How do you find Readers for Your Blog? There were quite a few responses to the question - some of which went a little unnoticed as they were moderated until I got home. So I thought I’d summarize some of the main themes that arose in the discussion with a few quotes from those who left comments.
For the full series of comments see the post - but here are the main themes (keep in mind that these ideas come from readers - not all of them will be for everyone):
1. Comment on Related Blogs - raising4boys writes - “Commenting on related blogs is probably the most effective strategy early on in the process. And responding to comments when people leave them on your blog (this encourages them to keep coming back).” And from Brody - “I visit other blogs in my niche, add them to my feed and participate in the discussion on their blogs via the comments. Writing interesting comments often gets people to click through to see your site.”
2. Join Forums - elprezidente writes - “I’ve found that one very quick way to infuse readers to a new blog is to be active in discussion forums related to your blog topic. Locate posts that ask for help with something you are familiar with and share your experience.”
3. Write Effective Post Titles - Aziz writes - “Simple and to the point. The title should create an instant urge to read the entire post… But of course it should be related to the topic of your blog”
4. Interviews - Ollie writes - “One example being to interview fellow bloggers who are in the same niche as me. This has gone down well, and has been great for both myself and the interviewee as traffic flows between us.”
5. Persist - Dan Norman writes - “Persistence is key. After starting up a new blog last month and letting go of another this month, I notice that traffic (quality traffic) doesn’t happen over night. On my last site, I think it took 6 months before ASK.com found me.”
6. Connect with Local Bloggers - Rob O writes - “The other thing I’ve been doing just recently is connecting up with other bloggers in my city and the neighboring towns. We’ve got something of a link exchange going and a nice side-effect to this is that I/we have discovered that there are quite a few more bloggers and/or website authors in the area than ever expected.”
7. Give Away Free Stuff - Peterandrej writes - “I’ve had some success with giving away free stuff, like free templates for WordPress. It doesn’t give me lot of new readers, because my blog is written in Norwegian, but the templates give lots and lots of new links to the blog, giving it a much better pagerank in Google, which in turn should mean more readers from search-engines.”
8. Be Opinionated - Trent writes - “Be opinionated, but encourage opposing viewpoints in the comments. Opinionated makes you interesting - encouraging other perspectives makes you essential.”
9. Ask Questions of Other Bloggers - Trent also writes - “Ask questions of other moderately successful bloggers and try to network. If you shoot too high, you’ll often get blown off because these people have so much stuff to read and deal with.”
10. Use Trackbacks - Maki writes - “Sending highly creative and penetrating trackbacks about a blogger’s original post.”
11. Advertise - Mike Panic writes - “Buy advertising space on related websites.”
12. Educate Readers about RSS - Mike Panic writes - “With the most recent blog I launched I created a page in WordPress called Feeds which not only has the RSS icon on it but a description of what a “feed” is and what are some of the most common ways to subscribe and use feeds, mostly pulled from a CC article.”
13. Offline Promotion - Mike Panic writes - “Talk to friends, family and coworkers about them… you’d be surprised how much the traditional way of “networking” really does work…. also Business cards, depending which blog I’ll post on a community board at a grocery store.
14. Search Engine Optimization - Michelle writes - “Properly optimizing my blog has been a big boost to my readership. Once I figured out how to play around with SEO I started getting a regular 25-35% of my hits from Google.”
15. Quality Content (mentioned by many) - ilker writes - “Posting only quality content.. obviously! Better posts are discussed more, increasing both the number of comments and references in other blogs.”
16. Blog Carnivals - Slade writes - “submitting posts to Blog Carnivals”
17. Memes - Leanne writes - “I’ve picked up a handful of wonderful friends and readers through initiating the “Thursday Thirteen”. Yeah, a meme. Bloggers want to know about bloggers, not just the business aspect of it but the *person* writing the blog. Reading a quick list of “getting to know me” type tidbits gives me instant inside information on whether or not I will become a regular visitor. Some participants have used it solely to gain business, but frankly I think that turns people away. People are interested in people first, and what they do second. It works.”
18. Frequent Posting - baggage writes - “I also try to post frequently. I find that the more I post, the more readers I have. The less comments, but the more readers.”
19. Guest Bloggers - Random Good Stuff writes - “I invite other bloggers to guest blog and allow always one link back to their site. I have 3 active guest authors … and in return they link to my site from time to time.”
20. Get Links from Other Blogs - Jamdo writes - “Getting mentioned on other sites and blogs in the same niche, I think, has been the best way to get a readership who keeps returning to a blog. Make contact with other bloggers in yoru niche via comments, email, AIM, skype, homing pigeons - whatever.”
21. Newsletters - Adrian writes - “The Zookoda newsletter provides nice spikes and people tend to forward the newsletter to their friends.”
22. Social Networks - Ilya writes - “Submit your story to Digg and reddit and, regardless of whether it makes the front page or not, you get 50-100 free hits. The easiest way to generate quick exposure. Failing that, comment frequently on blogs that you like. With any luck, the blog author will want to find out more about you, follow the link to your blog, and perhaps write a post referencing one of your posts.”
23. Pitch Your Posts - Marty Weil writes - “I view other bloggers as a PR pros view journalists working in traditional media. I reach out to bloggers using tactics successfully employed in the world of professional media relations. For instance, I “pitch” specific posts that they might find adds value to topics they are writing about. I also send email introducing them to my blog, but only if there’s a good fit between my blog and theirs. The key is to be very selective in approaching the “media gatekeeper”–just as successful and smart media relations people do.”
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
BERPIKIR POSITIF
Pygmalion adalah seorang pemuda yang berbakat seni
memahat.
Ia sungguh piawai dalam memahat patung.
Karya ukiran
tangannya sungguh bagus.
Tetapi bukan kecakapannya itu menjadikan ia
dikenal dan disenangi
teman dan tetangganya.
Pygmalion dikenal
sebagai orang yang suka berpikiran positif.
Ia memandang segala
sesuatu dari sudut yang baik.
SELALU POSITIF . . . . DAN POSITIF
Apabila
lapangan di tengah kota becek, orang-orang mengomel.
Tetapi Pygmalion
berkata, "Untunglah, lapangan yang lain tidak
sebecek
ini."
Ketika ada seorang pembeli patung ngotot menawar-nawar
harga,
kawan-kawan Pygmalion berbisik,"Kikir betul orangitu."
Tetapi
Pygmalion berkata,
"Mungkin orang itu perlu mengeluarkan uang untuk
urusan lain
yanglebih perlu".
Ketika anak-anak mencuri
apel dikebunnya,
Pygmalion tidak mengumpat. Ia malah merasa
iba,
"Kasihan,anak- anak itu kurang mendapat pendidikan dan makanan yang
cukup di rumahnya."
Itulah pola pandang
Pygmalion.
Ia tidak melihat suatu keadaan dari segi buruk, melainkan
justru
dari segi baik.
Ia tidak pernah berpikir buruk tentang
orang lain; sebaliknya,
ia mencoba membayangkan hal-hal baik dibalik
perbuatan buruk orang lain
Pada suatu hari Pygmalion mengukir sebuah
patung wanita dari kayu
yang sangat halus.
Patung itu berukuran manusia
sungguhan.
Ketika sudah rampung, patung itu tampak seperti manusia
betul.
Wajah patung itu tersenyum manis menawan, tubuhnya elok
menarik.
Kawan-kawan Pygmalion berkata,
"Ah,sebagus- bagusnya patung,
itu cuma patung, bukan isterimu."
Tetapi Pygmalion memperlakukan patung itu
sebagai manusia betul.
Berkali-kali patung itu ditatapnya dan
dielusnya.
para dewa yang ada di Gunung Olympus memperhatikan dan
menghargai
sikapPygmalion,
lalu mereka memutuskan untuk memberi anugerah
kepada Pygmalion,
yaitu mengubah patung itu menjadi manusia
betul.
Begitulah,
Pygmalion hidup berbahagia dengan isterinya
itu
yang konon adalah wanita tercantik di seluruh negeri Yunani.
Nama
Pygmalion dikenang hingga kini
untuk mengambarkan dampak pola berpikir yang
positif.
Kalau kita berpikir positif tentang suatu keadaan atau
seseorang,
seringkali hasilnya betul-betul menjadi
positif.
Misalnya,
Jika kita bersikap ramah terhadap seseorang,
maka
orang itupun akan menjadi ramah terhadap kita.
Jika kita memperlakukan anak
kita sebagai anak yang cerdas,
akhirnya dia betul-betul menjadi
cerdas.
Jika kita yakin bahwa upaya kita akan berhasil,
besar sekali
kemungkinan upaya dapat merupakan separuh
keberhasilan.
Dampak pola berpikir positif itu disebut dampak
Pygmalion.
Pikiran kita memang seringkali mempunyai 2 dampak
:
fulfilling prophecy atau ramalan tergenapi, baik positif maupun
negatif.
Kalau kita menganggap tetangga kita judes
sehingga kita
tidak mau bergaul dengan dia,
maka akhirnya dia betul-betu menjadi
judes.
Kalau kita mencurigai dan menganggap anak kita tidak
jujur,
akhirnya ia betul-betul menjadi tidak jujur.
Kalau kita sudah
putus asa dan merasa tidak sanggup pada awal
suatu usaha,
besar
sekali kemungkinannya kita betul-betul akan gagal.
Pola pikir Pygmalion
adalah berpikir,
menduga dan berharap hanya yang baik tentang suatu keadaan
atau
seseorang.
Bayangkan,
bagaimana besar dampaknya
bila kita berpola pikir positif seperti itu.
Kita tidak akan
berprasangka buruk tentang orang lain.
Kita tidak menggunjingkan
desas-desus yang jelek tentang orang
lain.
Kita tidak
menduga-duga yang jahat tentang orang lain.
Kalau kita berpikir buruk
tentang orang lain,
selalu ada saja bahan untuk menduga hal-hal yang
buruk.
Jika ada seorang kawan memberi hadiah kepada kita,
jelas itu
adalah perbuatan baik.
Tetapi jika kita berpikir buruk, kita akan menjadi
curiga,
"Barangkali ia sedang mencoba membujuk,"
atau kita mengomel,
"Ah, hadiahnya cuma barang murah."
Yang rugi dari pola pikir seperti itu
adalah diri kita sendiri.
Kita menjadi mudah curiga. Kita menjadi tidak
bahagia.
