Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/29/147659685/fed-survey-shows-economic-growth-around-u-s?ft=1&f=1001
ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Fed Survey Shows Economic Growth Around U.S.
The U.S. economy started the year with busier factories, higher retail sales, more jobs and growth in home sales. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that all 12 of its banking districts reported some level of growth in January and the first half of February.
Is SXSW's 2010 Darling Stickybits On The Outs?
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelmatthews/2012/02/29/stickybitsdying/
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE
Android's Eye on Enterprise
Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman reports on Google's Android making a run at the business market by increasing network security. He spoke yesterday on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West."
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/video#video=Bobm5tMzrWPLE-w6i1x45zJtd6pe12IN
MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT MICROSEMI MICROS SYSTEMS MICRON TECHNOLOGY
One Year Later, Nokia and Microsoft Deliver
The companies have exceeded their own predictions and, by most estimations, the expectations of many in an industry now dominated by Apple, Google and Samsung.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=46e591f5f80c8b8de74ee534cef4d933
LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH
Your Jetsons home is almost here
In the classic 1960s animated sitcom The Jetsons, everything in the space-age family's home could be controlled by the press of a button on a remote control.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_technology/~3/-4shREYzI4c/index.htm
MWC 2012: Nokia demonstrates 808 Pureview with 41-megapixel camera
Nokia demonstrates a new smartphone, the 808 PureView, which has an unprecedented 41-megapixel camera.
ATandT AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL
Boot up: Apple's secret development process, how LulzSec hid last summer, Techcrunch droops and more
Plus more privacy-invading apps, Google's $1m hacking prize, the web's broken crypto and more
A quick burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
Apple's China audits don't inspire the same from other companies | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
The Bloomberg post notes that "companies including Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung Electronics rely on their own evaluations, based in part on guidelines from the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), which they say are sufficient to prevent abuses." However, "while the EICC sets standards for ethics, worker safety and labor practices, it doesn't require members to disclose findings and it lacks enforcement powers. The result is a disjointed system of self- imposed regulations that fail to hold companies accountable when abuses arise, according to labor advocates and technology executives."
Still, there's plenty of consumer agitation about them which will force a response. Isn't there?
More feds ditch BlackBerrys >> Politico.com
Not good for RIM:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is planning to start the process of ditching Research in Motion's signature BlackBerry wireless phone largely in favor of the iPhone, the agency's top tech official told POLITICO. "We're going to delete the BlackBerry from the mix," Rick Holgate, ATF's chief information officer, said in an interview. That move -- which includes swapping out about 3,800 BlackBerrys -- should be complete in "probably no more than a year," he said. More than 60% of the replacement devices are initially slated to be iPhones.
Android phones look to be getting a look-in too. As do iPads. Basically, ABR - anything but RIM.
How LulzSec kept itself safe during the summer of 'lulz' >> New Scientist
Last year, a group of hackers calling themselves Lulz Security (LulzSec for short) caught the internet's attention with a series of high-profile data breaches and website takedowns targeting the likes of Fox News, Sony and the US government, before apparently disbanding after 50 days of "lulz". Throughout that period, the group's own website proved impervious to rival hacking attempts, thanks to an online security service called CloudFlare. Speaking to New Scientist in advance of his talks at the RSA conference and SXSW festival next month, CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince explains why he kept the hackers online, and how attacks on their site have helped protect the internet.
Intriguing interview.
Apple loophole gives developers access to photos >> NYTimes.com
Developers of applications for Apple's mobile devices, and Apple itself, came under scrutiny this month after reports that some apps were taking people's address book information without their knowledge. As it turns out, address books are not the only things up for grabs. Photos are also vulnerable. After a user allows an application on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to have access to location information, the app can copy the user's entire photo library, without any further notification or warning, according to app developers.
Are we tired of this yet?
