Dr. Bill | The Computer Curmudgeon

Another big competition by the two industry giants… over Digg? Kevin Rose must be jazzed!

Google, Microsoft Said To Be Preparing Bids For Digg

“User-generated news site Digg has been working with influential investment bank Allen & Co. (the ones that recently got Slide a half billion dollar valuation) for a few months now, and pitching big tech and media companies on a sale. And despite a number of false starts, this time a sale looks like it might actually happen, and soon. We hear from a source very close to the deal that four companies are in heavy due diligence with Digg – two media/news companies, and two big Internet companies – Google and Microsoft. And Google and Microsoft are on the verge of making their bids. Digg is prepared to take less than the $300 million Allen & Co. were floating late last year. Google, our source says, will likely bid $200-$225 million, which Digg would likely accept. Microsoft is looking at a somewhat lower price. That makes sense, since most of Digg’s revenue today comes from a three year advertising deal that Digg signed with Microsoft last year. That deal has revenue guarantees – and Microsoft may be hesitant to value Digg based on revenue that they supply. Any sale is likely to give Microsoft an option to terminate that advertising deal, which means Google isn’t valuing Digg based on revenue, either. But it is a big slap in the face to Microsoft to steal Digg away, and Google can certainly generate revenue on all those page views.”

It is a “sign of the times” to me that more and more support is coming to Linux! I think it is not only an indicator of how Linux is making in-roads into the desktop market, but how badly Microsoft’s Vista is doing! And, that is a good thing, from my point of view! Now, Amazon has an MP3 Downloader for the MP3s it sells. Cool.

Install the Amazon MP3 Downloader (for Linux)

You may have heard of Panasonic’s “Toughbook” line… well, Dell now has a similar offering.

Dell challenges Panasonic in rugged notebooks

“Today, Dell announced the availability of its Latitude XFR D630, a ruggedly designed notebook meant to serve as competition to Panasonic’s Toughbook. Though it cannot claim to have made the strongest nor first rugged laptops, Panasonic’s Toughbook line of computers undoubtedly is the most recognizable rugged laptop brand on the market today. Dell, however looks to be moving in on the territory, by making direct challenges to Panasonic’s performance. Dell’s Latitude XFR D630 meets the oft-cited MIL-STD 810F, or the Department of Defense-certified standard of toughness. MIL-STD is a series of specifications that cover resistance to different conditions including pressure, temperature, and humidity variance, fungus, fog, sand, dust, acceleration, shock and even gunfire.”

There are so many! How do I decide?! Well, now, there is automated help with JUST that question, take the test and see which distro YOU should be using! (My result?) Why – Kubuntu, of course!

Linux Distribution Chooser

“What do you look for when switching from Windows to Linux? We’re updating our quiz, and we want you to help us find the most important questions. Take the test and use the feedback form, and we’ll use your questions in our next update!”

Lot’s of caveats on this one… only one of the plane’s engines… an 80/20% mixture… but still, it is the first commercial airline plane flying (somewhat) on biofuel! Kudos to Branson for giving it a go! It is a start!

Can Airplanes Fly on Biofuel?

“There were a couple of strange things about the Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 that taxied out along one of London Heathrow’s two main runways and took off into the bright sky late Sunday morning. First, there were only five people on board, while more than 100 watched intently from a nearby hangar. Second, the plane was the first commercial jet ever to fly on biofuel: a fuel produced from plant matter instead of petroleum or other fossil fuels. ‘This is the first stage on a journey towards renewable fuel,’ Virgin founder Richard Branson told reporters in the hangar shortly before take-off, his voice drowned out every now and then by the roar of overhead planes. ‘It’s the equivalent of those exciting first few steps of a baby.’ As it happens, Virgin’s eco-plane ran only one engine on the experimental fuel; the other three burned standard jet fuel. And the biofuel-powered engine was using a blend of conventional jet fuel and biofuel: 80/20 in favor of the regular stuff. In total, then, just 5% of the 49,000-lb (22,000 kg) fuel load consisted of the novelty: a special mix of coconut oil and oil from the Brazilian babassu plant, prepared by Seattle-based Imperium Renewables over the last 18 months and tested by General Electric Aviation in Ohio.’

Now with more HP (horsepower) and a multi-touch keypad!

Apple adds new CPUs, Multi-Touch trackpad to MacBook Pro

“Apple on Tuesday updated its entire laptop line with faster processors, more storage and memory, along with adding its Multi-Touch trackpad to the MacBook Pro. All MacBook models now include the latest Intel Penyrn processors. The MacBook Pro is available in standard 2.4GHz and 2.5GHz options with a 2.6GHz upgrade, while the MacBook ships with 2.1GHz and 2.4GHz options. Every model except for the 2.1GHz MacBook now comes standard with 2GB of SDRAM, expandable to 4GB. Hard drive space is offered at 120GB, 160GB and 250GB for the MacBooks, 200GB in the 2.4GHz MacBook Pro and 250GB for the 2.5GHz Pro models. New Multi-Touch functionality in the MacBook Pro would allow the use of gestures similar to that being used on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The new trackpad was introduced in the MacBook Air last month. Like previous MacBook models, other standard features include the iSight video camera, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Firewire, and built-in SuperDrive. Apple also ships iLife ’08, which includes iPhoto and iMovie, with every new laptop. Pricing of the new models starts at $1,099 USD for the basic MacBook, and $1,499 USD for the black model. For the MacBook Pro, prices range from $1,999 to $2,799 USD depending on configuration.”