nigeljw - Slashdot User

Researchers Claim 1,000 Core Chip Created 118

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday January 03, 2011 @02:12PM from the eat-the-seeds dept.

eldavojohn writes "Remember a few months ago when the feasibility was discussed of a thousand core processor? By using FPGAs, Glasgow University researchers have claimed a proof of concept 1,000 core chip that they demonstrated running an MPEG algorithm at a speed of 5Gbps. From one of the researchers: 'This is very early proof-of-concept work where we're trying to demonstrate a convenient way to program FPGAs so that their potential to provide very fast processing power could be used much more widely in future computing and electronics. While many existing technologies currently make use of FPGAs, including plasma and LCD televisions and computer network routers, their use in standard desktop computers is limited. However, we are already seeing some microchips which combine traditional CPUs with FPGA chips being announced by developers, including Intel and ARM. I believe these kinds of processors will only become more common and help to speed up computers even further over the next few years.'"

Goldman Invests $450m In Facebook 228

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday January 03, 2011 @01:29PM from the super-poke-me dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The news that Goldman has taken a stake in Facebook, the white-hot social networking giant, has tongues wagging from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. As first reported by DealBook, Goldman has invested $450 million in a deal that values Facebook at $50 billion. As part of the deal, Goldman is looking to raise as much as $1.5 billion from its wealthy clients to invest in Facebook alongside the firm."

MS Asks Google To Delay Fuzzer Tool 205

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday January 03, 2011 @12:00PM from the i-need-somebody dept.

eldavojohn writes "Polish Google security white hat Michal Zalewski has announced concerns that one of a hundred vulnerabilities his fuzzer tool found in IE is well known to third party hackers in China. His simple explanation provides an interesting counter argument to Microsoft's usual request that security problems not be released until they can slowly investigate them. From the article, 'Microsoft asked Zalewski to delay cross_fuzz's release, but he declined, in part because of his fear the IE vulnerability was already being explored by Chinese hackers, but also because the company's security experts had not responded to information he provided.' You can read about and download cross_fuzz for your own use."

Submission + - MS Asks Google to Delay Fuzzer Tool (computerworld.com)

Submitted by eldavojohn on Monday January 03, 2011 @10:06AM

eldavojohn writes: Polish Google security white hat Michal Zalewski has announced concerns that one of a hundred vulnerabilities his fuzzer tool found in IE is well known to third party hackers in China. His simple explanation provides an interesting counter argument to Microsoft's usual request that security problems not be released until they can slowly investigate them. From the article, 'Microsoft asked Zalewski to delay cross_fuzz's release, but he declined, in part because of his fear the IE vulnerability was already being explored by Chinese hackers, but also because the company's security experts had not responded to information he provided.' You can read about and download cross_fuzz for your own use.

Intel Sandy Bridge Desktop and Mobile CPUs 116

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday January 03, 2011 @09:44AM from the touch-the-future dept.

Vigile writes "The new Intel Sandy Bridge architecture is being launched at CES this week but the reviews and benchmarks are out today. PC Perspective took a look at both the desktop and mobile variants, the former of which turns out to be quite an impressive processor for both highly threaded and single threaded applications. With some tweaks to the execution unit, a new Turbo Boost mode that increases clock speeds dynamically and a vastly improved integrated graphics implementation, the Core i7-2600K improves in every aspect. Also interestingly, the most expensive desktop part will start at $317, putting the screws to AMD yet again. On the mobile side of things, PC Perspective tested the quad-core Core i7-2820QM and the benchmark results are equally impressive; especially when looking at the gaming performance using integrated graphics. Sandy Bridge will no doubt put quite a dent in the discrete notebook graphics market for NVIDIA and AMD."

Micro-USB Cellphone Charger Becomes EU Standard 302

Posted by timothy on Saturday January 01, 2011 @03:11AM from the wish-they-seemed-stronger dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The European Commission has put into effect a June 2009 agreement stating that major cellphone manufacturers should standardize their charging/data connection ports to the popular Micro-USB format. CEN-CENELEC and ETSI provided the standards by which these 14 companies will abide to make cell phone recharging and data transfer easy." Apple may even bring the next-gen iPad along for the ride.

Submission + - Man hits teenager on airplane for using iPhone (blorge.com) 1

Submitted by Charlotte Web on Friday December 31, 2010 @08:32PM

Charlotte Web writes: A 68-year-old man was arrested in Idaho after punching a teenager who refused to switch off their iPhone on an airplane. "The unnamed boy ignored the flight crew's request to switch off electronic devices and instead continued playing games and listening to music," after which, the teenager says, the man went "ballastic." After their scuffle, the 68-year-old man now faces a six month jail term or a $1,000 fine. But the iPhone-using teenager "did not require medical attention and did not face any police action."

YouTube Legally Considered a TV Station In Italy 254

Posted by Soulskill on Friday December 31, 2010 @06:10PM from the legislation-to-facilitate-prosecution dept.

orzetto writes "Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports that YouTube and similar websites based on user-generated content will be considered TV stations (Google translation of Italian original) in Italian law, and will be subject to the same obligations. Among these, a small tax (500 €), the obligation to publish corrections within 48 hours upon request of people who consider themselves slandered by published content, and the obligation not to broadcast content inappropriate for children in certain time slots. The main change, though, is that YouTube and similar sites will be legally responsible for all published content as long as they have any form (even if automated) of editorial control. The main reason for this is probably that it will force YouTube to assume editorial responsibility for all published content, which facilitates the ongoing € 500M lawsuit of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi against YouTube because of content copyrighted by Berlusconi's TV networks that some users uploaded on YouTube. Berlusconi's Spanish TV station, TeleCinco, was previously defeated in court on the grounds that YouTube is not a content provider."

Comment Re:In Newfoundland... (Score 1) 571

by nigeljw on Friday December 31, 2010 @06:00PM (#34724822) Attached to: Our Lazy Solar Dynamo — Hello Dalton Minimum?

In addendum, I meant to relate this to TFA by inferring that the solar maximum also influences our climates, and quite possibly the cause of the changes in our magnetic field.

Comment In Newfoundland... (Score 2) 571

by nigeljw on Friday December 31, 2010 @05:55PM (#34724780) Attached to: Our Lazy Solar Dynamo — Hello Dalton Minimum?

We are experiencing a very warm winter without snow, when usually we have a cold winter with a significant amount of snow due to the Labrador current. Our current climate opposite of Britain and the rest of North America, where normally we have their current climates and they have ours. 6 years ago we had a very cold winter and the most snow since 1850, and each year followed suit until last year. Before that we had a short period of winters without snow, which was exactly as it is now. And before that (my childhood) we had a significant amount snow all throughout. I don't remember anything before that. My point being, to any Wikipedia scientists, there simply is a cycle of climates which is directly affected by the temperature of the earth, which cycles itself. The jet stream would be the most significant factor influencing our climates. It is of my belief that the current variances in weather are due to the reversal of polarization of our magnetic poles. In the recent years, the magnetic north pole has been moving around in much greater distances, which anyone reading /. should know. But at least I know this is all pure speculation, unlike most other people who constantly talk in absolutes and yet have no definitive proof.

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