The Cell processor from IBM is probably best known for being a core component of the Sony Playstation 3, but there was a time (however brief) where we all though that it form the core of the next Mac, before Apple made the momentous decision of using Intel CPUs instead.

If you want to make use of the power of the Cell then you might want to check out the new series on IBM developerWorks, Programming high-performance applications on the Cell BE processor, Part 1: An introduction to Linux on the PlayStation 3. This promises to be an excellent guide to programming the Cell for your own nefarious (or otherwise) needs. Sadly I don't have a PS3 (I'm waiting for a Wii to be available), and I doubt the budget would stretch to one of these. Donations, of course, are always welcome!

Stories like US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers make you seriously wonder how far governments will go. We are on a very thin tightrope between security of ourselves and countries and the security of the information about individuals.

It is reasonable to expect information such as passport info, date of birth and other information to be supplied. But other elements - email addresses, dietary requests - seem a step too far.

I can only agree with Shami Chakrabati - a well known figure on human rights here in the UK:

I'm still preparing my review of the Sun Ultra 20M2 (in fact, I'm writing it in the other tab as I type this), but there's a really good summary of the performance of the beast: Geek Patrol | Sun Ultra 20 M2 Performance.

The figures compare Solaris and Windows on the same box and show some interesting differences in the performance of the two OS on what is otherwise and identical box. For example, these results show that bzip2 compression is much faster on Solaris compared to Windows, yet decompression with bzip2 is faster on Windows than Solaris.

In Real Time: A Hunt for Energy Hogs, Jason Fry did some tests to find out what was really using up the energy in his home.

According to his tests, his other appliances - dryer, cooker, etc - used a lot more energy than the computers, routers and other devices. I don't doubt he's correct.

Light bulbs are remarkably inefficient (which is why I recommend CFLs), and anything that includes both a heating element and a motor (like a dryer or washing machine) at full AC voltage, is going to use a lot of energy compared to the relatively low-end motors and silicon in a computer.

In Real Time: A Hunt for Energy Hogs, Jason Fry did some tests to find out what was really using up the energy in his home.

According to his tests, his other appliances - dryer, cooker, etc - used a lot more energy than the computers, routers and other devices. I don't doubt he's correct.

Light bulbs are remarkably inefficient (which is why I recommend CFLs), and anything that includes both a heating element and a motor (like a dryer or washing machine) at full AC voltage, is going to use a lot of energy compared to the relatively low-end motors and silicon in a computer.

Looking for a new computer to start the new year with? You might want to check out the information on CPUs available in the Computerworld CPU Buyer's Guide. There's also a handy CPU Buyer's Guide: Quick Reference Charts.

Looking at that chart, it's difficult to choose between the three Intel CPUs at $999, but for my money, I'd go for the Core 2 Extreme QX6700; with four cores, I can imagine doing serious processing with that.