volk23 writes "Klaus -- pioneered by car maker Volkswagen AG -- drove in public for the first time around a German test circuit using three laser scanners, a stereo camera, video and satellite navigation systems and radar hooked up to a computer, VW said. "

William Tanksley writes: "Handspring, the PalmOS licensee started by the inventors of the original Palm, is going public. " Not much information yet -- just stating they've filed with the SEC.

lowlevel writes: "This site has been updated with plans for a 'dongle' version of the tilt sensor hack, which does not require you to modify your palm pilot. There is new code/drivers as well. After adding this to your palm pilot, you can play MULG which is the Palmpilot + tilt sensor equivalent to the timeless classic frustrating box with knobs and a marble that so few of us could master... (Note: there is a color beta version, too!) "

visionik writes: "Today I received a charge on my credit card for Netpliance i-opener service, even though I called them prior to ordering and verified that monthly service charges would not be put on that card. According to Netpliance, they will be charging monthly service on the cards of everyone who ordered an i-opener since March 1st, even though their Web site and support people indicated otherwise. I'm contesting the charges immediately, but thought this should be brought to the attention of everyone else who ordered an i-opener directly from Netpliance." visionik kept a small diary of his dealings with Netpliance. In part, it reads thus: (more)

vluther asks: "I was curious if anyone here had used any wireless networking solutions for their house/SOHO. I'm a perl hacker, not a networking guru, I can do basic stuff, but I am nowhere near a network admin. I have tried to describe my setup below, hopefully it will help. I've been looking at the WebGear Aviator 2.4, and the Symphony from Proxim, but both of them come with an option of buying an "access point", which claims to allow for "seamless integration" with your existing wired network. Yet the average home networking kit these guys sell doesn't come with the "Access Point", the thing even costs $399 for Proxim's, and $599 for WebGears. My question is, will I need to purchase one of these if I have my existing setup or can I just buy the Networking kit from Compusa, and get my Internet access/filesharing going?"

Anonymous Coward writes: "Terra Soft today [Note: Thursday] announced development support for AltiVec (a.k.a. "Velocity Engine"), saying that Black Lab Linux running on a PowerPC G4 may offer up to a '150-300% increase [in performance], with some Linux applications running in excess of 10 times (1,000%) their normal performance.' The AltiVec-enabled Black Lab Linux offers the GCC compiler with support for the AltiVec C and C++ extensions, as well as Linux-kernel run-time support for AltiVec enabled applications."

sekure writes "I was just on OpenBSD.org, and as I was reading the wanted hardware page I noticed that the OpenBSD project needed more Alpha gear, and if they don't get what they need, they won't ship OpenBSD/alpha on the 2.7 CD-ROM. I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I think it would be a shame. I know I'm going to talk to my boss about lending (or maybe even giving?) an Alpha to the OpenBSD project. Maybe people have old (or new) Alpha's kicking around they don't use anymore, or maybe there are some multi[million|billion]aires that wouldn't mind donating some fresh new Alpha's. What do you think?"

Lynk asks: "I often have to network a couple of machines (normally 2x laptops and a palmtop) together and sometimes into a client's network, too, so I've been looking for a suitable Ethernet Hub. Nice and small so I can carry it about in my laptop case but without a PSU twice as big as the hub. Four ports is fine. Preferably battery powered. I have used x-over cables a bit but they eliminate connecting to a client's network. Anyone have any ideas or have done this already?"

Elwood writes "Andrew Gillham has booted NetBSD/i386 -current on his Netpliance i-opener. He did this without opening the case and without using a 2.5" IDE hard drive." Read on for details.

Over the last few weeks I've been playing with a piece of consumer electronics that has the potential to alter the way that we think of television. Its step between the inevitable future of on-demand television, and todays "ya better be home sunday at 8pm tuned in to channel 11 or you'll miss The Simpsons. Although you'd never guess it (except from the diffs on the website) it runs Linux. The device is the TiVo, and you can click below to read my review of whats good and whats bad about this thing.

