How Does The Computer Play Chess

This is how a computer thinks when you play chess...Awsome!!

After looking at this. Probalby you 'll never regret of losing against a machine!!

Fedora Core 4

In this article I take a look at Fedora Core 4 Test 2.

This review hints the changes from Fedora Core 3.

System used for review
CPU: AMD Athlon XP2500+ Barton
Motherboard: Gigabyte K7 Triton GA-7VM400M-P
Videocard: NVidia Geforce FX 5600XT
Memory: 1GB DDR-RAM
Storage: 120 GB HDD WD + 40 GB HDD Maxtor
Media: built-in sound card, 32X CD burner, 16X DVD-ROM drive, floppy drive, 4 USB ports back and 2 USB port front
Getting Fedora

There are various methods of obtaining Fedora Core: ISO, hard drive and Internet through HTTP, FTP. In this case, we will choose ISO method that involved burning a CD or DVD. Currently, "media check," which is a program that verifies if the CD/DVD is properly burned or does not have some defective issue is buggy so you should probably skip that step. I would recommended that you try it when the final release is available.
Installation

Anaconda, the graphical installer, has been cleaned up. Language selection has been moved to Package Management. Most of the packages that are no longer on the CD/DVD like XFCE, XMMS and Abiword have been transferred to the Extras repository. Included in this CD are:
GCJ, commonly known as free Java
Java development tools such as Jakarta
Eclipse native-built for Fedora.

Like previous releases, it is possible to change the type of installation: server, workstation, desktop or custom. Of course, once your selection has specified some default settings, you may subsequently customize the installation.

Since Fedora Core 3, LVM (Logical Volume Management) is the default partition with ext3 file system used for /boot path. The advantage of using LVM is its easy expansion size when adding a second hard drive.
First boot

The speed of the boot sequence of Fedora Core 4 Test 2 is a major improvement over Fedora Core 3. Default services such as ISDN and pcmcia won't boot if the associated hardware is not installed, reducing the boot time. The login screen appears almost instantly after these initial boots.
Desktop environment

GNOME: default theme is Clearlook which uses generic Gnome icons. The old Bluecurve theme is still available. Core 4 is using Gnome version 2.10. The top bar now has Applications, Places for accessing home folder, searching files and Desktop to set preferences and system.

KDE version is 3.4 is also installed. Some features like tooltips are disabled by default (users can active it on Control Panel). The default theme is Bluecurve. Some features like translucency and shadow are disabled by default. Control Panel has a new look.

XFCE, no longer on the Core repository, is available in the Extras repository. Latest version is 4.2.
New Applications:

Open Office 1.89: now split into different packages (Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw). Users no longer have to remove the whole office if they simply want to replace a specific OpenOffice application. OpenOffice now uses GCJ as an alternative of Sun's Java.
Eclipse: a tool for creating Java applications.
Logical Volume Management: originally from Red Hat Enterprise 4, this application allows you to resize/add/remove LVM partitions. It is currently feature-incomplete.
Evince now replaces ggv as the new pdf reader.
Media

Fedora Core 4 Test uses open source audio/video formats such as ogg, wav. Due to its open source nature, Fedora Core does not include any proprietary formats. Not much change from Fedora Core 3 other than updated versions.
Package Manager

Yum is improved, which is noticeable by its speed. It now matches apt-get for rpm while keeping its advantage by supporting bi-architectural packages. Currently, no GUI is available for yum.

up2date is functional but has some bugs such as a "select all" function that won't select all packages and forward button disabled. Testers are suggested to use yum instead.
Overall

This test release is a major improvement over Fedora Core 3 in terms of speed. It is stable despite its test status which is a good sign for the final release.

USB and Linux

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus and is a new technology theoretically capable of connecting a very large number of external devices on a computer. USB is intended primarily for low bandwidth (slow) components such as mice, keyboards, modems, joysticks, etc., but not fast devices like hard drives. USB has its benefits and its problems, which I will not go into depth about. Most computers have 2 USB ports. Some USB devices will have another port so that another USB device can be plugged into it. This is called "Daisy-Chaining". Otherwise you run out of ports quickly, in which case you may need a USB hub which will add more ports.
A computer interface with a maximum bandwidth of 1.5 Megabytes per second used for connecting computer peripherals such as printers, keyboards and scanners.

More on Linux USB

Linux:: The Self Evolving OS

How about encouraging our fellow friends to switch to LINUX

Here are few good Links to set the ball rolling.

Linux in the Classroom: an Experience with Linux and Open-Source Software in an Educational Environment

Putting Linux in Classrooms around the World

Designing a Course in Linux System Administration

Nokia to launch phone that stores 3,000 songs

Nokia on Wednesday announced a trio of new phones, including one that can store up to 3,000 songs.

The N91 has an integrated 4GB hard disk and supports digital music formats including MP3, M4A, AAC and WMA, Nokia said.

Additionally, the handset comes with a stereo headset with remote control. The N91, expected to ship by the end of the year, will also feature a 2-megapixel camera, e-mail support, a Web-browser and video-sharing capabilities, the device maker said.

The phone supports WCDMA, wireless local area networking and Bluetooth, and subscribers can shop at online music stores directly from the device, the company said. Users can synchronize the device with their computers via USB 2.0 and create and manage playlists that, in turn, can be shared with others via Bluetooth, e-mail or multimedia messaging.

