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  • 2010 ‘could be the year of cellulosic biofuels’ – Cool Earth

    2010 'could be the year of cellulosic biofuels'Cool EarthThis year could see a rise in popularity and development of biofuels which do not cause harm to rainforest habitats in their production, it has been claimed …


  • Internet Explorer Warning Hurts Microsoft in Europe

    Just as Microsoft finally settled its browser issues with the European Commission, the software maker is standing by helplessly as European countries warn consumers not to use Internet Explorer because of a critical vulnerability. Microsoft has issued a workaround.

    The warning comes after Google traced cyberattacks against U.S. companies to a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in IE. Microsoft investigated and determined that IE was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks against Google and possibly other corporate networks.

    On Sunday, Microsoft said it is only seeing a “very limited number” of targeted attacks against a small subset of corporations. George Stathakopoulos, general manager of Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing division, explained that the attacks detected to date, including public proof-of-concept exploit code, are only effective against Internet Explorer 6.

    “Based on a rigorous analysis of multiple sources, we are not aware of any successful attacks against IE7 and IE8 at this time. This is likely due to improved security protections provided by newer versions of Internet Explorer and Windows,” Stathakopoulos said. “In summary, we are not seeing any widespread attacks by any means, and thus far we are not seeing attacks focused on consumers.”

    A Possibly Escalating Threat

    Despite the “very limited number” of targeted attacks, Microsoft pledged to remain vigilant about the evolving threat and urged customers to take appropriate action to protect themselves. Microsoft is recommending that users with IE6 or IE7 upgrade to IE8 as soon as possible to get improved security.

    “Customers who are using Windows XP SP2 should be sure to upgrade to both IE8 and enable Data Execution Protection (DEP), or upgrade to Windows XP SP3 which enables DEP by default, as soon as possible,” Stathakopoulos said. “Additionally, customers should consider implementing the workarounds and mitigations provided in the security advisory.”

    Stathakopoulos said Microsoft has teams working…

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  • Ruh roh, it’s official: Apple is holding an event on January 27

    Apple has just sent out invites to an event it will be holding next week at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. In the invitation, Apple says, “Come see our latest creation.” Hmm, we wonder what that could be. It’s going to be an intense day since so much anticipation and hype has been building for an Apple tablet, and all that energy will finally culminate in typical Apple fashion next week. The event starts bright and early at 10 AM PST, so set your clocks and calendars and try not to go too crazy in the meantime.

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  • That touchable sensation: Apple sends invites for January 27 event

    Filed under: , , ,

    It seems like only hours ago, on the Talkcast, that we were discussing the notable absence of any invitations to Apple’s rumored end-of-January event. Where were they? Was all this hype nothing but a smokescreen? When would the word be given, flights booked, liveblogs scheduled and iPhones charged? What were we waiting for?

    This, apparently. Engadget and The Loop are both reporting that they have their emailed invitations in hand for the January 27 introduction of… well, Apple’s “latest creation.” The invite has a spraypainted look, a time of 10 am Pacific and a place of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts — and not much else.

    Who’s ready for something insanely great?

    TUAWThat touchable sensation: Apple sends invites for January 27 event originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • ICQ Returns: Combines IM With a Haphazard Twitter and Facebook Integration

    icq7_logo.pngIn its heyday, ICQ was one of the most popular instant messaging networks. Today, you will probably have a hard time finding your friends on ICQ. Nevertheless, almost 2 year after the release of ICQ 6, ICQ just released a new version of its IM client. ICQ 7 now integrates updates from Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, Flickr and YouTube. ICQ plans to add support for more social networks in the near future.

    Sponsor

    ICQ 7 is only available for Windows. Mac users can rest assured that they are not missing out on much.

    Social Networks on ICQ: Haphazard Integration

    icq7_facebook.jpgSadly, ICQ doesn’t excel at integrating any of these social networks. Facebook users, for example, can comment on status updates from their friends but there is no button to ‘like’ an item. Interestingly, you can ‘like’ your own updates but not those of your friends.

