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Hardware

Submission + - MRI maps how cellphone radiation heats brains (ieee.org) 1

kgeiger writes: From TFA: "Two scientists have now developed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that they say could [...] be an important tool for researchers who are trying to discover whether extensive cellphone use can cause brain tumors or other health problems.

The technique creates high-resolution 3-D images of the heat created by cellphone radiation absorbed in the brain. In research reported this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists demonstrate the method on cow brain matter and a gel that emulates brain tissue. But the procedure could easily be adapted for tests on human brains, says David Gultekin, a medical physicist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, who led the development of the technique."

Power

Submission + - Is safe, green thorium power finally ready for prime time? (extremetech.com)

MrSeb writes: "If you’ve not been tracking the thorium hype, you might be interested to learn that the benefits liquid fluoride thorium reactors (LFTRs) have over light water uranium reactors (LWRs) are compelling. Alvin Weinberg, who invented both, favored the LFTR for civilian power since its failures (when they happened) were considerably less dramatic — a catastrophic depressurization of radioactive steam, like occurred at Chernobyl in 1986, simply wouldn’t be possible. Since the technical hurdles to building LFTRs and handling their byproducts are in theory no more challenging, one might ask — where are they? It turns out that a bunch of US startups are investigating the modern-day viability of thorium power, and countries like India and China have serious, governmental efforts to use LFTRs. Is thorium power finally ready for prime time?"
Government

Submission + - IEEE Standards for Voting Machines (ieee.org)

kgeiger writes: Voting machine designs and data formats are a free-for-all. The result is poor validation and hence opportunity for fraud. From TFA:

IEEE Standards Project 1622 is working on electronic data interchange for voting systems. The plan is to create a common format, based on the Election Markup Language (EML) already recommended for use in Europe. This is a subset of the popular XML (eXtensible Markup Language) that specifies particular fields and data structures for use in voting.

Submission + - Kim Dotcom Outs Mega Teaser Site, Finalizes Me.ga as Domain Name (paritynews.com)

hypnosec writes: Kim Dotcom has let out more information about the launch of Megaupload’s successor Mega, which he claims will be "bigger, better, faster, stronger, [and] safer." Mega is currently looking for partners those are willing to provide servers, supports and connectivity and become "Mega Storage Nodes." The prime requirement, according to Dotcom, is that the servers should be located outside the US and that the companies should also be based outside of the US. For this reason, Dotcom has decided that the new service will be launching with "Me.ga" domain name.

Submission + - Megaupload Successor Mega Launching January Next Year Confirms Dotcom (paritynews.com)

hypnosec writes: Kim Dotcom has announced that the new service ‘Mega’ will be launching on the anniversary of Megaupload's police raid. The raid took place in January this year following which Megaupload was shut but, despite the ongoing legal battle Dotcom hasn’t given up on file-sharing services and is already working on a new one that will be more than just a file hosting service. The new service, according to Dotcom, will be a massive global network and raid proof. In a tweet, Dotcom announced, “The new Mega will launch exactly 1 year after the raid with a #MansionPressConference & #DoomsdayLaunchButton.”
China

Submission + - Winged Dragon Trains (sciencemag.org)

kgeiger writes: Reviving a 1980s Japanese idea, engineers at Beijing's Beihang University speculate about building an aero-levitation wheel-rail train (ALWR), Small wings mounted on carbon-fiber carriages loft the vehicle. Wheels serve as guides during cruising-speed "flight" and support the vehicle at low-speeds during station stops. The engineers also envision a low-drag sharkskin exterior to reduce drag. The design saves the expense of building and powering magnetic levitation tracks and has several built-in fail-soft features. Bonus: it looks cool, like a many-winged Chinese dragon snaking along the tracks. Better stay behind the yellow line on the boarding platform.
Communications

Submission + - Satellite Uplinks for the Masses (ieee.org) 1

kgeiger writes: Intellectual Ventures has spun out Kymeta to develop and mass-produce their mTenna product line. mTennas are based on metamaterials like the invisibility cloaks discussed on Slashdot and elsewhere. Metamaterials enable beam-steering that ensures an mTenna remains in contact with satellites even during motion. Kymeta will use 'established lithographic techniques' to make them.

IMHO, these antennas may be as big a leap for mobile computing and remote communications as the invention of fractal antennas was for mobile phones.

Submission + - No More Free Conference Calls (ieee.org)

kgeiger writes: The FCC is changing the call termination tariffs that subsidized rural wireline service and coincidentally free conference calls. Free conference call services had located their dial-in centers in rural areas to scoop up FCC tariffs from its Universal Service Fund. USF monies will go to broadband deployment instead. Be prepared to put more nickels in the box.
Games

Submission + - Domo Arigato, Football Roboto (ieee.org)

kgeiger writes: Remember "electric football" from the '60s and '70s? Here's the 2012 Japanese robot version. These 'bots go mano a mano and it gets brutal — parts will fly. Part Rock 'em Sock 'em, all tech. The article's video is hilarious.
Education

Submission + - Help With Homework, Hurt Your Child (wired.com)

garthsundem writes: "Experts and studies agree: the best thing we can do as parents to help our kids' learning at home is to "support autonomy." In fact, playing the role of teacher while helping with homework is almost universally associated with decreased achievement.
This article at Wired represents the rabbit hole of experts I dove down after fabricating my son's kindergarten invention fair project, a powered K'nex conveyor belt designed to transport a picture of our aging Labrador, Gus, through a diorama of our living room.
The gist of this expert advice: explain the directions, carve out time, and then get the heck out of the room."

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