If the eye really sees.

Revolution in the photo market previously deducted from the hands of the darkroom as an ultimate collectible. Now enters a new printing technology with unprecedented quality, the art market umzukrempeln - with implications for photographers and clients.

 

Jim Rakete faces a picture and is amazed when he saw the first photograph. Quite close to the bends weißhaarige photographer on the portrait of the actor Juergen Vogel, as he wanted to kiss it. Then he whispers: "This Durchzeichnung these shadows, and here you can see every hair, every individual."

Over one hundred portraits of German actors, politicians and musicians has taken with his rocket-old Linhof plate camera, a "fuss" as he calls it. Many hundreds of times already, he sees the pictures - but now he sees hairs, which he has never seen before.

So far, his rocket prints in his darkroom in Berlin produced. The red slip of a lamp he waited patiently until the white paper in the developer, the facial features of the portrayed appeared only in gray, it becomes darker. He exposed to light lots and wagged where it was too dark, finger ready as a painter.

A machine, as long a railway wagon

Rocket explores the slowness. The exposure time of his portraits was mostly in an eighth second. "1 / 8", which is also the title of an exhibition and a sumptuous album. It should be something like the farewell tour of the old silver photography, ousted from Photoshop, HDR, and Flickr. But yesterday was farewell, for now has a new type of rocket Darkroom: He stands at the control of a huge press, long as a railway wagon, loud like a diesel, housed in a factory building of the printing Benatzky in an industrial area north of Hanover. It is one of the most advanced machines of its kind, made by world leaders Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Cost: about three million euros.

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"Suddenly I see my own photos in entirely new light," says rocket. "It's almost like a psychoanalysis."

His therapist says photo Dieter Kirchner, a massive Mittsechziger with the profile of Karl Marx. He stands next to a rocket and critically about his aims for far, measures the gray and mutters into his beard rauchvergilbten: "The more we get out crispy." Photography Skia he calls the new method a little way. Freely translated: Light-dark letters.

Exclusive Fanclub light of the educated bourgeoisie

Many famous photographers have long been familiar to his art of printing, including Helmut Newton, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Konrad R. Müller, Manfred Hamm. Kirchner has now developed a new technique to everything he has done so far, literally in the shadow effect. He looks for the most gently highlights the finest Grauzeichnungen - and after the blackest black.

KIRCHNER IN PRINTS-EXHIBITIONS

Kicken Gallery, Berlin

City Museum, Munich

Print Media Academy, Heidelberg (from July)

Art Basel

Galerie Schwarz, Greifswald

During this month, the first new Kirchner prints in exhibitions *. In mid-June, he and Prints by Dieter Appelt at the Art Basel representing the world's most important art fair.

To Kirchners rallied black art is an exclusive club of the educated bourgeoisie light. "The results are sensational, this is a revolution in photography," says Appelt, visual artist and professor from Berlin. "The Photography Skia could radically transformed with the collectors' market," predicts the media historian Hubertus von Amelunxen, "The consequences are not yet foreseeable."

Light vermatscht Details

Kirchner wants a new gold standard for importing photos. Pure quality, he could print from the Throne Vintage encounter: expensive hand prints, limited edition often many thousands of euros. Whether it succeeds remains to be seen, because collectors often just love the little flaws, because he is the aura of the original increase. "With my method, but also makes the prints the photographer himself, just not in the darkroom, but on the press," says Kirchner. A peculiar notion: Vintage prints - Untouched by human hands.

Kirchner's basic idea is deceptively simple, and basically not even new: He created the artwork directly from the negative and thus bypasses the vulnerability of traditional photography, the paper sheet. The tiny silver grains of the photo that do not appear nearly as dark as ink. Also reflected in the photographic darkroom. The light vermatscht details.

Gimp brings color to black and white photos.

Eliminate color, distort images, black and white photographs einfärben: Even the free software Gimp mastered these functions. As with the free program images can easily aufhübschen explains the second part of our Gimp workshops.

 

Color can be a lovely be. But in most cases they are probably in error happened. As with the
Gimp image editing program that is available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X are unwanted color casts are removed, says the second part of the photo software workshop after it
in the first part to perform basic functions like setting meaningful colors, optimal contrast and sharpness were matching.

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Cause of a color is usually a light is not properly adjusted white balance - because light is not the same light. Although many of our human eye automatically compensates for differences, so we still consider the colors of a substance like even in daylight. The unit of measurement for color temperature is Kelvin (K). The midday sun has a value of perceived neutral 5500K, the time around sunrise or sunset has a value of 2500 K, here is the light red and white color reflects das In autumn, the yellow light a high proportion, therefore, are meadows and forests very gently. The neutral should be white so the camera teach, there is the white balance.

The work can be done automatically or manually. When the automatic white balance the camera is looking for the brightest area and is to be white. Attentive readers recognize now that this is obviously not always pure white can be - it just creates a tint. When you use manual white balance, a black professionals and white-gray card, to which they orient the camera.

Is a picture only made, it is in the free photo editing software Gimp still a fairly simple color corrections. Likewise, recording all the sounds are withdrawn - and the other gray-scale will be colored.

So pretty on your pictures.

Anyone who wants more than rotate and crop photos, comes with Linux not to gimp around. That as a free Photoshop-killer vowed program is a little unusual to use, but a true all-rounder in terms of image. A few tips to facilitate entry.

 

Only rarely succeed at once perfect pictures with digital camera: Some are too dark and flat, others slightly blurred and the red eyes make Aunt Hilde also not pretty. For exact Feinkorrekturen is the right tool, however, after the Ubuntu installation on the hard drive ready: The
Gimp free image, which is also available for Windows and Mac OS X gives, brings all the tools to take photos albumreif program.

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The only obstacle: Who yet another image-editing software, you must train only once. Automatic correction functions, there are few, and for really good results you have to get the most value manually.

Guidance to the desktop

Also, the user interface of the program differs from other applications: Gimp opens when you first start the program three separate windows, which moved freely on the desktop is. The first window, the tool kit, provides all the tools such as brush, eraser and attitudes about the foreground and background color.

In the middle of the desktop opens the picture window, right next to it called the Dock. In its place are several tabs. By default, there are seven tabs: In the upper section you can find the tabs layers, channels, paths, and the minutes of the undo function, the bottom three tabs contain dialogues brush shapes, patterns and gradients. Each of the tabs can drag & drop onto the desktop in a separate window outsource. Gimp offers a full toolbox, which allows a variety of image manipulation.

c't
Three windows on the desktop: On startup Gimp opens the toolbox (left), the image window (middle) and the dock (right)

Even the most expensive camera does not automatically produce perfect pictures: An incorrect aperture, adverse weather conditions or poor lighting conditions can negatively affect the image quality. With a little polish in Gimp can also be used such images to spice it up.

So fresh you through redistribution of tonal values, increase the contrast and a bit of re-sharpening on matte shots and get rich, colorful images - and in just three very simple steps.

With intelligent technology in the mobile age remain.

The medicine industry has hardly developed technical aids for the elderly. This it does, the Research Ministry invested 145 million euros in projects to ensure the independence of age to obtain. One of these is the Smart Senior Project at the Berlin Charité.

 

The old lady moved with slow steps through the hospital corridor. On their Gehwagen having, makes them the little screen between the handles do not come from the eyes. Because there is flashing a red arrow and shows her the way.

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Mobility in old age: Intelligent assistance systems to help

"Even those who are otherwise difficult zurechtfindet can with as a navigator in the dining-room nursing home problems," says Professor Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen. It directs the Geriatric Research Group of the Berlin Charité, where on Monday the project to the Senior Smart Start has been - as the first nation-wide by 17, the research community, industry and care in a boat to get to old people more mobility, independence and health preserve.

Technique as Lebenshilfe

The Federal Ministry of Research supported the project with a total of 145 million euros over the next three years. Solo Smart Senior is 25 million euros, plus 18 million euros from the economy. An initiative which, according to researchers from age overdue. "We are largely still not on the changing demographic," says Steinhagen-Thiessen. Too long have you technical aids for the elderly deuced. "But it's not about the people in the elderly and nursing to replace but to support them." On a motion by the Berlin Protestant Geriatriezentrum researcher presents the age, which she says so.

In a therapy room there is a stroke patient in front of a computer: A special training program will help her to gradually hand to his mouth to lead. Sensors on the body to control its movement and the program is also a feedback of how well it has succeeded in the exercise.

"In the beginning, the big fear. But then, patients are completely wild on this computer exercises and do not want to stop," says an occupational therapist. Precisely because it is frustrating for many patients was a therapist before the first, tiny and not always successful steps. "But before the computer, they can just so long for large beet until it works," she says.

How important is this independence, which knows the blogs journalist Jürgen Leinemann to report. More than a year ago he fell ill and was difficult until after several months of therapy at the center of Berlin in his life. "I was always a technical idiot and have never been interested in me," he says. "But my self-esteem after the disease was on the ground, and the return to everyday life was very important. This is me today any technical support is right."

Automatic Alarm

Professor Hans Aukes of Deutsche Telekom, spokesman for the Smart Senior project, stresses that the technical innovations as far as possible without any traces in the everyday life of the ancients and paste must remain readily operable. Aukes: "The issue of mobile phones has shown us how not to make. Apparatus and displays have been getting smaller, the technology becomes ever more complicated."

In handling simple, but highly technically complex to be about the emergency sensor of the future: As a bracelet, measured microscopically fine probe respiration, pulse, sweat, but also sugar and ECG values. Dangerous deviations are reported to an emergency center, the alarm triggers. The trick to the thing: a standardized interface, the data over both Wi-Fi as well as via mobile forwards and thus the carrier can be limitless mobility.

