News Archive

Thursday, January 31st 2008

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Danger Den MPC-975X Chipset Waterblock Review

Danger Den MPC-975X Chipset Waterblock Review

With the redesigned MC-TDX CPU waterblock, Danger Den has also released some new chipset blocks based on the same pin design. The new MPC series chipset blocks feature 225 heat-dissipating columns in the typical copper base. We take a look at the MPC-975X chipset block, which is designed to work with the Intel 975X chipset.

Dell XPS M1330 with Linux Now Available in the US

Dell this morning kept on its promise and began offering the XPS M1330 with Linux in the US. The system is the first XPS in the country to come preloaded with Ubuntu Linux. The American model, however, is more limited than versions in Europe. Coming in black color only, the M1330 in the US will lack the 64GB solid-state and 320GB hard drive options of its overseas equivalent. At $954, the stock model ships with a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5450 (2MB cache/667MHz FSB), 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 120GB 5400 rpm hard drive, and Intel GMA X3100 video. Upgrades boost the system up to 2.2GHz (Core 2 Duo T7500, 800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache) along with 4GB of memory and a 200GB 7200 rpm hard disk. Orders begin today with stock systems arriving in customer hands in less than two weeks.

Koch to Publish S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

Koch Media will be publishing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky after signing the worldwide retail rights with developer GSC Game World. Last week, GSC announced that Valve's Steam service would be the exclusive digital distributor for the first-person shooter.
"The unique atmosphere of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. caused a sensation among gamers, while the sales have demonstrated the brand's enormous potential," commented Craig McNicol, managing director of Koch Media. "We are delighted with this chance to publish the prequel together with GSC under the Deep Silver label." The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. title was published by THQ after considerable delays, and GSC indicated last year that they were in negotiations with other partners for this second title in the franchise.

Man Kills Daughter After she Broke his Xbox

Tyrone Spellman has been convicted of murdering his daughter, in an angry rage that was ignited because she knocked over his Xbox. According to media reports, Spellman's daughter Alayiah pulled on the cords of the Xbox, causing the system to fall down and break. Spellman then struck his daughter so hard that he cracked her skull, said prosecutors. He may also have thrown her across the room, according to initial claims. Spellman, who confessed to the crime within 24 hours, originally told the police that Alayiah fell out of her bed, and then tried to claim his confession was only out of protection for his wife. Spellman's wife was asleep during the incident. The Department of Human Services had previously been tipped by an anonymous caller that Alayiah's parents were abusive, but they were previously unable to find any evidence. Spellman was convicted of third-degree murder and child endangerment, and faces up to 47 years behind bars.

PNY Shows off 32GB SDHC Cards

PNY has upped the ante with new 32GB SDHC cards announced during the PMA show in Las Vegas which started today. The company plans to offer these very high capacity cards in SDHC, USB Drive and Compact Flash formats. The cards should be available sometime in the second quarter of this year. Prices for each format have not been finalized yet.

EVGA e-Geforce 8800 GS 384MB Launched

Now high performance is even sweeter with the affordable EVGA 8800GS (384-P3-N851-AR). Featuring second Generation PureVideo HD, full DirectX 10 support, and PCI Express 2.0; the EVGA 8800GS is the perfect card for the gamer who wants big performance, without a big price. Main specs of the card include: 65nm GPU @ 550MHz Core, 384MB DDR3 @ 1.6GHz, 96 Stream Processors @ 1.375GHz. The e-Geforce 8800 GS will be available soon through all major EVGA partners and resellers.

ASUS Launches X48 Rampage Formula & P5E3 Premium Motherboards

With the official launch of the Intel X48 chipset drawing ever closer, ASUS, producer of the world leading motherboards, has announced the release of the ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n motherboard. This powerful motherboard is the newest member in the ASUS EPU family of motherboards, and is equipped with the latest Intel X48 chipset; and showcases the exclusive EPU Technology to combine vigorous performance with superb energy efficiency. Additionally, this outstanding motherboard supports DDR3 2000MHz dual-channel memory, dual PCI Express 2.0 x16 lanes, 802.11n WiFi specifications and the innovative ASUS Express Gate for Internet access in just 5 secs.

Thermaltake Introduces New TG-1 & TG-2 Thermal Paste

Thermaltake has announced two new cooling pastes, TG-1 and TG-2. The TG-1 is the high-end solution with a thermal conductivity of 3W/mK, while TG-2 is considered the mainstream solution with a thermal conductivity of 1.5W/mK. The pricing is still unknown, but both of them will be available as syringes containing 4g of paste. According to Thermaltake's tests, TG-1 performs better than the average silver paste, while TG-2 performs slightly better than the average standard or stock paste.
Wednesday, January 30th 2008

Today's Reviews

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Memory
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PSUs
Storage

ASUS Focuses on More Energy Efficient Computing

Green computing has become very important in recent times. With global resources becoming scarcer and the visible impact our demands have made on our planet, it is vital for everyone - consumers as well as manufacturers, to attempt to protect our environment in every possible way. One of the best ways to achieve this is through green computing, and a good example of this is the innovative ASUS EPU technology, which saves 80.23% CPU Power.

Zeus Shows Off $750,000 PC

This could well be the most overpriced expensive commercial computer ever to be launched: the Zeus Jupiter. The computer's case is made of solid platinum embedded with diamonds which have been arranged to mimic astrological constellations. However, given that the PC has a price tag of ¥80,000,000 (just over $750,000) you'll be disappointed to hear that it's powered by a 3GHz Intel E6850 CPU, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM, a 1TB hard drive, a dual Blu-ray/HD DVD drive and a 256MB GeForce 8400GS. Yes, that's one of NVIDIA's entry level graphics cards. Of course, if that's just out of your price range you could always go for Jupiter's little brother Mars, which has the same specs but with gold instead of platinum. That sells for a mere ¥60,000,000, which is just under $565,000.

Dell Announces Plans to Close All Kiosks

As Dell's Global Consumer business continues to evolve, the company today announced that it will close its 140 kiosks in the United States.

The Dell Direct Store model, which began in 2002, enabled customers to touch and feel Dell products before purchasing systems direct from the company. In the past six months the company has adopted a retail strategy that enables Dell to connect with customers it has not necessarily reached in the past. Dell is applying the advantages of its direct business model into retail where customers can purchase laptop and desktop computers in more than 10,000 retail outlets worldwide.

