Distributed, crowd-sourced computing platforms—doesn’t matter if it’s Indigogo or SETI@home—are only as useful as the individual systems connected to them. And for IBM’s World Community Grid, a single system can do a lot, especially when it’s a purpose-built 4.5GHz calculation-crushing super computer. More »
We’ve seen plenty of extreme cooling systems in the past, but Mike Schropp has taken things to the limit: he’s built a computer that’s cooled by a wind tunnel. More »
Whoever argues that drinking alcohol does not make you stupider in the long run might want to take a second look (although at the end of it, one could also conclude otherwise, that said teen is rather short on the smarts department in the first place) at an Oregon teen who boasted over his Facebook account that he was driving while under the influence of alcohol, apologizing to owners of the cars that he hit along the way. The men in blue were quick to their feet to make an arrest, and teen Cox-Brown’s Facebook page has also seen the boast removed, for obvious reasons.
Cox-Brown posted this to his Facebook page: “Drivin drunk… classsic 
but to whoever’s vehicle i hit i am sorry. 
.” Talk about sharing the wrong information, as the police subsequently issued a press release which read as follows: “Astoria Police have an active social media presence. It was a private Facebook message to one of our officers that got this case moving, though. When you post…on Facebook, you have to figure that it is not going to stay private long.”
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: MSI Slider S20 Ultrabook Convertible Announced, Asus Teams Up With Leap Motion,
Faith Japan has unleashed another high-end gaming PC namely the PASSANT Ex IZ770ASD-N67SLI. Powered by a 3.50GHz Intel Core i7-3770K processor, the system sports an Intel Z77 Express Chipset, 2x GeForce GTX 670 2GB graphics card, a 16GB DDR3 RAM, a 120GB SSD (Intel 520), a 2TB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive, an 850W 80PLUS GOLD power supply and runs on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (SP1) OS. The PASSANT Ex IZ770ASD-N67SLI sells for 194,970 Yen (about $2,236). [Product Page]
If you want to pamper yourself with a convertible, you can always get one for less than $1,500. No, I am not referring to the kind of convertibles that run on four wheels and send the pulse of the ladies racing as you zip past them in style, as those would definitely not cost such a relatively paltry amount, but rather of the computing variety that comes in the form of the MSI Slider S20 Ultrabook Convertible. Touted to merge a clever blend of portability and performance alongside a slide out keyboard, this Slider S20 will run on Windows 8 and have an Intel Core i5 processor powering it from underneath the hood.
Features of the MSI Slider S20 include a 16:9 1920 x 1080 full HD 10-point touch screen display, 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, where all of it is packed into a package that tips the scales at just 2.2 lbs., where it will fold up to measure under 1” thin for lightweight on-the-go computing. Other hardware specifications include a Jackson Peak Wireless adapter, Ethernet, a couple of USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth connectivity, a mini HDMI-out connector and an integrated 720P HD webcam. Expect to fork out $1,200 for this puppy as it arrives sometime in the first quarter of the year.
I personally think that the keyboard itself is not going to be too comfortable to type for long periods of time, as the sharp edge of the S20 might just “bite” into the palm of your hands. What do you think? Hopefully, the sliding mechanism will be able to hold up for years of use, too. [Press Release]
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Teen Arrested After Posting Drunken Driving Exploits On Facebook, Asus Teams Up With Leap Motion,
Eager to start the year with a big bang, Leap Motion announced today that it has partnered with Asus to integrate its advanced motion-sensing technology into the Taiwanese giant’s computers. Via press release, the startup company said that Asus will bundle its very own revolutionary Leap Motion controller with select new computers, particularly new high-end notebooks and premium All-in-One (AiO) PCs this year. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Scientists Probe Possibility That We Are Living In A Computer-Simulated Universe, Facebook Just Made The Best Couples Scrapbook,
If you’re a computer enthusiast and you’re not content with buying ready-to-use computers off the shelf and you don’t mind tinkering around the operating system, then open-source computer systems are probably the sort of device you’re after. Well if you are you might be interested to learn that SolidRun has taken the wraps off their latest offering, the CuBox Pro which is an upgrade over its predecessor and comes with 2GB of DDR3 RAM on board, which according to its creators makes it the world’s first ARM-based open source development platform to support 2GB of DDR3 RAM. The CuBox Pro will measure 2-inches cube and weighs 91grams and comes in either high polish or matte finish.
