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A new report from the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence is yet another indication that the Internet is not the main culprit for society's woes. The report, "Countering Online Radicalization: A Strategy for Action," debunks the myth that the Internet is a major recruiting and training tool for extremists and would-be terrorists. The report focuses primarily on the United Kingdom but has implications for the United States and elsewhere.

The authors found "little evidence to support the contention that the Internet plays a dominant role in the process of radicalization.&… Read more

Psychiatrists and researchers are using a notorious party drug to treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and are asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand the program.

Scientists say methylenedioxymethamphetamine produces an experience described as "inhibiting the subjective fear response to an emotional threat." Late-night rave-goers know it as Ecstasy and say it produces an intimate, euphoric groove and makes you grind your teeth.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is sponsoring clinical trials to determine potential risks and benefits of using the drug as part of the psychotherapy for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the … Read more

Not only because a surgery conducted via Twitter made headlines the other day, Twitter is all the buzz (again). And it seems as if almost three years after its now-legendary debut at South by Southwest Interactive, the popular microblogging service has reached the second (or third) hype cycle, entering the business and media mainstream as the ultimate narrow--and broadcast--network.

As Joel Comm, CEO of InfoMedia and author of "Twitter Power," points out:

It's like the old saying, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." People who use … Read more

Just got a press release from UK-based Futuresource Consulting that claims, "Consumers are on target to buy in excess of 100 million Blu-ray discs (BD) across the USA, Western Europe and Japan this year, with sales of High Definition capable LCD and plasma TVs and continued dramatic reductions in BD player prices continuing to fuel interest in packaged HD content despite the economic downturn."

Mai Hoang, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting says that, "In the USA, BD has moved from early adopter phase through to early majority, with the format gaining real traction in the marketplace.&… Read more

It's said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Vyatta, an open-source competitor to Cisco and Juniper, has now taken of several recent steps toward commodifying the existing networking software market, including a deal with the New Mexico Court System.

The reason for choosing Vyatta over Cisco and Juniper? As described in a case study (PDF), Vyatta delivered great functionality at a super-low price, according to Sam Noble, senior network system administrator, New Mexico Courts:

The No. 1 reason we went with Vyatta was the flexibility and the peace of mind, knowing that if … Read more

Nestle's Nespresso division, a Switzerland-based global leader in coffee, with more than 1,700 employees and sales into 50 countries, had the kind of problem most companies would love to have: growth. As its traditional retail channels moved online, it found it difficult to scale its systems to be able to manage its online growth.

Enter MuleSource, with its open-source Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) technology, Mule. In conjunction with a leading open-source system integrator, Optaros, the two put together a highly scalable services-oriented architecture for Nespresso that makes the coffee drip on time:

Nespresso engaged Optaros and MuleSource to … Read more

Facebook and MySpace may reign supreme in North America, but we can't forget that they don't control every country in the world. Simply put, people from around the globe have different tastes and the major U.S. networks barely capture relevant market share in some countries.

It's a big world out there and believe it or not, Facebook and MySpace don't own it.China: Xiaonei

Xiaonei is basically a Chinese Facebook clone. The site's design is extremely similar to Facebook's layout and profile options are quite similar, as well. But with a reported $430 … Read more

Just how reliant are you on the Internet?

Nearly half of the women questioned by Harris Interactive said they'd be willing to forgo sex for two weeks, rather than give up their Internet access, according to a study released Monday by Intel, which commissioned the survey.

While 46 percent of the women surveyed were willing to engage in abstinence verses losing their Internet, only 30 percent of the men surveyed were willing to do likewise.

The U.S. survey, which queried 2,119 adults last month, found that the gap grew even wider for both men and woman who … Read more

A couple of recent articles dovetail nicely about how specifications, and what those specifications describe, influence how people make buying decisions.

The first is from a study looking at how choices between competing products are made, first based on subjective criteria, and then when specifications are introduced.

In an initial experiment, Christopher Hsee and colleagues asked 112 students to choose between one of two hypothetical cameras: one boasted better resolution, the other having superior vividness. Based on sample photos taken by the two cameras, but without detail on the precise resolution specs, most participants (74 percent) chose the camera that … Read more