Seagate introduces a new drive interface: Ethernet

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Called the Kinetic Open Storage Platform, the new approach turns disks themselves into servers, delivering data over the network to applications using an open application interface. The Kinetic platform is a combination of an open programming interface and intelligence and a network interface installed in the storage device itself. It’s targeted mostly at companies looking to adopt the same sort of architecture in their data centers that they use to connect to cloud storage providers such as Amazon

via Seagate introduces a new drive interface: Ethernet | Ars Technica.

The Cost of Connectivity 2013

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The new data underscores the extent to which U.S. cities lag behind cities around the world, further emphasizing the need for policy reform. Rather than allowing American cities to fall behind, policymakers should reassess current policy approaches and implement strategies to increase competition, in turn fostering faster speeds and more affordable access.

via The Cost of Connectivity 2013 | NewAmerica.org.

Persuading light to mix it up with matter

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Their findings suggest that it’s possible to alter the electronic properties of a material — for example, changing it from a conductor to a semiconductor — just by changing the laser beam’s polarization. Normally, to produce such dramatic changes in a material’s properties, “you have to do something violent to it,” Gedik says. “But in this case, it may be possible to do this just by shining light on it. That actually modifies how electrons move in this system. And when we do this, the light does not even get absorbed.”

via Persuading light to mix it up with matter – MIT News Office.

It will take some time to assess possible applications, Gedik says. But, he suggests, this could be a way of engineering materials for specific functions. “Suppose you want a material to do something — to conduct electricity, or to be transparent, for example. We usually do this by chemical means. With this new method, it may be possible to do this by simply shining light on the materials.”

First new gTLDs added to the root

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The four new gTLDs all use non-Latin scripts: شبكة (Arabic “web “), онлайн (“online” in Cyrillic), сайт (“sale” in Cyrillic) and 游戏 (“game” in Chinese). In total, the gTLD process will result in expansion of top-level domains from 22 to up to 1400.

More domains will be added to the root progressively. “ICANN’s New gTLD Program was designed to facilitate a measured rollout of new domains so as not to disrupt the Domain Name System,” ICANN said in a statement.

via First new gTLDs added to the root – gTLD, top-level domains – Computerworld.

Qualcomm hit with $173M patent verdict—but plaintiff is the real loser

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Nine-digit verdicts don’t happen every day. A $173 million windfall—especially when no other revenue sources seem forthcoming—would have most investors in a small company like ParkerVision jumping up and down. But that didn’t happen. “Were Investors Set Up To Fail?” asked one writer on investment site SeekingAlpha. He quotes a JP Morgan Chase analyst telling clients that just a week ago, ParkerVision was in a position to win up to $2 billion.

via Qualcomm hit with $173M patent verdict—but plaintiff is the real loser | Ars Technica.

TR-069: Still Sexy After All These Years

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Today, a quarter of all broadband lines on the planet are managed by TR-069 and its management of devices has been expanded in line with changes in the type of devices needing to be managed (many devices can be managed from gateways to VoIP devices to set-top boxes). And the complexity you now see in the connected home environment in terms of technology (and the protocols used) is just not an issue for the continually evolving TR-069, as non-TR-069 devices can be proxy managed.

via TR-069: Still Sexy After All These Years | Light Reading.

Troll-Killing Patent Reform One Step Closer

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Of course, today’s discussion draft is not perfect. Compared to the Shield Act, the attorney’s fees provision is watered down. (It does not include a bond requirement, for example.) And the customer suit provision is too weak. We need stronger reform to stop the disturbing trend of patent trolls picking on customers and end users. Finally, today’s discussion draft focuses on litigation system, rather than targeting the root cause of the problem: the flood of low-quality, over-broad software patents. Despite these reservations, we are encouraged to see so many good reforms in a single package.

via Troll-Killing Patent Reform One Step Closer | Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Critical NETGEAR ReadyNAS Frontview security vulnerability

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Frontview is the ReadyNAS web management interface; the vulnerability allows command injection and fails to validate or sanitize user input and can be triggered without authentication, Young said.

“The consequence is that an unauthenticated HTTP request can inject arbitrary Perl code to run on the server,” Young wrote on the Tripwire blog. “Naturally, this includes the ability to execute commands on the ReadyNAS embedded Linux in the context of the Apache web server.”

via Critical NETGEAR ReadyNAS Frontview security vulnerability | Threatpost | The First Stop For Security News.

New device stores electricity on silicon chips

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When the researchers tested the coated material they found that it had chemically stabilized the silicon surface. When they used it to make supercapacitors, they found that the graphene coating improved energy densities by over two orders of magnitude compared to those made from uncoated porous silicon and significantly better than commercial supercapacitors.

via New device stores electricity on silicon chips | Research News @ Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt University.

SteamOS will “really help” Linux on desktop

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Should SteamOS gain traction among gamers and developers, that could force more hardware manufacturers to extend driver support beyond Windows

via Torvalds: SteamOS will “really help” Linux on desktop | News | PC Pro.

Amen.  Getting NVIDIA graphic drivers working is a mind boggling exercise and must be redone with every kernel upgrade.  This is one of the reasons I rarely upgrade Fedora — it’s too complicated getting video drivers working well enough to the point a video can be played and the desktop environment looks right.