Bookmark Nospill valves and other modern water cooling tech (slashdot.org)
Comment Re:Use a homemade book scanner. (Score 1) 172
Not a great idea. You will have to lift the book to change pages.
Comment Re:Finally (Score 1) 575
An interesting alternative is "Molten salt reactor" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten_salt_reactor). There are, at least, two videos from google tech talks about them: Liquid Fluoride Reactors: A New Beginning for an Old Idea (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F0tUDJ35So) and The Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor: What Fusion Wanted To Be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHs2Ugxo7-8&feature=channel_page).
Submission + - Rackable To Acquire Silicon Graphics For $25M
An anonymous reader writes: In the deal, Rackable will acquire Silicon Graphics' servers and software for building x86 clusters for high-performance computing, cloud computing, and large-scale data storage. From http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/data_centers/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216402311&subSection=News
Submission + - AMD claims the Barcelona = 170% faster than Xeon! (techarp.com)
crazyeyes writes: "Less than two weeks before Barcelona is launched, we had the opportunity to talk to the guy who's supposed to make it a big financial success — John Freude, AMD's Worldwide Business Development Manager for Server/Workstation Products.
John sure had some interesting numbers to tell us, as well as some updates on Phenom and even Budapest. Check out these updates from AMD. There will be more to come. Here's a quote from the editorial :-
John sure had some interesting numbers to tell us, as well as some updates on Phenom and even Budapest. Check out these updates from AMD. There will be more to come. Here's a quote from the editorial
""Because they are under NDA, he cannot reveal the actual results, but he gave us some interesting indications of how the Barcelona will eventually fare against an equivalent Intel processor.
— 20-30% better performance overall
— 170% better performance in some benchmarks
More importantly, he says, the Quad-Core Opteron (Barcelona) will offer 45-85% better performance than current dual-core Opteron processors at the same power consumption and thermal dissipation. Intel quad-core processors, on the other hand, only offer 30-35% better performance (11% in floating point) than their dual-core processors with a 23-25% increase in power consumption and thermal dissipation."
Submission + - Linux device development
An anonymous reader writes: Linux developer Greg Kroah-Hartman, who leads the development of several kernel subsystems including USB and PCI, admits that his January offer of free Linux device driver development was "marketing hype" — but says it has brought companies and developers together anyway.
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;58590129 ;fp;16;fpid;0
Submission + - New Cable Modem to Triple Internet Speed
BlueMorpho writes: "That's right-optical fiber-to-the-home service had previously offered the fastest available connection for residential Internet. The best-known example is the FiOS service from Verizon Communications, which peaks at 50 megabits per second.
But the cable industry has recently taken the wraps off new cable modem technology that exceeds the FiOS speed by a factor of more than three. Called the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 3.0, it allows data throughput of as much as 160 megabits.
http://www.livescience.com/technology/070522_cable _modem.html"
But the cable industry has recently taken the wraps off new cable modem technology that exceeds the FiOS speed by a factor of more than three. Called the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 3.0, it allows data throughput of as much as 160 megabits.
http://www.livescience.com/technology/070522_cabl
Submission + - Energy efficiency in the data center
jcatcw writes: In Computerworld's Grill, Rocky Mountain Insitute's Amory B. Lovins claims that a watt of energy saved is worth $20 to $27 to a business and that U.S. data centers are missing comprehensive integration of efficiency technologies that are available.
The next big step will be when one or more major operators puts all these parts together to realize the ninefold or greater savings that we outlined. In fact, I now think we can do even better, because both the IT and the support equipment are proving to be more efficient than we thought possible.
Submission + - Google loses cache-copyright lawsuit in Belgium
acroyear writes: "A court in Belgium found that Google's website caching policies are a violation of that nation's copyright laws, claiming that Google's cache offers effectively "free" access to articles that, while free initially, are archived charged for via subscriptions. Google claims that they only store "short extracts, but the court determined that's still a violation. The court found, "We confirm that the activities of Google News, the reproduction and publication of headlines as well as short extracts, and the use of Google's cache, the publicly available data storage of articles and documents, violate the law on authors' rights.""
Submission + - Breaking into the C++ programming field
An anonymous reader writes: Does anyone have any advice for breaking into the C++ programming field? I graduated college with a bachelors in CS in 2002, but after being unemployed for a year I took whatever job I could get (SQL Server/Some VB.NET). About a year ago I changed jobs at last, but the only people who looked at me seriously were for SQL Server skills, no one looked at me as a developer at all. Now, deciding that DBA is not really what I want to do, I am unable to even get the time of day for anyone recruiting for Software Engineering jobs.
