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Russian hackers jam traffic with porn video

MissMuffet — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:07:04 GMT

Drivers in the Russian capital, Moscow, were given an unexpected show courtesy of a 30-by-20 foot electronic highway billboard when an explicit pornographic video was played for nearly twenty minutes in place of the paid advertisement clips that are usually shown. The incident happened near the entrance into Serpukovskiy tunnel on Sadovoe Ring Road, about 2 kilometers south of the Kremlin.

"Within three minutes we found it out, and within fifteen minutes the screen was shut off," the deputy head of the Moscow city advertising committee, Alexander Menchuk, said in a statement to Interfax. A passerby told the Associated Press that she was "so shocked that I couldn't even shoot video or take a picture of it."

The display screen's owner, the Three Stars Advertising Agency of Panno.ru, said that computer hackers attempting to execute a practical joke were likely to blame. Viktor Laptev, commercial director for the firm said, "They were either acting out of hooliganism or were from a rival company."

Although a city official has been quoted as telling local media that Moscow would increase security of data transmission in light of what happened, local police say they have yet to receive a single complaint about the incident, and thereby have not opened an investigation. Nudity on television is officially banned in Russia.

Two arrests at Liverpool airport after attempt to smuggle corpse onto flight

MissMuffet — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:04:59 GMT

Anke Anusic, age 44, and her mother Gitta, age 66, were arrested at Liverpool John Lennon Airport last Saturday for attempting to smuggle the body of their deceased 91-year-old relative, "Willi" Curt Jaran, on a flight to Berlin, Germany.
The women tried to take the body on to the plane in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses, and they claimed that the person was asleep. They had previously used a taxi to bring the corpse from their home in Oldham.

The deception was discovered by check-in staff; both airport staff and the taxi driver are said to be upset by the events. Though they have not explained their actions, the costs of transporting a body can be several thousand pounds. They have been arrested on suspicion of failing to report a death. Both women are German nationals.

The two women, however, claim that Mr Jaran was alive until check in.

Daily News (Tech) Some Foundations: Variables and stuff

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:55:34 GMT

In some of the earlier tutorials I�ve been using variables without actually explaining what they are. Strict Python-Zen: within Python there are no variables everything is an object*. On the assumption that that is too abstract for you, I will explain it a different way, through the use of containers (like trays and buckets) which, if I�m lucky, will preserve at least a little bit of the Python-Zen.

Variables allow you to be flexible. They are a way of storing something in the computer, much like having a bucket for putting your Lego in. If you need to go do some chores and just drop your toys, you might not be able to find them again later � or if your parents clean up the toys might get thrown out in the course of garbage collection. If, instead, you get a plastic bucket out and put them in there, you can rest safe in the knowledge that they�ll be there later after you finish your chores. Variables are a bit similar. They�re somewhere that you can put data that the program is using and label it for future reference. Just like a bucket with the word �My Toys� on the side, you know that, assuming you put it in there earlier, your toys will be in there next time you look.

Indeed, the name you put on the outside of the bucket doesn�t really affect what you put in it. You could have the words �toy cars� on a bucket and yet put all your trading cards in there instead. The point is that the bucket is a safe place to keep your toys. Variables are a safe place to keep the program�s data.

When you do something like this:

a = 1

It is like putting 1 into a bucket marked a. You can call variables almost anything � their name can�t contain spaces and can�t start with a number. There are different conventions used to name things which really should have spaces in them, typically by capitalising a letter:

>>> 2a = 1
File "", line 1
2a = 1
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>> a b = 1
File "", line 1
a b = 1
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>> myToys = 1
>>> myToys
1
>>> mytoys = 2
>>> mytoys
2
>>> myToys
1
>>>

There are a couple of things happening here that I want you to notice. First up are some examples of names which don�t work. These are 2a (starts with a number) and a b (has a space). Second I�ve shown another variable name which has a capital in the middle of it (myToys). Do you see how the middle capital helps you to betterUnderstandWhereTheWordsAreSupposedToBeSplit? � that is hard to read, but not as hard as betterunderstandwherethewordsaresupposedtobesplit. I�ve also shown you another variable name with no capitals in it (mytoys). Can you see that myToys and mytoys are different buckets? If you put something in the myToys bucket, you won�t find it in the mytoys bucket and vice versa. Variable names are said to be �case senstive�, because whether you use upper case or lower case matters.