Also, a sensor-equipped girdles, which warns against falls, or a self wheelchair, by nodding and moving obstacles automatically evade, are among the tools of the future. Research is also sought on an emergency assistant for the car, which is about when a stroke of the driver the car will safely stand.

"What makes us hope, is that health insurance companies also come on board and support the project," said Aukes. In addition, it is the German Telekom, Alcatel-Lucent, Siemens, BMW, midsize companies such as Berliner Prisma GmbH, a partner in the housing industry and the service sector, interest groups and research of these and other sub-projects over the next three years to bring to market maturity.

SPD shall consider the establishment of mobile phone jammers.

SMS messages from secret meetings, the outcome of the Federal election in advance on the net - that is the intention of the SPD will soon end. The Group blogs can be after the establishment of information by mobile phone jammer review.

 

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Berlin - The Bundestag makes the news for days on Twitter unrest. In the Federal election, the CDU MP Julia Klöckner and SPD-Ulrich Kelber the results made public in advance. And in the last Group meeting on Tuesday caught SPD Chief Peter Struck several MPs, from the confidential session messages sent.

To spread the news to make it secret, examines the SPD Parliamentary blogs according to information now the establishment of mobile phone jammers in the Reichstag.

"We want to know whether this is technically feasible," says Christian Lange, SPD member of the Elders of the Bundestag. It should also be possible experience with jammers in the parliaments of other countries evaluated.

Twitter is a service that allows users enables short messages from their mobile phone directly to the internet and thus accessible to everyone.

Small cameras with large sensors.

For great photos you do not need giant camera - compact exotics like the Sigma DP1, Leica M8 and Fujifilm S100 show that high image quality even in the absence of reflex succeed. blogs ONLINE compares Three extraordinary cameras.

 

It sounds absurd: Every year manufacturer outdo itself with hundreds of new digital camera models, but to an actually quite obvious that none dares project - a compact camera with a large image sensor and good optics, the exceptionally good pictures, even at dusk.

For years photographers complain so that the sensors in the compact and also the blog almost reflexively large bridge cameras are tiny. The result: The closer to the photo diodes on the sensor each other, the stronger disturbances like noise on the digital image.

But instead of looking for ways to larger sensors in compact cameras installed, use the various software manufacturers tricks that the noise even when saving a recording in the camera herauszurechnen. Often suffer but sharpness and detail of the images.

It is also different: It is technically possible, larger sensors in small cameras to construction. That - and the related technical compromises - demonstrated a few camera models with exotic status. The Sigma DP1, Leica M8 and Fujifilm S100 are designed very different niches, but all show how much space to maneuver away from the camera designers have put an outline:

Reflex (large, expensive and generally better)
Click (once cheap, sometimes expensive, mixed picture, but always a compromise)
Bridge (longer focal length than the Compact, the same image problems)

Rangefinder, triple-layer sensor, Fixed focal length - blogs ONLINE compares the digital exotics.

Researchers hear the printer.

Printer noise can patient records and account data reveal. German researchers have developed a method with which they come from the noises emitted by needle printers on the content of expressions can close. A practice test was successful.

 

Saarbrücken - Actually, they are relics of times long past computer: dot matrix printer, the letters on paper, by a pattern with color impregnated textile belt sting. Researchers at the University of Saarland have now proven: The frequent today in medical offices and banks used dot matrix printers are a potential security risk

Bell Houses - the bilderwerk
Dot matrix printer in a doctor's office: After a short learning curve, the researchers 70 percent of prints based on their acoustic signature decipher

It is sufficient, a microphone must be placed on the printer to the recorded sounds from the printed texts largely to be reconstructed, said Michael Backes, a professor of cryptography and information security at the University of the Saarland and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, with. By his and his colleagues developed methods could be the contents of medical prescriptions or bank documents to be decrypted.

In surgeries are vociferous Printer seniors primarily used for recipes or patient reports to print. For recipes of severe pain is even a legal obligation, with punch out. And this may just the ratternden Nadler, ink and laser printers are unsuitable for carbons. In banks are the scientists that often account statements prepared by dot matrix printers.

Successful Practice Test

In order for the dot matrix printer their secrets were, had the experts of the Department of cryptography and information security, however, provide some preliminary work: They had the equipment first dictionary printed and then trained the software to the individual words Tonmuster assign characteristic. Moreover, they had to noises such as patients in a doctor's office calls to filter out.

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After this training phase, they nevertheless, more than 70 percent of the printed words using the recordings to identify and enable the most content to understand. Also some figures such as numbers of secret accounts in this way could an amazingly high hit rate will be explored, the researchers emphasize.

In a particular practice, the researchers test their program in a medical practice to the test and were running at different recipe on printouts. After six rounds of training it was the seventh successful recipe, the prescription drug purely on the printer to identify sounds.

Researchers want to discover vulnerabilities

Michael Backes, does not believe that the unusual method of espionage in practice is already being applied. The scientists are, according to its own information about new vulnerabilities and early detection of possible hazards noted.

In previous studies, other researchers had already demonstrated that data from the emissions of the cable of an LCD screen and can read that it is possible
Words on the noise filtered out of the keyboard.

With the power of 50,000 PCs.

To quickly calculate any other computers in Europe: The Forschungszentrum Jülich has the supercomputer Jugene into operation. He is with two other major new computers to help scientists, among others, to explore the climate and fusion reactions to understand.

 

Up to a trillion mathematical operations per second leads from Jugene. Thus, the new giant computer, which is now at the Forschungszentrum Jülich inaugurated, all competitors far behind. At least in Europe. Its computing power roughly equivalent to that which shall bring 50,000 PC, you could encourage them to cooperate.

But this would be an almost futile. The networking of computers would be exceedingly complex, the exchange of data between desktop computers too slow, the energy is too high. The IBM data center in Jülich, the computer came to work on the other hand, "particularly energy efficient," says the chief scientist of the Jülich Supercomputing Centers Thomas Lippert.

In the world of supercomputers, the Jülich computer after this stage in third place to land. The next "TOP 500" list published on 23 June.

The super computer is in 72 large cell phone, water-cooled racks in a hall house and has about 72,000 processors. The machine itself requires 2.2 megawatts of electric power, the whole hall because of the elaborate cooling 5.3 megawatts - about as much as a large wind turbine manufactures. The IBM plant in the series "Blue Gene" has a memory of 144 terabytes, which is about the capacity of nearly 150,000 modern PC.

Costs in the high double-digit million range

Jugene to the site, researchers have two more new super computer. One of them, Juropa 2, is not the fastest computer in Europe, but still the fastest supercomputer based on Sun technology. He was from 2208 computing nodes based on Intel's Xeon server processors together, according to the manufacturer is based on open standards and open source software. Third in the league, the HPC-FF. It is from 1080 compute nodes with a total of 8640 water-cooled processors and about 24 terabytes of memory.

"With the acquisition of Germany Jugene demonstrated its leadership in supercomputing," said Research Minister Annette Schavan at the inauguration of the super computer on Tuesday. The three national high performance computing centers in Stuttgart, and Garching, Jülich agreed within Germany, to scientific users through hardware, software and support an optimal research environment.

The funding in the "high double-digit million range" divided by the federal government and the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the Gauß-Center for Super Computing.

The Mausefalle schlauste the world.

Animal-friendly mouse trap, sandwiches lubricate, make popcorn - Hackers tinker with their own little helpers like blogs ONLINE displays five brand robot self, the programmers life easier.

 

Scott Metoyer programmer from the California town of Corona had a problem: In the house of his Wohngemeinschaft marodierte a mouse. And Metoyer is on animals, to traditional set up traps.

Luckily he had just created a new programmer bought toys that help with this problem was: The Open-source Arduino platform combines a microcontroller with a programming environment that makes it quite simple, physical objects to control - for example mousetrap.

Metoyer took a couple of Tupperware boxes, a wooden stick and a strip of aluminum foil as a timer. If the Arduino controller, a movement on the release (under the aufgebockt, half-open box in front of the cheese), and he pulls the stick away, the box goes down, the mouse is caught.

An hour tinkered
Metoyer at the event in 30 minutes, he programmed the control software.

Although the trap is working well (see video above), she has not used as Metoyer said: "I have not caught the mouse. Some of my roommates are not as animals as I do, and I have a week a few traditional mousetrap seen in the house. I'm afraid someone has the poor animal so unfortunately caught - I have the mouse is never seen again. "

Mausefalle, sandwich toaster and Malmaschinen - ONLINE blogs shows the odd inventions of hardware hackers.

Monster Movies DVD summarizes 2000.

It should look like a normal DVD - but much more information to cope with nanotechnology researchers to the wealth of data storage disks dramatically multiply. In laboratory work the fascinating technology already.

 

Where's a few more gigabytes?

Digital photos in Raw format, lossless compressed music and videos in high definition require more and more storage space. And so it is not surprising that researchers are already on a new generation of DVD to work, although its successor - the Blu-ray disc - not even on the market have been established.

Fit 8.5 gigabytes on a double layer DVD, the half on a simple - which roughly corresponds to a film. A Blu-ray disc brings it to 25 to 50 gigabytes. Those windows, researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia have developed now, should be between 1600 and even 10,000 gigabytes can take without having to contribute to the size of the disc, something changes. The researchers expect that 2000 film on such a monster slice fit.

Succeed thanks to nanoparticles made of gold, a store in five dimensions allow reporting Min Gu and his colleagues in the science magazine "Nature" (459, page 410-413). In five to ten years could be the monster wheels commercially available, write the researchers.

"We have shown that nano-structures in a slice can be integrated so that the storage capacity increases, but the size of the disc itself is changing," says Gu. The trick succeeded, thanks to the extra dimensions.

