The Web Scene

Bell Labs to Cut the Power Consumption of the Internet

sparky3887 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:19:08 +0000

Bell Labs is launching Green Touch, a consortium that includes industry, academia, and government entities from around the world with the goal of making the Internet 1,000 times more energy efficient. The Green Touch initiative will offer a five-year plan to achieve this goal, including a reference network architecture and demonstrations of key components. “A thousand-fold reduction is roughly equivalent to being able to power the world’s communications networks, including the Internet, for three years using the same amount of energy that it currently takes to run them for a single day,” Bell Labs says. The 1,000-fold efficiency target is based on research that looked at the fundamental properties of communications networks and technologies such as optical wireless, electronics, possessing, routing, and architecture. Bell Labs research indicates that today’s information and communication technology (ICT) has the potential to be 10,000 times more efficient. The first consortium meeting is scheduled for February and will establish the five-year plan, first-year deliverables, and member roles and responsibilities. The exponential expansion of Internet services “leads to an exponential growth in information and communication technology energy consumption which we, as an industry, have to jointly address,” says Bell Labs’ Gee Rittenhouse.

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‘Wet Computer’ Project Kicks Off

sparky3887 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:18:53 +0000

A team of international researchers is developing a new way of building computing machinery inspired by chemical processes in living systems. The project, led by the University of Southampton’s Klaus-Peter Zauner, makes use of stable “cells” with a spontaneously forming coating, similar to the walls of human cells, and uses chemistry to process signals like neurons do in the brain. The new technology “will open up application domains where current [information technology] does not offer any solutions–controlling molecular robots, fine-grained control of chemical assembly, and intelligent drugs that process the chemical signals of the human body and act according to the local biochemical state of the cell,” Zauner says. The research is based on two concepts. First, the computing “cells” are encased in a lipid, which holds the liquid-based cell together. When the lipid layer of one cell touches the lipid layer of another cell, it forms a protein bridge through which chemical signaling molecules can pass. Second, chemical reactions inside the cell can be triggered by changing the concentration of bromine by a certain amount. These self-contained systems act in the same way as neurons in the human brain. “I think this project stands a real chance of bringing chemical computing from the concept stage to a practical demonstration of a functional prototype,” Zauner says.

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Google Threatens to Leave China After Attacks on Activists’ E-mail

sparky3887 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:18:38 +0000

Google has threatened to withdraw from China following a computer network attack targeting its email service and corporate infrastructure. Google claimed to have proof suggesting that “a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists,” while noting that at least 20 other large firms have been targeted by similar attacks. U.S. officials have avoided leveling a public charge against China for the attacks because it is difficult to determine the assault’s origins with certainty. Google chief legal officer David Drummond says the hacks drove the company to “review the feasibility” of its Chinese operations, while realizing that this could entail the shutdown of Google.cn and Google’s China offices. He also says that Google has elected to halt its censoring of search results on Chinese Google sites, and over the next few weeks the company will engage in discussions with China on the possibility of running “an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all.” Center for Democracy and Technology president Leslie Harris lauds Google’s move, saying the company “has taken a bold and difficult step for Internet freedom in support of fundamental human rights.”

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Aussie Quantum Experiment Challenges Einstein, Computer Science

sparky3887 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:18:22 +0000

University of Queensland (UQ) and Harvard University researchers have completed an experiment that could have massive ramifications for science through the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry to predict molecular reactions. Project co-author and UQ professor Andrew White says the existence of quantum computing implies that either quantum mechanics is incorrect or computer science’s underlying Church Turing Thesis is faulty. “What we have done is a 2 qubit [quantum bit], toy experiment–it won’t put anyone out of a job anytime soon … but if we scale to tens and then hundreds of qubits, that’s when we will exceed the computational capacity of the planet … that will happen [within] 50 years,” White says. The experiment ran an algorithm called the iterative phase estimation to quantify the exact energy of molecular hydrogen against a predicted model. White calls the results, which were accurate inside of six parts in 1 million, “astounding.” Data was calculated to 20 bits, and in some cases as many as 47 bits, and experiments were redone 30 times for classical error correction. White theorizes that the experiment’s results could be utilized to forecast the outcome of chemical reactions without the innate randomness missing from controlled computer simulations.