Sebaliknya,
kalau kita berpikir positif,
kita akan menikmati
hadiah itu dengan rasa gembira dan syukur,
"Ia begitu murahhati. Walaupun
ia sibuk, ia ingat untuk memberi
kepada
kita."......
..
Warna hidup memang tergantung dari warna kaca mata yang
kita pakai.
Kalau kita memakai kaca mata kelabu,
segala sesuatu akan
tampak kelabu.
Hidup menjadi kelabu dan suram.
Tetapi kalau kita memakai
kaca mata yang terang, segala sesuatu
akan tampak cerah.
Kaca mata yang
berprasangka atau benci
akan menjadikan hidup kita penuh rasa curiga dan
dendam.
Tetapi kaca mata yang damai akan menjadikan hidup kita
damai.
Hidup akan menjadi baik kalau kita memandangnya dari segi yang
baik.
Berpikir baik tentang diri sendiri.
Berpikir baik tentang orang
lain.
Berpikir baik tentang keadaan.
Berpikir baik tentang
Tuhan.
Dampak berpikir baik seperti itu akan kita rasakan.
Keluarga
menjadi hangat.
Kawan menjadi bisa dipercaya.
Tetangga menjadi
akrab.
Pekerjaan menjadi menyenangkan.
Dunia menjadi
ramah.
Hidup menjadi indah.
Seperti Pygmalion,
begitulah.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE
PYGMALION
and the world will be filled with positive people
memahat.
Ia sungguh piawai dalam memahat patung.
Karya ukiran
tangannya sungguh bagus.
Tetapi bukan kecakapannya itu menjadikan ia
dikenal dan disenangi
teman dan tetangganya.
Pygmalion dikenal
sebagai orang yang suka berpikiran positif.
Ia memandang segala
sesuatu dari sudut yang baik.
SELALU POSITIF . . . . DAN POSITIF
Apabila
lapangan di tengah kota becek, orang-orang mengomel.
Tetapi Pygmalion
berkata, "Untunglah, lapangan yang lain tidak
sebecek
ini."
Ketika ada seorang pembeli patung ngotot menawar-nawar
harga,
kawan-kawan Pygmalion berbisik,"Kikir betul orangitu."
Tetapi
Pygmalion berkata,
"Mungkin orang itu perlu mengeluarkan uang untuk
urusan lain
yanglebih perlu".
Ketika anak-anak mencuri
apel dikebunnya,
Pygmalion tidak mengumpat. Ia malah merasa
iba,
"Kasihan,anak- anak itu kurang mendapat pendidikan dan makanan yang
cukup di rumahnya."
Itulah pola pandang
Pygmalion.
Ia tidak melihat suatu keadaan dari segi buruk, melainkan
justru
dari segi baik.
Ia tidak pernah berpikir buruk tentang
orang lain; sebaliknya,
ia mencoba membayangkan hal-hal baik dibalik
perbuatan buruk orang lain
Pada suatu hari Pygmalion mengukir sebuah
patung wanita dari kayu
yang sangat halus.
Patung itu berukuran manusia
sungguhan.
Ketika sudah rampung, patung itu tampak seperti manusia
betul.
Wajah patung itu tersenyum manis menawan, tubuhnya elok
menarik.
Kawan-kawan Pygmalion berkata,
"Ah,sebagus- bagusnya patung,
itu cuma patung, bukan isterimu."
Tetapi Pygmalion memperlakukan patung itu
sebagai manusia betul.
Berkali-kali patung itu ditatapnya dan
dielusnya.
para dewa yang ada di Gunung Olympus memperhatikan dan
menghargai
sikapPygmalion,
lalu mereka memutuskan untuk memberi anugerah
kepada Pygmalion,
yaitu mengubah patung itu menjadi manusia
betul.
Begitulah,
Pygmalion hidup berbahagia dengan isterinya
itu
yang konon adalah wanita tercantik di seluruh negeri Yunani.
Nama
Pygmalion dikenang hingga kini
untuk mengambarkan dampak pola berpikir yang
positif.
Kalau kita berpikir positif tentang suatu keadaan atau
seseorang,
seringkali hasilnya betul-betul menjadi
positif.
Misalnya,
Jika kita bersikap ramah terhadap seseorang,
maka
orang itupun akan menjadi ramah terhadap kita.
Jika kita memperlakukan anak
kita sebagai anak yang cerdas,
akhirnya dia betul-betul menjadi
cerdas.
Jika kita yakin bahwa upaya kita akan berhasil,
besar sekali
kemungkinan upaya dapat merupakan separuh
keberhasilan.
Dampak pola berpikir positif itu disebut dampak
Pygmalion.
Pikiran kita memang seringkali mempunyai 2 dampak
:
fulfilling prophecy atau ramalan tergenapi, baik positif maupun
negatif.
Kalau kita menganggap tetangga kita judes
sehingga kita
tidak mau bergaul dengan dia,
maka akhirnya dia betul-betu menjadi
judes.
Kalau kita mencurigai dan menganggap anak kita tidak
jujur,
akhirnya ia betul-betul menjadi tidak jujur.
Kalau kita sudah
putus asa dan merasa tidak sanggup pada awal
suatu usaha,
besar
sekali kemungkinannya kita betul-betul akan gagal.
Pola pikir Pygmalion
adalah berpikir,
menduga dan berharap hanya yang baik tentang suatu keadaan
atau
seseorang.
Bayangkan,
bagaimana besar dampaknya
bila kita berpola pikir positif seperti itu.
Kita tidak akan
berprasangka buruk tentang orang lain.
Kita tidak menggunjingkan
desas-desus yang jelek tentang orang
lain.
Kita tidak
menduga-duga yang jahat tentang orang lain.
Kalau kita berpikir buruk
tentang orang lain,
selalu ada saja bahan untuk menduga hal-hal yang
buruk.
Jika ada seorang kawan memberi hadiah kepada kita,
jelas itu
adalah perbuatan baik.
Tetapi jika kita berpikir buruk, kita akan menjadi
curiga,
"Barangkali ia sedang mencoba membujuk,"
atau kita mengomel,
"Ah, hadiahnya cuma barang murah."
Yang rugi dari pola pikir seperti itu
adalah diri kita sendiri.
Kita menjadi mudah curiga. Kita menjadi tidak
bahagia.
Sebaliknya,
kalau kita berpikir positif,
kita akan menikmati
hadiah itu dengan rasa gembira dan syukur,
"Ia begitu murahhati. Walaupun
ia sibuk, ia ingat untuk memberi
kepada
kita."......
..
Warna hidup memang tergantung dari warna kaca mata yang
kita pakai.
Kalau kita memakai kaca mata kelabu,
segala sesuatu akan
tampak kelabu.
Hidup menjadi kelabu dan suram.
Tetapi kalau kita memakai
kaca mata yang terang, segala sesuatu
akan tampak cerah.
Kaca mata yang
berprasangka atau benci
akan menjadikan hidup kita penuh rasa curiga dan
dendam.
Tetapi kaca mata yang damai akan menjadikan hidup kita
damai.
Hidup akan menjadi baik kalau kita memandangnya dari segi yang
baik.
Berpikir baik tentang diri sendiri.
Berpikir baik tentang orang
lain.
Berpikir baik tentang keadaan.
Berpikir baik tentang
Tuhan.
Dampak berpikir baik seperti itu akan kita rasakan.
Keluarga
menjadi hangat.
Kawan menjadi bisa dipercaya.
Tetangga menjadi
akrab.
Pekerjaan menjadi menyenangkan.
Dunia menjadi
ramah.
Hidup menjadi indah.
Seperti Pygmalion,
begitulah.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE
PYGMALION
and the world will be filled with positive people
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
'Dumb Terminals' Can Be a Smart Move for Companies
"More companies are forgoing desktop and laptop computers for dumb terminals — reversing a trend toward powerful individual machines that has been in motion for two decades, the Wall Street Journal reports. 'Because the terminals have no moving parts such as fans or hard drives that can break, the machines typically require less maintenance and last longer than PCs. Mark Margevicius, an analyst at research firm Gartner Inc., estimates companies can save 10% to 40% in computer-management costs when switching to terminals from desktops. In addition, the basic terminals appear to offer improved security. Because the systems are designed to keep data on a server, sensitive information isn't lost if a terminal gets lost, stolen or damaged. And if security programs or other applications need to be updated, the new software is installed on only the central servers, rather than on all the individual PCs scattered throughout a network.'"
Your reviews: Vista and rivals
Microsoft launches its new operating system, Windows Vista, on Tuesday, promising "the wow starts now". We have selected two readers to explain what they like and don't like about the new operating system and two readers who are extolling the virtues of rival systems - the open source platform Linux and Apple's Mac OS X.
Dan Verley, US
Approximately six months ago I was given an opportunity to beta test Microsoft's latest operating system (OS) Windows Vista.
I've been using Windows since 3.1 came out, so I immediately jumped at the offer. I really wasn't expecting something altogether different from previous versions, but immediately Vista proved to be in a league of its own.
The first thing you notice when you get to the desktop is the appearance. It is visually stunning.
One of the things that Microsoft has been boasting about is Windows Aero, which is an experience centered on 3D graphics.
With features such as translucent windows, smoother window performance, and Windows Flip 3D, it just adds to the overall experience.
Windows Flip 3D is by far my favourite. It's similar to Alt-Tab, but it brings up a 3D view of all the minimized windows. You can see what each window is and then select whichever one you want to view.
Even though Vista requires more resources, (probably because it is more graphics oriented) it's more stable and performs better that any version that I've ever used.
The most unique new feature is called Readyboost. When you're having performance issues due to insufficient memory, you can use a USB flash drive as an additional cache of memory to boost performance.
It's an amazing OS. I really think that this one's going to give Apple Macs a run for their money.
Nick Fletcher, Australia
Being a software developer for the Windows platform, it is important that I keep up to date with the never-ending developments in PC technology, particularly those provided by Microsoft.
I have been using Windows Vista for about one year now and seen it mature into the final product.
A huge amount of research has been put into this new version which is evident in everything from the user interface right through to the new security model.
This latest update provides many new components but the one which will provide the greatest change for windows users is the Windows Presentation Foundation - a set of components which allow graphics designers to produce visually stunning user interfaces.
This new technology relies on the DirectX (a graphics technology provided on most modern graphics cards and also a requirement for the new Aero user interface) graphics engine to draw the interface leading providing new features such as 3D and animation.
As an operating system for your average consumer there are also lots of great improvements, the new media player, a more intuitive user experience and easier backup facilities.
