Tuesday 31 December 2013

Hangman Products to Rock Consumer Electronics Show With Revolutionary New TV Wall Mount: The No Stud TV Hanger

When Hangman Products introduces its No Stud TV Hanger ® at the CES Show, there will be head scratching, disbelief, and, perhaps, a challenge to be proven wrong. The new TV mount defies logic at almost every turn.

First is its actual weight. Constructed out of aircraft grade aluminum brackets, and with an aircraft grade steel safety cable, the TV mount weighs in at about a pound, a fraction of the typical TV mount weight.

More shocking, as the registered trademark promises, the products design is pure innovation. Requiring absolutely no anchors, it uses only tiny nails inserted into aircraft grade aluminum interlocking brackets. The new construction is so strong, it shocked the UL testers. It will hang any flat backed LED or LCD TV up to a UL rating of 80 pounds, screens sized 26 - 47. The nails leave nothing but pinholes in the wall, making it nearly invisible upon removal.

If that is not enough, the TV Mount is so simple to install, the entire project can be completed in about the time it takes to unpack the TV from its box.

For larger TVS, Hangman also makes a low profile Simple Mount TV Hanger with a UL rating of 125 pounds, fitting screens 35 - 70 in width. Although this mount does use studs, it still installs simply in under 10 minutes.

The Hangman No Stud TV Hanger and the Simple Mount TV Hanger will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7-10, 2014, South Hall Booth #1-21948.

You will have to see it to believe it.

About Hangman Products: Hangman Products creates hardware solutions for everyday needs. The multiple-patented Hangman Systems are carefully engineered to guarantee a safe and sturdy installation while promising to hang it level every time. Hangmans products range from Hanging Pictures, Hanging Mirrors, Hanging Framed Art, TV/Stereo Mounts and Safety to Garage/Slat Wall and Organization. They are designed to meet the installation requirements for retailers, consumers and manufacturers. Hangman's ever-expanding line of products can handle even the most difficult projects.

Stream TV to Present Consumer-Ready 4KTVs with Glasses-Free 3D at CES 2014

Stream TV Networks is excited to showcase its consumer-ready 4KTVs featuring breakthrough Ultra-D glasses-free adjustable 3D technology during WCES 2014. Of the various sizes to be brought to market by the company's brand partners in 2014, the 50" and 55" models will be on display.

Some of the TVs will be accompanied by the seeCube-4K, an external device that converts a wide range of content 2D or 3D stereoscopic sources to 2160p glasses-free 3D in real time. Stream TV has successfully ported its realtime conversion technology to the new Qualcomm 8074 processor, and a second version of the TV will carry the conversion technology built into a chip, significantly reducing costs. Using complex algorithms, the Ultra-D technology converts 1080p/2 million pixel content into a 4K/8 million pixel viewing experience. Users can connect their satellite or cable service, VOD, Blu-ray player, Xbox or PlayStation, as well as watch Internet content from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Baidu TV, PPStv, iQYi tv, Totou TV and other video sites with ease.

Qualcomm's latest 8074 processor features the new Krait 400 CPU in quad configuration, with speeds of up to 2.3 GHz per core for best-in-class performance per watt, so processor performance can hold up to the more demanding processing. The new Adreno 330 GPU delivers more than 2x performance for compute applications over the current Adreno 320 GPU, capturing playback and display in 2160p video.

"Ultra-D presents a never-before-seen glasses-free 3D viewing experience," said Mathu Rajan, CEO of Stream TV Networks. "There's a lack of 4K content out there, but by generating millions of new pixels with depth information, we truly take advantage of what a 4K screen can offer."

Ultra-D will be on display at WCES 2014 from January 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall Booth 14032, and during a press conference on January 8, 2PM at the Venetian Hotel, Marcello Ballroom 4503.

Experience the future of 3D today, not years from now. To schedule an Ultra-D demo, contact press@ultra-d.com. Additional information, supporting images and interviews with CEO Mathu Rajan and other Stream TV executives are available by request.

NSA can spy on offline computers wirelessly, says security expert

A well-known privacy advocate has given the public an unusually explicit peek into the intelligence world's tool box, pulling back the curtain on the National Security Agency's arsenal of high-tech spy gear.

Independent journalist and security expert Jacob Appelbaum on Monday told a hacker conference in Germany that the NSA could turn iPhones into eavesdropping tools and use radar wave devices to harvest electronic information from computer even if they weren't online.

Appelbaum told hundreds of computer experts gathered at Hamburg's Chaos Communications Conference that his revelations about the NSA's capabilities "are even worse than your worst nightmares."

"What I am going to show you today is wrist-slittingly depressing," he said.
Even though in the past six months there have been an unprecedented level of public scrutiny of the NSA and its methods, Appelbaum's claims - supported by what appeared to be internal NSA slideshows - still caused a stir.

