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Posts Tagged ‘Ars Technica’

feature: The Ars Technica Guide to I/O Virtualization

Virtualization is a key enabling technology for the modern datacenter. Without virtualization, tricks like load balancing and multitenancy wouldn’t be available from datacenters that use commodity x86 hardware to supply the on-demand compute cycles and networked storage that powers the current generation of cloud-based web applications.

Even though it has been used pervasively in datacenters for the past few years, virtualization isn’t standing still. Rather, the technology is still evolving, and with the launch of I/O virtualization support from Intel and AMD it’s poised to reach new levels of performance and flexibility. Our past virtualization coverage looked at the basics of what virtualization is, and how processors are virtualized. The current installment will take a close look at how I/O virtualization is used to boost the performance of individual servers by better virtualizing parts of the machine besides the CPU.

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Apple acknowledges continuing 27" iMac screen issues

Filed under: Hardware, iMac

At the end of last year, customers who bought 27″ iMacs reported screen flickering. Apple acknowledged the problem and released a firmware update intended to fix it back in December. Unfortunately, the problem persists.

According to Ars Technica, Apple’s internal support system is aware of the continuing problem and working on a fix. Customers who complain about the issue are to be told that their faulty display can be replaced “…in about three weeks.” Note that the units currently for sale have a 3-week shipping time, so you might want to wait a month before making a purchase Ars suggests, and we agree.

The shipping delays began in December when Apple declined to comment on why, but discussion threads pointed to the display. The delay was pushed ahead even further in January, which is how we got to the present 3-week wait.

Here’s hoping this gets fixed soon and all you owners can enjoy your 27″ iMacs in all their non-flickering glory.

TUAWApple acknowledges continuing 27″ iMac screen issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hulu’s subscription service might run $5 for access to select shows

There was a mini-internet revolt the last time NBC Universal’s TV chief started talking about ways to actually turn a profit from Hulu and the search for a balance continues. People familiar with the matter — our favorite source by the way — told the LA Times that the search in question could take another six months before official pricing is announced, but the latest idea being thrown around is to charge a $5 per month subscription for access to older shows. A quick search of Hulu just showed that only the past four or five episodes of newer shows are currently available, so charging for older shows means new access to additional content. We have to say that offering additional programming above and beyond what is currently free is a pretty good strategy, but the other one we’d like to see is a premium option to view content commercial free — no word on if any of the paid content will still have commercials. The one thing this won’t change is the fact that the content creators already sold the rights to these shows on the TV, which of course means Hulu won’t be able to stop going out of its way to block things like Boxee and the PS3 — still kind of shocked that PlayOn isn’t effected.

Hulu’s subscription service might run $5 for access to select shows originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s App Store said to have 99.4 percent of all mobile app sales, more like 97.5

The latest research from Gartner indicates that, for the year 2009, only 16 million app sales were executed on mobile devices not bearing the infamous bitten apple logo. In reporting this data, Ars Technica inadvertently conflates Apple’s latest announcement of three billion apps downloaded with the notion of three billion apps sold and pegs the App Store’s market share at a whopping 99.4 percent — but more realistic calculations still show it to be somewhere in the vicinity of 97.5 percent. Going off estimates (obtained by GigaOM) that a quarter of App Store downloads are paid-for apps, and taking a rough figure of 2.5 billion downloads in 2009, leaves us with around 625 million app sales performed by Apple, which comfortably dwarfs all its competition. Considering the fact 18 months ago there wasn’t even an App Store to speak of — whereas today Cupertino is gobbling up the best part of $4.2 billion in annual mobile apps revenue — maybe you can now understand why we’re covering every tiny drip of info about that mythical tablet.

Apple’s App Store said to have 99.4 percent of all mobile app sales, more like 97.5 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google working with D-Wave on what may or may not be quantum computing

When we first mentioned D-Wave way back in early 2007 we immediately compared it to Steorn — less than optimal beginnings. The company was promising quantum computing for the masses and, while it did demonstrate a machine that exhibited qubit-like behavior, the company never really silenced critics who believed the underpinnings of the machine were rather more binary in nature. Those disbelievers are surely shutting up now, with word hitting the street that Google is has signed on, building new image search algorithms that run on D-Wave’s C4 Chimera chip. The first task was to learn to spot automobiles in pictures, something that the quantum machine apparently learned to do simply by looking at other pictures of cars. It all sounds rather neural-networkish to us, but don’t let our fuzzy logic cloud your excitement over the prospect of honest to gosh commercial quantum computing.

Google working with D-Wave on what may or may not be quantum computing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IEEE will push next 802.11 to 1Gbps speeds, two-letter designations in 2012

WiFi, you’ve come a long way, baby. Since those groovy days of plain ‘ol 802.11, to your first single-letter designation, all the way up to your latest 802.11n ratification you’ve gotten faster, broader, and almost everywhere. Best of all, you’ve still got room to grow. If all goes well and Cusack’s documentary doesn’t prove accurate in 2012 you’ll grow to 802.11ac, delivering a blistering 1Gbps and beyond. That’s more wireless bandwidth than we’d know what to do with right now, but we’ll find a way to use it. We always do. Together.

IEEE will push next 802.11 to 1Gbps speeds, two-letter designations in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two App Store updates: Trillian ships, Google Earth 2.0 arrives

Filed under: App Store

There are two arrivals in the App Store of note. First, after a three month wait, the multiservice IM client Trillian is now available in the App Store [iTunes link] for iPhone and iPod touch.

We previously discussed the fact that Trillian was sitting in approval limbo with no word from Apple as to why the app was being delayed. As of today it is available for US$4.99. Cerulean Studios website has more information on features, and we will be reviewing the app soon, but we wanted to let you know that it was available (for iPhone/iPod touch devices running OS 3.0 or later).

Second, the 2.0 update to Google Earth for iPhone [iTunes link] is rolled out now. The major new feature in the app is the ability to overlay your own custom Google maps onto the geographic display in GE; the app also improves POI selection and adds a slew of new languages. Google Earth requires iPhone/iPod touch OS 2.0 or later, and it’s free.

[Google Earth hat tip to Ars Technica]

TUAWTwo App Store updates: Trillian ships, Google Earth 2.0 arrives originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leveling up your eyesight with gaming glasses? Ars explores

If you’re reading Ars Technica, there is a better-than-average chance that you spend way too much time looking at screens, be they computer or other. How much damage does that do to your eyes? How much money would you pay to try to alleviate the stress your lifestyle puts on your vision? Gunnar Optiks hopes you’re willing to drop some bank on making your eyes more comfortable, and it has a range of eyeglasses dedicated to the gamer market. The cost? Starting around $100.

If you smell snake oil, you’re not alone; those I spoke to about the product after seeing them at shows like PAX were intensely skeptical about both the performance and the price. The company was willing to send us a sample to test the technology for ourselves, however, and here is the verdict: it’s not complete BS.

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