Ars Technica
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ICANN attendees: America, surrender the root zone file!
Back in October, the US Commerce Department changed its agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Out went the "Joint Project Agreement" and in came the "Affirmation of Commitments." That may not sound like much of change, but the new document removed even more …
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Inside "MinWin": the Windows 7 kernel slims down
As Windows 2000 was being developed in the second half of the 1990s, Microsoft was firmly focused on building in as much functionality as possible, in a play to push Novell Netware aside and establish Windows NT as the operating system for the business world. When NT was released to manufacturi …
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Paper outs "anonymous" commenter, job loss ensues
Internet commenters aren't generally known for their eloquence and impeccable manners. Still, people's tasteless little one-offs are relatively harmless most of the timeuntil the comment police happen across your note and contact your employer. That's what happened to one unlucky commenter posting t …
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Scientists create the first programmable quantum processor
Scientists have developed a number of quantum computing systems that use ions or electrons as bits of data; mathematical "operations" can be performed on them with beams of light or electrical pulses. Until recently, however, these systems could only perform the specific tasks they were designed to …
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Running Windows 7 under OS X: Ars reviews VMware Fusion 3
VMware Fusion 3 was released last week into the anxiously trembling hands of desktop virtualization junkies, and we've run the release through a gamut of heavy tests to see if it's able to meet the hype. At first glance, 3.0 doesn't look to be teeming with new features, but the changes that ar …
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Have we started to fill our carbon sinks?
Each year, human beings put vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through process like the combustion of fossil fuels or clearing land for agriculture. Thankfully, the majority of it doesn't stay there, as there are a number of significant carbon sinks that pull somewhere around 60 per …
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Inside "MinWin:" the Windows 7 kernel slims down
As Windows 2000 was being developed in the second half of the 1990s, Microsoft was firmly focused on building in as much functionality as possible, in a play to push Novell Netware aside and establish Windows NT as the operating system for the business world. When NT was released to manufacturi …
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Hollywood wants to own your outputs (and that's a good idea)
We like to encourage debate in hot topics in tech policy and law. This week, we're focusing on Selectable Output Control, which Hollywood and the cable industry are both pushing hard for at the FCC. We invited Kyle McSlarrow, head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (cable's t …
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Microsoft: Azure to go live in January, for pay in February
Microsoft plans to transition its Windows Azure cloud computing platform from preview to full production capacity on 1st January next year, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie announced at the annual PDC conference on Tuesday. The service, currently operating as a free Community Technology Preview (C …
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"Discount club" scams filch billions from online shoppers
Imagine that you visit Restaurants.com and purchase a gift card for a friend. During the checkout process, a screen asks if you want to save ten dollars on the purchase you just made, and it shows a single "Continue" button, as though this is just one more step in the process. On the next page, you …
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DSi downloads can be moved—with a little help from Nintendo
When the DSi was unveiled last year, one of of the biggest selling points for the unit was that it allowed gamers to shop for applications via an online store. This was great, as it allowed users to buy their games online, which meant they could bypass the middleman without any hassle. But this stre …
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Partial H1N1 immunity can come without exposure to virus
The arrival and rapid spread of the latest strain of H1N1 flu virus, termed S-OIV, raised fears of a dangerous global pandemic. But, as the virus has continued to spread around the globe, initial fears regarding its potential lethality have gradually subsided; it can be deadly, but apparently no mo …
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Broadcasters fighting back against wireless spectrum reform
As the wireless industry makes its case for more spectrum licenses, it's facing stiff opposition from television broadcasters who warn that any reallocation of the band would be "terrible public policy." TV brings "vast efficiencies to our national communications infrastructure," eight broadcast gro …
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Pirate Bay moves to decentralized DHT protocol, kills tracker
The Pirate Bay's BitTorrent tracker is down for goodbut that's by design. The Pirate Bay has been intermittently unavailable for last few months as copyright holders have pressured its various ISPs to cut off service to the site in the wake of Swedish court decisions against the site's operators. …
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Pirate Bay kills its own BitTorrent tracker
The Pirate Bay's BitTorrent tracker is down for goodbut that's by design. The Pirate Bay has been intermittently unavailable for last few months as copyright holders have pressured its various ISPs to cut off service to the site in the wake of Swedish court decisions against the site's operators. …
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Verizon and AT&T continue slap fight over "Map for That" ads
Verizon and AT&T are playing out their 3G coverage spat in court, with Verizon asserting that "the truth hurts" when it comes to AT&T's 3G coverage. Verizon's statement is just the latest in the legal battle that started earlier this month when AT&T filed a lawsuit over Verizon's "There' …
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Tip of the hat: Fedora 12 a strong update
Red Hat announced today the official release of Fedora 12, the latest version of the popular open source Linux distribution. This release brings some impressive new features and a lot of much-needed bugfixes. It's a strong update that puts the distro on the right track forward and addresses the seri …
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A flat world: Ars interviews Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada
The Japanese games industry is in trouble. At least, that seems to be the consensus of a number of high-profile developers from that region, especially after this year's Tokyo Game Show. But Square-Enixthe developer best known for role-playing series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Questisn't taking t …
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When do net neutrality "anecdotes" become "data"?
In our coverage of debates over the Federal Communications Commission's authority to enforce its proposed Internet nondiscrimination rules, we've taken a look at pro and con arguments over whether Congress gave the agency net neutrality powers. But the question of statutory authority isn't the only …
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Wikis in the workplace: a practical introduction
When times get tough and belts get tight, one of the first things many companies do is begin casting about for ways increase efficiency and raise per-worker productivity. Many businesses turn to free and open-source tools to meet these needs, and at some point in such discussions someone invariably …
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