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Macon County Commissioners

Coverage of the meetings of the Macon County Board of County Commissioners.

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Coverage of the meetings of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen.

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Coverage of the meetings of the Macon County School Board.

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Showing posts with label Thunder Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thunder Tech. Show all posts

Monday, February 11, 2013

The Linux Action Show: Podcasting on Linux

The Linux Action Show S25 E7 photo LASs27e7_zps0d3add65.jpg

Here is one of my favorite Linux Podcasts, The Linux Action Show, which is part of the Jupiter Broadcasing network of shows.


We cover the state of media production on Linux, and share our tips to get your own podcast, powered by Linux, off the ground! And we answer a very popular audience question: how to record Skype calls under Linux.

Plus: A mini-review of KDE 4.10, Gabe claims Linux is a "get-out-of-jail free pass" for the gaming industry, Carmack says skip native the native port and focus on WINE, we share the great news for new Linux laptop users...

AND SO MUCH MORE!

All this week on, The Linux Action Show!

Find out more about this show at The Linux Action Show.


Friday, January 11, 2013

Leo Laporte Keynote at the 2013 New Media Expo


Here is a very profound keynote given by +Leo Laporte of +TWiT TV at CES earlier this week. 

I watch a lot of the TWIT-TV shows via my +Roku.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

IBM Demonstrates Feasibility of Silicon Nanophotonics for Chip Manufacturing

IBM's silicon nanophotonic modulator/photodetector chip, with integrated electrical components

IBM has announced that it is ready to mass produce a new class of computer chips that utilize both copper and optic fiber routing of information on the same computer chip. A single CMOS-based nanophotonic transceiver is capable of converting data between electric and optical with virtually no latency, handling a data connection of more than 25 gigabits per second. Depending on the application, hundreds of transceivers could be integrated into a single CMOS chip, pushing terabits of data over fiber-optic connections between processors, memory, and storage systems optically over distances ranging from two centimeters to two kilometers. Here is the press release:

On December 10, 2012 IBM announced a breakthrough optical communication technology which has been verified in a manufacturing environment. The technology – called “silicon nanophotonics” – uses light instead of electrical signals to transfer information for future computing systems, thus allowing large volumes of data to be moved fast between computer chips in servers, large data-centers, and supercomputers via pulses of light.

The technology breakthrough allows the integration of different optical components side-by-side with electrical circuits on a single silicon chip, for the first time, in standard 90nm semiconductor fabrication. The new features of the technology include a variety of silicon nanophotonics components, such as modulators, germanium photodetectors and ultra-compact wavelength-division multiplexers to be integrated with high-performance analog and digital CMOS circuitry.

The use of a standard chip manufacturing process will alleviate high cost of traditional interconnects. Single-chip optical communications transceivers can now be manufactured in a standard CMOS foundry, rather than assembled from multiple parts made with expensive compound semiconductor technology.

Furthermore, dense integration of optical circuits capable of transmitting and receiving at high data rates will solve the limitations of congested data traffic in current interconnects. IBM’s CMOS nanophotonics technology demonstrates transceivers to exceed the 25Gbps data rate. In addition, the technology is capable of feeding a number of parallel optical data streams into a single fiber by utilizing compact on-chip wavelength-division multiplexing devices. The ability to multiplex large data streams at high data rates will allow future scaling of optical communications capable of delivering terabytes of data between distant parts of computer systems.


Angled view of a portion of an IBM chip showing blue optical waveguides transmitting high-speed optical signals and yellow copper wires carrying high-speed electrical signals

I wonder how long it will take these new chips to become integrated into data centers and how long it will take them to find their way into consumer devices.


Monday, December 10, 2012

This Week in Tech #383: Mennonite Madness


Here is TWIT-TV's weekly show that discusses the week in tech...


Hosts: Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Jolie O'Dell, and John C. Dvorak.

Tim Cook talks, G4 Esquire, assassins everywhere, Ingress data mine, badge lust, and more.

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/twit.

