosaur expand its\bulk by six times, but the fearsome beasts "lived fast and died\young," researchers said on Wednesday.


Gene Blocker Turns Monkeys Into Workaholics - Study (Reuters)

Reuters - Procrastinating monkeys were turned\into workaholics using a gene treatment to block a key brain\compound, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.


Dolphins Too Have Born Socialites (Reuters)

Reuters - Some people are born to be the life and\soul of the party -- and so it seems are some dolphins.


What's in a Name? Well, Matt Is Sexier Than Paul (Reuters)

Reuters - As Shakespeare said, a rose by any other\name would smell as sweet. Right?


UK Scientists Allowed to Clone Human Embryos (Reuters)

Reuters - British scientists said on Wednesday\they had received permission to clone human embryos for medical\research, in what they believe to be the first such license to\be granted in Europe.


Russian Alien Spaceship Claims Raise Eyebrows, Skepticism (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - An expedition of Russian researchers claims to have found evidence that an \  alien spaceship had something to do with a huge explosion over Siberia in 1908. \  Experts in asteroids and comets have long said the massive blast was caused \  by a space rock.


Comets, Asteroids and Planets around a Nearby Star (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A nearby star thought to harbor comets and asteroids now appears to be home to planets, too. The presumed worlds are smaller than Jupiter and could be as tiny as Pluto, new observations suggest.


Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A fine display of shooting stars is underway and peaks overnight Wednesday into early Thursday morning. Astronomers expect the 2004 Perseid meteor shower to be one of the best versions of the annual event in several years.


Redesigning Rockets: NASA Space Propulsion Finds a New Home (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - While the exploration of the Moon and other planets in our solar system is nbsp;exciting, the first task for astronauts and robots alike is to actually nbsp;get to those destinations.


Studies Find Rats Can Get Hooked on Drugs (AP)

AP - Rats can become drug addicts. That's important to know, scientists say, and has taken a long time to prove. Now two studies by French and British researchers show the animals exhibit the same compulsive drive for cocaine as people do once they're truly hooked.


NASA Chief: 'Let's Go Save the Hubble' (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Amid uncertainty over the fate of the Hubble Space Telescope and with a key instrument not working, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe gave the go-ahead Monday for planning a robotic servicing mission.


Armadillo Aerospaces X Prize Prototype Crashes (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas has reported a \crash last weekend of their prototype X Prize rocket.


Prairie Dog Won't Be on Endangered List (AP)

AP - The black-tailed prairie dog has been dropped from a list of candidates for the federal endangered species list because scientists have concluded the rodents are no longer threatened.


Hubble Trouble: One of Four Instruments Stops Working (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - One of the four astronomical instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope shut down earlier this week and engineers are trying to pin down the problem. The other three instruments continue to operate normally.


Invasive Purple Weed May Meet Its Match (AP)

AP - They burned it, mowed it, sprayed it and flooded it. But nothing killed the purple loosestrife weed, which has become a regional plague, until officials at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge set a European beetle loose on it.


New NASA Supercomputer to Aid Theorists and Shuttle Engineers (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - NASA researchers have teamed up with a pair of Silicon Valley firms to build \  a supercomputer that ranks alongside the world's largest Linux-based systems.


Ants Form Supercolony Spanning 60 Miles (AP)

AP - Normally clannish and agressive Argentine ants have become so laid back since arriving in Australia decades ago that they no longer fight neighboring nests and have formed a supercolony here that spans 60 miles, scientists say.


Viewer's Guide: Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Aug. 11-12 (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Every August, when many \  people are vacationing in the country where skies are dark, the best-known meteor \  shower makes its appearance. The annual Perseid meteor shower, as it is called, \  promised to put on an above average display this year.


Rescuers Free Beached Whale in Brazil (AP)

AP - Rescuers succeeded in freeing a minke whale that washed up on a beach in southeastern Brazil, the fire department said Thursday.


Red-Footed Falcon Sighted in Mass. (AP)

AP - A red-footed falcon spotted for the first time in North America is enticing birdwatchers to Martha's Vineyard.


Weak Version of Most Powerful Explosions Found (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful events in the universe, temporary outshining several galaxies and likely signaling the birth of a black hole.


Simultaneous Tropical Storms a Rarity (AP)

AP - The prospect that a tropical storm and a hurricane  #151; or possibly two hurricanes  #151; could strike Florida on the same day is something meteorologists say they have never seen.


NASA's Genesis Spacecraft Adjusts Course (AP)

AP - NASA's Genesis spacecraft successfully adjusted its course this week as it heads back toward Earth with a sample of solar wind particles, the space agency said Wednesday.


Earth is Rare, New Study Suggests (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Flip a coin. Heads, Earth is a common sort of planet. Tails, and ours is as unusual as a coin landing on edge. That's about the state of knowledge for scientists who ponder the question of our planet's rarity.


Scientists Probe Pacific for Dead Zone (AP)

AP - His hand on a toggle switch and his eyes on a computer screen, Oregon State University graduate student Anthony Kirincich uses an array of scientific instruments to probe the vibrant waters of the Pacific. He is searching for the absence of life.


Life on Mars Likely, Scientist Claims (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - DENVER, COLORADO -- Those twin robots hard at work on Mars have transmitted teasing views that reinforce the prospect that microbial life may exist on the red planet.


India Rethinks Plan to Send Man to Moon (AP)

AP - India is rethinking its plan to send a man to the moon by 2015, as the mission would cost a lot of money and yield very little in return, the national space agency said Thursday.


Natural Sunblock: Sun Dims in Strange Ways (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - When Venus crossed the Sun June 8, showing up as a clear black dot to the delight of millions of skywatchers around the world, astronomers noted something less obvious: The amount of sunlight reaching Earth dipped by 0.1 percent for a few hours.


Website Lets Users Scout the Red Planet from Home (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - For those who want to explore Mars but cant wait for a spacecraft to take them there, NASA scientists have reformulated a website that lets the general public search data and images from previous missions.


Appeal Rejected in Trout Restoration Plan (AP)

AP - The U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday rejected environmentalists' appeal of a plan to poison a stream south of Lake Tahoe to aid what wildlife officials call "the rarest trout in America."


Explore the Many Colors of Stars (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - One of the pleasures of \  stargazing is noticing and enjoying the various colors that stars display in \  dark skies. These hues offer direct visual evidence of how stellar temperatures \  vary.


Britain Grants Human Cloning License (AP)

AP - Britain granted its first license for human cloning Wednesday, joining South Korea on the leading edge of stem cell research, which is restricted by the Bush administration and which many scientists believe may lead to new treatments for a range of diseases.


The Next Great Space Race: SpaceShipOne and Wild Fire to Go For the Gold (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A piloted rocket ship race to claim a  #36;10 million Ansari X Prize purse for privately financed flight to the edge of space is heating up.


Growth, Mortality of T. Rex Gets Clearer (AP)

AP - Here's a dinosaur finding that parents can appreciate: The teenage Tyrannosaurus rex typically went through an explosive growth spurt, gaining nearly 5 pounds a day.


Space Science Pioneer Van Allen Questions Human Spaceflight (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A leading space scientist has called to question the validity of human spaceflight, suggesting that sending astronauts outward from Earth is outdated, too costly, and the science returned is trivial.


China Begins Manned Space Flight Countdown (AP)

AP - Chinese astronauts are in the final stages of preparing for a manned space mission that will orbit the globe 14 times before returning to Earth, a state-run newspaper reported Thursday.


Sunspot Grows to 20 Times Size of Earth (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A sunspot group aimed squarely \  at Earth has grown to 20 times the size of our planet and has the potential \  to unleash a major solar storm.


Japanese Lunar Probe Facing Delays (AP)

AP - A lunar orbiter that Japan had planned to launch this year could face further delays, possibly until next year or later, because of a funding shortfall and problems developing the probe's information-gathering capabilities, Japan's space agency said Wednesday.


Pollutants From Asia Appear on East Coast (AP)

AP - Scientists looking into air quality and climate change have found pollutants from as far as Asia over New England and the Atlantic.


Vietnam's Citadel Vulnerable to Weather (AP)

AP - Experts from Europe and Asia surveyed 1,400-year-old relics of an ancient citadel in Hanoi Tuesday and said they were concerned the priceless antiquities were at risk from exposure to the elements.


