According to PC World Microsoft has submitted their follow-up to Windows Vista aka Windows 7, to the committee that oversees its U.S. antitrust compliance, to ensure the operating system is meeting the terms of the company's agreement with the government.
The Technical Committee will conduct middleware-related tests on future builds of the software aimed at tracking Microsoft's compliance with the 2002 antitrust settlement, which requires the company to ensure its own applications do not have an unfair advantage over competitive software that runs on Windows. The agreement also requires Microsoft to make sure its software can work well with third-party applications. Lack of compliance with a 2004 antitrust agreement in the European Union has cost Microsoft nearly US$2.6 billion to date; the E.U.'s most recent fine against the company last month was $1.3 billion.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
BattleBots Returns To TV
The very "Geeky" very popular television show BattleBots will be returning to television thanks to ESPN.
The first episode to air will be a Collegiate BattleBots Championship. The Championship will feature robots built by students enrolled in institutions of Higher Education and will air as a series on ESPNU and ESPN2.
BattleBots is also staging a Pro competition as well as introducing a new class the "Experimental Class". This "anything goes," experimental class has NO rules and NO weight limits.
They are hoping to start filming in the San Francisco Bay Area as soon a June 2008 however due to the level of interest from schools around the country and requests for more time to develop robotic entries, the event will likely be held in November.
Gone are the days of the "wedge"
Trey Roski CEO of BattleBots has made it clear: "I'm not going to allow wedgers,". There has been no mention of banning nor a mention of how they will keep them in check. They have supposedly added newer, more powerful arena hazards. "The ramps in the past were pretty slow," Roski says, referring to the compressed-air-powered panels springing up from the floor. "Now, these ramps could throw Toro five feet in the air." Super heavyweight Toro, was one of the most popular robots on the show, with its ability to launch targets with a pneumatic arm.
For more information checkout BattleBots.com
The first episode to air will be a Collegiate BattleBots Championship. The Championship will feature robots built by students enrolled in institutions of Higher Education and will air as a series on ESPNU and ESPN2.
BattleBots is also staging a Pro competition as well as introducing a new class the "Experimental Class". This "anything goes," experimental class has NO rules and NO weight limits.
They are hoping to start filming in the San Francisco Bay Area as soon a June 2008 however due to the level of interest from schools around the country and requests for more time to develop robotic entries, the event will likely be held in November.
Gone are the days of the "wedge"
Trey Roski CEO of BattleBots has made it clear: "I'm not going to allow wedgers,". There has been no mention of banning nor a mention of how they will keep them in check. They have supposedly added newer, more powerful arena hazards. "The ramps in the past were pretty slow," Roski says, referring to the compressed-air-powered panels springing up from the floor. "Now, these ramps could throw Toro five feet in the air." Super heavyweight Toro, was one of the most popular robots on the show, with its ability to launch targets with a pneumatic arm.
For more information checkout BattleBots.com
Asustek Still Backs Windows XP
Asustek, the world's top maker of motherboards, has confirmed that 60% of their very popular Eee laptops will be shipped with Windows XP.
"About 60 percent of them (Eee PCs) will have Windows XP operating system," Asustek Chairman Jonney Shih said at a news conference.
The company is currently selling two different versions of the Windows Eee PC laptop. The cheapest one, the Eee PC Surf XP, priced at $408 (U.S.), has a 7-in. LCD screen, 4GB of NAND flash memory for storage and 512MB of DDR2 dynamic RAM. The more expensive version, the Eee PC 4G XP, costs $473 (U.S.) and includes an additional 4GB SD card for storage as well as a slightly better battery, which can last up to 3.5 hours vs. 2.8 hours for the cheaper model. The more expensive model also will have a built-on 3-megapixel digital camera.
The lowest cost Eee PC available runs on a Linux OS from Xandros, carries just 2GB of NAND flash for storage and sells for around $261 however the company has predicted that the Windows version will out sell the Linux models.
ArsTechnia: $5 a month for legal P2P, Or Mandatory Piracy Surcharge?
The great folks over at Ars Technia published this article this afternoon, "$5 a month for legal P2P could happen sooner than you think". The article is related to the wired story "Music Industry Proposes a Piracy Surcharge on ISPs", however after reading the ARS article it would seem (to me at least) that ARS missed Jim Griffins key points.
He is not advocating a voluntary system, whereas users could pay $5/mo to their ISP and have unlimited P2P downloads. From reading the wired article it looks as though he is in fact suggesting a mandatory collection of $5/mo per user from ISPs regardless of P2P usage. And we know any fees imposed upon them will be handed down to the consumer, P2P user or not.
Maybe I'm misreading the article but that would be my take on. I see nothing mentioning voluntary action, the way I read it the "Piracy Surcharge" would be mandatory for the ISPs thus becoming mandatory for subscribers. I for one do not need a higher bill from my ISP!
The article has sparked some interesting debate over at the Ars Technia forums.
He is not advocating a voluntary system, whereas users could pay $5/mo to their ISP and have unlimited P2P downloads. From reading the wired article it looks as though he is in fact suggesting a mandatory collection of $5/mo per user from ISPs regardless of P2P usage. And we know any fees imposed upon them will be handed down to the consumer, P2P user or not.
Griffin's idea is to collect a fee from internet service providers -- something like $5 per user per month -- and put it into a pool that would be used to compensate songwriters, performers, publishers and music labels. A collecting agency would divvy up the money according to artists' popularity on P2P sites, just as ASCAP and BMI pay songwriters for broadcasts and live performances of their work.
Maybe I'm misreading the article but that would be my take on. I see nothing mentioning voluntary action, the way I read it the "Piracy Surcharge" would be mandatory for the ISPs thus becoming mandatory for subscribers. I for one do not need a higher bill from my ISP!
The article has sparked some interesting debate over at the Ars Technia forums.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Acer Releases Two Blu-Ray Laptops
Wednesday Aspire announced the release of the Gemstone Blue 8920g and 6920g, Acer's new multimedia notebooks. The laptops are part of the "Blue" series, which refers to the notebook's blue, black, and silver color scheme and interior/exterior lighting effects.
The 8920g will have an 18" foot print and features a Blu-ray drive, one or two hard drives with a possible combined capacity of 640GB, NVidia GeForce graphics, and up to 4GB of DDR2 667-MHz memory.
The notebook also includes an integrated TV tuner, six integrated speakers, and support for Dolby Home Theater sound technology. In addition, there's a touch-sensitive media console for navigating menus and adjusting volume without going through the standard Windows menu.
The smaller 6920 line will be a 16" footprint will pack many of the same features and is powered by the same Intel Centrino platform with only half the hard drive capacity.
No word on pricing at the moment but it is expected to range from about $900 to $1,700.
The 8920g will have an 18" foot print and features a Blu-ray drive, one or two hard drives with a possible combined capacity of 640GB, NVidia GeForce graphics, and up to 4GB of DDR2 667-MHz memory.
The notebook also includes an integrated TV tuner, six integrated speakers, and support for Dolby Home Theater sound technology. In addition, there's a touch-sensitive media console for navigating menus and adjusting volume without going through the standard Windows menu.
The smaller 6920 line will be a 16" footprint will pack many of the same features and is powered by the same Intel Centrino platform with only half the hard drive capacity.
No word on pricing at the moment but it is expected to range from about $900 to $1,700.
PopSci.com: Earth as You've Never Seen it
Popular Science's gallery Earth as You've Never Seen it has some awe inspiring shots taken from high-tech sensors on various international satellites. While they currently only have 10 images some of them look amazing!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Hulu Goes Live
Hulu the much anticipated online video on demand service made its public debut today. The service is a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp and will offer full-length episodes of NBC and FOX television programs, as well as shows from Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, Sci Fi, Style, Sundance, and Oxygen channels.
It has been said that Hulu has signed licensing deals with the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League to show select gmaes.
A similar program, Joost, was launched last year.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Tech Savy Prodigies
One of the great things about the internet and technology is neither can discern a persons age. So anyone out there with a computer, a little technical know how and the drive to succeed is given the chance, no matter what their age.
Here are a few kids that prove that point, showing that you don't even have to be old enough to drive to succeed in the ever expanding online world. These talented youngsters all under 21 have shown that the next generation of entrepreneurs has got what it takes to compete with the big boys.
Comcate Founder Ben Casnocha
Ben Casnocha is one of the worlds up coming stars. At only 19 years old he has already started a successful business Comcate, written a book, My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley and has a personal blog that has been named one of the top 25 in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
For more information on Ben I'd suggest reading the interview "The WhizKid Files: Ben Casnocha:" from Tynan on Technology or the S.F. Examiner article "Ben Casnocha: Business prodigy living a large start-up life"
Whateverlife.com Founder Ashley Qualls
Before she could even drive Ashley Qualls was well on her way to making millions. Her site Whateverlife.com cashes in on the MySpace crazy. Specializing in MySpace layouts and designs for young girls, Ashley has built Whateverlife.com into a million dollar hit. Plans to branch the site out into an online magazine and a virtual store only mean more money making opportunities.
BizChair.com founder Sean Belnick
Sean Belnick took a $1000 a month eBay trading hobby and turned it into an online furniture business, BizChair.com, that grossed $38 million in 2007. Currently Sean is ranked number 2 on Inc. Magazine's list of America's "30 coolest young entrepreneurs" and his company employees more than 75 people and sells over 25,000 products to companies like Microsoft, Google and Abercrombie and Fitch.
myYearbook.com co-founder Catherine Cook
At 15 and unimpressed by sites like MySpace, Friendster and Facebook Catherine wanted to create something she and her friends would actually use. So along with her older brothers Dave and Geoff started myYearbook.com, the world's seventh-largest social network. Catherine along with her brothers are currently ranked 10,11 and 12 on on Inc. Magazine's list of America's "30 coolest young entrepreneurs".
iPhone wiz kid George Hotz
18 year old Geaorge Hotz became the first person to unlock Apple's iPhone last August, enabling it to work with any GSM wireless carrier. For doing so George landed a $50,000 Nissan 350Z and three more iPhones. He recently published another exploit that permits a full software unlock of the latest iPhone software, earning him an additional $1182 from a Web-sponsored unlocking contest.
