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October |
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Newsletter | |
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Issue 15 |
| Quad Core Processors |
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Skype founders turn on net TV service |
The IT market moves particularly fast, and sometimes even seasoned technology watchers like yours truly find themselves wishing that it would stand still for a while, or perhaps just slow down a little bit. At its Developer Forum in San Francisco last month, Intel officially unveiled its first quad-core processor chips, some of which are scheduled to ship before the end of this year.
There have been some slightly silly arguments about whether these first chips are truly quad-core, because they combine two dual-core processor dies in a single chip package rather than fitting everything on one piece of silicon. Nevertheless, the fact remains that barely a few months have passed since the launch of Intel’s Core 2 Duo chips, and the chances are that very few enterprises will even have got as far as drafting a purchase order for new systems based on that technology. Now, it looks as though quad-core chips will be available before spring has fully sprung in 2007. The vast majority of companies are, of course, still running desktops based on the older Pentium 4 technology. How many of these firms, I wonder, will be looking to replace their systems within the next year? Those businesses that are planning to upgrade soon will almost certainly be holding off until after Windows Vista is available, and many others will wait long enough to ensure that Vista’s early bugs have been ironed out. Those companies that are determined to take the plunge now have more food for thought with the impending arrival of quad-core systems. Should they invest in the newly launched dual-core desktops from Dell and HP, or should they wait to see if quad-core would be a better buy? Questions like these are going to be hard to answer until Windows Vista finally ships and we can all get a feel for what level of hardware is required to run the new operating system comfortably. Quad-core will almost certainly be of greater benefit in a server environment than on the desktop, but until recently the perceived wisdom said the same thing about dual-core processing. Windows Vista, with its higher system requirements, is moving the goalposts in terms of what is considered adequate hardware. It seems likely that dual-core will soon be regarded as the minimum acceptable specification, along with two gigabytes of memory. By Daniel Robinson |
Those guys behind Kazaa and Skype have started accepting signups for a peer to peer video streaming service they say will deliver high quality full screen TV across the net. The Venice Project is in discussions with major content providers, including TV companies, and has already truck deals with serious content providers, Friis told El Reg today. The Venice Project will also allow smaller content producers and individuals to upload their content. The service will be supported by advertising. Friis and Zennstrom's time at Kazaa was marked by trench warfare with the big record companies, but this time they are nailing down the copyright issues before the service goes live. "This is not a file sharing network," said Friis, adding that “We have a lot of experience with copyright.”. The service will be DMCA compliant, and content providers will be able to “de-authorise” content, he said. At the same time, if users upload illicit material, he said, it can be tracked down and taken off. From the viewer's point of view, Friis is promising something that combines the best of the TV, i.e. professionally-produced content that tells a story, with the internet's ability to search for and access content on a whim, produce favourites list, forward these to friends along with comments, and the like. Users will create their own channels which could span programmes from the big production houses, independent documentaries, home movies and You Tube-like clips. "This is a secure P2P network," added Friis. Users simply need to download the client software. Content providers will be able to access tools to upload their content, and crucially, ensure they get a cut of the advertising revenue it generates.
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Nokia unveils Bluetooth wireless rival for smaller devices |
Crash! Bang! MySpace! Wallop! |
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Nokia has unveiled a short-range wireless rival to Bluetooth, which uses less power and can be loaded onto smaller devices. Bluetooth was invented by Nokia rival Ericsson, but has become an industry standard, used in millions of mobile devices and printers. Nokia has now launched its Wibree technology as an open industry initiative. The technology is said to only use a fraction of the power of other radio technologies, including Bluetooth. Nokia said that this meant Wibree could be used in smaller devices such as watches and other jewellery, sports sensors and toys, for instance, and that it would be cheaper to implement. Nokia expects that first commercial products to use Wibree to appear in the second quarter of next year. It is currently working with Broadcom, CSR, Epson and Nordic Semiconductor on an interoperability specification, and intends working with other firms in the near future. Dr Bob Iannucci, head of the Nokia Research Center, said, "Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an interoperable solution that can be commercialised and incorporated into products quickly." Wibree has a range of up to 10 metres and provides access speeds of around 1mbps, which is lower than Bluetooth. Wibree is implemented either as stand-alone chip or as a Bluetooth-Wibree dual-mode chip. Small devices such as watches and sports sensors will be based on stand-alone chips, whereas Bluetooth devices will benefit from a dual-mode solution, giving them connectivity to a new range of smaller devices. |
A Microsoft spinout is adding to the social networking detritus with an ads-free service intended to challenge MySpace for internet traffic. Wallop contrasts its "unique business model" with that of advertising top-heavy MySpace. Wallop will charge users enhancing their "online image" by purchasing ready-made Adobe Flash graphics and features for between 99 cents and $4.00. The idea is people express themselves using pictures, music and animation. In another attempt to differentiate itself from the MySpace herd, and alleviate the concerns of legions of parents, Wallop lets users control who views their profiles. Users can reveal different content to different audiences. According to Wallop chief executive Karl Jacob said social networking has to-date been "limited and plagued with problems."
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Russian blackmailers jailed for targeting on-line gaming sites |
Study shows Brits mystified by tech terms and language |
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A gang of Russian internet blackmailers have been jailed for extorting millions of pounds from British gambling websites. The gang is said to have extorted more than £2m from British online casinos and betting shops, after threatening to attack their websites with denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and taking them out of action. Ivan Maksakov, Alexander Petrov and Denis Stepanov were each jailed for eight years and fined nearly £2,000. Victims of the on-line blackmail gang included Canbet Sports Bookmakers, which refused to pay a £5,000 ransom demand. It then found that its website had been taken out of action by the hackers during the Breeders' Cup Races, costing it an estimated £100,000-plus a day in lost business. According to prosecutors, the gang made more than 50 similar blackmail attacks in 30 different countries during their six months of activity. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at internet security software firm Sophos, said, “These sentences should send a strong message to other internet hackers considering on-line blackmail. However, many gangs may believe that the relative anonymity of the internet gives them carte blanche to carry on.” Russian authorities worked with the UK National High Tech Crime Unit, Interpol and the FBI to apprehend the gang. by Antony Savvas |
Nielsen/NetRatings discovered that although 40% of Brits online use RSS feeds, 67% didn’t know that the acronym stands for Really Simple Syndication. Many people are clueless as to what “podcasting” and “wiki” means; 35% of those surveyed had heard the term, but didn’t know what it meant, while a shocking 25% hadn’t ever heard the term. Blogging, which has its own little blogosphere of culture, is a mystery to 34% who had heard the term but didn’t know what it entailed. Other statistics show that acronyms give people the most trouble, with three-quarters of those surveyed not understanding that VOD stands for video-on-demand, and almost 70% not realising that PVRs are personal video recorders. Strangely, more than half of those surveyed didn’t know that IM stood for instant messaging or instant messenger. |
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