50 Places Linux is Running That You Might Not Expect

Linux in the workspace no way. Yes way, here are 50 examples.

It was not long ago when Microsoft Windows had a tight stranglehold on the operating system market. Walk into a Circuit City or Staples, it seemed, and virtually any computer you took home would be running the most current flavor of Windows. Ditto for computers ordered direct from a manufacturer. In the last decade, though, the operating system market has begun to change. Slightly more than 5% of all computers now run Mac, according to NetMarketShare.com. Linux is hovering just beneath 1% of the overall market share in operating systems. And although that might sound like a small number, Linux is far more than just a fringe OS. In fact, it’s running in quite a few more places than you probably suspect. Below are fifty places Linux is running today in place of Windows or Mac. For easy reading, they are divided amongst government, home, business, and educational usage.

Read more: http://www.focus.com/fyi/information-technology/50-places-linux-running-you-might-not-expect/

Linux in the workspace no way. Yes way, here are 50 examples.

It was not long ago when Microsoft Windows had a tight stranglehold on the operating system market. Walk into a Circuit City or Staples, it seemed, and virtually any computer you took home would be running the most current flavor of Windows. Ditto for computers ordered direct from a manufacturer. In the last decade, though, the operating system market has begun to change. Slightly more than 5% of all computers now run Mac, according to NetMarketShare.com. Linux is hovering just beneath 1% of the overall market share in operating systems. And although that might sound like a small number, Linux is far more than just a fringe OS. In fact, it’s running in quite a few more places than you probably suspect. Below are fifty places Linux is running today in place of Windows or Mac. For easy reading, they are divided amongst government, home, business, and educational usage.

Read more: http://www.focus.com/fyi/information-technology/50-places-linux-running-you-might-not-expect/

Denial of Service

Don’t believe the telecoms. Broadband access in the United States is even worse than you think.

Given the dismal state of broadband connections in America, it was illuminating recently to hear a major telecom executive paint a rosy picture of where the country stands. When Wall Street Journal Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray asked how the United States ranks in broadband, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg didn’t hesitate: “One. Not even close.”

Read more: http://www.slate.com/id/2252141

Don’t believe the telecoms. Broadband access in the United States is even worse than you think.

Given the dismal state of broadband connections in America, it was illuminating recently to hear a major telecom executive paint a rosy picture of where the country stands. When Wall Street Journal Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray asked how the United States ranks in broadband, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg didn’t hesitate: “One. Not even close.”

Read more: http://www.slate.com/id/2252141

Geeky Temptation: 16 Slick, Sick, or Stunning Workstations

Here are some interesting workstation concepts. I could go for one of these if they were not so expensive.

With so much time spent in front a computer, your workstation becomes a big part of your life. Some people go for straight out luxury for work or play. Others people are more concerned with gaming or home theaters, while others need a space-saving workstation. Here are 16 high-tech workstations, or design concept workstations, to enhance your working or playing computer experience.

Read more here: http://weburbanist.com/2010/04/28/geeky-temptation-16-slick-sick-or-stunning-workstations/

Here are some interesting workstation concepts. I could go for one of these if they were not so expensive.

With so much time spent in front a computer, your workstation becomes a big part of your life. Some people go for straight out luxury for work or play. Others people are more concerned with gaming or home theaters, while others need a space-saving workstation. Here are 16 high-tech workstations, or design concept workstations, to enhance your working or playing computer experience.

Read more here: http://weburbanist.com/2010/04/28/geeky-temptation-16-slick-sick-or-stunning-workstations/

99 year-old loves her first computer an iPad

This is a neat story. The video really makes this story.

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/22/99-year-old-loves-her-first-computer-an-ipad/

Here is the video if you want to skip the short article.

This is a neat story. The video really makes this story.

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/22/99-year-old-loves-her-first-computer-an-ipad/

Here is the video if you want to skip the short article.

Are you a Tech hoarder?

The A&E reality show Hoarders has become something of a sensation of late, with TV viewers tuning in to see the harrowing results of a specific kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The victims have difficulty throwing anything away, and end up living amidst piles of their own trash — though they insist that they’re “getting around to cleaning up” or that they “need” some of the obvious garbage they have on hand.

