Category: Computers, Science & Technology

Yes! There is a new, improved, TWiT Channel for your Roku box! Check it out at:

Roku Keyword: TWiTbeta1

Go to: https://owner.roku.com

Login, and enter the keyword above! Rock on with TWiT!

Interesting viewpoint on using “M” as a programming language!

Join the M revolution

“Are you a geek?

If so, driving the future of healthcare is now within your grasp.

What do you have to do?

Learn the M programming language, and teach it to others.

What’s the M programming language?

The M programming language is also known as MUMPS. Which stands for Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System.

M is a multi-user, strongly imperative language designed to manipulate and control massive databases. It is used in the high availability, high reliability niche of the computer market—which includes banking and hospitals. It provides simple data abstractions, in which all data values are strings of characters, and all data can be structured as multiple dimensional arrays. M data structures are sparse, using strings of characters as subscripts. M is itself a language combined with a database engine.”

Ever need to thoroughly test, and benchmark a system… say, one you are building? Well, this package will benchmark and test your PC!

Sandra Lite – The Free Edition

All around tool, benchmarking, system diagnostic and analyser.

SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software. Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.

It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCIe, ODBC Connections, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Native Unicode ports for 32-bit Windows (2000/XP/2003/Vista), 64-bit & x64 Windows (XP/2003/Vista) as well as Windows CE (Pocket PC 2002/2003/2003SE, Smart Phone 2002/2003/2003SE, CE .Net 4.20) are available.

General Sandra Information

Here are the version types, in line with industry standards:

Sandra Lite (free for personal/educational use – no nag screens, time limit, etc.)
Sandra Advanced (for OEMs)
Sandra Professional (commercial)
Sandra Engineer (commercially exploitabile)
Sandra Enterprise (commercial)
Sandra Legacy (home enthusiast)
List of SiSoftware Sandra Modules:

Here is a list of current modules:

System Summary
Mainboard/Chipset/System Monitors Info
CPU/BIOS Info
APM & ACPI (Advanced Power Management) Info
PCI(e), AGP, CardBus, PCMCIA bus and devices Info
Video Information (monitor, card, video bios, caps, etc.)
OpenGL Information
DirectX (DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectSound (3D), DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectInput) Info
Keyboard Info
Mouse Info
Sound Card (wave, midi, aux, mix) Info
MCI Devices (mpeg, avi, seq, vcr, video-disc, wave) Info
Joystick Info
Printers Info
Windows Memory Info
Windows Info
Font (Raster, Vector, TrueType, OpenType) Information
Modem/ISDN TA Information
Network Information*
IP Network Information*
WinSock & Internet Security Information
Drives Information (Removable Hard Disks, CD-ROM/DVD, RamDrives, etc.)
Ports (Serial/Parallel) Info
Remote Access Service Connections (Dial-Up, Internet)*
OLE objects/servers Info*
Processes (Tasks) & Threads Info
Modules (DLL, DRV) Info
Services & Device Drivers (SYS) Info*
SCSI Information*
ATA/ATAPI Information
Data Sources Information*
CMOS/RTC Information*
Smart Card & SIM Card Information*
CPU Arithmetic Benchmark (MP/MT support)
CPU Multi-Media Benchmark (including MMX, MMX Enh, 3DNow!, 3DNow! Enh, SSE(2)) (MP/MT support)
File System (Removable, Hard Disks, Network, RamDrives) Benchmark
Removable Storage/Flash Benchmark
CD-ROM/DVD Benchmark
Memory Bandwidth Benchmark (MP/MT support)
Cache & Memory Bandwidth Benchmark (MP/MT support)
Network/LAN Bandwidth Benchmark
Internet/ISP Connection Benchmark
Internet/ISP Peerage Benchmark
Hardware Interrupts Usage*
DMA Channel Usage*
I/O Ports Usage*
Memory Range Usage*
Plug & Play Enumerator*
Hardware registry settings
Environment settings
Registered File Types
Key Applications(web-browser, e-mail, news, anti-virus, firewall, etc.)
Installed Applications*
Installed Programs*
Start Menu Applications*
On-disk Programs & Libraries*
Installed Web Packages(ActiveX, Java classes)
System Event Logs*
Burn-in Wizard(test computer stability)
Connect Wizard (connect to remote computers, PDAs, Smart Phones and other devices)
Combined Performance Index Wizard (overall computer performance score)
Create a Report Wizard (save, print, fax or e-mail in CIM (SMS/DMI), HTML, XML, RPT or TEXT format)
Performance Tune-Up Wizard (tune-up computer)
Environment Monitor Wizard (temperatures, voltages, fans, CPU power, cooling solution thermal resistance, etc.)
WebUpdate Wizard for automatic version updating