    The Twitter client can display updates from all your friends on the service, but you filter this feed to just see @replies or direct messages, making ICQ 7 mostly useless as a Twitter client.

    ICQ’s PR material stresses that “users no longer need to open a browser and log into each and every network they’re members in.” For any meaningful interaction on these social networks, you still need to open up your browser, however.

    One of the few positive aspects of ICQ’s social network integration is that it allows you to post an update to all of these networks simultaneously.

    One highly annoying aspect if ICQ 7’s installation procedure is that – by default – the application wants to change your default search engine to ICQ Search and install the ICQ toolbar. While ICQ Search is an inoffensive retooling of Google Search, we would prefer the company to be a bit more open about these changes. Currently, they are tugged away in the install dialog where users are likely to just click ‘next’ instead of doing a close reading of the dialog’s text.

    Stay Away, Even If You are Feeling Nostalgic

    Besides nostalgia, there aren’t a lot of good reasons to install ICQ 7 at this point. The social networking integration is haphazard at best. As an instant messaging network, ICQ has clearly seen better days. In an age where good multi-network IM clients like Digsby, Pidgin, Meebo or Adium can easily connect you to all your friends on every network, there really isn’t a need to install a single-purpose IM client anymore.

    Discuss


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  • What problems do other people have when taking diabetic equipment away while involved

    What problems do other people have when taking diabetic equipment away while involved in sport? I play rugby league for my university and always take spare viles, injections when im travelling away, it would be my worst nightmare if my insulin viles were smashed or i needed more Insulin than usual unexpectadley and did not have any spare viles. I also hate packing it into my sports bag because there is so much of it and my bag is not very secure.
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  • Lithium and REE: Toyota Hits The Accelerator On Hybrid Production, But Will They Have The Rare Metal Supply To Do So? TNR.v, CZX.v, WLC.v, RM.v, LI.v,

    It is our second investment bottleneck. This investment area could have even more potential then very exciting Lithium opportunity itself. If in Lithium space resources are presented in more or less available form even in a tightly controlled market, REE market is controlled by China with over 95% of the market under its influence.
    “If we decided to drive electric cars and charge their Lithium battery with wind, solar and other green power generated energy – time is study Rare Earth Elements. Every time you click on your Blackberry, iPhone or use your PowerBook you are at the mercy of all these elements.
    There are Rare Metals like Lithium, Tantalum and Niobium among them and Rare Earth Elements:
    “The REE group is considered to include the 15 lanthanide elements: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, promethium (does not occur naturally), neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. The elements yttrium and scandium are also included as they have similar chemical properties, making 17 REEs in total.”Rare Earth Elements Molycorp Video
    Neodymium magnet is at the heart of Green Energy Revolution – strongest rare earth magnet available it allows to make a smaller lighter and more powerful electric motors used in hybrids, electric cars and wind turbines.”


    iStockAnalyst:


    By: Darrel Whitten Monday, January 18

    The Nikkei is reporting that Toyota (7203) now plans to boost hybrid car production by two-fold in 2011 from 2009 by boosting volume of its best-selling Prius model as well as the introduction of 10 new hybrid models in the next 2~3 years.

