Yes, push aside "communications" as the major of choice for the attention deficit social web crowd, your son/daughter will now go to MIT for "Web Science". "Computer science is at a turning point, and it has to go beyond algorithms and understand the social dynamics of issues like trust, responsibility, empathy and privacy," a professor said.
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Recently, pierceive.com, the home of the Firefox extension that updates Adblock filters, went offline. The author has recently updated with information saying that his host thought he was suffering a DDoS due to the success of Filterset.G, and recommended he find a new hosting solution.
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Nick Manley writes: "I turned 17 back in August and have been fascinated with technology my entire life. I have a special interest in software and computer programming. I am really hoping to find a job, or at least an internship, where I can learn more about my field and expand my knowledge of software development. Does anyone have recommendations for someone like myself, without any college education, for ways to get a head start on my career? Preferably, one that doesn't include selling iPods to kids at Best Buy."
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Checking around the Web this weekend, there are a couple of reports — unconfirmed by Microsoft officials, as far as I can tell — that Office 2007 was released to manufacturing some time after Friday evening, and that Vista is set to RTM on November 8.
ActiveWin is reporting that Vista will go to PC makers on November 8, and that those vendors will be able to start shipping to volume-license business customers starting November 18.
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GoNintendo has just posted their own MASSIVE review of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii, from the graphics to how the controls work. If you know the website, you know that they are the best in the buisness and this is not a review you want to miss!
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Tyler Stoken was a well-behaved fourth grader who enjoyed school, earned A ’s and B’s and performed well on standardized tests. So why was he suspended for a week after refusing to answer a question on the Washington State Assessment of Student Learning Exam?
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"Microsoft has delayed the automatic install of IE 7 in Japan. There's an an interesting response in one of the MSDN blogs. IT pros are saying that they have done this because business users asked it to be delayed. It seems to me many business users here in North America wanted it to be delayed as well, but were forced to scramble and deploy IE 7 blocking software. This looks like more proof that the IE 7 automatic push was more for marketing reasons, than security. If it were a security issue, than why wait on the Japanese push?"
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Zamzar, a free online file conversion tool, launched last week. Like a similar tool, Media Convert, Zamzar allows users to upload a file and have it converted into a number of formats.
Common uses for Zamzar include converting PDF documents to Word, iTunes AAC files to MP3, and Flash (flv) files to MP4 for iPod use. Up to five files can be converted simultaneously. The process takes a few minutes - Zamzar emails a link to the converted file when it is done. It worked well in our testing. Note, however, that Zamzar does is not able to convert DRM’d files. The maximum file size is 100 MB, but there are no limits on the number of files converted.
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A machine has been invented to encourage children to work out while they are playing computer games.
The Step2Play step exercise machine links directly to a child's computer games console.
The game's controller will only work if the child keeps up a constant pre-set rate of exercise.
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Glasgow is getting an Apple store, the company's first Scottish store and one in the eye for Edinburgh, Glasgow's east coast rival.
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Although famous for its direct sales model Dell has always sold a fair amount of kit through the channel - dealers and systems integrators.
But not anymore. Dell will no longer discount bulk orders of Inspiron or Dimension machines. In fact it won't support any reseller who is selling to consumers.
This just over a year since Dell was actively wooing resellers.
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Skype, the popular VoIP service, has been having technical difficulties with its SkypeIn service which enables Skype users to have a real phone number and receive normal phone calls through their Skype service.
Users report that only a small proportion of calls to UK numbers are getting through, with voice mail failing and some users not receiving any calls at all.
The problem seems to have surfaced in the middle of October, but has been getting steadily worse since, and is now so bad that Skype is mailing those who complain to apologise and promise compensation. But with business customers reporting lost clients, and personal users missing out on contacts, it seems unlikely that Skype will be able to satisfy many of the affected users.
