Science and technology news blog

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the first to be launched in the next-gen console wars. However, despite being released for over a year, the three rings of death still dog the console. And Microsoft has no answer to fix it. With the recent announcement of a 3 year retrospective warranty they have atleast healed a few wounds. Although this is not going to last in the long run. What will happen once the warranty period is over? If consumers still experience the same problem, is Microsoft going to fix it free of charge. This really is a design issue rather than anecdotal.

Xbox chief Peter Moore talked to NEWSWEEK’s N’gai Croal explaining the how, the why and the what.

Here is a small excerpt from this interview: Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists claim that it is possible to glimpse the universe before the Big Bang. Here is an excerpt from USA Today:

AMD’s Barcelona processors are going to re-ignite the processor wars. AMD’s entire future depends on the performance of its new Quad-core range of processors. Since the launch of Intel’s Core processors, AMD has taken a huge beating and all its market share gains in the last few years has been evaporated thanks to Intel’s superior processors. However, come August and AMD will launch its counter-attack with its “native” quad-core processors.

AMD calls it quad-core processors native because it has 4 cores on one die. Intel’s quad-core offering at the moment is two dual-core processors joined together, or in AMD’s words “Stitched” together. On paper it would seem that having 4 cores on a single die would quite obviously be better than having 2 dual-core processors. However, in real world applications its all a different story. AMD seems to be a victim of its own theory. For years, Intel has always had the edge when it came to clock speed, but AMD always had the edge in performance. This time around though its Intel that has the edge in performance in the dual-core products from both the companies.

AMD’s Barcelona processors are going to re-ignite the processor wars. AMD’s entire future depends on the performance of its new Quad-core range of processors. Since the launch of Intel’s Core processors, AMD has taken a huge beating and all its market share gains in the last few years has been evaporated thanks to Intel’s superior processors. However, come August and AMD will launch its counter-attack with its “native” quad-core processors.

AMD calls it quad-core processors native because it has 4 cores on one die. Intel’s quad-core offering at the moment is two dual-core processors joined together, or in AMD’s words “Stitched” together. On paper it would seem that having 4 cores on a single die would quite obviously be better than having 2 dual-core processors. However, in real world applications its all a different story. AMD seems to be a victim of its own theory. For years, Intel has always had the edge when it came to clock speed, but AMD always had the edge in performance. This time around though its Intel that has the edge in performance in the dual-core products from both the companies.

Here is something that should be of extra concern to everyone. Some scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Md. have managed to transfer the entire genome sequence of one bacteria onto another hence creating life without the need of any supplements. The big question obviously is in what ways this will help us and whether this technology is cheaper than existing methods. The answer to the second question is that this new build-from-start method is much more expensive than currently used technologies. In terms of academic research, this is no doubt priceless as this procedure has never been performed successfully.

This is the also not the first time Craig Venter has followed his gut instincts. He is also known for his fight to sequence the human genome. His team took the genes from one bacteria, Mycoplasma mycoides, and inserted into another bacteria, Mycoplasma capricolom. Read the rest of this entry »

First Microsoft released an SDK (Software Development Kit) called XNA Game Studio Express for individuals and hobbyists to program games for the Xbox 360. And now Nintendo seems to be following the same path with the release of WiiWare. According to Nintendo, the tool will allow game developers to release smaller and more interesting titles which gamers can purchase and download from the console’s Wii Shop channel.

Well, to me, this is just the next inevitable phase for the console makers as this would enable fans who also have programming skills to create games that they would like to play themselves and in turn earn money as well. It also enables to console to have a more broader appeal. Say for example, my friend would like to play a game that has not yet been released or may never be released. He can then go ahead and create his own game and with the number of consoles that Nintendo has sold, this will give him an opportunity to market this game and earn money from something he enjoys.

Sony, you better be watching as this is another tight slap on their face, not that they need anymore after dismal performance of their next-gen console, PS3.

Microsoft’s Live.com service has started to offer a Photo Gallery and online file storage to Windows Vista and XP SP2 users. The Photo Gallery is supposed to be an extension of Windows Vista’s built-in photo gallery. Named Windows Live Photo Gallery, the service provides sharing, editing, organizing and printing of your photos.

Windows Live Folders, another file hosting service, provides users with a measly 500MB of space as compared to other services. Although this is free of charge, but compared to AOL’s 5GB of free storage, it really is pathetic. Still for most people it may be more than enough. Personally, I would like this to have been atleast 2GB of space, and being a beta service, it should not take too long for Microsoft to increase the storage size.

