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Software

Submission + - Top 7 Wireless Apps for Linux (madpenguin.org)

Submitted by
techie
techie writes: "According to MadPenguin.org, there are a must-have Linux applications that everyone must have and they have reviewed them in quick bites. The author writes, "Assuming you have managed to find a wireless card that is working well with your Linux distribution, or perhaps you just settled for a hack-n'-hope solution with NDISWrapper, you need to settle on an application that you can use to connect to your wireless network."
Windows

Submission + - Gates: Windows 7 will "take less memory" (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: At the Windows Digital Lifestyle Consortium in Japan, Bill Gates said Windows 7 will "be lower power, take less memory, be more efficient." One Microsoft Way speculates whether Windows 7 will focus on performance, similarly to how Windows Vista focused on security.
HP

Submission + - HP to Acquire EDS

Submitted by
XeviouS
XeviouS writes: ""According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Hewlett-Packard (HP) is close to finalizing a deal to purchase Electronic Data Systems (EDS). If the acquisition takes place it could mean tougher competition for IBM." More info here, here and here."
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Apple settles iPod battery suit

Submitted by Stony Stevenson
Stony Stevenson writes: Apple has settled a lawsuit in Canada over the battery life of its iPod music player by issuing $45 store vouchers. The class-action suit was filed in June 2005 by Ines Lenzi and Bradley Waddell, who claimed that Apple had misled consumers as to the lifespan of the iPod's rechargeable battery. The judgment covers first-, second- and third-generation iPods bought before July 2004.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Ubuntu-Powered Device Helps The Elderly

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The guys at LinuxDevices.com have up a story on a Linux-based touch-panel device targeting elderly homecare. This product — that is named Blue Heron Network Reside@HOME — consists of a touch-based computer that at its heart runs Ubuntu Linux. This Ubuntu Linux device is controlled by the family and other caregivers where they can upload messages, pictures, and notes to guide the care receiver through their day-to-day tasks. The caregivers are able to interface with this Ubuntu box through a web-based control panel. From the article, "The goal of Reside@Home is to provide long-term independence and care for those with diminished cognitive ability, while also meeting the needs of busy unpaid care providers, says Michael Larabel, Director of Software Development at Blue Heron Network. "The system is very beneficial in keeping those with early stages of Alzheimer's and other neuro-degenerative conditions independent for as long as possible, while maintaining their traditional lifestyle and enhancing the quality of their lives," said Larabel in an email."
The Internet

Submission + - Canadian Politicos Urged to Take Copyright Pledge

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The delay in introducing a Canadian DMCA appears to be shortlived, with a new Canadian copyright law expected at the end of the month. In anticipation, law professor Michael Geist has published a "copyright pledge" that calls on all politicians to commit to preserve fair dealing (Canada's fair use).
Security

Submission + - Rogue Mac Application (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: F-Secure is warning Mac users of the presence of the first "rogue application" for OS X, MacSweeper. The application purports to scan a Mac system for files that can or need to be removed, but as F-Secure notes, "it will always find something to fix/clean but the only way to do so is to buy the program". Once the software is installed, it will periodically display a popup dialog stating that the computer has been compromised and that the user needs to buy MacSweeper to remove the non-existent files.

Feed Engadget: Exclusive shots of Goschy's prototype "Wiimote" controllers (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Features, Gaming, Peripherals


So, we got some more information from Patrick Goschy so he could set his story straight, and were surprised to learn he still had the original prototype controller! According to Goschy, he really has no plans -- or venue -- to sue Nintendo, since Midway owned all of his patents, and as far as he can tell, Nintendo bought the patents from Midway, since Nintendo references one of the patents in its application for the Wiimote. Apparently he just wants the recognition: "I just wanted to people to know. Wanted the truth to come out. Did this 8 years ago, and the Wii has been such a huge deal, I wanted the truth to get out there. It wasn't these two or three Japanese guys that came up with this thing." His guess is that Nintendo saw the video demo he did -- which was seen by hundreds of employees of Midway -- and probably payed a pittance for the technology, thanks to Midway's mismanagement. Right now Goschy is doing engineering consulting work to pay the bills, and when asked if he could take a few shots of his controller alongside Nintendo's, told us that he "can't afford a Wii." He's going to do a redo of the original video -- hopefully with pants this time -- if he can scrounge himself up a working Dreamcast.

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Biotech

Journal Journal: Modifying stem cell's surface steers cells where needed

Journal by stemceller
Now it appears that even stem cells can come with GPS. In a groundbreaking study, Robert Sackstein, MD, PhD, and colleagues in the Department of Dermatology at the Biomedical Research Institute at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) harmlessly modified the surface of human mesenchymal stem cells (a type of adult stem cell that is the precursor of bone forming cells called osteoblasts), which directed the cel
Government

Submission + - Techie Mistakenly Arrested on Basis of IP Address (indiatimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A Bangalore-based software engineer, Lakshmana Kailash K, was wrongly jailed for 50 days last year by the Pune police cyber cell. Lakshmana had been falsely accused of an internet crime — posting unseemly pictures on the web — and was arrested based on the internet protocol address. As it turned out, the IP address was not his. But by the time the police confirmed this and acted on it, he had already spent 50 harrowing days at the Yerwada Jail with hardened criminals, had tasted lathi beatings and was made to use one bowl to both eat and for the toilet.

Feed Science Daily: Life's Ingredients Detected In Far Off Galaxy (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed
Astronomers have detected for the first time the molecules methanimine and hydrogen cyanide -- two ingredients that build life-forming amino acids -- in a galaxy some 250 million light years away. When combined with water, the molecules form glycene, the simplest amino acid and a building block of life on Earth.


United States

Submission + - Pulling Petrol Out of Thin Air (greengoldrush.org)

Submitted by
Dannah
Dannah writes: "Pulling something out of thin air may sound like magic, but a team of scientists at New Mexico's Sandia National Laboratory are closer to atomic surgeons. They are developing a prototype which uses solar energy to recycle carbon dioxide and produce liquid solar fuel."
KDE

KDE 4 Uses 40% Less Memory Than 3 Despite Eye-Candy 566

Posted by Zonk from the optimization-in-action dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Pro-Linux reports that KDE 4, scheduled to be released in January 2008, consumes almost 40% less memory than KDE 3.5, despite the fact that version 4 of the Free and Open Source desktop system includes a composited window manager and a revamped menu and applet interface. KDE developer Will Stephenson showcased KDE 4's 3D eye-candy on a 256Mb laptop with 1Ghz CPU and run-of-the-mill integrated graphics, pointing out that mini-optimizations haven't even yet been started." Update: 12/14 22:40 GMT by Z : Or, not so much. An anonymous reader writes "The author of the original KDE 3.5 vs KDE 4.0 memory comparison has come out with a more accurate benchmark. In reality, KDE 4.0 uses 110 MB more memory than KDE 3.5.8.
The Internet

Submission + - Setting up a small ISP? 1

Submitted by Mike_K
Mike_K writes: I live in a small condo building, and at our recent meeting we discussed the idea of sharing internet between the codos. The only problem is that we would rather not expose those actually providing the service to harassment from RIAA, MPAA, etc. The best idea I can come up with to solve this is to create a small ISP for our building and give everybody a static IP. I know enough about networking to be able to set this up, but I don't know anything about actually setting up an ISP. Can anybody help me with where to start looking? Would this ever be economical? Is there a better way to go? We are located in a big city with Comcast and Verizon being choices for consumer internet, and close to some big schools with lots of bandwidth, if you think that would help.

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