[ECP] Educational CyberPlayGround NetHappenings News and Resources

Greetings,

Happy Reading for Today.


<Karen>




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HEALTHY CHILDREN - THE FUNDEMENTALS
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/NCFR/health.html

Physical Fitness, Healthy Diet, Multi-tasking,
Neuroscience Brain Based Learning and  Development
Sleep, Character Development, Language Development
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1)
FREE CLASSROOM COURSEWARE
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/OpenSource.html
- Find HelpMaker v7
HelpMaker is an application to create help files without an expensive word-processor, without having the manage multiple files. Writing help files is called help authoring. You can make whole help files using HelpMaker. HelpMaker makes WinHelp, RTF, HTML-Help, Websites, PDF files. HelpMaker has no limitations, no time-outs, no nags, no adware, no banner ads and no spyware. It is 100% free. 
- Find Free software that can be used to teach computer science concepts.
Scratch  for middle school students.  Scratch is a drag-and-drop environment
that kids can use to create 2D animations and  games.
Alice for  High school students.
Drag-and-drop environments for creating 3D movies and games.
Alice and Scratch do not require you to be the administrator to install.
You can simply download these and copy them to the student's home directory.

2)
Open Access Journals
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/ejournal.html
"For the past couple of years, there's been much talk about open access, the idea that more scientific publications should be freely available ? not locked behind firewalls and subscriptions. Thanks to the Public Library of Science (PLoS) and other organizations, that notion is making headway." 

3)
USPTO to Hold National Trademark Expo
Apply Now to Exhibit: http://www.uspto.gov/surveys/tmexpo2008.htm
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host a showcase for trademarks at its Alexandria, Virginia headquarters April 10-12, 2008. The three day event is designed to engage the public?s interest and educate consumers about the vital role trademarks play in the global economy. Any company with a registered trademark may apply to exhibit. The deadline for applications is December 15, 2007. 

4)
Elsevier and the Arms Trade
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/blog/scholcomm/archives/science_news/
A recent commentary by the editors in the esteemed medical journal, The Lancet has revived a controversy that was first expressed in The Lancet in 2005, namely "concern that the publishers of The Lancet, Reed Elsevier, are continuing to promote the use of arms by hosting arms trade fairs." The editorial commentary was accompanied by at least seven other supporting letters of protest. Typical of the statements in the protests: The recent Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show hosted by Reed Exhibitions was devoted to the glorification of guns; shortly the company is to host an arms fair to the Middle East at a time when the region is the 
focus of international tension.
In view of the major contribution of arms trading to the undermining of public health and international development, we wish to add our support to the courageous stand taken by The Lancet [in 2005] in asking Reed Elsevier to divest itself from these unsavoury activities. We note that the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has recently sold all its shares in Reed Elsevier after 3 years of critical engagement on the company's role in the arms trade. We hope that other shareholders will continue to raise these concerns, and we look forward to a public response from the company. 
Read more:
Reed Elsevier and the arms trade revisited; a reply from the Editors of The Lancet reply, The Lancet, Volume 369, Issue 9566, March 2007, Pages 989-990 DOI Note, for the other supporting letters, see the same issue, pages 987-989. Reed Elsevier and the international arms trade, The Lancet: Volume 366, Issue 9489, 2005, Page 889. DOI Reed Elsevier and the international arms trade ? Reed Elsevier's reply, The Lancet: Volume 366, Issue 9489, 2005, Pages 889-890 DOI Editorial Board comment, Physiotherapy, Volume 92, Issue 4, December 2006, Pages 263-264 DOI A letter from the editorial board of another Elsevier journal, in support of The Lancet board's letter to Elsevier. 

5)
Hackers "jailbreak" Apple's iPhone 1.1.1 (download)
<http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/10/11/jailbreak.for.iphone.111/>
Over the last few days hackers have begun publicizing ways into and
around Apple's newest iPhone v1.1.1 firmware update that disabled
many third-party hacks. iPhone firmware v1.1.1, which Apple warned
may damage (i.e., "brick") unlocked iPhones, also disabled many
third- party applications and hackers,w ho have been feverishly working to
find a way into updated iPhones to install third-party applications,
have finally released details of "jail-breaking" an iPhone running
v1.1.1 firmware -- a process that is still fairly complicated
compared to the initial "one-click" methods.
On Wednesday, three different methods for hacking into the iPhone
1.1.1 filesystem are circulating on the Web, including one -- still
in beta -- that takes advantage of a TIFF exploit security bug found
in the embedded Safari browser; however, the most promising method to
appears to be a publicly method of downgrading the firmware to v1.02,
applying some modifications to the file system and then upgrading the
firmware back to v1.1.1, thereby allowing users to run an application
like AppTapp to install third-party applications.


