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Education

The Impatience of the Google Generation 366

Posted by Soulskill from the everything-i-need-to-know-i-learned-from-google dept.
profBill writes "As a fifty-something professor who teaches introductory computer science, I am very aware that the twenty-somethings in my class are much more at ease with computers than any other generation. However, does that mean they are more adept at using those computers? Apparently not, according to the researchers at University College London. Their research indicates that while more adept at conducting searches, younger users also show 'impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs'. Moreover, these traits 'are now becoming the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors'. The panel makes two conclusions: That libraries (and I wonder what a library will become in the future, anyway) will have to adapt, and that the information processing skills of todays young people are lacking. Why are those skills lacking and, if they are, what can be done about it?"
Graphics

Submission + - Zotac Releases Modular Backplate 8400GS (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Although not a card anyone would consider a gamers paradise, Zotac's new G98 derived low profile 8400GS cards are quite interesting for the thin client or media center PC builder. Why you say? The cards feature a unique changable backplate allowing them to customize their offering for given scenarios. Need HDMI? Or S-Video? How about DVI and HDMI? Or VGA and S-Video? It's as simple as changing backplates.

It's a win-win scenario for Zotac and it's customers. They can offer the OEM and retail markets a specific set of outputs without having to manufacture a specific card. Things are finally heating up in the digital convergence space despite years of false starts and consumer apathy, and products like this one will go a long way towards placing that PC or thin client in your livingroom.

http://www.fastsilicon.com/press-releases/zotac-releases-modular-backplate-8400gs.html"
Media

Submission + - FyreTV - IPTV For Pervs (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Announced at the AVN Adult Video awards ceremony adjacent to CES 2008 last week is a new streaming IPTV service called FyreTV . Promising DVD quality streaming video over a broadband connection, FyreTV's service is geared specifically towards content from the erotic film industry.

Though there are those who assert that the net is literally awash in ways to obtain porn for free (most of which aren't legal) the convenience of such a device cannot be made light of. FyreTV's set top box itself is a fairly small and innocuous device. Offering no internal storage it does come fully loaded to connect to a modern high definition or standard definition TV set, with an Ethernet port, HDMI, Component, Composite, S-Video, Analog Audio,SPDIF output, and a full function remote. Curiously the rear of the unit also has two USB ports, the purpose of which isn't apparent. The units themselves come at no cost to the consumer, with FyreTV banking on it's success through a monthly subscription fee.

Currently the service is in beta-test and should go live sometime in April. We've been accepted into the beta, and plan on giving a full evaluation of the hardware and service once our FyreTV set top box arrives. Forgive us however, if we take care to censor our usually extensive photo gallery.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/fyretv-iptv-for-pervs.html"
Government

Submission + - FBI Can't Pay It's Phone Bill (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "A recently released Justice Department Audit conducted by the departments Inspector General, Glenn Fine, found that the U.S. governments expanded powers under FISA may have been undermined by something totally unrelated to the technical challenges related to wiretapping phone calls and emails. Apparently the FBI didn't pay it's phone bill. About half of 1000 bills related to wiretaps were either not paid on time or not paid at all, resulting in wiretaps being cut.

We'll pause for a second to let that sink in, and give you time to catch your breath from laughing your *ss off.

The audit detailed many specific instances where wiretaps were lost simply because the FBI was too incompetent to pay for the wiretaps in a timely manner. In one instance cited the unpaid bill to one service provider amounted to $66,000.

With recent pushes by telco's to be granted immunity from prosecution when cooperating with the FBI and the NSA, pushes that are actively being fought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, you would think the telco's would want to at least make sure they weren't cooperating with idiots who can't even pay their bill?

Though we do think such civil liberty concerns are genuine as is the ongoing activity of whistle-blower Mark Klein , the former AT&T technician who blew the lid off of AT&T's complicity in allowing the NSA to basically tap the entire U.S. communications infrastructure without a warrant, we're left feeling very good about this latest revelation. Why do you say?

Because incidents like this make it all too clear that "Big Brother" rides the short bus and frequently forgets to take his meds.

