Google Uses Street View Technology to Document Japan’s Tsunami Damage and Reconstruction Read more: Google Uses Street View Technology to Document Japan's Tsunami Damage and Reconstruction | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

The camera-clad vehicle will not only help to document the damage from the disaster, but also track reconstruction in the streets of the seaside town, Kesennuma. The system is the same as Google’s Street View, which is a feature in Google Maps. Before the disaster, Japanese citizens did not look on Street View favorably. They found the cameras to be intrusive, and a violation of their privacy. In fact, Google even opted to refilm their Japan footage for Street View with less sensitive cameras to assuage citizens.
But Street View’s new use has been welcomed with open arms, with other cities signing up to have their streets photographed and documented. They feel that it will not only show future generations a firsthand account of the extent of the damage, but also, by making the reconstruction images publically attainable, it could keep momentum for the progress going.
The new use for Street View complements Google’s other disaster efforts. Immediately after the tsunami struck, Google implemented Person Finder, which tagged 616,300 missing persons reports. By contacting everyone from local authorities to radio stations to newspapers and the National Police Agency, Person Finder brought together all of the information provided by each organization and shared it, creating a giant searchable database of information on missing persons from hospitals, shelters, and even from hand written posters.
Using Street View as a disaster documentation service, Google will not only help Japan’s recovery effort, but also make Google a household name associated with help in Japanese homes.

New MORTAL KOMBAT DLC Trailer Previews Aquatic Fighter Rain

Mortal Kombat's newest kombatant lands with a splash July 19. A new trailer shows the Purple Prince in action, using his signature water-based powers to destroy his opponents.

After centuries of Mortal Kombat, Emperor Shao Kahn has finally defeated Raiden and his allies. Faced with extinction, Raiden has one last chance. To undo the Emperor’s victory, he must strike Shao Kahn where he is vulnerable… the past. With a return to the mature presentation and classic 2D fighting plane, Mortal Kombat is the most accessible and competitive MK game to date, available now on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Mortal Kombat further extends the brutal experience with a visually striking story mode that will rewrite the ancient history of the Mortal Kombat Tournament.

Mortal Kombat is available now for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles. Rain will be available for download July 19 on Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 preview [360/PS3/PC]

It’s the game that needs no introduction. Except it does, because we have this space to fill. So here’s why we’re both wildly excited, and mildly concerned, about CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3.

As inevitably as night following day, Call of Duty returns this November the phenomenally successful Modern Warfare sub-series. The world is deep in the grips of all-out war and the NATO forces aren’t doing so well. This installment sees us fighting on more familiar fronts, in locations like New York, London, Paris and Germany.
Much of what we’ve seen so far has focused on New York, and continue the series’ tradition of massive set-pieces with the added bonus of impressive environmental effects. At E3 we saw Navy SEALS hijacking a submarine to help take down an attack fleet off the coast of NYC, and later the combat moves to the ground in downtown New York, heading up to the steps of the Wall Street Stock Exchange.
The visuals have been ramped up again and the new environmental effects – such as astonishing water in a speed boat chase, or falling masonry in the New York City sequences – really add to the grandeur of the events unfolding.

Openly epic

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Modern Warfare 3, aside from the bigger action sequences and higher visual fidelity. There are more chances to meet familiar characters, with the return of Soap MacTavish. And there’s the chance to fight through more open and epic locations than ever before. This appears to be a singleplayer campaign that, while still tight and compact, is delivered on a scale that the series hasn’t quite achieved to this point.

Of course, there’s also the return of Call of Duty’s main draw, the multiplayer. CoD fanatics will cry out for more of the series’ trademark speedy and accessible yet complex play that will allow them to assert their superiority over the anonymous masses over the internet via Xbox Live, PSN and Steam.
Also making its full debut this time is the Call of Duty Elite service, which will allow you to keep up with your CoD comrades even when they’re not jacked into the game via their platform of choice, adding a whole bunch of extra communication and statistics tools well beyond what we’ve seen before.
It looks set to be a shining beacon for Call of Duty, then – one that should even impress those who were a little disappointed with what Black Ops offered, and are wishing for a return to the Infinity Ward-built efforts which have always had the edge in terms of playability in the past.

Upper limit

But while it’ll offer incremental improvements on the experience that Infinity Ward brought with Modern Warfare 2 and Treyarch refined again in Black Ops, and the Call of Duty Elite service will definitely add an extra, more social dimension to proceedings, there’s still a feeling that Call of Duty has reached its limits in terms of how it can define the military shooter genre.

If we strip away the cosmetic updates and discount the Elite service, which was developed by Beachhead separately as a service that will serve multiple COD titles in the future, what have Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer really given us this time?
Once the spectacle of the New York skyline crumbling under A10 missile fire and escaping a sinking submarine are done with, we’re left with a core game that’s pretty much more of the same. You might be okay with that. That’s fine.
The greatest innovation we’ve seen in the Call of Duty series since Infinity Ward shook it up with Modern Warfare back in 2007 was the zombie mode, which Treyarch added with World at War. It’s fun, but hardly an earth-shattering addition to the series, and is in no way as important as Modern Warfare was. This is compounded by the ubiquity of zombie games in varying forms ranging from the supreme Left 4 Dead series to the slightly bizarre Yakuza: Of The End zombie spin-off which SEGA has just released in Japan.
And, predictably, zombies return in MW3′s Survival mode, only adding to the sense that there’ll be nothing new on offer here. Call of Duty has sat atop its genre for almost a decade now – and I can’t help but feel like it’s time for a bit of a change of pace. Nevertheless, Modern Warfare 3 is shaping up to be another fun addition to the series, one that’s sure to sell millions of copies as long as it keeps giving us FPS gamers what we want. After all, if it ain’t broke…
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be released by Activision, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games on November 8th 2011, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

“Apple's… Exclusive Supply Chain Of Advanced Technology [Is] Literally Years Ahead Of Anyone...

