Technology News Feeds

Five ways to keep your PC cool on a hot summer day  

July and the full heat of summer are upon us, leaving those of us who don't enjoy sauna temperatures no recourse but to crank up the AC—and the electricity bill. Ars investigates ways to cut your computer's power consumption, and ease the strain on your wallet.

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Bandwidth caps could lead to ISPs benefiting from piracy  

As Time Warner begins experimenting with bandwidth caps, which are commonplace in other countries, the possibility now exists that ISPs will benefit financially from their customers burning through their monthly limits to keep grabbing P2P content.

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Yankee Hotel Net Neutrality? Indie rockers back an open 'Net  

A collection of network neutrality-loving musicians are releasing a benefit album later this month to support the cause, but you can hear the tracks from Bright Eyes, Wilco, Aimee Mann, and Guster today.

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Judge: FISA trumps state secrets, binds executive branch  

A federal judge has struck a blow to the Bush Administration's use of the "state secrets" privilege in a lawsuit over its domestic surveillance practices. The ruling also undercuts the Democrats' rationale for signing off on retroactive immunity for the telecoms.

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Gartner Revises Server Share Numbers  Gartner revised its first quarter numbers and found that IBM actually beat out Hewlett-Packard in server revenue....

Who Is Running The Most Secure Browser?  Many users are undoubtedly not updating their browsers as quickly as they should, but you can't conclude any specifics about that from the recent study of Google logs....

DOJ Sued Over Cell Phone Tracking Practices  Civil liberties groups claim the Justice Department is bypassing warrants to obtain real-time tracking information on U.S. citizens....

Microsoft Internet Explorer Security Strikes Back  Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 security builds on the Phishing Filter of IE 7 and thwarts cross-site scripting....

Digital Home Recording Tips, Part 2   Last time, DIY guru Michael Dean revealed how to capture high-quality audio at home. This time, he shares mic tips, clever soundproofing ideas, and his personal gear recommendations. Bedcasting, anyone?

101 Photoshop Tips in Five Minutes   If you've ever read a computer magazine, you know the idea behind "101 Tips." One gala issue, lots of first-rate contributors, lots of quality information. And lots and lots of pages. But when's the last time one lone guy tried to capture 101 tips in video? In just 5 minutes of video? Set to music? This is the realm of dekePod, the once-every-other-weekly series from Deke McClelland. It's bold, it's brash, it's ridiculous. It's a podcast with serious issues. Enjoy.

Digital Home Recording Tips, Part 1   Don't fix it in the mix — get it right the first time! DIY guru Michael Dean explains how to capture a clean signal so you don't have to mess with balky noise-reduction software after the fact. Get field-tested mic tips, computer tips, and more.

Digital Media Insider Podcast 25: Greatest Bits   DMI hits 25! Listen in as we explore our favorite moments from the first 24 episodes and unearth some never-before-heard bonus material. From vocoders to space-helmeted cover bands, from the secret sound of Goldfrapp to harmonious fat men, here are Digital Media Insider's greatest hits.

Canon Pixma iP100 Photo Printer  In the Pixma iP100 Photo Printer, Canon's latest version of its mobile printer, Canon makes surprisingly few compromises for the sake of portability.

Palm Centro (Verizon)  Palm broadens its smartphone assault with an affordable 3G-capable Verizon model.

Brother HL-2170W  A monochrome laser, the Brother HL-2170W prints reasonably high-quality output at fast speeds.

Kyocera FS-1300D  Despite its high price, the Kyocera FS-1300D's low cost per page can make it cheap to own in the long run.

