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Operating Systems

Ubuntu 10.04 Alpha 2 vs. Early Fedora 13 Benchmarks 157

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the flavor-of-the-moment dept.
Given that early benchmarks of the Lucid Lynx were less than encouraging, Phoronix decided to take the latest alpha out for a spin and has set it side-by-side with an early look at Fedora 13. "Overall, there are both positive and negative performance changes for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2 in relation to Ubuntu 9.10. Most of the negative regressions are attributed to the EXT4 file-system losing some of its performance charm. With using a pre-alpha snapshot of Fedora 13 and the benchmark results just being provided for reference purposes, we will hold off on looking into greater detail at this next Red Hat Linux update until it matures."
The Almighty Buck

Digital Fundraising Booms For Haiti Relief 124

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the hitting-large-markets dept.
It seems that a recent digital fundraising drive for Haiti relief has stunned organizers at the Red Cross and White House. As of the last tally on Friday the campaign was at well over $8 million. "Earlier Thursday, when the Red Cross topped $3 million in text and social media donations — it hit nearly $40 million from all sources by late Thursday — spokesman Jonathan Aiken described it as 'a phenomenal number that's never been achieved before. People text up to three times at 10 bucks a pop,' Aiken said. 'You're talking about roughly 300,000 people actually spontaneously deciding, "I can spare $10 for this." And that's remarkable.' As of late Thursday, more than half of all donations to the Red Cross's Haiti relief effort had been received online, according to a news release.
Science

"Doomsday Clock" Moves Away From Midnight 287

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the of-course-now-some-horrible-despot-will-come-to-power dept.
Arvisp writes to tell us that the symbolic "Doomsday Clock," designed to represent how close civilization is to catastrophic destruction, has been moved away from midnight. "First set at seven minutes to midnight, the clock has been moved only 18 times since its creation in 1947. The group, which includes more than a dozen Nobel laureates, last moved the hands of the clock in 2007, from seven to five minutes before midnight to reflect the threat of a 'second nuclear age' and the challenges presented by global warming. Today, at a press conference in New York, the Bulletin announced that despite the looming threats of nuclear weapons and climate change, it would move the hands of the clock from five to six minutes before midnight."
The Courts

Antitrust Case Against RIAA Reinstated 163

Posted by kdawson from the collusion-and-restraint dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "After Starr v. SONY BMG Music Entertainment was dismissed at the District Court level, the antitrust class action against the RIAA has been reinstated by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In its 25-page opinion (PDF), the Appeals court held the following allegations sufficiently allege antitrust violations: 'First, defendants agreed to launch MusicNet and pressplay, both of which charged unreasonably high prices and contained similar DRMs. Second, none of the defendants dramatically reduced their prices for Internet Music (as compared to CDs), despite the fact that all defendants experienced dramatic cost reductions in producing Internet Music. Third, when defendants began to sell Internet Music through entities they did not own or control, they maintained the same unreasonably high prices and DRMs as MusicNet itself. Fourth, defendants used MFNs [most favored nation clauses] in their licenses that had the effect of guaranteeing that the licensor who signed the MFN received terms no less favorable than terms offered to other licensors. For example, both EMI and UMG used MFN clauses in their licensing agreements with MusicNet. Fifth, defendants used the MFNs to enforce a wholesale price floor of about 70 cents per song. Sixth, all defendants refuse to do business with eMusic, the #2 Internet Music retailer. Seventh, in or about May 2005, all defendants raised wholesale prices from about $0.65 per song to $0.70 per song. This price increase was enforced by MFNs.'"
Space

Herschel Spectroscopy of Future Supernova 21

Posted by Soulskill from the that's-a-big-star dept.
davecl writes "ESA's Herschel Space Telescope has released its first spectroscopic results. These include observations of VYCMa, a star 50 times as massive as the sun and soon to become a supernova, as well as a nearby galaxy, more distant colliding starburst galaxies and a comet in our own solar system. The spectra show more lines than have ever been seen in these objects in the far-infrared and will allow astronomers to work out the detailed chemistry and physics behind star and planet formation as well as the last stages of stellar evolution before VYCMa's eventual collapse into a supernova. More coverage is available at the Herschel Mission Blog, which I run."
Businesses

