Internet Changes How We Remember

Hard drives could soon be made from glass

(NEWSER) - The “memory crystals” Superman used to hear messages left by his parents are no longer just science fiction. Researchers in Britain have found a way to store computer data on glass by reorganizing its atoms. A laser creates miniscule dots, known as voxels, in silica glass. Light passing through the glass is thus polarized and can be read using special equipment, the Telegraph reports. More»

Giants will test longer Internet Protocol address system

(NEWSER) - Scientific American posing a jarring question as headline today: "Will the Internet Stop on June 8?" And the answer is: Er, no. But the Internet will start to grow up a little. Tomorrow is World IPv6 Day, when Google, Facebook, YouTube, and other giants will conduct a 24-hour test of a new Internet Protocol address system. As SA explains, the current IP address system (IPv4) allows for 32-digit binary numbers. When it became the standard in 1977, the 4.3 billion addresses possible seemed way more than the world would ever need. Now they're just about gone. More»

Esquire : Sites that were before their time

(NEWSER) - Everything old is new again, especially on the Web. Some of today's tech darlings owe a lot to websites of years past. Here are some of Esquire's 15 favorite, and mostly kaput, Web 1.0 pioneers:

1. Dodgeball (2000) "A location-based social network for mobile devices, and the Internet's gift to stalkers," says Esquire. Today's Foursquare was co-created by one of its founders.

(NEWSER) - The Internet has a big problem, argues one of the big names in online security—anonymity. With that weapon, cybercriminals will always have the advantage. And the best solution is to introduce "Internet passports," Russia's Eugene Kaspersky tells ZDNet in an interview. All countries would have to play along and buy into international standards. "And if some countries don't agree with or don't pay attention to the agreement, just cut them off." More»

Can "9.9.09 — A Day Without Cats on the Internet" possibly fly?

(NEWSER) - Let’s face it: Cats own the Internet. But it’s getting a little much, and that’s why the Urlesque blog is organizing “9.9.09—A Day Without Cats on the Internet.” The master plan calls for cats not to be mentioned, emailed, viewed, nor blogged about. Urlesque is even polling readers about their other furry friend fetishes so it can run exclusive coverage of another animal. “Why only one day? Well let's be honest, that's probably only as long as we'll last...” More»