6)
New apps put the hate in online networking
Enemybook, Snubster allow Facebook users to link up with their nemeses
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/socialnetwork.html
Over the summer, Kevin Matulef, who is doing a doctoral thesis on algorithms at MIT, designed Enemybook, a software application that lets people list enemies below friends on their personal Facebook page. He describes the program as "an antisocial utility that disconnects you to the so-called friends around you." 
Enemybook is one of several new online applications developed by
computer-savvy twentysomethings who say they are tired of bogus online
friendships. In a dig at the notion of virtual networking, they hope to
encourage people to undermine, or at least mock, the online social
communities sites such as Facebook were designed to create.



7)
A Journey to the Heart of Internet censorship on eve of party congress
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23924
In partnership with Reporters Without Borders and Chinese Human Rights
Defenders, a Chinese Internet expert working in IT industry has produced an
exclusive study on the key mechanism of the Chinese official system of
online censorship, surveillance and propaganda. The author prefers to remain
anonymous.
On the eve of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP), which opens this week in Beijing, Reporters Without Borders and the
Chinese Human Rights Defenders call on the government to allow the Chinese
to exercise their rights to freedom of press, expression and information.
This system of censorship is unparalleled anywhere in the world and is an
insult to the spirit of online freedom,  the two organisations said. ³With
less than a year to go before the Beijing Olympics, there is an urgent need
for the government to stop blocking thousands of websites, censoring online
news and imprisoning Internet activists.


8)
Qwest CEO Not Alone in Alleging NSA Started Domestic Phone Record Program 7
Months Before 9/11
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/wired27b/~3/169115506/qwest-ceo-not-a.html
Startling statements from former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's defense
documents alleging the National Security Agency began building a massive
call records database seven months before 9/11 aren't the only accusations
that the controversial program predated the attacks of 9/11.



9)
Illegal music downloading is at an all-time high and set to rise further
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2137465,00.html
The Guardian reports, citing the 4th-annual digital-music survey by Entertainment Media Research. Forty-three percent of respondents said they're downloading illegal songs, up from 36% last year and 40% in 2005. Meanwhile, fear of being caught has lessened. "This year only 33% cited the risk of being prosecuted as a deterrent against unauthorised downloading, compared with 42% in 2006." 


10)
Complete Internet census taken--perhaps the first since 1982
http://www.physorg.com/news111146408.html
Researchers at the University of Southern California Information
Sciences Institute, one of the birthplaces of the Internet decades
ago, have just completed and plotted a comprehensive census of all
of the more 2.8 million allocated addresses on the Internet -- the
first complete effort of its kind in more than two decades, they
say.
"An Internet Census," explains John Heidemannn, an ISI project
leader who also has an appointment in the USC Viterbi School of
Engineering computer science department, "is just that: every
single assigned address in the entire Internet was sent a probe."
The technical name for an Internet probe, more commonly called a
"ping" is an "Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request
packet." It took some 62 days to send almost 3 billion of these
from three machines, an effort carried out by Heidmann's ISI
collaborator Yuri Pradkin.
A detailed account of the research is at
http://www.isi.edu/ant/address/index.html


11)
Global-Warming Skeptic Who Served as a State Climatologist Says His Speech Was Restricted 
News bulletin from the Chronicle of Higher Education, 7.10.5
http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/10/2007100503n.htm
Patrick J. Michaels, a research professor at the University of Virginia who served as the state climatologist, has made a name for himself as one of the most prominent academic skeptics of human-caused global warming, which he views as much less of a threat than most other scientists do. That contrary position has caused friction between Mr. Michaels and the governor, Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat who has pressed for taking steps to combat greenhouse-gas emissions. Mr. Michaels says that because the support for his position involved state money, the political pressure grew to the point that it was hampering his academic freedom. And so he resigned his post as state climatologist this past summer, a move that attracted little notice until last week. "I was told that I could not speak in public on my area of expertise -- global warming -- as state climatologist," he said in a statement released last week by the Cato Institute, in Washington, where he is a senior fellow. "It was impossible to maintain academic freedom with this speech restriction," he added. Jay Zieman, chairman of the department of environmental sciences at UVa, which oversees the state's climatology office, said that Mr. Michaels's freedom was not impinged, adding that "this department has defended his right to publish." But, Mr. Zieman said, Mr. Michaels was told that "when he was speaking about global warming, he could not do it under the rubric as state climatologist." Since 2006, Mr. Michaels has been on long-term leave from Virginia, pending his retirement, said Mr. Zieman. Philip J. Stenger, research coordinator at the university's climatology office, has been handling its day-to-day operations for several years and has now taken over for Mr. Michaels, said Mr. Zieman. He does not, however, have the title of state climatologist. Mr. Zieman said that he would meet later with university officials, who would make a recommendation to the president regarding the future of the title. 



12)
TSA Promises Privacy For Subjects Of Clothing-Penetrating Scans
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202401630
The U.S. Transportation  Security Administration today promised to
protect air travelers' privacy as TSA personnel peer through their
clothes.

13)
007 MacArthur Fellows
http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.2913817/k.3EC5/2007_Overview.htm
Read all about the 2007 winners of the so-called "genius" grants, including a forensic anthropologist, an environmental geographer, an inventor, a painter/installation artist, a neuroboticist, a medieval historian, a blues musician, etc. 