  What Apple does is use its cash hoard to pay for the construction cost (or a significant fraction of it) of the factory in exchange for exclusive rights to the output production of the factory for a set period of time (maybe 6 - 36 months), and then for a discounted rate afterwards.

Google Plus’s Real Goal is Not to Kill Facebook, but to Force it to Open

I’ve been so focused on the user experience of Google’s new social network Plus that I haven’t thought very much about the big picture, I must admit. Listening tonight to an interview with Plus designer Joseph Smarr on the IEEE Podcast it became clear to me that for at least some of Plus’s leadership the goal is not to win social networking outright, or to kill any competitors, but to disrupt the social networking economy with a big enough, good enough and popular enough service that the walled gardens (Facebook in particular) are forced to open up interoperability enough that their users can communicate with the significant enough number of people in their lives that use a different social network. Back in the bad old days, customers of one phone network couldn’t call customers of other phone networks, then people couldn’t email out-of-network. Today people can’t be social across networks, but few people mind because everyone they care about is on Facebook. Plus is a big push to change that. Interoperability will be better for the open web and thus better for Google. It should also be better for consumer choice and satisfaction, in the long run. As long as Face-oogling or whatever doesn’t become as frustrating in the future as dealing with phone companies is today. But they do have interoperability!
I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about it this way before. I hope the plan works. One more cool thing about Plus.
I’d post a link to my Plus profile here but I wrote this whole post on my phone, sitting on the sidewalk in front of my house, in the dark. (Cutting sod that’s grown over my walkway.) I’m not hard to find there though and am lots of fun to talk to, I promise.

Porsche car sales jump 36 pct in H1

(Routers) - German sports carmaker Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) has sold 60,650 cars in the first six months of the year, a 36 percent increase on a year ago, sales chief Bernhard Maier told news agency dpa.
He also confirmed Porsche expects to reach annual sales of over 100,000 for the first time this year, with the Cayenne SUV model proving a particularly good seller.
Maier said however, this popularity had resulted in long waiting times for some models.
"In Germany with the Cayenne for example it can sometime be between 6 and 12 months depending on specification," he said. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Louise Heavens)

Paramedic uses iPhone app to help treat patient

Paramedic uses iPhone app to help treat patient

A paramedic who used an iPhone app to help treat a Polish lorry driver has been praised for her quick thinking.
Nicola Draper, who is based at Witham ambulance station, downloaded the Medical Polish app to help her assess the driver who did not speak any English.
She was called to the collision on the A12 near Kelvedon between the lorry and a car on Friday where the drivers and passenger had escaped unhurt.
She said: “This simple and free application is a great tool."
See this week's Witham Times for the full story.

Flying car gets licence

It’s been cleared to take to the skies for more than a year - but that’s not much use when you’re supposed to be able to drive it, too. But now the flying car has at least been declared officially road legal.
It means the Terrafugia Transition could be in US garages as early as next autumn, after two years of delays. It may not be the world’s first flying car, but its makers say it is the first to have wings that fold up automatically at the push of a button.
It costs $200,000 - about the same price as a Ferrari - and can be reserved online for what Terrafugia describes as a ‘modest’ $10,000 deposit.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has officially announced the Transition, called a ‘roadable aircraft’ by its makers, can now be legally driven on America’s roads. It granted the vehicle special dispensations, which allow it to use airplane-style plastic windows instead of the safety glass usually used in cars, as it would be too heavy. The polycarbonate windscreens can withstand the impact of birds, so they won’t fracture.
The administration has also granted Terrafugia permission to use heavier-grade tyres, which are not normally allowed on multi-purpose vehicles. It’s the second hurdle the Transition had to overcome before it could go on sale, after the Federal Aviation Administration ruled last year it could fly with its current weight, 110lbs over the normal legal limit for light sport aircraft category. –DM

Nine Signs That the Human Race Has Peaked

Well, it was fun while it lasted but it's time to admit: the reign of humanity will soon be ending. Don't believe me? Then stop playing Farmville for two goddamn seconds and look at this collection from our friends at Oobject.com.
 Still not convinced? Then take a look at these twelve rocket launch videos, this abandoned space technology, some space junk or these space-bound timekeepers.

5. Models for selecting media and technology: 5. Media or technology?

The medium is the message?

