A Universal Translator Becomes Reality

William Shatner as James T Kirk: The new device is similar to the Universal Translator used in Star Trek, and takes around one hour to get used to a person's voice then works by comparing the words that have been recorded with stock models for the target language

Star Trek Becomes Reality As Microsoft 'Universal Translator' Turns Spoken English Into Any Of 26 Different Languages -- Daily Mail

* Software speaks in user's own voice
* Can translate into languages from Spanish to Mandarin
* Speaks smoothly in sentences, not individual words
* Could be built into smartphone language apps

It has long been used by James T Kirk to speak to aliens and blue women from space - but now Microsoft is on the brink of making a real, working Universal Translator.

Frank Soong and Rick Rashid have created software which converts English language speech into any of 26 foreign languages - and which 'speaks' in the user's own voice.

All the user has to do is speak English into the machine and it will convert it into anything from Spanish to Mandarin.

Read more ....

My Comment: I am traveling this summer .... so faster please.

Five Leadership Lessons From Jean-Luc Picard

Image from Wikipedia

Five Leadership Lessons From Jean-Luc Picard -- Forbes

“He’d ensure the safety of his ship and his crew
And then complete the mission
And make himself a better person
Bring peace to the galaxy
And do it for free
Oh yeah, that’s what Captain Picard would do.”

– from “What Would Captain Picard Do?” by Hank Green

Captain Jean-Luc Picard is the model of a great 24th Century Starfleet captain. On his watch, the crew of the Enterprise successfully defended humanity against the judgement of the Q-Continuum, defeated the Borg, prevented the Romulans from installing a puppet government in the Klingon Empire, and encountered countless new species.

Although Captain Picard’s style was very different from Captain Kirk’s, he was also an incredibly successful leader. Here are five lessons in leadership that can take away from Picard’s voyages as you take your organization on its journey to boldly go where no one has gone before.

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My Comment: No disagreements from me on this list.

Apple's New iPad: 10 Things You Should Do When You Take It Out Of The Box

Apple's New iPad: 10 Things You Should Do After Breaking It Out Of The Box -- eWeek

Apple’s new iPad is launching March 16. But according to the latest reports, Apple’s tablet has already sold out of its preorders, and those hoping to get their hands on the device on launch day will have little to no chance of it. Demand is so high for Apple’s new iPad that the company doesn’t anticipate having a new supply available to customers for two to three weeks after its launch.

But for all those who will be lucky enough to get their hands on the new iPad at launch day, it might be a good time to provide a refresher on what they should do to ensure the device is ready to go as soon as it’s home. From the simple, like applying the Smart Cover, to the more complex, like setting up iTunes, there are a host of things that new iPad buyers must know before they break the device out of the box.

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My Comment: Yup .... these 10 points are valid.

Reporters Without Borders: 2012 Enemies Of The Internet

A new report from the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders names the Internet's greatest enemies. (Reporters Without Borders)

Bahrain, Belarus Newly Dubbed As 'Internet Enemies' -- L.A. Times

After a tumultuous year of protests and crackdowns, the island nation of Bahrain has been labeled as an “enemy of the Internet” by a nonprofit group that advocates for press freedom.

Reporters Without Borders said Bahrain had smeared free-speech activists, arrested bloggers and harassed human rights activists to create “an effective news blackout.” Earlier this year, Bahrain turned down New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and other reporters seeking to cover the one-year anniversary of protests against the Sunni Muslim monarchy, saying it had received too many requests.

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More News On Who Made The "Internet Enemies" List

Media Watchdog Names 'Enemies of the Internet' -- Voice of America
Watchdog group reveals ‘Enemies of the Internet’ list for 2012 -- FOX News
Global media watchdog names enemies of Internet -- AP
Belarus, Bahrain Blacklisted 'Enemies Of Internet,' India 'Under Surveillance' -- RTT News
Group lists 2012 enemies of the Internet -- UPI
Meet the 'Enemies of the Internet' 2012 -- CNET
Bahrain, Belarus Added to 'Enemies of the Internet' List -- PC Mag
Reporters Without Borders Releases Its 2012 “Internet Enemies” List -- Scientific American

Shark Feeding Frenzy Off Australian Coast (Video)

Shark Feeding Frenzy Off Australian Coast – Video -- The Guardian

A school of sharks feed on a school of tuna that in turn are feeding on a school of smaller fish a few hundred metres off the coast north of Perth. About 50 sharks were spotted by the crew of an air sea rescue helicopter. Some of the sharks were estimated to be 2.5 metres long

Most Polar Ice Ever Recorded

Most Polar Ice Ever Recorded -- Don Surber

So much for an ice-free Arctic. Henry Hudson’s long-ago dream of a Northwest Passage that would link England to the Orient by sea will have to wait another century as Mother Earth gives him the cold shoulder. Again.

