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Microsoft Looks At Other Search Engines
ZuperDee writes "It looks like Microsoft is now looking for another search engine to buy. They are looking at Ask Jeeves and Looksmart, but they recently dumped Looksmart, after deciding that its results don't stack up well. So would anyone be surprised if they bought Ask Jeeves? It can't hurt that according to Netcraft, they already run Microsoft IIS."
can't have g00gle nyah nyah!
OMFG have you seen the Halo 2 trailer it's like slow and it's telling you all the stuff you did in the first one then the music kicks in and and the chief comes out and gets a gun the earf is on fire and chief is like fuck this im jumping and HE JUMPS PUT OF TEH SPACESHIP with angels singing and he lands on the bad guys and that annoying ai lady is like GO GET EM TIGER! WILDCAT IS ON TEH SPOKE!!!~`1 and theres less polys but rawkin bumb mappings you can view this on a special MICROSOFT xbox disk that comes with EB games store.
'Matrix': The final chapter
'Revolutions' finishes off the saga
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Finally, after a six-month intermission and $735 million in global ticket sales, fans of the "Matrix" movies get what they have been waiting for: The End.
When "The Matrix Reloaded" unspooled in theaters in May, Joel Silver, one of Hollywood's top producers and a master of media spin, was careful to tell reporters the movie was only one-half of the total sequel to 1999's smash hit "The Matrix."
The second half, Silver said, comes later, as in Wednesday, when "The Matrix Revolutions" debuts simultaneously in 107 markets worldwide, including China and India, with about 10,000 film prints being distributed in the largest global film release ever.
But if "Matrix" fans think Hollywood will come up with another two-part, effects-filled thriller costing $300 million, about humans being nearly annihilated by machines before a savior named Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, escapes his software simulated world to lead an uprising, they should think again.
"This is the end of the story," Silver told Reuters in a recent interview. "The story of this 'Matrix' saga is over."
Fans can take some solace in the fact that "Revolutions" is a big movie: faster-paced, more action-packed and with greater battles and grander special effects than they have seen.
"Revolutions" is a little lighter on all the "Matrix" philosophy, although to give one little hint at what's to come, the yin and yang of life do merge in the software simulated world of the matrix just as they do here on Earth.
In "Reloaded," Neo grappled internally with being the savior of the human race. In "Revolutions," he kicks a lot more machine butt, as do Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) in a final battle to save the last human city of Zion.
As real world computer users saw with this summer's Sobig.F virus, "Matrix" bug Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) can exist in many variants -- so many, in fact, he is unstoppable.
"Revolutions" picks up exactly where "Reloaded" left off. The machines are tunneling toward Zion in a final effort to destroy the human race and claim Earth as their own.
Two human ships with the central characters aboard have been dispatched in a last-ditch effort to shatter the machine-created matrix and, thus, thwart their adversaries.
But before they can, in "Revolutions" Neo becomes lost in a purgatory (which looks a lot like a Manhattan subway station) between the real world and the software-created matrix.
Meanwhile, the machines have reached the outer regions of Zion, where the humans put up a defiant, yet ultimately unwinnable battle. As the real world saying goes, however, the battle may be lost, but the war's not over.
Neo, along with Trinity, voyage to the heart of the Machine City, where the final -- yes, final -- truth is revealed. But is that enough to save Zion? Not if Agent Smith has his way.
"I've always felt that "Revolutions" would be a much more satisfying and entertaining experience," Silver said, because it is the final chapter. He likened it to the third act of a three-act play, where all is resolved.
There will be no more "Matrix" movies, he swears, yet the characters -- some of them -- will carry on with their search for truth and meaning to live in an Internet game, in video games, in a book of "Matrix" comics and in DVDs, he added.
"Everything that has a beginning, has an end," goes the "Revolutions" ad campaign slogan, which only prompts the notion that every end is also a beginning. That is the way of life -- the yin and yang. It is that way in Hollywood, and it is that way with "The Matrix" movies.
for me in soviet russia we goate.cx the beowulf cluster gNNA lovers!
And it told me my search did not match with any Web results.
Oh geez... such rumours are befitting of pump and dump schemes. Be careful!!!!!