As you can see from their list of accomplishments these teens are doing quite well for themselves. However not all teenage internet endeavors are on the positive side. Dark Reading recently featured the article "Hacking: The New Child's Play?". The article covers several illegal exploits carried out by teenage hackers.
Here are a few kids that prove that point, showing that you don't even have to be old enough to drive to succeed in the ever expanding online world. These talented youngsters all under 21 have shown that the next generation of entrepreneurs has got what it takes to compete with the big boys.
Comcate Founder Ben Casnocha
Ben Casnocha is one of the worlds up coming stars. At only 19 years old he has already started a successful business Comcate, written a book, My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley and has a personal blog that has been named one of the top 25 in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
For more information on Ben I'd suggest reading the interview "The WhizKid Files: Ben Casnocha:" from Tynan on Technology or the S.F. Examiner article "Ben Casnocha: Business prodigy living a large start-up life"
Whateverlife.com Founder Ashley Qualls
Before she could even drive Ashley Qualls was well on her way to making millions. Her site Whateverlife.com cashes in on the MySpace crazy. Specializing in MySpace layouts and designs for young girls, Ashley has built Whateverlife.com into a million dollar hit. Plans to branch the site out into an online magazine and a virtual store only mean more money making opportunities.
BizChair.com founder Sean Belnick
Sean Belnick took a $1000 a month eBay trading hobby and turned it into an online furniture business, BizChair.com, that grossed $38 million in 2007. Currently Sean is ranked number 2 on Inc. Magazine's list of America's "30 coolest young entrepreneurs" and his company employees more than 75 people and sells over 25,000 products to companies like Microsoft, Google and Abercrombie and Fitch.
myYearbook.com co-founder Catherine Cook
At 15 and unimpressed by sites like MySpace, Friendster and Facebook Catherine wanted to create something she and her friends would actually use. So along with her older brothers Dave and Geoff started myYearbook.com, the world's seventh-largest social network. Catherine along with her brothers are currently ranked 10,11 and 12 on on Inc. Magazine's list of America's "30 coolest young entrepreneurs".
iPhone wiz kid George Hotz
18 year old Geaorge Hotz became the first person to unlock Apple's iPhone last August, enabling it to work with any GSM wireless carrier. For doing so George landed a $50,000 Nissan 350Z and three more iPhones. He recently published another exploit that permits a full software unlock of the latest iPhone software, earning him an additional $1182 from a Web-sponsored unlocking contest.
As you can see from their list of accomplishments these teens are doing quite well for themselves. However not all teenage internet endeavors are on the positive side. Dark Reading recently featured the article "Hacking: The New Child's Play?". The article covers several illegal exploits carried out by teenage hackers.
Verizon Business To Deploy 100Gbps Network in '09
PC World reports Verizon to Move to 100Gbps Network in 2009.
Verizon Business' executive vice president of operations and technology Fred Briggs has said Verizon will deploy 100G network capabilities over all its major routes within the United States, which include routes connecting cities such as New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago, in 2009.
Verizon became one of the first telecom companies to conduct a field trial over a native 100Gbps network last year. In addition to 100Gps network Verizon will deploy reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers that will allow the company more efficient management of its bandwidth by remotely provisioning wavelengths.
Verizon Business' executive vice president of operations and technology Fred Briggs has said Verizon will deploy 100G network capabilities over all its major routes within the United States, which include routes connecting cities such as New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago, in 2009.
Verizon became one of the first telecom companies to conduct a field trial over a native 100Gbps network last year. In addition to 100Gps network Verizon will deploy reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers that will allow the company more efficient management of its bandwidth by remotely provisioning wavelengths.
Winning The Web's Craziest Internet Marketing Contest
While visiting John Chow's blog yesterday I cam upon this post "Win 5,348 In Cash and Prizes from Winning The Web" and had to go take a look.
Gyutae Park owner/author of Winning The Web has came up with a great contest with over over $7,119 in cash and free prizes. All of which will help to take your Internet business to the next level.
The contest dubbed "the Craziest Internet Marketing Contest You’ve Ever Seen!" awards prizes from several great marketing sites. Including advertisers, SEO developers, blog optimizers and developers.
Prizes Recap - $7,119 Total
The winners of all of the individual prizes will be selected by a random draw on March 31. In order to participate in the contest, you'll need to perform certain actions that gain you more entries. The more entries you have, the higher your chances of winning a prize.
For more information visit Winning the Web
**Contest Clue #1 is already up Will You Stumble Upon a Crazy Prize?
Gyutae Park owner/author of Winning The Web has came up with a great contest with over over $7,119 in cash and free prizes. All of which will help to take your Internet business to the next level.
The contest dubbed "the Craziest Internet Marketing Contest You’ve Ever Seen!" awards prizes from several great marketing sites. Including advertisers, SEO developers, blog optimizers and developers.
Prizes Recap - $7,119 Total
- $650 Cash from Azoogle Ads
- $500 Cash from PepperJam Network
- $250 Cash from NeverblueAds
- $200 Cash from BidVertiser
- 1 Full Conference Pass to Affiliate Summit East ($949 value)
- 3 Month Membership to Aaron Wall’s SEO Training Program ($300 value)
- 6 Month Membership to SEOmoz Pro ($249 value)
- 12 Month Subscription to RankSense Professional ($630 value)
- 26 Week Internet Marketing Plan from Purple Internet Marketing ($800 value)
- The Secret Classroom from Joel Comm & Next Internet Millionaire ($497 value)
- Autographed Copy of Kris’ Jones Upcoming Book on SEO ($20 value)
- Copy of the SEO Handbook 2008 from HuoMah ($10 value)
- 8 PSD Custom Banner Designs from Banners Mall ($275 value)
- 2 Exclusive Blog Themes from Unique Blog Designs (2 winners - $100 value each)
- 2 Revolution Wordpress Blog Themes from Brian Gardner (2 winners -$80 value each)
- Wordpress Coding from CSS Rockstars ($209 value)
- 1 Year Swamp Plan Web Hosting from Host Gator ($150 value)
- 1 Hour Blog Optimization Consulting from Daniel Scocco of Daily Blog Tips ($175 value)
- 3 Month 125×125 Banner Ad on AndyBeard.eu ($100 value)
- 1 Month Text Link Ad on Ades Blog ($90 value)
- 1 Month 125×125 Banner Ad on John Cow ($125 value)
- 6 Month 125×125 Banner Ad on JonLee.ca ($300 value)
- 3 Fast Passes, 3 Featured Statuses, and 5000 Credits from Entrecard
- 1 Paid Review on Winning the Web - sponsored by 1 Cool File ($100 value)
- 20 Winning the Web T-shirts (20 winners - $9 value each)
The winners of all of the individual prizes will be selected by a random draw on March 31. In order to participate in the contest, you'll need to perform certain actions that gain you more entries. The more entries you have, the higher your chances of winning a prize.
For more information visit Winning the Web
**Contest Clue #1 is already up Will You Stumble Upon a Crazy Prize?
Startup Advice, Mark Cuban Vs. Jason Calacanis
Whom would you rather take startup advice from, multimillionaire internet guru Jason Calacanis or multibillionaire Mark Cuban?
Jason recently posted "How to save money running a startup (17 really good tips)" which in turn sparked the posts "Calacanis Fires People Who Have A Life at TechCrunch and "Calacanis: Working at Mahalo is Like Prison Except We Gots Better Coffee" at Center Networks. A heated debate followed questioning Jason poor choices in business tactics for "Firing people who are not workaholics".
In response to Jason's post came Mark Cuban's post "A Couple of My Rules for Startups". In his post Mark pokes a few jabs at Jason, pointing out a few questionable spending areas and a few great ideas to help along employee relations.
Upon reading both you can see a few areas of similarity. Both are focused around cutting costs and raising employee productivity. However Jason's approach looks more of that or a forced labor camp. Run things with a firm hand, lots of fear and a domineering attitude. While Mark's ideas and approach are a little more open and casual. Increasing productivity through desire and positivity.
Jason recently posted "How to save money running a startup (17 really good tips)" which in turn sparked the posts "Calacanis Fires People Who Have A Life at TechCrunch and "Calacanis: Working at Mahalo is Like Prison Except We Gots Better Coffee" at Center Networks. A heated debate followed questioning Jason poor choices in business tactics for "Firing people who are not workaholics".
In response to Jason's post came Mark Cuban's post "A Couple of My Rules for Startups". In his post Mark pokes a few jabs at Jason, pointing out a few questionable spending areas and a few great ideas to help along employee relations.
Upon reading both you can see a few areas of similarity. Both are focused around cutting costs and raising employee productivity. However Jason's approach looks more of that or a forced labor camp. Run things with a firm hand, lots of fear and a domineering attitude. While Mark's ideas and approach are a little more open and casual. Increasing productivity through desire and positivity.
AMD 780G Chipset Reviews
Last week AMD released the new 780G chipset, this week we can show case some of the reviews..
First up is Motherboards.org's article "AMD 780G Chipset / AMD Athlon X2 4850e Platform Review" featuring the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H and the AMD X2 4850e.
