New operating system for space: High-tech tycoons

The tycoons of cyberspace are looking to bankroll America's resurgence in outer space, reviving "Star Trek" dreams that first interested them in science. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen made the latest step Tuesday, unveiling plans for a new commercial spaceship that, instead of blasting off a launch pad, would be carried high into the atmosphere by the widest plane ever built before it fires its rockets. He joins Silicon Valley powerhouses Elon Musk of PayPal and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com Inc....

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Tiniest babies are growing up healthy despite odds

One is a healthy first-grader, the other an honors college student majoring in psychology. Once the tiniest babies ever born, both girls are thriving, despite long odds when they entered the world weighing less than a pound. A medical report from the doctor who resuscitated the infants at a suburban Chicago hospital is both a success story and a cautionary tale. These two are the exceptions and their remarkable health years later should not raise false hope: Most babies this small do poorly and...

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Emerson Launches Data Center Management Hardware

Emerson Network Power has introduced the Avocent Universal Management Gateway, a product it calls the first data center appliance to enable true real-time, integrated monitoring, access and control across information technology and facilities systems in a data center. The appliance is an integral part of Emerson’s Trellis data center management platform and acts as the real-time data processing hardware link between a data center’s management software and IT and facilities systems, Emerson says. Emerson...

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A second earth in our galaxy

A 'habitable' earth-like planet, which is orbiting around a sun-like star 600 light years away, has been discovered in our galaxy for the first time, researchers say. A team of researchers from NASA's Kepler Mission has discovered what could be a large, rocky planet with a surface temperature of about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, comparable to a comfortable spring day on earth. The discovery team, led by William Borucki of the NASA Ames Research Centre, used photometric data from the NASA Kepler space...

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The Time is Right for Service

In today’s current economic times, companies are looking at all scenarios to minimize costs, including delaying the purchase of new equipment and squeezing as much as possible from existing equipment. While this may assist an organization from incurring capital costs in the short run, it may result in increased costs due to data center outages if preventive and proactive maintenance activities are not regularly performed by a certified, factory-trained technician. In fact, according to a recent...

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Rapid urbanization calls for smart city solutions

Global energy management specialist Schneider Electric wants to help develop and modernize Makkah province. The company’s country president Christophe Campagne said this on Saturday at the second edition of the Modern Makkah Summit and Awards. The event gathers government officials as well as project developers, construction companies, architects and contractors looking to capitalize on the province’s huge bank of opportunities. The two-day summit focuses on the city of Makkah and other cities...

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Top 5 Data Center Stories, Week of December 9th

The raised-floor area at the Telx data center in Clifton, NJ. Telx unveiled major West coast expansion this week. For your weekend reading, here’s a recap of five noteworthy stories that appeared on Data Center Knowledge this past week. Enjoy! Telx Expands With Vantage in Santa Clara – Telx announced a major expansion in Silicon Valley, where the company has leased 32,000 square feet of in a new data center being built by Vantage Data Centers in Santa Clara, Calif. The new Cloud Connection Center...

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Russia's stunning protests end with hint of change

Tens of thousands of people held the largest anti-government protests that post-Soviet Russia has ever seen to criticize electoral fraud and demand an end to Vladimir Putin's rule. Police showed surprising restraint and state-controlled TV gave the nationwide demonstrations unexpected airtime, but there is no indication the opposition is strong enough to push for real change from the prime minister or his ruling party. Nonetheless, the prime minister seems to be in a weaker position than he was...

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Gingrich assailed by rivals, fires back at Romney

Attacked as a lifelong Washington insider, newly minted Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich parried criticism from Mitt Romney in campaign debate Saturday night, telling the former Massachusetts governor, "The only reason you didn't become a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994." Romney retorted that he might have been a football lifer, too, if he'd made the NFL as he'd hoped. Gingrich also defended himself against attacks from Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Minnesota Rep....

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Police evict Occupy Boston protesters; 46 arrested

Police officers swept through Dewey Square early Saturday, tearing down tents at the Occupy Boston encampment and arresting dozens of protesters, bringing a peaceful end to the 10-week demonstration. Officers began moving into the encampment at about 5 a.m. to "ensure compliance with the trespassing law," police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. The city had set a deadline for midnight Thursday for the protesters to abandon the site but police took no action until early Saturday, making Boston...

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Coroner IDs gunman who stalked Hollywood streets

Authorities on Saturday identified the gunman who was shot and killed by police after he fired at passing cars on a Hollywood street, wounding one driver while screaming that he wanted to die. The body of Tyler Brehm, 26, was scheduled to be examined later Saturday, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said. Brehm walked down the middle of Sunset Boulevard on Friday, firing on motorists with no clear target until two police officers who just happened to be in the area - an off-duty motorcycle...

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Strong quake shakes from Mexico City to Acapulco

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck in Mexico's western Guerrero state Saturday night, shaking buildings and causing panic in the nation's capital and the Pacific resort of Acapulco. There were no reports of deaths or serious damage. The U.S. Geological Service initially estimated the quake at magnitude at 6.8, but downgraded it to 6.7 and then 6.5. A quake of that magnitude is capable of causing severe damage. The USGS said the quake occurred 40.3 miles (64.9 kilometers) deep and was centered about 26 miles (42 kilometers) southwest of Iguala...

