Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy has said it will build a plant that can produce biodiesel from the oil from distillers' grains--the waste product from ethanol.
In effect, the same corn being fed into the plant to produce ethanol will help make a second alternative energy. VeraSun said it will be the first company to do this.
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Malware writers have used a Wikipedia article and special storage features to attempt to plant malicious code on unsuspecting users' systems, the online encyclopedia's organisers have confirmed.
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Amberjack is a simple and easy way to put up quick tours of your website without needing any programming knowledge. It’s a lightweight open source project, but I think it’s something readers here are likely to find useful. Remember how much everyone loved the Scrybe demo on YouTube? Well if you’re not the screen cast type, Amberjack could be a fast, easy way for you to set up a tour of your site.
You provide the URLs you want to include in your tour, select a skin for your narrative boxes and determine what all the button text and links will be for the interface. The tour wizard then provides a code snippet that you place in the template of your website and code for a button to launch the tour.
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Faced with new competitive challenges from Novell, Microsoft and Oracle, Linux seller Red Hat has begun promising protection against intellectual-property lawsuits.
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Cryoserver Ltd, the UK-headquartered email archiver, is in liquidation. The company was today clearing out of its London offices.
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"Heise Security has a report about new Proof of Concept virus for Mac entitled as OSX.Macarena by AV vendor Symantec. Symantec suffered from a slight lapse when it recommended in the first version of the virus description that users clean the system by deactivating the system restoration (Windows ME/XP). It is known that the virus infects other data in the folder in which it is started, regardless of extension, says Heise."
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SAN JOSE, Calif.--Light-emitting diodes will become economically attractive as replacements for conventional lightbulbs in about two years, a shift that could pave the way for massive electricity conservation, according to a researcher.
Right now, consumers and businesses can buy a light-emitting diode, or LED, that provides about the same level of illumination as an energy-hogging conventional 60-watt lightbulb, Steven DenBaars, a professor of material science at the University of California Santa Barbara, said at the SEMI NanoForum, taking place here this week. A principal advantage of the LED: It lasts about 100,000 hours, far longer than the conventional filament bulb
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The butler is dead, the name has been tweaked, but executives at Ask.com would like to remind the world that they are still very much in business.
In fact, they're actually doing pretty well these days.
"We certainly are the underdog. We're certainly living in a Google world," Ask.com Chief Executive Jim Lanzone said. "But Ask is anything but small compared to the rest of the Web. We're the fourth-ranked search engine and one of the top 10 Web properties."
Just this week, the portal Lycos announced that it had chosen Ask.com to replace Microsoft for its natural search listings and Google for sponsored listings.
"We selected Ask.com over other providers because of its great search technology and tools like Zoom-related search, which cannot be found on other engines," Lycos Chief Operating Officer Brian Kalinowski said in a statement on Wednesday.
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While slightly larger than the usual USBs, Chip Chick points out, the Pexagon Store-It portable USB 2.0 hard drives pack in a lot.
The 1.8-inch Store-It comes in a 60GB version for $199, or 20GB for $139, and the 2.5-inch Store-It comes in up to 120GB for $179. They all include an EZ-Touch One Button that instantly backs-up your stuff. The idea is that in age where more and more applications are tied to the Web, you no longer need to carry them with you.
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Leave it to a veteran technology reporter like the New York Times' John Markoff to start a conversation just right.
Leave it to a veteran technology reporter like the New York Times' John Markoff to start a conversation just right.
"So, it seems like we've gone past being the walking dead," Markoff noted, as he sat down last night with Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz at a Churchill Club event in Santa Clara.
"No offense taken," Schwartz replied.
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US Airforce will be guarding cyberspace with an ambitious plan to guard civilian and military networks with a new command led by the 8th Air Force. They will be going live in October 2008. For some reason all I can think of is isn't this the plot behind the Terminator films?
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PERSPECTIVE: The recording industry seems to be unable to know when to say when. Take for example the case of Patricia Santangelo: the White Plains, N.Y. mother of two was sued by the recording industry last year for downloading pirated music.
However, unlike many others who have cowered to the powers that be at RIAA, Patricia shocked the world when she refused to settle and pay a $7,500 fee to keep her name out of a lawsuit. Sensing it was losing the battle, the recording industry has now gone after her kids instead.