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The furls of gas that billow from smokestacks on power plants and other heavy industries are a visible source of the greenhouse gas emissions warming our world. But the economy is filled with invisible releases of carbon dioxide and other climate-change-inducing gases that lurk behind everyday products and services. New research shows that the service sector--such as banking, hospitals, computers and retail stores, among other businesses--is responsible for more than one third of industrial greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
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A gene called auf1 seems to protect against septic shock in mice, a new study finds. Animals lacking the gene were more likely to undergo shock, suggesting that the gene helps keep the immune system's response to infections in check. Researchers hope to discover whether different forms of auf1 and related genes make people more likely to suffer autoimmune disease or life-threatening reactions to infections such as anthrax or flu.
Infectious organisms trip specialized immune cells in the body and cause them to pump out proteins called cytokines, which produce inflammation and other hallmarks of infection, such as chills and fever. The body must carefully regulate its cytokine response, however, because "if it isn't turned off it can lead to septic shock and rapid death," says microbiologist Robert Schneider of New York University. Septic shock, which causes 9 percent of deaths in the U.S. each year, occurs when the immune reaction to a bacterial infection grows out of control, shutting down organs and sending blood pressure plummeting. Researchers think similar effects contribute to death from anthrax and pandemic flu.
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It's official: Google over Yahoo, 2 to 1. Google is deemed to celebrate Halloween better than Yahoo. In a direct, logo to logo competition, Google's homepage Halloween design was favored by discriminating ZDNet readers over Yahoo's homepage Halloween design, with more than 500 votes tallied at this Digital Micro-Markets Blog!
Check out the competing logos at "Yahoo vs. Google: You decide!"
Google has not been given a resounding thumbs-up, however, for other designs which have surfaced at its homepage.
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"New Macbook Pro Benchmarks are now available. From the article: 'Like the iMac before it, Apple's MacBook Pro underwent an upgrade highlighted by a chip swap — the Core Duo processor that used to power Apple's pro laptop is gone, replaced by the next-generation Core 2 Duo. And as with our iMac benchmarks, these updated Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro models show a modest performance gain when compared to older systems running on Core Duo chips with the same clock speeds.' As expected, the new 15-inch Intel Dual Core 2 (2.33Ghz/2GB RAM) is the new king of Apple portables, with results for the 17-inch model still pending."
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Last week, I began a countdown of the ten reasons Linux and BSD are far superior to Windows. I received a huge response to the first installment, so without further delay, here's the final four reasons and my official response to some of the comments and criticisms I've received.
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Interview with Sony that addresses issues about transfers and codecs on Blu-ray disc also an explanation of Blu-wizard
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—Computers may be the last thing left on the shelves this holiday season as the delayed release of Microsoft's Vista operating system, laptop battery recalls and other challenges dent U.S. sales, analysts said.
Personal computer makers, such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., usually count on the year-end consumer spending spree to boost revenue, but this year, a number of factors are combining to dampen the holiday cheer.
Declining U.S. home prices and slowing economic growth are tightening purse strings just as PC makers hope consumers will spend more for advanced processors, memory, monitors and disk drives to take advantage of new features in Vista, set for release in January, analysts said.
A worldwide recall of nearly 10 million battery cells used in notebook PCs sold by Dell, Apple Computer Inc., Toshiba Corp. and others has led to shortages and potential shipment delays. The battery cells, made by Sony Corp., were at risk of overheating.
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The Wi-Fi Alliance announced Oct. 31 that Americans like their Wi-Fi more than they like Starbucks.
The organization, reporting on a study it carried out with Kelton Research, uncovered a number of interesting facts about U.S. Wi-Fi users. For example, 89 percent of the 549 American Wi-Fi users surveyed said they would do without Starbucks rather than give up Wi-Fi.
However, that choice shouldn't be necessary, since most Starbucks coffee shops feature T-Mobile HotSpots.
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IT certifications are worth less than ever, and the value of non-certified technology skills has surged, according to the third-quarter edition of the "Hot Technical Skills and Certifications Pay Index" from Foote Partners, a New Canaan, Conn., IT workforce research firm, on Nov. 1.
"Certified skills pay has not just flat lined, it's in the negative. This is big news if you're certified and you're thinking about getting recertified," said Foote.