One of the slides described how the NSA can plant malicious software onto Apple Inc.'s iPhone, giving American intelligence agents the ability to turn the popular smartphone into a pocket-sized spy.

Another slide showcased a futuristic-sounding device described as a "portable continuous wave generator," a remote controlled device which - when paired with tiny electronic implants - can bounce invisible waves of energy off keyboards and monitors to see what is being typed even if the target device isn't connected to the Internet.

A third slide showcased a piece of equipment called NIGHTSTAND, which can tamper with wireless Internet connections from up to 8 miles away.

An NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said that she wasn't aware of Appelbaum's 
presentation, but that in general should would not comment on "alleged foreign intelligence activities."

"As we've said before:  NSA's focus is on targeting the communications of valid foreign intelligence targets - not on collecting and exploiting a class of communications or services that would sweep up communications that are not of bona fide foreign intelligence interest to the U.S. government," Vines said.

The documents included in Appelbaum's presentation were first published by German magazine Der Spiegel Sunday and Monday.

Appelbaum and Der Spiegel have both played an important role in the disclosures of NSA leaker Edward Snowden, but neither has clarified whether the most recent set of slides came from Snowden.

Der Spiegel's revelations related to a division of the NSA known as Tailored Access Operations, or TAO, which is painted as an elite team of hackers specializing in stealing data from the toughest of targets.

Citing internal NSA documents, the magazine said Sunday that TAO's mission was 
"Getting the ungettable," and quoted an unnamed intelligence official as saying that TAO had gathered "some of the most significant intelligence our country has ever seen."

Der Spiegel said TAO had a catalog of high-tech gadgets for particularly hard-to-crack cases, including computer monitor cables specially modified to record what is being typed across the screen, USB sticks secretly fitted with radio transmitters to broadcast stolen data over the airwaves, and fake base stations intended to intercept mobile phone signals on the go.

Additionally, the magazine reported the NSA was intercepting computer deliveries to install spying abilities on them, and suggested the agency was "compromising the technology and products of American companies" like Dell and Microsoft.


Computer security group alleges Snapchat software flaw

The popular cellphone app Snapchat is facing some security risks.

The app allows the exchange of pictures and videos for only a few seconds before disappearing.

Back in August, computer security group Gibson Security released a report pointing out flaws in Snapchat's application programming interface (API)

The group says the flaw could potentially be used to "build a database of Snapchat usernames and phone numbers, connecting names to aliases easily, and with further work connecting social media accounts to entries."

This last week Gibson Security published a full disclosure of what they found four months ago.

Snapchat responded on their website Friday afternoon: "Theoretically, if someone were able upload a huge set of phone numbers, like every number in an area code or every possible number in the U.S., they could create a database of the results and match user names to phone numbers that way."

They also stated they have put in more safeguards to make number collection more difficult to do.

KRTV also asked viewers on Facebook about what they thought about the potential breach. Several pointed out that sharing personal information on the internet brings the risk of having that info stolen.

According to the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, at least a fourth of cell phone owners between the age 18 and 29 use the app.

Free Chinese-made software poses security risk

A Japanese-language input program — potentially installed on millions of computers, including those used at government agencies — sends every character typed to the software provider’s server without the user’s consent.

The Baidu IME program for Windows computers is distributed for free on the Internet by Baidu Japan Inc., the Japanese arm of China’s Baidu Inc., operator of 
China’s most popular Internet search engine.

Baidu Japan says the program, often installed with other downloadable software, is used by 4 million people.

The program is an input method editor (IME), which is required on a computer when entering Japanese characters. Baidu IME has cloud functionality that makes use of resources on the Internet in converting keystrokes into kanji, hiragana and other characters used in Japanese text.

The government’s National Information Security Center has warned all government agencies not to use IMEs with Internet connection functionality when creating confidential documents, or at least take the computer offline, according to Yuji Mizuta, a counselor at the Cabinet Secretariat.

“We are aware some IMEs send out entered characters over the Net,” Mizuta said. 

“We are alarmed by the risk of information leakage through users failing to turn off Internet connection functions.”

The NISC has confirmed that Baidu IME was installed on five computers belonging to the Foreign Ministry, but no information was sent out over the Internet, according to Mizuta. He also said there has been no report that any confidential information has leaked from any government agency through an IME.

According to NetAgent Co., a Tokyo information security company that analyzed Baidu IME, all Japanese characters entered via the program are sent to Baidu’s server located in Japan even when the application’s cloud function is turned off.

NetAgent meanwhile confirmed that Simeji, another Japanese input program from Baidu Japan used on Android smartphones, also sends Japanese characters even when the cloud function is off.