Dell Offers Dual 8800M GTX Setup for XPS M1730 Notebook

Dell has upped the specs for its performance notebooks by introducing the option of dual 8800M GTX graphics cards for the XPS M1730. Dell is claiming performance improvements of as much as 49% compared to dual 8700M GT graphics processors, commenting that the notebook is capable of reaching 13,500 points in 3DMark06. However, the extra performance comes at a premium, with the minimum price for this setup being $3,400. That works out at being $1000 more than a single 8700M GT and $700 more than dual 8700M GTs, with the top-spec model costing around $7,000.

Inno3D to Start Selling ATI Graphics Cards Using Force3D Brand?

Unfortunately there is very little to go on here as I can't translate Chinese, but it looks like PCZILLA.NET is reporting that Inno3D, which currently specialises in producing NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards, could soon begin selling ATI cards using the brand Force3D. There are a couple of images below which support this story, but bear in mind that it could just be another one from the rumour mill.

Western Digital Launches New 320GB Portable Drives

WD today introduced its new My Passport Essential Portable USB Drives. Redesigned to complement WD's popular My Book family of external drives, the drives introduce a sleek new form that feels good in your hand and fits neatly in a pocket or purse. Available now at select retailers and at WD's online store (www.shopwd.com), the new My Passport Essential USB Drives feature a beautiful glossy black finish and put almost a third of a terabyte of digital storage in the palm of your hand.

PowerColor Website Hacked

Readers might want to take care when visiting PowerColor's website for the next couple of days as it looks like the site has been hacked by someone with the alias DaRKHuNTeR. From a quick look the only noticeable alteration is that the news story titles have been modified, which shouldn't be too dangerous. However, the more worrying thing is what else might have been changed. For example the hacker may have potentially added malicious downloads and links, so it's probably best to avoid PowerColor's site for a while.

G.Skill Unveils DDR2-1066 4GB Kit with 8 Layers PCB

G.Skill International Enterprise today unveiled new 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 memory kit (part namber: F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK). G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK uses 8 Layers PCB which can avoid electronic noise from power line and ground. It also can provide more stable impedance and lower signal distortion. These modules will be available through G.Skill's authorized resellers and distributors worldwide.

Firmware 3.90 with Skype Now Available on Network Update

Fanboy reports that the PSP 3.90 firmware update is now available. The new firmware available only through Network Update will bring Skype for all PSP-2000 models. Here are the official details:
  • Support for PLAYSTATION Network titles has been expanded.
  • Skype has been added as a feature under Network. (Only for PSP-2000 series)
Skype requires a PSP headset in order to work properly.
Tuesday, January 29th 2008

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Mouse
PSUs
Storage
A-DATA Nobility N702 4GB USB Flash Drive Review

A-DATA Nobility N702 4GB USB Flash Drive Review

A-DATA is known for their unique USB flash devices. The new Nobility N702 is no different. It looks so fancy, that it can be used as a necklace or key chain with its shiny metal casing and tugged away USB connector.
Logisys UltraSlim Keyboard Review

Logisys UltraSlim Keyboard Review

The Logisys Ultra Slim Soft Touch Multimedia Keyboard has much more to offer than just your average keyboard. It has a two-tone matte/glossy black finish to compliment the very slim and compact design. The keystroke is soft and very quiet, while the palm rest ensures maximum comfort. Combine this with a range of internet and multimedia hot keys, and you have a recipe for a great product with a great price.

Qimonda Starts Shipping of Power-saving 1GB and 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMMs

Qimonda AG today announced that it has started to ship samples of 1GB and 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMMs (Double Data Rate 3 Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Modules) to key customers for deployment in next-generation notebook PCs. Qimonda optimized its new DDR3 SO-DIMM offerings for high power-savings in an effort to lead the industry. Power efficiency is the key value proposition of the new DDR3 memory interface in mobile computing, as it allows for extended battery life at higher performance levels for notebooks and other mobile computing applications.

NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT SLI Benchmarked

CHIPHELL has managed to get hold of a couple of NVIDIA's upcoming 9600 GT samples, and as you can probably guess that means only one thing: SLI. The two regular 9600 GTs were benchmarked in a system running with an Intel E6850 processor at 3.0GHz, an nForce 680i motherboard and 2GB DDR2 memory at 800MHz, using Windows Vista as the operating system. By itself, a single 9600 GT scored 10036 points in 3DMark06, but when combined in SLI the two cards managed an impressive 13080 points - over 900 points above the score of a GeForce 8800 Ultra (12142) on the same system. Meanwhile in 3DMark05 the 9600 SLI hit 18805 points and the setup reached over 55000 points in 3DMark03. Not bad for a mid-range card.

Cross Platform CryENGINE 2 Debuts at GDC

Crytek GmbH will be demonstrating a cross-platform version of its CryENGINE 2 middleware at this year's Game Developer Conference on February 18 - 22 in San Francisco. First publicly shown at last year's conference, and recently released as the technology underlying their critically acclaimed PC game, Crysis, this year's engine will be shown for the first time running on multiple hardware platforms such as the PS3 and Xbox 360, to a select audience. In addition, there will be a public demonstration showing how well the fully optimized engine can perform on a budget PC which can be put together for around 600 dollars complete, including keyboard and mouse. During the GDC session Crytek will also be hosting a series of live presentations of the Sandbox 2 editor.

Rockstar Reaches Hot Coffee Settlement

Rockstar Games has now managed to reach a settlement over the infamous "Hot Coffee" dispute which allowed gamers to unlock explicit content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Customers who still have the original disk and a detailed store receipt can claim up to $35 in compensation, and those with just the disk but no receipt will still be able to claim $5.
Defendants do not dispute that the parts that were modified and combined to display the Hot Coffee content were present in the code of the game discs. However, Defendants vigorously deny each and every allegation of improper conduct, and they deny all liability. The notice and other settlement documents provide information about the lawsuit, the settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them. To download a notice package.

Valve Unveils Steamworks

Valve today announced Steamworks, a complete suite of publishing and development tools - ranging from copy protection to social networking services to server browsing - is now available free of charge to developers and publishers worldwide. Steamworks, the same suite of tools used in best-selling PC titles Half-Life 2 and The Orange Box, is available for all PC games distributed via retail and leading online platforms such as Steam. The services included in Steamworks may be used a la carte or in any combination.

