Mar 28 2009

Why Can’t Windows Shut Down Promptly?

Not only does it sometimes take seemingly forever for them to boot, but it can take several minutes for one to shut down. Even worse, if a program stops responding, you may or may not be able to shut it down. And even if it does terminate, it may take awhile.

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Mar 28 2009

30 Creative Examples of the Hand Drawn Style in Web Designs

In this collection, you will be able to find some of the best designs that have hand drawn, “sketched” elements infused into them for your inspiration.

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Mar 28 2009

Citi Fuels Red Hat Takeover Talk

The better Red Hat performs, the more likely larger technology firms are going to come knocking.On Thursday, a day after the Linux software maker reported better than expected fourth-quarter results, Citigroup said that Red Hat is a “tempting acquisition target.”

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Mar 28 2009

JavaScript 3-10x Faster On iPhone OS 3.0

There has been a reasonable amount of speculation surrounding JavaScript speed improvements in iPhone 3.0. Testing carried out on the iPhone Simulator bundled with the SDK didn’t lead to a conclusive outcome, but benchmarking done by Wayne Pan would seem to suggest that iPhone 3.0 handles JavaScript 3x-10x faster than iPhone 2.1.

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Mar 28 2009

Robot Madness: Will Cyborgs Compromise Privacy? (With Video)

LiveScience examines humanoid robots and cybernetic enhancement of humans, as well as the exciting and sometimes frightening convergence of it all.

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Mar 28 2009

RIAA, MPAA Copyright Warnings: Facts and Fiction

his week several scary stories surfaced about how the MPAA and RIAA are negotiating with ISPs on how to deal with copyright infringers. Even though it was often presented as news, those who look deeper will realize that this is nothing new at all, just the same old threats dressed up in a new jacket.

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Mar 28 2009

Fears of a Conficker Meltdown Greatly Exaggerated

BobB-nw writes “Many have been worrying that the Conficker worm will somehow rise up and devastate the Internet on April 1. These fears are misplaced, security experts say. April 1 is what Conficker researchers are calling a trigger date, when the worm will switch the way it looks for software updates. A 60 Minutes episode about the worm on Sunday will stoke concerns. But the worm has already had several such trigger dates, including Jan. 1, none of which had any direct impact on IT operations, according to Phil Porras, a program director with SRI International who has studied the worm. ‘Technically, we will see a new capability, but it complements a capability that already exists,’ Porras said.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Mar 28 2009

UN Attacks Free Speech

newsblaze writes “The UN Human Rights Council assaulted free expression today, in a 23-11 vote that urges member states to adopt laws outlawing criticism of religions. The proposal came to the UN from Pakistan on behalf of the Organization for the Islamic Conference. There were 13 abstentions. South Korea, Japan, India, Mexico and Brazil, all strong democracies, allowed this to pass by abrogating their responsibility. While the resolution doesn’t mention the online world, where does this subject get mentioned most, if not online?” The coverage is from NewsBlaze, which says its mission is to carry important news that other media are not paying attention to. There does not seem to be any other coverage of this vote. Update: 03/29 00:48 GMT by KD : Reader kshade wrote in: “Actually this is covered by conventional media, even FOX news (Google News links). The absentees weren’t there because they boycotted the proposal.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Mar 28 2009

Microsoft’s New Multiple-Browser Tester

Z80xxc! writes “Microsoft recently announced a new product called Expression Web SuperPreview, which lets developers view their web pages in any browser installed on their system, as well as in different versions of IE, all from the same interface. The product has one genuine innovation — a built-in tool for overlaying the rendering from one browser over another to compare (referred to as ‘onion skins’). There are also HTML debugging aids and other helpful tools for web developers. A beta version is available for download. However, the current build only has support for IE — it will compare rendering in IE6 with either IE7 or IE8, whichever is installed. An internal build shows Firefox and Safari on Windows as well. The final product will appear as part of MS Expression Web Studio 3 when it is released later this year. (It will not be available in the Expression Mac suite.)”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Mar 28 2009

RIP the Campus Computer Lab, 1960-2009

theodp writes “When every student has a laptop, why run computer labs? That’s a question schools have been asking themselves as computer ownership rates among incoming freshmen routinely top 90%. After only four freshmen showed up at the University of Virginia in 2007 without a computer of their own, the school decided that it’s no longer worth the expense of running campus computer labs. Student computer labs have been a staple of campus life since the ’60s. So what are the benefits that will be missed as other schools follow UVa’s lead?” The university’s report notes understanding that “that students need collaborative space where they can bring their laptops and mobile devices to conduct group work, especially as the curriculum becomes increasingly team- and project-based.” One of the spaces formerly occupied by computer labs “has been transformed into a technology-rich collaboration area.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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