How Apple's top secret product development process works >> The Next Web
Clever leveraging of Adam Lashinsky's book 'Inside Apple':
This is the framework on which every Apple product development is hung: Every product at Apple starts with design. Designers are treated like royalty at Apple, where the entire product conforms to their vision. This the polar opposite of the way it works at other companies. Instead of the design being beholden to the manufacturing, finance or manufacturing departments, these all conform to the will of the design department headed by Jony Ive.
Definitely interesting to think about - especially the person who has the jolly job of simply trying out the opening experience of different boxes.
The internet is broken: could we please fix it? >> Cryptographic Engineering
Matthew Green:
every man has a breaking point, and the proximate cause of mine is Trustwave. Or rather, the news that Trustwave -- an important CA [certificate authority] and pillar of the Internet -- took it upon themselves to sell a subordinate root cert to some (still unknown) client, for the purposes of
catastrophically undermining the trust assumptions that make the Internet secureeavesdropping on TLS connections. This kind of behavior is absolutely, unquestionably out of bounds for a trusted CA, and certainly deserves a response -- a stronger one than it's gotten.
Certificate authorities are looking less and less authoritative all the time.
As Staff Flees, TechCrunch's Traffic Plummets | paidContent
TechCrunch, the long-time darling of the digerati, is smashed to bits and all of AOL's horses and men will be hard-pressed to put it together again. The site has lost almost every one of its top writers and traffic has fallen sharply, dropping by 35% from a year ago.
That's $25m spent by AOL it isn't going to see back. Though the estimate of pageviews comes from ComScore, so if you chose not to believe yesterday's story on time spent on Google+, why, then everything's just hunky dory at TechCrunch.
The Department of Homeland Security is searching your Facebook and Twitter for these words >> Animal New York
Safety theatre, of sorts:
The Department of Homeland Security monitors your updates on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, to uncover "Items Of Interest" (IOI), according to an internal DHS document released by the EPIC. That document happens to include a list of the baseline terms for which the DHS-or more specifically, a DHS subcontractor hired to monitor social networks-use to generate real-time IOI reports.
Google offers $1 million reward to hackers who exploit Chrome
Hey, Anonymous!
Google has pledged cash prizes totaling $1 million to people who successfully hack its Chrome browser at next week's CanSecWest security conference. Google will reward winning contestants with prizes of $60,000, $40,000, and $20,000 depending on the severity of the exploits they demonstrate on Windows 7 machines running the browser. Members of the company's security team announced the Pwnium contest on their blog on Monday. There is no splitting of winnings, and prizes will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis until the $1 million threshold is reached.
Android Takes IPhone Battle to Office >> Bloomberg
Among a number of initiatives to bring Android phones into the enterprise:
Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile operator, plans to use the Cebit technology trade show in Hanover next month to demonstrate its device-management suite as well as a SIM-card software that authenticates a phone's user and encrypts data and messages, said Jan Geldmacher, who heads the carrier's German enterprise unit. The encryption works better on Android devices than on iOS because Apple doesn't let developers fine- tune the operating system for maximum security, he said. "The security is a bit reduced if the manufacturer doesn't let us access the system," he said in an interview. "When I advise a customer and he wants to use an encryption mechanism from our Secure SIM card, and he asks me which phone he'd recommend, I'd say take an Android device."
Wonder if Apple will respond to this in its next version of iOS. (Thanks @modelportfolio2003 for the link.)
You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on Pinboard. To suggest a link, either add it below or tag it with @gdntech on the free Delicious service;
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2012/feb/29/technology-links-newsbucket
ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM AMERICA MOVIL
Apple disables iPhone push email in Germany
Ongoing patent dispute with Motorola will affect customers using Apple's MobileMe and iCloud email
The patent wars are hotting up ? and Motorola Mobility (MMI), the mobile device and set-top box company being acquired by Google, has struck a notable blow against Apple.
The iPhone and iPad maker said on Friday that it has disabled the push email function for its mobile devices in Germany in an ongoing patent dispute with MMI.
The disabling of the push service, which automatically sends messages from the receiving email server to the devices as soon as they're received, rather than waiting to be polled by the device, will affect customers using Apple's MobileMe and iCloud email.
