Scientists Demo Living, Remote-Control Flying Cyborg Beetles

Berkeley University scientists demoed a remote-control Rhinoceros beetle at a conference this week, repeatedly flying the cyborgian creature into observers’ faces while screaming "WE ARE GODS! WE HUNGER FOR BLOOD SACRIFICE!

The first part of that, the true part, represents a huge step in the mechanical control of living things. It’s far from the first foray into insect mind control, but by far the most precise—this specimen, commanded by six radio-actuated electrodes on the beetle’s muscles and brain, could be piloted around the room like a tiny RC plane.

See the full article at Gizmodo.

Starbucks 1Q profit down 69 pct, shuts more stores

Starbucks Corp. said nearly 7,000 employees may lose their jobs due to a new round of store closures and cost cuts as it reported Wednesday that its profit dropped 69 percent in its fiscal first quarter.

The company plans to close 300 underperforming stores around the world by the end of the fiscal year in addition to the 600 it already planned to close in the U.S. The company has already closed 384 of those stores.

The additional closures could result in the loss of 6,000 in-store jobs. Starbucks also plans to lay off about 700 non-store employees.

See the full article at Yahoo News.

Zerg rush week: UC Berkeley opens StarCraft class

We’ve seen colleges, in an effort to coolify their stuffy catalog, offer classes that use video games to explain academic concepts, applying a chocolate coating of gaming fun to help the pill of education to go down easier. What we like about a new StarCraft class being offered at UC Berkeley is that it’s just that: A class to help you be better at StarCraft and enjoy playing it more. Really.

From the course description: “What may look like complex topics are just ways we want you to think more deeply about the game to derive a greater satisfaction from playing. Furthermore, this understanding should have applications in real life, to further synthesize new information from limited inferences.”

Read the full article at Joystiq.

Putin to Dell CEO: 'We don't need help. We are not invalids.'

Michael Dell thought he was extending the olive branch to Russian prime minister Vladamir Putin when he offered IT help. Putin didn’t take too kindly to the offer, to say the least.

It all went down at the official opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos Putin gave a 40-minute speech and then opened the floor up to questions. Michael Dell bit first, giving props to Russia for its scientific and technical prowess before asking “How can we help” to expand IT in Russia.” Oops.

Putin’s withering reply to Dell: “We don’t need help. We are not invalids. We don’t have limited mental capacity.” The slapdown took many of the people in the audience by surprise.

Read the full article at CNN Money (via Gizmodo)

Report: Click Fraud At Record High

17.1% of all clickthroughs on web advertising are the result of click fraud – the act of clicking on a web ad to artificially increase its click-through rate – according to the latest report from Click Forensics, a company that specializes in monitoring and preventing internet crime. The level of clickfraud is the highest the company has seen since it started monitoring for it in 2006, dashing our hopes that it might hold steady in 2008. The company recorded a rate of 16.3% in Q1 2008.

Also alarming is the fact that over 30% of click fraud is now coming from automated bots – a 14% increase from last quarter and the highest rate Click Forensics has seen since it started collecting data.

Read the full article at TechCrunch