] But the spread of Linux could be hurt by another
] group--and ironically, it's the free-software proponents
] themselves.
]
] For months, in secret, the Free Software Foundation, a
] Boston-based group that controls the licensing process
] for Linux and other "free" programs, has been making
] threats to Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people )
] and Broadcom (nasdaq: BRCM - news - people ) over a
] networking router that runs the Linux operating system.

Forbes supports companies that take GLPed software, modify it, and then sell it without distributing source. The GPL is spun as anti-capitalist.

Forbes.com: We hate the GPL

] At this level of performance, the PC would qualify as one
] of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world.

U:Looked up details on this because abaddon was calling bullshit on their numbers. Its 64 simple processors in an array, with 128k of (near) registers, all on one chip. Basically instead of using gate-space for branch prediction logic they are using it for ALUs. Its a good idea for specific applications which stand to benefit from this sort of optimization as opposed to what they do in your general purpose machines. Its not really the same as having a supercomputer in that these little processor elements are not as powerful as the P4s in your Beowolf Cluster by a very long shot. Thats not to say it isn't useful for problems in that space.

I'm still waiting to see someone provide an FPGA as a co-processor which can be used for optimized gate logic implementations of your problem that get swapped in and out like a virtual memory system. It will come someday.

Wired News: Turn That PC Into a Supercomputer

] A controversial IVF technique could see babies
] being born with three parents, scientists have suggested.
]
] Experts in China say they have created embryos using eggs
] from two women and sperm from one man...

Marie, should this be legal or not?

BBC NEWS | Health | Foetus with three parents created

] In the near future, fleets of small airplanes may
] traverse our skies monitoring traffic conditions,
] collecting data from environmental sensors, and scoping
] out forest fires.

These toy companies are probably going to get a huge boost when this sort of thing takes off.

Invest in companies that make model aircraft parts...

] While still teaching at Berkeley, Stonebraker founded
] Ingres Corp. to commercialize the relational database
] technology. (The company was acquired in 1990 by ASK
] Computer Systems.) Shortly after launching Ingres Corp.,
] Stonebraker and his students pushed databases ahead yet
] again with POSTGRES, a relational database that could
] understand "objects," groups of simpler pieces of data.

29 years of relational databases...

] As described in the 15th November, 2002, issue of the
] journal Science (Ferber, 2002), the current
] administration has engaged in political screening of
] appointees to peer review study sections that are charged
] with evaluating the scientific merits of research
] proposals on HF/E issues in the workplace.

Strong protest from workplace ergonomics community about political interference from the Republicans in their scientific workgroups.

[IP] Political interference with scientific committees

"The average age of the world's greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."

Alexander Tyler - 1787

(Actually, I think the present dependence is part of an 80 year cycle rather then a 200 year cycle, but we'll see...)

[IP] A forecast of the future of the US?

] Sure enough, within a few days three readers who had
] received the message on Oct. 1 reported that they had
] gotten a second e-mail from Network Solutions
] acknowledging it was a mistake. "We have determined that
] some of these e-mails were inadvertently sent to former
] customers of Network Solutions," the message read.
] "Please disregard that e-mail and accept our apologies
] for any inconvenience this may have caused."

I memed this at the beginning of the month. It was an error, apparently.

Verisign's latest renewal emails were a mistake. ( RE: Verisign back in the fraud?! )

] But Sclavos also said he thinks much of the fury against
] VeriSign originates with companies that compete in the
] retail sale of domain names. Severing that part of the
] business could, in theory, blunt some of the critics.

The last time Verisign talked to the press about something it "might" do it was a week before SiteFinder went online. Given that this is the Mercury News they are literally fishing for buyers here.

They do a poor job of spinning the sale. NetSol is loosing market share by the barrel. Reason? Netsol charges several times what their closest competitors charge for the same service. Doing business with them is like flushing money down the toilet. In general the margins in the DNS business are very small and everyone struggles. There are basically too many players, but because changing "providers" is so difficult no one goes out of business. They just hang by threads.

I was always under the impression that the Verisign/Netsol deal made sense because these guys were selling higher end services into their customers, like security services and certificates, and they could tack the domain names on as a sort of one stop shopping. Basically make it convenient for businesses who might be willing to ignore playing a $30 premium. I think that offering registrations makes sense as it goes along side offering certificates, and without the family of services Verisign offers NetSol will die a quick death out in the cold on its own. This business is obviously not going to drive growth for them, but it might sweeten their margins. I imagine that it might be picked up by a competing registrar just to own the customers.

The PR position is, frankly, interesting. Instead of, say, treating the engineering community with some respect, they claim to think they can solve their problems by jettisoning another problem that the community has with them. Geeks hate NetSol because we all had domains from them back when it was free, and we recall not so fondly when we got that first bill (was it $80 something?). Most of the people who work in the alternative registrars did so because they felt that it was important to take control of this out of NetSol's hands.

However, getting rid of NetSol is not going to help Verisign now. Their executives continue, even in this article, to sling mud at the technical community in an attempt to discredit them. Why would any move they made improve their position in the eyes of a community they apparently think is totally insignificant to their business? Fact is, it won't, and they know it.

Verisign is pursuing this for another reason, which is not discussed in this article. Most of the restrictions on their management of the tlds which were referenced in ICANN's demand that SiteFinder be shutdown are restrictions on anti-competitive behavior vis-a-vis other domain name registrars. If Verisign is NOT a domain name registrar then they don't need to worry about creating a level playing field between the access they have, and the access that other domain name registrars have. Many of the restrictions on their activity in the ICANN contracts would go away.

Its hard to say if this move is specifically directed at making SiteFinder legal, or if Verisign has any other tricks waiting in the wings if the contractual concerns with SiteFinder are resolved in their favor. What IS clear is that this is an important move in the fight over SiteFinder, and its implications could be significant for those who don't wish to see the "service" restarted.

Verisign to sell off Network Solutions, keep tlds

] Washington - Dr Miguel Nicolelis knew he had nailed it
] when the monkey stopped using her arm to play the
] computer game.
]
] "Her arm muscles went completely quiet, she kept the arm
] at her side and she controlled the robot arm using only
] her brain and visual feedback."

Would you have your real arm removed if in its place you could get one that can lift a ton?

Cyborg enhancements soon...