14)
Erich writes:
Midnight ET is deadline on FCC decision on AT&T
The ruling is out now. AT&T say they are happy about the ruling. The
three Republican governors supported the behemoth, the two Democrats
voted against.
The ruling says, as I understand the decision, that AT&T, Verizon and Co
do not have to submit the pricing of their new products - broadband
[wholesale] offers - prior to the FCC. I am not sure if this is all that
is interesting, as the FCC document really does have a complexity of its
own starting with terms and language.
http://www.fcc.gov/101207/FCC-07-180A1.pdf
We watch these US proceedings that closely, as the issue is top on topic
here.
The EU-Commission sues Germany because incumbent Deutsche Telekom
refuses to let other providers into their new VDSL-Network. VDSL is a
mix of Fiber-to-the-Premises and Fiber-to-the-Node.
This week Vienna's municipial utility Wienstrom opened [had to open]
their vast citywide optical network to all providers [FTTP/FTTH]
Incumbent Telekom Austria got an advantage as usual. They were allowed
to buy the small existing "friendly custumer" base of Wienstrom and were
the first to offer a new broadband product. 2 Mbit symmetric for 30
Euros a month, half of the price the incumbent sold a comparable ADSL
product [2 MBit down,/ 384 KBit up] before.
10 Mbit/sec symmetric is 40 euros. Prices are expected to drop as soon
as more providers are connected to the fiber.
The equipment is from the Swedish company packetfront
http://www.packetfront.com/export/sites/default/doc_library/ PacketFront_DRG_230_datasheet.pdf http://www.packetfront.com/export/sites/default/doc_library/ PacketFront_BECS_datasheet.pdf 
Related news stories in German
http://futurezone.orf.at/produkte/stories/224013/


15)
Security vuln auction site pulls in research
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/12/wslabi_update/
A controversial marketplace for security exploits and vulnerabilities
said it has exceeded expectations with the submission of more than 150
vulnerabilities in its first two months of operations.
WabiSabiLabi encourages security researchers to sell their findings to
vetted buyers. Herman Zampariolo, chief exec of WSLabi which runs the
WabiSabiLabi marketplace, said that the quality of the submitted
vulnerabilities is as important as their quantity.
Vulnerabilities on the marketplace have had selling prices ranging
between 100 to 15,000 euros each. So far 1,000 sellers (researchers)
have registered on the site.


16)
Shadowy Russian Firm Seen as Conduit for Cybercrime
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101202461.html
An Internet business based in St. Petersburg has become a world hub for
Web sites devoted to child pornography, spamming and identity theft,
according to computer security experts. They say Russian authorities
have provided little help in efforts to shut down the company.
The Russian Business Network sells Web site hosting to people engaged in
criminal activity, the security experts say.
Groups operating through the company's computers are thought to be
responsible for about half of last year's incidents of "phishing" --
ID-theft scams in which cybercrooks use e-mail to lure people into
entering personal and financial data at fake commerce and banking sites.

17)
Just one in 10 local authorities in the UK encrypts all its sensitive
data, according to new research.
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=10328
The survey of IT and security managers at 60 local councils and police
authorities found that 45 percent of respondents encrypt data on "some
computers carrying sensitive material", but only 10 percent encrypt data
on all machines.
More than four in 10 respondents - 43 percent - said that no data was
encrypted by their organisation.

18)
On the Trail of Digital Secrets
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/jobs/14starts.html
Professionals in the field estimate that the average salary for computer
forensic specialists is about $85,000, depending on experience and
location. Entry-level positions can start at around $50,000 a year.
Kris E. Turnbull, director of the Cyber Crime Institute, a continuing
education program at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, said his
students tended to be 30 to 50 years old, with a background in Internet
technology. Some had jobs that were eliminated at corporations, he said.
The institute, started in 2002, offers online programs that can take
about three to four months to complete. Students who graduate from the
institute receive a certification backed by the International Society
for Forensic Computer Examiners.

19)
AL HASKVITZ
USA Today selected Al as one of the top 20 classroom teachers in the nation in 1999. 
1997 National Teacher's Hall of Fame Inductee and wonderful person.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Ringleaders/al.html
Building A Better Community was selected as a finalist in this global competition. We are the only one from the US. 
http://www.gjc.it/2006/en/show.php?id=39
The Global Junior Technology finals were held in Rome. My students'
project was selected to represent the USA. You might want to see it as it
combines math, civics, and computer science in the 10-15 years of age
competition.
My students work is also posted on the California Oregon Trail website as
well as the California DMV site. They also created a play on the history of
government for elementary and middle school students.


20)
The Swiss Army phone is the all-purpose phone that includes GPS pinpointing of the user's location. Nokia's acquisition of "map and navigational software maker Navteq for $8.1 billion," Nokia's biggest acquisition to date, 
the New York Times reports <http://tinyurl.com/yvu7eu>, and
Google's acquisition of Jaiku (ITworld.com reports <http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2428/071009googlefinnish/>).

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