IT News HeadLines (HardOCP) 04/09/2010

Facebook Blocked API Access to Ping
Kara over at All Things Digital has posted a little info on that fallout between Apple and Facebook yesterday. According to sources familiar with Facebook's platform, the social networking giant essentially denied Apple's Ping access to application programming interfaces that would allow it to search for an iTunes user's friends on Facebook who also had signed up for Ping. Comments
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Driving a Message Home with an Optical Illusion
Let's take a vote, is this optical illusion thing a good idea or a surefire way to make someone crash when they jerk the wheel to avoid the "kid" in the road? I'll take door number 2. Motorists travelling on 22nd Street in West Vancouver will be confronted with a 3D image of a little girl chasing a ball in the street starting next Tuesday. The girl will be an optical illusion, but the scenario is very real, according to David Dunne of the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation. Comments
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Skype 5.0 Beta is Out
The new Skype 5.0 beta is out now. The latest version has an updated user interface, better stability and allows for group calls with up to ten people. Today we've released an update to Skype for Windows. The second beta of Skype 5.0 brings a number of changes both outside and in – most importantly, you can now make group video calls with up to 10 people. It also welcomes in a fresh new look, as well as increased stability and better quality when making group video calls. Comments
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Chrome Turns 2, New Version Available
Google's Chrome just turned two and the company has released a new version to celebrate. Looking back today on Chrome's second anniversary, it's amazing to see how much has changed in just a short time. In August 2008, JavaScript was 10 times slower, HTML5 support wasn't yet an essential feature in modern browsers, and the idea of a sandboxed, multi-process browser was only a research project. All browsers have come a long way in the last two years and the web has become much more fun and useful. Comments
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Dubai Police Chief Calls BlackBerry a Spy Tool
According to the Associated Press, the police chief of Dubai called the BlackBerry a spy tool. Rumor has it that RIM said "what a coincidence, we think police chief is a tool too." The comments by Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim — posted Friday on the Al-Khaleej newspaper website — raise new doubts about a possible deal with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. before an Oct. 11 deadline. Comments
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Intel Releases Parallel Studio 2011 Software
Today, Intel introduced Intel® Parallel Studio 2011, an updated development tool suite that makes it easier for software developers to improve the performance and reliability of serial and parallel applications by leveraging the advantages of the latest multicore processors. This release adds Intel® Parallel Building Blocks, a new set of parallel models that offer new ways to exploit parallelism. Intel® Parallel Advisor, a powerful threading assistant, helps developers transition from code from serial to parallel and numerous other enhancements including full support for the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 development environment. Comments
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The Most Dangerous Jobs in Technology
The most dangerous jobs in technology? Moderators top the listÂ…ummm, infrastructure work in war zonesÂ…not so much. Think of the most disgusting things you've stumbled across online. Now imagine viewing the stuff that nightmares are made of--hate crimes, torture, child abuse--in living color, from 9 to 5 every day. That's the work of Internet content moderators, who get paid to filter out that kind of material so you don't have to see it pop up on a social network or photo-sharing site. Comments
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PC Perspective Podcast #120
For those of you that like your news on the go, in audio format or you are just too damn lazy to read, I recommend you try out PC Perspective's weekly podcast. This week the crew talk about various topics from video cards to new processors from both AMD and Intel. Hit the link and check it out. This week we talk about the Palit GTX 460 Sonic Platinum, Maingear F131 System, AMD Llano and Orochi, a new Sandforce Roundup, Our Hardware/Software picks of the week and more!
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GameStop Pulls 'Medal Of Honor' From Stores On Base
According to this news item, GameStop is pulling the latest Medal of Honor game from store shelves on military bases because you can play as the Taliban in portions of the game. "Out of respect to those we serve, we will not be stocking this game," said the Army & Air Force Exchange Service's Commander Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella. "We regret any inconvenience this may cause authorized shoppers, but are optimistic that they will understand the sensitivity to the life and death scenarios this product presents as entertainment. As a military command with a retail mission, we serve a very unique customer base that has, or possibly will, witness combat in real life." Comments
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41,000 Toshiba Laptops Recalled for Overheating
If you own a Toshiba laptop you seriously need to click this link to see if your model is one of the computers being recalled. Certain Satellite T135, T135D and Satellite Pro T130 laptop computers have been manufactured with a potentially faulty DC-In harness. These computers will have model/part numbers beginning with PST3AU, PST3BU, or PST3LU. The defective harness may, in some circumstances, overheat to the point of melting the computer's base at the location where the AC adaptor plugs into the unit. To date there have been no reports of serious injury, but the temperature is sufficient to pose a burn hazard if specific parts of the DC-In Jack or plug are touched when they are overheated. Comments
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Nigerian Scam Tops List of Decade's Online Cons
Here's a list of the Top 7 Internet Scams of the last decade. Here is my personal favorite, the "lottery" scam: A play on the Nigerian scam, you receive an e-mail announcing that you've won the lottery. But you need to pay some upfront costs to cover bank fees and other expenses, money that you naturally never see again. Comments
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Engineers Turn Robot Arm into F1 Simulator
That's what I get for talking about making an Eyefinity / SLI surround set-up for my car using triple 42" 1080P TVsÂ…someone comes along and shows me this. Damn. Anyone have a spare industrial sized robot arm they aren't using? Comments
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Deputy Accused of Choking Wife Over PS3
I'm not saying this guy doesn't have some serious issues but damn man, a woman should know that trying to take the man's PC, Xbox 360 or PS3 is definitely a choking hazard. Duh. Deputy Gary French was not charged or arrested after his wife accused him of choking her with a towel when she threatened to take away his PlayStation 3. Comments
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