U.S. Barred From Weakening Dolphin Rules (AP)

AP - In a victory for environmentalists, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Bush administration cannot change the standards commercial fisheries must meet before the tuna they catch can carry the "dolphin-safe" label.


Canadian Robot a Candidate to Save Hubble (AP)

AP - NASA said Tuesday it is moving ahead with plans to send a robot to the rescue of the aging Hubble Space Telescope.


Cave Explorers Discover Pit in Croatia (AP)

AP - Cave explorers discovered a pit inside a mountain range in central Croatia believed to have the world's deepest subterranean vertical drop, at nearly 1,700 feet, a scientific institute reported Monday.


Aquarium Reviews Death of Dolphin (AP)

AP - The chief scientist at the National Aquarium in Baltimore has launched a review of the dolphin breeding program after the death of a 4-month-old dolphin.


Scientists Seek Better Way to Measure Rain (AP)

AP - Meteorologists at North Carolina State University are working on a way to more accurately measure rainfall in small areas.


Wash. State Team's Private Rocket Explodes (AP)

AP - A team taking a low-budget stab at the  #36;10 million Ansari X Prize for private manned spaceflight suffered a setback Sunday, when their rocket malfunctioned and exploded after shooting less than 1,000 feet in the air.


Nevada Ponders Superfund Status for Mine (AP)

AP - Pressured by a ranking senator from Nevada and the Environmental Protection Agency, Gov. Kenny Guinn says he might reconsider his opposition to a federal Superfund cleanup declaration for a huge abandoned mine contaminated with toxic waste and uranium.


Indictments Using DNA on Rise Nationally (AP)

AP - Authorities once had no choice but to drop rape cases if they weren't able to catch a suspect before the statute of limitations expired. But prosecutors across the country increasingly are buying themselves time, keeping cold cases alive by indicting unidentified rapists using their DNA profiles.


Southeast Coast Sees Fewer Turtle Nests (AP)

AP - About half the usual number of loggerhead turtles have nested between North Carolina and Florida this season, and scientists have no explanation for the drop.


Company Said to Be Ready to Clone Pets (AP)

AP - A company that unveiled the world's first cloned cat nearly three years ago now says it is ready to start filling orders for cloned pets, a newspaper reported Thursday.


Deep-Sea Vessel Puts Ocean Floor in Reach (AP)

AP - A new deep-sea research vessel will be able to carry people to 99 percent of the ocean floor, diving deeper than the famed Alvin that pioneered the study of seafloor vents, plate tectonics and deep ocean creatures over the past 40 years.


Chorus Frog Found Croaking in Virginia (AP)

AP - The Southern chorus frog has been found in southeastern Virginia, far outside its previously known range. The animal had never before been reported north of Beaufort County, N.C., about 125 miles to the south.


Expedition to Probe Gulf of Mexico (AP)

AP - Scientists will use advanced technology never before deployed beneath the sea as they try to discover new creatures, behaviors and phenomena in a 10-day expedition to the Gulf of Mexico's deepest reaches.


Feds Accused of Exaggerating Fire Impact (AP)

AP - The Forest Service exaggerated the effect of wildfires on California spotted owls in justifying a planned increase in logging in the Sierra Nevada, according to a longtime agency expert who worked on the plan.


New Method May Predict Quakes Weeks Ahead (AP)

AP - Swedish geologists may have found a way to predict earthquakes weeks before they happen by monitoring the amount of metals like zinc and copper in subsoil water near earthquake sites, scientists said Wednesday.


Marine Expedition Finds New Species (AP)

AP - Norwegian scientists who explored the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean said Thursday their findings  #151; including what appear to be new species of fish and squid  #151; could be used to protect marine ecosystems worldwide.


Annual Study Finds Rise in Beach Closures (AP)

AP - The number of days that beaches closed or posted warnings because of pollution rose sharply in 2003 due to more rainfall, increased monitoring and tougher standards, an environmental group said on Thursday.


Pacific May Be Seeing New El Nino (AP)

AP - Warming water temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific last month may indicate the start of a new El Nino.


Cassini Spacecraft Sees Saturn Lightning (AP)

AP - The Cassini spacecraft's mission to Saturn has revealed a new radiation belt around the ringed planet and found that lightning in its atmosphere is occurring in different patterns than it did when NASA's Voyagers flew by in the early 1980s, scientists said.


Poachers Putting Endangered Rhinos at Risk (AP)

AP - Gangs of poachers in Congo have been slaughtering the world's minuscule population of northern white rhinos, reducing the population by about one-half in just more than a year, a key conservation organization said Friday.


Experts Downplay Texas Shark Attacks (AP)

AP - Three shark attacks off the Texas coast in the past two months are unusual but don't mean there are more sharks than normal along the beach or that they are getting bolder, marine biologists and other experts say.


Study Says Birds Feed Other Birds' Young (AP)

AP - It's a lesson many little humans could learn from baby birds: Sometimes, being nice to other youngsters pays off. Brown-headed cowbirds, like several other bird species, leave their eggs in the nests of other birds, who then feed and raise the cowbird chicks.


Canadian Team Joins Rocket Launch Contest (AP)

AP - The  #36;10 million competition to send a private manned rocket into space started looking more like a race Thursday, when a Canadian team announced plans to launch its rocket three days after an American group intends to begin qualifying for the Ansari X prize.


Universities to Build Largest Telescope (AP)

AP - The University of Texas and Texas A amp;M University are planning to construct what they call the world's largest telescope with the help of a Houston businessman's  #36;1.25 million gift.


Mauritanian Capital Battles Locust Swarm (AP)

AP - Residents burned tires and trash in the streets Thursday trying to drive off swarms of locusts descending on the region in what a U.N. agency called the worst sub-Saharan invasion in more than a decade.


Customers of Telco Companies Face Privacy Breach

A security advisory posted on Bugtraq demonstrates how hackers can compromise customers of T-mobile wireless and Verizon (landline) voicemail boxes. The advisory talks about the use of Caller-ID spoofing the customers number, allowing a bypass of the PIN code since the voicemail thinks that the customer is calling to check their own voicemail. According to Secure Science Corporation, there has been no response from the vendors. Comments have been posted that T-Mobile has optional PIN code protection off by default. Better turn it on.


Mozilla To Add Support For XForms, World Yawns

It's ironic that Microsoft could help further cement its dominance in the browser market by joining its largest rival in an effort to support web standards.  nbsp;At the same time, that act would go a long way towards improving the web in general for developers and users alike.


Junk faxes to be legalized as  quot;opt-out? quot;

The Register ran a story on August 6th called 'Phone spam misery looms stateside.' It seems that there's legislative nastiness underway in Washington, DC to essentially gut the existing junk fax law, and replace it with a marketer's wet dream.


Biased Against Whom?

Liberal bias versus right-wing conspiracy is a wonderful distraction. There is evidence enough on both sides. How can opposite claims be true? Confront a physicist with evidence supporting contradictory hypotheses and she will go looking for a more basic cause. Let's try that.


The Visual World of Michel Gondry

A month ago I was introduced to the works of Michel Gondry.  In short, I was amazed and tantalized by his short films and music videos.  Even if you haven't heard of him, you've probably seen his many works in Gap commercials, various music videos, and the recent movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.    Many of his works explode with visual elements that, when taken alone, are simple and mundane.  However, under his masterful guidance, these elements come together to form a highly mesmerizing visual experience.  He never ceases to push visual technologies and challenge our ideas about the visual medium.


The Austral-Asian Strike Fighter

The Australian Defence Force must defend and project across an air-sea gap. This requires long range autonomous strike weaponry. The Joint Strike Fighter does not solve this issue and detrimentally places added pressure on Australia's limited force of aerial refuelling assets. The world's defence manufacturers are not creating strike platforms that solve Australian needs. For this reason, Australia needs to look to other nations with similar defence needs. In this case, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all face defending an air-sea gap. Australia should enter a partnership with these nations to create a strike fighter that satisfies the strategic needs of defending an air-sea gap. The benefits of such a partnership will be many.


