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OCAU News |
The internet is becoming an angry angry place. Ever seen a long raving profanity-laden tirade on a website? Well, if you're not new to the internet the answer is surely, yes. Virtually every website that accepts unfiltered comments has seen some of these posts. And they aren't just people casually casting about expletives. These people are angry, and ready to vent.
Maybe they're just annoyed at Windows Update? But sometimes Windows XP gets stuck in update mode. It will continue to show the flashing yellow shield in the System Tray suggesting you need to download and install important security patches. Windows may even display a chat bubble reminding you there is a system patch available. This may appear even after you have already applied all the patches — Windows just doesn’t recognize its current status.
i7 this, Nehalem that, but what motherboard should you get to go with your new processor? By now you've no doubt read all about Intel's new Core i7 processor. You know that the CPU otherwise known as Nehalem is based on an all-new architecture, complete with four cores (or eight, if you count Hyper-Threading), three levels of cache, an integrated memory controller, and a QuickPath Interconnect replacement for the front-side bus. You know that the Core i7 is unequivocally the fastest desktop processor around, and that in some cases, it's a fair bit quicker, clock-for-clock, than Intel's already impressive Penryn designs. Naturally, you want one. Badly.
But if you have Windows Vista, forget getting the full power out of Nehalem. At first glance, the combination of HyperThreading and Turbo Mode on the Core i7 processor looks like a winner. One ups the chip's multi-threading ante to frankly ludicrous levels, the other gives a helping hand to clunky old apps that haven't been coded to take advantage of modern multi-core CPUs.
Google Chrome has been labelled a trojan horse. Why does Google log the details of search queries for so long? What does it do with the information? Does it combine data from the search engine with information it collects through other avenues - such as its recently released web browser, Chrome? Data gathered through most of the company's services "disappears into a black hole once it hits the Googleplex," said Simon Davies, director of London-based Privacy International, referring to Google's headquarters. "It's impossible to track that information."
Here's a novel approach to generating power on a bike. Industrial designer Deco Goodman takes advantage of our crumbling infrastructure and pothole-filled roads by installing a piezo-electric generator in a shock absorber built into the seat post. Every tooth-jarring bump now is a little bit softer as the energy is converted to electricity and stored in the battery.
Apple is putting a former IBM executive in charge of engineering iPods. "Tony Fadell, Apple’s senior vice president of the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, vice president of Human Resources, are reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family," the company said in a statement. Mark Papermaster, a former vice president at IBM with 25 years of product and technology experience, will take over for Fadell as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting directly to Jobs. He'll be tasked with leading both iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams.
While we're with Apple, apparently the iPod Touch and iPhone are become a force in handheld gaming. In a unique perspective on the issue, BusinessWeek’s Arik Hesseldahl writes that Apple’s come a long way in the three months or so since the iTunes App Store opened for business: “It’s already home to some 1,500 games, compared with fewer than 300 titles for Sony’s PlayStation Portable and about 600 for Nintendo’s handheld console, the DS.”
Nanotechnology is now making printable inorganic circuits. Organic electronics are being lauded for their flexibility and ability to be printed on a variety of form factors. However, inorganic electronics still hold large leads in most important component parameters for digital circuits, over mass-producible organic electronics. Unfortunately, they couldn't be printed. Well chalk up another victory to nanotechnology -- printable inorganic semiconductor circuits may soon be on their way thanks to a new high-tech ink which uses nanoclusters.
There's a new mp3 logo on the block, and its gaining support in Britain. Seven of Britain's largest music download sites have got together to promote a new "MP3 compatible" logo. It aims to raise the profile of the open MP3 music format and show people what they can do with their downloads. The trade body behind the initiative said it should also help consumers identify legal sites. The Entertainment Retailers Association devised the logo, which emphasises the fact that MP3 files can be played on any digital player.
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All original content copyright James Rolfe.
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