Barry University’s Computer System Hacked

Computer (Source: CBS)
Barry University is notifying patients of its Foot and Ankle Institute that their personal information and medical records may have stolen after the institute’s computer system was hacked.

The university announced Monday that the security breach was detected around May 14.

Officials say a school laptop infected by a form of malware software was used to gain access to private computer systems. CBS4 news partners The Miami Herald reports the university launched an investigation, hiring an outside computer forensic company.

The affected files have been restored to their original state.

The investigation revealed that some sensitive patient information may have been compromised. The number of patients affected was not made available.

The university is offering a complimentary 12-month credit monitoring service to those whose information was at risk.

Solar power a lucrative new opportunity for Punjab SMEs

Santosh Kumar, Director, Science and Technology, Union Territory of Chandigarh Vishav Mohan (name changed), a small entrepreneur based in Ludhiana, Punjab, was running a sewing machine company that was losing money owing to the decline in demand caused by a glut of cheaper models imported from China. He is now setting up a unit to manufacture solar panels for solar photovoltaic power generation on the same premises.
Other entrepreneurs in the region have already embarked on this road.

Vikram Hans, managing director of Multi Overseas India Private Limited, Chandigarh, said that owing to the increase in opportunities in solar power generation, he is manufacturing solar power inverters with high charging capacity. "There is huge demand from the telecom sector, as solar gen-sets are more cost effective than diesel gen-sets. Solar power is not an option but a strategic compulsion now. So there is a lot of scope for business expansion."

Jagat Jawa, director general of the Solar Energy Society of India, said that due to a fall in the cost of solar power generation in the past four to five years, the business had become lucrative for SMEs. "Four years back the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission had fixed the tariff of solar power at Rs 17.91 per unit, and this has now decreased to one-third. SMEs can make modules, solar cells, cables and small electronic parts. They can register as channel partners with the ministry of new and renewable energy to avail of business opportunities."

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission launched in January 2010 by the Union government has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 Mw of grid-connected solar power by 2022. One of the ways through which the mission aims to reduce the cost of solar power generation in the country is through domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products. This is expected to open new opportunities for small and medium entrepreneurs.

"There is a huge demand-supply gap in the availability of grid-tied photovoltaic inverters and bi-directional electricity meters. Most of these are either imported or provided by the big players, and are expensive. SMEs can make use of available technologies to manufacture such items. This would not only cut the government's import bill but also slash the cost of power generation," said Santosh Kumar, director, Science and Technology, Union Territory of Chandigarh, and also the director of CREST (Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society).

Chandigarh is one of the four model solar cities (the others are Nagpur, Pune and Mysore) selected by the Union government for setting up rooftop solar photovoltaic power systems. In a model solar city, a subsidy of either 50 per cent of the project cost or Rs 19 crore is given for solar power generation.

Uni-directional meters are used when the power is drawn from the grid. But in case of power generation by the consumer, a bi-directional meter is required which can register the electricity consumed and can also measure the surplus power supplied to the grid by the consumer. Such meters are presently available at an exorbitant price (about Rs 20,000 each). These meters can be sourced at a third of the price if manufactured by SMEs, added Santosh Kumar.

SMEs can also manufacture grid-tied invertors. These inverters can 'sense' the grid. When the grid shuts down, they divert power from the grid to the battery, saving power.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has been conducting a high-resolution satellite imaging survey to develop a web-based GIS tool for assessing the availability of rooftop space and radiation in Chandigarh. Amit Kumar, director (energy-environment) at TERI, said that SMEs can start making photovoltaic inverters, charge controllers, electrical components and metallic mounting structures.

With the tariffs for conventional power increasing owing to the high cost of coal and diesel, and the cost of renewable energy declining owing to the availability of better technologies, India is expected to reach grid parity (when the cost of renewable and conventional power equalises) by 2017. And since the Indian climate supports solar power generation, the investment in this field would be sustainable.

Weather on planet outside our solar system detected for first time

The weather on a "super-Earth" orbiting a star 40 light years away is the first to be detected outside our solar system 

Researchers have predicted that it is set to remain cloudy and hot on the planet GJ 1214b for a long time to come
Researchers have predicted that it is set to remain cloudy and hot on the planet GJ 1214b for a long time to come

 

Scientists have issued a weather forecast for a planet outside our solar system for the first time, with the alien ''super-Earth'' orbiting a star 40 light years away set to remain cloudy and hot for the foreseeable future.

Using Hubble, they found exoplanet GJ 1214b has cloudy skies and is overcast all of the time, which would make forecasting pretty predictable - and boring.

Researchers have predicted that it is set to remain cloudy and hot on the planet GJ 1214b for a long time to come.

