Turning A Blind eye to WI-FI (AlterNet - Washington Monthly) Broadband internet is the electricity of the 21st century -- and the rest of the world is poised to leave America in the dark. Read More

It May Look Authentic; Here's How to Tell It Isn't. (NY Times.com) Among the many temptations of the digital age, photo-manipulation has proved particularly troublesome for science, and scientific journals are beginning to respond. Read More.

Video Art Pioneer Nam June Paik, Dies. (NY Times) Nam June Paik, an avant-garde composer, performer and artist widely considered the inventor of video art, died Sunday at his winter home in Miami Beach. He was 73 and also lived in Manhattan. Read More.

Say It Ain't So. by Douglas Rushkoff. (AlterNet) Google's decision to purchase 5 percent of AOL marks a dramatic shift in strategy for a company that, frankly, never had to bother with strategy before. Read More.

Marketing Narnia. By S. Brent Plate, The Revealer. (AlterNet) Disney's Christian marketing of The Chronicles of Narnia -- and its reluctance to talk about it -- underscores the raging debate over the film's meaning. Read Read More.

Google Earth comes to the Mac (MacWorld). Google has released a beta of its Google Earth program for the Mac OS X <http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html>. The virtual Earth simulation software incorporates maps, driving directions, and satellite images with Google Search capabilities. It allows users to zoom and pan over three-dimensional virtual cities and landscapes, drilling down from space to overhead details. Read More

Earth From Above (Scout Report) Many people may be familiar with the Earth from Above project via the traveling exhibition that made its way across the United States a few years back. Sponsored by UNESCO and Fuji Film, the work was an ambitious project by the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand to document many of the world’s most interesting places and to examine the effects of humans on various corners of the earth. This remarkable website allows users to view many of these photographs via an innovative interactive interface that is relatively easy to use. To view the site visitors will need to use either Netscape or Internet Explorer in order to take advantage of the site’s full capabilities. Read More.

Microsoft Office and New Macs. (Apple eNews) Not only does Microsoft Office run handsomely on the new Intel-based Macs but Roz Ho, general manager for Microsoft's Mac Business Unit recently joined Steve Jobs
announce a five-year deal between Apple and Microsoft, ensuring that Microsoft Office will continue to be a fixture on Mac desktops for the foreseeable future. Be sure to watch the Macworld Keynote to
hear all the news for yourself. Read More.

OpenOffice.Org 2.0. (Popular Science). OpenOffice.org offers a free open-source suite of programs that does nearly everything Office does. It can open MS Office files and save them in Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. Read More.

I.D.'s Student Design Review Competition. I.D. magazine is looking for the best work from design schools around the world. Students can enter their finest in the categories of industrial design, graphic design, interactive design and miscellaneous. All winning projects will be featured in the September/October 2006 issue of I.D. magazine. This means potential clients may get a first-hand look at winner's work. The deadline is February 1. Read More.

iTunes Reaches 14 Percent of Active Internet Universe. (Nielsen//NetRatings) Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research, announced that traffic to Apple's iTunes Web site and use of the iTunes application has skyrocketed 241 percent over the past year, from 6.1 million unique visitors in December 2004 to 20.7 million in December 2005, reaching nearly 14 percent of the active Internet population. Read More.

Life through the lens. (NewStatesman) Films have never just been about entertainment - they have also been a powerful force for social change. So what a pity that the gulf between cinema and politics has never been greater. In this article David Puttman asks "Does political cinema mirror life? How much impact can a movie have on its audience? To what extent is it able to influence the way we think about politics?" The relationship between cinema and politics, often troubled, has recently become far too distant. Read More.

Life 'After Innocence' (AlterNet) Life 'After Innocence' is a powerful new documentary that explores the struggle of seven former prisoners, newly exonerated of horrible crimes. Read More.

Do Burned CDs Have a Short Life Span? (MSN PCNews) Opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs. Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland, has his own view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime. Read More.

Public Information Films. (Scout Report) At the time of their creation, public information films created by the British government after World War II may have been seen as overly didactic and pedestrian in their approach to filmmaking. Fifty years on, they are most correctly seen as a fascinating way to gain some insight into this particular moment in British history. The National Archives has created this website which contains several dozen of these public information films that deal with such diverse subjects as public health, a trip on a London bus, and the Berlin airlift. Before delving into the films, visitors may wish to peruse a timeline of pertinent events during the years 1945 to 1951 and also read about the austere conditions around much of the United Kingdom during the period. Visit Site.

Internet film shorts prove to be big hits. (Journal Gazette) Just as iPods are becoming a source for downloads of old TV shows and satellite radio is a growing outlet for all kinds of music all the time, the Internet is also filling a need for instant entertainment by serving as a desktop theater for short films that run the gamut from Oscar winners to movie trailers. The article contains links to selected films. Read More.

How the net is transforming news (BBC News) The impact of the internet on news has the potential to transform the interaction between politics, media and the public, beyond recognition, argues the BBC's Director of Global News, Richard Sambrook. Read More.

A Reality Check of the Recent Reports on Mobile Music and Hearing Loss. (Washington Post) Audiologists and other hearing experts have been issuing warnings in recent weeks that improper use of iPods and other personal stereo systems can dramatically heighten risk of hearing loss, particularly in young people. Read More.

