Facebook flips the switch on its North Carolina data center, cooled with balmy mountain air

Facebook flips the swtich on its North Carolina data center, cooled with balmy mountain air

Since breaking ground in Western North Carolina some 16 months ago, Facebook has been running at full speed to get its newest data center online. This week, Zuckerberg & Co. flipped the switch. The new facility, located in Forest City, touts the "first major deployment" of the outfit's Open Compute Project web servers and will be the first "live test" of the OPC's outdoor air-cooling design. It tends to get pretty warm around those parts and humidity levels are a bit outside of ideal data center conditions. The Carolina facility will mirror the projected power utilization effectiveness (PUE) of FB's Oregon data center at just a smidge above 1 - somewhere between 1.06 and 1.08 to be exact. In other words, this means the ratio of power used by the structure and the actual power sent to the hardware is almost perfect with minimal energy loss. No matter, it'll still be using plenty of power. A second identical building is slated to open on the site later this year, but for now, hit the source link for a bit more info on the initial launch.

Continue reading Facebook flips the switch on its North Carolina data center, cooled with balmy mountain air

Facebook flips the switch on its North Carolina data center, cooled with balmy mountain air originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired  |  sourceFacebook  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/21/facebook-flips-the-swtich-on-its-north-carolina-data-center/

INVENTEC QUEST SOFTWARE JDA SOFTWARE GROUP OPENWAVE SYSTEMS EASTMAN KODAK CO VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES ORACLE

Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game

balance
Years of computer use have taught us that the mouse cursor is "above" the windows. It doesn't push anything around; at least not without you clicking anything.

Balance takes that ingrained bit of knowledge and cancels it out. Suddenly your cursor (a blue dot) is solid - and if it touches the blue block, it pushes it around.

Your job is to use your cursor to nudge the blue block over to the orange block. You will have to push it, lift it and even flip it on its side, and then balance it. It's a very tricky game - one I wouldn't recommend tackling with a laptop trackpad.

Still, if you have a mouse and a hankering for a little physics gameplay, this is a cute little game. I like how the blue block never stops smiling, it makes me feel better about the world.

Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/10/balance-is-a-challenging-mouse-based-physics-game/

PRICELINECOM ASUSTEK COMPUTER CISCO SYSTEMS FINISAR NVIDIA SHAW COMMUNICATIONS ON SEMICONDUCTOR

New software uses facial recognition to defend against prying eyes

Having the right programs and hardware to keep the information on your display safe from prying eyes is never a bad idea, and new software from Oculis Labs offers a very interesting take on how to do just that. It's called PrivateEye, and it utilizes facial recognition to automatically pixelate the contents of your display when you look away.

If you step away from your system and someone else decides to sit down and poke around, PrivateEye will present a confusing jumble of garbled text. It'll even notify you if someone tries to peek over your shoulder -- and display a picture of your peeping Tom, throw up an alert, or sound an alarm.

Check out the video embed after the break, and share your thoughts in the comments!

Continue reading New software uses facial recognition to defend against prying eyes

New software uses facial recognition to defend against prying eyes originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/new-software-uses-facial-recognition-to-defend-against-prying-ey/

RADISYS FAIR ISAAC AUTODESK SRA INTERNATIONAL IRON MOUNTAIN INORATED SANDISK EMC

Elephant Quest is an addictive, deep platformer

elephantquest
When someone tells me about a "platformer", my first thought is that it's probably a simple game that mainly revolves around running and jumping around, with a minimal plot. [Play a Zelda game! -Ed]

Elephant Quest is one platformer that managed to prove me completely wrong. Yes, you do run and jump around, and you also shoot at stuff. But the game has much, much more going for it.

Basically, as you run, jump and shoot, you gain experience points and level up. Hitting Space brings you into an interface where you can convert your experience points into Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Dexterity points. Once you've "specialized" your points, you then get to pick what exact skills you'd like to enhance in each field. For example, you could use your dexterity to enhance your weapons or increase your swiftness.

The game is played in a huge maze; you go through rooms using doors, and there's a large map. As the name implies, there are quests you can take, too. For example, one quest had me searching all over the place for ten balloons.

The bottom line is that this is a surprisingly deep game that just might ensnare you for a good bit longer than you intended to play. Beware!

