Archive for the 'News from the Web' Category

News From The Web

Published
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GrantGochnauer
on May 2, 2006
in News from the Web
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Beverly Hills Cop 4 coming soon to a theater near you

Revenge of the Nerds is also coming!

Scientists start MONSTER Neutron machine

For the first time Friday, scientists fired up a $1.4 billion research instrument that uses a stream of subatomic particles to analyze metals and other industrial materials.When fully operational, the Energy Department installation will produce a pulsing neutron stream 10 times more intense than that of any other research facility in the world.That stream will let scientists look deeper into the structure and dynamics of different materials.

Rumblings at Sun: Should we Open Source JAVA now?
According to sources inside Sun, an ongoing debate over whether to open-source Java is coming to a head with the JavaOne conference looming May 16. Schwartz, who led the open-sourcing of Solaris, could not be reached for comment on the matter.

Nvidia QUAD 7900GTX setup. (DROOLS!)

Now that more people are buying Macs, tons of bugs are being found. Maybe Macs aren’t as bug-free as everyone thought?
However, according to SANS semi-annual update, “The number of flaws being discovered in the operating system is leaving its reputation as a secure alternative to Windows in tatters,”

[H]OCP takes a took at the Ageia PhysX processor and how it needs some apps soon

[H]OCP examines DirectX 10 and the future of gaming

Apple is running a new Ad campaign in which they tout their immunity to viruses and PC’s unending string of malware.

Best programming fonts

News From The Web

Published
by
GrantGochnauer
on May 1, 2006
in News from the Web
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So it looks as if I won't be driving into work today because of some 500,000 protesters about the immigration reform. Downtown Chicago is going to be INSANE today. more here

Scientists make water run uphill!

Colbert takes a stand at the White House Correspondents' dinner

Vintage bugs stricking back!

MacBook Pros hot because thermal grease not applied properly? OOPS!
More here

WOW!! Check out this commercial for iTalk — Apple's new phone

Microsoft FIJI — Life after VistaAwesome hi-res image of the Sun (2100×2034 pixels)

Giving light a new twist
In the 28 April PRL, researchers describe an optical device that cleanly converts one kind of angular momentum into the other, a demonstration that may ultimately find applications in communication and computing.

Seeing inside your veins. Pretty sweet
The device will help doctors stick a vein the first time. The device should be helpful for children, the elderly, diabetics on dialysis, and treating varicose veins. Very cool

Weekend f00d 4 teh bra1n

Published
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GrantGochnauer
on April 29, 2006
in News from the Web
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Intel to release new chip architecture every 2 years

China to launch first lunar probe next April
China plans to take the first step in its ambitious lunar exploration program next April, launching a satellite that will orbit the moon, a space official said on Thursday. The craft will be followed a few years later by a remote-controlled lunar rover that will perform experiments and send data back to earth, and, in another few years, a module that will drill out a chunk of the moon and return with it.

Men, are you taking the pill?
A contraceptive pill for men could be a step closer according to a study in male fertility.

Where do big ideas come from?
Why can we be creative one moment, and dull as a fencepost the next? Scientists have sought the answers to questions like those for centuries, because human creativity is as mysterious as it is important. “If you are going to solve a problem with insight (creativity), there’s a characteristic pattern of brain activity even before the problem is presented,” says Kounios, a professor of psychology at Drexel. “When it’s going to be solved by a more methodical, analytical approach, there’s a separate characteristic of brain activity that is different.

WOW. Feds Drop Bomb on EFF Lawsuit
The federal government intends to invoke the rarely used “State Secrets Privilege”. The State Secrets Privilege is a vestige from English common law that lets the executive branch step into a civil lawsuit and have it dismissed if the case might reveal information that puts national security at risk. In other words — The executive branch of the US government is accused of illegally spying on its own citizens. To investigate this, somebody sues the private organisation that is alleged to be helping them. This is supposed to work because the judicial branch and executive branch of the government are separated, so the judicial branch shouldn’t be covering for the executive branch. Yet somehow the executive branch can interfere with the judicial branch and simply dismiss cases it doesn’t like? I thought the US government was set up in separate branches to prevent things like this?

Need to outsource? This company has got you covered. Cheap labor right here!

New key to war on obesity: the endocannabinoid system. Of course!!

Hospitals trying to slim kids down

Winners of the Firefox Flicks Campaign! Get ‘em while their hot!

Grand Prize
“Daredevil” by Pete Macomber
http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/?id=19326

Second Place
“Wheee!” by Jeff Gill
http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/?id=19542

Third Place
“Fox Fever” by Andrew N. Green
http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/?id=21146

Honorable Mention
“This is Hot” by Danny Robashkin
http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/?id=20674

Honorable Mention
“Give Me the Soap” by Chris Wedding
http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/?id=19836

New features appear on YouTube

TGIF Links coming at ya

Published
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GrantGochnauer
on April 28, 2006
in News from the Web
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Another week flown by! TGIF WOHOHO! Next weekend one of my best friends Jon Friedstat graduates from medical school. I gotta say, CONGRATULATIONS dude! I know it’s been one hell of a ride! I still can’t believe I have been out of college for 4 years now. DAMN time flies (hence another week having flown by).