Apple said those customers can still receive email using other settings.
The move follows a ruling by a Mannheim court earlier this month that Apple had infringed upon a Motorola patent on push email technology.
Apple says it believes its own patent is valid and is appealing the decision.
Motorola asserts that its patent ? which the independent patents blogger Florian M�ller said dates back to the days of the pager ? covers Apple's implementation of "push" systems.
It is the second time Apple has been forced by a court ruling in favour of Motorola to alter its offerings in Germany. Earlier in February it was obliged to remove some items from its online store in Germany when it lost a court case related to its use of 3G and UMTS systems, which are covered by MMI-owned patents.
But the latter move sparked a complaint by Apple to the European Commission that the company was abusing "standards-essential" patents, which are those deemed to have been necessary to make devices compliant with standards such as Wi-Fi and mobile phone connectivity.
Such patents are meant to be licensed on "FRAND" ? fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory ? terms, so that they are available to any company willing to license them.
Denying the use of FRAND patents could attract antitrust investigation from the European Commission ? as is already happening with Samsung over some of its countersuits against Apple. If found guilty of abuse, the company could be charged up to 10% of its revenues. If MMI is owned by Google then the parent company might be liable.
Microsoft has also filed a similar complaint against MMI with the European Commission over its enforcement of what are claimed to be "standards-essential" patents.
The withdrawal of the push email service ? for which the patent does not fall under FRAND licensing ? comes against a backdrop of frenzied litigation between many of the biggest names in technology as they try to assert their intellectual property and to hinder rivals in the smartphone and tablet market.
Apple is currently suing Android handset makers including MMI, Samsung and HTC in various courts around the world, while a number of countersuits by the same companies are trying to hit back. Microsoft, meanwhile, has succeeded in getting many Android makers to pay it royalties on patents that it says cover Android.
Apple last week won a case against MMI in Germany over its patented "slide to unlock" feature, arguing that MMI's version on its Android phones too closely matched its version, which shows "guide rails" for the unlock mechanism.
Motorola said the case would not affect existing users and that it had "new designs" in place which would not infringe the patent, although it did not respond to enquiries about how the new design differed.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/24/apple-iphone-email-germany
MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Interpol website suffers 'Anonymous cyber-attack'
Website crashes briefly following Interpol's announcement of the arrest of 25 suspected members of the hacking group
Interpol's website appears to have been the victim of a cyber-attack after the international police agency announced the arrests of 25 suspected members of the hacking activist group Anonymous in Europe and South America.
The website went down briefly on Tuesday as supporters of Anonymous made online claims that it had been targeted following the arrests in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Spain. It was quickly back up and running but was loading slowly.
Interpol announced that the arrests had been made under the umbrella of Operation Unmask, which it said was launched in mid-February in the wake of a series of coordinated cyber-attacks originating from the four countries against targets including the Colombian defence ministry and presidential websites, a Chilean electricity company and Chile's national library.
It added that the operation was carried out by authorities in the four countries under the aegis of Interpol's Latin American Working Group of Experts on Information Technology (IT) Crime, which facilitates the sharing of intelligence between the states involved.
Around 250 items of IT equipment and mobile phones were also seized during searches of 40 premises across 15 cities, Interpol said. Payment cards and cash had also been seized as part of the investigation into the funding of illegal activities carried out by the suspected hackers, aged 17 to 40.
Bernd Rossbach, Interpol's acting executive director of police services, said: "This operation shows that crime in the virtual world does have real consequences for those involved, and that the internet cannot be seen as a safe haven for criminal activity, no matter where it originates or where it is targeted."
Cyber-attacks by hackers linked to Anonymous have become a fairly regular occurance. Earlier this month, they marked the one-year anniversary of the uprising in Bahrain by attacking Combined Systems, a tactical weapons company that has been accused of selling tear gas canisters and grenades to Arab governments. Anonymous said the attack was in retaliation for sales by the company of chemical weapons "to repress our revolutionary movements".
