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A monumental achievment in reconstructing Colossus the first code cracker computer used by Allied forces in World War II. In a timed contest between Colossus and the modern PC Colossus was defeated by a modern program and a 1.4 GHz PC. A fourteen year project to reconstruct the World War II Allied forces Colossus the first code cracking computer ended in a match defeat against a modern 1.4 Ghz PC. The cipher event was instigated by The British National Museum of Computing and Cryptography at Betchley Park home of the newly reconstructed Colossus Mark II. The event challenged all interested...

A minimalist redesign, a zippy new OS, and terrific new software make the iMac the all-in-one desktop computer of choice for multimedia loversEditor's Rating: The Good: Giant screen, easy-to-use software; plentiful ports for peripherals The Bad: Pricey; no media card reader; no ability to upgrade optical drive to high-definition DVD The Bottom Line: The updated iMac remains the champ for those looking for a multimedia PC Zooming around a sharp corner while playing Electronic Arts' Need for Speed video game on my computer, I spun out of control, hit a guardrail, and sailed over a cliff to my doom. It's...

FOCUSED ATTACK: Large-capacity hard disks often used by government agencies were found to contain Trojan horse viruses, Investigation Bureau officials warned Portable hard discs sold locally and produced by US disk-drive manufacturer Seagate Technology have been found to carry Trojan horse viruses that automatically upload to Beijing Web sites anything the computer user saves on the hard disc, the Investigation Bureau said. Around 1,800 of the portable Maxtor hard discs, produced in Thailand, carried two Trojan horse viruses: autorun.inf and ghost.pif, the bureau under the Ministry of Justice said. The tainted portable hard disc uploads any information saved on the...

Portable hard discs sold locally and produced by US disk-drive manufacturer Seagate Technology have been found to carry Trojan horse viruses that automatically upload to Beijing Web sites anything the computer user saves on the hard disc, the Investigation Bureau said. Around 1,800 of the portable Maxtor hard discs, produced in Thailand, carried two Trojan horse viruses: autorun.inf and ghost.pif, the bureau under the Ministry of Justice said. The tainted portable hard disc uploads any information saved on the computer automatically and without the owner's knowledge to www.nice8.org and www.we168.org, the bureau said. The affected hard discs are Maxtor Basics...

The video below shows someone using a great new 'vocal joystick' to navigate a webpage. The software developed at the University of Washington translates different volumes, pitch, vowel sounds and particular noises into movements and actions. The Vocal Joystick system is aimed at providing a new interaction method for physically impaired people.

Linux, the free operating system that's a perpetual underdog in the desktop market, will get another chance this holiday season at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The chain was taking orders online Wednesday for a computer called the "Green gPC" that is made by Everex of Taiwan, costs $199 and runs Linux. It will be available in about 600 stores, as well as online, Wal-Mart said. A comparable Everex PC that comes with Windows Vista Home Basic and more memory costs $99 more, or $298, partly because the manufacturer has to pay Microsoft Corp. for a software license. Both computers come with...

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras, Nov. 1, 2007 – In the spirit of Halloween, an airman here built his very own version of “Frankenstein’s monster.” Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Russell, Armed Forces Network Honduras chief engineer, shows off the "Frankenstein computer" he built from spare parts and a shipping box. The computer took about two weeks to build. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Russell, chief engineer for American Forces Network Honduras, is somewhat of a computer guru. When his wife called and said she needed a...

This forum has been a great resource for information, not just for political and media related topics, but for a wide range of other topics as well. This is a testament to the diverse skill sets and expertise possessed by the members of Free Republic. I am hoping to leverage this expertise by asking for some advice in the technical area. I am looking to make the switch from a PC to a MAC. I am hoping that some of you may be able to provide some information or even links to information about some of the pros/cons of making...

My wife just got a Windows automatic update for Windows Vista. The problem is that her machine is running XP.She tried to reject the update but the machine automatically re-started and now she's getting messages like "No operating system found". We're both just users with not a clue of what to do.

Help! A couple weeks ago our Outlook Express freaked out and locked up. Never did get it working again even with psc tech help so we went to the plain jane Outlook. Then looking around, noticed under the Start Menu under Programs - Accessories that the calculator, Record Now, MS Paint and Games (free cell, spider, etc.) were missing. While I can't care less about email, I NEED my games and calculator and the kids need Paint for their homework and Record Now for school band practice! I did a Run Search and can get to MS Paint and spider...

