March 28th

Intel Paid for Biased Anti-AMD Report

We live in a world of propaganda.  Government propaganda, corporate propaganda, interest group propaganda, and even "news" propaganda. When an 11 page report came out of 'The Aberdeen Group' slamming the AMD performance rating, my immediate impression was that it was a "slander-by-proxy" attack, paid for by Intel. I refrained from making that allegation in my story on the so-called report.

Well, now it's not just an allegation any more, after it turns out that the Aberdeen Group did not even speak with a single person at AMD, and that the report was financed by Intel.  This kind of corporate propaganda should make consumers angry. I find it despicable when large corporations pay supposedly independent research groups to attack their smaller rivals, rather than just competing on the merits of their products.

Intel started the PR-wars by making a processor which benchmarks very low for it's actual GHz rating, but can be run at higher GHz to make up for that sluggish design. So it was Intel that began this flap with a disingenuous move to a high-GHz, low performance CPU.  AMD's only response was to come up with a performance rating system which takes the GHz out of the picture, and bases performance on benchmarks instead.

I hope these kinds of low-blow tactics by Intel come back to bite them.  It would be the kind of grass-roots justice that makes all those rich, powerful corporate propagandists squirm.

                                  Dr. John

The Inquirer

The Inquirer

March 26th

Dell Dumps Rambus

In what has got to be a major blow to everyone's favorite IP company, Rambus Inc., Dell Computers has dropped Rambus from it's repertoire.  Dell is the last remaining Intel-only PC dealer, and was the major outlet for PC-based Rambus DRAM.  This shift at Dell relegates Rambus DRAM to the server and game console markets.  

The interesting thing to me is how much faster Rambus is than DDR memory, but how little it offers in the way of improved overall system performance.  We had been told with the P3, and now the P4, that increased processor speeds would necessitate much faster memory.  Yet that still has not turned out to be the major bottleneck in modern computers.

                                  Dr. John

The Inquirer

AMD PR Ratings Attacked... Again?

Considering that Intel is AMD's only significant rival in the microprocessor industry, you can expect lots of well-funded attacks on the smaller company (still AMD by a large margin).  Now the "Aberdeen Group" has let into AMD's PR rating with vitriol and fervor.  But what they failed to do was be consistent in their arguments.  They first claim that the PR system is phony, only to turn around as say you can't use GHz to rate CPUs either.  So in other words, when they say the PR rating is crap, they don't mean it, but they had to say it anyway. The bottom line is, they are complaining about the PR system when  they actually mean they don't like the benchmarks AMD uses.  Well so much for logic, and accurate writing.

The plain fact of the matter is this.  Intel is messing with everyone's heads by making a latency-rich CPU which runs pitifully slow for it's actual GHz rating.  This was done as a blatant marketing ploy to "have the higher GHz number on the CPU box", not to make a faster, better CPU. So instead of going after the big guy with the fake GHz ratings, Aberdeen attacks the smaller guy who's rating system was a response to Intel's disingenuous ploy. Typical.

                                  Dr. John

The Inquirer

March 22nd

Want to Play Games With a Direct Brain-Computer Connection?

Well you might just be able to buy a "brain-mouse" at CompUSA some day.  Then again, maybe not. But nonetheless, researchers at Brown University have made the first practical brain-computer interface that really works. 

They implanted monkeys with electrodes in the motor cortex area of the brain that controls arm movements.  Then they trained the monkeys to play a computer game, sort of like pong, where they use a mouse (manipulandum) to move a cursor to a target. Then the researchers recorded the electrical activity from the motor cortex while the monkeys were playing the computer game, and correlated that activity with arm movements.  They then hooked the electrodes to the computer, and wrote a quick translator program based on their recordings from that monkey. This brain-computer connection and translator program made it so the monkeys could drive the mouse cursor just by thinking about it.  Quickly the monkeys learned to play the game by thinking, rather than using the mouse. Eventually the monkeys stopped using the mouse altogether.

So get out your head shavers and bone drills, and get ready for some fast and furious fragging!

                                  Dr. John

Nature

March 21st

Why do People Hate Micro$oft?

Bill. That sums up the primary source of all of M$'s despicable corporate behavior. He changed from a nerdy kid programmer to a cutthroat corporate megapredator and hard-ball monopolist.  How money can change people.

