Information Technology... My Life

CANNES, France (AFP) - It's been a long time coming but television on the Internet appears finally to be taking off, opening up a new viewing experience for free and helping to fight online piracy. One of the newest services, Hulu, which was launched a month ago in the United States, is backed by media giant NBC Universal and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The online video-on-demand (VOD) service "will let you watch your favourite programmes anytime for free", Hulu's youthful CEO Jason Kilar told a conference at the giant MIPTV audiovisual entertainment industry trade show this week. Geared to appeal to a wide audience, Hulu, which is free but comes with short 15 to 30-second advertising spots that fund the service, offers high picture and sound quality, Kilar said. Another service that could prove a big hit is that users can select any video content and embed it on their blog or favourite Internet sites such as a MySpace page or Facebook, where it can be shared with

By David Faulkner Material blemish Of Peripherals and hard disk damages show cryptogram of file corruption before affecting the raw data. Upon knowing the sign of hard disk failure, it is important to make back-ups to avoid losing current and past data. Accidents and inescapable conditions can also cause tangential damages in a PC, which can lead to data loss. Overheating of the CPU can lead to chain reaction and shut of the computer. Constant crashing without proper shutting down procedure is one of the harshest of data destroyer. Usually the current file being worked on before the big crash happened is the one rendered useless afterwards. Virus Attack on computer intruders will not give computers any benefit. Virus is always created to destroy data. By installing an effective anti-virus, this problem can be avoided or can be resolved easier than not having one. Careless downloading of any freebies in the Internet is harmful. It is important to understand how ad wares can

CAIRO, Egypt - An abandoned anchor was responsible for cutting one of the undersea Internet cables severed last week, causing disruptions across the Middle East and parts of Asia , the cable's owner said Friday. A FLAG Telecom repair crew discovered the anchor near where the fiber-optic cable was severed Feb. 1 in the Persian Gulf, 35 miles north of Dubai , between the Emirates and Oman . Weighing more than 5.5 tons, the anchor has been pulled to the surface. The company did not immediately explain whether the anchor moved and snapped the cable or whether the cable itself was drifting when it was sliced. It remains unclear exactly how any of the cuts occurred. It also was unclear whether FLAG knew what vessel the anchor belonged to. Rough weather was reported nearby at the time of the cut, but conditions have improved since. Meanwhile, a second FLAG repair ship continued work on two undersea cables that we

Ten tips to keep your computer running smoothly: 1. Never, never, turn your computer off with the power switch until Windows has shut down. The one exception to this rule is when your computer locks up and your hard drive is not running (hard drive light is not blinking). In this situation, you can turn the power off without harmful effects to the hard drive. As cutting the power can also result in lost data or Windows files, you should only do this when you have to. Following this rule will prevent permanent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the drive disc, and it will prevent a host of Windows problems. Whenever possible, recover from crashes by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time. Press them again to reboot your computer. 2. I highly recommend that you purchase an UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer. This will keep your computer from crashing during power outages, and will protect your computer from low and

By Shane Goll Since the release of Windows Vista many people have been arguing over its positives and negatives, and whether to make the "upgrade" or stay on Windows XP. I've been reading a lot about the pros and cons of Vista lately, and when I first made the switch on my laptop I really did not realize how many flaws Vista has in it, now through some rather disappointing experiences I do. Vista without a doubt looks pretty with Microsoft's new sleek interface "Aero" running on it out of the box, but it comes with a price. It requires both 1GB RAM and a 128mb graphics card to be installed. This really isn't a concern to those who have recently bought a computer within the last year, possibly two, but for the rest of us this with 3+ year old computers we're better off buying a whole new system with Vista preloaded than upgrading our computer and then buying the upgrade. Windows Vista is truly a resource hog compared to XP which requires

First flight: This tiny robot weighs just 60 milligrams and has a wingspan of three centimeters. It’s the first robot to achieve liftoff that’s modeled on a fly and built on such a small scale. A life-size, robotic fly has taken flight at Harvard University. Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, the tiny robot's movements are modeled on those of a real fly. While much work remains to be done on the mechanical insect, the researchers say that such small flying machines could one day be used as spies, or for detecting harmful chemicals. "Nature makes the world's best fliers," says Robert Wood, leader of Harvard's robotic-fly project and a professor at the university's school of engineering and applied sciences. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding Wood's research in the hope that it will lead to stealth surveillance robots for the battlefield and urban environments. The robot's small size and fly-li