Insecurity: (Or Why Americans Aren't Feeling The Recovery)

The New Republic's website is currently carrying an interesting piece which tries to explain the anomaly that although the US economy is growing, a lot of its citizens are still feeling worse off. The article explains the results of a 40 year panel study which has shown that although mean incomes have increased, income variability has increased massively, causing many Americans to feel less well off, despite the growing economy.


The Great K5 Limerick Contest

Queue submissions being scarce, I suggest we all submit limericks for consideration.  Mod up your favorites.    I'm no poet, so I'll submit a favorite of my childhood:    There was a young woman named Bright,  Who traveled much faster than light    She set out one day  In a relative way    And returned on the previous night.    I'm afraid I don't remember the author.


RuntimeProperties... Reflection from System Properties

\\Java developers often load system properties to customize the runtime behavior\of their applications.\\For example a develoepr could define a 'max_connections' system property to\define the maximum number of TCP connections that their application server can\support.  While nice, this prevents all other applications from using this\variable name.\\The first reaction to this would be to namespace your variable names.  Instead\of using max_connections you would now use\'my.application.Server.MAX_CONNECTIONS' as your property name.  This works of\course but now you have to load this property on startup.\\public static int MAX_CONNECTIONS = Integer.parseInt( System.getProperty(\"my.application.Se ...\\


Thank You IBM!

\\I just wanted to say thanks to IBM for Open Sourcing  Cloudscape .\\You guys really have your act together.  Keep up the good work!\\


LinuxWorld, IDs, and Privacy

\\Today Jonathan Moore  and I headed over to LinuxWorld after lunch to see what\kind of cool hardware and Linux hacks they had on the expo floor.\\Only \$15 to get in the door so I figure why not.\\I'm a bit of a privacy freak.  When you're trading some security for liberty\there are situations where it *might* be worth it.  In situations of extreme\violence having the police by your side might be a good idea.  \\I think we can all agree that trading liberty for *nothing* isn't worth it.\This country was *founded* on liberty after the British were abusing their\colonial powers.  Every true American should cherish their liberty and think\long and hard about just turning them over for no reason.\ ...\\


My Blog as a Time Machine

\\I'm starting to realize that my blog is a bit of a time machine.  For example I\can create a blog entry to warn myself about something that WILL happen in the\future.  \\My current NTP  blog entry is a good example.  I wrote this for myself as\much as for the people who read my blog (or find me via Google).\\I know for sure that NTP on Debian is going to bite me sometime in the future\and I'm going to forget WHY.  Then I'm going to (of course) go to Google or my\aggregator and search for NTP and then find my blog post.  \\I've done this about a dozen times now and its saved me a TON of time!\\


NTP in Debian

\\The Network Time Daemon (NTP  Daemon) implementation within Debian leaves a\lot to be desired.\\First off they don't include it with a working config.  You have to create your\own /etc/ntpd.conf.  To make matters worse the configuration doesn't accept DNS\names so you have to manually enter IPs.  Fun.  I can understand that they might\not want to provide ONE configuration and overwhelm one or two NTP servers but\they can provide a dynamic config that balances load among all available\servers.  There is of course the public serves list  but you have to Google\for it.\\All you really need to do here is enter a list of servers:\\server time.nist.gov\\server 192.43.244.18\


Pretty Log4J

\\I've been a big fan of Log4J  for a while now but haven't migrated any code\over for one central reason.  The following line of code:\\    final static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger( "some.name" );\\... is amazingly ugly and difficult to work with.\\Most people use Log4J with a logger based on the classname:\\So we would probably see:\\    static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger( "org.apache.commons.feedparser.locate.FeedLocator" );\\Which is amazingly verbose.  A lot of developers shorten this to:\\    static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger( FeedLocator.class );\\But this still leaves us with cut and paste errors.\\What if we could just reduce it to:\\    static Logger logger = Logger.g ...\\


Saudis: Bin Laden associate surrenders

\\"(CNN) -- A longtime associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden surrendered to\Saudi Arabian officials Tuesday, a Saudi Interior Ministry official said."\\"But it is unclear what role, if any, Khaled al-Harbi may have had in any terror\attacks because no public charges have been filed against him."\\"The Saudi government -- in a statement released by its embassy in Washington --\called al-Harbi's surrender "the latest direct result" of its limited, one-month\offer of leniency to terror suspects."\\This is great!  I hope this really starts to pay off.  Creative solutions to\terrorism that don't involve violence.  \\How refreshing! \\Are you paying attention Bush administration?\\


Mozilla Exceptions (mexception)

\\For some reason I never released this code.\\I developed it while working on NewsMonster and just forgot I think\\It's an extension for Mozilla that allows you to see all runtime exceptions\(with full stack traces) that are unhandled by Mozilla. \\Just install it and if your code generates an unhandled exception it will show\up in the logs and on the console.\\Very handy for doing any hardcore Mozilla development.\\


Ron Regan Jr is My Kinda Guy

\\"Now that the country is awash in Reagan nostalgia, some observers are predicting\that you will enter politics. Would you like to be president of the United\States?"\\"I would be unelectable. I'm an atheist. As we all know, that is something\people won't accept."\\"What would you do if Senator Kerry asked you to be his vice president?"\\"I would question his sanity."\\"Do you ever go to church?"\\"No. I visit my wife's sangha."\\"So you sometimes practice Buddhism?"\\"I don't claim anything. But my sympathies would be in that direction. I admire\the fact that the central core of Buddhist teaching involves mindfulness and\loving kindness and compassion."\\So lets get this straight.  He's an a ...\\


Al Qaeda member surrenders

\\"RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- One of Saudi Arabia's most wanted militants has\turned himself into the authorities, the first senior suspect to surrender under\a one-month government amnesty announced last week."\\"Othman Al-Omari, number 19 on Saudi Arabia's most wanted list of 26, accepted\King Fahd's offer of amnesty, which was made last week, according to Saudi\sources Monday."\\"Al-Omari, who turned himself in on Sunday night, was a business partner of\Shaban Al Shihri -- the first al Qaeda member to accept the offer when he turned\himself in Friday."\\When I first saw this I was really upset.  I thought that it would certainly\lead to more violence if they just let terrorists off the ...\\


Mission Accomplished!

\\"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Members of Iraq's interim government took an oath of\office Monday just hours after the United States returned the nation's\sovereignty, two days ahead of schedule."\\"Led by Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, each member of the new\government placed a hand on the Koran and promised to serve with sincerity and\impartiality. Iraqi flags lined the wall behind them."\\Iraq!  Now with 100 less Coalition Provisional Authority!  Act now and get a\free Weapon of Mass Destruction (offer only available in Syria, Jordan, Saudi\Arabia, Pakistan, Syria and Iran).\\Also check out our new Puppet Government!  Keeps the kids occupied for hours!\\


Java3D - Half Right

\\SUN has announced that Java3D will be released in a different manner than any\other SUN project in existence.\\"We announce the availability of the source code for the Java 3D API on\java.net.  We are involving developers in the evolution of the Java 3D API.\Come join the Java 3D projects on java.net, and download the source code for\the core Java 3D API, vecmath, the Java 3D core utilities, and the Java 3D\program examples."\\The key thing here is that they have provided the core utils under a BSD license\and even have the CVS available .\\Good job SUN!  You're headed in the right direction!\\Here's the only problem:\\"We are releasing the source code for the j3d-core and vecmath projects u ...\\


Reverse Psychology

\\I really hope SUN doesn't Open Source Java at JavaOne this year.  It would be a\terrible decision and seriously hurt the tech industry.  Also, it would hurt SUN\and I'm sure their responsible enough to realize this.\\(Lets hope that works!)\\


Kerry's Disgusting Ad

\\A few days ago Kerry sent around this ad:\\"Yesterday, the Bush-Cheney campaign, losing any last sense of decency, placed\a disgusting ad called "The Faces of John Kerry's Democratic Party" as the\main feature on its website. Bizarrely, and without explanation, the ad places\Adolf Hitler among those faces."\\"The Bush-Cheney campaign must pull this ad off of its website. The use of\Adolf Hitler by any campaign, politician or party is simply wrong."\\Which of course is a mistake.  I went and downloaded the video (which is just\stupid btw.  Not a masterpiece by any means.) and there are shots of Hitler in\there, but only from the MoveOn contest from a few months back.\\Here's the problem.  The ...\\


What would Baby Jesus Think?