But there are other reasons to, all directly or indirectly traceable to Bill himself. In his attempts to crush the competiton, Bill demanded M$ programmers to cram as much half-baked junk into the OS as humanly possible, leading to an unstable system, and much user frustration. Micro$oft also acts like a monopoly. They would have never added the Windows Product Activation code if they were at 40% market share. They would not be talking about doubling their licensing fees next year, despite being accused of overpricing their products as compared with makers of other computer constituents.

So why don't more people use Linux?  If Arron Rouse is right, it's the complete dominance of M$ Office Suite, and the lack of interoperability with other office suites (like StarOffice). This in fact may be a major hurdle.  If you can't read a Word email attachment, then you're either out of luck, or you need to get Windows and Word.

So Linux distributions that can handle Word, Excel and PowerPoint files might just be the advance that puts Linux over the top in the home PC environment.  That is exactly what "Lindows.com" is working on.  I assume that other companies are looking at similar possibilities. Let's hope that a few of them pull it off with simple and powerful file converters, or emulators.  It could put Bill into a bad position, for which he can only blame himself in the long run. If he had been a civic minded person, he could have done so much more than being the world's greatest monopolist.

                                  Dr. John

The Inquirer

March 17th

Help Drive Bill Crazy

Bill is in a tizzy right now because the word "Windows" may be too generic to trademark! Oops.  This all came about because Bill is suing a company for calling it's new Linux/Windows hybrid OS "Lindows".  This fledgling OS is targeted at folks who have already invested lots of time and money on Windows applications, but who'd rather get out from under Bill's thumb.

If you want to help Lindows get going, and thumb your nose at Bill, you can join the Lindows insider club and get a preview of the new OS.  It's pricey at $99, but the effect on Bill will be immediate, and devastating.  People so angry at him that they'd pay just as much for a preview of Lindows as they would to get a full version of Windows.

I doubt many folks will turn over that much for a preview, but even if only a few hundred people go for it, that will help Lindows get their new OS up to speed, and ready to release.  We went ahead and joined to get a pre-release look at Lindows, and for the ability to put in our 2 cents on features and function. Plus, it's going to drive Bill crazy. :)

                                  Dr. John

Lindows.com

PI.com

PS Happy St. Patty's day! 

March 15th

Mandrake Calls for Help

Mandrake is probably the most popular distributor of Linux, but they are having trouble staying liquid currently.  According to the company's announcement, they are experiencing a short-term cash shortage that existing revenues can't cover. As such, they are asking for donations from users to join the "Mandrake Linux Users Club", with a membership fee of $5.  

I'll tell you right now, if the majority of happy Mandrake users don't pony up, they are shooting themselves in the foot.  This is a call to action that Linux users should respond to in droves, for fear of losing their favorite version of Linux.

And the users agree, Mandrake is the best commercial version of Linux now available, which will become even better when they release version 8.2 shortly.

So dig out that dusty old credit card, and splurge a little to save Mandrake from bankruptcy! It's your best chance this year to help scare the pants off of Bill Gates.

                                 Dr. John

Mandrake

March 13th

Micro$oft Promises to Be Good... Really!

Microsoft did not admit to doing anything wrong in the past, but they 'promise' to be very good from now on. The ever-trustworthy Steve Ballmer was quoted as saying "The industry wants us to be more responsible. We can't have business policies that are capricious or variable. We have to be reliable and consistent. We must redouble our emphasis on partnership."

The largest software company on Earth says they will play fair now, and be "reliable and consistent".  Hmmm... you mean just like their operating systems? I have noticed over the years that large corporations, governments, lobbyists and lawyers all seem to say the right thing, and do the exact opposite.  I guess it's a kind of defense mechanism similar to ones used by little children who break windows with stones ("Mom!", yelled Billy.... "Jimmy did it!" But all the other kids saw Billy throw the stone).

Well, we can't all be mature I suppose. But honesty would be nice.

                           Dr. John

The Register

March 10th

Memory Prices Do the Rumba

Checked on memory prices lately?  Shocked?  Me too. They did it to us again.  They couldn't give the stuff away a few months ago, now it's gone up 3 times in price in just a few months.  DDR DRAM is going over $100 for a stick of 256MB for the first time in a long time. Very disheartening.

