Category: Computers

Microsoft plans antipiracy update for Windows 7

Posted by Nexus – 10/03/2010

[via cnet.com]

An optional update to Windows closes a number of hacks that counterfeiters have used to bypass the product activation technologies built into Windows 7. With the update, Windows will try to restore Windows to its proper state, as well as marking tampered versions as non-genuine copies of the operating system.

Microsoft said on Thursday that it is planning an update to Windows 7 that will close a number of loopholes that counterfeiters had used to thwart the operating system’s built-in anti-piracy measures.

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Oh, Those Robot Eyes!

Posted by Nexus – 10/03/2010

[via hplusmagazine.com]

Willow Garage is organizing a workshop at the IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2010 in San Francisco to discuss the intersection of computer vision with human-robot interaction. Willow Garage is the hardware and open source software organization behind the Robot Operating System (ROS) and the PR robot development platform. Here’s a recent video from Willow Garage of work done at the University of Illinois on how robots can be taught to perceive images:

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Eternal Code is now mobile-internet compatible!

Posted by Nexus – 09/03/2010

How this site should look in a mobile browser (Opera Mini is demonstrated here).

Thanks to Crowd Favorite and Carrington Mobile, Eternal Code is now mobile-device compatible.

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$200 Chrome OS Tablet by Freescale

Posted by Nexus – 09/03/2010

[via thechromesource.com]

So it does exist. I had heard that there was going to be a Chrome OS tablet at the Mobile World Congress, and sure enough we finally see in a somewhat lengthy video the folks from Freescale showing off their prototype with a 7″ screen. This was the same model that was shown at CES running Android. The cost? Around $200, running on hardware in the form factor of their model known as the i.MX51. The video shows some locally cached video playback in HTML5:

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A 3-Step Guide for Beginners on Buzz

Posted by Nexus – 07/03/2010

[via openforum.com]

A lot of the buzz about Buzz has died down, but this conversation service from Google is just beginning to experience a surge of traffic. If it’s like many social media tools, it will take a while for users to hop on board—after early adopters charge forward first. When I heard that my colleague, tech guru Leo Laporte loves Buzz, I knew that I had to get up-to-speed on how it works. Here is what I’ve learned that will help beginners get Buzz-ing in no time.

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Skinput turns your hand into a touchscreen and your fingers into a keypad

Posted by Nexus – 07/03/2010

[via gizmag.com]

Skinput gives you computer functionality literally at your fingertips

Always thought your skin was more than just a thing to stop your insides falling out? Well, you were right. Chris Harrison has developed Skinput, a way in which your skin can become a touch screen device or your fingers buttons on a MP3 controller.

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Wall-E Case Mod (56k warning)

Posted by Nexus – 05/03/2010

[via picsroll.com]

Warning: many pictures.

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Man Behind ZX80 Inventor Doesn’t Use Any Computer

Posted by Nexus – 01/03/2010

[via itproportal.com]

Sir Clive Sinclair, the man who is credited for single-handedly introducing the first affordable home computer in the UK, cannot be bothered to use one of these device these days.

In an interview with the Observer to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the legendary Sinclair ZX80, its creator admitted that it was down to sheer laziness as he has people who read his emails and reply to them.

He also admits that he find emails particularly annoying and would prefer to people to phone him if they want to communicate with him before adding that he just doesn’t want to be distracted by the whole process.

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The Last DVD and Blu-Ray Ripping Guide You’ll Ever Need

Posted by Nexus – 28/02/2010

[via maximumpc.com, originally written by Will Smith]

We’ve become so accustomed to the ease and convenience of iTunes and blink-and-you-miss-’em CD rips that we forget how in the mid-1990s, ripping a CD was a time-consuming process fraught with peril. Shoot, ripping a single disc to a 128Kbps MP3 could take eight hours on a 200MHz Pentium! Fast forward a decade and faster hardware and better software have made CD ripping so mainstream your mom does it.

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Consumers ignoring ‘green’ products

Posted by Nexus – 26/02/2010

[via bit-tech.net]

While our investigation into energy efficient hardware might have confirmed that choosing lower-power hardware can make a difference to your running costs if you’re willing to sacrifice performance – or buy Intel processors – it seems that the public isn’t yet switched on to the benefits of ‘green’ technology.

In a report released this week by consumer electronics site Retrevo – via CNet – a full 42 percent of those queried about their buying habits stated that they were unconcerned if “a gadget I buy is not green.”

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