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22 Nov 14:08

Valve announces Linux-based “SteamOS” as basis for living room gaming

by Kyle Orland

The Linux-based living room gaming announcements Valve co-founder Gabe Newell promised last week began today with the unveiling of SteamOS, a new Linux-based operating system focused on living room gaming.

"As we’ve been working on bringing Steam to the living room, we’ve come to the conclusion that the environment best suited to delivering value to customers is an operating system built around Steam itself," Valve wrote on a page announcing the upcoming OS. "SteamOS combines the rock-solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience built for the big screen. It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines."

Why a new OS? Valve says that with SteamOS, the company has "achieved significant performance increases in graphics processing, and we’re now targeting audio performance and reductions in input latency at the operating system level." The Linux-based platform will also be freely licensable to hardware manufacturers, allowing a wide number of "Steam Box" living room PCs to germinate. Newell has previously called Windows 8 a "catastrophe" for the gaming market, so it's not at all surprising that his company decided to move forward with a more open option under its direct control.

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25 Sep 22:59

Computer simulations suggest war drove the rise of civilizations

by Akshat Rathi

According to British historian Arnold Toynbee, “History is just one damned thing after another.” But Peter Turchin of the University of Connecticut in Storrs questions this premise then tries to answer it in a new study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He and his colleagues show history may be deterministic to a certain extent. And their computer simulations show that warfare may have been the main driver behind the formation of empires, bureaucracies, and religions.

Historians may be a bit leery about scientists making this sort of attempt, since history is driven by a complex set of events, some of them seemingly one-time only. But Turchin thinks otherwise. Through an approach he calls cliodynamics (named after Clio, the Greek muse of history), he wants to unravel the past by testing hypotheses against data.

For his latest work, he joined with Thomas Currie, a lecturer in cultural evolution at the University of Exeter. In the new study, they use a computer simulation to model the largest societies in the years between 1500 BCE and 1500 CE.

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25 Sep 22:55

Grootste aandeelhouder neemt BlackBerry over

by info@gsmhelpdesk.nl (Tim Wijkman)

Grootste aandeelhouder neemt BlackBerry over

Een consortium van investeerders gaat het noodlijdende BlackBerry overnemen voor een bedrag van 4,7 miljard dollar. BlackBerry maakte gisteren avond de overname door Fairfax Financial Holdings bekend.

25 Sep 22:55

Chrome doet 'ouderwetse' plug-ins in de ban

by Andreas Udo de Haes
Chrome laat de Netscape Plug-in API (NPAPI) vallen, omdat het onveilig, onstabiel en complex is. Silverlight en Java draaien dan niet meer.
25 Sep 14:17

Rover: klachten over volle treinen

Veel treinreizigers klagen deze maand over volle treinen. Reizigersorganisatie Rover kreeg tot nu toe bijna 700 klachten binnen. Dat is het hoogste aantal sinds maart, toen het spoor nog last had van het winterweer.

Rover zegt dat de klachten uit het hele land komen. Het gaat om mensen die op het perron achterbleven omdat er in de trein geen plaats meer was. Ook zijn er klachten van reizigers die onwel werden in een volle trein. Daarnaast klagen mensen over vertragingen door de drukte bij het in- en uitstappen.

Flevolijn

De meeste klachten gaan over de Flevolijn (Weesp-Lelystad). Sinds de Intercity niet meer stopt op Almere Buiten zijn sprinters vaak overvol in de richting Amsterdam en Schiphol, zegt Rover. De NS had de treinen op dit traject begin deze maand verlengd vanwege de verwachte drukte.

Ook het traject Utrecht-Amersfoort wordt veel genoemd. De treinen daar zouden vol zijn doordat de vier intercity's die er nu rijden veel korter zijn dan de zes intercity's die er vorig jaar nog reden. Vanwege de grote hoeveelheid passagiers had de NS besloten op dit traject vanaf deze maand extra lange dubbeldekkers in te zetten, die 800 passagiers extra kunnen vervoeren.

'Drukste periode'

De spoorwegen erkennen dat de treinen in september vol zitten. "Na de zomer is het traditioneel de drukste periode van het jaar. De vakanties zijn afgelopen. Alle hogescholen en universiteiten zijn weer begonnen. Zeker in de spits kan het erg druk zijn, nu ook alle studenten massaal vroeg de trein pakken."

Ook gooien werkzaamheden in het najaar wel eens roet in het eten, zegt de NS. "Wij houden de vinger aan de pols. Als blijkt dat er ergens te weinig capaciteit is, maken we treinen langer. Deze signalen helpen daarbij."

