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Graphics

Submission + - $700 may be all you need to spend on a gaming PC (techreport.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The recession is hitting hard, but this doesn't have to be a bad time for PC gamers. On the contrary: hardware has gotten cheap enough that you can build a surprisingly powerful gaming desktop for surprisingly little. The Tech Report's latest system guide is a prime example. The fourth page details a $689 configuration that has a triple-core AMD Phenom II, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (with 216 SPs), four gigs of RAM, and an accompaniment of fast, quiet, and high-quality components (including an 80%-efficient PSU). The result? A PC that lets you play every current game at 1920x1200--usually with a healthy dose of antialiasing--which should be enough for the vast majority of gamers out there.
Intel

Submission + - Intel's kid-friendly tablet netbook turns heads (techreport.com)

Submitted by J. Dzhugashvili
J. Dzhugashvili writes: The first two generations of Intel's Classmate PC were little more than glorified netbooks, but the latest model looks to turn the platform on its head... literally. Featuring an 8.9" swiveling touch screen, a rugged design, and a variety of education-centric applications, the new Convertible Classmate PC aims to revolutionize the way children learn—and steal the One Laptop Per Child project's thunder in the process. The Tech Report's in-depth review of the Convertible Classmate PC concludes, "[this] might very well be the ideal netbook for kids. Adults who are simply looking for a durable, ultra-portable tablet may find the system interesting, as well." Indeed, unlike with the OLPC XO-1, you can cough up the $500 and buy a Convertible Classmate PC for your personal use (or your kid's) right now.
Input Devices

Submission + - Das Keyboard vs. Model M: fight! (techreport.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Can a newfangled clicky keyboard with a $130 price tag outdo the venerable Model M in terms of comfort and tactile feedback? The Tech Report got to the bottom of the issue in a thorough review of the Das Keyboard Professional, comparing the purported 'best keyboard on the planet' with IBM's old-fashioned classic. Which one comes out on top? The author says it's like picking between 'two slightly different flavors of delicious ice cream.'
Portables

Submission + - Intel's third-gen Classmate PC tablet previewed (techreport.com)

Submitted by J. Dzhugashvili
J. Dzhugashvili writes: As the OLPC organization cuts huge chunks of its staff, Intel has revealed its third-generation Classmate PC for kids in developing nations. The Tech Report has posted a hands-on preview with plenty of photos and a look at the machine's hardware and capabilities. Apparently, the new Intel netbook has plenty of perks, including a convertible tablet design with a stylus and 8.9" touch-sensitive screen, a 1.6GHz Atom processor, Windows XP, and 3.3-5 hours of battery life (depending on the model).
AMD

Submission + - 45nm Phenom II matches Core 2 Quad, trails Core i7 (techreport.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: AMD is debuting its 45nm Phenom II processors today, and The Tech Report has already run them through a complete suite of benchmarks to see how they perform compared to Intel's latest and greatest. The result? The new 2.8GHz and 3GHz Phenom IIs are in a dead heat with like-priced Core 2 Quads, but they generally fall well behind Intel's new Core i7 chips. TR concludes that AMD's future doesn't look as bleak as some say, and future Phenom IIs could compete favorably with more affordable Core i7 derivatives.
Businesses

Submission + - Amtrak Reservation System Fails Nationwide (statesman.com)

Submitted by
xrsblu
xrsblu writes: "Amtrak's ARROW ticketing system has suffered an as-yet-unexplained nationwide failure, beginning Saturday afternoon and persisting through the time of this submission. Customers are unable to make reservations or purchase tickets online, via phone operator, or in person at a ticket window. Train status updates are also unavailable. Amtrak has not issued a press release and their website makes no mention of the system failure, until one attempts to make a reservation whereby a standard "system maintenance" error appears."
Security

Tor Open To Attack 109

Posted by kdawson from the peeling-the-onion dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A group of researchers have written a paper that lays out an attack against Tor (PDF) in enough detail to cause Roger Dingledine a fair amount of heartburn. The essential avenue of attack is that Tor doesn't verify claims of uptime or bandwidth, allowing an attacker to advertise more than it need deliver, and thus draw traffic. If the attacker controls the entry and exit node and has decent clocks, then the attacker can link these together and trace someone through the network."
Space

Submission + - Amazing New Pictures of Spacecraft Above Mars

Submitted by
sighted
sighted writes: "The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe, en route to a distant encounter with a comet, buzzed by Barsoom yesterday and took some striking and unusual pictures, including one that shows its own solar panel with Mars in the background. As it passed by the planet, Rosetta briefly took back up to six the number of active robotic missions exploring Mars, four in space and two on the ground."
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - An interview with Chuck Thacker

Submitted by
Mihai Budiu
Mihai Budiu writes: "I had the opportunity to interview Chuck Thacker, a Microsoft technical fellow who has been awarded the 2007 IEEE von Neumann medal for his "central role in the creation of the personal computer and the development of networked computer systems" (i.e., Xerox Alto and Ethernet). Chuck speaks about building hardware, education, reverse engineering, open-source, and many other fascinating topics."

Introduction to Linden Scripting Language 139

Posted by CmdrTaco from the fad-or-fantastic dept.
prostoalex writes "Dr. Dobb's Journal runs a lengthy introduction to Linden Scripting Language, the language behind avatars and their interaction in Second Life: "LSL is a scripting language that runs server-side, on a piece of software called the simulator. The simulator does just what it's name implies — it simulates the virtual world of Second Life. Each simulator runs everything for 16 acres of virtual land — buildings, physics, and of course, scripts. While you manipulate the script text in a form that is somewhat easy to read, the actual code that runs on the simulator is compiled. A compiler is a piece of software that takes the text version of the script and converts it into something that can actually run. In the case of LSL, the compiler exists within the Second Life viewer itself. In the future, it is likely that the compiler will move from the viewer into the Second Life simulators, but where the code is compiled isn't very important. What matters is that the text is converted into a form that can run on the simulators.""

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