"This trend is in the fourth quarter, that pay for certifications is on the wane, while non-certified skills are growing in pay."
The most comprehensive survey ever about U.S. steps to the next-generation Internet finds worry, and an eagerness to move forward, says Fortune's David Kirkpatrick.
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The global warming effect could trim about $7,000 billion to the global economy if nothing is done about it (check here for details). A University of Arizona professor thinks he has a solution if we don't act fast enough to develop renewable sources of energy. He wants to reduce the temperature on Earth by building a massive space sunshade made of — hold your breath — 20,000 billions of very small spacecraft weighing about a gram and orbiting a million miles above our heads. This plan would cost $100 billion per year and would be deployed over a period of 25 years. Is this a joke? Not at all, but read more about this project.
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Is Kevin Rose “snubbing” the very diggers that digg for the sake of Digg?
“Powerful Digg users,” believe they are “no longer wanted” and their labors of Digg love are “no longer appreciated” by Rose’s Digg, so says Michael Arrington.
What is the basis for restiveness among the Digg “elite”? Arrington questions Rose’s latest algorithm reformulation.
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Comment: Right at the end of OSCon in September, I got the opportunity to harangue Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth about the support vacuum distros such as his create. He didn't have an answer. OK, I was putting him on the spot, but I don't think he'd have done much better if he'd had notice of the question. Frankly, I don't think there is an answer.
So what's the problem? We at Apache know our own software, and are prepared to support it in fora such as the Apache Users mailinglist, and the #apache IRC channel.
Among the diverse issues we have to deal with are the many users who have installed Apache from a third party package. Many of these packages are rearranged so as to be essentially unrecognisable; and in particular, some packagers have very bizarre ideas about how to organise Apache's configuration files. That makes it hard, sometimes impossible, to support the end-users: we may be talking completely at cross-purposes. And for a change, the worst problem is not with Windows packages, nor with commercial Apache packagers like IBM and Oracle (for which, at worst, we can disclaim all responsibility), but with Linux distros. By far the biggest offender, in terms of the support headache it throws on us, is the Debian family, notably Debian itself and its near-clone Ubuntu.
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Last week, the BBC Horizon's science show drew exclusively on New Age cranks for a programme entitled "Human v2.0". We thought it may have been made by a cult - but you were even less impressed. A new low for the BBC, or a part of a trend...or both?
Here's what you think of the "singularity" special - and the corporation's treatment of science in recent years. Along with the creepy pedo stills from the "show":
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The publisher of "America's newspaper" is turning to America to get its news.
According to internal documents provided to Wired News and interviews with key executives, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will begin crowdsourcing many of its newsgathering functions. Starting Friday, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened "information centers," and instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like "data," "digital" and "community conversation."
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"The card does not launch for another week, but DailyTech already has benchmarks of the new GeForce 8800GTX on it's website. The new card is the flagship GPU to replace GeForce 7900, and according to the benchmarks has no problem embarrassing the Radeon X1950 XTX either. According to the article, 'The GeForce 8800GTX used for testing is equipped with 768MB of GDDR3 video memory on a 384-bit memory bus as previously reported. Core and memory clocks are set at 575 MHz and 900 MHz respectively.'"
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"As reported by Wikipedia's Signpost ezine, 'The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees has moved forward with a step in restructuring the organization by reorganizing itself. Following a planning retreat in Frankfurt, Jimmy Wales stepped down as Chair of the board, and Florence Nibart-Devouard was chosen to replace him ... Wales, meanwhile, will continue to serve on the board and assume the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus. He will remain active in Wikimedia projects, but chose to pass on the responsibility of heading the board, due in part to his commitments to outside projects.'"
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"Jay Beale, of Bastille Linux fame, has written a hacking puzzle short story based on Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It's called Hitch-hackers Guide to the Galaxy. The short story is pretty funny and the puzzle lets you have some quick fun with web hacking. There are prizes for best technical answer and most creative (while technically correct) answer."
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"The BBC has an article on online bullying in South Korea. The problem has grown so large that in addition to the police having dedicated cyber terror units, the South Korean government will enact a law next year forcing South Koreans to reveal their name and ID before posting online. However some ISPs want the government to go further and to ban some people from being able to log onto the internet at all."