To be honest, I agree that there is a certain skillset I am missing and that is the skills of working on a gigantic project in one of these procedural languages. At my current job database work and development is completely separate, so I can't even touch any source code (mostly in C# anyway). In my previous job there were some web front ends coded in .NET but it was a start up and emphasis was on getting the job done...not proper software engineering. Also, all the .NET code was relatively small. Unfortunately, I cannot find a company to let me start doing real development where I can be introduced to a gigantic project in an imperative (C/C++/Java/C#) language. I would really like to do C++, but even just learning C++ is not enough. Most of the C++ jobs I see also require Java or Java Web Services, or Oracle. As much as I would like to learn all these things, I can't go around learning everything I see in job ads just to get a job, because by the time I do, the next job ad might have something different. Also, at home I just don't have a need for much power, even C++ is usually overkill for the typical home project.
I just want to know how I can break into the programming field and without taking a huge paycut (since I have to support a family). Even in my current job as a DBA I am exposed to the software development process, and stored procedures are similar to developing for a procedural language (loops, variables, etc.). So surely somehow my experience must translate into real programming? C++ is my favorite language because of its raw power, but most jobs I see with C++ require 5+ years of work experience with "C/C++", which unfortunately I will never get since no one will hire me to do either.
Submission + - Hollywood to delay Canadian Release Dates.
oglsmm writes: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=b 3001d7a-a969-4b92-89a9-6a7ce4f31c90
Tories will not act to curb movie piracy
Camcorder bootlegging: Government cites stiff copyright laws already in place
Janice Tibbetts
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
OTTAWA — The Conservative government appears in no hurry to bring forward a new law to crack down on camcorded movie bootlegging, despite lobbying from theatres and a threat from Hollywood to delay film distribution in Canada.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said in an interview that there is already a stiff copyright law in Canada to catch people who sneak camcorders into movie theatres for the purposes of filming for commercial distribution.
"I do point out to people that the country is not completely bereft of laws in this area," he said.
The maximum fine under the federal Copyright Act is $1-million and five years in jail for camcording a movie for commercial distribution.
Hollywood is pressing for more expansive laws and one studio, 20th Century Fox, has threatened to withhold movie distribution in Canada.
The industry charges that Canada has become a major source of film piracy worldwide and has been cited on a U.S. watchlist, along with China and Russia, for three straight years.
The umbrella group for the country's movie theatres, the Canadian Motion Picture Theatre Associations, recently wrote to Mr. Nicholson to lobby for a new law.
Mr. Nicholson said that he is willing "to look at any suggestion that comes forward."
But the new justice minister also noted that he already has a lot on his plate in the coming months, centred around the Conservative government's aggressive law-and-order agenda.
"I don't want to get into the situation that you may have seen in this town where certain ministers or certain governments had a different priority every day of the week and every time a new problem came up that was a new priority and ultimately nothing gets done," said Mr. Nicholson.
The Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association says movie pirating in Canada accounted for 20 per cent of camcorded copies of DVDs worldwide in 2005 and was responsible for $118-million in losses.
"What we're dealing with here is organized crime," said Doug Frith, the president of the association, which represents the American film industry's interests in Canada.
The way that the most sophisticated piracy works, explained Mr. Frith, is that the ill-gotten movie is put into a hard drive minutes after leaving a theatre and it is available on the Internet within hours of the film's release.
Mr. Frith said that the federal copyright law is not enough because it puts the onus on the Crown to prove that the camcording is being done for commercial purposes.
Michael Geist, a law professor at University of Ottawa, says he is not convinced of Hollywood's claims that Canada is a leading source of movie piracy.
"I think we need far better evidence to suggest that there is a problem," said Geist, adding that the industry's data on the matter is "all over the place."
A bigger problem, he said, is industry insiders bootlegging DVDs before the movies are even released in theatres, he said.
"This is an issue that is far more complex than "Canada is a haven for pirates and we need tougher laws to deal with this issue"," said Mr. Geist.
Howard Knopf, an Ottawa copyright lawyer, said there could be potential problems in making it illegal to use a camcorder in a theatre if it causes problems for movie-goers who carry their cellphones or other gadgets with film-making capability.
"I don't have a problem with it being illegal to use a camcorder," he said, "but I don't think we should criminalize gadgets. More and more companies are coming up with gadgets that do pretty well everything and it shouldn't be a crime to carry one around."