This is the fifth post in a series on selecting and using technology for teaching and learning. The first four were Models for selecting and using technology: 1. the challenge, 2. Models for selecting and using technology: 2. A (very) brief history of educational technology, 3. Models for selecting and using technology: 3. Broadcast or communicative? and 4. Models for selecting and using technology: 4. Synchronous or asynchronous?
In the last post, I looked at the dimension of synchronous and asynchronous technologies, and compared those characteristics with the dimension of broadcast and asynchronous. In this post I will look at another critical dimension of communications technologies: whether we are discussing media or technology.
Introduction
This is going to be a much more challenging and controversial post, because philosophers and scientists have argued about the nature of media and technologies over a very long period, starting with Socrates musing on the inadequacy of writing for representing knowledge. So this post is semiotics redux (for which you should be thankful).
One reason that the distinction is challenging is because in everyday language use, we tend to use these two terms interchangeably. For instance, television is often referred to as both a medium and a technology. Is the Internet a medium or a technology? And does it matter?
I will argue that there are differences, and it does matter to distinguish between media and technology, especially if we are looking for guidelines on when and how to use media or technologies. There is a danger in looking too much at the raw technology, and not enough at the personal, social and cultural contexts in which we use technology, particularly in education. We shall also see that media and technology are not on a single dimension like broadcast or communicative, but represent different ways altogether of thinking about the choice and use of technology in teaching and learning.
Technology
There are many definitions of technology (see Wikipedia for a good discussion of this). Essentially definitions of technology range from the basic notion of tools, to systems which employ or exploit technologies. Thus ‘technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems’ is a simple definition; ‘the current state of humanity’s knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants’ is a more complex and grandiose definition (and has a smugness about it that I think is undeserved – technology often does the opposite of satisfy wants, for instance.).
In terms of educational technology I think we have to consider a broad definition of technology. The technology of the Internet involves more than just a collection of tools, but a system that combines computers, telecommunications, software and rules and procedures or protocols. However, I baulk at the very broad definition of the ‘current state of humanity’s knowledge’.  Once a definition begins to encompass many different aspects of life it becomes unwieldy and ambiguous.
I tend to think of technology in education as things or tools used to support teaching and learning. Thus computers, software programs such as a learning management system, or a transmission or communications network, are all technologies. A printed book is a technology. Technology often includes a combination of tools with particular technical links that enable them to work as a technology system, such as the telephone network or the Internet.
However, for me, technologies or even technological systems do not of themselves communicate or create meaning. They just sit there until commanded to do something or until they are activated or until a person starts to interact with the technology. At this point, we start to move into media.
Media
Media (plural of medium) is another word that has many definitions and I will argue that it has two distinct meanings relevant for teaching and learning, both of which are different from definitions of technology.
The word ‘medium’ comes from the Latin, meaning in the middle (a median) and also that which intermediates or interprets. Media require an active act of creation of content and/or communication, and someone who receives and understands the communication, as well as the technologies that carry the medium.
In this sense, we can consider text, graphics, audio and video as media, in that they intermediate ideas and images that convey meaning. Each of these is always an interpretation of reality, and again usually involves some form of human intervention, such as writing (for text), drawing or design for graphics, talking, scripting or recording for audio and video. Note that there are two types of intervention in media: by the ‘creator’ who constructs information, and by the ‘receiver’, who must also interpret it.
Computing can also be considered a medium in this context. I use the term computing, not computers, since although computing uses computers, computing involves some kind of intervention, construction and interpretation. Computing as a medium would include animations, online social networking, using a search engine, or designing and using simulations. Thus Google uses a search engine as its primary technology, but I classify it as a medium, since it needs content and content providers, and an end user who defines the parameters of the search, as well as computer algorithms to assist the search.
Thus while media use technology to communicate or interpret meaning, the creation, communication and interpretation of meaning are added features that turn a technology into a medium.
Thus in terms of representing knowledge we can think of the following educational media:

• Text
• Graphics
• Audio
• Video
• Computing

The second meaning of media is broader and refers to the industries or significant areas of human activity that are organized around particular technologies, for instance film and movies, television, publishing, and the Internet. Within these different media are particular ways of representing, organizing and communicating knowledge.
Thus for instance within television there are different formats, such as news, documentaries, game shows, action programs, while in publishing there are novels, newspapers, comics,  biographies, etc. Sometimes the formats overlap but even then there are symbol systems within a medium that distinguish it from other media. For instance in movies there are cuts, fades, close-ups, and other techniques that are markedly different from those in other media. These symbol systems are not neutral or arbitrary but are used to influence our interpretation of reality. All these features of media bring with them their own conventions and assist or change the way meaning is extracted or interpreted.
In education we could think of classroom teaching as a medium. Technology or tools are used (e.g. chalk and blackboards, or Powerpoint and a projector) but the key component is the intervention of the teacher and the interaction with the learners in real time and in a fixed time and place. We can also then think of online teaching as a different medium, with computers, the Internet (in the sense of the communication network) and a learning management system as core technologies, but it is the interaction between teachers, learners and online resources within the unique context of the Internet that are the essential component of online learning.
Media of course depend on technology, but technology is only one element of media. Thus we can think of the Internet as merely a technological system, or as a medium that contains unique formats and symbol systems that help convey meaning and knowledge. These formats, symbol systems and unique characteristics (e.g. the 140 character limit in Twitter) are deliberately created and need to be interpreted by both creators and end users. Furthermore, at least with the Internet, people can be at the same time both creators and interpreters of knowledge.
Over time, media have become more complex, with newer media (e.g. television) incorporating some of the components of earlier media (e.g. audio) as well as adding another medium (video). Digital media and the Internet increasingly are incorporating and integrating all previous media, such as text, audio, and video, and adding new media components, such as animation, simulation, and interactivity. When digital media incorporate many of these components they become ‘rich media’. Thus one major advantage of the Internet is that it encompasses all the representational media of text, graphics, audio, video and computing – as we saw also with the characteristics of broadcast/communicative and synchronous/asynchronous.
Lastly, there is a strong organizational context to media. Industries are often organized around specific media, and hence media use and interpretation is influenced by strong cultural or organizational values. For instance, broadcasters often have a different set of professional criteria and ways of assessing ‘quality’ in an educational broadcast from those of educators. This also applies to computer professionals and educators.
Implications for education

