Archive for February, 2008...
Filed under Slashdot
Stony Stevenson writes to point out that Netscape has finally reached end of line with the release of version 9.0.0.6. A pop-up will offer users the choice of switching to Firefox, Flock, or remaining with the dead browser, but no new updates will be released. “Nearly 14 years after the once mighty browser made its first desktop appearance as Mosaic Netscape 0.9, its disappearance comes as little surprise. Although Netscape accounted for more than 80 per cent of the browser market in 1995, the arrival of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in the same year brought stiff competition and surpassed Netscape within three years.”
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Filed under Tech News World, Technology
The European Union is looking at Microsoft’s vow to commit to openness and interoperability with a jaundiced eye. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, will welcome “any move towards genuine interoperability,” it said, while pointing out that Microsoft had made “at least four similar statements” in the past on this topic. The commission also said Microsoft’s plans to commit to interoperability “does not relate to the question of whether or not Microsoft has been complying with EU antitrust rules in this area in the past.”
Filed under Gadgets
Filed under: Wireless
So this team of über-nerds — NICTA — out of Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence (or ICTRCoE for “short”) announced the preliminary results of their Gigabit Wireless Project. Here’s a hint: they were able to transmit gigabits of data — five of ‘em — per second wirelessly over 60GHz / millimeter-wave CMOS-based transceivers. Of course, range on a system with that high a frequency isn’t very far, but feel free to enjoy this moment of fantasy-future news for what it is. Oh, and NICTA crew — hate to break it to ya, but your countrymen at CSIRO broke the 10Gbps wireless barrier a couple years ago (as did the U of Essex), might be time to up the ante.
Update: Bonus! Apparently these will be ready to ship in a year, and would cost $10 per component, which is still a little expensive for a single wireless chip but not bad at all.
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Filed under Slashdot
fab writes “Italian car designer Leonardo Fioravanti (who worked for Pininfarina for a number of years) has developed a car prototype without windshield wipers. This amazing technological feat is made possible thanks to the use of 4 layers of glass modified using nanotechnology. The first layer filters the sun and repels the water. The second layer, using ‘nano-dust’ is able to push dirt to the side. The third layer acts as a sensor that activates the second layer when it detects dirt, while the fourth layer is a conductor of electricity to power this complex mechanism. I haven’t been able to find an English article, but there is always a google powered translation of the Italian article.”
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Filed under Slashdot
I Don’t Believe in Imaginary Property writes “Groklaw has examined that ‘new leaf’ Microsoft turned the other day. PJ has a lengthy analysis of Microsoft’s latest promises. To make a long story short, the promises are more of the same stuff and don’t help anyone but Microsoft. They only protect ‘noncommercial’ development and are set up to create a patented standards toll road so that Microsoft can charge competitors to compete. As PJ puts it, ‘This is a promise to remain incompatible with the GPL, as far as I can make out.’”
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