\\"On Tuesday, Cheney, serving in his role as president of the Senate, appeared in\the chamber for a photo session. A chance meeting with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy\(Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, became an argument about\Cheney's ties to Halliburton Co., an international energy services corporation,\and President Bush's judicial nominees. The exchange ended when Cheney offered\some crass advice.\\'Fuck yourself,' said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency."\\Wonder what the moral majority has to say about this?\\It isn't profanity!  Its a freedom praise!\\


Americans and Freedom

\\"When we Americans first began, our biggest danger was clearly in view: we knew\from the bitter experience with King George III that the most serious threat to\democracy is usually the accumulation of too much power in the hands of an\Executive, whether he be a King or a president. Our ingrained American distrust\of concentrated power has very little to do with the character or persona of the\individual who wields that power. It is the power itself that must be\constrained, checked, dispersed and carefully balanced, in order to ensure the\survival of freedom. In addition, our founders taught us that public fear is the\most dangerous enemy of democracy because under the right circumstances it ...\\


Why Windows isn't Unix

\\"I first heard about this from one of the developers of the hit game SimCity, who\told me that there was a critical bug in his application: it used memory right\after freeing it, a major no-no that happened to work OK on DOS but would not\work under Windows where memory that is freed is likely to be snatched up by\another running application right away. The testers on the Windows team were\going through various popular applications, testing them to make sure they\worked OK, but SimCity kept crashing. They reported this to the Windows\developers, who disassembled SimCity, stepped through it in a debugger, found\the bug, and added special code that checked if SimCity was running, and if it\did ...\\


Microsoft, IE and Bloat

\\Zawodny  threads off of Scoble  on the IE issue:\\"I have to say, when I first read that I nearly fell off my chair laughing. I was\thinking "how stupid ARE these IE guys?!?!?!" But we all know that Microsoft is\full of smart people who care about what they're doing. So something really\doesn't compute here."\\"Last time I checked, IE wasn't even close to feature parity with Mozilla's\browsers. No popup blocking, no tabbed browsing, etc."\\"Does the IE team really not know what their product is missing?"\\Perhaps.  It's highly likely that they just don't know.\\The bigger issue here is that Microsoft products can't fail and they can't\succeed.  Microsoft has 40-50 billion in the bank.  There ...\\


DRM is doubleplus good for business, Congress advised

The Budget Office and the case of the disappearing public interest


HP: The Adaptive Enterprise that can't adapt

Opinion SAP hardly to blame


Buffy the Censor Slayer

Letters Readers drive stake through parents' group


Ashlee Vance: the readers have spoken

Poll results Bright news for resident Reg ladyboy


El Reg pledges to name BSA antipiracy weasel

Competition Get those suggestions in


Wireless net to get speed boost

Wireless computer networks could soon be running 10 times faster than they do now.


Watchdog rules over broadband

The UK's ad watchdog rules over which net connections can be described as full speed broadband.


GameBoy mini-games win prize

A set of GameBoy micro-games is named as the most innovative game of the year at a festival in Scotland.


Microsoft takes down SP2 sharers

Microsoft is stopping people getting hold of a key security update via net-based file- sharing systems.


Long-awaited Doom 3 hits the UK

Doom 3 goes on sale in the UK at a time of renewed concerns over violence in video games.


Britons embrace digital lifestyle

People in the UK are spending more time and money going digital, says communications watchdog Ofcom.


PlayStation potential to learning

The PlayStation games console could be developed into a learning tool for children, says a Northumberland head teacher.


'Invisible' technology for Olympics

Getting the technology in place for Athens 2004 is an Olympic task in itself.


Satellite boosts Olympic security

An enhanced satellite location system aims to help Olympic security guards react more quickly to emergencies.


3D holograms to crack forgeries

A 3D hologram technique could transform how experts spot forged signatures and other handwritten documents.


Video games 'good for children'

Computer games can promote problem-solving and team-building in children, say games industry experts.


Fake goods tempting young adults

Young people are increasingly happy to buy pirated goods or illegal download content from the net, a survey shows.


Catwoman far from perfect

The Catwoman game is a major disappointment that feels like a pointless tie-in with the film.


'Madden,' 'ESPN' Football Score in Different Ways

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Reuters) - Was absenteeism a little high  on Tuesday among the guys at the office? EA Sports would like  to think it was because "Madden NFL 2005" came out that day,  and some fans of the football simulation are rabid enough to  take a sick day to play it.


AOL to Sell Cheap PCs to Minorities and Seniors

NEW YORK (Reuters) - America Online on Thursday said it  plans to sell a low-priced PC targeting low-income and minority  households who agree to sign up for a year of dialup Internet  service.


Microsoft to Introduce Cheaper Version of Windows

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> said it will  begin selling a stripped-down, low-cost version of its Windows  XP operating system in the emerging markets of Indonesia,  Malaysia and Thailand in order to spread the use of computing  and develop technology markets.


Companies Approve New High-Capacity Disc Format

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A group of consumer electronics  makers said on Wednesday they approved the format for a new  generation of discs that can store five times the data of DVDs  at the same cost -- enough to put a full season of "The  Sopranos" on one disc.


Missing June Deals Slow to Return for Software Cos.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mystery of what went wrong for the  software industry in late June when sales stalled at more than  20 brand-name companies is not even close to being solved  although the third quarter is nearly halfway over.


Microsoft Upgrades Software for Digital Pictures

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> released on  Tuesday the latest version of its software for editing and  organizing digital photographs and images to tap into  widespread demand for digital cameras and photography.


Google to Pay Yahoo to Settle Patent Dispute

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Google Inc. <GOOG.O> on Monday again  boosted the number of shares it plans to sell in its initial  public offering, saying it will issue 2.7 million shares to  Yahoo Inc. <YHOO.O> to settle a lawsuit over technology used to  display ads.


A Digital Doctor Treats Computer Contamination

Unfortunately for users, computer equipment manufacturers and resellers don't adequately inform Windows users of the risks involved in accessing the Internet without proper security measures.
-The Washington Post


'SP2' a Must With XP Use

Service Pack 2, "SP2" for short, aims to stop viruses, worms, browser hijackings and worse by including security features that people have to add and adjust on their own. -Rob Pegoraro


Putting Your Own Stamp On All Your Parcels

Fido the Stamp is here. Well, he could be -- all it takes is for one dog owner to snap a digital photo of his beloved pooch, submit it to the Stamps.com Web site and order personalized postage. -Leslie Walker


Internet Challenges Face-to-Face Mingling

At Bungalow Billiards in Chantilly on Wednesday, about a dozen single parents from Northern Virginia gathered at happy hour to mingle, eat and drink. All were divorced or widowed members of the Fairfax chapter of Parents Without Partners.


Forecast: Plenty of Activity On the Weather Blog Front

If it's possible to love something just because it could visit torrents upon the Washington region, fling hail from the skies and swell streams into rivers, then Jason Samenow is smitten.


Google Starts Auction

Company launched the biggest electronic auction of stock in Wall Street history Friday but warned that it could face legal liability from a Playboy magazine interview in which some aspects of the Internet search engine's performance were overstated. -The Washington Post


Bids Placed Despite Mixed News

Umesh Patel, a 36-year old software engineer from California, debated until the last minute.


Antitrust Lawyer Takes Helm at FTC

As Deborah P. Majoras takes over the Federal Trade Commission on Monday, she's expected to build on the broad agenda set by her predecessor, Timothy J. Muris.


GAO Calls Stryker Too Heavy for Transport

The Army's new medium-weight armored vehicle, the Stryker, weighs so much that it curtails the range of C-130 military cargo aircraft that carry it and under certain conditions make it impossible for the planes to take off, a new report for Congress found.


BioVeris Settles 2 Lawsuits Against Chief Executive's Son

BioVeris Corp. announced yesterday that it settled two lawsuits against Jacob N. Wohlstadter, its chief executive's son, whom the company had accused of spending millions of dollars on cars and real estate to sabotage a joint venture he ran so he could purchase it for a bargain price.


