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Operating Systems

Submission + - Intel Unveils Whopping 16-Thread "Nehalem" (thecoffeedesk.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Intel today unveiled their new Nehalem-EX CPU Architecture in a press conference. The new CPU design has 8 cores, 24MB cache, and 16 threads (2 threads per core). However, as operating system vendors continue to fall behind adequate support of these new multicore advancements, IBM seems to be on board and has acheived 128 concurrent threads using the chips with a mainframe in a YouTube demonstration video.
Security

Submission + - Gumblar Virus Mutation Makes Google-Search Toxic (startupearth.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: A massive number of popular websites are being infected with a virus which uses vulnerabilities in Adobe's PDF Reader and Flash Player to inject malware into otherwise trusted links, which infect visitors silently, and re-direct Google searches to malware sites.

http://startupearth.com/2009/05/27/gumblar-virus-mutation-makes-google-search-toxic/
Hardware Hacking

Build an $800 Gaming PC 296

Posted by kdawson from the fast-as-you-like dept.
ThinSkin writes "Building a computer that can handle today's games doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, you can build one for less than $800, especially given that many hardware manufacturers have cut costs considerably. Loyd Case over at ExtremeTech shows gamers how to build an $800 gaming PC, one that features an overclockable Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and a graphics-crunching EVGA 260 GTX Core 216. The computer exceeded expectations in gaming and synthetic tests, and was even overclocked well over spec at 3.01GHz."
Intel

Submission + - Intel Unveils Nehalem-EX 8-Core Server Processors (hothardware.com)

Submitted by
Ninjakicks
Ninjakicks writes: "Intel took the wraps off its next-generation server processor, code-named Nehalem-EX today. As its name suggests, Nehalem-EX is based on the Nehalem microarchitecture which was introduced with Intel's Core i7 and Xeon 5500 series chips. However, Nehalem-EX will be decidedly more high-end in terms of specifications and performance. Nehalem-EX series will be outfitted with up to eight execution cores per chip with support for up to 16 threads and 24MB of on-chip cache. In addition, the Nehalem-EX series will also support certain features carried over from Intel's Itanium line, like Machine Check Architecture (MCA) recovery and error correction algorithms. Nehalem-EX architectures can also be scaled up from 2 to 32 socket systems with an 8 socket implementation offering 64 execution cores and 128-threads of processing throughput."
Government

Submission + - H1-Bs Outnumbering Unemployed IT Workers (computerworld.com)

Submitted by SirLurksAlot
SirLurksAlot writes: According to an article on Computerworld the US government is beginning to raise questions concerning H1-Bs and visa fraud in relation to IT workers. These questions were raised as part of a court filing against an IT firm known as Visions Systems Group in New Jersey. The firm has been indicted on charges of visa fraud, and the government has stated that those involved were "displacing qualified American workers." The government also issued a brief in which it stated that "In January of 2009, the total number of workers employed in the information technology occupation under the H-1B program substantially exceeded the 241,000 unemployed U.S. citizen workers within the same occupation," though it did not provide data to back up that assertion. Meanwhile the Department of Homeland Security is arguing that extending the duration of an H1-B visa from one year to 29 months is necessary to remain competitive.
Networking

Submission + - IT in 2109: A Prediction of the next 100 Years (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
hiouridah
hiouridah writes: "What will the Information Technology world look like in a hundred years? Here are three predictions for the state of data transport, storage, computer processing, and brain wave input devices in the year 2109. Each prediction is soundly based on our current scientific theories. Topics include: Fiber to every home in the developed world, Computers with living DNA, literally!, Extinction of viruses, worms, and malware, Brain waves and bio-chips replace the keyboard and mouse, and photon data storage "drives"."
Security

Submission + - Cisco Voted onto Elite PCI Board of Advisors (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
hiouridah
hiouridah writes: "Cisco Systems has been voted onto the twenty-one member PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) Board of Advisors. The Board of Advisors is elected every two years, with the last election being in 2007. This small advisor board is responsible for maintaining and updating the PCI security standards."
The Courts

Submission + - Telecommunication Harassment from the Workplace

Submitted by
One whose Warnings should be heeded...
One whose Warnings should be heeded... writes: "An ad was posted on Craigslist Casual Encounter section, M4M...giving details of the sexual services I would be providing at my shop all day and night. In the ad, my company name was used and the number to the phone that sits on my desk at my 3 week old business... At first I didn't know anything about the ad, but I finally put 2 and 2 together and got CL to remove the ad, and send me details of the poster. I know who this is, and I have already filed the necessary paperwork with the authorities...but I found out he was doing all of this from his employer's IP address. My question is: Is his employer involved in culpability in this matter? I would imagine if he was an Independant Contractor, they could get out from under it, but I think they can also be held responsible for him being able to post such harassment from their facility and equipment. The ad was only up for 10 hours a week ago, but I am still getting calls."
Windows