© National Post 2007
Tories will not act to curb movie piracy
Camcorder bootlegging: Government cites stiff copyright laws already in place
Janice Tibbetts
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
OTTAWA — The Conservative government appears in no hurry to bring forward a new law to crack down on camcorded movie bootlegging, despite lobbying from theatres and a threat from Hollywood to delay film distribution in Canada.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said in an interview that there is already a stiff copyright law in Canada to catch people who sneak camcorders into movie theatres for the purposes of filming for commercial distribution.
"I do point out to people that the country is not completely bereft of laws in this area," he said.
The maximum fine under the federal Copyright Act is $1-million and five years in jail for camcording a movie for commercial distribution.
Hollywood is pressing for more expansive laws and one studio, 20th Century Fox, has threatened to withhold movie distribution in Canada.
The industry charges that Canada has become a major source of film piracy worldwide and has been cited on a U.S. watchlist, along with China and Russia, for three straight years.
The umbrella group for the country's movie theatres, the Canadian Motion Picture Theatre Associations, recently wrote to Mr. Nicholson to lobby for a new law.
Mr. Nicholson said that he is willing "to look at any suggestion that comes forward."
But the new justice minister also noted that he already has a lot on his plate in the coming months, centred around the Conservative government's aggressive law-and-order agenda.
"I don't want to get into the situation that you may have seen in this town where certain ministers or certain governments had a different priority every day of the week and every time a new problem came up that was a new priority and ultimately nothing gets done," said Mr. Nicholson.
The Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association says movie pirating in Canada accounted for 20 per cent of camcorded copies of DVDs worldwide in 2005 and was responsible for $118-million in losses.
"What we're dealing with here is organized crime," said Doug Frith, the president of the association, which represents the American film industry's interests in Canada.
The way that the most sophisticated piracy works, explained Mr. Frith, is that the ill-gotten movie is put into a hard drive minutes after leaving a theatre and it is available on the Internet within hours of the film's release.
Mr. Frith said that the federal copyright law is not enough because it puts the onus on the Crown to prove that the camcording is being done for commercial purposes.
Michael Geist, a law professor at University of Ottawa, says he is not convinced of Hollywood's claims that Canada is a leading source of movie piracy.
"I think we need far better evidence to suggest that there is a problem," said Geist, adding that the industry's data on the matter is "all over the place."
A bigger problem, he said, is industry insiders bootlegging DVDs before the movies are even released in theatres, he said.
"This is an issue that is far more complex than "Canada is a haven for pirates and we need tougher laws to deal with this issue"," said Mr. Geist.
Howard Knopf, an Ottawa copyright lawyer, said there could be potential problems in making it illegal to use a camcorder in a theatre if it causes problems for movie-goers who carry their cellphones or other gadgets with film-making capability.
"I don't have a problem with it being illegal to use a camcorder," he said, "but I don't think we should criminalize gadgets. More and more companies are coming up with gadgets that do pretty well everything and it shouldn't be a crime to carry one around."
© National Post 2007
Free Linux Kernel Driver Development FAQ 84
schwaang writes "The recent announcement by Linux Kernel Developer Greg Kroah-Hartman that 'the Linux kernel community is offering all companies free Linux driver development' seems to have stirred up some interest as well as some questions — see the Slashdot discussion about the announcement. Greg K-H addresses some of the questions raised here, and raises a few more, in a new Free Linux Driver Development FAQ on his blog. An excerpt: 'Q: Are companies really going to do this? A: Yes, already we have received a number of serious queries from companies about producing Linux drivers for their devices. More information will be available later when details are firmed up."
Submission + - Update: Energy Tower Power Calculations
rohar writes: "Since this story was originally posted, the efficiency and power output calculations of this Open Design Renewable Energy Project have been completed for implementations of a mid-sized installation for various climates.
Although the project is not at the pilot stage yet, the physics and math demonstrate that the system can meet the design criteria of a clean, renewable, feasible, location independant, reliable electrical generation system that can be built from common materials."
Although the project is not at the pilot stage yet, the physics and math demonstrate that the system can meet the design criteria of a clean, renewable, feasible, location independant, reliable electrical generation system that can be built from common materials."
Submission + - Norwegian Datacrime wants to block porn and p2p.
Jostein Hanken writes: "Norways 2nd biggest (Dagbladet.no) newspaper reported today that Norwegian Datacrime (A section under Justice and Police Department) will put forward a suggestion to the Justisminister (Minister of Justice?) that sais ISP's should block all internet content that is illegal. That includes websites that contain porn, illegal downloads, racism etc. In short, that means Datacrime wants to block half the content on the internet, giving Norway one of the hardest Internet laws in the western world.
This has been reported in the papir edition of Dagbladet and online by ITavisen ( http://www.itavisen.no/php/art.php?id=368846 ). Both are in norwegian im afraid."
