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Submission + - BeOS Lives. Zeta 1.5 released!

Submitted by
christurkel
christurkel writes: "As of today Magnussoft has started shipping the first Zeta 1.5 cd's to their customers. Although 1.5 is almost a month delayed the developers did add lot's of features in the last phase of development. These include an Abiword port, drivers for PCL6 and Radeon, and others. With 1.5 being shipped, Magnussoft also introduces 'MZSP' or Magnussoft Zeta Service Packs. MZSP's will be freely available in the future as downloads. To install MZSP's you will need to have your Zeta version activated, and they will only install on the most recent version. Alongside the MZSP's there is also an update application planned so you can keep your system up to date automatically. Also included is multiple user support. http://www.zeta-os.com/"
Announcements

Submission + - Interactive Web map gives neighborhood weather

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Weather Channel is unveiling a product Monday that offers detailed road maps combined with satellite imagery. The result is an interactive Web map that lets users zoom in to get a localized snapshot of current weather. That is, to see how it's affecting a neighborhood — not just the city as a whole. The interactive map sits on the Weather channel's online site, http://www.weather.com./ It has a sliding bar that controls the view of the weather, along with tools that let users pan around the map.
Mozilla

Submission + - Use Firefox XForms to create your own Sudoku

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Sudoku quietly appeared on the scene in the United States in the last couple of years, and then became a phenomenon, just as it had in Japan. Someone you know most likely has played it, if not yourself. Because Sudoku is based on very specific data patterns, you can use XPath expressions to evaluate the progress the user has made in a specific game. You can also use these patterns to easily use Mozilla Firefox XForms extensions to generate a game board that enables the user to play.
United States

Submission + - FAIR USE Act the death toll for copyright reform?

Submitted by Peacemaker
Peacemaker writes: Response to Rep. Boucher's FAIR USE Act from around the web has been mostly positive, but the bill may become the biggest roadblock in the quest for meaningful copyright reform. 'Why would Boucher, traditionally a staunch supporter of real DMCA reform, choose to put it on the back burner this session in favor of reforming secondary liability rules? It's a pretty good guess that Boucher's allies in the consumer electronics industry had a big influence on his decision. Indeed, the legislation appears to be an attempt by the consumer electronics industry to make a separate peace with copyright interests, leaving the broader movement for balanced copyright policies to soldier on without its support.' While the bill would solve some real problems, 'Boucher should defend that proposal on the merits instead of pretending that his legislation would reform the DMCA or shore up fair use.'
Microsoft

Submission + - California mulls ODF -- hard times for MS ahead?

Submitted by PetManimal
PetManimal writes: The California state legislature will decide on a proposal about whether to have the state government use open, XML-based document file formats starting next January. The proposed bill, AB 1668, is similar to bills filed earlier this month in Minnesota and Texas. Such bills, if passed, would be a big win for the OpenDocument format, and a big loss for Microsoft and its Office suite. However, Microsoft hasn't been sitting on its laurels — besides lobbying Massachusetts legislators and officials to prevent the state government there from turning away from Office, it has also gained standards certification for Open XML from Ecma International and is seeking ISO approval as well.
Linux Business

Submission + - VCs expect big returns from open source

Submitted by munchola
munchola writes: Venture capital firms have invested $1.89bn in Linux and open source vendors since 2000, according to CBRonline, which has also asked a number of VCs about what makes open source an attractive investment. According to Robin Vasan, managing director at Mayfield, the fact that open source "lowers the cost of development, but also the cost of purchasing for the customer" means that there could actually be more money to be made from open source than proprietary software models in the long term: "Open source is not a market, it is a new form of development and distribution. When you look at it that way then the rationale as to why so much money has gone into open source makes more sense."
Businesses

CompUSA Closing More Than 50 Percent of Stores 423

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the trouble-in-paradise dept.
Zurbrick writes to tell us that CompUSA hs announced that they are closing the doors on over half their stores over the next three months. "CompUSA said in a statement it would close 126 of its stores and would receive a $440 million cash capital infusion, but it was not specific as to the source of the cash. The company also said it would cut costs and restructure. The company operates 225 stores, which its Web site says are located in the United States and Puerto Rico. "
XBox (Games)

Submission + - Xbox 360 Can Be Hacked

Submitted by Rob
Rob writes: This was posted yesterday on Security Focus' BugTraq list and looks like a follow-up to the anonymous 23C3 Hacker Congress presentation held in December. Looks like some huge news (Unsigned Code Execution in Hypervisor Mode) even if it's already patched by Microsoft in the latest kernel release: http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEZkykVkkF mojzapEq.php and here it is explained in normal terms: http://www.xboxic.com/news/2485
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - UK gov response to Open Source ePetition

