Tag: Computers

PC Upgrades -- A Pain In The Ass, But Inevitable

skeeter1.

Posted to SciTech on Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 10:20:09 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

I think I'm on number 12. I've lost count.

It all started with a Sinclair ZX-81 back in 1981. It had a whopping 16K of memory, and audio cassette drive for storage, and hooked up to a black & white TV for a monitor.

Next up was an Apple II+. With 64K of memory, a 140K 5.25" floppy disk drive, and a green-screen monochrome monitor. That was a good start.

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Was The Fired Librarian A Snitch Or A Heroine?

If you're a member of the Geek Squad asked to fix someone's computer and you find kiddie porn on the hard drive and you report it to the police, you're a hero. If you're a library aide in Tulare County, California and you spot a patron using library computers to view kiddie porn and report him to the cops, you're out of a job. At least that's what Brenda Biesterfeld is saying happened to her and it's a case that has the entire community in an uproar.

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Has Microsoft's Time Come and Gone?

port1080.

Posted to Business on Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 07:04:49 PM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

Motley Fool thinks that Bill Gates' move from company leadership is a sign of things to come, much like when a rat instinctively knows when to leave a sinking ship....

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Black Tuesday: The Rise (and Fall) of a Former Online Empire

pO157.

Posted to Business on Thu Oct 18, 2007 at 11:07:51 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

AOL (or America Online) used to be the tie that bound personal Internet users together. Now it is tightening its belt in massive layoffs and pondering how to redefine itself as a company.

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Won't Somebody Think Of The Daylight?

thefadd.

Posted to SciTech on Mon Mar 05, 2007 at 02:06:49 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

The world needs saving and what better place to start than that most precious commodity of all -- time. Were it not for time, we either wouldn't exist or wouldn't age. Scientists are still unsure which. Science be damn, though, claimed US President George W. Bush as he bestowed upon America extra hours of sunlight starting this year. Assertions by science types that this hour of daylight was simply taken from the morning and added to the afternoon could be immediately confirmed by those waking early enough in the morning.

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Microsoft Opening a New Vista On Screwing Consumers?

profwhat.

Posted to SciTech on Wed Jan 31, 2007 at 03:55:37 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Ten thousand people labored for five years to create Microsoft Windows Vista, and this week it will finally be offered to consumers. To use it, you'll need to buy a copy for around $150. You will probably also need to upgrade your machine (especially if you want to use the cool Aero graphics). And, oh, one other thing: You will also have to allow remote corporations complete control over some aspects of how your machine behaves.

(34 comments, 286 words in story) Full Story

Tesla Vindicated? Wireless Energy Coming To A Laptop Near You

shane.

Posted to SciTech on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 10:33:56 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Physicists have thought up a way to wirelessly transfer energy to your laptop, cellphone and other portable devices. The technology would apply to short-range in home use of energy. Assistant Professor Marin Soljacic from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the researchers behind the work says:

There are so many autonomous devices such as cell phones and laptops that have emerged in the last few years. We started thinking, 'it would be really convenient if you didn't have to recharge these things'. And because we're physicists we asked, 'what kind of physical phenomenon can we use to do this wireless energy transfer?'."

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