If we are interested in selecting appropriate technologies for teaching and learning, we should not just look at the technical features of a technology, nor even the wider technology system in which it is located, nor even only the educational beliefs we bring as a classroom teacher.  We also need to examine the unique features of different media, in terms of their formats, symbols systems, and cultural values.
The concept of media is much ‘softer’ and ‘richer’ than that of ‘technology’, more open to interpretation and harder to define, but it is a useful concept, allowing the inclusion of face-to-face communication as a medium, and recognizing the fact that technology on its own does not lead to the transfer of meaning, except perhaps to other computers.
Over time, as new technologies are developed, and coalesce into media systems, old formats and approaches are carried over from older to newer media. For instance early movies followed quite closely the format and structure of the music hall and theatre, and took several decades to establish their own unique characteristics.
This of course is what we do with technology in education. We try either to incorporate new technology into old formats, as with clickers and lecture capture, or we try to create the classroom in virtual space, as we do with learning management systems. What we are still developing but not yet clearly recognizing are formats, symbols systems and organizational structures that exploit the unique characteristics of the Internet as a medium. It is difficult to see these unique characteristics clearly at this point in time, but some developments that are beginning to show some signs of exploiting the uniqueness of the Internet are e-portfolios, mobile learning,  and self-managed learning in social groups.
In this context, it is easier to understand why it is a mistake to think of computers replacing humans in the education process, at least until computers have much greater facility to recognize, understand and apply semantics, value systems, and organizational factors. But at the same time it is equally a mistake to rely only on symbol systems, cultural values and organizational structures of classroom teaching as the means of judging the effectiveness or appropriateness of the Internet as an educational medium. This makes the task of media and technology selection infinitely more complex, which is one reason it has proved impossible to develop simple algorithms or decision trees for effective decision making in this area. Nevertheless, there are some guidelines that can be used for helping learning and teaching within an Internet-dependent society, and we will explore these in further postings.
Questions
1. Do you find the distinction between media and technology helpful?
2. Do you think that knowledge becomes something different when represented by different media? For instance, does an animation of a mathematical function represent something different from a written or printed equation of the same function? Which is more ‘real’?
3. What in your view makes the Internet unique from a teaching perspective, or is it just old wine in new bottles?
4. Text has publishers and newspaper corporations, audio has radio stations, and video has both television companies and YouTube. Is there a comparable organization for the Internet or is it not really a medium in the sense of publishing, radio or television?
I hope you have the answers to these questions, because I sure don’t, so I’d love to hear your views on these or any other issues arising from this reflection on the nature of the Internet and its relevance for teaching and learning.
However, I do promise in the next few posts to get more practical in terms of media and technology selection. Think of this as the artillery barrage before the tanks go in. I just need to know if I’m on target.
References
To come, but will include McLuhan, Schramm and Salomon

STEALTH TECHNOLOGY

STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
has come along quite nicely

Screw Technology! Dave Grohl Wants To Rock!

All your new fandagled machines and shiz is "ruining rock" in his humble opinion!
In the making of the Foo Fighter's latest album, Wasting Light, Dave Grohl opted for the band to use old-fashion tap instead of high-functioning computers. To him, modern recording techniques are taking aritsts away from their music, especially rock backs who have been replacing percussionists for years with a computer-generated drum beat. That game isn't for him and it isn't for his band. He explains:

"All that s**t ruins music these days. Drum machines work for pop artists but when it comes to rock 'n' roll - don't f**k with the human element… I had favorite drummers because of their inconsistencies. Modern production has robbed drummers of personalities and it really p**ses me off."

Let it out, buddy! LET…IT…OUT!
We see his point and so should other artist. Don't get us wrong - we love us the modern age - but music really needs to be felt and given life from artists who have a connection to their instruments. If your genre is rock, get your ass behind a drum and start beating that, baby!

Modern Warfare 3 Beta leaked?

While surfing the gaming channel on YouTube I came across a very interesting video which I thought to be a hoax at first until I actually saw the video, the video shows what appears to be the main menu of Modern Warfare 3 could this mean that a Modern Warfare 3 Beta leak could be imminent again on JTAG XBOX 360′s? While news of this isn’t really public yet it’s probably best to assume that this is probably a leaked beta or a very well modded theme of Modern Warfare 2 running, while the channel owner claims that he will upload campaign and game play footage lets see if he stays true to his word.

Modern Warfare 3 is one of the biggest competitors against Battlefield 3 for Multiplayer supremacy, where Call of Duty has brand loyalty while Battlefield 3 has stunning graphics, diverse game modes and a larger fan base this time around. It seems that after the leak of Gears of War 3 on JTAG 360′s there could be ANOTHER leak of Modern Warfare 3 on the JTAG consoles again.
Modern Warfare 3 is the most wanted title when multiplatform games come into question, you don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to know that Modern Warfare 3 will definitely best Battlefield 3 with little to no effort.
While the video doesn’t really show anything conclusive aside from the uploader just navigating a menu layout similar to Modern Warfare 2 he does however bear promise of gameplay videos and such if he could get Likes and Subscribers. Although there is still no major news on this leak it should be interesting if this joins the early leak club along with Gears of War 3 to make this year a memorable year of leaks I mean first Crysis 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Gears of War 3 and Modern Warfare 3 would definitely make this a record year for leaks.
If this is anything like the beta for Gears of War 3 the campaign should be playable right off the bat with few glitches here and there and of course multiplayer and spec ops are out of the question unless you plan on doing spec ops on split screen. Let’s wait and see how things develop from here.
UPDATE: Since many people have misunderstood what I originally tried to say, I am making this clear right now that when I said the words “Modern Warfare 3 will definitely best Battlefield 3 with little to no effort.” I was talking about the sales of the game itself I am in no way saying that either game is terrible in terms of multiplayer or story or anything, I am more biased towards Battlefield 3 but unfortunately CoD series has something called Brand Loyalty which sadly is what drives people to continue supporting what is becoming an overused brand name. Battlefield 3 will definitely do better sales this time around since EA has added a generous advertising budget of the game and considering how the EA Keynote was at this years E3 I have high hopes for Battlefield 3 actually competing with Modern Warfare 3 considering how far along the game has come since Bad Company 2. So guys I know about the capabilities of Battlefield 3 but since this was a Modern Warfare 3 post I had to talk more about it rather than Battlefield 3. I hope this clears up any misconception I may have created.
I would also like to add that I am neither confirm nor denying that the leak is authentic or not, So far the leak is still in question and has not been confirmed yet. Neither I nor the site are acknowledging that the game is indeed leaked hence why I added a question mark in the Post title as soon as I get confirmation regarding the authenticity of the video in the form of a follow up video from the channel owner or a tweet from one of the studios working on the game I will update the news accordingly

Focus on science, imperative to gain development

Islamabad—Chairman, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Dr. Ansar Parvez on Friday emphasized that focus on scientific knowledge is imperative for progress in developing countries.

