Pion Core is an open source software platform for building stream computing (also known as complex event processing) applications. Pion uses the most modern C++ libraries and techniques to enable best in class enterprise scaleability. It can distribute processing tasks across any number of CPU cores as well as across disparate servers.
via Pion Core – The Open Source Stream Computing Platform | Pion Development Community.
I stopped using Windows because I could no longer afford to use it. At the time when I completely switched to Linux (approximately June of 2007) the price for a popular screen magnifier was US$600 to US$700, not including the price of upgrades to new versions when they were made available. Even to this day, the price for a standard version of a very popular screen reader among blind users starts at US$895. Oh, the software does its job, but you have to go into debt to use your computer. That’s tough if you are a student or if you need your computer for work related activities. Believe me, I’ve been there.
In 2007 I realized that the Compiz Enhanced Zoom Desktop (or simply Ezoom) plugin did everything I needed a screen magnifier to do – it did it well, and it did it for free! I was sold on Linux from that point on.
via DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD..
Internet Explorer’s global market share has been steadily decreasing since May 2011, dropping from about 43.9 percent to 31.4 percent of all worldwide users. In that time, Google Chrome has continued to climb from below 20 percent (19.6 percent, really) to nearly 32 percent of the market share. The current trends suggests Chrome usage will only increase while Internet Explorer will continue its decline.
via Google Chrome Becomes World’s No. 1 Web Browser; Still No. 2 In US – International Business Times.
That was fast!
Google and Microsoft don’t offer formal data ingestion services to help users get lots of data into the cloud, and neither seems set to do so anytime soon. Quite how would-be users take advantage of the hundreds of terabytes both offer in the cloud is therefore a bit of a mystery.
via Cloud mega-uploads aren’t easy • The Register.
I also have been wondering about this for my measly 2gigs I want to upload to a cyberlocker. My upload speed is more or less 30KBytes/s or ~100M/hour. Therefore 2G upload would take 20 some hours which is kind of impractical. The article covers import/export services of various cloud providers. I’m interested in Rackspace…
Rackspace offers a similar service, dubbed Cloud Files Bulk Import. Optus, the Australian arm of telecoms giant Singtel, will happily offer a similar service. Australian cloud Ninefold does likewise, branding it “Sneakernet”.
Good old sneakernet is back. That brings the memories.
The combination of the ultrasonic waves and ultra thin membranes makes more realistic, distinctive, and vivid imageries on screen. This system contributes to open up a new path for display engineering with sharp imageries, transparency, BRDF and flexibility.
via colloidaldisplay.
version control – What’s the best Web interface for Git repositories? – Stack Overflow.
- gitweb, which is developed together with git, and is written in Perl. Works both as CGI script, and legacy mod_perl script. There is repo.or.cz duct tape (soon to be released as Girocco), which together with gitweb make for git hosting interface. I think it most commonly used web interface; it is used for example by kernel.org.
- cgit is is a fast (caching) and lightweight webinterface written in C. It is used for example by freedesktop.org
- git-php and ViewGit are git web interfaces written in PHP.
Google plans to give multiple mobile-device makers early access to new releases of Android and to sell those devices directly to consumers, said people familiar with the matter. That is a shift from Google’s previous practice, when it joined with with only one hardware maker at a time to produce “lead devices,” before releasing the software to other device makers. …
The developers logged 3,997 distinct devices, the most popular of which was the Samsung Galaxy S II. This figure was inflated quite a bit by custom ROMs, which overwrite the android.build.MODEL variable and cause those phones to be logged as separate devices. 1,363 types were logged only once, and while some were custom ROMs bucking the numbers, a good few were just massively unpopular devices—for example, the Hungarian 10.1-inch Concorde Tab.
via Android fragmentation: one developer encounters 3,997 devices | Ars Technica.
Jamming Grippers Combine to Form Robotic Elephant Trunk – IEEE Spectrum.
“Jamming” has to be one of the coolest new actuation techniques we’ve seen in the last couple years, and we’ve recently covered a bunch of fascinating implementations of it, including walking robots and grippers that can throw stuff. MIT may have just topped everyone by developing a robotic elephant trunk that’s strong, flexible, and, since it’s made mostly out of coffee grounds, absolutely dirt cheap.
The jamming technique was developed jointly at Cornell University, University of Chicago, and iRobot back in late 2010.