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AMD

Submission + - Why tessellation in games is overhyped (pcauthority.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Tessellation is a graphical technique that has been given a lot of love by game developers over recent times, including in the new Dragon Age 2 . This is due to the fact that the Fermi architecture underpinning the current generation of NVIDIA cards packs a lot of tessellation grunt, moreso than the competing cards from AMD. This has led to tessellation becoming almost a warcry for NVIDIA, who can't pass up any opportunity to run a tessellation heavy benchmark and point out how impressive the hardware is at it. This article provides a fascinating insight into what tessellation actually is, what it looks like (including some extreme examples), and why the marketing spin is misleading.
Games

Submission + - The Most Overlooked Game of the Year – Nexui (reflectzyn.com)

Submitted by
dantheman105
dantheman105 writes: "In a year full of frantic shooters, one is being criminally overlooked. All the coverage has been about how Bulletstorm, Serious Sam, and Duke Nukem are finally ushering in the “old school” style shooter into a new age, saving us from the monotony of military shooters. The funny thing is that Nexuiz, a virtually unknown XBLA and PSN game slated for a summer release, might do that better than all of them. Developed by Illfonic, Nexuiz is a fast paced arena shooter that sheds all the baggage that has made the subgenre fall behind in recent years. Having tried the game ourselves, we can safely say that this is a title to keep an eye on."
Education

US Colleges Say Hiring US Students a Bad Deal 490

Posted by CmdrTaco from the talking-to-you-cliff dept.
theodp writes "Many US colleges and universities have notices posted on their websites informing US companies that they're tax chumps if they hire students who are US citizens. 'In fact, a company may save money by hiring international students because the majority of them are exempt from Social Security (FICA) and Medicare tax requirements,' advises the taxpayer-supported University of Pittsburgh (pdf) as it makes the case against hiring its own US students. You'll find identical pitches made by the University of Delaware, the University of Cincinnati, Kansas State University, the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University, and other public colleges and universities. The same message is also echoed by private schools, such as John Hopkins University, Brown University, Rollins College and Loyola University Chicago."
The Internet

Submission + - Teen Killed at Chinese Internet Addiction Camp (globaltimes.cn)

Submitted by eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: Sixteen year old Deng Senshan was tragically beaten to death by three of his instructors in an internet addiction camp in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. Reportedly it was for not being able to run fast enough. An article in the Wall Street Journal also says that, 'China's netizens have played a key role in drawing nationwide attention to recent cases of deaths in prisons and detention centers, so it should be no surprise that they are up in arms over the fate of one of their own. Many questioned the fairly new diagnosis of "Internet addiction" as a mental disorder.' Although it is difficult to find reliable sources reporting other deaths prior to Senshan. You may recall electroshock treatment being banned from use on internet addicts in China. According to Xinhua, more than 100 juveniles remain being 'treated' in the camp as it stays open. Perhaps for Senshan it would have been better to endure his cruel affliction instead of having his parents pay over $1,000 to be beaten to death?
The Internet

Submission + - Startups unite to kill IE6 saving webdevelopers

Submitted by coffeeisclassy
coffeeisclassy writes: A collection of ycombinator companies have gotten together to finally kill IE6. Just how successful they will be is questionable, given that (for at least Digg) the majority of IE6 users can't change. The hope is, with increased pressure, IT departments may finally migrate away from the headache inducing browser which is IE6, allowing web-developers to focus on making things rather than supporting ancient browsers. Who knows, perhaps FireFox will gain some market share too :)
Social Networks

Submission + - U.S. Marine Corps Bans Social Networking Sites

Submitted by Q-Hack!
Q-Hack! writes: Citing security concerns, the United States Marine Corps has issued an order banning access to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter on its network for the next year. The Pentagon is now reviewing its social networking policy for the entire Department of Defense, which should be completed by the end of September, according to a report from CNN. The policy for the entire military is somewhat fragmented, as the Army ordered military bases to allow access to social media sites in May, according to Wired.
Earth

Submission + - 3D Images Reconstructed of 300M Year Old Spiders

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Scientists at Imperial College London have created detailed 3D computer models of two fossilized specimens of ancient creatures called Cryptomartus hindi and Eophrynus prestvicii, closely related to modern-day spiders. The researchers created their images by using a CT scanning device, which enabled them to take 3,000 x-rays of each fossil then compile them into precise 3D models, using custom-designed software. Both spiders roamed the Earth before the dinnosaurs during the Carboniferous period, 359 — 299 million years ago when life was emerging from the oceans to live on land. C. hindi's front pair of legs were angled toward the front, suggesting they were used to grapple with prey, an "ambush predator" like the modern-day crab spider, lying in wait for prey to come close. Another finding from the models is that E. prestivicii had hard spikes along its back, probably as a defensive measure making it less palatable to the amphibians that would have hunted it. "Our models almost bring these ancient creatures back to life and it's really exciting to be able to look at them in such detail," says researcher Russel Garwood adding that the technique could be used to return to fossils that have previously been analyzed by conventional means. "Our study helps build a picture of what was happening during this period early in the history of life on land.""
Music

Submission + - LyricWiki API killed by music publishers

Submitted by zBrain
zBrain writes: In a letter to API developers, LyricWiki has informed us that the API can no longer serve lyrics. This effectively makes many applications worthless, and removes some interesting features from many others. The question remains, what is there to gain if they allow the lyrics to be served on the web but not via an API?
Privacy

Submission + - Pirate Bay's IPREDator not a place to hide (itnews.com.au)

Submitted by schliz
schliz writes: The Pirate Bay's new IPREDator anonymity service could be insufficiently secure for several use cases — for example, political activism in countries like Iran. The service uses PPTP, which has several known vulnerabilities, and according to IPREDator co-founder Peter Sunde, "can probably be broken by someone that can eavesdrop on the traffic".

The service was announced as a political statement in April and entered beta testing last week.
Portables

Submission + - Asus' Linux-based Eee PC 701 reviewed 3

Submitted by Bongo Bob
Bongo Bob writes: CNET.co.uk has a review up of the Asus Eee PC 701 that runs Linux and according to the reviewer "It's hard to fault the Eee PC, mainly because of its price. It can be difficult to use because of the cramped keyboard, but it's better than similar-sized laptops like the Toshiba Libretto. If you're in the market for a second PC, or looking for something you can take with you almost anywhere, the Eee PC is definitely worth buying."
The Internet

Submission + - Skype Goes Down After Software Maintenance (skype.com)

Submitted by
JavaJack
JavaJack writes: "I don't know if its related but Skype performed some maintenance on the 15th of August and now on the 16th Skype users cannot log in. From the Skype web site, 'Some of you may be having problems logging into Skype. Our engineering team has determined that it's a software issue. We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours. Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologize for the inconvenience. Additionally, downloads of Skype have been temporarily disabled. We will make downloads available again as quickly as possible.'"
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Apple and Cisco to Share iPhone

Submitted by
twofish
twofish writes: "The BBC, amongst others, is reporting that Apple and Cisco Systems have agreed to share the iPhone trademark, allowing both firms to use the name. The financial terms of the agreement have not been released."
Google

Submission + - Google to charge for web apps

Submitted by
zakkie
zakkie writes: "According to BBC News, Google is to start charging businesses for guaranteed availability and more features in the web apps like Gmail. The article suggests the timing is bad for Microsoft and their release of Office 2007, and is a "shot across their bows"."

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