Free Republic

Free software is great, and corporate America loves it. It's often high-quality stuff that can be downloaded free off the Internet and then copied at will. It's versatile - it can be customized to perform almost any large-scale computing task - and it's blessedly crash-resistant. A broad community of developers, from individuals to large companies like IBM, is constantly working to improve it and introduce new features. No wonder the business world has embraced it so enthusiastically: More than half the companies in the Fortune 500 are thought to be using the free operating system Linux in their data centers....

I have no way of knowing if this post is permitted or not? Freerepublic .. as I see it usually deals in current events and breaking news. I have a question and it seems Odd, even to me to ask a question on this site. My wife, God bless her, has children, (previous marriage) who graduated from Virginia Tech. Somehow, I stepped over the line tonite by saying that some students .. at Tech, stood, like sheep and waited to be shot by Cho. She is in complete denial and is so mad at me that I don't know what...

Well folks, it looks like the U.S. Census Bureau is finally getting high-tech for their 2010 census. With $600 million poured into the Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) project, half a million (500,000) field enumerators will be getting hooked up with a HTC Census smartphone. Armed with an EVDO data-only Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC, and integrated GPS, the enumerator's job of collecting absentee census information will get nice and streamlined. As a high-tech plus, the built-in GPS unit also keeps the enumerator honest.Back in 2000, I was actually a census enumerator. My job consisted of driving to households to...

The powerful "Cell" microprocessor that fuels Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 video game console will be available in IBM mainframe computers so those high-performance machines can run complex online games and virtual worlds. Jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba Corp., Cell is touted as a "supercomputer on a chip" because of its design, which includes one central processing unit helped by eight additional processors working on specific tasks. Because of that unusual architecture, Cell's use outside of PlayStations has been limited to specialized hardware for graphics-intensive functions such as military or medical applications.

<p>And all those big cops, scores of them, hundreds, with the latest, heaviest, most sophisticated gear, all the weapons and helmets and safety vests and belts. It looked like the brute force of the state coming up against uncontrollable human will.</p>

...In modern America, there's always plenty of trauma to go around. Even if you knew no one involved in the shootings, have never been to Virginia and can't tell the difference between a Hokie and a Wahoo, there's no need for you to feel left out. Did you feel sad when you heard the news? Did you ponder, however fleetingly, the mystery of mortality? If so, don't just go on with your ordinary life as if nothing has happened to disrupt it (even though nothing has happened to disrupt it). Honor your grief! Attend a candlelight vigil, post a poignant...

The recent tragedy on the campus of Virginia Tech has once again put the spotlight on stricter gun control laws in the United States, but Americans need to be aware of the dangers that lurk within these proposed laws. Gun control laws are analogous to throwing money at a problem and hoping that it goes away. That, unfortunately, is what Congress does best. Our politicians cannot expect a further restriction on the America people's constitutional right to bear arms to provide any relief from violent crime. In fact, it may perpetuate it. While the Virginia Tech student who shot more...

THIS is the face of the girl who may have sparked the worst school shooting in US history. Eighteen-year-old Emily Jane Hilscher was one of the first two victims to be identified in the Virginia Tech massacre, along with 22-year-old Ryan Clark. The pair were neighbours in rooms 4040 and 4042 on the fourth floor of the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory where a gunman began the first of 33 campus shootings on Monday morning just after 7am, US time.

The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families. We will not have further comment until all the facts are known.

The deadly university rampage in Virginia that killed 33 people sent shock waves around the world Tuesday with newspapers and talk shows delving into the American psyche and raising questions about lax gun controls in the United States. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the shooting underscored the problems of a U.S. “gun culture,” but the gun control debate echoed loudest across Europe, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the world. Prime Minister Tony Blair offered his condolences to the victims’ families. “I would like to express on behalf of Britain and the British people our profound...

Today, April 16th, the day of the Virginia Tech massacre, is my birthday. Every year for the rest of my life, I am going to be reminded on my birthday that my attempt to alert the American people to the lethal dangers of victim disarmament did not succeed in preventing this act of criminal terrorism. My 1994 book, Stopping Power: Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns, makes the point -- through analysis of history, criminology, statistics, and dramatic examples -- that "Gun control increases violent crime by disarming helpless victims and shifting the balance of power to the illegally...

While many jobs in IT my be sent off shore, the basic office call will always be here. The is a record of one of the first IT calls made.

NOT CONTENT with hypergrowth in the business world, ubiquitous on-demand software pioneer Salesforce.com is moving into politics after providing the underlying CRM program for US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s ComMitt fundraising efforts. Political campaigns have traditionally been concocted using a ham-handed combination of chewing gum and string but the face of the Salesforce platform probably fits for anybody seeking a highly distributed and shareable programme that is accessible over the web. Having done the deed for Romney, Salesforce wants to productise its work in a programme called CampaignForce that will be distributed on the AppExchange trading site for Salesforce-compatible...

Is there a free and EASY way to save YouTube videos?

The Skynet system brings an increase in power and bandwidth The British military is set to take one of its most significant steps into the digital age with the launch of the first Skynet 5 satellite. The spacecraft will deliver secure, high-bandwidth communications for UK and "friendly" forces across the globe. It is part of a multi-billion-pound project that will allow the Army, Royal Navy and RAF to pass much more data, faster between command centres. The Skynet 5A platform lifts off from Kourou, French Guiana, on Saturday. It will fly atop an Ariane 5-ECA launcher that is scheduled...

Down To Business: Talent Shortage ? Employers Must Take Some Of The Rap Many tech pros are demoralized, thanks to knee-jerk offshore outsourcing and the post-bubble malaise. Employers must move beyond the "you should be happy you have a job" mentality. By Rob Preston InformationWeek March 3, 2007 12:00 AM (From the March 5, 2007 issue) Ask a dozen CIOs and tech vendor CEOs to identify their single most pressing challenge, and you'll likely get at least 10 different answers, right? Not exactly. In fact, they all come back to one overarching concern: finding, grooming, and retaining tomorrow's leaders. I...

Test your internet connection speed and post it here, for fun, bragging rights and to see if you are getting the speed you really pay for.

In Pictures: Robot menagerie An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea. The Robot Ethics Charter will cover standards for users and manufacturers and will be released later in 2007. It is being put together by a five member team of experts that includes futurists and a science fiction writer. The South Korean government has identified robotics as a key economic driver and is pumping millions of dollars into research. "The government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots as robots are expected to...

Levitation becomes possible using superconducting materials In 1987 Ronald Reagan declared that the US was about to enter an incredible new era of technology.Levitating high-speed trains, super-efficient energy generators and ultra-powerful supercomputers would become commonplace thanks to a new breed of materials known as high temperature superconductors (HTSC). "The breakthroughs in superconductivity bring us to the threshold of a new age," said Reagan. "It's our task to herald in that new age with a rush." But 20 years on, the new world does not seem to have arrived. So, what happened? Early promise Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911...

A 23-year-old man, who was paralysed from below the waist, is now able to walk after the first successful stem cell therapy in India for spinal cord injuries was conducted at a hospital here. According to Dr J.S. Rajkumar, chairman, Lifeline Hospitals, the young man, Akbar Ali, suffered serious injuries in his spinal cord when he fell from the fourth floor of a building last October. He was then working at a construction site in Abu Dhabi. Though he underwent a surgery to stabilise his spinal cord, it was not successful. After he returned to India a month later, he...