Submission + - SpaceX tests Falcon 1 engine, launch soon
The Bad Astronomer writes: "SpaceX successfully ran a static firing of their Falcon 1 rocket Thursday. The test went smoothly, and launch will probably be next week."
Submission + - Scientists show thought-controlled computer
Da Massive writes: Forget speech-recognition software: How about typing a letter just by thinking it? An Austrian company is showing a brain-computer interface at Cebit that 'reads' thoughts to operate a computer.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;36148 5560;fp;16;fpid;1
Feed Judge Bars a Buyout Vote at Netsmart (nytimes.com)
A judge has barred Netsmart Technologies from polling shareholders on a $115 million offer to sell out to private equity firms.
Submission + - Wireless Carriers Block Access to FreeConference
Stitch_Surfs writes: "In a letter sent to customers today, FreeConference is reporting that AT$T/Cingular, Sprint and Qwest have begun blocking the telephone numbers that terminate into FreeConference's bridge, effectively making it impossible for millions of individuals to utilize their popular free conference calling service..."
Submission + - Cingular to Refund $18.5M in California
YogaFlame writes: Cingular Wireless will refund $18.5 million to thousands of former California customers who were penalized for canceling their mobile phone service because they had trouble making and receiving calls.
The settlement announced Thursday with the California Public Utilities Commission ends a lengthy battle revolving around Cingular's treatment of dissatisfied subscribers from January 2000 through April 2002.
Submission + - MS: 'Financial incentives' for Live Search data
InfoWorldMike writes: "In an apparent attempt to boost its disappointing Web search market share, Microsoft will give 'service or training credits' to companies that will share employees' Live Search usage data. The program is being tested with "a select number of enterprise customers based on the number of Web search queries conducted by their employees via Live Search," Microsoft said in a statement late on Thursday. The move prompts InfoWord's ed-in-chief to ask: Is Office Live Microsoft's gateway drug?"
Submission + - Video Games with Shooting Improve Eyesight
anthemaniac writes: Playing video games that involve firing guns (Gears of War, Halo, take your pick) can improve eyesight, according to a new study. From the article: 'People who started out as non-gamers and then received 30 hours of training on first-person action video games showed a substantial increase in their ability to see objects accurately in a cluttered space, compared to non-gamers given the same test.' The games push the brain to the limit, the thinking goes, and it adapts by developing better spatial resolution. The effect was not duplicated in sedate games like Tetris.
