IT

Researchers have discovered that the ancient Greeks used a primitive 'computer' to set the dates of the Olympic Games. Historians already knew that the first games, held in 776BC, were scheduled to begin on the full moon closest to the summer ... solstice. But until know they hadn't worked out how the Greeks managed to perform the complex and detailed calculations needed to work out that date. The answer lies in a mechanical brass calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism, found in a shipwreck in 1901. It had a series of bronze wheels and dials, and dates from around 100 BC. Experts said it ... (view more)

A new industry agreement could eventually mean an end to choosing between lower quality TV pictures and a house full of messy cabling. Major audio-visual manufacturers including Sony, Sharp, Hitachi, Samsung, and Motorola have agreed to back an ... industry standard for wireless signals to carry high-definition video. Wireless Home Digital Interface will transmit on the 5GHz band, which means it doesn't need licensing. The system can carry up to 3bBits per second, which means it can cope with the top-end 1080p video format without having to compress the signal. It should also be able to transmit ... (view more)

A security firm has warned businesses that using open-source software could put them at risk. A new study carried out by security consultant Larry Suto for Fortify claims people developing open-source software simply don't meet the security ... standards that would be expected of commercial software companies. Open-source software involves the source code behind the software being publicly available. In most cases there is no charge to use, distribute or modify the software. Indeed, many developers and enthusiasts will share ways to improve the software or adapt it for different tasks. The best ... (view more)

It seems every polling day sees pundits hyping up "the first real Internet-era election", but the 2008 US Presidential race really has brought us close to that point. A study of 2,251 adults suggests that 46% of Americans have followed the elections ... either through the Internet or via text message. That's up from around 33% in 2004. However, that figure is a little vague as it incorporates gathering information, sharing opinions and influencing others -- three activities which most likely cover very different numbers of people. (Source: cnet.com ) And yet, the study did also find 35% of adults ... (view more)

A collection of entrepreneurs are now hoping to do for billboards what clicks have done for Internet advertisers. Billboards are slowly becoming equipped with small cameras that record the age, gender and duration of time consumers stare at ... advertisements. The information is then transmitted to a central database for analysis. Advertisers measure the success of their products by paying close attention to the demographics of their audience. This data can easily be collected if extracted via Internet, television, and print resources, but what about seemingly immeasurable advertisements like ... (view more)

You are sitting on the beach of a tropical paradise, sifting through the family photos that you have just taken on your digital camera. Your momentary reflection period is interrupted by a family member telling you to "go long" and you allow the ... camera to fall in the sand as you make a game-saving interception during a round of beach football. At the end of the day you pack up your belongings and walk away, leaving your camera behind. Imagine that a stranger comes along and picks up your camera. Would you want him looking at your digital memories? Of course not! But what if the stranger was ... (view more)

Small Silicone Valley start-up company "Sezmi" plans to give couch potatoes yet another option to watch their favorite shows. The company hopes to form a growing partnership between many local phone companies and television stations across the ... United States with this ultimate plan: go behind the backs of the leading cable and satellite systems to offer the most efficient television experience for consumers. (Source: dallasnews.com ) The evolution of the television as an entertainment medium can perhaps best be described as a blessing and a curse. While viewers now have literally thousands of ... (view more)

If you are a Microsoft Outlook user and let your emails build up by the dozens (like me), going back to locate an important message in a sea of junk mail can be an arduous task. Even if you are meticulous about storing and filing your emails, saving ... hundreds of "important" messages and having to locate a specific one can have the same effect. Xobni is here to help. Xobni -- "inbox" spelled backwards -- is a small Internet start-up company based in San Francisco and is introducing a new application that works together with Outlook to give users a better emailing experience. The software ... (view more)

Indian auction centers have been peddling tea the old fashioned way since 1861, selling it in crowded halls filled with traders and auctioneers. A good auctioneer can usually sell up to three lots in one minute, making tea trading a quick, but ... time-consuming process. But low tea prices, high government sanctions, and evolving times have led to online trading becoming an acceptable medium in India. The high-tech shift is much more economy-driven than it is fashionable. Electronic trading promises fairer prices and lower transaction costs for farmers. (Source: nytimes.com ) The advantage of ... (view more)

Microsoft has joined the revolution, creating their own version of a data storage and web software system called "Live Mesh". Microsoft aims to further blur the distinction between software running on the Windows operating system and a number of ... other services that will be offered to all sorts of present and future electronic devices. Located through a web browser, Live Mesh will not be so much an online operating system as it will be a control page for document files. What is unique about the documents stored on Live Mesh is that they will have no specific location, allowing them to be sent ... (view more)