But much of the fascination of shows like these comes from the “there but for the grace of God go I” moment of recognition from viewers. And I have to admit that, while my living room isn’t waist-deep in newspapers, I do have some definite hoarding tendencies — and a lot of them revolve around electronics. Take that picture above up there. Yeah, that comes from my home office. It’s on top of the bookcase near my desk, and it’s my most high-priority pile of cables. Most of the things in there are things I actually use on a regular or semi-regular basis — after I took the picture, I had to dive in there to dig out my camera’s USB cable, for instance. But then there’s stuff in there that’s significantly less useful — like a DVI-to-VGA adapter, which I would have last needed, oh, about 2005 or thereabouts?

If you want to go further down the rabbit hole of tech hoarding with me and a few other folks brave enough to have sent me their pics, read on!http://www.itworld.com/print/105256
The best reuse of old hardware below:

The A&E reality show Hoarders has become something of a sensation of late, with TV viewers tuning in to see the harrowing results of a specific kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The victims have difficulty throwing anything away, and end up living amidst piles of their own trash — though they insist that they’re “getting around to cleaning up” or that they “need” some of the obvious garbage they have on hand.

But much of the fascination of shows like these comes from the “there but for the grace of God go I” moment of recognition from viewers. And I have to admit that, while my living room isn’t waist-deep in newspapers, I do have some definite hoarding tendencies — and a lot of them revolve around electronics. Take that picture above up there. Yeah, that comes from my home office. It’s on top of the bookcase near my desk, and it’s my most high-priority pile of cables. Most of the things in there are things I actually use on a regular or semi-regular basis — after I took the picture, I had to dive in there to dig out my camera’s USB cable, for instance. But then there’s stuff in there that’s significantly less useful — like a DVI-to-VGA adapter, which I would have last needed, oh, about 2005 or thereabouts?

If you want to go further down the rabbit hole of tech hoarding with me and a few other folks brave enough to have sent me their pics, read on!http://www.itworld.com/print/105256
The best reuse of old hardware below:

Why aren’t SSDs getting cheaper?

New, higher capacity drives should help push pricing down, but better fabrication and a bigger production ramp-up are needed. We may not see a change in price until 2011.

Solid-state drives (SSD) have been among the hottest hardware products for more than two years, with a good deal of uptake within the consumer PC, notebook and netbook markets in response to a precipitous drop in pricing in 2007 and 2008.

The fabricators of NAND flash chips, which are used to build SSDs, took a bath for more than a year beginning in 2007, even losing money on the products they sold. Pricing for NAND flash dropped as much as 60% year over year in 2007 and 2008.

“There was a definite oversupply of NAND. The problem was no one was making money in NAND or the memory industry at that point,” says Steve Weinger, director of NAND flash marketing at Samsung, the industry’s largest producer of NAND flash chips.

After the first quarter of 2009, however, SSD pricing leveled off and even increased as the economy forced NAND flash manufacturers to stop investing in new equipment and demand outstripped supply.

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9175690/Why_aren_t_SSDs_getting_cheaper_?taxonomyName=Storage+Hardware&taxonomyId=149

New, higher capacity drives should help push pricing down, but better fabrication and a bigger production ramp-up are needed. We may not see a change in price until 2011.

Solid-state drives (SSD) have been among the hottest hardware products for more than two years, with a good deal of uptake within the consumer PC, notebook and netbook markets in response to a precipitous drop in pricing in 2007 and 2008.

The fabricators of NAND flash chips, which are used to build SSDs, took a bath for more than a year beginning in 2007, even losing money on the products they sold. Pricing for NAND flash dropped as much as 60% year over year in 2007 and 2008.

“There was a definite oversupply of NAND. The problem was no one was making money in NAND or the memory industry at that point,” says Steve Weinger, director of NAND flash marketing at Samsung, the industry’s largest producer of NAND flash chips.

After the first quarter of 2009, however, SSD pricing leveled off and even increased as the economy forced NAND flash manufacturers to stop investing in new equipment and demand outstripped supply.

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9175690/Why_aren_t_SSDs_getting_cheaper_?taxonomyName=Storage+Hardware&taxonomyId=149

6 Ways To Reduce Irrelevant Results On Google Search

The internet is not your library and if you thought a ton of books was an overwhelming amount of information, think again.

The internet doesn’t contain just a few dozen or hundred relevant sources, no, it contains millions or billions or even more. To make things worse, there is no friendly and intelligent librarian to help you sort through all this information. It’s only you and a stupid search engine. You better act smart.

The challenge when searching online is to find only relevant information or – in other words – avoid irrelevant results on Google search. In this article I will show you 6 ways to reduce these false hits, so that you get better overall search results.

Surprisingly, the most effective way to reduce irrelevant results on Google search, may be not to use Google’s search engine in the first place.

