My Life as a gEek

For all you fledgling IT folks out there - this 26 page white paper introduces Group Policy, provides an overview of what you can do with Group Policy, describes essential concepts that you must know, and provides step-by-step instructions for the most common Group Policy tasks.

Download: http://is.gd/XO8FeT

Windows Double Explorer (WDE) is a free, simple, 100% portable tabbed file browser for Windows 7 that supports two horizontal or vertical panes.

Although WDE looks like many dual pane file browsers, it is noteworthy in that it provides both tabbed browsing in each pane (in the manner of web browsers) as well as portability (i.e. just unzip and run, no installation necessary). It is practical while keeping things very simple.

Download: http://wde.codeplex.com/

Maybe it isn't Skynet but...

Cornell University’s Hod Lipson is developing robots that can reflect on their own thoughts by equipping them with two controllers. One controller was rewarded for chasing dots of blue light while avoiding red dots, and the second controller modeled how the first behaved and how successful it was. This technique, known as metacognition, enabled the robot to adapt after about 10 physical experiments, as opposed to the thousands of experiments needed using traditional evolutionary robots. "This could lead to a way to identify dangerous situations, learning from them without having to physically go through them–that’s something that’s been missing in robotics," says University of Vermont’s Josh Bongard.

source: ScientificAmerican.com

Apple has just made its second-generation iPad official! It features a dual-core A5 chip and, finally, cameras, both front and rear! The new CPU is said to be up to twice as fast, with graphics performance up to nine times better than on the original iPad, while power requirements have been kept the same. Battery life is, consequently, unaltered, with Apple promising 10 hours. Pricing, too, has been left unchanged, starting at $499. The new tablet will come with an HDMI output, which will set you back $39 for the requisite dongle, but we've yet to hear any rumblings of Thunderbolt connectivity.

There's a new cover for the device, which is best defined by Steve Jobs himself: "We designed the case right along side the product. It's not a case -- it's a cover." Basically, it's a magnetic flap that protects the front and automatically wakes and puts the device to sleep according to whether it's open or closed. Guess we know what that proximity sensor was about now. These Smart Covers will cost $39 in plastic or $69 if you opt for leather.

The iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than its predecessor, at a mind-melting 8.8mm, and will ship in two hues: white and black. It'll be available on both AT&T and Verizon, and all variants start shipping on March 11th.

via: engadget.com

Microsoft announced Thursday that Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate is now available for download. For all intents and purposes, this means IE9 is feature complete. Small changes might occur, but it's mostly bug stomping from here on out.

Will it be the first IE browser that's actually enjoyable to use? Only time will tell...