Conventional DVDs use three-dimensional structures for data storage. Thanks to the nanoparticles, the researchers introduced two additional dimensions: one for color and one for the polarization of light. When the particles are gold nanotubes, the so-called surface plasmons, as and when they are made of light. These are waves on the surface of the discs.

Because the response of nanoparticles to light also depends on their nature, the researchers succeeded in the laboratory, information in a whole wavelength range in the same place of the disc drive. Conventional DVDs and Blu-ray discs only work with a defined wavelength of light.

Recorded at zero and 90 degrees

Similar to the color, the Australian scientists also provide information with light of different polarization levels in the material store - the fifth dimension. "The polarization can rotate 360 degrees," explains James Chon team of researchers from the Swinburne University of Technology. "We can, for example, at zero degree polarization data record," says Chon. In addition, information could be in a different polarization level, about 90 degrees, save, without causing mutual superpositions come.

"These extra dimensions are the key to discs with ultra-high capacity," says Gu. It should, however, still some problems to be solved, the researchers admit that so far as the very low write speed. Applications for the Monster-DVDs, there are many, such as gigantic storage of medical data from the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Even the military could build on the terrabyte discs large amounts of data stored encrypted.

The researcher claims to have already signed a contract with Samsung on the commercial use of their memory proceedings.

Whether the nanotechnology will one day really can be, it is at the present time hardly say. How difficult to introduce a new format can be shown by the example of Blu-ray.
For years there was a format war with HD-DVD, the market for HD discs with movies paralyzed. Meanwhile
the duel is decided - but by a massive paragraph, to the film industry and many manufacturers believed, is Blu-ray so far away.

There is even justifiable doubts as to whether future data and movies are still stored on disks is. Always allow for higher data rates, for example, the distribution of films via online video. The Australian Super DVD could, if the jump on the market ever succeed, even on a relatively expensive niche application.

Unknown steal Clinton hard.

Disks and laptops are also popular authorities on the goods carried. Sometimes go to sensitive data is lost: The U.S. National Archives now has a hard disk with archive data on the Clinton administration lost. The FBI identified.

 

It sounds more dramatic if the U.S. Federal FBI investigative records to protect against data theft pursue. Sometimes the right, as always disappear USB sticks or CD-ROMs containing sensitive data from all sorts of authorities around the globe. Sloppiness is not always sufficient as an explanation, often it is actually going to espionage.

More often, however, it is truth to flea markets or Ebay.

Because high and handy laptop hard drives are also ideal for taking articles officials and employees with sticky fingers, after addition to merit looking for. So in cases like the British MI5 agent who has his laptop with secret information on a station lying forgets Bank, the Ministry of Defense officials, the secret defense data, including a laptop on a park bench can be subject, not necessarily to explain. But already the burglary in January 2008, in which a British army officer, the data of 600,000 recruits out of the car steal him, was probably Flohmarkt Crime: The car stood on a secured area of the Defense Ministry.

And so many spies, such as laptops from government departments and agencies to disappear, it can not give: that a minister of the Labor Government in June 2008 the laptop from the office to steal him, was especially embarrassing because it was public. Because, unfortunately, is also routine: even the German ministries and authorities came alone from 2005 to 2008 more than 500 laptops and other equipment mysteriously vanished. So many of them probably soon after his disappearance as a second-hand bargains one or the other happy people have made - unsuspecting that he purchased the laptop has almost paid twice: once with tax money, once a bank transfer.

What is the goal: The data - or the institution?

Now vanished from the National Archives of the United States a large amount of confidential data from the reign of former President Bill Clinton. It is, inter alia, to social security numbers, addresses, and internal rules of the secret and the White House, said spokeswoman Susan Cooper Archive on Tuesday in Washington. Also records of events were included. The data were on a computer hard drive, which had disappeared without trace.

As always, the question is now in space, what is the thief really has had on the data or only on the disk? Because, as usual, it could be a data scandal - or how often a case of "Weggefunden": What lying around, is just happy times with them. The media, whose theft was noticed now, so Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper, was sometime October-March from an archive building in the Washington suburb of College Park disappeared and imposed a terabyte of data.

Terabyte disks are there so many still do not, they achieve good prices. But would also be valuable to the stored content. Cooper: "The disk contains a previously unknown amount of personal data of employees and visitors to the White House."

Embarrassing for the archivists, but potentially dangerous for the individuals whose data is stored on the disk were.

As a rule, remains in such cases only mitigation, the thieves are rarely caught. So did the theft of an external hard drive from the U.S. nuclear safety authority in June 2006, in which data from more than 1,500 secret sources were lost, and in Britain of the potentially life-threatening theft of a disk containing the names and addresses of 5000 judicial officers in September 2008 so far unclear.

Even in the current case will now begin the affected people over the loss of data information. Among them was also one of the three daughters of former Vice President Al Gore, the National Archives spokeswoman Cooper, whose social security number on the hard drive was. Even Clinton was informed, but it was not initially known whether personal data of the ex-president were affected.

The FBI launched federal investigations.

The data universe is expanding.

Crisis, what crisis? The economy is groaning, moaning, consumers, economic forecasts point down. The growth of digital data, however, the economic situation does not threaten, their scope is becoming faster.

 

The data mountain, where we sit, is always higher. In the past year to the existing info-dumps further 487 billion gigabytes added. Exactly words: Mankind has 2008, a total 3,892,179,868,480,350,000,000 bits generated. This is the result of at least on behalf of EMC Corporation study conducted IDG "As the Economy Contracts, Expands the Digital Universe."

Storage: Within the next four years, the amount of data generated quintuple

EMC that with such huge numbers to the public is, of course, self-interest. The company sells large storage systems. EMC storage cabinets are available in computing - where much space is needed.

And much space you need in the future, said the EMC two years ago with a very similar study. Until 2006, the company at that time, mankind had the 161 billion gigabytes of data gathered, but now set to be strong. The key message was: Until 2010, the humanity 988 billion gigabytes of digital information to collect.

The amount of data is becoming faster

A good piece on this path, we now seem to back the above mentioned nearly 500 exabytes (an Exabyte is a billion gigabytes) accumulated. This, EMC, were three percent more than originally projected. In the coming years, the stockpile data faster enlarge. Every 18 months, according to the forecast, will the volume of data generated double. This reminds - coincidence or not - to Moore's law, which for decades correctly predicts that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every 18 months. As early as 2012 the humanity therefore produce five times more data than today, almost 2,500 billion gigabytes.

THE EXPANSION OF THE DIGITAL UNIVERSE

If the 2008 produced by mankind, nearly 500 exabytes to print and bind books, the pages would be put together ten of the distance from Earth to the Pluto cover.

As Einpackpapier uses the same amount of paper would be sufficient to complete the earth eight times einzuwickeln.

At the current growth rate of the paper stack would grow faster than the fastest missile can fly. That is a lot: The minimum speed that a missile to overcome the gravity must reach, is 11.2 kilometers per second (escape velocity). EMC expects to launch a NASA spacecraft need 13 months for the trip to Pluto. The data stack of paper would be the same lines already after three weeks have brought.

The 2008 volume of data produced from 487 billion gigabytes EMC tries with conversions comprehensible, fails in view of the sheer mass, but recovered in large numbers. Accordingly, the 2008 produced in accordance with digital information:

- The contents of 30 million iPod touch
- The storage capacity of 237 billion-Kindle eBook Readers
- 19 billion in Blu-ray discs
- 162 trillion digital

The reason for the rapid swelling of the data: In the next four years will focus on the billion people now connected a further 600 million are compounded, which actively use the network. And two-thirds of the network population, the study will not only stationary but also mobile do communicate via cell phone, while surfing the Web.

But communication is not really what the data lines is thick. There are pictures and especially video. Digital cameras, especially in mobile phones, contributed much to the growth of data in Berg.

But the lion's share of produce Ãœberwachsungskameras.

Overall, pictures and videos, 88 percent of the data. In light of projects such as the CCTV coverage of downtown London, one might believe it.

A number with 15 zeros

Computer data, text messages and data received from sensors, such as the reading of RFID chips that can be created, make only a small proportion of the total. The tiny data do, however, numerically noticeable in the statistics. Well 98 percent of the three quadrillion (Full 3,000,000,000,000,000) records from 2008 are these mini-packets.

Fortunately, not all of the data stored, especially not permanently. But since more than two-thirds of all data according to the study of individuals are generated, the question arises as to where all that remain. Much of it is certainly unnecessary. Since digital cameras, is photographed at random, what comes before the lens. Because while the price of storage just as quickly falling as the growing quantities of data, will also no longer be deleted - at least not intentionally.

Data without expiration dates

Nevertheless, the question
how long this data will survive, is still unsettled. Magnetic storage media such as optical have only a limited lifespan. Anyone who has in the late 20th Century even burned CDs, knows what that means. But what does this mean for the vast amounts of data that currently appears to be aufgehäuft?

A conclusive answer to this pressing question really has no one now at hand, including EMC, as the originator of the study. Rather, the company is even clear that the challenge is to find ways for data to cope with mountains, the digital heritage of mankind preserved to make. At home burned CDs, you can still manage so it every few years on new media umzukopieren. But what happens afterwards? And what of the treasures on public archives, and computer firms in store?

Until developers and researchers to have found an answer, should the flood of data companies such as EMC's always more work involved. Because as long as there is no massenfähigen long-term archives of digital data, is only one solution: remove, increase, increase - the memory of course.

More and more, faster.

SD and SDHC cards are an absolute winner: For compact cameras dominate it for years, with digital SLR cameras oust them increasingly compact flash cards - the specialist magazine "Color Photo" has six models tested, and advises what speed is worthwhile.

 

Only three years after the introduction of the SDHC format is its maximum capacity (32 GB) is reached. The growing proliferation of HD video makes the requirements for storage media to the top fast. The successor SDXC is already in the starting blocks (see box).

