Items tagged with TED
It’s perhaps as perfect a marriage as two educationally-minded can have: PBS and TED (of the famous TED Talks) are teaming up to produce a one-hour special on the public network called “TED Talks Education”, which airs Tuesday evening at 10/9 central. Although TED Talks tend to be fascinating, PBS and partner WNET (a New York public broadcaster) reworked the 18-minute TED format down to 5- to 8-minute segments per speaker. Topics will focus on education and in particular issues surrounding high school dropout rates, and the show will mix in clips of young people talking about their schooling. The hour-long event will be hosted by singer John Legend, who himself is interested...
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Here’s the type of headline we all like to see. ISP McColo was taken down on Tuesday by upstream provider Hurricane Electric, rendering McColo’s downstream ISP without most of its Internet traffic. Hurricane Electric terminated McColo’s service shortly after a group of notable security researchers and vendors released a report showing that McColo and a few other ISPs were hosting Web sites known to cater to child pornography and malware. The report also alleged that McColo was known for carrying some of the world’s largest botnets.After the takedown, experts immediately noticed a significant decrease in the level of spam worldwide. That drop was at least 35%. The exact figure is still debatable,...
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Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt has declined the opportunity to be the "Tech Czar" for the Obama administration. While Schmidt helped campaign for the new President Elect, and has been advising the Obama campaign on technology and energy as part of his 17-member Transition Economic Advisory Board, the prospect of becoming the first Chief Technology Officer of the United states can't entice him away from Google. "I love working at Google and I'm very happy to stay at Google, so the answer is no." said Schmidt. The job, as CTO, will be a large role to fill. Obama hopes the new CTO will be able to "ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services...
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iZ3D and Smooth Creations Team up to Offer a Limited Edition of Custom Painted 3D MonitorsEnjoy Dazzling Effects On-Screen and on the Outside of your Monitor Too! San Diego, Calif., November 3, 2008 -- iZ3D, LLC, designer, developer, and pioneer of advanced 3D visualization systems, is pleased to announce that the company is once again teaming with Smooth Creations, the popular computer custom paint company and now high end game system reseller. iZ3D (TM)is now offering on-screen 3D eye candy and now there are six styles of the monitor itself that are a treat to see. The limited edition of custom painted 22-inch widescreen 3D monitors is available now at https://iz3d.com/painted. No more beige...
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There are only a select few events in the PC hardware world that get hardcore enthusiasts truly excited. For example, when popular trade shows like Computex, IDF, and CES take place, there is a fair amount of buzz. Also, anytime the major players in graphics release next-generation GPUs, things definitely heat up; or likewise when a hot new game hits. Finally, when either of the processor big guns, Intel or AMD, unleash new CPU micro-architectures on the world, you can almost bet that the community will come alive with enthusiasm. We're sure we've missed a few other momentous occasions as well, but you get the gist. It takes something new and exciting to get a PC Enthusiast's pulse racing. Thankfully,...
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The enterprising lads over at iFixit sure like to take stuff apart. Then again, that's at the heart of their bread-and-butter--they take the risks with potentially broken parts and lost screws so that they can assemble comprehensive DIY guides for instructing you how you can repair your own Apple products, such as MacBooks and iPods. If you don't know how to take it apart, how are you going to know to put it back together?Their latest disassembly was of the new "unibody" MacBook Pro that was unveiled only two days ago. Here are some highlight of what they discovered during their dissection: The removable battery Bottom plate removed The system board Dissected!(Credit:...
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Traditional antivirus (AV) testing, such as that done by organizations such as AV-test.org and AV-comparatives.org, uses collections of malware to demonstrate the capabilities of security products. Secunia, on the other hand, focuses on exploits. For example, it has a scanner at its site that will search your system for unpatched vulnerabilities in products such as Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, or Firefox. As Secunia's focus is on exploits, you might expect them to try to put AV solutjions to the test with exploits, rather than just already published malware, and that's what they did. They did a study (.PDF) by taking the following security suites: McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009Norton...