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Steve Jobs to be remembered with statue in Hungary

In the Hungarian capital, Steve Jobs has been cast in bronze. Graphisoft, a Hungarian software company, will unveil a bronze statue commemorating the co-founder of Apple on Dec. 21 in recognition of his leadership and vision, and appreciation for Jobs' support of the fledgeling firm while Hungary was still under communist rule. Hungarian sculptor Erno Toth's statue depicts Jobs with all his trademark characteristics - a mock turtleneck, jeans and sneakers, round glasses and well-trimmed stubble. The...

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To thwart porn, colleges are buying up .xxx sites

The University of Kansas is buying up website names such as http://www.KUgirls.xxx and http://www.KUnurses.xxx . But not because it's planning a Hot Babes of Kansas site or an X-rated gallery of the Nude Girls of the Land of Aaahs. Instead, the university and countless other schools and businesses are rushing to prevent their good names from falling into the hands of the pornography industry. Over the past two months, they have snapped up tens of thousands of ".xxx" website names that could be...

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HP to offer webOS as open-source software

It may be one of the technology world's most expensive efforts to give something away: Hewlett-Packard Co. said Friday that it's making its webOS mobile system available as open-source software that anyone can use and modify freely. HP snagged the intuitive webOS software when it paid $1.8 billion in 2010 for Palm Inc. in what became a failed effort to revive the flailing smartphone pioneer. HP said it still plans to develop and support webOS. First released on the Palm Pre smartphone in 2009, webOS ultimately ran on several smartphones. In July,...

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RG3 wins first Heisman Trophy for Baylor

Robert Griffin III beat out preseason favorite Andrew Luck for the Heisman Trophy, dazzling voters with his ability to throw, run and lead Big 12 doormat Baylor into the national rankings. The junior quarterback known as RG3 became the first Heisman winner from Baylor on Saturday night by a comfortable cushion over the Stanford star. Griffin started the season on the fringe of the Heisman conversation, a talented and exciting player on a marginal team, while Luck was already being touted as a...

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Pageant contestant not guilty of girlfriend murder

A former contestant on Fox-TV's "The Sexiest Bachelor in America" pageant has been acquitted in the killing of his girlfriend, a former adult film actress. After deliberating for two days, a Southern California jury found 47-year-old Brian Randone not guilty of the murder and torture of 31-year-old Felicia Lee, who was found dead Sept. 11, 2009, in their apartment in Monrovia near Pasadena. Prosecutors argued that Randone had severely beaten and suffocated Lee, while his defense attorneys insisted she died of a drug overdose. Lee appeared in...

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Gaga gives a naughty and nice concert in NYC

Lady Gaga was in the Christmas spirit at Z100's annual Jingle Ball concert, but her version of "White Christmas" would have made Bing Crosby blush. Gaga performed a slightly naughty rendition of the holiday classic Friday night as part of her mini-concert at the radio station's event at Madison Square Garden. Gaga - sporting tight studded leather pants, matching top and a bare midriff - gyrated on a set that included antlers, Christmas trees and holiday lights as she performed "White Christmas." "So...

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'Skyrim' wins top prize at Spike Video Game Awards

"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" flew away with the game of the year trophy at the Spike Video Game Awards. The dragon-slaying epic also won as best role-playing game and "Skyrim" developer Bethesda Softworks was selected as the studio of the year at Saturday's ninth annual Spike Video Game Awards, which honors outstanding achievements within the gaming industry over the past year. Other winners at the ceremony at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City included "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" as best...

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NASA OKs Feb. launch of private space station trip

A private California company will attempt the first-ever commercial cargo run to the International Space Station in February. NASA announced the news Friday, one year and one day after Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, became the first private business to launch a capsule into orbit and return it safely to Earth. On Feb. 7, SpaceX will attempt another orbital flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This time, the unmanned Dragon capsule will fly to the space station and dock with a load of supplies. NASA stressed it is a...

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Climate conference approves landmark deal

A U.N. climate conference reached a hard-fought agreement Sunday on a complex and far-reaching program meant to set a new course for the global fight against climate change for the coming decades. The 194-party conference agreed to start negotiations on a new accord that would put all countries under the same legal regime enforcing commitments to control greenhouse gases. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest. The deal also set up the bodies that will collect, govern and distribute tens of billions of dollars a year for poor countries. Other...

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New method boosts blood-clotting for hemophiliacs

In what's being called a landmark study, researchers used gene therapy to successfully treat six patients with severe hemophilia, a blood-clotting disorder. The study was preliminary and involved only six patients, and other promising early attempts to use gene therapy against hemophilia ultimately failed. But a single infusion using the new treatment worked in some patients for more than a year, boosting their clotting ability significantly. "I think this is a terrific advance for the field. It's a good lesson in terms of don't give up on good...

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FDA panel backs birth control patch despite risks

A panel of federal health advisers said Friday that a birth control patch from Johnson & Johnson probably carries a higher risk of blood clots than older drugs, but should remain available as an option for women who have trouble taking a daily pill. The Food and Drug Administration's panel of reproductive health experts voted 19-5 that the benefits of the Ortho Evra patch outweigh its risks, specifically a potentially higher risk of dangerous blood clots in the legs and lungs. Panelists said the patch can be especially useful for younger women...

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