The world orbits very close to its ''red dwarf'' parent star, raising temperatures to a scorching 232C.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope to study light filtering through the planet's atmosphere, US astronomers determined that it is shrouded by high-altitude clouds. 

What they are made of is still unknown, but computer simulations suggest they could be composed of potassium chloride or zinc sulphide dust.

Earlier studies of the planet were not able to tell whether it had clear or cloudy skies. 

Now scientists are confident it is both hot and permanently overcast - a little like Venus in our own Solar System.

As was the case with Venus until the era of space probes, the cloud cover makes it impossible to know what the planet 's surface is like.

Super-Earths, planets having a mass between that of the Earth and Neptune, are believed to be among the most common in our galaxy, the Milky Way. GJ 1214b, whose star lies in the constellation Ophiuchus, is roughly 2.7 times larger than the Earth.

Dr Jacob Bean, leader of the University of Chicago astronomers - whose results appear in the journal Nature, said: ''I think it's very exciting that we can use a telescope like Hubble that was never designed with this in mind, do these kinds of observations with such exquisite precision, and really nail down some property of a small planet orbiting a distant star.''

The observations took up 96 hours of Hubble Telescope time spread over 11 months - the longest period ever devoted to studying a single exoplanet with the space telescope.

Dr Bean's team analysed near-infrared light from the planet each time it passed in front of, or ''transited'', its star, an event that occurs every 38 hours.

Writing in Nature, the scientists described the findings as an important milestone on the way to identifying potentially habitable Earth-like planets among the stars. 

GJ 1214b was discovered in 2009 by the MEarth Project, which searched for planets transiting 2,000 red dwarfs, abundant stars dimmer than the Sun.

Follow-up observations suggested that the planet's atmosphere was either mostly composed of water vapour or dominated by hydrogen with high-altitude clouds.

The new study ruled out a cloud-free atmosphere of water, methane, nitrogen, carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.

A ''flat'' signal from the Hubble data, lacking chemical fingerprints, indicated the presence of high altitude clouds of uncertain composition shielding what lay beneath.

The US space agency Nasa's 6.5 metre James Webb Space Telescope, due to be placed in orbit later this decade, is expected to reveal more information about exoplanet atmospheres.

''Looking forward, JWST will be transformative,'' said graduate student Laura Keidberg, another member of the University of Chicago team.

''The new capabilities of this telescope will allow us to peer through the clouds on planets like GJ 1214b. But more than that, it may open the door to studies of Earth-like planets around nearby stars.''

 

Trina to Build 1-Gigawatt Solar Farm in Western China

China’s second-largest solar-panel maker, is planning to build in the western Xinjiang region a power plant with 1 gigawatt of capacity, about the same as a new nuclear reactor.

Trina signed a framework agreement with local authorities in Turpan Prefecture to develop the ground-mounted solar farm, the Changzhou, China-based company said yesterday in a statement. It’s also planning a factory in the area to supply components for the project.

“The solar plants will ensure a stable supply of clean energy and improve reliability of electricity supply to the surrounding regions,” Chief Executive Officer Gao Jifan said in the statement.

The project will be built in phases over four years starting in early 2014. The company expects the first two phases, totaling 300 megawatts in capacity, to be completed and connected to the grid by the end of next year.

Trina is China’s largest solar-panel maker after Yingli Green Energy Holding Co.

Saturday 28 December 2013

Bedford’s RSA under fire after NSA allegations

Cybersecurity experts and privacy advocates are continuing to press Bedford cybersecurity company RSA to reveal more details about its relationship with the National Security Agency’s spying program, with some critics calling for a boycott of the company’s upcoming annual convention.

A Dec. 20 Reuters article suggested that RSA, a division of the data storage giant EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, received $10 million from the NSA to modify one of its cybersecurity products, Bsafe, in a way that would allow the spy agency to get around computer safeguards and access sensitive data. Critics contend RSA has failed to clarify what its specific business dealings were with the NSA.

“I would want to see a clear statement from EMC about what software they’re using, and what algorithms they’re using,” said Matthew Green, assistant research professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, referring to the compromised computer formula and other security products.
RSA and EMC each declined to comment Friday.

The product in question, Bsafe, is a widely used software tool designed to prevent hackers from breaking into software applications and stealing data. It gives users a choice of several formulas that generate random numbers needed to encrypt data. 

Moreover, the RSA encryption software is used throughout EMC’s products, raising the possibility that data stored on EMC systems might be vulnerable.

The Reuters story said RSA installed a computer algorithm selected by the NSA into Bsafe, and made it the default number generator, so that it would more likely be used by customers. That could give the NSA the means to break into applications protected by the RSA product.

Earlier this year, leaks by former government contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA had designed such an encryption formula and made it available to the cybersecurity industry.