As you can see from the numbers posted the new chipset and on-board graphics perform extremely well. So much so that Motherboard.org has concluded that, "AMD has redefined what the integrated graphics should be"
"With their first DirectX 10 integrated graphics chipset, AMD has redefined what the integrated graphics should be. Performance of the integrated graphics is near on par with the HD3450 that ATI sent with the kit. Integrated graphics that nearly equal discrete graphics of the mainstream is excellent, as that means you don’t have to purchase an additional add-in card for the $50 they are targeting the motherboard chipset at. Building a new system with an inexpensive CPU and memory is a definite boon to the OEMs."
Second is Tom's Hardware with the article "AMD's New 780G Chipset Has Powerful GPU" also featuring the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-SH2. This review takes it a step further (as Tom's alwasy does) and provides us with a few benchmarks using several different CPU's and dedicated video cards.
And again the conclusion seem to be the same. The new platform is a hit!
Conclusion - Very Fast On-board Graphics With HD Video Support
AMD's 780G is an improvement in every way over its predecessor, the 690G, offering better graphics performance, lower power consumption and greater functionality.
Legit Reviews previews more motherboards, the new MSI K9A2GM, ASUS M3A-H/HDMI, ECS R780M-A, Foxconn A7GM-S, J&W A78G and Jetway PA78GT3 in their article "AMD 780G Chipset Motherboard Preview". While not as impressive nor as informative as the above reviews it is still an article worth mentioning.
All in all so far 24 Boards from 13 companies have been announced. From the looks of these reviews I'd say the 780G may just be the platform for my next project build.
News Corp Not Interested In Yahoo
According to Reuters media mogul Rupert Murdoch has said News Corp would not get into a fight with Microsoft Corp over Yahoo Inc.
"We're not going to get into a fight with Microsoft, which has a lot more money than us," Murdoch told investors at the annual Bear Stearns media conference.
It looks as though Yahoo will have to look elsewhere for salvation. Yahoo has been seeking to block Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid and possible hostile take over attempts.
"We're not going to get into a fight with Microsoft, which has a lot more money than us," Murdoch told investors at the annual Bear Stearns media conference.
It looks as though Yahoo will have to look elsewhere for salvation. Yahoo has been seeking to block Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid and possible hostile take over attempts.
CrossFire X Reviews
With last weeks release of the new Catalyst 8.3 drivers, ATI released support for what it is calling CrossFire X signifying support for 2, 3 and 4 GPUs.
According to the release notes:
"This release of Catalyst introduces CrossFireX Quad support. Users with any combination of a ATI Radeon HD 3870, ATI Radeon HD 3850, and ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics accelerators running with 3 or 4 GPUs will be able to run in CrossFireX Quad mode (when used in a CrossFireX compatible PC). CrossFireX Quad will deliver significant performance improvements in a number of applications. Users can expect to see further DirectX 10 QUAD CrossFireX performance improvements in future Catalyst releases.
Users are now able to run in CrossFireX™ (Quad) mode while running in extended desktop mode on the Windows Vista desktop"
Two sites have great reviews posted already, ExtremeTech's article "CrossFire X Performance--Two, Three, and Four GPUs in One" and Anandtech's "CrossFireX Arrives: First Look at 3 and 4 GPUs in 2 Card Setups".
Both article, as we all would have guessed reached the same conclusion. A single graphics card still provides the best cost to performance ratio. Moving to a dual-GPU 3870 X2 still delivers good price/performance, as many applications now scale pretty well to two GPUs. Three is where the value proposition starts to fall of in lots of applications, you may see a slight gain in performance but at a great cost.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Ziff Davis Media Files For Bankruptcy
According to the Associated Press and Yahoo News Ziff Davis Media filed for bankruptcy.
Ziff Davis Media is the publisher of several technology and video game magazines including PC Magazine 1Up.com and Electronic Gaming Monthly.
It is reported that Ziff Davis owed $500 million in liabilities and only had $313 million worth of assets. It filed for Chapter 11 protection to restructure debt that had become burdensome. The company has reached an agreement with senior creditors, to whom it owes $225 million. Under the deal, the senior creditors will be owed $57.5 million and at least 88.8 percent of the common stock in the company once it emerges.
Ziff Davis Media is the publisher of several technology and video game magazines including PC Magazine 1Up.com and Electronic Gaming Monthly.
It is reported that Ziff Davis owed $500 million in liabilities and only had $313 million worth of assets. It filed for Chapter 11 protection to restructure debt that had become burdensome. The company has reached an agreement with senior creditors, to whom it owes $225 million. Under the deal, the senior creditors will be owed $57.5 million and at least 88.8 percent of the common stock in the company once it emerges.
Make 3D, An Innovative 3-D Modeling Advance
Technology Review covers an article on new innovation in 3d modeling. Two researchers Andrew Ng and Ashutosh Saxena have developed Make3d, a Web service that lets users turn a single two-dimensional image of an outdoor scene into an immersive 3-D model.
According to the article Make3D's current algorithm only works on outdoor scenes or landscapes. With very limited support for indoor pictures and even people. However they are working to extend the algorithm to a broader range of settings, as well as improving the current site.
According to the article Make3D's current algorithm only works on outdoor scenes or landscapes. With very limited support for indoor pictures and even people. However they are working to extend the algorithm to a broader range of settings, as well as improving the current site.
Robberson Brothers Sentenced For Piracy
Maurice and Thomas Robberson were sentenced Friday to multiyear prison terms for selling "massive" amounts of pirated software online.
The brothers have been estimated at making over a $1 million selling pirated software through their sites Bestvalueshoppe.com,TheDealDepot.net, CDsalesUSA.com and AmericanSoftwareSales.com. Both men have agreed to forfeit all their proceeds from the businesses, the Department of Justice said as well as serving sentences of 3 years (Maurice) and 30 months (Thomas).
From late 2002 through October 2005, these individuals ran businesses that sold counterfeit software from companies such as Adobe Systems Inc., Autodesk Inc., and Macromedia Inc., at discount prices. These counterfeit items were manufactured by members of the conspiracy and included labels that featured trademarks and service marks of the legitimate software companies.
Two other people who conspired with Maurice Robberson to commit copyright infringement have already been sentenced, the DoJ said. Danny Ferrer, 39, was sentenced to 72 months in prison Aug. 25, 2006, for selling more than $4 million in pirated software with a retail value of nearly $20 million on BuysUSA.com. Alton Lee Grooms, 56, who helped start some of the businesses and gained more than $150,000 in profit, was sentenced on Jan. 18, to one year and one day in prison, after he cooperated with the government's investigation.
For more information please read the DoJ press release
The brothers have been estimated at making over a $1 million selling pirated software through their sites Bestvalueshoppe.com,TheDealDepot.net, CDsalesUSA.com and AmericanSoftwareSales.com. Both men have agreed to forfeit all their proceeds from the businesses, the Department of Justice said as well as serving sentences of 3 years (Maurice) and 30 months (Thomas).
From late 2002 through October 2005, these individuals ran businesses that sold counterfeit software from companies such as Adobe Systems Inc., Autodesk Inc., and Macromedia Inc., at discount prices. These counterfeit items were manufactured by members of the conspiracy and included labels that featured trademarks and service marks of the legitimate software companies.
Two other people who conspired with Maurice Robberson to commit copyright infringement have already been sentenced, the DoJ said. Danny Ferrer, 39, was sentenced to 72 months in prison Aug. 25, 2006, for selling more than $4 million in pirated software with a retail value of nearly $20 million on BuysUSA.com. Alton Lee Grooms, 56, who helped start some of the businesses and gained more than $150,000 in profit, was sentenced on Jan. 18, to one year and one day in prison, after he cooperated with the government's investigation.
For more information please read the DoJ press release
Friday, March 07, 2008
Answering Scott Wainner's Call To Increase Longetivity Research
Scott Wainner has posted a challenge to get us all involved in demanding more research to stop the aging process. Kudos Scott, I applaud the involvement and hope everyone steps up to take the challenge.
I personally have never felt strongly one way or another about extending life. After all we all live, we all die. However reading the resources listed for the challenge did raise a few thoughts in my mind.
Resources:
I sat controversial therapies such as gene mutation and stem cell research aside and headed straight for an area or two that have always been of interest to me, Nanotechnology.
There have been great breakthroughs recently with nanotechnologies such as nanotubes, nanoemulsions and nanoparticles. And I feel strongly that nanotech and nonotech research are going to be on the forefront of even greater breakthroughs in the next few years.
A recent article fromTechnology Review"A New Approach to Combatting HIV" discusses the potential of Nanoemulsion vaccines as a way to generate immunity to smallpox and HIV in mice.
Another recent article, "Wiring Up DNA", discusses the use of carbon nanotubes to rapidly screen DNA for disease-linked mutations. And promising strides have been made in using New Nano Weapons against Cancer.
The technology is out there and is showing its potential to build solutions to previously unsolved problems. With more research and greater funding the limits are boundless.
I personally have never felt strongly one way or another about extending life. After all we all live, we all die. However reading the resources listed for the challenge did raise a few thoughts in my mind.
Resources:
- Life Expectancy Of Yeast Extended To 800 In Yeast Years
- The End of Aging? Inside the New Hunt for a Cure to Growing Old
- Aubrey de Grey thinks he knows how to defeat aging, live to 1,000.
- Stem Cells Enable Paralyzed Rats to Walk, Ready for Human Trials
- Rare Gene Mutation Plays Role in Longevity
- The Next Big Thing? (Stanley Bing, Fortune.com)
I sat controversial therapies such as gene mutation and stem cell research aside and headed straight for an area or two that have always been of interest to me, Nanotechnology.
There have been great breakthroughs recently with nanotechnologies such as nanotubes, nanoemulsions and nanoparticles. And I feel strongly that nanotech and nonotech research are going to be on the forefront of even greater breakthroughs in the next few years.
