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Intel

Intel's Single Thread Acceleration 182

Posted by CmdrTaco from the sometimes-the-few-outweigh-the-needs-of-the-many dept.
SlinkySausage writes "Even though Intel is probably the industry's biggest proponent of multi-core computing and threaded programming, it today announced a single thread acceleration technology at IDF Beijing. Mobility chief Mooly Eden revealed a type of single-core overclocking built in to its upcoming Santa Rosa platform. It seems like a tacit admission from Intel that multi-threaded apps haven't caught up with the availability of multi-core CPUs. Intel also foreshadowed a major announcement tomorrow around Universal Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) — the replacement for BIOS that has so far only been used in Intel Macs. "We have been working with Microsoft," Intel hinted."
Privacy

Student Financial Aid Database Being Misused 182

Posted by kdawson from the six-solicitations-per-day dept.
pin_gween writes "The Washington Post reports on the probable abuse of the National Student Loan Data System. The database was created in 1993 to help determine which students are eligible for financial aid. Students' Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and loan balances are in the database. It contains 60 million student records and is covered by federal privacy laws. Advocates worry that businesses are trolling for marketing data they can use to bombard students with mass mailings or other solicitations. The department has spent over $650,000 in the past four years protecting the data. However, some senior education officials are advocating a temporary shutdown of access to the database until tighter security measures can be put in place."
United States

Submission + - Is America still free?

Submitted by chameleon3
chameleon3 writes: Slashdotters are wont to bemoan the slow erosion of personal freedoms in the United States, and I am not inclined to disagree. My question is: how will you know that America is no longer the Land of the Free? What event would be necessary for you to declare Freedom officially dead in America? Or, if you believe it has already occurred, what event caused it?
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - Excite News - Apple: iTunes Glitches Remain on Vis

Submitted by
mikesd81
mikesd81 writes: "AP news reports that an update to Apple's iTunes music software still hasn't resolved some of the compatibility problems with Microsoft's new operating system. From the article: "But in addition to the iPod-ejection problem, Apple warned that iTunes 7.1 may still exhibit difficulties synchronizing Windows contacts with an iPod. The text and graphics of iTunes running on a Vista machine also may not be correctly displayed, though resizing the iTunes screen should correct the issue."

According to a post in Apple's website: The previous glitch that prevented Vista users from playing music or video purchased from the online iTunes Store is no longer an issue. Also iTunes is not supported on 64-bit version of XP or Vista. Microsoft has said it is working with a long list of partners, including Apple, to make sure their software is compatible with Vista."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Software announcements (or: how to irritate JD) 3

Journal by jd
Yes, back to the grumbling again. I do not enjoy this. If I could write about stuff I liked, I would vastly prefer it. However, that will have to wait until there's stuff I like happening.
Enlightenment

Submission + - Decline In Pet Ownership Because Of Videogames

Submitted by
Gerard Fuller
Gerard Fuller writes: "A new study by the Australian Veterinary Association claims that children are increasingly choosing computer games over pets, and that this is a major factor in the decline of pet ownership.

But can't pet simulators offer all the good lessons of owning a pet (caring for an animal, discipline) without the drawbacks (poo on the sofa, barking and howling at 3am)?

Fortunately the study also identifies the trend toward medium-density living as a major factor in the findings. See, games aren't all bad."
Communications

Submission + - Contact Information Management

Submitted by nnkx00
nnkx00 writes: Between all my peripherals and all my applications (across more than one operating system), I have a lot of places I need to keep various contact information. Unfortunately, its currently spread across all the aforementioned devices and locations. I'm looking to consolidate. How do you guys and gals keep your contact data up-to-date?
Linux Business

Submission + - HP Sees Huge Linux Desktop Deals

Submitted by Anonymous
Anonymous writes: With all the talk about Dell and desktop Linux, HP has quietly been cutting some deals to provide "multi-thousands" of Linux-installed desktops, and, according to CRN, is suggesting factory-loaded Linux PCs are getting closer by the day.
Software

Submission + - What Bosses should know: software requirements

Submitted by
Esther Schindler
Esther Schindler writes: "CIO.com asked developers to name the ONE thing that they wished the CIO understood about software requirements. The summary is several pages long, but it pulls no punches: from the role of requirements, to defining who creates the requirements (and in how much detail), to the need to shake the boss to get him to understand that requirements change, to paying attention to the process. It's all here, in Five Things CIOs Should Know About Software Requirements, with a few dozen developer's voices loud and clear. For instance, one developer comments, "The CIO has to realize that if there is no bad news, there is something very wrong. Smiling people nodding 'Yes' in meetings is not a sign of great intelligence at work.""
The Internet

Firefox 3 Plans and IE8 Speculation 274

Posted by Zonk from the you-need-one-or-t'other dept.
ReadWriteWeb writes "Information about the next versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer suggest that the two biggest browsers are heading in different directions. Mozilla has published a wiki page detailing its plans for the next version of Firefox, codenamed 'Gran Paradiso'. Among the mandatory requirements listed for FF3 are improving the add-on experience, providing an extensible bookmarks back-end platform, adding more support for web services "to act as content handlers" — all of which show that Firefox wants to be an independent information broker rather than a simple HTML renderer in its next version. Also in the works is Microsoft's IE8. According to ActiveWin.com, a Microsoft official at CES told them that work has already begun for IE 8 and it may be released as a final product 'within 18-24 months'. Looking ahead, it's obvious that IE will continue to hook into the advanced functionality that Vista offers."

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