iSoftNews Technical News

Robo roaches dance to Gaga, not born this way (Yahoo! News)

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:08:49 +0000

Yahoo! News – Is your knee-jerk reaction to cockroaches, “Kill them with fire!” or anything similar? You are not alone. But it’s a given that some people won’t share your roachy woes, and you can’t find a better example than the group ofÂ high …

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Polycotylus – The Good Mother Plesiosaur? – Wired News

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:08:27 +0000

Fox News

Polycotylus – The Good Mother Plesiosaur?
Wired News
The opening sentence of F. Robin O'Keefe and Luis Chiappe's new paper in Science this week is a simple statement of fact that threw me for a loop. “Viviparity, or birthing live young,” the paleontologists write, “is common among …
Fossil Study Shows Plesiosaur Gave Birth To Live YoungIrish Weather Online
Ancient Reptile Plesiosaurs Gave Birth to Live Young, Study SaysReptileChannel.com
Pregnant plesiosaur fossil solves mysterynewjerseynewsroom.com
World Science -Geekosystem -Los Angeles Times
all 318 news articles »

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The Death of Booting Up

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 10:08:46 +0000

theodp writes ” Booting up was a bear,’ recalls Slate’s Farhad Manjoo, ‘something to be avoided at all costs.’ But now, he adds, ‘It’s time to rejoice, because all that’s in the past. Computers these days can go from completely off to working within 30 seconds, and in some cases much faster. Apple’s MacBook Air loads up in 16 seconds, and machines based on Google’s cloud-based Chrome OS boast boot times of under 10 seconds. Even Windows computers are fast-with the right set-up, your Windows 7 laptop can load just as quickly as a MacBook.’ Perhaps at home, but how’s that working out for you at work? Have reports of the death of long boot times been greatly exaggerated?”

Interactive YouTube Video Lets You Control Skateboarder’s Tricks [EXCLUSIVE] (Mashable)

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 10:08:48 +0000

Mashable – [More from Mashable: Turntable.fm For Video: Introducing Chill]

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BlackBerry Server Can Be Hacked With Image File

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:08:31 +0000

Trailrunner7 writes “There are remotely and easily exploitable vulnerabilities in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server that could allow an attacker to gain access to the server by simply sending a malicious image file to a user’s BlackBerry device. The vulnerabilities are in several version of BES for Exchange, Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise, and Research in Motion said that an attacker who is able to exploit one of the bugs might also be able to move from the compromised BES server to other parts of the network.”

See the PyPy JIT In Action

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:08:05 +0000

derGoldstein writes “Project PyPy is an alternative implementation of Python, with the main advantage being a Just In Time (JIT) compiler which speeds up your code considerably. They’ve announced the first public release of jitviewer, which is a visualization tool that helps you understand how your code is being compiled by PyPy’s JIT, all the way down to assembly. If you just want to see how it looks and play with it, they’ve set up an online demo — just select a file, and click ‘Show Assembler.’”

Whiny, Selfish 8-Year-Old Always Wants His Parents To Stop Yelling At Each Other

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:08:07 +0000

ST. PAUL, MN—In a shockingly selfish pattern of behavior that has occurred repeatedly over the past six months, local 8-year-old and whiny brat Sean Cooper has continued his habit of interrupting his parents with his pleas for them to stop screaming…

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Straight, Gay Service Members Looking Forward To Asking, Telling Come September

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:08:36 +0000

WASHINGTON—With Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy on gay men and women serving in the military, set to expire Sept.

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New Game from Super Meat Boy Dev Hits Steam Later This Month

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:08:50 +0000

Just a few weeks after its official announcement, The Binding of Isaac has taken up residence on Steam. Despite the store page saying September, its creator Edmund McMillen (one half of the duo behind indie platformer Super Meat Boy) is confident the game will be on sale by the end of August.

McMillen describes The Binding of Isaac as “a roguelike shooter based on the dungeon structure of Zelda (NES).” Like Rogue and its many descendants, the game’s dungeons will be randomly generated, and players will rely heavily on items to upgrade and transform their hero. The controls will be reminiscent of old-school arcade shooters like Smash TV and Robotron, predecessors to the twin-stick shooter craze kicked off by Geometry Wars.

Though its gameplay differs greatly from the punishing platforming of Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac’s aesthetic is quite similar. McMillen’s crude, bathroom humor-friendly art style remains, and Danny Baranowsky (composer of the excellent Super Meat Boy soundtrack) once again provides his musical talents.