Google: Now Playboy's Latest Bunny

Investors in the company that's trying to come off as cute as a bunny could find themselves holding a fistful of vipers if the founders of Google Inc. continue to do things like show up in Playboy magazine around the same time their company is going public. -washingtonpost.com


EBay Buys Stake in Craigslist

Internet auctioneer eBay Inc. said Friday it acquired a 25 percent stake in craigslist, an online community of classified ads and forums. -Associated Press


Blog Interrupted

The instant message blinked on the computer at Jessica Cutler's desk in the Russell Senate Office Building. "Oh my God, you're famous."


Hungry world 'must eat less meat'

People will need to eat more vegetables and less meat because of dwindling water supplies, scientists say.


Hopes soar for solo record plane

Richard Branson says the Virgin Global Flyer is looking good for its solo trip around the world without refuelling.


Arctic team reaches destination

A team of British explorers, who are retracing the steps of a Victorian  pioneer, have reached Thom Bay.


Shuttle camera to watch fuel tank

The space shuttle's external fuel tank, implicated in the 2003 Columbia disaster, is to get its own camera.


Hubble peers at celestial bubble

The Hubble Space Telescope has looked into a bubble of gas and dust being inflated by a young star's particles.


Bacteria gives coral orange glow

Orange coral common to the Caribbean has bacteria to thank for its hue, say US marine scientists.


Honey bees close museum

A Worcestershire museum is forced to close for several weeks while a swarm of honey bees is removed.


Clouds dash Perseids show

The annual Perseid meteor shower could provide a "spectacular" show, despite a disappointing start.


Worms may slow Parkinson's

A protein which helps increase lifespan in worms offers hope for new Parkinson's and Alzheimer's treatments.


Nasa help for stem cell study

UK tissue engineering experts are teaming up with NASA to find treatments for diseases back on Earth.


TB test to slash infection rates

A rapid and accurate test for TB could cut infection rates around the world, say experts.


Scientists given cloning go-ahead

The first request by British scientists to clone human embryos has been granted by experts.


Vandals damage bird reserve

A disturbance free zone for nesting birds is put at risk by vandals who cut down the boundary fence.


Heat waves set to become 'brutal'

Heat waves in the 21st Century will be more intense, more frequent and longer, US experts say.


Monkeys test 'hardworking gene'

Scientists in the United States find a way to turn lazy monkeys into workaholics using gene therapy.


Hearing clue to whale evolution

The evolution of whales from four-legged land dwellers into streamlined swimmers has been traced in fossilised ears, Nature reports.


News: NASA Extends TRMM Operations Through 2004 Hurricane Season

NASA will extend operation of the Tropical Rainfall\Measuring Mission (TRMM) through the end of 2004, in light of a\recent request from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric\Administration (NOAA).


News: Climate Change Could Doom Alaska's Tundra

In the next 100 years, Alaska will experience a massive loss of its historic tundra, as global warming allows these vast regions of cold, dry, lands to support forests and other vegetation that will dramatically alter native ecosystems. (Oregon State University press release)


News: How Strongly Does the Sun Influence the Climate?

Researchers have shown that the Sun can be responsible for, at most, only a small part of the warming over the last 20-30 years. (Max Planck Society press release)


News: New England Forests at Greater Risk from Air Pollution

When it comes to forests, air pollution is not an equal opportunity hazard. While dirty air spreads across large areas of the New England region, it's more scattered in the southeastern part of the United States. (University of Wisconsin-Madison press release)


News: Warmer Weather, Human Disturbances Interact to Change Forests

While a rapidly changing climate may alter the composition of northern Wisconsin's forests, disturbances such as logging also will play a critical role in how these sylvan ecosystems change over time. (University of Wisconsin-Madison press release)


News: Duke Study Disputes Idea that Trees Can 'Relocate' Quickly in Response to Climate Change

In a study with implications for how North American trees might respond to a changing climate, molecular information collected by Duke University researchers refutes a widely accepted theory that many of the continent's tree species migrated rapidly from the deep South as glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age. (Duke University press release)


News: Droughts Like 1930s Dust Bowl May Have Been Unexceptional in Prehistoric Times, New Study Suggests

Events like the great Dust Bowl of the 1930s, immortalized in "The Grapes of Wrath" and remembered as a transforming event for millions of Americans, were regular parts of much-earlier cycles of droughts followed by recoveries in the region, according to new studies by a multi-institutional research team led by Duke University. (Duke University press release)


News: New Study to Investigate Demise of Coral Reef Ecosystems

Scientists are embarking on a project which will explore how global warming is devastating one of the world's most diverse ecosystems, coral reefs. (University of Newcastle press release)


Natural Hazards: Typhoon Rananim

The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Rananim on August 12 at 2:40 UTC.


Horseflies and Meteors

Like bugs streaking colorfully down the side window of a moving car, Earthgrazing Perseid meteors could put on a pleasing show after sunset on August 11th.


Spinning Brains

One day, astronauts could zip across the solar system in spinning spaceships.  How will their brains adapt to life onboard a twirling home where strange  quot;Coriolis forces quot; rule?


What Neil   Buzz Left on the Moon

A cutting-edge Apollo 11 science experiment left behind in the Sea of Tranquility is still running today.


Voyager 1, Prepare for Action

At the outer limits of our solar system, a solar shock wave is about to overtake NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft.


Saturn Hailstorm

When Cassini reached Saturn On June 30th, it dashed through a gap in Saturn's rings, twice. One of onboard science instruments recorded a flurry of ring-dust harmlessly striking the spacecraft.\\


Dino-Size Spurt: T. Rex Teens Gained 5 Pounds a Day

New analysis of fossil bones indicates that adolescent <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> dinosaurs grew extremely rapidly, quickly reaching gigantic size.


Fossils Show How Whales Evolved to Hear Underwater

Whale fossils found with tiny ear bones reveal for the first time how the ancestors of whales and dolphins developed their acute underwater hearing.


Real "Danny Deckchairs" Soar With Just a Seat and Some Balloons

In the new movie <i>Danny Deckchair,</i> a truck driver ties party balloons to a chair and flies away. It's called cluster ballooning, and believe it or not, it's a real sport.


"Unusually Good" Meteor Shower Expected Tonight

Tonight's annual Perseid meteor shower is likely to be a spectacular show of shooting stars zipping across the night sky, according to astronomers.


"Monster" Waves Suprisingly Common, Satellites Show

Rogue waves #151;eight or more stories or higher #151;are freaks of the ocean once thought to be tall tales told by sailors. But now scientists have satellite evidence that the massive upwellings are not only real but also fairly common.


Ancient Olympians Followed "Atkins" Diet, Scholar Says

What did the first Olympians eat? Food historians are scouring ancient texts to find out.


U.S. Warrior Arms Africans to Hunt Sudanese Poachers

Armed poachers from Sudan have been raiding and destroying neighboring Central African Republic's wildlife resources for years. Now, with the help of a militant U.S. conservationist, the CAR populace is arming and training itself to fight back.


Ancient Olympics Mixed Naked Sports, Pagan Partying

Nude athletes, performance-enhancing lizard meat, and animal sacrifices are just a few of the things that separate the ancient Olympics from the modern games, says the author of <i>The Naked Olympics.</i>


Travel Column: Offsetting Air Travel's Greenhouse Impact

Global warming is threatening travel destinations worldwide. What's more, travelers themselves are contributing to it. Find out what you can do about it.


Magma Surge Moves Nevada Mountain, Study Says

Why did a Lake Tahoe-area peak move dramatically late last year? A new report says magma deep below surged upward, forcing the mountain to rise.


266 Chimps From Lab Adopted by Florida Refuge

With an influx of chimps previously used as laboratory animals, Florida's Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care is transforming into the largest chimp sanctuary in the world #151;almost overnight.


Locusts Inspire Technology That May Prevent Car Crashes

Locusts are commonly associated with plagues, food shortages, and death. But they are also inspiring what may be the next wave in lifesaving collision-avoidance systems.


Progress Supply Ship Docks with Space Station

NASA -- An unpiloted Russian cargo ship linked up the International Space Station this morning to deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water and supplies to the residents onboard.     The ISS Progress 15 craft automatically docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 12:01 a.m...


Building Dedicated to Space Shuttle Columbia Astronauts

By BILL KACZOR    PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- A former dormitory converted to classrooms at the Pensacola Naval Air Station was dedicated Friday to two Columbia astronauts who were among the seven who died in the shuttle disaster Feb...