Read on to understand why. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-reduce-irrelevant-results-google-search/”

Here is a condensed version for you who do not want to read the whole article:
1. Use Multiple Keywords
2. Use Google Suggest
3. Use Operators to Properly Connect Keywords
4. Use Advanced Search
5. Use Google Chrome With Quick Scroll
6. Ditch Google

The internet is not your library and if you thought a ton of books was an overwhelming amount of information, think again.

The internet doesn’t contain just a few dozen or hundred relevant sources, no, it contains millions or billions or even more. To make things worse, there is no friendly and intelligent librarian to help you sort through all this information. It’s only you and a stupid search engine. You better act smart.

The challenge when searching online is to find only relevant information or – in other words – avoid irrelevant results on Google search. In this article I will show you 6 ways to reduce these false hits, so that you get better overall search results.

Surprisingly, the most effective way to reduce irrelevant results on Google search, may be not to use Google’s search engine in the first place.

Read on to understand why. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-reduce-irrelevant-results-google-search/”

Here is a condensed version for you who do not want to read the whole article:
1. Use Multiple Keywords
2. Use Google Suggest
3. Use Operators to Properly Connect Keywords
4. Use Advanced Search
5. Use Google Chrome With Quick Scroll
6. Ditch Google

The User’s Manifesto: in defense of hacking, modding, and jailbreaking

There’s a trend that’s been disturbing me lately. When the topic of modding or jailbreaking comes up — say, in the wake of the iPad announcement, or Sony’s restrictive PS3 update — there is an outcry. Who am I to tell Apple what’s best for their devices? How can I in good conscience urge others to void their warranties or break license agreements? And why should anyone care when only a small proportion of people hack or jailbreak their devices?

These questions are natural, because a few years ago they wouldn’t even be possible. What reason would you have for breaking open an first-generation iPod, or hacking an original Playstation? The question of “unauthorized software” on System 9 and Windows XP was plainly moot. But as the capabilities of the PC, console, and phone have expanded, so have their magisteria. And as their power grew, so did their chains. These chains were so light before that we didn’t notice them, but now that they are not only visible but are beginning to truly encumber our devices, we must consider whether we are right to throw them off. The answer, to me at least, seems obvious: no company or person has the right to tell you that you may not do what you like with your own property.

Read more: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/18/the-users-manifesto-in-defense-of-hacking-modding-and-jailbreaking/

There’s a trend that’s been disturbing me lately. When the topic of modding or jailbreaking comes up — say, in the wake of the iPad announcement, or Sony’s restrictive PS3 update — there is an outcry. Who am I to tell Apple what’s best for their devices? How can I in good conscience urge others to void their warranties or break license agreements? And why should anyone care when only a small proportion of people hack or jailbreak their devices?

These questions are natural, because a few years ago they wouldn’t even be possible. What reason would you have for breaking open an first-generation iPod, or hacking an original Playstation? The question of “unauthorized software” on System 9 and Windows XP was plainly moot. But as the capabilities of the PC, console, and phone have expanded, so have their magisteria. And as their power grew, so did their chains. These chains were so light before that we didn’t notice them, but now that they are not only visible but are beginning to truly encumber our devices, we must consider whether we are right to throw them off. The answer, to me at least, seems obvious: no company or person has the right to tell you that you may not do what you like with your own property.

Read more: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/18/the-users-manifesto-in-defense-of-hacking-modding-and-jailbreaking/

Why computer science students cheat

Pressure to achieve running code leads more undergraduates to copy, collude on homework assignments. This explains a lot of what happened during my education at the college level. Their were many cheaters my first two years but they seemed to disappear the last two years of my studies. Cheating may have had something to do with them being gone. I remember one of my first classes in a 350 person lecture hall, the professor said look to your right then look to your left. The professor said that both of those people you just looked at will probably drop out or leave college before earning a degree. I am sure the professor was spot on with that judgment because I do not remember seeing those two people four years later.

Read more here http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/041910-computer-science-cheat.html

Pressure to achieve running code leads more undergraduates to copy, collude on homework assignments. This explains a lot of what happened during my education at the college level. Their were many cheaters my first two years but they seemed to disappear the last two years of my studies. Cheating may have had something to do with them being gone. I remember one of my first classes in a 350 person lecture hall, the professor said look to your right then look to your left. The professor said that both of those people you just looked at will probably drop out or leave college before earning a degree. I am sure the professor was spot on with that judgment because I do not remember seeing those two people four years later.

Read more here http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/041910-computer-science-cheat.html