[Reuters] Pigeon transfers data faster than South Africa's Telkom.

The whole article here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE5885PM20090909

Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80 km (50 miles) from Unlimited IT's offices near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg.

 

Including downloading, the transfer took two hours, six minutes and 57 seconds -- the time it took for only four percent of the data to be transferred using a Telkom line.

[SUN] Migrating from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org or StarOffice 9.

This brief (16-page PDF) whitepaper from Sun Microsystems is designed to assist IT professionals and system integrators who want to move an organization from Microsoft Office 97/2000/XP/2003 to OpenOffice.org (OOo) or StarOffice (SO). The whitepaper provides a general framework for a migration to OOo/SO, including a discussion of the key technical aspects of migration planning and file conversion. The basic information that is needed to plan for contingencies during the critical pre-conversion and post-conversion stages of the migration is also provided.

Get it here: http://www.sun.com/offers/docs/Migration_Overview.pdf

[TR] Radiation threats: The 10 most potentially hazardous smartphones.

The said list is for US phones. Your phone not listed? The "GSM" counterpart of the said models should be the same.

Based on new research, learn the 10 smartphones that emit the most radiation, the 10 that emit the least radiation, and a few quick safety tips.

The whole article here: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=2888&tag=nl.e101

The full list: http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/Get-a-Safer-Phone?allphones=1

8 Safety Tips (PDF): http://www.ewg.org/project/2009cellphone/EWGguide-cellphoneradiation.pdf

[cnet] 802.11n Wi-Fi standard finally approved.

We have been seeing many computer, network, and mobile devices with the 802-11n or Wi-Fi "N" label or logo. To be exact, these devices are still actually on the "Draft-N" specification.

But finally, IEEE has approved the 802.11n high-throughput wireless LAN standard.

You have an existing device on Draft-N? Do not worry, because "most" of these Draft-N devices (I hope mine included) can be upgraded to the final specification via firmware flash/upgrade. So check the manufacturer's site soon.

The whole article here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10351215-94.html

[APC] Watts and Volt-Amps: Powerful Confusion.

APC wrote ...
This note helps explain the differences between Watts and VA and explains how the terms are correctly and incorrectly used in specifying power protection equipment. Many people are confused about the distinction between the Watt and Volt-Amp (V-A) measures for UPS load sizing. Many manufacturers of UPS and load equipment add to this confusion by failing to distinguish between these measures.

get the PDF here:
http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/SADE-5TNQYF_R0_EN.pdf

[APC] The Seven Types of Power Problems.

APC wrote ...
Many of the mysteries of equipment failure, downtime, software and data corruption, are the result of a problematic supply of power. There is also a common problem with describing power problems in a standard way. This white paper will describe the most common types of power disturbances, what can cause them, what they can do to your critical equipment, and how to safeguard your equipment, using the IEEE standards for describing power quality problems.

Get the PDF White Paper here:

http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/VAVR-5WKLPK_R0_EN.pdf