Undersea Habitat Becomes Experimental Space Hospital

NASA -- The days of doctors making house calls may seem like ancient history for most patients in North America, but in October, three astronauts and a Canadian doctor will test the latest concepts in long-distance house calls using a unique underwater laboratory.     The ability to conduct long-distance health care such as telemonitoring and telerobotic surgery could be key to maintaining the wellness of future spacefarers and responding to medical emergencies on the International Space Station, the moon or Mars...


How Mars Fooled the World

The famous Orson Welles' radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" is about to hit the big screen, as film moguls Spielberg and Cruise bring the H.G. Wells' classic back into the popular imagination. Are we so clever today not be duped?


Chandra Catches Early Phase of Cosmic Assembly

Chandra X-Ray Observatory -- A NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory image has revealed a complex of several intergalactic hot gas clouds in the process of merging.     The superb Chandra spatial resolution made it possible to distinguish individual galaxies from the massive clouds of hot gas...


Hubble Peers Inside a Celestial Geode

Hubble Space Telescope -- In this unusual image, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures a rare view of the celestial equivalent of a geode  a gas cavity carved by the stellar wind and intense ultraviolet radiation from a hot young star.    Real geodes are baseball-sized, hollow rocks that start out as bubbles in volcanic or sedimentary rock...


Saturn's Moon Titan: Prebiotic Laboratory

by Harry Bortman    In this second and final part of the interview, Lunine explains how Huygens may help scientists understand the origin of life on Earth, even if it doesn't detect life on Titan.    Astrobiology Magazine -- Titan is the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere, and it is the organic chemistry that has been detected in that atmosphere that has sparked the imagination of planetary scientists like Lunine...


Sharpest Image Ever Obtained of a Circumstellar Disk Reveals Signs of Young Planets

MAUNA KEA, Hawaii -- The sharpest image ever taken of a dust disk around another star has revealed structures in the disk which are signs of unseen planets.     Dr...


Chandra Celebrates Five Years of Scientific Breakthroughs

Marshall Space Flight Center -- On August 12, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory opened its sunshade doors for the first time, allowing celestial X-ray light to reach the observatory's mirrors. This one small step for the observatory proved to be a giant leap for science as Chandra began its mission to shed new light on a violent, mysterious universe invisible to the human eye...


Some Globular Clusters May Be Leftovers From Snacking Galaxies

Globular star clusters are like spherical cathedrals of light -- collections of millions of stars lumped into a space only a few dozen light-years across. If the Earth resided within a globular cluster, our night sky would be alight with thousands of stars more brilliant than Sirius.


India Rethinks Plan for Manned Moon Mission

By S. SRINIVASAN    BANGALORE, India (AP) -- India is rethinking its plan to send a man to the moon by 2015, as the mission would cost a lot of money and yield very little in return, the national space agency said Thursday...


Cluster Finds Giant Gas Vortices at the Edge of Earths Magnetic Bubble

European Space Agency -- ESAs quartet of space-weather watchers, Cluster, has discovered vortices of ejected solar material high above the Earth.     The superheated gases trapped in these structures are probably tunnelling their way into the Earths magnetic bubble, the magnetosphere...


Saturn's Moon Titan: Planet Wannabe

by Henry Bortman     Jonathan Lunine, professor of planetary science and physics at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, has long been fascinated by Saturn's largest moon, Titan. In this first part of the interview, Lunine explains what scientists hope to learn from Huygens...


Knocking on Heaven's Door

The Milky Way is a vast, diverse neighborhood. If you're hoping to find Earthlike planets that may harbor life, you'll need to narrow the search. Stars are a good place to start, because the dusty discs around stars spawn young planets.


China Begins Countdown for Next Manned Space Flight

By ELAINE KURTENBACH    SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Chinese astronauts are in the final stages of preparing for a manned space mission that will orbit the globe 14 times before returning to Earth, a state-run newspaper reported Thursday.    The launch, expected sometime this month, will initially send a manned craft, the Shenzhou 5, into an oval orbit that at its closest will be 125 miles from Earth, the Liberation Daily reported, citing "relevant channels."    After circling the earth several times, the ship will enter an orbit at about 220 miles from earth, the report said...


Trajectory Maneuver Brings Genesis Spacecraft Closer to Home

Jet Propulsion Lab -- Thirty days before its historic return to Earth with NASA's first samples from space since the Apollo missions, the Genesis spacecraft successfully completed its twentieth trajectory maneuver.     At 12:00 Universal Time (5:00 a.m...


Japanese Lunar Probe Mission Facing Delays

TOKYO (AP) -- A lunar orbiter that Japan had planned to launch this year could face further delays, possibly until next year or later, because of a funding shortfall and problems developing the probe's information-gathering capabilities, Japan's space agency said Wednesday.    The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, released a report to a government-run commission explaining expected delays to the launch of the \$135 million Lunar-A probe...


Progress Cargo Ship for ISS Launched From Russia

MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian cargo ship loaded with supplies and equipment blasted off from the Baikonour cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday headed for the international space station, a Russian space official said.    The Progress M-50 ship took off at 1:03 a.m...


The Annual Perseid Meteor Shower

The annual Perseid meteor shower is coming, and forecasters say it could be unusually good. Like bugs streaking down the side window of a moving car, colorful Perseid Earthgrazers could put on a pleasing show after sunset this week.


NASA Approves Robotic Hubble Repair Mission

(AP) -- NASA's chief is urging his Hubble Space Telescope team to press ahead with plans for a robotic repair mission to the aging observatory, saying, "Let's go save the Hubble."    Administrator Sean O'Keefe says he will ask Congress for money to accomplish the job. He estimates it will take about \$1 billion to \$1.6 billion to develop and launch a robot to make the needed upgrades to keep the popular telescope running and to get it out of orbit once its work is through...


What Is a Comet Made Of?

UC Davis -- A new method for looking at the composition of comets using ground-based telescopes has been developed by chemists at UC Davis. Remnants from the formation of our solar system, the makeup of comets gives clues about how the Earth and other planets formed...


Dying Star Goes Out With a Ring

A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the shimmering embers of a dying star, and in their midst a mysterious doughnut-shaped ring. The dying star is part of a "planetary nebula" called NGC 246. When a star like our own Sun begins to run out of fuel, its core shrinks and heats up, boiling off the star's outer layers.


Lost Sleep Leads to Health Problems

Advice on how to get a good night's slumber and avoid future heart trouble    HealthDayNews -- Lack of sleep can cause more than drowsiness; it can contribute to a number of health problems.    Short-term effects of lack of sleep include increases in blood pressure and levels of stress hormones, according to an article in the August issue of the Harvard Heart Letter...


Which Diet is Best? The One That Works for You

By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter    HealthDayNews -- Gather together some diners who are trying to lose weight, then sit back and listen to the debate.    Almost anyone who's on a diet -- or at least one that's working -- is convinced his or her plan is the best...


Clouds are Cooler than Smoke

Clouds help regulate the Earths climate by reflecting sunlight into space, thus cooling the surface. When cloud patterns change, they modify the Earths energy balance in turn, and temperatures on the Earths surface.


Last Year's Flu Shot Imperfect But Effective

By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter    HealthDayNews -- Last year's influenza vaccine was far from a perfect match against the virus that sickened people, but it offered more protection from the illness than experts had previously thought.    In very young children, the shot was found to be 25 percent to 49 percent effective in preventing influenza-like illness, which is a suspected case of flu that wasn't confirmed in a laboratory...


Olympics Could Call Out the Couch Potatoes

As the 2004 Summer Olympics officially get underway Friday with an international broadcast of the opening ceremonies, health experts expect the Athens games to inspire couch potatoes to become more active. But, experts caution, amateurs, particularly sedentary ones, should not jump into a new sports activity without sufficient preparation.


Skateboarding Offers a Tough Workout

By KRISTA LARSON     SAYREVILLE, N.J. (AP) -- While the tennis courts at Kennedy Park are bare on a hot afternoon, parents keep dropping off teenagers at the skate park, home to all the day's action...


Rats May Help Unravel Human Drug Addiction Mysteries

By LAURAN NEERGAARD    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rats can become drug addicts. That's important to know, scientists say, and has taken a long time to prove...


