800 Contractors
AP –
In a largely invisible cost of the war in Iraq, nearly 800 civilians working under contract to the Pentagon have been killed and more than 3,300 hurt doing jobs normally handled by the U.S. military, according to figures gathered by The Associated Press.
While the Defense Department issues a press release whenever a soldier or Marine dies, the AP had to file a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain figures on pre-2006 civilian deaths and injuries from the Labor Department, which tracks workers’ compensation claims.
The U.S. has outsourced so many war and reconstruction duties that there are almost as many contractors (120,000) as U.S. troops (135,000) in the war zone.
MP3 Surround
Physorg – Looks to be a real solution to the large amounts of data it takes to create surround sound, cool –
Together with engineers from Agere Systems, the IIS researchers have discovered a new way of streamlining the data packets: Special software reduces the data stream down to a stereo signal, and additional information is then packed into this so-called “downmix”. After this, the file is compressed and can be transmitted in the usual way, for example via the Internet. The receiver reads the additional information packed into the file and, with its help, is able to reconstruct the original signal.
”Basically, MP3 reduces the data stream: Those parts of the signal which are almost or entirely imperceptible to the human ear are coded with less accuracy and consequently take up less storage space. Then there is the additional information for the different channels, for example the time taken for audio signals to travel between speakers or differences in volume. The software packs the coded stereo signal and the sound parameters into an MP3 Surround file, which can then be stored or sent via the Internet. It can be played back on any MP3 player. If the MP3 player is fitted with an MP3 Surround chip and is attached to six speakers, the room will resound to the full surround sound effect. If not, a normal stereo signal will be heard.
Open Source Media
JPost –
Over the past few weeks, those who track the use of media by terror groups have noted a strong trend among Iraqi insurgents to distribute their propaganda movies and violence footage not through fringe, hard-to-find websites, but by uploading them directly to popular video sharing sites such as YouTube.
“This is a potentially dangerous development for the fight against terrorism in the West,” said analyst Tom Gross, since “It makes it far easier for freelance, go-it-alone jihadists and suicide bombers in western Europe and elsewhere to access information, techniques and propaganda without having to know in advance where to find such material, which was previously only available on obscure websites.”
The State Within
I agree with Dr. Hadar, The State Within is great TV.
Japan: Cybercrime Jumps 40%
Japan –
There were 4,425 reported instances of cybercrime last year, up 40 percent from the previous year and the highest number since 2000, when police began keeping statistics, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
Cybercrime has increased every year since 2000, when there were 913 reported cases, the NPA said.