Slashdot

USA Today is running a pretty good article on solar power that gives an overview of the current state of the industry. Highlight include production costs of $1.19/Watt for First Solar, 40% annual cost reductions over the last five years, revenues expected to triple in three years, and it predicts 2014 as the year when solar photovoltaic power plants become cheaper than other forms of generation.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2007-08-26-solar_N.htm

crazyeyes writes "Reducing the CPU temperature has always involved newer, larger heatsinks with ever more powerful fans. All of that mean extra costs. But what if you could have better cooling without the extra cost?

For only $20 in sandpaper, you could reduce your CPU core temperature by 15%! So, join graysky as he shows you how to lap your CPU heatspreader and heatsink for a much better thermal contact and better cooling performance. Here's a quote from the guide :-

"Hardware enthusisasts have always looked for ways to keep the processor running cooler. Not only does it improve the processor's stability, it also increases its overclockability. Hence, the use of better thermal pastes, larger heatsinks and more powerful fans. However, there is only so much you can do with air cooling."

"
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=433

onearmfreak writes "A US teen spent 500 hours this summer working on an iPhone hack that unlocks the phone so it can be used by other carriers besides ATT/Singular. This hack involves hardware and software modifications to the phone. After the hacks, everything still works, apparently, except the visual voicemail feature."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/24/business/NA-FIN-TEC-US-IPhone-Unlocked.php

eldavojohn writes "Blizzard is being sued for illegal use of Chinese fonts in the Chinese version of World of Warcraft. The Chinese company (Founder Group) is seeking $13.2 million in damages."
http://www.physorg.com/news107184228.html

pixarnation writes "A report was released today on cnn.com about how George Hotz, a teenager, managed to hack the iPhone so he could use it on different carriers besides AT&T. From the article it appears some soldering and software modification are required. Big kudos to George for accomplishing such a task! You can follow the steps to unlock the iPhone here."

CaciqueTaino writes "Apparently some kid from New Jersey finally cracked the iPhone to be used with other carriers. Check it out at the North Bergen Records site. Story is titled "Tech whiz cracks code tying it to AT&T network" Or use this link. http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3Z jczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MTg1NjE zJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mw=="
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MTg1NjEzJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mw==

ntmokey writes "While the flying car has seemingly lingered just out of grasp since the 1950's, its more-feasible brethren the hovercraft has been floating, skipping and vrooming around on all surfaces for the better half of a century. Wired has a look at the progress hovercraft have made over the last 50 years and some of the most promising new commercial models. If you're still dead set on a car that will let you buzz over other commuters on the way to work as you look down from 10,000 feet, well, they're on the way too."
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mods/multimedia/2007/08/gallery_hovercraft

webdoodle writes "Scientists have found that the time of day influences your brain's ability to learn — and the human brain learns more effectively in the evening."
http://www.brainmysteries.com/Research/Brains_Learn_Better_At_Night.asp

An anonymous reader writes "Citing MacScoop as well as other sources, French newspaper Le Figaro claims Orange has won the iPhone deal for the French market."

An anonymous reader writes "Yes, the two competing high-def disc formats are confusing, but you'd think the nation's third-largest electronics chain would be able to keep them straight. Sometime early this week, Circuit City updated their web listings for Toshiba's HD DVD players, and apparently someone got their wires crossed. The retail giant has since corrected the error."

Eggplant62 writes "In his most damaging ruling yet, Judge Kimball today released his ruling in the SCO v. Novell case, saying that it is his belief that after examining the all the documentation and motion practice and after the hearings earlier this year on various summary judgment motions, the jist is: "[T]he court concludes that Novell is the owner of the UNIX and UnixWare Copyrights." Of course, Groklaw is covering the story and broke the news just over a half hour prior to this submission.

There is also a ruling in SCO v IBM on summary judgment motions but the actual rulings are yet to become available. Keep your eyes peeled."
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070810165237718

The one summary judgement that puts a stick into SCO's spokes has just come down. SCO doesn't own the Unix copyrights. With that one decision, a whole bunch of other decisions will fall like dominoes. As PJ says, "That's Aaaaall, Folks!".

Hot off the presses: Judge Dale Kimball has issued a 102-page ruling [PDF] on the numerous summary judgment motions in SCO v. Novell. Here is what matters most: [T]he court concludes that Novell is the owner of the UNIX and UnixWare Copyrights. That's Aaaaall, Folks! If anyone can please put this into text for us, that'd be simply great.

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=200708101 65237718#comments

weaver4 writes "I have two computers that I bought 18 months ago. A generic PC that cost me $550 and a Mac Mini that cost me $600. When I put a watt meter on these computers (which I leave on all the time) the PC uses 173 Watts and the Mac Mini uses 18 Watts. Therefore the PC cost me an additional $10.04 a month in Electricity. Since I live in warm climate my Air Conditioning needs to remove this excessive heat, but I will leave that out of my analysis. When I went to CraigsList to sell my computers I found that my PC is now worth $250 and my Mac Mini is worth $425. So the total hardware cost of my 18 month ownership is $520 for the PC and $214 for the Mac Mini."

Anonymous Alien writes "Physicists have found evidence that inorganic dust with life-like qualities exists in interstellar space, according to new research published in New Journal of Physics that hint at the possibility that life beyond earth may not necessarily use carbon-based molecules as its building blocks and also offer a possible new explanation for the origin of life on Earth."
http://pressesc.com/news/98709082007/inorganic-interstellar-dust-life-qualities-discovered

jcatcw writes "Computerworld's Scot Finnie is defending himself against readers who apparently missed the point of Analysis, Round I. His objectivity cut against the grain. On the hardware front: sometimes Macs beat Windows PCs in the price/performance comparison.; sometimes it goes the other way. On the software front, Finnie concludes: "Unless you're talking AutoCAD, Photoshop or Microsoft Office, software isn't all that expensive, folks. Just two hours of my time spent working on a Windows PC problem is worth far more than the average cost of most software programs. Even if you're retired, you have to factor in the time wasted wrestling with problems.""
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9029458