Although not much more storage, you can optimize the speed, if not more from each manufacturer that is always the fastest card in its generation portfolio to have.

The forerunner is SanDisk, which is the end of 2008 the pace of its top series Ultra II and Extreme III by 50 percent to respectively 15 and 30 MB / s has increased. An Extreme IV, such as Compact Flash, there are not.

FOUND IN ...

Color photo 6 / 2009

The magazine for digital and analog photography

Content
Trial order
www.colorfoto.de

Besides the two fast SanDisk cards in our test, a standard SDHC Class 2 of the same manufacturer as well as a Panasonic Class-4-SD with 5 MB / s, a class-4-SDHC from Kingston and a class-6 - by takeMS SDHC investigated.

Nikon D90

At the Nikon and the Pentax also provides the standard SDHC SanDisk always comes last. Otherwise, related to the D90 only photos in the raw data in RAW format - that is about ten megabytes of large files - with notable differences. Here, the Extreme III three pictures in series as the main field. At the time it exceeds the two slowest card by 20 seconds and the Ultra II for five seconds. The class-4-Map of Kingston surprised with better results than the class-6-Pendant by takeMS and is only slightly behind the Ultra II

Pentax K20D

SDXC: 2 TByte AND 300 MB / S

The SD Association has in early 2009 under the name SDXC (eXtended Capacity) presented a new format, whose specifications are in themselves have a capacity of up to 2 TB and speeds of 104 MB / s this year and up to 300 MB / s in the future. It will certainly take up to 2 - TB-cards in the shops are available. But 64 GB, one could safely expect soon. These cards are the new file system exFAT work designed specifically for flash memory has been developed. The change means that today's devices with slots SD/SDHC- not readily compatible with the next format will be.

With 14.6 mega pixels and around 23 megabytes large RAWs Pentax makes greater demands on the cards. Therefore, the results from the K20D differentiated.

At the time, the two fast SanDisk cards about 25 to 52 s (RAW) or 13-22 s (JPEG) ahead of the competition. In the series of pictures, they create two to four (RAW), and 10-13 shots (JPEG) more. The difference between Ultra II and Extreme III remains low. Kingston also indicates the Pentax a better performance than takeMS, while Panasonic again on the penultimate place lands.

Conclusion

TABLE

SD and SDHC cards - Test results at a glance

The test shows, firstly, the speed classes mention only the minimum, but not the actual capabilities of a card. A significant example is the measurement of Kingston in comparison with takeMS and Panasonic. Second, cards with speeds of 15 MB / s such as Ultra II or comparable competitive models achieve top results.

A further doubling of the speed with Extreme III shows no practical advantage. However, the Extreme III winner, but with little advantage over the Ultra II and cost, around six to seven euros per GB higher.

Both the Ultra II as well as Kingston Class 4 SDHC deliver at a price of four or two euros per GB a good and sufficient for most performance: a clear price-performance recommendation.

Federal slows fast Internet.

By the end of 2010, the Government had decided that Germany is really a fast Internet infrastructure have - for the emergency by radio. Now the Federal radioed in between. He adjourned the decision on the expansion in order to clarify an open question: Who should pay?

 

Berlin - The Federal Council's decision on a better coverage of rural regions with fast Internet connections postponed. The issue was at the meeting on Friday from the agenda. The countries wanted to start with the federal government to discuss who bears the costs for the changeover wearing, it was from the Federal circles in Berlin. Probably will be the topic at the next meeting in mid-June treated.

Official figures: Only if one 384-kb mini-DSL via ISDN mitzählt, Germany stands as middling in comparison

The federal cabinet had decided in March, the radio spectrum for broadband wireless applications release. The federal government wants to achieve that fast browsing on the Internet by the end of 2010 in Germany will be possible. The relevant regulation, the Chamber of countries still agree. It has been estimated that around five million German citizens from a quick internet cut off.

According to the high-tech association Bitkom in Germany there are still some 800 municipalities, in which only high speed internet via satellite is available. These "white spots" should be closed quickly. This would require the vacated spectrum should be used to rural regions with cheap and fast Internet access to care. The frequencies are ordered by association information currently hardly used.

Background: It is far worse than admitted is

The much-DSL-gap question often starts a few kilometers outside of major conurbations. When supplies are areas where they basically opportunities for fast network connections open - whether it be affordable for consumers, is on a completely different story. The telecommunications companies to build the structure only if the counts for them.

For example, the German Telekom offers in rural areas as a kind of "DSL Lite" at (ADSL over ISDN), which represents less claims, but only dual ISDN speed - and thus about one 150tel of what the telecom than in metropolitan areas to offer. Even those offers will have a broadband internet counted the statistics and come verschönernd benefit: Without them, Germany would be in comparison to the EU significantly worse since.

DSL (short for "Digital Subscriber Line) is a technique in which spatial proximity between the connection of the end user and the switch may be. DSL allows broadband Internet connections over traditional copper telephone cable. The also have weaknesses: The transmitted signal is lost with increasing distance to the exchange of stability and performance. The leadership must lead directly to the exchange, and must not be interrupted multiplexer. You must also not exceed the maximum length (currently about 6 km maximum).

Kupfelkabel transmit data only on the so-called last mile to the telephone: From the switchboard need a fiber connection to the necessary bandwidth available to you. But it can not only DSL in rural areas fail: If the switch does not have enough ports to connect the customers who do virtually the demand exceeds supply.

Since 2006, helping the government in strengthening the financial infrastructure to, but not far enough: In international comparison Germany's infrastructure is rather mediocre as the broadband expansion is therefore only slightly above average, because even the feeble light lines are added.

"Screen" for the blind.

Pin headers, which display text in Braille translation, speech programs include the standard tools, blind the world to tap into the computer. A publicly funded project wants more than that: With a "monitor" are also graphs and charts are palpable.

 

Frankfurt am Main - A novel computer display makes graphical elements such as tables or charts better experience for the visually impaired. On the surface of a special plate made of metal pins (pin plate "), the multidimensional content displayed so that they can be felt blind.

Hyper Braille: The Federal Ministry of Research funded co-production of several institutions

Behind the product is the publicly funded
Hyper Braille Research, where, inter alia, the Universities of Stuttgart and Potsdam and Dresden University of Technology are involved. The only existing prototype of a device that is approximately the size of a laptop has to be commonly used computer programs and Internet content for the visually impaired better access.

To date, graphical representations, according to the project only as a Braille display in Braille display, or as spoken information. To get a spatial impression to them was a high degree of concentration required. On the newly developed touch-screen would such spatial forms about 7200 of movable metal pins displayed electronically controlled. The project hopes to self-reported by the end of 2010 all popular Office programs with special software for use harness.

Digitization has drawbacks

The digital revolution from the mid-eighties was blind for many unexpected side effects. The replacement of analog electronics, with its knobs, sliders and switches by mouse and monitor has a large number of visually impaired job cost: Equipment can be touch and mastery, not cursor movements.

Already from the mid-nineties brought many companies voice solutions on the market, this should provide for connection. Your options are still limited in the daily work with multiple offices, they are not really practical. Braille displays are in turn reduced to writing content, otherwise they can not represent.

Even the triumph of graphical user interfaces did his way, this negative trend for the blind to reinforce: From infotainment on official documents until the inside work everyday is becoming rather like visualized described. Optical information are considered to be transported more easily accessible. Braille monitors could help to offset.

Research projects of this nature are usually dependent on public funding: Commercial enterprises are engaged in short supply. While the production of equipment and software for blind and partially sighted people can be expected, the development costs are hardly refinanzierbar. According to World Health Organization in Germany there are approximately 165,000 blind people, to come around one million people with serious visual impairments, which relies heavily on tools such as extreme large print monitors to Braille displays depend.

The cheap, small folding sister.

Almost as well equipped as the D90, but cheaper - new entry-level Nikon SLR D5000 delivers good image quality, rotate HD movies, but can tolerate only a few lenses.

 

Black, bulky and on the right side rather corpulent: New Nikon SLR camera, the D5000 a few months old D90 is quite similar. The D90 was one of the first reflex cameras, the HD films, and costs still to 720 euros (current street price for the housing without lens). This regular camera Nikon now makes even discount competitors. The new entry-level camera D5000 has the same image sensor as the D90, but will cost in the trade today - shortly after its release - 640 euros. The prices are still jumbled.

The D5000 has as many entry-level cameras have the impression that the manufacturer is not the greatest effort to have used a perfect device to build. Rather it was the most fully featured model to deliver the few customers still no other option open to it than that but the more expensive model to buy.

Movies, photography, lenses change - blogs ONLINE examine what can D5000 as well.

Energy Agency warns of power hungry electronics.

What we 2030 only with our PC, communications and consumer electronics will burn for energy, equal to the current energy consumption in the U.S. and Japan combined. Therefore, warns the International Energy Agency IEA, must be saved.

 

Paris - The growing proliferation of cell phones, computers and other electronic devices in the coming decades, an increasing share of electricity costs. By 2030, energy demand by the consumer electronics and office equipment to triple, said the International Energy Agency IEA in Paris on Wednesday. This is not just the electricity bills of households to shoot upwards, but also "attempts threaten energy security and to improve the emission of greenhouse gases be reduced." The policy should therefore urgently to the manufacturers, the energy consumption of the devices significantly reduce.

Electronic devices, including almost one billion mobile phones and two billion television, were present for 15 percent of electricity consumption in private households, the IEA said. To 2022 would double its energy consumption by 2030 and then tripled to 1700 terawatt hours - as much as households in the U.S. and Japan currently has a total of electricity consumed.