Finding Fault With Google's Privacy Policy  orenh writes "Viacom has recently obtained a court order that requires Google to hand over a complete list of every video watched by YouTube users. These logs will include the login names and IP addresses of the users. Google are now asking Viacom if they can anonymize the logs before turning them over; Viacom hasn't responded yet. But this privacy nightmare could have been greatly reduced if Google had anonymized the data in advance. Google's privacy policy states that they keep personally identifiable information for 18 months. There is no real reason to do so; Google can achieve everything they need even if they anonymize their search logs after just one month, and it's time users told them to do so."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In Japan, a 900 Gigabyte Upload Cap, Downloads Uncapped  Raindeer writes "While the Broadband Bandits of the US are contemplating bandwidth caps between 5 gigabyte and 40 gigabyte per month, the largest telco in Japan has gone ahead and laid down some heavy caps for Japan's broadband addicts. From now on, if you upload more than 30 gigabyte per day, your network connection may be disconnected. Just think of it ... if you're in Japan and want to upload the HD movie you shot of yesterday's wedding, you soon might hit the limit. The downloaders do not face similar problems."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

There's a Sucker Converted Every Minute  Ponca City, We love you writes "Once the US converts from analog to digital broadcasting next February, those who receive their signals over the air will need a converter box for older, non-digital models. Government-approved converter boxes sell for $60 or less and a government-issued $40 rebate coupon is available for the asking but that hasn't stopped companies like the Ohio-based Universal TechTronics from offering supposedly free converter boxes. The gimmick: the box is free, as long as you pay $88 for a five-year warranty, plus $9.30 shipping. Universal TechTronics seems to specialize in 'high-tech' products of questionable value, marketing the Cool Surge portable air cooler, 'a work of engineering genius from the China coast so advanced that no windows, vents, or freon are needed' that uses the same energy as a 60-watt light bulb. It works by blowing a stream of air over two ice packs that you have previously frozen in your freezer. What's the best tech scam you've heard of lately?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In Iran, Blogging May Be Punishable By Death  An anonymous reader writes "In Iran, crimes such as apostasy (leaving a religion, in this case Islam) and armed robbery are already punishable by death, but a new bill in Iran aims to add to the list 'establishing weblogs and sites promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy,' effectively giving the government a free hand in silencing bloggers. The internet is widely used in Iran, despite its previous attempts at censorship. Will this change as the censorship grows more rampant?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Indies celebrate Independence Day  

Finding the sharing button

Interview Did anyone, I wonder, ever buy just one Motown single? Or just one 2-Tone single? And while you're pondering... can you even remember what major label your favourite artist is on? Unigram, perhaps. Or Polycorpse.…

2010: the 5TB 3.5in HDD cometh  

Hitachi promises 1TB per square inch

Hitachi has pledged to release a 5TB 3.5in hard drive within two years, and it claims two of the drives will boast enough capacity to store everything in your brain.…

PC World pips Asus to UK Atom sub-laptop premier  

Who has the first SCC with Intel's new chip?

PC World today claimed to have beaten Asus to the punch by launching the first Small, Cheap Computer in the UK equipped with an Intel Atom processor.…

DARPA calls for 'DUDE' combo infra-nightscope  

As in 'Dude, where's my multispectral imaging device?'

DARPA, the renowned bulgy-bonced battle-boffinry bureau (apparent motto: "If you can't beat them... well, some sort of murderous killer robot army would seem to be in order") has just issued its latest call for notions. This time, the Pentagon science chiefs want a new and ultra-puissant combo nightsight module.…

Court orders YouTube to give Viacom video logs (AP)  

AP - Dismissing privacy concerns, a federal judge overseeing a $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit against YouTube has ordered the popular online video-sharing service to disclose who watches which video clips and when.

2 teens attacked in town mocked in YouTube videos (AP)  AP - Two teenagers who drove to Oniontown after a series of YouTube videos portrayed the hamlet as a run-down, backwoods dump were pelted with rocks by an angry group of young residents, authorities said.

Internet addressing agency loses its own addresses (AP)  AP - This doesn't sound good: The nonprofit agency in charge of the Internet's addresses recently lost track of its own.

Police wnt u to fight crime w/txt msgs (AP)  AP - Police in the 1970s urged citizens to "drop a dime" in a pay phone to report crimes anonymously. Now in an increasing number of cities, tipsters are being invited to use their thumbs — to identify criminals using text messages.