I also like the way that all my existing hardware just works (although I am aware many other people have had problems).
Boot time is much improved over XP and with the deep sleep option, it allows you to resume work from an almost zero power state in just a few seconds.
Excessive demands on hardware also mean that many people may not choose to upgrade their OS, waiting instead until the PC is replaced.
Whilst 512Mb is quoted as the minimum I would say that 1Gb is needed for a wait-free session. The graphics card must also support DirectX9 in order to display the Aero user experience - another expense if you don't have one already.
In short though, I see windows Vista as a big improvement over Windows XP and would strongly suggest other PC users who have not explored beyond the Windows camp to upgrade.
Paul Broadbent, UK
One of the advantages of Linux is its flexibility.
For the novice user it is straightforward to use, yet it also gives more experienced users radical powers over their computer which are not available in other operating systems.
Also there is a huge variety of high quality, free software available for Linux, and using a package manager it is trivial to choose one of these thousands of applications and install it in a couple of clicks.
Another significant advantage with Linux is that, unlike in Windows, there is no need to worry about security since viruses are very rare, no virus has yet spread successfully on the platform.
And using powerful desktops such as KDE and Gnome with stunning visual effects it is able to look even better than Vista and OS X.
Also, unlike Vista and OS X, Linux provides comprehensive support for languages such as Gaelic and Welsh.
Unfortunately Linux's use is less widespread than the competition, which means that hardware and mainstream games often lack official support, so they can occasionally be difficult to install.
However there are always many people on the internet ready to help out with any problems.
What really sets Linux apart is its social significance provided by the free software license. It encourages users to share the software they love with their friends, rather than making the act of sharing illegal and branding it piracy.
Also it encourages programmers to be better people, working in the open and allowing other programmers from across the world to help improve their software, rather than locking up their work with restrictive licences which prevent programmers from working together.
Jonathan Tilney
The first thing I noticed after switching from Windows to Mac OS X almost six years ago is its complete lack of distractions.
It is clean, uncluttered and lets me get on with my tasks.
When I see Windows' reminders, popups, and other interruptions, I appreciate its absence in OS X.
My Mac hardware and software looks great and is supremely functional.
It seems someone has taken care of even the smallest details to make it work together seamlessly.
One benefit I have found has been how little maintenance my Mac needs.
It works for 11 hours a day, all week, and is restarted once over the weekend when I run a small maintenance utility.
I don't remember the last time a programme crashed on me, and OS X itself has never crashed on me.
Security is great, as you would expect with a system based on the industrial strength of Unix, although I do practise safe computing and don't take it for granted.
This means I don't waste time on bugs and spyware (there are no viruses for OS X in the wild).
Productivity in Excel spreadsheets, word processing, email and web surfing, photo processing and music all just seems to work (co-existing with Windows users too).
I now feel like I am in charge of my computer rather than it being in charge of me.
I find it hard to find things to criticise, except perhaps to say that new versions of iWork and iLife are produced each year and it is hard to resist buying each new version, modestly priced as they are.
 |
WINDOWS VISTA
 Vista has overhauled the Windows interface |
Dan Verley, US
Approximately six months ago I was given an opportunity to beta test Microsoft's latest operating system (OS) Windows Vista.
I've been using Windows since 3.1 came out, so I immediately jumped at the offer. I really wasn't expecting something altogether different from previous versions, but immediately Vista proved to be in a league of its own.
The first thing you notice when you get to the desktop is the appearance. It is visually stunning.
One of the things that Microsoft has been boasting about is Windows Aero, which is an experience centered on 3D graphics.
With features such as translucent windows, smoother window performance, and Windows Flip 3D, it just adds to the overall experience.
Windows Flip 3D is by far my favourite. It's similar to Alt-Tab, but it brings up a 3D view of all the minimized windows. You can see what each window is and then select whichever one you want to view.
Even though Vista requires more resources, (probably because it is more graphics oriented) it's more stable and performs better that any version that I've ever used.
The most unique new feature is called Readyboost. When you're having performance issues due to insufficient memory, you can use a USB flash drive as an additional cache of memory to boost performance.
It's an amazing OS. I really think that this one's going to give Apple Macs a run for their money.
Nick Fletcher, Australia
Being a software developer for the Windows platform, it is important that I keep up to date with the never-ending developments in PC technology, particularly those provided by Microsoft.
I have been using Windows Vista for about one year now and seen it mature into the final product.
A huge amount of research has been put into this new version which is evident in everything from the user interface right through to the new security model.
This latest update provides many new components but the one which will provide the greatest change for windows users is the Windows Presentation Foundation - a set of components which allow graphics designers to produce visually stunning user interfaces.
This new technology relies on the DirectX (a graphics technology provided on most modern graphics cards and also a requirement for the new Aero user interface) graphics engine to draw the interface leading providing new features such as 3D and animation.
As an operating system for your average consumer there are also lots of great improvements, the new media player, a more intuitive user experience and easier backup facilities.
I also like the way that all my existing hardware just works (although I am aware many other people have had problems).
Boot time is much improved over XP and with the deep sleep option, it allows you to resume work from an almost zero power state in just a few seconds.
Excessive demands on hardware also mean that many people may not choose to upgrade their OS, waiting instead until the PC is replaced.
Whilst 512Mb is quoted as the minimum I would say that 1Gb is needed for a wait-free session. The graphics card must also support DirectX9 in order to display the Aero user experience - another expense if you don't have one already.
In short though, I see windows Vista as a big improvement over Windows XP and would strongly suggest other PC users who have not explored beyond the Windows camp to upgrade.
OPEN SOURCE - LINUX
 Gnome is a free desktop interface for Linux |
Paul Broadbent, UK
One of the advantages of Linux is its flexibility.
For the novice user it is straightforward to use, yet it also gives more experienced users radical powers over their computer which are not available in other operating systems.
Also there is a huge variety of high quality, free software available for Linux, and using a package manager it is trivial to choose one of these thousands of applications and install it in a couple of clicks.
Another significant advantage with Linux is that, unlike in Windows, there is no need to worry about security since viruses are very rare, no virus has yet spread successfully on the platform.
And using powerful desktops such as KDE and Gnome with stunning visual effects it is able to look even better than Vista and OS X.
Also, unlike Vista and OS X, Linux provides comprehensive support for languages such as Gaelic and Welsh.
Unfortunately Linux's use is less widespread than the competition, which means that hardware and mainstream games often lack official support, so they can occasionally be difficult to install.
However there are always many people on the internet ready to help out with any problems.
What really sets Linux apart is its social significance provided by the free software license. It encourages users to share the software they love with their friends, rather than making the act of sharing illegal and branding it piracy.
Also it encourages programmers to be better people, working in the open and allowing other programmers from across the world to help improve their software, rather than locking up their work with restrictive licences which prevent programmers from working together.
APPLE MAC OS X
 Apple is working on a new version of OS X |
Jonathan Tilney
The first thing I noticed after switching from Windows to Mac OS X almost six years ago is its complete lack of distractions.
It is clean, uncluttered and lets me get on with my tasks.
When I see Windows' reminders, popups, and other interruptions, I appreciate its absence in OS X.
My Mac hardware and software looks great and is supremely functional.
It seems someone has taken care of even the smallest details to make it work together seamlessly.
One benefit I have found has been how little maintenance my Mac needs.
It works for 11 hours a day, all week, and is restarted once over the weekend when I run a small maintenance utility.
I don't remember the last time a programme crashed on me, and OS X itself has never crashed on me.
Security is great, as you would expect with a system based on the industrial strength of Unix, although I do practise safe computing and don't take it for granted.
This means I don't waste time on bugs and spyware (there are no viruses for OS X in the wild).
Productivity in Excel spreadsheets, word processing, email and web surfing, photo processing and music all just seems to work (co-existing with Windows users too).
I now feel like I am in charge of my computer rather than it being in charge of me.
I find it hard to find things to criticise, except perhaps to say that new versions of iWork and iLife are produced each year and it is hard to resist buying each new version, modestly priced as they are.
iPod Shuffle colors released!
In five brilliant colors and just $79, the 1GB iPod shuffle lets you wear up to 240 songs1 on your sleeve. Or your lapel. Or your belt. Clip on iPod shuffle and wear it as a badge of musical devotion.
One size fits all
You know what they say about good things and small packages. But when something 1.62 inches long and about half an ounce holds up to 240 songs, “good” and “small” don’t cut it. Especially when you can listen to your music for up to 12 continuous hours.2 In fact, iPod shuffle just may be the biggest thing in small.
Ready to wear
Clip it to your coin pocket. Clip it to your bag. No matter where you clip your skip-free iPod shuffle, you’ll have instant access to music. In silver, pink, green, blue, and orange, iPod shuffle goes with everything. Put it on, turn it up, and turn some heads.
Remix and match
The first step to wearing 240 songs is downloading iTunes — free. Then drop your iPod shuffle into the included dock, plug the dock into your Mac or PC’s USB port, and sync in minutes. Got more than 240 songs? No problem. Let iTunes autofill your iPod shuffle and get a new musical experience every time.
- 1GB = 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity less. Song capacity is based on 4 minutes per song and 128-Kbps AAC encoding; actual capacity varies by content.
- Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
Linux Kernel hackers offering hardware companies free driver development
Yes, that's right, the Linux kernel community is offering all companies free Linux driver development. No longer do you have to suffer through all of the different examples in the Linux Device Driver Kit, or pick through the thousands of example drivers in the Linux kernel source tree trying to determine which one is the closest to what you need to do.
All that is needed is some kind of specification that describes how your device works, or the email address of an engineer that is willing to answer questions every once in a while. A few sample devices might be good to have so that debugging doesn't have to be done by email, but if necessary, that can be done.
In return, you will receive a complete and working Linux driver that is added to the main Linux kernel source tree. The driver will be written by some of the members of the Linux kernel developer community (over 1500 strong and growing). This driver will then be automatically included in all Linux distributions, including the "enterprise" ones. It will be automatically kept up to date and working through all Linux kernel API changes. This driver will work with all of the different CPU types supported by Linux, the largest number of CPU types supported by any operating system ever before in the history of computing.
As for support, the driver will be supported through email by the original developers, when they can help out, and by the "enterprise" Linux distributors as part of their service agreements with their customers.
If your company is worried about NDA issues surrounding your device's specifications, we have arranged a program with OSDL/TLF's Tech Board to provide the legal framework where a company can interact with a member of the kernel community in order to properly assure that all needed NDA requirements are fulfilled.