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We wrote earlier about HP's announcement about NVIDIA GPU failures in 38 of its slimline desktop PCs. While that's bad enough, The Inquirer says it has memos from allegedly from an internal knowledge base at Apple which states that all of NVIDIA's parts based on its G92 architecture sent to Apple have had to undergo the same change in bump material required to fix the issues in the heat-related failures we've been talking about since earlier this year.It should be noted that taking the source into account, a big fat "rumor," or perhaps "unsubstantiated" should be placed right here.However, they're not always off the mark. And, after all, if HP is seeing issues, why not another PC...
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Kingston Technology Releases Limited Edition HyperX Modules with Black Heatspreaders -- Available Only at Newegg Fountain Valley, CA – October 6, 2008 – Kingston Technology Co., Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced its popular 1066MHz HyperX DDR2 memory modules are available with limited edition black heatspreaders, exclusively for U.S. customers at online e-tailer Newegg.com. Available for Kingston part # KHX8500AD2K2/4G, the black heatspreaders show off Kingston's enthusiast memory in a new light while guaranteeing the same thermal performance benefits as the famous signature blue heatspreaders. The promotion is for a limited time only and available while supplies...
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Over the past few months, we have seen previews of some GPU-accelerated Adobe effects at events being held by both NVIDIA and AMD / ATI. Today, however, NVIDIA launched a website showcasing many more of the GPU-accelerated aspects of Adobe's upcoming Creative Suite 4, due out some time in October.According to NVIDIA, "Adobe is the latest in a trend of visual computing companies grabbing on to the massively parallel processing power of NVIDIA GPUs for more than just rendering pixels to the screen. Adobe Creative Suite 4 is the most important addition to this trend because of its market position as the leading artistic tool suite.With NVIDIA GPU acceleration, Adobe Creative Suite 4 enables a faster,...
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In July, Symantec opened its 2009 security products to public beta, promising that they would no longer be the performance hogs they have been in the past. You may know that Symantec's latest versions of their security products have been criticized over their memory footprint and CPU usage. Of course, there's also the activation issue (the software must be activated), but that's another point of contention. So this year Symantec focused on speed and resources, calling it a "zero-impact" performance goal. And on Tuesday Symantec announced the launch of its 2009 line, highlighting the following bullet points in a press release: Light on Resources: As we said this is one of the biggest complaints...
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You may have grand visions of owning an Optimus Maximus but we'd caution that there are likely more practical uses of your hard-earned cashola, rather than splurging on frivelous things like a keyboard with independent displays for each key. And with pricing well north of $1800, you can't be serious, right? For a keyboard? Hello?? We don't care how many languages it can be programmed to use. It better make margaritas and then some, for that kind of money. How about something a bit more down to earth, like a this sleek new keyboard from Logitech? Oh yeah, its keys light up too and it's only 79 bucks.FREMONT, Calif. — Sept. 2, 2008 — To help you find the...
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It's becoming increasingly difficult for manufacturers to find new and unique ways to differentiate their products from that of their competitors. With price margins razor thin and many of a system's core components coming from the same suppliers, products in the same categories from different manufacturers tend to offer the same functionality, at the same price, and the products often even look similar to each other. But they might not all smell the same. When we first heard about the new line of scented notebooks from Asus, we were certain that it had to be a hoax. Wrong! Our B.S. detectors were faulty this time around--it turns out that the Asus F6 scented notebooks are, in fact, the real...
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No matter how carefully you try to protect your personal and financial information, you are still at the mercy of those companies you choose to give your information too. Unfortunately, it looks like keeping your sensitive data secure is becoming increasingly difficult for some companies. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the greatest number of reported identity-theft security breaches to date: "As of 9:30 a.m. August 22nd, the number of confirmed data breaches in 2008 stood at 449. The actual number of breaches is most likely higher, due to under-reporting and the fact that some of the breaches reported, which affect multiple businesses,...
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The Electronic Arts (EA) game most people are focused on right now is Spore, which ships Sept. 7th. But there's this other game some may recall, which was also designed by that Will Wright guy: The Sims. And on Wednesday, EA announced at the Leipzig Games Convention that The Sims 3 will be available at retailers worldwide and also via digital download on February 20th, 2009.In their press release, EA said:The feature-set includes a new seamless, open neighborhood, new Create-a-Sim, new unique personality traits, new unlimited customization and new gameplay that's quick and rewarding.The Sims 3 Collector's Edition will also be in stores on February 20, 2009. The Sims 3 Collector's Edition will...
