Comment Michelangelo (Score 1) 366
Use Michelangelo, you're favorite Ninja Turtle and March 6th event!
Submission + - Possible room temperature superconductor achieved
TechkNighT_1337 writes: Netx big future blog post an interesting article about the Indian university of Bengal,reporting (pdf) possible superconducting effect in ambient room temperatures. from the article:
We report the observation of an exceptionally large room-temperature electrical conductivity in silver and aluminum layers deposited on a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) substrate. The surface resistance of the silver-coated samples also shows a sharp change near 313 K. The results are strongly suggestive of a superconductive interfacial layer, and have been interpreted in the framework of Bose-Einstein condensation of bipolarons as the suggested mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates.
We report the observation of an exceptionally large room-temperature electrical conductivity in silver and aluminum layers deposited on a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) substrate. The surface resistance of the silver-coated samples also shows a sharp change near 313 K. The results are strongly suggestive of a superconductive interfacial layer, and have been interpreted in the framework of Bose-Einstein condensation of bipolarons as the suggested mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates.
Submission + - Chevy Volt Price Announced (greencarreports.com)
thecarchik writes: The 2011 Chevrolet Volt has been in gestation so long, we've wondered if it ever would become a reality. Now the reality is here. GM announced the price for the 2011 Volt at Plug-In 2010, a conference being held this week in San Jose.
Submission + - Microsoft Should Dump Middlemen, Build Own Phones (arstechnica.com)
suraj.sun writes: Microsoft should cut out the middlemen, build its own phones:
Microsoft has a long and illustrious history of operating system sales. The model has served the company well on the PC, but if it wants to make money in the phone market, it needs to start thinking like a consumer electronics company and start making its own phones.
Microsoft is a firm believer in the model of commoditized hardware with a third party, hardware agnostic operating system (just as long as the operating system is bought from Microsoft, of course), and it's true that the model has worked very well for the company over the years; 175 million Windows 7 licenses is nothing to be sniffed at.
But this model hasn't always worked out so well for Redmond's other post-PC efforts. Microsoft wanted to sell its own scheme for DRM-protected audio, PlaysForSure, to a range of hardware vendors and online stores. It didn't work out very well.
The Xbox 360, for all its hardware problems, makes a similar case. The red ring of death flaws certainly detract from the Xbox 360 as a piece of design. But ultimately, it's a well-liked, well-designed appliance, and it shows off the benefits of vertical integration. As with the Zune HD, the Xbox 360 shows that Microsoft can build a tightly integrated combination of hardware, software, and online services. Though it may not ever make much money, for various reasons, it nonetheless serves to demonstrate that Redmond can do the consumer electronics thing properly.
Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's first step away from the model of old. With its new phone operating system, the company is taking control of the user interface, the online store, and the PC-side software. However, the company is still leaving the hardware to third parties. And then there's the most important reason of all to go with vertical integration: money. There just isn't a whole lot of money in licensing a phone operating system like this. We don't know, because the information isn't public, just how much a Windows Phone 7 license will cost an OEM, but it's generally assumed to be a few tens of dollars.
But if the company wants to achieve any relevance in this market, it needs to stop acting like a software company, and start acting like a consumer electronics company. It learned that lesson with Zune. It knew it was the only option with Xbox. It needs to do the same for phones.
ARS Technica: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/07/microsoft-should-cut-out-the-middle-men-and-build-its-own-phones.ars
Microsoft has a long and illustrious history of operating system sales. The model has served the company well on the PC, but if it wants to make money in the phone market, it needs to start thinking like a consumer electronics company and start making its own phones.
Microsoft is a firm believer in the model of commoditized hardware with a third party, hardware agnostic operating system (just as long as the operating system is bought from Microsoft, of course), and it's true that the model has worked very well for the company over the years; 175 million Windows 7 licenses is nothing to be sniffed at.
But this model hasn't always worked out so well for Redmond's other post-PC efforts. Microsoft wanted to sell its own scheme for DRM-protected audio, PlaysForSure, to a range of hardware vendors and online stores. It didn't work out very well.
The Xbox 360, for all its hardware problems, makes a similar case. The red ring of death flaws certainly detract from the Xbox 360 as a piece of design. But ultimately, it's a well-liked, well-designed appliance, and it shows off the benefits of vertical integration. As with the Zune HD, the Xbox 360 shows that Microsoft can build a tightly integrated combination of hardware, software, and online services. Though it may not ever make much money, for various reasons, it nonetheless serves to demonstrate that Redmond can do the consumer electronics thing properly.
Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's first step away from the model of old. With its new phone operating system, the company is taking control of the user interface, the online store, and the PC-side software. However, the company is still leaving the hardware to third parties. And then there's the most important reason of all to go with vertical integration: money. There just isn't a whole lot of money in licensing a phone operating system like this. We don't know, because the information isn't public, just how much a Windows Phone 7 license will cost an OEM, but it's generally assumed to be a few tens of dollars.
But if the company wants to achieve any relevance in this market, it needs to stop acting like a software company, and start acting like a consumer electronics company. It learned that lesson with Zune. It knew it was the only option with Xbox. It needs to do the same for phones.
