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Ubuntu 13.04 boosts graphics performance to prepare for phones, tablets

Ubuntu 13.04. The stable release of Ubuntu 13.04 became available for download today, with Canonical promising performance and graphical improvements to help prepare the operating system for convergence across PCs, phones, and tablets. “Performance on lightweight systems was a core focus for this cycle, as a prelude to Ubuntu’s release on a range of mobile form factors,” Canonical said in an announcement today. “As a result 13.04 delivers significantly faster response times in casual use, and a reduced memory footprint that benefits all users.” Named “Raring Ringtail,”—the prelude to Saucy Salamander —Ubuntu 13.04 is the midway point in the OS’ two-year development cycle. Ubuntu 12.04, the more stable, Long Term Support edition that is supported for five years, was released one year ago. Security updates are only promised for 9 months for interim releases like 13.04. Support windows for interim releases were recently cut from 18 months to 9 months to reduce the number of versions Ubuntu developers must support and let them focus on bigger and better things. Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Ubuntu 13.04 boosts graphics performance to prepare for phones, tablets

Yahoo snags exclusive rights to Saturday Night Live’s archives (update: clips only) starting September 1st

Yahoo may have failed in its bid to acquire Hulu last year, but CEO Marissa Mayer announced it’s snagged rights to show something the streaming site has been known for: Saturday Night Live . The deal with Broadway Video will give Yahoo exclusive online access to archived SNL content from 1975 through 2013 including show clips, “select” musical performances, behind the scenes and dress rehearsal clips. Yahoo will also have non-exclusive access to show current season Saturday Night Live clips in the US and a license to distribute library show clips internationally. Beginning September 1st, those archived clips will be pulled from other internet video platforms (presumably Hulu and Netflix — update, see below) for one year. The press release (included after the break) indicates Broadway and Yahoo will celebrate the partnership at Yahoo!’s Digital Content NewFront event on the 29th. We’ll see if there’s more to learn about Yahoo’s ever-evolving media strategy then. Update : The devil is in the details, and it appears that while Yahoo does have exclusive access to the SNL “clips” archive, that is not the same as full episodes. While that may seem arbitrary to the layman, what it means in effect is that later this year you’ll still be able to stream full episodes of SNL on other online services — just not clips. Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments Source: Yahoo! Yodel , Marissa Mayer (Twitter)

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Yahoo snags exclusive rights to Saturday Night Live’s archives (update: clips only) starting September 1st

Yahoo snags exclusive rights to Saturday Night Live’s archives starting September 1st (update: clips only)

Yahoo may have failed in its bid to acquire Hulu last year, but CEO Marissa Mayer announced it’s snagged rights to show something the streaming site has been known for: Saturday Night Live . The deal with Broadway Video will give Yahoo exclusive online access to archived SNL content from 1975 through 2013 including show clips, “select” musical performances, behind the scenes and dress rehearsal clips. Yahoo will also have non-exclusive access to show current season Saturday Night Live clips in the US and a license to distribute library show clips internationally. Beginning September 1st, those archived clips will be pulled from other internet video platforms (presumably Hulu and Netflix — update, see below) for one year. The press release (included after the break) indicates Broadway and Yahoo will celebrate the partnership at Yahoo!’s Digital Content NewFront event on the 29th. We’ll see if there’s more to learn about Yahoo’s ever-evolving media strategy then. Update : The devil is in the details, and it appears that while Yahoo does have exclusive access to the SNL “clips” archive, that is not the same as full episodes. While that may seem arbitrary to the layman, what it means in effect is that later this year you’ll still be able to stream full episodes of SNL on other online services — just not clips. Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments Source: Yahoo! Yodel , Marissa Mayer (Twitter)

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Yahoo snags exclusive rights to Saturday Night Live’s archives starting September 1st (update: clips only)

Ubuntu 13.04 available Thursday, brings a streamlined footprint to the forefront

From an end user’s perspective, it’s always nice to see developers take a step back and focus on streamlining their code, rather than simply piling on new features. Apple used the strategy to great success with Snow Leopard , and now Canonical is set to follow suit with Raring Ringtail, also known as Ubuntu 13.04. The latest version of the popular Linux distro is set for general availability tomorrow, which follows a beta release and a controversial amount of secrecy . Raring Ringtail is characterized as “the fastest and most visually polished Ubuntu experience to date,” with a particular emphasis on a smaller memory footprint and greater responsiveness. Much of the streamlining effort was in preparation for Ubuntu’s future life in mobile , and to coincide with that effort, developers will find a preview SDK for app development and the ability to test apps within the MIR display server . The release is now a mere hours away, and yes, it’ll be a good day. [Image credit: WebUpd8 ] Filed under: Software Comments Source: Ubuntu

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Ubuntu 13.04 available Thursday, brings a streamlined footprint to the forefront

Ubuntu 13.04 available Thursday, brings a streamlined footprint to the forefront (update)

