I'll Be Away For A Few Days

I'm taking the offspring to Otakon for the weekend, you can occupy your selves at the TechNudge Family of sites.

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Not All Drug Companies Are Greedy

From the New York Times:

PATNA, India — The drug that could have cured Munia Devi through a series of cheap injections was identified decades ago but then died in the research pipeline because there was no profit in it.
So Mrs. Devi lay limp in a hospital bed here recently, her spleen and liver bulging from under her rib cage as a bilious yellow liquid dripped into her thin arm. The treatment she was receiving can be toxic, and it costs $500. But it was her best hope to cure black fever, a disease known locally as kala azar, which kills an estimated half-million people worldwide each year, almost all of them poor like Mrs. Devi.

Soon, however, all that may change. A small charity based in San Francisco has conducted the medical trials needed to prove that the drug is safe and effective. Now it is on the verge of getting final approval from the Indian government. A course of treatment with the drug is expected to cost just $10, and experts say it could virtually eliminate the disease.

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E3 To Be More "Intimate"

Thanks To rapcomp.jr:

Entertainment Software Association Announces Evolution of E3Expo for 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Stacey Wade
202-223-2400 or swade@theesa.com

Washington, DC (July 31, 2006) – To better address the needs of today's global computer and video game industry, the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo) is evolving into a more intimate event focused on targeted, personalized meetings and activities, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today.

"The world of interactive entertainment has changed since E3Expo was created 12 years ago. At that time we were focused on establishing the industry and securing orders for the holiday season," said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers and the owner of E3Expo. "Over the years, it has become clear that we need a more intimate program, including higher quality, more personal dialogue with the worldwide media, developers, retailers and other key industry audiences."

The new E3Expo will take shape over the next several months. As currently envisioned, it will still take place in Los Angeles, described by ESA as a "great and supportive partner helping to build E3." It will focus on press events and small meetings with media, retail, development, and other key sectors. While there will be opportunities for game demonstrations, E3Expo 2007 will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years.

"E3Expo remains an important event for the industry and we want to keep that sense of excitement and interest, ensuring that the human and financial resources crucial to its success can be deployed productively to create an exciting new format to meet the needs of the industry. The new event ensures that there will be an effective and more efficient way for companies to get information to media, consumers, and others," said Lowenstein.

Additionally, the evolution of the video game industry into a vibrant and expanding global market has led to the creation of major events in different regions, such as the Games Convention in Leipzig, the Tokyo Game Show, and company-specific events held by Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and others around the world. As a result, Lowenstein said, "It is no longer necessary or efficient to have a single industry 'mega-show'. By refocusing on a highly-targeted event, we think we can do a better job serving our members and the industry as a whole, and our members are energized about creating this new E3."

Additional details about the new E3Expo event will be forthcoming in the next few months.

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2005, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.

The Original

Dell Dimension E310

Ok, this is my first review, so bear with me. First I'd like to start off by saying I like Dell. I know this will elicit some hoots and hollers, but I thought it would be best to come clean up front.

This is a machine I actually purchased for my oldest child, who is majoring in Software Engineering in college. It is destined to be a dual boot Windows/Linux machine he is using for a project this summer. This leads to my first reason for liking Dell. I ordered the PC on Wednesday May 24th, and it was delivered Tuesday, May 30th. It would have been delivered the 29th, but it was Memorial Day. I ordered online specifying 3-5day shipping.

The first thing I noticed after taking it out of the box, are the ports, or lack there of. The back panel has no PS/2, serial, or parallel ports. 4 USB, 1 network, 3 sound, and 1 video port are located on the back panel of the motherboard. The only other connections are the power cord and modem jacks. This brings me to one of my pet peeve's, Dell does not give you the option of no modem on their home PC's. Or, at least I haven't found it.