25 Sep 14:16

WordPerfect-'sabotage' Microsoft was eerlijke concurrentie

by Jasper Bakker
Het dwarsbomen door Microsoft van WordPerfect jaren terug was geen antitrustschending, oordeelt de rechtbank nu. Novell verliest weer.
25 Sep 14:13

Vage hbo begint zinloze IT-opleiding

by Van Rossem
Hogeschool NOVI heeft een noviteit: De eerste hbo-opleiding IT-accountmanagement in Nederland. Bravo, alweer een zinloze kudtstudie bedacht die in het beste geval geen enkele baangarantie geeft en in het slechtste geval onervaren mensen op leidinggevende posities parkeert waar ze niet...
25 Sep 14:13

Nederlandse 3D-printer geeft eigen ontwerp weg (foto's)

by Jan Libbenga
Ultimaker stelt zijn nieuwste 3D-printer open en bestormt de VS. Niet de zoveelste plasticprinter maar echt open source-hardware.
25 Sep 14:12

Mineral transformation may trigger deep earthquakes

by Ars Staff

A little more than 90 years ago, British geologist Herbert Hall Turner noticed some data that suggested something unexpected. The only way to make sense of the data was if an earthquake occurred hundreds of kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface.

Since Turner’s observations, deep earthquakes have fascinated seismologists. It is still unclear why they happen, but two studies recently published in Science use different approaches yet reach the same conclusion. These quakes are probably a result of rapid changes in minerals that propagate at up to 14,000 km/hour (nearly 8700 mph).

Such deep earthquakes do not have immediate consequences for humans. But they hold clues about destructive quakes in the Earth’s shallower crust, making it important to understand them.

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25 Sep 13:37

Valve announces Linux-based SteamOS aimed at taking over your living room

by noreply@idg.co.uk (Jon Gold)
PC game developer and publisher Valve Monday took the wraps off SteamOS, a software platform designed to combine the company's gaming offerings with existing living room entertainment.
    


25 Sep 13:37

What does BlackBerry going private mean?

by Jon Gold)
The news that foundering smartphone maker BlackBerry is going to be taken private by one of its largest shareholders has made big waves across the technology and business communities alike. If you're struggling to get up to speed on the news, here's a quick primer to help you along:
    


25 Sep 13:10

Google fixes lengthy, widespread Gmail malfunction

by Juan Carlos Perez)
A Gmail glitch that took about 10 hours to fix and hit close to 50 percent of the webmail service's users has been fixed, ending one of the longest, most widespread Gmail disruptions in years.
    


25 Sep 13:09

RSA warns against NSA code in encryption software

by Dave Neal
RSA warns against NSA code in encryption software

Strongly recommends not using Dual EC DRBG


    


23 Sep 17:57

Social Media Demographics: The Surprising Identity Of Each Major Social Network

by Cooper Smith

BII social income bracketEach social media platform has cultivated a unique identity thanks to the demographics of the people who participate in the network. Some platforms are preferred by young adults, who are most active in the evening, others by high-income professionals, who are posting throughout the workday.

We explained in a recent report why many brands and businesses need platform-focused social media strategies, rather than a diluted strategy that aims to be everywhere at once.

In a new report from BI Intelligence, we break down the demographics of each major social media platform to help brands and businesses decide which networks they should prioritize. Being able to identify the demographics of social media audiences at a granular level is the basis for all targeted marketing and messaging. The report also spotlights the opportunities that lie ahead for each social network, how demographics affect usage patterns, and why some platforms are better for brands than others. 

Access the Full Report By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today > > 

Here are some of our surprising findings: 

  • Facebook still skews young, but the 45- to 54-year-old age bracket has seen 45% growth since year-end 2012. Among U.S. Internet users, 73% with incomes above $75,000 are on Facebook (compared to 17% who are on Twitter). Eight-six percent of Facebook's users are outside the U.S.
  • Instagram: Sixty-eight percent of Instagram's users are women.
  • Twitter has a surprisingly young user population for a large social network — 27% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. use Twitter, compared to only 16% of people in their thirties and forties. 
  • LinkedIn is international and skews toward male users. 
  • Google+ is the most male-oriented of the major social networks. It's 70% male.
  • Pinterest is dominated by tablet users. And, according to Nielsen data, 84% of U.S. Pinterest users are women.
  • Tumblr is strong with teens and young adults interested in self-expression, but only 8% of U.S. Internet users with incomes above $75,000 use Tumblr.

In full, the special report: 

For full instant access to the report on Social Media Demographics, sign up for a free two week trial subscription to BI Intelligence

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23 Sep 16:08

New BlackBerry 10 “Kopi” gets pictured for the first time

by MobileNations

Another new BlackBerry 10 device has turned up this morning. Sporting the codename Kopi, it very much resembles the BlackBerry Q5. It’s said to be a lower priced device though not many other details were given. While it doesn’t have LTE bands is does look to have a removable battery and supposedly a faster processor than that of the Q5 as well. 