A new (5.8) version for Skype. Gotta love the HD!

Skype rolls out update for Windows with full HD video calling, group screen sharing

“Skype rolled out its version 5.8 software update for Windows users today, and it brings with it a couple of fairly notable features. That includes full HD video calling (provided you have a suitable webcam and internet connection, of course), video calling to Facebook users (regardless of whether they have Skype installed or not), and group screen sharing, which will let folks share either their entire desktop or a single application with other participants on a conference call. That last feature is only available with Skype Premium, though. Other new features include a ‘push to talk’ option that will let you set up a hotkey to trigger your microphone (for multiplayer gaming, for instance), the ability to hide offline Facebook contacts, and one possible fruit of the Microsoft acquisition: Bing toolbar integration.”

So… you want to add iTunes Podcasts to your Roku? Well, add a private channel with the special, secret code: “ITPC” (It stands for iTunes Private Channel.) To add it, got to this link and log in to your Roku account:

iTunes Private Channel Addition

Then, wait a bit, and you have access to all your iTunes Podcasts, video and audio! Cool!

Cross-posted from the Hand Held Hack:

Awesome! An Open Source tablet! This rocks! Want!

Meet the Spark, an open-source tablet that will cost $260 and run Linux

“As an alternative to the many Android tablets already on sale, the Spark is a 7-inch Linux-based slate that’s entirely open and built around open-source software.

Are you ready for yet another tablet release? Well, this time it’s a little bit different to the slew of Android slates we’ve become used to, as it runs an open source Linux operating system, making it perfect for developers and users who don’t want to deal with any proprietary software at all.

Announced by leading KDE hacker Aaron Seigo on his blog, it’s called the Spark, and it uses the community-driven spin-off of MeeGo called Mer as its OS, with KDE’s cool Plasma Active user interface over the top.

So why would you choose this over an Android device or the Kindle Fire? It’s obviously not for everyone, but if you want an open device loaded with free software, that’s yours to do whatever you like with, then it’s likely to be exactly what you’re after. The Spark’s bootloader isn’t locked, so you’re free to install any alternative operating system and any apps too.

The specification isn’t the highest you’ll see though, with the tablet boasting a 7-inch screen, a 1Ghz ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory and a Mali-400 GPU. It’s speculated that the Spark is a rebranded Zenithink slate, which if true would mean the screen resolution is a mere 800 x 400.

But as it’s set to retail for 200 euros, which converts to about $260, it’s a bargain for anyone who want to run Linux natively rather than just another build of Android. There will even be an application store with apps and eBooks, plus as Seigo himself points out, individual stores can be built for it, making it potentially useful for educational and business environments.”

So many Star Trek devices are becoming “real”… why not Dr. McCoy’s Tricorder?

The Race To Build A Star Trek-Worthy Medical Tricorder

“In the future, you’ll be able to figure out what’s wrong with you (or your child) simply by scanning them with your cell phone. In the present, two companies are racing to make the first prototype.

The medical tricorder, a handheld device in the Star Trek universe used to diagnose diseases and keep track of vital signs, once seemed a sci-fi impossibility alongside teleportation and alien encounters. Not anymore. The $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize, officially announced this week, challenges entrants to create mobile platform that can accurately diagnose 15 diseases across 30 patients in three days. We caught up with two startups–Senstore and Scanadu–that think they can pull it off.

