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Graphics

NVIDIA Releases New Video API For Linux 176

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the finally-starting-to-play-ball dept.
Ashmash writes "Phoronix is reporting on a new Linux driver nVidia is about to release that brings PureVideo features to Linux. This video API will reportedly be in nVidia's 180 series driver for Linux, Solaris, and *BSD. PureVideo has been around for several nVidia product generations, but it's the first time they're bringing this feature to these non-Windows operating systems to provide an improved multimedia experience. This new API is named VDPAU, and is described as: 'The Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (VDPAU) provides a complete solution for decoding, post-processing, compositing, and displaying compressed or uncompressed video streams. These video streams may be combined (composited) with bitmap content, to implement OSDs and other application user interfaces.'"
Supercomputing

Jaguar, World's Most Powerful Supercomputer 154

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the minimum-requirements-for-crysis dept.
Protoclown writes "The National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), located at Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) in Tennessee, has upgraded the Jaguar supercomputer to 1.64-petaflops for use by scientists and engineers working in areas such as climate modeling, renewable energy, materials science, fusion and combustion. The current upgrade is the result of an addition of 200 cabinets of the Cray XT5 to the existing 84 cabinets of the XT4 Jaguar system. Jaguar is now the world's most powerful supercomputer available for open scientific research."
Linux Business

How Long Should an Open Source Project Support Users? 272

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the no-implied-support dept.
Ubuntu Kitten writes "Since October the community-generated database of cards known to work with Ndiswrapper has been down. This is apparently due to an on-going site redesign, but right now the usual URL simply directs to a stock Sourceforge page. Without the database, the software's usability is severely diminished but this raises an interesting question: Is an open source project obliged to provide support for its users? If so, for how long should the support last? Web servers cost money, especially for popular sites. While developers can sometimes find sponsorship, is it possible to get sponsorship simply for infrastructure and user services?"
The Media

Jobs Rumor Debacle Besmirches Citizen Journalism 286

Posted by kdawson from the unverified-is-not-the-same-as-unfiltered dept.
On Friday someone posted a false rumor that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack on CNN's unverified citizen journalism site, iReport. Apple's stock price went vertical, losing 9% before Apple stepped in and denied the rumor; the stock then recovered most of its loss. The SEC is investigating. PCWorld looks at the hit taken by citizen journalism as a result of this incident. "[The] increasingly blurred line between journalism and rumor is a serious concern for Al Tompkins, the broadcast/online group leader at The Poynter Institute — a specialized school for journalists of all media forms. 'How could you possibly allow just anybody to post just anything under your [CNN] label unless you have blazing billboards that say, "None of this has been verified, we've not looked at any of this, we have no idea if this is true"?' he asks."
The Internet

Submission + - So we just closed all our libraries. Good or bad?

Submitted by
mrcpu
mrcpu writes: "Voters in Jackson County, OR just pulled the plug on funding their library system, opting to close all the branches (all built brand new within the last few years, 15 of 'em), rather than cutback. Of course, this has created much division in a couple areas. One is that "I have the Internet, what do I need a library for"? With pro's and con's to each side. The other issue was the funding mechanism, with the loss of some federal funding, the county leaders decided to attempt to strongarm a levy with no backing. But be that as it may, in this day,
and age, are libraries useful? Do we still need them? Do you buy most of your books? Have you been to a non-school/university library recently? Did using a library change your life in any significant way? Or are they an anachronism, and a throwback to a day when information wasn't readily available?"
Editorial

Submission + - The Long Term Effects of Plastics on the Earth

Submitted by
lostraven
lostraven writes: "Nearly 40% of our ocean surface contains floating heaps of predominately plastic? So it seems, at least according to Charles Moore and the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. And the effects that plastics potentially have on life both on and off shore are alarming. From studies of how bisphenol A affects insulin output to findings of dead seabirds "packed with plastic", the "60 billion tons" of plastic created each year effects much of the biosphere. While the article leans slightly towards being an opinion piece, it serves to point out that manufacturers and consumers should be more aware of the effects plastic has on the Earth and its inhabitants."

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