A recent article fromTechnology Review"A New Approach to Combatting HIV" discusses the potential of Nanoemulsion vaccines as a way to generate immunity to smallpox and HIV in mice.
Another recent article, "Wiring Up DNA", discusses the use of carbon nanotubes to rapidly screen DNA for disease-linked mutations. And promising strides have been made in using New Nano Weapons against Cancer.
The technology is out there and is showing its potential to build solutions to previously unsolved problems. With more research and greater funding the limits are boundless.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Circuit City HD DVD Exchange Program
Several sites including PC Magazine and Gizmodo have confirmed that Circuit City is allowing customers who purchased an HD DVD player at Circuit City to return them to the retailer, which will give them store credit if received within 90 days of purchase.
Jackie Foreman, a representative for Circuit City, said in an email, "We did not make a public announcement about extended returns for HD DVD players, but we have instructed our stores to take care of our customers, therefore, we will accept returns for HD DVD players within 90 days of purchase. Customers returning these products will receive store credit for the purchase price."
The policy doesn't apply to HD DVD movie discs just HD DVD players, and it is reported your refund will come in the form of a gift card or store credit
Apple iPhone SDK Launched
Today Apple promised to reveal details on its software developers' kit for the iPhone. At the special event held this morning at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. Apple executives said the SDK provides developers with the same tools it uses to develop applications for the iPhone and iPod touch.
“We’re excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community with potentially thousands of native applications for iPhone and iPod touch,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.
Scott Forstall, Apple’s vice president of iPhone Software, explained that Apple had to build a version of its development framework, Cocoa. Dubbed Cocoa Touch, the new development tools are based on the touch interaction with the iPhone instead of the keyboard and mouse interaction users have with a desktop computer.
Forstall said the SDK is made up of several Core technologies. Much of what you find in the iPhone operating system is the same as what you would find in the Mac, except power management, which is even more robust on the iPhone, according to Apple. Core Services, Core Location and Core Audio will also be available to developers.
“So we have a fantastic set of tools, in addition to the amazing set of frameworks that make up the iPhone OS,” said Forstall.
On the enterprise end, the iphone will now support Microsoft Exchange. The iPhone can now work directly with the Exchange Server. Push email, push calendar, push contacts, global address list, remote wipe. We can also look for WI-FI with wpa2 and 8021x.
Enforce security policies.
Developers will have access to Keychain, Bonjour, SQLite and Core Location as well as a mature, Quicktime-based media layer including video playback, Core Audio, Core Image, Core Animation, PDF rendering, OpenAL, and OpenGL ES. Cocoa Touch gives developers access to the hardware and interface, including Multi-Touch events and controls, Accelerometer, View Hierarchy, Localization, Alerts, Web View, People Picker, Image Picker and the integrated Camera.
Apple will provide an AppStore for developers to distribute iPhone apps directly to users via download over WiFi or EDGE. Developers may specify any price or list apps for free however Apple keeps 30 percent to cover hosting, marketing, credit card fees and the like. Apple retains the right to not distribute any app if it is deemed to be malicious, invade privacy, or include "porn."
Apple allowed a few companies a head start and few apps are currently available. Apple developed a demo space shooter game, EA had a version of Spore AOL was on hand to demo a native instant messaging client, Sega demoed a version of SuperMonkeyBall, and reps from Salesforce.com and Epocrates showed off some business-critical apps they have in the works.
The free beta iPhone SDK is available now and can be downloaded from Apple’s Web site. The $99 iPhone Developer Program, also introduced today, will initially be available in the US and will expand to other countries in the coming months. Apple is accepting applications beginning today from enterprise customers who would like to join the private iPhone Enterprise Beta Program.
Update, 3/31/08
Apple released the second beta version of the software development kit for building applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch.
The free download is available online through the company's Apple Developer Connection Web site. The second beta of the SDK includes an interface builder, the Xcode integrated development environment, the iPhone simulator, frameworks and samples, compilers, and the Shark analysis tool.
Developers who want to test their code directly on the iPhone and distribute their applications through Apple's App Store have to apply for membership in the iPhone Developer Program.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Calacanis Wants to Ban Affiliate Links; What About Banning Employee Linking?
CenterNetworks' Allen Stern writes Calacanis Wants to Ban Affiliate Links; What About Banning Employee Linking? "Jason Calacanis, CEO of Weblogs 2.0 service Mahalo, has apparently left the world of pissing off SEO folk and is now pissing off affiliate folk. This time he wonders if the search engines (including Google, Yahoo and Mahalo) should ban affiliate links from being indexed."
Love him or hate him, one thing Jason will do is self promote. To me it reaches the extent of spamming. Its one thing to promote within your own blog or your own company, but having teams of employees actively posting links on social sites just to increase your traffic, page ranks or placement is no different than everything Jason says he's against.
Mahalo constantly asks employees, either part time guides or in house staff to push out the pages to their blogs and their social services. Once the social side of Mahalo was created Jason even sent out mass emails to everyone on Mahalo telling them to make sure to add his profile. And a big push was made for everyone to add all their profiles (MySpace, Flickr, Twitter ect), friends and any Mahalo employees they could so as to create a bigger web ring.
Some day Jason is going to have to give up his double standard and call Mahalo what it is. An SEO or SEM play. All you have to do is look at the page structure for so called "search engine result pages (SERPs)". Everything about the way pages are structured and created is directly geared towards optimization.
Now days they push more towards creating "stubs", optimized pages with 5-10 of the hottest links from Google, about the hottest trends. Maybe someone can tell me how these pages differ from Splogs. Scraping content and links from Google, chasing hot topics and Google Trends, if thats not Splogging I don't know what is.
Firewire Windows Hack
Dark Reading reports Tool Physically Hacks Windows. Attackers using Firewire can take over a 'locked' Windows machine.
Adam Boileau, a noted hacker and researcher with Immunity Inc. originally built the tools two years ago. Winlockpwn bypasses Windows’s authentication system and lets an attacker take over a “locked” Windows machine without even stealing its password.
A hacker simply connects a Linux machine to the Firewire port on the victim’s machine. In turn receiving full read-and-write memory access and the tool deactivates Windows’s password protection that resides in local memory. Then he or she has carte blanche to steal passwords or drop rootkits and keyloggers or any other malicious code you like onto the machine.
On his Web site, Boileau said Microsoft doesn't consider the attack a legitimate security vulnerability. Indeed, as Microsoft points out in the third of its 10 Immutable Laws of Security, "If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore."
“That Firewire port is, as designed, literally there to let you plug things into your laptop memory banks,” says Thomas Ptacek, principal with Matasano Security. “When you think of Firewire, you really should just think of a cable coming directly out of your system's DRAM banks. That's basically all Firewire is.”
Ptacek says this tool raises the bar in physical hacking. “People think about physical hacking as something you have to do with a screwdriver and 20 minutes, under cover of darkness. Attacks like Adam's can be done in the time it takes you to pick up a sheet of paper off the office printer,” he says.
The tool has been demonstrated to work on PCs and laptops running Windows XP, Windows Vista, MAC OSX and even Linux.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Beta
Internet Explorer 8 Beta is available for download. This beta is aimed at web developers and designers to help them take advantage of new features in Internet Explorer 8 that will enhance their websites. Id say this is more than likely not intended for general use so expect several issues.
IE8's list of new features includes:
Activities
Activities are contextual services to quickly access a service from any webpage. Users typically copy and paste from one webpage to another. Internet Explorer 8 Activities make this common pattern easier to do.
WebSlices
WebSlices is a new feature for websites to connect to their users by subscribing to content directly within a webpage. WebSlices behave just like feeds where clients can subscribe to get updates and notify the user of changes.
Favorites Bar
In Internet Explorer 7, the Links bar provided users with one-click access to their favorite sites. The Links bar has undergone a complete makeover for Internet Explorer 8. It has been renamed the Favorites bar to enable users to associate this bar as a place to put and easily access all their favorite web content such as links, feeds, WebSlices and even Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.
Automatic Crash Recovery
Automatic Crash Recovery (ACR) is a new feature that can help to prevent the loss of work and productivity in the unlikely event of the browser crashing or hanging. The ACR feature takes advantage of the Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer feature to provide new crash recovery capabilities, such as tab recovery, which will minimize interruptions to users’ browsing sessions.
Improved Phishing Filter
Internet Explorer 7 introduced the Phishing Filter, a feature which helps warn users when they visit a Phishing site. Phishing sites spoof a trusted legitimate site, with the goal of stealing the user’s personal or financial information. For Internet Explorer 8, we are building on the success of the Phishing Filter with a more comprehensive feature called the "Safety Filter."
PC Magazine's The Best Free Software
PC Magazine has compiled a great list of 157 free software tools you probably shouldn't live without.
Why spend money when you can get what you need for nothing? Every one of the programs listed is free, and in many cases better than software costing hundreds of dollars.
The top picks
The rest are broken down page by page into the following categories:
Why spend money when you can get what you need for nothing? Every one of the programs listed is free, and in many cases better than software costing hundreds of dollars.