Now your developers will have more time to work on drivers for all of the other operating systems out there, and you can add "supported on Linux" to your product's marketing material.
This offer is in affect for all different types of devices, from USB toys to PCI video devices to high-speed networking cards. If you build it, we can get Linux drivers working for it.
For any questions about this program, please feel free to respond to this email, or contact me directly at greg@kroah.com. I will also be available at FreedomHEC 2007 held adjacent to WinHEC, if anyone wants to bring devices and work face-to-face.
All that is needed is some kind of specification that describes how your device works, or the email address of an engineer that is willing to answer questions every once in a while. A few sample devices might be good to have so that debugging doesn't have to be done by email, but if necessary, that can be done.
In return, you will receive a complete and working Linux driver that is added to the main Linux kernel source tree. The driver will be written by some of the members of the Linux kernel developer community (over 1500 strong and growing). This driver will then be automatically included in all Linux distributions, including the "enterprise" ones. It will be automatically kept up to date and working through all Linux kernel API changes. This driver will work with all of the different CPU types supported by Linux, the largest number of CPU types supported by any operating system ever before in the history of computing.
As for support, the driver will be supported through email by the original developers, when they can help out, and by the "enterprise" Linux distributors as part of their service agreements with their customers.
If your company is worried about NDA issues surrounding your device's specifications, we have arranged a program with OSDL/TLF's Tech Board to provide the legal framework where a company can interact with a member of the kernel community in order to properly assure that all needed NDA requirements are fulfilled.
Now your developers will have more time to work on drivers for all of the other operating systems out there, and you can add "supported on Linux" to your product's marketing material.
This offer is in affect for all different types of devices, from USB toys to PCI video devices to high-speed networking cards. If you build it, we can get Linux drivers working for it.
For any questions about this program, please feel free to respond to this email, or contact me directly at greg@kroah.com. I will also be available at FreedomHEC 2007 held adjacent to WinHEC, if anyone wants to bring devices and work face-to-face.
Vista DRM Cracked by Security Researcher
"Security researcher Alex Ionescu claims to have successfully bypassed the much discussed DRM protection in Windows Vista, called 'Protected Media Path' (PMP), which is designed to seriously degrade the playback quality of any video and audio running on systems with hardware components not explicitly approved by Microsoft. The bypass of the DRM protection was in turn performed by breaking the Driver Signing / PatchGuard protection in the new operating system. Alex is now quite nervous about what an army of lawyers backed by draconian copyright laws could do to him if he released the details, but he claims to be currently looking into the details of safely releasing his details about this at the moment though."
OSSDI to Distribute OpenOffice.org in Schools
Xampper writes to tell us that the OSSDI (Open Source Software Distribution Initiative) is a new organization that has cropped up to help not only spread the word about Open Source Software, but to help distribute the OpenOffice.org office suite starting with less fortunate school districts. The OSSDI describes their current status as still being in its "infancy as an organization. Because of this, all of our current resources are focused on gaining supporters, raising funds, and recruiting volunteers. Plans are under-way for our first software distribution, but we must first cover our operating costs. We are also interested in becoming a registered not for profit corporation so that donors will receive tax breaks for their gifts, but the registration process can also be very costly and time-consuming."
Frank Taira Supit hanged himself?
The Jakarta Post quoted family members that lawyer turned airline businessman and key supporter of Amien Rais in 2004 election Frank Taira Supit had committed suicide, hanged himself in his Rempoa residence, South Jakarta.
Mr Supit is the co-founder of corporate law firm Makarim & Taira Supit, National Mandate Party (PAN), and airline company PT Efata Papua Airlines. Police is investigating the case and awaiting the autopsy result to confirm whether it was really suicide.
Mr Supit, Graduated from Harvard Law School (summa cum laude, the first Indonesian to get that), married to a Filipino. He also established PT Sigma Batara.
At Air Efata, Supit owns 8% directly and indirectly through PT Taira Markas (90%). Papua governor Barnabas Suebu reportedly owns 2%.
"Looks like he had huge professional and personal problems recently. But I'm shocked to hear the sad news," one of his friends said.
"He's a perfectionist, smart, and low profile. But I never imagine his life ended like that," another friend said.
Evening paper Sinar Harapan reported in its headline that Supit's wife Marylou reported the tragedy on Monday. Marylou declined to comment on speculations about Mr Supit's death.
The paper quoted several sources that Air Efata has been in trouble with liabilities to Angkasa Pura I, II, Pertamina, and other companies of more than Rp100 billion. The airline has reportedly invested Rp180 billion. Supit tried to restructure the company's debt with new loans from Bank Lippo, but the bank pulled out in the last minutes. Air Efata also got loans from Oentoro Surya (owner of PT APOL) and overseas institutions thanks to his reputation as respected lawyer.
He survived Marylou, and three children (Harumi Supit from his first wife, and two kids of 8 and 7 years old). He paid higher salary for pilots, co-pilots, air crews and land staffs than any airline in the country.
Mr Supit is the co-founder of corporate law firm Makarim & Taira Supit, National Mandate Party (PAN), and airline company PT Efata Papua Airlines. Police is investigating the case and awaiting the autopsy result to confirm whether it was really suicide.
Mr Supit, Graduated from Harvard Law School (summa cum laude, the first Indonesian to get that), married to a Filipino. He also established PT Sigma Batara.
At Air Efata, Supit owns 8% directly and indirectly through PT Taira Markas (90%). Papua governor Barnabas Suebu reportedly owns 2%.
"Looks like he had huge professional and personal problems recently. But I'm shocked to hear the sad news," one of his friends said.
"He's a perfectionist, smart, and low profile. But I never imagine his life ended like that," another friend said.
Evening paper Sinar Harapan reported in its headline that Supit's wife Marylou reported the tragedy on Monday. Marylou declined to comment on speculations about Mr Supit's death.
The paper quoted several sources that Air Efata has been in trouble with liabilities to Angkasa Pura I, II, Pertamina, and other companies of more than Rp100 billion. The airline has reportedly invested Rp180 billion. Supit tried to restructure the company's debt with new loans from Bank Lippo, but the bank pulled out in the last minutes. Air Efata also got loans from Oentoro Surya (owner of PT APOL) and overseas institutions thanks to his reputation as respected lawyer.
He survived Marylou, and three children (Harumi Supit from his first wife, and two kids of 8 and 7 years old). He paid higher salary for pilots, co-pilots, air crews and land staffs than any airline in the country.
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Future Microchips Will Be Smaller, Faster and Will Lose Much Less Energy
One of the most important findings in transistors in the last four decades enhances the much desired development of smaller and more powerful microchips.Intel Corp. and IBM made the technological breakthrough by using an exotic new material: tiny switches that are the building blocks of microchips. "At the transistor level, we haven't changed the basic materials since the 1960s. So it's a real big breakthrough," said Dan Hutcheson, head of VLSI Research, an industry consultant. "Moore's Law was coming to a grinding halt," an allusion to the industry maxim formulated by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, who said that the number of transistors on a chip doubles roughly every two years. As a result of this principle, the chips have been smaller and faster, in an industry of $250 billion in annual sales.
The new technology, based on the metal named hafnium, helps the development of circuitry as small as 45 nanometers (1:2000 of the width
of a human hair). "We do expect that those products will deliver higher performance levels than existing products," said Steve Smith, vice president of Intel's digital enterprise group operations. "What we're seeing is excellent double-digit performance gains on media applications."
The new technology could last at least two technology generations, when circuitry will get 22 nm dimensions. "We've been doing this for 40 years and we've got to the point where some of these layers you have to make smaller wouldn't scale anymore," said IBM Chief Technologist Bernie Meyerson. "We are getting down to a stage of technology where people have wondered if you could really ever go there, and we have definitely shown a roadmap down to these unbelievably tiny dimensions," said Meyerson.
The current technology has a 5 atoms thick layer of silicon-based material, thus a lot of electricity leaks out, causing wasted power and shorter battery life. "It's like running two faucets when you only need one. You're actually wasting more water than you're actually using," said Jim McGregor, an analyst at the technology market research firm In-Stat.
These are the benefits of the new technology: smaller transistors, potentially doubling their total number in a given area, and also faster ones, with a speed increase of over 20 %, and a decrease in power leakage by over 80 %. "Consumers are going towards mobility and power-sensitive solutions. We need to not only make things smaller and more efficient but also use less power," McGregor said.
But there are many obstacles in continuing the development of new chip generations: it is increasingly difficult to create light beams narrow enough to etch circuitry on chips. "But this takes out what has been considered the biggest number one roadblock," VLSI's Hutcheson said.
The Satellite Receiving Multimedia Car of the Future
The current car radios present many inconveniences: crackling radio stations, signal loss in tunnels and difficult tuning to the correct frequency.But recently, ESA and nine partners in the industry and service sectors have presented a new prototype at the Noordwijk Space Expo, in the Netherlands, of what would be the multimedia car radio of the future.
The new car radio functions like a satellite receiver for television channels. Instead of a large dish antenna on the car's roof, there is a special mobile antenna, flattened so that it can be integrated almost invisibly into the bodywork that picks up signals in the Ku frequency band employed by communications
satellites.
The idea of integrating a satellite receiver in a car is not a novelty as in the US, more than 13 million drivers utilize the services of XM-radio and Sirius radio that broadcast to mobile satellite receivers. That is done via satellites, but enhanced by a rural network of transmitter pillars.
However, the new European multimedia system is much more advanced. Instead of new satellites and a web of ground-based transmitters which would require a huge investment, overpassing a billion Euro, the new system employs only the already existing communication satellites.
Moreover, the mobile multimedia system uses a cache memory (a hard disk or its solid-state equivalent). The received signals can be recorded (like in personal video recorders) and listened after a short time shift or much later. This ingenious technique surpasses the problem of signal loss in tunnels or obstructions disturbing the program.
This way, the driver is able to select a part of the broadcast to listen to, or pause a broadcast he/she is interested in as they stop to fuel.
The engineers were forced in their approach to develop an entirely new antenna that could be easily integrated in a car, as the large, fixed dish antennas designed to broadcast television signals via satellites were excluded for not being practical.
The project has taken three years of research, but the new technology possesses a great potential for the car industry and broadcasting.
Photo credit: BMW
What is the Human Body Made Of?
