DaNews: HP, PS3, Navy, IRS and Jack

First bit of news comes from the computing giant HP who is lending out technology to make 15nm circuits.

Quote :

HP Labs researchers created NIL technology, which has enabled the fabrication of laboratory prototype circuits with wire widths of 15 nanometers.

“Because HP and other companies need unique tools to conduct nanoscale research and development, we created the underlying technology that makes this tool possible,” said Stan Williams, HP Senior Fellow and director, Quantum Science Research, HP Labs. “But we rely on innovative companies like Nanolithosolutions to do the additional engineering necessary to make user-friendly tools commercially available. This will help create future generations of chips that will go beyond the capabilities of today’s fabrication technologies at an affordable cost.”

HP Lends out tiny tech

Our second story deals with Sony, more specifically the PS3, more specifically the Cell Broadband Engine. Again. I know, mention of the PS3 brings up fanboys the like which have never been seen since the last Apple vs PC debate and qualifies me for an automatic lynching, but stay with me here.

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The PlayStation 3 has recently flexed its floating point muscles by leading all processors at Folding@home. Sony’s game machine has been performing more work than any other system on helping to understanding protein folding, misfolding and related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

“We are simulating key processes in protein folding and misfolding in Alzheimer's Disease. PS3's are performing aspects of these simulations, and doing so about 20 times faster than a typical PC,” Pande said. When asked if the Xbox 360 could be of use to the Folding@home program, he answered, “Possibly, although the cell processor in the PS3 is much more powerful for our calculations than the CPU in the Xbox 360.”

Mind you, the comparison may only be strictly between the two CPU architectures of each console. The Xbox 360 uses a custom triple-core PowerPC-based CPU, while the PlayStation 3 uses the Cell Broadband Engine composed of seven processor elements.

But the show stopping, baby-make-crying, life defining question is.... when can we buy a Wii?

PS3 kicks the 360, but does it truely matter?

Jumping ship (err.. pardon the pun) to the Navy, we deal with the topics of physics, in this casse, the mythical pure, clean energy source known as "cold fusion". Well according to the US Navy, it might not be so mythical after all.

Quote :

New proof that cold fusion works could fuel additional interest in generating power from low energy nuclear reactions

Cold fusion, the ability to generate nuclear power at room temperatures, has proven to be a highly elusive feat. In fact, it is considered by many experts to be a mere pipe dream -- a potentially unlimited source of clean energy that remains tantalizing, but so far unattainable.

However, a recently published academic paper from the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) in San Diego throws cold water on skeptics of cold fusion. Appearing in the respected journal Naturwissenschaften, which counts Albert Einstein among its distinguished authors, the article claims that Spawar scientists Stanislaw Szpak and Pamela Mosier-Boss have achieved a low energy nuclear reaction (LENR) that can be replicated and verified by the scientific community.

Cold Fusion: No longer a unicorn?

And our penultimate bit of news deals with the IRS. Because it is the IRS I'm writing about I'll refrain from making any snide comments or witty bon mots. Cause its the IRS. And they'll audit me. And that'll suck.

Quote :

The IRS now wants a cut out of sales that occur on eBay and other popular user-to-user sale sites such as Craigslist. A proposal is being drafted that will require all major market sites to store, track and send user information to the IRS. This information includes transaction details and other personal information.

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) reports that the new IRS proposal is all part of President Bush's 2008 budget proposal. The intention is for the IRS to track down small business income that is generated from the sale of personal property. If you make more than $5000 USD per year on 100 or more sales online, you may soon be forced to file income statements with the IRS. This means that users of sites such as eBay, Craigstlist and Amazon.com will be required to fill in more personal information as well as social security numbers.

The IRS wants a piece of the Internet pie.

The last, and certainly not the least bit of news deals with our friend Jack. Not Daniels, but Thompson, the anti-gaming lawyer that takes crusade to a level not seen since the Crusades. After all his unethical behavior, the Florida Bar Association is seeking temporary, as in 91 day, disbarment for the nutty litigator.