The top picks
- Adobe Reader This simplest of Adobe's PDF programs lets you do just about anything PDF-related (besides create new ones), including online collaboration. It includes a host of features to aid users with disabilities. AIM One of the most widely used pieces of free software ever, AOL Instant Messenger offers a ton of capabilities. Personally I prefer Trillian its free and works with almost all IM services. Audacity Whether you're recording or editing, Audacity is all about audio in practically any format. Firefox This PC Mag Editors' Choice Web browser has been on top of the heap since version 1.5 came out in late 2005. Look for FireFox 3 to be released soon! GIMP The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) does most of what Photoshop does; the Gimpshop project (plasticbugs.com) even makes it look like Photoshop. GIMP is a great tool with many of the features and functions that Photoshop has, you can even use photoshop brushes and actions. iTunes When you're attached to the top media player in the land (iPod), success is a given. iTunes continues to build sales and refine its organization of songs, video, games, podcasts, and more. OpenOffice You can spend a lot for Microsoft Office or nothing for this suite with full-function word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, even an equations editor. Skype You'll pay to call regular phones, but if you sign up all your friends, Skype provides easy (and even international) calls and video-conferencing for nothing. Thunderbird Mozilla's no-cost e-mail alternative is extensible, fast, and easy to master. And a wealth of free add-ons means there's not much this program won't do, from calendars to encryption. Ubuntu Linux This Linux-based OS comes with many of these Hall of Fame products (Firefox, OpenOffice.org) preinstalled. WinAmp Windows After a decade of playing music, the "skinnable" WinAmp has several versions, including one with full CD ripping and burning.
The rest are broken down page by page into the following categories:
- Page 2 Operating Systems
- Page 3 Antivirus/Anti-Malware
- Page 4 Firewalls and Security
- Page 5 Finance and Office
- Page 6 Calendar/PIMs
- Page 7 Backup/Sync and App Launchers
- Page 8 Utilities
- Page 9 Download and Interface Enhancement
- Page 10 File View/Conversion and Networking
- Page 11 Blogging, RSS Readers and Instant Messaging
- Page 12 Communication and Audio
- Page 13 Video
- Page 14 Graphics
- Page 15 Browsers and Browser Add-Ons
- Page 16 Games/Fun
PC World's 11 Pimped Out PCs
Case modding has been around for years, and while not as widely popular as it has been in the past the niche is still going strong.
PC World shows off 11 mild to wild and even shaggadelic extravagantly modded PCs and Notebooks.
But if you think those are wild you haven't seen anything yet. Checkout the users gallery over at GruntVille or the wild mods at Bit-Tech.net. For even more great mods visit two more of my favorite modding sites Modders-INC and MofoCases.
PC World shows off 11 mild to wild and even shaggadelic extravagantly modded PCs and Notebooks.
But if you think those are wild you haven't seen anything yet. Checkout the users gallery over at GruntVille or the wild mods at Bit-Tech.net. For even more great mods visit two more of my favorite modding sites Modders-INC and MofoCases.
eBay Padding Listing Numbers?
It looks like eBay is in more hot water with its sellers after reports have surfaced that they may be adding fake listings to boost the bottom line.
eBay on Tuesday admitted that a "bug" in its system had accidentally placed listings from eBay-owned shopping.com onto eBay.com late Friday night.
According to AppScout eBay blamed the false listing on a bug that was related to the gallery feature. A feature that has recently been offered to sellers for free and was supposed to go into effect February 20.
eBay admits the error and has said "when we wrote the code to implement that fix in the database table, there was a string that was left on there that populated and sent shopping.com listings onto ebay.com". The error sent 5,000 listings from shopping.com to eBay in the form of auctions.
Sellers pointed to the listings snafu as evidence that eBay was inflating its numbers to make up for losses sustained during the recent boycott. When the bug first emerged on Friday, the spokesman told a reporter that it was actually a planned test.
"But it wasn't a test. It ended up being a bug," he said. "So I ate a little bit of crow on that."
Sellers have not been convinced, and some are taking actions by forwarding "fake" listings to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
"I have been collecting all eBay's padded listings and forwarding them to the FTC so they will investigate them," one forum poster wrote.
For more information and further reading checkout the full article at Powersellers: eBay is Padding Post-Boycott Numbers
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Mebroot Rootkit Virus
Mebroot rootkit infects a PC's master boot record (MBR), making it nearly invisible to security software.
F-Secure, a Finish anti-virus and computer security software company, originally discovered Mebroot back in December.
Trojan.Mebroot takes control of the system by overwriting the MBR with its own code. This allows the trojan to start before any other programs including the operating system. Which makes it nearly impossible for anti-virus programs to detect.
Analysis of Trojan.Mebroot shows that its current code is at least partially copied from the original eEye BootRoot code. The kernel loader section, however, has been modified to load a custom designed stealth back door Trojan 467 KB in size, stored in the last sectors of the disk.
For now, Trojan.Mebroot seems to run successfully only on Windows XP (all Service Packs) however Symantec Security reports there may be variants that will affect Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000.
Once a machine is infected, the hacker controlling the rootkit has complete control over the victim's machine, opening up the potential for a variety of other attacks. For example, the hacker could try and download other malicious software to the machine to log a person's keystrokes and collect financial or personal data.
F-Secure, which specializes in finding rootkits, says its technology is only able to "suspect" if Mebroot is on a PC. F-Secure has said it is possible to detect the trojan using their security software CD to boot up the PC.
F-Secure, a Finish anti-virus and computer security software company, originally discovered Mebroot back in December.
Trojan.Mebroot takes control of the system by overwriting the MBR with its own code. This allows the trojan to start before any other programs including the operating system. Which makes it nearly impossible for anti-virus programs to detect.
Analysis of Trojan.Mebroot shows that its current code is at least partially copied from the original eEye BootRoot code. The kernel loader section, however, has been modified to load a custom designed stealth back door Trojan 467 KB in size, stored in the last sectors of the disk.
For now, Trojan.Mebroot seems to run successfully only on Windows XP (all Service Packs) however Symantec Security reports there may be variants that will affect Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000.
Once a machine is infected, the hacker controlling the rootkit has complete control over the victim's machine, opening up the potential for a variety of other attacks. For example, the hacker could try and download other malicious software to the machine to log a person's keystrokes and collect financial or personal data.
F-Secure, which specializes in finding rootkits, says its technology is only able to "suspect" if Mebroot is on a PC. F-Secure has said it is possible to detect the trojan using their security software CD to boot up the PC.
Dungeons & Dragons Creator Gary Gygax Passed Away
Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.
He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.
Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.
Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.
"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."
Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.
He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.
Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.
Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.
"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."
Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.
AMD 780 Series Released
Businesswire.com reports AMD has released what AMD is calling the industry’s most advanced motherboard GPU, the AMD 780 Series.
The AMD 780 Series motherboard GPU is scheduled to be widely available from more than 40 AMD partners at launch. Global OEMs are expected to offer AMD 780 Series-based PCs starting later in 2008.
The AMD 780 Series motherboard GPU is a core platform component for both the AMD desktop PC platform codenamed “Cartwheel” and AMD notebook PC platform codenamed “Puma” which are both scheduled to launch in the second half of 2008.
ATI Hybrid Graphics Technology & Mainstream DirectX10 Gaming
As the first AMD chipset to offer DirectX 10 game compatibility, casual gamers can now enjoy enhanced game performance, truly lifelike 3D graphics and dynamic interactivity in the latest game titles. Gamers looking to scale their performance with the addition of a discrete graphics card can achieve superior performance with ATI Hybrid Graphics Technology This technology harnesses the graphics power of both a discrete graphics card and the motherboard GPU in tandem, delivering in some applications up to 70 percent improvements in 3D performance. In addition, the AMD 780G chipset is the second generation AMD chipset to feature AMD OverdriveTM, a simple user interface that brings performance tuning and overclocking to the general public.
“AMD continues to deliver innovative hardware technology so that consumers and game enthusiasts can enjoy improved graphics experiences on Windows Vista," said Kevin Unangst, senior global director of Games for Windows, Microsoft. "The new 780G series chipset provides enhanced performance scalability in DirectX 10 to gamers of all types, from casual to hardcore, so that everyone using DirectX 10 on Windows Vista can have a fantastic gaming experience that is tailored to their needs."
The Ultimate Visual Experience™ for HD
The AMD 780G chipset brings a full HD experience with support for the latest and most demanding formats, including VC-1, MPEG-2 and H.264 to the mainstream PC. Featuring the AMD Unified Video Decoder (UVD), it directs HD playback to the better-suited GPU rather than to the CPU so consumers may enjoy a smooth HD viewing experience—no lag, stalling or dropped scenes—in the latest HD-DVD™ and Blu-rayTM titles. As a cool and quiet solution, AMD 780G-powered PCs may be placed in the living room as part of a home theater. In addition, PCs built around the AMD 780G can give consumers tremendous flexibility with a broad range of video interfaces, including DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI, and with support for AMD SurroundviewTM consumers may connect to multiple monitors.
Energy Efficient Computing
As the world’s first chipset to deliver 55nm process technology, the AMD 780 Series motherboard GPU delivers optimal power management both in idle, or when playing Blu-ray movies, without compromising performance. This motherboard GPU provides more computing power than the previous generation, yet draws less energy at idle, making the AMD 780 Series- based PCs ideal for consumers and enterprises looking for cool, quiet, energy efficient PCs.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Buy.com RevolutionCard Promotion
Buy.com and RevolutionCard also the founders of Revolution Money Exchange are currently running a promotion of $50 off any purchase over $51.00 when using your RevolutionCard.
Promotion ends on March 21, 2008, is valid for new RevolutionCard accountholders only. So shoppers must apply and be approved for a new credit account with RevolutionCard.
The RevolutionCard offers
Promotion ends on March 21, 2008, is valid for new RevolutionCard accountholders only. So shoppers must apply and be approved for a new credit account with RevolutionCard.
The RevolutionCard offers
- Greater security because it's a PIN-based credit card.
Non-embossed card helps protect your identity.
No annual fee. No gimmicks.
Low APRs with no teaser rates.
Card issued by First Bank & Trust, Brookings, S.D.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
No Tech Hacking
Forbes.com covers a story on Johnny Long the "No-Tech Hacker".
Long shows us the no or low tech way hackers have worked for years by exploiting the simple things. Why use cross-site scripting, DNS poisoning or SQL injection when you can gain access through the back door. And no I don't mean through a software back door. I mean through the emergency exit.