Running time:: 2:08:49

Monday, December 3, 2012

This Week in Tech #382: The Pump and Dump


Third world cloud, PR $, Chromebook push, fly-touch, vacuum-packed gadgets, and more.
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Tim Stevens, Mike Elgan, and John C. Dvorak.
Running time: 1:59:06

See the show page for more information.




Wednesday, November 14, 2012

All About Android Episode 85




Nexus sells out, Droid DNA, Apple and HTC make up, movie themed games, and more.
Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/aaa.
We invite you to check out the full show notes for today's episode here.

Running time: 1:22:01


For even more fun tech shows, please visit Twit TV.






Monday, November 12, 2012

Linux Action Show: s24e05


It's been a while since I've posted a show from Jupiter Broadcasting, so I'll correct that error right now...

We go hands on with the Steam for Linux beta, look at the big picture, cover the beta lockout workaround, and a timeline from rumors to launch! Plus our observations and thoughts from our tests.

Then: The good news for Nvidia users, a new Linux tablet, a big batch of your emails...

AND SO MUCH MORE!

All this week on, The Linux Action Show!

Show Notes & Download: http://bit.ly/tlas235


These guys put out a plethora of tech related shows and you can find them at Jupiter Broadcasting.







Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Tech News Today for 08-07-2012

I watch a lot of the shows that are part of the TWiT TV network of shows, and this one airs daily during the week.


Acer tells Microsoft to stop, Samsung's crisis of design, Facebook allows gambling, and more.

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Guest: Lauren Goode of All Things D

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/tnt.


Tech News Today on Reddit.

Running time: 50:08


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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Review of Day One of the Google I/O Developers Conference



Wow. What a day yesterday was in the tech world!



The first day of the 2012 Google I/O developer Conference was epic. The keynote was an experience. If you want to see the Google I/O Keynote, here are a couple of places to watch it:

Twit TV Live Special

Watch Chris Pirillo Watch the Keynote

Here is a brief overview of what happened.

Activations


Google announced that its hardware partners have sold over 400 million Android devices. Last year, that number was 100 million.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean



The next update to Android is called Jelly Bean. To be more precise, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, so it is an incremental update to IAndroid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwhich. The update was part of Project Butter and uses a new search interface they call cards that make it easier to display information that users typically search for.

Introducing the Nexus 7 Tablet



The Nexus 7 tablet was an anticipated move by Google and some details of it were leaked prior the official release. The Nexus 7 is a 7" tablet that ships with Jelly Bean and is Google's answer to the Amazon Kindle Fire and is a distribution platform for Google Play much like the Kindle Fire is a distribution platform for the Amazon Store. It retails for $199 and will ship in the middle of July. It will be the first tablet that has Google Chrome installed as the default browser. You can order yours by clicking here.

The Nexus Q Introduction



The Nexus Q is spherical device that is called a "social streaming media player" that is remote controlled by any nearby Android-operated smartphone or tablet. It seems to be a digital juke box that delivers music and video during parties and retails for $299.

You can also see the official Nexus Q Video.

Google+ Tablet App and Events

I couldn't find stand-alone video for this section, so you'll have to watch it as part of the coverage I've linked to at the top of this article.

A sorely overdue Google+ tablet app was introduced that brings the full G+ experience to tablets and phones. Also introduced was G+ Events. This allows you to create events and invite people to them.

*Personal note* This led to a period of a few hours last night where I received invitations to over a hundred events...most of them virtual and silly...by people who were over-exhuberantly playing with this new feature. Thankfully, it calmed down by the time I logged off for the evening.

The EPIC Project Glass Demo



This was the most epic product demo in the history of the tech world. It started when Sergey Brin Kanye'd Vic Gundotra with a "time sensitive update".

He presented a demonstration of the Google "Project Glass" which is a wearable camera that includes a speaker, microphone, touchpad, gyroscope, compass, accelerometers and is wirelessly connected to a phone or tablet that the user carries.