Another new WCDMA handset from Nokia is the N70, a smart phone featuring a 2-megapixel camera, a flash and "front camera" for video calling, stereo FM radio, a digital music player, visual radio and 3D games. The camera has a "slide and shoot" design, in which the slide automatically activates the camera.

The handset's camera has an integrated flash, 20x zoom capability and other options. Video and photo from the camera can be transferred on to a PC; organized in a slideshow or album on the camera; or printed using a USB cable, Bluetooth or reduced-size dual voltage multimedia card. The device is expected to be available in the third quarter.

Lastly, the Finnish phone maker announced the N90, which features a 2-megapixel camera with autofocus and 20x digital zoom, an integrated flash, video capture with editing functions and Carl Zeiss optics, Nokia said. Carl Zeiss optics, named for the pioneering German optician, are used for projection and illumination.

The handset's rotating camera barrel is designed to let users shoot video, as well as pictures. When the main display is unfolded and twisted, the N90 can be used to shoot video in MP4 format.

The N90 also features different options for storing, sharing and printing photos and video clips, and it supports 3G functions such as two-way video calling, video streaming and Net surfing. It is a triband phone for GSM 900/1800/1900, EDGE and WCDMA networks.

Hot Spots in Neutron Stars

Scientists have, for the first time, spied moving hot spots on the surfaces of neutron stars more than 500 light-years away from Earth. The results represent some of the first successful imaging of relatively small features--measuring less than 100 meters across--on such faraway stellar objects. The findings should help astronomers elucidate the thermal profiles of these extremely dense stars, which are comprised of neutrons and rotate quickly.

A team of researchers led by Andrea De Luca of the National Institute of Astrophysics in Milan studied three neutron stars dubbed PSR B0656-14, PSR B1055-52 and Geminga using the XMM-Newton satellite. The team analyzed data collected from 10 separate sections of the stars and found noticeable variations in temperature. The hot spots ranged in size from that of a football field to an area the size of an entire golf course. The temperature anomalies could be related to the stars' polar regions, the authors posit, although it remains unclear why the hot spots come in such a plethora of sizes.

Technology and Usefulness..?

Is Technology Outpacing Usefulness?

Microsoft's top researcher Richard F. Rashid speculates that "technology in some ways is outpacing people's ability to use it meaningfully." Citing the accelerating creation of digital detritus that our increasingly tech-centric lives create, Rashid claims that the data created is well ahead of any meaningful use for it. Is this really a problem? Don't the uses for technology usually follow its availability? True, there will always be futurists that try and predict what will be, but practical applications of technologies usually lag technical feasibility.

Open Source Report Generator

OpenMFG, the makers of open source ERP software, have released OpenRPT, a report writer for ad-hoc Web-based reporting. It creates graphical, embeddable reports, similar to the commercial software Crystal Reports or Microsoft Access report designer, but runs on on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. It supports graphs, integrated barcodes, label printing, and watermarks and report definitions can be stored in a PostgreSQL database as XML, or exported to individual files.

For More Informations Visit :OpenRPT

64-bit OS Yellow Dog Linux

Yellow Dog Linux v4.0.1 Supports Mac mini & iMac G5, Sleep, Improved Audio

Terra Soft Solutions(R), Inc., the leading developer of integrated PowerPC Linux solutions, is overjoyed to announce a vastly improved Yellow Dog Linux v4.0.1 with greater than 70 updates, including the return of sleep and audio for pre-G5s; thermal support for G5s; and Yes! the iMac G5 and Mac mini now run Yellow Dog Linux.

• The 2.6.10 kernel.
• Thermal (fan) support for G5s Power Macs.
• Sleep for most ATI-based portables.
• Support for iMac G5 (sans on-board audio, modem, thermal).
• Support for the Mac mini (sans on-board audio, modem).
• Updated ALSA sound driver supports all non-G5 hardware.
• USB audio device support.
• XMMS startup crash fixed.
• Security updates.
• Installer bug fixes.

... and many other refinements to make the YDL experience more enjoyable. The final Yellow Dog Linux v4.0.1 CD-Rs have been created and will today be delivered to a CD production facility for glass mastering and replication. While shipping product will be available in approximately two weeks, Yellow Dog Linux v4.0.1 is immediately available via YDL.net Enhanced accounts.

Terra Soft's lead engineer Owen Stampflee offers, "YDL v4.0 was a typical dot zero release in that it contained all rebuilt RPMs and many new features built upon a vastly changed code base while harboring a few note worthy bugs. Since the 4.0 release early last fall, we have provided several fixes via YDL.net and the public errata. With v4.0.1, we are pleased to once again unify the improvements and new support into a shipping distribution for a more enjoyable, PowerPC experience."

Yellow Dog Linux v4.0.1 offers support for USB-G3s, all iMacs, G4s, the Mac mini, G5 Power Macs. USB and FireWire remain auto-detected with manual mounting a relatively simple task. Dual-head monitor support for PowerBooks and G4/G5 Power Macs remains in tact. Wireless connectivity is immediately available through the Netgear WG511 54Mb PCMCIA card.

To learn more visit www.yellowdoglinux.com
To download now, visit www.ydl.net and also get subscribed to the Enhanced programs.