Wednesday: August 19, 2009
- Seven good reasons to switch over to Windows 7.
You complained, you demanded, and in response Microsoft slapped something together to ship October 22. The result? The overall presentation of Windows 7 is familiar enough to welcome XP users, but fundamentally it’s different enough to make you change the way you think of Microsoft.
Tuesday: May 18, 2010
- Brand new computer algorithm actually capable of detecting sarcasm.
...the team scanned 66,000 Amazon.com product reviews, with three different human annotators tagging sentences for sarcasm. The team then identified certain sarcastic patterns that emerged in the reviews and created a classification algorithm that puts each statement into a sarcastic class.
- Microsoft to give Hotmail service a makeover at some point this summer.
...users will encounter a first screen that’s on overview of new messages, sorted into categories, with e-mails from known contacts in the top heap, updates from services like Facebook and Twitter at the bottom, and a bar up top that lets you send a status message.
Wednesday: May 12, 2010
- Rogue star mystery finally deciphered thanks to Hubble Space Telescope.
The massive, hot star seemed out of place when astronomers first spotted it in 2006, and now thanks to Hubble, we know why. The misfit, 30 Dor #016, appears to have been ejected from a cluster of even heftier stars, pinging off of them and off into space at tremendous speed.
Tuesday: May 11, 2010
- Have a peek at some near-final screenshots of the Windows Phone 7 interface.
I find parts of this user interface to be very depressing (granted it's not final but near-final sounds like their pretty close). The data entry screens are bland, colorless, and lifeless. Almost as if you're signing a death warrant on someone when you want to add them as a contact. Not very inviting.
- Microsoft would like you know that Natal will launch this October.
Get your imaginary baseballs and soccer balls (anything imaginary will do really) ready because Project Natal will be available for your beloved Xbox 360 this October. Microsoft hasn't nailed down an exact date that month but they think they'll have that ironed out by the time E3 rolls around.
- The recently announced Nintendo 3DS will have a 2D switch, just in case.
Details about Nintendo's 3D handheld gaming device have been scarce since it was announced in late March. But the company's president says it will have a feature that lets gamers turn off 3D functionality and play in standard 2D.
- FYI, Windows 7 'compatibility checker' currently masquerading as trojan horse virus.
Once a victim has installed the software, criminals can pretty much do whatever they want on the PC, Cosoi said. That could mean installing a keylogger to steal banking credentials or even gaining full access to the hacked system.
Monday: May 10, 2010
- Scientist verifies that the human brain contains a master switch.
Shin believes his discovery may be useful in understanding brain malfunctions such as autism, epilepsy and others. While researching brain function, Shin has previously shown that taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol may actually inhibit some brain function.
- Everything you wanted to know about the Facebook privacy war.
Wired goes into detail about all the recent privacy changes that Facebook has recently undergone and what they mean to you and your data. Long story short, make sure your privacy settings are all up to snuff (or cancel your account).
- Warner would really like you to upgrade your DVD collection over to Blu-ray.
Do you have a whole bunch of Warner movies still festering on DVD? If those DVDs happen to be in their small list of seventy-five titles - you can upgrade them over to that fancy new Blu-ray format... for a small fee. What, did you think it was free? Silly human.
