Training with a computer simulator is nothing new - pilots have been doing it for years. And to be honest, the Americans have had systems in place long before anyone else. However, what makes this system unique, is the attention to detail.

“Virtual Battle Space 2″ (or VBS2) as it’s called, is an interactive area of Iraq, where the road systems and buildings have been replicated to create an environment that is as realistic as possible. The soldiers, when using the simulation, will face similar situations that they would likely face out in the field. From children throwing stones, to an IED planted somewhere en-route.

The system doesn’t replace traditional training - instead it is used to familiarise soldiers with the environment before they arrive. Over 2,000 troops have been put through the training so far, with most finding benefits when they have arrived in theatre. The company behind VBS2, Bohemia Interactive in Australia, also have aircrew simulators with helicopter and aircraft training, as well as ambush simulators to prepare foot soldiers for urban combat.

If you visit this BBC article you will notice a video which shows how detailed the area looks. Also you will notice a few funny moments, such as when a child throws a stone at the commander, and also when the reporter runs somebody over - who although are lying flat on the ground in pain, continue to throw stones at a Bradley! Glitches aside, I’m sure any extra bit of training our boys can get before heading out will hopefully save a few more lives in the field.

The Hacker from Blighty, Garry McKinnon, has recently lost his most recent battle to prevent his expedition to the US on counts of hacking.

Gary, who is being charged in excess of $700,000 in damages, is taking his case to the European court, which is expected to take at least a couple of years before it’s looked upon again. Originally charged with hacking into the NASA computer systems, the damages really amount to the cost of upgrading their systems (and user’s education you would imagine) to counter future attacks. Surely NASA should be shaking his hand, giving him a paycheck and patting his back for showing them how to improve their systems, after accounts were hacked using the most obvious methods possible: Administrator accounts without passwords, or default passwords, all available over the net via a terminal services connection. That’s like making a guy who punched you in the face to not only pay for the surgery to your teeth, but also pay for a couple of bodyguards, and karate lessons for you, to ensure you were more prepared in case somebody else tried their luck. I’m sure we would all want it, but is it really justified??

China has just overtaken the US, as the country with the largest online population in the world. China, according to sources, has a massive 253 million people surfing the net.

They may be online, but as we know, they aren’t exactly experiencing the net to it’s “fullest” shall we say, with censorship and government restrictions in place. But on the plus side, at least they’re enjoying their Great Firewall of China filtered content quickly - 95% of connections are on broadband or better. The world’s faster growing economy is starting to become the world’s most tech-savvy community too.

Photo source: Flickr

That’s right, it’s that time of year again. That time when all the System Administrators around the world will be showered with gifts, praised upon and otherwise treated like binary Gods amongst their peers. Tomorrow, on Friday, it will be Sys Admin Appreciation Day!

To find out how you can treat that special geek in your life, visit the official site to get some suggestions. All I can say is that I just can’t wait for the cake tomorrow!.. What do you mean the cake is a lie?

Even though still technically in Beta (isn’t everything in Google “Beta?”) the search giant has announced today that anybody can now use their Wikipedia replacement, Knol.

The system is based around the idea of users being accountable for what they write. And if people are accountable, they’re more likely to concentrate a little more on getting their facts straight. Unlike Wikipedia where anybody can edit a page, if you don’t log into the Knol website, you can only view the articles available. I think it’s poignant that Google have allowed users to access the system now - the same accountability idea has just recently been talked about (again) by the Wikipedia team.

Knol includes articles that are written by professionals in their field, as well as people from the general public, which provide information, I think, that allows the reader to trust a little more - but at the very least gives a more rounded opinion on the subject. Plus with users being accountable for what they write, it should stop the majority of article spamming that has plagued Wikipedia since it’s inception.

Knol is still in it’s infancy, so don’t expect to find the find of information you would on Wikipedia - for instance I couldn’t find any instances of “telephone” or “laptop” within articles on the site. However, I’m sure it won’t be long before Knol starts to increase it’s article count as people become aware of the system after today.

Terry Childs, who I recently reported had been accused of locking the “FiberWAN” system for San Francisco’s local goverment, has given up the password to allow people back in. I guess the pressure just got to him in the end - I have visions of government workers with towels and jugs of water working him over to spill the beans!

What started out as a bit of a “misunderstanding” quoting his lawyer, has been resolved. We will wait and see what the court decides as punishment - which hopefully won’t be on the same level as the ridiculous $5 million bail.

Being a sysadmin, I know the power our profession wields. I also know that there are a lot of unscrupulous people. The combination of the two are very rare, in my experience, but with this story it’s strange how badly this guy’s employers got it.

City worker, Terry Childs, was employed five years ago. He had spent time in jail, and also had counts of aggravated burglary and aggravated assault. He was put into a position of power with the City of San Francisco’s new FiberWAN network - a system which holds 60% of the city’s data. After a falling our with the head of security, Terry Childs allegedly decided to lock the system down with a master password - which only he knew. When confronted with the problem, he gave up a password which didn’t work. He was then arrested. As if this wasn’t disconcerting enough for the City, it also appears he has been paid his wage whilst sat in jail!

According to the mayor of the city, the city is still able to function - although they have called in experts from Cisco to hopefully sort the problem out. Childs remains in jail on bail of $5 million.

Yeap, the last day for Mr. Gates - and a short history, with video, on the man has been compiled by the BBC. Well worth a look.

You all know the story right? Ian Usher has put his life up for sale on the internet, with the aid of Ebay. By his life I mean his home, his job, his friends, his car - everything except himself. Interesting, quirky, but why did he trust the users of Ebay to “play fair?”

Just 24 hours after the bid began it was swamped with pranksters. People using other people’s accounts, people playing tricks on each other - you name it. At what point did Ian Usher actually think this wouldn’t happen?? It’s far too tempting for people to put in stupidly high bids - then “blame it on their friends.”

The current (authentic) bid for his life, as of this post, is about £189,000 ($372,000) which he says isn’t enough to cover the cost of the house! Check out the auction here, it ends in 3 days if you fancy moving to Perth.. And no fake bids please. I mean it.

This day 60 years ago, the first modern computer, nicknamed the Manchester “Baby” was switched on to run it’s first successful program. Baby was the first computer to store information digitally, using a Cathode Ray Tube (or CRT), and is the predecessor for how we store information in modern RAM chips.

The invention and concepts 60 years ago were monumental after people realised for the computer to be of any real use, the information would have to be stored permanently and electrically by the machine. Although the data was added by hand, the Baby would constantly read and refresh the bits on the CRT, it’s memory, electronically to keep them from decaying, and is a concept still in use by RAM today. By the time it was revealed this method was capable of storing 4096 bits.

The first program was run on the Baby, this day 60 years ago. One of the inventors, F.C. Williams, spoke of the monumental occasion, “A program was laboriously inserted and the start switch pressed. Immediately the spots on the display tube entered a mad dance. In early trials it was a dance of death leading to no useful result, and what was even worse, without yielding any clue as to what was wrong. But one day it stopped, and there, shining brightly in the expected place, was the expected answer. It was a moment to remember. This was in June 1948, and nothing was ever the same again.”