Tech & Science

An investigation performed by the scientific review, Nature, on Wikipedia and Britannica science entries, found that the two encyclopedias have similar degrees of accuracy in their content. Nature used peer reviewing to compare Wikipedia and Britannica's coverage of science. In this study, entries were chosen from the websites of Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica on a broad range of scientific disciplines and sent to a relevant expert for peer review. Each reviewer examined the entry on a single subject from the two encyclopedias without

South Korean antitrust regulators fined the Microsoft company 33 billion Won (US$32m). It also ordered Microsoft to make substantial changes to the Windows operating system. Regulators demanded that Microsoft produce two different versions of Microsoft Windows within 180 days. One version must be stripped of the Windows Media Player and instant messenger software. The other version must come with links to Web pages that allow consumers to download competing versions of such software, the commission said. These regulations will be in effect f

The US government released a preliminary report on the US economy today. The report, produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, states that the economy grew by 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2005. In the second quarter of 2005, real GDP increased 3.3 percent. The rise is attributed to increases in personal consumption (4.2 percent), equipment and software (10.8 percent), government spending, and residential fixed investment (8.4 percent). Imports, which deduct from the GDP, also increased. Exports, however, increased. Government c

The California-based non-profit organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as the Attorney General of Texas, has filed a law suit against Sony Computer Entertainment of America for their controversial use of anti-piracy software. The EFF claims that the digital rights management software on the CDs BMG Music (a subsidiary of Sony) produces acts as spyware, which the EFF claims is against Texas law. The program, known as XCP, is said to install software on one's system when they insert the CD into their computer for purposes such as a

An offshore earthquake shook buildings in Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory today, and an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 6.2 struck off the coast of Sumatra yesterday, triggering a tsunami alert. Geoscience Australia says the offshore quake registered 5.3 on the Richter scale. No damage has been reported in the city of Darwin or the community of Port Keats which is the nearest town to the quake's epicentre in a region known for its moderate seismicity. The quake's epicentre was located 500 kilometres west-north-west of Darwin i

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has discontinued research into a type of Genetically Modified (GM) field pea that had been shown to be 100% protected against attack by pea weevils, a type of insect. The genetically modified field pea's protein was found to have a slightly altered structure which caused an allergic-style reaction in the lungs of mice and led scientists to believe it could have similar effects on human lungs. "That was enough to alert me to say this research should come to an end," CSIRO P

Native American author and activist Vine Deloria died Sunday. He was 72. Deloria's books Custer Died For Your Sins and God Is Red came out at the height of the Indian rights movement. Custer Died For Your Sins initiated drastic changes in the way anthropologists and government officials interacted with Native Americans, including the movement to return artifacts to tribal officials. In addition to writing and lecturing, he was former executive director of the National Congress of American Indians and a political science professor at the U

Sony BMG has announced it will suspend production of CDs with their controversial "anti-piracy" software. The move follows litigation being brought against the company for the software which allegedly opens up Microsoft Windows to malicious attacks. In an ironic turn of events, it now appears that Sony's software violates the copyright of the popular LAME mp3 player, which is distributed under a public license. In the past, German courts have forced companies to release their source code to the public when it was based upon software distribu

California, Italy and New York are the first to bring litigation against Sony BMG's digital rights management (DRM) software found in at least 20 music discs released by Sony. The software automatically installs after the user agrees to a end user license agreement (EULA) before the music disc can be played, and includes a rootkit that can create vulnerabilities in the user's Windows computer. One trojan horse exploiting the hole has already been discovered online. The California lawsuit, filed on November 1, claims that the software violate

Tempers are flaring in the U.S. state of Kansas, where a school board may be on the verge of passing a measure to require that Intelligent Design be taught in public school science classes. Christian political activists such as Reverend Jerry Johnston of First Family Church in Overland Park Kansas are supporting the effort to shape Kansas science standards according to religious beliefs. Johnston said, "Getting intelligent design into school curricula is the worthiest cause of our time and the key to reversing the country's moral decline." In

David Blunkett, the United Kingdom's Work and Pensions Secretary, resigned following a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair today. Public pressure had been growing on Mr. Blunkett to resign after revelations emerged that he had broken the British Ministerial Code of Conduct in relation to his large shareholdings and short-lived directorship in a company called DNA Bioscience. It is the second time Blunkett's has been forced to stand down from office, having previously stepped down as home secretary last year over claims that his office fast

Mark Russinovich, of SysInternals.com, has discovered a so-called "rootkit" which is installed by Sony's new digital rights management-protected music compact disks (CDs). A rootkit is a common name for malicious software that is used by computer criminals to hide their presence on a compromised computer. Rootkits frequently contain hidden files and are designed to be difficult for the user to detect and remove. Russinovich classifies Sony's rootkit as malware because it is alleged to introduce several serious security holes, one of which ca