system

Slow, but rugged, Curiosity's computer was built for Mars

The electronic brain controlling NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has far less horsepower than the microchips typically found in a modern smart phone.

But the RAD750 PowerPC microprocessor built into the rover's redundant flight computers has one enormous advantage: It was engineered to be virtually impervious to high-energy cosmic rays that would quickly cripple an iPhone or laptop computer.

The radiation-hardened single-card computers, built by BAE Systems in Manassas, Va., are designed to withstand charged ions and protons in interplanetary space or on the surface of Mars that can physically damage integrated circuits or trigger so-called "bit flips&… Read more

RIM-Samsung BlackBerry 10 licensing talks back on, analyst says

Research In Motion could be attempting to hold discussions with Samsung over the prospect of the handset maker licensing its BlackBerry 10 operating system.

In a note to investors today, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said he believes that "RIM is attempting to revive discussions with Samsung regarding a BB10 licensing deal," according to All Things Digital, which obtained a copy of the note. Misek didn't say if discussions have kicked off yet and if so, how far he believes they have gone.

Rumors have been swirling for some time that Samsung and RIM have been holding talks. … Read more

Update your codecs with CodecInstaller

The only thing cooler than free media players might be the free codecs that improve playback quality or enable more file types. There are so many to choose from that it's often hard to know which is best, especially when there's more than one or two choices, like for MP3s: LAME, FLAC, AC3, and so on. JockerSoft's CodecInstaller is a free tool that scans your system, identifies your media players, and suggests codecs for them that can expand or improve their capabilities.

CodecInstaller's compact, vertically oriented interface has three main controls, each self-explanatory: Installed Codecs, Analyze … Read more

Turner Sports reels in Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report, one of the largest sports news sites on the Web, was acquired today by Turner Broadcasting System.

The San Francisco-based startup focuses on delivering targeted sports news to about 10 million unique users a month. But unlike many sites whose content is written by a limited in-house staff, Bleacher Report relies on a wide network of mainly volunteer contributing writers around the country and the world who are passionate about the teams they love and who pen opinion and reaction pieces at a heavy pace in exchange for a prestigious slot on the site.

Terms of the deal … Read more

Zorin OS 6: The ultimate Linux distro for Windows users?

Every once in a while I try some new version of Linux, some overhauled or updated "distribution" of the operating system that supposedly improves the user experience. And inevitably I get frustrated with it because, well, it's just not Windows.

Not that I have mad love for Windows, mind you, it's just what I'm used to.

Zorin OS 6 is an Ubuntu-based OS that comes closer to re-creating the Windows experience than any other Linux distro I've tried.

For you Linux neophytes out there, Ubuntu is one of most popular and heavily developed versions … Read more

HP, Acer, Lenovo eye Windows 8 tablets

Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Lenovo, among others, are expected to bring out Windows 8 tablets using Intel's latest system-on-a-chip.

HP and Acer are working on designs, a source familiar with the vendors' plans told CNET. In addition, details leaked today about a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, which will also use Intel's Clover Trail system-on-a-chip (SoC).

These Intel-based Windows 8 designs are distinctly different from Windows RT tablets that will use ARM chips. Windows RT devices use a version of Windows 8 that does not offer backward-compatibility with the millions of existing Windows software programs. Intel-based systems offer that compatibility. … Read more

Windows 7 poised to topple XP as leading OS

Windows 7 and Windows XP are virtually neck and neck in their contest to be the dominant OS, according to Web analytics firm Net Applications.

For the month of July, Windows 7 grabbed 42.21 percent of all network traffic recorded by Net Applications. Windows XP eked out a slightly higher share, capturing 42.86 percent. As Windows 7 has been catching up to its 11-year-old counterpart, it will certainly reach the top spot sometime this month.

The latest results show a huge difference over July 2011 when Windows 7 held just 29.6 percent of Net Applications' mobile traffic, … Read more

Get a Windows 7 Home Premium 3-user upgrade for $79.99

As you learned earlier this month, Microsoft plans to offer a Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $39.99 -- a surprisingly decent price.

That said, not everybody is looking forward to the radically redesigned new OS. In fact, plenty of users are still plugging along with Windows XP or Vista -- perhaps just biding their time until a decent Windows 7 upgrade offer comes along.

That offer has arrived, though not from Microsoft: Nothing But Software has the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack (3-PC) for $79.99, plus $3.99 for shipping. That works out to about $27 … Read more

The best-sounding club in NYC?

I recently dropped by Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center to talk with the sound engineer, and by chance met Sam Berkow, the club's sound designer. Berkow had one key advantage going into the project that most designers don't: the club was planned before construction started on the Time Warner Center in New York. Berkow was quick to point out he had one major hurdle to jump over, in that there would be a huge glass window behind the stage to give patrons a spectacular view of Central Park. The window would be a massive … Read more

OS X Mountain Lion officially available for $19.99

Apple's latest desktop operating system flavor, OS X Mountain Lion, is now available in the company's Mac App Store. Apple announced yesterday that Mountain Lion would be available today.

The software will set users back $19.99 via the App Store. Those who bought the operating system at any point on or after June 11 will be eligible for a free upgrade to the operating system. Apple will also be bundling it in current Mac purchases from this point forward.

The software comes with over 200 improvements, including wide-ranging integration of iOS features, like Twitter, Apple's Game … Read more