Have you ever wondered what the human body is made of?Well, a team at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada, did and realized the first draft of the human metabolome (the totality of metabolites from the human body). The metabolites are the small chemicals found in or produced by an organism. The team has identified and characterized 2,500 metabolites, 1,200 drugs and 3,500 food components that can be encountered in the human body.
The metabolome list could trigger a new era in detecting and treating diseases.
The Human Metabolome Project (HMP) would have a much more powerful impact on medical practices than the Human Genome Project, as the metabolites point more directly to the body's health and physiology. "Metabolites are the canaries of the genome," says Project Leader Dr. Wishart, professor of computing science and biological sciences at the University of Alberta
and Principal Investigator at NRC, National Institute for Nanotechnology. "A single base change in our DNA can lead to a 100,000X change in metabolite levels."
"The results of this research will have a significant impact on the diagnosis, prediction, prevention and monitoring of many genetic, infectious and environmental diseases," stated Dr. David Bailey, President and CEO of Genome Alberta.
The metabolites are extremely sensitive in showing what a person eats, how he/she lives, the time of day, the time of year, his/her general health and even his/her mood. "Most medical tests today are based on measuring metabolites in blood or urine," Wishart says.
"Unfortunately, less than 1% of known metabolites are being used in routine clinical testing. If you can only see 1% of what's going on in the body, you're obviously going to miss a lot."
The team made up of 50 researchers based at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary completed the part of the 95 % unknown metabolites of the human metabolome in the past two and half years. "With the data in the HMDB, anyone can find out what metabolites are associated with which diseases, what the normal and abnormal concentrations are, where the metabolites are found or what genes are associated with which metabolites," Wishart says.
"It's the first time that this sort of data has been compiled into one spot. By decoding the human metabolome, we can identify and diagnose hundreds of diseases in a matter of seconds at a cost of pennies," Wishart added.
Who Killed the Webmaster?
Back in the frontier days of the web–when flaming skulls, scrolling marquees, and rainbow divider lines dominated the landscape–”Webmaster” was a vaunted, almost mythical, title. The Webmaster was a techno-shaman versed the black arts needed to make words and images appear on this new-fangled Information Superhighway. With the rise of the Webmaster coinciding with the explosive growth of the web, everyone predicted the birth of a new, well paying, and in-demand profession. Yet in 2007, this person has somehow vanished; even the term is scarcely mentioned. What happened? A decade later I’m left wondering “Who killed the Webmaster?”
By 2000, I think every person in the developed world had a brother-in-law who created websites on the side. Armed with Frontpage and a pirated copy of Photoshop, he’d charge a reasonable fee per page (though posting more than three images cost extra.)
Eventually the web hit equilibrium and just having a website didn’t make a company hip and cutting-edge. Now management demanded that their website look better than the site immediately ranked above in search results. And as expensive as the sites were, ought they not “do something” too? Companies increasingly wanted an exceptional website requiring a sophisticated combination of talent to pull off. HTML and FTP skills, as useful as they had been, were no longer a sharp enough tool in the Webmaster’s toolbox. Technologies such as CSS and multi-tier web application development rapidly made WYSIWYG editors useless for all but ordinary websites. And with the explosion of competition and possibilities on the Internet few businesses were willing to pay for “ordinary”.
In 1995, the “professional web design firm” was single, talented person working from home. Today it’s a diverse team of back-end developers, front-end developers, graphic artists, UI designers, database and systems administrators, search engine marketing experts, analytics specialists, copywriters, editors, and project managers. The industry has simply grown so specialized, so quickly, for one person to hardly be a master of anything more than a single strand in the web.
Then again, perhaps the disappearance of the Webmaster can better be explained by an underwhelming economy rather than overwhelming technology. Riding high on the bull market of the late 90’s, companies were increasingly willing to assume more risk to reach potential customers. This was especially true of small businesses, which traditionally have miniscule advertising and marketing budgets. Everyone wanted a piece of the Internet pie and each turned to the Webmaster to deliver. More than just a few Webmasters made a respectable living by cranking out a couple $500 websites every week.
Once the bubble burst in early 2000, the dot-com hangover left many small businesses clutching their heads and checking their wallets. As companies braced to solely maintain what they already had, the first cut inevitably was to marketing and advertising. In-house Webmasters were summarily let go, their duties hastily transferred to an already overworked office manager. Freelance Webmasters were hit even harder as business owners struggled to first take care of their own. The gold rush had crumbled to fools’ gold even faster than it had started.
While a few Webmaster were able to weather the storm—mostly those with either extraordinary skills or a gainfully employed spouse—the majority were forced to abandon their budding profession and return to the world of the mundane.
Another strong possibility is that the Internet has simply evolved beyond the Webmaster. “Web 2.0″ is the naked emperor of technological neologisms; we all nod our head at the term but then stammer when pressed for a definition. As far as I can tell, Web 2.0 is mostly about rounded corners, low-contrast pastel colors, and domain names with missing vowels. But it also seems to be about an emphasis on social collaboration. This may seem like a no-brainer given the connectedness of the Internet itself; however, thinking back to Web 1.0 there was a distinct lack of this philosophy. Web 1.0 was more an arms race to build “mindshare” and “eyeballs” in order to make it to the top of the hill with the most venture capital. Even the Web 1.0 term of “portal” conjures up an image of Lewis Carroll’s Alice tumbling down a hole and into an experience wholly managed by the resident experts–the Webmasters. Despite the power and promises to be so much more, the web wasn’t much different than network television or print. Even the most interesting and successful business models of the Web 1.0 era could have been accomplished years prior with an automated telephone system.
It wasn’t until after the failure of the initial experiment did people begin to rethink the entire concept of the Internet. Was the Webmaster as gatekeeper really necessary? If we all have a story to share, why can’t everyone contribute to the collective experience? Perhaps it was the overabundance Herman Miller chairs, but Web 1.0 was inarguably about style over substance. Yet, as anyone who’s ever visited MySpace can attest, today content is king. With all of us simultaneously contributing and consuming on blogs, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, and SecondLife, who needs a Webmaster anymore?
Suspect #1: The march of technology
By 2000, I think every person in the developed world had a brother-in-law who created websites on the side. Armed with Frontpage and a pirated copy of Photoshop, he’d charge a reasonable fee per page (though posting more than three images cost extra.)
Eventually the web hit equilibrium and just having a website didn’t make a company hip and cutting-edge. Now management demanded that their website look better than the site immediately ranked above in search results. And as expensive as the sites were, ought they not “do something” too? Companies increasingly wanted an exceptional website requiring a sophisticated combination of talent to pull off. HTML and FTP skills, as useful as they had been, were no longer a sharp enough tool in the Webmaster’s toolbox. Technologies such as CSS and multi-tier web application development rapidly made WYSIWYG editors useless for all but ordinary websites. And with the explosion of competition and possibilities on the Internet few businesses were willing to pay for “ordinary”.
In 1995, the “professional web design firm” was single, talented person working from home. Today it’s a diverse team of back-end developers, front-end developers, graphic artists, UI designers, database and systems administrators, search engine marketing experts, analytics specialists, copywriters, editors, and project managers. The industry has simply grown so specialized, so quickly, for one person to hardly be a master of anything more than a single strand in the web.
Suspect #2: Is it the economy, stupid?
Then again, perhaps the disappearance of the Webmaster can better be explained by an underwhelming economy rather than overwhelming technology. Riding high on the bull market of the late 90’s, companies were increasingly willing to assume more risk to reach potential customers. This was especially true of small businesses, which traditionally have miniscule advertising and marketing budgets. Everyone wanted a piece of the Internet pie and each turned to the Webmaster to deliver. More than just a few Webmasters made a respectable living by cranking out a couple $500 websites every week.
Once the bubble burst in early 2000, the dot-com hangover left many small businesses clutching their heads and checking their wallets. As companies braced to solely maintain what they already had, the first cut inevitably was to marketing and advertising. In-house Webmasters were summarily let go, their duties hastily transferred to an already overworked office manager. Freelance Webmasters were hit even harder as business owners struggled to first take care of their own. The gold rush had crumbled to fools’ gold even faster than it had started.
While a few Webmaster were able to weather the storm—mostly those with either extraordinary skills or a gainfully employed spouse—the majority were forced to abandon their budding profession and return to the world of the mundane.
Suspect #3: The rise of Web 2.0
Another strong possibility is that the Internet has simply evolved beyond the Webmaster. “Web 2.0″ is the naked emperor of technological neologisms; we all nod our head at the term but then stammer when pressed for a definition. As far as I can tell, Web 2.0 is mostly about rounded corners, low-contrast pastel colors, and domain names with missing vowels. But it also seems to be about an emphasis on social collaboration. This may seem like a no-brainer given the connectedness of the Internet itself; however, thinking back to Web 1.0 there was a distinct lack of this philosophy. Web 1.0 was more an arms race to build “mindshare” and “eyeballs” in order to make it to the top of the hill with the most venture capital. Even the Web 1.0 term of “portal” conjures up an image of Lewis Carroll’s Alice tumbling down a hole and into an experience wholly managed by the resident experts–the Webmasters. Despite the power and promises to be so much more, the web wasn’t much different than network television or print. Even the most interesting and successful business models of the Web 1.0 era could have been accomplished years prior with an automated telephone system.
It wasn’t until after the failure of the initial experiment did people begin to rethink the entire concept of the Internet. Was the Webmaster as gatekeeper really necessary? If we all have a story to share, why can’t everyone contribute to the collective experience? Perhaps it was the overabundance Herman Miller chairs, but Web 1.0 was inarguably about style over substance. Yet, as anyone who’s ever visited MySpace can attest, today content is king. With all of us simultaneously contributing and consuming on blogs, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, and SecondLife, who needs a Webmaster anymore?
Sing and Search the Internet
The search engines are more and more powerful, allowing you to search for all kinds of information including jobs, blog posts, videos, news and even products to buy. At this time, Google is the most known search engine on the internet, being continuously challenged by Yahoo, Ask or Live Search. From time to time, other companies are trying to design innovative services meant to compete with the ones provided by the giant firms.Midomi is one of the interesting services that were designed to represent a new search technology on the internet that is currently unavailable on the most
known search engines.
“midomi is the ultimate music search tool because it is powered by your voice. Sing, hum, or whistle to instantly find your favorite music and connect with a community that shares your musical interests. Give it a try. It's truly amazing! Our mission is to build the most comprehensive database of searchable music. You can contribute to the database by singing in midomi's online recording studio in any language or genre. The next time anyone searches for a song, your performance might be the top result,” it is mentioned in the description of the search technology.
