Technical News - 13 August 2011

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AMD might package Bulldozer processors with liquid-cooling kits
August 13, 2011
As if the anticipation for AMD's new Bulldozer (a.k.a. Zambezi a.k.a. FX Series) processors isn't already high enough among enthusiasts, the company may up the ante further by including a...
Libyan rebels advance on Zawiyah
August 13, 2011
NORTH OF BIR SHUAIB, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan rebels advanced north to within 25 km (15 miles) of the coastal city of Zawiyah west of Tripoli on Saturday, after a six-hour battle which pushed the front line to its closest point to the capital since the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi began in February.
U.S. citizen kidnapped in Pakistan: police
August 13, 2011
LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - An American citizen was kidnapped from his residence in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Saturday, police said.
UK to tackle social problems after riots
August 13, 2011
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain needs to tackle deep-seated social problems following riots and looting in English cities this week, the center-right government said on Saturday, and a U.S. street crime expert it has brought in said arrests alone would not solve the problem.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich Images Leaked
August 13, 2011
Show off a few new features.
Nokia C2-03 And C2-06 Announced By Nokia
August 13, 2011
These dual-SIM handsets will make way to the Indian market soon.
Italy and UK press case for deeper euro zone fiscal ties
August 13, 2011
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister called for some form of fiscal union to resolve the euro zone's debt crisis on Saturday, while his Italian counterpart renewed a call for the introduction of common euro zone bonds.
Canadian Judge Rules Domain Names Are Property
August 13, 2011
farrellj writes "A recent decision in the Ontario Appeals court has ruled in favour of Tucows, saying that domain names are considered property, rather than being a license. This has major ramifications for a people both inside and outside Canada, doubly so since Tucows is a major domain registrar. This ruling comes from a very high court, which means that any appeal must go to the Supreme Court of Canada. So there is a good chance this ruling will stand."
Read more of this story at Slashdot
Security Researchers Give BlackBerry PlayBook Pass Mark
August 13, 2011
The QNX operating system that will power future BlackBerry devices has been given a cagey thumbs up by testers commissioned to probe for weaknesses.
Syrian tanks enter coastal city
August 13, 2011
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian tanks and armored vehicles swept into the coastal city of Latakia on Saturday and gunfire was heard in a district where thousands had protested against President Bashar al-Assad, an activist group said.
In Rural UK, Old 2G Phones Beat 3G Smarphones For Connectivity
August 13, 2011
hypnosec writes "A new research has showed that smartphones are worse in connectivity than 2G enabled mobile phones in remote areas in the United Kingdom. The research conducted by telecom watchdog OfCom has revealed that users should invest in mobile phones different than latest Smartphones, if they prioritize best reception for calls. 'As would be expected, all the 2G operators have widespread coverage of the roads that were surveyed with relatively few not-spots. 3G coverage is much lower on
Comic book heroes then and now
August 13, 2011
We take a look at how some comic book characters have changed a lot since their initial introduction, some decades ago.
Comic book characters then and now (images)
August 13, 2011
Comic book characters like to evolve their styles too, you know. Take a look at how much some characters have changed since their original comic book introductions.
News Scans
August 13, 2011
Cloud-borne bacteria may be to blame for rain, snow and hail because they affect the way water molecules bind. Does that mean snowballs are germ warfare?
Trials of two different drugs show promise in treating advanced melanoma, which is usually fatal.
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Berlin mayor criticizes nostalgia for Berlin Wall
August 13, 2011
BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin's mayor said on Saturday he was appalled that some Germans were nostalgic for the Berlin Wall and supported a newly fashionable leftist view that there were legitimate reasons for building it in 1961.
San Francisco Subway's Decision to Halt Cell Phone Service Fuels Criticism
August 13, 2011
With undeniably bad timing, the Bay Area Rapid Transit admitted it shut off subterranean cell phone service to prevent a protest. That has drawn the ire of civil rights advocates, who liken the action to what happened in Egypt
Motorola To Collect Royalties For Android
August 13, 2011
tlhIngan writes "It looks like Motorola wants to join in on the Android patent licensing fun enjoyed by Microsoft and others. (Yes, the same Motorola that makes Android phones.) Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has stated they plan to collect licensing royalties from other Android manufacturers. Given Motorola's involvement in the mobile industry, they certainly do have the portfolio to go with it. It's interesting times ahead for Android."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Introducing Gmail Mail Merge v2.0
August 13, 2011

Would you like to send personalized email messages to your contacts using Gmail?
The new version of Gmail Mail Merge adds support for HTML email templates, you can add file attachments to your emails and other improvements.
The accompanying video tutorial has been updated as well. Give it a shot!

