Geek is the new BLACK

It's been a while, but new things are in the works.

2012-01-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hello all, i haven't been on this blog in a long while, and after i made a very large group of friends through this site, i thought I'd like to make sure you all know what i'm currently doing.

I have a brand new blog, and i am updating it fairly regularly; in between my uni coursework, so if you will. I'd really appreciate it, if you could check it out.

This is my new blog

Bill Gates says goodbye.

2008-06-04T03:44:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates takes one last stand.

After a 2 year transition period, Bill Gates has made his final speech as Chairman and co-founder of Microsoft industries at the TechEd Developers Conference.
After spending over 35 years, as a Full, day-to-day Microsoft employee and Chairman, Bill gates says that he will be spending only "20%" of his time, working towards Microsoft Industries.

What will he do the rest of the time?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be his new goal. He will be working towards his very own foundation, giving only a small portion of his time, to the company he gave birth to.

But after 35 years of nurturing, Bill Gates, says he trusts the strive and determination within Microsoft, and believes that Microsoft will continue to strive even under the pressure of such a heavy blow.

I personally find this rather upsetting as I'm fond of Bill Gate's presence in computers, and believe he is one of many reasons, that computers are, what they are.

It's time for a change.

2008-06-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Over the next few days, i will be getting a new layout, a new Name: -yes Geek is the new Black, is going.
And we're going for something different.
Also, over this period, very little will i be posting.
I will be posting the most important posts as they come, but as for now.
Thanks for everyone who's returning on a daily basis.
And welcome all the new comers.

Look forward to the new change up.
should be good. :)

Hardware makers' Drivers must meet Microsoft 7's tests.

2008-06-01T02:44:00.000-07:00

Microsoft are now making it mandatory for Hardware makers to carry out the Microsoft 7 tests, in order for them to earn themselves the 'Certified for Microsoft 7' badge.

With Microsoft's new multi-touch technology, being released on their new Operating system, that will also include several other major graphic interface changes, it comes as no surprise that a new level from the drivers will be needed, and met. To do this, Microsoft are making it mandatory that hardware makers fit the Microsoft 7 profile.

They have wasted no time, starting this process, with the launching on the Operating system expected in 2 years time, but then again; we all should have seen this coming after the Windows Vista's driver flops and constant incompatibility.

Lets just hope this testing pays of, and they don't make the same mistake as last time.

Geek is the new BLACK

Google's hate for ebay, revealed

2008-05-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Internet battles, are going on everyday in this race to be the super-power of the Internet.
Whether the conflicts be secretive or not, the conflicts are there!
But even the secret attacks, can get sought out and exploited; and that's exactly what an Australian Competition Watchdog did to Google.

With eBay's upcoming idea of having it's users use the Paypal system to place bids and deal with money, speculation over the smartness of this decision is arising. And from some of the most unlikely people.

The Submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) website on the 11th of April, was a 38 page submission, explaining and showing how if this proposition of Pay-pal only was given the go, that it would not be beneficial to the net public.
The submission was a Anonymous submission, with the users identity withheld. Or so they thought.

The submission was sent as a .PDF file, and the Australian Commission, was then able to see who sent this, by the Internet fingerprint, found on the .PDF submission, that actually linked the submission, slating and disagreeing with the decisions of eBay, to come from a Google address, showing that Google, a huge power already, is sending anonymous attacks to it's rivals.

One piece of meta data:
"Microsoft Word - 204481916_1_ACCC Submission by Google re eBay Public _2_.DOC"
Was found. Now the fresh conflict between eBay and Google has started.

Big mistake by Google? Or is the Pay-Pal move, really that much of a bad decision.
We shall see in the time coming up, when the battle between these two super powers begins.

For a more detailed report of this click here.

Google bring out, what everyone's wanted.

2008-05-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

Finally!
I'm a fan of Google earth, and have used it around friends houses, but I've never really been that keen on downloading the desktop application and to have it run as a program.

But now, Google are set to release their web-browser version of Google Earth, that is accessible in the two main Browsers: Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox.
It comes as an Plugin, which are easily accessible and usable, making the world of 3D and map covering potential, easier than ever.

Rival Local.live, have obviously been put under pressure, with the up-coming release of such a giant competitor, but this step from google has been anticipated for quite sometime.

I will personally be using this Plugin when it comes out.

For more information you can visit the GoogleEarth Plug-in Page.

Geek is the new BLACK

Intel's competitive effots to trump AMD.

2008-05-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

"Competitive is an understatement"

As you may or may not have heard Intel plan to make it clear to AMD, just who exactly has the better processors.
Intel has already thrown the idea of the release of their 6-core processor, which will almost definitely trump the Quad core of AMD, to the public, and got many people talking.

But the only thing is, is this needed?
Many review sites, such as zdnet said that they cannot see what the point of these 6 cores are, in a blog post, Larry of zdnet posted: "Intel needs more cores to thump AMD. You may not need them."
I believe this couldn't have been put in a better way?

Quad cores, are currently top range, satisfying the largest tasks computers can be put up against on a daily basis. So what is the point in six, when we are yet to need more than 4?
In my eyes, Intel is taking a step to far, in its efforts to beat AMD, by producing a more expensive, yet un-needed item.

