Windows 7 replaces Windows Vista

In its brief lifetime, Windows Vista has been characterized as something of a bloated memory hog by many Microsoft channel partners and customers, some of whom have been clamoring for a slimmer, more simplified version of Windows.

Microsoft appears to be listening to these minimalist pleas, at least when it comes to assigning an official name to Windows 7, the successor to Vista that's slated for release sometime in late 2009.

In a Monday post to the Windows Vista team blog, Mike Nash, announced that Windows 7 will be the official name of the OS, marking the first time that a Windows product code name will be carried over to the final version.

Nash also threw readers a dose of logic by noting that the Windows 7 name also denotes the fact that it's the seventh version of Windows that Microsoft has developed.

Andrew Kretzer, director of sales and marketing at Bold Data Technology, sees Microsoft's move to simplify the Windows naming convention as a positive step that he hopes will soon be applied to Microsoft's entire product line.

High volume iPods damage hearing

Listening to personal music devices such as iPods at high volume over a long period can permanently damage hearing, according to a new EU study.

Research carried out by the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) has found that up to 10 per cent of listeners risk permanent damage to their hearing if they listen to a personal music player for more then an hour a day over successive weeks at high volume.

An EU safety standard currently restricts the noise level of personal music players to 100 dB, but there is now concern that new measures may have to be introduced to further restrict volume levels in light of the latest research.

SCENIHR's research indicates that users of personal music players who listen to over five hours of music a week at high volume (exceeding 89 decibels) would exceed the current limits in place for noise allowed in the workplace. Listening for longer periods over 5 years can risk permanent hearing loss, the authors of the study say.

The increase in sales of portable audio devices and MP3 players in the EU has been phenomenal with estimates suggesting sales of between 184 and 246 million for portable audio devices and sales of between 124 and165 million for MP3 players over the past four years.

Other studies have also revealed evidence that listening to music at excessive levels via portable players can produce temporary and reversible hearing impairment such as tinnitus and slight deafness.

The European Commission said it intends to organise a conference early next year to discuss introducing new measures to protect citizens.

The origin of hair loss

A healthy individual loses around a hundred hairs a day. Nothing to worry about as long as they are constantly replaced and the losses occur evenly around the whole scalp. But when hair loss goes well beyond this level it can become quite a problem for those affected -- not only superficially in terms of looks but also psychologically. A breakthrough on the hair front has now been made by an international research team headed by scientists at the University of Bonn.

After six years of research they have succeeded in identifying a gene that is responsible for a rare hereditary form of hair loss known as Hypotrichosis simplex. The scientists are the first to identify a receptor that plays a role in hair growth. They now hope that their research findings will lead to new therapies that will work with various forms of hair loss.

"Although Hypotrichosis simplex is very uncommon, it may prove critical in our search for an understand of the mechanisms of hair growth," says project leader Dr. Regina Betz from Bonn's Institute of Human Genetics, summing up the research results. The disease is inherited and affects both men and women. Sufferers generally begin to go bald during childhood. The process of hair loss (alopecia) then advances with age, especially around the scalp.

The cause of Hypotrichosis simplex in the form examined in this project is a genetic defect. It prevents certain receptor structures on the surface of hair follicle cells from being correctly formed. It has been found that when messengers from outside bind to these receptors they trigger a chain reaction in the cell interior which is apparently needed for the hair follicle to function normally. Such a receptor that plays a specific role in hair growth was previously unknown to scientists.

Source: ScienceDaily

Hubble space telescope damaged

Hubble Space Telescope has abruptly stopped transmitting data a few days ago.

The problem comes just two weeks before the planned launch of a mission to service and upgrade the 18-year-old observatory. Efforts to troubleshoot the recent problem will delay that mission, originally scheduled to fly October 14, until at least next February, NASA scientists announced during a telephone briefing on September 29.

