iPods in a War Zone

The creator of the VCommunicator software -- Orlando-based Vcom3D -- originally designed it to teach soldiers basic Iraqi Arabic phrases by way of an iPod. However, now troops are finding new tactical applications for the device, said Vcom3D's Ernie Bright. Troops are uploading maps and other images and content onto the video iPods to assist them at vehide checkpoints and door-to-door searches

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Domain Tasting?

NetworkSolutions Scandal: Hijacking User Domain Searches

There has been an uproar today about a recent devious tactic being used by one of the original ICANN accredited registrars, NetworkSolutions. Apparently they are internally registering each and every domain name that a user searches for using their website, essentially holding it hostage so that it can not be purchased at any other significantly cheaper and more ethical registrar.

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Green lawns could lead to brownouts

Most people don't realize how closely power and water are linked.

In California, the water pumps that keep the Los Angeles area hydrated are the single largest users of power in the state, according to Gleick. Running a hot water faucet there for five minutes uses as much energy as keeping a 60-watt light bulb on for 14 hours, he said.

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Most types of power plants use water for cooling - a lot of water. About 40% of the freshwater used in the U.S. - or 136 billion gallons a day - is used for power generation, nearly as much as is used for crop irrigation, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A typical nuclear or coal energy plant could use 30-40 million gallons of water a day.

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Biofuels make climate change worse, scientific study concludes

Growing crops to make biofuels results in vast amounts of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and does nothing to stop climate change or global warming, according to the first thorough scientific audit of a biofuel's carbon budget.
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The world's rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan

A "plastic soup" of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States, scientists have said.

The vast expanse of debris – in effect the world's largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting "soup" stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan.
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