BIOSTAR Launches HybridPower GF8200 M2+ Motherboard

BIOSTAR Microtech Int'l Corp. has launched GF8200 M2+ supporting the environment friendly HybridPower Technology improving the overall power consumption of your desktop. GF8200 M2+ unleashes graphics performance when you need it with GeForce Boost Technology or opt for quiet, low-power PC experience with HybridPower. Plug your GeForce GPU into GF8200 M2+ for ultimate control which dials up performance when you game or watch video; go green and reduce noise and power consumption when you're just surfing the web, emailing, and word processing.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Priced and Dated

SCEA announced today the April 17 North American release date for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, available exclusively for PS3. Developed by famed Polyphony Digital, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be available for $39.99 on Blu-ray Disc (BD) and as a download via the PLAYSTATION Store. The BD version will offer added value with an exclusive behind-the-scenes High Definition (HD) video feature called "Beyond the Apex". You can also visit the US PlayStation.Blog here and check out the new Gran Turismo 5 footage.

Futuremark Announces the Futuremark Games Studio

Futuremark is proud to announce the formation of a group named the Futuremark Games Studio. The Games Studio will be Futuremark's first try in the game publishing business, as the division plans to work and develop "world class games" awaiting some good results in future. "Futuremark Games Studio is committed to developing original IP games with the highest quality game play combined with our established track record of creating blow-your-socks-off visuals", said Tero Sarkkinen, CEO of Futuremark Corporation. "For years, our fans have been asking us when will we start making games. Very soon they are going to get it - and then some!" Futuremark Games Studio personnel will be attending GDC 2008 in San Francisco where they can be found at the Nordic Games Studios Pavilion.

$399 Everex CloudBook Now Available on February 15th

Everex's site has been updated with a new CloudBook ship date. The 399$ ultra-mobile Everex PC based on the latest gOS Rocket operating system is now expected to be listed on Walmart.com and ZaReason.com on February 15th. Hardware specifications of the CloudBook include: 1.2GHz, VIA C7-M Processor ULV, 512MB DDR2 533MHz memory, 30GB HDD, 7" WVGA TFT Display (800x480), VIA UniChrome Pro IGP Graphics, VIA High-Definition Audio, 802.11b/g, 10/100 LAN, .3MP Webcam, and 4-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery.

NVIDIA to Launch nForce 790i Chipset in 2Q

NVIDIA is planning to launch the next generation nForce 790i chipset in the second quarter of this year. The chipset adopts NVIDIA's C73 northbridge and MCP55 southbridge, and will support Intel processors with FSB up to 1600MHz. The chipset will also feature 3-way SLI, Hybrid SLI technology and support DDR3 memory. Motherboard makers generally expect DDR3 memory pricing will start to drop in the third quarter of 2008. The nForce 790i is positioned by NVIDIA as a high-end product and so the motherboard should attract high-end gamers who will be willing to pay a premium for DDR3 memory. The nForce 790i will be released in two versions, nForce 790i Ultra SLI and nForce 790i SLI. The difference between the two is that the former has better overclocking ability and will support SLI memory modules up to DDR3 2000.

Danger Den Full Cover Radeon HD 3870 X2 Water Block Almost Ready

Water cooling expert Danger Den is also rushing to release water cooling solution for ATI's HD 3870 X2. Danger Den's offer is a brand new full cover, single slot copper R680 water block designed to fit only on the HD 3 Series X2 cards. Pictures below show one of the prototypes, while the final product should be available in 5-7 business days.

CoolIT Systems Liquid Cooling for HD3870 X2

Right on the heals of AMD announcing the availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3870 earlier this month, CoolIT Systems debuts the third installment in the Reference Series line of liquid cooling systems designed to quietly and effectively cool Advanced Micro Devices' highly anticipated performance graphic cards, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2. In recent testing, the liquid cooled cards were stably clocked up to over 900MHz core clock speed and the memory pushed to 1GHz with no thermal issues.

Intel to Retire Seven Merom Core 2 Duo Processors

Intel has entered a range of Core 2 Duo processors with Merom core into its product discontinuance program. According to a product change notification (PCN) published today, the models T5500, T5600, T7200, T7600 and LV L7200 will see final shipments on July 27, 2009. The T7400 and LV L7400 versions will ship until July 26, 2009, according to the published schedule. Boxed versions of these processors will ship until August 26 of this year. Orders for these CPUs are possible until May 26, 2008. Also affected by the PCN are the Celeron M models 520 and 530, which also can be ordered until May 26 and will continue shipping until January 26, 2009.

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 C1 Stepping Coming in March

The first 45nm 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9650 CPU is set to undergo a few updates as Intel is preparing a new stepping for later this quarter. Planned to be available from March 3rd on, the C1 stepping CPUs will feature new SSPEC and MM numbers and a new CPUID - 0x00010677. The rest of the specifications of the C1 stepping remain unchanged from C0, but motherboard makers will still have to release new BIOS versions in order to support it.
Monday, January 28th 2008

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Harddisks
Memory
Motherboards
Mouse
Processors
Storage

Intel Becomes Largest Purchaser of Green Power in the U.S.

Intel Corporation said today it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of renewable energy certificates as part of a multi-faceted approach to reduce its impact on the environment, making Intel the single-largest corporate purchaser of green power in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The company said it hoped the record-setting purchase would help stimulate the market for green power, which should lead to additional generating capacity and ultimately, lower costs.

NEC Launches New AccuSync 3-Series Desktop LCDs

NEC Display Solutions of America announced today the addition of five 3-Series monitors to the AccuSync display family. The new standard format LCD series replaces the current AccuSync 2-Series. The new AccuSync 3-Series product line, which includes 17-inch and 19-inch standard screen sizes, features a new cabinet design, improved brightness of 300 cd/m², and improved contrast of 700:1 and 800:1 for the 17-inch and 19-inch models, respectively. Included in the line are the 17-inch ASLCD73VX, ASLCD73VX-BK, and the multimedia ASLCD73VXM-BK, as well as the 19-inch ASLCD93VX-BK and the multimedia ASLCD93VXM-BK. The NEC AccuSync 3-Series line is available in a black cabinet design, with the ASLCD73VX also available in a white cabinet. The new products are backed by 24-hour/day, 7-day/week customer service and technical support, and include a standard 3-year warranty. The estimated street price for the ASLCD73VX and ASLCD73VX-BK is $224.99, $239.99 for the ASLCD73VXM-BK, $254.99 for the ASLCD93VX-BK, and $274.99 for the ASLCD93VXM-BK.

AMD Officially Launches ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

AMD today announced the immediate availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics processor, expanding the visual boundaries of PC entertainment well beyond the 1080P High Definition (HD) threshold. The industry's first graphics processor to break the Teraflop (one trillion floating point operations per second) barrier, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 nearly doubles the performance of the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 3870 introduced in November 2007.