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Currently Internet Explorer controls the majority of the browser market share, but Firefox is gaining in slowly. Currently Firefox controls 9.95% market share in the U.S., 8.82% in the U.K., 9..86% in Spain, 12.46% in Italy, 14.89% in France, and 28.60% in Germany.
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"Well, BT 5.0 has been released as of today, Thursday, November 2, 2006. What's been fixed, added or replaced have not been added to the version notes on BT's official web site...but should be within the next few days or so. You can currently download version 5 from Major Geeks, as the version on download.com hasn't updated to 5 yet"
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Horrible Halloween picks for the ghastliest gizmos, scariest software and most terrifying technologies of the year.
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Gateway announced Thursday it cut approximately 5 percent of its work force as part of an initiative to reduce annual expenses by as much as $35 million.
The cuts, announced during Gateway's third-quarter earnings call with analysts, resulted in the elimination of approximately 100 positions this week, bringing the computer maker's work force down to roughly 1,700 employees.
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Fears that the UK would "sleep-walk into a surveillance society" have become a reality, the government's information commissioner has said.
Richard Thomas, who said he raised concerns two years ago, spoke after research found people's actions were increasingly being monitored.
Researchers highlight "dataveillance", the use of credit card, mobile phone and loyalty card information, and CCTV.
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I recently checked out a BlackBerry Pearl and after spending a few days with it I have to say I don't think people are choosing BlackBerry devices themselves as much as they are being assigned them by their companies. If people are choosing the device themselves, then I highly encourage them to check out the more capable Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile offerings and prepared to be blown away compared to the BlackBerry devices. Fellow Mobian, Steve Sande, must have been reading my mind and his new blog entry titled, BlackBerry - What’s All The Fuss?, practically mirrors all my same thoughts on the platform.
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Adware manufacturer Zango has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission in response to charges that it breached federal law by deceptively installing advertising software on consumers' PCs without a clear means of removal.
According to the terms of the settlement, announced Friday, Zango's principals--co-founders Keith Smith and Daniel Todd--must pay $3 million to cover illegally obtained profits. Additionally, the company must adhere to FTC regulations that bar it from loading programs onto customers' computers and monitoring them without their consent. The programs also must include a feature that allows customers to uninstall the software easily.
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Windows Vista brings with it a new era of DRM and restrictive license agreements that aren't going to sit well with even your basic power user (let alone the uber power users that regularly read this and other blogs at ZDNet!) and some are looking for an escape route. These changes are making some users question their commitment to Microsoft. The obvious step is to make the leap to Linux.
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We've talked a lot about episodic gaming here on the site, considering both the good and the bad. The concerns of users, and the words of gaming commentators, focus on the limitations of the format. "Don't break up a game just to charge us more for it" is the prevalent thinking. The 'march of progress' has allowed game companies to come up with plenty of new ways to get our money, so it's an understandable fear. Until last month, though, I had never considered the possibility that the very essence of the episodic game may allow us to reflect on the past as well as the future. In the latest and most dramatic of retro-gaming coups, Sam and Max have returned to the modern PC landscape. They're colourful, they're wry, and their antics are very, very funny. Read on for my impressions of this first episode in the new Sam and Max series, and why I have high hopes for their future wacky antics.
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Preview: The first iPod Shuffle was something of a surprise. Apple had already said it didn't think too much of Flash-based, low-capacity players, though that's just what the Shuffle was. It didn't even have a screen, unlike so many of its rivals, forcing many an observer to wonder who'd buy the thing. People did though, and the compact player proved remarkably popular...
Did Apple meet a need, or were consumer too awed by the iPod brand? Maybe a little of both, but mostly it hit the right price point. Whatever, the Shuffle found its niche. Even when Apple shipped a comparably capacious Nano, it couldn't bring itself to drop the Shuffle. Quite the reverse, it's since gone on to redesign it completely, this time focusing on getting the size down to pitch the product, true or not, as the world's smallest digital music player.
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Microsoft has restated its position on China following comments by one of its senior legal staff.
Earlier this week, Microsoft senior counsel Fred Tipson said concerns about repression in China might make it reconsider its presence there.
Mr Tipson was speaking at the first Internet Governance Forum held in Athens which debated many issues of internet policy.
