I almost thought it was a joke when I first heard about this! However, this a true story. France Sony BMG got caught using pirated Microsoft software on its servers. That isn’t the worst part though. Guess how Sony got caught? They actually called Microsoft tech support and gave them their illegal key. Can you believe these fools at Sony BMG? After they install root-kits on peoples computer and crack down and P2P and music-sharing college students they use pirated software on THEIR OWN servers. Stupid French. However they only got a fine of $450,000 which is like pocket change to a massive corporation like Sony when they are charging college students $5,000 for sharing a couple of songs.
This is a 17 minute talk from TED (Technology, Education, Design), an annual conference where speakers share their ideas with many important individuals.
This particular talk is by Jeff Bezos and outlines several analogies towards the internet, comparing it to the California Gold Rush and the beginnings of electricity. It is very interesting, but ultimately he comes to a conclusion that we are in the beginnings and things will only increase from here.
You can find hundreds of talks like this on TED.com.
As if two wasn’t enough, Asus decided to produce a video card with, count ‘em, three GPUs. Note that this is one one board, not at all like the GX2 deals from NVIDIA that are basically two regular boards with only one connector. The card houses the RV670 core, ATI’s fastest chip.
Its new segment time! Previously, I’ve been issuing news updates that consist of several stubs of stories that aren’t post-worthy individually. Well, Miscellanea isn’t exactly news, it is more like a collection of unrelated, cool stories that I want to bring to a larger audience. OK then, lets jump right into it.
First of all, Acer’s Vice President, James Wong, had said that they plan to release an open platform gaming console. To quote Gizmodo, “WTF?” Wong allegedly takes issue with the current proprietary, closed consoles that dominate the market. The console should use PC technology. I think the decision to make it entirely open platform closes off some potential money, but since it is good for the consumer, I’m fine with it. My German isn’t good enough to fully comprehend the original source, but if someone is better than Google Translator, feel free to repost it in the comments.
Finally, Microsoft has honored their promise of SP1, and it ushers in a startling amount of changes. I would have posted the release notes here, but they are several pages long and can be found here instead. The pack, weighing in at 434.5MB (or 726.5MB for the 64-bit version), rolls in 23 security updates and 550 hotfixes. Apparently the update is taking its sweet time showing up, and if you cannot wait to download it, here are the direct links:
In the way of changes, Microsoft says SP1 will bring “. . . improvements that address many key pieces of customer feedback, especially in the areas of performance and reliability.” Release note highlights after the break.
Although some of the hype for TF2 has died down a little since last year, Valve is still working wholeheartedly on the project. They just released a very spontaneous patch, and although anyone who has launched Steam recently already has it, they may not know about all of the new matchmaking features and adjustments that have been made. Highlights:
Tournament mode w/ team creation features and win/loss tracker
Searchable description tags on servers
Maximum ammo for Soldier and Demoman greatly reduced
Previously, the researchers at Alcatel-Lucent have broken records in speed by sending data at a speed of 25.6Tbps. This transfer was only 50 miles long and the company is now looking for a distance record. They recently performed a great feat by sending data over a whopping 1584 mile link at 16.4Tbps. This was accomplished by bundling many 100 Gbps cables together at different wavelengths. The signals were then split at the receiving end (I hope by a hardware decoder, I have a feeling that using a computer to decode the signal might cause it to slow down.) The most recent trial required 164 different channels and updated transmitters and decoders.
If you’re a big dinosaur fan then this is for you. If you’ve seen the hit movie “Jurassic Park”, then you’re familiar with the way that they recreated the dinosaurs. They took amber with fossilized mosquitoes embedded within and extracted the blood of the extinct dinosaurs. Ever thought that that was really possible? Well I did. And now scientists are trying it for real. If you get the Discovery channel then you’re in luck as this program airs on the 17th in America.
I’ve been arguing with some of my friends about whether this was a good idea, or would it end up just like the movie. Most think that it’s a terrible idea, but i for one think that this is a huge breakthrough in cloning technology and I think that they should go through with it. Post your comments as you please.
Engineers at the Universtiy of Washington have invented a contact lense with integrated circuits and lights.
One of the engineers was quoted as saying:
There are many possible uses for virtual displays. Drivers or pilots could see a vehicle’s speed projected onto the windshield. Video-game companies could use the contact lenses to completely immerse players in a virtual world without restricting their range of motion. And for communications, people on the go could surf the Internet on a midair virtual display screen that only they would be able to see.
As of this time, the lenses have only been tested on rabbits for up to twenty minutes. The tests show no ill effects, so researchers are going to lengthen the amount of time worn. They also plan to add wireless communication, solar cells, and the capability to use radio-captured electricity to the circuit . The prototype doesn’t light up, but a version with a basic display showing a few pixels could be operational soon.
Finally, Microsoft has honored their promise of SP1, and it ushers in a startling amount of changes. I would have posted the release notes here, but they are several pages long and can be found 
Although some of the hype for TF2 has died down a little since last year, Valve is still working wholeheartedly on the project. They just released a very spontaneous patch, and although anyone who has launched Steam recently already has it, they may not know about all of the new matchmaking features and adjustments that have been made.
Previously, the researchers at Alcatel-Lucent have broken records in speed by sending data at a speed of 25.6Tbps. This transfer was only 50 miles long and the company is now looking for a distance record. They recently performed a great feat by sending data over a whopping 1584 mile link at 16.4Tbps. This was accomplished by bundling many 100 Gbps cables together at different wavelengths. The signals were then split at the receiving end (I hope by a hardware decoder, I have a feeling that using a computer to decode the signal might cause it to slow down.) The most recent trial required 164 different channels and updated transmitters and decoders.
If you’re a big dinosaur fan then this is for you. If you’ve seen the hit movie “Jurassic Park”, then you’re familiar with the way that they recreated the dinosaurs. They took amber with fossilized mosquitoes embedded within and extracted the blood of the extinct dinosaurs. Ever thought that that was really possible? Well I did. And now scientists are trying it for real. If you get the Discovery channel then you’re in luck as this program airs on the 17th in America.
There are many possible uses for virtual displays. Drivers or pilots could see a vehicle’s speed projected onto the windshield. Video-game companies could use the contact lenses to completely immerse players in a virtual world without restricting their range of motion. And for communications, people on the go could surf the Internet on a midair virtual display screen that only they would be able to see.