    Toyota plans to claw its way back from heavy losses in FY2009 and lagging market shares in BRICs/emerging markets by getting back to its production roots and hitting the accelerator on hybrid production, particularly in its domestic factories, but also by increasing production overseas in Thailand, Australia, China, the UK and the US. By 2012, the Company aims to be producing 1.1 million hybrid units, versus total global production of 6.40 million automobiles in 2009.
    The problem is, these materials could become the new crude oil of the 21st century, with all developed and newly emerging nations scrambling to ensure supply of a finite resource, for which Japan is almost completely dependent on imports. For example, global automobile production uses over 130 tons of platinum annually, while hybrid automobile production is expected to be the main driver of lithium demand for lithium-ion batteries used in these cars.
    Like other developed nations, Japan is now in full strategic development mode to ensure it and its major companies like Toyota have sufficient supply of key rare earth metals to support its new push toward clean, high tech products–in Viet Nam, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Brazil, Canada, Bolivia and virtually anywhere in the world where such resources exist. Japan’s METI already established a formal strategy to ensure supply of rare metals in July 2009 that includes a) government support for, a) basic material diplomacy, b) recycling/recovery of resources in Japan, c) development of replacement materials for rare earths and d) strategic stockpiling of seven rare earths in addition to indium, gallium, cobalt and tungsten in order to ensure a 60 day supply of these materials.
    In doing so, they are competing with France, other developed nations and China to secure these resources. China itself now produces 97% of current production of rare earth metals, 75% of tungsten and 58% of indium, but is already beginning to restrict exports of these key materials.
    In a mass production and consumption society like Japan, their best source of such materials may lie in the mountains of consumer electronics and mobile phones that are discarded every year. For example, it is estimated that their are 1,500 tons of recoverable indium in the TVs that Japan’s discards every year, equal to just under 40% of the proven reserves in the world, while the recoverable gold is equal to 16% of the world’s reserves.
    However, while there is estimated to be JPY100 worth of recoverable metals in each discarded mobile phone, the price of gold contained therein accounts for over half of this, while the 10 varieties of rare metals contained are worth only around JPY10. In other words, rare metals used in such products is like the spice used in cooking food, i.e., absolutely necessary, but not the main ingredient.
    However, because of the small amount of existing production, world demand for rare earth metals used in cell phones, hybrid cars, wind turbines and many electronic applications is currently over 110,000 tons/year, and expected to grow some 71% to 188,000 tons by 2012 (US
    Geological Survey), while world demand is expected to exceed supply by some 40,000 tons/year in several years.
    Popular hybrid car models such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Focus all use these metals. In fact, some experts of metals consider the Prius as the largest consumer of rare earth metals in the world. Each electric Prius motor requires 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium, and each battery uses 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum. That number will nearly double under Toyota’s plans to boost the car’s fuel economy.
    An estimated 15% or so of lithium output is used in batteries today, but that figure is forecast to jump to about 40% by 2020 due to rising demand for lithium-ion car batteries. The market size of lithium-ion batteries for eco-cars is estimated to grow to slightly less then JPY400 billion ($4.2
    billion) in 2015 before swelling to nearly JPY1 trillion in 2020.
    As a result, global industry could end up moving from the frying pan into the fire in their rush to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, at least for automobiles, and Japan’s import dependency on key raw materials could become worse, not better, as emerging countries such as Bolivia where these new materials are located hold the developed and emerging countries ransom for these materials. After all, the lessons of OPEC and the wealth that crude oil has brought to the Middle East and to other developing nations like Venezuela are not lost on these countries.”

  • Mobile Content Bits: LG Android Phone, Santander Banks, Flirtomatic App

    —LG/Android: The Korean handset maker LG is launching its first Android-OS phone, the GW620 Intouch Max, aimed at the “lower mid-tier” of the market, with T-Mobile and Virgin in the UK. via MobileNews

    —Santander: The Spanish banking group is launching a digital game to help with its rebranding of UK banks Abbey and Bradford & Bingley to Santander. The “Red Brick” game is available as an iPhone app, a mobile game and a Facebook widget. via Brand Republic

    —Flirtomatic: The UK online and mobile social network Flirtomatic is launching an ad-funded free iPhone app. via GoMoNews


  • More Details on AT&T’s “Network Glitch” that Caused Compromised Facebook Security

    On Saturday, an exclusive AP report told a story of an AT&T network glitch which allowed some mobile users the ability to login to other people’s Facebook accounts. Although according to the story only a handful of people were affected by this glitch, the security flaw could have “far reaching implications for everyone on the Internet,” wrote the reporter.