The introduction of these services gives ample proof that Microsoft’s strategy is moving more to online services. Looks like in the Google vs Microsoft war, its perhaps Google’s turn to start getting worried with Microsoft now beginning to encroach upon their territory.

Composite video of the iPhone showing its expected functionality

Sony execs plan to have over 300 games available for the PS3 by March 2008, effectively doubling the number of titles currently available for the beleaguered console. What I want to know is if just the number of titles available is going to be enough for the console to get out of the mess its in right now. A price cut is whats necessary for the PS3 and the sooner Sony does it the better its going to be for them. However, do not expect Microsoft or Nintendo to stand and just watch. As soon as there is going to be a price cut on the PS3, I am expecting that XBox 360 is going to have one as well. Don’t know if the Wii may get a price cut as its still selling out all over the world.

With the onset of global warming, ecotourism is seeing a sharp rise all over the world and Hawaiianbeachrentals.com offers its visitors with a wide variety of wailea condominiums. The Hawaii Ecotourism Association describes ecotourism as something that involves the development of the local community, while at the same time offering tourism based on nature and culture that is environmentally friendly.

This is a major initiative by resorts in tourist-friendly regions and none better than Hawaii itself. I had been planning on going to Hawaii in the next couple of years and Hawaiianbeachrentals.com provided me plenty of information on the renting of wailea condos.

According the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), almost 100 million dollars have been used in the last year and steps have been initiated to prevent future pollution of the environment in Hawaii. There is growing partnerships between businesses and environmentalists in conserving the natural flora and fauna in a bid to secure future tourism. This in itself is a major breakthrough as both sides have been at crossroads since time immemorial.

The environment-friendly hotels, also known as “Green Hotels”, use energy and natural sources in ways that cause the least amount of wastage and pollution, thereby providing a clean and fresh environment for the tourists to experience Hawaii like its supposed to be.

Microsoft claimed yesterday that they would be making changes to how Vista users search for files. After an official complaint from Google that disabling Vista’s built-in search is next to impossible, Microsoft has made an announcement that when Vista SP 1 is released by end of this year, it will be much more easier for users to switch to a third-party desktop search engine such as Google’s Desktop Search.

This from an article on Ars Technica:

Microsoft here is splitting the difference, somewhat, as the company will retain Vista’s built-in search results in the upper right hand corner search box present on most explorer windows. The document explains, “Microsoft has agreed, however, to add a link that, if clicked, will launch the default desktop search program and display search results from that program.” 

Indians have created a virtual web based windows operating system that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Nivio, as its called, has been in beta testing in the UK. According to Sachin Duggal, Founder & CEO, Nivio, “Desktop stresses have always been a concern for all computer users. Loss of data, spam & virus attacks have taken peace out of our lives. I have always believed that the world would change if computing would be simple. Originally named myremoteworkstation, I dreamed of a desktop that was anywhere and nowhere; that was stress-free and fault-less. And Nivio was born.”

Nivio’s owners plan to raise $5 million to fuel expansion. And they are targeting 100,000 users by end of this year. The first month is free and monthly subscription costs Rs 399. They have also priced it at Rs 199 per month for students. You can visit the following website for more information – Nivio.com

Just have a look at this video, matches vista’s tagline perfectly:

http://www.uvouch.com/video-Windows-Vista-crash-337128

Looks like old habits die hard.

Here is the catch. This is not Google. This is not Youtube. This isnt even Metacafe or Dailymotion. This is Uvouch.com and here I can collect videos from all the above mentioned video hosting sites and more. I can create my own playlists and video rolls and embed them onto my websites or blogs. Have a look at the top of the page to see what I am talking about.

I had a small chat with the owner of the website, Parveen Panwar, and he said that they are constantly improving the functionality based on user feedback. New features are being rolled at a faster pace than Mach 10. Not to mention that I just love the fact that all videos can now be viewed from one place and I can organize these using my own categories or tags.

Although the site does not have the backing of any investors, yet, but I strongly believe that this is one dot com to watch out for.

Does this sound like the first nail in Google’s coffin? Microsoft and Yahoo execs must be desperately praying for exactly that. However, eBay’s pulling off its ads from Google may not be as bad as it sounds. Agreed that eBay is Google’s number one client for ads and they must really be feeling like idiots for pulling off that party stunt.

What goes to be seen is if eBay will come back to Google later on. eBay also needs to understand that it is going to lose a significant amount of traffic as a lot of users do come from Google searches. Its also possible that eBay may strike a deal with either Yahoo or Microsoft, or even both. And that would be a real blow for Google.