Amazon to Begin International Rollout of Amazon MP3 in 2008

Amazon.com today announced that in 2008 the company will begin an international rollout of Amazon MP3, Amazon's DRM-free MP3 digital music store where every song is playable on virtually any digital music-capable device, including the PC, Mac, iPod, Zune, Zen, iPhone, RAZR, and BlackBerry. Amazon MP3 is the only retailer to offer customers DRM-free MP3s from all four major music labels as well as over 33,000 independent labels.
Sunday, January 27th 2008
HIS Radeon HD3870 X2 1 GB Review

HIS Radeon HD3870 X2 1 GB Review

The HIS Radeon 3870 X2 combines the power of two ATI RV670 GPUs into one to reach for the performance throne in single card processing power. Even tough the implementation has some minor limitations the overall product is certainly interesting and can maybe bring AMD back in the game.
CES 2008: Cool IT Systems Review

CES 2008: Cool IT Systems Review

Cool IT Systems is showing off a few new pre-filled and ready to go TEC systems for both the high-end and entry level. You will also find new cooling systems for modern graphic cards and up and running systems.
Razer Destructor Mouse Mat Review

Razer Destructor Mouse Mat Review

Razer Destructor is the name of the newest hard gaming surface that uses a new surface technology. The Destructor features the all new "Fractal" surface that should enable you to get the best tracking out of your laser or optical mouse.

Sony and Nichia Develop New Smaller Blu-ray Disc Laser Unit

Sony and Nichia Corporation have jointly developed new Blu-ray laser technology that should lead to thinner and smaller notebook drives. The new blue-violet laser measures 14 x 7.4 x 3mm and is expected to be built into slimline Blu-ray drives that can be fitted into ultra-portable laptops, in-car entertainment systems, handheld disc players and maybe a new version of the PS3 console. The module can read and write dual-layer Blu-ray Discs as well as read the newer organic media. Both companies anticipate mass production of drives using the extra-compact laser towards the end of the year.
Saturday, January 26th 2008

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Harddisks
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Mousepads
PSUs
Storage

SPARKLE Calibre 8800 GT P888+ with GDP2 Card

SPARKLE Computer Co., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today unleashed Calibre P888+ Graphics Card with Innovative GDP2 Daughter Card. Using NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphics processing unit (GPU) , the Calibre P888+ Graphics Card is equipped with creative second generation GDP2 daughter card, providing accurate working condition surveillance for high-end gamers.

Based on NVIDIA's next generation GeForce 8800 GT architectures, the Calibre P888+ Graphics Card adopts innovative unified architecture, dynamically allocates processing power to geometry, vertex, physics, or pixel shading operations, delivering up to 2x the gaming performance of prior generation GPUs. Built upon technologies such as NVIDIA Lumenex Engine, providing support for DirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0, NVIDIA Quantum Effects technology for physics computation and GigaThread Technology for extreme processing efficiency in advanced, next generation shader programs.

HD DVD Believes Format War is Far From Over

Even with the tide apparently shifting in Blu-ray Disc's favor, the HD DVD camp isn't about to relent in the on-going high-definition format war. HD DVD still commands a significant portion of exclusive content and the most affordable hardware, giving the format a fighting chance. One part of HD DVD's new strategy is on lower prices and selling the hardware's ability to upscale regular DVD movies.

Everex CloudBook Delayed

More delays are coming today, as Everex's highly anticipated ultramobile CloudBook PC launch will have to wait a month or so, because of some last-minute changes to its Linux-based software. CloudBook was supposed to be available from Wal-Mart Inc. stores and the Walmart.com Web site today. Unfortunately in an e-mail, Everex's director of marketing, Paul Kim, said that "a couple of last-minute software tweaks" prevented the CloudBook, a competitor to rival Taiwanese ASUSTeK Computer's successful Eee PC, from reaching stores just three weeks after its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show. The $399 computer runs gOS, a flavor of Linux based on the popular Ubuntu distribution but with a reworked user interface aimed at smaller screens like CloudBook's 7-inch display. The upcoming Chinese New Year holidays are also delaying the CloudBook's rollout.

NVIDIA Delays nForce 780/750/790 and GeForce 9800 GX2 ?

Some bad news coming from the NVIDIA corner, if true. Expreview reports that almost all of NVIDIA's upcoming products will be delay till March. That includes: nForce 780a, 750a, 790i, 790i and Ultra chipsets, as well as the GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics. There's no official reason for the delay, neither new release dates. The delay will probably make ATI's Radeon HD 3870 X2 video card, the fastest available graphics in the market for a while. Only GeForce 8200 will make it in time and stick to its original February launch schedule.

DDR3 Price Premium Over DDR2 to Shrink to 10% This Year

According to DigiTimes, Intel's aggressive DDR3 strategy and DRAM makers approval of what's going on may result in a less than 10% price gap between DDR3 and DDR2 in the second half of 2008. Some DRAM makers believe that DDR3 will grow its role more obviously in 2008, after seeing DDR2 remain the mainstream memory standard for several years. The relatively high price premium of DDR3 over DDR2 so far has however discouraged PC OEMs to migrate. The price gap should shrink more noticeably this year, due to the aggressive push by Intel. The DRAM makers expect some PC vendors will be subsidized by Intel to migrate to DDR3-based platforms, and this should help encourage the entire industry to migrate accordingly. Some PC vendors will also introduce DDR3-based only systems in the second half of the year. As DRAM makers are expected to speed up their pace over DDR3 production, the price premium between the two standards is expected to shrink to 10% in the second half of the year.
Friday, January 25th 2008

Today's Reviews

Cooling
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
Processors
PSUs
Storage
Sapphire HD3870 Atomic Edition Review

Sapphire HD3870 Atomic Edition Review

Sapphire's new HD 3870 Atomic Edition is a special version of the Radeon HD 3870 with a single slot cooler. This is only possible because Sapphire uses a new cooling technology called Vapor-X cooling that improves cooling performance considerably while keeping noise down. Another plus of this card is that it comes overclocked out of the box with full warranty.

HP Pavilion HDX Now With NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS

Hewlett-Packard has updated this week the HP Pavilion HDX entertainment and gaming notebook with a new graphic card option. The Pavilion HDX, which was available only with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB video card, is now also configurable with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS 512MB GPU. This large 15.3-pound laptop features a 20.1-inch display with up to 1920x1200 (1080p) resolution, and is based on the Intel "Santa Rosa" platform with an Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Extreme processor. The notebook features up to 4GB of system memory, up to 500GB hard drive storage capacity, HD DVD and Bly-Ray optical drive options, an integrated TV tuner, and four Altec Lansing speakers accompanied by a subwoofer. Along with regular laptop ports and slots, the HDX provides an HDMI output and an eSATA connector. The basic HP Pavilion HDX configuration is priced at $1,999.

