[H]ardNews 4th Edition - Blair Tech Ed

Spacecraft Computing:

Houston's Mission Control will play a diminished role in future space flights as new ships are equipped with advanced supercomputers from Purdue University. With a $15 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Purdue will establish a center to design a new generation of compact, high-performance computers that will free spaceships from their dependence on ground-based intelligence.

Telemarketers Sue:

Telemarketers went to court on Wednesday in an attempt to stop the U.S. government from setting up a proposed "do not call" list that would help consumers block unwanted sales calls. Four telemarketing companies and a trade group filed suit in federal court in Oklahoma City to stop the Federal Trade Commission from setting up a program that would allow consumers to place their names on a list of households that do not want to receive such calls.

How Chess Computers Work:

How can a computer play chess? For many people, that is a mind-boggling concept. Chess seems like a distinctly human activity, requiring intelligence and thought, so how can a computer possibly do it? In this edition of HowStuffWorks, we will take a look at this question. What you will find is that computers don't really "play" chess like people do.

Coder Stops Tunes:

Like Daniel entering the lions' den, programmer Jim Speth is about to release some new music-sharing software that could land him in a world of legal pain. Unlike Daniel, Speth doesn't have divine protection. But he does have faith that his software is the digital equivalent of something like a private lending library, which may or may not shield him from the entertainment industry's legal eagles, according to experts