What the iPod Tells Us About the World Economy 380

Posted by Soulskill from the we-look-for-things-that-make-us-go dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Edmund Conway has an interesting article in the Telegraph where he analyzes where the money goes when you buy a complex electronic device marked 'Made in China,' and why a developed economy doesn't need a trade surplus in order to survive. For his example, Conway chooses a 30GB video iPod 'manufactured' in China in 2006. Each iPod, sold in the US for $299, provides China with an export value of about $150, but as it turns out, Chinese producers really only 'earned' around $4 on each unit. 'China, you see, is really just the place where most of the other components that go inside the iPod are shipped and assembled.' Conway says that when you work out the overall US balance of payments, it shows that most of the cash for high tech inventions has flowed back to the United States as a direct result of the intellectual property companies own in their products. 'While the iPod is manufactured offshore and has a global roster of suppliers, the greatest benefits from this innovation go to Apple, an American company, with predominantly American employees and stockholders who reap the benefits,' writes Conway. 'As long as the US market remains dynamic, with innovative firms and risk-taking entrepreneurs, global innovation should continue to create value for American investors and well-paid jobs for knowledge workers. But if those companies get complacent or lose focus, there are plenty of foreign competitors ready to take their places.'"
The Almighty Buck

Thou Shalt Not View The Super Bowl on a 56" Screen 680

Posted by Zonk from the that's-like-the-fourteenth-commandment-right dept.
theodp writes "For 200 members of the Immanuel Bible Church and their friends, the annual Super Bowl party is over thanks to the NFL, which explained that airing NFL games at churches on large-screen TV sets violates the NFL copyright. Federal copyright law includes an exemption for sports bars, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, but churches are out of luck. Churchgoers who aren't averse to a little drinking-and-driving still have the opportunity to see the game together in public on a screen bigger than 55 inches."
Space

Submission + - Why ISS Computers Failed (ieee.org) 1

Submitted by
Geoffrey.landis
Geoffrey.landis writes: "It was only a small news item four months ago: all three of the Russian computers that control the International Space Station failed shortly after the Space Shuttle brought up a new solar array. But, why did they fail? James Oberg, writing in IEEE Spectrum, details the cause."
Space

Submission + - New propulsion method may shorten Mars trip (photonics.com)

Submitted by Chroniton
Chroniton writes: An article at photonics.com describes a new propulsion method, known as a "photonic laser thruster" could potentially shorten the trip to Mars from six months to one week, while also being useful for "highly precise satellite formation flying configurations for building large synthetic apertures in space for earth or space observation, precision contaminant-free spacecraft docking operations, and propelling spacecraft to unprecedented speeds"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft .NET patch makes PCs go "haywire"

Submitted by yuna49
yuna49 writes: Various people are reporting that the MS07-040 patch for .NET released on Tuesday can cause a variety of seemingly unrelated problems. According to the SANS Internet Storm Center "the reports we got so far seem not to lead to any specific thing that happens in many cases, just various things going haywire." Some commentators on The Register's report of this story indicate that the patch failed to install at all, while others report things like the mouse suddenly failing to work or long periods of hard drive thrashing. In some cases a hard reboot seems to fix the problem, but other reports suggest that a reinstallation of the .NET framework itself is required. The problems may be related to the MSCORSVW.EXE process which recompiles all the .NET assemblies when the patch is downloaded. While the recompilations are supposed to run as a background task, in some instances the recompilation will drive the processor to 100% usage.
Mandriva

Submission + - Mandriva adds a semantic layer to the KDE4 desktop (mandriva.com)

Submitted by
AdamWill
AdamWill writes: "Mandriva has sent out a press release giving some information on the NEPOMUK semantic framework (think metadata) being developed by Mandriva and several other partners, and its integration into the upcoming KDE 4. Includes a link to a video demonstrating NEPOMUK integration into Dolphin, the KDE 4 file manager."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Some in Silicon Valley Begin to Sour on India

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "The WSJ reports that some Silicon Valley tech companies are beginning to turn away from India for low-cost labor to do sophisticated tech work. Faced with 50% wage inflation, 25% turnover, higher management costs and time zone complications, companies are stepping up U.S. hiring, bringing Indian employees to the States on visas, or finding other lower-wage foreign locales. 'The wage inflation rate for engineers in India is four times what it is here' in America, complained CEO Paul Otellini of Intel (and Google), which is stepping up hiring in Vietnam."
Microsoft

Submission + - The National Archives dance with the devil

Submitted by Colin Smith
Colin Smith writes: The chief executive of the UK National Archives has declared that proprietary file formats are a "ticking timebomb". I has been clear to IT professionals for decades years that reading old formats gets more and more difficult with every passing year.

However, in a bizarre move, the National Archives are partnering with Microsoft, the primary proponent of proprietary formats to try to solve the problem.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6265976.stm

In an amazing display of unctuousness, the head of Microsoft UK, Gordon Frazer "warned of a looming digital dark age".

You couldn't make this stuff up.
 

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