Can scientists make a space elevator?
Nov/09BC
Source: CNN
(CNN) — It sounds like science fiction. And it was.
Now, 30 years after “2001″ author Arthur C. Clarke wrote about an elevator that rises into outer space, serious research is happening all over the world in an effort to make the far-fetched-sounding idea a reality.
The benefits of a fully realized elevator would make carrying people and goods into space cheaper, easier and safer than with rocket launches, proponents say, opening up a host of possibilities.
Restaurants and hotels for space tourists. Wind turbines that provide energy by spinning 24 hours a day. A cheaper, easier and more environmentally friendly way to launch rockets.
Scientists envision all of the above — possibly within our lifetimes.
“Space elevator-related research is valid, but there are hurdles to overcome,” said David Smitherman, a space architect at NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
This week in the Mojave Desert, three teams of engineers are competing for $2 million offered up by NASA for anyone who can build a prototype of an elevator able to crawl up a kilometer-high tether while hauling a heavy payload.
“We haven’t had any winners yet, but we truly do expect to have at least one winner, probably more [this year],” said Ted Semon, spokesman for The Spaceward Foundation, which has run the competition for the past several years.
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Google releases Dashboard privacy tool
Nov/09BC
Source: CNN
(CNN) — Ever wonder what information Google knows about you? With a click or two, now you can find out.
Google released a feature Thursday that lets users see and control data that the Web giant has collected about them. Called Google Dashboard, the service provides an online summary of a user’s Google files — Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa photos and so on — by collecting pre-existing privacy controls in one place.
Dashboard users can review and delete recent Google searches, see recently opened and shared documents and survey their interactions with other Google-powered sites such as YouTube.
Google, which has come under fire from politicians and privacy advocates for its data-collection practices, announced the service with a blog post headlined, “Transparency, Choice and Control — now complete with a Dashboard!”
“Over the past 11 years, Google has focused on building innovative products for our users,” the company said in its official blog on Thursday. “Today, with hundreds of millions of people using those products around the world, we are very aware of the trust that you have placed in us, and our responsibility to protect your privacy and data.”
The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which has been critical of the amount of personal data Google stores, called the dashboard a small step in the right direction.
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Facebook spammer ordered to pay $711 million
Nov/09BC
Cnn-A California judge awarded Facebook $711 million in damages against spammer Sanford Wallace for bombarding the Web site with junk messages.
“We won another battle in the fight against spam,” said Facebook, which announced the Oct. 29 ruling on its Web site on Friday.
Wallace, who has also been called the “Spam King,” accessed Facebook members’ accounts without their permission and sent out “phony” Wall posts and messages, the company said.
In addition to the damages, Judge Jeremy Fogel of U.S. District Court in Northern California’s San Jose division banned Wallace, and anyone affiliated with him, from accessing Facebook.
Facebook acknowledged that it doesn’t expect to get much money out of the bankrupt Wallace, but it said that he could end up behind bars.
“Most notably, the judge referred Wallace to the U.S. Attorney’s Office with a request that Wallace be prosecuted for criminal contempt, which means that in addition to the judgment, he now faces possible jail time,” read the Facebook statement. “We will continue to pursue damages against other spammers.”
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