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19 Dec 09

[Phoronix] AMD Catalyst 9.12 For Linux Released

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AMD Catalyst 9.12 For Linux Released
There still is no pure, usable XvBA support besides using the VA-API to XvBA wrapper and the Catalyst 9.12 driver just doesn't bring much.
2 more annotations...
- Now supported by AMDCCCLE in Catalyst 9.12 for Linux is an HDTV configuration and size/position pages, new TV settings (flicker removal and S-Video/Composite sharpness), new scaling options page for component video, and quick configuration support for display projectors.
- Aside from some Catalyst Control Center improvements, there is better OpenGL 3.x support

Hackerspaces and the Law

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Hackerspaces and the Law
Jennifer Granick from the EFF gives a talk about legal issues people in a hackerspace might face.

18 Dec 09

The Physics of Space Battles - Space battle - Gizmodo

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The Physics of Space Battles
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- the fighter-plane engagements of Star Wars, the subdued, two-dimensional naval combat in Star Trek, the Newtonian planes of Battlestar Galactica, the staggeringly furious energy exchanges of the combat wasps in Peter Hamilton's books, and the use of antimatter rocket engines themselves as weapons in other sci-fi
- The marauding space fleets are going to be governed by orbit dynamics – not just of their own ships in orbit around planets and suns, but those planets' orbits.
- So, it would actually make sense to build space defense platforms in certain orbits, to point high-power radar-reflection surveillance satellites at certain empty reaches of space, or even to mine parts of the void.
- One implication of rocket propulsion is that there will be relatively long periods during which Newtonian physics govern the motions of dogfighting spacecraft, punctuated by relatively short periods of maneuvering. Another is that combat in orbit would be very different from combat in "deep space,"
- Explosions are basically a waste of energy in space. On the ground, these are devastating because of the shock wave that goes along with them. But in the vacuum of space, an explosion just creates some tenuous, expanding gases that would be easily dissipated by a hull.
- the best bets for ranged weapons are kinetic impactors and radiation.
- You know…bullets. But it sounds much more technical and science-fictiony to say "mass driver" or "kinetic lance" or something of the sort.
- the enemy could counter them by firing their own point-defense slugs and knocking the shells out of line. Therefore, I contend that the most effective kinetic space weapons would be either flak shells or actively thrusting, guided missiles.
- Radiation-based weapons that burn out the electronics of a spacecraft sound exotic, but are still potentially achievable. This would be the attraction of nuclear weapons in space: not the explosion, which would affect just about nothing, but the burst of energetic particles and the ensuing electromagnetic storm.
- Given a large enough power supply, lasers could be used at range to slice up enemy warships. The key phrase there, though, is "given a large enough power supply." Power is hard to come by in the space business. So, expect space laser weapons to take one of three forms: small lasers designed not to destroy, but to blind and confuse enemy sensors; medium-sized lasers that would be fired infrequently and aimed to melt specific vulnerable points on enemy space fighters, like antennae, gimbals, and maneuvering thrusters; and large lasers pumped by the discharge from a large capacitor or similar energy storage device to cut a physical slice into the enemy craft wherever they hit
- robotic drone fighters would be a tremendous boon to space soldiers, but the communication lag between planets and vessels in orbit would make the split-second judgments of humans necessary at times. (Until we perfect AIs… but if we're giving them the space fighters from the beginning, we deserve the robot uprising we'll get.)
- t's not even a good idea for them to have windows, which would be vulnerable to flak and could give the crew an intense sense of disorientation as the spacecraft maneuvers, and could give them tremendous trouble adapting to rapid changes in light levels as the ship rotates near a planet or star.
- Camera views from the exterior of the ship and graphical representations of the tactical situation would then be projected directly onto helmet faceplates.
- big ships would have many weapons, pointed in many directions; the small ships would have a few weapons, with the main weapon systems pointed in one direction.
- For the highest levels of maneuverability, the spacecraft should be close to spherical

Introduction - Galaxy GeForce GT 240 Video Card Review | [H]ard|OCP

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The GeForce GT 240 is NVIDIA’s latest GPU, meant to round out the lowest segment of the market, in addition to its brothers the GeForce GT 220 and GeForce 210. The GeForce GT 240 seems to be aimed at replacing the ancient GeForce 9600 GT, with some new feature support included. This new GPU is not part of the Fermi family, and is aimed squarely in the low-end and HTPC markets.
NVIDIA has reduced the manufacturing process of the GeForce GT 240 to 40nm. This should help reduce the amount of heat produced and reduce the power requirements

PC Perspective - NVIDIA's ION 2 chipset continues to gain steam

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NVIDIA is now publicly saying that the ION 2 chipset will be delivered in Q1 of 2010, an aggressive schedule that puts it not very far behind the Pine Trail platform itself. As for specifications it seems likely that the firm will increase the shader power of the GPU to make it more attractive and hopefully will lower power consumption, or at least keep it at the same level of the current generation ION platform.