"That would have on the electricity bills of households around the world with 200 billion U.S. Dollar down," said IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka. In addition, power plants should be built, the additional equipment by the estimated 280 gigawatt could cover. For comparison: Even large power supply nowadays usually no more than one gigawatt.

In their study relating to a charge "
Gadgets and gigawatts ", the IEA experts convinced that the electronic Stromfressern still much potential for savings exists. Today you can use available techniques by more than half, they write." This could increase the consumption to less than one percent per year until 2030 limit. "which would also reduce the electricity bills of households worldwide will benefit, then in 20 years, 130 billion U.S. dollars will be lower.

The theme of "Green IT" has been used for years by various sides in the discussion brought. The Cebit IT fair devoted to the topic in the past two years, exhibition areas, however, still restrained interest. For consumers, the other from: Always conscious customers, for example, go with the topic of stand-by circuits around. Here, the pressure of the market that the manufacturers genuine stand-by to offer solutions in the idle state will only consume a few watts. Even thrifty PC technology is strong in the trend, even if that performance must be waived.

Google is working on improved results display.

Less is more: Once, this was the unofficial motto of Google, its barren side of the overloaded Suchportale Spätneunziger the Garaus made. Now no longer enough - and Google responds: increasingly determined by the user, what he thinks about how Google gets shown.

 

San Francisco - Google wants results of his Internet search here soon show, so at first glance more information than previously shown. The Internet companies, the new technique called "Squared" on Tuesday at its "Searchology" event in San Francisco before, some of which was transferred as a webcast.

Instead of the old hit list with the highlighted search terms, the "Squared" display the desired information in a structured form dar. will be content from the Internet giant Google in database columns and rows clearly organized. During the presentation on Tuesday showed how the search for "small dogs" an overview on the screen, bring the dogs with their name, photo, description, weight and size at that time.

These contents were taken from relevant web pages pulled out. The Internet users have the option of the overview of the underlying original documents on the web to click. You may then have many no longer feel the need to, because they already have all the information that they need. This follows Google with the trend towards more concrete results - to answer instead of source offerings.

That, however, should the operators of the websites from which the answers are distilled, not like - especially if they are to finance their projects to many visitors are instructed to revenue from online advertising to reach.

The Internet Search Google competent manager Marissa Mayer said that it was at "Squared" about the millions of users more efficiently than ever before in search of information to support it. Meyer spoke of "informed clicks" - what is free as a "reasoned decision clicking" could translate.

A more detailed description of content already in the list of search results pages on the Web site operators do not necessarily always find applause. Google is already in conflict with newspaper publishers, with the "Google News" violated their copyrights. Here are summaries of newspaper reports and messages. Also, the Google News, users can quickly access the original website. Many, however, the brief description on the Google servers.

Another new feature of Google search are "snippets" with which entries in the hit list with additional information can be enriched. During the search, it is already possible, more recently, the results on web pages from a limited period of time. Another option allows the search to specific categories such as product testing isolate. First attempt, Google also participated in the integration of visually processed search results lists, their findings in the form of organizational charts, which the search result in its thematic context show. In Google's statement and promotional video everything looks very good. Who tested it, but quickly discovered that the possibilities here are still very limited.

But Google comes to a "More" barely around, but the results must be concrete. This trend is expected, not least the new search engine Wolfram Alpha fuel, which is expected on 18 May go online and concrete answers instead of escalating list of search results promise - albeit only on very specific issues in a relatively narrow subject areas,
as initial tests showed. Wolfram Alpha will initially only be able to answer, what is quantifiable and answers about American sources available. For topics for which shall not remain blind Wolfram Alpha - just for election results.

That is made of tungsten is also hardly the alpha part of the media invoked "Google Killer". Nevertheless, Alpha is a rival of tungsten, which demonstrates that Google is in technological terms is no longer necessarily the undisputed leader can claim for themselves. Over the past eight or nine years, Google in this regard, almost without competition, what the company in many countries, an almost monopoly-like market position as well. This should remain so, given the willingness of Google's managers.

"We always strive for the ideal or perfect search engine," said Marissa Mayer at Searchology presentation. Google had 90 percent, perhaps in this way. The remaining ten percent of the distance but were perhaps the most difficult. This could be seen in a small breakdown of the "Squared" Presentation: The search for "vegetables" (vegetables) resulted in the summary, a number of squash on the sport - was apparently meant "squash" in the meaning of "Pumpkin" .

WiGig makes home networking steam.

With a Wi-Fi is the number of cables in the apartment already reduced. Large amounts of data, such as those for HD movies are incurred, but still need a relatively long time to make their way through the network. An alliance of 17 leading companies will now use a new standard for speed care.

 

The large flat screen TV shows a movie in HD quality - fresh from the internet. Although the screen with a cable connected to the router, it is the film without a long wait or annoying Jerkiness view. Still, this kind of wireless bulk data transfer a vision, but the Gigabit Wireless Alliance is working on this home network to realize the future.

AP
Network: What has been a W-Lan will be the standard soon WiGig faster and better able

The alliance includes 17 IT-companies - including computer manufacturers like Dell, software companies like Microsoft and mobile phone manufacturers like Nokia. They have joined forces to under the name "WiGig" a standard to develop the new standards in the wireless data to set.

If everything runs smoothly, is in the fall of the Wi-Fi standard
IEEE 802.11n finally adopted and so in wireless data networks of the turbo on. Den-WiGig visionaries whose performance is still not long enough. It reached the n-standard currently transfer rates of up to 300 Mbit / s - that's compared to 54 Mbps in the currently-used standard g-a quantum leap. But WiGig, the threshold of one Gbps overcome in the top of a data volume of up to six gigabit per second forward. The contents of a DVD would then be sent in 15 seconds.

Possible to be the high-speed transmission via WiGig by the data frequencies in the range of 60 gigahertz used. There is a frequency band available, which is much wider than the current Wi-Fi transmission ranges used in the 2.4 GHz and 5-GHz band. The broader the frequency band is, the faster we can download and send data.

Disturbing walls

Until wireless home networks in accordance with standards WiGig stable functioning is, however, still some time. By the end of the year to the members of the alliance WiGig specifications to understand the new standards. Machines with the new logo should be, are not expected before 2010.

Previously, the partners must solve some technical problems. For example, radio frequency transmissions in the 60-GHz band, so far only safe if no walls between the transmitter and receiver are available. Even the data objects can obstruct. High transfer rates are almost always in sight connections to reach. The computer manufacturer IBM, which is not in the list of wireless gigabit Allies stands, in 2006 had developed a system, the transmitter in each room provided.

ON TO ONLINE blogs

Fast wireless networks: The W-Lan-Turbo (07.04.2009)

Between Fun and frustration: media-streaming into your living room (20.04.2009)

A Wi-Fi radio, however, through walls and bridges Funk longer distances. For devices in one or two rooms to be networked, but WiGig will suffice. Meanwhile, other techniques jostle for position as the standard for high-performance data in the apartment: WirelessHD has been around, as well as wireless HDMI, designed to set-top boxes and Blu-ray player to the TV to connect.

Ali Sadri, chairman of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, sees WiGig but not in direct competition with techniques such as WirelessHD. The larger aim is not just television, but also mobile phones, video cameras and PCs to connect.

Only a quarter of our software is stolen.

Three-quarters of the software used here, shows a study by industry lobby BSA is legal. The damages are still in the billions, although Germany's PC users veritable model boys are: The global Klau average is 41 percent.

 

Munich - More than a quarter in Germany, used computer programs are pirated, claims
the current study, piracy of software industry lobby BSA. 27 percent of the software were here last year was illegal copies, said the industry organization Business Software Alliance (BSA) on Tuesday in Munich. This software corresponds to the value of 1.55 billion euros, a slight increase from 154 million euros the previous year. The percentage, however, remained unchanged.

BSA Study 2008: The clause rate decreases in most countries, earnings still rising

This includes German computer users, however, in comparison to the global law-abiding most. Only in eleven countries, the proportion of illegal software is reported to be lower. The piracy rate is therefore the world at 41 percent. The revenue of the industry last year rose by around ten per cent to a total of 53 billion U.S. dollars (almost 40 billion euros).

The highest was the piracy rate in Latin America with 65 percent, followed by Asia with 61 percent. In the EU the most proportionally circulate pirated copies in Greece (57 percent), Cyprus (50 percent) and Italy (48 percent). In the U.S. and Japan are the rates, both with around 20 percent the lowest.

The organization expects that by the spread of the Internet, especially in emerging countries, the share of pirated products will increase, because then more people could illegally download programs.

The estimated loss of earnings of such studies include every pirated copy installed as lost sales. They are maximum estimates, because the computer users are an alternative to piracy and legitimate free programs, such as the open source scene is available. The fact that the pirated copy ratio in Germany is lower than international, could also be encouraged to ensure that such alternatives in Germany much more than can be used. For example, Open Office software, with which Microsoft's Office package to replace it, now shares up 15 percent believed.

However, there is a fall in the piracy rate in the general trend: From 110 surveyed countries, reports the BSA, 57 were a decrease in piracy rates reported, only 16 an increase. As the global market for PCs and software, but in the fast-growing countries with high piracy rates shift, have shifted the global share of pirated programs yet to 41 percent.

The BSA is an association of companies in the software industry, which aims to fight against piracy is. For the survey data from 110 countries evaluated.

The computer is used to store detective.

What man does not notice, the machine noticed a U.S. supermarket chain is in its branches on high-tech control. A software analyzes surveillance video, and offenders will be transferred - but it has not always been successful.

 

Who monitors better - man or machine? The Big Y supermarket chain in the U.S. state of Massachusetts gives the computer a chance, his talent in evaluating surveillance videos to prove. Consequence for the store detective: He has a task less, must be no longer by the hour-long recordings of events between chocolate and bargain shelf preparers fight.