The FBI's official press release in response to being outed as morons can be found here.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/fbi-cant-pay-its-phone-bill.html"
Television

Submission + - Comcast Gets Into Streaming Video With Fancast (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "One of the more low key annoucements at CES yesterday involved Comcasts official rollout of Fancast.com . Partnering with Amazon's IMDB and the likes of CBS, Viacom, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, USA, Bravo, BBC, SciFi, and Hulu, Fancast aims to be "the" place to go for streaming video. Through it's licensing arrangements with major studios it has at it's fingertips over 100,000 video properties. Currently there is only a fraction of this available directly from the site in live streams, but expect the streamable content to grow quite a bit going forward.

Signifying Comcasts boldest step yet into online content, it also shows how important online advertising is becoming to traditional market players bottom lines. Comcast will capitalize this new portal through an advertising based model as well as through tie-ins with Fandago , the online movie ticket portal it purchased last year.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/comcast-gets-into-streaming-video-with-fancast.html"
Intel

Submission + - Intel Showcases NAND Flash Solution at SVC Confere (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Though it was officially announced in a press release a few weeks ago, it looks like people will finally get to see the real thing tomorrow. Intel will be showcasing their new Z-P140 Solid State Drive platform at the Storage Visions Conference in Las Vegas, January 5th . We also expect Intel realizes CES is in town in a couple of days as well, so we'll expect to see Intel waxing philisophic on the merits of their new storage platform at CES 2008.

http://www.fastsilicon.com/press-releases/intel-showcases-nand-flash-solution-at-svc-conference.html"
Businesses

Submission + - Shifts In The Computing Landscape. Asus, Lenovo, a (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Several fundamental PC market shifts are beginning to take place in an unlikely realm. The United States. With heavy hitting brands in the U.S. like Dell and HP at first glance it would seem we're quite well served here, but with the changing landscape of computing itself comes opportunity. Despite the fact that overall unit sales growth is slowing in the U.S. due to saturation and the fact that most actual growth is shifting to newer and less economically developed markets, this is really only true in the commodity desktop market. A market already under huge price and profit margin pressures. Solution? Cater to growth categories and higher margin product lines.

With the increasing desire for mobile connectivity, smaller form factors, and the continued strength in the laptop sector, players in the asian manufacturing sector are beginning to see the U.S. and it's affluent populace ripe for targeted marketing in these high growth, and high margin niche markets. Also some market missteps by the Dell gang the last many quarters has loosened the reigns on the U.S. market to some degree, a degree largely exploited up to this point by rival HP .
http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/shifts-in-the-computing-landscape.-asus-lenovo-and-apple.html"
Media

Submission + - Limewire On One-Third Of All PCs WorldWide (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Though not exactly a new story, eMediaWire put out a press release earlier this month on a survey conducted by Digital Music News and BigChampagne regarding the market penetration of the big kahuna of p2p applications, Limewire. From a survey sample of 1.66 million desktops worldwide they found Limewire present on 36.4% of all PC's in the survey.
It's an impressive statistic when you think about it. This is higher per-seat penetration than Firefox, Windows Vista, or a host of other big name applications that get alot more attention from the press and industry.

The report noted that market penetration this year compared to last year however only grew by a scant 2.3%. Whether this is due to market saturation issues, or the legal climate of late is hard to discern. Still with numbers like that, it's no wonder the RIAA is hounding Limewire LLC like there's no tomorrow. That is one heck of a "captive market" they don't want competition from.

It is becoming increasingly clear however that the industry is beginning to wake up to the futility here, what with EMI and a few other labels beginning to distance themselves financially from the RIAA and the IFPI, Warner's DRM free deal with Amazon, so on and so forth. We doubt the RIAA has the support of it's label partners to the extent of being able to sue a third of the earths PC users. The labels are slowly beginning to see how fruitless that tactic is, and we doubt they'll support pouring what's left of their dwindling margins into that money pit.

The fact that an estimated third of the pc connected human race is technically breaking the law is the big statistical "WOO HOO!" here, but hardly the real issue being dealt with. The real battle is about who's in charge. And it's safe to say that individuals using Limewire, and Limewire LLC itself, are the ones holding the cards that count.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/limewire-on-one-third-of-all-pcs-worldwide.html"

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