ARS Technica: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/07/microsoft-should-cut-out-the-middle-men-and-build-its-own-phones.ars
Submission + - If Oracle bought every open source company (computerworlduk.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Recently, there was an interesting rumour circulating that Oracle had a war chest of some $70 billion, and was going on an acquisition spree. Despite the huge figure, it had a certain plausibility, because Oracle is a highly successful company with deep pockets and an aggressive management. The rumour was soon denied, but suppose Oracle decided to spend, if not $70 billion, say $10 billion in an efficient way: how might it do that? One rather dramatic use of that money would be to buy up the leading open source companies – all of them.
Food for thought here
Food for thought here
Submission + - Linux finally ready for the desktop (slate.com)
blakelarson writes: Slate's Farhad Manjoo gives a very positive review of Ubuntu 10.04 for use on an old laptop.
Submission + - Valve Says Sorry to Banned Gamers (thinq.co.uk)
Stoobalou writes: Game delivery outfit Valve has apologised to thousands of users who were banned from its servers for cheating whilst playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Valve boss Gabe Newel 'personally' sent email apologies to 12,000 gamers who had been booted from the game after the company's anti-cheating system had a bit of a melt-down.
Valve boss Gabe Newel 'personally' sent email apologies to 12,000 gamers who had been booted from the game after the company's anti-cheating system had a bit of a melt-down.
Submission + - Jailbreaking your iPhone still voids warranty (tekgoblin.com)
tekgoblin writes:
Today news surfaced that the DMCA had updated their rules which now allow you to jailbreak your iPhone with out legal action being taken against you. CultofMac reached out to Apple to ask for an official response on the new rules. They got a response and its detailed as follows:
“Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.”
Basically while jailbreaking is now legal as long as its not used to obtain illegal items, Apple still frowns on this and will void your warranty. While it is true that you will probably have the best experience with the phone with its factory software on it, but we still should be able to do whatever we want with the hardware, however I do agree that it should violate your warranty if you modify the software outside the warranty's terms.
Other source: http://www.cultofmac.com/apples-official-response-to-dmca-jailbreak-exemption-it-voids-your-warranty/52463
Submission + - Amazon Provokes Big-Time Ebook Rights Fight (fictioncircus.com)
Miracle Jones writes: "The biggest NYC agent (Andrew "The Jackal" Wylie) and the biggest NYC publishing house (Germany's Bertelsmann Corporation, also known as "Random House") are no longer doing business together, at odds because of a big-time fight about electronic rights. Last week, Wylie started its own ebook publishing company called Odyssey Editions in order to distribute backlist books exclusively to the Amazon Kindle. Random House, calling Wylie direct competition, has declared they will no longer buy books from the agency. Either way, Amazon wins."
MS Design Lets You Put Batteries In Any Way You Want 453
jangel writes "While its strategy for mobile devices might be a mess, Microsoft has announced something we'll all benefit from. The company's patented design for battery contacts will allow users of portable devices — digital cameras, flashlights, remote controls, toys, you name it — to insert their batteries in any direction. Compatible with AA and AAA cells, among others, the 'InstaLoad' technology does not require special electronics or circuitry, the company claims."
Comment Sumbitted a while ago (Score 0, Redundant) 559
I submitted this a while ago after reading http://www.outflux.net/blog/archives/2010/01/24/google-is-wardriving/trackback/.
Comment Re:vi and (Score 0, Offtopic) 411
apt-get moo is not quite porn...
Comment Re:Back in the USSA! (Score 1) 619
It's the United States Socialist Republic, thank you.
Comment Re:Do no evil, eh? (Score 1) 271
One man's abuse is another man's useful.
Submission + - Google is wardriving (outflux.net) 1
extremescholar writes: I saw this while reading Planet Debian, acccording to Kees Cook:
So, a while back, Google started providing location services. This seemed pretty cool, but I kind of ignored it until recently when I was playing with my Android’s location API. With the GPS off, and no cell towers visible (my basement gets terrible cell service), my phone knew within about 500 feet of where it actually was. All I was connected to was my wifi.
Bottom line: it seems that Google, among other methods, is likely wardriving while photographing for Street View. They are now able to pinpoint wifi access points if they happened to see it while driving through your city.
I’m really rather astonished that no one is freaking out about this; I’m a bit unnerved. I implemented the location-of-your-wifi API quickly, so I could terrify myself further. You can do lookups via my location website too, if you want.
So, a while back, Google started providing location services. This seemed pretty cool, but I kind of ignored it until recently when I was playing with my Android’s location API. With the GPS off, and no cell towers visible (my basement gets terrible cell service), my phone knew within about 500 feet of where it actually was. All I was connected to was my wifi.
Bottom line: it seems that Google, among other methods, is likely wardriving while photographing for Street View. They are now able to pinpoint wifi access points if they happened to see it while driving through your city.
I’m really rather astonished that no one is freaking out about this; I’m a bit unnerved. I implemented the location-of-your-wifi API quickly, so I could terrify myself further. You can do lookups via my location website too, if you want.