Also, you can�t give variables names which are the same as words in the Python language:

>>> for = 1
File "", line 1
for = 1
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>> if = 1
File "", line 1
if = 1
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>> while = 1
File "", line 1
while = 1
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>>

With buckets you can put different toys in them at different times. A bucket marked �Cars� might have cars in, or equally it might have some other collection of stuff in it. The bucket itself doesn�t have a character. It just holds things. So, you can put different �types� into a bucket without causing any ruckus:

>>> a = 1
>>> a
1
>>> a = 'hi there'
>>> a
'hi there'
>>>

In this example, we first put a number (1) into a. Then we put a string (�hi there�) into it. In some programming languages this causes a problem, but it doesn�t bother Python.

Finally, I should demonstrate to you that the variable stores the data:

>>> a = 'This is some data. Will it still be here at the end of the program?'
>>> for i in range(5):
... print 'doing stuff, time number ',i
...
doing stuff, time number 0
doing stuff, time number 1
doing stuff, time number 2
doing stuff, time number 3
doing stuff, time number 4
>>> a
'This is some data. Will it still be here at the end of the program?'

The program first put data into a, then did some stuff, then saw that the data was still there, just as we�d expected. Buckets and other containers play a vital role in keeping your room, the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the bathroom, the library, the sun room, the garage, the front yard, the back yard, the attic, the space in our bedroom that you sometimes seem to think is yours, that area beside the stairs, and the family room clean of your toys (which seem to have a life of their own in the way they spread themselves around the floor). So too, variables are extremely useful and play a fundamental role in all Python programs other than the most most basic.

* In Python, variables are actually references to objects. They are an index telling the computer where in storage to find an object. This is why you can change the �type� of the thing being �held� by a variable because it�s not really holding anything, it�s just pointing somewhere, and you can change what it�s pointing at.

http://python4kids.wordpress.com/201...les-and-stuff/

Daily News (Tech) Improved Calculator App in Ubuntu 10.10

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:48:10 GMT

Today we are proud to introduce you guys to the revamped calculator application that will be part of the upcoming GNOME 3.0.0 desktop environment and Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) operating system. The application is called GCalctool and it's a powerful utility that can be used to solve simple and
mid-level mathematical problems. Compared to the calculator found in the Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) distribution, the new version of GCalctool has a redesigned user interface and brings support for complex arithmetics, complex trigonometry, additional functions (Integer and Fractional Component, Round, Floor, Ceiling and Sign) to the advanced mode, currency conversion and many more.

Most of the new changes in GCalctool were added when the development for version 5.31.x started. Among these we can mention, faster startup times, unification of the scientific mode with the advanced one, color buttons, new layout of the buttons, answer is shown in bold, reimplemented redo and undo functions, and lots of other small modifications, and bug fixes.

Below you can see some screenshots we took of the new GCalctool 2.31.5, present in the Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 2 operating system...

On October 10th, 2010, Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) will become the thirteenth release of the Ubuntu operating system. Maverick Meerkat will be light and fast! Make sure that you visit our website regularly, for more news about the upcoming release of the Ubuntu 10.10 operating system. Alpha 3 will be available in three weeks, on Thursday, August 5th.

About Ubuntu:

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Impro...0-147637.shtml

Daily News (Tech) Linux Phones To Dominate Mobile Market

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:44:43 GMT

With Google's Android platform and its Chrome OS leading the way, Linux-enabled mobile devices are expected to account for 62% of the operating systems on non-smartphone mobile devices by 2015, according to a market research report released Wednesday.

ABI Research made the prediction based largely on the growing momentum of Linux-based mobile phones currently reaching the marketplace.

"The number of Linux-oriented initiatives recently seen in the mobile industry indicates that Linux will be a key technology in the next generation of netbooks, media tablets, and other mobile devices," said senior analyst Victoria Fodale in a statement.

The mobile phone marketplace may look scattered, she indicated, but most mobile devices are actually unified by Linux and its upstream components, particularly the Linux kernel, which enables most providers to share the cost of research and development.

Their final consumer offerings, of course, are differentiated by the providers individual application and OS environments including Google's Android platform and Chrome OS, Intel-Nokia's MeeGo and Palm's webOS.

Conspicuous by its absence is Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS which use their own proprietary operating systems.

The lineup of Linux-based phones includes several from the LiMo Foundation, which to date hasn't made a major impact in the market. However, more LiMo handsets are likely to appear in accelerating numbers as more and more members introduce their phones. The LiMo foundation offers a modular platform that is plug-in-based and hardware-independent while built around Linux software. The food chain ranges all the way from chipsets to third-party software developers.

