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Eee PC: small thing

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:06:21 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone

the Eee PC is on the surface intended for children, but has plenty to keep the attention of adults too.

The Eee PC is similar in idea to the XO from the One Laptop Per Child initiative and Intel's Classmate PC. But unlike the former two, the primary audience for the Eee is not children in developing nations. Instead, it's intended as a device for the general public.

It looks like a laptop, and mostly acts like one, but Eee PC product manager Donald Leung goes out of his way to say that the tiny device is not that.

"We want to emphasize that it's not a laptop," Leung said. "We'd rather call it a 'super mobile Internet device.'"

Besides its low-power Intel mobile processor, it has 512MB of memory, a 4GB flash drive, built-in Wi-Fi, and standard USB and monitor ports

Color choices include black, white, and three pastels: pink, green, and blue.

Next month it will be sold on BestBuy.com and Costco.com for $399.

The kid-friendly computer runs Linux

Tags: tech, gadgets, asus

RSPlug.A Mac OS X trojan

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:12:29 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: Is the Mac now also becoming a target for malware?

Clip Source: arstechnica.com

the discovery of an actual malicious trojan for the Mac

the OSX.RSPlug.A trojan dresses up like said Quicktime codec, requiring an administrator password to install.

the "codec" installer sets up a couple of fake DNS servers and a cron job that runs every minute to reinstall the DNS servers in case they have been removed.

the malicious DNS servers are asked to translate domain names into IP addresses, allowing the person in charge of these servers to redirect selected destinations.

used for phishing purposes "for sites such as eBay, PayPal and some banks"

users who think they're secure just because they're using a Mac

"the bad guys are taking Mac now seriously."

Mac OS X will soon become a significant target for malware writers for the first time.

The appearance of this trojan may mean that Apple has crossed some sort of threshold for malware writers.

this trojan does not exploit any Mac OS X weakness

Tags: apple, mac, os x, virus

Superspeed Wi-Fi vs. Health Risks

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:38:10 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: A while ago, in a local magazine, I read an article on the possible health-risks Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies (like cellulars) could inflict. It wasn't very scientific, but it did point out that current wireless networking technologies emit up to three times the radiation of regular cellphones. Due to the young lifetime of Wi-Fi, the articled implied it was impossible to predict the effects of it on the human body. Symptoms have been reported and vary from mild head aches to serious afflictions like brain tumors and other permanent damage. None of the aforementioned have been actually proven, though, since sensitivity to these symptoms greatly vary from person to person.

It's certainly something to think about when (greatly applauded) innovations pop up, like the following, as reported on CNET. It's very enticing to buy into even better wireless technologies, but who's to say this stuff is safe...

Has anyone encountered rock solid proof yet?

Clip Source: www.news.com

Radio scientists at IBM Research and MediaTek are teaming up to develop a wireless transmission protocol that will deliver files more than 100 times faster than Wi-Fi.

The idea is to take advantage of the 60GHz spectrum

These chips will be able to transfer files at around 2.5 gigabits per second, compared with the 11 to 54 megabits of Wi-Fi.

these chips could transfer a 10 gigabyte file wirelessly in five seconds or so, something that would take several minutes on a Wi-Fi network.

the WirelessHD consortium, has been showing off 60GHz chips in TVs and will make a big push for them at CES.

Tags: wifi

Another move into retail, Dell

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:56:59 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: Dell gear is sturdy stuff, but as of late, the online sales model has become the culprit of Dell's previous success. It is indeed so that consumers like to see and feel their investment, prior to definitively leaping into a sale, so it's no more than logical to move to retail again. Ordering online has its benefits, but lagging deliveries certain overshadow all.

Clip Source: arstechnica.com

Dell has reached a deal with the office supply chain Staples to offer Dell desktop and notebook computers, monitors, printers, ink, and toner.