DDP
Video: A U.S. supermarket chain is the computer instead of people looking at pictures

With the new technique will particularly Big Y Cashiers tricks to come, which - at the expense of their employer - too customer-friendly show. For example, if the man at the cash desk of a nice Kundin a pleasure to prepare, by scanning the barcode of the product to the face of an article, a small bag just behind the reader durchschiebt or two successive sets boxes so that only one is collected. Against such favors Big Y uses the intelligent monitoring.

Cameras filming the cash zone, a Spähprogramm investigated the shots on whether the image pixel to change patterns, as recorded for certain movements are typical. The search should favor providers and expose cheaters. Noticed the suspicious software, alarm, it sends a warning message on the computer screens of market management, delivers the video associated with them.

In the technique, the Big Y stores ordered for 58, the supermarket chain continues to hope that more crimes on the assembly line detects a human controller. Guards unmasked some unfaithful Treasurer. But no matter how many supervisors would be all misdemeanors, they could never detect.

In a six-month trial proved the high-tech surveillance, however, not always as a first-class detective, solving repeatedly made false alarms. The Big-Y leadership had to learn that their cashiers sometimes simply human error unterliefen. Not everyone on the scanner over the pushed article provided a service of love, even accidentally and carelessness were.

Supervisor visions

Despite these and similar problems of interpretation - the new surveillance technology is on the rise. The security authorities of Chicago, consider the entertainment district at the Navy Pier with such anomaly detection to monitor the emergency alerts to automatically send PSAPs. In the UK, a research project that aims to clarify whether airline passengers - including possible terrorists - in this way can be controlled.

It seems like an episode from a science fiction movie, the possibilities of video surveillance technology visionaries attribute. Sounds simple yet the example of the motorist who has his car parked on the roadside, while the intelligent camera determines that the mobile did not authorized. Even if a terrorist is a suitcase bomb on the platform to deliver, an alarm will automatically follow.

That modern surveillance permanently and reliably identify action before something bad happens, but skeptics doubt. Movements of customers and cashiers at the supermarket checkout could be relatively easily controlled. However, identifying a high-tech observers only those acts which previously were defined as suspicious. But what are the typical movements of a terrorist of the minutes until it counts down?

Also provides automatic control - especially at cash shop - new threats to privacy. As in the past year in Germany was that the discounter Lidl cameras had complained data protectors, PIN numbers of debit cards can be had ausgespäht. Still, there were still people the role of the controller over - and not machines.

If the computer is Zombie.

The pests lurking on web pages via email or comment. Viruses, trojans and worms to make the network a place where there is no absolute security. Have they only nestled on a computer, they are often difficult to remove.

 

Viruses, trojans, worms - on the Internet many dangers lurking for hard disks and then stored data. Even a firewall and virus scanners do not provide absolute protection against unsolicited intruders in the background all the documentation, which the user is doing, passwords and other secret data spying.

DDP
Alarm in the Inbox folder: Viruses, Trojans, worms for each computer are a hazard

Often the user can see initially not that his computer was infected and a trojan industrious pests nachlade warns Daniel Bach box of the computer magazine "c't". Previously, the infected PCs usually slower. The malware in the background drove her mischief, slow the PC. The computing power of modern computers is so high that hardly any additional programs to be significant. Pests also work very discreetly, to a discovery as long as possible to escape.

Aback one should in any case, if not more important programs to update them and, for example, the virus scanner against an update ruffles. The worm disables the Conficker about access to the homepage of the virus scanner. The conservation program is therefore useless for the user.

Underground economy in the network

Especially dangerous is it if a malicious Trojan horse programs nachlädt until the PC can be completely controlled remotely. Then the computer is mutated to the "Zombie", the uncontrolled send spam, or malware out passwords can spread. Lautenbach field, there is now a veritable industry in the Underground network. Credit card numbers or bank information, the sending of spam - everything has its price fixed.

If such malicious programs once nestled on the hard disk, it is quite difficult, they are completely removed. Virus scanners detect the malware is running, but they can not remove. Even in Safe Mode often recommended is the more difficult.

Field Bach recommends that the computer from the bootable CD of the anti-virus program up. Then start Windows and not the pests can not protect. The manufacturers pay anti-virus programs such CDs in the normal case.

Once the pest has been removed, you should use the virus scanner the system during normal operation can be verified. If the anti-virus program alarm again, there are still residues of malware on the hard disk. Then the risk that pests again loaded on the computer or the PC will continue ausspioniert. Therefore helps in the case of such a serious virus attack usually only one thing: The computer must be re-set the hard drive so reformatting. Non-secure data is then lost.

A new mesh of cyber gangsters

When one of his own e-mail address, spam e-mails gets, it means a long way, not that the PC is part of a Botnet has become known, sent the spam. The address of the sender is usually forged. For those affected, the angry, is finally under his own name sent spam. But you really could do nothing on the other hand, unfortunately, says Bach box. It is almost impossible to understand the real sender to find.

ON THE INTERNET

Secunia

Update-Star

Federal Office for Information Security

Trojan Info

Virus Ticker

Hoax-Info Service

blogs ONLINE is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A relatively new mesh of cyber gangsters Scareware is called. To business with the fear of viruses and Trojans to make web pages gaukeln a safety test, which was obviously negative. They offer programs to be paid to the alleged problems. This software is usually completely functionless and the person voted for nothing and nothing is spent dozens warns Bach box.

To be against Internet pests to protect, should work on any PC with Internet a current virus scanner run. Also, the firewall must always remain enabled. All programs should also be on the current date. This is particularly true for the typical gateways for malware such as the browser, the PDF-reading software Adobe Reader, Windows Media Player and Quicktime and Java. During regular update also help free update managers who, for example, under
and secunia.com
updatestar.com in the network. And of course, is: Always keep your eyes open, because the Internet is dangerous for the security of your PC.

OVER-THE WORM: SO MAN PROTECTS AGAINST COMPUTERS CONFICKER

The most important answers at a glance: How Conficker, what you should do, and where can you free tools to remove the malicious software found.

So goes the worm before

The first method of attack targets a vulnerability in Microsoft's server software. Then spread the Downadup also called worm within networks, without the computer users themselves would have something to contribute: The worm tries, with the help of a software administrator passwords to crack. If this succeeds, the worm may be freely disseminated within the network. In a third phase, the worm spreads itself to target mobile devices, for example, via a USB interface with an infected computer system. Additionally, the worm searches through networks to "shared folders and network drives. Calculator, which deals with a network resource to connect, are also affected. The aim of the worm Downadup are especially corporate networks, but also personal computers can be infected.

Windows updates

Since Downadup First, the automatic update features of Windows and antivirus software frozen, you should try to initiate these updates manually. Private users will find the Windows feature that after clicking the Start icon, then under "Help and Support", then "the computer with Windows Update to the latest date."

USB Autorun function

Initially, you should use the autorun feature for USB flash drives off. But this is unfortunately not trivial and requires a change in the registry database: If you are not able to ask someone who really knows so. Improper interference with the registry can affect the functioning of the PC affect sensitive. The autorun function can also temporarily disable a trick: Simply the Shift key and hold, while a USB stick or other removable drive einsteckt. Only after notification of the drive spindle.

Computer with free tools

Who wants to be sure that his computer is clean, can be one of the specialized tools of the IT security companies, or rely on a Linux Live CD. Some companies offer such a thing as an ISO image to download: You can use the downloaded file to a CD. This is bootable and launches a lightweight Linux system with the help of current anti-virus scanning the hard drive of the infected computer, bypassing the operating system are investigated.

FREE Conficker helper

  Heise Security: background for dealing with tools

Microsoft Tutorial: Protect yourself from Conficker

Microsoft helpers: Malicious Software Removal Tool

Symantec instructions: The worm Conficker

  Enigma Software: Conficker-Removal Tool

  Kaspersky Tool: KidoKiller

XP-only mode for the PC-upper.

It sounds so good: On Windows 7 are also old XP programs run, a specialized integrated software makes it possible. But is not running on all PCs and it is not all Windows versions included. But alternatives to Microsoft's solution is in sight.

 

Fear is a good reason. For many companies was the fear that after a migration to Windows Vista could possibly be their old Windows XP programs no longer run, the reason her computer is not on Microsoft's current operating system switch. Similar problems to the company to Steve Ballmer at Vista's successor prevent gifts from the PC operating system Windows 7 contained an XP mode, for the old software. Really can use the but not everyone.

The reason: The so-called Windows XP-Mode is based on virtualization technology. This is a difficult word, but actually a very simple thing. As virtualization is referred to it on the PC when a software underprivileged, they would be on a completely different machine.

What is new is this technology not. For years, there is, for example, virtualization software for Apple computers that use Microsoft operating systems, the underprivileged, they would on a PC. As a result, Mac users Apple's next operating system to run Windows in addition. In bearable speed does indeed only, since Apple uses Intel processors.

Above all, it will use virtualization in data centers. Because their powerful server from routine tasks often have little capacity will install the operators nowadays like multiple virtual PCs on one machine. Thus, its utilization increases, the cost-benefit ratio should be improved.

Exactly this technology is now Windows XP on computers with Windows 7 running. The catch is: XP is Microsoft's virtual picky, does not work on any PC. Because, at the best possible connection to the PC hardware to achieve for its uses Microsoft XP mode virtualization capabilities of current PC processors. Intel called the Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT), in short AMD AMD-V.

However, not all current processors built one of these techniques. But what can you tell if a chip has those skills? Based on the description or the price is such a knowledge gap at any rate not cram. Fortunately, both offer free CPU manufacturers tools with which to assess whether a processor virtualization features dominated. For Intel, this is the
Processor Identification Utility, a software for AMD their names down here would be too expensive.
You can download it anyway.