The idea presented by the midomi is simple: all you need to do is go to the official website of the service, press on the Start Voice Search button and then sing your song. The solution will record your voice and then look for a song that matches your query and return certain results. Midomi is not only a search technology, but it also represents a large community of users that are continuously posting new recordings for songs from all around the world, offering you the possibility to search using predefined or prerecorded sounds.
If you want to test this exciting search engine, you should follow this link and try to avoid blaming your singing talent if the service doesn’t return any relevant result.
What is Better than Sex?
I guess you would do anything to find out what is that thing that makes people forget about sex, wouldn't you? I felt the same but after finding out what that thing was, I kind of had a feeling of being misled. I suppose you will feel the same but, what the heck, here it goes.According to a survey conducted by the UK mobile phone retailer Dial-a-Phone, 30 percent of the men and a pretty good slice of the number of women (approximately 42.5 percent) would answer their cellphone while they have sex.
If that is not a clear sign that they would enjoy more talking with their friends, with the family members or who knows with what other individuals, then what is? And if that survey is true, the things seem to go on the same down falling route as in the case of the dinosaurs :). Where will we be and how many of us will still think of sex if the mobile phone manufacturers keep releasing better and better handsets each day?
Giving credit to the guys that made this study, you should also know that 24 percent of the participating women also declared they would
rather give up sex instead of their handsets for a whole month. I suppose this would be a pretty good way for the monasteries to assure the nuns follow the celibacy oath: give a nun a couple of hundred cellphones to keep her busy and the danger of her wanting some male attention reduces dramatically :).
Flic Everett, the relationship expert (as he calls himself) from Dial-a-Phone, has expressed his total disagreement about the whole thing and said to “never ever answer your phone during sex...There's a time and a place for mobile phones! Turning them off occasionally or even switching them to silent will make your loved-one feel as though they have your attention.”
Furthermore, besides being something way better than sex in the mind of some troubled humans from the United Kingdom, the phones also are an important part for some of us when having to start a new relationship or even when wanting to end one without having to deal with our “worse” half's discontent.
As the relationship expert from Dial-a-Phone has once again said: “singletons consider their mobile phone their most valuable dating weapon - arranging dates and getting to know prospective partners through text messaging (sending on average 12 before they meet up) to relaying the success of the date during the event to their mates (four out of five contact a mate during a date). "
Concluding all the things I wrote above, I guess one single word could sum up very well where we are heading to in case cellphones become better than ever before and things follow the pattern discovered by Dial-a-Phone: EXTINCTION! (you have remembered the dinosaurs didn't you? :) (they probably also had cellphones or at least something veery similar).
Inside the Lucasfilm datacenter
"Where can you find a (rhetorical) 11.38 petabits per second bandwidth? It appears to be inside the Lucasfilm Datacenter. At least, that is the headline figure mentioned in this report on a tour of the datacenter. The story is a bit light on the down-and-dirty details, but mentions a 10 gig ethernet backbone (adding up the bandwidth of a load of network connections seems to be how they derived the 11.38 petabits p/s figure. In that case, I have a 45 gig network at home.) Power utilization is a key differentiator when buying hardware, a "legacy" cycle of a couple of months, and 300TB of storage in a 10.000 square foot datacenter. To me, the story comes across as somewhat hyped up — "look at us, we have a large datacenter" kind of thing, "look how cool we are". Over the last couple of years, I have been in many datacenters, for banks, pharma and large enterprise to name a few, that have somewhat larger and more complex setups."
Debian Gets Win32 Installer
"Debian hacker Robert Millan has just announced the availability of a Debian-Installer Loader for win32. The program, inspired by Ubuntu's similar project, features 64-bit CPU auto-detection, download of linux/initrd netboot images, and chainloading into Debian-Installer via grub4dos. The frontend site goodbye-microsoft.com/ has been set up for advocacy purposes. Here are some screenshots."
Google TV - An Elaborate Hoax
A heavily produced YouTube video from Mark Erickson at “Infinite Solutions” shows users how to get in on the super-secret (and non existent) Google TV beta. It involves sending yourself an email and then logging in and out of Gmail multiple times until a tv icon appears in the Gmail logo. In the comments to the video, some users have tried logging in and out of Gmail hundreds of times without it working.This is almost certainly a fake, as Google Blogoscoped reports. Erickson then posted a second video to prove the authenticity and saying that Google had increased the login requirements “substantially”. A+ for effort and originality. Both videos are below.Sphere It
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Intel, IBM Announce Chip Breakthrough
Intel announced a major breakthrough in microprocessor design Friday that will allow it to keep on the curve of Moore's Law a while longer. IBM, working with AMD, rushed out a press release announcing essentially equivalent advances. Both companies said they will be using alloys of hafnium as insulating layers, replacing the silicon dioxide that has been used for more than 40 years. The New York Times story (and coverage from the AP and others) features he-said, she-said commentary from dueling analysts. If there is a consensus, it's that Intel is 6 or more months ahead for the next generation. IBM vigorously disputes this, saying that they and AMD are simply working in a different part of the processor market — concentrating on the high-end server space, as opposed to the portable, low-power end.
It's a shame that Intel happened to pick a Saturday when I'm trying to move to make major news with their upcoming 45nm process. This means that I can't do more than quickly summarize what was announced, but I can point you to two good articles that can take you further if you want to know more.
In a nutshell, Intel has announced a pair of advances in their 45nm process that will cut down drastically on leakage current (see below for more), enabling the company to make the transistors on their next generation of chips much smaller without worrying so much about current bleeding through when the transistor is in the "off" position. The first of these advances is the use of a high-k gate dielectric, a first in commercial semiconductor production. The dielectric is essentially an insulator that can now be made very thin without allowing electrical current to seep through (due to quantum tunneling) when the transistor is in the "off" position.
To complement this high-k dielectric, Intel has also moved to a metal gate electrode. This metal gate electrode is more compatible with the new hafnium-based dielectric than the polysilicon electrode used in previous process steps.
The new 45nm process will be used for Intel's forthcoming Penryn microarchitecture, which is basically just a die shrink of Woodcrest with more cache.
According to David Kanter at RealWorldTech, IBM and AMD don't plan to move to a similar high-k dielectric until the 32nm process node, a decision that may put them at a disadvantage versus Intel at 45 nanometers. Kanter summarizes the situation as follows:
For an in-depth look at the new announcements, be sure and head over to RWT and read David's article. If you want a more high-level overview with more background and big-picture perspective than I've provided here, John Markoff at the New York Times has a good piece on it that's worth checking out. Also, Robert Scoble has a video tour of the new fab if you're interested in seeing where all the magic happens.
When you're reading up on this announcement, many of you will probably need a refresher on the relationship between feature size, leakage current, power dissipation, and clockspeed. To help you out, I'm going to paste in a short discussion of power density from one version of Chapter 12 of my book, Inside the Machine. (I'm not sure if this is the final copy that's in the book or not, though, since I'd have to hunt around and compare this text with what's in the proofs).
Intel announces 45nm breakthrough
1/27/2007 2:17:45 PM, by Jon Stokes
It's a shame that Intel happened to pick a Saturday when I'm trying to move to make major news with their upcoming 45nm process. This means that I can't do more than quickly summarize what was announced, but I can point you to two good articles that can take you further if you want to know more.
In a nutshell, Intel has announced a pair of advances in their 45nm process that will cut down drastically on leakage current (see below for more), enabling the company to make the transistors on their next generation of chips much smaller without worrying so much about current bleeding through when the transistor is in the "off" position. The first of these advances is the use of a high-k gate dielectric, a first in commercial semiconductor production. The dielectric is essentially an insulator that can now be made very thin without allowing electrical current to seep through (due to quantum tunneling) when the transistor is in the "off" position.
To complement this high-k dielectric, Intel has also moved to a metal gate electrode. This metal gate electrode is more compatible with the new hafnium-based dielectric than the polysilicon electrode used in previous process steps.
The new 45nm process will be used for Intel's forthcoming Penryn microarchitecture, which is basically just a die shrink of Woodcrest with more cache.
According to David Kanter at RealWorldTech, IBM and AMD don't plan to move to a similar high-k dielectric until the 32nm process node, a decision that may put them at a disadvantage versus Intel at 45 nanometers. Kanter summarizes the situation as follows:
The high-k dielectrics and metal gates will give Intel an advantage on their 45nm process. However, this transistor level advantage will not directly translate to microprocessor performance, without corresponding advances or clever engineering to address wire delay. It will be up to Intel's MPU designers and marketers to make the most of these benefits, by increasing clock speed or reducing power. The real question is whether the combination of high-k dielectrics and metal gates will shut the window of opportunity for AMD, when they introduce their own 45nm process in mid to late 2008, and only time will tell where the chips will fall.
For an in-depth look at the new announcements, be sure and head over to RWT and read David's article. If you want a more high-level overview with more background and big-picture perspective than I've provided here, John Markoff at the New York Times has a good piece on it that's worth checking out. Also, Robert Scoble has a video tour of the new fab if you're interested in seeing where all the magic happens.
Leakage current and clockspeed: a primer
When you're reading up on this announcement, many of you will probably need a refresher on the relationship between feature size, leakage current, power dissipation, and clockspeed. To help you out, I'm going to paste in a short discussion of power density from one version of Chapter 12 of my book, Inside the Machine. (I'm not sure if this is the final copy that's in the book or not, though, since I'd have to hunt around and compare this text with what's in the proofs).
Power Density
The amount of power that a chip dissipates per unit area is called its power density, and there are two types of power density that concern processor architects: dynamic power density and static power density.Dynamic Power Density
Each transistor on a chip dissipates a small amount of power when it is switched, and transistors that are switched rapidly dissipate more power than transistors that are switched slowly. The total amount of power dissipated per unit area due to switching of a chip's transistors is called dynamic power density. There are two factors that work together to cause an increase in dynamic power density: clockspeed and transistor density.
Increasing a processor's clockspeed involves switching its transistors more rapidly, and as I just mentioned, transistors that are switched more rapidly dissipate more power. Therefore, as a processor's clockspeed rises, so does its dynamic power density, because each of those rapidly switching transistors contributes more to the device's total power dissipation. You can also increase a chip's dynamic power density by cramming more transistors into the same amount of surface area.
