Spy on google earth

AP - Swiss police said Thursday they stumbled across a large marijuana plantation while using Google Earth, the search engine company's satellite mapping software.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090129/ap_on_hi_te/eu_switzerland_dope_farmers

Japanese secuirty robot catches theives with nets

apanese on Thursday unveiled a security robot that can be operated remotely by cellphone and launch a net to capture an intruder.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090122/tc_afp/lifestylejapanrobottechnology

Yahoo freezes salary

Yahoo's new CEO imposes salary freeze (AP)

Pay freezes are becoming more commonplace across the country as companies scramble to lower their expenses without firing employees. President Barack Obama joined in the trend on his first full day in the White House by eliminating raises for workers making more than $100,000 annually.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090122/ap_on_hi_te/yahoo_salary_freeze

Technology salaries rise by 4.6 percent (CNET)

Salaries of tech professionals managed to spike up an average of 4.6 percent last year to $78,035, according to survey results released Thursday by tech career site Dice.com.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/cnet/20090122/tc_cnet/8301100131014841992

Obama keeps Blackberry

In The Onion's visualization, the subject line of an e-mail from wife Michelle Obama asked him to pick up some eggs "on your way back from the Middle East,"

The world's biggest to-do list, on the desk of President Barack Obama, now has one less item. Obama will keep his BlackBerry.

Among the many issues the new president faced, the tug-of-war with his security team on continuing to use his portable device received more than its share of attention. But, in the post-partisan manner favored by the 44th president, a compromise was announced on Thursday.

Under the arrangement, a super-encryption package will be added to Obama's BlackBerry, giving the most powerful person on the planet on-the-go access to e-mail.

The highest level of encryption for BlackBerrys currently used by top-level government officers is Secret, and -- as the most visible target for hackers -- Obama's security needs are higher. For instance, a BlackBerry can become a homing device broadcasting its user's location, or it can be hacked to act as a remote microphone, in addition to more standard e-mail and voice-communication prying.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nf/20090123/tc_nf/64260

Tea

Since I have lots of choice of drinks during 'Coffee break' at work, I was wondering which one would be better (if I ignore the taste fact)! Here are some quick facts I found about teas. Green tea and Rooibos sounded interested !

Green Tea:


Tea plant (Black Tea, Green Tea...) Camellia sinensis foliage

• Green tea is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing.
• Some evidence suggests regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer.
• Green tea has also been claimed useful for weight loss management.
• In a study performed at Birmingham (UK) University, it was shown that average fat oxidation rates were 17% higher after ingestion of Green Tea Extract than after ingestion of a placebo.^[4] Similarly the contribution of fat oxidation to total energy expenditure was also significantly higher by a similar percentage following ingestion of Green Tea Extract. This implies that ingestion of Green Tea Extract can not only increase fat oxidation during moderately intensive exercise but also improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in healthy young men.

Rooibos:

• Rooibos (African translation red bush) is from a different plant than tea plant.
• No caffeine !
• High level of antioxident
• Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating infantile colic, allergies, asthma and dermatological problems.

It's a free world

WWDC survey suggests 70% of planned iPhone apps may be free!! the average cost of a third-party iPhone application will fall well below $3.00

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/11/wwdc_survey_suggests_70_of_planned_iphone_apps_may_be_free.html

The sphere

Sphere is an interactive spherical display prototype that uses custom optics hardware as well as computer vision and graphics software to enable interaction on a spherical surface.

Source: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/benko/projects/sphere/