Computer glitch disrupts United flights

Hundreds of passengers at several U.S. airports are stranded after a glitch with United Airlines' computer systems.NEW: Airline spokesman says "network connectivity issue" is to blameNEW: United allows passengers to book new flights without penaltyOutage shuts down departures, reservation system for several hoursProblem creates long lines of stranded passengers in U.S. airports

(CNN) -- A computer problem that grounded United Airlines flights across the country has been repaired, the airline announced early Saturday.

The Chicago-based airline blamed the computer malfunction on "a network connectivity issue" Friday night.

The problem, "was resolved through troubleshooting procedures and restored at midnight," wrote United Airlines spokesman Charles Hobart in an e-mail to CNN.

"The airline issued a waiver policy permitting customers on affected flights to cancel or rebook their itineraries without penalty," Hobart said. "United apologizes for the disruption caused to travelers at affected airports and is re-accommodating travelers where necessary."

The computer malfunction brought United's system of scheduling departures, reservations and processing passengers to a halt at airports across the United States. The problem left passengers stranded for hours in grounded planes, airport lobbies and security lines.

Michael Goldenthal, who was on an airplane at O'Hare when the problem occurred, said it became apparent something was wrong as the flight was taxiing.

"We were on the runway when the pilot came on the P.A. and said they had lost contact with the company computer system which measured the weight of the plane," Goldenthal said.

Goldenthal said the aircraft taxied around for nearly an hour and then returned to the gate for additional fuel. But passengers were not allowed to get off.

Long lines of people could be seen at airports in cities across the country, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver. Many passengers sat on the floor as they waited.

Chris Hou and his wife, Jennifer, became stranded at Los Angeles International Airport while waiting on a connecting flight to Denver.

"We're pretty easy going people. We travel a lot. We understand that problems happen," Chris Hou told CNN. "I just think there would be a little more information. All they say is 'we have a computer problem.' By the time you get to hour three, it gets a little frustrating."

Hou told CNN less than a hour later that he and his wife were about to board a plane to Denver.

CNN's Greg Morrison contributed to this report

CNN

Netflix now the top bandwidth consumer in the United States (Yahoo! News)

Streaming video is a big business, with companies like Netflix and Hulu raking in hundreds of millions of dollars every year. And now, according to a study by networking company Sandvine, Netflix is now the single biggest user of internet bandwidth in North America. The research shows that streaming video has been steadily taking over the majority of our virtual internet pipes, and web surfing — once the top dog — is now lagging far behind.

Netflix now accounts for nearly 30% of all downstream internet traffic, with traditional websites scrounging up just 18%. This makes sense, as the video that Netflix offers, much of which is in high definition, eats up a lot more bandwidth than a simple web page. Perhaps what's most surprising is Netflix's huge lead over competing streaming services like YouTube, with 11%, and Hulu, garnering just 1% of overall bandwidth.

We seem to be entering uncharted waters in terms of our internet usage, as well as the rules being imposed on it. On one hand we have studies like Sandvine's, which clearly show streaming video is here to stay, and on the other hand we have threats of bandwidth caps, speed throttling, and more limitations than ever before. These two trends simply can't continue to grow without clashing, and predicting which one will come out on top is anyone's guess.

Sandvine via TechCrunch

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Google users become editors of the map of the United States

Google is allowing it's users to edit and add to the map of the United States. STORY HIGHLIGHTSGoogle Map Maker accepts user contributions and map editsThe Map Maker tool has been used in 183 countries and regions around the worldAnyone Google user can sign in and zoom in to a region to add a map point or draw an entityRELATED TOPICSGoogle MapsGoogle Inc.Science and Technology (Mashable) -- Nearly three years after first releasing Map Maker, Google is finally ready to let its users edit and add to the map of the United States.

Google Map Maker is a parallel version of Google Maps that accepts user contributions and map edits. When approved by moderators, edits are published to Google Maps and are pushed live to all users.

The Map Maker tool has been used in 183 countries and regions around the world, and users have been actively adding the next level of detail -- roads, universities, bike paths, pools and the like -- to their towns.

In 2008, roughly 15% of the world's population had online maps of their neighborhoods via Google Maps. Today, that percentage has jumped to 30% thanks to user contributions via Google Map Maker.

Tuesday, Google is making the entire United States map available for editing. The three-year wait, explains technology lead Lalitesh Katragadda, was due to two primary factors. Google chose to first make map editing available in parts of the world that needed detailed maps.

The company also wanted to ensure its moderation and editing processes could scale to meet higher demand. After all, he explains, the live version of Google Maps in the U.S. sees millions of visitors daily.

The processing of editing the U.S. map is not without its checks and balances. Anyone Google user can sign in and zoom in to a region to add a map point or draw an entity -- a newly constructed swimming pool, for instance.

Once an edit is saved, it is reviewed by a moderator and posted to the live version of Google Maps within seconds upon approval.

Google employs a hybrid moderation system to ensure the accuracy and quality of Maps edits. There's a small in-house moderation team, but most of the moderation is managed by power Map Maker users who have graduated to become a part of the moderating community.

"Users are best served by having complete details," says Katragadda. "The only way to get there is to have users doing it."

Google is also adding a few new features to Map Maker. Beginning Tuesday, Map Maker will integrate with Street View so users can use imagery to help guide their edits. Plus, there's now additional advanced search options.

Now that Google is giving us all the ability to become editors of the map of the United States, one can only hope that we wield our new digital cartography powers wisely.

© 2010 MASHABLE.com. All rights reserved.

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Civil War Changed The History Of United Stated

First shootings of American civil war happened in Fort Sumter on 12th and 13th of April in year 1861. Occupation forces were forced out of the Fort Sumter regions due to these fires. The firing of shots continued for 34 hours but no body died in the exchange of fire. Some deaths of Union Soldiers happened during 34 hours firing but these deaths were not due to exchange of fire with national forces. These soldiers died in an accidental explosion near their cannons.
Earlier, before the start of battle, conditions were very close to siege at Fort Sumter. Fort was going under occupation of Union soldiers. As the harbour of Charleston was controlled from this fort, therefore, 85 Union Soldiers occupying the fort were getting supplies easily.  When President Abraham Lincoln got the power, situation at Fort Sumter turned into a big crisis. On his orders 500 troops raided this fort because the occupying soldiers had refused to surrender. Occupation forces were small in number and they were not well equipped for fighting against invaders; they had to surrender after few days of attack.
Today is 12th April 2011. Day of 12th April has importance because two important incidents of history happened at this day. The first few bullets of American Civil War were fired on 12th April. Also that Soviet Scientists completed their first successful human space mission on 12th April. Two different nations have two different reasons to celebrate the day as a national day of pride. However, Americans are also remembering the memories of their Apollo 11 mission today.

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