Articles


Anandtech analyzes G5 performance

An interesting article from Anandtech compares the PowerMacintosh G5 to similarly configured PCs and finds it lacking as a server due to problems with thread spawning and (therefore) forking. However, they like it as a workstation. Perhaps Apple would like to comment on this at the WWDC.


Initial reviews point at AMD over Intel in dual-core

According to an article from CNet that discusses reviews at Tom's Hardware and Anandtech that each show AMD's dual-core chips with an advantage over the Intel chips with dual-core technology.The Anandtech review is a bit more neutral, but the reviewer at Tom's gives early adopters a clear choice: AMD …


Google's "summer of code"

Google has announced the Summer of Code, whereby students who spend their summer working on certain open source projects can earn up to $4,500. The details are pretty cool. They're funding 200 developers, all students, to execute on plans to complete open source projects for a number of open …

Orson Scott Card's impassioned plea

It's interesting to read people's take on the world. As a fan of Orson Scott Card's fiction, I've watched his online commentary for a while. This week's Ornery American column on Islam, Newsweek, Democrats, "Smartland" and "Heartland", with a bit of Mormon history thrown in is interesting. I can't say …

Social engineering+trojan horse=LexisNexis

An article from Wired details the exploits of the three young hackers (16,19 and 20) who broke in to the LexisNexis databases and had access to the personal data of over 300,000 people. Of particular interest is the account of how they got access to the law enforcement …


Japanese vs. Western toilets

You might want to skip this one if you can't handle discussing toilets. However, if you've traveled in Japan, you've undoubtedly run across the hole in the ground referred to as a "Japanese-style" toilet. In this article, the Japan Times discusses the benefits of their native toilets over the "Western-style …

Intel quietly releases chipset with hardware DRM for M$

Intel and Microsoft have started to quietly insert pieces of Microsoft's new Digital Rights Management (DRM) into Intel's latest hardware. According to an article from Digit, Intel's Pentium D (dual core chip) and 945g chipset include support for the DRM technology, although neither Microsoft nor Intel is disclosing how much …

Bank of America announces anti-phishing strategy

CNet is reporting that Bank of America has announced plans to roll out two technologies to help the firm (and customers) fight against phishing (the use of email and web sites to gain personal information from users). The strategy includes adding features to their web site and leaving a trail …

Security expert switches his company to Macs

This is probably getting pretty old by now, but there are a lot of people who still seem not to get the point: move to a Mac, reap the benefits. Winn Schwartau (contributor to Networld, author of computer security books, and founder of The Security Awareness Company has switched his …

Census bureau counts the vote

The Washington Post is reporting on a study from the Census Bureau to be published today indicating that 125 million Americans (64% of those 18 and older) voted in the 2004 elections. The article contains the obligatory statistical breakdowns, which are all pretty much as you would expect.

Nokia announces Internet tablet

An article from InfoSync World describes the new Nokia 770 Internet tablet device, a linux-based touch- sensitive WiFi web access terminal. This thing is rumored to be coming out this fall at a price point near $350, making it much more compelling than the larger and more expensive Windows- based …

Trolltech loses scent of SCO

According to an article on GrokLaw, Trolltech (makers of the Qt toolkit) has announced that they no longer have SCO and Borland as investors. Their products may not be well know, but they are used as part of a number of handheld portable devices, including the Zaurus line from Sharp …

14 sane Senators leave filibuster as is

At the last minute, it appears that the US Senate has diverted (for now) from the path of a rule change that would modify the handling of the filibuster for judicial nominees. Having not done any specific investigation into the nominees that they all agreed to give a vote to …

Teenage "Internet addiction" and depression

I'm not sure that I buy this one, but WebMD is reporting that Korean students who spend a lot of time on the Internet may be becoming Internet Addicts and that this is linked to depression, although nobody seems to know which comes first. The study appears to have been …


Google+crime data=live Chicago mapping

My brother, Derek, is an acknowledged expert in crime mapping (see his web site: CriminalBehavior.org; and his book: Spatial Aspects of Crime), so I pay attention to things like crime mapping software. Google recently released Google Maps and now you can see week-delayed crime stats for Chicago visually via …

The world with many Microsofts?

I know it's been a long time since the Feds and Microsoft finished their row over Microsoft's monopolistic practices, and I understand that the Court of Appeals "let Microsoft off" with a slap on the wrist after basically reducing Thomas Penfield Jackson's original decree null-and-void. However, I'm thinking that it …