Nexus Value 430 PSU: Affordable Silence | silentpcreview.com

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The Nexus Value 430 makes a bold leap to the very top of our quiet PSU rankings. It is the quietest fan-cooled PSU we've yet tested, by a 2-3 decibel margin, the closest being the Enermax Modu 82+ 425W at around 13 dBA, the Seasonic M12D-850W at 14 dBA and the Antec Signature 650 at 15 dBA.

Nexus Value 430 PSU: Affordable Silence | silentpcreview.com

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Nexus Value 430 PSU: Affordable Silence
The noise level during the pre-test warmup with 65W load was so low as to require a double-take. Was the PSU really on? Was the fan spinning? Up very close, a tiny bit of ticking and hum could be heard. The fan was indeed spinning, and a check with the calibrated strobe light showed it to be at 370RPM. This is the slowest of any fan in a PSU we've yet reviewed.
4 more annotations...
- The sound level was measured to be about 11 dBA@1m, or a single decibel above the ~10 dBA noise floor of the anechoic chamber. The microphone picked it up from a meter away, but I could not hear it from a meter. I had to get within about a foot.
- At 200W the SPL rose to a still barely audible 16 dBA@1m. The fan speed was measured to be 670RPM. The overall noise character was smooth, mostly broadband, a bit of hum, and barely audible ticking. The noise level went up incrementally to 18 dBA@1m at 250W load, then to 19 dBA at full power.
- the temperature rise through the unit remained under 5°C up to 250W load, and it reached a relatively modest 15°C at full power.
- The 10°C rise seen at 300W is probably the most relevant measurement: This PSU is not likely to be used in systems that draw any more than 300W. The single cooling fan in the test loader box was running at ~750 RPM at that load. It appears that the combination of good efficiency and minimal fan speed in both the PSU and the case will be enough to keep the PSU adequately cooled.

17 Dec 09

"Heroes" (2006/II) - Episode list

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Season 4, Episode 13: Chapter Twelve 'Upon This Rock'
Original Air Date—4 January 2010

"Lost" (2004) - Episode list

www.imdb.com/...episodes - Preview

Season 6, Episode 1: LA X
Original Air Date—2 February 2010

"SGU Stargate Universe" (2009) - Episode list

www.imdb.com/...episodes - Preview

Season 1, Episode 11: Space
Original Air Date—2010

"FlashForward" (2009) - Episode list

www.imdb.com/...episodes - Preview

Season 1, Episode 11: Episode #1.11
Original Air Date—March 2010

13 Dec 09

AMD AMD Athlon II X2 240e PCSTATS Review - King of Low Wattage?

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When matched up with AMD's 785G chipset on a microATX
motherboard, it's possible to build a tiny Athlon II X2 240e-based system for
less than $400.

AMD AMD Athlon II X2 240e PCSTATS Review - Core-by-Core System Power Draw

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Total System Idle
Power Draw
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
123 Watts
4 more annotations...
- AMD Athlon II X2 240e
  
  122 Watts
- Total System
  Stressed Power Draw - All Cores/Threads
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (2 Core Load)
  163 Watts
- AMD Athlon II X2 240e (2 Core Load)
  
  153 Watts

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

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While low and medium rotating fans are still acceptable for a HTPC chassis, the higher fan speed will definitely be a distraction while watching a movie. At around 30dB(A) the system is just too loud, and even at medium speed the difference in temperature isn't very big. We would say it's best to leave the fans at low speeds and just forget about it.

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

www.anandtech.com/...showdoc.aspx - Preview

Even with lower loads of around 60W it still delivers 80% efficiency, and with 120VAC you get better than 80% efficiency from around 60W all the way up to 280W. As seen above, the power supply becomes somewhat noisy from around 220W onwards, and efficiency starts to drop around that point as well. Optimal efficiency comes with a load of between 75W and 220W

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

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Antec Micro Fusion 350
8 more annotations...
- 2x80mm side fans
- IR receiver for compatibility with Windows MCE and Vista
- 80 PLUS Certified 350W power supply
- 80mm intake fan to cool the HDD
- 1x 5.25" and 1x 3.5"
- Front-mounted ports provide convenient connections
  
  2xUSB 2.0
  
  1x eSATA
  
  Audio In/Out (HDA and AC' 97)
- It is just 12cm tall and therefore can only use low profile expansion cards and requires a low height CPU cooler.
- The inside of the case is a tight fit; a micro ATX motherboard will just barely fit but with little to no extra room. The optical drive sits above the memory, and you will want a shorter model so that it doesn't interfere with the CPU cooler.

