Interactive Map Pinpoints Wildfires and Updates

by Tiffany Rider

ABC 7 News has been covering the wildfires raging across Southern California daily since last Sunday. The ABC 7 website now has an interactive map for those who want to get up to date information on where the old and new fires are, if they have been contained, where the evacuation areas are, and more. You can view the map in standard map form, get a satellite view of the area, or a hybrid of both. The hybrid view allows you to see where the fires are located. The map has fire icons that you can click to learn more about that particular fire. This morning there is a blue "parachute" shaped icon that pinpoints the fire that has begun at Camp Pendleton. By clicking these icons, options for submitting photos, viewing photos, reading articles, and viewing maps to and from the location.

Here is an image of the map from 10:53am today.




To view the current fire updates, click here.

Music Technology Lab

Apparently high school band class is getting re-vamped.

River Hill High in Baltimore is going to get a music technology lab, where students can learn to use music-making programs on the computer, like GarageBand, Logic and Sibelius. They'll also have electric pianos, guitars and 20 Mac computers. All of this added up to a $120,000 cost.

Apparently right now the high schoolers are just able to test the equiptment in class. It will mainly be used for after-hours classes for high schoolers and adults, and summer camps.

Representatives from the school say that they want to make music appeal to those who aren't interested in classical instruments or orchestra. Plus, the technology is more representative of modern music.

The full story from The Baltimore Sun can be found here.

--Anna Mavromati

New version of PS3 in the works, won't break the bank

by Tiffany Rider




Beginning Nov. 2, Sony will have a new version of the PlayStation 3 on the market.






Photo Credit: www.playstatic.com


This version will have a smaller 40GB drive and, unlike the current PS3, is not compatible with PS2 format games. Sony does not believe this is will pose a threat to the new product because of the broadened collection of games for PS3. This announcement has already been made in Japan and Europe, and the introduction of the product to the U.S. has been widely anticipated. The price for the new console is $399.

For more on this, check out this CNN article and information from the Sony website.

The fake iphone By jan Gray

I don’t know about you but I really, really hate my phone. It looks terrible with canyons of paint carved out of it, the person on the other end is always yelling “what!?” because they can’t understand a damn word i'm saying, and my 3,6, and power button don't work anymore. This means if my phone ever ran out of battery I would no longer have a phone.
I hate how people make fun of me so I want to show off my next phone without spending a boatload of money because I’m a cheap bastard (much like the rest of you). So the solution is the fake I phone.
The phones are able to be purchased on several websites that import goods to the United States directly from China. China’s economy is in its heyday and their electronic manufacturing industry couldn’t be better. In fact, the very iphone itself, the real apple version, is manufactured in none other than China. So if these phones are literally made down the street what’s the real difference.
First off the fake iphone actually has more features than the real one. The first main difference is the ability to remove the battery. This has been a problem with the iPod for years. The thing freezes up and your left virtually stranded with no music to listen to until a power source is plugged into the pod physically. The iphone did not touch on this subject at all, leaving a fixed battery.
Another difference is the fake iphone’s ability to be run on multiple networks. This means that you do not have to sign up for a plan with Cingular. You can use any network with a sim-card. T-mobile claims to have the cheapest internet rates at literally half the price of what Cingular is charging. T-Mobile also claims to help you up with the set up process, something that many people have complained about in the blogosphere.
The main difference is the price. The iphone, even with the price reduction is still a $400 piece of hardware let alone the Cingular charges. The fake iphone range from about $100-$200.
Here are some links where you can buy it:

http://www.bigtimekicks.com/product_info.php?products_id=5623?osCsid=4b5bf8a94215493e6c6da03808568a48

http://www.bluelans.com/

http://www.shopextreme.de/ifone

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5179~r.23845165

Why people will soon be marrying and having sex with Robots!

Sounds out-of-this-world? Well it's about to be part of ours sooner than you think...

People could be falling in love and having sex with robots in a few decades and even marrying them, according to a British artificial intelligence researcher.

David Levy, originally from London, has made the controversial forecasts about the future of human-robot relationships in his Ph.D thesis.

In "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners", he argues that current trends in robotics and artificial intelligence mean the leap to humans and robots forming relationships is not far away. Mr Levy, also an International Master in chess, believes robots will soon appear so like humans in the way they look and act, in their personality and how they express emotions, that many people will fall in love with them.