Here is the configuration as shipped:

1 GG870 PROCESSOR, 80547, PENTIUM 4 PRESCOTT DT, Pentium 4 Prescott DT, 2.8GHZ, 1 MEGB, 533FSB, LGA, G1
1 J4628 KEYBOARD, 104, UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS, UNITED STATES, ENTRY, LEAD FREE, LITEON
1 X7636 MOUSE, UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS, 2BTN, LEAD FREE, ENTRY, LOGITECH, MIDNIGHT GRAY
1 DF965 KIT, SOFTWARE, OVERPACK, WINDOWS XP, MCE05U, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE, ENGLAND/ENGLISH
2 D6492 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 256, 533, 32X64, 8, 240, 1RX16
1 JF495 MODEM, V.92, DATA FAX, INTERNAL, SON2, LEAD FREE, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION
1 ND504 ASSEMBLY, DVD+/-RW, 16X, IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS), HITACHI LG DATA STORAGE, CHASSIS 2005
1 KD104 ASSEMBLY, Flash Storage Device, UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS, READER, HALF HEIGHT, TEAC, CHASSIS 2005
1 R6401 ASSEMBLY, CABLE, FLEX-BAY, DIMENSION, MATRIX,SMITH,MINI TOWER
1 XF541 HARD DRIVE, 80G, S2, 7.2K, 9G, 3.5, WD-UNIC
1 CD940 KIT, SOFTWARE, WORDPERFECT, 12, PLUS-TRIAL
1 CC639 DISPLAY, FLAT PANEL DISPLAY, 17, DUAL VOLTAGE, E176FPF, MIDNIGHT GRAY, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION

Setup time for PC's has become much faster as time has progressed. It took about 10 minutes to set it up and get it powered on. It took about another 20-30 minutes to configure Windows. So within 1 hour we were ready to go. Some of the things I haven't figured out are, why it has no TV tuner or speakers, If it's a Media Center PC aren't these required? The hard drive is only 80gig, it seems a bit on the small side to me. There are only 4 USB ports on the back panel, and 2 on the front. I say only, because when you plug in the keyboard and mouse, you only have 2 ports left in back.

The motherboard and case are BTX form factor and have the fan in the front of the case as apposed to the back as in ATX. The heat sink is much larger than I am used to seeing in a factory standard Dell, but I'm guessing this is a part of the BTX standard. The only other fan is in the power supply. The cut outs on either side of the case are the air inlets for the fan. The cables are dressed neatly and held down by tabs molded into the fan shroud and attached to the power supply. The drives are mounted using a no tool design. The external drives are mounted above the CPU area and the internal drives are below. The only expansion card is the PCI modem, leaving 1 PCI and 1 PCIe x1 slot open. There are only 2 memory slots, so any upgrade will require replacing the current RAM sticks.

One of the first things I noticed when I first powered it on, was the lack of noise. It is much quieter then the Dimension 4600 it sits next to. The keyboard is much smaller than the older PS2 style, and the mouse is still the old ball type. Maybe it's just me, but isn't this a little dated?

The case is easy to open, just pull a release on top and the side lifts off. The drives are mounted with tool-less hardware, however, if you are replacing an optical drive, you need a screw driver to remove the studs that align the drive in the bay.



Cable management is good with everything held in place with built in clips.
The monitor is an analog 17" that is adequate for general web browsing and such, but lacks the response time needed for gaming. The on board graphics adapter is also lacking for gaming, although it does prove adequate for video viewing. In general, this is a good entry level machine that will get the job done if your needs are not great. If on the other hand you are looking for a real Media PC, or gaming PC, I would opt for a higher level unit with a plug in Graphics adapter and TV tuner, larger hard drive and at least 1 Gb of ram.

Oooooo

Lockheed Martin has been commissioned to design and manufacture the Quiet Supersonic Transport (QSST), a 12-seat private jet that will be able to quietly break the sound barrier. Capable of flying at Mach 1.6—which for the rest of us means 1200mph—that unique ability to sneak through the sound barrier without breaking every window in sight would let it zip from New York to LA in two hours and 15 minutes.

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...Your Cell Phone Will Self Distruct In 10 Seconds...

Nokia has created a cellphone that disassembles itself in two seconds when heat is applied to it, making it easier to dispose of when it becomes obsolete two weeks from now. No, it's not going to be falling apart in your hot little pocket, but if laser heating is applied, the thing literally comes apart, making it easier to recycle instead of the shredding that goes on with current cellphones and small electronics. It's called "active disassembly." According to Nokia:

FromGizmodo

The Top 10 Top 10

It’s been an running joke at digg for a while now. Each new Top 10 story would get the inevitable comment of :”Now, we only need a Top 10 of Top 10s and everything would be perfect.” The wait is over: here is that Top 10, in no particular order…
An honorable mention goes to techEblog, who runs regularly some of the wierdest and imaginative top 10s known to man.



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