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Microsoft

First Look At Windows 7 Beta 1 898

Posted by Soulskill from the piece-by-piece dept.
The other A. N. Other writes "It seems that Microsoft couldn't keep the lid on Windows 7 beta 1 until the new year. By now, several news outlets have their hands on the beta 1 code and have posted screenshots and information about this build. ZDNet's Hardware 2.0 column says: 'This beta is of excellent quality. This is the kind of code that you could roll out and live with. Even the pre-betas were solid, but finally this beta feels like it's "done." This beta exceeds the quality of any other Microsoft OS beta that I've handled.' ITWire points out that this copy has landed on various torrent sites, and while it appears to be genuine, there are no guarantees. Neowin has a post confirming that it's the real thing, and saying Microsoft will be announcing the build's official availability at CES in January."
The Internet

The Wackiest Technology Tales of 2008 97

Posted by timothy from the hindsight-is-much-better-than-20/20 dept.
coondoggie writes "Despite the daily drumbeat of new and improved hardware or software, the tech industry isn't all bits and bytes. Some interesting things happen along the way too. Like floating data centers, space geekonauts, shape shifting robots and weird bedfellows (like Microsoft and Jerry Seinfeld). What we include here is an example of what we thought were the best, slightly off-center stories of 2008."
Data Storage

Good Freeware System Snapshot Tool For Windows? 219

Posted by timothy from the esoterica dept.
Khyber writes "I'm doing a little personal research into a project that tracks what changes get made to your system every time you install a program. I know there are ways of checking through Windows Restore Points, but that's not what I'm trying to do. Instead, I'm going to start with an absolutely fresh Windows XP install, take a full snapshot of the entire installation on the hard drive, and burn that to a DVD (somewhat like a backup disc with an entire snapshot of my hard drive's current contents.) With every program I install, I'm going to take another snapshot, burn to DVD, and repeat the process until I have recreated every step taken to get to my current system state (all programs installed on a separate hard drive, all registry entries etc on the OS drive, with only snapshots of the OS drive being recorded.) The purpose for all of this I'm not legally allowed to talk about, due to confidentiality requirements. Does anybody know of such a program, preferably freeware, that will accomplish my objective, and are there tools that can be used to compare the difference in drive images?"
Hardware Hacking

D.I.Y. Home Security 377

Posted by kdawson from the try-this-at-home dept.
theodp writes "The NYTimes reports that pre-wired home security installations by alarm companies are on the way out. Thanks to wireless window and door sensors and motion detectors, installing and maintaining one's own security system is becoming a do-it-yourself project, with kits available from companies like InGrid and LaserShield. Time to start cranking out some new iPhone and Android apps, kids?"
Power

Mimicking Electric Eel Cells 71

Posted by kdawson from the positively-shocking dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A team of US researchers has asked the following question in the new field of systems biology: 'Do we understand how a cell produces electricity well enough to design one, and to optimize that design?' They believe it should be possible to build artificial cells replicating the electrical behavior of electric eel cells. In fact, such artificial cells could deliver better performance — as much as 40% more energy than real eel cells, a computer model suggests. They could be used to power medical implants and other small devices."
Google

Google Says Complete Privacy Does Not Exist 543

Posted by samzenpus from the open-books dept.
schliz writes "In a submission to court, Google is arguing that in the modern world there can be no expectation of privacy. Google is being sued by a Pennsylvania couple after their home appeared on Google's Street View pages. The couple's house is on a private road clearly marked as private property." Here is our previous story about Google Street View privacy issues.
Music

Submission + - RIAA Seeks To Reduce Royalty Payments

Submitted by
Tinfoil
Tinfoil writes: "In a move to make themselves more popular, the RIAA is seeking to reduce the royalty rate paid out to recording artists. "During the period when piracy was devastating the record industry, the RIAA argues, profits for publishers rose as revenue generated from ringtones and other innovative services grew. Record industry executives said there was nothing strange about seeking a rate change that would pay less to the people who write the music." Of course, that piracy may have been largely averted had the industry adopted new technology much sooner."
Toys

Journal Journal: New Camera, and it was good. 2

Journal by Tinfoil

I have been looking to pick up a digital cam for about a year now. Prior to the, the consumer level cams were just crap, and the decent cams were a little out of this amateur photographers price range. I was looking for a sub $500 camera with optical zoom and compact flash. The zoom was a must but the CF was just a preference as I already had a couple 256 UltraCF cards kicking about. After consulting my wife, who is a photographer herself, she informed me that digital sucks and that I should

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