Roland Piquepaille writes "In this short article, Technology Review tells us that Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have built a new robot, named Cardea, which is able to push open doors and has the bottom half of a Segway scooter. Cardea will be five feet tall with a torso, three arms, a variety of sensors, and a human-like head with expressive features and vision, and mounted on a Segway base. More details and references are contained in this review which also includes several pictures. For even more details, go to the Cardea Project homepage."

An anonymous reader writes "LinuxDevices.com reports that Sharp will introduce a new member in its Linux-based Zaurus PDA family in the Japanese market on Nov. 27, 2003. The SL-C860 appears to be a more powerful and feature-rich version of the much-reviewed SL-C750/760. The device boasts a 400MHz Intel PXA255 processor equipped with 128MB of Flash memory (65MB available for user programs) along with 64MB of SDRAM memory, has a 640x480 resolution full-VGA color display, and runs an embedded Linux operating system based on Metrowerks's OpenPDA handheld device software stack."

An anonymous reader writes "The optimization troubles in GPU land aren't over yet. Yesterday Futuremark released a new anti-optimization patch for 3DMark03. Gainward (who sell graphics cards using NVIDIA hardware) today made a comment that Futuremark had disabled certain features in their ForceWare 52.16 drivers, thus resulting in huge performance drops. A few hours ago Futuremark made an official statement about this : 'The accusation is totally wrong because what it suggests is not even feasible technically. 3DMark03 does not talk to graphics driver, it talks to the DirectX API, which then talks to the driver. Thus, it is impossible for the application to disable GPU compiler...'"

ErnstKompressor asks: "In light of the endless debate regarding top-dog performance between all flavors of OS/Hardware, the failings inherent in the various methods of testing such diverse systems, and the cost of existing software solutions, I was wondering what the Slashdot community recommends in the way of free, open-source, cross-platform, performance evaluation software. Additionally, how should one go about testing systems to obtain the fairest results? What compilers are evenly matched amongst different hardware? What balance should one strive for regarding optimizations and platform specific enhancements versus results that represent real-world performance? Finally, should such tests take into account the sub-systems available, such as 3D performance and the various Quake-FPS metrics?"

An anonymous reader writes "Hewlett-Packard and Princeton researchers say they've developed a hybrid material that could be used for super-compact electronic memory, making the CD, DVD and similar media seem enormous and clunky by comparison. As reported by Science Blog, 'The researchers achieved the result by discovering a previously unrecognized property of a commonly used conductive polymer plastic coating. Their memory device combines this polymer, which is inexpensive and easy to produce, with very thin-film, silicon-based electronics.'"

J. Lawless asks: "My friend and I will both be travelling to remote portions of the globe next fall -- he in a pan-Australasian motorcycle trip and I on a trip into Italy. We both have the same problem: how to get content (text and photos) onto the Internet given that our only lifeline to it will be through random Internet Cafes? It would seem that some sort of PDA to be able to do text entry and image integration would be best, but then what? Most, if not all, cybercafes take a dim view of dropping software on their box for access. For added difficulty points, Dave will be spending much of his trip without reliable electricity hookup, so how to keep the mess running?"

Futurepower(R) asks: "Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP have crippled file systems. The file system cannot copy some of the files that are necessary to the operating system. If you don't have experience with Microsoft operating systems, you may find this amazing, but it is true; Microsoft supplies no method of backing up and restoring fully operational copies of Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Microsoft's advice is to reinstall the operating system and all programs every time you want to move to a new or backup computer. For confirmation of this, see the 'Microsoft Policy Statement' in the article, The Microsoft Policy Concerning Disk Duplication of Windows XP Installations. Many industries use numerous programs; installing them all may take a week or even more. All of the disk image duplication programs I've used have problems, in my experience. What program do you use? What has been your experience with it? Can you recommend a program, or recommend staying away from one?"

Barkmullz asks: "Working closesly with a public safety department in my town, we have been thinking of implementing a mobile wireless network. This would, theoretically, allow public safety officers to send and received data (such as CAD) while in a moving or stationary vehicle. One of the requirements is to be able to move across multiple wireless networks. There are several vendors that offer such technology, like the Cisco 3200 Mobile Access Router. Even though we have a fairly good idea of what needs to be done, we are experiencing difficulty in finding good examples of other implementations of this kind. Sure, there is Seal Beach, Buffalo Grove, Lufthansa and others, but they are more sales-pitches than in-depth white papers. Security is, naturally, of great concern to us. However, due to funding constraints we are planning to use the publicly available 802.11x for the most part, use EAP or Cisco's LEAP and a RADIUS server for authentication, along with TKIP for encryption (aka WPA). Has anyone dealt with a wireless network of this type? If so what were some of your challenges and what are your recommendations for implementation?"

eldrich asks: "We have two labs: a main lab (lab 1) has 1.2Tb of on-line data storage -- two machines with 600Gb RAID-5s hung off of them. These happily service about 30 Linux machines via NFS over fast ethernet. There are 5-6 WinXP machines that connect via SMB and Samba. The lab is on a private network with a single firewall between it and the world, and we use LDAP for practically everything (hostname, usernames, password, autofs, etc). The students' lab (lab 2) is 40 miles away, with 8 workstations and 2 WinXP machines. This lab also has a small RAID-5 Linux server with 180GB space which serves via NFS and Samba. Sometimes we have people from lab 2 at lab 1 and while they are at the main lab, they need their files. What I want to do is make lab 2's 180GB RAID a subset cache of the 1.2Tb one in lab 1. This puts everyone's main storage at lab 1 (which is backed up weekly) but a local copy can be cached on the lab 2 raid system. This gives the students a local copy for fast access, but all the safety of the backups made from our system. Does anyone know of a filesystem or programs that can help with this?"