Also earlier this month, a leak by the hacking group of an 18-minute discussion between members of the FBI and the Metropolitan police embarrassed authorities and raised questions over how security was breached.
The call revealed officers discussing the delay of court proceedings against two alleged members of the LulzSec hacking group, which attacked a number of sites in 2011 including the US Congress and the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/29/interpol-website-cyber-attack
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Facebook Faces Battles Over Patents
After filings its IPO, patent lawsuits are flying against the social-network from the likes of Microsoft founder Paul Allen, and priceline.com founder Jay Walker
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/video#video=NmZWlnMzomwYQIdZ2Xs7D_iwkNESmr0p
MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS NIKON
U.S. Rule Set for Cameras at Cars? Rear
Federal regulators plan to announce this week that automakers will be required to put rearview cameras in all passenger vehicles by 2014 to help drivers see what is behind them.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9e5d3504226f8feb9b07d5d13f28775d
LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH L1 IDENTITY SOLUTIONS KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY COMPANY
Google Fiber: Can ultra-fast internet change a city?
How will ultra-fast internet change a city?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/magazine-17081508
New railway archive celebrates engineering giants
Original drawings and blueprints from Brunel to Stephenson right back to Wren go online at Network Rail archive
Drawings by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, blueprints by Robert Stephenson and designs by Joseph Locke, William Henry Barlow and other engineering giants of the 19th-century railway boom will go on permanent display for the first time in a new online archive.
Giant projects covered in the archive include the Forth and Tay bridges, Brunel's Box Tunnel, and major stations including Paddington with its beautiful swirling iron and glass end screen.
Network Rail inherited a giant archive of more than 5m records dating back more than three centuries ? the oldest predate the railways, and go back to a document from 1680 signed by Sir Christopher Wren dealing with a plot of land which would later become Charing Cross station ? from its predecessors.
The archivist, Vicky Stretch, said: "The drawings and documents are a window to understanding the incredibly detailed and beautiful; are an absorbing window to understanding the incredibly detailed and beautiful architectural work carried out by some of the world's greatest engineers; and are still important for engineers working today."
Some of the records are still in operational use, such as Brunel's Box Tunnel drawings, as they show details crucial for maintenance such as foundations and construction details.
Only a fraction of the archive is going online in the first phase, but more images and documents will be added ? and questions can be sent to the archivist through the site.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/28/railway-archive-engineering-giants
SONIC AUTOMOTIVE SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS SILICON LABORATORIES SI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY
Stop Insurance Spies: Lockdown Your Privacy Settings
Doing the right thing to protect your social media privacy can have an unexpected and sometimes beneficial side-effect: Insurance companies won't be able to check up on you as easily. I figure it's always a good day for consumers when an insurance industry news site headlines 'Lockdown of Social Information Could Challenge Insurers
ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM AMERICA MOVIL AMKOR TECHNOLOGY
VIDEO: Mobile giants unveil latest designs
Rory Cellan-Jones previews the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona and asks if there is any difference between the raft of new phones being announced.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17174879
NETGEAR NCR NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA
Cray Q4 Tops Estimates
Cray Inc. on Monday afternoon posted better-than-expected fourth quarter results.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/02/27/cray-q4-tops-estimates/
LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH
Nokia CEO Elop Says Not In Merger Talks With Microsoft
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop this morning said his company is not talking to Microsoft about a merger or other equity partnership.
SILICON LABORATORIES SI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK
Monday, 27 February 2012
Sky football decoder battle won by pub landlady Karen Murphy
Karen Murphy, a pub landlady, has won her legal battle to overturn her conviction for using foreign decoders to show Premier League football matches.
RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE
Who?ll be big in Barcelona?
Which names in mobile will wow the conference floor?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17177833
LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH
VIDEO: Breakthrough in radio wave energy
Researchers at the University of Bedfordshire believe they have found a way of harvesting power from radio waves.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-17128356
ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING ASUSTEK COMPUTER ATandT AUTODESK
MWC: NTT DoCoMo and SK Telecom's NFC tickets, mobile infographics and smart learning robots
Looking for mobile inspiration from Japan and South Korea
Mobile World Congress has started, with delegates already charging around Barcelona's Fira complex grabbing fistfuls of collectible Android pin-badges ?�once again, Google is gamifying the show, while driving foot traffic to its partners' stands.