SCANADU

Scanadu has been working on a non-invasive, non-contact, non-sampling (no saliva, urine, stool sample necessary) tricorder since before the X Prize challenge was announced. The startup, which raised $2 million in November, was only founded last January. But co-founder Walter De Brouwer set up a research lab in Belgium–Starlab–in the late 1990s, where he prototyped a tricorder-like device. It was too far ahead of its time. ‘It was the size of a backpack. It was an interesting idea but not really workable,’ explains Scanadu co-founder and COO Misha Chellam.

SENSTORE

That brings us to Senstore, another startup that’s working on a medical tricorder–but one that will be open source. Senstore got its start at Singularity University’s 2011 summer graduate program, where the current Senstore team took on the challenge of using sensor technology to solve global health problems.”

Yes, I am always changing things up! Now, I have made the HTML5/WebM player the default for our videos on the web site. There will be another change occuring in the background VERY SOON that will dramatically speed up the playing speed of the WebM video as well… stay tuned! Actually, to be precise, the latest version of the Netcast (#224) is ALREADY the faster playing version!

So, stay tuned for enhancements, changes, and other goofing around!

Barnes & Noble may be releasing a new Nook in the Spring, in an effort to fight off the inroads that Amazon has made in the e-book arena.

Report: new Nook coming this spring

“On Sunday, the New York Times published a long piece about Barnes & Noble taking on Amazon in the ‘fight of its life.’ Buried in the middle of the two-page article is a small mention of engineers ‘putting the final touches on their [Barnes & Noble’s] fifth e-reading device, a product that executives said would be released sometime this spring.’

No details were offered beyond that, with a Barnes & Noble spokesperson declining to comment further. But the obvious question is what is it?

Another tablet, perhaps a larger model (think iPad size but with a $300-$350 price tag)? An even more affordable e-ink e-reader that might allow the company to break the sub-$50 barrier? Or perhaps something more exotic, such as an e-reader that features Qualcomm’s power-efficient Mirasol color display that has started to appear in e-readers in China and Korea? (Mirasol displays can also be viewed in direct sunlight).

The other thing worth considering is whether this new e-reader will be part of the Nook’s launch overseas. Barnes & Noble has long been rumored to be making this move and the Times article states that the first stop abroad is ‘expected to be Waterstones bookstores in Britain.’ No word on exactly when the Nook will arrive outside the U.S., but a launch doesn’t seem far off (‘before long’ is the time frame the Times reporter Julie Bosman suggested).

Also of note: Barnes & Noble will continue to tweak the design of its brick-and-mortar stores, according to CEO William Lynch. The company will be experimenting with smaller stores and eliminating the dedicated DVD and music sections while continuing to offer movies and music “elsewhere” in the stores.”

Cross-posted from the “Hand Held Hack” Blog:

So, only two years since the advent of the iPad! Wow! As ubiquitous as tablets are, who would have thought it has only been a relatively short time?!

Apple iPad: Happy 2nd Birthday

“Apple’s iPad turns two on Friday, assuming we accept the late Steve Jobs’ announcement of the iPad as the device’s date of birth rather than its April, 2010 release date.

The iPad’s gestation period was a long one. Computer pioneer Alan Kay had conceived of a tablet computer, the Dynabook, back in 1968, around the time that the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, based on Arthur C. Clark’s novel of the same name, depicted a tablet news reader.

Over the years, variations on the tablet theme appeared. Microsoft hardware partners shipped tablet PCs in 2002 and Windows-based tablets have lingered on, without much success.

Apple had a tablet of sorts in its Newton handheld device. The Newton had a ten-year run, starting in the late 1980s, but failed to achieve broad enough appeal to survive.

The iPad, however, is different. It’s hugely popular, so much so that Apple sold 15.4 million of them during the last quarter of 2011. That’s more than the number of PCs sold during that period by HP, the world’s leading PC vendor. The desktop computing era is officially over.”