Sting of Bug Bites Can Linger Into Adulthood

By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter    HealthDayNews -- Contrary to popular belief, not all kids who are allergic to insect stings outgrow their sensitivity.    Some people whose allergies left them in fear of bees, wasps, and the like as children still react to their stings as adults, but a new study offers relief: Allergy shots given in childhood can protect them for up to 20 years...


FDA Warns of Terrorist Prescription Drug Tampering

By DIEDTRA HENDERSON     WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Cues from chatter" gathered around the world are raising concerns that terrorists might try to attack the domestic food and drug supply, particularly illegally imported prescription drugs, acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester M. Crawford says...


Scientists Probe Pacific Ocean for Dead Zones

His hand on a toggle switch and his eyes on a computer screen, Oregon State University graduate student Anthony Kirincich uses an array of scientific instruments to probe the vibrant waters of the Pacific. He is searching for the absence of life.


Simultaneous Tropical Storms are Very Rare

The prospect that a tropical storm and a hurricane - or possibly two hurricanes - could strike Florida on the same day is something meteorologists say they have never seen. "It's almost unheard of," state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.


Deaths Raise Fears Over Stomach Stapling Surgery

By LINDA A. JOHNSON    (AP) -- An obese Massachusetts woman and her 8-month-old fetus died of complications 18 months after stomach-stapling surgery, an apparent first that is leading to warnings about the risks of pregancy soon after the surgery...


Growth and Mortality Details of T. Rex Get Clearer

T. rex was one of the largest meat-eaters ever to walk the land when it died out some 65 million years ago. At an elephant-like 6 tons, it stretched about 40 feet to 45 feet long and measured about 13 feet tall at the hip. The adult skull alone was 5 feet long, with teeth up to a foot long.


Britain Approves Human Cloning

By EMMA ROSS     LONDON (AP) -- Britain granted its first license for human cloning Wednesday, more than three years after becoming the first nation to authorize the technique to produce stem cells for medical research.    A team of researchers at Newcastle University hope eventually to create insulin-producing cells that could be transplanted into diabetic patients...


New Clot Preventer Saves Lives and Money

By Ed Edelson, HealthDay Reporter    HealthDayNews -- A new anti-clotting drug for people having artery-opening procedures lowers the rate of complications, gets patients out of the hospital faster, and probably saves lives, a study finds.    And it saves money to boot, says Dr...


The Eyes Are the Window to Hypertension

The tiniest blood vessels of the eye can provide a glimpse that may warn of future high blood pressure, Australian researchers report. That finding comes from a computerized analysis of special camera images of the retina, an experimental technique.


Progress Is Made Battling Strep Germ

By LINDSEY TANNER     CHICAGO (AP) -- Scientists say they are making headway in developing a vaccine against a common strep germ, the cause of millions of sore throats as well as a deadly but uncommon flesh-eating disease.    A test of an experimental vaccine in just 28 people prompted an immune response with no serious side effects, but it's still not known if the shot would keep people from catching the strep germ...


Fake Drug Sales Problematic in Mexico

By MARK STEVENSON      MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexican authorities are investigating the sale of fake or substandard medicine in a border town so popular among Americans seeking cheap medications that it has more pharmacies than streets.    U.S...


New Allergy Vaccine Shows Promise

In the first trial of its kind, Austrian researchers have achieved success with an allergy vaccine using genetically engineered pollen. The findings are reported in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


First Lady Bashes John Kerry's Pro Stem Cell Stance

By RON FOURNIER    LANGHORNE, Pa. (AP) -- First lady Laura Bush defended her husband's policy on embryonic stem cell research Monday, calling Democratic rival John Kerry's criticism "ridiculous" and accusing proponents of overstating the potential for medical breakthroughs...


Doctors Place Hope in Baby Pacemaker Devices

By LAURAN NEERGAARD      WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four-month-old Damaris Ochoa was near death, born with an enlarged heart that was quickly giving out. Obtaining a transplant in time was a long shot...


Vending Machines Making Room for Healthy Products

By IRA DREYFUSS     WASHINGTON (AP) -- The typical vending machine fare consists of chocolate bars and potato chips, leaving few options for people seeking low-calorie or low-salt snacks.    That is changing now as companies develop markets for products they expect to satisfy both nutritionists and consumers...


Getting beyond the next big thing

McKinsey says a post-boom tech industry can profit mightily by taking stock in the operations of many slower-growth industries.


If this is a tech rebound, pinch me

KnowledgeWharton goes inside the IT conundrum to examine why capital spending--and corporate confidence--remains low.


Briefly: HP partners with 3G gear maker

roundup Plus: AMD starts shipping 90-nanometer chips...ABC.com to air on Real's SuperPass...Lenovo revenue grows, but problems persist.


Judge moves to unseal documents in Oracle case

Says certain documents, which Oracle and others want to keep from eyes of rivals, may be necessary to decide case.


Study: IT workers more optimistic

IT workers' confidence in the employment market kept growing in July, but techies are less happy with actual jobs than workers overall.


California urged to use open source, VoIP

Authors of a performance review tell the beleaguered state government it could save millions of dollars by adopting open-source software and Internet-based phone calling.


Gartner: 'Steer away' from cheap Windows XP

That's the research firm's verdict on Microsoft's stripped-down Starter Edition for developing countries.


Oracle expands midmarket ambitions

Company looks to juice its application server business with a version tuned for smaller organizations.


Taking the Microsoft Rorschach test

CNET News.com's Charles Cooper asks what it is about Microsoft that pushes so many people straight over the edge?


Earnings alert: BEA revenue rises amid turmoil

Plus: Dell meets expectations...Storage, servers bruise HP earnings...Healthy sales lift Cisco's profit.


AMD starts shipping 90-nanometer chips

The chipmaker appears to have met its most recent deadline for production of the smaller-featured chips.


Lenovo revenue grows, but problems persist

China's largest PC maker sees surge in profits but loses market share to multinational companies.


Dell's second-quarter earnings meet expectations

CEO says firm saw no sales slowdown. Could results help calm waters after bad news from HP and Cisco?


Tech market indeed soft, but HP woes one of a kind

HP and Cisco spooked investors with recent comments about sales, but analysts say the overall tech market is still inching along.


HP replaces three senior executives

Company follows up on promise of "immediate management changes" after disappointing earnings report, CNET News.com has learned.


Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

When heir apparent Paul Otellini takes the reins, what will the chipmaker look like?


IBM's mainframe momentum continues

Big Blue's "dinosaur" mainframe business gets a boost with a European customer consolidating SAP applications using Linux.


Gateway alumnus resurfaces at HP

Former Gateway executive to lead consumer marketing efforts at Hewlett-Packard.


Security pro: Windows easier to 'own'

Windows beats Linux in total cost of 'ownership.' Hold on, that's not a good thing.


Securing the gold in Athens

Despite age-old Olympic truce known as the ekecheiria, or "holding of hands," security experts aren't taking any chances.\


Hacker takes bite out of Apple's iTunes

The Norwegian hacker famous for cracking DVD encryption reveals the public key for AirPort Express.


Microsoft touts 'Sender ID' to fight spam, scams

Proposed tech standard would verify senders' IP addresses to cut malicious phishing and annoying Viagra pitches.


Begging for trouble on security

Securify founder Taher Elgamal says a patchwork mentality has effectively turned network security into an IT budget black hole.


Microsoft's blast from the past

A year after the MSBlast worm, the software giant releases SP2 for Windows XP. Would it have stopped the fast-spreading virus?


MSBlast suspect pleads guilty

The 19-year-old faces up to 37 months in prison after admitting to creating the "MSBlast.B" variant.


Microsoft plugs hole in Exchange

The patch fixes a flaw in the e-mail server software that could be used to get access to in-boxes and information.


PC security under fire

A vulnerability in AOL's instant messenger could allow attacks. Also: A new Bagle variant rumbles across the Net.


Flaw opens AOL chat software to intruders

Attackers could bombard PCs using instant messenger's "away" feature. AOL says a fix is imminent.


HP partners with 3G gear maker

Major cell phone infrastructure provider plans to use HP's telecom software in 3G mobile network gear.


Cox speed boost leaves some members behind

Not all of the cable company's broadband subscribers got a recent hike in bandwidth.


Nortel wins Indian wireless contract

Nortel scores its first major wireless deal with an Indian service provider.


