Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:43:43 GMT:Hands on: Opera 10.50 makes impressive performance gains
The Opera Web browser has taken a big step forward with the release of version 10.50, a significant update that brings some nice new features and a number of radical improvements under the hood. Opera Software contends that it has taken the lead in performance, leap-frogging its competitors. We conducted benchmarking and some hands-on tests to determine if the new Opera lives up to the hype.
Although Opera was one of the early pioneers of the browser market, it has failed to gain significant traction. It has been left behind and is increasingly overlooked as newcomers like Chrome lap it in the market share race. Opera also started to fall behind in technical areas where it used to be a leader, particularly performance and support for emerging standards. Version 10.50 puts Opera back on track with an offering that is both competitive and functionally compelling.
A more future-proof foundation
Modern browsers use a technique called just-in-time (JIT) compilation to transform JavaScript into native code at runtime. This approach leads to a tremendous increase in execution speed. As the browser vendors continue to aggressively optimize their JIT mechanisms and native code generators, it's likely that we will see even more dramatic performance gains.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:17:25 GMT:Blog about non-pseudoscience medicine
Blog about non-pseudoscience medicine
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:16:50 GMT:How to Create Digg-Friendly Content: Cracked.com’s Template
A while ago I wrote about using selective reporting to frame news, grab attention and make your content stand out from the rest of the competition. Now lets looks at creating original content specifically for a social media channel. How do you increase the chances of your article striking a nerve and spreading like wildfire within a specific community?
The answer is simple. I’ve mentioned it before. First of all, you need to start by gathering tactical knowledge on the specific website. Know your audience’s fetishes. Know what they love/hate and know what they talk about. Know what cliques exist within the community. Know what totems, symbols, personalities and ideas are embraced by the general populace.
After knowing that, you can start to create content that is angled towards the specific audience. The mistake that most people make is not having broad appeal. A large general community has many members, each with different interests but a microscopic and overly technical focus on a small topic area may rob your content of the chance of truly going viral.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:16:09 GMT:Link farm From Wikipedia
On the World Wide Web, a link farm is any group of web sites that all hyperlink to every other site in the group. Although some link farms can be created by hand, most are created through automated programs and services. A link farm is a form of spamming the index of a search engine (sometimes called spamdexing or spamexing). Other link exchange systems are designed to allow individual websites to selectively exchange links with other relevant websites and are not considered a form of spamdexing.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:15:25 GMT:Scraper site From Wikipedia
A scraper site is a website that copies all of its content from other websites using web scraping.[1] A search engine is not a scraper site:[citation needed] sites such as Yahoo and Google gather content from other websites and index it so that the index can be searched with keywords. Search engines then display snippets of the original site content in response to a user's search.
In the last few years scraper sites have proliferated at an amazing rate for spamming search engines.[1] Open content are a common source of material for scraper sites.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:14:50 GMT:Spamdexing From Wikipedia
Spamdexing (also known as search spam, search engine spam or web spam)[1] involves a number of methods, such as repeating unrelated phrases, to manipulate the relevancy or prominence of resources indexed by a search engine, in a manner inconsistent with the purpose of the indexing system.[2][3] Some consider it to be a part of search engine optimization, though there are many search engine optimization methods that improve the quality and appearance of the content of web sites and serve content useful to many users.[4] Search engines use a variety of algorithms to determine relevancy ranking. Some of these include determining whether the search term appears in the META keywords tag, others whether the search term appears in the body text or URL of a web page. Many search engines check for instances of spamdexing and will remove suspect pages from their indexes. Also, people working for a search-engine organization can quickly block the results-listing from entire websites that use spamdexing, perhaps alerted by user complaints of false matches. The rise of spamdexing in the mid-1990s made the leading search engines of the time less useful.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:14:09 GMT:List of public xmpp services
List of public xmpp services
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:13:31 GMT:Jabber.org Faq
Jabber.org Faq
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:13:04 GMT:Notblog post on Independant Music
Notblog post on Independant Music
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:11:22 GMT:Skylaire Alfvegren page
a repository for the writings of gonzo journalist, Fortean explorer and unrepentant bohemian Skylaire Alfvegren and information about the League of Western Fortean Intermediatists (L.O.W.F.I.), a network for explorations into the mysteries and peculiarities of the American West.
Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:25:29 GMT:Jared Andcoralee's site, focus on CLI
Welcome to my Linux site. This site focuses on my passion for the command line interface (CLI). I'm convinced that anything that can be done in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) can be done in the CLI. The focal point of this site is a list of CLI Desktop Applications emphasizing how to get things done in the CLI. I've also added other resources that enhance the user's experience in the CLI such as, example user config files, CLI tutorials, links to other CLI resources and useful code usually simple bash scripts that make life in the CLI a little more enjoyable.
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:11:28 GMT:SDF's gopher tutorial
SDF's gopher tutorial
Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:28:02 GMT:Gopher Building Tutorial
Gopher Building Tutorial
Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:04:13 GMT:Shapeways interviews Bruce Sterling
Shapeways interviews Bruce Sterling
Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:03:37 GMT:The WELL: Bruce Sterling: State of the World 2010
The WELL: Bruce Sterling: State of the World 2010
Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:03:08 GMT:Bruce Sterling: The Hypersurface of this Decade | ICON MAGAZINE ONLINE
Bruce Sterling: The Hypersurface of this Decade | ICON MAGAZINE ONLINE
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:56:49 GMT:Linux Netbooks: back to the facts
There has been a lot of talk about the success or failure of the Linux netbooks recently, to the point that it is now a very controversial topic. I think that it is time to go back to the facts and perform an objective analysis of the Linux netbook market. You will see that Linux netbooks have been neither a complete success nor a complete failure.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:56:05 GMT:Netbook Nightmare: My Experience With the Sylvania g Netbook
Back in December I joined the netbook revolution with the purchase of a Sylvania g Netbook, the original model introduced in July of last year. The preinstalled implementation of Linux was incredibly poor but once I reloaded the system and added the necessary drivers I found that I enjoyed the little netbook at first. Then a hardware problem developed: the system would intermittently lock up for no apparent reason. I eventually restored everything to factory default and it still happened so I exchanged the netbook. The replacement proved to be faulty straight out of the box with wireless completely non-functional. A second exchange proved impossible; according to the dealer the model had been discontinued. I still see the original Sylvania g Netbook offered for sale at what seems like a very attractive price so I thought it best to share my experiences before someone spends their hard earned money on one.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:55:23 GMT:High Netbook Return Rate? Windows Is the Problem
On May 14th in a piece colorfully titled "Game Over For Linux Netbooks", Bill Weinberg wrote about a very high return rate for Intel Atom based netbooks:
...an Intel executive has stated that some of its computer resellers selling Intel Atom-based netbooks have seen 30 percent return rates.
The Brooke Crothers story quotes Intel marketing chief Sean Maloney as saying at an investor meeting yesterday that the main reason for the returns was that the resellers were not being honest with customers about the shortcomings of netbooks versus Pentium-based notebooks. "
Note that the quoted story wasn't referring to netbooks running Linux. It was referring to all Intel Atom powered netbooks. I am assured over and over again by tech pundits like Mr. Weinberg that nowadays almost all those netbooks run Windows, not Linux.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:52:17 GMT:Linux Netbooks: They're Still Out There
Back in February I wrote about how Linux had gone mainstream as netbooks became ubiquitous. Nobody doubts that Windows has captured the overwhelming majority of the netbook market. Even so, Dell claimed around that time that one third of their Inspiron netbooks were selling with Ubuntu preloaded rather than Windows XP.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:51:30 GMT:Linux Netbooks: 3 paths to a bright future
Last week I made a summary of the current state of the Linux netbook market. Today I will show you that Linux netbooks are at a crossroad. They can reach a bright future and a significant market presence through 3 different paths: the smartbook path, the cheap path and the power path. I will explain how each path will lead the Linux netbook to market dominance in a specific niche.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:50:22 GMT:Microsoft’s Netbook Problem
The persisting popularity of netbooks has been a major drain on Microsoft’s Windows client licensing revenue. The worldwide economic downturn has driven many people to purchase cheaper machines, but I believe that the netbook’s ascension also reflects changing consumer tastes.
Windows client licensing revenue fell $1 billion from last year, and Microsoft’s unearned revenue from multi-year license agreements has flatlined.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:48:40 GMT:Linux Is Regaining Netbook Market Share Quickly
Back in May I wrote an article titled Linux To Regain 50% Netbook Market Share after such predictions were made by Stephen Lim of Linpus Technologies and ABI Research. Mr. Lim saw Linux pulling even with Windows on netbooks by next year while ABI Research saw it happening by 2013. Both saw netbooks powered by ARM processors as the main reason that Linux would rebound.