ABI Research noted that it has prepared a separate report on smartphones using Linux.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=225800196

Daily News (Tech) Clementine: A triumph of Free Software

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:41:14 GMT

Ages ago, in the long-forgotten days of 2008, there was Amarok 1.4. And it was good. Then KDE4 came along and Amarok was rewritten, reshaped, becoming something... different. Something unsettling. Something not altogether pleasant.

Fear not. Today we have Clementine.

I consider Clementine a triumph of Free Software. A great project fell off the rails, so someone else picked up the pieces, forked it and kept the spirit alive.
Features present

Clementine embodies everything good about Amarok 1.4, in a shiny Qt4 package. The layout is eminently pleasant to use. It uses the classic "spreadsheet" playlist view that saw so much success in Amarok 1.4. If you care about cramming as much information about your music as possible onto the screen, this is as good as it gets. It's boring, and that's a good thing. It gets the job done.

Like Amaork, 1.4, in Clementine you can very quickly drill into your music collection, filter it, view recently added tracks, group songs by artist or album or year or genre or a combination of those things. Clementine also handles all of the edge cases correctly: it lists albums with Various Artists exactly how I'd want (exactly like Amarok 1.4). It correctly handles songs with non-Latin tag text.

Clementine detects additions and changes to my music collection instantly, without the massive scan-lags on startup that plague some other music players. Clementine doesn't bat an eye at my 7,000 song collection. There's no MySQL integration, but I don't need it. Clementine's SQLite backend supposedly handles 300k songs without much problem, which is good enough for me.

Clementine has Last.FM integration. It has three different styles of desktop notification. It has visualizations. It handles USB devices. It understands reply gain. It has cross-fading. It has an equalizer. It has a transcoder. It has a cover manager.

I'm tired of listing features. Let's just say it has every useful feature you'd ever want. And if you don't need a feature, it stays out of your way.

And for a program under such active development, it's rock solid. I have yet to see a crash. And speaking of active development, if you follow the activity in Clementine's SVN repo, you will find that this program is updated almost daily. How the devs find the time, I don't know, but I'm grateful. This program has gone from non-existent to awesome in record time.

Clementine can use gstreamer, so it even works cross-platform. I fired it up on Windows 7 the other day and I was amazed at how good it looked and felt. It supposedly also works on OS X.

Clementine doesn't cook your breakfast for you, but that might be in the works.
How to make a good UI

A perfect example of the polish of Clementine's UI: Tagging. How do you tag a whole album worth of music at once? You can select some songs and right click and go into a dialog, like most music players allow.

Or:

1. Edit a tag for a single song (inline) by clicking the field. Let's say you edit Artist.
2. Select multiple songs in your playlist. (Click and drag, CTRL-click, Shift-click, CTRL-A, whatever.)
3. Right click the Artist tag in the song you edited, select Set Artist to "XXXXX", and now all the songs you selected will be updated.

.
This is the kind of UI innovation that I like. It's simple, it's useful, and it's predictable. You can get things done without going through dialog windows, without a million clicks, without spending a minute scratching your head figuring things out.

(Meanwhile Amarok 2 is busy getting rid of the Stop button and making the volume control circular.)
Features missing

Admittedly, Clementine is missing a couple of features I wouldn't mind having. You can't skin or theme Clementine. You can't rate songs. You can't display song lyrics. You can't "queue" songs. But oh well. I can live without these features because the rest of the program is so darned good. For all I know, these features might pop up next week. I wouldn't be surprised.

The Clementine devs seem to be very friendly and responsive to feature requests and feedback, which is also great.

Clementine is also missing a few features/bloat that I'm glad to see NOT ported from Amarok. Wikipedia integration? Good riddance.
I would pay money for this program.

In November 2009 I had this to say:

(Anyone out there reading this, if you port Amarok 1.4 to Qt4 intact, I will pay you. Seriously. I will pay you money.)

The offer still stands. I will pay money for Clementine. I'm still waiting for a Donate link so I can do so. (Clementine devs, are you reading this?)

Why do I care about this so much? Because I have music playing whenever I'm using this computer, and when you add up work plus free time, I'm at this computer 8-10 hours per day. Music keeps me sane during multi-hour debug sessions. Music is an integral part of my life, and a music app is an integral part of playing music.