But now Microsoft has said it is "committed" to staying in the country.
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Researchers have found that resveratrol--a molecule found in the skin of red grapes and therefore in red wine--can prolong the life span of obese mice. They report their findings in today's advanced online edition of Nature.
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Newts can regrow a limb. Some lizards can sprout new tails. Even humans can replace some damaged tissue in organs, such as the liver. But none can accomplish what the zebra fish, a common denizen of home aquariums, can do: regenerate their hearts. Biologists have long known about the zebra fish's cardiac ability, and now researchers think they have unlocked the secret of the process, which may provide essential clues for human heart repair.
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Oracle announced Friday it has acquired SPL WorldGroup, which will serve as a keystone to launch a global unit focused on utility companies.
SPL, based in San Francisco, develops software for the electric, gas and water industries to handles customer service and billing, mobile workforce needs, and the management of assets, distribution and outages.
"With the addition of SPL, Oracle plans to deliver the first end-to-end packaged revenue and operations management solution for investor-owned and public-sector utilities," Charles Phillips, Oracle's president, said in a statement.
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Red Hat moved quickly on Friday to pour cold water on fellow Linux software maker Novell's partnership with Microsoft.
It published a response on its Web site within hours of the agreement between Microsoft and Novell, proclaiming that the deal was a victory for Linux rather than just Novell. Red Hat also distanced itself from the possibility that it might strike a similar deal with Microsoft.
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Electronic Arts, the world's largest video game maker, on Friday announced the launch of EA Link, a digital distribution system.
The company said EA Link is designed to deliver secure downloads of some of its leading games, such as "Need for Speed: Carbon," "The Sims 2," "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth and dozens of others to PC owners.
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Music on one's mobile phone is nothing surprising: in fact, it is the entire principle of the upcoming iPhone. Downloading it for free is a different matter; both Verizon and Sprint's service directs to a proprietary store and charges up to $2.50 per song. Cingular plans on taking another route, having announced that they are gearing up to offer free music downloads to compatible phones. They hope to make up the difference through fees from the music subscription services for each new reference. The catch: a $15 per month fee.
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Apple has followed its initial Product Red 4GB iPod Nano with a second model that offers twice the song-storage capacity of the first one. The upshot: buyers now have two 8GB colours to choose from: black and red.
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As a follow-up to a previous discussion a judge in Spain has ruled that under Spanish law a person who downloads music for personal use can not be punished or branded a criminal. This seems to be a teeny bit clearer than the first article, which points out that downloading is a civil, and not criminal, offense for individuals. The Spanish recording industry federation Promusicae is predictably a bit peeved, and says it will appeal against the decision.
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"Someone by the name of "Brett" went all out to prove how hot the XBox 360 can really get. So hot, the heatsink boils water on contact, but not only that, it can make a delicious meal. Be warned though, this video may not be suitable for those with weak stomachs!"
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"This article analyzes Apple's negotiations with record companies and movie studios. It explains why Apple's preferences are aligned with those of consumers. Using a software model, it concludes that the iTunes Movie Store currently doesn't have the software/hardware lock-in that forced the music industry to agree to Apple's terms for the Music Store."
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"The bad news just keeps on coming for Blu-ray. First, Sony halved its U.S./Japanese launch shipments of its Blu-ray powered PlayStation 3, blaming a shortage of blue lasers. Then, in the last two weeks, both Sony and Pioneer delayed the releases of their new Blu-ray players, refusing to cite reasons. And this week, at Blu-ray backer LG's annual dealer show, a previously announced LG Blu-ray player was nowhere to be found. LG product development director Tim Alessi had this to say: 'we will provide an announcement when the time is right.'"
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Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey says using "shade cloth" over parts of the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland could protect it from the harmful effects of global warming.
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Christmas came a tad bit early for employees of Apple Computer this year, each of which received a new iPod shuffle digital music players with the company's compliments.
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A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research looks at the reasons behind intellectual property rights and suggests a new way forward: thinking about knowledge as a public resource first, and a private asset second. Is this idealistic, anti-business pinko blue-skying? The group says no, and we agree.
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America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.
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You'll be forgiven if you think Flushed Away sounds like something you've already seen.
