Call of Duty - MW3: MW3 Assault Rifles

Call of Duty - MW3: MW3 Assault Rifles: This is the official list of Assault Rifles that will appear in the MW3 multiplayer. All of these guns have been confirmed. M4A1 The M4A1 ...

Stanford professor gives up tenure to start Udacity free online university

Stanford professor gives up tenure to start Udacity free online university:

Inspired by the number of people that the Khan Academy's free video lectures reached, Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun put his own artificial intelligence class online and enrolled 160,000 students. After scrambling to accommodate so many pupils, he came away from the experience with a new vision of education so different that he says he "can't teach at Stanford again." Instead, he's starting an online university called Udacity. Thrun hopes to teach about 200,000 students per class — including grading exams and quizzes — in contrast to the mere hundreds taught at a brick-and-mortar university. The first two classes, starting February 20th, will teach students around the world to build a search engine or program a robotic car, and...

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Chromium-based Browsers Continue to Proliferate [OStatic]

Chromium-based Browsers Continue to Proliferate [OStatic]:

Quick, how old is Google's Chrome browser? You may be surprised to hear that the browser debuted as recently as December of 2008 (although a pre-release build was available a couple of months before that). Just a few short years later, Chrome is a formidable browser that is threatening to overtake Firefox's market share. The core of Chrome, Chromium, is also open source, though, and a number of different offshoots of Chromium are available. InfoWorld is out with a good assessment of these alternative flavors, and we've covered a few here at OStatic, too.

SRware Iron is a Chromium-based browser that combines the inherent speed of its open source core with lockdown privacy. Privacy and ad blocking are its strong points. If you haven't looked into it and private browsing matters to you, you should definitely check it out. You can get the browser for Windows, Mac OS or Linux here, and look into our coverage of it here.

Meanwhile definitely check out InfoWorld's exploration of Chromium-based browsers, which include:

CRPortable - which packages Chromium in PortableApps format, so that you can efficiently run the browser from a USB key.

Comodo Dragon - a Chromium-based browser with some interface enhancements, and security enhancements from security firm Comodo.

RockMelt - a browser based on Chromium that integrates social networking features.

CoolNovo - a Chromium-based browser that adds features such as mouse gesturing, superdrag, IE tabs, and more.

As is also true with the open source Android mobile OS, Google has delivered a lot with its young browser in a very short amount of time. And, the alternative versions of Chrome based on the open source core of the browser will continue to proliferate. It's worth keeping track of these.

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NASA releases "most amazing high-definition" photo of earth, from space

NASA releases "most amazing high-definition" photo of earth, from space:

NASA today released a so-called 'Blue Marble' image of Earth captured by the VIIRS instrument on NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite, the Suomi NPP. The composite image above "uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012." Larger sizes here (hello, new computer desktop image!)

Engrish Funny: This is all you need to know apparently

Engrish Funny: This is all you need to know apparently:

Brazil Approves Tax Incentives to Begin iPad Production as Apple Targets its Next Major Market

Brazil Approves Tax Incentives to Begin iPad Production as Apple Targets its Next Major Market: Brazilian newspaper Folha reports [Google translation] that the Brazilian government has officially approved tax incentives that will allow Foxconn to begin producing iPads in the country. Interministerial Ordinance #34, signed on Monday and published in Brazil's official register today, specifically provides for a reduction in or exemption from certain taxes associated with the production of touchscreen tablet devices lacking a keyboard and weighing less than 750 grams.

According to ministerial decree 34 published Wednesday in the "Official Gazette", the company will be entitled to the benefits provided for in Decree 5906 of September 2006.





The determination provides for exemption or reduction of the IPI (Excise Tax), PIS and Cofins for companies investing in research and development of technology products.

The iPad 2 of course fits within those specifications, weighing in at just over 600 grams with only slight variation among the various models. The ordinance also permits the production of accessories, cables, power supplies and manuals associated with the allowed tablet devices. While the ordinance applies generically to tablet devices, it has clearly been written to support Foxconn's plans for the iPad.





Last April, Foxconn announced a major push to bring iPad production to Brazil, but the company's efforts were slowed as it negotiated with government officials over tax breaks and other issues. As recently as October the company had signaled its intention to begin production by December, and while the company has missed that target it now appears ready to move forward.








Foxconn's Brazilian iPhone and iPad factory (Source: Cult of Mac)


The launch of iPad production in Brazil comes at a key time for Apple, as CEO Tim Cook noted just yesterday during the company's earnings conference call that Brazil is its next area of emphasis after China among the "BRIC" countries with newly advanced economies. Russia and India are the other two countries in that grouping and Cook acknowledged that Apple has begun to "go deeper into Brazil" as its next target, although he cautioned against any expectations of Apple retail stores arriving in the country over the near term.





High import taxes on foreign-made goods have prevented Apple from making significant inroads in Brazil, with iPad pricing currently starting at the equivalent of US$925 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2. With Foxconn moving iPad production to Brazil under the new tax incentives, Apple should be able to offer more competitive pricing on the device as production ramps up. Photos of a Brazilian-made 8 GB iPhone 4 showed up in late November, suggesting that Foxconn is also ramping up domestic production of new iPhone devices for Brazilian customers.





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VM ELITE: História do Cpt. Price

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