perpetuallypissed.com aggregator

/.: Apple's Life After Steve Jobs

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:59:00 -0500

animusCollards writes "Slate ponders a post-Steve Jobs Apple, including possible successors, and the future is... boring. '..it's certainly true that Jobs' style is central to the company's brand and the fierce connection it forges with its customers. His product announcements prompt hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free press coverage and whip up greater and more loyal fans, generating ever-greater interest in the company. ... At some point, all that will end. Jobs will eventually leave the company. There are no obvious plans for succession; in addition to Schiller, observers finger Tim Cook, Apple's COO, and Scott Forstall, who helped develop Mac OS X and the iPhone's software, as contenders for the job. But Tuesday's keynote illustrated how difficult it will be for any of those guys to replace Jobs.'"

/.: Russia's Mars Mission Raising Concerns

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:16:00 -0500

eldavojohn writes "Space.com has a blog on Russia's Phobos-Grunt project designed to explore the planet further. He voices concerns about part of this exploration that is dubbed LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) and backed by The Planetary Society that involves sending several samples of Earth's hardiest microbes to see if they can survive the round trip voyage. Space.com's correspondent Leonard David did some legwork to ensure that The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 was being upheld as it prevents cross-contamination between planets and receives some interesting responses from experts on this mission. The Phobos-Grunt mission will also deploy a Chinese sub-satellite 'Firefly-1,' which will attempt to figure out how water on Mars disappeared. Unfortunately, The United States is not taking part in Phobos-Grunt."

Ars Technica: Root inside: researchers claim crack for Intel's vPro

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:11:00 -0500

A pair of security researchers claim to have cracked Intel's trusted execution technology (TXT), a critical part of the vPro platform. Few details on the attack are available, so it's hard to suss out what, if anything, this means for the chip giant's plans.

Ars Journals: The Kris crossover will make you jump, jump

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:44:09 -0500

David Kris to head Nat'l Security Division at DOJ

/.: Playing Tetris Is Good For You

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:34:00 -0500

An anonymous reader writes "Some UK researchers found out that playing Tetris is actually good for people with post-traumatic stress disorder, by interfering with memory. I wonder if playing Minesweeper is effective against boss-inflicted stress."

/.: The Best Gaming PC Money Can Buy

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:59:00 -0500

SlappingOysters writes "Gameplayer has gone live with their best PC hardware configurations for Q1 2009. They've broken it into three tiers depending on the investor's budget. And while the prices are regional, it is comparative across the globe. The site has also detailed the 10 Hottest PC Games of 2009 to unveil the software on the horizon which may seduce gamers into an upgrade."

/.: Federal Trade Commission To Scrutinize DRM

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:15:00 -0500

Ars Technica reports that the FTC is getting ready to take a hard look at gaming DRM, setting up a town hall meeting to be held on March 25th. They're currently recruiting panelists, and they say the meeting will, in part, "address the need to improve disclosures to consumers about DRM limitations." The controversy over DRM came to a head in 2008 with the release of Spore and the multiple subsequent class-action lawsuits focusing on the SecuROM software that came with the game. Ars Technica says the town hall meeting will also look at "legal issues surrounding DRM" and "the potential need for government involvement to protect consumers."

Ars Technica: WiMAX goes live in Portland; Chicago delayed into 2H 2009

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:20:00 -0500

Clearwire opens its second WiMax market in Portland, Ore., but future deployment plans are murky. Clearwire's service competes on price and speed with wireless and wireline sevices.

Ars Journals: New Freescale processors target Linux netbooks

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:05:00 -0500

Chip manufacturer Freescale has launched a new processor targeting an interesting (and small) segment of the computer market: sub-$200, Linux-based netbooks.

Ars Technica: Indie dev suggests peers should support OS X, Linux gaming

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:15:00 -0500

An independent developer from Wolfire Games has made the case that his peers should be supporting OS X and Linux with cross-platform games for a number of easy to grasp reasons. In the face of heavy competition, this simple strategy could be the key to success.