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Whoah there. That would be news. Santa Clara-based NVIDIA, makers of graphics processors that are near and dear to the heart of computer gamers everywhere, has been making quite a bit of news lately -- most of it bad. On the plus side, they were rumored to be working on a deal with Apple to supply a custom platform using Intel processors. But as we told you here earlier, they've also been stung by a $200 million charge to replace laptop chips that were damaged by packaging material. Now Digitimes is reporting that NVIDIA is planning to stop making chipsets altogether, and concentrate solely on their GPU business. The loss of its chipset business is expected to have a significant impact on Nvidia's...
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Since moving to the "top of the world," everything Apple does is watched - and watched carefully. With iPhone launches done (though iPhone shortages still of interest), some have turned their eyes toward the more mundane portion of Apple's business: the computer portion of it. And some circuit board orders are being pointed as a possible clue of new MacBooks.The Commercial Times reported (in Chinese, but translated by Digitimes) that Apple has increased its orders of printed-circuit boards for notebooks by 20 percent, compared to last quarter.Macs are selling pretty well lately, but that's a stronger boost than would be expected from the usual seasonal patterns, and it's unlikely...
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As the price of gas continues to rise, fewer folks are buying automobiles--especially gas-guzzlers like trucks and SUVs. Throw in a limping economy, record job losses, and a crippled housing market, and it's amazing anyone drives anywhere other than to work and the grocery store. There's also the growing environmentally conscious crowd who is concerned over the impact emissions from internal combustion engines have on global climate change. Short of everyone switching to bicycles as their primary means of transportation, what are cash-strapped, eco-friendly people to do? Philadelphia steel wholesaler Barry D. Bernsten thinks he has the answer: electric cars. Credit: BG Automotive...
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It seems that the old saying, "truth is stranger than fiction", rings true yet again but depending on your perspective, Yahoo might actually be on to something. The recent offering from the Microsoft-Carl Icahn Dynamic Duo, that came in over the weekend, was tied up with less than a 24hr deadline ultimatum that was firmly underscored with a no-compromises tonality. In the deal, Microsoft was throwing cash around like only Microsoft can, with not only an equity investment of $3.9 billion but also a preferred debt purse of $2.8 billion as well. But wait, behind door number 3 was a cool $2.3 billion in guaranteed annual revenue for search advertising for the next five...
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It seemed obvious, didn't it? With the new in-store activation process, not only would it take longer, it would also be prone to the same sorts of server issues as last year, when customers would go home and be unable to activate. Only this time, it would in the store. Ah, the joys of early adoption.It seems that not only was the process taking a long time, now the servers have crashed, meaning that AT&T is sending people home unactivated. As AT&T said:We have had reports that customers attempting to download new iTunes 7.7 software to their new iPhone may get an error message saying “page not found.” We have reported this issue to Apple. While Apple works to resolve...
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NVIDIA has been generating a lot of buzz as of late with all of the news regarding their PhysX implementation on GeForce 9800 and GTX 200 series GPUs. An interesting, and related, tid-bit arrived in our in-box this morning that's sure to illicit some curious responses, and wouldn't you know it, it has to do with ATI-accelerated PhysX... Unfortunately, we don't have many details regarding the screenshot above. What it is supposed to show is PhysX being accelerated on a Radeon HD 3800 GPU (reportedly a 3850). The folks that developed the infamous "SLI Patch" are working on this little app that ports NVIDIA's PhysX to ATI GPUs. Supposedly, it will only work on 3800 series cards...
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Buried in the letter which Bill Veghte, senior vice president of the Online Services & Windows Business group sent to Windows customers earlier this week, which re-affirmed that XP is pretty much gone after June 30th (with a few exceptions, more later), was a note that indicated that customers wanted a "more regular, predictable Windows release schedule." Based on that, he said the following:Some of you may have heard about "Windows 7", which is the working name for the next release of Microsoft Windows. We have learned a great deal through the feedback you have shared with us about Windows Vista and that feedback is playing an important role in our work on Windows 7. You have told us you...
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