From Real Science: “1979 was the peak year for Arctic ice, yet 2012 has more ice around Greenland and Alaska than 1979 did.”

Same date satellite data seems to show that Iceland and everywhere else is iced over this year when they were feeling a little green 33 years ago.

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My Comment: Surprise, surprise. Any bets that the main stream media will NOT cover this.

China 'To Send Its First Woman Into Space'

The Long March rocket carrying the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre Photo: REUTERS

China 'To Send Its First Woman Into Space' -- The Telegraph

China may send its first woman into space this year after including female astronauts in the team training for its first manned space docking, state media said on Monday.

Three astronauts will blast off on board Shenzhou ("Divine Vessel") IX between June and August to conduct a manual docking with the Tiangong-1 module currently orbiting the Earth, Xinhua news agency said, quoting an official with China's manned space programme.

A team of astronauts, including an unspecified number of women, are training for the docking mission and the three-person crew will be selected at the last minute, said Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief.

After the space rendezvous, the astronauts will move temporarily into Tiangong-1 ("Heavenly Palace"), where they will perform scientific experiments.

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My Comment: What took them so long?

Genetic Manipulation Boosts Growth of Brain Cells

UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators have identified a genetic manipulation that increases the development of neurons in the brain during aging and enhances the effect of antidepressant drugs. (Credit: © rolffimages / Fotolia)

Genetic Manipulation Boosts Growth of Brain Cells Linked to Learning, Enhances Effects of Antidepressants -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Mar. 8, 2012) — UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators have identified a genetic manipulation that increases the development of neurons in the brain during aging and enhances the effect of antidepressant drugs.

The research finds that deleting the Nf1 gene in mice results in long-lasting improvements in neurogenesis, which in turn makes those in the test group more sensitive to the effects of antidepressants.

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Why Android Tablets Have Not Succeeded Against The iPad

Android Tablets: Little Headway Against iPad -- Christian Science Monitor

Android tablets, poised to challenge Apple's iPad a year ago, have largely fallen by the wayside. Here's why Android tablets and other tablet computers have a hard time against the iPad.

Apple certainly has lots of buzz and corporate cache behind its products, but there's a hidden — almost mundane — reason its newest iPad is likely to dominate the competition: the advantageous deals the company cuts with components manufacturers.

Apple's size, and the fact that the iPad shares components with the highly popular iPhone, means that the company can buy crucial parts such as processing chips and display screens at lower prices. Any company that wants to make a tablet computer that matches the iPad's $499 starting price has to endure higher costs.

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Super Telescope 'Favours South Africa Over Australia'

The Square Kilometre Array will take to the middle of the next decade to finish

Super Telescope 'Favours South Africa Over Australia' -- BBC

Australian media are reporting that the country is running behind South Africa in the selection process for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

The huge £1.3bn ($2bn) radio telescope facility is being designed to answer some key questions about the Universe.

The Saturday editions of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age carried a leak from a panel that has looked at the technical strengths of each bid.

But commentators said South Africa's selection was not yet a done deal.

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My Comment: That's one expensive telescope. My money is on Australia, with the reason being that it is more politically stable than South Africa.

DARPA Unveils HELLADS, A Portable Laser Weapons System

DARPA Unveils Drone-Slaying War Laser -- Fast Company

A weapon that used to be the size of a passenger jet now fits on the back of a flatbed truck. (Shark mounting apparatus sold separately.)

DARPA is unveiling a portable laser weapons system, HELLADS, which seems like something out of a sci-fi movie. The new laser application, created by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems with a custom power system from Saft Batteries, will help change the way the American military fights future wars. Current military laser systems are bulky contraptions which are mainly the size of a passenger jet, while the proposed DARPA weapon can fit on the back of a flatbed truck. The 150-kilowatt, solid state laser weapon is strong enough to take down drones or other aerial targets; a prototype is expected to be available by the end of 2012.

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My Comment: I can easily see this tech being applied on naval ships.

Pentagon Unveils Non-Lethal Heat Ray Weapon

US Military Unveils Non-Lethal Heat Ray Weapon -- Sydney Morning Herald/AFP

A sensation of unbearable, sudden heat seems to come out of nowhere - this wave, a strong electromagnetic beam, is the latest non-lethal weapon unveiled by the US military this week.

"You're not gonna see it, you're not gonna hear it, you're not gonna smell it: you're gonna feel it," explained US Marine Colonel Tracy Taffola, director the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, Marine Corps Base Quantico, at a demonstration for members of the media.

The effect is so repellant, the immediate instinct is to flee - and quickly, as experienced by AFP at the presentation.

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Update #1: U.S. military unveil latest weapon ... a ray beam that makes the enemy feel 'quite hot' -- Daily Mail
Update #2: $120 million heat ray waiting for first action -- Stars and Stripes
Update #3: New Marine Corps non-lethal weapon heats things up -- Divds
Update #4: Nonlethal ray beam is latest US weapon -- Inquirer News

My Comment: I see this as a very effective weapon in flushing out the enemy from a building or enclosed space.

Fossilized In The Act: Ancient Armored Fish Downs Flying Reptile

A fossilized hunting scene showing an ancient armored fish taking down a pterosaur, likely by snagging the low-flying reptile by the wing and pulling it under water. CREDIT: PLoS ONE

Caught In The Act: Ancient Armored Fish Downs Flying Reptile -- Live Science

An ancient armored fish was fossilized in the act of attacking and drowning a pterosaur in a toxic Jurassic lake, revealing that the winged reptiles were victims of a wide variety of carnivores, scientists find.

Pterosaurs dominated the skies during the Age of Dinosaurs. Still, flight did not always ensure them safety — researchers have recently discovered that Velociraptor dined on the flying reptiles.

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My Comment: One has to be impressed by what must have been happening years ago. Just when you think you have dinner .... you die .... and millions of years later we are able to see the act.

Facebook Geotagging Puts Soldiers At Risk

Photos from smartphones are geotagged even when the user is unaware. Smartphone users can adjust their privacy settings to limit who can view their geotagged locations. www.Army.mil

Military Personnel Warned Against Geotagging Photos -- Red Orbit

American military personnel could find their lives in danger due to an unlikely source — Facebook’s recently adopted Timeline feature — officials from the US Army warned earlier this week.

According to a BBC News report published Friday, the actual culprit is geotagged photographs, or pictures that are marked with the location where they were taken. Geotagging is a popular feature on the Mark Zuckerberg-founded social network and other websites like it, and many smartphones automatically include them, complete with GPS coordinates, when they are uploaded, the British news agency added.

Read more ....

More News On The Dangers Of Facebook Geotagging

Geotagging poses security risks -- www.Army.mil
US Army: Geotagged Facebook posts put soldiers' lives at risk -- BBC
US Soldiers Are Giving Away Their Positions With Geotagged Photos -- Gizmodo
Army Warns Of Danger Of Geotagging -- Tech Crunch
U.S. army warns soldiers of dangers of Facebook geotagging -- Digital Journal
U.S. Army Warns Soldiers About Geotagging -- Web Pro News
US Soldiers warned over Facebook tagging -- Today Online

After Megaupload Shutdown, Other File Sharing Services Have Picked Up The Slack

After Megaupload Bust, Putlocker and RapidShare Pick Up Slack -- Danger Room

The Feds shut down Megaupload two months ago, but browser-based filesharing hasn’t slowed down. It has just moved to other websites.

Before the takedown, Megaupload was the most popular web-based filesharing service — by far. In a recent study of 1,600 networks, Palo Alto Networks — a company that makes its living scanning corporate networks for unauthorized software — found that it accounted for about a quarter of all filesharing traffic on these networks. That was about 10 percent more than its nearest competitor.

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My Comment: When they first came out I found these file sharing services incredible useful in my business .... but with time (and technology advancements), I found their usefulness limited. There will be other file sharing services .... and technology advances that will make file sharing easy .... but the the golden age of file sharing services such as Megaupload .... those days are over.

Sonar Images Show The Deep Sea Grave Of The Titanic

Deep Sea Grave Of The Titanic: Extraordinary Sonar Images Show Full Map Of Shipwreck On Ocean Floor For First Time -- Daily Mail

* Researchers hope the map will provide new clues about what happened when the famous vessel sank 100 years ago
* Expedition team used sonar imaging and more than 100,000 photos taken from underwater robots to create the detailed map
* It shows where hundreds of objects and pieces of the presumed-unsinkable vessel landed

It is one of the most famous disasters the world has ever known and even inspired an Oscar-winning film.

But never before has the Titanic disaster been seen in such extraordinary detail as these new images show.

Researchers have pieced together what is believed to be the first comprehensive map of the entire 3-by-5-mile Titanic debris field.

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Moment A Seal Dodges Great White Shark

Incredible: Tourists in False Bay, South Africa, were left amazed when they saw this 12ft shark emerge from the water to catch a seal. But despite being one of the world's most feared predators, it badly misjudged its attack

Perched On The Jaws Of Death: Moment A Seal Dodges Great White Shark... -- Daily Mail

They are known for being one of the world's most feared predators.

But as this picture shows, great white sharks do not always get things right when moving in for the kill.

A shocked group of tourists in False Bay, South Africa, were left amazed when they saw this 12ft shark emerge from the water to catch a seal.

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CSN Editor: Click on the above image to enlarge it.

Printed Book Sales Plummet As The E-Reader Grows In Popularity

A New Chapter In Publishing: Printed Book Sales Plummet As The E-Reader Grows In Popularity -- Daily Mail

* Sales of printed novels fell by a quarter in the first two months of this year

The rise of e-readers - such as Kindle - is thought to be behind a slump in sales of the printed novel in the UK, figures have revealed.

In the first eight weeks of 2012, Britons bought 7.6million printed novels - almost two-and-a-half million fewer than books bought in the same period in 2011.

The slump - which does not include non-fiction and children's books - coincides with a jump in sales of e-readers, which include Kindle and iPads.

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Is Our Galaxy Warped?

ESO 510-13: Warped Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), C. Conselice (U. Wisconsin/STScI) et al., NASA

Hubble Catches a Warped Spiral Galaxy in Profile -- Popular Science

The Hubble Heritage Team captured the warped structure of spiral galaxy ESO 510-13 so beautifully in this pretty space pic. Behold, the product of galactic collisions.

At least, that’s one theory. Most spiral galaxies are flat disks made up of millions of stars and gas and planets and whatnot orbiting a galactic center (which is thought to be, at least in the case of large galaxies, a supermassive black hole). These disks are thought to flatten out the way they do by the nature of the collision of gas clouds early in a galaxy’s lifespan.

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Japan Prepares To Remember The First Year Anniversary Of Last Year's Earthquake/Tsunami

One Year After Japan Tsunami: Roads Repaired, But Lives Still Disrupted -- Christian Science Monitor

One year after the Japan tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear disaster, many roads are rebuilt and debris is cleaned up. But much remains in flux for residents of the hard-hit northeast coastal zone.

When Takako Ouchi's elderly mother died last December, tradition dictated she be laid to rest in a cemetery near her home.

But the cemetery, like her old house, lies in the shadow of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, rendered unreachable – perhaps forever – because of radiation. Instead, Ms. Ouchi has constructed a shrine to her mother in the bedroom of her new home, 40 miles away.

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More News On The Anniversary Of Last Year's Japanese Earthquake And Tsunami

The world's first YouTube catastrophe: One year on, how the tsunami changed Japan (and the world) forever -- Daily Mail
Japan earthquake and tsunami: 478 bodies remain unidentified one year on -- The Telegraph
Japan earthquake and tsunami anniversary: quarter of a million face five years in shelters -- The Telegraph
Japan Disaster: A Year Later: Without a blueprint -- L.A. Times
VOA Reporter Reflects on Devastation of Japan's Major Earthquake -- Voice of America
Japan’s 3/11 Triple Catastrophe Endures in Broken Families, Divided Towns -- Bloomberg
A year after disastrous earthquake, tsunami, travel to Japan slowly rebounds -- MSNBC
Grief of Japan's tsunami survivors -- BBC
Six videos of the Japanese tsunami [Video] -- L.A. Times
Japan’s disaster (Photo Gallery) -- Washington Post
Japan: Then and Now (Photo Gallery) -- New York Times
Graphic: Aftermath of Japan earthquake and tsunami -- The Telegraph