Tuesd@y asks: "I have a Sony VAIO PCG-N505VX and have been trying to find a good case for it. Because of the small size I have given up hope on finding one that fits well. I still need a case though and I have decided against the standard "buisnessman black bag". I would prefer something unique, in a courier-bag style, yet not huge. I found this one from CHROME but I was wondering if anyone has seen or knows of a better one. Any suggestions?"

GeorgieBoy writes: "Adaptec has announced support for Ultra160 SCSI adapters under Intel 64-bit Linux. Looks like IA-64 Linux will be pretty well supported upon Itanium's arrival." There already are SCSI adapters for the (also 64-bit) Alpha under Linux, but this move sounds like a smart one for Adaptec to tie their name to both Linux and IA-64. Other companies planning pre-emptive hardware support? Step right up, please.

rumba writes, "The National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) exists to increase public awareness of electric vehicle (EV) performance and to encourage through competition, advances in electric vehicle technology. This organization's first big event of the year is coming up next weekend. Anybody in the Phoenix Area going to this? There's no slots on these babies. Still, I'd hate to see the utility bill."

Jeb Campbell asks: "Has anyone tried to install on the only hard drive on their system, with that drive hooked up to an ATA/66 Card? I had RH 6.1 on before I switched hard drives and it worked fine, but when I tried to reinstall, my system no longer recognized the card. Anybody done this? I figure I can put another old hard drive in and install, then dump it to the new hard drive, but I don't know if it will recognize the card (www.dr-tech.com) but their ATA/66, card isn't there)." (Read more.)

Adam Wiggins asks: "After seeing the gorgeous plasma flat-panel montitors in the local taco shop night after night, I've decided it's time to treat myself to a nice flatscreen monitor. However, I looked at a couple at Fry's, and was unimpressed. The refresh rate seems slow, and the pixels didn't seem as sharp as they should be. Currently I'm using a 21" which does 75 hz at 1280x1024, so if I do buy a flat screen I want it to be really nice. However, the few reviews and flat panel overview articles I've found online don't seem to address the issues of refresh speed, sharpness, or brightness at all. Can anyone recommend a buying guide, or better yet tell me about your own flat panel display that you are happy with? "

linuxguru wrote to us with the news that some wacky folks have ported OpenGL 1.1 to PalmOS. Current version is .2, and it's released under the LGPL ^[?] .

yamla asks: "I run a dual-Celeron machine ( ABIT BP6) and primarily use Linux. I am concerned about heat and so I have added a second fan and used thermal paste. When I run the distributed.net client, the heat is CPU1:45C(113F), CPU2:49C(120F), SYS:55C(131F). Without this client running, my system is about ten degrees cooler at CPU1:34C(93F), CPU2:35C(95F), SYS:44C(111F). My question is simple. Should I stop running the distributed.net client or is this difference in heat nothing to be concerned about?" Wow! I've heard of hot software, but this might be too literal for comfort.

SPI3LB3RG writes " Evidentally he only differences between the Promise ATA66 Controller and the Promise FastTrack66 RAID Controller (beside cosmetic) are a five-cent resistor and the bios. The page tells how to change the ATA66 to a RAID controller. (A simple bios flash and some soldering.) In the end, you have a $65 RAID controller for about $20 bucks."

Xanthippe asks: "I'm currently looking to build a new system and hunting for a within-reasonable-budget ideal. A friend suggested going with dual-P500 processors instead of an Athlon650. I wouldn't mind going with either, but I'd like to know how they compare. I know zilch about processors and their mysterious voodoo-god-like inner workings, but I can read a benchmark as well as the next geek-wannabe. Has anyone tried pitting a dual system against one of the 600+ AMDs? Are there any major advantages/disavatages in going with a dual system?"

Ever wonder about what you might need to wire your own house or apartment with its own LAN or home automation system? This might just be the topic for you. Royster and theguru are both looking for information as to the best ways to go about this. I'm sure there are quite a few of you Slashdotters out there who have already gone through such things and could help out these two with any issues they might have. Read on for their actual submissions.