OK — Onto the news!!

Use your thought pattern as your password
Their idea of utilizing brain-wave signatures as “pass-thoughts” is based on the premise that brain waves are unique to each individual. Even when thinking of the same thing, the brain’s measurable electrical impulses vary slightly from person to person.

Are you lazy? Then we have just the gadget for you!
Some of these look VERY strange and I don’t think I even want to ask. For example: I wouldn’t be caught dead with these products:
or

What do you do when you make $8.4 BILLION in quarterly profits?
You raise gas prices of course!! I saw on CNN yesterday that this is the 5th largest quartery profit recorded in the entire history. DAMN!

Scientists use an insects eye to design ultra thin cameras
This would allow the eye to be used in tiny, omni-directional surveillance devices, ultra thin cameras or for high-speed motion sensors. America’s military research group, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), is interested in the eye and funded some of the research. Professor Lee also thinks it may have medical applications such as imaging the gut.

I am very skeptical of this: VoiceCode. You code by talking to the PC. Yea right!

Intel admits, we are teh big suck compared to AMD but promises battle is not over yet.

Apple to release a media center? We know it’s been rumored for ages.

I thought this was humours: The CEA CEO take a stand with this ad:

Latest report on which cities have DIRTIEST and CLEANEST air. Where do you fall?
Wohoho. Chicago is listed as the 11th most polluted air. Thank god I can breathe easy now.. oh wait.

Not sure if anyone has been following the Net Neutrality issue, but when the heck did it become a bipartisan issue?
Oh you wanted to access this content from YOUR ISP? Oh well your ISP didn’t pay extra to access that content so we’re just going to slow your access down or show you different content. WHAT CRAP! Keep the net neutral!!!! Democrats got shot down by Republicans on the issue. What bull crap! “Markey said the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Efficiency Act of 2006 (COPE) as currently written would “fundamentally and detrimentally alter the Internet.” MORE HERE and HERE

Oh you wanted 720p or 1080p. That is SOO 2005. Check out what you get in 2006!
Resolution of the new system is 7,680×4,320 lines, delivering 32 million pixels, 16 times the current 1920×1080 standard that has two million pixels. While Nagamitsu Endo, NHK Enterprises America producer, co-productions, says the system isn’t expected to be ready for consumer deployment until 2025 it already has caught the eye of the industry’s leading HD proponents.

In some good news, NY has started construction on Freedom Tower

New study reveals more information on how we age. Are we close to living forever?

Hacker reveals aliens do exist?!

Published
by
GrantGochnauer
on April 27, 2006
in News from the Web
. 0 Comments

Apparently this hacker from London hacked his way into the government and found the existence of credible testimony that technology has been recovered from UFOs.. Interesting…

Read more

News From The Web

Published
by
GrantGochnauer
on April 27, 2006
in News from the Web
. 0 Comments

AMD getting sexy with Germanium
By adding Silicon and Germanium (SiGe) into the 0.065micron technological process, AMD will be able to speed up the transistor response time by 42% compared with the “pure” 0.065micron process.

Galactica prequal in the works. AWESOME NEWS!!!!
The Sci Fi Channel will delve into the backstory of “Battlestar Galactica” with a new series that looks at the years leading up to humanity’s devastation by the Cylons.Caprica would take place more than half a century before the events that play out in Battlestar Galactica.But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot: a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the Battlestar Galactica), Caprica will weave together corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television’s first science fiction family saga, the channel announced.

Samsung to provide next-gen iPod chips. No more PortalPlayer

Interesting article at Inquirer about removing the WGA “Spyware” in latest Windows Update.

With all the talk of fuel economy and prices, this article takes a look at what the fuel additive Ethanol really is.

Google offers new FREE product. Sketchup
Google SketchUp is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program. Using a few simple tools you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects-even space ships. You can add details, textures and glass to your models, and design with dimensional accuracy. Once built, you can place your models in Google Earth, share them with others by posting them to the 3D Warehouse, or print hard copies. Google SketchUp is a great way to discover if 3D modeling is right for you.

MySQL gives mixed view of Oracle
In an illustration of just how rapidly change is sweeping the database market, MySQL Chief Executive Martin Mickos named Oracle as a partner of the year just minutes after effectively calling one of its products “crippleware.”

Early reviews of IE7b2 are saying it’s better than Firefox. Hmmm.
Personally, unless IE has an awesome base of 3rd party developers making plug-ins then IE7 will never match Firefox. Firefox does need to improve on memory usage and speed however to match IE. Sometimes Firefox just feels more sluggish than IE, especially when multiple tabs are open.

Robot that literally walks on water. NEAT!