Tale of a sexless tortoise shortlisted for science book prize

Epic tales of the earliest Britons, misguided quests for happiness and the long, long life of a sexless tortoise are among the finalists shortlisted for the Royal Society's prestigious annual science book prize, announced today.

Six books remain in contention for the £10,000 prize, which has previously been claimed by Bill Bryson, Stephen Hawking and the eminent string theorist Brian Greene.

This year, the casualties to fall by the wayside include Matt Ridley's biography of Francis Crick, a history of the universe from Patrick Moore and his rock acquaintance Brian May, and the Sun's Giant Leaps, which depicts groundbreaking scientific achievements as front-page splashes.

The shortlisted authors include Eric Kandel, a Columbia University neuroscientist and Nobel prizewinner, whose memoir, In Search of Memory, charts the scientist's career from childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna to his wide-ranging investigation of the psyche. The scientist, a world authority on the mechanism of memory, asserts that one day medicine will provide a little red pill to boost the memory of those who are losing it, and a little blue pill for those who strive to forget.

Scientists discover 'super-Earth' planet

Astronomers reported on Wednesday they had discovered a "super-Earth" more than 20 light years away that is the most intriguing world found so far in the search for extraterrestrial life.

About five times the mass of Earth, the planet orbits a cool, dim "red dwarf" star located in the constellation of Libra, the team from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said in a press release.

"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius (32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit), and water would thus be liquid," said lead researcher Stephane Udry of Switzerland's Geneva University.

"Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth's radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky -- like our Earth -- or covered with oceans."

"Liquid water is critical to life as we know it," said Xavier Delfosse, a team member from France's Grenoble University.

Google Replaces Microsoft as No 1 Brand

Google has succeeded in toppling Microsoft from its high horse as the world's top-ranked brand, shows a study by market research firm, Millward Brown, published in the Financial Times, Reuters reports.

As the 'new numero uno,' Google has not only knocked the socks off Microsoft (number 3), but managed to race past well established brands, including General Electric (number 2), Coca Cola Company (number 4), Wal-Mart Stores (number 7), and IBM (number 9).

The study found other movers and shakers as: a non US-based company, China Mobile at number 5; Apple Computer, which rose 13 spots to grab number 16; and Starbucks Corporation, which also rose 13 spots to reach number 35.

Some Comments on Bad News for Cancer Cure

Digg has some comments on the last posting Bad news for cancer cure.

The first argued that the it is in the interest of big businesses to not want to find a cure, similar to the case of finding alternative energy sources.

This might be true, but there is a difference between not wanting to find a solution and not able to find one, even if we want it. The blog entry is about a very significant and relatively novel link between cancer and evolution.

A second comment says that ailments, wars, calamities etc., in general are acts of nature to balance population. Of course balance of nature is valid because we are co-evolving together in a rather limited place. But it is valid in general only. There are diseases where cure have been found, so why should there be one for cancer?

Bad news for cancer cure

It is fundamentally impossible to find a final cancer cure, says Norwegian researcher Jarle Breivik.
The reason is based on the idea of the selfish gene and Darwinian evolution. As Dawkins and others have observed, our bodies are just vehicles for the genes to propagate themselves. Evolution is not survival of the fittest of the organisms, but of the genes. After parents have produced children, and they can take care of themselves, the parents are irrelevant and dispensable, form the genes point of view.

The link to cancer is the recognition that cancer is not caused by sunshine, smoke, junk food and other carcinogens - they are only stimulants for producing variants - cancer is basically a genetic disease. It has to do with mistakes in copying and reproducing DNA and the repair mechanism. As we age, evolution will favor cells which break free and behave in in-orderly manners, in other words, cancer cells.

“The better we get at treating cancer, the older we become and the more cancer there will be in the population. Additionally, better therapy for children and young people implies that more cancer genes are passed on to the next generation. From what we know about evolutionary dynamics, I believe it’s impossible to find a therapeutic solution to cancer. The basic problem is that we are trapped in a body that the genes have made to be disposable. A solution will therefore be something much more radical than a new drug,” says Breivik in "No Solution to Cancer."

