In The News

Fragile Yet Indispensable

Nayan Chanda January 5, 2009
Damaged fiber-optic cables along the Mediterranean seabed cut internet access for almost 100 million users, and the sudden absence highlighted the service’s importance in the modern world, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his regular column for Businessworld. Modern business increasingly relies on exponential speed and volume of communications, and Chanda explains that “all aspects of...

Powering Africa's Future

Vera Kwakofi December 12, 2008
About two thirds of Africa’s people lack electric power. Eager to secure electric power that would help struggling economies, African nations must decide on an energy source and are inpatient about waiting for alternative sources like solar power. South Africa once produced enough power to share with neighbors like Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, but now finds itself in short supply. “Now, the...

Mice Starting to Win in the Beijing Blogosphere

Kirsty Needham December 4, 2008
Computers add to the challenges of censorship in the world’s most populated nation. “Tens of millions of mice over-ran China's internet trap this year, swamping it with chatter, nibbling towards freedom of speech,” explains Kirsty Needham, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald. China has more than 100 million bloggers, and natural disaster, political protests, business fraud and corruption...

Leading UK Universities Back Qatar Robotic Research

Anthea Lipsett November 11, 2008
Qatar has the third largest natural-gas reserves in the world; the per-capita share of those reserves is 55 times that of reserves in top-ranked Russia, which has a larger population. As a result, Qatar can afford to fund high-tech centers and research initiatives from the world’s leading universities. The latest initiative of the Qatar Foundation, an education charity, is a center for robotic...

FCC Vote on "White Spaces" to Be Delayed?

Cyrus Farivar October 28, 2008
Besides the presidential election, November 4 marks another big vote in the US, with the Federal Communications Commission set to decide whether to open its white space – unused space between channels that produces static on televisions – for unlicensed use that could potentially allow universal broadband access throughout the US. The amount of white space will increase after the US moves to...

Microsoft Described as “Biggest Hacker in China”

Tania Branigan October 23, 2008
In demonstrating a prowess in combating online piracy, Microsoft has infuriated Chinese internet users. “The new version of its Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy programme turns the on-screen background black every hour if the installed software fails a validation test,” reports Tania Branigan for the Guardian. Chinese internet users argue the company should target producers who violate...

A Muslim Creationism Debate: Taking on Darwin in Turkey

Daniel Steinvorth September 26, 2008
Fundamentalist Muslims join forces with fundamentalist Christians in protesting the work of British naturalist Charles Darwin, who offered the theory on natural selection as a mechanism to evolution. Darwin theorized that offspring inherit traits from their parents, some traits allow for better survival rates and over time species adapt to changes in the environment – all well documented by...