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"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has proposed a system which will in essence make it mandatory for you to have permission before leaving or entering the country, effectively putting everyone on a no-fly list unless the government says otherwise. Interestingly, the proposal does not seem to cover personal travel, only that on some sort of carrier like an airline or cruise vessel. While this certainly is concerning, it isn't exactly new, as a passport is already required for circumstances covered under the proposal."
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Toronto's excellent Free Software and Open Source Symposium has posted the audio from its talks. Organizer Bob Boyczuk sez, "There's some pretty cool stuff, including keynotes by Shaver, by Marcel Gagne (who explained why we suck at promoting open source), and by Nat Friedman (who made a case for the OED being an early open source project, then somehow managed to segue into a demo of Novell's cool new SLED 10 desktop - not sure how he did that, but it was seamless at the time). There's a whole bunch of other talks by a variety of people on a variety of interesting open source and open content and licensing issues, including EFF's Ren Bucholz's talk on the 'Next Generation DRM Systems and the Shadowy International Organizations Who Love Them,' and Chris Blizzard's talk on OLPC. And the list goes on and on. All of this is available in divx and mp3 (later today) formats, and under a CC license."
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French researchers have resurrected the "Phoenix virus," a "fossil virus" that lay dormant in the human genome. The retrovirus infected our ancestors millions of years ago, and is apparently still infectious in its new revivified form.
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Korea -- famed as a kind of net.paradise where the DSL runs to 100 megabits and penetrates every home -- has pioneered a darker Internet phenomenon: a wholesale breach of net neutrality by a cablemodem company owned by LG.
The ISP in question runs a broadband video service that is being creamed by a competing Internet service. In order to "compete" better with the winning player, they simply cut off access to it for their customers, saying "IPTV is a broadcasting, not a telecommunications service."
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The spectre of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programs to master atomic technology. The countries involved were named by the International Atomic Energy Agency as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and the UAE have also shown interest.
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Interview: Few people know the music industry better than Peter Jenner. Pink Floyd's first manager, who subsequently managed Syd Barrett's solo career, Jenner has also looked after T.Rex, The Clash, Ian Dury, Disposable Heroes and Billy Bragg - who he manages today. He's also secretary general of the International Music Managers Forum.
And he doesn't pull his punches.
The major four music labels today are "fucked", he says. Digital music pricing has been a scam where the consumer pays for manufacturing, distribution, and does all the work - and still has to pay more. Labels should outsource everything except finance and licensing.
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A select few game sites were invited to play Zelda on the Wii for 48 hours. At least 3 accounts have just been posted, and as IGN writes: "there is simply no way that the adventure will remembered as anything but a masterful classic and quite possibly the best launch title in the history of the business". Check the first comment for the rest.
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Netscape, the five month-old Digg-clone experiment, is testing out two alternate home page designs with users in an attempt to increase the popularity of little-used topical categories.
I spoke with Jason Calacanis, who runs the Netscape property, earlier this evening about the tests. He said that Netscape is seeing heavy usage in the technology and politics categories, but the remaining 31 channels, ranging from Books to Women, are seeing less user news submissions and participation. Since the Netscape home page reflects the most popular stories from all categories at any given time, it is currently very heavily weighted towards tech and politics stories. This focus creates a self propogating system that continues to promote what is already popular.
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CNet's top 10 reviews of the week, taking a look at computer hardware, gadgets and more.
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Russians release a Task Manager for 64-bit VMs
With VMware's fully 64-bit versions of ESX Server and VirtualCenter gaining ground fast - and VMworld in Los Angeles just a weekend away - Russian software outfit Veeam said it has ported its VMware monitoring software to 64-bit Windows.
The new version of Veeam Monitor can keep track of any 64-bit guest operating system running on VMware, whether Windows, Linux or Solaris. It provides administrators with CPU, memory, disk, pagefile and I/O performance data per virtual machine, according to Veeam's Maxim Ivanov.
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