Microsoft's Xbox Division Profitable for the First Time, Posts $524M Profit

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, the portion of the company responsible for the Xbox line of video game consoles, has brought in profits of over $500 million for the first time. Financial documents from Microsoft reveal that, during the first six months of the company's 2008 fiscal year, the entertainment division brought in $4.98 billion in revenue, marking an operating profit of $524 million. During the same time period in the 2007 fiscal year, the division amassed $3.98 billion in revenue but reported a loss of $423 million. Overall the company shipped 4.3 million Xbox 360 units in the quarter, adding up to 17.7 million since shipped launch, with a total of 9.15 million sold in North America. As previously reported, Microsoft reported the whole of its $1.06 billion loss due to the Xbox 360 warranty extension in its 2007 fiscal year.

Scythe Launches the Zipang CPU Cooling

Scythe announced today its first try with 140mm fan equipped CPU cooling. The Zipang CPU Cooler or SCZP-1000 uses 6 massive heat-pipes situated on rather unusual place for today's processor cooling solutions. Scythe technicians call it UPHC (Uneven Parallel Heatpipe Construction). This new technology is applied for the first time in this cooler, as well as the new Scythe 140mm fan producing 51.82CFM air flow at only 21.00dBA (fan speed: 1000rpm ±10%). The overall weight of the cooler is 815g and Scythe promises compatibility for all Intel Socket 478/T (LGA775) and AMD Socket 754/939/940/AM2 processors. The Zipang (Land of the Rising Sun) CPU Cooler can be yours now for US $58.00 / EURO 44.95.

BIOSTAR Launches TA780G M2+ Motherboard

BIOSTAR Microtech Int'l Corp has just launched the TA780G M2+, which is an integrated graphics motherboard with amazing performance. T-Series TA780G M2+ has created unique extra value for both end-users who don't want to buy a discrete graphics card and those who need a discrete graphics card. TA780G M2+ offers a powerful graphics performance, which is about 70% better than current generation models available on the market. On the other hand, TA780G M2+ can also increase the performance of ATI graphics cards by ATI Hybrid Technology. This technology helps to boost performance of your ATI Radeon 3400 series Graphics card over 50%. Those strong advantages make TA780G M2+ to become the most popular product on the market.

Sound Waves Can Improve Water Cooling Performance up to 147%

Sound waves can boost the efficiency of liquid cooling techniques by nearly 150%, a feat that may help keep hardworking computer chips and other components from overheating in future. Current computer cooling solutions, such as fans and heat sinks, will have difficulty keeping more powerful microchips cool in future. But researchers in the US have shown how a relatively inefficient method - liquid cooling - can be improved dramatically with the use of sound waves.

OCZ Technology Product Store Now Open Online at eCost.com

OCZ Technology Group is pleased to announce its hardware solutions are now available at eCost.com, a top online reseller in the U.S. By partnering with quality resellers like eCost that offer a wide range of consumer electronics, OCZ's products will be more accessible to a greater breadth of customers with varying system requirements and budget restrictions. The eCost site will feature an online store dedicated to OCZ memory, flash, power supplies, peripherals, and cooling products, offering a complete range of products for the needs of enthusiasts, gamers, and mainstream desktop users.

Microsoft Updates Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 Test Builds

Microsoft said on Thursday that it has released another updated test version of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The company said that the new version, dubbed "Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh 2," has been released to about 15,000 beta testers. The code is not being made available publicly, Microsoft added. The final version is still on track to be finalized this quarter. Microsoft also released "Windows XP SP3 RC Refresh 2" to beta testers on Wednesday. Windows XP SP3 Final is aiming for a release sometime in the first half of this year, but Microsoft noted: "our timing will always be based on customer feedback as a first priority."

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 CrossFire Tested

The title says it all. Sounds monstrously, but in reality benchmark results are not so promising. Maybe this is due to the fact that there aren't any official ATI X2 drivers at all, but time will show. Test system: INTEL Core 2 Duo QX9650, MSI X48 Platinum, Samsung M378BZ873CZ0-CF8 2x1024MB DDR3, Seagate Barracuda 10 SATAII 750GB (ST3750330AS/P,7,200rpm), Windows Vista. Read the full story here.

AMD to Showcase B3 Phenoms at CeBIT 2008

Due to the TLB (translation lookaside buffer) bug, AMD has postponed the launch of its upcoming quad-core Phenom 9700 and 9900 CPUs to the second quarter of 2008, however the company is planning to showcase them at CeBIT 2008 along with the fixed B3 stepping Phenoms, according to DigiTimes citing sources at the motherboard makers. AMD will also showcase the energy-efficient Phenom 9100e. Advanced Micro Devices is confident that it has solved the bug in the B3 stepping revision, but since the company has not yet revealed an actual shipment date for the new stepping, it is unclear whether the showcase will also mark the new beggining of the AMD Phenom epoch. CeBIT 2008 will take place in Hannover Germany 4-9 March, 2008.
Thursday, January 24th 2008
CES 2008: Genius Review

CES 2008: Genius Review

Genius is a very diverse brand and there are a few very interesting offerings on display. These range from input devices to digital fridge magnets. Also you could see a combination of 22" display and touch sensitive graphics tablet.
CES 2008: Lian-Li Review

CES 2008: Lian-Li Review

Lian-Li is presenting their newest case for enthusiasts. The Armorsuit P60 and P80. There is a new HTPC case as well as power supplies at their booth. Another very nice concept is an XBox360 enclosure made from aluminum.
CES 2008: A-DATA Review

CES 2008: A-DATA Review

A-DATA has an open booth and are showcasing their new Disney themed products, as well as new SSD products. Besides that you will also find their new DDR3 memory up to 2000 MHz at the booth.

IBM may Create more Formal Chip Manufacturing Ties with AMD

Industry analysts, and sources, have speculated about the possible creation of a more formal relationship between IBM and AMD. Such a relationship may result in a possible merger between the two companies in the future. An IBM takeover, or joint venture company may result. Such a merger would allow IBM to maintain ties to some management in the computer industry as the company moves more toward technology services. The creation of some sort of more formal association could help inject confidence into AMD which has not reported a quarterly profit since mid-2006. IBM and AMD have been technology partners for several years, and are currently completing a joint manufacturing plant in Malta.

