03 Oct 09 "Windows 7 Compatible" PCs Must Be 64-bit
Barence writes "Microsoft has started certifying PCs as 'compatible with Windows 7' — and is looking to avoid the mistakes that dogged the Vista-Capable scheme. Whereas Microsoft certified PCs that could only run Vista Home Basic last time around, this time PCs will have to work with all versions of Windows 7 to qualify for the sticker, including 64-bit versions of the OS. Microsoft also claims, 'products that receive the logo are checked for common issues to minimize the number of crashes, hangs, and reboots experienced by the user.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tagi: versis, time pcs, compatible pcs, slashdot, th time, microsoft certified, mdash, crashes, last time, microsoft
11 Oct 09 Commercial Fuel From Algae Still Years Away
chrnb sends along this quote from a report at Reuters: "Filling your vehicle's tank with fuel made from algae is still as much as a decade away, as the emerging industry faces a series of hurdles to find an economical way to make the biofuel commercially. Estimates on a timeline for a commercial product, and profits, vary from two to 10 years or more. Executives and industry players who gathered at the Algae Biomass Summit this week in San Diego said they need to push for breakthroughs along the entire chain — from identifying the best organisms to developing efficient harvesting methods. ... So far on the list: finding the right strain of algae among thousands of species that will produce high yields; designing systems where the desired algae can multiply and other species don't invade and disrupt the process; and extracting its oils without degrading other parts of the algae that can be made into side products and sold as well."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tagi: commercial fuel, designing systems, biofuel, mdash, algae, ayers, hurdles, reuters, timeline, 10 years, lt, profits, decade, san diego, summit, tank, side products
16 Oct 09 Cisco, Motorola, and Other Companies Take Aim At Net Neutrality Rules
angry tapir writes "FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced last month that he would seek to develop formal rules prohibiting Internet service providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web content and applications. However, 44 companies — including Cisco Systems, Alcatel-Lucent, Corning, Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia — have sent a letter to the FCC saying new regulations could hinder the development of the Internet. A group of 18 Republican US senators have also sent a letter to Genachowski raising concerns about net neutrality regulations."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tagi: alcatel lucent, fcc chairman, internet service providers, net neutrality, development of the internet, us senators, tapir, compas, slashdot, mth, lucent, fcc, alcatel, cisco, republican, motorola, mdash, aim, nokia
18 Oct 09 Giant Ribbon Discovered At Edge of Solar System
beadwindow writes "NASA's IBEX (Interstellar Boundary Explorer) spacecraft has made the first all-sky maps of the heliosphere and the results have taken researchers by surprise. The maps are bisected by a bright, winding ribbon of unknown origin: 'This is a shocking new result,' says IBEX principal investigator Dave McComas of the Southwest Research Institute. 'We had no idea this ribbon existed — or what has created it. Our previous ideas about the outer heliosphere are going to have to be revised.' Another NASA scientist notes, '"This ribbon winds between the two Voyager spacecraft and was not observed by either of them.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tagi: outer heliosphere, voyager spacecraft, southwest research institute, sky maps, ribb, mccomas, mdash, unknown origin, principal investigator, nasa, solar system, ribbon
05 Nov 09 New Web-Based Netbook From Litl — Based On Clutter, Uncluttered
cananian writes "The webbook company of Gnome's own Havoc Pennington (with a healthy dose of ex-Nokia and ex-OLPC engineers) finally shed its secrecy today, with a new web site and an article in the WSJ. Technical specs on the hardware were found by Engadget last week, and now comes a bit more information on the software behind the UI. Most of the client software is written in JavaScript with GTK/Clutter bindings, and the UI has some superficial similarities to Pentagram's designs for OLPC's Sugar."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tagi: webbook company, wsj, superficial similarities, olpc, netbook, mdash, client software, technical specs, secrecy, havoc, clutter, gnome, ui, nokia
