U.S. Army to Train Soldiers with Computer Games
Video-gaming armchair generals will soon get the same leadership and
command training as combat-ready infantrymen.
The U.S. Army, along with a University of Southern California research
lab and a team of game-making firms, is developing two games set on urban
battlefields. The games will be used both to train grunts and entertain
geeks.
Players will command a nine-person team in "C-Force," which is being
developed for one of the next-generation gaming systems like the X-Box, Game
Cube or Playstation 2. "CS XII," the other game, is a PC title in which
players lead a company of about 100 soldiers.
Both games will be available commercially within two years.
The armed services have a long history of adapting commercial products
for training purposes. But this is the first time the military has
commissioned a commercial game.
Compaq Unveils New Supercomputer
On Monday Compaq took the wraps off its newest supercomputer--a mammoth
cluster capable of ciphering six trillion calculations per second. That
speed makes it the world's fastest supercomputer conducting unclassified
research.
The Terascale Computing System, built and operated by the University of
Pittsburgh's Supercomputing Center through a $45 million grant from the
National Science Foundation, is powered by 3,000 Alpha EV68 processors
housed in 750 separate servers, all connected by high-speed interconnections
from Quadrics, a European firm specializing in clustering technology.
The machine is an open research computer available to any scientist who
wants to rent time on it. Earlier this year, for example, researchers using
a similar but smaller machine were able to simulate part of the star
formation process. The new machine, through its raw power, will make that
cosmic process clearer to scientists.
Two crews have been working 20 hours a day, seven days a week since early
August to piece together the Terascale, which includes roughly 6,000 cables
weighing four tons.
The Alpha chip has been praised for its speed. Six trillion calculations
per second is the equivalent of 10,000 desktop PCs running simultaneously.
Microsoft Partners with Groove for Instant Messaging Feature
Users of the instant messaging software built into Microsoft's newest
operating system will be able to collaborate seamlessly over the Internet
with each other through a partnership with a company whose founder created
Lotus Notes.
In its new version, the Groove software can piggyback on Windows XP's
Windows Messenger to allow people to work together, Microsoft and Groove
Networks announced Monday.
Groove includes its own instant messaging and chat features, but the
Windows XP connection aims to greatly extend its potential user base by
bypassing complicated setup routines.
And because instant messaging programs don't all talk to each other, the
deal gives users of Windows Messenger far easier access to Groove than those
of competing services such as AOL's dominant AIM product.
More than 63 million people use instant messaging products from AOL,
Microsoft and Yahoo Messenger, according to Jupiter Media Metrix.
Groove Networks' software implements what is known as peer-to-peer
networking to allow people to collaborate via a secure Internet connection
with co-workers and colleagues independent of location or time zone.
In a strategic alliance announced earlier this month, Groove received $51
million in backing from Microsoft.
MSN.com Denies Entry to Millions of Users
Microsoft's premiere Web portal, MSN.com, recently denied entry to
millions of people who use alternative browser software such as Opera and
told them to get Microsoft's products instead.
The decision led to complaints from the small but loyal Opera community
that Microsoft Corp. was abusing its status as the Internet's browser
leader. Microsoft later backed off and said Friday that it would support the
other browsers after all.
Browser products affected included Opera, Mozilla and Amaya, said Kevin
Reichard, editorial manager for Internet.com's BrowserWatch site.
He said version 4.7 of Netscape's browser worked with the site.
Although a Microsoft spokeswoman said MSN supports all recent Netscape
browsers, the site blocked visitors using the most recent version, 6.1, from
opening the "My MSN'' customized version of the site, citing unspecified
"possible data security issues.''
Instead, the page encourages visitors to use versions of Netscape browser
that are at least one year old, or to switch to Microsoft's own browser.
Dish Network Buys Competitor for $25.8 Billion
The company that manages the Dish Network is poised to become the
nation's leading provider of home satellite TV service after reaching a deal
to acquire rival DirecTV from General Motors Corp.
EchoStar Communications Corp. is buying Hughes Electronics and its
DirecTV subsidiary from GM for approximately $25.8 billion. The deal, which
was struck Sunday during a weekend session of GM's board, came after News
Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch abruptly pulled a long-standing offer for
Hughes off the table.
With 10 million subscribers, DirecTV is the largest provider of home
satellite television service in the United States. EchoStar's Dish Network
is a distant No. 2 with 6.7 million subscribers. The combined 16.7
million-subscriber base is slightly smaller than that of AT&T Corp., the
leading cable TV provider.
The new EchoStar would control nearly all of the satellite TV market in
the United States. Satellite TV usage composes 17 percent of the pay TV
market, compared to cable's 80 percent, GM said in a statement.
Garden State Pulls Sites for Safety Reasons
Last week New Jersey officials removed from the Internet Web pages they
fear could be useful to terrorists.
The state Department of Environmental Protection removed a database
listing the hazardous chemicals and substances used or stored at 33,000
businesses throughout the state.
The department also removed maps showing New Jersey's reservoirs, which
serve 4 million people.
The information was removed temporarily for security reasons, DEP
spokeswoman Loretta O'Donnell told the Daily Record of Parsippany.
The reservoir information is available on paper maps of the state. But
the DEP felt it was safer to remove it from the Internet, where it could be
downloaded and used in computer mapping programs, O'Donnell said.
E-Shopping for the Holidays Should be Good
Despite difficult economic conditions and the events of Sept. 11,
worldwide online holiday shopping sales are projected to reach $25.3 billion
this year. According to U.S.-based research company Gartner, that's a 39
percent increase over last year.
Of total online holiday sales, 53 percent, or $13.4 billion, will be made
outside of North America, compared to 50 percent last year, Gartner said.
While North America will continue to lead all regions in online holiday
sales, other regions are showing stronger growth rates.
Spam Bill Gets Tweaking in EU Parliament
A committee of the European Union Parliament voted on Monday night to
give member states discretion on regulating unsolicited e-mail for marketing
purposes, often referred to as spam.
This reverses a previous "opt-in" proposal, which would have required
prior consent from recipients of such e-mail. Instead, if the latest
amendment becomes law, states would decide whether to take an opt-in or
opt-out approach.
The proposal is contained in a report on a proposed directive on privacy
for personal data in electronic communications. The report was approved by
the Parliament's Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and
Home Affairs.
The U.K. government and the Direct Marketing Association have expressed a
preference for an opt-out approach. With opt-out, individuals can be sent
unsolicited e-mail for marketing purposes unless they indicate that they do
not want to receive further e-mail.