Software learns to translate by reading up 22 February 2005 NewScientist.com By Will Knight Source Translation software that develops an understanding of languages by scanning through thousands of previously translated documents has been released by US researchers. Most existing translation software uses hand-coded rules for transposing words and phrases. But the new software, developed by Kby archive - Archive
Japan's Robot Developers Go Linux By Jan Krikke www.LinuxInsider.com Part of the ECT News Network 12/03/03 4:15 AM PT Source Japan's preoccupation with consumer robots is largely driven by economic imperatives. It has an aging population, declining birthrates and a looming labor shortage, which means that the development of a standard robot platform could simply be a matter of time. Hby archive - Archive
"Of all the social and natural crises we humans face, the water crisis is the one that lies at the heart of our survival and that of our planet Earth." -- Koichiro Matsuura, the director general of Unesco Water Scarcity Could Affect Billions: Is This the Biggest Crisis of All? Published on Wednesday, March 5, 2003 by the lndependent/UK by Michael McCarthy Source Glug-glug: Not nby archive - Archive
CLIMATE: Global warming bombshell - hockey-stick plot used modified data by Professor Richard Muller 20 Nov 2004 Source A prime piece of evidence linking human activity to climate change turns out to be a product of poor mathematics, says Richard Muller, physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches a course called "Physics for Future Presidents". Progby archive - Archive
Greenspan urges cuts at Fannie, Freddie Fed chief says $1.5 trillion mortgage portfolio will cause problems for nation's financial system. February 18, 2005: 9:19 AM EST Source WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress to significantly cut the mortgage portfolios of the big mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to avoid "almost inevitable&quby archive - Archive
And here is the interesting FT editorial: Source Dollar dilemma Published: January 25 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 25 2005 02:00 The fate of the dollar rests in the hands of a handful of central bankers in Asia. We have known this for some time. Since the foreign private sector shows insufficient appetite for US assets, the US relies on central bank purchases to fund its current account dby archive - Archive
A genius explains Interview by Richard Johnson Saturday February 12, 2005 The Guardian Source Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant. He can perform mind-boggling mathematical calculations at breakneck speeds. But unlike other savants, who can perform similar feats, Tammet can describe how he does it. He speaks seven languages and is even devising his own language. Now scientists are asking whetheby archive - Archive
Linux desktops have internal role at Cisco By Phil Hochmuth, Network World 17/02/2005 10:16:41 Source John Chambers doesn't have a Linux PC yet, but he will someday if J. Craig Manning gets his way. Manning, an IT manager at Cisco Systems who supports the vendor's internal network, is behind a Linux push inside the company. The firm has already converted more than 2,000 of its engineby archive - Archive
How religion distorts. J. *** "It developed from a basic Judeo-Christian ideology of man being inherently evil, aggressive and a natural killer. In fact, when you really examine the fossil and living non-human primate evidence, that is just not the case." -- Robert W. Sussman 'Man the Hunter' theory is debunked in new book By Neil Schoenherr Source Feb. 2, 2005 — You wby archive - Archive
Brain study points to 'sixth sense' From Washington University in St. Louis Source Following the Asian tsunami, scientists struggled to explain reports that primitive aboriginal tribesmen had somehow sensed the impending danger in time to join wild animals in a life-saving flight to higher ground. A new theory suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex, described by some scienby archive - Archive
Bloomberg Columnists Mark Gilbert is a columnist for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own. Barclays Opens Up a Pandora's Box of Derivatives. By Mark Gilbert Source Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- A Pandora's box threatens to creak open in the derivatives market, as aggrieved investors seek compensation from banks that sold them collateralized debt obligations whose ratings anby archive - Archive
EU software patent law faces axe Story from BBC NEWS Published: 2005/02/17 17:23:24 GMT Source The European Parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented. Politicians unanimously rejected the bill and now it must go through another round of consultation if it is to have a chance of becoming law. During consultation the software patents bill could be substaby archive - Archive
Clarke rips Microsoft over security Former White House adviser alludes to its vulnerabilities By TODD BISHOP Thursday, February 17, 2005 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Source SAN FRANCISCO -- Don't expect Richard Clarke to rely on Microsoft Corp.'s anti-virus or anti-spyware programs to protect his own computer. "Given their record in the security area, I don't know wby archive - Archive
New Robots Walk Like Humans By Robert Roy Britt and Tariq Malik posted: 17 February, 2005 2 p.m. ET Source WASHINGTON D.C. - In what could be described as one small step for a robot, but a giant leap for robot-kind, a trio of humanoid machines were introduced Thursday, each with the ability to walk in a human-like manner. Each bipedal robot has a strikingly human-like gait and appearance.by archive - Archive
The Five-Billion-Star Hotel By Michael Belfiore March 2005 Source On the Las Vegas Strip, home of the biggest and most extravagant hotels in the world, shell-shocked tourists file past one stunningly ostentatious display after another. In the desert city, water says wealth like nothing else, and there’s a lake of it in front of the Bellagio, with fountains blasting 240 feet in the air in timeby archive - Archive
The New Raiders They're Back -- But With A Twist. The Latest Wave Is Led By Hedge Funds Flush With Billions In Cash by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. 2005 Source Boston hedge fund Highfields Capital Management apparently had had enough. It watched in dismay as its investment in the nation's No. 3 electronics retailer, Circuit City Stores (CC), floundered. Finalby archive - Archive
The Big Loser The Daily Reckoning London, England Wednesday, February 09, 2005 The Daily Reckoning PRESENTS: In 2004, the U.S. dollar appreciated by 85% against the Zimbabwean Dollar. It was an anomaly...virtually every other world currency got stronger. Which was the best performing currency in 2004? Here's a breakdown... THE BIG LOSER by Marc Faber At this year's Barron'sby archive - Archive
Man From the Moon A former astronaut is coming to town to discuss the science of consciousness. Bianca Phillips | 1/21/2005 Source On his return trip from the moon, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell experienced what he describes as a state of "transcended consciousness," which resulted in feelings of "bliss and ecstasy." As he gazed at the Earth, the planets, and stars, heby archive - Archive
Nice post. The tricky thing with derivates is that there are two sorts; financial derivates, which are unregulated, and the regulated 'material' derivates which are used predominately ford hedging risc in the manufacturing and raw materials (also agricultural products etc.) branch for hundreds of years. The unregulated financial derivates market, started officially in 1971 in Chicagoby archive - Archive
“About limits, the new world economy has no clue—nor do most politicians and thinkers, trained by the prosperous second part of the twentieth century to be overly market-trusting. Here lies a huge source of twenty-first century discussion or even dissent. The great economist John Maynard Keynes sensed this more than half a century ago when he wrote that the basic debate over the future of human sby archive - Archive