To illustrate the process, Breivik uses a Grand Prix model (see illustration in the same article, or "Don't stop for repairs in a war zone: Darwinian evolution unites genes and environment in cancer development" ), where there two cars, one green and one red. The green cars always stop at the pitstop whenever some trouble develops, the red car never stops. In a harsh environment, the red car has better probability chances of reaching finish.

At the end of the article, Breivik says that we should rather care for our minds than bodies. In the future, our bodies will be cyborgs.

“It's the mind, our thoughts and consciousness that we desperately want to preserve. If we look at technological developments as a whole, that may be exactly what’s happening. The ongoing revolution in information and biotechnology may be interpreted as the mind’s liberation from the genes. It’s difficult to imagine the alternative, but if I could see a thousand years into the future, I would be very surprised if earth is still dominated by two-legged creatures with a limited life span.”

This is interesting to read in connection with the parallel evolution of the memes, the basis of cultural evolution.

Free Anti-Rootkit from Sophos

The term rootkit is used to define a Trojan (or technology) used to hide the presence of a malicious object (process, file, registry key, network port) from the computer user or administrator. Removing rootkits without compromising system integrity is particularly challenging and needs to be done with care. Sophos Anti-Rootkit, finds and removes any rootkit that is hidden on your computer.

* Scans running processes, windows registry and local hard drives for rootkits.
* Identifies known rootkits and selects, by default, files for removal which will remove the rootkit component of the malware without compromising OS integrity.
* Allows users to remove unidentified hidden files, but does not allow removal of essential system files when hidden by an identified rootkit.
* Once the user has run a scan, the screen prompts the user through the necessary steps until every rootkit has been removed.
* Users can switch between the GUI and command-line functionality.
* Both context sensitive and command-line help are available.

Download: Sophos Anti-Rootkit 1.3 RC freeware

Earlier: My First Encounter with a Rootkit

Microsoft and Adobe square off in Web 2.0 battle

Microsoft and Adobe are squaring up for the mother of all Web 2.0 battles with the release of competing internet applications.

Microsoft has released the first developer preview versions of its Silverlight rich internet application development tool.

Rich internet applications are small, primarily multimedia applications that run through a web browser, such as web-based video players and slide-show programs.

Silverlight will compete with Adobe's Flash Player, which currently dominates the rich internet application market on the web.

Previously known as Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere, Silverlight has been in development since 2005.

Silverlight will function as a browser plug-in for Mac and Windows. Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, and Apple's Safari are among the browsers supported by the Silverlight pre-release.

A Microsoft spokesperson told vnunet.com that the first beta version of Silverlight intended for consumer use is scheduled for 30 April.

Adobe issued a challenge of its own, announcing a streaming video player that the company hopes will compete with Windows Media Player.

"The Devil May Get You When You Are Empty"

It is a common misconception that emptiness is dangerous, because when you are empty, the devil could enter and takeover your body. This is often said by non-Buddhists about Buddhist meditation. The cause of the misconception is when we think of emptiness as a kind of vacuum, when we are completely defenseless against foreign forces.

The Zen priest Thich Nhat Hanh explains that empty is always empty of something. The glass is empty of fluid, but it is not empty of air. In (Mahayana) Buddhism emptiness means empty of the notion of self. The self is a delusion, when we realize it, we understand that "all is empty", which is one of the three characteristics of all things, Non-Self (Anatta). The other two being Impermanence (Anicca) and Incompleteness (Dukkha).

Another way of understanding emptiness, is by looking at the Buddha Nature, which each person has, but is normally not in tune with the Big Buddha of the universe, because our Buddha nature is clouded by the notions of selves, possessions, self-image, etc. Only when we attained emptiness, i.e. getting rid of the self, can the Buddha nature be in union with the Big Buddha (similar to the notions of Atman and Brahman in Hindu religion).

Sir Arnold (Light of Asia) described the union thus: "the dew drop slips into the ocean", becomes one with the ocean.

In other word, emptiness is like a holy communion with a higher being, and it is ridiculous to think that the devil may get you when you are in a holy communion.

Of course, meditation, like many other things, could be harmful if not practiced correctly. This is where we need help from our teachers to constantly check our progress, and why we always start meditation by taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and making affirmations to help others. We do not meditate to get something (skills or powers), but to let go of what we already have.

