Braille Live

Sustained-Release Drug-Dispensing Contact Lens Could Ease Treatment Of Glaucoma
Sustained-Release Drug-Dispensing Contact Lens Could Ease Treatment Of Glaucoma And Other Conditions
Article Date: 23 Jul 2009 – 0:00 PDT
Taking eye drops multiple times a day can be difficult for patients to do, and because of blinking and tearing, as little as 1 to 7 percent of the dose is actually absorbed by the eye. Now, researchers led by Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at Children’s Hospital Boston, have developed special contact lenses that can gradually dispense a constant amount of medication to the eye, at adjustable rates. Read the rest of this entry »

Unsung Heroes Save Net From Chaos
BBC NEWS Unsung heroes save net from chaos
By Jonathan Fildes Technology reporter, BBC News, Oxford

Crack teams of volunteers keep the net online and functioning, according to leading internet lawyer Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard University.
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Vehicle Designed For Blind To Take The Wheel
Article Date: 16 Jul 2009 – 4:00 PDT

A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is providing the blind with an opportunity many never thought possible: The opportunity to drive.

A retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy developed by the Blind Driver Challenge team from Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory uses laser range finders, an instant voice command interface and a host of other innovative, cutting-edge technology to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake, and accelerate. Although in the early testing stage, the National Federation of the Blind — which spurred the project — considers the vehicle a major breakthrough for independent living of the visually impaired.
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Survey Finds One in Six Act On Spam Messages
About one in six consumers have at some time acted on a spam message, affirming the economic incentive for spammers to keep churning out millions of obnoxious pitches per day, according to a new survey.

Due to be released Wednesday, the survey was sponsored by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG), an industrywide security think tank composed of service providers and network operators dedicated to fighting spam and malicious software.
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Snooping Through The Power Socket
BBC NEWS Snooping through the power socket

Power sockets can be used to eavesdrop on what people type on a computer. Security researchers found that poor shielding on keyboard cables means useful data is leaked about each character typed.

By analysing the information leaking onto power circuits, the researchers could see what a target was typing. The attack has been demonstrated to work at a distance of up to 15m, but refinement may mean it works over much longer distances.
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Snooping Through The Power Socket
BBC NEWS Snooping through the power socket

Power sockets can be used to eavesdrop on what people type on a computer. Security researchers found that poor shielding on keyboard cables means useful data is leaked about each character typed.

By analysing the information leaking onto power circuits, the researchers could see what a target was typing. The attack has been demonstrated to work at a distance of up to 15m, but refinement may mean it works over much longer distances.
Read the rest of this entry »

Should Congress Regulate Your Internet Service Plan?
Internet providers who charge customers by how much they use would have to justify their prices to federal regulators under a bill introduced last week.

Freshman Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) filed the bill after some providers tested plans to charge customers more if they download video or otherwise use a lot of bandwidth.

The companies argue that the increasing popularity of online video is taxing their ability to provide Internet service and that increased regulation could lead to higher prices for other customers.
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Web Retailers, States, Tussle Over Sales Tax Rules
NEW YORK -
In a big break for online shoppers, Web retailers generally don’t have to charge sales taxes in states where they lack a store or some other physical presence. Increasingly, states aching under the weight of the recession are seeking a way around that rule. Because companies like Amazon Inc. get help drumming up sales from online affiliates — people who link to products on their blogs, promote Web shopping deals and offer coupons — several states say the Internet retailers should charge sales taxes in states where those affiliates are based.
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Echo Location In Humans Developed By Spanish Scientists
Article Date: 02 Jul 2009 – 0:00 PDT
A team of researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to explore their surroundings. Producing certain kinds of tongue clicks helps people to identify objects around them without needing to see them, something which would be especially useful for the blind.
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Sound Imaging: Clever Acoustics Help Blind People See The World
Article Date: 04 Jul 2009 – 1:00 PDT
Video from portable cameras is analysed to calculate the distance of obstacles and predict the movements of people and cars. This information is then transformed and relayed to a blind person as a three-dimensional ‘picture’ of sound. The concept is apparently simple and two prototypes have been successfully tested. Laser and digital video cameras become the eyes for the blind man and see the objects and activity going on around him.
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