His predictions are based on his analysis of certain trends and on what he sees as the inevitability of how they will continue in the future.

Cheers,

~Noor Z.

Report slams Chinese government for internet censorship

The French-based watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres, or RSF) released a report on Wednesday that examines and criticises Chinese government for its censorship of online news and websites.

The report is titled "China: Journey to the heart of Internet censorship" and is a collaborative work between the RSF and Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

The author of the study, a Chinese internet expert and researcher, cites surveillance and propaganda as the principal tools of the Chinese government to control internet content. He prefers to remain anonymous, using the pen name "Mr. Tao".

"Mr. Tao" points to a number of bureaus that play a hand in internet censorship, most of them suppervised by the Information and Public Security Ministries. He goes on to outline their methods of blocking websites, use of intimidation tactics that encourage self-censorship, and prosecution of rebellious users and bloggers.

The publishers hope to raise worldwide awareness of Chinese censorship before the 2008 Olympic Games, to be held in Beijing.

According to the China Internet Network Information Centre, China has about 162 million Internet users.

***Hyperlinks coming once I get to a PC

View the report here:
http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Voyage_au_coeur_de_la_censure_GB.pdf

Or visit the Reporters Without Borders website here:
http://www.rsf.org

J.K Rowling sues Hogwarts Castle look alike

If you go to this link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071011/ennew_afp/entertainmentindialiteraturepottercourtreligion_071011142707 you will see that J.K Rowling is suing an India company for their replica of Hogwarts Castle for their religous festival. Sue is suing for over $2 million ruppes ($50,0000)

Personally, I love J.K Rowling to death, her books are awesome, and she is the perfect example of a rags to ritches story, but does she REALLY need all that money? I mean she's already one of the most wealthy people in Britan, does she really need to sue these poor people who obviously don't have the money to pay her.

posted by Ashley Brown

Alexandra Boulat Dies

Alexandra Boulat died Friday, Oct. 5 2007. Boulat was one of the founding members of the VII Photo agency.

The agency was formed two days before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by seven of the best photojournalists in the world. Two days later, James Nachtwey shot the tragedy near his Manhattan apartment.

The agency, which operates independent of mainstream media, has succeeded in showing a true vision of the world. On their Web site, viiphoto.com, you can see events that have happened and are happening worldwide. From celebrities, to political leaders, to AIDS, and Afganistan, the agency sheds light on events that some people don't even know are going on.

Boulat specialized in conflict and social issues. She was born in France in 1962, and died in Paris.

YouTube ads going to a new level

YouTube is up to some sort of new advancement in advertising again. Apparently tomorrow they're going to introduce a new service that will allow its ad network to embed videos from YouTube. The example the New York Times article used was that if there was a website about hiking being advertised, they could use an embeded video of hiking from YouTube.

This is also the first big product of the Google and YouTube combination, and they say it will give the people posting on YouTube a wider audience--and Google can make some money off of the YouTube videos. It's not just Google that will be earning extra dough either, they say they will share the revenue with the YouTube video creators whose stuff gets picked up. They didn't say how much they'd share yet, though.

The full New York Times article can be found here.

-Anna Mavromati

Record Labels Crack Down

The record industry is cracking down on people who illegally download music online. According to a recent article by the Associated Press, record companies have sued about 26,000 people. Most of these people have not gone to trial because they settle by paying the labels a "few thousand dollars." The claim is violating an online copyright law.
Recently an online music sharer went to trial. Jammie Thomas of Minneapolis was ordered by a jury to pay the record industry $222,000 for sharing music online through Kazaa.
According to the article," The companies that sued Thomas were EMI Group PLC's Capitol Records Inc.; the Arista Records LLC label and its parent Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which is run by Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG; Vivendi SA's UMG Inc. and its label, Interscope Records; and Warner Bros. Records Inc., which is a unit of Warner Music Group Corp."
Thomas is a single mother of two boys who makes about $36,000 a year and will most likely not be able to pay the record labels back.
Personally I know many people who have downloaded music illegally. With the start of Napster, the world began to illegally download music and not think much of it. Now the record industry is beating down on those who have grown up downloading music and not thinking much of it.
Many artists have begun to fight back and try to prevent their music being shared illegally, yet it seems that most of online sharers find another way to get what they want.



-Kara Bautch

Wi-Fi Detector Shirt

A new shirt is coming out at the end of this month that will allow the wearer, and his admirers, to find nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and their signal strength.

