Items tagged with Will
Dialing information on your phone usually costs over a dollar. No thanks. Google's begun offering a free 411 service; just dial 800-GOOG-411 and yell what you're looking for into the phone, and hope your accent doesn't throw the automated service off.The service applies speech recognition technologies to figure out what you're searching for, and using speech synthesis to read the results back to you. Users can receive their results as a text message to their current number by saying "text message, and Goog 411 can connect users directly to a found business. Unlike some other automated 411 services, Goog 411 users can't be connected to a live operator, so users searching for something the system...
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eWeek has a funny story about a self-described "Romanian" hacker who posted 15 e-bay users' sensitive personal and financial information on an e-bay forum, along with a bunch of taunts. By "funny," I mean only if you're not those 15 people. For them, it's more like:"very bad." "read many opinions here.... All I saw it's just [misspelled obscenity]....Alot of things about scamms..stupid things I think. Romanian guys are the best boys !!!! We are in each country...each city...and every day alot of money from your pocket intro in pur bank accounts....You know why ?? I will tell you my opinion...because you are so stupid ..... anyone can scam you very easy....not...
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Intel recently announced its intentions to develop a CPU containing 80 cores, but Mike Magee over at The Inquirer explains why he thinks more cores may not be better. The main point of his argument is that hardware can only truly be effective if software can take advantage of it's full capabilities. With that said, what good is an 80 core CPU without software that can utilize that much processing power? Only time will tell whether software will be developed to take advantage of Intel's proposed 80 core CPUs. Perhaps CPUs with as many as 80 cores really are the future of micro-processing, but then again perhaps we are just witnessing another publicity bombshell in the...
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A PS3 or an X-Box 360 is a great big powerful thing. But it's Nintendo's inexpensive Wii that seems to be capturing people's imaginations. Its simple, intuitive controller has already spawned all kinds of little hacks. But some of the more interesting uses of the controller aren't part of Nintendo's official game library. Within weeks of Wii's November launch, videos were making the rounds on YouTube showing the controller used to move a PC's mouse cursor, play Half-Life 2 and even control a music synthesizer and drum machine. Hackers quickly discovered that the controller was using standard Bluetooth signals for its wireless...
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Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will reexamine U.S. Patent No. 6,725,438 (the'438 patent), one of three patents at issue in a lawsuit between Magma and Synopsys Inc. pending in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. With this decision, the PTO is now in the process of reexamining two of the three patents in the lawsuit, and the PTO will soon decide whether it will reexamine the third. The PTO is reexamining U.S. Patent Number 6,378,114 (the '114 patent), and in August rejected all 15 claims in that patent. The PTO was asked to reexamine the third patent, U.S. Patent Number 6,453,446 (the '446...
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Nokia sells a lot of phones. They sell ten times as many phones as Apple sells iPods. Hot Hardware editor Marco Chiappetta recently examined the evidence that Apple is trying to get a handle on the technology necessary to produce, finally, their own iPhone. They better hurry. Nokia seems to have already produced their own "noPlayer": The bottom line? The N91 is a good music player and a superb phone. That said, I wouldn't buy one for the outlandish current price of $599 when you can get an iPod and a phone separately for less money. However, keep in mind that today's music phones are for the early adopter crowd. Mobile-service providers are notorious for taking months to approve new...
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Windows Vista is configured to reliably put your desktop to sleep during periods of inactivity. Now, besides quickly minimizing screens showing women that aren't dressed, or Fark when your boss walks by, you'll have to worry about the screen being blank while you're sleeping at your desk, too: With Windows Vista, Microsoft plans to put machines to sleep after an hour of inactivity. While businesses and consumers can change that setting, the software maker said they would be smart to let their computers nod off. Microsoft estimates that allowing a PC to go to sleep during off hours, as compared with leaving it on all the time, saves anywhere from $55 (£29.55) a year to $70 (£37.60)...
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After months of delays, analysts are now stating that Microsoft will ship Windows Vista on time. ETA for RTM (release to manufacturing) will be sometime on November with retail release some time in January. Head on over to Reuters for the details. Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund sent a note to clients saying that Microsoft may be ready to send the final test version of its much-anticipated Windows upgrade later this week or next week, indicating that Vista will be available for business customers in November and retail PCs by late January....
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No, not those kind of games, we're talking about online gambling here. A recent bill that aims to ban online gambling may sound like a good idea to some, but John J. Farmer, New Jersey's attorney general, says the ban has the potential to drive folks to unregulated web sites for their gambling needs. Farmer not only feels that the bill is a bad idea, but will also be short lived. "Farmer, now a partner in law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, said he studied the legality of online gaming in 1999, when the State of New Jersey was concerned about criminal operators. "In 1999, there were operators taking bets and not paying...
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If you're like me, YouTube is thinking about taking out a restraining order on you, or giving you a medal. It's endlessly fascinating. LinuxElectrons outlines In-Stat's Consumer Media and Content Service's projection of growth in the UGC market. (user generated content) User-Generated Content (UGC), such as that found on YouTube and MySpace, will continue to grow significantly in popularity and generate increasing revenue over the next several years, reports In-Stat. By 2010, the volume of downloads/views on these sites will surpass 65 billion, and revenues tied to UGC video are expected to exceed $850 million by 2010, the high-tech market research firm says. Revenues are those directly...
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Apple's OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, is supposedly being readied with features that could take on Windows Vista. Since Apple has seen the light with respect to X86 class processors with its move to Intel, might die-hard PC enthusiasts now see more compelling reasons to actually consider running a Mac? "But beyond Boot Camp, it turns out, Apple intends to intensify its chances of winning Windows users, and wasn't about to rest on the laurels of Boot Camp. With the new OS X 10.5 version, planned for shipping in spring 2007, users will be able to tap into new backup and recovery technology, introduce virtual desktops, and have more...
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Your best friend Guttersnipe made some alarming predictions over at the Inquirer yesterday. While we think there's certainly a bit of truth spun in between this vicious thread, we'd suggest you read through this post with more of an entertainment value mind-set. Sure, logically one would assume there will be a bit of workforce consolidation between the two companies, there's no big surprise there but the Inq boys sure do like to take things over the top. It's all good... just consider the source. And NO that's not a dig on our buds at the Inq. ;) "What's been very amusing for the last 10 years, however, is how naive and disingenuous hardware sites...
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ECS Elitegroup to Acquire Uniwill Computer -- Leaders in notebook design and manufacture join forces to expand leadership in white book and ultra portable solutions -- Fremont, CA (August 1, 2006) - Elitegroup Computer Systems, Inc. (ECS, TSE: 2331), the world's leading desktop PCs, notebooks, servers, motherboards, video cards, wireless solutions and handheld devices manufacturer, announced it has inked an agreement to acquire Uniwill Computer, Taiwan's leading manufacturer of ultra-portable notebook solutions. This acquisition will allow customers of both companies to deploy a wide range of compelling notebook and white book products to the marketplace immediately. This is the second...
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It's that time again. The ongoing "AMD vs. Intel" battle is gearing up, and as usual, there's no telling which way it will go. For some time now, AMD has been the processor of choice among enthusiasts, and that's unlikely to be challenged until Intel's 'Conroe' processor is up and about. "Age has mellowed my thirst for speed, and my upgrade schedule has slowed to a yearly pace, but that doesn't mean I'm settling for any less. To fit into this leisurely schedule I've had to focus a bit more on evolving technologies, and do my best to avoid the lemons and technological evolutionary branches which aren't going...
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