__
All shook up in Linux land
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
update The balance of Linux power shifted Tuesday, with Novell announcing an IBM-assisted plan to acquire SuSE Linux.
Longtime Microsoft foe Novell has signed an agreement to acquire SuSE Linux for $210 million in cash, while IBM, the most powerful backer of the Linux OS, will make a $50 million investment in Novell.
The moves, announced Tuesday, could boost the fortunes of SuSE, the No. 2 seller of Linux, increase the competitive pressure on No. 1 Red Hat, and provide a new direction for Novell's rivalry with Microsoft.
The three-way action also highlights where much of the power in the Linux realm resides. "IBM was a very important broker in the deal. It's prepared to be the kingmaker to counterbalance SuSE against Red Hat," said RedMonk analyst James Governor.
The SuSE deal is the second Linux acquisition for the Provo, Utah-based company, which bought desktop Linux software specialist Ximian in August. Though Ximian gave Novell a grip on software that's designed for using Linux on desktop computers, SuSE is strongest with the open-source software on servers, the networked machines that handle chores such as hosting Web sites and routing e-mail.
"Novell has a pretty dismal record in expanding beyond their original roots, but with Ximian and now this, they're certainly positioned to become a major competitor to Red Hat," said Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff.
Although Novell has had trouble with major changes such as these, Haff added, "the fact that IBM does have involvement here and obviously cares deeply what comes of SuSE could help steer Novell in the right direction."
Investors welcomed Novell's move. In midday trading, its shares were up 37 percent to $8.31, and SCO shares were up 14 percent to $18.30. Red Hat's stock, meanwhile, was down 9 percent to $14.
Although the acquisition boosts software that competes directly with Microsoft, Novell and SuSE executives insisted their target is Red Hat. "Together we are an effective competitor to the current No. 1 company in Linux," Novell Chief Executive Jack Messman said in a conference call Tuesday.
SuSE will contribute $35 million to $40 million annually to Novell's revenue and 399 employees to its business, Messman said. The acquisition is expected to leave profits unchanged in fiscal 2004 and then boost them afterward, he said.
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of Novell's first fiscal quarter in January, at which point the IBM investment will become effective, Novell said. IBM plans to buy $50 million of Novell preferred stock.
Big Blue made the investment to help "assure IBM's customers that there will be strong, continued support for SuSE Linux" across its server line and server software products," said spokesman Mike Darcy. Pricing terms of the IBM investment haven't been settled, but Big Blue's stake is expected to be "in the 2 percent range," Messman said.
In addition, IBM and Novell are negotiating an extension to SuSE's agreement to support all four of IBM's server lines and are planning joint marketing and support relationship, the companies said.
New possibilities
In one fell swoop, the moves dramatically alter the Linux landscape:
It joins SuSE's partnerships and considerable influence in the Linux market with Novell's sales network, customer base and cash. On July 31, Novell had $739 million in cash and marketable securities.
It gives Novell a second chance to take on Microsoft, applying the lessons it learned a decade ago when its NetWare operating system for servers lost out to Windows--and this time, Novell will also be able to sell an operating system for desktop computers. Microsoft already has Linux in its crosshairs.
It could reshape the dispute between Unix owner SCO Group and its two legal adversaries, IBM and leading Linux seller Red Hat. Novell--a company that has retained significant rights from its fo
But then Netscape started to suck. I used to use Netscape in spite of the pretty IE icon sitting right there, but then I saw that IE was faster and rendered pages better. Now that IE's behind the times, I've switched to Firebird and I'm getting all my friends to as well.
Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
IBM marries Opteron and Xeon in cluster
By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Posted: 04/11/2003 at 18:50 GMT
IBM is taking its Opteron-based server to the next level by adding the kit as an option for the pre-packaged Cluster 1350 system.
IBM's x325 system will now sit alongside the Xeon-based x335, x345 and x360 servers. These systems can be combined to form up to a 512-processor cluster. The system uses either gigabit Ethernet or the Myrinet-2000 interconnect and is similar to pre-configured clusters offered by the likes of HP and Dell.
IBM is also touting improvements for the x345 and x360 systems used in the cluster. The x345 is shipping with the latest Xeon processors and a faster front side bus than previous servers. In addition, the x360 comes with new chips and can fit up to a 4-way system in a 3U slot.