Read More »

The post New BlackBerry 10 “Kopi” gets pictured for the first time appeared first on AIVAnet.

23 Sep 16:08

NYPD Distributing Flyers in New York City Recommending Users to Update to iOS 7 [iOS Blog]

by MacRumors

The New York Police Department has begun handing out flyers near Apple Retail Stores in New York City encouraging users to download Apple’s new iOS 7 software update, reports AllThingsD. Specifically, law enforcement is encouraging the use of Activation Lock, a new feature within iOS 7’s Find My iPhone service that requires an Apple ID and password before anyone may turn off Find My iPhone, erase a device, or reactivate and use a device.

A new iPhone model also means a probable uptick in attempts to steal them. And since Friday’s launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c also happens to coincide with the launch of Apple’s iOS 7, which has some new security measures intended to deter theft, New York’s finest and other police agencies around the U.S. are making an effort to get people to download it.

Twitter user Michael Hoffman posted the following photo of the flyer:

applenypd
Last week, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón praised iOS 7’s Activation Lock, with both claiming it to be the “world’s first attempt to implement a technological solution to the global smartphone theft epidemic”. The pair had previously been pressing Apple on the subject of mobile device theft, with Gascón being impressed by Activation Lock in the following months.

iOS 7 is a free download for the iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini, and fifth-generation iPod touch, along with the recently released iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

    



The post NYPD Distributing Flyers in New York City Recommending Users to Update to iOS 7 [iOS Blog] appeared first on AIVAnet.

23 Sep 16:08

Apple Stock Soars Following 9 Million iPhone Sales And High-End Guidance (AAPL)

by Jillian D'Onfro

Apple-NYCIt was a good weekend for Apple.

The company climbed 6 percent in pre-market trading following the announcement it crushed expectations and sold a record 9 million iPhones in the first weekend (compared to 5 million in the opening weekend last year). 

It is currently trading up 3.98% at the time of publication. 

Apple also issued an SEC filing saying that it expects to hit the high-end of its earlier Q4 guidance, which was forecasted in the $34 to $37 billion range.   

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23 Sep 16:04

Surface 2: a closer look at Microsoft's more refined tablet

by Tom Warren

Microsoft's new Surface 2 tablet is now official, and it marks more of a refinement over the original than a radical rethinking of the basic Surface concept. The updated model includes Nvidia's Tegra 4 processor, a 1080p display, and a new two-stage kickstand. I got a chance to briefly try out the new tablet, and the first thing I noticed was the weight. Microsoft hasn't trimmed down the Surface 2, but it feels considerably lighter than the original. You'll obviously notice that improvement when you use the Surface 2 in tablet mode, but in the laptop mode the main addition is a two-stage kickstand.

The Surface 2 kickstand answers some of the criticisms of the Surface RT. However, instead of being fully adjustable with separate angles,...

Continue reading…

23 Sep 16:04

Surface Pro 2: hands-on

by Dan Seifert

Microsoft just unveiled the Surface Pro 2 at an event in New York City. Like its predecessor, it's a 10.1-inch tablet with enough specs that can turn it into a laptop or even a PC replacement. This latest refresh doesn't change much visually, but under the VaporMG casing Microsoft has bumped the specifications to the latest Intel Haswell processor, extended the battery life, and generally improved what was already a fast tablet. The battery life on the Surface Pro 2 is said to be 75 percent better than Surface Pro, while graphical performance is up 50 percent and overall performance is 20 percent better. The Pro 2 will be available in 64GB and 128GB versions with 4GB of RAM, and 256GB and 512GB editions with 8GB of RAM. Microsoft is...

Continue reading…

23 Sep 12:03

People like the darndest things on Facebook

Facebook “likes” are now protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled this week. But legal experts say people should still think twice before giving a person, dubious parody site or controversial cause a blue thumb’s up.
23 Sep 11:39

CCC: wij kraakten iPhone 5s

Hackers van de Chaos Computer Club (CCC) zeggen dat ze het ontgrendelingssysteem van de gloednieuwe iPhone 5s hebben gekraakt. De ontgrendeling werkt met een vingerafdruksensor.

De hackers kopieerden een vingerafdruk die hun "slachtoffer" op een glasplaat had achtergelaten. De kopie werd op een folie aangebracht waarmee de iPhone eenvoudig kon worden ontgrendeld.

Onzin

Volgens CCC heeft Apple bij de lancering van de iPhone 5s eerder deze maand gezegd dat de gebruikte techniek veiliger is dan tot dan toe gebruikte vingerafdruktechnieken.

Volgens CCC is dit onzin: "Vingerafdrukken zouden niet gebruikt moeten worden om wat dan ook te beveiligen. Je laat ze overal achter en het is veel te gemakkelijk om nepvingers te maken van gekopieerde vingerafdrukken".