Staples will begin selling Dell products both in its physical stores and online at Staples.com

The move by Dell marks another major shift into retail for the computer company

When the Internet took off, Dell moved to a primarily web-based sales model.

In 1999, Dell finally overtook longtime rival Compaq to become the largest seller of personal computers in the United States.

the shift in consumer preferences towards laptops has resulted in a greater consumer preference for seeing and using the product before purchasing it.

Dell's growth fell behind competitors like HP and Gateway

Dell then fell from the top spot to the #2 PC manufacturer, behind HP.

CEO Michael Dell promised "quite aggressive" moves into retail earlier this year, and Dell has already begun selling PCs in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.

Tags: dell, gadgets

Toshiba & Microsoft working on new entertainment Xbox

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:02:45 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: The XBOX360 is already an attractive media center extender, but it indeed lacks the built-in high-definition player and a more voluminous hard drive. Not having a native wireless interface (instead, one would need to buy a pricey add-on that plugs into the Ethernet port) is also a pain, since more and more people integrate Wi-Fi networks, more than they used to and have come to expect this functionality in everything. Righteously, too. Another thing to look forward to, imho.

Clip Source: www.smarthouse.com.au

Microsoft is working on a brand new Xbox that will incorporate not only a new HD DVD drive but a large hard drive and new entertainment software

the recently launched Xbox 360 HD DVD attach player is not selling well.

Microsoft failed to include a HDMI port

The new Xbox device, while allowing for extensive gaming capability, will be positioned as an entertainment hub that includes gaming and extensive wireless networking capability as well as 1080p playback. There is also talk of it including a dual HD TV tuner and EPG capability and a docking port for an MP3 player. For Toshiba, the device is critical if it is to be successful in beating Sony and the Blu-ray promoters.

Tags: xbox360, gaming

Asus announces Eee PC

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:37:48 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone

Clip Source: www.news.com

It's official: Asus has announced that the Eee PC (which we've been tracking since August) will be making its way to North America within the next few weeks. The 2-pound, 7-inch, Linux-based laptop will be available in three configurations priced from $299 to $399.

The highest-end Eee PC 8G includes an 8GB solid-state drive, 1GB of RAM, a built-in Webcam, and a promised 3.5-hour battery life. The Eee PC 4G incorporates a 4GB drive, 512MB of RAM, a Webcam, and the 3.5-hour battery; while the low-end Eee PC 4G Surf lacks the Webcam and promises only 2.8 hours of battery life.

Asus has gone to great lengths to avoid calling the Eee PC a computer: today's press release describes the device as "a 7-inch gadget designed for first-time mobile Internet gadget users." The emphasis is on a simplified interface that lets users access e-mail, send text messages, and share files. Add in your favorite Webware, and it's possible you might not even need a full-fledged laptop.

Tags: tech, gadgets

Canonical's new Ubuntu

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:29:25 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: The past few releases of Ubuntu had become quite uninteresting, so this breath of fresh air is especially welcome. The standardization of the 3D desktop is a good thing because it'll allow more exposure. If the plug-and-play functionality works as advertised, it could convince more people to try Linux, since the biggest barrier (aside from software incompatibility) is hardware malevolence. I'm behind Canonical on this.

Clip Source: www.news.com

Some of the Gutsy Gibbon work involved introducing new features Canonical hopes to stabilize for Hardy Heron

Take, for example, the "tickless" kernel, which is designed to reduce power consumption and improve server virtualization performance by letting the processor enter a somnolent state more often.

Among other Gutsy Gibbon developments are snazzy 3D graphics for the desktop version, desktop search called Tracker and the first incarnation of a Ubuntu Mobile version for portable gadgets.

"Ultimately we took the decision to take the risk and enable this functionality by default."

Among other Gutsy Gibbon desktop features are plug-and-play function to more easily install proprietary or missing software to play audio and video files; easy support for multiple monitors; the ability to read and write from hard drive partitions using Microsoft Windows' NTFS file system using the Fuse software.

