Friday, September 30, 2005

Navy Knowledge Online Surpasses 500,000 User Mark - Jon Gagne, Naval Education and Training Command. Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) moved over the half-million mark in registered users in August, with nearly 96 percent of active-duty personnel and 90 percent of the Reserve force now enrolled. NKO is the Navy’s Sea Warrior Web portal for education and train [Online Learning Update] 10:31:43 PM      Google It!.

Board to offer classes through Internet site - the Advocate. The Southern Regional Education Board, in conjunction with the Sloan Foundation, announced the creation of the "Sloan Semester," a catalog of free electronic courses designed to help displaced students continue their education in the wake of hurricanes Ka [Online Learning Update] 10:30:48 PM      Google It!.

New Lifespan Extension Genes Found. New genes tied to lifespan extension in yeast have been identified by researchers from UC Davis and Harvard Medical School. Drastically reducing calorie intake, or caloric restriction, is known to extend the lifespan of species including yeast, worms and rodents. Previous research linked a gene called Sir2 with lifespan extension due to caloric restriction, but worms and yeast that lack Sir2 also live longer when put on a tough diet, showing that some other genes must be at work. [Science Blog -] 3:18:28 PM      Google It!.

Pepping Up Windows. [Slashdot] little apps to improve personal productivity -- BL 12:12:04 PM      Google It!.

Wild gorillas seen to use tools. Gorillas have been seen for the first time using simple tools to perform tasks in the wild, researchers say. [BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition] 9:27:36 AM      Google It!.

Tim Bray on Implications of OpenDocument Format. [Slashdot] in the future having a stardards based document format will make libraries much more useful and valuable -- BL 9:26:42 AM      Google It!.

Lithium-Ion Under the Hood. New batteries from Valence Technologies extend the range of electric and hybrid vehicles. Expect to see a lot more of them. Plus: Truckers tank up on biodiesel ... and a 300-HP hybrid from Lexus. From the Wired News blog Autopia. [Wired News] -- if the governments could just have the vision to impose standards for automotive batteries - dimensions and connection terminals - to allow interchange, competition, and innovation -- they would be doing a great public service.   Imposing standards was missing in the small battery field and now you can clearly see the consequences the every watch, small electronic device, and cellphone having a "special" battery -- little recycleing and toxic waste.  There is a real place for governments in regulating commerce with well designed standards and this is one area where it would really matter - a rechargable electric power box standard for transportation - smallish and stackable into little power grids so that the box and connectors is inviting a large market of applications in trasportation so the innovation has a big payoff (for travelers and the environment). --- BL 9:24:09 AM      Google It!.

StarOffice 8 May Be MS Office Killer. [Slashdot] 9:17:44 AM      Google It!.

Mobile Phones Locked By DMCA. [Slashdot] 9:15:56 AM      Google It!.

P2P Users More Likely to Cheat, Shoplift. [Slashdot] 9:13:48 AM      Google It!.