The Reuters article is the first account suggesting that RSA was paid to be complicit in using the NSA algorithm. The story quoted some in the industry who questioned whether RSA was duped into using the encryption tool by the NSA.

This past weekend, RSA acknowledged it had worked with the NSA on a computer code for its security products, as far back as 2004 — well before anyone had an inkling of the widespread snooping the agency would conduct.

But RSA said, “We have never entered into any contract or engaged in any project with the intention of weakening” its security products or introduced vulnerabilities that others could exploit.

Earlier in 2013, RSA did acknowledge that the security formula in Bsafe was flawed, and suggested clients stop using the default number generator.

The company’s statement, however, has failed to mollify many critics, who complained the company did not address some of the allegations in the Reuters story.

Now, just eight weeks before the company hosts its annual conference, one of the computer security industry’s most prestigious events, RSA is facing a growing backlash, from cyber professionals and privacy advocates alike.
 
Two prominent speakers have withdrawn from the conference, and talk of a boycott of the RSA Conference is spreading on social media.

“There are going to be economic consequences, especially outside the United States. 

The boycott of the RSA Conference is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Nicco Mele, a technology and policy expert at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Indeed, one of the first cybersecurity experts to withdraw from the conference was Mikko Hypponen, a well-known privacy specialist and chief research officer at the Finnish company F-Secure. Soon thereafter, Josh Thomas, an executive with Atredis Partners in Houston, also canceled his talk at the RSA Conference.

“I feel absolutely no need to go to that conference and speak, and by my actions and my words to further the RSA brand,” said Thomas, who worked for more than a decade developing artificial intelligence software for the Army and cryptographic software for the Pentagon.

Previously RSA earned a reputation for fighting the government’s efforts to weaken encryption tools. In the 1990s, under Jim Bidzos, former chief executive, it helped quash an NSA program to get telecommunications companies to adopt a chip that would make government eavesdropping easier.

Now its credibility is being called into question.

“What can RSA say? You caught us here, but we haven’t done it anywhere else? You can trust us?” said Bruce Schneier, author of multiple books on data security and privacy.

More broadly, said Schneier, the NSA spying scandal is taking a toll on the American technology industry.

For instance, he said, Cisco Systems Inc. said last month that customers in emerging markets are buying less of its equipment out of concern about built-in back doors that could let US spies access their data.

A bid by AT&T Inc. to buy the British cellphone company Vodafone Group PLC has faced pushback from European regulators worried about NSA infiltration of American telecommunications.

“This is the poison of what NSA has done,” said Schneier. “They’ve destroyed trust on the Internet.”

Meanwhile, some smaller security companies that offer similar products to the RSA Bsafe tool kit may stand to benefit. One such firm is Security Innovation Inc. of Wilmington, which offers its own security algorithm to keep applications safe.

As a result of the Snowden leaks “you are seeing everyone rethinking and reevaluating the relationships they have,” said Ed Adams, chief executive of Security Innovation. “It’s an opportunity for smaller security companies.”

Adams said that RSA has reached out to Security Innovation about potentially working with his company. That could be a way for RSA to add additional security formulas to its technology.

Adams did not provide details on what that partnership would involve.

While he would also like to see RSA respond to critics with more information, Adams doesn’t fault RSA in this case. It’s often impossible to know the motivations and intentions of the NSA when performing contract work for that and other government agencies.

“This is the yin and yang that you always have to manage when you are trying to do business with the government,” said Adams, whose company worked extensively with government spy agencies until it spun off that business unit in 2005 and sold it to Raytheon Co. in 2008. “You are always caught between two different missions.”



M'ville to open computer lab for senior citizens, students

Senior citizens and Merrillville students would benefit from a new program the town plans to offer.

Clerk-Treasurer Eugene Guernsey said Merrillville is in the process of opening a new computer lab at Town Hall. He wants to have the facility in place in January.
During the day, the computer lab would be open to senior citizens.

Guernsey said there are many tasks that are done using computers. He said some senior citizens might not have computers or they might not know how to use some programs, such as video chatting software to talk to relatives who don't live nearby.

"There are a lot of people who are not computer savvy," Guernsey said.

He said volunteers would host computer classes for senior citizens to help them learn how to use a variety of programs.

After school, computers would be open to Merrillville students, Guernsey said.

He also wants the town to hire Merrillville high school students to provide tutoring sessions at the computer lab.

He said he will collaborate with the high school to find students for the part-time jobs.

Guernsey said there would be no cost to senior citizens using the computers, but there would be a minimal charge to children coming in for tutoring.

Funds received from the fee would be used to pay the high school students, Guernsey said.

Guernsey said he hasn't yet determined where the center will be located inside of Merrillville's municipal complex.