It must be the correct Windows

With the identification capabilities of the processor alone is not enough. Also, the right Windows-7-version a must have in order to the XP mode to be able to use. The now free for everyone to test available Release Candidate version is based on the Ultimate version of the operating system, so to speak, the top model that includes all available features.

Most consumer PCs are, however, probably with the slimmed-down and much cheaper Home Premium version of Windows 7 shipped. But the XP-dominated mode. So in the future on Windows XP does not renounce, you need the expensive Pro, Enterprise or Ultimate editions just the upgrade.

Until then, it could have an alternative to buying a Windows-based or processor upgrades give. The American software company Parallels has time for the publication of the current Windows-7-trial the
Beta testing its own virtualization software announced. The yet unnamed product will be just as Microsoft's XP-Mode in a position to older Windows operating systems run under Windows 7. Besides Vista and XP is the same for Windows 2000.

Unlike the Microsoft solution does Parallels to the virtualization capabilities of modern chips to use. That is why the software on older computers and on current models without Intel VT or AMD-V to run - and in the Home Premium version of Windows 7 to work. What restrictions that frugality will bring is yet equally clear how the price that Parallels for the new software will require.

Cheaper than an upgrade from Windows 7 Home Premium to Ultimate Edition, but it should certainly be. In the Vista universe such an upgrade will cost almost 200 euros. The current Parallels virtualization software for Macs is 120 euros cheaper. A Windows XP must then, however, also provide, in Microsoft's XP fashion, it is already included.

Why SMS is 160 characters briefly.

Love bill and coo by pressing a key, send advertising companies on display, including the Chancellor uses them eagerly: The SMS is one of the most popular means of communication. Friedhelm Hillebrand has miterfunden telephone service - and can explain why a short message only 160 characters.

 

In 1984 were called car phones or PBX, and who in the B-net one of the well-Pleasure 25,000 callers wanted to call, had to know what area of the straight gurkte. Because at that time had only the right area code - for mobile phones in the Munich area, for example, the 089th During this time engineer mused Friedhelm Hillebrand at the Bundespost in Bonn, if anyone ever have an interest in might, cell phone text messages to send.

Since 1982, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) in a European mobile phone standard (GSM), and engineering Hillebrand discussed for the federal post in various forums. In an interview with blogs ONLINE remembers the 69-year-old: "From 1984 onwards, we have in Germany and France thought about what services you apart from the language in the D-network could offer."

Who needs 128 characters text?

First, the engineers dreaming of a pager service for the new digital network. But the transmission of long text messages would have been too expensive. "The language was at the forefront," sagtIngenieur Hillebrand. "The standards were to the Telephony function optimized. Additional services should be implemented cheaply, without much effort and demands on the technology."

ON TO ONLINE blogs

15 years SMS: Stop the terror keys!

My first cellphone: The Coolness machine

Without much effort were text 128 characters in it, nothing more. To transfer one could use a second channel that is actually for occasional information about the signal strength and other properties of service was designed. This channel was already scheduled for GSM, but would probably remain mostly untapped - the ideal base for a cheap edge service. With a few tricks made it technicians later, the maximum character length on the famous 160 on increase.

But what should be in such short messages have to write? Hillebrand describes the debates in the GSM working group says: "We have been asked about whether there is any benefit. Money for costly market studies, we did not." So the engineers relied on something that Hillebrand today "reasonableness test" is you look at postcards and telexes - and included the characters of the message.

SMS models: fax, telex, postcard

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Result: "People can be very much in 160 characters to express and do well," says Hillebrand. That he did in the eighties also fax observed: "There were often very brief handwritten fax sent messages, or short answers, which you find on a received fax noted." The beautiful legend (on Sunday in the "
Los Angeles Times "evidence), he had a typewriter on a lot of 160-character phrases typed in order to test the concept contradicts Hillebrand, however.

From early 1984 until ideas become the basis of the SMS service, as he does today, then it took another five years. The first version of the final standard was adopted in early 1989. In the many engineers working groups were active, the next one Hillebrand as equal SMS inventor must call: Bernard Ghillebaert (by the French PTT), Finn Trosby (Telenor), Kevin Holly of Cellnet and Vodafone by Ian Harris. Trosby writes in an essay on the Norwegian magazine "Telektronikk": "No expert and no company can claim for himself, the father or inventor of a service or a major function of GSM to be."

SMS visions, videotext terminals and Acknowledgment

With some of the colleagues of those days writes engineer Hillebrand just a book about the SMS history. End of the year, "Short Message Service: The creation of global text messaging" is being published.

One of the first documents in which the SMS is described (GSM Doc 19/85), was formed at a meeting of the CEPT in Oslo early 1985. The brief description of the services in the GSM mobile communications system to be offered "as mentioned under point 3.3. the "Short Message Transmission". In 13 lines, the text describes how we know it today. However, there is the potential transmission via Teletext terminals, "the speech. Explicitly, the passage also still so popular, an acknowledgment of messages.

In the CEPT working paper 28/85 GSM rev 2. " June 1985 is still the message with 128 characters. This technical brief, the developer was a "restriction" is felt, Hillebrand says, "This is quite unexpected for us is extremely positive: The short format favors the one dialogue. Somehow the other hand, stimulates the creativity of the people."

Global GSM thanks

According to the industry association Bitkom, customers in the German mobile networks 2008 good 29 billion short messages sent. With such a success in the eighties had nobody expected Hillebrand remembers: "We thought when possible especially to car phones. No one imagined then, that ubiquitous GSM devices and would be disseminated around the world."

The prerequisite for the SMS boom, the technicians have yet created. Because SMS part of the GSM standard, you can make with all devices in all and between all networks, send messages and be sure that they arrive, as they have posted. As a worldwide GSM wireless standard, you can people even from continent to continent, send text messages.

As ledges was free

Thus, Hillebrand just as expected with the subject of some SMS: "I am impressed today when I read the works of German literature, the SMS Love Poems analyze. I have never expected. Even with the commercial success."

At the start of the GSM networks in the early 90s SMS initially served mainly to provide information on new voicemail. Engineer Hillebrand: "SMS was with some providers such as E-Plus initially even completely free of charge. Later, SMS charges there was a small rebellion, but people are willing to pay for it. They feel the service as useful."

Hillebrand has his first written SMS 1993 on a Nokia 2110th What he had typed, he knows no more. Today simst Hillebrand daily with his BlackBerry. Whether the e-mail function of the BlackBerry crowd is not the message, so he answered: "No.. An SMS is direct, personal, immediate, because everyone in his cellphone, but not always sitting at the computer. I use SMS, despite mobile e -mail is still very often, that is another communication. "

And the edge is a product. Finn Trosby describes the evolution in retrospect as "the Gerburt the SMS was not a coincidence and not a misfortune, even if the concept of 1987 have not been very clear. Fortunately, no one has the SMS service from the list."

IT LEGENDS

We are in the series "Looking Back - What IT legends today" in a loose series the founders legends (and the forgotten mothers and fathers!) Of the Web, computers and games. Whom would you like to see in this overview? Send us your suggestions with a brief explanatory note. The best e-mail.

Internet scramble for Defense of the United States.

Who will be the future of the cyber defense of the United States determine the secret, or the DHS? NSA boss Keith Alexander Calls on Congress to provide it with the leadership to leave. A decision is urgently needed, networks of the Pentagon seems to be attacked every day.

 

Washington - The U.S. is the Pentagon's view, not enough to attacks from the Internet prepared. The training of the staff of the
Defense Ministry in this regard should be improved, it is said in a prepared speech text by Lieutenant General Keith Alexander for a hearing on Tuesday in Congress to take place.

AP
NSA boss Keith Alexander: If the future of the U.S. cyber-defense command

Alexander is director of domestic intelligence authority NSA (National Security Agency - and competent commander in the Pentagon for Internet warfare. The hearing was shortly before publication of a report by the government of President Barack Obama for Internet security in the U.S. scheduled.

Since weeks, in the U.S. gerangelt matter who is the future of the pots of money the government should refresh, who would have sovereignty over the Internet defense of the country should take on.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the secret NSA wrestle here to money and power.

Criticism expressed by the National Research Council (National Research Council), in the spirit of Alexander noted that the plans of the Government, when and how the Internet should go to war, were still immature. It also lacked a supervisory body, also had a larger public debate is needed.

Only a few weeks ago where it had reports that
Data for the new F-35 fighter jets via data had been stolen. The Pentagon denied at that time, this was a dangerous vulnerability traded, said
there are only documents of the maintenance stealth aircraft have been captured.

Alexander said the new command center for military activities on the Internet at Fort Meade in the state of Maryland will be set up so that it is central networks could defend on the Internet. The Homeland Security Department will under which the necessary know-how to cyber defense simply buy
examined by ad agency for certified professional hackers, the security-related networks in the country to scan for vulnerabilities.

And that seems necessary, because the networks of the Ministry of Defense seems to be attacked every day. In so doing, according Pentagon figures, the number of attempts to intrude into the computer, recently doubled. In the past six months, the Defense Ministry 100 million U.S. dollars in order to respond to attacks, damage, remove or other computer problems.

Schrumpfkur after fat years.

If current sales fall, is often the economic crisis as a reason. Not so with the entertainment industry. While the business with cameras, MP3 players and navigation devices shrink the first time in years. The industry sees itself not as a crisis victims.

 

Lange was a successful consumer electronics industry. Revenues increased from year to year. 2009 is now threatening a massive slump. The market is estimated by the industry association Bitkom shrinking by seven percent and a sales volume of 12.5 billion euros. Because the Germans have in recent years as many new equipment purchased to meet the needs for digital innovations initially met seems.

