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New Blood Test Determines Baby Gender Earlier, Causes Controversy
Posted by Devin Categories: Misc. Tech,
A new blood test, called the Baby Gender Monitor, is being marketed to pregnant moms too eager to wait until 16 weeks into pregnancy. The test, which claims to be 99 percent accurate, retails for $275 at the Pregnancystore.com website. Users simply prick the edge of their finger, then submit a blood sample to a Massachusetts laboratory, who in turn analyzes the blood for traces of fetal DNA and indicates its gender. This relatively new test has stirred up quite a bit of controversy from those who believe some may use it for “gender selection”, but the CEO of Pregnancystore.com, Sherry Bonelli, says, “There’s no proof people are using it for gender selection. That’s not the intended purpose of the kit, and we really don’t see women using it for that purpose.”
What do you think?
Read More 
| ABC News
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A research group form the University of Alberta is reporting that a “steady diet of spam” can actually be good for you. Researchers split more than 2,100 Canadians into two groups, with half receiving a steady stream of emails promoting a healthy lifestyle, and the other receiving none at all. After 12 weeks, the subjects receiving the “spam” saw their mean body mass index (BMI) go down, meaning it improved, while the others saw their BMI grow. The results will be published in the July/August 2005 edition of the American Journal of Health Promotion. I don’t know about you, but most of the spam I get has nothing to do with a healthy lifestyle, but either way, I’d rather just not receive any spam period. Unless of course, those “IncREa.se Y0ur sEx DrYvE!!1!” ones would produce similar…never mind.
Read More | Live Science
12 Minutes Is All It Takes To Infect A Windows Computer
Posted by Devin Categories: Internet, PC / Laptop,
The speed at which your computer can become infected has now decreased. If you’re running on Windows without the proper protection, London-based security company Sophos says 12 minutes is all it takes. The company reports 7,944 new viruses in the first half of this year, that’s a 59-percent increase over the same time last year. IBM also reports that phishing incidents have increased 226 percent. IBM’s May Global Business Security Index attributes the increase in phishing attacks to the rise of zombie “botnets” being used to pump out massive volumes of the scam e-mail used in phishing attacks, as cyber-criminals attempt to increase their profits.
Read More | Real Tech News
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The European Parliment moved closer to rejecting a proposed law that would create one single way of patenting software throughout the European Union on Tuesday. Lawmakers are expected to vote Wednesday on this software patent directive, but if they do reject it, the law will basically be “dead” since the European Commission which had drafted the law, has said that they will not put forth another. Comanpies such as Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG are still fighting for the bill to be adopted, claiming the need to invest in research and development.
Some 178 amendments to the bill have been tabled by parliamentarians ahead of the vote—which is expected to drag for hours if it is needed—and if any is adopted the proposal would go to a process called ‘conciliation’ between the Parliament and the EU Council which could take months to complete.
Read More | Business Week
Robosapien’s pet pooch, the Robopet, is now available for preorder in the US and UK. This robotic dog will run you about $100 and should be available in September. Robopet can walk, run, crawl, sit, lie down, get up and even roll over, but that’s not all. He can even avoid running into things around the house by using infrared vision to avoid obsticles. Combine this with the fact that you’ll never have to feed him or walk him since, you know, he’s plastic and all, and you’ve got the perfect pet.
Read More | engadget
You -Who Guessing Game Makes Use Of Bluetooth Technology
Posted by Devin Categories: Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,
You-Who is a game created by Age0+ that uses personal area networks created by Bluetooth technology that takes two or more players and allows one to guess who the other is by giving clues. Right now the game is only available in a free 28 day demo, but the developers hope to have a full commercial release out soon. In order to get a game going, two players must both consent to playing, with one acting as the mystery person and the other guessing the appearance. After several clues have been given, the phones start letting off a sound, allowing to two players to meet.
Read More | You-Who Product Page
Mobile GMaps Takes Google Maps From The Computer To Your Cellphone
Posted by Devin Categories: Smartphones, Software,
A lot of people have been having fun lately with Google Maps, messing with the API to develop really neat, innovative solutions. Now you can search Google Maps anytime by way of your cellphone. Mobile GMaps is software that will display Google Maps and Keyhole satellite imagery on any Java J2ME-enabled mobile phone. The program was created under the Creative Commons license, which means you can download it and use it, or share it with your friends, for free, as long as it’s used in a non-commercial way. Now you can have a map with you where ever you go so you’ll never get lost, not that you ever do, right?
Read More | Mobile GMaps via Textually
I have used Post-It Notes for more than just simple message taking in the past, but this article nails it. One thing about being an Internet business owner is that you can easily be distracted by email, as well as the vast world of the Internet. One thing you can do to keep on task if write out what you want to accomplish each hour/sitting/day and keep it right next to you or on the bezel of your monitor. As you accomplish each task, cross it off and move to the next one. Once the list is all cross out, you are good to go. It really is a viable alternative to software-based task lists.
Click to continue reading Use Post-It Notes To Aid In Productivity
Between 75% and 98.8% of visitors to Web sites come from searches made at search engines. If you’re going to get high levels of traffic - and hence the levels of ROI you’re looking for - it’s very important that the search engines can access all the information on your Web site.
Do the search engines know about all of your pages?
Click to continue reading Do Search Engines Like Your Web Site?
If you are in the business of publishing or manufacturing computer hardware or software, be sure that you are well read on the US restrictions on the export of some of these products. On the Internet, it is much easier to cater to an international audience, since anyone in the world can find you with the click of a mouse. You may export commercial products that use encryption keys without an export license to “individuals, commercial firms, and other non-government end users in any country except for the seven state supporters of terrorism.” That being said, your product must be evaluated under a one month long technical review process.
Click to continue reading Hardware and Software Export Restrictions