The reasons? Well, some analysts say it was all those corporate consolidations and cutbacks that occurred after memory prices bottomed out. Some say it was a strong upturn in notebook sales, while others say that Windows XP made everyone buy more memory (bull$h|+, Ed.). In fact, many companies cut production dramatically in the hopes of bringing prices back into line with production costs etc.  As usual, these things have momentum of their own, and it takes time to make significant changes by altering production levels.

According to reports, some newer, more efficient memory plants are about to come on line, so expect DDR prices to level off, and eventually drop again, probably by mid to late Summer.

                             Dr. John

EBN

New PowerStrip Ready

Entech has just updated PowerStrip, the video card overclocking utility, to version 3.15.  It's a free download, so what are you waiting for??

Entech

March 7th

Earthlight

This picture of the world from space is just too cool to pass up.  It is a composite picture from last November, showing all the lights on Earth on all the continents, as seen from outer space. There is a heck of a lot of information in the picture, including showing the dramatic difference in electrical usage between North and South Korea.

                             Dr. John

NASA

GeForce4... Wherefore Art Thou?

I have been typically bemused by the rarity of GeForce4 video cards since their "debut" well over a month ago.  One of my pet peeves in computerdom is the sad fact that companies "debut" new hardware long before they can deliver product.  NVidia is notorious for this hardware indiscretion. 

Reports are now out that Gateway has canceled all of it's pre-orders for the Visiontek 4400 and 4600, saying that "...our supply of the XTASY GEFORCE4 TI4400 has been depleted, and we are unable to replenish our stock at this time. Consequently, this item has been removed from our inventory list and cancelled from your order. This item is no longer available from the manufacturer and will not be listed on our site in the future."

No longer available?  It hasn't even been released yet! This kind of stuff really riles me, and makes me want to emphasize to everyone that they should wait when new products "dubut" for the product to actually show up in the distribution channels in quantity.  This will ensure 1) that you don't overpay, and 2) that you get your hardware in a timely fashion.

                             Dr. John

The Inquirer

March 5th

Tabletop Nuclear Fusion... Again?

OK, it has nothing to do with computers, but what the heck.  It was over 12 years ago that we first heard talk about "cold fusion" in a "simple" experimental setup. That report turned out to be quite false, embarrassingly so.  As such, you'd expect that any subsequent announcement that cold fusion (fusing two hydrogen atoms into a single tritium or helium atom, with the release of mucho energy) would be made very cautiously.  

Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee have a paper coming out in the next issue of Science magazine which reports successful accomplishment of cold fusion in a setup the size of a few coffee cups.  They used ultrasound and neutron beams to create the conditions necessary for fusion of hydrogen atoms into tritium.  They report that the reaction proceeded with the release of further neutrons, which indicates that fusion had occurred.

Interesting, to be sure.  But so far they need to add more energy than they get back, which seems an unlikely outcome if fusion were actually occurring. Fusion reactions create more energy than almost any other nuclear reaction known, so I would expect even infinitesimal amounts of fusion to produce significantly more energy than was involved in the ultrasound or neutron beam production.

So is it true? When asked about the report, one scientist remarked, "the researchers might be deluded by Mother Nature, whose principal object in life is to make fools of scientists." 

                             Dr. John  

Washington Post

March 2nd

Write Senator Hollings

Most of you probably never write your own Senators, let alone a Senator from another state.  But you might just get mad enough to do so after reading about Senator Ernest 'Fritz' Hollings continuing crusade to legislate an end to the PC's ability to copy and store data from other sources.  Taking his marching orders from the recording and motion picture associations, Hollings is trying to force companies such as Intel to make PCs incapable of copying data from one place to another unless "permission is granted" by the system.

Let's face it, PCs are difficult to deal with now.  Imagine the increase in the 'infuriation factor' when you learn that your new PC won't even back up any of the data you have stored on various recording media (CDs, DVDs, older hard drives with your stuff on them, etc). Well if this scenario seems unworkable to you, then take the time to send Fritz a little note with your ruminations on the subject.

                             Dr. John  

The Register 

The Fritz Line