Fall Reading for I.T. Managers (Baseline)

New books on strategy, leadership and practical expertise for the CIO's bookshelf.

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A day on the Surface: a hands-on look at Microsoft's new computing platform (Ars Technica)

Ars Technica staff spent some quality time with Microsoft's new multitouch computer to get below the "Surface" and find out if there's more to this beast than sexy animations. They shot some impromptu video, too.

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Halo 3 rakes in more than $300 million (TG Daily)

Halo 3 proves to be the cash cow Microsoft has claimed it to be. The game brought in $300 million in game sales within one week, and apparently contributed to doubling Xbox 360 console sales.

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Science stumbles on with Ig Nobel awards (Network World)

Research into the mystery of wrinkles on bed sheets, the bottomless bowl of soup and the effect of Viagra on hamster jet lag dominated the awards Thursday night at the annual Ig Nobel awards at Harvard University. [How this wound up in NW's "Security" section is a bit baffling--Ed.]

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The AudioFile: Understanding MP3 compression (Ars Technica)

It's one of the most popular and controversial file types in the world, but most explanations of its workings are either blindingly simplistic or overwhelmingly technical. Learn about the workings of MP3 without a second Ph.D. in this guide.

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Opinion: Waste Paper: Communications and the Decline of Print (Campus Technology)

For years universities have been reducing their print output in an effort to reach the elusive paperless ideal. But they aren't there yet. Maybe it's time to go and do the equivalent of dumpster-diving: Spend an hour or two on your campus looking into the content of the paper recycling baskets that are all over the place. It's almost certain that an analysis of what you find in there will give your some ideas about where your institution is spending money printing stuff that needn't be.

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