It's very important to me that the programs and tools I use all day are comfortable. Otherwise I become cranky. If you were a carpenter, would you want to use a hammer with a wobbly handle all day? I'm a programmer, and I want to use comfortable computer programs.

Clementine is very comfortable.

http://briancarper.net/blog/553/clem...-free-software

Daily News (Tech) PowerColor Announces Radeon HD 5770 Vortex Edition

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:36:04 GMT

PowerColor announced today its first video card equipped with the Vortex cooler, which allows the user to manually adjust the fan and make it rise a bit in order get a better airflow. According to the manufacturer, the Vortex cooler can cool down the temperature of the video card up to 15 �C when compared to the stock cooler. The card in question, dubbed PCS+ HD5770 Vortex Edition, is a factory-overclocked model. It works internally at 900 MHz (5.88% above stock clock of 850 MHz), has 1 GB GDDR5 accessed at 4.9 GHz QDR (2.08% above stock clock of 4.8 GHz QDR), and comes with DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort connectors. If you buy this card you�ll also get a coupon for free download of the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The PowerColor PCS+ HD5770 Vortex edition will be available on July 28th.

More Info: http://www.powercolor.com/global/News.asp?id=1039

Daily News (Tech) Hybrid WiGig-Wi-Fi Chip Planned by Atheros, Wilocity

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:32:45 GMT

Atheros and Wilocity, which represent the Wi-Fi and 60-GHz wireless HDMI camps, have agreed to work together to develop hybrid "tri-band" chipsets.

The two companies could develop their first product samples by early 2011, and ship them later that year, said Tal Tamir, chief executive of Wilocity, in an interview.

To date, Wi-Fi and the wireless multimedia technologies such as WirelessHD, WiGig, and others have been in quasi-competition with one another, as both vie to be the home's main wireless network technology. The battleground has been the living room, with the eventual elimination of the HDMI cable that currently serves as the transport mechanism for encrypted multimedia data.

But the path toward the Atheros and Wilocity partnership follows a partnership struck between the WiGig Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance in May, with each specification pledging to interoperate with the other over the long term.

"The basic idea in developing a triband solution is to kind of enjoy both worlds: the coverage and performance of 802.11n, and the uncompromised performance of 60-GHz," Tamir said.

Although the WiGig technology claims to have ranges beyond ten meters, the technology still can't quite match the coverage of 802.11n, roughly 70 meters (230 feet) indoors. Likewise, even the 150-Mbps maximum throughput 802.11n allows can't compete with the 7-Gbps throughput the WiGig specification defines.

Tamir also said that Wilocity is developing a low-power version its WiGig technology to allow it to be integrated into mobile devices.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2366460,00.asp

Technology News- Google Revenue, Profits Up From Last Year

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:31:15 GMT

Google revenue for the second quarter increased 24 percent from last year, while profits were up slightly year-over-year but down from the first quarter.

Google on Thursday reported revenue of $6.82 billion for the second quarter, up 24 percent from the same time period last year, and up from $6.77 billion last quarter.

Profits, meanwhile, jumped to $1.84 billion from $1.48 billion during the same time period last year, but they were down from the $1.96 billion in profits recorded during the first quarter of this year.

"Google had a strong second quarter," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a statement. "Solid growth in our core business and very strong growth in our emerging businesses drove 24 percent revenue growth year over year. We saw strength in every major product area, as more and more traditional brand advertisers embraced search advertising and as large advertisers increasingly ran integrated campaigns across search, display, and mobile. We feel confident about our future, and plan to continue to invest aggressively in our core areas of strategic focus."

Google-owned sites accounted for 66 percent of total revenues with $4.5 billion. This is a 23 percent increase from the same time period last year, and a slight increase from last quarter's $4.44 billion total.

Google partner sites, meanwhile, generated $2.06 billion via AdSense, a 30 percent increase from last year, and up slightly from the $2.04 billion earned last revenue.

Google has added more than 1,000 new employees globally since March 31 for a total of 21,805 full-time staffers.

The company also said it has $30.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term marketable securities on hand, up from $26.5 billion on March 31.

About 300 of those new hires came from the companies Google acquired during the quarter. The remaining new employees were primarily in engineering and sales, with a focus on search, Android, applications, and display.

"For us, the recession is over," said Patrick Pichette, chief financial officer. It therefore makes sense to "fuel this eco-system" around search, mobile, and display. "That's why we're investing aggressively."

When it comes to Google's recent acquisitions, the company has looked at companies from the perspective of talent, intellectual property, and price, Pichette said.

