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Submission + - CD Sales Continue to Plummet, Vinyl Records Soar (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Over the past four years, vinyl record sales have been soaring, jumping almost 300% from 858,000 in 2006 to 2.5 million in 2009, and sales this year are on track to reach new peaks, according to Nielsen Entertainment. Meanwhile, as digital music sales are also continuing a steady rise, CD sales have been on a fast downward slope over the same period of time. In the first half of this year alone, CD album sales were down about 18% over the same period last year. David Bakula, senior vice president of analytics at Nielsen Entertainment, said it's not just audiophiles expanding their collections that is driving vinyl record sales but a whole new generation of young music aficionados who are digging the album art, liner notes and other features that records bring to the table. 'The trend sure does seem sustainable. And the record industry is really doing a lot of cool things to not only make the format come alive but to make it more exciting for consumers,' Bakula said.

Submission + - There Must Be A Return to Skilled Programming (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: High performance computing, multicore chips and distributed architectures are being used to deal with a glut of data in financial services and other markets. But only about 2% of programmers have the skills required to code for these new architectures while the rest continue to rely on ineffective serial coding or turn to GPA and FPGA chips to make their job less arduous, according to Bank of America's chief technology architect Jeffrey Birnbaum. "Too many people are rewriting stuff with parallel algorithms for GPUs and FPGAs claiming performance advantages. CPUs are still much faster than most programmers know," he said. "Birnbaum, whose bank is building a noSQL database, also said developers should always choose the languages with which they're most proficient and not try to force more sophisticated ones, such as Python, to a task because they'll wind up with sloppy results. "Bad programmers create bad code. It doesn't matter what language they use," he said.

Submission + - Skills Needed For A Future In IT (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: An increase in the pace of change in IT has created new dynamics for jobs involving the Web, mobile computing and virtualization. For those looking to either enter the marketplace in years to come, 30-somethings hoping to upgrade their skills, as well as those who'll be winding their careers down by 2020, skill sets are drastically changing. For example, graphics chips are doubling in capacity every six months. That translates into a thousandfold increase in capacity over a five-year period — the average shelf life of most game platforms. "We've never seen anything like it in any industry. Colleges are in continual catch-up mode and have only recently added project management and soft skills training to computer science programs. According to one expert, "They're about five years behind where they need to be.
Networking

Submission + - Stupid data center tricks (computerworld.com)

Submitted by jcatcw
jcatcw writes: A university network is brought down when two network cables are plugged into the wrong hub. An employee is injured after an ill-timed entry into a data center. Overheated systems are shut down by a thermostat setting changed from Fahrenheit to Celsius. And, of course, Big Red Buttons. These are just a few of the data center disasters caused by human folly.
Businesses

Best Places To Work In IT 2010 205

Posted by kdawson from the wish-you-were-here dept.
CWmike writes "These top-rated IT workplaces combine choice benefits with hot technologies and on-target training. Computerworld's 17th annual report highlights the employers firing on all cylinders. The Employer Scorecard ranks IT firms based on best benefits, retention, training, diversity, and career development. Also read what IT staffs have to say about job satisfaction. How's your workplace, IT folk?" Read below for a quick look at the top 10 IT workplaces according to this survey.
Earth

Cloth Successfully Separates Oil From Gulf Water 327

Posted by kdawson from the now-to-try-it-on-cats-and-dogs dept.
Chinobi writes "Di Gao, an assistant professor at the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a method of separating oil from water within just seconds using a cotton cloth coated in a chemical polymer that makes it both hydrophilic (it bonds with the hydrogen atoms in water) and oleophobic (oil-repelling), making it absolutely perfect for blocking oil and letting water pass through. Gao tested his filter successfully on Gulf Oil water and oil and has an impressive video to demonstrate the results." This is a laboratory demonstration; the technology hasn't been tested at scale.
Apple

Submission + - iPhone 4 vs. Android: And the winner is... (computerworld.com)

Submitted by jcatcw
jcatcw writes: According to JR Raphael, it's Android by a long shot. The new iPhone hardware is a significant improvement and, on the software side, the updated operating system brings about numerous capabilities previously unavailable to iPhone users. However, most of the iPhone's new features feel like incremental upgrades. The HTC EVO 4G, arguably the highest-end Android phone on the market right now, uses a 1GHz processor, has limitless video chatting, full multitasking, significant customization options (and no, the ability to set your own wallpaper doesn't count as significant), system-wide voice-to-text input, and so much more. In the end, this won't be remembered as the year the iPhone got folders or a gyroscope.
Technology

Submission + - HP Explains Why Printer Ink Is So Expensive (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: 'There's a perception that [printer] ink is one of the most expensive substances in the world,' says Thom Brown, marketing manager at HP. Well, yeah, writes Robert Mitchell. One might get that feeling walking out of a store having spent $35 for a single ink cartridge that appears to contain fewer fluid ounces of product than a Heinz ketchup packet. Brown was ready to explain. He presented a series of PowerPoint slides aptly titled 'Why is printer ink so expensive?' I was ready for answers. The key point in a nutshell: Ink technology is expensive, and you pay for reliability and image quality. 'These liquids are completely different from a technology standpoint,' Brown says, adding that users concerned about cost per page can buy 'XL' ink cartridges from HP that last two to three times longer. (Competitors do the same). The message: You get value for the money. No getting around it though: Ink is still expensive, particularly if you have to use that ink jet printer for black and white text pages.