Its story line -- pampered city animal finds himself in the wilderness, learns true meaning of friendship -- has been ludicrously recycled of late in movies like Madagascar, The Wild and Open Season. But this new cartoon from the U.K.'s Aardman Animations -- the company behind Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit -- has one substantial difference from those other movies: It doesn't suck. Better yet, it beats the competition at its own game, making us forgive even the use of fart jokes (which the Brits do better than anyone -- Chaucer and Shakespeare invented them, after all).
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The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday delayed for a third time a vote on whether to allow AT&T to acquire BellSouth--a postponement that's due to the commissioners' inability to agree on conditions of the deal.
The vote was scheduled for Friday during the commission's open meeting. But the agency sent a notice late Thursday removing the item from the agenda.
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The FBI plans on Friday to announce the arrest of at least 16 individuals in connection with a global cybercrime investigation.
More than 20 FBI offices participated in the probe into a series of phishing attacks against a "major financial institution" that occurred in 2004 between August and October, according to materials provided by the FBI ahead of the announcement. Agents conducted investigations inside the U.S. and other countries to identify a ring of identity thieves who were acquiring and trading stolen credit and debit card numbers through an online forum.
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Two years after opening its MSN Music store to compete with Apple Computer's iTunes, Microsoft plans to stop selling downloads from the site, CNET News.com has learned.
Beginning, Nov. 14, MSN's music site will begin redirecting music purchasers to either the Zune Marketplace Web site or to RealNetworks' Rhapsody site.
"After November 14, the 'Buy' buttons that you're used to seeing on MSN Music album and artist pages will change to links that connect you to Zune and to Real Rhapsody," MSN Entertainment general manager Rob Bennett said in an e-mail to MSN Music customers.
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Electronic Arts, the world's largest video game publisher, on Thursday posted a surprise quarterly net profit and said it now expects to be in the black for the full year.
The news sent the company's shares up 8 percent.
The introduction of popular sports games such as "Madden NFL 07" and "FIFA 07 Soccer" gave a big boost to sales, even as gamers await this month's release of new consoles from Nintendo and market leader Sony.
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Behind the making of the upcoming animated film "Happy Feet" is a tale of two film producers struggling to work together from different continents.
Like most global team efforts, the story features off-hour conference calls and a lot of e-mail trickling in overnight. But for a small digital-effects house like San Francisco's Giant Killer Robots, it also meant sending large, bandwith-hogging digital video files to the director's company, Animal Logic, in Sydney, Australia.
That's not an easy task when you're a little company that can't afford fiber-optic lines into the office. But if an innovative joint university-government project pans out, global movie-making teams like the one behind "Happy Feet"--due in theaters Nov. 17--could have an easier time getting their jobs done.
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PALO ALTO, Calif.--When it comes to wireless technology, Nokia is thinking small.
The Finnish handset maker has developed an offshoot of the popular Bluetooth wireless technology, dubbed Wibree, that utilizes radio waves over relatively short distances to connect devices like PCs, handsets and PDAs.
Wibree uses the same frequency band as Bluetooth and the same hardware, but uses less power to send small streams of information over short distances. As a result, the devices that will be capable of communicating wirelessly are getting smaller.
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Bill Watkins, CEO of Seagate Technology, vividly remembers his first staff meeting at the hard-drive maker back in the '90s.
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Oracle said on Thursday that it agreed to acquire document management software maker Stellent, through a cash tender offer for $13.50 a share, or about $440 million.
Stellent makes enterprise content management software used to maintain the electronic filing systems of organizations. It has 4,700 customers worldwide--including Procter & Gamble, Merrill Lynch, The Home Depot, ING, Vodafone and Bayer.
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Gateway, the third largest U.S. personal computer maker, on Thursday reported a 21 percent gain in quarterly profit, helped by a tax gain as the company released reserves set aside for an audit, according to Reuters.
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Researchers at a London teaching hospital have come up with a "clean" keyboard that could help in the fight against hospital bugs, including the one responsible for the deaths of hundreds of patients.
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is ready to begin installing the new keyboard on hospital wards. It is completely flat and easy to clean, and UCLH believes it can cut the infections spread by dirty keyboards. According to UCLH, research suggests the keyboard could cut cases of the killer MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) bug by up to 10 percent.
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