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Wales unveils climate change supercomputer

Kirsten Doyle
By Kirsten Doyle, ITWeb contributor.
Johannesburg, 03 Nov 2008

Wales unveils climate change supercomputer

A powerful research supercomputer was unveiled at Swansea University, at a centre that will use it to model climate change scenarios, reports Computing.co.uk.

Known as "Blue Ice", the supercomputer, which is supplied by IBM, is capable of running 10 000 "model years" a week as scientists look to evaluate the effect of various complex inputs, including glaciers and ice flows, at once.

The system will provide researchers with a wider perspective, says Tavi Murray, scientific director of The Mike Barnsley Centre for Climate Research, where the computer is housed.

Facebook rattling tin in Dubai?

As more and more people spend their time uploading digital images to Facebook, the social networking site seems to have burned through its Microsoft-juiced funding much quicker than expected, says The Register.

According to sources, Facebook is "testing" the capital markets again - despite raising $240 million from Microsoft last year and another $235 million this year.

This week, Facebook CFO Gideon Yu is in Dubai, "possibly" discussing fund-raising options with Dubai International Capital, the private equity firm owned by the city's ruler - who also happens to be the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Firms demand aid on hi-tech crime

According to a report, UK businesses have little faith that the government is doing enough to tackle hi-tech crime, says The BBC.

Of those questioned, 57% said any malicious hi-tech crime in the workplace would not be dealt with properly by the police.

Only 4% of respondents said they bothered to report every incident of hi-tech crime, it revealed.

Google patches Android security flaw

Google has begun distributing a patch to its Android mobile phone operating system, an early test for how nimbly the company can respond and how well the infrastructure works to distribute and install updates, reports CNet.

The patch fixes the highly publicised security problem with Android's Web browser and makes a few other minor changes, according to a Google spokesman quoted in IT World on Friday.

Earlier, Google appealed for what it called "responsible disclosure" of security vulnerabilities: a grace period to fix problems before they are made public to reduce the likelihood an attacker will get a chance to exploit a vulnerability.

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