The Menlo Briefs

Turn that frown upside down - In a study published by the British Medical Journal, scientists from Harvard University and UC San Diego showed that happiness spreads readily through social networks of family members, friends and neighbors. Researchers didn’t know the mechanism by which happiness spreads. One possibility is that happy people spread their good fortune directly by being generous with their time and money. Evolution may have encouraged infectious happiness if it helped hominids and early humans enhance their social bonds so they could form successful groups, the researchers said. [more]

Top iPhone Apps of 2008 - Do you think Santa might be leaving you an iPhone under the tree? Well listen up: Apple has published its list of the top iPhone applications for 2008. Check it out! [more]

Designer Babies - If you could choose the physical characteristics of your baby, would you? Blue eyes or brown? Short or tall? Athletic or brainy? "Designing" a baby isn't so far fetched these days, given recent advances in understanding the human genome and our increasing ability to modify and change genes. The question is, should we be doing this? [more]

GPS Tracking Saints - Each holiday season hundreds of religious organizations are targeted by vandals and pranksters who steal or deface outdoor holiday decorations such as Baby Jesus, Santa, & Menorahs. This year, Lightning GPS strikes down sinners by offering the free holiday rental publicly to schools and churches across the country through their distribution partnership with BrickHouse Security. [more]

Now that's a fast network - Passengers on Japan's super-fast bullet trains will be able to surf the Web while travelling at 270 kilometers per hour thanks to a new service that will start in March. NTT Communications will offer Wi-Fi service throughout cars on the new N700-type trains that offer the fastest rail link between Japan's two biggest cities of Tokyo and Osaka. Cost for the service? US $5.73 to $19.25 for a monthly subscription. [more]

But what about the dice? the hex paper? - Since its publication in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, D&D has been relentlessly old-school and most of those that play it do so with paper, pencil and polyhedral dice. This year, however, Wizards of the Coast, D&D's current owner, is adding electronic elements to the game to prepare it for an age in which most fantasy gamers play via computer if they play at all. [more]

How deep does the Rabbit Hole go? - I love the movie The Matrix -- particularly the scenes between Neo and Morpheus. My favorite moment is when Morpheus is standing in front of Neo offering him two choices: "After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes..."

Believe it or not, this is a lot like the software industry. Nearly all companies have failed investments in software initiatives -- many in the six and seven figure range -- and yet they continue on as if nothing's wrong. They're obviously eating those Blue Pills like Tic-Tacs!

The good news is that Menlo has a supply of Red Pills and we're willing to share them with anyone who wants to know the truth: the leading causes of these failures are preventable, and we can show you how. Join us for the next FREE 90-minute presentation on January 13th to learn how our approach creates the right software for the right application.

That's my kind of library! - Last month the University of Michigan's opened its newest library, the Computer & Video Game Archive. Believe it or not, a lot of lofty research happens there. For example, one professor is assessing the impact of violence in video games, while an education class is trying to figure out whether educational video games really work. The library is still taking donations, especially for the increasingly rare older games and players. [more]

Music industry is abandoning mass suits - After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. The industry trade group said it has hashed out preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider's customers making music available online for others to take. Depending on the agreement, the ISP will either forward the note to customers, or alert customers that they appear to be uploading music illegally, and ask them to stop. [more]

Cheaters! - Researchers - and some vineyards - are developing electrical equipment that accelerates the ageing process, turning young wine from an undrinkable bitter grape juice into a quaffable beverage fit for any table. The system being developed in China - which has a burgeoning wine industry - works by speeding up the normal chemical reactions in wines that can take up to 20 years. [more]

It's (still) alive! - The cut off date for PC makers to obtain licenses for Windows XP was January 31, 2009. It was being removed to make way for Windows Vista which went on sale to consumers early in 2008. Now, however, Microsoft has put in place a new program that will allow hardware firms to get hold of XP licenses until May 30, 2009. [more]

Low tech solution to a high tech problem - Using only an LED, plastic light filter and some wires, scientists at UCLA have turned a cell phone into a portable blood tester capable of detecting HIV, malaria and other illnesses. Today the existing blood tests for these diseases require either refrigerator-sized machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or a trained technician who manually identifies and counts cells under a microscope. This new device works by analyzing blood cells that are placed on an integrated off-the-shelf camera sensor and lit up with a filtered light source. The light source exposes unique qualities of the cells, and researchers use custom software to interpret the data and determine which diseases are present. [more]