He was addressing a gathering of international and local scientists at the concluding session of 36th International Nathiagali Summer College, jointly organized by PAEC and National Centre for Physics (NCP) here.About the gains of holding these Colleges, he said gathering of international scientists has always provided a window of opportunity to Pakistani scientists.

Contacts established with the world renowned scientists visiting this College have helped find placements for Pakistani scientists in the internationally renowned laboratories, he added.

Ansar Parvez also urged organizers on diversifying the subjects being offered in the college and asked for addition of utilitarian aspects in the discourse and deliberations.

The idea of holding International Nathiagali Summer College on “Physics and Contemporary Needs” was initiated by Pakistan’s Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam for breaking the intellectual isolation of the scientists in the developing countries and keeping pace with rapid progress in the science and contemporary needs by promoting higher science education. During the last 36 years, about 660 eminent scientists including six Nobel Laureates as faculty from developed countries shared their knowledge and experience with more than 950 foreign scientists from 72 developing countries and 6900 scientists from Pakistan.—APP

Atlantis' first full day in orbit nearly perfect

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) — The space shuttle Atlantis hasn't performed like a ship ready for retirement.
The first full day of the final flight of the aging space shuttle fleet has been practically flawless.
NASA officials say the unusually small four-person crew of Atlantis worked through lunch Saturday and finished their tasks in near record time. After Friday's launch, the astronauts inspected the shuttle's heat shield for launch damage and prepared for Sunday's docking with the International Space Station.
So far, Atlantis doesn't even have minor glitches. The worst problem is that the crew could not find an eye chart for a vision test, something that caused a chuckle among ground controllers.
Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho said the lack of problems allows engineers to enjoy the final flight more.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Information Technology

Overview

E-mail, personal computers, and the Internet: These products of the information age have become common currency among working professionals. They make your life simpler by enabling faster communication, providing tools for more effective work, and giving you access to vast information with the click of a mouse. But they also introduce a risk factor that isn't totally within your control: If your computer fails or the network connection goes down, you lose time and possibly money.

What You'll Do
That's where information technology (IT) specialists come in. Information technology brings you the information and applications-such as word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software-that office workers everywhere rely on to do their jobs. IT specialists create such products and set up and maintain such systems. Their work varies widely: They upgrade your computer software; get your office computer network, or your computer, up and running again after it crashes; set up and maintain the servers on which your company's internal applications run; create and customize the software products you use; build websites; and build and maintain the databases that you rely on to gather information to serve your customers.

Who Does Well
IT professionals wear many hats and go by different names, depending on their area of expertise-engineer, programmer, website producer, and network administrator, to name a few. The range of IT jobs is vast. And the skills needed to set up an office network-install the cables, configure the computers, and keep them running-are quite different from those required to set up and customize an automated-payroll software system. A database specialist needs still other skills to administer the ever-changing complex of information generated by enterprise software applications and the company website, including files on visitors who have signed on as members or purchased something.

But no matter what job they do, all IT professionals focus on improving the usability and efficiency of technological systems and processes. Their goal is a smoothly functioning computer network-free of bugs, glitches, and interruptions-that provides an effective flow of information so the company can keep on improving its work processes, customer retention and acquisition, and other aspects of its business.

Requirements

There's a broad range of jobs in IT, and not all positions require technical skills. "The best tech support people we had," one insider says, "had humanities backgrounds." Technical, communication, and business skills are all important to the field, and four-year college degree programs-not necessarily in computer science-are still one of the best ways to prepare for entering the IT job market.

Employers look for relevant skills and experience. A degree in computer science tends to be most important for database developers and software engineers. Certificate programs are more common for support and system administration specialists (see the "Certification" section that follows for more information). On-the-job experience can substitute for either academic credential, though for people just entering the job market, a degree is a tremendous advantage. Computer science majors and MBAs in particular might consider a minor or double major in a second field. Though not required, this additional credential can be useful, particularly when working in IT for non-IT companies. For example, a biology minor will prove very handy to a software developer working with an insect database at a university research center. Because IT is part of so many industries, a secondary field can be anything that interests you-film, chemistry, history; whatever your interest, it's likely that it will complement an industry searching for IT workers.

Certification
First-time job seekers as well as seasoned professionals may wonder whether a professional certification is worth the time and cost. Today's employers and employees generally find that certifications are valuable, though skepticism does exist. Some employers use certifications as a gating factor when hiring. Whether a certificate program is right for you depends on your career goals, the job market, and whether an employer is willing to bear some or all of the cost.

A certificate is almost always a prerequisite for a job in information security, and a number of common acronyms appear beside the names of successful security professionals: CCSE (CheckPoint Certified Security Expert), CCSA (Check Point Certified Security Administrator), CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), or SCSE (Symantec Certified Security Engineer). Network and system administrators are also increasingly turning to certification programs like those offered by Microsoft and Red Hat. According to a study conducted by Foote Partners LLC, employees with networking certificates receive higher pay premiums than employees with noncertified networking skills (certified workers received an average 9.2 percent premium compared to a 7.1 percent premium for those with noncertified skills). Employees with vendor certifications from places like Cisco or Novell tend to receive higher compensation than employees with non-vendor certifications (from the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals, for example). However, insiders say that non-vendor certification is often more helpful than vendor-specific certification to employees just starting out in the field.

Certificates are less important for software engineers and database administrators, for whom experience and college credentials are still the most important credential. Those who can point to previous work-even a well-executed school assignment-have a competitive edge, and a degree in computer science is often a job prerequisite.