Woot News of the Day

And there you have it, the news for today, tomorrow and yesterday. From my hands to your screens, its DaNews.
Ninja

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GO NAVY.

Reply to cb62fcni

Quote :

I think the IRS needs to lay off the friggen greed or we need to disband those idiots. We the people can vote in or out whatever we choose including the government in its totality.

The IRS is a leech that bloats its master and gives petty offerings in replacement of real solutions. Restructure.

:trophy:

Reply to sirheck

Quote :

I think the IRS needs to lay off the friggen greed or we need to disband those idiots. We the people can vote in or out whatever we choose including the government in its totality.

The IRS is a leech that bloats its master and gives petty offerings in replacement of real solutions. Restructure.

:trophy:

+1

Reply to GlacierFreeze

It works better than other countries revenue services, I'll tell you that much.

Reply to dasickninja

Yes, but what level of crook, and exactly how much do said crooks actually put back into the system.

Reply to dasickninja

Quote :

I think the IRS needs to lay off the friggen greed or we need to disband those idiots. We the people can vote in or out whatever we choose including the government in its totality.

Technically, all the IRS is doing is enforcing current tax laws. Profits on sales of goods are already supposed to be reported as income. Most people just don't do this as 1) it currently is untraceable, and 2) why would you want to pay more in taxes if nobody can prove that you owe them? This is a pain and will end up with people paying more taxes, but they are taxes that should have been paid all along, according to the laws.

If the laws suck, then get them changed in the poll booths. You've got the right idea here. I'm all for a flat tax with very few exemptions as well as axing most transfer-payment programs, but those happen to be somewhat unpopular views in my area. But the problem is that few people even vote. I get lots of stares when I go into the polling place as I'm one of the few people under 40 that actually vote. The biggest contingent I see voting is the over-60 set for the most part. That would explain a lot of legislation around here and the nation as a whole...

Quote :

The IRS is a leech that bloats its master and gives petty offerings in replacement of real solutions. Restructure.

They can seize money by the force of law. It's not like the IRS is a business that's trying to persuade you to buy something. There is NO incentive for them to be efficient, nice, or easy to get along with as they can simply sic the police or feds on your tail if you don't jump when they say to.

And about abolishing the IRS. We can change what gets taxed to some extent by laws, but the 16th Amendment provides that there can be an income tax and if there is a tax, it must be enforced. So no abolishing the IRS unless the 16th Amendment is repealed. I think that income taxes are stupid to tell the truth- a consumption tax would be easier to levy and fairer as well- but if there has to be an income tax, make it a flat tax and eliminate the exemptions. That would make it much easier and more equal for everybody. I can multiply my W-2 income figure by a percentage a lot easier than I can do a bunch of worksheets to figure out what my actual adjusted gross income less exemptions is, then look that up in the tax tables to find out how much I have to pay.

Reply to MU_Engineer

Quote :

I would never advocate abolishion of government or IRS. I would rather advocate restructuring based on popular vote.

No they need to abolish payroll taxes. At least.

Think about it. i have been saying this for years.

You go work, get payed, get taxed on your pay.
You go buy something, Anything=taxed again.

You want to have a garage sell=taxed again :x

Reply to sirheck

Quote :

We need to remember why we have taxation; We also need to realize that we dont audit the IRS as a self governing people. We the people have allowed the government wayy wayy too much in terms of self monitoring without independant unbiased public fact finding.

I agree.

Reply to sirheck

Quote :

If the laws suck, then get them changed in the poll booths

:trophy:

Words of wisdom well said

Reply to turpit

Its all good bro.

Reply to dasickninja

The IRS going after eBay sales is ABSOLUTELY ABSURD. How can the IRS possibly determine the profit a seller makes by selling on eBay? After all, the money you make on eBay isn't 100% profit... no, far from it. If you buy a $5 item at Wal-Mart and sell it for $10 on eBay, after fees and what-not you MAY be lucky enough to make a $4.

I think the IRS is barking up the wrong tree with this one... GIVE US THE FAIR TAX!!! That'd solve everything.