"We have debates about it � and we often say no" to certain companies, he said.

Executives said that Android search grew 300 percent in the first half of 2010.

The most popular application on smartphones is the browser, and people are using the browser to search, which is the "formula for how Google succeeds," said Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president of product management for Google.

The Android market now has 70,000 apps, up from 30,000 in April.

When asked how Android might compare to Chrome OS, Rosenberg said it's still too early to tell. "We're mostly focused on Android, on building out the platform, on getting more smartphones out, and on the Chrome side, it's still too early to say."

Google declined to talk about YouTube's profitability, except to say that with two billion views per day, the video Web site is a "great business for us."

Google said it spent $100 million defending itself against Viacom, a case on which it recently prevailed. Viacom is appealing, so Pichette declined to comment too much on the specifics, but he did say that the ruling has given YouTube "more clarity."

"It gives us more room for experimentation," he said, pointing to the recent Old Spice YouTube campaign as an "absolutely phenomenal" way advertisers can leverage the site.

When asked about the current situation in China, Nikesh Arora, president of global sales operations and business development, said that given the "sensitivities" involved in the situation, "I hope you understand why I don't want to talk more about it."

Arora did stress, however, that from a financial standpoint, China is not material to Google's revenue, though Google had "decent" revenue in the region for the second quarter.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2366559,00.asp

News (Global) AMD to Pull In 'Fusion' Ship Date

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:29:54 GMT

Advanced Micro Devices reported a small net loss for its second quarter, although the chipmaker saw revenues increase both sequentially and compared to a year ago.

AMD also said that it would pull in shipments of its "Ontario" accelerated processing unit (APU), the first of its "Fusion" hybrid of graphics cores and CPUs. Ontario, a lower-power APU designed for small-form-factor devices combining two "Bobcat" cores and a DirectX 11 GPU, will ship during the fourth quarter, with first system shipments expected during the first quarter of 2010.

"It's a game-changer that significantly expands the market," said Dirk Meyer, AMD's chief executive officer.

AMD will swap the production priority of its APUs, however, relegating "Llano," the more mainstream version of the Fusion line, to a 2010 launch.

AMD executives began setting the stage for Fusion and its related CPU cores (based on the "Bulldozer" platform) in its conference call, but also celebrated the company's current success as well. The only down note? AMD's graphics business did so well that the company couldn't keep up with demand, a trend that will diminish over the subsequent quarters, Meyer said. But for now, AMD prioritized OEM customers, and left the add-on board business somewhat wanting.

For the second quarter, AMD reported a net loss of $43 million on record revenue of $1.65 billion. AMD reported a net loss of $330 million on revenue of $1.18 billion for the same period a year ago.

AMD reported operating income of $125 million.

"Robust demand for our latest mobile platforms and solid execution drove record second quarter revenue and a healthy gross margin," said Dirk Meyer, AMD's president and chief executive. "Our unmatched combination of microprocessor and graphics capabilities resulted in customers launching a record number of new mobile and desktop platforms. We added Sony as a microprocessor customer and continue to see our existing customers expand their AMD-based platform offerings."

AMD reported a 4 percent sequential revenue increase in its Computing Solutions segment, which covers its mainstream CPU business. Year-over-year growth was 31 percent, as AMD's revenue in that segment grew to $1.21 billion. In graphics, AMD reported revenue of $440 million, nearly double that from a year ago, when the segment recorded revenue of $235 million.

AMD took a cautiously vague outlook for the third quarter, stating only that it expects revenue to be "up" for the third quarter.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2366560,00.asp

Technology News- iPhone 4 drops more calls than 3GS

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:03:25 GMT

Steve Jobs has admitted Apple's new handsets are dropping more calls than its predecessor.

At an impromptu press conference, Apple has taken the extraordinary step to offer free cases to all users to alleviate the reception issues plaguing the iPhone 4.

However, during the course of his presentation, Jobs admitted that the iPhone 4 dropped more calls than the 3GS, albeit less than 1 per 100 more.

"This is hard data... the iPhone 4 drops less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS. Less than one."

"Even though we think the iPhone 4 is superior to the 3GS antenna... it drops more calls per 100 than the 3GS. We're being transparent. So how many more does it drop than the 3GS?

Hard data

"This is hard data... the iPhone 4 drops less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS. Less than one."

Still, it's odd that issue has come to light now - reviews of the iPhone 4 have shown that the device seems to drop fewer calls, so Apple coming out to say it's being 'transparent' is weird.