Hubble fell silent because of an unknown failure inside a science data formatting unit, which packages and labels data recorded by the observatory’s five science instruments, said Preston Burch, Hubble manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

NASA is considering commanding Hubble to switch to a duplicate unit onboard, but doing so would require electronically reconnecting all five science instruments, posing unforeseen risks. ”The probability of failure is pretty low … but the consequences of a failure could be very high,” Burch told Science News in an interview on September 30. “There are concerns about blowing a fuse, having a relay stick, having a box fail.” In addition, the duplicate unit has been, like its broken counterpart, subject to 18 years of daily temperature fluctuations, cosmic ray bombardment and other vicissitudes of flying in space. Its health is unknown.

“Our goal is to sort out reality from overly conservative fears,” by first practicing switching sides on Hubble’s electrical replica on the ground at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Burch says. If that exercise goes well, engineers would attempt to switch to the duplicate unit on Hubble sometime toward the end of next week, he adds. A successful switch would allow the observatory to resume doing science with the Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2. Scientists would also hope to restart the cooling system required to operate the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph.

Relying on the duplicate on-board science data formatter to revive Hubble would be a short-term solution. In addition, NASA is investigating whether to transport on the planned shuttle mission a duplicate device that’s spent the last 18 years on the ground. Pending extensive testing of the ground device over the next few months, astronauts could replace the failed data formatting unit with the new gadget and still have a spare unit on Hubble in case of another failure, Burch says.

He estimated that it might take a space-walking astronaut about two hours to replace the ailing unit, which would require undoing 10 bolts from a fairly accessible part of the observatory.

But because the five scheduled space walks on the shuttle mission to Hubble are already jam packed, it’s possible that some other repairs, now deemed less critical, might have to be sacrificed, he says.

The relatively high operating temperature of the formatting unit may have contributed to its failure, but scientists may not know the root cause of the problem until the device is brought back to Earth, Burch says.

Source: Ron Cowen (ScienceNews)

Using GPS tracking for fleet management

GPS tracking devices can be found in almost all of the new cars being manufactured today. Finding one that does not have a GPS unit preinstalled in it is very hard to do. Many companies are now using them as a system of fleet management. Individuals and companies alike find them useful for providing driving directions and pinpointing obscure locations.

The infamous global positioning system has more value than just being used for driving directions. Many communities are now considering using them as a safety device for some of their disabled citizens, allowing them to be located at any time.

Project Lifesaver is now underway in Dakota County. This project was developed to protect those citizens with autism, Alzheimer's and other diseases that affect a person mentally. These citizens will be able to wear a special bracelet that has a fleet management tracking device implanted in it.

GPS tracking systems have found a new outlet with one company in the UK. This unique use is for the purpose of providing better food retail management. Everyone who has ever worked in the food service industry knows that suppliers have to be on-time or early for their deliveries. When a supplier is late, the restaurant loses business and the supplier can ultimately be eliminated.

PHS Teacrate is a UK based company that specializes in crate rentals. Recently they installed GPS units in each of their collection and delivery vehicles. Through the use of these GPS units, route managers and dispatchers are able to track the drivers whereabouts during the day and make the necessary adjustments to their route as customer call and make requests. They can also use the information provided by the unit to accurate predict a window of time that a customer can expect a delivery or collection. The use of these systems has resulted in a significant increase in the company's profit margin by reducing both mileage traveled by the drivers and response times to customer requests.

Recently, schools within Mobile County are finding that they are experiencing unusually large numbers of copper thefts. For example, last summer alone saw 40 different copper units stolen from five different schools. School officials are now considering installing a GPS tracking device on each copper unit in order to catch the thieves. Because of the high price being offered for copper by recyclers, this may be the only way to put a stop to the thefts.

The copper coils in most commercial units weigh about 50 to 70 pounds and are large enough to effectively hide a tiny GPS tracking device. Their small size makes them very hard to detect, even for the experienced thief.

Manufacturers of GPS systems and fleet management devices are highly optimistic that they will see an increase in business due to rising crime rates and the poor economy. The many other uses being found every day for these units also helps to boost the optimism of these companies regarding the future of the GPS unit. It is likely that GPS will be a term that is heard for many years to come.