IBM is supporting SuSE Enterprise Server 8 (64bit), SuSE Enterprise Server 8 (32-bit), Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 and Red Hat 9 (32-bit only) for the clusters. Testing is underway on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 (64-bit). The OS is expected to be available on the cluster by January of next year.
IBM also offers the Cluster 1600 product that is centered around its Unix/RISC server line.
An IBM insider has indicated that the company was looking into adding 2-processor Opteron blades as another option in its product line. Big Blue, however, has run into hurdles getting this form factor to work. The x325 system is already chock full of components, making squeezing that system into a blade shape tough. (R)
DEA agent shot, suspect found dead
... he shot himself," Johnson said.
By Maria Panaritis
Inquirer Staff Writer
An agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency was shot in the face during an undercover operation that went awry today in front of the Dave and Busters restaurant on Delaware Avenue in Center City.
The agent's assailant died of what Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The assailant's body was found under a pier a short distance from the restaurant in the city's popular Delaware Avenue club district.
The shooting occurred at about 2:40 in the afternoon, with word of an officer down prompting dozens of police cars, marked and unmarked, to the scene.
According to witnesses, the man being pursued by federal agents jumped over a railing and down to a pier area where there are boats docked.
"They had him trapped under (the pier) and it appears
The DEA agent, William Hocker, 51, was reported in stable condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with shoulder and face wounds, said Norma Jean Murphy, a DEA spokeswoman.
One witness said the DEA agent walked away from the scene with a bloody shirt.
Hocker was a group supervisor in a drug investigation under way in the area, Murphy said.
"They were going to buy some drugs from him," Johnson said. "The person pulled a gun out and shot the DEA agent."
Johnson declined to offer any more information about the dead man.
"Something went wrong," Johnson said, referring to the undercover drug buy.
Firebird is nice, but its not really production quality. After looking at an XSL page for a while it can sometimes start to lag uncontrollably. Also takes way too much cpu cycles when sitting idle. And then there is that time it ate all of my bookmarks..
Speed still doesnt compare to opera or even ie, but you can't really compare either of those to moz until they go opensource. The only real competition in the opensource browser market is khtml, but its rendering sucks.
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
Oink oink!
http://cryptome.org/fbi-cryptome.htm
No `gut feelings` reported, curiously.
They should get organized and deal with their common problem. Then shit like this wouldn't happen.
windowsupdate.microsoft.com runs on linux: click
Four wounded in Baghdad blasts U.S. soldier killed in roadside explosion BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Four Coalition Provisional Authority personnel were wounded Tuesday night when three large explosions shook central Baghdad, the Pentagon said. Projectiles landed in the heavily secure "Green Zone" that includes a former palace of ousted leader Saddam Hussein, where the U.S. occupation headquarters are located. The projectiles didn't land on palace grounds, officials said. One of the wounded was treated at the site of the blast, and three were taken to the 28th Combat Support Hospital, the officials said. The Pentagon didn't say whether the casualties were military or civilian. Explosions were heard at the Palestine and Al-Rashid hotels, where many journalists stay. The latter was targeted in an October 26 rocket attack that killed a U.S. Army officer. On Monday night, three rockets or mortar rounds hit in the same area, a coalition spokesman said. No damage or injuries were reported. One round hit a camp of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and two others struck areas near central Baghdad, according to a Coalition Provisional Authority statement. Officials are trying to determine whether rockets or mortar fire caused the explosions. Hotels come under fire In the second deadly attack in as many days, a soldier with the Army's 1st Armored Division was killed Tuesday and two were wounded when their military vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, a coalition official said. A 4th Infantry Division soldier also died Monday when his vehicle hit a mine in Tikrit, Saddam's ancestral homeland, a U.S. military spokesman said. With the latest deaths, 382 U.S. troops have died during the war in Iraq, including 257 under hostile circumstances. There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP reported that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher. In northern Iraq, the Mosul Hotel, which houses some U.S. troops, was hit in a rocket-propelled-grenade attack Tuesday, but there were no casualties, a U.S. military spokesman said. Initial reports indicate that four grenades were fired at the hotel as well as small-arms fire. In violence Monday night, a car bomb exploded in front of the Al-Barate Hotel in Karbala, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad, a