Savvy showgoers are also stopping in at the stands of Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo and Korean operator SK Telecom, though, to see what new mobile technologies they're showing off. While some are quirky and unlikely to travel well beyond their domestic markets, others offer a glimpse of what lies ahead in the West.
File under quirky NTT DoCoMo's "mobile infographics" app. It's a lock-screen application for Android smartphones that represents information including battery life, new emails and texts, and local weather data as an animated picture of a town.
Tap on cars driving along the road, and you get a traffic report. Tap on a stadium to get live football scores. It's a bit like SimCity or Zynga's CityVille reimagined as a way to deliver information. And yes, there are very few arguments for doing it this way rather than as notification icons on a homescreen. But it's quite fun nonetheless.
More serious is DoCoMo's Boardwalk mobile ticketing service, which uses NFC technology to buy tickets ?�tapping your smartphone against a poster brings up information on a music concert or event and lets you buy a mobile ticket, with NFC also used to enter the event itself.
DoCoMo sold 100m mobile tickets in 2011 using RFID technology and QR codes, but it's now looking to use NFC and sell Boardwalk to companies outside Japan.
Over at SK Telecom's stand, the early buzz is coming from its Smart Learning section, and some little robots who interact with Android smartphones for educational purposes.
I played a game where you tilt the phone to trundle around a map of the world, finding specific countries before the water runs out of a virtual goldfish bowl on-screen. Yes, quirky.
The robots are also being shown complementing a physical book (pictured above), with their focus being very much educational aids for children, rather than geektoys for grown-ups.
They're a calling card for SK Telecom's deeper Smart Learning services, including one called "English Bean".
It's a cross-platform service for studying English, with students using their mobile phones to access daily reading material and video content within apps and on mobile websites, while also having video calls with their English tutors.
Facebook-connected word games are also part of the service ?�an interesting take on social gaming for the academic sector.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/feb/27/mwc-ntt-docomo-sk-telecom
INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM) INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES
Who?ll be big in Barcelona?
Which names in mobile will wow the conference floor?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17177833
INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES INGRAM MICRO INFORMATICA
Where are the smartphones of yesteryear?
Maybe I don't spend enough time shopping for Google Android phones, but I always get a kick out of the Top 20 Mobile Phone lists
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_technology/~3/IgvFPVcs2iQ/
NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA MOODYS MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT
Researchers have been working for years on a way to make routers, and most particularly, their memory, all optic, to avoid having to convert the signals at all. Now, it appears one such group has figured out a way to do it.
Autism: how computers can help
Some 'computer geeks' have mild autism. But now, IT is being used to help them overcome their difficulties in relating to other people
In 2001, the technology magazine Wired coined the phrase "geek syndrome" to describe the threefold increase in autism diagnoses in California's Silicon Valley over the space of a decade.
The rumour that Bill Gates himself, founder of Microsoft and figurehead of the world IT industry, displays the traits of Asperger's syndrome, the high-functioning form of autism, spread like wildfire, across ? appropriately ? the internet.
More than a decade later Cambridge University's Autism Research Centre is now running a study investigating the previously established link between parents working in hi-tech, scientific and mathematical industries and an increased incidence of children on the autism spectrum. The National Autistic Society reports in its latest member's magazine that the number of software packages and apps designed specifically for people with autism is rocketing. IT companies in the UK and beyond are actively recruiting an autistic workforce for its highly technical and concentration skills.
The relationship between computers and autism is undisputed ? and double-edged. Many autism experts agree with Temple Grandin, an author and professor at Colorado State University, herself autistic, who believes that without "the gifts of autism" there would probably be no Nasa or IT industry. Yet the high-profile cases of Gary McKinnon and Ryan Cleary, both of whom have Asperger's syndrome, are just two examples of how that relationship can go wrong.
