Archive for July 2006
Knock Some Commands Into Your Laptop
Straight from Slashdot: “For the first time, you can smack your computer and get a meaningful response! An article at IBM Devworks show you how to rap on the laptop case with your knuckles and have commands run on those knocks. Enterprising hackers have developed modules for the Linux kernel to take advantage of laptop integrated accelerometer sensors; with them the possibilities are endless.”
Police: Gibson arrest ‘without incident’
Straight from CNN.com: “LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday stood by his statement that Friday morning’s arrest of actor Mel Gibson on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol occurred “without incident.”"Every time somebody is arrested, something out of the ordinary happens, but guns don’t always have to be drawn,” said spokesman Steve Whitmore. “Without incident means without force.”
Whitmore’s statements came as the entertainment news Web site TMZ.com reported that Gibson launched into a tirade when he was arrested, swearing and hurling anti-Semitic and sexist remarks.
According to the site, the report said Gibson’s comments included, “F—— Jews… The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” and that he asked a deputy, “Are you a Jew?”
Microsoft Adds Risky System-Wide Undelete to Vista
Straight from Slashdot: “Windows Vista will have a new ‘previous versions’ feature when it ships next year. According to Ars Technica, the feature is built off of the volume shadow copy technology from Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Now turned on by default, the service stores the modified versions of a user’s documents, even after they are deleted. They also report that you can browse folders from within Explorer to see snapshots of what they contained over time. It can be disabled, but this seems like a privacy concern.” From the article:
“Some users will find the feature objectionable because it could give the bossman a new way to check up on employees, or perhaps it could be exploited in some nefarious way by some nefarious person. Previous versions of Windows were still susceptible to undelete utilities, of course, but this new functionality makes browsing quite, quite simple. On the other hand, it should be noted that ‘Previous Versions’ does not store its data in the files themselves. That is, unlike Microsoft Office’s ‘track changes,’ files protected with ‘Previous Versions’ will not carry their documentary history with them.”
50th Anniversary of the First Hard Drive
Straight from Slashdot: “Over at Newsweek Steven Levy has a column commemorating IBM’s introduction of the first hard drive 50 years ago. The drive was the size of two refrigerators, weighed a ton, and had a vast 5MB capacity. They also discuss the future of data storage.” From the article:
“Experts agree that the amazing gains in storage density at low cost will continue for at least the next couple of decades, allowing cheap peta-bytes (millions of gigabytes) of storage to corporations and terabytes (thousands of gigs) to the home. Meanwhile, drives with mere hundreds of gigabytes will be small enough to wear as jewelry.”
The Business Model of Ubuntu
Straight from Slashdot: “Open-source software companies, such as Ubunutu (an open-source Linux distribution), are better able to respond to user request and bugs than traditional software companies, such as Microsoft. Simon Law, head of the Quality Assurance department at Ubuntu in a talk given to the UW Computer Science Club, explains why this is, and how Ubuntu is leveraging the open-source model. Simon explains how the QA department at Ubuntu differs from traditional QA departments, through its use of the open-source community at large. Most interesting is Simon’s views on what motivates open-source developers to develop software, and how open-source oriented businesses (specifically Ubunutu) are making money.”
More Details Emerge: Archos 404 and 604
Straight from Gizmodo: “We first heard a tiny bit of information about the Archos 404 portable media player six weeks ago, and now a few more facts have emerged, showing the diminutive unit (5.11″ x 3″ x .6″ thick) with a 3.5″ LCD display that’s in a 4×3 format with 320×240 pixels, supporting a variety of video and audio formats as long as your arm (spec list after the jump). We’re also hearing the Archos 604 is forthcoming, with comparable specs except with a 16×9 (480×272) widescreen display instead of a 4×3.
Perhaps most intriguing is an optional docking station, compatible with all the players in the x04 series, that will turn these babies into personal video recorders, laying down video in DivX 5.0, or even H.264 with the appropriate plug-ins. Availability wasn’t announced, but the company earlier mentioned these players will be available in July or August, so we’re thinking we’ll be seeing them fairly soon. Pricing for the Archos 404 will be $435, and the Archos 604 will be $508.”
Straight from 
Fajr-5 missiles fired at Israel
Straight from YNet News: “Hizbullah steps up attacks: For the first time since the fighting in the north began 17 days ago, Hizbullah launched five Pajr-5 missiles at Israel Friday afternoon. Police officials said that long-range missiles of this type can carry a larger amount of explosives than the rockets that had been fired at Israel so far. A short while later, the IDF reported it had destroyed the rocket launcher used for firing the missiles. The missiles landed in open areas between Afula and the Beit Shean Valley, causing no injuries.
A short while later sirens were heard in the Haifa and Krayot area and residents were ordered into shelters and protected areas. Some rockets landed in open areas near Haifa. In a separate barrage a rocket landed in Nahariya, hitting a vehicle that immediately caught fire. Another rocket struck a public building in town and damaged it. No injuries were reported in the attacks.”
Syrian reporter: In Syria there is atmosphere of eve of war
Straight from YNet News: “As the conflict with Hizbullah in Lebanon escalates by the day, the question of Syria’s involvement in the conflict becomes increasingly more relevant.”The atmosphere in Syria is in every way an atmosphere of war, or at least of the eve of war. Syrian television for the first time since the ’80′s has started broadcasting Syrian military marches and nationalistic songs. There is not difference between Syrian television broadcasts and Al-Manar broadcasts of the Hizbullah. The broadcasts are in preparation for war, as if Syria is involved in this war, or is going to be involved at any moment. The local newspapers and the television are conducting themselves as if they are preparing the Syrian public for war.”