Best Buy Discontinuing 80GB PS3?

SCEA already announced plans to discontinue the 20GB and 60GB PS3 SKUs from the Japan market. Two days ago we also reported that a ceramic PS3 is coming to the US. Now a rumour has it that Sony is also discontinuing the 80GB version of PS3. It all starts with an anonymous Best Buy employee scan of an internal letter, which notifies employees that the 80GB system is being discontinued. "The 80GB version of the PS3 is going closeout and won't be replaced at this time," it reads. "It will come off the planogram on Jan. 28. The 60GB version should already be gone from stores. Only the 40GB version of PS3 will be sold in Best Buy stores at this time." The 40GB model currently costs $399, and is the cheapest PS3 available. However, it does have a few limitations: it lacks memory card readers, features only two USB ports, and most importantly, loses backwards compatability, as noted in the memo. "This means that there currently isn't a version that is PS2 compatible,".

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky to be Released Digitally as Steam Exclusive

GCS Game World and Valve announce that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be available for digital download worldwide exclusively on Steam. The official prequel to the Survival FPS game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is currently slated for simultaneous release on Steam and at retail outlets later this year. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky brings the players one year prior to the events of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in 2011. A group of stalkers has, for the first time, reached the very heart of the Zone-Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant-and brings about a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. Through a rich narrative and gripping combat action, players uncover new challenges and insights in the Exclusion Zone. A new version of the game engine, X-Ray 1.5, powers superior graphical details and realistic and non-scripted combat AI. More information and a collection of new images may be found here.

Dell and Microsoft Support (PRODUCT) RED

Dell and Microsoft Corp. will offer customers a simple way to make a difference in the fight against AIDS in Africa through the purchase of unique (PRODUCT) RED branded personal computers and a printer. Adding to the premium experience, all Dell (PRODUCT) RED PCs are powered by Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED. Dell is the exclusive partner for PCs and peripherals for (PRODUCT) RED.

ASUS Launches Overclocked 3650

ASUS has today introduced the world's first overclocking version of the latest generation of AMD GPUs - the ATI Radeon HD 3650 chipset, with the ASUS EAH3650 TOP. This powerful graphics card lets users enjoy an outstanding 10% improvement in gaming experiences; while both the ASUS EAH3650 TOP/HTDI/256M and the EAH3650/HTDI/256M are designed to provide feature-rich DirectX 10.1 gaming and the best multimedia playback while consuming less power with the new power efficient 55nm processors. Furthermore, the equipped Glaciator Fansink will keep the GPU 12ºC cooler than reference designed fansinks.

Ubuntu 7.10 Coming to Dell XPS M1330 Laptop

More laptop computers preloaded with Ubuntu Linux are coming from Dell in response to demand from potential customers around the world. Starting today, customers in Germany, United Kingdom, France and now Spain can purchase Ubuntu Linux 7.10 with built-in DVD playback on the XPS 1330n, in addition to the previously-released Inspiron 530n desktop system. The offer will also be available for U.S. customers after one week.

Rockstar Games Announces Release Date for Grand Theft Auto IV

Rockstar Games has finally set a date for the release of one of the year's most anticipated software releases. Developed by Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto IV will be simultaneously available for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION3 and will be in stores worldwide on April 29, 2008. "We are so excited to be releasing Grand Theft Auto IV," said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. "We've pushed ourselves very hard to make something incredible and hope the game sets a new benchmark for interactive entertainment." For more information, log onto GTA IV home page.

VIA Unveils Next-Generation Isaiah x86 Processor Architecture

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of x86 silicon and platform technologies, today announced details of the VIA Isaiah Architecture, a new x86 processor architecture that will deliver significant boosts to the functionality and performance of desktop, mobile and ultra mobile PCs while minimizing power requirements, saving on battery life and enabling ultra compact system designs.

NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT Launch Delayed

NVIDIA has informed their partners that the launch of the GeForce 9600 GT has been pushed back by one week from February 14th to February 21st due to a voltage issue with the reference cards (G94P545), which may cause some systems to 'hang' in certain situations. Here's the notice:
We've seen a small percentage of 9600 GT NVTTM boards exhibiting a voltage transient on the NVDD power supply during certain applications

Windows XP Eee PC Launched in Japan

ASUS has formally launched its Windows XP Home Edition pre-installed Eee PC in Japan. The Linux-less Eee PC is named 4G-X and has quite the same specs as the original Eee PC 701 (4G). The standard 4GB SSD, 512MB of DDR 2 memory, 800x480 display, three USB 2.0 ports, SDHC memory card reader, 10/100Mb/s Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a 0.3-megapixel webcam are all presented. ASUS is also bundling the 4G-X model with a 4GB SDHC card, doubling the total storage to 8GB. Japanese buyers get a choice of white or black colours. Buyers also get an optical mouse and free access to NTT's WiFine hotspot network. The 4G-X will cost ¥50,000 ($468/£239/€320).

New Drivers to Improve HD 3870 X2 Performance

VR-Zone has learned that Radeon display driver 8.45 v1.3 will improve performance and compatibility on the Radeon HD 3870 X2 over the current 8.45 v1.0 driver. The current set of drivers is facing game performance issues so benchmarks on it are not reflective on the actual gaming performance of the card. The new Catalyst will be out before 28th January according to AMD.
Wednesday, January 23rd 2008
CES 2008: Sapphire Review

CES 2008: Sapphire Review

Sapphire has a small suite in which they have some real nice new releases to take a look at for example an AGP based HD3850. This means that even users of the aging AGP platform can enjoy the benefits of DirectX 10 titles on their system.

AMD RS780 is 261% Faster Than AMD 690G in 3DMark06

Today, AMD announced the AMD RS780 IGP chipset in China, and first benchmark results are already starting to spread around the web. Initial tests of 3Dmark05, 3Dmark06 and F.E.A.R. under Windows VISTA Ultimate using AMD Athlon X2 5000+, 2GB PC2-6400 Corsair memory and the integrated graphics on a 690G board and RS780 board show some spectacular differences:

3DMARK05 @690G=1105, @RS780=2495
Vista Experience Index @690G=3.1, @RS780=3.5
FEAR DEMO @690=15FPS, @RS780=29FPS
3DMARK 06 @690G : Score=321, SM2:147, HDR/SM3=0, CPU score = 1860
3DMARK 06 @RS780: Score=1162, SM2:380, HDR/SM3=441, CPU score 1869

In terms of 3D graphics performance, AMD RS780 is 2x faster than AMD 690G. In 3Dmark06, the difference is shocking, 1162 vs 321. That is 3.6x difference.

