GPS ‘thermometer’ could flag up climate change

The Global Positioning System could be used as a global thermometer and used to monitor climate change, say UK meteorologists.
The idea rests on a relatively new technique for taking atmospheric measurements, called GPS radio occultation.
This involves using a satellite in low-Earth orbit to receive signals from GPS satellites. As the signals pass through the atmosphere, they are refracted slightly, with the angle of refraction depending on temperature and the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere.
Instruments on a number of research satellites measure GPS signals in this way, including the German CHAMP mission, and the joint US/Taiwan COSMIC mission.

NASA to announce new commercial space partner

NewScientist.com news service
David Shiga

NASA is set to announce a new commercial partner that will try to develop a spaceship to service the International Space Station. The new partnership is possible because the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has officially upheld NASA’s decision to sever a previous partnership with aerospace company Rocketplane Kistler.With the space shuttle set to retire in 2010, NASA is looking for alternative ways to transport astronauts and supplies to the space station. NASA’s own shuttle replacement – the Orion spacecraft and Ares I rocket – is not expected to be ready until at least 2015.In 2006, NASA signed agreements earmarking $485 million to be split between two companies trying to develop vehicles to service the orbital outpost. As part of its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme, it set aside $278 million for SpaceX, based in El Segundo, California, and $207 million for Rocketplane Kistler of Oklahoma City, both in the US.The money was to be gradually doled out between 2006 and 2010 – as long as the two companies kept meeting performance milestones along the way. But after Rocketplane Kistler failed to raise a required $500 million in private financing, NASA cancelled its agreement with the company in October 2007.

Will Microsoft save Silicon Valley from Google?

By Michael V. Copeland and Yi-Wyn Yen
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — There was talk of monopoly in Silicon Valley Friday morning as news of Microsoft’s $45 billion offer for Yahoo spread at Internet speed via e-mail, instant message and mobile phone. But the huge irony is Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo is seen by many here as just what is needed to fend off another monopolist in the making: Google.“We would prefer to see a healthy Microsoft and Yahoo,” says Geoff Yang, a venture capitalist with Redpoint Ventures and an early investor in Internet-based companies. “But I am starting to get worried about Google’s dominance, and in the absence of three healthy companies, I’ll take two. Competition is good for us, the industry and customers.”

The best back-to-school tech package

Big retailers are working hard to cater to tech-hungry students. Here’s how to put together a perfect package on a budget for your back-to-school student.
By Rob Kelley, CNNMoney.com staff writer

HP Pavilion dv6327cl Laptop
$778, Wal-Mart

HP’s laptop has a powerful processor and big storage at a good value.Start with a 15.4-inch display – now basically a standard in laptops – and a speedy 1.6GHz AMD chip that can handle the most processor-intensive spreadsheet thrown its way.The computer has HP’s QuickPlay software for watching DVDs or TV, or listening to music with a simple interface. It’s a computer designed for academics and entertainment. It also comes with a wireless networking card and Altec Lansing speakers.

MadeToPrint technology update for QuarkXPress 7 and Adobe Acrobat 8

XChange International, the source for extended technology worldwide, are pleased to announce the immediate availability of MadeToPrint XT for QuarkXPress 7 (Macintosh and Windows) as well as MadeToPrint for InDesign CS/CS2 for Acrobat 8 compatibility. MadeToPrint is an award-winning output organisation tool that provides features such as batch processing, token-based file naming and flexible layer output that go beyond the host application¹s built-in output functionality. More than that, the XTension allows hotfolder based processing of Quark 7 files, thus enabling users to output QuarkXPress documents completely unattended.

Profile: Former Indonesian President Soeharto

JAKARTA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) — Former Indonesian president Soeharto, died in a hospital on Sunday at the age of 86, a senior police official told reporters at the hospital where he was being treated.
Soeharto has passed away at about 13:10 p.m. local time (0610 GMT), the official said.
Soeharto had ruled Indonesia for 32 years before he was toppled by a mass riot on May 21, 1998. He faced numerous allegation of human rights violation and corruption during his rules, but in May2006 prosecutors closed a criminal case against him due to his deteriorating health.
Soeharto was born on June 8, 1921 in the southern Javanese town of Yogyakarta but his childhood story was largely unknown.
He was the sole son from the second marriage of Javanese man Kertosudiro, who had two children from his first wife.

Critical Countries: Indonesia: Testing Time for the “New Order”

Shortly before President Suharto was sworn in last March for a third five-year term as President of Indonesia, he delivered a major state of the nation speech to the People’s Consultative Assembly.The trials of his second term, Suharto said, “have made us more mature and more realistic. These experiences have done away with wishful thinking, especially the illusion that development is not a struggle . . . . We grow more conscious that in implementing development we are sometimes confronted with alternatives – which road should we take so we reach our goal safely. At times this choice isn’t between the good and the bad, but only which is less bad than others.”