This story, Introducing Gmail Mail Merge v2.0, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on August 13, 2011 under Tech Notes.
Why promoting ChromeBooks is killing Android tablets (Digital Trends)
August 13, 2011
Digital Trends - Iâ€™m traveling to Boston this week, and flying my favorite airline: Virgin America. One of the perks on the flight this week is that Google is loaning out ChromeBooks to anyone who wants them for free, including free Wi-Fi. The funny thing is that despite multiple announcements, few people took them up on this free offer. As I look around the plane (where Iâ€™m writing this), a number of folks are on laptops and iPads, so it isnâ€™t as if folks didnâ€™t want to be online. Given
2005 interview with Mark Zuckerberg talks about Facebook's future
August 12, 2011
In 2005, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was celebrating the site's three millionth user with a typical college 'frat' party at the Facebook offices.
Alfred creator discusses the app's "Serendipity Engine" for dining recommendations and more (Appolicious)
August 13, 2011
Appolicious - While the free Alfred iPhone app is already a hit with foodies, the app's developers have "big plans" for takings its "Serendipity Engine" for recommendations into other walks of life.
Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)
August 13, 2011
Here are a few of CNET Reviews' favorite items from the past week, including the Sonos Play:3 streaming-audio speaker, HTC Wildfire S smartphone for T-Mobile, and Samsung W200 Rugged Camcorder.
Apple Talk Weekly: Apple's market cap shuffle
August 13, 2011
CNET breaks down a week's worth of Apple news and rumors, and serves up answers to your questions. This week we look at the company's market-cap dance with Exxon, the iCloud phone, and injunction functions.
Dutch Government To Tax Drivers Based On Car Use
August 13, 2011
An anonymous reader writes "The Netherlands is testing a new car use tax system that will tax drivers based upon how much they drive rather than just taxing the vehicle itself. The trials utilize a little box outfitted with GPS, wireless internet, and a complex rating system that tracks a car's environmental impact, its distance driven, its route, and what time it is driven as a fairer way to assess the impact of the vehicle and hopefully dissuade people from driving. The proposal will be introduced
Interview: the single engineer who built Facebook Video Calling
August 12, 2011
Philip Su, the lead engineer for Facebook Video Calling, is actually the only full-time engineer working on the feature. I interview Su to find out more about his work.
Electric motorcycles rev up design and performance (w/photos)
August 12, 2011
Manufacturers are raising the performance bar for electric motorcycles, rapidly catching up to their gas-guzzling counterparts. Here are five battery-powered machines guaranteed to turn heads.
Google+ Posts Now Appear in Google Search Results
August 12, 2011
Google has begun the process of integrating Google+ into search results with the addition of public Google+ posts to Social Search.
San Francisco subway shuts off cell service to combat protest: Civil rights groups 'furious'
August 12, 2011
Part of San Francisco's subway system's cell and wireless service was cut off amid a rising protest. Civil rights and liberties groups are furious; the FCC is 'concerned'.
PHP - Fatal error: Uncaught SoapFault exception: [HTTP] Could not connect to host in …
August 13, 2011
I receive this nasty error yesterday and it took me some time to figure out the problem. This line passes without any problems
Have a need? There's an appliance for that.
August 12, 2011
Virtual appliances can make your life easier by providing turnkey services to your users with a few mouse clicks and a bit of configuration. Since most virtual appliances are free, you have no...
Faint Praise From WSJ For a Linux Touchscreen PC For Seniors
August 12, 2011
quarterbuck writes "The Wall Street Journal has a review of the Telikin, an all-in-one desktop, with a touch screen, that starts at $699 and comes from a small Philadelphia-area start-up called Venture 3 Systems. It is much simplified (e.g., no PowerPoint editing), and the hardware is thought through (two microphones), but the review claims that the software is still buggy." I only wish it was based on a revenue stream derived from a cancellable subscription.
Read more of this story at
Personal Computer: 30 Years of History
August 12, 2011
Thirty years ago, IBM unveiled its first-ever personal computer. Here's a look back at the beginnings of the PC-era.
Cartoon makes better password point than many security experts
August 12, 2011
Sick of passwords you can't remember? Not sure you trust password managers? A cartoon has some good advice for you.
Toshiba to narrow varieties of chips: report
August 12, 2011
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp , the world's No.2 maker of flash memory, will reduce its semiconductor lineup of as many as 6,000 types in half by the end of this business year to boost efficiency, Nikkei business daily reported without citing sources.
Google+, Day 9: Playing With Sparks
August 12, 2011
Today I am taking a look at the concept of Google+ Sparks and trying to figure out whether they serve a useful purpose or not.
Facebook: export your friends' email addresses, if they let you
August 12, 2011
Facebook is finally letting you export your friends' email addresses from the social network. There's a catch though: all your friends have to give you permission first.
Samsung gets another chance against Apple with German hearing
August 12, 2011
Apple and Samsung have a date in court in Germany later this month.
5 Web Tools to Enhance Your Online Sales Strategy
August 12, 2011
Using supplemental cloud applications has helped startups accelerate their sales in more efficient ways. Here are five tools to get you started.
Ubuntu Linux makes musical friends with the Apple iPhone
August 12, 2011
Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has introduced an app. to let people stream music from the Ubuntu One cloud to their iPhones and iPods
Beating the quantum code
August 12, 2011
How 'Eve' tricked the toughest security system
Blender 2.59
August 12, 2011
Blender is an integrated application that enables the creation of a broad range of 2D and 3D content. Blender provides a broad spectrum of modeling, texturing, lighting, animation and video post-processing functionality in one package. Through it's open architecture, Blender provides cross-platform interoperability, extensibility, an incredibly sma...
Sprint cancels plans to launch 4G BlackBerry PlayBook citing lack of demand
August 12, 2011
Sprint has abandoned its plans to launch a version of Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with an embedded 4G WiMAX radio.
FridayFest at #SciAmBlogs
August 12, 2011
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Nintendo has good reason to not develop for iOS
August 12, 2011
Nintendo's investors may want the company to develop games for iOS, but is the move really the best one for the company or its customers?
Users look at Facebook and Google+ the same way
August 12, 2011
An eye-tracking study has found that Facebook users and Google+ users look at their respective social networks in almost the exact same way.