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December |
Newsletter |
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Issue
49 |
Included in this months issue:
Extreme Steel 'Velcro' Takes A 35-tonne Load
For all its usefulness, Velcro hardly inspires excitement. But German engineers have taken inspiration from the mild-mannered fastener to create a version of the hook-and-loop concept with enough steely strength for extreme loads and environments.
A square metre of the new fastener, called Metaklett, is capable of supporting 35 tonnes at temperatures up to 800 ºC, claim Josef Mair and colleagues at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. And just like everyday Velcro it can be opened up without specialised tools and used again.
By Tom Simonite
Next Up For Nokia: Netbooks, Banking
The conventional wisdom about Nokia is decidedly downbeat. Wall Street analysts say the Finnish handset maker is in for unimpressive profits as it loses share in the lucrative market for smartphones. Credit Suisse is the latest bank to turn sour on Nokia shares, downgrading them to "underperform" from "outperform" on Sept. 1 and predicting that the company will have trouble fending off competition from Apple's iPhone, BlackBerry handsets from Research in Motion, and phones using Google's Android operating system.
Nokia did its level best to counter the conventional wisdom during its annual Nokia World extravaganza in Stuttgart, Germany, on Sept. 2-3. There, as Nokia promoted new products and services, the mood was far less somber than at industry events a few months earlier.
By Jack Ewing
Universal Translator For Web Browsers
Ever wondered what the Arabic or Chinese press are saying about the issues of the day? Finding out just got a lot easier, at least for those using the Firefox web browser.
A new plug-in identifies the language used on a web page and automatically provides a translation, leaving the layout of the page unchanged.
The plug-in, designed by the San Francisco-based Worldwide Lexicon project, recognises over 40 languages. Users start by telling the software which language they prefer. When a page written in a different language loads, the software searches for translations provided by the project's community of volunteers. If none is available it uses an online services such as Google Translate.
A test version of the plug-in is available at the Firefox website.
Taken from NewScientist.com
Reboot For UK's 'Oldest' Computer
Britain's oldest original computer, the Harwell, is being sent to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley where it is to be restored to working order.
The computer, which was designed in 1949, first ran in 1951 and was designed to perform mathematical calculations; it lasted until 1973. When first built the 2.4m x 5m computer was state-of-the-art, although it was superseded by transistor-based systems.
The restoration project is expected to take a year.
Taken from BBC Technology News
FrontRange Simplifies Software Asset Management
Infrastructure management firm FrontRange Solutions is to launch a new version of its License Manager product tomorrow, featuring capabilities designed to help firms save money and boost compliance efforts by streamlining software asset management projects.
License Manager 3.1 features support for Microsoft's Systems Management Server 2003, allowing customers to take a direct feed from the server management product to ease data collection and discovery.
By Phil Muncaster
Techland's Tentative Job Recovery
Hiring at small, venture-funded tech firms is on the rise, raising hopes for an industrywide turnaround by 2010.
As recession forces many tech companies to cut jobs, pockets of the industry are adding workers en masse. Consider Platinum Solutions, a provider of software and IT services to the government. In the past 12 months, Platinum has boosted its workforce by more than half, to about 130 employees, after receiving large multiyear contracts from government agencies, including the Food & Drug Administration. As of mid-August, the company had more than 50 job openings. "We're recruiting heavily, we have four in-house recruiters working around the clock," says Platinum Solutions Chief Executive Officer Laila Rossi. And this is to meet demand for ongoing projects, she hastens to add—not jobs borne out of one-time federal stimulus.
By Rachael King
EU Speaks Out On US Bank Data Access
Members of the European Union's Civil Liberties Committee have questioned European banking officials after access to bank data was granted to US authorities.
The committee issued a statement on Monday expressing concerns over possible privacy and data protection violations within Europe's Swift financial transition network.
US officials have been requesting bank and transfer information for years as a way to trace funding from individual donors and organisations to terrorist groups. The programme is said to date as far back as 2006.
Members of the European Parliament are now pressing US and European officials to draft a new agreement which provides stricter protections and tighter control by EU authorities.
By Shaun Nichols
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