Dissman - Slashdot User

HP Creates First Hybrid Memristor Chip 155

Posted by timothy on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @12:53PM from the stitch-in-time dept.

An anonymous reader writes "HP researchers have built the first functioning hybrid memristor-transistor chip. Lead researcher Stanley Williams and his team built the very first memristor — the '4th fundamental element' of integrated circuits after resistors, capacitors and inductors — back in April. Memristors can remember their resistance, leading to novel electronic capabilities. The new FPGA circuit uses memristors to perform tasks normally carried out by (many more) transistors and is therefore smaller, more power efficient and cheaper to make, HP says. Memristors could also turn out to be a more compact, faster alternative to flash memory."

Fedora 10 Released 211

Posted by timothy on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @11:32AM from the looks-all-around-nice dept.

ekimd writes "Fedora 10, aka 'Cambridge,' was released today. Some of the major features include: 'wireless connection sharing enables ad hoc network sharing, better setup and use of printers through improved management tools, virtualization storage provisioning for local and remote connections now simplified, SecTool is a new security audit and intrusion detection system.' Versions of major software include: Gnome 2.24, Eclipse 3.4 and RPM 4.6. A features list can be found here." Reader Nate2 suggests LinuxFormat's detailed look at the new release, and adds a few more details about the software it contains: the release includes "a new graphical boot-up sequence, OpenOffice.org 3, many improvements to sound support via PulseAudio and other updates."

New Nanotech Fabric Never Gets Wet 231

Posted by timothy on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @11:08AM from the good-for-lining-lunchboxes dept.

holy_calamity writes "New Scientist reports on a simple coating for polyester that renders it unwettable — even after two months underwater it emerges dry to the touch. Water cannot attach to the new fabric thanks to nanostructured filaments and a structure that traps a constant air layer. One potential use is for low-drag swim wear."

Symantec Reports Spate of Attacks Via Recent Windows Flaw 56

Posted by timothy on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @10:47AM from the sir-it-seems-to-be-the-windows-again dept.

Surprised Giraffe writes "Symantec is warning of a sharp jump in online attacks that appear to be targeting a recently patched bug in Microsoft's Windows operating system, an analysis that some other security companies disputed. Symantec raised its Threat Con security alert level from one to two because of the attacks, with two denoting 'increased alertness.' The attacks spotted by Symantec target a flaw in the Windows Server Service that Microsoft says could be exploited to create a self-copying worm attack."

MSI Wind U100, Overclocked With Liquid Nitrogen 95

Posted by timothy on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @10:01AM from the it's-a-free-world-baby dept.

james writes "What do you get when you combine a MSI Wind U100 notebook with liquid nitrogen? The new Intel Atom frequency World Record ... and some damn cool pictures! A large copper pot is used, sitting on top of the GPU and chipset, and cold transfer through the original heatsink plate to the CPU. This was cooled down to about -20 C to achieve the new world mark. (Intel Atom N270 @ 2315mhz) For more information you can check out the original forum thread.

Lenovo Service Disables Laptops With a Text Message 257

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @09:10AM from the say-the-magic-word dept.

narramissic writes "Lenovo plans to announce on Tuesday a service that allows users to remotely disable a PC by sending a text message. A user can send the command from a specified cell phone number — each ThinkPad can be paired with up to 10 cell phones — to kill a PC. The software will be available free from Lenovo's Web site. It will also be available on certain ThinkPad notebooks equipped with mobile broadband starting in the first half of 2009. 'You steal my PC and ... if I can deliver a signal to that PC that turns it off, hey, I'm good now,' said Stacy Cannady, product manager of security at Lenovo. 'The limitation here is that you have to have a WAN card in the PC and you must be paying a data plan for it,' Cannady added."

Judge Excludes 3 "John Does" From RIAA Subpoena 225

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @06:43AM from the sue-doe-actions dept.

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In one of the RIAA's 'John Doe' cases targeting Boston University students, after the University wrote to the Court saying that it could not identify three of the John Does 'to a reasonable degree of technical certainty,' Judge Nancy Gertner deemed the University's letter a 'motion to quash,' and granted it, quashing the subpoena as to those defendants. In the very brief docket entry (PDF) containing her decision, she noted that 'compliance with the subpoena as to the IP addresses represented by these Defendants would expose innocent parties to intrusive discovery.' There is an important lesson to be learned from this ruling: if the IT departments of the colleges and universities targeted by the RIAA would be honest, and explain to the Courts the problems with the identification and other technical issues, there is a good chance the subpoenas will be vacated. Certainly, there is now a judicial precedent for that principle. One commentator asks whether this holding 'represents the death knell to some, if not all, of the RIAA's efforts to use American university staff as copyright cops.'"

Google Chrome Tops Browser Speed Tests 371

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @04:15AM from the there-fixed-that-for-ya dept.

ThinSkin writes "So many Web browsers, so little time. The folks at ExtremeTech have assembled the ultimate browser test to determine which Web browser is king. From speed tests to rendering tests, different browsers traded off wins, but Google Chrome came out on top."

Should We Clone a Neanderthal? 990

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @01:46AM from the they-are-among-us dept.

SpaceAdmiral writes "Forget cloning a woolly mammoth — should scientists clone a Neanderthal? Such a feat should be possible soon, although it raises a number of bioethics concerns, including where to draw the line between humans and other animals."

Comment Re:Obviously given to the wrong employees (Score 1) 286

by Dissman on Thursday July 10, 2008 @12:15AM (#24129405) Attached to: Workplace BlackBerry Use May Spur Lawsuits

In my current position, if I'm caught working unpaid voluntary overtime, I will be told to leave. If I am caught working overtime again, I will be fired. That is what I was told by both my superior and my professional association... and I know people who've been terminated for being busted doing VOT. So it's a YMMV. Although, I can work overtime and get paid for it. So, it probably varies by department and implementation... I don't even think your method solves the blackberry problem. When they ask you to do something in the middle of the night, you didn't volunteer.

Submission + - Is Windows Vista in trouble?

Submitted by Ken Erfourth on Sunday April 22, 2007 @06:39PM

Ken Erfourth writes: I'm a small computer shop owner, and I have noticed how little interest my customers have in Windows Vista. Now, the Inquirer.net is running a story about what they consider two powerful indications that Vista is failing in the marketplace.

One, Dell has reintroduced PCs running Windows XP on its website due to customer demand. Two, Microsoft is conducting a worldwide firesale on a bundle of Microsoft Office 2007/WindowsXP Starter Edition. According to Inquirer.net, at least, these are signs of serious problems selling Vista.

Are we seeing the stumbling of the Microsoft Juggernaught with the slow adoption of Windows Vista?

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