by Dan Warne April 02 2008
Intel admits programming in parallel is still very, very hard for most programmers. An Intel spokesman presenting on the topic said that although today’s computers operate in the gigascale range – “Gigahertz frequency, Gigabit transmission speeds, Gigabyte storage capacity”, we will soon be in a “Terascale” era, where everything is 1,000 times that – including the core count. So, unless programs are completely multithreaded, they simply won’t use the power available in hugely multicore systems. “We can’t blame the programmers though. The industry has been complaining for 30 years about how difficult parallel programming is. Intel says it has developed a new programming model that is more natural to the way programmers think by default, but also allows for multithreading. “Our answer is CT: C stands for C++ based MPI and T stands for high throughput. So programmers can run C++ like scalar code, and our CT code will do everything that an experienced programmer will do like parallelisation and vectorisation.” Intel has already got the technology working on quad and eight core platforms, and says its existing test applications can run on upcoming terascale platforms without modification of any code.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
RIAA can't sue over P2P
Making songs available not unlawful
By Stewart Meagher: Wednesday, 02 April 2008
A NEW YORK JUDGE has ruled that the act of making files available for download does not constitute copyright theft. The ruling is likely to knobble thousands of pending cases brought against file sharing networks and individuals by the content Mafiaa. The new ruling places the onus on organisations like the RIAA to prove that the actual unlawful download - ergo copying - took place. The whole "making available" argument, which the RIAA has successfully used in a number of cases, one of which resulted in one poor geezer having to cough up $220,000, seems to have been shot down in flames.
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By Stewart Meagher: Wednesday, 02 April 2008
A NEW YORK JUDGE has ruled that the act of making files available for download does not constitute copyright theft. The ruling is likely to knobble thousands of pending cases brought against file sharing networks and individuals by the content Mafiaa. The new ruling places the onus on organisations like the RIAA to prove that the actual unlawful download - ergo copying - took place. The whole "making available" argument, which the RIAA has successfully used in a number of cases, one of which resulted in one poor geezer having to cough up $220,000, seems to have been shot down in flames.
Read more here-->Link
Microsoft Wins Document Format Standards Battle
Microsoft takes important step in crushing its rival's format
By Jason Mick - April 2, 2008
Microsoft has long profited from proprietary formats, occasionally at its competitors' expense. However, with open standards coming into vogue, Microsoft adopted an "if you can't beat them, join them" approach, creating its own open document format. However, its new format was not warmly received. Microsoft hoped its Office Open XML (OOXML) format would become the office file format of choice for the industry. The OpenDoc Society, a long term opponent of Microsoft, did not believe in Microsoft's sudden change of heart. It sought to outcompete OOXML, with its existing format, Open Document Format (ODF). The ODF format is already ratified as a standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), solidifying its place in the academic and business communities as a viable option. When Microsoft sought ISO ratification, the OpenDoc Society lobbied against it. It argued that having multiple open document standards defeats the purpose of having standards and that the standard would allow Microsoft to tighten its grip on computer systems.In the end the OpenDoc Society's campaign was an exercise in futility as Microsoft's OOXML has finally been ISO certified. The decision was leaked Tuesday ahead of the official ISO announcement, which came today. Microsoft lauded the move, saying that it created a "level playing field" for OOXML to competed with ODF and other formats.
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By Jason Mick - April 2, 2008
Microsoft has long profited from proprietary formats, occasionally at its competitors' expense. However, with open standards coming into vogue, Microsoft adopted an "if you can't beat them, join them" approach, creating its own open document format. However, its new format was not warmly received. Microsoft hoped its Office Open XML (OOXML) format would become the office file format of choice for the industry. The OpenDoc Society, a long term opponent of Microsoft, did not believe in Microsoft's sudden change of heart. It sought to outcompete OOXML, with its existing format, Open Document Format (ODF). The ODF format is already ratified as a standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), solidifying its place in the academic and business communities as a viable option. When Microsoft sought ISO ratification, the OpenDoc Society lobbied against it. It argued that having multiple open document standards defeats the purpose of having standards and that the standard would allow Microsoft to tighten its grip on computer systems.In the end the OpenDoc Society's campaign was an exercise in futility as Microsoft's OOXML has finally been ISO certified. The decision was leaked Tuesday ahead of the official ISO announcement, which came today. Microsoft lauded the move, saying that it created a "level playing field" for OOXML to competed with ODF and other formats.
Read more here -->Link
Again, Microsoft stomps out Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumors
By Ed Oswald, April 2, 2008
Microsoft has again quashed rumors that it will ship a Blu-ray drive in or for the Xbox 360. This time, the speculation was fanned by DigiTimes, which quoted industry sources who claimed that manufacturers had been chosen to start production of the drives. According to the report in DigiTimes, which has had a shaky past in predicting companies' future moves, Taiwan's Lite-On IT was asked to participate in the production of the Blu-ray drives for Microsoft. But production of such drives is met with a fundamental problem: price. The cost to build a Blu-ray drive, estimated to be as high as $95 to $100, is far higher than the cost of the current DVD drive in the Xbox 360, thought to be between $18-20.
Read more here -->Link
Microsoft has again quashed rumors that it will ship a Blu-ray drive in or for the Xbox 360. This time, the speculation was fanned by DigiTimes, which quoted industry sources who claimed that manufacturers had been chosen to start production of the drives. According to the report in DigiTimes, which has had a shaky past in predicting companies' future moves, Taiwan's Lite-On IT was asked to participate in the production of the Blu-ray drives for Microsoft. But production of such drives is met with a fundamental problem: price. The cost to build a Blu-ray drive, estimated to be as high as $95 to $100, is far higher than the cost of the current DVD drive in the Xbox 360, thought to be between $18-20.
Read more here -->Link
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