Full proof way to protect your PC and data

The News - The company InZero has launched an zero intruder device which sits between your PC and the internet. The device will execute all the commands from its own memory, creating a kind of sandbox for you. The only difference is the sandbox is read only which means no malware code will get executed and no threat or virus will ever reach your data.
The Good - It is a hardware device which can be plugged in and does not require any changes to your existing PC or network architecture
The Bad -  The company is planning to launch a InZero Laptop which will protect from all kind of malware. Replacing your existing laptop and buying a new InZero laptop may not be the best of idea's for everyone.

Read the story at
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_10/b4169052653415.htm

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Electricity in a Box

The News - Launching tomorrow is the future of energy. Electricity in a Box - aptly called Bloom Box. Bloom Energy a company based out of Sunnyvale (Calif.) has done some cutting-edge work with fuel cell technology. The company aims to help homes and businesses generate their own electricity and bringing power and light to remote villages and even reducing dependence on today's electricity grids in the developed world.

The Good - The technology is not just on paper but prototypes of the Bloom Box are already running at Google. eBay and FedEx. The fuel cells produce no green house gases.

The Bad - The technology is still very costly. The personal Bloom Box will still take more than 5 years

Read the story - http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/22/bloom-energy-set-to-unveil-miraculous-micro-power-plant/
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2009/gb2009127_746740.htm

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Significant Discovery in Malaria Research to help identify the pattern by which the parasite spreads inside the human body.

The News - Researchers identify mechanism by which the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, replicates itself in human blood to spread the disease. They can now focus on how to counter this mechanism through a candidate enzyme to regulate this and prevent the disease from spreading.
The Good - Malaria remains as one of the most deadly infectious disease and any discovery in this area is always welcome. This will also help the scientists to apply this knowledge to other areas.
The Challenge - Though this is a significant discovery, more research is needed before a pattern or enzyme to counter this mechanism is discovered.
Read More at - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173325.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

British Airways turn to green fuel to cuts is emission

The News - British Airways and Solena group have announced partnership where Solena group will set up the factory, that will turn 500,000 tonnes of landfill waste – including household and industrial rubbish – into 16 million gallons of carbon-neutral aviation fuel every year. Alongside the reduction in carbon from the jet fuel itself, it will also cut the methane produced from landfill and generate 20 megawatts of electricity per year as a byproduct.

The Good - The proposed solution will solve the problem of household and industrial rubbish and finding landfill sites for them. Second it will cut down Carbon emissions from the usage of Jet fuel.

The Bad - The plant is still 4 years away and should not end up using biomass crops

Read more her - http://cleantech.com/news/5633/british-airways-looks-power-fleet

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scientists have discovered means of turning discarded orange peels and other throwaways into cheap, clean fuel to power vehicles

The News - Scientists at Central Florida University, USA have developed a novel way of producing ethanol from waste products by using plant derived enzyme cocktails to break down waste materials into sugar, which is then fermented into ethanol. This method is greener and less expensive compared to existing methods.
The Good - This method can also be applied to other non-food waste products as well and scientists in this area have termed this discovery as promising.
The Challenge - More work is required to produce this in mass volume and work out how this can be transported and stored before this can be presented as an alternative to gasoline.
Read more at - http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/02/18/orange.peels.newspapers.may.lead.cheaper.cleaner.ethanol.fuel

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Nanotechnology used with light to purify water instead of scarce Ultra-violet light

The News - Scientists from China and USA have used nanotechnology particles to develop photocatalyst which uses visible light or indoor lighting to kill bacteria instead of ultra violet light.

The Good - The proposed solution does not need Ultra Violet light which accounts for only 5% of visible light - especially in scandanavian countries. Another good application of sunlight.

The Bad - The nanoparticles used are still very expensive and so cannot be used in developing countries.

Read more at - http://www.scidev.net/en/new-technologies/news/nanoparticles-and-light-can-purify-water.html

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sony Ericsson uses 'Co-creation' to create the vision for mobile entertainment

The News - Sony Ericsson has launched an platform 'Creations' enabling mobile users to create and publish their own content such as video, audio and imaging to be shared, explored and remixed with content from other users, using online content-creating mobile applications and tools.

The Good - The platform allows the common mobile users to publish content with out being tech savvy. All the user content is posted under the Creative Commons License.

The Challenge - How is the content seamlessly published across multiple mobile OS versions (S60, Java ME, Windows) ?

Check out more at http://creations.sonyericsson.com/

Image Courtesy - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Cool Box solution to help in malaria diagnosis in hot tropical countries

The News – An organization in Cambodia has developed a box which remains cool for a longer time thus keeping the rapid diagnostic tests for malaria effective especially in remote hot tropical countries.

The Good – The solution is not very expensive and has been found to be at least effective for 150 days more compared to the older solution. The underlying principles for cooling have been used before and require very little energy and power supplies. Has potential in other areas as well if found effective.

The Challenge – Needs to be tested in dusty environments and also temperatures beyond 42 degrees Celsius (up to which this solution has been tested).

Read more at - http://scidev.net/en/news/cambodia-finds-cool-solution-for-clinic-storage-1.html

Image Courtesy - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Future is not real - now animated news for the footage not available

The news - Billionaire Jimmy Lai is trying out the animated news when the footage of the news is not availableor not possible to get.

The good - Viewers can relate more, digest the story faster.

The question mark - The media is crossing the line, from reporting the truth and delivering views which can act as a social change, to being an entertainer.

Read more at - http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9298734

Image courtesy: Apple Daily newspaper Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009