Canonical plans to release "Gutsy Gibbon," the Ubuntu Linux version 7.10

Tags: tech, linux

Parodies on Ubuntu forks

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:58:43 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: The ever growing list of Linux distributions is staggering, if not ridiculous. More and more distros are also based off OTHER distros. Linux has always been blamed for not being particularly original, to say the least. Some of the following parodies are absolute screamers.

Clip Source: chris.pirillo.com

Fugubuntu = Linux for Poisonous (Yet Tasty) Fish

Stewbuntu = Edible Linux Compiled with Gigantic Meat Chunks

Eschewbuntu = Linux Designed to be Tossed Aside

Flubuntu = Linux for Sick People

Shoebuntu = Linux My Wife Keeps Buying More Of (Even Though She Has A Million Other Shoebuntus)

Moobuntu = Linux for the Lactose Tolerant

Gluebuntu = Sticky Linux

Woohoobuntu = Linux Designed by Homer Simpson

Tutubuntu = Linux Optimized for Pirouettes

Lieubuntu = Linux Alternative to Linux

Shmoobuntu = Fictional Linux

Ewwwwbuntu = Linux Built on Open Sores

Cluebuntu = Linux that Did it In the Conservatory with the Wrench

Ruebuntu = Despicable Linux

Suebuntu = [Distribution Removed Due to SCO Copyright Violation]

Tags: fun, linux, ubuntu

MPAA Would Rather TorrentSpy Spy On Users Than Stop Offering Service?

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:56:48 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: Hilarious.

Clip Source: techdirt.com

MPAA Would Rather TorrentSpy Spy On Users Than Stop Offering Service?

There was a slightly troublesome ruling earlier this year, where a judge ordered TorrentSpy to spy on its users -- violating TorrentSpy's own privacy policy. Rather than do so, TorrentSpy decided to block access to US users. Now, you would think this would make the MPAA happy. After all, the site they were so worried about was no longer an issue for the entire US market. Instead, the MPAA is back in court claiming that this action is merely another illegal move by the company. Apparently, the MPAA would rather have TorrentSpy keep operating, but spy on its users, than block access. That doesn't make much sense if TorrentSpy is really such a huge problem. Unless, of course, the MPAA doesn't have any real evidence that TorrentSpy is doing anything wrong -- and this is about the only way it hopes to prove its case.

Tags: mpaa, music, web

Google 51% in blind search test

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:13:42 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: It's remarkable how Google scored this low, but everyone must admit that Google turns out to be the least visual appealing. Maybe that did it.

Clip Source: www.news.com

In a blind "taste test" searchers chose Google, then Microsoft and Yahoo.

That's according to the results of a poll created last week by the Google Operating System blog. Participants could try out three unidentified search engines and vote which had the best results. The results are in and 51 percent of the more than 2,000 people who voted said Google had the best results. That was followed by 35 percent for Live Search and 30 percent for Yahoo. In comments to the blog post people said they were surprised Microsoft was ahead of Yahoo, but also surprised Google's percentage wasn't higher.

Interestingly, some of the most frequent queries included "Google," "Microsoft," "sex," "cow" and "Liverpool."

Tags: google, web

Australia may ban plasma & LCD over energy concern

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:35:01 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: I'm all for saving the environment and everything, and banning the incandescent bulb, but banning the future of television is going a bit too far. Sure, there are major issues with big screens, but these issues are also relevant for other appliances. We wouldn't want to be banning everything that exceeds a certain level, would we? The only thing the government should be doing is rewarding consumers for making the right choice in any which form (ie. tax cuts?), instead of taking away the thing that makes technology innovative: diversity and competition. Choice is the way to go, not prohibition.