Elephant Quest is an addictive, deep platformer originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/elephant-quest-is-an-addictive-deep-platformer/

MAXIMUS EMS TECHNOLOGIES AVNET TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS HCL TECHNOLOGIES SPSS TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES

Behold the Crazy Monster Machine That Can Mow and Clean Everything [Video]

Watch this monster mowing and cleaning machine in action. I want to drive it and go wild with it. Clean every filthy thing in sight in New York, from traffic signals, building and parks to hipsters, hipsters and hipsters. Everything. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LeXVwGOUXmg/behold-the-crazy-monster-machine-that-can-mow-and-clean-everything

AMERICA MOVIL ROCKWELL AUTOMATION YAHOO SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS ORACLE ADOBE SYSTEMS RACKABLE SYSTEMS

Cueboy Quest is an adorable 8-bit style physics game

cueboyquest
Yes, that's right, I said adorable. Because Cueboy Quest really is!

You play an 8-bit cowboy whose goal on each level is to get to the door (and thus to the next level), but the door is often locked. To get it to open, you must shoot at one or more targets, and those targets aren't always in your line of sight. For example, on one level the the target is a balloon which is stuck all the way at the other end of the screen. You must first nudge it free, and then watch it float up and try to shoot it before it floats clear off the screen. Your bullets are chunky pixels that have some weight - the have arcing trajectories, so you don't always hit exactly where you aim.

There's another level where you must jump on the balloon as it floats up, use it as a platform to get to the other end of the screen, and then turn to shoot it very quickly before it flies away. Each level is very short, and most of them are quite easy. And not only are the graphics 8-bit blocky, but they're large too. Simply beautiful!

Cueboy Quest is an adorable 8-bit style physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/22/cueboy-quest-is-an-adorable-8-bit-style-physics-game/

INFOCUS KEY TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS VIRGIN MEDIA LAWSON SOFTWARE MCAFEE MICROSEMI

Sifteo and Surface team up for magical marriage of meaninglessness

Sifteo and Surface

Sifteo and Surface are definitely two of the cooler, but more useless gadgets we've had the pleasure of handling over the years. So, what happens when you get these questionably useful toys (both literally and figuratively) together? Well, a whole lot of nothing particularly important. By combining the proximity sensors on the Cubes with the object recognition of the SUR40 the devs were able to whip up a simple game that has you recreating patterns of colored cubes. Sound a little dull? We won't lie, it's not the most thrilling thing on Earth, but there's a video of it none-the-less awaiting you after the break.

Continue reading Sifteo and Surface team up for magical marriage of meaninglessness

Sifteo and Surface team up for magical marriage of meaninglessness originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcerseltrecht (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4fTdkBrGmLY/

GOOGLE NOVELLUS SYSTEMS SYNNEX QIMONDA LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS INFOCUS KEY

Microsoft applies for low-powered interactive second display system patent

Microsoft applies for low-powered interactive second display system

Oh patent applications... where creative ideas dance shoulder to shoulder with ill-conceived folly. Which do we have here today? We're not sure. What we are sure of, however, is that someone at Microsoft has applied for a patent that describes a device with two screens. Not that old chestnut, but the second screen being of lower-power, like e-ink, and displaying different information based on the state of the first one (i.e. is it against your face or not.) The not-to-be-trusted images illustrate the second screen covering the back of a device and displaying a clock, or other such user specified info. The app does state that it would continue to display info, even if the device was in a sleep mode, and describes a non-flat contour. If you were to read into it, it might sound like rear e-ink phone housing, but if this ever comes to pass, it'll likely be with a little bit of dressing down, so don't get too excited.

Microsoft applies for low-powered interactive second display system patent originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Patent Bolt  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/YVkOaXeuIAY/

AMPHENOL QUALCOMM FEI COMPANY THQ BHARTI AIRTEL FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL IDT

How to Unlock the iPhone 4S Right Now [IPhone]

Hacker Loktar_Sun has discovered how to easily unlock your iPhone 4S—and any other iPhone. The unlock will free you from your carrier's tyranny, which is great news, especially while traveling or switching companies. We have tested it and it works. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/UVRHKboTPY4/how-to-unlock-the-iphone-4s-right-now

ECLIPSYS APPLE COMPUTER GRUPO IUSACELL ALLTEL KLATENCOR COMPAL ELECTRONICS VEECO INSTRUMENTS

Incase USB Mini Cable Kit Review

When you think of pocket gear, you probably think of multitools or even small flashlights that you can add to your keyring.  You probably don’t think of USB cables, but the USB Cable Kit from Incase is small enough to qualify as pocket gear.  I recently purchased this cable set to keep in my purse, [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/04/21/incase-usb-mini-cable-kit-review/

CANON TIBCO SOFTWARE PLANAR SYSTEMS SES BT GROUP MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR