No Aero Glass for dirty pirates

Straight from Ars Technica: "When you make the operating system that runs on the overwhelming majority of the world's PCs, there are a few things that go along with the massive market share. One of them is people who want to run your OS without paying for it. Microsoft has taken all sorts of steps in the past to deal with piracy, the most recent being making Windows Genuine Advantage mandatory for downloading updates to Windows XP.With the release of Vista, Microsoft is pulling out a new tool from its antipiracy toolbox. Aero, the new whiz-bang UI for Vista, will only be available to registered users of Windows. That's right–no matter how fast your CPU and graphics card are, if Microsoft determines you are running a pirated version of Vista then it's the toned-down interface for you."

 

Averatec UMPC With Keyboard

Straight from Engadget: "Averatec has a UMPC coming out with a fold out keyboard a la the Sidekick and still maintains the bells and whistles stance of so many other UMPC manufacturers. Webcam—check. Thumbstick—check. Touchscreen—check.No CPU info, but it’s got at least 512MB, 30GB hard drive, WiFi, as well as embedded 3G phone connectivity. Promising."

 

AMD’s revenues up 70%, Gains further on Intel

AMD revenue rises as it gains on Intel | CNET News.com
"AMD saw revenue surge 70 percent during the first quarter as it continued to take market share from Intel, the chipmaker announced Wednesday."

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Google Calendar: real, live, beta

Straight from Ars Technica: "Google just rolled out their calendar application to the public (yes, it's in Beta now), and it looks quite usable. The rumors and screenshots were all true, and it looks like an attempt to return to Google's roots as a provider of simple, usable tools for everyday use."

TBO.com Wants Fake Site Stopped

TBO.com Wants Fake Site Stopped

TAMPA – An executive with the Internet publishing partner of The Tampa Tribune said Tuesday that his company is working to shut down a Web site that publishes fake news and mimics the Tribune's site.

The Web site in question, www.bi.gs, posted a lead story Tuesday about Tampa police arresting three members of "Sigma Delta Pi" sorority at "Westborn College" amid a sex scandal.

A representative for the site could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The site gained notoriety after being included Tuesday on Fark.com, a Web site that collects and posts fake and humorous news.

Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb in 16 Days, U.S. Says

Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb in 16 Days, U.S. Says

April 12 (Bloomberg) — Iran, defying United Nations Security Council demands to halt its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days, a U.S. State Department official said.

Iran will move to "industrial scale'' uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges at its Natanz plant, the Associated Press quoted deputy nuclear chief Mohammad Saeedi as telling state-run television today.

"Using those 50,000 centrifuges they could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in 16 days,'' Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, told reporters today in Moscow.

Mysterious ‘Forcefield’ Tested on US Tanks

Straight from Slashdot: "Not too long ago General Dynamics announced a successful test of their new Trophy Active Defense System (ADS). The Trophy ADS generates something similar to a force field around one half of a vehicle as a direct reaction to incoming fire. From the article: 'The Threat Detection and Warning subsystem consists of several sensors, including flat-panel radars, placed at strategic locations around the protected vehicle, to provide full hemispherical coverage. Once an incoming threat is detected identified and verified, the Countermeasure Assembly is opened, the countermeasure device is positioned in the direction where it can effectively intercept the threat. Then, it is launched automatically into a ballistic trajectory to intercept the incoming threat at a relatively long distance.'"

Border Security System Left Open

Straight from Slashdot: "Wired News is running an article on documents they recovered via the Freedom of Information Act and a lawsuit. From the article:" A computer failure that hobbled border-screening systems at airports across the country last August occurred after Homeland Security officials deliberately held back a security patch that would have protected the sensitive computers from a virus then sweeping the internet, according to documents obtained by Wired News." It looks like Zotob made it in to the supposedly protected network."

The Future of the PDA

Straight from Slashdot: "XYZComputing is taking a look at the future of the PDA and what obstacles might stand in the way of continued popularity. From the article: 'While is hard not to appreciate the PDA's ability to change with the times, it appears that its heady days of mobile dominance are coming to an abrupt end. A number of factors are competing in the mobile products field right now, all of which are vying for the same buyers. The most formidable competition to the PDA is the smartphone, but there is also pressure from small laptops, the upcoming UMPC, increasingly capable cell phones, and a few other takers, like portable media players.'"

Battlestar Galactica creator eyes future games

Straight from Ars Technica: "Video games and Hollywood have a long history together. From the days of the Commodore 64 and Cinemaware there has been an uneasy alliance between games and movie and television properties. These days, a new blockbuster movie is expected to have a video game ready to launch at its premiere date, often compromising the quality of the game as a result (the widely-anticipated yet disappointing Enter the Matrix was a good example of this). Nevertheless, the games typically sell well enough to ensure that the practice continues.What is also becoming more and more common is the involvement of big-name directors and producers in the development of the games themselves. The Wachowski brothers took a special interest in the development of Enter the Matrix, and Peter Jackson had input into the design of King Kong. Now, Ronald Moore, creator of the new Battlestar Galactica TV series, is setting his eyes upon the digital realm."

Military Secrets for Sale on Stolen USB Drives

Straight from Slashdot: "Per a BBC Article, "US forces in Afghanistan are checking reports that stolen computer hardware containing military secrets is being sold at a market beside a big US base. Shopkeepers at a market next to Bagram base, outside Kabul, have been selling memory drives stolen from the facility, the Los Angeles Times newspaper says.""

Cell Division Reversed for the First Time

Straight from Slashdot: "Gary J. Gorbsky, Ph.D., a scientist with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, has found a way to reverse the process of cell division. The discovery could have important implications for the treatment of cancer, birth defects and numerous other diseases and disorders. Gorbsky's findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Nature. "No one has gotten the cell cycle to go backwards before now," said Gorbsky. "This shows that certain events in the cell cycle that have long been assumed irreversible may, in fact, be reversible." In the lab, Gorbsky and his OMRF colleagues were able to control the protein responsible for the division process, interrupt and reverse the event, sending duplicate chromosomes back to the center of the original cell, an event once thought impossible. Here is a video of it happening."