Reply to rodney_ws

The UK Inland Revenue and Customs already started looking at eBay profits for taxation a couple of years ago in the UK. However they're really not after taxing everyone, but really more interested in businesses slipping out discrete sales.

Reply to The_Abyss

And how on earth would you determine income when you were selling a collectible or unique item? The whole idea of an income tax is absurd and essentially makes us all criminals.

Reply to rodney_ws

Quote :

I would never advocate abolishion of government or IRS. I would rather advocate restructuring based on popular vote.

No they need to abolish payroll taxes. At least.

Think about it. i have been saying this for years.

You go work, get payed, get taxed on your pay.
You go buy something, Anything=taxed again.

You want to have a garage sell=taxed again :x

then you get taxed @ 40 % when you die

Reply to yakyb

Yes.

Reply to sirheck

This sort of (quite socialist) rant will probably not be appreciated by many of you here, but please don't flame. I'm not taking a "dig" at anyone, just at the system.

I don't get the very tax-aversive feelings coming from here. If you step back for a minute and think of all the stuff the government does for you (and those less fortunate than yourselves) you'll realize you should be very grateful! Without a taxation system the less fortunate would end up with very poor health, no place to live and starvation etc.

I believe taxes are FAR too low in the USA. I visited around a year ago and the level of poverty i saw was ridiculous! In what's supposedly the world's richest country how can you let people live in conditions like those? It's almost like the third world for God's sake!

The system also needs to try and get rid of the sentiment that "If you work hard, you will earn a decent living", which is very wrong. I know many people here in the UK that work 2 jobs just to earn a living while some people (Who undoubtbly work hard) are ungrateful when they get a "small" bonus of £60000! The reason that most people aren't up at the top is that only a small percent of the population get a chance of a decent education and are given the option to go onto a job that'll earn a lot of money.

RANT OVER.

Sorry for the rant guys, i just felt it was necessary. I don't mean to offend anyone with it so please try not to take personal offence.

Social Collectivism for the win!

Reply to quantumsheep

Quote :

The IRS going after eBay sales is ABSOLUTELY ABSURD. How can the IRS possibly determine the profit a seller makes by selling on eBay? After all, the money you make on eBay isn't 100% profit... no, far from it. If you buy a $5 item at Wal-Mart and sell it for $10 on eBay, after fees and what-not you MAY be lucky enough to make a $4.

I think the IRS is barking up the wrong tree with this one... GIVE US THE FAIR TAX!!! That'd solve everything.

This is why the UK has VAT as opposed to the US's sales tax.

Reply to ARM

And the Carousel frauds to go with that VAT.

Reply to dasickninja

Quote :

This sort of (quite socialist) rant will probably not be appreciated by many of you here, but please don't flame. I'm not taking a "dig" at anyone, just at the system.

I don't get the very tax-aversive feelings coming from here. If you step back for a minute and think of all the stuff the government does for you (and those less fortunate than yourselves) you'll realize you should be very grateful! Without a taxation system the less fortunate would end up with very poor health, no place to live and starvation etc.

I believe taxes are FAR too low in the USA. I visited around a year ago and the level of poverty i saw was ridiculous! In what's supposedly the world's richest country how can you let people live in conditions like those? It's almost like the third world for God's sake!

The system also needs to try and get rid of the sentiment that "If you work hard, you will earn a decent living", which is very wrong. I know many people here in the UK that work 2 jobs just to earn a living while some people (Who undoubtbly work hard) are ungrateful when they get a "small" bonus of £60000! The reason that most people aren't up at the top is that only a small percent of the population get a chance of a decent education and are given the option to go onto a job that'll earn a lot of money.

RANT OVER.

Sorry for the rant guys, i just felt it was necessary. I don't mean to offend anyone with it so please try not to take personal offence.

Social Collectivism for the win!

Quite socialist is an understatement and you need some education.

Question for you how did the poor get to be the poor?
They choose to be poor it's a mental issue they believe being poor is someone elses fault, well actually everything bad that ever happened to them is someone elses fault.

