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HBO Go comes to TV, through Roku players
/ Source: The Associated Press

HBO Go comes to TV, through Roku players

NEW YORK (AP) — HBO's Internet streaming service, which gives subscribers access to its shows on PCs, smartphones and tablets, is going back to where it all started: the TV.

HBO Go will be available on Roku Inc.'s Internet set-top boxes at the end of this month, HBO and Roku said Tuesday.

The boxes, which start at $50, connect to a broadband line and display movies and TV shows from sources such as Netflix and Hulu on a TV set.

As before, HBO Go is only available for free to those who have a conventional cable subscription to HBO, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Not all cable subscribers are eligible. For instance, subscribers with Time Warner Cable Inc., which is separate from Time Warner Inc., don't have access because of a dispute between the cable company and HBO.

While the Roku boxes will only work for cable subscribers, they will provide a way to watch in a room where there's no conventional cable set-top box. They'll also work outside the home.

HBO Go will provide resolutions up to 720p, the lower grade of high definition, spokeswoman Laura Young said. HBO's goal is to get the resolution up to 1080p, the best that today's TV sets can display.

— Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer

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Cray to upgrade fastest US supercomputer

NEW YORK (AP) — Supercomputer builder Cray Inc. will upgrade the Department of Energy's Jaguar computer so it can run nearly 10 times faster and challenge a Japanese computer to regain its standing as the world's fastest computer.

The Jaguar was the world's fastest computer when Cray built it in 2008 for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Today, it's the world's third-fastest computer, according to a list compiled by computer researchers.

Under the $97 million contract, Cray will swap out the Jaguar's more than 224,000 processors made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and replace them with a combination of updated AMD processors and graphics chips from Nvidia Corp.

Graphics chips, which are designed to crunch numbers for 3-D environments, are finding increasing use in supercomputers.

Cray said Tuesday that the first phase of the upgrade will be completed this year. Additional Nvidia chips will be added next year.

The new computer will be called Titan.

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Bolivia's teachers getting 'presidential' laptops

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's government is giving school teachers free laptops with a prominent detail that is generating criticism for President Evo Morales. A stenciled image of a smiling Morales is on the back of each computer.

Teachers union leader Jose Luis Alvarez in La Paz says that's just promoting idolatry. He says teachers will cover the image.

Education Ministry Roberto Aguilar said Monday that government officials originally planned to put on an image of Bolivia's nine-colored indigenous flag but manufacturer Lenovo recommended something simpler.

The government is handing out 130,000 laptops worth more than $50 million. They have processors from Intel Corp., operating systems by Linux and Microsoft Corp. and 320-gigabyte hard drives.