Submission + - New 'Circuit Breaker' Imposed To Stop Market Crash (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: The SEC and national securities exchanges announced a new rule that would help curb market volatility and help to prevent "flash crashes" like the one that took place on May 6, when the Dow dropped almost 1,000 points in a half hour. That crash was blamed in part on automated trading systems, which process buy and sell orders in milliseconds. The new rule would pause trading on individual stocks that fluctuate up or down 10% in a five-minute period. "I believe that circuit breakers for individual securities across the exchanges would help to limit significant volatility," the SEC's chairman said. "They would also increase market transparency, bolster investor protection, and bring uniformity to decisions regarding trading halts in individual securities."

Submission + - House Calls For Hearing On Stock Market "Glitch" (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: The House Financial Services securities subcommittee plans to hold a hearing next Tuesday to examine what caused the U.S. Stock Market to plunge almost 1,000 points in a half hour Thursday, and it called on the SEC to investigate possible problems with computer algorithms that may have exacerbated a human order-entry error and lead to the precipitous drop. 'Reports have surfaced that much of this movement was potentially as a result of a computer glitch," Committee Chairman Kanjorski said. "We cannot allow a technological error to spook the markets and cause panic. This is unacceptable. In this day and age and with the use of such complex technology, we should be able to make sure that our financial markets are effectively monitored and investors are protected.'
Censorship

Submission + - Fixing Internet censorship in schools (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by jcatcw
jcatcw writes: Schools and libraries are hurting students by setting up heavy-handed Web filtering. The problem goes back for years. A filter blocked the Web site of former House Majoirty Leader Richard Armey because it detected the word "dick," according to a 2001 study from the Brennan Center of Justice. The purpose of schools should be to teach students to live in a democratic society, and that means teaching critical thinking and showing students controversial Web sites, says Craig Cunningham, a professor at National-Louis University. He quoted from a National Research Council study, "Swimming pools can be dangerous for children. To protect them, one can install locks ... [or] teach them to swim." Web filtering also leads to inequities in education based on household income. Students from more affluent areas have access to Internet at home and, often, more enlightened parents who can let them access information blocked in schools and libraries. Poorer students without home access don't have those opportunities
Ubuntu

Submission + - Can Ubuntu Save Online Banking? (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: Rob Mitchell writes, I do my online banking from the same home computer the rest of the family uses for Web surfing and online games. I have the McAfee security suite loaded and do regular scans so accessing online banking should be protected. Right? Not really, says Jay McLaughlin, CIO of CNL Bank. Accessing online banking from your everyday PC is just asking for trouble, he says. Recognizing that most consumers don't want to buy a separate computer for online banking, CNL is seriously considering making available free Ubuntu bootable 'live CD' discs in its branches and by mail. The discs would boot up Linux, run Firefox and be configured to go directly to CNL's Web site. 'Everything you need to do will be sandboxed within that CD,' he says. That should protect customers from increasingly common drive-by downloads and other vectors for malicious code that may infect and lurk on PCs, waiting to steal the user account names, passwords and challenge questions normally required to access online banking. Who knows? I might decide that I like running Linux for more than just online banking, Mitchell writes.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Turns 35: Best, Worst, Most Notables (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: It's hard to believe, but Microsoft turns 35 this year. Preston Gralla takes an opinionated look back, calling out the highs and lows of Microsoft history: the most reviled OS, smartest acquisition, worst PR disaster, best hire, sneakiest software bundling, prickliest partnership, biggest under-the-radar success, most embarrassing product glitch, weirdest company spokesperson and more.
Linux

Submission + - CrossOver Linux 9 Boosts Windows App List By 20% (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: Some Linux users insist that anything you can do on Windows, you can do better on Linux. While there's some truth to that, many of us have Windows applications that make completely leaving Windows close to impossible, writes Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. That's where CodeWeavers' latest version of CrossOver Linux comes in. CrossOver Linux 9 (code-named Snow Mallard) and its Mac brother, CrossOver Mac 9, now supports about 20% more Windows applications (at a level that most users would find usable) than the last one. Supported Windows applications now include Microsoft Office (from Office 97 to Office 2007), Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Outlook 2002 to 2007, all current versions of Quicken up to 2010 and QuickBooks up to 2004, and some versions of Photoshop and Photoshop CS. Vaughan-Nichols tested CrossOver Linux 9 on two systems, a Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200, and an older Gateway 503GR with a 3-GHz Pentium 4 CPU running Ubuntu 9.10.

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