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Repressive regimes around the world may have fallen behind their opponents in recent years in exploiting new technologies - not unexpected when aging autocrats face younger, more tech-savvy opponents. But in Minsk and Moscow, Tehran and Beijing, governments have begun to climb the steep learning curve and turn the new Internet tools to their own, antidemocratic purposes.

good video

Good source of free photos. Well indexed so it's easy to find what you need.

Good comparison of smart cards and magnetic stripe cards. Has international implications.

Raises serious privacy issues.

As China ratcheted up the pressure on Google to censor its Internet searches last year, the American Embassy sent a secret cable to Washington detailing one reason top Chinese leaders had become so obsessed with the Internet search company: they were Googling themselves.

Good article on pros and cons of distance learning in the college environment.

FORT BENNING, Ga. - War would be a lot safer, the Army says, if only more of it were fought by robots. Smarter Than You Think Government Issue Articles in this series are examining the recent advances in artificial intelligence and robotics and their potential impact on society. Previous Articles in the Series » Multimedia Interactive Graphic A New Generation of Robotic Weapons RSS Feed Get Science News From The New York Times » Enlarge This Image David Walter Banks for The New York Times REMOTELY CONTROLLED Some armed robots are operated with video-game-style consoles, helping to keep humans away from danger. And while smart machines are already very much a part of modern warfare, the Army and its contractors are eager to add more. New robots - none of them particularly human-looking - are being designed to handle a broader range of tasks, from picking off snipers to serving as indefatigable night sentries.

As an aging population threatens to overwhelm the nation's hospitals and doctors, thousands of seriously ill patients are relying on computerized health trackers to help keep them safe at home.

A Dutch schoolteacher with no formal training in astronomy, Ms. van Arkel had joined tens of thousands of other Web volunteers to help classify photographs taken by deep-space telescopes. Stumped by the unusual image on her computer screen, she e-mailed the project staff for guidance. Staff members were stumped, too. And thus was christened the celestial body now known to astronomers worldwide as Hanny's Voorwerp (Dutch for "object"). Stories like Ms. van Arkel's are becoming more common, as the Internet opens up new opportunities for so-called citizen scientists. And as millions of people get involved in these participatory projects, scientists are grappling with how best to harness the amateurs' enthusiasm.

stereotactic radiosurgery, or SRS, is one of the fastest-growing radiation therapies, a technological innovation designed to target tiny tumors and other anomalies affecting the brain or spinal cord, while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue. Because the radiation is so concentrated and intense, accuracy is especially important. Yet, according to records and interviews, the SRS unit at Evanston lacked certain safety features, including those that might have prevented radiation from leaking outside the cone. The mistakes in Evanston involve linear accelerators - commonly used for standard radiation therapy - that were redesigned by the manufacturer, Varian Medical Systems, so they could also perform SRS. As the devices became more versatile and complex, problems arose when vital electronic components could not communicate with one another.

Mobile robots are now being used in hundreds of hospitals nationwide as the eyes, ears and voices of doctors who cannot be there in person. They are being rolled out in workplaces, allowing employees in disparate locales to communicate more easily and letting managers supervise employees from afar. And they are being tested as caregivers in assisted-living centers.

Students have always faced distractions and time-wasters. But computers and cellphones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning. Researchers say the lure of these technologies, while it affects adults too, is particularly powerful for young people. The risk, they say, is that developing brains can become more easily habituated than adult brains to constantly switching tasks - and less able to sustain attention.

Pros and cons of robotic surgery.

Analysis of the use of clickers in the classroom.