Last November a conference organised by Research Autism considered this apparent contradiction, asking are computers a blessing or a curse for people with autism? Richard Mills, director of research at the charity and chair of the conference, believes the answer is complicated: "The computer age totally changes the world of autism. Things are instant, and they are unregulated. We see tremendous advantages to this if it is properly managed ? and huge pitfalls if it isn't."
The risks are not just for the small proportion who hit the headlines though. "We have so many parents concerned about their children's computer use, and about the explosion of packages designed to help people with autism to communicate, which have not been properly evaluated. We must proceed with rather more caution and try to think through problems before they actually happen."
The potential of computers to help a group that struggles to communicate and form relationships in real life is obvious. Professor Simon Baron Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre believes they outweigh the possible risks: "We can use computers to teach emotion recognition and to simplify communication by stripping out facial and vocal emotional expressions and slowing it down using email instead of face-to-face real-time modes."
Research at Nottingham University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has found that people with autism value the increased control over their interactions that is afforded by the filter of a computer screen. They can observe interactions, choose when to be sociable and make contact with other people who have autism.
Presenting information visually in the precise and predictable computer format suits the autistic mind, says Baron Cohen, and can provide "a tool or platform for developing further skills".
He also identifies the role of computers in making geeks fashionable: "The new technology is chic, so people who are talented at using technology acquire a certain kudos, thereby further reducing any stigma that is often associated with disability."
One risk though is that the computer can itself become an obsession which, in extreme cases, leads the user into serious problems. The reports of Essex teenager Ryan Cleary, charged with a cyber-attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency, leaving his computer only to use the bathroom, may be extreme but they are far from unique, says Mills: "We do need to think about the tendency in autism to become fixated on narrow activities. They may have the skills to use computers but not to know when to stop."
In March it will be 10 years since Gary McKinnon's arrest for allegedly hacking into a number of US military computers. High court judges last month set a July deadline for the home secretary to decide whether McKinnon will be extradited to face trial and a possible 60-year sentence. His mother, Janis Sharpe, is well aware of the dichotomy of computer use and autism. "When Gary was nine, we bought a primitive Atari," she says. "He would beg me not to send him out to play so he could use it. We wanted him to mix more but we didn't want to deny him the information, pleasure and security computers gave him. They were an outlet for him to be himself, and that boosted his self-esteem."
She recalls accompanying her by-then-adult son to a Christmas party at the family home of a girlfriend. "Gary got his computer out. I told him he couldn't use it at a party but he couldn't understand."
The relationship foundered, and McKinnon retreated further into his virtual world. "People with autism need space, and computers can offer that," says Sharpe. "But we have to make sure they don't take over and make other relationships, already difficult for people with autism, even harder."
She advises parents to keep computers in communal spaces, limit their use and to help children learn to question what they read, guidelines which Mills supports. "This virtual world has to help people access the real world, not isolate them further. They must control it, not be controlled by it," he says. "We have to reinforce the positives."
For further information see researchautism.net and autism.org.uk
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/26/computer-geeks-autism
LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH L1 IDENTITY SOLUTIONS
Gadgetwise: How I Got That Shot: Rick Sammon
Here's how Rick Sammon captured an arresting photo-realistic take on a South Beach streetscape.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f4db10720ad45571e32d1700b7847750
TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA
Sky football decoder battle won by pub landlady Karen Murphy
Karen Murphy, a pub landlady, has won her legal battle to overturn her conviction for using foreign decoders to show Premier League football matches.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Android bug opens devices to outside control: experts
BOSTON (Reuters) - Cybersecurity experts have uncovered a flaw in a component of the operating system of Google Inc's widely used Android smartphone that they say hackers can exploit to gain control of the devices. 
AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON
Facebook Posts Can Offer Clues of Depression
Mental health experts say that dark postings by adolescents should not be hastily dismissed because they can serve as an early warning system for timely intervention.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e242b1d2c5161fe746a3e47f4a0562ed
FISERV FIRST SOLAR FINISAR FEI COMPANY FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL
Sony's Tretton on PlayStation Vita
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Jack Tretton, chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., talks about the company's PlayStation Vita handheld gaming device that went on sale Feb. 22. He speaks with Jon Erlichman on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." Bloomberg's Emily Chang also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/video#video=ZyMWNsMzoDSzvF1SXgTG_uLYFPTEUL-7
VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS
eBay's got a PayPal problem
FORTUNE -- Through all eBay's struggles, PayPal has always been a bright spot. The online payment system, acquired in 2002, provided eBay with growing profits and, at times, a much-needed good story to tell investors. Founded in 2000 by tech stars, including Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, the company offered merchants and consumers an easy way to transfer money. To its credit, eBay generally left PayPal alone as it transformed itself from a company offering simple online money transfers into a digital currency powerhouse forging deals with retailers and pushing into mobile payments.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_technology/~3/quHYWXAgqdY/
Road Inc. - Legendary Cars for iPad review
A beautiful app lets iPad users explore cars - Matthew Bolton says there's no excuse not to download it.
Syrians Head To The Polls, Violence Continues
Syrians vote on a new draft constitution Sunday though the opposition has called for a boycott. Violence has been reported across the country. Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon about the latest on the bombardment of Homs and other developments in Syria.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/26/147442463/syrians-head-to-the-polls-violence-continues?ft=1&f=1001
BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT
UK study reveals GPS jamming use
The illegal use of Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers in the UK is highlighted in a new study.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17119768
Inside Google's recruiting machine
FORTUNE -- In the hot war for talent now being fought in Silicon Valley, no company has an arsenal quite like Google's. Named Fortune's Best Company to Work For in 2012, the search giant made a record 8,067 hires last year -- boosting its total headcount by a third. The thirteen-year-old firm's recruiting has an almost mythical quality, particularly for the two million candidates applying to work there each year. In terms of elite American institutions, getting a job at Google ranks with being admitted to Stanford Business School or becoming a Navy Seal. Behind the glitz there are a few Googley basics at work: data, money (lots of it), sophisticated programming, and an army of young, eager recruiters.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_technology/~3/_AiYzFtpEzI/
MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY
Million homes 'need TV filters'
Filters will need to be installed in almost a million UK homes to combat TV interference likely to occur from new 4G mobile services.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17125468
AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON
Netflix Facing Increased Competition From Comcast, Verizon As Streaming Library Dwindles
Netflix and Starz failed to reach a licensing agreement last year and Netflix customers are about to pay the price.
SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS SILICON LABORATORIES SI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES
Can Netflix compete with 'offline' TV?
Is it time we started speaking of YouTube or Netflix in the same breath as the BBC or Sky?
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9682873.stm
MCAFEE MAXIMUS MANTECH INTERNATIONAL MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES LSI
Biosensors measure sporting success
The new technologies changing sport performance
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/business-17097958
YAHOO YAHOO XILINX WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Funds' love of Apple pays, but many managers lag
(Reuters) - Hedge funds' love affair with technology industry darling Apple Inc has rewarded some managers so far this year but half the industry, having been less savvy with its bets, is limping behind with subpar returns, new research from Goldman Sachs shows. 
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Two American Officers Killed At Afghan Ministry
Two American military officers were shot and killed today in the heavily guarded Interior Ministry building in Kabul. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks to Kabul bureau chief Quil Lawrence about the shootings, which follow five days of riots and protests over the burning of Koran's at a NATO base earlier this week.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/25/147421349/two-american-officers-killed-at-afghan-ministry?ft=1&f=1001
EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED
Audio: the engine of the Fiat 500 TwinAir
Sam Wollaston test drives the Fiat 500 TwinAir with its distinctive flatulent engine sound
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/audio/2012/feb/24/motoring-fiat-500-twinair-audio
NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA MOODYS MISCROSOFT OFFICE
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