"By law, employees have to be able to leave a building without showing credentials," Long says. "So the way out is often the easiest way in."
Hired to breach a secure building with proximity card readers, Long to the old-fashioned approach. Instead of looking for vulnerabilities or trying to hack the card readers at the building's entrances, he and another hacker shimmied a wet washcloth on a hanger through a thin gap in one of its exits. Flopping the washcloth around, they triggered a touch-sensitive metal plate that opened the door and gave them free roam of the building. "We defeated millions of dollars of security with a piece of wire and a washcloth," Long recalls, gleefully.
Long, who runs the site IHackStuff.com, has recently released the book No Tech Hacking: A Guide to Social Engineering, Dumpster Diving, and Shoulder Surfing
also works as a penetration tester for Computer Sciences Corporation. A company which employees and outsources "white-hat" hackers to probe weak points in a company's information security.
Long shows us the no or low tech way hackers have worked for years by exploiting the simple things. Why use cross-site scripting, DNS poisoning or SQL injection when you can gain access through the back door. And no I don't mean through a software back door. I mean through the emergency exit.
"By law, employees have to be able to leave a building without showing credentials," Long says. "So the way out is often the easiest way in."
Hired to breach a secure building with proximity card readers, Long to the old-fashioned approach. Instead of looking for vulnerabilities or trying to hack the card readers at the building's entrances, he and another hacker shimmied a wet washcloth on a hanger through a thin gap in one of its exits. Flopping the washcloth around, they triggered a touch-sensitive metal plate that opened the door and gave them free roam of the building. "We defeated millions of dollars of security with a piece of wire and a washcloth," Long recalls, gleefully.
Long, who runs the site IHackStuff.com, has recently released the book No Tech Hacking: A Guide to Social Engineering, Dumpster Diving, and Shoulder Surfing
also works as a penetration tester for Computer Sciences Corporation. A company which employees and outsources "white-hat" hackers to probe weak points in a company's information security.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Guide To Buying Digital Converter Boxes
Looking for Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes?
If you've already gone to dtv2009.gov and applied for and received your convert box coupon that means you are now looking for places to buy your new box. As of right now your options are going to be limited to a handful of stores.
Currently DTV2009.gov only list the following four national retailers, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Radio Shack and Best Buy as participating in the program. They've got over one hundred retailers total, mostly local, you can check the list via PDF here. Here is the current list of Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes however from the looks of it you are going to be limited to a few selections from the national retailers, the local guys might carry a boarder selection.
Where to buy your Digital Converter Box?
The following products are sold in store only and I'd suggest calling ahead to check for availability.
- Best-Buy is selling the Insignia NS-DXA1 for $59.99 Radio Shack now has two converter boxes, the Zenith DTT900 and the Digital Stream DTX9900 both selling for $59.99 Wal-Mart has the Magnavox TB100MW9 for $49.87 Circuit City is also carrying the Zenith DTT900 for $59.99
All four stores range from $49.87-$59.99 meaning you will need to pay a small amount to receive your converter.
There is currently only one online store listed as an NTIA certified retailer and that is BSAT. They have two boxes listed, the Artec T3A for $56.99 and the CoShip 9900T for $57.99, both with free shipping.
iPhone SDK Launches March 6th
Thursday, March 6, Apple will host one of its Town Hall meetings at its Cupertino headquarters to discuss the state of the iPhone. Apple will likely divulge information about the SDK itself, the approval process for applications, and information on how the applications will be distributed.
With the iPhone SDK, developers can create Web 2.0 applications which look and behave just like the applications built into the iPhone, and which can seamlessly access iPhone’s services, including making a phone call, sending an email and displaying a location in Google Maps.
Hackers have already been crafting clever add-ons that range from instant access to a Blockbuster Online DVD queue to a pocket guitar that takes advantage of the touch screen. However with the new SDK package Apple expects there will be an influx of both commercial and freeware programs for user to use.
Several sources familiar with Apple’s plans, have said Apple with distribute the new programs through iTunes and they intend to approve all the applications that will made their way on iTunes. This controversial decision was rebuffed by others saying Apple’s approval will apply only to the commercial applications, while the free ones are not the subject to the same rules. But is still unclear if Apple plans to distribute the free applications through its iTunes.
Speculation as always with Apple should be taken with a grain of salt. We truly don't know what to expect until Steve Jobs and crew make it official.
eBay Facing More Business Challenges
eBay Inc warned shareholders in its annual report on Friday that it faces difficulty getting former customers to return, adding to the normal challenge of attracting new users to its sites.
The significant changes made in January in fees and policies on its marketplaces have been controversial with many sellers. The backlash cultivated a recent strike by sellers, which reverberates what eBay has told its shareholders. Sellers are simply moving to other options such as Amazon.com.
"If these changes cause sellers to move their business away from our sites or otherwise fail to improve gross merchandise volume or the number of successful listings, our operating results and profitability will be harmed," eBay said.
It looks like the auction giant might want to rethink some of their recent policy changes.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Microsoft Cuts Vista Prices
Microsoft has announced plans to cut retail prices on several Vista versions once service pack one is released to the public.Windows Vista Ultimate will drop to $319 from $399 for the full version and down to $219 from $259 for an "upgrade" version. Vista Home Premium will be slashed down to $129 from $239. And for users that are ready to take the Vista plunge yet Microsoft said it would continue to sell Windows XP until June 2008.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Intel Vs AMD, The Updated Version
With emerging technologies coming out so quickly its always hard to stay on top of the latest and greatest. Finding accurate updated comparisons of Intel and AMD's CPUs is no different.
There are several sites on the web that have posted great articles comparing the best of the best from both companies. And doing a quick Google search turns up many great results. However articles such as "AMD vs. Intel: What to Get? Which is Better?" posted on PCStats.com back in Aug. 2007 or "Intel vs. AMD: Today's generation compared" posted on The Tech Report in March 2007 aren't going to be very useful given the fact that we now have several new CPUs on the market.
In fact one of the top hits shown on Google was from CNet.com. Thew article titled "CNET prizefight: AMD vs. Intel dual-core CPUs" is from 2005. While it was a decent article back then it really shows little relevance to todays market.
To avoid the pitfalls of finding outdated material I recommend looking at two sites that are constantly updating.
The first would be Tom's Hardware, they have CPU charts dated from 2004-2007 (with '08 CPUs). The 2007 Interactive CPU Chart allows users to compare most of the popular CPUs on the market today.
The second site is the PassMark CPU Benchmarks at CPUBenchmark.net. PassMark is a hardware benchmark utility that allows users to test and compare the performance of their computers to a number of standard 'baseline' computers. The charts provides a visual guide of CPU rankings from low-end to high-end CPUs.
Both charts provide accurate, easy to use impartial information. The PassMark chart doesn't allow for comparison within common programs as Tom's Hardware does however for the beginner its a great place to start. I highly recommend either one for anyone from beginner to advanced as a guide on which CPU would best fit their budget for their next PC.
There are several sites on the web that have posted great articles comparing the best of the best from both companies. And doing a quick Google search turns up many great results. However articles such as "AMD vs. Intel: What to Get? Which is Better?" posted on PCStats.com back in Aug. 2007 or "Intel vs. AMD: Today's generation compared" posted on The Tech Report in March 2007 aren't going to be very useful given the fact that we now have several new CPUs on the market.
In fact one of the top hits shown on Google was from CNet.com. Thew article titled "CNET prizefight: AMD vs. Intel dual-core CPUs" is from 2005. While it was a decent article back then it really shows little relevance to todays market.
To avoid the pitfalls of finding outdated material I recommend looking at two sites that are constantly updating.
The first would be Tom's Hardware, they have CPU charts dated from 2004-2007 (with '08 CPUs). The 2007 Interactive CPU Chart allows users to compare most of the popular CPUs on the market today.
The second site is the PassMark CPU Benchmarks at CPUBenchmark.net. PassMark is a hardware benchmark utility that allows users to test and compare the performance of their computers to a number of standard 'baseline' computers. The charts provides a visual guide of CPU rankings from low-end to high-end CPUs.
Both charts provide accurate, easy to use impartial information. The PassMark chart doesn't allow for comparison within common programs as Tom's Hardware does however for the beginner its a great place to start. I highly recommend either one for anyone from beginner to advanced as a guide on which CPU would best fit their budget for their next PC.
Bill Seeks Crack Down On College File-Sharing
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act includes provisions to crack down on students downloading music and movies over the school's network.
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 not only tries to make college more affordable and loan agencies more transparent it also adds penalties for noncompliance if colleges don't set stricter controls over P2P file sharing.
Many colleges already have policies in place, and try their best to prevent students from illegal file sharing however as well all know that is next to impossible. Once a barrier is set into place it only take a determined mind a few tools and time to find away around it.
Mark A. Luker, vice president of Educause, a nonprofit that works with colleges to promote the intelligent use of technology has said technologies—such as those that Congress, the RIAA, and the MPAA are promoting—just aren't effective yet.
"Monitoring technology touted by the MPAA and RIAA is still in a primitive stage," Luker says, "and the proposed law asks every college to implement these expensive monitoring technologies that simply aren't developed enough to handle the task. These applications often miss music or movie downloads, or they block many transfers that are legal for students to download."
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 not only tries to make college more affordable and loan agencies more transparent it also adds penalties for noncompliance if colleges don't set stricter controls over P2P file sharing.
Many colleges already have policies in place, and try their best to prevent students from illegal file sharing however as well all know that is next to impossible. Once a barrier is set into place it only take a determined mind a few tools and time to find away around it.
Mark A. Luker, vice president of Educause, a nonprofit that works with colleges to promote the intelligent use of technology has said technologies—such as those that Congress, the RIAA, and the MPAA are promoting—just aren't effective yet.