Five people wearing the devices jumped out of a blimp (correction: it was a zeppelin) over the Moscone Center where the conference was taking place, landed on the roof, handed them off to bicyclists who jumped to another roof, then handed the devices off to people who rapalled down the side of the building and then the devices were bicycled into the building and into the auditorium and onto the stage to thunderous applause. All this was streamed live from the point of view of the people wearing the devices.

Here is the polished video of the demo:



Then Sergey announced that all those developers who were present could buy the prototype for $1500 and it will be avaialble in January 2013 for them to play with and use to develop apps for the new device.

Other Updates, Other Thoughts

Why is Google releasing a tablet that will surely make the company close to no money? There is no chance Google can produce such a high quality tablet for much less than $200, so the margins on the Nexus 7 have to be tiny. The answer is the same answer to the question, “Why is Google giving away Android for free?” It is also the same reason that for Google, Android activations are the most important metric and the one mentioned at almost every opportunity. Namely, for an advertising company, what matters most are impressions. Users. The audience. The money is there, it always has been, but first and foremost, Google needs to be everywhere.

Source: The Paradox of the Apple Google War Brought to a Whole New Level by Hillel Fuld

Google+ Platform Basics



Google+ History API will bring in your past updates from around the web

Meet Google Nexus 7, Kindle Killer By Joe Wilcox

Spec Comparison: New iPad v. Nexus 7 v. Kindle Fire v. Surface via Paul Allen

Made in the USA: Google's Nexus Q is symbolic and significant via Kenyan Mobli

Twit TV

I'm a fan of Twit TV and have included the shows they've posted so far where their hosts discuss the events of the first day of I/O 2012, along with links to where you can download the video and audio of the show...



This Week In Google 153: Did I Mention it Takes Pictures?

Tech News Today 351: Falling for Glass (video not uploaded to Youtube yet)

TWiT Live Specials 131: Google I/O Keynote Day 1 (this is good if you missed the live presentation of the keynote)

TWiT TV on Google+




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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Google I/O 2012 Live Coverage



Here is the Google I/O Live-blogging widget for live coverage of Google I/O.





I am hoping that it is a dry run for rolling this kind of product out for bloggers to use when covering live events. I would love to be able to use something like this to cover local government meetings and other events as they happen.



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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Thunder Tech for 09-24-2009










I can't believe it has been three months since I've posted one of these. I'll blame it on Twitter because the feedback is almost instantaneous over there. So, let's ee if I remember how to do this...

Expresso Book Machine prints and bunds books in minutes








Source: Engadget








MIcrosoft Phone to compete with iPhone, complete with Apps store. Read more at
Gizmodo, from whence I swiped the photo.


Federal courts now offer hearings online as MP3 files




US federal courts are in the midst of a fascinating pilot program that could eventually bring MP3 digital audio recordings of court proceedings in a Montana federal building to an investigative journalist working in Boca Raton.


The courts already run the PACER system, which offers Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Theses are generally PDF copies of all documents (except those under seal) filed in federal courts across the country. As a tool, it's an amazing time and money saver for lawyers, journalists, and the public, despite the 8¢ per page charge for most documents which has proved controversial.
Source: Ars Technica











About 18 months ago Doug Ellison from UnmannedSpaceflight.com created a flyover of the Columbia Hills on Mars using data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Spirit, the Mars rover. He's now done a 2.0 version to mark Spirit's recent birthday — she's been on Mars for 3 Martian years. Ellison made the skies a little hazier to mark the moderate dust storm that occurred recently and put Spirit in her current predicament, stuck in the sandy soil near Home Plate. Additionally, he added music and an intro credit page to avoid it being badly credited, (which happened when it was posted on Astronomy Picture of the Day in May of 2008) as well as a map at the end to show where Spirit has been all this time. If you saw the first version, this one is even better. If you haven't seen it before, prepare to be amazed.
Source: [Universe Today]  (visit them to see eben more goodies!)


LAST BITS

[
NASA] Messenger to flyby Mercury for a final gravity-assist maneuver before entering orbt in 2011.