"We're gonna find room in that Town Hall," Town Council President Carol Miano said.

Equipment for the computer lab will be purchased with money from a $30,000 donation Comcast contributed for the project, Guernsey said.
Miano said she is appreciative of businesses that are taking an active role to improve the community.

She said Merrillville's computer facility would be named the Comcast Computer Center.

Astronomy software firm goes mobile with SkySafari acquisition

SkySafari is a mobile app for astronomy enthusiasts.
SkySafari is a mobile app for astronomy enthusiasts.
A Twin Cities developer of astronomy-education software will rocket into the mobile market after acquiring SkySafari, an app for stargazers.

Minnetonka-based Simulation Curriculum, best known for its Starry Night line of educational software, snapped up SkySafari in a bid to quickly enter the mobile arena, said CEO and Co-founder Michael Goodman in an interview. The company makes computer software, but has yet to create apps for mobile devices. Goodman said he pursued SkySafari, developed by San Francisco-based Southern Stars, after hearing good things about it from customers.

Astronomy enthusiasts use SkySafari to peruse sky charts and control telescopes with their mobile devices. Simulation Curriculum will integrate features from its desktop software into the app, Goodman said.

The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal, but said SkySafari’s developers, Tim DeBenedictis and Bill Tschumy, will join the Simulation Curriculum’s staff. (The duo mounted a fun crowdfunding campaign that raised $117,000 to launch a nano-satellite into space.)

Venture Bank helped finance the acquisition.

Goodman launched Simulation Curriculum in 2008 after buying the business from Imaginova Corp. The company raised about $1 million in capital to fund the launch of an earth sciences line of software.

Simulation Curriculum now has 12 employees, up from two when it started.
The company plans to expand into biology, chemistry and other educational fields and also next year will launch a new version of its flagship Starry Night software, Goodman said.

Microsoft files for a number of 'mod' trademarks in December

Microsoft files for a number of 'mod' trademarks in December

The world of trademarks is an interesting one. Companies frequently trademark words and phrases that relate to products they have either released or intend to release, but the application for a trademark could equally mean nothing. Throughout December Microsoft has filed for a number of trademarks centering around the word 'mod'. Could this be a reference to modern apps? We don’t know yet, but it's certainly possible.

Since the beginning of the month, Microsoft has filed the Mod, Microsoft Mod, Windows Mod and Microsoft Office Mod trademarks. There are listings for these trademarks on the US Patent and Trademark Office website but very little is given away.

It is clearly something software-related, but it is difficult to get more than this from the information given. According to the listings, the trademarks relate to "Computer operating system software; computer software; computer hardware; computer peripherals; computer accessories; mobile computing devices; mobile communication devices". So that clears that up!

More recently, there has been another filing for the Throne Together trademark. This is listed as relating to "Game software", so it is likely to be an upcoming Xbox One title -- perhaps a Game of Thrones tie-in?

There has been no official announcement from Microsoft yet, but as soon as we hear anything, we'll let you know!

Tech Companies Work to Combat Computer Science Education Gap

Douglas Poland teaches an AP computer science class at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va. As a part of Microsoft's TEALS program, professional software engineers help teach the class.
Douglas Poland teaches an AP computer science class at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va. As a part of Microsoft's TEALS program, professional software engineers help teach the class.

Three numbers are written on the board in Doug Poland's classroom at Stone Bridge High School: two, four and six.

"You have one guess to figure out the rule," he tells his Advanced Placement Computer Science class on a Friday morning before winter break.

The students -- sophomores, juniors and seniors -- team up to test patterns of numbers they think will either fit or fail the rule Poland has written down on a piece of paper ("ascending numbers").

As Poland circles the classroom, he tells the students they're "thinking too logically." 

These are the kinds of "warm up" activities Poland says he likes to use to encourage his students to think creatively. Then, after a short lecture on a new subject or particularly challenging topic from a previous class, Poland lets the students loose to program for the remaining hour of class time.

"They want to be hands on, they want to be doing as much as possible," Poland says.

The computer science program at Stone Bridge High School is an outlier compared to other high schools throughout the nation. Students at the high school in Ashburn, Va., have the opportunity to take introductory and advanced placement computer science classes, and can also participate in a computer programming club.

But in nine out of 10 high schools in the United States, there are no computer science classes offered, according to Code.org, an organization that encourages more students to learn programming and coding skills. Additionally, in 33 of 50 states, computer science classes do not count towards high school math or science graduation requirements.

That lack of opportunity is adding to a growing concern among educators and industry professionals who worry there will not be enough educated workers to fill the ballooning number of computer science jobs.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show, for example, that by 2020, there will be 1.4 million new computer science jobs, but only 400,000 computer science students. The number of computer science jobs, according to Code.org, is growing at a pace two times the national average for job growth.