But given the inevitable media fallout regarding the case issue, this is probably the least of Jobs' worries, so Apple might as well mention it now.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...#ixzz0trzdLl4U

Technology News- Jobs offers free cases to all iPhone 4 users

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:02:07 GMT

Steve Jobs has taken to the stage in Cupertino to offer free cases to all disgruntled iPhone 4 users.

Apple has acknowledged there's a problem with the antenna and has offered users a free case as a way to rectify the issue.

However, Jobs said Apple can't make enough Bumpers to offer everyone one of those, so will be offering alternatives:

"We're going to send you a free case. We can't make enough bumpers. No way we can make enough in the quarter. So we're going to source some cases and give you a choice."

iPhone 4 refunds too

Users who have bought an iPhone 4 bumper will be able to get a refund, and the refunds will apply to all iPhone 4s bought from opening day to 30 September.

Users will also be able to return (undamaged) iPhone 4s to Apple stores for a full refund with no restocking fee up to 30 days after purchase, as the company clearly goes into damage limitation mode.

Early estimates predict this could cost Apple up to �120 million if everyone eligible for the case takes up the offer, but this is miniscule compared to the cost of a full product recall.

You can see the full report of the Apple iPhone 4 press conference here.

TechRadar has contacted a number of Apple iPhone case and peripherals manufacturers to guage their response to the latest news.

Stay tuned for updates.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...#ixzz0trzJiRdg

Daily News (Tech) AMD shipped 16 million DX11 cards in 9 months

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:00:22 GMT

AMD has shipped a whopping 16 million DirectX 11-capable graphics cards in the last 9 months, the company has revealed.

Although it posted a net loss of $1.65 billion for the second quarter of 2010, the buoyant nature of its ATI Radeon HD 5000 series was hugely encouraging for the chip giant.

"Robust demand for our latest mobile platforms and solid execution drove record second quarter revenue and a healthy gross margin," said Dirk Meyer, AMD President and CEO.

Steady platform

"Our unmatched combination of microprocessor and graphics capabilities resulted in customers launching a record number of new mobile and desktop platforms," he continued.

"We added Sony as a microprocessor customer and continue to see our existing customers expand their AMD-based platform offerings."

According to AMD's report the graphics card segment of the company showed an eight per cent increase over the last quarter and 87 per cent year on year.

"In just three quarters, AMD has shipped more than 16 million Microsoft DirectX 11-capable GPUs," said AMD.

"The ATI Radeon HD 5000 series remains the industry's only complete top-to-bottom family of DirectX11-compatible graphics solutions."

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/comput...#ixzz0trysTGZH

Technology News- Revealed: What goes into Google real-time searc

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:59:22 GMT

Google has outlined exactly what elements go into its real time search, explaining that a judgement on what should show in the search results are made in a matter of seconds.

Speaking to TechRadar, Google Fellow and search expert Amit Singhal explained that bringing real-time search to Google was both thrilling and the toughest thing that he had done in his career.

"Real time has been the one of the most exciting projects I've undertaken in my 20 years of search, and it has been the toughest thing I have undertaken in 20 years of search," said Singhal.

Month to seconds

"When I started out as a grad student and in the early days of Google we would crawl a web page every month," he added.

"We would get an article and we would have 15 days on it in average where that article is on our disc and we can parse that article, we can tokenise the article, we can find all the keywords and we can figure out what this article is saying

"That was a thousand word article or something like that but in real time I get 140 characters and three seconds. That's what we have to judge the relevance of this thing. So it's been incredibly hard."

Two key elements

Singhal says that there are two key elements to applying real-time trends to search.

"What we have done is two distinctive properties of real-time search our number one is integration into the results page - no-one else has done it basically because it's infinitely hard to do it!

"Secondly there is the comprehensiveness [of what we look at]. So we have Twitter updates, we have MySpace status updates we have Facebook page updates, we have all the blogs we get for our blog search and all the news crawls we do and everything shows up on real -ime search integrated into the results page.

"It's been an amazing experience and our jobs are definitely not done.

"We are still working hard to further sharpen the relevance of this product because everyone can improve and so can this product."

The factors involved

Singhal showed off a slide in his presentation that showed off the wealth of different factors considered by Google's algorithm before it puts the real time results into the page.

That list is: language model, tweet quality, author quality, probability of relevance, semantics, real time URL resolution (ie checking the bit.ly link actually goes to a relevant page), query registration, query hotness, query volume fluctuation and tipicality.

