The lack of Linux on the PS3 problem for American scientists

By blocking the installation of another OS than the default on the Playstation 3, Sony has angered some users, especially Linux users, but not limited to: the manufacturer has also posed a serious challenge to American air force.

Last year, the Research Laboratory of the Air Force, located in Rome in upstate New York had indeed made the acquisition of over 2,000 PS3 to perform complex calculations at lower cost: the researchers The Cell processor used by the console, which has a computing power of 230.4 gigaflops vector, actually offered a price-performance ratio excellent - an investment of over two million dollars for a power calculation to 500 Teraflops total.

Only problem: all the consoles used by the Air Force are configured Linux operating system now impossible to install on the console since the establishment of the Sony firmware. And if the problem does not arise for the Playstation 3 already installed, since they are not related to the Playstation Network and does not require updating, the situation is more delicate when it comes to replacing faulty machines.

Asked by Arstechnica, the Air Force Research Laboratory has not hidden his annoyance about this situation: "We must continue to use the systems we've already got," said one official of the laboratory, "but it will be very difficult to replace the models down. The problem is that when they come home from after-sales service Sony, they have the gameOS and firmware update that prevents the replacement of the operating system. We are aware of the collective action pending against Sony regarding this restriction, "he added.

The Laboratory of the Air Force is not the only research site using ps3 to be confronted with this problem: the University of Massachusetts uses in effect since 2007, 16 mounted Playstation 3 network and study gravitational waves black holes . "It is very likely that the raw computing power per dollar offered by the PS3 is significantly higher than any other machine offered on the market today" said a few months ago one of the researchers at UMass. But consoles running on Linux ...

These projects will continue to move until the machines remain in working condition, and that the second hand market will offer alternatives to the researchers. But if the situation could be a lesson to the U.S. Air Force on the use of equipment for the public to perform scientific calculations, for the U.S. Army laboratory, it is an economic need: "The market and gaming graphics is always at the forefront, and lowers the cost of high performance computing, the FLOPS / dollar WATTS. It is very important for high performance computing, our field of expertise. It is a rapidly evolving business and technology sponsored by the major consumer markets will always be advantageous in cost. This gives us the means to develop the HPC at low cost, with a limited budget, "commented the spokesman of the laboratory.

United States and Europe: Red Card to Facebook

Again, the institutions responsible for preservation of data are rolling their eyes at the social network Facebook. On one hand, the EU considers "unacceptable" changes in distribution of personal information. On the other hand, the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) American believes the site should apply to itself some of its principles.

The representatives of the authorities responsible for protecting data from 27 states of the European Union sent a protest letter to Facebook and said that users should "freely give their consent and without ambiguity" in the publication of their personal information. Also called the task force of section 29, the representatives met this week to identify some good practices.

The group has "addressed his criticisms to 20 social networking sites claiming the need for a default setting limiting data about users and sites they visit." At the same time, the non-governmental American EFF has also criticized the Facebook privacy policy.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation challenges the successive turns of the site on the component of personal data. While Facebook explained that "users are free to decide whom they want to share their information and thus regulate methods of dissemination, this time the position has changed.

Faced with criticism about the preservation of personal data, an official of the social network has dropped "If you're not familiar with sharing information, there is no reason for you to do." Translation, those who do not like Facebook are asked to leave. As the successive changes of conditions of use, the discourse has changed.

Google will respond directly to your questions (in English)

After unveiling a brand new interface last week, Google's engineers are still trying to improve their search engine. Indeed, Google technology Squared has been reworked and improved, particularly in regard to the extraction and manipulation of data. Initially, Google Squared was used to organize search results in tabular form.

In the work of this new implementation, technology transforms real Squared Google search engine semantics. In this sense, Google has to deal with competitors such as specialized Wolfram Alpha has recently signed an agreement with Microsoft and the team of Bing. At Yahoo!, The semantic web has translated into the integration of Yahoo! Answers.

Now it is possible to formulate a question in English to get ahead of the results page answer short and precise and the various sources of information. For now, only queries that type made in English return such results. One imagines that this device will be available in all languages.

Sharp announces a 3D sensor for mobile devices

Sharp continues its foray into the 3D world, unveiling the first 3D sensor intended for mobile devices that can take photos and videos in three dimensions in a resolution of 720p.

The module has two sensors to reconstruct the image in stereoscopic 3D and also has functions of synchronization of color, brightness, and latency, and operates a correct positioning of the image for rendering.

The mark does not give more details on this sensor, except that it will be for mobile phones, digital cameras or portable consoles - a reminder, Sharp should equip 3DS Nintendo with its screen Tactile 3D . Sharp also indicates that samples be sent to manufacturers in July, and begin production by end of 2010.