    After reviewing the details of the incident, the “glitch” appears to be more of an issue with some misconfigured software at AT&T and less of an internet-wide security concern, as previously feared. That being said, the wireless company regarded the incident seriously and has taken measures to prevent similar issues from reoccurring in the future.

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    Users Logged into Wrong Facebook Accounts

    In the AP story, a mother and her two daughters, all of whom are AT&T subscribers, logged into the social networking site Facebook using their mobile phones and found themselves with full access to strangers’ Facebook accounts. This was apparently caused by a routing error on AT&T’s part notes the article. In this modern-day equivalent of “crossed wires,” it seemed the wireless company had lost track of which users were which and had sent back the incorrect web pages to the users’ phones. It turns out that the women were not alone in experiencing these issues – other AT&T customers were affected as well. However, AT&T won’t say how many, only that the problem occurred in “a limited number of instances.” 

    Over on the technology news website Slashdot, many speculated about the cause of incident, questioning whether it was a corrupted caching proxy at AT&T or a bug in the HTTP headers set by Facebook that instruct how a response should be cached, among other things. In other words, some weren’t taking it at face value that the problem was entirely AT&T’s fault, despite the fact that an AT&T spokesman claimed that the “network problem behind those episodes” was being fixed.

    Server Software Error to Blame

    A recent statement from AT&T now reveals a few more details about the problem and what they’re doing to address it. According to Michael Coe, the same AT&T spokesman cited in the AP article, the issue was caused by a “server software connectivity error” which impacted some wireless customers logging into Facebook using AT&T subscriber information. Facebook users who signed up for the service using their mobile phones are able to login to the site using the phone number and password created during the sign up process, Facebook states in a Q&A on their Help Site.

    Although Facebook would not comment on the original story, AT&T reports that they did work with the social network in determining the cause of the problem. As it turns out, those affected were logging into Facebook using their AT&T phone numbers as opposed to a username/password combination. Typically, when a username and password is used, a cookie is stored on the mobile device. This small file retains a user’s login credentials, allowing them to access Facebook without having to re-enter their sign in information. When a cookie is not available, the subscriber information is sent to Facebook.com automatically. This is what had taken place in the reported incidents.

    No More Logins Using Your Phone Number, Says AT&T

    AT&T reports that they’ve now put additional “security measures” in place to prevent a reoccurrence of this issue but won’t elaborate on what precisely those measures involve. In addition, the wireless company states they are working with Facebook to disable the use of subscriber information as a method for automatic login. That means going forward, AT&T users will no longer be able to use their phone numbers as login credentials to access Facebook from their mobile devices. Only a username and password combination will be allowed.

    Coe also notes that a similar incident occurred on a customer’s phone in Atlanta, referring to the incident involving the three women. In that case, a misdirected cookie was set on the phone. This is a slightly different issue from what’s described above as it does indeed hint at a routing problem where users are sent the wrong cookie. Although the problem is now resolved, AT&T has still not been able to determine what caused this particular issue. However, the possible routing issue behind this one incident (AT&T could only isolate the problem to one of the three women’s phones) does not appear to be the cause of the other problems. While still somewhat disturbing, especially since the cause is unknown, this singular occurrence does not merit worrying about any “far-reaching,” internet-wide consequences as implied by the original article.

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  • BearExtender n3 grabs WiFi from afar

    We’ve seen a few WiFi extenders in our day, but the BearExtender n3 has a few critical advantages over the rest: it’s cheap, effective, and, uh, legal. The $45 external WiFi adapter for Macs was developed by Rolan Saekow, a Berkeley grad who wanted access to the campus “Airbears” network from wherever he was — and it seems to do the trick, as TUAW’s informal testing revealed stronger signals and higher throughput when using the BearExtender over internal WiFI. Sure, it’s a little bulky, but that just makes you look hardcore, right?

    BearExtender n3 grabs WiFi from afar originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • How do you take care of your Insulin when your away from home for long periods of tim

    How do you take care of your Insulin when your away from home for long periods of time? How do you look after spare Insulin viles for example? I always use a frio bag but I find it is to big and takes up too much room, it always leeks, its not very secure and my spare Insulin viles could be stolen easily and I get worried my viles will get crushed becasue its not very rigid. What are other people like?
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  • Jennifer Lopez “Glee” Guest Appearance

    Jennifer Lopez has nabbed a guest spot on FOX’s award-winning comedy Glee — and it looks like the 40-year-old singer/actress will be trading in her Louboutins for lunch trays and a hairnet.

    Series creator Ryan Murphy is eager to have J. Lo portray a lunch lady when she guest stars on the small screen musical hit later this season.

    “We are writing a role for Ms. Jennifer Lopez, who we love,” Murphy gushed to Extra just after Sunday’s Golden Globes. “We want her to be a cafeteria lady.”

    The show won Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical) at this weekend’s awards show. Glee will return from hiatus with all new episodes in April.

  • How much Insulin do you go through in a week/ month?

    How much Insulin do you go through in a week/ month? I go through a vile of Novorapid in a week, what are other people like?

  • Kinetic energy to charge your phone!

    charger.jpg
    Just when I thought the ‘walk when you talk’ mantra was overused, I came across this another slightly different version of the same mantra. This mobile phone charger charges your phone while you’re walking. Application of solar energy is kind of overdone, it’s now the time of kinetic energy I say! Covered in a transparent box, the device can be clipped on to the belt while it easily converts the motion into electricity that is useable. The system generates an induction current that before being transferred to the mobile phone is stored in a built-in battery.

    A team of students led by Harus Laksana Guntur, an engineering lecturer at the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) in East Java capital Surabaya have developed this and they hope this prototype, without any glitches can work best for the army men to recharge their equipments while being constantly on the move.

    [Greenoptimistic]

  • hkskyline’s HONG KONG 2010 Photo Collection

    Accompanying Cantopop :

    1. As another year begins, I’ll be showcasing Hong Kong from many points of view in a new 2010 thread.

    2. Waiting for the bus …

    3. A new hotel is born. This is a rejuvenation project, as the neighbourhood is full of garages and appears a bit dirty for an upclass facility.

    4. Meanwhile, across the street, a debate rages over what to do with this disused site. More skyscrapers along the water’s edge?

    5. The views would be quite nice though, albeit blocking the residents further inland. Development needs to be more balanced these days.

    6. Hong Kong is a very hilly city. Somehow, the skyscrapers know their place and scream to be seen.

    7. Traditional markets are still alive and well. Although a bit chaotic, they are still cheaper than the supermarket.

    12. The public’s growing appetite for nostalgia continues. In this exhibition, visitors find menus and memorabilia from a recently-closed traditional Chinese restaurant.

    13. For aviation fans, some old plane tickets …

    14. Watson’s is still around today!

    15. What is this British red double decker doing on our streets?

    16. Our homes are getting taller and taller. Each new tower seems to be outdoing the previous one. Do we need to live so high up? Soon 60/F would offer no views.

    17. Hong Kong’s urban planners need to revisit the importance of maintaining proper density and lively streets. The older communities tend to do a much better job, albeit still dense but lower.

    19. There is a constant call to redevelop seemingly young buildings. 40 years is not exactly a very old building if maintained properly. This one would look quite nice if it had a wash or a fresh coat of paint.

    20. The older parts of town are slowly being torn down for more tall residential blocks. How do they fit into the established urban fabric?

    22. Chinese New Year is fast approaching. Time to stock up on red pockets!

    23. Being a valued Cathay Pacific customer over the years, spending tens of thousands of US dollars on their flights, I don’t recall ever seeing this type of baggage box before!

    24. Dryers are not common in Hong Kong. The most environmental way is to hang your laundry out to dry by sunlight.

    26. Hong Kong now has a sizeable Thai community, and Thai helpers are valid options for the busy family.

    29. Eating out is not so expensive if you know the right places. A rice dish with some meat costs only about USD 4. Why bother cooking?

    31. You can also pick up a dessert along the way home!

    32. Today’s local markets have realized the competitive threat of supermarkets. So they have prettied up their wares to give more aesthetic appeal.

    33. Recycling definitely needs to get more popular as we tackle the pollution problem. Here is a price list by material type for the old ladies who collect garbage for re-sale.

    34. Although the boat people community is getting smaller and smaller, typhoon shelters still exist, and offer a parking spot for those who are not on duty. These don’t look anything like the family sampan fishing for a living.

    37. Throughout 2010, I will bring more nostalgia, modernity, and contrast.

    Welcome to Hong Kong.

  • Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago Appoints New Campus Director, Dr. Edward Lamadrid

    Licensed acupuncturist, massage therapist, board-certified herbalist and author of groundbreaking weight-loss study brings 25 years of experience to post

    As any doctor of acupuncture will tell you, location of points is crucial to treatment. And to acupuncturist Dr. Edward Lamadrid, location is also crucial to his career – which is why he recently relocated from New York to Chicago to take the helm of a prestigious medical school.

    Lamadrid has been appointed chief operating officer and campus director at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago. He also is a member of the teaching faculty.

    “As an alumnus of Pacific College,” said Lamadrid, “I am both honored and thrilled to be leading the school into the next decade and beyond. American medicine is embracing Oriental techniques more than ever, so now is an exciting time to be part of this institution and the innovative programs it offers.”

    Pacific College offers programs in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, integrative medicine and massage. Specialties include shiatsu, tui na, Thai massage, qi gong, tai ji, meditation and natural nutrition.

    The college offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as certificate programs and continuing education for practitioners.

    A licensed acupuncturist, massage therapist and board-certified herbalist, Lamadrid has more than 25 years of bodywork experience. He holds master’s and doctorate degrees in acupuncture and herbal medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.

    Lamadrid is the founder of the Integrative Health Studio in New York’s Upper West Side and specializes in the treatment of sports injuries, musculoskeletal pain, fertility, and weight management.

    He offers acupuncture, medical massage, and kinesio-taping as well as provides consultations on feng shui. The overall mission of Lamadrid’s practice is to employ healing arts to transform the roots of emotional consciousness, heal the physical body, and awaken the spirit.

    Moreover, Lamadrid is the developer of an acupuncture-based weight-loss treatment program. In 2008, he conducted a study on the treatment program in New York City and is preparing the study results for publication.

    “Doctors, researchers, scientists, insurance companies, and patients are all coming to the same conclusion,” said Lamadrid. “Oriental medicine is effective tool in treating illness.”

    For more information on Lamadrid, visit integrativehealthstudio.com and edlamadrid.com.

    For more information about the college, visit pacificcollege.edu.

    About Pacific College of Oriental Medicine

    Founded in 1986, Pacific currently has more than 1,100 students attending its campuses in San Diego, New York and Chicago. In 1999, the Illinois Board of Higher Education approved Pacific College as the first graduate program in Oriental medicine in the state.

    All campuses house large professional acupuncture and massage clinics with herbal pharmacies for student training.


  • SPX to Donate Autographed Ford Mustang Race Car

    SPX Corporation, a service provider for Ford Motor Company has announced that it will donate a Ford Mustang FR500S Challenge Race carrying the autographs of multiple race drivers to raise funds for ST. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

    The vehicle will be auctioned Friday, January 22 at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The event can be viewed live on the Speed Channel at approximately 6 p.m. Mountain time, 8 p.m. Eastern time.

    SPX is proud to again partici… (read more)

  • ZEROprize Re-Skinning Award

    The ZEROprize Re-Skinning Award submission deadline is February 22nd, 2010. Winners of this prestigious award for the best architectural, energy-saving recladding projects will be announced to the international press at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro in March.