Submitted by mlk
mlk writes:
The [UK] Government will:
  • Consider OSS solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements. Contracts will be awarded on a value for money basis;
  • Only use products for interoperability that support open standards and specifications in all future IT developments;
  • Seek to avoid lock-in to proprietary IT products and services; and
  • Consider obtaining full rights to bespoke software code or customisations of commercial off the shelf (COTS) software it procures wherever this achieves best value for money.
The UK Government champions open standards and interoperability through the e-government interoperability framework (e-gif).
For the full reply: Opensource — epetition reply
Graphics

Submission + - A 50-terabyte database of brain maps

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "If you want to compare images from human brains with the ones of monkeys, dogs, cats, mice or birds, you should visit the BrainMaps.org website at UC Davis. It contains over 50 terabytes of brain image data directly available online. The researchers have found a way to transform sections of brain mounted on microscope slides into brain maps with a resolution of half a micrometer per pixel, or 55,000 dots per inch. With such a resolution, all the images are fully zoomable. You start with a single section of a brain and you explore it like if you had a virtual microscope. And the site also provides free downloadable tools to see the images in 3-D. Be warned: you might spend lots of time exploring this site. Here are more details about this project and pictures showing how the brain navigating process works and what a barn owl's brain looks like."
PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - Sony Expects to Solve PS3 Shortages by May

Submitted by Themer
Themer writes: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Sony Corp. is on track to ship 2 million PlayStation 3s to North American stores by the end of March, and expects shortages of the video game console to have completely eased by May, a top executive said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT "April or May is when we feel like we're going to catch up to demand and have product fully in stock across North America and stay there," said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Asked about widespread reports on video game Web sites that stacks of unsold PlayStation 3s are a common sight in many electronics shops, Tretton told Reuters in an interview that the console was still out of stock in some areas three months after its November launch. "It's a testament to the fact that we've been able to manufacture and ship units on a greater pace than any previous console," Tretton said. "Our goal is to fill shelves across the United States. Our goal is not to have empty shelves, it's to have full shelves. If we have empty shelves, that's one less consumer who could have bought a PlayStation 3," Tretton said. Sony's PlayStation 3 is the cornerstone of the consumer electronics giant's strategy to dominate home entertainment. The PlayStation 3 — which costs $500 or $600 depending on features — has a hard drive to store game data and music, and can play DVDs using Sony's Blu-Ray high-definition technology. But the machine faces stiff competition from Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile , Research) Xbox 360, which launched a year earlier and has an extensive system for online play, and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS: Quote, NEWS , Research) Wii, which features a unique motion-sensitive controller. Consumers and analysts have praised the PlayStation 3's graphical prowess and potential, but they have also raised concerns about its high price, a weak line-up of current games and what has been perceived as arrogance on Sony's part about the desirability of its flagship product. "The PS3's biggest opponent right now is itself. It's really just competing against its own PR," said Jeremy Dunham, PlayStation editor at entertainment Web site IGN. "The PS3's problem right now is there have been a lot of broken promises. It has a lot of things to overcome, but the brand name, the franchises and good exclusives ... all should generate interest," Dunham said. Tretton, who helped Sony launch the original PlayStation in North America in 1995, said Sony was on track to ship 2 million PlayStation 3s to retailers by the end of March. "We're in pretty good shape to do that. The early returns are quite favorable," Tretton said. In January, Sony sold 244,000 PlayStation 3s, compared to 294,000 for the Xbox 360 and 436,000 for the Wii. The company has said its target is to ship 6 million PS3s worldwide by the end of March. Shares in Sony fell 5.8 percent in Japan, hit by a surge in the yen and a sell-off in global markets. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2099138 ,00.asp
The Internet

Submission + - Games 2.0: The Internet is the games platform

Submitted by VonSnouty
VonSnouty writes: Ubiquitous connectivity in the latest games consoles and the inevitable edge given to any games that exploits them due to true network effects are going to lead to a revolution in games, argues an interesting lead article in Develop magazine, which is available online for some reason this month. From the article: "So far the internet's impact has been on MMOGs and multiplayer modes in standalone games, but over the next couple of cycles — assuming the five-yearly reinventions survive the transition — a huge proportion, perhaps a majority, of what we enjoy as games will likely be created, shaped, and guided by communities connected by the internet and often oblivious to their role as anything more than consumers.

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