DDP
Flatscreen TVs at Cebit: Although the sales of the new TVs is going well, expects the electronics industry for 2009, with declining revenues

"The reason for the minus in the market is less a result of consumer restraint of the economic crisis," said Vice President Bitkom Achim Berg. "The digitization of consumer electronics has increased in recent years at very strong, often double-digit growth run. This process is now almost complete."

In addition, missing major events, which encouraged new acquisitions. If there is no football World Cup is taking place, fans will need no new flatscreen TV or projector to view the games in large format to follow. Even the prices of many devices is regarded as vital that the industry will take less.

These effects together make sure that the sales first time in years no longer grow. Across Europe should be the saturation of demand even greater impact. Sales of entertainment devices would decline in the European Union by an average of nine percent to 62 billion euros, said the association Bitkom, relying on data from market researcher GfK and EITO with.

Despite the forecast for shrinking sales, the industry believe that 2009 years in Germany as many flat screen TVs sold like never before. According to Bitkom information should it be 7.1 million units - 7.4 percent more than the 2008th Yet it is also important market segment for LCD and plasma TVs, which measure sales at 43 percent of consumer electronics market, with falling revenue remains. Because the price of a new flat screen TV is Bitkom information on average by ten percent to around 750 euros fall.

New opportunities for growth, the industry will face in the home networking - but only in the coming years. Then in this segment has been estimated by the Bitkom billion, a new market. "Consumers want their computer to the stored photos and videos on your TV, or with the hi-fi MP3 music from investors to play," said Berg. Even more TV shows and movies, in high definition quality (HD) are shown, the industry could get a boost.

For 2008, Bitkom had reported record revenues. With the proceeds from the transaction with digital devices rose by 4.3 percent to 12.3 billion euros. The overall market for entertainment created a sales increase of 2.3 per cent to 13 billion euros.

Windows-7-trial for all.

The new Windows is almost ready: The last pre-release before the market since Tuesday is for download, for a year must be tested. An important new feature but is not yet implemented. But the free will soon be replaced.

 

Bye bye Vista. Since Tuesday morning, the so-called
Release Candidate (RC) of Windows 7 as a free download for everyone on Microsoft's servers. Program developers may use the software has been downloaded a few days. Especially you have to hurry but do not: at least until the end of July, the download is available, the number of users is not limited. Good for one year may be the pre-release through its paces to test before it on 1 June 2010 the service recruits.

With the release of the RC version of Windows 7 would be fully on schedule, they say at Microsoft. Typically such software is a preliminary publication of the last before the finished product in the market. Using the RC should be tested whether all the previously released beta version bugs have been removed completely and whether any new functions smoothly.

Officially, Microsoft has until the end of time given to the new Windows to be completed. Possible way but it could give an early start. The Acer Europe Vice Chief Massimo D'Angelo slipped at a press event a few days ago, the statement revealed that his company already in October, the first computer with a Windows-7-technology on the market will bring. While D'Angelo immediately tried to qualify his statement, Acer is the UK marketing boss Bobby Watkins Tech Blog
Pocketlint 23 October as the start date confirmed.

Also for Netbook

Windows 7 will be a number of errors and limitations, which constrain a broad success for Windows Vista have prevented. Among other things, support for touch-screen computer already integrated. Unlike its predecessor, the new version also only comparatively low demands on hardware are. The Release Candidate is approximately satisfied with a 1 GHZ processor, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB disk space, but needs a graphics card, the Microsofts graphics supports DirectX 9 technology. But that should not be a problem, most equipment has already been done for many years.

Thanks to the modest hardware requirements, the software on most Netbook install. How well Windows 7 to the Low-down laptops can run, have admittedly only tests prove.

To join the Microsoft Download commercially, you need absolutely a Windows Live ID, which is free of charge on
Live.com can. In addition, you should have a fast Internet connection. The 32-bit version of Windows 7 is 2.48 GB in size, the 64-bit version takes it even at 3.18 GB. And finally you need a DVD burner and a blank DVD, because Microsoft delivers the pre-release in the form of a CD image from the first CD to be burned before you can install the software.

Windows XP comes after

If the software is downloaded and burned to the disc, can Windows 7 as an update of an existing Vista with Service Pack 1 installed. Microsoft recommends, however, made a complete reinstallation. It also recommends the company, prior to installing all the important data in a secure backup - a tip, which you should not close.

ON TO ONLINE blogs

Vista's successor: a preliminary version of Windows 7 released (30.04.2009)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: "First times are the number two" (09.01.2009)

Netzwelt-Ticker: Windows 7 Beta now without quantity limit (12.01.2009)

The successor to Vista: How Windows 7 PCs will change (31.10.2008)

Sealing should be opposed Window-7-versions, for example, in sharing networks to download. The Technology Blog Expert warns that some of these versions were infected with malicious software.

Interesting it should be anyway, the previously announced Windows XP-based emulation software to provide, in the Release Candidate is not included. The virtualization software on the
Virtual PC-based software package would still resound in the course will be unlocked. After its installation should be Windows XP-based programs in Windows 7 can run seamlessly in the new system.

So something has also been requested for Vista, but its time is now gone for good, even if the hapless Microsoft Windows XP's successor until 2011 still will offer to purchase.

The Web takes too much electricity.

The energy hunger of the Internet companies charged, and the environment, warns a British newspaper. But reliable information about the power of the network does not exist. Researchers suggest that the web simply to slow to save.

 

The power of the Internet is far too high, warns the British '
Guardian. "The newspaper reported that many online service providers with the cost of its rapidly growing energy to fight. Any query, the answer is, each image in a browser window appears, and every video that was on the computer plays consumed electricity, only is not so obvious.

REUTERS
Real-time weather data is fed to a digital world: Does the Web will be more economical?

Jet, for example, you can see, as they contaminate the environment, you are loud, they stink and sometimes they also smoke. When the Internet is different. The computer with which you surf through the Web, are relatively small, should not unusual smell and do not consume vast amounts of electricity. In computing, the Internet with data vollpumpen to answer queries, images, texts and films to deliver, it is different.

These plants are big, loud and madcap must armdicke cable with power. But remember there is nothing, if you just Google for a statement for a foreign questioned, since data are invisible to the user, are in the gray office building basements or in the industrial areas on the outskirts of cities. And yet it is precisely these data, the Internet alive, the enormous amount of energy.

How much energy this is about, there are no reliable figures, only estimates. In one respect, however, the figures are always similar: There is a lot of energy consumed by the Internet, very much.

Queries 12,000 kilometers per hour

So consumed in a single Web Google a quantity of electricity, whose production at 200 milligrams grams of CO2 are released, reported the New Scientist. " The first is not much. But the Internet is still just the old rule that it is the mass of the rash there. Taken together, namely, generate 1000 Google queries as much CO2 as a car ride to one kilometers ausstößt.

Theory is not huge, until you think about is how many queries the Google deal should be. Solo in March 2009, according to the
ComScore in the United States more than nine billion searches have been. Converted to CO2 emissions of a car, the one hour journey of 12,000 kilometers - and this is quite a considerable distance, a remarkable energy.

How significant is the fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculated as 2006. Even then, the U.S. consumed 61 billion computing kilowatt hours of electricity, enough energy to the UK for two months supply. But that was three years ago. Estimated that the Internet is growing year by year by ten percent.

Meanwhile, as the "New Scientist", it has a population of 1.5 billion web. Due to this development, it is estimated, amounted to the energy needs of the Internet data centers to around 152 billion kilowatt hours. On the commercial question and answer portal
UClue expects David Sarokin even before, the world's energy, including the Internet connected computers, cooling systems and network hardware may be already at 867 billion kilowatt-hours total.

How much are YouTube videos?

Whether it's soundsoviel or soundsoviel billion kilowatt-hours are: it's a lot of electricity, the Internet consumes. And that makes the providers of online services more and more worried. Subodh Bapat, vice president of server manufacturer Sun Microsystems, warns about the "Guardian" that we need the energy of the Internet for economic reasons embank. Finally, the rapidly rising energy costs due to the financial crisis, falling profits are facing.

How high those costs can be like the example to illustrate YouTube. Exact figures on how much you look at the operation of the free video portal can be costly, Google puts its owners are not published, but estimates there are already. Sun expects about Credit Suisse expects the delivery of bandwidth-eating YouTube annually more than 350 million euros.

Floating eco-computing

No wonder then that more and more companies seek to energy their data centers to minimize. IBM wants some CO2-neutral, by the waste heat from the computer used for residential and office buildings to heat. Google has already been invested in climate-friendly technology, already has plans for floating data centers submitted their computer from the seawater cooled generators and the movements of the waves for power generation use.

But still there are such eco-computing only on paper. One way how the Internet could reduce energy demand faster, believe researchers at the University of Berkeley in cooperation with experts from Intel and Microsoft have found. You want the flow of data through the Internet simply ausbremsen, even if only a little.

By smoothing the data, the delivery of individual packets, for example, a few milliseconds delay, they want to save up to 50 percent, because the network hardware during periods of lower load down a corridor, then less power consumed.

A part of our daily consumption

Alternatively, one could also summarize the data, send concentrated, the researchers suggest. In this way, the network devices were fully utilized temporarily, could be after work in an energy-saving sleep. In simulations, the researchers with their "Load Skewing" techniques mentioned savings from 40 to 80 percent.

Still, however, the rising power of the Internet by all parties as threatening. Google's vice-president of operations, Urs Hölzle, is concern about the ecological importance of the energy of the Internet completely covered. In his view, Internet usage, as well as TV and driving, a part of our daily consumption. Hölzle: "Yes, this energy is consumed, but in the big picture view that is no problem."

Finally, it Hölzle would already one kilometers drive the energy a Google inquiry far beyond it. So of course you can also see.