VLC Gets Extensions, Resume Playback, and Comes Back to iOS

Windows/Mac/Linux/Android/iOS: VLC is hands-down one of the best media players around and today it gets a little better by adding an in-app extensions store, playback resuming, and more. More importantly, the iOS version of the app returns to the App Store. Read more…

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VLC Gets Extensions, Resume Playback, and Comes Back to iOS

Intel Updates NUC Mini PC Line With Broadwell-U, Tested and Benchmarked

MojoKid writes Intel recently released its latest generation of NUC small form factor systems, based on the company’s new low-power Broadwell-U series processors. The primary advantages of Intel’s 5th Generation Core Series Broadwell-U-based processors are better performance-per-watt, stronger integrated graphics, and a smaller footprint, all things that are perfectly suited to the company’s NUC (Next Unit of Computing) products. The Intel NUC5i5RYK packs a Core i5-5250U processor with on-die Intel HD 6000 series graphics. The system also sports built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, M.2 SSD support, and a host of other features, all in a 115mm x 111mm x 32.7mm enclosure. Performance-wise the new 5th Gen Core Series-powered NUC benchmarks like a midrange notebook and is actually up for a bit of light-duty gaming, though it’s probably more at home as a Home Theater PC, media streamer or kiosk desktop machine. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Intel Updates NUC Mini PC Line With Broadwell-U, Tested and Benchmarked

Microsoft Now Lets You Download Windows 7 ISOs with a Valid License

If you don’t have your Windows 7 disc handy—but want to create a custom installation , run Windows from a USB drive , or just do a fresh install —you’ll need an ISO file of the disc. You used to be able to download them from Digital River’s servers , but those links no longer work. Now, Microsoft has a Software Recovery Center where you can download those ISOs for free. Read more…

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Microsoft Now Lets You Download Windows 7 ISOs with a Valid License

Firefox 36 Arrives With Full HTTP/2 Support, New Design For Android Tablets

An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla today launched Firefox 36 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Additions to the browser include some security improvements, better HTML 5 support, and a new tablet user interface on Android. The biggest news for the browser is undoubtedly HTTP/2 support, the roadmap for which Mozilla outlined just last week. Mozilla plans to keep various draft levels of HTTP/2, already in Firefox, for a few versions. These will be removed “sometime in the near future.” The full changelog is here. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Firefox 36 Arrives With Full HTTP/2 Support, New Design For Android Tablets

Linux Kernel Switching To Linux v4.0, Coming With Many New Addons

An anonymous reader writes Following polling on Linus Torvald’s Google+ page, he’s decided to make the next kernel version Linux 4.0 rather than Linux 3.20. Linux 4.0 is going to bring many big improvements besides the version bump with there being live kernel patching, pNFS block server support, VirtIO 1.0, IBM z13 mainframe support, new ARM SoC support, and many new hardware drivers and general improvements. Linux 4.0 is codenamed “Hurr durr I’ma sheep.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Linux Kernel Switching To Linux v4.0, Coming With Many New Addons

Save yourself from your OEM’s bad decisions with a clean install of Windows 8.1

Crapware is a fact of life for Windows PC buyers. Most of the time, it’s relatively harmless: limited anti-virus subscriptions you don’t want, WildTangent games, and demoware you don’t need, and Microsoft Office demos you can’t use without spending more money. Sometimes, as we’ve seen with today’s “Superfish” news , it can be actively harmful, putting users’ security at risk. With some effort, this unwanted and unsafe software can usually be uninstalled. If you have an affected Lenovo PC, we’ve outlined the multi-step process for removing the software and the root certificate here . If you want to be sure that everything is completely removed (and if you’re willing to do the work), the more comprehensive solution is to completely reinstall Windows yourself. It’s not for everyone, but there are benefits to doing it this way—you get a totally clean PC that you’re in full control over. Read 38 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Save yourself from your OEM’s bad decisions with a clean install of Windows 8.1

Storing Data In Synthetic Fossils

Bismillah tips news of research from ETH Zurich which brings the possibility of extremely long-term data storage. The scientists encoded data in DNA, a young but established technique that has a major problem: accuracy. “[E]ven a short period of time presents a problem in terms of the margin of error, as mistakes occur in the writing and reading of the DNA. Over the longer term, DNA can change significantly as it reacts chemically with the environment, thus presenting an obstacle to long-term storage.” To get around this issue, they encapsulated the DNA within tiny silica spheres, a process roughly comparable to the fossilization of bones (abstract). The researchers say data can be preserved this way for over a million years. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Storing Data In Synthetic Fossils

OpenStreetMap.org Gets Routing

An anonymous reader writes “Good news for OpenStreetMap: the main website now has A-to-B routing (directions) built in to the homepage! The OSM website offers directions which are powered by third-parties using OSM data, providing car, bike, and foot routing. OpenStreetMap has a saying: ‘What gets rendered, gets mapped’ – meaning that often you don’t notice a bit of data that needs tweaking unless it actually shows up on the map image. It will make OpenStreetMap’s data better by creating a virtuous feedback loop.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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OpenStreetMap.org Gets Routing

VESA Embedded DisplayPort 1.4a Paves Way For 8K Displays, Longer Battery Life

MojoKid writes: The VESA standards organization has published the eDP v1.4a specification (Embedded DisplayPort) that has some important new features for device manufacturers as they bump up mobile device displays into the 4K category and start looking towards even higher resolutions. eDP v1.4a will be able to support 8K displays, thanks to a segmented panel architecture known as Multi-SST Operation (MSO). A display with this architecture is broken into two or four segments, each of which supports HBR3 link rates of 8.1 Gbps. The updated eDP spec also includes VESA’s Display Stream Compression (DSC) standard v1.1, which can improve battery life in mobile devices. In another effort to conserve battery power, VESA has tweaked its Panel Self Refresh (PSR) feature, which saves power by letting GPUs update portions of a display instead of the entire screen. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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VESA Embedded DisplayPort 1.4a Paves Way For 8K Displays, Longer Battery Life