Most of the comments I received ranged from skeptical to incredulous. Even those who support and advocate for Linux on the desktop largely believed that Microsoft would retain market dominance. Here we are six months later and the promised ARM powered netbooks have not arrived in any quantity as of yet. The Intel Atom processor is currently used in 90% of netbooks according to ABI Research while ARM processors only account for 4% of the market at present.
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:10:08 GMT:Pandora Arm Linux Pocket Handheld Project
ARM® Cortex™-A8 600Mhz+ CPU running Linux
430-MHz TMS320C64x+™ DSP Core
PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
800x480 4.3" 16.7 million colours touchscreen LCD
Wifi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth & High Speed USB 2.0 Host
Dual SDHC card slots & SVideo TV output
Dual Analogue and Digital gaming controls
43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
Around 10+ Hours battery life
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:09:18 GMT:An Introduction to the ARM System Architecture
ARM - an acronym for: Advanced RISC Machines
The processor originated in England in 1984. At its inception ARM stood for Acorn RISC Machine. The first ARM reliant systems include the Acorn: BBC Micro, Masters, and the Archimedes. During this early period they were used mostly for British educational systems, and therefore, were not widely available or known outside England. However in 1987 the ARM became the first commercial RISC processor.
In 1990, the research section of Acorn separated from the parent company and formed: ARM Ltd. (Advanced RISC Machines Limited).
Other historical notables are that the Macintosh Apple ][GS was run by an ARM processor, as was the ill-fated Newton portable note-taking device. (Not ill-fated because of the processor but because of the market timing)
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:08:40 GMT:ARM Cortex-A8
The ARM CortexTM-A8 processor is the first applications processor based on the ARMv7 architecture and is the highest performance, most power-efficient processor available from ARM. With the ability to scale in speed from 600MHz to greater than 1GHz, the Cortex-A8 processor can meet the requirements for power-optimized mobile devices needing operation in less than 300mW; and performance-optimized consumer applications requiring 2000 Dhrystone MIPS.
The Cortex-A8 processor is ARM’s first superscalar processor featuring technology for enhanced code density and performance, NEON™ technology for multimedia and signal processing, and Jazelle® RCT (Runtime Compilation Target) technology for efficient support of ahead-of-time and just-in-time compilation of Java and other bytecode languages.
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:07:54 GMT:ARM architecture From Wikipedia
The ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by ARM Holdings. It was known as the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that as the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in terms of numbers produced.[1][2] They were originally conceived as a processor for desktop personal computers by Acorn Computers, a market now dominated by the x86 family used by IBM PC compatible computers. The relative simplicity of ARM processors made them suitable for low power applications. This has made them dominant in the mobile and embedded electronics market as relatively low cost and small microprocessors and microcontrollers.
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:07:18 GMT:The MIPS Processor and the $150 Linux Netbook
Back at the start of the millennium I was working for a large government contractor supporting an agency of the U.S. federal government. This agency was a major customer of SGI. Many of the scientists who worked there had very nice SGI workstations and some of the SGI servers I supported were, to say the least, impressive technology at the time. At the time SGI systems, one and all, had 64-bit MIPS processors under the hood. SGI spun off MIPS Technologies in 1998 and stopped selling new MIPS based systems in 2005.
The technology that once powered supercomputers now is found in embedded devices. In recent years both MIPS32 and MIPS64 cores have been found powering everything from routers to the Sony PlayStation. About a year ago the first MIPS32 based netbooks appeared, mainly in Europe and Asia. MIPS64 based netbooks are now on the market as well and are competing with ARM processors for the low end of the next generation of super low cost machines. We are talking about systems that reportedly will sell for as little as US $130 and which have already sold for as little as US $149. Say hello to the $150 netbook.
Last week I wrote about two different projections claiming that Linux will recapture 50% of the netbook market, either in three years or by next year. Compelling MIPS and ARM based systems are the reason I believe those projections are correct. Current versions of Windows won't run on ARM or MIPS processor based systems at all. Windows CE can and does but offers the functionality of a PDA, not the functionality one expects in a miniature PC. Even if Microsoft were to adopt a crash program to port to these platforms many of these systems lack the horsepower to run Windows acceptably if at all. Lightweight, optimized versions of Linux are another matter entirely. They run just fine for many applications on the MIPS based systems released so far despite processor speeds ranging from 336 to 797 MHz. If that sounds slow please remember that the original Asus EeePC was underclocked to 600MHz and sold like proverbial hotcakes. EeePC 70x models are still sold today with a street price of $200-$250.