IT News HeadLines (HardOCP) 18/08/2010

Disney, Other Top Sites Spied on Users
Disney, Warner Bros. Records and other top sites are being accused of spying on their users? I know we are supposed to be outraged by this but, to be totally honest, it is more shocking to find out a company "doesn't" collect your personal data these days. "The sensitive information may include such things as users' video-viewing choices and personal characteristics," the plaintiffs continued, "such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income." Comments
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Overheating iPod Delays Tokyo Rush-Hour Train
While it may not be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound, the iPod can overheat and bring a speeding rush hour train to a halt. Is there nothing these magical devices can't do? "When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart," the spokesman said, confirming local media reports. He added that there were no reports of injuries. Apple Japan had no immediate comment. Comments
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Windows Phone 7 Marks a New Era in Mobile Gaming
Today at gamescom 2010, the world's largest consumer-oriented games showcase, Microsoft Corp. premiered the first wave of Xbox LIVE games launching on Windows Phone 7 this holiday. With even more games and applications to come, Windows Phone 7 is putting the power of Xbox LIVE into the palm of your hand — from Xbox LIVE Avatars to staying connected with friends, Xbox LIVE is now at your fingertips, anytime, anywhere. Comments
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Intel to Acquire Texas Instruments' Cable Modem Unit
Intel Corporation today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Texas Instruments' cable modem product line. The purchase enhances Intel's focus on the cable industry and related consumer electronics (CE) market segments, where the company's expertise in building advanced system-on-chip (SoC) products, based on Intel® Atom™ processors, will be applied. Comments
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Gigabyte X58A-UD9 Extreme Motherboard Review
The Gigabyte X58A-UD9 is not only massive, but its easily the most expensive board we've ever seen. In fact the cost of the X58A-UD9 exceeds the cost of most workstation motherboards and I find myself asking, the questions: Why? Who does Gigabyte intend to sell this board to? And...What can this board offer that a $450 board cannot?
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GeForce GTX 460 SLI vs. Radeon HD 5870 CFX @ 5760
Last week we showed you that GTX 460 1GB SLI was a better performer than the much more expensive Radeon HD 5870 CrossFireX at 2560x1200 resolution. This week we look at 5760x1200, a super widescreen gaming resolution using both company's multi-display technologies; NV Surround and ATI Eyefinity.
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Intel Multi-Threaded Software Marketing Slides
We have a handful of marketing slides from Intel explaining the chip maker's approach to multi-threaded software or, as the company refers to it, "enabling the software ecosystem." Yes, there is even stuff in here that will be of interest to us gamers. Enabling the Software Ecosystem. What the hell does that mean exactly? Well, this set of slides has been put together to specifically highlight software that has been optimized for the new Intel Core i7-98X six-core processor. And while that is the case, that means that all of the software shown here has been tweaked to work will with multi-core processors of pretty much any kind. Comments
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Facebook "Dislike" Button Is A Scam
The annoying "dislike" button is just the latest scam making the rounds on Facebook. Don't do itÂ…it's a trick. Pass the word. Comments
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Google Scares Me More and More Everyday
Dear Mr. Schmidt, you are creeping me the hell out. I would like to opt out of your vision of the future. Signed, your friend -Steve "I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions," he elaborates. "They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next." Let's say you're walking down the street. Because of the info Google has collected about you, "we know roughly who you are, roughly what you care about, roughly who your friends are." Google also knows, to within a foot, where you are. Mr. Schmidt leaves it to a listener to imagine the possibilities: If you need milk and there's a place nearby to get milk, Google will remind you to get milk. It will tell you a store ahead has a collection of horse-racing posters, that a 19th-century murder you've been reading about took place on the next block. Comments
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Internet Traffic Jams Ahead Unless More Cables Laid
Apparently "laying some cable / pipe" doesn't mean what it used to back in the day. Then again, maybe more cables really do need to get laid! Hah! See what I did there? "Before we reach the end . . . [we] will install new cables or invent new technologies to squeeze more out of the existing cables," said Tim Stronge, vice president of research for TeleGeography Research, a communications industry research firm. Comments
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Source Claims Hulu Planning an IPO
Reuters says an anonymous source is claiming that Hulu is planning an IPO. Well, maybe it isn't after allÂ…or the idea could be scrappedÂ…maybe they never were planning an IPO. Glad we got that all squared away. The three-year-old service, backed by some of the most powerful companies in entertainment, could sell shares to the public before next year, the source said. An IPO could be postponed or scrapped, and precise details about the size of the offering and the ownership structure were unclear. Comments
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Lithium-Ion Batteries Threat To Airline Safety?
Everyone panic, lithium-ion batteries will blow up on airplanes!!! Worried about a possible terrorist strike, American Airlines flight attendants confiscated 58 cell phones, lithium-ion batteries and charging devices from a passenger on a June 23 New York flight to Buenos Aires. Comments
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Adobe to Apple: "We've Moved On"
Adobe had a few choice words for Apple today. Rebuttal from Apple in 3 – 2- 1… They've chosen to keep their system closed and we'd rather work with partners who are interested in working with us. We believe in open systems. We believe in the power of the internet and in customers making choices and I think a lot of the controversy was about their decision at that point. They've made their choice. We've made ours and we've moved on. Comments
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SLI & CFX PCIe Bandwidth Performance x16/x16 vs. x16/x8
Are you building a SLI or CrossFireX system but worry about the performance difference between x16/x16 versus x16/x8? Well, don't worry, our SLI & CFX PCIe Bandwidth Performance x16/x16 vs. x16/x8 article is online and it answers any questions you may have. Have you wanted to space your SLI or CFX video cards farther apart on your motherboard to allow for better airflow? Do you have a motherboard that will not support a x16/x16 PCIe configuration? We put x16/x16 and x16/x8 PCIe SLI and CFX configurations head to head and show you what sacrifice there is to be made. Comments
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Amazing Ways Video Games Can Change Your Life
Before you point out the obvious, I'm sure the author of this list is assuming that in order to change your life you aren't still gaming 24/7 in mom's basement. The next time you go under the knife, make sure to vet your surgeon's video game skills first. In 2007, researchers at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City reported that people who played video games for at least three hours a week made better surgeons. Comments
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OpenSolaris is Dead
According to a memo posted on this site, OpenSolaris is dead. This concludes over four years that I (and many other external contributors) have worked on the OpenSolaris project. This is a terrible sendoff for countless hours of work - for quality software which will now ship as an Oracle product that we (the original authors) can no longer obtain on an unrestricted basis. I can only maintain that the software we worked on was for the betterment of all, not for any one company's bottom line. This is truly a perversion of the open source spirit. Comments
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Intel Multi-Threaded Software Marketing Slides
Have you spent a lot of money on an Intel multi-core processor computer system? Four cores with AMD or Intel is getting to be more and more of the norm now days, and we all know that multitasking on these systems is buttery smooth. But what software can really put your four or six core processor to work?
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