What do you think?

Geek is the new BLACK.

Revision3 targeted

2008-05-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

On memorial day weekend, Revision3, a large Internet "tech" TV industry was a target for a Denial of Service attack.
An attack that CEO of Revision3: Jim Louderback, calls a "room full of hyperactivity screaming toddlers." he used this simile to try and best describe, just what exactly a Denial of Service attack is.

A Denial of Service attack(DoS) is when a machine, that normally receives an capable amount of SYN packets (small messages, that computers transfer as a "hi" before moving onto the large more detailed files) receives an overwhelming amount of SYN packets, therefore the system is so swamped with these SYN packets and its struggle to sift through them, that it shuts down, this is what happened to a Revision3 machine, during the attack, unfortunately taking the rest of revision3 down with it.

The Revision3 team later discovered that the server was taking way over a normal amount of SYN packets, and was actually reaching: 8,000 SYN packets, every second, which is understandably a large amount for any machine to withstand.

The image to the right shows the Revision3 server, trying to deal with the DoS attack. -->

Who?
This is all interesting and everything, but I'm guessing everyone is asking, just who exactly attacked Revision3 and why.
Well, after the Revision3 tracked the sources of these packets, they discovered the attack was aimed at their server that dealt with the BitTorrent tracker used to deal with the legal and legitimate downloads and uploads of their files.
Then after a bit of address translation, Revision3 actually discovered that it was a subsidiary site of: Artistdirect, and actually was a company called: MediaDefender. A companies who aim is:
"provide services that stop the spread of illegally traded copyrighted material over the Internet and Peer-to-Peer networks."

So their aim to shutdown what, in their eyes was a Peer-2-Peer sharing network. Revision3.
After Jim, contacted the head staff, at MediaDefender he was confronted with a mix of admittance, and backtracking. As the staff, admitted to some of the allegations yet tried to supply cover stories to reason with Jim as to why the attack actually happened.

Afterwards, Jim has come to a conclusion of:

"A torrential flood of SYN packets rained down on Revision3’s network over Memorial Day weekend.
Those packets – up to 8,000 a second – came primarily from computers controlled by MediaDefender, who is in the business of shutting down illegal torrent sites.
Revision3 suffered measurable harm to its business due to that flood of packets, as the attacks on our legitimate and legal Torrent Tracking server spilled over into our entire Internet infrastructure. Thus we were unable to serve videos and advertising through much of the weekend, and into Tuesday – and even our internal email servers were brought down.
Denial of service attacks are illegal in the US under 12 different statutes, including the Economic Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act."

There is no formal statement, but i am guessing that Jim Louderback and Revision3, will be taking legal action against MediaDefender and its actions.

Me, being a large Diggnation fan, and a Revision3 viewer, i found this story somewhat upsetting, to see such a familiar site, and a fun site, the target of such an attack. But the light hearted report and the continuance of programs as per usual, is a good sight.
Welcome back Revision3

This story was based around the report given by the CEO of Revision3: Jim Louderback.
The full report of what happened, and the source of this story can be found on the:

Revision3 website

Geek it BLACK

"Most Downloaded Software in one day." Is the record targeted by Firefox.

2008-05-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.spreadfirefox.com/

Firefox, is looking to hit a new record: The most software downloads in 24 hours.
With the new release of Firefox 3, coming out sometime in June Mozilla, are asking customers to pledge to download. The official release of Firefox 3, is to still a date: unknown.
Whether they manage to reach their target number of downloads, and take the record is still to come.

But with Firefox's already huge amount of customers, and their daily downloads reaching between: 210 Thousand and 250 Thousand. I'm sure they'll overcome such a challenge.

If you want to know more about what exactly Firefox 3 has to offer, and to see its release notes visit:
Firefox 3 Release notes page.

Do you believe that firefox can take the record or not?

For more information visit:
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/

Microsoft look to save themselves after Vista Flop.

2008-05-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

Even though Vista, managed to ship over 150 million copies world wide; Chief executive Steve Ballmer said at a conference that he admits, to wanting the new O/S to do better than Vista.
Vista was a much anticipated operating system that failed to suffice on many levels disappointing many. But Microsoft hope that Windows 7, will do better.

What is Windows 7, what makes it so good?
Windows 7, is a new operating system from Microsoft, hoping to be released at a target of 2010.
Whether they accomplish this, is another matter.
What makes Windows 7, so good is it's much talked about multi-touch technology.

This technology looks to change: ""The way you interact with the system will change dramatically," - Said by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

Its technology will allow the interaction of a computer and user to be touch screen, and multi-touch at that. Allowing the user to do such necessary tasks as: Paint, Play the piano, and re-size images with both hands.

The question:
As this will revolutionise and almost rid the computing world of 'mice' is this revolution of technology going too far, and will this technology be affordable.

And would you want such technology in your home instead of the use of a basic mouse?

Geek It BLACK.

8800 GT SLI or 9800GT

2008-05-28T01:18:00.000-07:00

I built my own PC, for one purpose: GAMING.
And i wanted to fit it with some of the best components of its time. And i feel i did that successfully, my most proudest part:

Nvidia GeForce 8800gt.