To be released sometime in late October by ThinkGeek.com, the Wi-Fi Detector Shirt will be able to detect 802.11b and 802.11g carrier frequencies, which make up the largest Wi-Fi networks. The shirt's decal with the trademark image of a radio tower and signal bars lights up when it picks up a signal, with more bars indicating a stronger connection.

While the shirt's detector can find you a signal, it cannot tell if it is encrypted or not and requires a password to access it.

The shirt is marketed for convenience (why crack open your laptop when you can check your chest?) but doesn't seem practical. According to the specs, three AAA batteries are needed to keep the shirt going for a matter of hours, with a connector cable from a battery pouch to the removable decal. And be careful not to mix it in with the rest of your laundry.

Overall it seems like novelty, but look at other ThinkGeek products like the Wi-Fi Signal Locator keychain. For the same price as the shirt ($29.99) you can have the same signal detection from a device small enough to fit in with your keys. Similar products that aren't nearly as clunky might catch on a little faster.

An article by Stephen Lawson of the IDG News Service made the speculation that once Power Over Ethernet (802.11af) becomes more prevalent, such devices could be powered by the same signal they detect and make it a more practical product.

By Andy Franks

UC Berkeley to use Youtube for lectures

By Matt Sun

Youtube is not only present during our downtime between classes and filler time afterwards, it has also become a learning tool for the students at UC Berkeley.

The university claimed it is the first to make full course lectures available on Youtube.

"UC Berkeley on YouTube will provide a public window into university life, academics, events and athletics, which will build on our rich tradition of open educational content for the larger community," said Christina Maslach, UC Berkeley's vice provost for undergraduate education in a statement.

So far only a few select subjects are available, however over 300 hours of lecture videos are posted by the university's youtube account: youtube.com/ucberkeley

New Verizon Phone is Competition for iPhone

By Tiffany Rider


Verizon Wireless introduced three new phones on the market to compete with the iPhone.

Photo from Reuters

The first of the three, Dubbed the Voyager, is made by LG Electronics and shares many components with the iPhone but has advancements that "trump" it. Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman boasted about the innovation, saying in an interview, "We think it'll be the best phone.... this year. It will kill the iPhone."

This article comes just a week after the media package Andy Franks and I put together! It's great that LG has come up with a phone that can actually compete with the iPhone because it seems like Apple is dominating the industry when it comes to MP3 players and PDAs.

Some of the benefits of the new Verizon Voyager include faster wireless internet access and a key pad. The key pad, which can be found with a second screen when the Voyager is opened at its hinges was included for those who dislike the iPhone's lack of one.

The second phone, Juke, is an ultra-narrow Samsung phone that comes in three different colors. The third phone, called Venus, comes in black and pink and has a touch screen as well as a keypad that slides from under the phone.

The prices for these phones have yet to be released, but they should range from less than $100 to $400.

For more informaion, check out the article on Yahoo.

The Japanese Fitness Phone

by Kendra Fujino

Japan's largest cell phone carrier, NTT DeCoMo, unveiled their new "Fitness Phone" this week.
According to the Japanese firm, the phone is designed to help its owner maintain a healthy life style while also monitoring bad breath.
By punching in your personal stats from age, weight, sex and height, the phone can provide tips on healthy meals and exercise regimens. On top of that, the phone can keep track of how many steps are taken per day and can monitor the owner's pulse.
The real kicker to this innovative phone is that its equipped with a device that can measure bad breath. Simply exhale into your Fitness Phone and your trusty cellular fitness guru will tell you if its time for a Tic Tac.
With recent studies showing that middle-aged Japanese men are heavier than they were twelve years ago due to a lack of exercise, NTT DeCoMo spokesman Kentaro Endo told MSNBC that the Fitness Phone is targeted at fat-fighting middle-aged businessmen. The phone is also designed for young woman on diets, Endo added.
Let your phone be your guide. Eat up. Go for a jog. And always have a breath mint handy.

Photo by MSNBC

Planes

Planes are being made with carbon laminate, carbon sandwich, and other composites, these make the plane light weight. This could replace aluminum and other metals used to build aircrafts. This helps with the the gas being a lower price because of the lighter weight. With the new composites it's made to not show the any dents or problems to the naked eye. This is so that it does not make the plane weak. There will be infrared testing to make sure that water is not leaking into the plane. With the new compostites there will be major testing to make sure the plane has no problems.

Christine Thompson