Figure 12-1 illustrates how transistor density and clockspeed work together to increase dynamic power density. As the clockspeed of the device and the number of transistors per unit area rise, so does the overall dynamic power density.
Figure 12-1: Dynamic power density Static Power Density
In addition to clockspeed-related increases in dynamic power density, chip designers must also contend with the fact that even transistors that aren't switching will still leak current during idle periods, much like how a faucet that is shut off can still leak water if the water pressure behind it is high enough. This leakage current causes an idle transistor to constantly dissipate a trace amount of power. The amount of power dissipated per unit area due to leakage current is called static power density.
Transistors leak more current as they get smaller, and consequently static power densities begin to rise across the chip when more transistors are crammed into the same amount of space. Thus even relatively low clockspeed devices with very small transistor sizes are still subject to increases in power density if leakage current is not controlled. If a silicon device's overall power density gets high enough, it will begin to overheat and will eventually fail entirely. Thus it's critical that designers of highly integrated devices like modern x86 processors take power efficiency into account when designing a new microarchitecture.
Inside the Windows Vista Kernel
Reader trparky recommends an article on Technet (which, be warned, is rather chaotically formatted). Mark Russinovich, whose company Winternals Software was recently bought by Microsoft, has published the first of a series of articles on what's new in the Vista kernel. Russinovich writes: "In this issue, I'll look at changes in the areas of processes and threads, and in I/O. Future installments will cover memory management, startup and shutdown, reliability and recovery, and security. The scope of this article comprises changes to the Windows Vista kernel only, specifically Ntoskrnl.exe and its closely associated components. Please remember that there are many other significant changes in Windows Vista that fall outside the kernel proper and therefore won't be covered."
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate – Comparison
With Windows Vista just two days away I thought I would provide you with a detailed comparison between the various editions of Windows Vista. And as the saying goes... one picture is worth a thousandwords, the images at the bottom illustrate all the features of the operating system according to edition.
But of course, you will also be able to judge the differences in your own house. Buy a Windows Vista DVD with a license for Home Basic. Although the license is just for Home Basic, you will be able to install and test all the editions of the operating system, with the exception of Enterprise, which is available only via volume licensing.
However, the single Vista DVD will permit you to install Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate and to test drive each edition for free for 30 days. How? Well... during the installation process of the operating system you will be asked to enter the license key. The license key will define the edition of Windows Vista that will be deployed. However, you have the possibility to not enter any license key, install whichever version you prefer and test it. As I've said above, the operating system will deliver a 30 days Initial Grace period with full functionality. You will then be able to upgrade to either Home Premium, Business or Ultimate via Windows Vista Anytime Upgrade.
This is a method that will keep you from spending $399 for Windows Vista Ultimate, when the $239 Vista Home Premium is more than enough for your needs.
 |
 |
Oscillations In the Sun's Magnetic Field Cause Ice Ages on Earth
What makes the Earth pass through Ice Ages?Robert Ehrlich of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia thinks that the sun havs cycles of rise and fall on timescales of around 100,000 years. He made a computer model depicting how temperature fluctuates in the sun's interior.
Standard says the temperature of the sun's interior is maintained constant by gravity and nuclear fusion.
Ehrlich made his suppositions based on the fact that slight variations should be possible on the research of Attila Grandpierre of the Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which in 2005 found that magnetic fields in the sun's core could generate small instabilities in the solar plasma, correlated to local oscillations in temperature.
The computer model reveals that some oscillations could enhance one another, turning into long-lived temperature variations. The sun's
interior temperature would oscillate around its medium temperature of 13.6 million kelvin in cycles of 100,000 or 41,000 years.
These timescales coincide with Earth's glaciations: in the past two million years, ice ages have installed approximately each 100,000 years and before their rhythm was at each 41,000 years.
The most accepted idea is that the glaciations are provoked by subtle changes in the Earth's orbit, named the Milankovitch cycles: Earth's orbit gradually shifts pattern from a circle to a slight ellipse and back again roughly every 100,000 years, changing the amount of sun heat the Earth receives.
But Milankovitch cycles cannot explain why the glaciations shifted frequency a million years ago. "In Milankovitch, there is certainly no good idea why the frequency should change from one to another," says Neil Edwards, a climatologist at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK.
And the temperature shifts provoked by Milankovitch cycles seem not to be big enough to induce glaciations; they should be enforced by feedback mechanisms on Earth, like an alteration of carbon dioxide circuit made by the ice, the weakening of the greenhouse effect. "If you add their effects together, there is more than enough feedback to make Milankovitch work," he says. "Milankovitch cycles give us ice ages roughly when we observe them to happen. We can calculate where we are in the cycle and compare it with observation," he says. "I can't see any way of testing [Ehrlich's] idea to see where we are in the temperature oscillation."
Ehrlich agrees that his theory is hard to prove, as variation over 41,000 to 100,000 years is too slow to be studied. "If there is a way to test this theory on the sun, I can't think of one that is practical," he said. There would be one way: red dwarfs, much smaller stars than the sun and consequently with short enough oscillation periods to be watched.
Image credit: NASA
The Oldest Person in the World
The oldest person in the world is now Emma Faust Tillman, 114 years, born near Greensboro, North Carolina, in November 22, 1892, after the death of Emiliano Mercado del Toro, at his home in Puerto Rico aged 115 years and 115-year-old Julie Winnifred Bertrand of Canada, last week.Emma lives in Hartford, Connecticut. The woman and her parents were former slaves in the decades following the U.S. Civil War.
Guinness World Records has confirmed this. “Emma's family is characterized by longevity: Though none of her 23 siblings have matched her 114 years, three sisters and a brother lived past 100,” said her great-nephew John Stewart Jr.
Tillman graduated in 1909 as the only black student in her high
school and later worked as a cook, maid, party caterer and caretaker for children of several wealthy families.
She also worked as a household servant for the actress Katharine Hepburn. "At 114, she's lived a good, honorable, straight life," said Stewart, who is 76. "Her comment is always, 'If you want to know about longevity and why I lived so long, ask the man upstairs."
"Sometimes, she doesn't feel like talking," Stewart said. "But when you're 114, you can call your own shots."
“Tillman never smoked, drank or wore eyeglasses,” Stewart said. “Until a few months ago Tillman spent much of her time caring for an ailing roommate more than 20 years her junior, who has since died.” said Karen Chadderton, administrator of the Riverside Health and Rehabilitation Center, where Tillman lives.
"About a month ago, she started feeling less energetic," said Chadderton. "During the morning she has energy, she's up and about, in a wheelchair, but in the afternoon, once she goes to sleep, she doesn't want to be bothered."
The International Committee on Supercentenarians says there are at this moment 86 people aged 110 or older in the world today, out of which 80 are women. The world's next-oldest person is the Japanese Yone Minagawa, born in 1893. “Tillman is the youngest title holder in six years,” said Robert D Young, senior consultant for gerontology for Guinness World Records. “Her ascent to the top position was particularly speedy. The average time for a person to be the world's oldest was about eight months,” Young said.
IBM to Open Source Novel Identity Protection Software
coondoggie handed us a link to a Network World article reporting that IBM plans to open source the project 'Identity Mixer'. Developed by a Zurich-based research lab for the company, Identity Mixer is a novel approach to protecting user identities online. The project, which is a piece of XML-based software, uses a type of digital certificate to control who has access to identity information in a web browser. IBM is enthusiastic about widespread adoption of this technology, and so plans to open source the project through the Eclipse Open Source Foundation. The company hopes this tactic will see the software's use in commercial, medical, and governmental settings.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Google Web Search Now Integrates Blog Results
Type in a phrase into Google.com, add the word "blog" at the end of your query and not only will you get web results but more up-to-date gems from Google Blog Search too. That's the word from the Google Operating System weblog. This has been running as a test since November.
Capstone Mobile Selects GE864-Quad for Fleet Tracking Application
Telit Wireless Solutions, Inc., the US-based m2m mobile technology arm of Telit Communications, today announced that Capstone Mobile has signed a supply agreement with Telit. Telit’s module will be used in Capstone Mobile’s fleet tracking devices to enable mobile monitoring and tracking of high value assets.
Capstone Mobile has developed a system that allows customers to manage their vehicle fleets and view tracking information on portable devices such as laptops and PDAs. Useful for not only monitoring fleets of vehicles, this application will monitor the fleets for critical factors such as temperature and humidity level changes, breaches in containers, and, based on variances, recommend environmental adjustments.
“Telit’s modules possess the ability to be both backwards compatible and easily programmable,” said Scott Williamson, Vice President of Capstone Mobile. “Telit is at the top of a launching industry. The need for critical data has never been greater, and Telit has provided the ideal solution for our needs.”
Thanks to its small, external dimensions of 30 x 30 x 2.8 mm and light weight of only seven grams, the GE864 is especially ideal for applications requiring sub-compact form-factors. With the GE864, Telit is the world's first and only module manufacturer to offer a GSM / GPRS module with a ball grid array (BGA) installation concept.
BGA is based on tiny solder balls placed on the underside of a module allowing for direct mounting to the application circuit board, without the need for plugs, cables, or connectors. The module can now be assembled using an automated pick-and-place assembly for standard SMD components. This not only reduces material costs, but also installation time and assembly costs. The board-to-board BGA mounting is extremely stable and reliable. Together, the compact shape and reduced assembly costs are crucial advantages for use in cost-sensitive applications, such as those for the fleet management and consumer markets. The GE864 is the market’s only module viable for very large scale production in these categories.
“Capstone Mobile has a proven, well thought out approach to the application of wireless technology, and we welcome them as the first U.S.-based customer for Telit Wireless Solutions,” said Roger Dewey, President and CEO of Telit Wireless Solutions, Inc. “Their applications are at the cutting edge of the wireless revolution, and together we will ensure they stay there.”
Telit’s approach to m2m is unique—their products are divided into families, each addressing the demands of various vertical markets application groups according to size, production scale, etc. Within these families, products have the same form factor and functionality irrespective of their wireless technology (GSM, CDMA). The advantage for customers is immediately apparent because all modules within a family are interchangeable, due to uniformity in size, shape, connectors and software interface. Customers can easily replace any module with its successor because there is little or no change required to the application.
There are at least ten times more machines, equipment, vehicles and robots than there are humans in the world, creating a critical need to transfer information efficiently between machines or from machines to humans. The relatively new m2m industry delivers increased efficiency, time savings, improved customer orientation and greater flexibility.