Everyone Can Cultivate The Ten Paramis

The ten Paramis (or Paramitas) are the ten perfections to be cultivated in daily life. They are part of character building, and known to make meditation progress smoother. Some people regard the Paramis as some sort of a prerequisite for mindfulness.
Although the Paramis and Mindfulness can each stand by themselves, one is supportive to the other, hence it would be desirable to practice them together.

The character traits to be cultivated are different form our personalities, the latter being inborn and not acquired. Everyone can cultivate the ten Paramis.

What are the ten Paramis?

(1) Giving or generosity is the easiest to practice, for example by giving a smile.

(2) Virtue or morality, living a right livelihood.

(3) Renunciation or letting go, is a form of non-attachment. Letting go of our bad habits is one of them.

(4) Wisdom or discernment

(5) Energy or effort

(6) Patience

(7) Truthfulness

(8) Determination or perseverance

(9) Loving-kindness or Metta, even non-hating the person we most detest. It is said that practicing Loving-kindness by itself is sufficient because it includes everything else (see Strange Loops in Buddhist teachings). There is a form of meditation called Loving-Kindness Meditation.

(10) Equanimity, free from attachments and free from detachments. In this way we can stay balanced and composed.

It can be seen that all the above and mindfulness are practical day to dayand down-to-earth matters. Rituals and beliefs in supernatural beings and metaphysics are not necessary in Buddhism - well a little bit of ritual is perhaps unavoidable in communities.

The benefits of practicing the ten Paramis are numerous, I have already mentioned its positive aspect on mindfulness. Other benefits are explained in the text.

The full text is quite long, and I have provided a link here, instead of duplicating it in this post.
It is s translation by Bhikku Bodhi of the "From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka By Acariya Dhammapala"

Microsoft kills off Windows XP

Microsoft plans to kill Windows XP by preventing PC manufacturers from selling systems running the operating system by 31 January 2008.

That date would mark a full year since Microsoft’s newest OS – Windows Vista – became available to consumers, and yet the decision to retire XP remains controversial. PC makers, including Dell, continue to sell XP-based systems despite Vista’s release and many analysts have reported a lukewarm reception to Microsoft’s newest, more expensive OS.

While many analysts have reported slow demand for Windows Vista, Microsoft claims the OS is selling twice as fast as XP did when it launched in 2001. The company said more than 20 million licences were sold during the first month on sale.

A Stealth Virus?

Alan Steven told us a story "How a virus blackened my reputation", of how his IP address got blacklisted, and had his email rejected as spam.

The cause was a virus, but his computer was clean.
Was it a stealth virus?

The story has an unexpected ending, and a happy ending for Alan's reputation.

Listen to 10 out 10

We have added a Talkr audio of this blog, you can find it under Navigation in the right sidebar. The audio is computer generated using speech synthesis.

Wikipedia “broken beyond repair”

The co-founder of the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia, Larry Sanger, criticised the Education Secretary, Mr Johnson, yesterday for suggesting that the website could be a good educational tool for children.

Mr Johnson described the internet as “an incredible force for good in education” for teachers and pupils, singling out Wikipedia for praise.

Larry Sanger told The Times: “I’m afraid that Mr Johnson does not realise the many problems afflicting Wikipedia, from serious management problems, to an often dysfunctional community, to frequently unreliable content, and to a whole series of scandals. While Wikipedia is still quite useful and an amazing phenomenon, I have come to the view that it is also broken beyond repair.”

Mr Sanger left Wikipedia, and two weeks ago launched an online encyclopaedia called Citizendium.org

Wikipedia: How many Buddhists are there?