The Binding of Isaac will cost just $5. McMillen has yet to discuss any release plans other than the initial Steam launch. Considering how well Super Meat Boy sold on PC compared to Xbox Live Arcade, it might be a while before we see The Binding of Isaac anywhere other than Valve’s digital storefront.

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Dell Releases Inspiron 13z & 14z and Vostro V131

webmaster — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:08:28 +0000

Dell has released three new laptops today: Inspiron 13z, 14z and Vostro V131. The first two are spinoffs of Dell's XPS 15z which was released in late May and it received quite good reviews. Fundamentally, 15z is a good competitor against Apple's MacBook Pro since 15z finally adopted a thin, full metal body which is what Apple has been shipping for years. This is what Dell is trying with 13z and 14z as well, although they will not be available in aluminum colour, but in black and red (the body is still aluminum though). The Vostro is Dell's low-cost business laptop and it's a good budget alternative if you don't like Inspirons. Lets list the specs right away:

	Inspiron 14z		Vostro V131
	Standard	Built to order	Standard
Screen size	14.0"	N/A	13.3"
Resolution	1366×768	N/A	1366×768 (matte)
Processor	Intel Core i3-2330M (2.2GHz)	Intel Core i5-2410M (2.3GHz)	Intel Celeron 847 (1.1GHz)
Graphics	Intel HD 3000	N/A	Intel HD 2000
Memory	4GB (1x4GB) DDR3	6GB (4GB+2GB) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3	2GB (1x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3
Storage	500GB 5400rpm	640GB 5400rpm, 750GB 7200rpm	320GB 7200rpm
Optical drive	DVD+/RW	N/A	Optional external DVD+/RW
Ports	2x USB 3.0, USB 2.0/eSATA, Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, headphone/mic, SD card slot	N/A	2x USB 3.0, USB 2.0/eSATA, Ethernet, headphone/mic, card reader
Dimensions(WxDxH)	13.6" x 9.7" x 0.92-1.0"	N/A	12.96" x 9.36" x 0.63-0.83"
Weight	5.0lb	Varies	3.6lb
Price	$599	Varies	$499

Inspiron 13z and 14z

Inspiron 14z will be available immediately but unfortunately, the 13z is only available in some Asian countries so we weren't able to get any detailed specs and the US release is still pending. However, we do know that the screen is 13.3" and has the same, 1366×768 resolution. We also expect the other specs to be very similar, the biggest difference being dimensions and weight.

14z seems to be a good all arounder in terms of specs and the price isn't too bad either but there is one part that could have been done better: the screen resolution. 1366×768 is okay for a budget laptop, which is what 14z is, but 1600×900 shouldn't be too much to ask as a BTO, there are people willing to pay for extra pixels. Currently there aren't many sub-$1000 ~14" laptops with 1600×900 and those are usually very close to the $1000 mark, so a $100 BTO for 1600×900 would have been a very good move from Dell.

Inspiron 14R is probably the closest to 14z when looking at Dell's other offerings. Basically, 14z is just a slimmed down version of 14R as the other specs are very similar. 14z also has a bit faster CPU and more RAM but that is pretty much it 14R does have a price advantage of $100 though. When compared to 13" MacBook Pro, Dell has a huge price advantage. Apple gives you a faster CPU, smaller form factor and less weight but to be honest, it can be very hard to justify the extra $600 for such small differences.

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Vostro V131

Since Vostro is meant for business, the specs are relatively weak but business users are rarely looking for powerful laptops. Thus the use of ULV Celeron can be justified along with only 2GB of RAM. Vostro V131 is actually very thin and light for its price: only 0.7lb heavier than 13" MacBook Air and 0.15" thicker at the thickest point. That is pretty good when considering that Vostro starts at $499 whereas MBA starts at $1299. Of course, there are other differences such as the CPU and storage but V131 might be a good option for people who want an affordable, yet very portable computer.

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Final Words

Dell is clearly into making things thinner and lighter at the moment, which is actually what the whole industry is trying to do. Intel's Ultrabook concept has just thrown fuel for the fire and we should see the first Ultrabooks in a few months. While Ultrabooks won't compete in the budget market, they are definitely a nice addition and evidently, all laptops seem to aim at being thinner.

Dell's newest offerings are a proof of this. They are thinner than their predecessors while still keeping similar price range and specs. We will most likely see other manufacturers following Dell in case they haven't already slimmed down their laptops already.

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