Submission + - Asus slaps Linux in the face (techgeist.net) 2

Submitted by
vigmeister
vigmeister writes: "Techgeist has an article about an 'It's better with Windows' website from Asus and MS. I think the article should've been title 'Asus stabs Linux in the back'. "Linux just got a major slap in the face today from Asus. One of the highlights of Linux going mainstream was the wildly popular Asus Eee PC preinstalled with a customized Linux distro geared towards web applications. While I personally never got what the big deal was, I was still happy for all the Linux people out there waiting for this day, but it looks like the cause for celebration won't be lasting much longer. Asus and Microsoft have teamed up and have made a site called It's Better With Windows. The page touts how easy it is to get up and ready with Windows on an Asus Eee PC, while slyly stating that you won't have to deal with an "unfamiliar environment" and "major compatibility issues." While it is silly to state such a thing since Asus built the Linux distribution specifically for the Eee PC, I give Microsoft two points for snarky comments.""
Medicine

Submission + - Stair Climbing Wheelchair Discontinued

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Johnson & Johnson quietly sold the last iBOT, ending the manufacture of the revolutionary stair climbing wheelchair whose wheels rotated up and over one another to go up and down steps using gyroscopes that sense and adjust to a person's center of gravity — but which failed to sell more than a few hundred a year. Now iBOT users who fear their chairs wearing out are joining high-profile inventor Dean Kamen, best known for his Segways, in lobbying Congress for reimbursement changes that they hope could revive a technology that left the market with a $22,000 price tag but that Medicare deemed worth about $6,000. "If I ever had to get out of this chair, I really don't know if I'd want to live anymore, to be honest with you," says Alan T. Brown who is mostly paralyzed from the chest down and on his second iBOT. "Guys in these chairs ... we might be disabled now, but then we'd really become disabled." The iBOT episode also sends a cautionary signal about pricey innovation. Today's emphasis is to expand access to health care rather than provide pricier improvements, says University of Michigan business professor Erik Gordon. "To a certain extent, there are breakthroughs we just can't afford.""
E3

Submission + - Sony Rumored to Debut Wiimotelike Controller at E3 (1up.com)

Submitted by
Anenome
Anenome writes: "Previously we saw a Microsoft patent on a Wiimote-like device, now rumors say that Sony too has a Wiimote-like device in the works. This isn't surprising, given how dominant the Nintendo's Wii proved to be in this hardware generation. However, many gaming-geeks continue to lament the move away from plain old button-pressing. What is exciting is the prospect that all three companies may incorporate Johnny Lee-style head-tracking into the next console generation which achieves a convincing 3D illusion on a regular vid-screen, leaving us just a few steps away from true positional 3D. Both the Microsoft and Sony patents incorporate a camera looking at the user, a setup required to achieve positional head-tracking."
Earth

Submission + - Paint the World White to Fight Global Warming 2

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Dr. Steven Chu, the Nobel prize-winning physicist appointed by President Obama as Energy Secretary, wants to paint the world white and said at the opening of the St James's Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium that by lightening paved surfaces and roofs to the color of cement, it would be possible to cut carbon emissions by as much as taking all the world's cars off the roads for 11 years. Pale surfaces reflect up to 80 per cent of the sunlight that falls on them, compared with about 20 per cent for dark ones, which is why roofs and walls in hot countries are often whitewashed. An increase in pale surfaces would help to contain climate change both by reflecting more solar radiation into space and by reducing the amount of energy needed to keep buildings cool by air-conditioning. Since 2005 California has required all flat roofs on commercial buildings to be white and Georgia and Florida give incentives to owners who install white or light-colored roofs. Put another way, boosting how much urban rooftops reflect would be a one-time carbon-offset equivalent to preventing 44 billion tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. For the first time, we're equating the value of reflective roof surfaces and CO2 reduction," says Dr. Hashem Akbari. "This does not make the problem of global warming go away. But we can buy ourselves some time.""
Music

Submission + - New rate for streamed music in the UK (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "The music collection society — PRS — have unveiled a new pricing plan it hopes may entice YouTube and Pandora back to the UK market. From 1 July 2009, firms will have to pay 0.085p for each track streamed, down from the previous rate of 0.22p." The rates were fixed for two years (since 2007) because of objections. The PRS says they "are getting in touch with the reality of the digital world". "We've laid our stall out and listened to everyone who would engage with us. We've consulted with the 25 firms that represent 97% of our revenue over the past six months and have been given opinions from many others. We need to ensure the music artists are paid for their work, but we also wanted to make sure that the framework was in place to enable the digital market to grow."
Idle

Submission + - Playing a DVD: Harder Than Rocket Science? (myway.com)

Submitted by dacut
dacut writes: After successfully repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis found themselves with a free day due to thunderstorms which delayed their return. They attempted to pass the time by watching movies, only to find that their laptops did not have the proper software, and Houston was unable to help. No word, alas, on what software was involved, though we can assume that software/codec updates are a tad difficult when you're orbiting the planet at 17,200MPH.

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