As usual figures such as these are gross estimates and disputable. Especially in western countries, who counts as a Buddhist? Many follow some form of practice such as meditation, but do not formally identify themselves as belonging to a religion or see that what they do as part of a religion.
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

Buddhism by country

Region	Country	Population(2005E)	% of Buddhists	Buddhist total
South America	Buddhism in Argentina	39,537,943	0.1%	39,538
Oceania	Buddhism in Australia	20,090,437	1.9%	381,718
Central Europe	Buddhism in Austria	8,184,691	0.127%	10,395
South Asia	Buddhism in Bangladesh	144,319,628	0.5%	721,598
Western Europe	Buddhism in Belgium	10,364,388	0.2%	20,729
South Asia	Buddhism in Bhutan	2,232,291	98%	2,187,645
South America	Buddhism in Bolivia	8,857,870	0.1%	8,858
South America	Buddhism in Brazil	186,112,794	0.125%	232,641
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Brunei	372,361	36%	134,050
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Cambodia	13,607,069	96.5%	13,896,861
North America	Buddhism in Canada	32,805,041	1.1%	364,088
East Asia	Buddhism in China	1,306,313,812	77%	1,005,861,635
Central America	Buddhism in Costa Rica	4,016,173	0.1%	4,016
Balkans	Buddhism in Croatia	4,495,904	0.02%	1,000
North America	Buddhism in Cuba	11,346,670	0.1%	11,347
South America	Buddhism in Ecuador	13,363,593	0.1%	13,364
Western Europe	Buddhism in Finland	5,223,442	0.1%	5,223
Western Europe	Buddhism in France	60,656,178	1.2%	730,514
Western Europe	Buddhism in Germany	82,431,390	0.5%	412,411
East Asia	Buddhism in Hong Kong	6,437,738	95%	6,115,851
South Asia	Buddhism in India	1,080,264,388	1.01%	10,953,520
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Indonesia	241,973,879	1%	2,419,739
Middle East	Buddhism in Iran	n/a	n/a	n/a
Western Europe	Buddhism in Ireland	4,239,948	0.15%	6,516
Middle East	Buddhism in Israel	n/a	n/a	n/a
Western Europe	Buddhism in Italy	58,103,033	0.2%	116,206
East Asia	Buddhism in Japan	127,417,244	96%	122,320,554
East Asia	Buddhism in North Korea	22,912,177	60%	13,747,306
East Asia	Buddhism in South Korea	48,628,046	50.7%	24,654,419
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Laos	6,217,141	91.8%	5,707,335
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Malaysia	23,953,136	44%	10,539,380
Southern Africa	Buddhism in Mauritius	1,230,602	0.3%	3,692
Central Asia	Buddhism in Mongolia	2,791,272	99.3%	2,773,882
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Myanmar	42,909,464	93%	39,905,802
South Asia	Buddhism in Nepal	27,676,547	33%	9,133,261
Western Europe	Buddhism in the Netherlands	16,407,491	0.5%	80,237
Oceania	Buddhism in New Zealand	4,035,461	1.08%	43,583
Central America	Buddhism in Nicaragua	5,465,100	0.1%	5,465
Western Europe	Buddhism in Norway	4,593,041	0.1%	4,593
Middle East	Buddhism in Oman	3,001,583	0.5%	15,008
South Asia	Buddhism in Pakistan	162,419,946	0.1%	162,420
Central America	Buddhism in Panama	3,039,150	0.54%	16,546
Oceania	Buddhism in Papua New Guinea	5,545,268	0.2%	11,091
South America	Buddhism in Paraguay	6,347,884	0.5%	31,739
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in the Philippines	87,857,473	3%	2,635,724
Western Europe	Buddhism in Portugal	10,566,212	0.6%	63,397
Eastern Europe	Buddhism in Russia	143,420,309	0.5%	717,101
Middle East	Buddhism in Saudi Arabia	26,417,599	0.3%	70,253
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Singapore	4,425,720	61%	2,789,009
Southern Africa	Buddhism in South Africa	44,344,136	0.1%	44,344
South Asia	Buddhism in Sri Lanka	20,064,776	81%	16,252,469
Western Europe	Buddhism in Sweden	9,001,774	0.2%	18,004
Western Europe	Buddhism in Switzerland	7,489,370	0.1%	7,489
East Asia	Buddhism in Taiwan	22,894,384	95.5%	21,864,136
Central Asia	Buddhism in Tajikistan	7,163,506	0.1%	7,164
East Africa	Buddhism in Tanzania	36,766,356	0.1%	36,766
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Thailand	65,444,371	97%	63,481,040
Central America	Buddhism in Trinidad and Tobago	1,088,644	0.3%	3,266
Middle East	Buddhism in Turkey	69,660,559	0.1%	69,661
Middle East	Buddhism in the United Arab Emirates	2,563,212	5.9%	151,264
Western Europe	Buddhism in the United Kingdom	60,441,457	1%	606,092
North America	Buddhism in the United States	295,734,134	2%	5,973,446
Central Asia	Buddhism in Uzbekistan	26,851,195	0.2%	53,702
South America	Buddhism in Venezuela	25,375,281	0.1%	25,375
Southeast Asia	Buddhism in Vietnam	83,535,576	92%	76,852,730
Total		6,437,293,959	22.77%	1,465,987,215

