IT news, technology analysis and how-to resources

The Weekly Hash

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

A highlight of the week was the space shuttle Endeavour's 12-mile, 64-hour drive through Los Angeles. In retrospect, taking the 105 was a really bad idea. Now, without further ado, your weekly news roundup...

The difference between Windows RT and Windows 8 - Explained

Microsoft hasn't clearly explained Windows RT, so here's what you need to know.

Aboard the Navy's first hybrid amphibious assault ship
- Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 4:05 pm
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FTC throws down robocall gauntlet: $50,000 for best way to stop annoying calls
- Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 11:45 am
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It's not clear if the Federal Trade Commission is throwing up its hands at the problem or just wants some new ideas about how to combat it, but the agency is now offering $50,000 to anyone who can create what it calls an innovative way to block illegal commercial robocalls on landlines and mobile phones.
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Key parts of Ubuntu 13.04 to be developed under wraps
- Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 2:30 am
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Ubuntu 13.04, scheduled for release in April next year, will have some of its key parts developed under wraps with the help of community members who can be trusted not to talk in their sleep, Canonical's founder Mark Shuttleworth wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
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Apple manufacturing jobs are not coming back and that's OK
- Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 9:05 pm
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Everything about Apple is as American as apple pie, even its decision to send manufacturing and unskilled-labor jobs to China. What matters more is that Apple products have spawned high-paying jobs for skilled workers in America.
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Windows 8 has a great story. Can Microsoft tell it?
- Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 2:36 pm
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Its two OSs in one, and a bridge between two worlds.
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Kaspersky Lab announces a brand-new OS focused on security
- Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 2:22 pm
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The past two years or so have brought a new breed of scary malware to the forefront of public attention, including the infamous Stuxnet worm that was discovered back in 2010.
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How to find (and hire) big data pros
- Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 11:29 am
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Staffing shortages are holding back companies ready to dive into big data. Here are three ways they're coping with the talent gap. Insider (registration required)
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From Julia Child to mobile devices: How one group cooks up accessible media technology
- Posted Oct 17, 2012 - 1:31 pm
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The National Center for Accessible Media helps develop tools, standards and policies so people with disabilities can access new technology and content
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How it works: The technology of touch screens
- Posted Oct 17, 2012 - 4:25 pm
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Here's a question: What is a technology that you can't see, but is essential to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices -- and is estimated to generate $16 billion in revenues this year (according to DisplaySearch)? The answer is multitouch touch screens -- which have sparked the explosive growth of the mobile device market.
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Pacemaker hack can deliver deadly 830-volt jolt
- Posted Oct 17, 2012 - 12:40 am
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Pacemakers from several manufacturers can be commanded to deliver a deadly, 830-volt shock from someone on a laptop up to 50 feet away, the result of poor software programming by medical device companies.
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The Big Deal About Big Data

by Irfan Khan

Machine-to-machine communications will generate really big data

Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 08:00 am

Wireless communications carriers may soon face an unprecedented dilemma: Will they give preference on their networks to people chatting and texting on their mobile devices or to "things" jabbering with each other?
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Open for Discussion

by Brian Proffitt

Ubuntu 12.10 brings the cloud Juju

Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 08:26 am

The new release of Ubuntu has gotten a lot of press on the desktop's integration of commercial content and web information, the interface, and Unity interface, but the real jewel of this updated version is all about the cloud.
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Mobilize!

by Kevin Purdy

The short read on Wired's no-wallet experiment

Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 01:47 pm

Here’s the summation of Bonnington’s brave month of living off an iPhone 5 and a Galaxy Nexus, no plastic or cash allowed.
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ITworld.TV

by Keith Shaw

This Week on Mars: Soil Scoopage!

Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 02:32 pm

Here's the latest from NASA concerning its Mars Curiosity Rover. It's still digging and analyzing the dirt.
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The TechnoFile

by Peter Smith

Gaming update: Zynga vs Kixeye, GOG for Mac, voice on Wii U, a slipping Infinity Blade, and new games!

Posted Oct 19, 2012 - 08:30 am

I take a quick look at Chivalry and The Unfinished Swan as well as catching up on the week's gaming news.
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Thank You For Not Sharing

by Dan Tynan

Dear political campaigns: Just leave me the &%#*! alone

Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 04:30 pm

You may not be able to stop politicians from burying you in junk and harrassing you with robocalls, but you can make it harder for them to do it next time. Here's how.
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ByteStream

by Matthew Mombrea

Getting started with Usenets - a better way to download large files

Posted Oct 18, 2012 - 08:00 am

An alternative to BitTorrent comes in the form of a fairly old school technology, Usenets (aka NewsGroups). Usenets have existed for over 30 years and, traditionally, Usenets are used like a bulletin board system meant for public discussion.
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