Calling Dr. Google … Calling Dr Google … Please Report to your PC

Dr. Google to the rescue … Now here’s a productive use of the internet. The way physicians have diagnosed recently, anything is welcome. Anything is a good thing as long as it’s reliable information. Let’s just hope the doctors don’t bring the PC into the operating room and start searching, “how to” operate on the heart.

Researchers found that almost six-in-10 difficult cases can be solved by using the world wide web as a diagnostic aid.

Misdiagnosis is still a common occurrence in the medical profession despite all the tools available such as the blood tests and state of the art scanning equipment. (Daily Mirror)

The only problem I see with this is actually teaching the doctor how to use the computer … speaking from experience, of course.

In the long run doctors are still ultimately responsible for making the diagnostic decision from experience and knowledge. Its good to know they have a new resource at their disposal.

Ten Most Common Passwords in the UK

There is a good reason for the technical people to be constantly carping at users to change their passwords. A study coming out of Britian shows the most common passwords over there and it is downright scary how common they are.

If you are using a common password, change it now. If not, your chances for getting hacked go up exponentially.

Top 10 Most Common Passwords in the UK (with percentages)

1. ’123′ (3.784‰)
2. ‘password’ (3.780‰)
3. ‘liverpool’ (1.82‰)
4. ‘letmein’ (1.76‰)
5. ’123456′ (1.63‰)
6. ‘qwerty’ (1.41‰)
7. ‘charlie’ (1.39‰)
8. ‘monkey‘ (1.33‰)
9. ‘arsenal’ (1.11‰)
10. ‘thomas’ (0.99‰) (via modernliferubbish)

It is nice to see monkey come in at number 8 though, we must have fans across the pond.

Now, go change your password to something more secure. There are many bad people out there and if 19 percent of the users in the United Kingdom use one of 10 passwords, you may be a sitting target if you have a very generic password.

Turn Back Your Clocks, And Use More Energy

Daylight Savings Time ended today, and in  the opinion of some of the experts that makes no sense at all. The use of daylight savings costs the  country a fortune in energy costs. Popular Mechanics goes into great detail on it this week at their blog.

Although it is observed in most U.S. states and over 70 countries around the world, DST can be pretty unpopular, especially with farmers, Aldrich says. But one thing’s for sure: It does save energy, which, in times of rising oil prices and energy costs, can only be a good thing.
The California Energy Commission has done extensive studies on the effects and energy savings of DST in the Golden State. In 2001, a report by Adrienne Kandel and Daryl Metz determined that having year-round DST (one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the winter and two hours ahead in the summer) would reduce electricity use by 1100 MW in the winter and 220 MW in the summer.
“It would save about 1 percent a day, which doesn’t seem like a lot,” Aldrich says. “But I think anything that saves energy so we don’t have to build more power plants is good in the long run. Every little bit helps.”
The federal Department of Energy is currently using Kandel and Metz’s study as a model to see how much the entire country would save on year-round DST. via  Popular Mechanics.

Its Official, Google Swallows up YouTube.com … This should be interesting.

Google adds YouTube to its stable. Agreements with media companies aside, the threat of copyright infringement lawsuits will always be there. As long as there is a lawyer, there is a potential lawsuit.

Read more

Is Google About to Buy on-line Video site You Tube for 1.6 Billion?

Google and You Tube in possible acquisition talks? A potential $1.6 billion deal for the on line giant Google to buy the on-line video sensation You Tube.

A deal between YouTube and Google would combine Google’s massive online ad system, which handles ads from hundreds of thousands of advertisers, with the top online-video site, according to several research firms. YouTube, San Mateo, Calif., says consumers view videos — which range from short home videos of household pets to clips recorded from TV shows — more than 100 million times daily through its service. (Wall Street Journal)

UPDATE: Google may announce deal to buy YouTube: source

The speculation and debate continues as to whether this is internet rumor or a reality.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Internet search leader Google Inc. could announce a deal to buy the top online video service, YouTube Inc., as early as Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.