So, to get a tweet on the Google page you need to be talking about a major topic that is trending, at the right time, your link needs to go to a relevant page and matters like your wording and how many followers/friends and how many have retweeted/liked you are taken in to account.

As Singhal suggests, no mean feat.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/intern...#ixzz0trycBaP7

Technology News- No 3D for Wii 2, says Nintendo's Miyamoto

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:57:47 GMT

Nintendo has shot down rumour and speculation that the next iteration of the Wii (unsurprisingly dubbed Wii 2) will use 3D technology.

In an interview for German website Spiegel.de and picked up by CrunchGear, Nintendo's general manager Shigeru Miyamoto has said he is doubtful that 3D will be used on the console and it is all down to most consumers not yet owning a 3D TV.

Not our next step

In the translated interview, Miyamoto says: "For [3D in] the living room, you would need a 3D TV and it will take some time before enough households have 3D TVs," continuing with "I do not think this next step will be ours."

This slightly contradicts what Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said at E3, which was that Nintendo may consider 3D on the Wii 2 if adoption rates of TVs hit 30 per cent.

A 30 per cent adoption rate is unlikely to happen before the Wii 2 is launched, so it's more than likely Nintendo will opt to release the Wii 3D once/if the market has truly established itself.

For now, it seems that Nintendo is happy to keep its 3D side of the business strictly to the handheld market and the Nintendo 3DS.

http://3dradar.techradar.com/3d-tech...oto-16-07-2010

Daily News (Tech) Acer announces world's slimmest LCD displays

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:56:01 GMT

Acer has this week announced its new S1 Series LCD displays, ranging from 18.5 inches to 23 inches and measuring a tiny 13mm to 15mm thick.

The four new models offer up full HD, a contrast ratio of 12,000,000:1 and a 5ms response time, as well as packing an attractive, glossy black design.

"Designed from scratch to combine an eye-catching design with excellent video graphic performance, this series is a real jewel, including innovative display technologies to deliver crisp and clear images," the says Acer about the products.

"With clean lines, a polished black bezel and graceful glossy foot stand, the S1 series is the perfect blend of ultra slim, sophistication and style."

Keeping it green

Keeping to its green credentials, Acer continues its EcoDisplay campaign with a logo on the display indicating low environmental impact, made possible by using environmentally friendly materials and achieving low power consumption.

The S1 displays include VGA and DVI ports with HDCP encryption, so you'll be able to watch all of your purchased HD content with their tedious DRM protection. An HDMI port is available on the 21 and 23 inch models only.

That contrast ratio is constantly altered with every frame by Acer's Adaptive Contrast Management to achieve ultra-sharp images.

The Acer S1 Series displays retail from �119.99 for the 18.5inch model, up to �169.99 for the 23 inch.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/comput...#ixzz0trxlQIQT

Technology News- Google expert outlines future of search

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:54:40 GMT

One of Google's most senior search experts has outlined the future of search, believing that 'searching without searching' will begin to organise our lives.

Speaking to TechRadar, Google Fellow Amit Singhal outlined how he believes search can progress � although he is keen to underline the pressing need for offering people transparency and control of the information and their own privacy.

Singhal explains that the components are all there to begin to offer us the right information at the right place and time, without the need to search for it.

Searching without searching

"One thing that I am very excited about is the possibility of searching without searching," said Singhal, giving an example of what he means.

"What we have today is these wonderful components; my calendar is on the cloud, my calendar knows that after I am done here today I will have dinner with my family, my calendar also knows my to do list.

"One of the things on my to do list is to buy a cricket bat because my old one is going dry.

"So my calendar knows when I have free time, my [GPS-enabled] phone knows where I am, my to do list has a list of things I need to accomplish and time is expensive.

"On top of that Google local knows the map of this place and it knows where all the sports shops are - so why cant this thing tell me 'you have 45 minutes free in your agenda, there's a sports shop 300 metres away go and buy a cricket bat'.

"And by the way 'get out turn right walk 200 metres turn right 100 metres and it's there'.

"This is based on things that are already there."

Birthday blues

Singhal gives another example where search should be able to provide even more relevant information based on calendar, events and to do lists.

"There is no reason why search cannot go to that step where it knows that, back in May my wife's birthday was coming up, I wanted to buy an iPad and being the busy man that I am I walked up to the Apple store on the day of her birthday before we were due to go out for dinner.