"Monitoring technology touted by the MPAA and RIAA is still in a primitive stage," Luker says, "and the proposed law asks every college to implement these expensive monitoring technologies that simply aren't developed enough to handle the task. These applications often miss music or movie downloads, or they block many transfers that are legal for students to download."
eBay Sellers Strike Worth Noticing
After the recent pricing and policy changes at eBay sellers went on strike forcing a 13% drop in new listings.
According to dealscart.com and medved.net, eBay auctions dropped to around 13 million since the strike began, amounting to an estimated 13 percent dent in listings overall.
An article from USAToday titled "Online auction listings down 13% in boycott of eBay", shows just how wide spread the boycott has reached. However it looks like it has made little impact on the "power to be" at Ebay.
Jim Griffith, dean of eBay Education, is quoted as saying that the site's internal statistics show the boycott "has had no impact on our listings." Despite the protest, eBay is not considering altering or postponing its policies, Griffith says. "A lot of deliberation went into these decisions."
Personally I don't see how they can ignore such a far reaching outcry from its sellers. They may be able to shrug of a small decline in auctions over a short term but there seems to be a big move away from eBay. I've seen many long term powersellers taking their business elsewhere.
According to dealscart.com and medved.net, eBay auctions dropped to around 13 million since the strike began, amounting to an estimated 13 percent dent in listings overall.
An article from USAToday titled "Online auction listings down 13% in boycott of eBay", shows just how wide spread the boycott has reached. However it looks like it has made little impact on the "power to be" at Ebay.
Jim Griffith, dean of eBay Education, is quoted as saying that the site's internal statistics show the boycott "has had no impact on our listings." Despite the protest, eBay is not considering altering or postponing its policies, Griffith says. "A lot of deliberation went into these decisions."
Personally I don't see how they can ignore such a far reaching outcry from its sellers. They may be able to shrug of a small decline in auctions over a short term but there seems to be a big move away from eBay. I've seen many long term powersellers taking their business elsewhere.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
New Name And Custom Domain
As you may have noticed I've changed the blogs name to Geek-News. This is due to a possible change in the blogs domain. I've bought two new domains geek-news.net and geek-news.org and have been working on setting up a custom domain. Unfortunately I'm not having much success as of yet. I decided on using Ipower as I recently joined their affiliate program. I'll post more on this and the issues I'm facing later.
I may jump ship from blogger/blogspot altogether and use wordpress for my personal hosting. However this seems to be a little more troublesome than I originally thought. I've been reading a few post about exporting/importing blogger posts to wordpress and a few related issues and I'll be keeping it open as an option.
So over the next few days if you see a few errors or reach a few bad pages, don't worry. It will most likely be me making a few changes, or trying to figure out the new settings.
I may jump ship from blogger/blogspot altogether and use wordpress for my personal hosting. However this seems to be a little more troublesome than I originally thought. I've been reading a few post about exporting/importing blogger posts to wordpress and a few related issues and I'll be keeping it open as an option.
So over the next few days if you see a few errors or reach a few bad pages, don't worry. It will most likely be me making a few changes, or trying to figure out the new settings.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
NVIDIA's Hot New Card The GeForce 9600 GT
Official reviews of NVIDIA’s newest mid-range graphics card, the 9600 GT are out and the card looks like a hit. The GeForce 9600 GT is the first release of NVIDIA's GeForce 9 series which will included a 9500 Series, 9600 series and 9800 series. Estimated pricing is $180-$210, competitively pricing the card with the Radeon HD 3850 and Nvidia's own 8600gts.
Official Specifications of the 9600 GT:
Pricing Updated 12/16/08
Official Specifications of the 9600 GT:
- 64 Stream Processors. 20.8 billion texels/s fillrate. 650 MHz core clock, with a 1625 MHz unified shader clock. 900 MHz memory, with a 256-bit memory interface. 256 MiB, 512 MB or 1 GB of DDR2 or GDDR3 memory[5]. 57.6 GB/s memory bandwidth. DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0, OpenGL 2.1, and PCI-Express 2.0[6]. Is compatible with HDCP, but the implementation will depend on the manufacturer. Supports the Quantum Effects physics processing engine. Almost double the performance of the current mid-range card, the GeForce 8600. Estimated cost between $180-$210.
Pricing Updated 12/16/08
- ASUS GeForce 9600 GT EN9600GT/HTDI/512M Video Card
$94.99 After $20.00 MIR Exp 12/31 - Leadtek GeForce 9600 GT PX9600GT Extreme Video Card
$94.99 After $15.00 MIR Exp 1/05/09 - GIGABYTE GeForce 9600 GT GV-NX96T512H Video Card
$109.99 After $10.00 MIR Exp 12/31
Be On The Look Out For Tax Related Phishing
Scammers using very good phishing techniques are targeting people in both the US and the UK.
US IRS phishing emails redirect their victims to sites hosted in Russia and other former Soviet States and they mimic the actual Internal Revenue Service web site almost perfectly. As soon as you've entered your personal and financial information you get redirected to the actual IRS site. Fiendish! Message Labs reports that this type of spam spiked in January, hitting ten times the normal level.
The IRS has pointed out that "The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to individual, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers." If you're wondering how your refund is doing, go directly to www.irs.gov and check the "Where's My Refund?" page. Don't click any links in email that claims to come from the IRS--it doesn't!
According to McAfee, UK phishers are pulling off a similar scam.
Currently an email is being sent out that claims that recipients can get an attractive tax refund from the Government by visiting what turns out to be a bogus website.
"After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of £215 ($420)," says the email. Clicking the links send you off to a bogus site, which is intended to steal person information for identity theft.
US IRS phishing emails redirect their victims to sites hosted in Russia and other former Soviet States and they mimic the actual Internal Revenue Service web site almost perfectly. As soon as you've entered your personal and financial information you get redirected to the actual IRS site. Fiendish! Message Labs reports that this type of spam spiked in January, hitting ten times the normal level.
The IRS has pointed out that "The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to individual, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers." If you're wondering how your refund is doing, go directly to www.irs.gov and check the "Where's My Refund?" page. Don't click any links in email that claims to come from the IRS--it doesn't!
According to McAfee, UK phishers are pulling off a similar scam.
Currently an email is being sent out that claims that recipients can get an attractive tax refund from the Government by visiting what turns out to be a bogus website.
"After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of £215 ($420)," says the email. Clicking the links send you off to a bogus site, which is intended to steal person information for identity theft.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Internet Censorship
Think it can't happen, well think again!
Several European countries are moving forward with Internet filtering. Censorship has hit everything from the popular P2P site The Pirate Bay to sites with pornography.
In Finland, programmer Matti Nikki is under investigation for publishing a secret list of domains that authorities had allegedly censored in an effort to stop the spread of child pornography. Nikki published his list on his site lapsiporno.info to prove that the system was being abused, and was himself censored as a result.
Finland isn't the only country filtering content and blocking sites. Danish authorities recently decided to block file-sharing site The Pirate Bay. So far the only ISP that has been ordered to block the site is Tele2 but plans are in the works to expand the ISPs that have been ordered to block access.
But the censorship doesn't stop there. European Union Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini has asked ISPs to block access to Web sites hosting information about bomb-making, and U.K. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in January that she wanted action taken against sites that encouraged terrorism, including social networking sites.
Such actions could have wider consequences: "If the EU starts to filter sites related to piracy, terrorism and child pornography, it will have some serious effects on the freedom to communicate," said Swedish Internet activist Oscar Swartz.
Several European countries are moving forward with Internet filtering. Censorship has hit everything from the popular P2P site The Pirate Bay to sites with pornography.
In Finland, programmer Matti Nikki is under investigation for publishing a secret list of domains that authorities had allegedly censored in an effort to stop the spread of child pornography. Nikki published his list on his site lapsiporno.info to prove that the system was being abused, and was himself censored as a result.
Finland isn't the only country filtering content and blocking sites. Danish authorities recently decided to block file-sharing site The Pirate Bay. So far the only ISP that has been ordered to block the site is Tele2 but plans are in the works to expand the ISPs that have been ordered to block access.
But the censorship doesn't stop there. European Union Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini has asked ISPs to block access to Web sites hosting information about bomb-making, and U.K. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in January that she wanted action taken against sites that encouraged terrorism, including social networking sites.
Such actions could have wider consequences: "If the EU starts to filter sites related to piracy, terrorism and child pornography, it will have some serious effects on the freedom to communicate," said Swedish Internet activist Oscar Swartz.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
GSM Calls Cracked
An "attack" on GSM based phones can open a vulnerability allowing would be attackers to eavesdrop on calls.
The attack the was recently demonstrated by David Hulton and Steve Muller at the Black Hat security conference using less than $1000 worth of hardware.
GSM is used all over the world by mobile phone companies, and is used in the U.S. by several networks, including AT&T and T-Mobile. So far the GSM network has been considered to be secure enough that even criminals use it.
According to the TechWorld article "GSM phone calls cracked for $1,000 a time" The 'attack' depends on exploiting a vulnerability in the way GSM sets up calls. Assuming an attacker was able to find out a phone's mobile subscription identification number and built-in hardware ID - garnered by sending a text message to that phone say - they would have enough information to isolate calls from that phone.
Hulton has said, "his company, Pico Computing, is now developing the fast version, which cost approximately $100,000 and can crack phones in as little 30 seconds to sell to agencies such as law enforcement, but plans to give away the slower version for free."
The attack the was recently demonstrated by David Hulton and Steve Muller at the Black Hat security conference using less than $1000 worth of hardware.
GSM is used all over the world by mobile phone companies, and is used in the U.S. by several networks, including AT&T and T-Mobile. So far the GSM network has been considered to be secure enough that even criminals use it.