How to download and play YouTube videos

Several readers have asked me how to download, save to disk and play YouTube (and similar) videos offline.

There are many ways to do it.

The techie could use GreaseMonkey to install a script to download.

Much more easier, is to use an online website like YouTubeX
or KeepVid , where you can insert the url address of the YouTube video, and get the download address for your download manager.

Yet another way to download is to use the VideoDownloader add-on for Firefox browsers.

Warning: video files are quite large and broadband speed is required. Although the videos are in public domain, they are only for non commercial use

The file downloaded should have a file extension .flv (Flash Video), rename it if necessary.

Now you need a flv player. One of them is martijndevisser's

After the flv player is installed, you can just drop the .flv file into the player and enjoy!

Alternatively, you can convert the .flv file into .avi or .mpg and use your existing media player.
Use media conversion software such MediaCoder or Super

Finally, there is another option to convert online, and then download the result: go to the site vixy.net to do it

Updated :How to download and play YouTube videos, Update

Eight Faces of a Hacker

If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

"Who are those guys?" -- Paul Newman, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

You fight against them every day: hackers, attackers, insiders. You know what they do, but not who they are. They are often nameless, usually faceless. You'd like to be able to guess their next move, but that can be pretty difficult when you don't even know what motivates them or why they're attacking you.

Here are the eight faces of a hacker

Internet Explorer 8.0 Is Taking Shape

Internet Explorer 8.0 is slowly taking shape inside the Redmond campus. Unlike Mozilla which has taken an open patch with the development of Firefox 3.0 by making available Gran Paradiso Alpha 3, Microsoft is only doogfooding IE 8.

Molly Holzschlag, former Group Lead for WaSP, an expert involved with W3C and a Web standards Evangelist has presented an insight on the evolution of the Microsoft browser in relation to standards and interoperability. Holzschlag has been meeting with Microsoft representatives in an effort to refine the goals for IE standards.

Firefox open to Windows cursor attack

Mozilla's Firefox 2.0 is vulnerable to attackers armed with the Windows animated cursor exploit, despite contrary reports, a researcher claims.

Alexander Sotirov, the vulnerability researcher at Determina who discovered the ANI flaw and notified Microsoft last December, yesterday posted a demonstration of an ANI exploit that hijacks a PC when Firefox users are conned into visiting a malicious site.

"It turns out that Firefox uses the same vulnerable Windows component to process .ani files, which can be exploited in a way similar to Internet Explorer," Sotirov said during the demo.

Google provides free in-home wireless broadband service

Google announcement:

Sick of paying for broadband that you have to, well, pay for?

Introducing Google TiSP (BETA), our new FREE in-home wireless broadband service. Sign up today and we'll send you your TiSP self-installation kit, which includes setup guide, fiber-optic cable, spindle, wireless router and installation CD.

TiSP in-home wireless broadband is:

• Free, fast and highly reliable

• Easy to install -- takes just minutes

• Vacuum-sealed to prevent water damage

Interested? You can learn more about TiSP via the links below, or get started now.

Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.

What are the system requirements?

• Windows XP/Vista (Mac and Linux support coming soon)

• Internet Explorer 6.0+ or Firefox 1.5+ with the Google Toolbar

• Round-front or elongated toilet providing at least 1.0 gallons per flush

• Use of automatic toilet bowl cleaners is not recommended

Faq on TiSP
How TiSP works

Message at the end of installation: "Congratulations, you're online! (Please wash your hands before surfing.)" :-)