Editorials

After creating quite a stir a couple of months ago the specter of Intel BGA CPUs for the “Desktop” has risen from the internet again. This time the new is in a form that many would see as confirmation that Intel will be phasing out the traditional socket in favor of the non-upgradable BGA package. According to information posted over at VR-Zone Intel already has three BGS CPUs on the map that could launch with Haswell in the next few months. As you might expect there are already articles claiming that this is (or could be) the beginning of the end for the desktop socket. Fortunately for the DIY market even a quick look at the CPUs listed rules out that chance. From the specifications Intel will be sticking to the lucrative desktop socket for a while.

Remember the news we brought you about the FBI and other law enforcement agencies wanting more power to dig into your electronic communication? Well we have been forwarded an interesting follow on article today that looks like an opening shot in the campaign to get laws passed to extend these powers. The article was published on cnet and raises concerns about what our government is willing to do to get their way and require ISPs to put in real-time monitoring hardware and systems. These systems could potentially allow for broad harvesting of electronic communication without the need for a warrant (if CISPA and other bills are passed as well).

When you think of Privacy issues two names come to mind; Facebook and Google. For some reason both of these companies feel they have the right to mess with their users’ right to privacy. In some cases, like Facebook, you see services that are set to opt-out suddenly popping up or a collection and use of personal data that is not clearly defined (like the use of personal pictures in ads). For Google this has been an ongoing issue and one that has gotten them into a great deal of trouble in the EU. Not that long ago Google was asked to fix this and it seems that they have not only maintained their course, but have also made things worse by their inaction

As most of you are already aware Apple has built a very interesting corporate mythology that has allowed them to have a massive impact on the consumer electronics market. While we will not go so far as to say they did this with other people’s ideas it has become more and more clear that Apple as a company followed the lead of Steve Jobs. Jobs admitted more than once that he used other peoples’ ideas as inspiration and is on video repeating a borrowed quote the past. This quote, interestingly enough, has been attributed to many people including Pablo Picasso, T.S. Eliot, Henry Ford, and more.