The rural alarm clock (BBC News) What's the greatest noise pollutant facing the countryside? Not planes, not yobs, it's the train horn, apparently. And amid the clamour from villagers fed up of waking to it, the rail industry is looking for a solution. Read More.

Style of iPod Headphones Key to Protecting Ears. (CTV News) A new market for headphones is developing as concerns emerge over the possibility of hearing loss as a result of the use of portable digital music players. The earbud headphones that come with iPods can cause hearing loss because they don't fit snugly in one's ears and let background noise seep in. Users then turn up the volume to drown out the background noise. Read More.

Pardon, Your Dress Is Singing. (Wired News) Sound and visual artist Alyce Santoro has created Sonic Fabric, a cloth made from pre-recorded, recycled cassette tape combined with other fibers. Using a minimally hacked Walkman, the fabric becomes an audible reminder of its musical past. Sonic Fabric feels a bit like flexible plastic tarp, and is durable and hand-washable. Santoro's work has drawn lots of oohs and aahs, and is making waves in the design world. Read More.

Community-based Networks and Innovative Technologies. (Scout Report) Much of the talk about an information society and the use of technology in such a society remains an unfulfilled promise in the developing world. This disconnect is particularly strong in rural areas, which often do not have the necessary infrastructure to take part in any social or economic improvements that may be the by-product of such developments. This report from the United Nations Development Program, authored by Sean O Siochru and Brian Girard looks at how an innovative combination of community-driven enterprises and the new wave of wireless and related technologies may assist such communities most effectively. The report is divided into five primary chapters, and a number of appendices which contain detailed case study information from such countries as Poland, Argentina, Peru, and India. Those users who may be pressed for time may wish to read the preface and the report summary offered here. Visit Site.

Can Wikipedia Survive Its Own Success? (Wharton) It's not easy being Wikipedia, a free web encyclopedia created and edited by anonymous contributors. Just ask founder Jimmy Wales, who has seen his creation come under fire in just a few short months as the site fends off vandalism and charges of inaccurate entries. Read More.

Photo Gallery: Best Science Photographs of 2005 Named (National Geographic News) The winning pictures in this year's Visions of Science Photographic Awards take you from the depths of the Caribbean Sea to the surface of a cancer cell. See Photos.

Mobiles 'don't raise cancer risk'. (BBC News) Mobile phone use does not lead to a greater risk of brain tumor, the largest study on the issue has said. The study of 2,782 people across the UK found no link between the risk of glioma - the most common type of brain tumor - and length of mobile use. Read More.

Google defies US over search data. (BBC News) The internet search engine Google is resisting efforts by the US Department of Justice to force it to hand over data about what people are looking for. Read More.

Legal music downloads overtake internet cheaters. (Ireland Online) Legal downloads have overtaken illegal file sharing in the UK for the first time, music industry bosses said today. New research showed 5% of internet users regularly download music from legal sites, compared to 4% who swap files illegally. Read More.

Faster Wi-Fi standard gets draft approval. (CNET News.com) A faster Wi-Fi standard appears to be about a year away, after a task group unanimously approved a proposal for an update to the 802.11g standard. Read More.

Nikon will stop making most film cameras. (CNN. Com)Nikon Corp., which helped popularize the 35mm camera five decades ago, will stop making most of its film cameras to concentrate on digital models. Nikon will discontinue seven film-camera models, leaving in production only the current top-line model, the F6, and a low-end manual-focus model, the FM10. It will also stop making most of its manual-focus lenses. Read More.

WiMAX (Finally) Arrives (Red Herring) After years of delays, the first products based on the WiMAX broadband technology finally hit the US market on Thursday. Aperto Networks, Redline Communications, SEQUANS Communications, and WaveSat announced. Read More.

Earth From Above. (Scout Report) Many people may be familiar with the Earth from Above project via the traveling exhibition that made its way across the United States a few years back. Sponsored by UNESCO and Fuji Film, the work was an ambitious project by the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand to document many of the world’s most interesting places and to examine the effects of humans on various corners of the earth. This remarkable website allows users to view many of these photographs via an innovative interactive interface that is relatively easy to use. Some of the sights that visitors to the site will see include the Mammoth Hot Springs, camels in Mauritania, and a mangrove forest in New Caledonia. It should be noted that to view the site visitors will need to use either Netscape or Internet Explorer in order to take advantage of the site’s full capabilities. Visit Site.

Top Ten Videos of 2005 From National Geographic News (National Geographic News) Killer hurricanes, swarming sharks, and wildlife fighting for survival headlined this year's most popular videos from National Geographic News. Replay the year in science, nature, and exploration with 2005's top ten videos. Read More.

Essential Life Lesson #1: Over is Right, Under is Wrong. As part of the ongoing effort at Current Configuration to make your life not only better, but also 10% more crunchy, they offer you this first installment of what will be an ongoing series of Essential Life Lessons. Kicking off this series is a critical but even-handed examination of a common misunderstanding that occurs in a realm of many misunderstandings: the bathroom. Put simply, there is a right way to hang the toilet paper, and a wrong way. Read on to determine the status of your own roll. Visit Site and The Humor .

Flexible Electronics One Step Closer With New Circuits. (National Geographic News). New silicon circuitry can bend and stretch like rubber, without losing its ability to function. Manufacturers might someday be able to add electronics to the surfaces of devices that currently lack them (think heart monitors built into surgical gloves or artificial limbs with "skin" that can sense touch). Read More.

Items from The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006. http://scout.wisc.edu/