Taxes have reached the point where they inhibit economic growth.
Tax cuts have realized more income to the Treasury through increased economic activity than government spending.

People that work 2 jobs just to earn a living are not working hard they are working to survive because of poor choices they made. Ever hear of J.K. Rowling (secretary to richest author EVER), or Sean Hannity (construction worker to #2 radio host), or my father (highway worker to Utility VP) they worked hard to succeed and chose not be poor.

The £60000 bonus and our multi-million dollar CEO, sport stars, movie, musicians, etc.. compensation's do need to be curbed but not by taxes it should be tied to the lowest paid employee of a corporation.

Reply to baldeagle

Quote :

Question for you how did the poor get to be the poor?
They choose to be poor it's a mental issue they believe being poor is someone elses fault, well actually everything bad that ever happened to them is someone elses fault.

Have you ever lived in a very deprived area? It seems obvious to me that you haven't. If you go there you realize that most of the people work damn hard to support their family.

Quote :

People that work 2 jobs just to earn a living are not working hard they are working to survive because of poor choices they made.

Most people in the UK are not given the opportunity people such as myself have been given (I had a very good education and i'm now studying a History degree at Manchester University). around 45% of people in the UK do not gain 5 A*-C grades at GCSE not because they aren't smart enough but because they're led to believe that they will amount to nothing in their lives.

Oh and one more thing. The poor technically CAN blame their misfortune on the rich, as if the rich weren't so greedy then maybe the poor could actually do more than just survive.

Who on earth needs millions of pounds anyway?

Reply to quantumsheep

Quote :

Have you ever lived in a very deprived area? It seems obvious to me that you haven't. If you go there you realize that most of the people work damn hard to support their family.

Yes, when I was in grade school my father worked for Nebraska Higway department building roads and went to school at night. My mother had to work third shift to make ends meet. My grandparents lived in western Nebraska on a farm that had an outhouse until 1983. We lived in a neighborhood populated with FHA 235 Housing until 1972 when my Father graduated with an Engineering Degree moved to Wisconsin and went to work for a utility advancing to Transmission and Distribution VP in 25 years. My parents worked hard and were focused enough to get out which has allowed my sister and I to go to college my degree in Engineering and hers in business which she went back after 15 years and got a Law degree on her own because she was jealous of my sucess.

For info on the FHA 235 program:
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/wm378.cfm

Quote :

Most people in the UK are not given the opportunity people such as myself have been given (I had a very good education and i'm now studying a History degree at Manchester University). around 45% of people in the UK do not gain 5 A*-C grades at GCSE not because they aren't smart enough but because they're led to believe that they will amount to nothing in their lives.

You already have the answer to this it is they lack the ambition to achieve anything they are not handed you said it for me "because they're led to believe that they will amount to nothing in their lives". In other words they choose to remain poor.

Quote :

Oh and one more thing. The poor technically CAN blame their misfortune on the rich, as if the rich weren't so greedy then maybe the poor could actually do more than just survive.

Who on earth needs millions of pounds anyway?

The poor choose to blame someone else for everything because it's never their fault. They didn't go to college because they didn't get good grades in high school because they didn't study they hung out with the boys playing bball. Or they can't afford to go to college but they haven't worked a day in their life yet or they quit because it was hard work or... or... or...

If all the money were pooled and divided out evenly to the entire population the vast majority of the money it would end up back where it was 20 years later. For the vast majority of the poor they are poor because they only know how to be poor they have no ambition, no motivation, no self worth, etc..

Nobody actually does but government the least of all. Government is the most inefficient use of funds ever imagined just look to the Soviet Union for lessons on government distribution.

I believe this is the end of this discussion try something on topic.

Reply to baldeagle

I can see that this is a lost cause but i will apologize for any offence caused. Each to his own i say!

Sorry for taking this so far off topic.

Reply to quantumsheep

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DaNews: HP, PS3, Navy, IRS and Jack

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - DaNews: HP, PS3, Navy, IRS and Jack

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