Ballmer Speaks on His Solo Act
Straight from Slashdot: “In his first one-on-one interview since Bill Gates’s retirement announcement, Steve Ballmer tells the Wall Street Journal he is bullish on Microsoft’s investments in online services, and he dismisses as ‘random malarkey’ the idea that Microsoft is having trouble hiring and keeping the kind of brilliant employees that have always been the company’s competitive weapon. Here’s Ballmer on Gates’s departure: ‘As co-leaders of the business, I could allow Bill to be the full-time champion of innovation. And [now] with me really being the guy who’s here every day running the place, I must be the champion of innovation.’ And on competing with Google: ‘We’re going to compete. We’re going to be in the online business. We are going to have a core around online. We’re going to be excellent. That, I would tell people, to count on…’”
Microsoft to turn an Xbox profit in 2008?
Straight from Joystiq: “Microsoft has a history of bleeding losses in its games division including 2005 fiscal year losses of $485 million and 2006 losses of $1.26 billion. Despite cost reduction attempts, the company still expects to incur losses in the 2007 fiscal year, this according to the entertainment and devices division president, Robbie Bach. The hopefully news, however, is that in fiscal 2008, MS could see some black ink in its games division for the first time ever.”
OSS on Windows the Next Big Thing?
Straight from Slashdot: “Linux geeks and Microsoft have similar interests, says Computerworld: They both are interested in seeing open-source software succeed. Linux geeks admit that the open source OS isn’t necessarily a better platform for important applications, and Microsoft recognizes that many of its customers are using open-source applications, and doesn’t want to alienate them.” From the article:
“Faced with the allure of inexpensive open-source applications among its core customer base of small to midsize businesses, Microsoft has toned down its rhetoric. ‘It’s a myth that open-source and Windows can’t work together. Customers just aren’t religious about these things,’ said Ryan Gavin, a director of platform strategy for Microsoft.”
Microsoft confirms existence of Zune
Straight from Ars Technica: “Microsoft has confirmed the existence of the Zune portable music player and says that it will be out by the end of the year. In an interview published in this week’s Billboard Magazine, Microsoft GM of Marketing for MSN Entertainment Business Chris Stephenson says that Zune is “a family of hardware and software products” targeting various digital entertainment services.The Zune has been rumored to be capable of playing digital music, video, gaming, and downloading music over an 802.11b/g connection. Right now, however, Microsoft says the primary focus for the device will be on music. Zune will indeed have the rumored WiFi capability as well as an internal hard drive. Stephenson declined to divulge the full tech specs for the device, saying that those have yet to be decided.”
Opteron revision due in August
Straight from Ars Technica: “While Intel seems to be spending the entire summer rolling out new chips based on its Core architecture, AMD is still months away from any architecture transition of its own. In light of that, it’s fighting back as best it can, with massive price cuts across the board and the debut of a new Opteron CPU next month.”
Big brother wants a window into VoIP at any cost
Straight from Ars Technica: “The FBI wants the ability to tap VoIP calls. To do this, the agency also wants access to all of your network traffic—and it looks like it’s on the way to getting it. Following a long set of legal battles, the US Court of Appeals in June upheld 2-1 a newer and broader definition of CALEA’s scope that could affect every university and library in the country.While the case may not be fully settled until the Supreme Court hears it, the Justice Department has announced plans to cut the legs out from beneath it. The DoJ proposed a series of amendments to the original legislation which explicitly give the FBI the authority it seeks. Unfortunately for network operators, these amendments could be costly—and the government has no plans to help them foot the bill. If either 1) the amendments pass or 2) the courts uphold the FCC decision, CALEA will open the floodgates for easy government surveillance of Internet activity, and it could cost taxpayers a bundle.”
Nokia tests Unlicensed Mobile Access phone technology
Straight from Ars Technica: “Nokia launched yesterday the very first public test of Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), an innovative mobile communications technology that facilitates seamless handover between WiFi and cell networks. Nokia’s dual-mode UMA phones automatically use VoIP when WiFi connectivity is available, and use GSM as a fallback when compatible WiFi networks are inaccessible. The device is capable of switching between networks during roaming as accessibility changes.”
Google launches source code hosting program
Straight from Ars Technica: “Search giant Google has launched a new project hosting service for open source software. Designed to leverage the robust Subversion version control system, the new service provides repository hosting and support for issue tracking. With extremely limited functionality and plenty of rough edges, the nascent open source project hosting service is noticeably inferior to most other Google betaware. Despite the deficiencies, the project has potential, and it will probably become more useful as it continues to evolve. The main page bears the common open source meme “Release early, release often,” a principle that Google seems to have embraced with great enthusiasm given the raw status of the system.”
Another Dell Laptop Goes Ka-Bloom
Straight from Gizmodo: “It was only a month ago that we saw the first Dell laptop explosion. From which Dell said “Oops, our bad.” Well it seems it has happened again, this time it was the battery catching fire in an office building. What is even worse is that it appears to have happened while the laptop was shut. So it may have been in standby mode, which is even more frightening. I’m sitting here writing this on my Dell Inspiron 700m, and I’ll have to admit, I am a little scared. Hold me. Check the Tom’s Hardware link here for more pics and info.”
Nintendo’s Next-Gen Arsenal
Straight from Slashdot: “Much of the coverage of the next-gen skirmish so far has focused on Sony and Microsoft. The already-impressive Xbox Live vs. the PS3. Just the same, for the first time in many years Nintendo is definitely in the running for top spot. About.com has a piece looking at what the big N is bringing to the next-gen party this November. From the article:
“While Nintendo is trend setting with controllers like the Wiimote and, to a lesser extent, the nunchaku dongle, other companies will be following along. Nintendo’s game plan from the genesis of the Wii has been touch and gamer-friendly games. They see the future of gaming in the Wiimote. Everyone else, at this point, seems to be just catching up.”
