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IBM

Submission + - IBM Makes A Super Memory Breakthrough 3

Submitted by adeelarshad82
adeelarshad82 writes: IBM says they have made a significant leap forward in the viability of "Racetrack memory," a new technology design which has the potential to exponentially increase computing power. This new tech could give devices the ability to store as much as 100 times more information than they do now, which would be accessed at far greater speeds while utilizing "much less" energy than today's designs. In the future, a single portable device might be able to hold as much memory as today's business-class servers and run on a single battery charge for weeks at a time. Racetrack memory works by storing data as magnetic regions (also called domains), which would be transported along nanowire "racetracks." Instead of forcing a computer to seek out the data it needs, as traditional computing systems do, the information would automatically slide along the racetrack to where it could be used.
Businesses

Submission + - Ninth suicide at iPhone factory. (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by __aapspi39
__aapspi39 writes: A ninth employee has jumped to his death at Taiwanese iPhone and iPad manufacturer Foxconn, China's state media reports. The 21 year old worker was the the eighth fatality this year. This raises questions as to whether the shiny finish of the lifestyle statements available from mega corporations are tarnished by such information, and whether the mistreatment of workers deserves to be highlighted when considering such firms.
HP

Submission + - Plug-and-Poo? 10,000 Cows Can Power 1,000 Servers (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: Reducing energy consumption in data centers, particularly with the prospect of a federal carbon tax, is pushing vendors to explore an ever-growing range of ideas. HP engineers say that biogas may offer a fresh alternative energy approach for IT managers. Researchers at HP Labs presented a paper (download PDF) on using cow manure from dairy farms and cattle feedlots and other 'digested farm waste' to generate electricity to an American Society of Mechanical Engineers conference, held this week. In it, the research team calculates that 'a hypothetical farm of 10,000 dairy cows' could power a 1 MW data center — or on the order of 1,000 servers. One trend that makes the idea of turning organic waste into usable power for data centers is the moves by several firms to build facilities in rural locations, where high-speed networks allow them to take advantage of the cost advantages of such areas. But there are some practical problems, not the least of which is connecting a data center to the cows. If it does happen, the move could call for a new take on plug and play: plug and poo.

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."
Idle

Submission + - Church turns to Facebook to find priests (skunkpost.com) 2

Submitted by crimeandpunishment
crimeandpunishment writes: The Catholic church of France isn't looking for friends on Facebook....it's looking for priests. The church has turned to Facebook as part of a campaign to attract young people to the priesthood, in an effort to combat its drastically dwindling number of priests. It may be working. The Facebook page attracted more than 1,200 fans in one week.

Submission + - "Lost" and the Emergence of Hypertext Storytelling 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The tv series "Lost" involves a large cast of characters marooned on a tropical island after a plane crash with episodes that thread lengthy flashbacks of characters’ backstories with immediate plots of day-to-day survival and interpersonal relationships, and a larger “mythos” involving the strange and apparently supernatural (or science-fictional) happenings on the island. Independent scholar Amelia Beamer writes that the series works as an example of a recent cultural creation, that of the hypertext narrative. "In Lost, the connections between characters form the essential hypertext content, which is emphasized by the structure of flashbacks that give the viewer privileged information about characters," writes Beamer. "Paramount are the connections unfolding between characters, ranging from mundane, apparently coincidental meetings in the airport, to more unlikely and in-depth meetings, reaching back through their entire lives and the lives of their families." Beamer writes that the series also pays tribute to video games, another relatively recent interactive means of storytelling. "The introduction of new plot points is heavily foreshadowed, and when the characters finally do break through the hatch, or meet the so-called “Others” "there is a sense of “leveling up," writes Beamer, "passing through a transition point at which a game becomes more complex (and more potentially rewarding)." Another part of the hypertext content is the community created around the series that includes a "Lostpedia" with over 6,000 articles dedicated to the show that elaborate on connections and theories regarding the story. "Lost is evidence of a new kind of cultural creation made possible by technology, where viewers can access and contribute to a huge internet-based fan culture, and are no longer dependent on network broadcast schedules.""

Comment USB (Score 1) 443

by Bloom Berg (#31976428) Attached to: Ubisoft's DRM Cracked — For Real This Time

Believe it or not after realizing they failed with their internet based DRM they will start to use USB dongles such as this: http://www.elicenser.net/en/

They will say that an internet connection is no longer needed and that you can use the dongle to save your game progress.

Due to the way this dongles work they can be cracked but it takes a huge effort and ammount of time for each different title, so they will have the first year piracy-free.

Submission + - The Value of Two-Thirds (capecodonline.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In Cape Cod, a zoning decision came up for vote, where the results were 136 for, 70 against. The vote required 2/3 approval to pass. The Town Clerk and Town Accountant believe that since .66 * 206 is less than 136, the vote passes. However, an "anonymous caller" noted that a more accurate value of 2/3 would require 137 (or perhaps even 138 votes) for the measure to be considered passed. The MA Secretary of State and State Attourney General are hard at work to resolve this issue. The full story: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090430/NEWS/904300313
Displays

Submission + - HDTV Has Ruined the LCD Display Market (10rem.net)

Submitted by alvin67
alvin67 writes: Microsoft Evangelist, Pete Brown rants about the lack of pixels available in today's LCD screens:

Ok, that's it. I've had it. I want my pixels, damn-it!

For a while, screen resolution has been going up on our desktop displays. The trend was good, as I've always wanted the largest monitor with the highest DPI that I could afford. I mean, I used to have one of the first hulking 17" CRTs on my desk. I later upgraded to a 21" inch job that was so huge, that if you didn't stick it in a corner, it took up the whole desk. It was flat-panel, though and full of pixels. It cost me around $1100 at the time.

Comment Re:I will be getting that firmware update (Score 1) 750

by Bloom Berg (#31288478) Attached to: Should I Take Toyota's Software Update?

What I'd really like to have an electrical circuit connection between the brake pedal and the throttle fly-by-wire assembly. When the circuit is tripped, the throttle position output of the assembly drops to 0 regardless of actual pedal position or sensor position.

You could wire the brake lights to a relay on the throttle servo.

DIY Safety ;-)

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