Mosquito software bites smart phones

A possible Trojan horse hidden in an illegal cell-phone game hits smart phones using the Symbian operating system.


Vonage hangs up on some callers

VoIP company suffers "delays," the second glitch in two weeks. Those affected are told to reboot their adaptors.


Group proposes faster Wi-Fi specification

Networking consortium submits proposal for faster Wi-Fi, as battle lines are drawn between rival groups.


Some VoIP calls being blocked

Some Net phone users who are also broadband subscribers aren't receiving incoming calls. AT #38;T plans to release patch.


Covad tries an end run

In a tough scrimmage against resurgent Baby Bells, the broadband pioneer flips open the VoIP playbook.


FCC certifies Freescale ultrawideband technology

Freescale Semiconductor starts shipping its XS110 chip, which will help consumers to connect devices wirelessly.


'Push to talk' meets Wi-Fi

FCC says cellular carriers are working on extending the walkie-talkie feature to Wi-Fi networks--which could mean to VoIP phones.


PalmSource chairman to step down

The separation of PalmOne and PalmSource will be complete with Eric Benhamou's resignation as the latter's chairman.


Blu-ray Disc spec approved

Next-generation DVD specification approved, clearing way for manufacturers to produce read-only disks.


iPod chipmaker plans stock offering

PortalPlayer, whose chip powers Apple's MP3 player, files for IPO. Paperwork gives glimpse of potential evolution of iPod.


Sony zooms in with new TV tech

Electronics giant develops new television technology to attack core business from a new angle.


PalmOne to turn off wireless service

Handheld maker says it will close down its Palm.Net wireless e-mail and Web service soon.


Apple puts edit tools in one basket

Bundle of professional video editing applications includes new Motion special-effects software.


Microsoft wants to improve your image

New imaging software is making eyes at those squinty camera-phone pictures.


DVD player profits down to \$1

Want to get into the market for DVD players? Intense competition and standardization mean that you might make more as a mime.


Sharp brings 3D to PCs, without the funny specs

Firm brings tech already used in phones and laptops to desktops. Screen creates different pixel images for each eye.


Report: Los Alamos lab needs better hardware inventory

In a report this week, the U.S. Department of Energy said inventory controls at the Los Alamos National Laboratory were not robust enough, and some computers were never entered into the lab's inventory database.


Circuit City chooses Linux for cash registers in 600 stores

Circuit City this week bucked the trend of retailers opting for Windows-based point-of-sale systems by announcing plans to migrate to Linux-based IBM cash registers at its 600 stores.


Training seen as way to counter offshoring

Edward Yourdon, a co-founder of the Cutter Consortium, says in an upcoming book that the threat of offshore outsourcing isn't restricted to U.S. software development jobs but to all kinds of knowledge work.


Missing June deals slow to return for software companies

Software company executives at a CIBC World Markets conference this week cited a variety of reasons for why June sales slowed, from record oil prices to steep software discounting and regulatory distractions on accounting deadlines.


VoIP gaining ground, despite cost concerns

The voice-over-IP market is growing, and by next year, 50 of all lines installed in the U.S. are expected to rely on VoIP technology -- despite continuing concerns that installations can be costly.


Olympic IT security requires advance planning

If there's one thing the Atos Origin SA team understands as lead contractor for the Olympic IT infrastructure, it's that you must learn from your mistakes.


BEA meets lowered expectations for Q2

Though BEA Systems signed 18 licensing deals worth \$1 million and added 488 new customers during the quarter, licensing revenue dropped to \$116.3 million.


Hunt for XP SP2 flaws seen in full swing

Security experts said that while the new Service Pack 2 for Windows XP will bolster the operating system's security, hackers will still find a way to exploit any flaws.


Tools wrap: Sun, Javalobby, Infravio make moves

Officials at Sun Microsystems, Javalobby, and Infravio this week revealed initiatives positioned as advances in either Java development or Web services consumption.


Sender ID gains traction

Leading ISPs, anti-spam vendors, and e-mail software companies are moving quickly to add support for the Microsoft-backed anti-spam technology standard Sender ID, even as some e-mail experts raise doubts that the technology will work.


Storage, servers brings down HP results

Hewlett-Packard blindsided analysts with news that its third- and fourth-quarter earnings would badly miss estimates primarily because of problems in its server and storage division.


EBay takes stake in Craigslist

SAN FRANCISCO - Online auction giant eBay Inc. has acquired a 25 percent stake in San Francisco classified advertisements Web site Craigslist, the companies said Friday.


AMD starts shipping 90-nanometer chips to customers

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (AMD Inc.'s) 90-nanometer notebook processors are on their way to customers, according to a research note published by Goldman Sachs   Co. Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Introducing IBM eServer p5 systems.
Powered by IBMs most advanced 64-bit microprocessor (POWER5(tm)), p5 systems can run UNIX and Linux simultaneously. Learn more about eServer p5 systems.


FCC mobile spam rule doesn't cover some SMS

A rule prohibiting mobile-phone spam adopted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) earlier this month doesn't prohibit phone-to-phone text messaging, but FCC officials believe the new rule, combined with a 13-year-old law, should protect U.S. mobile phone customers against unsolicited commercial e-mail.


Eric Benhamou will resign as chairman of PalmSource Inc. on Oct. 28, the company announced Friday. The company said it expects he will continue in his role as chairman of sister company PalmOne Inc.


Update: Google raises gavel for IPO auction Friday

Google Inc. is opening the auction for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) on Friday, with plans to announce the pricing of its stock next week.


Olympic-size security demands advance planning

ATHENS -- If there's one thing the Atos Origin SA team understands as lead contractor for the Olympic IT infrastructure, it's that you must learn from your mistakes.


EBay Buys into Craigslist

Auction company is apparently drawn to the classifieds model pioneered by community resource site.


Is Microsoft's Firewall Secure?

Some say Win XP SP2 enhancements cause conflicts, don't protect as claimed.


Newest Ad-Aware Exposes Some Users

Earliest adopters of updated program should download again to ensure full security.


Trojan Bites Symbian Phones

Mobile phones are target of virus traveling through illegal version of the game Mosquitos.


ATI Brings Digital TV to Your PC

HDTV Wonder snags free high-definition transmissions for budget viewing.


MSN Adds Movie Downloads and Rentals

Microsoft partners with Blockbuster Online, CinemaNow, and MovieTickets.com on one-stop entertainment portal.


Win XP Update: A Quiet Start

Little fallout reported from service pack, but maybe it's because everyone's being cautious.


AOL Launches PC Line

AOL courts novices, Spanish-speakers with budget PC that includes a year of AOL service.


Caregivers Carry Virtual Clipboard

Students design mobile data-access system for health-care workers.


Blaster Author Pleads Guilty

Teen faces prison for unleashing malicious variant of MS Blaster worm last year.


International Group Teams Against Spam

Task force plans antispam campaign, from education to cross-border legal efforts.


Copiers Need Security, Too

Networked multifunction devices share PC vulnerabilities to worms, hackers.


Intel Shows Wireless Transceiver

Prototype 90-nanometer radio chip promises more power than current CMOS technology.


AOL, Yahoo Add New Antispam Tools

Services try different approaches to sender authentication to halt spam.


Most Spam is Domestic, Study Says

Spammers aren't ducking antispam laws by operating offshore, they're just ignoring it.


BlackBerries Play Politics

Wireless devices slip past anti-gadget policies to open a new communications channel to lawmakers.


First Look at Quicken 2005

Intuit tweaks personal finance tool's usability, but update isn't essential if you're running a recent version.


Dell Unveils Inexpensive Projector

New 2300MP digital model offers high brightness and resolution, at a low price.


'Insider' Information Puts City Blogs on the Map

Locally focused group "metro" blogs -- compilations of events, reflections, recommendations, news and complaints -- are emerging to put a number of big cities in intimate, street-level relief.


Judge Says Amazon, Toys 'R' Us Must Work Together

By Jeffrey Gold    PATERSON, N.J.(AP) - A state judge ordered Toys "R" Us and Amazon.com to work together so the online retailer can abide by her order requiring Amazon to keep sellers on its Web site from listing products to which Toys "R" Us, which also markets through Amazon, has exclusive rights.     Superior Court Judge Margaret M...