Specs:
600MHZ GPU,
112 Stream Processors
400MHz RAMDAC
512 MB 256 bit DDR3
1800 MHz (effective)

This was a good Graphics card, and it still is. It has alright cooling. Not the best. and can handle games such as Crysis with next to no problems.
But now I've reached that stage where i want a bit more, i want to top my computer that extra bit, and i want to be able to show of such a computer and play games with more than just: "next to no problems"
And with the new GT's out,

9600 GT.
Specs:
650 MHz GPU
64 Stream Processors
400 MHz RAMDAC
512 MB, 256 bit DDR3
1800 MHz (effective)

And i know, that there's the 9800GTX's being released, and they're everything the 9600's are, and more, and don't get me wrong, i'd love to be able to say that i have a 9800GTX, but for only a little bit more, are the 9800gtx's worth the money?

Well my problem is:
Do i go out, and get myself another 8800GT, and simply SLI the two graphics cards, and have them both running as one.
or do i count up my pennies, and go out and buy myself, a new 9600GT and use that?

Any responses, and any help would be appreciated.
Geek is the new BLACK.

Facebook to go open source.

2008-05-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Facebook is one of the leading competitors in the race to be the best online social networking site.
www.facebook.com has recently given information to several sources that they will be going open source in a matter of days.

What does this mean?
For those who arn't sure what open source is, or what this means for facebook. It basically means that the immediate effect will be to allow any social network to become Facebook Platform compatible - meaning application developers can easily take their Facebook applications and have them run on those social networks, too.

This will mean, many programs and software tools, can be expected in the up-coming times.

Come back soon, for the latest on this story.
Geek is the new Black.

The ASUS eee PC.

2008-05-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

This laptop, is rapidly making its way to my have-to-buy lists.
With its, small and slick design, and it's total portability. Not to mention, its smooth operating system, holding both Linux and Windows XP. Its overall design, and appearance are sure to make it stand out.

With a lowly 900MHz, Intel celeron, the asus EEE is not one for power, it struggles with HD and 3d Gaming, and would break more than a sweat with the large office programs.
But don't let this throw you, it will be more than capable of email, web browsing, word processing and web chatting.

This computer is light, and small enough to fit into one hand, reaching the size of a hardback novel.
Not only is its size minute, but its price is small enough to make this laptop worth every penny.
With it's first model:

The ASUS Eee PC 701 - bearing the specs of:

Intel Celeron M 900
512MB RAM
4GB Disk
Intel GMA 950 Graphics
7in wide screen LCD
weight: 900g.
and a price of only: £240 inc VAT.

Like i said, it's no power machine, and has next to no memory, but its price is a sure cover up.

The ASUS Eee PC's also come with SD memory card slots, and with SD memory reaching into 32GB, you could top your laptops memory right up.

The latest in the line of ASUS Eee pc's is the 900, with:

900 MHz Intel mobile CPU
Linux Xandros OS
1GB RAM
20gb Disk
8.9 in screen
Integrated Graphics, with VGA out.
3x USB 2.0
SD/MMc card slot
Weight: 1kg.
And another low price of: £329 inc VAT

This is the grown up brother of the 701, offering more ranges, for expansion of size, and a new style OS gives users the freedom to chose.

Seen next to each other, is the 900 to the left, and the 701 to the right.

Size is bigger, but the small and slick looks still runs in the family.

Geek is the new BLACK

What type of geek are you?

2008-05-27T02:16:00.000-07:00

Apparently, you don't need to just like computers to be a geek.
you can be a geek in almost any part of your life.
This cartoon picture, shows exactly what i mean:

SOLAR Ipod?

2008-05-27T01:45:00.000-07:00

(After seeing this post on ecogeek.org; posted by: Hank Green, link. I just HAD to let this be my first post, seeing as you all well know, i have a bit of a thing for Apple.)

Apple has just filed a patent for an in-screen / device-covering solar film for it's gadgets. We've seen similar in-screen technology patented by Motorola already (not clear if this is an infringement) but Apple wants to cover the entire device, not jut the screen, with the solar cells.

You can already get a solar powered iPod...it just requires a larger-than-an-iPod charger that you have to lay out in the sun all the time.

Not perfectly convenient, for sure, but I suppose it's better than the regular coal-powered way of charging up. But if the solar cells were built into the device, that would certainly make things simpler.

Unfortunately, with current efficiencies for thin-film solar (the only kind that could be semi-transparent) it's unclear that there would be much benefit. Unless you were planning on leaving your iPod in the sun all day long, you'd still need to charge the old fashioned way.

Unless Apple starts making flat gadgets with a large surface area....and that doesn't seem to be the direction they're going.

Welcome,

2008-05-27T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, yes this is the first post of my new blog.

After my new blog got a little weighed down, and as you know several problems with the hosting occured, i decided a fresh start was a good option.

I will be starting from scratch, refering to now old posts, but still chucking out the information.
The geek way.

I want to thank everyone, who has come, and is on their way from the old site, to this site.

I hope you enjoy.