flightcrew – A better epub validator

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FlightCrew is a C++, cross-platform, native code epub validator. It is composed of three parts:

  • FlightCrew, the validation library;
  • FlightCrew-cli, the command-line front-end to the FlightCrew library;
  • FlightCrew-gui, the GUI front-end to the FlightCrew library;

FlightCrew runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X (and possibly other platforms). FlightCrew-gui uses the Qt Framework, but the rest does not. The validation library has no external dependencies outside of those included in the source tree and built along with FlightCrew.

Since FlightCrew is licensed under LGPLv3, it can be directly used by closed-source projects as well as open-source ones. It was initially created for Sigil, the epub editor.

Work on FlightCrew was inspired by the inadequacies of other epub checkers.

via flightcrew – A better epub validator – Google Project Hosting.

AMD launches Trinity processors: the Ivy Bridge alternative

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Trinity is being aimed at ultrathin notebooks (not to be confused with Intel Ultrabooks), smaller form factor desktops and All-in-Ones, though traditional mainstream laptops and desktops will also see Trinity APUs. AMD will be launching five APUs today. The A10-4600M, A8-4500M, and A6-4400M are aimed at larger, mainstream notebooks, while the A10-4655M and A6-4455M are destined for sleeker ultrathin models.

AMD’s Trinity APUs will mark the debut of the company’s Piledriver microarchitecture, the successor to the ill-received Bulldozer. Trinity is still based on a 32nm process — Intel, by contrast, recently moved to 22nm with Ivy Bridge. Trinity’s die size is actually a bit larger than Llano’s: 246 square millimeters, compared to the first generation APU’s 228 square millimeters. Trinity also features a higher transistor count at 1.3 billion, but dials the TDP for its notebook variants down to 17W for dual-core CPUs, and 35W for quad-core CPUs, the same as Ivy Bridge — Llano APUs required 35W and 45W for dual- and quad-core, respectively. Desktop Trinity remain at the same 65 to 100W of its Llano predecessors. AMD claims that the dual-core Trinity APU will perform at the same level as the dual-core Llano APU, effectively doubling the performance per watt with the new generation. AMD also claims that Trinity notebooks can expect as 12 hours of battery life (when idle) on their energy efficient Piledriver cores.

via AMD launches Trinity processors: the Ivy Bridge alternative | The Verge.

Russian satellite’s 121-megapixel image of Earth is most detailed yet

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There’s been a long history of NASA-provided “Blue Marble” images of Earth, but now we’re getting a different perspective thanks to photos taken by the Elektro-L No.1 Russian weather satellite. Unlike NASA’s pictures, this satellite produces 121-megapixel images that capture the Earth in one shot instead of a collection of pictures from multiple flybys stitched together. The result is the highest-resolution single picture of Earth yet. The image certainly looks different than what we’re used to seeing, and that’s because the sensor aboard the weather satellite combines data from three visible and one infrared wavelengths of light, a method that turns vegetation into the rust color that dominates the shot.

via Russian satellite’s 121-megapixel image of Earth is most detailed yet | The Verge.

Plastic Logic Unveils a Flexible Color ePaper Screen (video)

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There’s no word yet on when the new screen might hit the market, but I do know that it can display 4 thousand colors (4,096 to be exact) with a resolution of 75ppi. While that might seem awfully low, there’s a reason for it. Plastic Logic added color to their existing screen in much the same way that E-ink did.

The color is provided by a filter lying on top of the grayscale screen. The screen underneath the filter has a resolution of 150 ppi, and that gets cut in half because you need 3 pixels to do red, green, and blue. There’s also a 4th pixel which is left alone (it shows the white/black of the underlying screen. The RGBW are arranged in a 2 by 2 grid in the layer on top of the Plastic Logic screen.

via Plastic Logic Unveils a Flexible Color ePaper Screen (video) – The Digital Reader.

FreeBSD 10 To Use Clang Compiler, Deprecate GCC

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Going back to 2009, FreeBSD developers have worked to replace GCC with LLVM/Clang. Over time, there’s been numerous improvements especially with the FreeBSD 9.0 release. The FreeBSD developers are interested in doing away with the GPL-licensed GNU Compiler Collection and instead use the Apple-sponsored LLVM/Clang work that’s under a BSD-like license.

via [Phoronix] FreeBSD 10 To Use Clang Compiler, Deprecate GCC.

Narrative Science

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Narrative Science helps companies leverage their data by creating easy to use, consistent narrative reporting – automatically through our proprietary artificial intelligence technology platform.

via Narrative Science | We Transform Data Into Stories and Insight.

From CNN:

Kristian Hammond, Narrative Science’s chief technology officer, said his team started the program by taking baseball box scores and turning them into game summaries.

“We did college baseball,” Hammond recalled. “And we built out a system that would take box scores and historical information, and we would write a game recap after a game. And we really liked it.”

If this works I see a huge future for this in business reporting as well.

RIM not putting all its eggs in smartphone basket

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ORLANDO, FLA. — Research In Motion will always be associated with the iconic BlackBerry, but it became clear at this week’s BlackBerry World conference that the company is starting to hedge its bets.

via GuelphMercury – RIM not putting all its eggs in smartphone basket.

BlackBerry 10 is much more than a smartphone operating system, Heins stressed in Orlando, just as he did in March during a conference call to discuss RIM’s quarterly results.

It’s a whole new mobile computing platform that forms the guts of the PlayBook, RIM’s tablet device, and can adapt to a wide range of other uses such as telematic systems in planes, trains and automobiles.

GeeXboX

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GeeXboX is a free and Open Source Media-Center purposed Linux distribution for embedded devices and desktop computers. GeeXboX is not an application, it’s a full-featured OS, that one can boot as a LiveCD, from a USB key, an SD/MMC card or install on its regular HDD. The GeeXboX distribution is lightweight and designed for one single goal: embed all major multimedia applications as to turn your computer into an HTPC. GeeXboX runs on x86, PowerPC and ARM devices.

via GeeXboX.

Netherlands becomes world’s second “net neutrality” country

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A year ago, the former Dutch telecoms monopolist KPN unveiled a plan to make mobile users pay extra for data used by certain third-party apps, such as WhatsApp and Skype, that replaced KPN services like text messaging and voice calls. In response, the Dutch parliament quickly added net neutrality provisions to its telecommunications law. Tuesday, the Dutch senate at last approved the law, making the Netherlands the second country in the world (after Chile) with net neutrality written into statute.

via Netherlands becomes world’s second “net neutrality” country | Ars Technica.