This is quite a funny presentation. I'd discuss it but I'd rather you watch instead. Total runtime--5:52. Safe for work. I was hooting toward the end. Click here or at the link above.

The week's not off to a great start for Microsoft. On Monday, a European court upheld almost $1 billion in antitrust penalties against the software maker. A day later, it's IBM that is taking aim at Microsoft with the release of a free office software suite called Lotus Symphony. IBM said Tuesday that Symphony, based on open source software from the OpenOffice.org project, will be made available as a free download essentially to whoever wants it. The package contains a word processor called Lotus Symphony Documents, as well as Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets and Lotus Symphony Presentations. IBM is calling the...

PHILADELPHIA -- Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have developed nanowires capable of storing computer data for 100,000 years and retrieving that data a thousand times faster than existing portable memory devices such as Flash memory and micro-drives, all using less power and space than current memory technologies. Ritesh Agarwal, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and colleagues developed a self-assembling nanowire of germanium antimony telluride, a phase-changing material that switches between amorphous and crystalline structures, the key to read/write computer memory. Fabrication of the nanoscale devices, roughly 100 atoms in diameter, was performed without...

U.S. Residents will throw away more than 500 million personal computers this year. But information on the computer's hard drive can come back to haunt the machine's former owner, so a Tampa company, Viatek Solutions, specializes in destroying computer parts. The company uses an industrial hammermill that pulverizes computer hard drives into tiny pieces no bigger than a dime. "Any material is unidentifiable once it goes through this machine," said employee Mark Cardamone. "What it was originally, whether it be a hard drive, tape drive or circuit board, it's totally destroyed along with the serial number associated with it." Viatek...

Sept 11, 2007 TORONTO -- Commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to develop and direct "Tron," described as "the next chapter" of Disney's 1982 cult classic. Sean Bailey is producing via the Live Planet banner, as is Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film. Kosinski, who last month signed on to helm the remake of "Logan's Run" for Warner Bros. Pictures, will oversee the visual development of the project and have input on the script, which is being written by "Lost" scribes Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Story details are being kept secret. The original, about...

The Fly Wrangler   My brother tells me I have too much time on my hands.  The other brother says "You need to get a life".   I tried.  I opened a worm ranch.   It went smooth however, I hated branding time.  Each of my worms had "Bobs quality worms" branded on their side, so I could identify them.   But then the thunderstorm came up.   All of my worms stampeded.  Gone.  I was heartbroken.   All I had was my computer, and adverising for my lost worms.   And then a fly landed on my monitor screen.  Just...

What began as a ninth-grade prank, a way to trick already-suspicious friends who had fallen for his earlier practical jokes, has earned Rich Skrenta notoriety as the first person ever to let loose a personal computer virus. Although over the next 25 years, Skrenta started the online news business Topix, helped launch a collaborative Web directory now owned by Time Warner Inc. (TWX)'s Netscape and wrote countless other computer programs, he is still remembered most for unleashing the "Elk Cloner" virus on the world. "It was some dumb little practical joke," Skrenta, now 40, said in an interview. "I guess...

Under terms of the agreement announced Monday, Acer will purchase all of Gateway's outstanding shares for $1.90 per share. The deal has already been approved by the boards of directors at both companies and should be completed by the end of this year, subject to government approval, Acer said in a statement. Gateway's shares ended at $1.21 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. "This is the biggest acquisition in Acer's 30 year history," said J.T. Wang, Acer's chairman, speaking at a news conference in Taipei. "After this acquisition, we are solidly number three in the global PC market," Wang...

Installing a second h/d to a computer. 2nd HD is from pc with dead MB. 2nd HD is formatted with OS (XP) installed. I want to use the #2 HD as a slave and for storage only. HD's are matching ATA/IDE 80GB, 7200 RPM.Question...should I fdisk and reformat before I install as a slave?

The founder of a publicly funded school for some of D.C.’s most vulnerable students faces up to two years in prison for his role in a computer-theft ring. Charles Emor is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court this morning. He was convicted last year of conspiracy charges after a jury found that he had bought computers stolen by his friends from the loading dock at the Gateway computer plant in Hampton, Va. Emor, 46, is the founder of SunRise Academy, a private school in D.C. that takes in learning-disabled and emotionally disturbed children from the public schools. Almost all...