InformationWeek Daily Archives
05/22/2013 01:58:19 Daily, March 01Looking To Best Intel, AMD Floors Quad-Core Performance
In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Are You A Do-It-Yourselfer?
2. Today's Top Story
- Looking To Best Intel, AMD Floors Quad-Core Performance
3. Breaking News
- HP Touch-Screen Computer Sparks Debate
- Alcatel-Lucent's CDMA Service Will Aid Public Safety Organizations
- Microsoft Hits Back At EU In Face Of $4 Million In Daily Fines
- Blockbuster In Talks To Buy Movielink
- PG&E Says Patching Meters For An Early Daylight-Saving Time Will Cost $38 Million
- Hackers' Latest Attack: Malware In Disguise
- Lenovo Recalls ThinkPad Batteries
- Oracle Deal For Hyperion Shakes Up Business-Intelligence Market
- Google Reports Minuscule Click Fraud Rate
- Big Surge Expected In Offshore Outsourcing By Banks, Study Says
- Sun Patches Telnet Flaw For Solaris Systems
- Hack Attack Forces Texas A&M To Change 96,000 Passwords
4. The Latest Personal Tech Blog Posts
- Will Nokia Buy Palm In A Play For The U.S. Enterprise Market?
- Quick Look: Remember The Milk
- One-Third Of Americans On The Web Have Used Wireless Internet
5. White Papers
- Improving System Management Through Automation
6. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
7. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription
Quote of the day:
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers
I've always admired people who could create complicated electronic products out of secondhand parts. For example, my brother thinks there's nothing quite as much fun as picking up some abandoned computer parts at the local electronics junk store and turning them into a system that works as well -- or better -- than your typical top-of-the-line server. That's why an otherwise run-of-the-mill news item about a guy who used a $10 wok as a substitute for a $20,000 commercial satellite dish made me smile.
Many of us have a tendency to go with the "name brand" whenever we buy anything -- from a pair of running shoes to a microwave to the latest quad-core Xeon-based server. And, for the most part, it's a smart way to go -- a name brand usually implies a certain level of quality control and the assurance that if the product turns out to be a dud, you can return it and get either a replacement or your money back.
But sometimes it's not a bad thing to remember that doing it yourself -- whether you're concocting a satellite dish or a Linux system -- can offer a level of customization that can't be found in products built for general use (not to mention it's usually a lot less expensive). A manually built item not only gives you exactly what you want, but it helps you learn what makes that particular technology tick. And there's no denying the sense of satisfaction you get from creating something that's as good as, or better than, one that's commercially manufactured.
Of course, "making your own" can sometimes be interpreted in ways that aren't as productive. For example, there's an ongoing battle these days between students and other computer users who want to make their own video and audio playlists without any interference (even when it involves copyrighted material), and companies such as the Recording Industry Association of America, which wants to prevent that particular type of creativity, even when it's on an individual scale. Stay tuned for further developments.
What do you think? Are you a built-it-yourselfer, or do you have neither the time nor the inclination? Leave a comment at the InformationWeek Blog and let us know.
Barbara Krasnoff
Looking To Best Intel, AMD Floors Quad-Core Performance
HP Touch-Screen Computer Sparks Debate
Alcatel-Lucent's CDMA Service Will Aid Public Safety Organizations
Microsoft Hits Back At EU In Face Of $4 Million In Daily Fines
Blockbuster In Talks To Buy Movielink
PG&E Says Patching Meters For An Early Daylight-Saving Time Will Cost $38 Million
Hackers' Latest Attack: Malware In Disguise
Lenovo Recalls ThinkPad Batteries
Oracle Deal For Hyperion Shakes Up Business-Intelligence Market
Google Reports Minuscule Click Fraud Rate
Big Surge Expected In Offshore Outsourcing By Banks, Study Says
Sun Patches Telnet Flaw For Solaris Systems
Hack Attack Forces Texas A&M To Change 96,000 Passwords
On the go?
Server Virtualization
Your Chance To Weigh In
Will Nokia Buy Palm In A Play For The U.S. Enterprise Market?
Something Will Be Lost When Second Life Gets Voice
Quick Look: Remember The Milk
One-Third Of Americans On The Web Have Used Wireless Internet
Improving System Management Through Automation
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InformationWeek Daily Newsletter
1. Editor's Note: Are You A Do-It-Yourselfer?
bkrasnoff@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com
AMD's upcoming Barcelona quad-core processor will sport floating-point performance that's 42% higher than Intel's Xeon X5355, AMD claims.
Is the TouchSmart IQ770 the beginning of a new generation of computers or a flash in the pan?
A CDMA2000 mobile networking service for the 700-MHz spectrum band is aimed at improving communications.
Under a 2004 antitrust settlement, Microsoft is required to provide competitors with access to its file and print server protocols and other documentation on a "reasonable and non-discriminatory basis."
Blockbuster is in talks to buy movie download service Movielink for less than $50 million in cash and stock, a source familiar with the situation said Thursday.
PG&E's reprogramming fiasco is the latest impact that the switch to early daylight-saving time has caused.
Malware authors are using HckPk, malicious code that disguises their worms and enables them to evade antivirus programs.
The computer maker is recalling Sanyo Electric extended-life, nine-cell battery packs that were sold with some of its notebooks.
By paying such a premium for Hyperion, Oracle shows it means business, and it's aiming straight for the knees of competitor SAP.
But ClickForensics' numbers suggest the rate of click fraud across different ad industry sectors and different search providers varies widely.
Offshore tech spending by banks will increase from the present 6% of the banking industry's $44 billion total annual IT budget to 30% by 2010, according to Deloitte.
Sun offers a patch that's designed to prevent a Telnet worm from letting a hacker gain remote access to infected systems.
Students, faculty, and staff are required to change their passwords after a hacker tried to break into files containing encrypted passwords to university accounts.
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4. The Latest Personal Tech Blog Posts
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/personaltech
Dan Jones over at Unstrung is reporting that Nokia may make a play to acquire smartphone maker Palm Inc. Is this deal for real?
I have to admit I'm not 100% looking forward to the addition of voice into Second Life. The text-based chat currently in use in Second Life adds to its charm, and, paradoxically, makes the service seem more real.
As a current user of Google Calendar, I've been a bit peeved because, with all its advantages, it doesn't have a To Do feature. I'm a lot happier now -- because I found a site with the absurd name of Remember The Milk.
According to a new poll from the Pew Internet Project, one-third of U.S. Internet users have connected to the Web using a wireless network. Just more signposts that wireless data, and not just voice, is going mainstream.
Discover the foundation of automation and self-management and how it supports your requirement of doing more with less.
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