Archive for November, 2009

Archos Releases Dev Edition Firmware For Tablets

Charbax writes “While Archos’ current ‘Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android’ is a 4.8″ WVGA tablet that runs Android 1.5 (and perhaps 2.0 soon with the full Google Marketplace Experience), users of last year’s 4.8″ and 7″ Archos Linux tablets have been complaining that Archos’ firmware updates to its proprietary, embedded Linux OS were too […]

G-WAN, Another Free Web Server

mssmss writes “Has anyone used G-WAN — a free (as in beer), supposedly fast and scalable Web server? The downside is it supports only C scripts, which the author claims is a plus since most programmers know C anyway. There is currently only a Windows release and no clear answer in their FAQs whether there […]

German President Refuses To Sign Censorship Law

thetinytoon writes “German federal president Horst Köhler has refused to sign a law to block child pornography that passed Parlament earlier this year, stating that he ‘needs more information.’ In Germany, the federal president has the right to reject a law only if its passage violated the order mandated by the constitution, or if it […]

Chrome OS Presents and Futures

Many readers are submitting stories related to Google Chrome OS. ruphus13 points out a GigaOm opinion piece about how, if users end up rejecting its current cloud-only focus, the nacent OS may succeed as a netbook secondary operating system alongside Windows (in company with secondaries based on other Linux flavors, including Android). Engadget reviews a […]

Air Cannon Ties Pirates In Knots

Hugh Pickens writes “Numerous high-tech devices have been proposed to help ships cope with piracy on the high seas. Now a company has developed a ship-borne launching device that fires a net or coiled rope into the path of pirate vessels using compressed air with a range of up to a range of 400m. The […]

Google Eliminates Gizmo5 Client For Linux

cuttheredwire writes “Evidence on the Gizmo5 forum (login required) confirms that since Google’s takeover of Gizmo5, only the Windows, Mac, and iPhone clients are available for download from the official Web page. The Linux download link no longer works. This is a potential problem for happy Linux users with paid-up credit in their Gizmo5 accounts […]

NASA Campaigns For Safer Launch Requirements

NASA officials will speak before members of Congress this week in an effort to gain support for more stringent launch safety considerations for the space shuttle’s successor. Crew safety remains a major concern for lawmakers while they debate NASA’s future and the potential integration of private companies into US space flight plans. “The demonstrated probability […]

Network Security While Traveling?

truesaer writes “I’ll be spending all of next year backpacking through South America. In the past I’ve used Internet cafes while away, but this time I plan to bring a netbook and rely primarily on Wi-Fi hotspots. I’ll be facing the same issues and risks that business travelers in hotels and airports face, as well […]

Where the Global Warming Data Is

Several readers noted the latest fallout from the Climate Research Unit’s Climategate: the admission by the University of East Anglia that the raw data behind important climate research was discarded in the 1980s, “a time when climate change was seen as a less pressing issue” according to the Times (UK) article. The Telegraph quotes Phil […]

Do You Hate Being Called an “IT Guy?”

An anonymous reader writes “The phrase ‘IT’ is so overused, I’m not sure what it means any more. OK, maybe it’s an ego thing, but I spent a lot of years in grad school, lots of years getting good at creating software, and lots of years getting good at creating technical products and I don’t […]