Comment ugh! (Score 1) 409
I do not want to see a 3D Jar Jar Binks...
Submission + - Castle Wolfenstein source code released (about.com) 1
geefau writes: ID Software has released the source code to the game and the add-on, ie along with Wolfenstein — Enemy Territory, Return to Castle Wolfenstein single player and Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer under the GPL license.
Slackware 13.1 Released 155
Several readers made sure we are aware that Slackware 13.1 release is out. Here's the list of mirrors. "Slackware 13.1 brings many updates and enhancements, among which you'll find two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.6.1, a fast and lightweight but visually appealing and easy-to-use desktop environment, and KDE 4.4.3, a recent stable release of the new 4.4.x series of the award-winning KDE desktop environment."
Submission + - Intel caught cheating in 3DMark benchmark (techreport.com) 3
EconolineCrush writes: 3DMark Vantage developer Futuremark has clear guidelines for what sort of driver optimizations are permitted with its graphics benchmark. Intel's current Windows 7 drivers appear to be in direct violation, offloading the graphics workload onto the CPU to artificially inflate scores for the company's integrated graphics chipsets. The Tech Report lays out the evidence, along with Intel's response, and illustrates that 3DMark scores don't necessarily track with game performance, anyway.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 Released 110
An anonymous reader writes "The fourth update in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 family is released. From the press release — this version includes kernel-based virtual machine (KVM) virtualization, alongside of Xen virtualization technology. The scalability of the Red Hat virtualization solution has been incremented to support 192 CPUs and 1GB hugepages. Other updates including GCC 4.4 and a new malloc(), clustered, high-availability filesystem to support Microsoft Windows storage needs on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This article covers the upgrade procedure for RHEL 5.4 from the previous version."
Broke Counties Turn Failing Roads To Gravel 717
To save money, more than 20 Michigan counties have decided to turn deteriorating paved roads back to gravel. Montcalm County estimates that repaving a road costs more than $100,000 a mile. Grinding the same mile of road up and turning it into gravel costs $10,000. At least 50 miles of road have been reverted to gravel in Michigan the past three years. I can't wait until we revert back to whale oil lighting and can finally be rid of this electricity fad.
Comment Macbook pro (Score 4, Interesting) 770
Gained sd card reader...lost the express card slot.
I want the express card slot back.
Submission + - Company Produces THC Tomatoes (thecrit.com) 2
Corpuscavernosa writes: Scientists at Montsaint Genie Tech Inc. announced today that they have successfully transferred the gene segment that produces the psychotropic chemical THC in cannabis plants to many other common garden plants, including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, and more.
But is it legal? "Actually, yes," says Vale. "Our research qualifies as GMO 'intellectual property', as does the process itself. Since tomatoes and other plants are not illegal, a person would be well within the law to grow them and use them as they please."
But is it legal? "Actually, yes," says Vale. "Our research qualifies as GMO 'intellectual property', as does the process itself. Since tomatoes and other plants are not illegal, a person would be well within the law to grow them and use them as they please."
Comment Roving black hole (Score 1, Interesting) 166
I don't seem to grasp that black holes can become mobile. I can not imagine something would be able to exert enough force on the black hole to actually accelerate it.
Comment Re:Parallel is here to stay but not for every app (Score 2, Insightful) 321
Parallel is not going to go anywhere but is only really valid for certain types if applications.
Exactly, some problems are inherently serial. These programs would run slower if you made them run in parallel.
Submission + - Microsoft Trying to Patent Parallel Processing 2
theodp writes: "Microsoft may have been a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to parallel programming, but that's not stopping the software giant from trying to patent it. This week, the USPTO revealed that Microsoft has three additional parallel-processing patents pending — 1. Partitioning and Repartitioning for Data Parallel Operations, 2. Data Parallel Searching, and 3. Data Parallel Production and Consumption. Informing the USPTO that 'Software programs have been written to run sequentially since the beginning days of software development,' Microsoft adds there's been a '[recent] shift away from sequential execution toward parallel execution.' Before they grant the patents, let's hope the USPTO gets a second opinion on the novelty of Microsoft's parallel-processing patent claims."
PLplot Notes Its 10,000th Commit 66
iliketrash writes "From the PLplot development team is the announcement of their 10,000th commit: 'PLplot is a cross-platform software package for creating scientific plots that has been in continuous development since its inception 17 years ago. On May 23, 2009 the PLplot developers quietly celebrated our ten thousandth commit since our initial software repository was populated back in May 1992. This longevity puts PLplot in some select company amongst open-source software projects. We may even be unique within this group because all PLplot development has been done by volunteers in their spare time. The enthusiasm for PLplot development continues; we have averaged more than 100 commits per month over the last year which is double our 17-year average, and we are looking forward to the celebration of our next ten thousand commits!'"
Submission + - SPAM: Hackers claim $10K prize for StrongWebmail breakin 2
alphadogg writes: Telesign, a provider of voice-based authentication software, challenged hackers to break into its StrongWebmail.com Web site late last week. The prize: $10,000. On Thursday, a group of security researchers claimed to have won the contest, which challenged hackers to break into the Web mail account of StrongWebmail CEO Darren Berkovitz and report back details from his June 26 calendar entry. The hackers, led by Secure Science Chief Scientist Lance James and security researchers Aviv Raff and Mike Bailey, provided details from Berkovitz's calendar to IDG News Service. In an interview, Berkovitz confirmed those details were from his account. However, Berkovitz could not confirm that the hackers had actually won the prize. He said he would need to check to confirm that the hackers had abided by the contest rules, adding, "if someone did it, we'll kind of put our heads down," he said.
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - Canadian Regulator Says No To New Internet Regs
An anonymous reader writes: After months of fears that the Canadian broadcast regulator would try
to regulate the Internet, the CRTC has come to its senses. Its new media
decision today takes a hands off approach — no new regulation — and
even adopts a rule against undue preferences for wireless providers.
Submission + - Hospital turns away ambulances after EHRs go down (networkworld.com)
CurtMonash writes: "The Indianapolis Star reports that Tuesday Morning, Methodist Hospital turned away patients in ambulances, for the first time in its 100-plus history. Why? Because the electronic health records (EHR) system had gone down the prior afternoon — due to a power surge — and the backlog of paperwork was no longer tolerable.
If you think about that story, it has a couple of disturbing aspects. Clearly the investment in or design of high availability, surge protection, etc. were sadly lacking. But even leaving that aside — why do problems with paperwork make it necessary to turn away patients?
Maybe the latter is OK, since there obviously were other, more smoothly running hospitals to send the patient to. Still, the whole story should be held up as a cautionary tale for hospitals and IT suppliers everywhere."
If you think about that story, it has a couple of disturbing aspects. Clearly the investment in or design of high availability, surge protection, etc. were sadly lacking. But even leaving that aside — why do problems with paperwork make it necessary to turn away patients?
Maybe the latter is OK, since there obviously were other, more smoothly running hospitals to send the patient to. Still, the whole story should be held up as a cautionary tale for hospitals and IT suppliers everywhere."
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