"I said 'can I buy an iPad' and he looked at me and almost laughed, 'Sir, you can order one and get it in three weeks'.

"So why can't this thing tell me that an event is coming up based on the calendar, and why can't it tell me what I can afford and base what I might want on my search history.

"Why can't it tell me that my friend [Google's] Matt Cutts has reviewed the iPad, and know that he is my friend because of my social networks, and why can't it say it needs to be ordered three weeks in advance?

"Why can't it stop me from having to sleep on the couch."

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/intern...#ixzz0trxRJkBt

Daily News (Tech) Gateway and Acer tout eco-friendly monitors

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:53:23 GMT

Gateway has unveiled its 16:10 ratio MW19 and MW19V LCD monitors designed for professional office use.

The 19in monitors come with a dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1, allowing buyers to view heavy data files or computer-aided design applications with precision and sharply defined lines, the firm claimed.

The displays have a 5ms response time, and come with a number of ports, including VGA, DVI and HDCP, to ensure connectivity to a wide range of devices.

All Gateway displays feature a two-lamp system which consumes up to 50 per cent less power, and are PVC and BFR free, according to the vendor. The monitors will be released on 1 August. Pricing has yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, Acer has released its S1 monitor range, two of which are the thinnest flat screens on the market at 13mm, according to the vendor. The range comprises the 18in S191HQL, 20in S201HL, 21in S221HQL and 23in S231HL.

The monitors, available now, have a contrast ratio of 12,000,000:1 and 5ms response times, Acer said, while the 'EcoDisplays' are compliant with EnergyStar 5.0 and the latest ISO 9241-307 standard.

The displays offer low power consumption, are made from environmentally friendly materials, and are PVC and BFR free.

Acer's eColor Management technology enables the panels to adapt to different light conditions, and allows users to fine-tune the display settings. Adaptive Contrast Management adjusts the contrast ratio to achieve ultra-sharp images, Acer added.

The firm's eDisplay Management provides advanced colour calibration and display management options, and each personalised setting can be stored and recalled for different applications and light conditions.

The Acer S1 display series comes with a three-year return-to-base warranty. Prices start at �119.99 for the S191HQL rising to �169.99 for the S231HL.
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2266631

Technology News- HP delays Android-based Slate tablet

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:51:51 GMT

HP has reportedly pushed back the launch date of its first tablet device to run Google's Android operating system.

The delay is down to HP's focusing on the webOS platform acquired with its $1.2bn (�794m) purchase of Palm earlier this year.

The rumours surfaced late yesterday, when sources close to HP said that the Android tablet will not ship until next year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

HP had said after the Palm acquisition that the Android-based Slate would be ready to ship in the last quarter of this year.

However, in line with repeated statements of its commitment to the research and development arm of Palm, sources now say that the Android device is unlikely to make an appearance in the rapidly growing tablet market anytime soon.

Jim Burns, vice president of investor relations at HP, said in a call to discuss the acquisition of Palm that the company will look to broaden the reach of webOS.

"We are going to take this platform, which today exists for smartphones only, and make it much broader than that," he said at the time. But the firm has remained tight-lipped so far on any detail.

HP is, of course, hedging its bets by developing a Windows 7-based tablet as well. But it remains to be seen whether its efforts with Windows will also be affected by the prioritisation of its own webOS development.

HP had not responded to a V3.co.uk request for comment at the time of writing.
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2266602

Technology News- Losing bidders for Palm revealed

Guy00 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:50:51 GMT

A report on BusinessInsider claims that a large number of companies had registered an interest in purchasing Palm earlier this year.

Around 16 firms were in discussions, with five leading to more "serious" talks, the report suggests.

These five were Apple, Google, Research in Motion (RIM), another unspecified bidder, and the eventual victor HP. BusinessInsider cited an unnamed source for its claims, but has provided a number of details.

Apple was after Palm's intellectual property and patent assets, which apparently number almost 900. Apple may also have been interested in propping the firm up, particularly to "challenge RIM's dominance in the keyboarded segment of the smartphone industry".

Apple did not bid high enough, however, and neither did RIM, which was a high bidder and would have "had to work incredibly hard to blow it", according to the source. However, the firm apparently fell out of the running after HP upped its bid.

Google, the last also-ran, could live to regret its role in the deal, the report said, because it may have wanted to stop Apple buying Palm.

"Google supposedly didn't know Apple was actually bidding for Palm, so it didn't proceed," the insider said.

HP eventually acquired Palm for $1.2bn (�794m).
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2266599