The CuBox Pro will support Linux-based distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, GeeXbox, openelec.tv and even Android as well. It is also a fanless computer system and is built on the Marvell Armada 510 SoC with 800MHz dual issue ARM PJ4 processor based on the 32bit ARMv7 architecture. It will feature an infra-red receiver, gigabit Ethernet port, SPDIF, eSata 3Gbps, two USB 2.0 ports and a microSD card slot and will support 1080p Full HD output over HDMI and will only require 3 watts of power to run. Pre-orders of the CuBox Pro are available via SolidRun’s website where it is priced at $159.99. Shipping of the CuBox Pro is expected to begin before the end of January 2013.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: MSI Slider S20 Ultrabook Convertible Announced, Asus Teams Up With Leap Motion,
Given a choice between the word “Tumblr” and “blog”, just which of the two would you think would have generated more search instances on Google? Perhaps blogs are in a decline, but we do know that there is still life in them yet, although you might be surprised to find out that “Tumblr” has surpassed “blog” as one of the most searched terms on Google for this year.
The first time this ever happened was in December last month, taking just 5 years since the microblog network kicked off in February 2007, according to Laura Olin, Outbound social media director. Google’s search stats pointed out that the word “blog” has been on a decline since May 2009, and that was roughly the time when Twitter ended up as the third highest ranked social network according to visits, and Tumblr was not even part of the top 25 list.
This could be due to the fact that time, being a precious commodity for everyone, would mean folks are more selective in their reading, and it also takes less time to put up a funny or interesting link on someone’s Facebook Wall, or to tweet about it. Instead of spending time reading 20 blogs, folks might just read 10 blogs that they really, really want to read these days. Do you think that the ultimate end of blogs would be to end up in a niche topic market like tech blogs or news blogs?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Twitter Asked To Censor Hate Speech, US Department Of Defense Purchases $617 Million Of Microsoft Licenses,
#SiMonFilsEstGay (“If my son is gay”) made the trend on Twitter for a few days in France, prompting the country’s Minister of Women’s Rights, Najat Belkacem-Vallaud, to share her thoughts that Twitter ought to censor hate speech. According to Najat Belkacem-Vallaud, such speech is illegal according to national law, and there were other rather dividing topics that trended in the past few months such as #unjuifmort (“a dead Jew”), #unbonjuif (“a good Jew”) and #SiMaFilleRamèneUnNoir (“If my daughter brings home a Black”).
Najat Belkacem-Vallaud mentioned, “At a moment when the government is implementing an action plan against violence and discrimination committed for reasons of sexual orientation or gender identity, I want, without prejudice to any legal action, to call upon Twitter’s sense of responsibility, so that it can contribute to the prevention and the avoidance of misbehavior like this.”
Right now, we do know that newspapers and websites already fall under the purview of anti-hate speech law, so I guess this is a natural extension to include user generated content and comments which have yet to be regulated. What do you think of the move – are you in support for it?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Tumblr Is One Of Top Search Terms On Google, US Department Of Defense Purchases $617 Million Of Microsoft Licenses,
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has jumped aboard the Windows 8 bandwagon at last, after issuing a press release last Friday which confirmed that different sections of the military have started to make use of the Windows 8 operating system, in addition to plans for implementation of upcoming Microsoft software products in the coming years. In fact, the DoD also signed a new three year software contract with Microsoft which is worth a grand total of $617 million.
According to the press release, “Under the agreement, the Army, Air Force and DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency) can begin using the newest versions of Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office 2013, SharePoint 2013 and Windows 8, officials said, adding that Office 2013 provides enhanced security and content management tools.The package has been customized to meet the specific security needs of the Defense Department.”
The DoD says that $617 million is the best price offered by Microsoft to date, and at that price point, the US Army would have saved $70 million annually throughout the inked three year contract.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The CuBox Pro Is An Open-Source Computer That Measures 2-inches Cubed, Tumblr Is One Of Top Search Terms On Google,
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