Clip Source: techdirt.com

Australian politicians are clearly concerned about energy consumption. Earlier this year, they were among the first to look to ban the incandescent bulb in favor of fluorescent bulbs. Now it looks like they're getting ready to take on televisions. New regulations may end up effectively banning both plasma and LCD TV screens as energy hogs

We all know that these big screen TVs are the SUVs of the electricity world, but does that really mean they should be banned completely? There are definitely efforts under way to make the systems more energy efficient, and many buyers are certainly aware of these issues (or they are as soon as they get their electricity bills).

Tags: tech, gadgets, environment

Games for Windows LIVE

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:23:58 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: I've always thought this to be an extremely interesting feature, the ability to interchange online gaming experiences between Windows games and the console based games for the XBOX 360 (provided you've got a Gold subscription). More concretely, one can play online regardless of the platform. The current games supporting this is surprisingly small, though, which pretty much nullifies the effect. I'd expected a more spectacular launch/marketing of this (actually) killer-feature for both Vista and XBOX360. Pity.

Clip Source: windowsvistablog.com

As you know, several games have launched under Games for Windows - LIVE that allow PC Games to tap into Xbox Live.

Major Nelson highlights several changes coming with the 1.2 release:

Support for offline Achievements (so you can add to your gamerscore when not connected to the internet).
Ability to see if your friends are "joinable" in games.
Additional UI features.

Tags: windows, gaming, web

Web Operating System: eyeOS

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:13:21 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: I believe the future is the web, even to the extent that we'll be putting all of our data, including the OS, up in the cloud and compute from there. eyeOS is one example of a possible implementation of this concept.

A more in-depth look-see will most probably follow on my blog.

Clip Source: www.eyeos.org

eyeOS was thought as a new definition of Operating System, where everything inside it can be accessed from everywhere in a Network. All you need to do is to login into your eyeOS server with a normal Internet Browser, and access your personal desktop, with your applications, documents, music, movies... just like you left it last time.

Currently, with the base system you can find a full suite of applications bundled, some for private use, like the file manager, a word processor, a music player, calendar, notepad or contacts manager. There are also some groupware applications, such as a group manager, a file sharing application, a group board and many more.

eyeOS is Open Source

If you want to start using eyeOS, you can join the International eyeOS free server, or create your own eyeOS server easily and be able to decide who can join it and customize it to your needs.

Creating your own eyeOS server is actually very easy. All you need is a web server with PHP support

Tags: web, os, opensource

Wi-Fi Detector Shirt

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:35:30 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone
clipper's remarks: Now THIS would be the ultimate geek gift!

Clip Source: www.thinkgeek.com

But now thanks to the ingenious ThinkGeek robot monkeys you can display the current wi-fi signal strength to yourself and everyone around you with this stylish Wi-Fi Detector Shirt. The glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding wi-fi signal strength fluctuates. Finally you can get the attention you deserve as others bow to you as their reverential wi-fi god, while geeky chicks swoon at your presence.

Glowing animated shirt dynamically displays the current wi-fi signal strength.

Shows signal strength for 802.11b or 802.11g

Animated Decal is Removable (with hook and loop fasteners) for Easy Washing

Runs for hours off three AAA Batteries (not included)

Tags: tech, fun, apparel

The Inverted Pyramids Writing Style

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:52:13 GMT

clipped by: acesomeone

Clip Source: www.useit.com

Journalists have long adhered to the inverse approach: start the article by telling the reader the conclusion ("After long debate, the Assembly voted to increase state taxes by 10 percent"), follow by the most important supporting information, and end by giving the background. This style is known as the inverted pyramid for the simple reason that it turns the traditional pyramid style around. Inverted-pyramid writing is useful for newspapers because readers can stop at any time and will still get the most important parts of the article.

On the Web, the inverted pyramid becomes even more important since we know from several user studies that users don't scroll

Very interested readers will scroll

Therefore, we would expect Web writers to split their writing into smaller, coherent pieces to avoid long scrolling pages.

Unfortunately, it is hard to learn this new writing style.

Tags: web writing