Education is not a process that ends when you land a job. Part of working in IT is learning new technologies. Since the field is constantly changing and evolving, today's hot tech skills identified by Dice. com-C++, Java, and Oracle-are just that. Next year, the list of desirable skills will change. However careful you are at selecting your skills, you'll need to update them and pick up new ones over the course of your career.

Continuing education can take many forms: classes, conferences, certifi cate programs, or independent research. Books, periodicals, and online discussions and boards are very useful, and most technologies have an online community of users. "I go to Jguru.com to keep on top of things," one insider says. "People post new stuff there all the time." For those who prefer the printed page, your reference library will continue to grow (and become dated). O'Reilly publishes a very highly regarded line of books that covers the gamut of information technologies. Ultimately, whether you choose to pursue a certifi cation is less important than keeping abreast of technologies-and, of course, churning out work that proves you know your stuff.

Job Outlook

The worldwide credit crunch of 2007 and 2008 has affected prosperity across all sectors, with some analysts predicting a recession. While the IT industry has continued to grow, it has not gone unscathed. Forrester, a notable IT research firm, recently revised its forecast for U.S. IT spending (reflecting business and government IT operational budgets) from 6.4 percent to 5.2 percent. Less consumer spending hurts the job market, and while the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that some IT positions (such as database administrators) will likely continue to experience faster-than-average growth, others (such as programmers) are expected to decline.

Globally, the picture looks a little brighter, at least for the immediate future. Total global spending on technology goods, services, and staff will reach $2.4 trillion in 2008, an 8 percent increase from 2007. Phenomenal industry growth is still occurring in Asia Pacific and oil exporting regions of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In Australia, Leon Lau of Peoplebank, the country's largest technology recruiter, told iTWire, "We are very confident for 2008 and 2009." Even the U.K. reports no detectable slowdown in this sector, with a demand for IT workers in the country at its highest level since the end of 2001, according to a recent report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

If you're looking for an IT career in the U.S. or abroad, staying adaptable and open to possibilities will improve your chances of thriving in an economic downturn. Whether you're a recent college graduate with a BA in computer science or an MBA looking to get involved with a new technology firm or product, the possibilities for growth and employment are as numerous and varied as the fish in the sea. You may need to cast a line out to catch one-the family business that's looking to hire an e-commerce manager isn't likely to recruit on your college campus-but jobs are out there.

There will be plenty of competition for entry-level jobs in 2008-09, yet the information technology field is rife with opportunity. Because technology is always improving and computers are becoming faster and more powerful, companies will continue to invest in new technology that makes their companies run more efficiently and less expensively, and to replace outmoded IT infrastructures.

As John Longwell, a researcher at Computer Economics in Irvine, California, recently told Advance, a magazine for health information executives, "IT managers are clearly under pressure to restrain the growth of IT budgets this year. We will likely see restraints on new hiring and decreased use of contract workers."  Because the competition can be tough, it's important to differentiate yourself. Unpaid or underpaid internships can make a huge difference on your resume. Good  references and a solid work history are necessities.

Career Tracks

Creative Positions

Technical Producer
Degree requirements: BA or MBA
Job description: The producer acts as both the nerve center and lightning rod. For projects such as entertainment software, the producer is like the director of a movie, setting the tone as well as the overall look and feel, and taking responsibility for the final version. All the art, content, administrative, and other decisions go through the producer-it can be stressful but rewarding when it works. The producer may report to the product manager, who's in charge of commercial concerns, or to a technical manager.

Web Developer
Degree requirement: BA
Job Description: Web developers are masters of HTML, and they know how to create Web pages that will look good in any browser on any platform. In addition to knowing applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash, a Web developer understands databases, JavaScript, XML-and how to work with both designers and engineers. Tight deadlines can make this work tough at times, but for those who love to work with rapidly evolving tools and challenges, this job is ideal.

Webmaster
Degree requirement: BA
Job description: Smaller companies in particular tend to roll the areas of Web architecture, design, implementation, and management into one position: the webmaster. Webmasters may even be responsible for content creation and editing, working in conjunction with marketing. If you hold this job, be prepared to know and do a little bit of everything.

Engineering Positions

QA Engineer
Degree requirements: BS in computer science, MS preferred
Job description: A good QA engineer has to think of every stupid, silly, and accidental thing a customer might do to and with a product, from using a keyboard in the bathtub to clicking 1,000 times repeatedly on an ornamental on-screen widget. In some work environments this can be fun, but often it's a strictly regimented process, usually on a tight deadline as a product moves from pre-alpha to final release. QA people support product teams, track bugs, and write documentation.

Software Engineer
Degree requirements: BS in computer science (MS preferred for senior position)
Job description: Junior software engineers mainly do the dirty work of inputting code, connecting application modules and functionalities, debugging, and porting to other OS platforms. However, the junior position is a stepping-stone to the senior position, which offers the potential of having a say in the end product. Senior engineers also work with end users, OEM customers, and others; they also take a more supervisory role in team structure.

Application Programmer
Degree requirements: BS in computer science
Job description: This type of programmer/engineer works specifically on a particular application that will either end up as a shrink-wrapped product or as a module that will interact with final products. This position entails documentation, product development,
and product integration-one example would be writing or revising software that addresses a specific task, such as calibrating color monitors.

Database Administrator
Degree requirement: BS in computer science or equivalent experience
Job description: Database administrators, or DBAs, participate in database design and maintain, develop, and test database environments. Often, the DBA is responsible for making backups and ensuring that information is recoverable in the event of a disaster.
Administrators may also plan, coordinate, and implement security measures to safeguard information. It's also crucial to have the right certifications to get your foot in the door-these are often more important than academic degrees.

Support Positions

Technical Support Analyst, Entry Level
Degree requirement: None (BA or BS preferred)
Job description: This is the front line-tech support is an entry-level position, dealing directly with customers who are likely disgruntled, usually over the phone. It's volume work. Though working knowledge of the product is vital, so are patience, communication skills, and the ability to deal with unhappy people without making them more unhappy.