Het is nog niet bekend wanneer de iPhone 5s in Nederland te koop is. Apple heeft nog niet op het nieuws gereageerd.

23 Sep 11:38

VMware pusht update te vroeg naar klanten

by Henk-Jan Buist
Door een fout is vSphere Replication 5.5 vrijdag te vroeg gepusht naar klanten. VM's raakten onherstelbaar beschadigd door de fout.
23 Sep 11:38

Peachy Printer’s sub-$100 3D printer smashes fundraising goal (video)

by Engadget

Image

While the cost of 3D printers are coming down, it’s unlikely we’ll start to see them invade everyone’s homes ’til they become much cheaper. That’s the idea, at least, behind the Peachy Printer, a device that’s promising to retail for less than $100. Unlike printers made by companies such as Makerbot, Peachy uses a laser to set objects from liquid resin. The laser is guided by a pair of mirrors that take instructions from your PC’s audio in / out ports, and the system even allows you to scan objects with your own camera. Having launched on Kickstarter three days ago, Peachy Printer has more than tripled its CDN$50,000 goal. We doubt you’ll find anyone trying to build an Aston Martin replica on one of these things, but it’s a neat idea that employs a different 3D-printing method to significantly reduce hardware costs. As usual, you’ll find the pitch video below and anything else you may desire at the source.

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals

Comments

Via: 3Ders

Source: Kickstarter

The post Peachy Printer’s sub-$100 3D printer smashes fundraising goal (video) appeared first on AIVAnet.

23 Sep 11:24

Crackdown on fake online reviews sees 19 companies fined

by Aaron Souppouris

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is this morning set to announce a crackdown on fake online reviews, according to a report from the New York Times. Schneiderman has reportedly reached agreements with 19 companies to cease their "misleading" practices and pay fines totaling $350,000. Among the companies are so-called "reputation management" firms, and other companies that knowingly engaged in fake reviewing and commenting, a practice often referred to as "astroturfing."

Continue reading…

23 Sep 11:20

RSA warns against NSA code in encryption software

by Dave Neal
RSA warns against NSA code in encryption software

Strongly recommends not using Dual EC DRBG


    


23 Sep 07:19

Is it poor programming practice to pass parameters as objects?

by Stack Exchange

This Q&A is part of a weekly series of posts highlighting common questions encountered by technophiles and answered by users at Stack Exchange, a free, community-powered network of 100+ Q&A sites.

Risser asked:

So, we've got a guy who likes to write methods that take Objects as parameters, so they can be 'very flexible.' Then, internally, he either does direct casting, reflection, or method overloading to handle the different types.

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23 Sep 07:18

New iOS 7 bug lets you make non-emergency calls from the lock screen

by Megan Geuss

Forbes reported late Friday that a new bug has been discovered in devices running iOS 7. This time, the bug lets a person with physical access to a phone to place any kind of call from the “Emergency Call” screen—even to international numbers and premium numbers (like adult chat lines and tech support numbers).

To produce the bug, simply type any number into the Emergency Call screen, then rapidly tap the Call button until the phone brings up an empty screen with an Apple logo. At that point, the phone is making the call to the number requested.

Just one day after the release of iOS 7 this week, a first bug was discovered—also in the lock screen—that allowed someone to access photos on the phone from the new Control Center feature. From there, an attacker could open the Share menu in the Photos app to view all the contacts stored on the phone and could send out pictures via the Messages app or to any e-mail addresses or social media accounts that were linked to the app. Still, users could disable the Control Center feature to protect themselves from such an attack until Apple issued a fix.

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23 Sep 07:18

Bol.com en Tweakers geven vijf e-readers weg

by Wilbert de Vries
In samenwerking met Bol.com kan Tweakers voor het derde jaar op rij enkele users verblijden met een e-reader. Nadat we eerder al de PRS-T1 en PRS-T2 weggaven, is het nu de beurt aan de PRS-T3-reader van Sony. In totaal kunnen we er vijf weggeven.
23 Sep 07:17

'Passagiers mogen vanaf 2014 elektronica altijd gebruiken in vliegtuig'

by Arnoud Wokke
Smartphones, tablets en e-readers mogen vanaf volgend jaar waarschijnlijk gewoon aanblijven tijdens het taxiën, opstijgen en landen van een vliegtuig in de VS. De Amerikaanse luchtvaartdienst FAA werkt aan soepelere regels rondom gebruik van elektronica in vliegtuigen.
23 Sep 07:17

Gijzeling Nairobi nog niet voorbij

De Keniaanse politie heeft vanmorgen opnieuw geprobeerd om de terroristen in een winkelcentrum in Nairobi uit te schakelen en de laatste gijzelaars te bevrijden. De 10 tot 18 aanvallers van de islamitische terreurbeweging al- Shabaab houden nog zo'n 10 mensen vast.