[Geeks Are Sexy] Technology News

Reminder: Last day to pre-order Windows 7 Upgrade at 50% Off

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:07:33 +0000

Just a quick post to remind you guys that today is the last day you can take advantage of the 50% off pre-order deal on Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional

If you were planning to upgrade to the new operating system in October, why not take advantage of this amazing offer now?

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If you thought Torchwood wasn’t kid-friendly, wait ’til you see these aliens

Casey — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:12:14 +0000

This past week, the five-part Torchwood miniseries “Children of Earth” aired on BBC 3. This was a replacement for a typical season-run for the third season of the show, much like Doctor Who is interspersing four “specials” (one down, three to go) throughout the year rather than the usual thirteen-episode season.

Torchwood has always been darker than Doctor Who, but “Children of Earth” really takes it to a whole new level. I can’t reveal too much without spoiling the plot, but let’s just say that even if you’re not a fan of the show, if you appreciate science fiction with complicated ethical dilemmas and don’t mind the social commentary a tad heavy-handed at times, this is not to be missed. Plus, creepy children and really, really, really creepy aliens. When every kid in the entire world freezes in place and starts speaking in unison, you know you’ve probably got an alien problem – and the image is all very Children of the Corn.

Though I should offer two warnings: (1) you may be forced, as I was, to stay up until 3am watching all five episodes; and (2) Russell T. Davies, who pinned most of the scripts, is the type of writer who seems to delight in slowly carving fans’ hearts out with a spoon.

There has not yet been any word on whether there will be more seasons of Torchwood, abbreviated or otherwise, though I suspect that if there is an announcement it will be made at Comic Con, since both Davies and star John Barrowman will be there. However, it would not appear to be the last time we’d see Captain Jack Harkness in any case, as Barrowman has been seen on the set of the upcoming Doctor Who specials.

If you are in the U.S., “Children of Earth” will begin airing on BBC America on Monday, July 20. You’ll want to give your kids a hug after this one.

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Good things come to those who get up early

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:30:58 +0000

You know what they say: “Good things come to those who get up early.” Anyway, when I spotted this nice 3D animation on my pal Korben’s French-language blog, I just knew I had to post it to remind everyone that those who sleep in until Saturday afternoon miss wonderful opportunities Saturday morning. Video after the jump.

Ok, I have to admit, I pre-scheduled this to appear this morning last night, and I may still be sleeping right now… unless the kids have woken me up already, which I pray they won’t. Have a great weekend everyone!

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100 Essential Skills for Geeks

Miss Cellania — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:39:41 +0000

GeekDad posted what he calls “a good sample of the skills required to be a true geek.” I started reading the list of 100 Essential Skills for Geeks and realized I am not a geek at all. But rather than giving up, I, like a true geek, kept reading the list. At about #47, the list turned from depressing to things that I know and can do. I did #100 just yesterday! So I guess I may be a geek after all, I’m just not a tech geek. How many of these skills do you really think are required for geekitude? And how many do you have?

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Scientists: USA #1! Public: Meh.

JLister — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:39:20 +0000

Almost half of America’s scientists think they are the best in the world – but the public disagrees. That’s the most striking finding of a new survey which shows the perceived importance of US achievements in the field has slumped in the past decade.

A study by the Pew Research Center for the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that 49% of more than 2,500 US scientists questioned said the country’s scientific achievements were the best in the world, a view backed by just 17% of non-scientists who took part in the survey.

The country’s achievements in science, medicine and technology have also lost some perceived importance. In a similar survey in 1999, 47% of people ranked successes in the field as the nation’s “greatest achievement”. Today that figure is just 27%: still the highest ranked category, but losing ground to “civil rights/equal rights”.

That’s not to say the public has turned its back on science: 60 per cent said government funding was essential for research, while just 29% thought purely private financing was sufficient.

Scientists ranked a lack of funding as the biggest obstacle to research, with 87% describing it as a very serious or serious problem, while around two-thirds said visa issues for foreign scientists wanting to research in the US was a serious problem. However, most of those questioned rejected regulatory issues such as those on animal testing as being a serious problem.

There’s still a big disparity between the views of scientists and the public on key issues: while 87% of scientists believe in the general principle of evolution, just 32% of the public share this belief. And while 84% of scientists believe the earth is getting warmer because of human activity, 49% of the public agree.

Surprisingly, attitudes to scientific issues don’t have a major affect on how people assess the importance of science. 78% of evolution believers say scientists contribute a lot to society’s well-being, compared with 64% of creationists. Even among those who said science conflicts with their religious beliefs, 67% still said scientists contribute a lot.

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Prey Alone

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:09:33 +0000

Prey Alone is a 2005 action-packed short film featuring agent Cain, a man on the hunt for an elusive killer. His only clues to find him: an uncooperative witness and the words P.R.E.Y. A.L.O.N.E.

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Portable VLC 1.0

Karl L. Gechlik — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:30:09 +0000

Most of you have heard that VLC, the open-source media-playing software is now officially out of beta. Even better, they have released a portable version of the software, which means you can keep VLC on your USB drive and use it on other people’s machines.