[
Geology.com] Australia's Worst Dust Storm in 70 Years



And lastly, I'll leave you with a video from NASA:





Source: [
NASA] Cassini Reveals New Ring Quirks, Shadows During Saturn Equinox

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Thursday Thunder Tech

Here is the latest edition in my occasional Thursday series on technology:

I'll start it off by noting that Windows 7 will be cheaper than Vista. I just hope it doesn't suck as much as Vista. (I returned my copy of Vista and am happily using XP). Here is a list of prices.

A sign of the times? It costs advertisers more to run an ad during The Simpson on Hulu than on TV.

I found a helpful list of 100 essential web tools for those with a side business.

Do you make phone calls over the Internet? If not, this article might convince you to start.

A video report concerning CNN's iReport and Iran:




It appears that Flash Games are
being monetized.

I am convinced that the Associated Press is run by the most profound idiots on the planet. Here is a snippet that has blown me away:

Now, however, the AP has released "staff guidelines" for how to use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and there are some highly questionable rules there. The one getting the most attention -- for good reason -- is the bizarre and troubling demand that those who use Facebook not only have to watch their own language, but the language of any friend that posts a comment on their Facebook "wall." Seriously. They want AP employees to comb through any comments that friends/family/etc. post on their wall -- and if they "violate AP standards: any such material should be deleted." It's difficult to fathom how this could possibly make sense and isn't a huge burden for AP employees as well as obnoxious to their friends and family. Does the AP also tell its employees that when out to dinner with friends, they must "shush" them if their friends say anything not up to "AP standards"?

Source: TechDirt

Seriously, newspapers and websites...just stop carrying AP material. I actively avoid reading the stuff.

China (a nation that routinely murders it's own people) has accused Google of "spreading vulgar content". Really.


Here's good news, Full HD (1080i) is coming to a cell phone near you.


And, in another sign that the apocalypse is near, you can now cook a pizza in your car with a cigarette lighter powered oven. For $36, you can't lose!!!


Saturday, May 30, 2009

Presidential On The Job Training: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency





President Obama appeared to discover a new Federal Agency recently, and the discovery inspired me to provide a little briefing video for the President, as part of his on The Job Training.

I hope you enjoy it:





Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Thunder Tech for 03-18-2009

It is time again for a look at what is making the news in the social networking and technology world, so here goes...

Maximum PC has an article that
is entitled "Four Ways to Separate Open-Source Winners and Losers" that is interesting.

According to Daily Tech, researchers have been able to transmit data at 2.5Gbps over single mode fiber 37 miles long. Now that is what I call broadband!!!

Geeks are Sexy has a collection of Segway photos that are worth taking a look at, including Pirate on a Segway.

jkOnTheRun notes that New York City handed out over 9,000 citations to people who were using cell phones while driving, and over 195,000 in 2008! That is one law that people seem to be ignoring at $125 a pop.

Tech Republic has a light-hearted look at 10 Management Techinques they'd like to see for IT Departments.

UberGizmo reports on a Chicago Traffic Camera that might track (and send citations to) uninsured drivers. I'm still waiting for the model that shoots tranquilizers at offenders.

Google Chrome now has extensions.

Lifehacker pits the iPhone against Android in a head-to-head match up.

Some teenagers captured a photo of the earth from 20 miles altitude using a Nikon Coolpix camera and a balloon. That is just nuts.


Chris Brogan has an anecdote about the power of apology.

Is twitter peaking? Steve Rubel thinks so.

And in the just plain weird, Indian scientists have discovered three new species of bacteria... in the upper stratosphere.




Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Thunder Tech for 03-11-2009


Here are a few technology article headlines for you to peruse...

Three Strikes Law in France for Download Pirates would ban repeat offenders from the Internet

Star Trek iPhone LCARS App


Squee!



A Chair Made of Rubber


A Restless Chairacter by Pepe Heykoop from Takashi Yamada on Vimeo.


Robotic Gardeners Tend To Tomato Plants from checking and fixing soil nutrients, watering and even picking.

1000 Free Business Cards from UPrinting but ya gotta be a web designer or somesuch.

Time to Update Your Acrobat Reader if you haven't already switched to Foxit Reader, which is what I use for all my pdf documents.