U.S. military spokesman said. A coalition official said Tuesday that the explosion killed one Iraqi and wounded five others. Witnesses said the bomb blew up near a generator at the hotel, wounding more than 10 people. The hotel is behind the Mukhaya mosque, used by members of Mahdi's Army -- a militia formed by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr has opposed the U.S. occupation. The mosque suffered some damage, but most of it was concentrated at the hotel, which is vacant. Iraqi police are investigating, and coalition troops are providing security around the blast site. Families react to crash Brig. Gen. Richard P. Formica, left, commander of III Corps Artillery, and Maj. Gen. Michael D. Maples, commanding general at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, gather during a news conference on the downed Chinook. The renewed violence follows Sunday's crash of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that killed 15 soldiers and injured 27 others near Fallujah, a town west of Baghdad that has been a hotbed of U.S. resistance. Initial reports indicated that 16 had died in the crash. Witnesses reported seeing missile trails when the twin-engine transport helicopter went down, a U.S. military spokesman said, but the official cause is under investigation. A second helicopter was flying with the Chinook but was not hit. The deaths of another U.S. soldier in a Baghdad bombing and two civilian contractors in an attack near Fallujah made Sunday the deadliest day for Americans in Iraq since President Bush declared an
Out for Blood
Can Leeches End Your Knee Pain?
By Brian Reid
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, November 4, 2003; Page HE01
Could voracious bloodsucking creatures, looking for a new post-Halloween role, find it in medicine? In a paper published today, a group of researchers suggests that letting four to six leeches suck away for an hour or so can dull the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee for weeks.
The work, done by a group of German doctors and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, compared 24 patients who received one round of leech therapy -- just over an hour of sucking by four to six of the worms -- to 27 patients who received a single dose of a painkilling gel. A week after the treatments, the bloodletting group reported feeling significantly better than their undrained peers. Three months later, this difference was not statistically significant, though patients in both groups reported feeling better than before they started.
"Currently, no pharmacologic agent has similar lasting effects after a single, local administration," wrote the authors, from the academic teaching hospital of the University of Duisburg-Essen. While acknowledging that the mechanism by which leech feeding might relieve pain was unknown, they speculated that leech saliva may contain pain-fighting chemicals.
The idea that leeches could be used for pain control is not new -- medieval literature makes reference to the power of leeches to "salve . . . hurts." In modern medicine, though, it seems more incongruous for patients to offer themselves as supper to three-jawed parasites most often found at the muddy edges of freshwater lakes. Just a few inches long, the animals feed solely on the blood of mammals, sucking in several times their own body weight and living off the meal for months.
But medicine embraces many seemingly strange things, and some doctors whose patients come into regular contact with the creatures say there does seem to be a numbing effect to leech bites.
"I talk to a lot of fishermen," said Nadine Connor, the director of the division of otolaryngology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "If you talk to people who have had leeches on them when they were fishing, they'd say, 'I didn't even feel it.' There is, theoretically, an analgesic anesthetic, but that has not been isolated."
Still, experts warned that the nation's 20 million-plus people with osteoarthritis -- a degenerative joint disease with less than ideal treatment options -- shouldn't plan on making a run on leech vendors anytime soon. The study was small, and because leech treatment is so, well, distinctive, it is impossible to make the study a blind one. Every patient who received leech therapy knew it, unlike in most medication trials, where patients are left to wonder whether they received the active product or a placebo.
Further complicating things, the researchers found that patients who agreed to the leech therapy were more likely to anticipate success than those who received the gel.
"If you had osteoarthritis of the knee that was painful and someone gave you the opportunity to have leech therapy, you'd have to be willing to put leeches on your knee and you'd have to have some expectation of benefit," said Marc Hochberg, the head of the division of rheumatology and clinical immunology at the University of Maryland, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.
Not only does the study design render the results less than compelling, wrote Hochberg; the lack of understanding of why leeches should work well in pain control also suggests the findings be viewed with caution. No one has yet isolated an ingredient of leech saliva that might be responsible for a painkilling effect.