That's why companies such as Microsoft have implemented programs to help engage more students in computer science at a younger age. The company's Technology 

Education and Literacy in Schools program (TEALS) pairs 70 schools in 12 states with nearly 300 professional software engineers who volunteer to help start computer science programs or further develop existing programs, such as the one at Stone Bridge.

"TEALS came to us through one of our computer science engineers who...had a particular passion around the need to help feed the future pipeline of computer science engineers," says Lori Harnick, Microsoft's general manager for citizenship and public affairs. "He saw that young people, particularly high school students, don't always have access in schools. So he decided on his own that he would stop by his neighborhood school and volunteer to teach alongside the teacher."

Microsoft executives caught wind of the effort as more employees began volunteering. By the 2011-12 school year, TEALS volunteers were in 13 schools, reaching more than 800 students. This year, more than 3,000 students are in computer science classes with TEALS volunteers, both from Microsoft and other companies in the industry, such as Amazon, Dell, Google and HP.

"In recent years we have seen a growing need and demand for computer science professionals. Of course we get those typically out of college, or graduate engineering programs," Harnick says. "But we've started to recognize that that spark starts much earlier. If you haven't been exposed to computer science until university, it probably won't be a field you choose to pursue."

While the technical expertise TEALS volunteers can offer is key -- because many teachers don't have a background in the field -- it's also important for students to see that computer science fields can lead to real careers outside of the tech sector, says Dan Kasun, a TEALS volunteer at Stone Ridge.

Kasun said skills students develop while learning computer science can help them find careers not only in information technology and software engineering, but also in games and digital application development, data analytics and cyber security.

By 2018, for example, there are expected to be as many as 190,000 unfilled positions in the data analytics field alone, says Jim Goodnight, chief executive officer of the data analytics company SAS.

"There's a huge, huge demand for people with these particular skills, the ability to handle and work with large amounts of data to do the analytics, to do forecasting and prediction," Goodnight says. "And there's just a tremendous shortage right now. 

Every company out there is really interested in analytics -- they want people with analytical talent."

As a way to reach more students, SAS helped institute a program at North Carolina State University which admits about 80 students each year to learn how to use the SAS analytics software and gain day-to-day work experience in the field, Goodnight says.
 
"The thing that you want to do and the jobs you want to pursue, in whatever industry, software is a big piece," Kasun told Poland's introductory computer science class. "If you love football, great. You can do data analytics and make tremendous advancements. The career opportunities are absolutely huge."

Although computer programming is a science by nature, it's the challenge, creativity and unpredictability involved in learning how to code that drew many of Poland's students to his class.

"It's a microcosm of the whole school," Poland says. "There's someone from just about every subgroup. You have students working with students they wouldn't normally associate with."

For students who are more artistically inclined, Poland says, designing games and applications is appealing as a creative outlet.

Jeanette Forbes, a senior in Poland's AP class, says it's fulfilling to see a game she designed run well. But while traditional games typically require the player to achieve a goal or complete an objective, Forbes says she approaches the task a bit differently.

"I like to work on plot and how it feels to play, rather than doing main objectives and goals," she says.

Jenny Xing, on the other hand, says she's more drawn to the software development aspect of computer science. Now a freshman at the University of Virginia studying computer science, Xing compares software development to working "behind the scenes" and says she enjoys thinking analytically to develop software.

"Just being in a computer science class gives you an advantage not only in college but also in life. Even if you don't like what you're doing in the computer math class, at least you're exposed to it," Xing says. "You have math and biology and all the sciences, but computer science is a field of its own, so just knowing a little bit of it puts you ahead."



Global Printed Electronics Market 2014-2018: Worldwide Industry Share, Investment Trends, Growth, Size, Strategy and Forecast Research Report

Market analysts forecast the Global Printed Electronics market to grow at a CAGR of 20.6 percent over the period 2013-2018. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the growing need for eco-friendly electronics products. The Global 

Printed Electronics market has also been witnessing the miniaturization of electronics devices. However, the lack of technology standards could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. 

Research report, the Global Printed Electronics Market 2014-2018, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the Americas, and the EMEA and APAC regions; it also covers the Global 

Printed Electronics market landscape and its growth prospects in the coming years. 

The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market

The key vendors dominating this market space are Conductive Inkjet Technology, E Ink Holdings Inc., NovaCentrix, and T-Ink, Inc.

Other vendors mentioned in the report are Litrex Corp., THIN FILM ELECTRONICS AB, NTERA Inc., Xenon Corp., and Creative Materials, Inc.

To Get Download Full Report With TOC: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/181722

Key questions answered in this report:

What will the market size be in 2018 and what will the growth rate be?
 
