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Software

Submission + - Lightroom vs. Aperture

Submitted by Nonu
Nonu writes: Adobe has officially released its Aperture killer, Lightroom, and the reviews are starting to pop up. Ars looks at Lightroom and concludes that it's a better choice for those without bleeding-edge hardware. 'Aperture's main drawback is still performance as it was designed for bleeding edge machines. On a quad Core 2 Duo Xeon, it is very usable but Lightroom just feels faster for everything regardless of hardware. Since Aperture relies on Core Image and a fast video card to do its adjustments (RAW decoding is done by the CPU), it's limited to what the single 3-D card can do. Lightroom does everything with the CPU and so it is likely to gain more speed as multicore systems get faster.'
Microsoft

Journal Journal: Gates announce AIDS vaccine initiative

Journal by taketheleap
From the article:

Canada will be the site of a new facility to manufacture and test vaccines to fight HIV/AIDS, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates announced Tuesday in Ottawa. Ottawa will contribute up to $111 million toward the new Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative, while the Microsoft founder, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will donate up to $28 million.
Programming

Submission + - Open vs. Closed Source Security

Submitted by
ChelleChelle
ChelleChelle writes: "Which is more secure — open or closed source systems? It's a question sure to start a heated argument among any group of developers. But why bother to argue if you don't know all the facts? This article takes a close look at this debate and defines its essential elements."

Feed Aussies Ban Old-Style Bulbs (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Australia decrees a nationwide replacement of incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient flourescents, one step, it says, in the battle against global warming. By the Associated Press.


Security

Submission + - Pentagon to Cyber Attackers - bombs away!

Submitted by
PoconoPCDoctor
PoconoPCDoctor writes: "I almost fell off my chair while reading a story in Network World reporting this worrisome scenario...

"In the event of a massive cyberattack against the country that was perceived as originating from a foreign source, the United States would consider launching a counterattack or bombing the source of the cyberattack.... But he noted the preferred route would be warning the source to shut down the attack before a military response."

I would hope that they are really, really, REALLY certain that they have identified the correct geographical source of the cyber-attack. Also, even if the source of the attack can be absolutely verified without any chance for error (which I doubt), if the cyber-terrorists are located in a populated area — does the order to bomb still go through, regardless of probable loss of innocent life?"
Media (Apple)

Submission + - The Insanely Great Songs Apple Won't Let you Hear

Submitted by
FunkeyMonk
FunkeyMonk writes: "Slate.com has an article by Paul Collins explaining that the iTunes music store has thousands of tracks that you can't buy in the U.S. From the article:
The iTunes Music Store has a secret hiding in plain sight: Log out of your home account in the page's upper-right corner, switch the country setting at the bottom of the page to Japan, and you're dropped down a rabbit hole into a wonderland of great Japanese bands that you've never even heard of. And they're nowhere to be found on iTunes U.S.
The article goes on to mention a few workarounds if you want to purchase foreign tunes. But this brings up a good point — why shouldn't iTunes be the great mythical omniscient music repository where all the world's music is available instantly? Is this a case of **AA greed, or simply a marketing decision?"
Education

Submission + - DRM Relief - Only for the Elite

Submitted by
freepay
freepay writes: "According to The Daily Pennsylvanian (the student newspaper at the Ivy-League University of Pennsylvania, January 24, 2007), all students anywhere with .edu email addresses and Windows will soon get free access to music through Ruckus Networks, which has 2.1 million Microsoft-DRM-protected songs. Those with (free at U Penn) Ruckus registration will also get free TV shows and movies. Movies can only be downloaded on campus, even by paid users.

Ruckus promotes itself as a legal way for college students to get free or very low cost downloads. It is not available at any price to the general public.

Problem: Industry grants special relief to a large elite (college students, some professors, staff, and former students) to help it get away politically with forcing unworkable DRM on everybody.

http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/stor age/paper882/news/2007/01/24/News/For-Missed.Tv.Sh ows.Ruckus.Has.It.Covered-2671063.shtml
http://www.upenn.edu/computing/music/faq.html
http://www.ruckusnetwork.com/"
PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - European Playstation 3 launch date set

Submitted by
op8
op8 writes: "According to the BBC it looks like the Playstation 3 is set to launch in Europe on March 23. Hope this mean Australia too."

What Would Be Your Ideal Futuristic Home? 546

Posted by Cliff from the make-george-green-with-envy dept.
deman1985 asks: "As the owner of a small commercial and home integration company, I'm exposed to a wide variety of customers with differing tastes and needs. I'll get requests for anything from the ordinary audio distribution systems and full home theater systems, to downright bizarre requests like having bubble baths run automatically, when they walk in the door. However, the vast majority of customers I encounter are not technologically inclined and are more interested in simplicity rather than impressiveness. What would your ideal integrated home look like? What's the most unique feature you would like to see? If you had access to an unlimited budget, what would you spend money on to make your home stand out? Whole-house audio? Hidden video screens? Automatic locks? Do most people view home integration strictly as a toy for entertainment, or is the technology ready for prime time?"

Microsoft Accuses European Union of Collusion 265

Posted by Zonk from the can-a-billion-dollar-corp-be-paranoid dept.
GarbagePailKid wrote to mention the news that Microsoft has filed a formal complaint alleging that the EU colluded with company rivals and hid critical documents during the EU regulation hearings. According to Microsoft: "While the documents provided do not include the direct correspondence between the commission and its technical experts, they show that the commission, the trustee, and Microsoft's adversaries were secretly collaborating throughout the fall of 2005 in a manner inconsistent with the commission's role as neutral regulator and the Trustee's role as independent monitor..."

Golden Age of Arcade Games 58

Posted by Zonk from the please-keep-comebacks-away-from-fashion dept.
jayintune writes "2old2play has an article about the resurgence of arcade games in the living room. The article shows that while large companies like MS and Nintendo can make a nice dollar, small developers can now make money off of low budget arcade games with far less monetary risk. Just like fashion, what was once cool is now cool again." That, combined with the Xbox Live arcade rollouts, do seem to be bringing back the oldies but goldies.

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