Software Support Engineer
Degree requirement: BS in computer science
Job description: Sometimes promoted from the ranks of tech support, this job also includes elements of sales in that it's more involved with onsite and other direct support of clients. As a result, this position requires knowledge of the client's needs and the ability to troubleshoot and act independently.

IT Training Consultant
Degree requirements: BS in computer science, specialized training preferred
Job description: Most large software and hardware installations aren't just a set-up-and-go proposition, so companies that sell servers, back-end systems, ERM/ERP solutions, and the like employ IT staff members who introduce the client to the product. And it's not just for arcane, complex items either-training consultants also get sales, marketing, and other executives up to speed on new systems.

Management Information Systems (MIS)
Degree requirement: BS in computer science or electrical engineering
Job description: High-tech companies don't just sell the stuff-they use it, too. Working in MIS means handling hardware, software, and networks, all to help the organization running as efficiently as possible. It's kind of a jack-of-all-trades position, but it does provide exposure to a wide skill set that could translate well to a number of more specialized career paths. To land this kind of position, the right certifications-for example, a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification-are also extremely important.

System Administrator
Degree requirement: BA or certificate program
Job description: The most valuable traits in a sysadmin are a willingness to take things apart and the patience to put the pieces together again. System administrators design, test, and evaluate data communications systems such as local area networks. A system administrator may also be asked to research and recommend network hardware and software. Beware: This can be a thankless job. People never say, "Hey, my phone works today. Awesome!" But if something goes down, you'll hear all about it.

Information Security Specialist
Degree requirement: BS in computer science
Job description: Information security specialists are responsible for securing data, devices, and networks against unauthorized external and internal access. In addition to designing and maintaining a set security standard and policy, the information security specialist ensures that the policies are adhered to by all. Remember to change your password!

Compensation

Compensation varies widely in IT jobs depending on skills, company size, company location, and industry. However, the following median salary ranges were typical in 2008:

.  Application programmer or analyst: $67,000 to $80,000
.  Database administrator: $71,000 to $94,000
.  Management information systems: $86,000 to $120,000
.  Quality assurance analyst/engineer, entry-level: $47,000 to $60,000
.  Software engineer, entry-level: $48,000 to $60,000
.  System administrator: $60,000 to $80,000
.  Technical support, entry-level: $42,000 to $60,000
.  Technical producer: $41,000 to $60,000
.  Training consultant: $42,000 to $60,000
.  Web developer, front end, entrylevel: $40,000 to $60,000
.  Webmaster: $50,000 to $80,000

New report backs up September iPhone 5 release date

The Wall Street Journal confirms reports of a fall release date for the next iPhone

Today, The Wall Street Journal independently confirmed reports that the next generation iPhone will be on the way in the third quarter of this year. According to sources close to the supply line, Apple's next iPhone is expected to trim down the famously svelte iPhone 4, making it both lighter and thinner than the current model. While plenty of other technology outlets had published similar details previously, the credible new report solidifies what we can expect from Apple's next generation smartphone.
While we still don't know if the device will be named the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S, such significant improvements point to the former, which would make it an entirely new model, unlike the upgrade from iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS.
The report also suggests that the next iPhone will have a camera upgraded to 8 megapixels, a resolution boost up from the iPhone 4's 5-megapixel sensor and a confirmation of an earlier rumor from Bloomberg. Bloomberg's sources also suggested that the smartphone will sport the same powerful A5 processor as the iPad, which would yield a significant a speed boost for the device.
Yesterday serial Apple secret-leaker DigiTimes suggested that Pegatron, a Taiwanese component manufacturer, will ready 15 million of Apple's elusive next-generation phones for a September launch. According to The Wall Street Journal's new information, Apple intends to move 25 million units of its new iPhone by the year's end.
Since Apple remained mum on the next iPhone during its big June event, evidence continues to pile up indicating that the company's next hot gadget will be hitting stores this fall.

Nintendo faces lawsuit over 3DS screen technology

Tomita Technologies has filed a patent suit against Nintendo, alleging that the 3DS's stereoscopic display infringes upon Tomita's patent for "technology relating to displaying stereoscopic images on-screen for viewing with the naked eye, i.e., without utilizing glasses or other devices.," filed in 2003 and granted in 2008.

Nintendo is no stranger to these patent suits, with previous complaints claiming Nintendo infringed upon others' patents with Wii Fit, the GameCube and Classic Controllers, controller ports, and motion controls (Nintendo settled in that case).

We don't claim to be legal experts, but something seems off about this particular case from the outset: the screens are made by Sharp, not Nintendo.

End of an era in technology (the world’s most awesome tweetup)

When my friend Trey Ratcliff (he’s a great photographer who builds iPhone/iPad apps, among other things) begged me to come to the Shuttle launch I never imagined I’d be standing on the grass in front of the countdown clock with tears streaming down my face.
So, why was I here? Well, I got a special invite to be part of NASA’s Tweetup.
What was that? NASA invited 150 people to the Kennedy Space Center to get a very intimate look at the operation here. They gave us better access than a lot of the press get and I think I met four astronauts so far. I interviewed one on my iPhone, while standing in front of the Shuttle.

