Surfing Your Way to a Healthy Brain

A new study suggests that surfing the web has a positive effect on the brain and can help postpone atrophy, increase cell activity, and ward off dangerous accumulations of Alzheimer’s causing deposits. Activities such as reading and puzzles have already been shown to contribute to the brain’s upkeep as the aging process goes on, and a recent study adds the internet to that list. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging scans (which track how strong a cell’s response to stimuli is) to record subtle brain-circuitry changes in the patients while using the internet veruses the changes when they read passages out of books.

All the study participants showed significant brain activity during the book-reading task, specifically in the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes of the brain, which are involved in controlling language, reading, memory and visual abilities. But Internet searches revealed differences between the two groups. While all the participants showed the same activity as during the book-reading, the group of experienced web surfers also registered activity in the frontal, temporal and cingulate areas of the brain, whereas those new to the net did not. This is because, unlike the act of reading, navigating the Internet requires continuous decision making, such as what to click on—thus engaging cognitive circuits in the brain which control decision-making and complex reasoning.

"Our most striking finding was that Internet searching appears to engage a greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading — but only in those with prior Internet experience," said study leader Gary Small of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. That being said, with more time and experience, the group that was new to the Web could eventually reap the same benefits as their peers who had been googling away for years. So next time you’re surfing the web, on the prowl for a juicy new GNG update, pat yourself on the back for giving your mind a workout.

Couple Gets (Re-)Engaged With Google Street View

The first time Michael asked Leslie to marry him was already a success... she said yes! But his proposal the Google engineer explains 'lacked pizzazz'. The "self-described nerd" he is, Michael Weiss-Malik decided to step up his game. He got the direction he needed using Google's mapping service, specifically the search engine's Street View technology. The feature allows internauts to view street-level panoramas of the areas they search for thanks to vehicle-mounted cameras which rove the covered areas. When Michael found out that the roving cameras were slotted to pass in front of Google's Mountain View headquarters where he works, he saw his chance to ask her before the entire world. Launching a website called MarryMeLeslie.com, Proposal 2.0 was as successful as the beta... and resulted in Acceptance 2.0!

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10112631?source=most_emailed

Surfing Now an Unrestricted Olympic Event

Internet access will be completely unrestricted for reporters during the this summers Olympics in Beijing. While the Communist government of China will continue to tightly regulate and block websites for its citizens, they are in the process of de-blocking all websites for reporter's access. BOCOG is the organizational body responsible for directly running the Beijing Games under the oversight of the IOC, which sets general policy. As the world prepares for the opening ceremony on the 8th of August, officials with the International Olympic Committee and the Chinese organizers BOCOG had been arguing over the Internet restrictions for media, with the latter saying blocked sites would remain so.

"The issue has been solved," vice-president Gunilla Lindberg said. "The IOC Coordination Commission and BOCOG met last night and agreed. Internet use will be just like in any Olympics."


http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=14934355

Untangling a Knot in the Series of Tubes: A Flaw Internet Security gets Fixed

Is Dan Kaminski the modern-day Paul Revere? Some think so, after the 29 year old computer security specialist stumbled upon a potentially dangerous flaw in the basic way the internet is set up and called a secret meeting to alert mega programmers before going public. Afraid that hackers might take advantage of the flaw first, Kaminski rode "and spread the alarm, through every Middlesex village and farm." Which, given such modern day amenities as the internet, television, and newspapers, made his trip far faster than Revere's 1775 jaunt.

What Dan discovered was that it would be extremely easy for someone with ill intentions to divert internet users to fake websites that resembled sites they were familiar with, such as their bank's online services. Once surfers were on the fake sites, they would enter their private information where it could be accessed by the wrong hands. By annoucing the flaw, Dan has given the good guys a chance to fix the problem before their clients were taken advantage of. Already a large percentage of domains have been fixed, and others are on their way. With more personal business being conducted over the internet and identity theft a real concern, the fact that this hole can be patched ahead of time and not in the face of a large-scale problem is great news!

"In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere."

http://iht.com/articles/2008/07/30/technology/30flaw.php

Coming Soon to an Airline Near You: In-Flight Internet Acces

If you're anything like me, by now you're used to hearing the latest "how-the-airlines-are-going-to-screw-me-over-now" news stories. For the cause of saving the airlines' gas money, we've lost free baggage checking, free food, and free drinks. We have to pay extra to reserve window, aisle, and exit row seating. One by one, the pleasures of airline flying are being taken away.

That's why I was excited to read that American Airlines is trying a new approach: offering something extra. Starting Wednesday, passengers on select flights will be able to test in-flight internet service. In the coming weeks, the internet will be made more widely available, for a cost of about 10-13$, depending on flight length. There will not be any attempt by the airline to filter what passengers have access to; any inappropriate material, such as pornography, will fall under the same category as a carried-on magazine or DVD, and flight attendants will be responsible as always for enforcing protocol.

It remains to be seen whether this internet service will be worth the money. Of course, if it's painfully slow, intermittent, or otherwise unreliable, I don't imagine it'll take off. (No pun intended, but now that I've made it, HA!) On the other hand, if I could chat with my friends, watch You Tube videos, read movie trivia, or even update the Goose from 30,000 feet, I'd probably fork over the 10$. Sure is a hell of a lot more tempting than that 5$ bag of "trail mix".

To find out more, visit http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/coming-soon-internet-at-30000-feet/20080624143909990001