Capstone Mobile has developed a system that allows customers to manage their vehicle fleets and view tracking information on portable devices such as laptops and PDAs. Useful for not only monitoring fleets of vehicles, this application will monitor the fleets for critical factors such as temperature and humidity level changes, breaches in containers, and, based on variances, recommend environmental adjustments.
“Telit’s modules possess the ability to be both backwards compatible and easily programmable,” said Scott Williamson, Vice President of Capstone Mobile. “Telit is at the top of a launching industry. The need for critical data has never been greater, and Telit has provided the ideal solution for our needs.”
Thanks to its small, external dimensions of 30 x 30 x 2.8 mm and light weight of only seven grams, the GE864 is especially ideal for applications requiring sub-compact form-factors. With the GE864, Telit is the world's first and only module manufacturer to offer a GSM / GPRS module with a ball grid array (BGA) installation concept.
BGA is based on tiny solder balls placed on the underside of a module allowing for direct mounting to the application circuit board, without the need for plugs, cables, or connectors. The module can now be assembled using an automated pick-and-place assembly for standard SMD components. This not only reduces material costs, but also installation time and assembly costs. The board-to-board BGA mounting is extremely stable and reliable. Together, the compact shape and reduced assembly costs are crucial advantages for use in cost-sensitive applications, such as those for the fleet management and consumer markets. The GE864 is the market’s only module viable for very large scale production in these categories.
“Capstone Mobile has a proven, well thought out approach to the application of wireless technology, and we welcome them as the first U.S.-based customer for Telit Wireless Solutions,” said Roger Dewey, President and CEO of Telit Wireless Solutions, Inc. “Their applications are at the cutting edge of the wireless revolution, and together we will ensure they stay there.”
Telit’s approach to m2m is unique—their products are divided into families, each addressing the demands of various vertical markets application groups according to size, production scale, etc. Within these families, products have the same form factor and functionality irrespective of their wireless technology (GSM, CDMA). The advantage for customers is immediately apparent because all modules within a family are interchangeable, due to uniformity in size, shape, connectors and software interface. Customers can easily replace any module with its successor because there is little or no change required to the application.
There are at least ten times more machines, equipment, vehicles and robots than there are humans in the world, creating a critical need to transfer information efficiently between machines or from machines to humans. The relatively new m2m industry delivers increased efficiency, time savings, improved customer orientation and greater flexibility.
BBC To Host Multi-OS Debate
"BBC is currently seeking submissions from all you Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux devotees "in 100 words or less, why you are such a supporter of your chosen operating system and what features you love about it". They will then select one user of each platform to go head to head in a debate that will be part of the BBC's Microsoft Vista launch coverage on January 30th."
Street Fighting Robot Challenge
"There's no better way to assure the eventual destruction of mankind then by the event sponsored by Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency. Newscientist has a good writeup of the robot challenge, which is to build a robot that can operate autonomously in urban warfare conditions, moving in and out of buildings to search and destroy targets like a human soldier."
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Blu-ray Protection Bypassed
ReluctantRefactorer writes with an article in the Register reporting that Blu-ray copy-protection technology has been sidestepped by muslix64, the same hacker who bypassed the DRM technology of rival HD DVD discs last month. From the article: "muslix64's work has effectively sparked off a [cat]-and-mouse game between hackers and the entertainment industry, where consumers are likely to face compatibility problems while footing the bill for the entertainment industry's insistence on pushing ultimately flawed DRM technology on an unwilling public." WesleyTech also covers the crack and links the doom9 forum page where BackupBluRayv021 was announced.
Linspire's CNR Goes Multi-Distro
S3Indiana writes with news that Linspire is opening its Click 'N Run installation software to other Linux distributions. After 5 years of development on CNR, the new site cnr.com will be a single source repository for Linux users. Distributions to be supported initially during 2007 are (alphabetically): Debian, Fedora, Freespire, Linspire, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu; other distributions will follow. See the FAQ and the screenshots for more details.
Linspire announced today that it plans to expand its CNR ("Click 'N Run") digital download and software management service to support multiple desktop Linux distributions beyond Linspire and Freespire, initially adding Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu, using both .deb and .rpm packages. And, the standard CNR service will remain free.
CNR was developed by Linspire in 2002 to allow desktop Linux users to find, install, uninstall, manage, and update thousands of software programs on their Linspire-based Linux computers.
Previously available only for Linspire and Freespire desktop Linux users, the CNR Service will begin providing users of other desktop Linux distributions a free and easy way to access more than 20,000 desktop Linux products, packages and libraries, a Linspire spokesperson said.
Support for different Linux distributions will begin in the second quarter of 2007 via a new website, CNR.com. Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu will be the first supported, with others planned to follow.
Even as the Linux desktop has made strong advances in usability and capabilities, the difficulties of finding, installing, and updating software -- with each distribution requiring its own installation process -- has remained one of the most commonly cited complaints among desktop Linux users. With more than five years of development behind it, Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony hopes that CNR will now normalize these tasks for the most popular Debian- and RPM package-based distributions.
Carmony stated, "The CNR Service was designed to solve the complexity of finding and installing desktop Linux applications, as well as educating the world about all the quality Linux software available. It only made sense to expand our successful CNR Service to additional desktop Linux distributions and their users. CNR will normalize the process of installing software across most of the popular distributions, something Linux really needs to gain mainstream adoption."
CNR, which became a free service last August, will remain so for all the distributions supported, Carmony added.
Linspire also said in August that it would release the CNR client under an open source license later in the year. Since then, according to Carmony, Linspire has completely redesigned, updated, and enhanced the CNR technology to support multiple distributions -- both Debian- and RPM-based, Carmony said.
At CNR.com, users of supported distributions will be able to search for applications by title, popularity, user rating, category, function, and so on. An open-sourced plugin for each supported distribution will provide the one-click installation functionality. Not only will the new, multi-distribution CNR system support different distributions, it will also support various versions within each supported distribution, Carmony said.
According to a Linspire spokesperson, the new multi-distribution CNR technology will standardize the installation process for users of multiple Linux distributions without requiring a new or altered packaging system. CNR uses standard .deb and .rpm files, while shielding the user from the complexity of these packaging systems. Application developers can continue using their same packaging methods (.deb or .rpm), and various supported distributions can continue with their normal release management practices.
By building CNR around existing packaging systems, tens of thousands of existing Linux applications are immediately available via the CNR system. According to Linspire, CNR adds both server- and client-side intelligence that overcome the traditional dependency challenges presented by current packaging systems, but without the need for altering these ubiquitous systems.
CNR.com will also allow give users of multiple distros the opportunity to purchase commercial products and services, such as "legally-licensed" DVD players, Sun's StarOffice, Win4Lin Pro, CodeWeavers's CrossOver, and TransGaming's Cedega. CNR's commercial software offerings currently span various categories, including media playback, personal and business productivity, finances, virtualization, development tools, and games.
The spokesperson also said that CNR would allow users quick access to multimedia codecs and hardware drivers, bringing one-click support for MP3, Windows Media, Quick Time, Java, Flash, ATI and nVidia graphics, and so on.
The new CNR.com web site is now active with an informational placeholder where users can learn more about the plans for the multi-distribution CNR.
--Chris Preimesberger
Linspire announced today that it plans to expand its CNR ("Click 'N Run") digital download and software management service to support multiple desktop Linux distributions beyond Linspire and Freespire, initially adding Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu, using both .deb and .rpm packages. And, the standard CNR service will remain free.| Spread the word: digg this story |
CNR was developed by Linspire in 2002 to allow desktop Linux users to find, install, uninstall, manage, and update thousands of software programs on their Linspire-based Linux computers.
Previously available only for Linspire and Freespire desktop Linux users, the CNR Service will begin providing users of other desktop Linux distributions a free and easy way to access more than 20,000 desktop Linux products, packages and libraries, a Linspire spokesperson said.
Support for different Linux distributions will begin in the second quarter of 2007 via a new website, CNR.com. Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu will be the first supported, with others planned to follow.
Even as the Linux desktop has made strong advances in usability and capabilities, the difficulties of finding, installing, and updating software -- with each distribution requiring its own installation process -- has remained one of the most commonly cited complaints among desktop Linux users. With more than five years of development behind it, Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony hopes that CNR will now normalize these tasks for the most popular Debian- and RPM package-based distributions.
Carmony stated, "The CNR Service was designed to solve the complexity of finding and installing desktop Linux applications, as well as educating the world about all the quality Linux software available. It only made sense to expand our successful CNR Service to additional desktop Linux distributions and their users. CNR will normalize the process of installing software across most of the popular distributions, something Linux really needs to gain mainstream adoption."
CNR, which became a free service last August, will remain so for all the distributions supported, Carmony added.
Linspire also said in August that it would release the CNR client under an open source license later in the year. Since then, according to Carmony, Linspire has completely redesigned, updated, and enhanced the CNR technology to support multiple distributions -- both Debian- and RPM-based, Carmony said.
At CNR.com, users of supported distributions will be able to search for applications by title, popularity, user rating, category, function, and so on. An open-sourced plugin for each supported distribution will provide the one-click installation functionality. Not only will the new, multi-distribution CNR system support different distributions, it will also support various versions within each supported distribution, Carmony said.
According to a Linspire spokesperson, the new multi-distribution CNR technology will standardize the installation process for users of multiple Linux distributions without requiring a new or altered packaging system. CNR uses standard .deb and .rpm files, while shielding the user from the complexity of these packaging systems. Application developers can continue using their same packaging methods (.deb or .rpm), and various supported distributions can continue with their normal release management practices.
By building CNR around existing packaging systems, tens of thousands of existing Linux applications are immediately available via the CNR system. According to Linspire, CNR adds both server- and client-side intelligence that overcome the traditional dependency challenges presented by current packaging systems, but without the need for altering these ubiquitous systems.
CNR.com will also allow give users of multiple distros the opportunity to purchase commercial products and services, such as "legally-licensed" DVD players, Sun's StarOffice, Win4Lin Pro, CodeWeavers's CrossOver, and TransGaming's Cedega. CNR's commercial software offerings currently span various categories, including media playback, personal and business productivity, finances, virtualization, development tools, and games.
The spokesperson also said that CNR would allow users quick access to multimedia codecs and hardware drivers, bringing one-click support for MP3, Windows Media, Quick Time, Java, Flash, ATI and nVidia graphics, and so on.
The new CNR.com web site is now active with an informational placeholder where users can learn more about the plans for the multi-distribution CNR.
--Chris Preimesberger
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)