New Prince of Persia Game Confirmed; Ubisoft Details 2008 Releases

Publisher Ubisoft has confirmed that more titles in the Prince of Persia series are on the way, though further details are slim. In a financial statement released today, the company made a brief mention of the franchise, noting that a new Prince of Persia title is expected to arrive within the next fiscal year. Ubisoft's 2008 fiscal year begins April 1, 2008 and ends March 31, 2009. Other games due out from Ubisoft in that time span include Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Far Cry 2, Haze, Tom Clancy's EndWar, a Shaun White snowborading title and a Tom Clancy air combat title. The publisher also revealed that more entries in popular casual-oriented franchises Petz, Imagine, and MyCoach will arrive in the next fiscal year, along with a new line of casual games.

ECS May Enter the High-end Motherboard Market

Elitegroup Computer System (ECS) will change its motherboard strategy this year to focus on more higher-end products, according to Digitimes citing sources at motherboard makers. Due to limited growth in the entry-level market, ECS has recently changed some of its PCB and port layouts to suit higher-end markets while also adding unique functions to its motherboards. With the changes, the company expects to grab a modest share in the mid-range and high-end markets. In a few words we might have new high-end motherboards soon from ECS, which is all good for us.

GECUBE Launches Radeon HD3600 and HD3400 Graphics Cards

Towards the end of 2007, GECUBE launched the HD3850 and HD3870 to popular market acclaim. For spring 2008, GECUBE is releasing the HD3600 and HD3400 graphics cards to offer gamers a whole new level of performance and set the market alight once more. Designed for the value and general gaming market, the HD3600 and HD3400 series are equipped with the latest AMD 55nm chip technology and support the PCI-Express 2.0 interface for optimal graphics performance. HD3600 and HD3400 also support the enhanced DirextX10.1/SM4.1 standard to deliver more realistic, high-resolution video.

GECUBE's HD3600 series uses the ATI Radeon RV635 chip built on the 55nm process running and supports the latest PCI-Express 2.0 interface. In addition to versions equipped with 512MB or 1.0GB of high-speed DDR2 memory, GECUBE is also offering a special edition equipped with 256MB or 512MB of high-speed GDDR3 memory and ATI's next-generation CrossFireX technology that allows for up to four graphics card to run in parallel. For gamers, this offers a complete solution to their performance needs and expands their upgrade options.

Dell Opens Second Manufacturing Facility in Poland

Dell CEO Michael Dell officially opened Dell's newest and most advanced manufacturing facility today, joining employees, customers, members of the Polish national and local governments and co-operating companies to celebrate the event. The facility locates Dell production and personalization capabilities closer to increasing numbers of consumers and businesses in Central and Eastern Europe and will significantly improve delivery times.

ASUS Z7S Not a Hoax

When we reported about the Inquirers review of the Asus Z7S we were quite skeptical. ASUS contacts could not confirm existence and even doubted the news themselves due to various reasons. (naming scheme, FB-DIMM's on enthusiast board, etc)
Besides a small review the Z7S was not heard of. Though we are happy to be able to tell you it isn't a hoax, a contact at Asus confirmed existence of the board and it is indeed aimed at previous PC-DL/NCCH-DL users.
Unfortunately nothing new is known, but seeing how the aforementioned boards were priced odds are it will not cost you an arm and a leg. Which is, of course, relative.
Strategically it would make sense to release this around the release of Skulltrail, the only board with similar features. So let's hope for some more news next month.

Another MacBook Air Killer from Toshiba Emerges

Here's one more MacBook Air contender coming from Toshiba, actually two more: the Portégé R500 11J and 11I. The 11J, with 64GB of SSD and no optical drive, is clearly looking for a fight with the Mac Book Air. Toshiba even claims to have the thinnest and lightest laptop in the world (779g and 25.5mm). Specifications for this model include: Core2 Duo ULV U7600, 2GB DDR2 667MHz memory, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/g/n), Bluetooth, 3G+/HSDPA and price range of 2500 €.

Sony Japan Delays Skype on PSP

After making such a fuss, Sony has just delayed Skype on PSP service in Japan. Originally the Skype PSP service was scheduled for January 24th. The cause for this move seems to be Sony's two microphone products - the single pack PSPJ-15010 and twin pack PSPJ-15011 - which "did not meet the Skype specifications" and thus failed the certification process. A new release date will be announced later.

Dell, Microsoft Team Up to Sell Red Computers

Dell and Microsoft Corp are teaming up to sell "Red computers", donating up to $80 for every one sold to fund AIDS-fighting drugs in Africa. Dell will start selling two (Red) laptops and one desktop running Microsoft Windows Vista on Friday. The two companies will donate $50 for a laptop and $80 for a desktop to the Global Fund, which finances health programs in Africa. The "Red PCs" will have a distinctive red casing and the Windows interface will feature a red background and sidebar. Microsoft said it expects "several hundred thousand" Red Dell PCs to be sold in 2008.

Sapphire Select Gives Gamers Freedom of Choice

Sapphire Technology Limited has just announced an exciting new way to bundle top software and games titles with its graphics cards that allows users to choose which tiltles they want. In an industry first, to be known as Sapphire Select, most of the new Sapphire graphics accelerators will be shipped with a DVD containing a selection of top applications and games from several leading software houses. The end customer can play each of the games for a one hour trial before choosing which titles he or she wants to keep and use the activation codes for those titles. Additional access codes for further titles on the disk will also be offered at discounted prices. Adrian Thompson, Global Marketing Director for Sapphire, said this is an added attraction to choose the Sapphire brand. "We know people don't buy graphics products just for the bundled games," "But Sapphire Select gives a true added value to our products because customers can actually choose what they want after they get the product home."

PowerColor Announces More DX10.1 Gaming/Mainstream Graphics Cards

TUL Corporation announced today the availability of five new mainstream and value cards under the HD 3 series chip from ATI. These products include: HD 3650 Xtreme 512M DDR3 PCS, HD 3650 512M DDR3 PCS, HD 3650 512M DDR2, HD 3650 512M DDR2 SCS3 and HD 3450 256M DDR2 SCS. These new cards offer Microsoft DirectX 10.1/Shader Model 4.1 support, PCI Express 2.0, built-in HDMI with 5.1 surround audio, Universal Video Decode, and ATI's CrossFire X technology. PowerColor also announced a new brand image symbol along with new series of products. The logo indicates abbreviation of PowerColor, which shows "PC" in one character. "We hope this new brand image symbol could let gamers and be much easier to recognize and deepen their impression about PowerColor." Ted Chen, CEO of TUL Corporation says, "not only provide the best graphics card, PowerColor also makes efforts in brand management to bring the strong and consistency brand image to every gamer."