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

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Antec Fusion Remote Black
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- with LCD, built-in IR receiver, and volume control
- Windows MCE and Vista compatible IR receiver
- 2x side mounted 120mm TriCool 3-speed fans
- 3 drive bays
  
  Front Accessible: 1x 5.25"
  
  Internal: 2x 3.5"
- Micro ATX form factor (9.6"x9.6")
- Front-mounted ports for easy multimedia connections
  
  2x USB 2.0
  
  1x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
  
  Audio In and Out
- this case doesn't come with a power supply

12 Dec 09

KDE Plasma Netbook Preview – Make Tech Easier

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KDE Plasma Netbook Preview

10 Netbook-oriented Linux Distributions... and Counting | TECH SOURCE FROM BOHOL

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10 Netbook-oriented Linux Distributions... and Counting
Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR)
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- All of the initial Ubuntu Netbook remixes combine optimizations from the Moblin project for Intel Atom processors.
- built around the Intel Atom processor with current builds designed to minimize boot times and power consumption. The netbook/desktop version of Moblin currently supports other chipsets based on the SSSE3 instruction set, such as the Core2 and some Celeron processors
- Moblin (Mobile Linux)
- Easypeasy (formerly Ubuntu Eee)
- known to offer proprietary software instead of free and open source software alternatives (e.g. Skype instead of Ekiga) for functionality reasons
- Eeebuntu
- originally made for Asus Eeepc series of netbooks and works out of the box on ASUS Eee PC 700, 701, 900, 900A, 901, 904HD, 1000, 1000H, 1000HA, 1000HD and 1000HE.
- Linux4One
- an Ubuntu based Linux distribution that is specifically designed to offer out-of-the-box functionality for the Acer Aspire One series of netbooks.
- Cruncheee
- a special version of CrunchBang Linux that's developed for the Asus Eee PC. It is quite similar to that "Lite" edition of CrunchBang, but it includes a full suite of Internet applications and an Eee PC specific Linux Kernel and scripts.
- Kuki Linux
- a lightweight Ubuntu based distribution that was developed as an alternative for the Fedora based Linpus OS, which was bundled with the Aspire One
- Linpus Linux Lite
- the faster and slimmer version of Linpus Linux and fully supports Acer Aspire One and Northtec Gecko netbooks. Take note that the Linpus system contains not only the free and open source operating system, but also Acer-specific shareware.
- Jolicloud
- Jolicloud (currently in development and alpha testing) is built upon Debian and Ubuntu 9.04. It utilizes Mozilla's Prism Prism-based packages and Canonical's Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) to deliver a Web-centric Linux environment that is very user-friendly.
- Google Chrome OS
- stable release version of Google Chrome OS will not come out until the second half of 2010

11 Dec 09

Facebook's New Privacy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly | Electronic Frontier Foundation

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Our conclusion? These new "privacy" changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information than before. Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data.

Not to say that many of the changes aren't good for privacy. But other changes are bad, while a few are just plain ugly.
The Bad: EFF Doesn't Recommend Facebook's "Recommended" Privacy Settings
2 more annotations...
- The Ugly: Information That You Used to Control Is Now Treated as "Publicly Available," and You Can't Opt Out of The "Sharing" of Your Information with Facebook Apps
- Looking even closer at the new Facebook privacy changes, things get downright ugly when it comes to controlling who gets to see personal information such as your list of friends. Under the new regime, Facebook treats that information — along with your name, profile picture, current city, gender, networks, and the pages that you are a "fan" of — as "publicly available information"

Djiezes Kraaijst's Library tagged no_tag → View Popular

[Phoronix] AMD Catalyst 9.12 For Linux Released

Hackerspaces and the Law

The Physics of Space Battles - Space battle - Gizmodo

Introduction - Galaxy GeForce GT 240 Video Card Review | [H]ard|OCP

PC Perspective - NVIDIA's ION 2 chipset continues to gain steam

Nexus Value 430 PSU: Affordable Silence | silentpcreview.com

Nexus Value 430 PSU: Affordable Silence | silentpcreview.com

"Heroes" (2006/II) - Episode list

Season 4, Episode 13: Chapter Twelve 'Upon This Rock'

"Lost" (2004) - Episode list

Season 6, Episode 1: LA X

"SGU Stargate Universe" (2009) - Episode list

Season 1, Episode 11: Space

"FlashForward" (2009) - Episode list

Season 1, Episode 11: Episode #1.11

AMD AMD Athlon II X2 240e PCSTATS Review - King of Low Wattage?

AMD AMD Athlon II X2 240e PCSTATS Review - Core-by-Core System Power Draw

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

AnandTech: Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout

KDE Plasma Netbook Preview – Make Tech Easier

10 Netbook-oriented Linux Distributions... and Counting | TECH SOURCE FROM BOHOL

Facebook's New Privacy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly | Electronic Frontier Foundation

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