 What are the key market trends?
 
What is driving this market?
 
What are the challenges to market growth? 

Who are the key vendors in this market space?
 
What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

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NewsWatch Recently Featured Start With Art!, An Art Education Application by MadCap Logic on National Television

"Start with Art!", an art education application was featured on NewsWatch as part of its popular segment, AppWatch, that takes a look at the latest and coolest mobile applications and services on the iOS, Android, and Windows market. Andrew 

Tropeano, host of AppWatch, conducted the app review and shared with viewers how the app teaches children how to understand core visual arts and express themselves through it.

Teaching the fundamentals of art to children is an essential building block for their future. It drives their creativity, expands their mind, and ultimately is linked to increased academic performance. Rather than just teaching children how to doodle and paint, parents should focus on what art is and what it means to them.

To teach a child art fundamentals but also make sure they have fun in the process, NewsWatch highlighted Start With Art! by Madcap Logic, a company founded by former Disney animators and professional educators. Start with Art! is the first app of four that teaches children how to understand core visual arts and express themselves through it. 

When a child begins using the app, parents can walk away while they learn concepts like what art is and how people express themselves through it and the emotional impact of simple objects like lines and shapes. Start With Art! is fun and educational, so parents can feel good about putting it in their childs hands.

To learn more or download it on an iPad or Android tablet, visit http://www.madcaplogic.com.

About NewsWatch

NewsWatch is a weekly 30-minute consumer oriented television show that airs monthly on the History Channel and weekly on the ION Network. NewsWatch regularly features top technology products, unique and beautiful travel destinations, health tips, medical breakthroughs, and entertainment news on the show. A recent addition to NewsWatch, AppWatch is a weekly segment that provides viewers app reviews and game reviews of the latest and hottest apps and games out on the market for iOS and Android devices.

The show airs in 180 markets nationwide as well as all of the top 20 broadcast markets in the country, and is the preferred choice for Satellite Media Tour and Video News Release Distribution.

For more information or to watch the latest app reviews featured on the show, head to http://www.NewsWatchTV.com/appwatch.html.

Solar variability has a small effect on climate change



The Earth wouldn't have much of a climate if it weren't for the Sun. But it's a different thing entirely to conclude that because of its essential role the Sun contributes significantly to climate change. To alter the climate, the amount of energy sent our way by the Sun would have to vary significantly. And most studies have found that, while the Sun's output does vary, it hasn't seemed to have changed enough to have left a mark on the recent climate record.

But a few studies have suggested that the Sun's influence may be much larger. In fact, the range of estimates differ by an order of magnitude. One of the high-end estimates attempted to infer historic solar activity based on an examination of the details of the Sun that we can currently observe. And that, as its title suggests, "leads to large historical solar forcing."

 A team from the University of Edinburgh decided to figure out if that actually made any sense. So, they compared a climate model's output with reconstructions of the Northern Hemisphere's temperatures for the last 1,200 years (Northern Hemisphere data is much more complete than Southern). Within the climate model, they set both large and small values for the influence of solar activity on the climate.

And the large values simply don't work very well. With a high value for solar influence, nearly three hundred of the 1,000 years of the comparison failed to line up—the model output failed to match the historical record. In contrast, with a low value of solar influence, the number of mismatched years was cut by more than half. 

There was also an extended period at the start of the last millennium where the Northern Hemisphere's temperatures were high (commonly called the Medieval Warm Period), yet the solar activity was relatively low.

Doing a fingerprint analysis, which identifies the climate influences that produce the climate changes we actually measure, researchers showed that volcanoes and greenhouse gasses were the largest influences on the climate over the last 1,000 years, with greenhouse gasses playing a role even before their recent rise due to industrialization. In addition, they find that volcanic eruptions have both a short-term impact on climate (which was known) as well as a longer-term cooling impact.

Clearly, this study is limited by being focused on the Northern Hemisphere, when what we generally care about is the global effect. If solar activity did have a strong global influence, however, there should be periods where at least some of that effect was apparent in the Northern Hemisphere. It's also limited by being focused on a single climate model. The authors confirmed that a second model produced similar results, and they note that the fingerprint analysis depends only on the timing of changes, and not their magnitude. As a result, they "conclude that large solar forcing is inconsistent with reconstructions of climate of the past millennium."

That doesn't mean that the Sun couldn't force changes if its activity shifted more significantly than it has over the last thousand years or so. But that period includes both the Maunder and Dalton minimums, which are periods of exceptionally low activity in the historical record. It also doesn't rule out solar activity driving regional changes that are swamped when averaging across the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Nevertheless, the study is another point against the idea that the Sun's variability has had a significant influence on the historic climate. And, in that, it's consistent with the majority of other results.