According to the TechWorld article "GSM phone calls cracked for $1,000 a time" The 'attack' depends on exploiting a vulnerability in the way GSM sets up calls. Assuming an attacker was able to find out a phone's mobile subscription identification number and built-in hardware ID - garnered by sending a text message to that phone say - they would have enough information to isolate calls from that phone.
Hulton has said, "his company, Pico Computing, is now developing the fast version, which cost approximately $100,000 and can crack phones in as little 30 seconds to sell to agencies such as law enforcement, but plans to give away the slower version for free."
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Unlimited Calling Plans Start Price War
Verizon Wireless and AT&T unveiled $99.99-a-month plans for unlimited calls, a great deal right? Well not much after the announcement T-Mobile went a step further by including text messaging in that price.
Now it looks like Sprint/Nextel will be offering an even better deal, an unlimited calling plan for as low as $60 a month. At least according to a recent Reuters article. The article "Sprint expected to undercut rivals' call plans" predicts that Sprint Nextel Corp is expected to offer flat-rate calling plans at up to a 40 percent discount to its rivals.
This could be great news for many cell phone users. Personally I'd like to see lower fees across the board. AT&T, my service provider, has been raising fees gradually over the last several years. The new price war might reverse that, or could lead me to switch providers.
Now it looks like Sprint/Nextel will be offering an even better deal, an unlimited calling plan for as low as $60 a month. At least according to a recent Reuters article. The article "Sprint expected to undercut rivals' call plans" predicts that Sprint Nextel Corp is expected to offer flat-rate calling plans at up to a 40 percent discount to its rivals.
This could be great news for many cell phone users. Personally I'd like to see lower fees across the board. AT&T, my service provider, has been raising fees gradually over the last several years. The new price war might reverse that, or could lead me to switch providers.
Convert Your HD DVDs to Blu-Ray
Wired.com has a great how-to for converting HD DVDs to Blu-ray.
The process is described as "simple in principle but excruciating in practice". Mainly do to the complexity of the technology, the need for several applications and the fact that the industry doesn't want you format-shifting at all.
But it is still a useful article for anyone that currently owns HD DVDs and wants to upgrade them to the Blu-ray format.
Customer Sues Comcast
Sanford Sidner is one pissed off Comcast customer. He's so mad in fact that he has filled a lawsuit in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit accuses Comcast of false advertising over its claim that its Internet service allows "unfettered access to all the content, services, and applications that the Internet has to offer."
This is the second such lawsuit that Comcast has been hit with in a matter of months. In November 2007 a Comcast customer in California filled a similar suit. PC Magazine covered that lawsuit in the article "Comcast Sued for Blocking P2P Sites". In that suit Jon Hart claimed that "Comcast was sending hidden messages to computers that are running file sharing applications, [which] appear to the computer as coming from the other computers with which it is sharing files, telling it to stop communicating,".
Comcast has been defending its filtering practice for years now. However recently the FCC stepped in to determine what, exactly, constitutes reasonable network management by ISPs.
The fight between customers and their ISP's over Net Neutrality looks to be a heated one. Recently AT&T, TW, Verizon sided with Comcast against the recent Net Neutrality regulation.
This is the second such lawsuit that Comcast has been hit with in a matter of months. In November 2007 a Comcast customer in California filled a similar suit. PC Magazine covered that lawsuit in the article "Comcast Sued for Blocking P2P Sites". In that suit Jon Hart claimed that "Comcast was sending hidden messages to computers that are running file sharing applications, [which] appear to the computer as coming from the other computers with which it is sharing files, telling it to stop communicating,".
Comcast has been defending its filtering practice for years now. However recently the FCC stepped in to determine what, exactly, constitutes reasonable network management by ISPs.
The fight between customers and their ISP's over Net Neutrality looks to be a heated one. Recently AT&T, TW, Verizon sided with Comcast against the recent Net Neutrality regulation.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Intel's "Skulltrail"
Intel ships out the long awaited, much anticipated "Skulltrail" Gaming Platform.
The Skulltrail features the Intel D5400XS motherboard, supporting two QX9775 processors, at 3.2GHz, with 12MB of L2 cache and a 1,600 MHz FSB. The QX9775 processors will be shipped unlocked, so overclockers and system builders will get a chance right out of the gate to see how far they can push these CPU's. TG Daily has already published an article Toughting 5ghz
The D5400XS motherboard also supports up to four PCIe x16 graphics cards meaning triple and quad graphics cards for multiple monitors may be supported.
PC Perspective has an impressive article with some preliminary benchmarks, "Intel Skulltrail Platform Review - Eight Cores, SLI and CrossFire". ExtremeTech has a similar article "Skulltrail: A Preview of Intel's Beast".
Pricing
Paying for this beast of a machine will set you back a pretty penny. The QX9775 processors are available now at $1,499 each, and the D5400XS board is $649. Add on $500 or more for a couple high end video cards, throw in a few Raptor drives, and don't forget that FB-Dimm (aka fully buffered server memory) and you'll be paying a small fortune.
The Skulltrail features the Intel D5400XS motherboard, supporting two QX9775 processors, at 3.2GHz, with 12MB of L2 cache and a 1,600 MHz FSB. The QX9775 processors will be shipped unlocked, so overclockers and system builders will get a chance right out of the gate to see how far they can push these CPU's. TG Daily has already published an article Toughting 5ghz
The D5400XS motherboard also supports up to four PCIe x16 graphics cards meaning triple and quad graphics cards for multiple monitors may be supported.
PC Perspective has an impressive article with some preliminary benchmarks, "Intel Skulltrail Platform Review - Eight Cores, SLI and CrossFire". ExtremeTech has a similar article "Skulltrail: A Preview of Intel's Beast".
Pricing
Paying for this beast of a machine will set you back a pretty penny. The QX9775 processors are available now at $1,499 each, and the D5400XS board is $649. Add on $500 or more for a couple high end video cards, throw in a few Raptor drives, and don't forget that FB-Dimm (aka fully buffered server memory) and you'll be paying a small fortune.
Microsoft Gives Away Software
Microsoft is giving away, free of charge, development and design tools. Yes its true, Microsoft is giving away Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2003, XNA Game Studio 2.0 and Microsoft Expression Studio.
The program labeled DreamSpark is available to students whose studies include technology, design, math science and engineering. Currently the offer is available to 35 million college students in the U.S., China, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. with plans on expanding to more than 1 billion high school and college students
"We want to do everything we can to equip a new generation of technology leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to harness the magic of software to improve lives, solve problems, and catalyze economic growth," Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in a statement.
The program labeled DreamSpark is available to students whose studies include technology, design, math science and engineering. Currently the offer is available to 35 million college students in the U.S., China, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. with plans on expanding to more than 1 billion high school and college students
"We want to do everything we can to equip a new generation of technology leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to harness the magic of software to improve lives, solve problems, and catalyze economic growth," Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in a statement.
HD DVD Dead, Long Live Blu-Ray
Following much speculation and several reports, including my own, Toshiba finally made the announcement that they are pulling out of the HD DVD market and will stop shipping players at the end of March.
"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, president and CEO of Toshiba Corporation in a statement. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."
Now that HD DVD has been dealt its final death blow Blu-ray prices are to fall. A single format should help accelerate the shift to the new technology. It has been speculated that prices will fall slowly over the year, with more major cuts coming later in year towards Christmas time.
Analysts expect more Blu-ray players to be embedded in laptop and desktop personal computers from next year. Companies such as Apple Inc, Dell Inc, Philips and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, could start investing more aggressively in the technology and get a head-start in terms of launching products. Dell has already showed an influx of desktops that are fitted with Blu-Ray drives, however the prices are still a little too high for many consumers.
The announcement has had an impact on the gaming world as well. Currently Sony is expecting a bigger push and better sales of their PS3. Microsoft however has not commented on any plans for their HD DVD equipped Xbox 360's. So its unclear if there are plans for a Blu-Ray equipped version or not.
"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, president and CEO of Toshiba Corporation in a statement. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."
Now that HD DVD has been dealt its final death blow Blu-ray prices are to fall. A single format should help accelerate the shift to the new technology. It has been speculated that prices will fall slowly over the year, with more major cuts coming later in year towards Christmas time.
Analysts expect more Blu-ray players to be embedded in laptop and desktop personal computers from next year. Companies such as Apple Inc, Dell Inc, Philips and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, could start investing more aggressively in the technology and get a head-start in terms of launching products. Dell has already showed an influx of desktops that are fitted with Blu-Ray drives, however the prices are still a little too high for many consumers.
The announcement has had an impact on the gaming world as well. Currently Sony is expecting a bigger push and better sales of their PS3. Microsoft however has not commented on any plans for their HD DVD equipped Xbox 360's. So its unclear if there are plans for a Blu-Ray equipped version or not.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Rinspeed sQuba Car
Mobile Magazine covers the Rinspeed sQuba. An underwater concept car created by Rinspeed a Swiss automobile manufacturer and tuning designer.
The sQuba is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water. The sQuba is a zero-emission, all electric vehicle which uses three electric motors, one for land travel and two for water. It drives on land powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Upon entering water, it floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge it. It can be submerged to a depth of 33 ft, powered by twin electric-powered propellers supplemented by two Seabob water jets. It "flies" when underwater, like a submarine, as it is not designed to drive along the surface at the bottom of the water. The car's top land speed is measly 75 mph while on the surface of water, the top speed is 3.7 mph and underwater approx. 2mph.
The car transports a driver and passenger in its open cockpit. When underwater, the occupants breathe air carried in the vehicle through scuba-style rebreathers.
Read the entire Mobile Magazine article and view the video"Video: Rinspeed sQuba Car Can Actually Swim On Water, Underwater". For more information on Rinspeed and the sQuba or other Rinspeed concept cars visit Rinspeeds home page
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