Rocco writes "Over at LikSang.com, they have new pictures and details on Nintendo's iQue, the Chinese-specific controller-style console that plugs directly into the TV, plays N64 games, and comes with a 64 megabyte Flash Memory Card to store them. Included in the hardware bundle are 5 games, while only Doctor Mario is a full version. Zelda 64: Ocarina of Time (10 hours), Mario 64 (7 hours), Wave Race (1 hour) and Starfox (1 hour) are time limited demo versions. Allegedly, the OS of the iQue can also be updated when you 'refill' your flash cartridge, currently only at 'Nintendo partners throughout Shanghai', but rumored to be possible online in the future." We previously featured the unveiling of the iQue a couple of months ago.

EverLurking writes "Well, I'm a sucker for slick-looking new toys. The Altec Lansing inMotion speakers did look like they would fill a need I had for compact portable speakers to go with my iPod while traveling. Below is a review, but in summary: I'd give it a 7/10, mainly because it's a bit overpriced at $149 (it'd be an 8 if it was, let's say, $75). Pros: Surprisingly loud and full sound reproduction (with the right EQ settings), its looks compliment the iPod, good battery life, sturdy, compact and travels well. Cons: Distortion when turned up too loud, poor stereo separation, requires 2 different AC adapters, a bit overpriced." Read on for EverLurking's more detailed impressions. Update: 11/13 00:57 GMT by T : Turns out, the AC adapter issue was overstated; details below.

Lee Busby writes "As a co-author, I am biased, but I think that our recent paper describing a diskless Linux deployment at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (PDF)may be of general interest. It's a little different than most diskless systems -- simpler, and designed to be high performance."

pvt_medic writes "As technology continues to grow, and we see more and more of a shift to portable electronic devices in our daily life, we are still constricted by one simple thing: Batteries. Newsweek has an interesting article about the lack of development in battery technology. 'Ironically, in our headlong rush to create sophisticated untethered computing, the most problematic technology turns out also to be the oldest: those nondescript metal cylinders that never seemed to be included with our Christmas toys.' And for those of you who would like an extensive overview about batteries, ExtremeTech.com has a nice overview."

lems1 writes "Start compiling the excuses you will tell your boss to upgrade your cell phone now. Motorola has opted to use Trolltech's Qtopia to power up the next generation of SmartPhones. Get the scoop/specs from here and a nice high-res picture from this other link. The phone will have 'digital camera, video player, MP3 player, speakerphone, advanced messaging, instant Internet access and Bluetooth wireless technology' capabilities. On top of being Linux-based of course." Update: 11/12 00:44 GMT by T : Yep, this is the same phone mentioned a few weeks ago.

An anonymous reader writes "Last week, Softier made news with one of the first native ports of Linux to a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) architecture, introducing its "MediaLinux" and "MediaBIOS" for TI's DM64x DSP platform. In this whitepaper, Softier CTO Eatamar Drory and Senior Programmer Or Sagi discuss the unique approach to real-time processing that enables MediaLinux to run existing TI DSP algorithms untouched within the context of real time processes. Added benefits to this design include predictable scheduling and short interrupt latency. The article discusses key architectural points of the MediaLinux approach in comparison with two well-known alternatives."

muddy_mudskipper writes "From John Young's cryptome.org website, is a newly posted pdf copy of the "Lessons Learned from RFID Field Test" as compiled by the Field Test Program Manager of the Auto ID Center. It is interesting to note the photographs of the different passive RFID antennas that could be used in product packaging - some small enough to fit into a soap box. Also curious is how many sector antennas have to pepper the test center in order to approach 100% RFID readability. 'In March 2001 a team comprised of Auto-ID Center sponsors (technology & end users) was assembled to plan and implement a Field Test aimed at taking the Auto-ID EPC technology from the laboratory to the real world environment with the objective of proving the power and effectiveness of the EPC and to blaze a trail for future adoption' "

tantive writes with this announcement from the Gentoo home page. "Gentoo for PowerPC G5 now available. We're proud to announce the availability of the Gentoo for PowerPC G5 32-bit LiveCD. ISOs are now available on our main OSU mirror. The LiveCD has been tested on a dual 2GHz G5 SMP PowerPC machine with 2.5GB RAM, a 1.6GHz machine, as well as others. It includes pre-released yaboot-1.3.11 bootloader and a 2.6.0-test9 benh kernel. It runs at 100% speed, with fans currently also at 100% (kernel developers are working on slowing down the fans when not needed)." Read more below.

shamir_k writes "Joey Hess has come up with an innovative solution to a problem we have all faced. He's put his whole home directory in CVS. Not only can he move between multiple computers easily, he also has automatic distributed backups."

James Clark writes "As Congress continues work on a federal energy bill, a group of University of Florida researchers is working to implement a radical idea for making computers more energy efficient -- as well as smaller and faster." Reversible computing rears its head again.

According to Mr. Belvedere over at CD Freaks, the Nokia N-Gage has been cracked. From the article: "The games that were designed for the N-Gage will of course only work with the Nokia device but not anymore. Now that the security on the N-Gage has been cracked the games can be played on other mobile phones as well such as the Siemens SX1." The article notes that Sonic N is the only game seen in public yet, but others are sure to follow soon. It'll be interesting to see how Nokia handles this.