One bit of credit: NASA’s Stephanie Schierholz put on the best Tweetup I’ve ever been a part of. Part of that, for sure, is cause she had so much to work with, but she — and her team — just treated everyone so wonderfully and I was able to watch how hard they worked. They randomly picked most of the participants out of 5,000 applicants (I was one of a handful who were actually invited, I took vacation time to go and didn’t charge Rackspace for anything).
If you get a chance to go on a future NASA Tweetup, go. It is an amazing experience and one where you’ll get to do incredible things.
But, back to the end of an era in technology. After the launch, I interviewed NASA’s Chief Scientist, Waleed Abdalati, about the changes that are happening in NASA now. You can listen to that interview, but what you can’t see is we both had tears in our eyes.
A few people this week have tweeted at me and said “what a waste of money.” Well, sorry, I don’t see it that way. As humans we should always be exploring.
But I am excited that we’re moving toward a more private, and lower-cost, method of taking people into space. I doubt I’ll live long enough to be able to fly affordably into space (maybe) but my kids certainly will. I can’t wait to see the Elon Musks of the world take us into that new world.
That said, this is an end of an era. One that started when we were in a cold-war fight with the Russians. Now our astronauts are forced to fly on Russian spaceships. All around me are evidence of the huge costs that our country took on back in the 1960s to get to the moon. But the Shuttle continued that kind of thinking. Now we’ll have to do space travel for a lot less. For a lot of people who work at Kennedy Space Center that means a lot of disruption.
Anyway, here’s some of my photos from an incredible week in my life (there are more on my Flickr account).

Speaking of photos, I interviewed Trey Ratcliff yesterday. He’s one of my favorite photographers and is a world expert on HDR photography.
I got to meet many of my heroes. Here’s Bob Crippen, who piloted the first Shuttle back in 1981 when I was in High School. He’s juxtaposed by the crew of the last Shuttle Crew getting set in Atlantis.

The Tweetup participants got to wave to the astronauts as they headed toward the launch pad. This is something I’ve always seen on TV, but here it was in real life in front of me.

Along one side of the press area are small block buildings where the big networks have their setups. Aimed right into the famous countdown clock. Jim Long, NBC Cameraman, invited me in to get a tour. You know him as NewMediaJim on Twitter (he is on the camera crew in the White House).

This morning this is the view that greeted me at my parking space. I got emotional. So much of my life has been influenced by the vehicles built inside the Vertical Assembly Building (I got to go inside, something very few people from the public get to do). One of my earliest memories is sitting with my family watching the trip to the moon. That was the beginning of our modern era of space.
Today was the end and, yes, that is sad.

PTCL launches EVO 256Kbps unlimited packages

Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has introduced new EVO packages for EVO users. 3G EVO 256Kbps package now makes EVO mobile broadband services accessible at lower rates. The two new existing packages introduced for mobile broadband users are EVO 256 and Go 30. EVO 256 is a volume based package with line rent of PKR 1,199 and download speed capped at 256 Kbps. Go 30 is a time based package, which offers 30 hours usage limit against the line rent of PKR 799 and an additional charges of PKR 21 per hour with speed up to 3.1 Mbps . Validity period is 30 days. The customers can switch package through one stop shops, call centres and EVO support.

Zynga files for IPO

After a bit of a delay, FarmVille creator Zynga has announced plans to go public.
The company filed its Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today. According to the company, some of the shares will be sold by Zynga, while the remaining shares will be sold by "certain stockholders." Zynga has enlisted Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch, among other investment banks, to act as underwriters.
According to The New York Times, citing "a figure used to calculate the registration fee," Zynga is expecting to raise about $1 billion in the initial public offering. So far, the number of shares Zynga will offer and how much those shares will be priced at has not been announced.
Zynga joins a growing throng of start-ups that have decided to offer their shares on the open market. LinkedIn started selling its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in May, and saw its stock price jump 109 percent in its first day of trading. Groupon announced its plans to go public last month in an IPO valued at $750 million. Daily-deals provider and Groupon rival LivingSocial is also reportedly planning to go public.

Zynga was founded in 2007 by Mark Pincus. Since then, it has become a social-gaming powerhouse, offering several titles, including FarmVille, CityVille, and FrontierVille, that have captivated gamers around the globe. Much of the company's success has come via Facebook, but it also offers FarmVille and Mafia Wars, among several other titles, on mobile platforms.
That popularity has helped the social-gaming company see its financial performance improve greatly over the last several years.
In 2008, Zynga suffered a loss of $22.1 million on revenue of $19.4 million. By 2009, the company's revenue grew to nearly $121.5 million, and its losses deepened to $52.8 million. Last year, however, Zynga turned a profit of $90.6 million on revenue of $597.4 million.
Zynga today, by the numbers
According to today's SEC filing, things are still looking up for Zynga this year. During the first three months of 2011, the company earned $235.4 million in revenue and generated an $11.8 million profit. Zynga did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why its profit, as a percentage of revenue, slid during the first quarter, compared with last year.
There's a wealth of additional knowledge about Zynga's operations to be found in its SEC filing.
For one, Zynga reported that it has 232 million monthly active users and 60 million daily active users from 166 countries around the world. Every second, 38,000 virtual items are created in its wildly popular worlds. Each day, 2 billion minutes are logged in Zynga's titles.

Zynga's revenue growth over the years.

(Credit: Zynga)

However, Zynga did acknowledge that it's facing some potential risks. And perhaps the most important risk it faces involves its relationship with Facebook.
Last year, Zynga announced a partnership with Facebook that would see the game company rely on the social network's virtual currency, Facebook Credits, for all in-game purchases. According to Zynga's filing, it completed the transition to Facebook Credits in April, and that arrangement will stay in effect until 2015. As part of the deal between the firms, Zynga must hand over to Facebook 30 percent of all revenue generated by its games.
Though things between the companies are fine now, Zynga admits in its filing that "if we are unable to maintain a good relationship with Facebook, our business will suffer." In the notes to the company's financial statements, Zynga revealed that its accounts receivable at the end of March were made up of 82 percent of the revenue owed to it by Facebook.
Earlier this week, CNBC reported that Zynga would be filing its S-1 statement with the SEC on Wednesday. After Zynga failed to do so, Reuters reported that the company was actually planning to file with the SEC yesterday.