From an end user’s perspective, it’s always nice to see developers take a step back and focus on streamlining their code, rather than simply piling on new features. Apple used the strategy to great success with Snow Leopard , and now Canonical is set to follow suit with Raring Ringtail, also known as Ubuntu 13.04. The latest version of the popular Linux distro is set for general availability tomorrow, which follows a beta release and a controversial amount of secrecy . Raring Ringtail is characterized as “the fastest and most visually polished Ubuntu experience to date,” with a particular emphasis on a smaller memory footprint and greater responsiveness. Much of the streamlining effort was in preparation for Ubuntu’s future life in mobile , and to coincide with that effort, developers will find a preview SDK for app development and the ability to test apps within the MIR display server . The release is now a mere hours away, and yes, it’ll be a good day. [Image credit: WebUpd8 ] Update: Aaaaaand, it’s live! Filed under: Software Comments Source: Ubuntu

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Ubuntu 13.04 available Thursday, brings a streamlined footprint to the forefront (update)

FBI denied permission to spy on hacker through his webcam

Sorry FBI, you can’t randomly hijack someone’s webcam. Stefano Maffei A federal magistrate judge has denied (PDF) a request from the FBI to install sophisticated surveillance software to track someone suspected of attempting to conduct a “sizeable wire transfer from [John Doe’s] local bank [in Texas] to a foreign bank account.” Back in March 2013, the FBI asked the judge to grant a month-long “ Rule 41 search and seizure warrant ” of a suspect’s computer “at premises unknown” as a way to find out more about this possible violations of “federal bank fraud, identity theft and computer security laws.” In an unusually-public order published this week , Judge Stephen Smith slapped down the FBI on the grounds that the warrant request was overbroad and too invasive. In it, he gives a unique insight as to the government’s capabilities for sophisticated digital surveillance on potential targets. According to the judge’s description of the spyware, it sounds very similar to the RAT software that many miscreants use to spy on other Internet users without their knowledge. (Ars editor Nate Anderson detailed the practice last month.) Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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FBI denied permission to spy on hacker through his webcam

TechShop: an industrial revolution for $125 a month

Someone, Mark Hatch, if I had to guess, has left a Square reader just to the left of where we’ve set up our cameras. It’s on a table next to a small, but exceptionally diverse array of gadgets. There’s a wooden book that unfolds into a desk lamp and a polymer incubation blanket for infants that’s “on track to save 100,000 children’s lives,” according to Hatch, TechShop’s spikey-white-haired CEO. But it’s the little white plastic dongle that’s the star of this show, through the power of sheer ubiquity, popping up in coffee shops and taxicabs everywhere. Square’s modest undertaking has since ballooned to a roughly 300-person operation. The project was born in this very space, eventually moving to a building in San Francisco’s SoMa district a block or so away, the mobile payment company having opted not to travel too far from the place where it was first conceived. When it comes to proximity, Square is by no means an anomaly — if anything, the company’s strayed a bit away from the pack. TechShop’s overseers have, quite cannily, begun to offer up a portion of the warehouse’s 17,000 square feet as office space, giving its members a shot at some prime San Francisco real estate, a flight of stairs up from an impressive array of machine tools — laser cutters, water jets and more 3D printers than most mortals have seen in one place. “Literally everything you need to make just about anything on the planet,” says Hatch, in typically definitive terms. And while there’s arguably still some sense of hyperbole in the notion of the “next industrial revolution” (as 3D-printing evangelist Bre Pettis loves to put it), it’s hard to stand here in the well-lit warehouse amongst the buzz of machinery and ideas and not appreciate the sentiment. Comments

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TechShop: an industrial revolution for $125 a month

Turn an iPad Retina Display Into a High Resolution PC Monitor

The iPad’s retina display offers one of the most pixel-dense screens you can buy, but unfortunately it’s attached to your iPad and can’t double as a high-resolution display for your PC. That is, unless you buy the part and convert it like Andrzej, an engineering student in Warsaw. Read more…        

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Turn an iPad Retina Display Into a High Resolution PC Monitor

Apple supercharges R&D with extra $500 million spent in last six months

Apple product sales are flattening out a bit compared to last year, save for iPads. Casey Johnston Apple boosted its research and development spending by 33 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year, according to a quarterly report filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. If the rate of spending continues, Apple could drop over $4 billion on R&D this fiscal year. During the quarter ending March 30, 2013, Apple spent $1.119 billion on R&D, compared to $841 million from a year ago. In the first six months of its fiscal year, Apple has spent $2.129 billion total on R&D, while it spent only $1.599 billion last year. Apple stated that the spending for the quarter was up 33 percent due to “an increase in headcount” and “expanded R&D activities.” The statement went on to say that the “focused investments” in R&D are “directly related to timely development of new and enhanced products that are central to the Company’s core business strategy. As such, the Company expects to make further investments in R&D to remain competitive.” Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Apple supercharges R&D with extra $500 million spent in last six months