Have you tried watching a video on a friend’s computer only find out that they don’t have the proper codecs to play the file? Putting VLC on a USB thumb-drive prevents that problem.

All you have to do is download the file and install it to your USB drive When you’re prompted for the installation directory, make sure it is actually on the USB drive – everything you need will be put in that directory, so it is completely registry independent.

If you’re unfamiliar with VLC, it’s a multimedia player famous for being able to play most audio and video formats. For example, it’s one of the ways to play DVDs in Windows without having to buy a seperate program, it plays H.264 MP4 files, Matroska videos, and various streaming protocols. In short: It plays almost anything, including HD video.

For advanced users, it can also be used as a streaming server or a transcoder (re-recording video files from one type to another.)

Do you have something specific you use VLC for? Or do you have another favorite media player? Please leave some comments!

————

Karl L. Gechlik spends all of his free time helping technically challenged individuals on his blog www.askTheAdmin.com.

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Office 2010: The Movie

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:21:01 +0000

Yeah, that’s Office 2010, as in Microsoft Office 2010. Enjoy!

[Via TechEblog]

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Sony defies Activision ultimatum over PS3 price cut

JLister — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:30:26 +0000

Sony says it has no plans to cut the cost of the PS3, despite threats by one major games producer to boycott the console until it becomes cheaper.

Last month, Bobby Kotick of Activision (the firm behind Call of Duty and Guitar Hero) said the high price of the console meant those who do buy it tend to buy fewer games than with other machines. He said it was much more profitable to make games for the Xbox 360 and Wii, and that when considering development plans for 2010 and 2011, “If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.”

That’s a pretty powerful threat as Activision claims to have paid Sony $500 million in royalties for 2008. That’s a serious chunk of Sony’s income considering the firm’s games division is reported to have lost $597 million last year.

Howard Stringer (pictured), the chief executive of Sony, told Reuters the threats would not work. “He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer said, when asked about the comments. “He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of business”

While most analysts agree that the PS3 is too expensive compared with rival consoles and needs a price cut to boost sales, the biggest problem may well be Sony stockholders. None of the three major manufacturers are making any serious profits on the consoles themselves: Sony may be making a small loss, and it would have to take a serious loss per unit to come anywhere close to matching the price of the rival consoles.

However, while people who follow the games industry can see the logic that selling cheap consoles may be worth the loss because it increases the audience for games (and thus the royalties), stockholders looking at an already loss-making division might not see it that way.

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Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 Trailer #2

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:34:27 +0000

28 years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world.

The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africas as the worlds nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens welfare, but only in their high-tech weaponry, which requires alien DNA in order to work.

The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe, contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable: He is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.

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What is Inside a Black Hole?

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:44:06 +0000

Take a ride inside the Black Hole Flight Simulator, courtesy of Professor Andrew Hamilton.

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Pandora celebrates as online radio escapes royalty devastation

JLister — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:28:32 +0000

Online music site Pandora has been saved from closure after the music and internet industries finally reached a deal over royalty rates. It’s a major boost for the online radio industry, though there’s still a significant disparity between online and over-the-air radio.

Online radio in the US is governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and operates under legally mandated royalty rates. In early 2007, the panel of judges which sets these rates decided on a steep rise which would take royalties from 0.08 cents to 0.19 cents per song starting next year.

These seemingly tiny sums mount up: in Pandora’s case, it would have taken the proportion of its revenue which it had to spend on royalties from just under 30% to around 70%, making the business financially unviable.

After a lengthy debate, which included Pandora and other online stations successfully lobbying Congress for extra time to iron out a deal, the record industry has agreed to a plan. As might be expected from such intense negotiations, it’s a far from simple compromise.

The key points are that online streaming services earning more than $1.25 million a year will either pay royalties of 0.093 cents per song (rising gradually to 0.14 cents in 2014), or a flat rate of 25% of revenue, whichever is the higher figure. Smaller firms won’t pay per-song revenues and will usually pay a smaller percentage of royalties, though some firms may pay based on their overall costs.

The deal only applies to sites which solely deal in streaming music and don’t sell other goods or services. In theory, internet firms don’t have to sign up to the deal and are open to attempt separate negotiations. However, assuming the deal gets Congressional approval (which appears likely), any firm has an automatic right to sign up for the new rates and can then operate without fear of the music industry pursuing them for extra cash.

As Pandora will likely wind up having to pay the per-song royalties, it’s introducing user fees for the first time. Users will still be allowed free accounts, but these will be limited to 40 hours per month. Those who want to exceed this limit – which around 10 per cent of users currently do – will have to pay a 99c fee each month.

Despite the deal likely saving his business, Pandora owner Tim Westergren remains disgruntled that internet radio stations must pay royalties while over-the-air stations don’t pay any fees to music companies. He’s still lobbying for a system by which all types of radio pay the same royalties.

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