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Giving Electronic Commands With Body Language

sparky3887 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:18:03 +0000

New human-device interface technology will soon be available that enables users to change TV channels or move documents on a computer screen with simple hand gestures. Companies have been developing this technology for years, but only recently has a breakthrough enabled them to manufacture products to a mainstream audience. The breakthrough came from a company called GestureTek, which creates interactive displays for TV weathermen, museums, and hotels. GestureTek built three-dimensional cameras that can distinguish the hand movements of users. From a soft punch up into the air to turn on the TV, to a twist of the hand to change channels, or raising the volume with an upward pat, these simple gestures can be detected by the cameras and interpreted by specially-designed computer chips. The use of gesture technology to control electronics will get a big boost later this year when Microsoft releases a new video game system based on the technology, which currently is known as Project Natal. Unlike Nintendo’s Wii system, which uses handheld controllers to convert body movements into commands, Project Natal is based on body movements captured by digital cameras. Gesture-controlled TVs and computers also are expected later this year that will feature built-in cameras and could ultimately make many touch-screen controls obsolete.

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Computer Contest Hopes to Inspire Young Animators

sparky3887 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:17:54 +0000

Participation in Animation10 should top the more than 800 schools across the United Kingdom that registered for last year’s competition, according to the University of Manchester. The organizers believe the animation competition will help attract more young people to computing. Students between the ages of seven and 19 will compete to create short, animated films, using the Alice, Scratch Adobe Flash, Greenfoot, or Serif software packages. Winners will receive prizes such as laptops, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Students have until April 1, 2010, to enter the contest, and Manchester will announce the winners on May 3. “We need to encourage the brightest and the best of the young generation to engage in the challenges facing computing–not just to use computers, but to invent the next generation of hardware and software,” says Manchester’s Toby Howard. “And we hope this competition will go some way to raising the profile of computer science amongst children in a fun and exciting way.”

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FCC Looks at Ways to Assert Authority Over Web Access

sparky3887 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:17:29 +0000

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering aggressive moves to claim its authority over consumer access to the Internet as part of the Obama administration’s plan to treat broadband Internet as a national infrastructure similar to phone lines or the broadcast spectrum. Recently, a federal appeals court questioned the limits of the FCC in a 2008 case involving the Internet and cable firm Comcast, bringing the issue to a head. The judges questioned whether the FCC had acted outside of its authority when it ordered Comcast to stop blocking subscribers from accessing specific file-sharing services. Although the case is still being heard, analysts predict the FCC will lose, derailing its attempts to oversee Internet access. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has been pushing for net neutrality, but a loss in the Comcast case could undermine his authority. “If the court removes the legal basis for the current approach to broadband, the commission may be compelled to undertake a major reassessment of its policy framework … or Congress will have to act,” says the FCC’s Colin Crowell. That could mean that the FCC will put broadband services back into a category with phones services, reversing policies from the past decade.

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Intercontinental Grid–Europe and China Link Up for Research

sparky3887 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:17:15 +0000

The European Union-funded Bilateral Research and Industrial Development enhancing and integrating Grid Enabled technologies (BRIDGE) program links European and Chinese computing grids to enable researchers to carry out joint research. The BRIDGE program already has produced results in drug development, aircraft design, and weather prediction. The project was inspired by China’s rapid growth in research and development. “If Europe does not want to lose ground, the response can only be to synchronize with these developments,” says BRIDGE’s Gilbert Kalb. The BRIDGE researchers say the project has created a foundation for the kind of multinational cooperation that is required to solve global problems.

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The Greening of IT

sparky3887 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:17:02 +0000

A seminar hosted by Science|Business focused on what needs to be done to make information technology (IT) more environmentally friendly. The cross-pollination of various disciplines, including computer science, economics, and psychology, was deemed crucial. Cooperation and dialogue between industry, academia, policymakers, and consumers also is essential. Another need highlighted at the seminar is the provision of more accurate and consistent predictive models, while the European Investment Bank’s Juan Alario stressed the importance of information to make financing an “enabling instrument” for green IT and energy efficiency. The European Union’s plan to solve the economic crisis has recognized three sectors–the auto industry, construction, and manufacturing–deserving of research support to enhance energy efficiency. Meanwhile, the user-friendliness of IT products must be augmented if more energy-efficient technologies are to be widely adopted. The ubiquitous proliferation of computers creates the challenge of harnessing, organizing, and absorbing all the information they collect so that it can be applied productively.

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Researchers Develop a University Business Simulator

sparky3887 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:16:42 +0000

Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) researchers have developed SIMulator for Business Administration (SIMBA), business simulation software that can mimic how a market behaves as companies make different business decisions. “It can be utilized from a competitive point of view since different companies can compete against each other to improve their own results,” says UC3M’s Fernando Fernandez. SIMBA uses different variables, including products, markets, client segments, technology, languages, currency, and socio-economic environments, to create a realistic simulated business environment. SIMBA also can be used as a tool for students who are studying the business world. The companies involved in a simulation can be controlled by humans or by computer programs using artificial intelligence. “This increases the complexity of the simulated market and creates the possibility of carrying out multi-player simulations, where some players are human, but where others are controlled by computer programs built by artificial intelligence techniques,” Fernandez says.

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