    For information on the project, go to:

    http://thezeroprize.com/re-skinning-award/

    Regards,

    Robert

  • Beware! Prolonged Internet Use May Cause Psychotic Episodes | Discoblog

    net-addictThere might just be some truth to the notion that excessive indulgence in the “interweb” makes people a tad–just a wee bit–cuckoo.

    Research being conducted by the Clalit Health Maintenance Organization, Israel’s largest HMO, points to a possible connection between unrestricted Internet use and the occurrence of psychotic episodes.

    According to the Israeli paper Haaretz, researchers presented three cases of individuals who experienced psychotic episodes in the wake of intensive, prolonged Web surfing that included the development of a close online relationship with another person. All the three subjects were women between the ages of 30 and 50 with no significant psychiatric history. Two of them had no previous history of mental problems, although one had been treated for anxiety in the past.

    Each of the three ladies had experienced an unsatisfactory intimate relationship in the past, and developed a dependent relationship with a man over the Internet without ever meeting him face-to-face.

    As Haaretz explains:

    The subjects’ psychoses included a total disconnection from reality, and in the case of one of the women also involved tactile hallucinations; she imagined that she could feel the man with whom she was having a “virtual relationship” touching her.

    Creepy. But here comes the scary part: The researchers said all three required psychiatric care in the past year after undergoing uncontrollable psychotic episodes accompanied by delusions and hallucinations. One of the women was referred to emergency psychiatric care, while two checked into clinics. All three needed anti-psychotic drugs to stop the episodes.

    Happily, all three women recovered and are reportedly fine now.

    Researcher Uzi Nitzan said that while a casual relationship cannot be established between internet use and psychotic episodes, the women in the study told researchers that their conditions intensified as they got increasingly involved with their cyber-amours.

    Internet-related psychosis hasn’t yet appeared very much in scientific literature, but there have been some instances of internet delusions in individuals with a history of mental disorders.

    Haaretz quotes Nitzan as saying:

    “There are descriptions of patients who have developed delusions inspired by computer software or hardware, such as one man who believes that someone is trying to poison his fingers through his computer keyboard or to implant certain thoughts in his mind.”

    OK, logging off now.

    Related Content:
    80beats: China Bans Electroshock Therapy For “Internet Addiction”
    80beats: Have You Consumed Your 34-Gigabytes of Information Today
    80beats: Cheescake is like Heroin to Rats on a Junk Food Diet

    Image: Flickr/Mandiberg


  • Be Gizmodo’s New York Intern [Interns]

    I’m going to need someone to prop up my Apple Tablet while I drink coffee, so we need some more interns in New York City. But this time, we’re lookin’ for a few different kinds of interns.

    Four different kinds, to be precise:

    Writing Intern: Your main task will be writing posts, but with a secondary focus on all the other intern duties as outlined here.

    Promotion Intern: Great for people who like to talk to other people. You’ll be promoting our stories on Digg, Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. You should know how to angle stories a certain way, and be familiar with social networks as well as other major sites. When I say familiar, I mean you should read them and know what kind of stories they’re apt to post.

    Research Intern: You should be good at pulling together multiple forms of information from multiple sources for our editors. This includes online and offline sources and even calling up people to arrange (and possibly conduct) interviews. Mostly, you should have a good grasp of technology and be able to locate and dissect information fast.

    Copyediting Intern: English. You should know it. And you should be able to recognize when we screw up. You’ll be going through our posts as a copyeditor, fixing typos and correcting our grammar. If you’re already doing this in your spare time (for free), you’ll love this position.

    All of these internship positions will still have the primary task of finding stories for us—so think of this as your secondary superpower—as outlined here. Look that over (click the link and read it first!) and see if you’re qualified.

    If you think you’re suited for one of those four positions (choose one only, please), send an email to [email protected] with the subject “NY Writing Intern” or “NY Promotion Intern” or “NY Research Intern” or “NY Copyediting Intern”—whichever one fits you the best. No attachments. No. Attachments.

    Remember, it’s full time, you need your own laptop, and you need to be able to get to Manhattan daily.

    Good luck!