HipHop for PHP serves 70% more traffic on same hardware

When Facebook moved its servers to HipHop for PHP – the code transformer it built to convert PHP into optimized C++ – the company’s average CPU usage dropped by 50 per cent. And after six months of additional engineering, the tool was about 1.8 times faster.

Now, after another six months, the company says, it has improved performance another 1.7 times. But this is more than just self-congratulation. The project is open source, and it has been open since Facebook first switched its servers to HipHop in February 2010.

via Facebook HipHop serves 70% more traffic on same hardware • The Register.

Browser Power Consumption compared – big differences

Now this is from MS themselves, so obviously they’ll have picked sites which work best for IE, but most importantly it shows that there is a huge variability in the amount of power each browser uses. This is not only useful for laptop users who want to maximise their batteries, but also for the global power consumption, considering the browser is what most people use continuously on their computer.

Browser Power Consumption—Leading the Industry with Internet Explorer 9 – IEBlog – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.

Former RIAA Lobbyist Now Handles File Sharing Cases as a Federal Judge

And no one sees any conflict of interest?!

While many judges around the country are throwing out file sharing lawsuits on account of questionable or faulty arguments, DC federal judge Beryl Howell just recently allowed three cases filed by copyright holders to proceed. What makes it intriguing is that she used to be a former RIAA lobbyist.

via Former RIAA Lobbyist Now Handles File Sharing Cases as a Federal Judge.

Artificial leaf – Spinning the Sun’s Rays Into Fuel

Nearly all the energy we use on this planet starts out as sunlight that plants use to knit chemical bonds. Now, for the first time, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge have created a potentially cheap, practical artificial leaf that does much the same thing—providing a potentially limitless source of energy that’s easy to tap.

The new device is a silicon wafer about the shape and size of a playing card coated on either side with two different catalysts. The silicon absorbs sunlight and passes that energy to the catalysts to split water into molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a fuel that can be either burned or used in a fuel cell to create electricity, reforming water in either case. This means that in theory, anyone with access to water can use it to create a cheap, clean, and available source of fuel.

via Spinning the Sun’s Rays Into Fuel – ScienceNOW.

Celluon evoMouse – laser projected multitouch mousepad

The evoMouse is the evolution of the computer mouse.

With the evoMouse, your finger is your pointer and there is no more pushing around a physical mouse.

The evoMouse works on nearly any flat surface and requires very little space. It tracks effortlessly to your comfortable and natural movements.

With the evoMouse, you can perform common mouse operations using only your fingers. You can control the cursor, click and select, double-click, right-click and drag with basic hand gestures.

The evoMouse also features multi-touch functionality including scroll, rotate, zoom, forward and back. The evoMouse can even be used for handwriting recognition with your finger or a pen.

The evoMouse is easy and convenient to set up and use with almost any desktop or laptop computer. It connects via Bluetooth or a standard USB port.Because it allows natural movements and doesn’t require pushing around a physical object, the evoMouse may help reduce repetitive stress injuries like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

via ++CELLUON ++.

TSA Airport perv scanners emit 10 times more radiation than initially stated.

The story then says that radiation levels are still ‘safe’. I’d say radiation levels were still ‘safe’ too. As far as I’m concerned we get enough radiation levels from the global background radiation, we really don’t need ANY more radiation from any source at all. Except medical X-Rays – these fall under what I term necessary. Not these stupid scanners that don’t work, don’t deter, cost millions and resequence our DNA.

TSA Admits Bungling of Airport Body-Scanner Radiation Tests | Threat Level | Wired.com.

Social Media Dashboard | Unilyzer

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via Social Media Dashboard | Unilyzer | Social Media DashboardUnilyzer – Social Media Dashboard.

PrimaSee – translucent displays

Making its first debut into the retail marketplace, STRATACACHE’s PrimaSee™ is a translucent digital display that showcases high-definition, dynamic video advertisements embedded within a glass panel. These see-through promotional videos correspond with products visible in the backdrop to convey point-of-purchase brand messages. Using an embedded media player, content can easily be updated based on current promotions.

via PrimaSee.

Tiny Spy Planes Mimic Birds, Insects

With a 6.5-inch wing span, the remote-controlled bird weighs less than a AA battery and can fly at speeds of up to 11 mph, propelled only by the flapping of its two wings. A tiny video camera sits in its belly.

The bird can climb and descend vertically, fly sideways, forward and backward. It can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise.

Most of all, it can hover and perch on a window ledge while it gathers intelligence, unbeknownst to the enemy.

“We were almost laughing out of being scared because we had signed up to do this,” said Matt Keennon, senior project engineer of California’s AeroVironment, which built the hummingbird.

via Tiny Spy Planes Mimic Birds, Insects.