Archiv der Kategorie ‘Tech News‘

 
 

Britain releases its files on UFOs

For decades the Ministry of Defence kept what it knew about UFOs locked away in its archives. Now, the contents of what have been called Britain’s X-Files are finally being revealed.

The first eight of 160 MoD UFO files have been opened at the National Archives, thanks to the Freedom of Information Act. They contain details of thousands of sightings of strange lights and objects in the sky from 1981 to the present day. Most of the sightings were made by ordinary people, including police officers, pilots and school children.

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Source: BBC

Superfast internet may replace world wide web

The internet could soon be made obsolete by a new “grid” system which is 10,000 times faster than broadband connections.

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a lightning-fast replacement to the internet that would allow feature films and music catalogues to be downloaded within seconds.

The invention could signal the end of the dreaded ‘frozen screen’, when computers seize up after being asked to process too much information.

The latest spin-off from Cern, the particle physics centre that created the internet, the grid could also provide the power needed to send sophisticated images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call.

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Source: Telegraph UK

What is SPIP

SPIP (Système de Publication pour l’Internet Partagé or Participatif) is a free software content management system designed for Web site publishing, oriented towards online collaborative editing.

This software, known for its easy setup, use and maintenance, is widely used by networks of people, in public or private institutions. The last P in the word SPIP both stands for Partagé (shared) or Participatif (participative), in the sense that the software is especially tailored for collective online editing.

Its mascot is a flying squirrel, an allusion to the squirrel nicknamed ‘SPIP’ which accompanies the comic character Spirou (The word spip actually means squirrel in some areas of Belgium).

SPIP was originally conceived for the uzine.net site, then designers decided to give it away under GPL License. Since its launch 2001, it has also been tested by le Monde diplomatique and www.vacarme.eu.org.

SPIP integrates a cache mechanism, an authentication system, an automatic setup module as well as an interface for administration and input of articles. SPIP’s main feature is the creation of dynamic pages without any PHP knowledge, thanks to a template system relatively easy, known as ‘skeletons.

In early 2003, the 1.6 version permits to decline the private interface in several languages[1]. A space for translators is set up in order to multiply the number of available versions[2].

In January 2004, the 1.7 version of SPIP allows to manage multilingual websites, and boasts a search and content indexation module; It also enables syndication of other sites’ contents.

In April 2005, the private interface of version 1.8 has been reworked in order to take into account the ergonomic analysis [3]. An important modification for developers is SPIP’s core that is from now on constituted from a new compiler. It becomes then possible to elaborate skeletons with more and more complex functionalities without any work in PHP.

Numerous re-workings are currently under way, such as the reworking of the private interface in the form of skeletons.

The 1.9 version (1) introduces a plug-in system and numerous changes, notably in the files organisation (particularly the transition from ‘.php3′ to ‘.php’ files extensions.

The 1.9.1 version 1.9.1 introduces a template system, akin to Wikipedia.

The 1.9.2 version modifies the directory structure to allow a better mutualisation of sources.

Source:Wiki

Cool Google Images Trick

1. Go to http://www.images.google.com

2. Fill in “cars, motors, flowers” or anything else.

3. You will get a page with a lot of images thumbnailed.

4. Now delete the URL on the address bar (example: http://images.google.nl/images?hl=n……………….)

5. Copy the script down here, and paste it in your address bar!

javascript:R= 0; x1=.1; y1=.05; x2=.25; y2=.24; x3=1.6; y3=.24; x4=300; y4=200; x5=300; y5=200; DI= document.images ; DIL=DI.length; function A(){for(i=0; i

Yahoo Search Monkey

Today, at the inaugural Search Marketing Expo West conference, Yahoo plans to unveil a project code-named “Search Monkey,” a set of open-source tools that allow users and publishers to annotate and enhance search results associated with specific web sites.

The new enhancements differ from Yahoo’s “Shortcuts” that sometimes appear at the top of search result pages. Shortcuts are served by Yahoo whenever the search engine is confident that the shortcut links are more relevant than the other web search results on the page. Often, shortcuts highlight content from Yahoo’s own network of sites.

The new enhancements can be applied to any web site. Publishers can add additional information that will be displayed with the web search result. For example, retailers can include product information, restaurants can include links to menus and reviews, local merchants can display operating hours, address, and phone information, and so on—far more information than a title, URL, and description that make up current generation search results.

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Source: Searchengine Land

What is Hulu?

Hulu is NBC Universal and News Corporation’s online video joint venture. The site focuses exclusively on professional content and does not take on YouTube directly as a viral video destination. The site raised $100 million in financing from Providence Equity Partners.

Hulu videos are played in their own embeddable branded player. Content from at least a dozen TV networks and two major film studios is promised. Initial distribution partners include AOL, Comcast, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo.

Source: Crunchbase