ASUS EAH3870X2 Video Card Unveiled

ASUS, producer of top quality graphic solutions, unveiled today two more graphics cards - the ASUS EAH3870X2/G/3DHTI/1G and EAH3870X2/G/HTDI/1G, powered by the world's first dual RV670XT GPUs from ATI. The EAH3870X2/G/3DHTI/1G comes equipped with 1GB of DRR3 0.8ns memory modules working at 1800MHz, and two exclusive extra DVI outputs. On top of the two GPUs working at 825MHz, ASUS has decided to install specially designed heatsink with dual fans, one for each core - ensuring efficient heat dissipation. Further more, the ASUS EAH3870X2 Series will also come bundled with Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and the well-known leather CD wallet.

United Keys and Foxconn Working on OLED Keyboard

The Swedish industrial design and engineering firm United Keys in collaboration with Foxconn, may soon produce a ground-breaking keyboard for PC gaming, and displace "soon to be shipped" Art Lebedev's Optimus keyboard. United Keys will make their debut with the release of this Foxconn build display key PC keyboard, with a set of nine OLED keys (funny, but the concept pictured has 12 OLED keys, who knows). Unfortunately that's all the information given with the press release.

AMD Unleashes the ATI Radeon HD 3400 and ATI Radeon HD 3600 Series

AMD today announced the introduction and availability of the ATI Radeon HD 3400 and ATI Radeon HD 3600 series, the leading-edge entry-level and mainstream graphics processors (GPU) in the ATI Radeon HD 3000 series. Ranging in price from USD $49-$65 suggested e-tail pricing (SEP) for the ATI Radeon HD 3400 series and USD $79-$99 SEP for the ATI Radeon HD 3600 series, the new graphics solutions deliver unmatched value to the consumer.

Tuesday, January 22nd 2008
CES 2008: Lexar & Crucial Review

CES 2008: Lexar & Crucial Review

Lexar has an open booth at the show floor, which also holds the Crucial products. There are new Ballistix Tracer and SSDs as well as Disney themed Lexar memory flash devices.
CES 2008: Mushkin Review

CES 2008: Mushkin Review

Mushkin has a suite away from the show floor in the New York, New York casino with a few interesting tidbits and new releases to share with you.
CES 2008: OCZ Technology Review

CES 2008: OCZ Technology Review

OCZ has a booth at the Bellagio in which you can view their new SSD products and new GameXStream power supply. A new watercooling product is being presented here as well together with the mighty HydroJet cooler.
Xigmatek NRP-HC1201 1200W Review

Xigmatek NRP-HC1201 1200W Review

Xigmatek's new NRP-HC1201 power supply offers 1200W of power with support for up to six VGA power connectors. Juice is delivered over four 12V rails with up to 36A per rail. Of course the usual features like long and fully sleeved cables and 80+ high efficiency are present as well.

EVE Online Comes to Steam as the First MMO Game

CCP's massively multiplayer online game in space, EVE Online, will be the first MMO to be available on Steam, Valve announced today. To celebrate the occasion, a special 21-day trial period for EVE will be available, free of charge, to all Steam gamers. Steam gamers will also save $5 off their first full month of EVE Online. "Launching EVE on Steam means the addition of another fantastic PC game and the introduction of MMOs on Steam," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "The team at CCP continues to expand EVE's universe and gameplay for the legions logging in to play each month, just as we continue to expand Steam's consumer and developer features."

G.Skill Launches New Apple Series SO-DIMM Memory Modules

G.Skill International Enterprise recently launched the new package and full product line for Apple Mac users. The products include:
  • 1GB SO-DIMM DDR2-667 (PC2-5300)
  • 2GB SO-DIMM DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) (one 2GB memory or 2x1GB kit)
  • 3GB SO-DIMM DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) (one 1GB and one 2GB)
  • 4GB SO-DIMM DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) (2x2GB kit)
All memories and kits are backed with a lifetime warranty, and should work just fine using CL5-5-5-15 timings. These modules will be available through G.Skill's authorized resellers and distributors worldwide. For more information and specifications of the new Apple series products, please visit G.Skill.

Official Assassin's Creed PC Minimal/Suggested Specs

Here are the official system specs needed to play Assassin's Creed on the PC:
Supported OS: Windows XP / Vista (only)
Processor: Dual core processor 2.6GHz Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended)
RAM: 2GB (3GB recommended)
Video Card: 256MB DirectX 10.0-compliant video card or DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (512MB video card recommended) (see supported list)*
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 compliant sound card (5.1 sound card recommended)
DirectX Version: DirectX 10.0 libraries (included on disc)
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 12GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI RADEON X1300-1950 / HD 2000 / 3000 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600-6800 / 7 / 8 / 9 series

Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported.

Intel Ships First Dual Core Celeron

Intel has now begun shipping the first of its low-end dual core processors: the 1.6GHz Celeron E1200. The processor is based on Intel's Core architecture and is manufactured using a 65nm process, with an 800MHz FSB and 512KB L2 cache. Intel's price (when sold in 1,000 unit quantities) is $53, with these CPUs coming into the market just below the 1.6GHz Pentium E2140 CPUs. Newegg.com has given the processor a price tag of $65.99 for the retail version, which is exactly $9 below that of the E2140.

World of Warcraft Reaches New Milestone: 10 Million Subscribers

World of Warcraft's community continues to grow, recently hitting a new high of 10 million subscribers around the world. Interest in the award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) has remained high in all regions, with thousands of new and returning players signing up through the holiday season. World of Warcraft now hosts more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and approximately 5.5 million in Asia. "It's very gratifying to see gamers around the world continuing to show such enthusiasm and support for World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're always pleased to welcome new players to the game, and we're looking forward to sharing the next major content update with the entire community in the months ahead." Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 worldwide, and finished behind only World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, the first expansion pack for the game, in 2007. In addition to being the bestselling PC game of 2007 in both North America and Europe, The Burning Crusade holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of availability and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.

Ceramic PS3 Coming to the US

It now looks almost certain that Sony is planning to release the Ceramic White PS3 in the US sometime soon following a recent filing with the FCC. The model number differs to that of the console being sold in the Asian market, so it looks like it will be a slightly different version, and the controller number suggests a standard SIXAXIS controller rather than the DualShock 3 being sold with the Ceramic model in Asia. No official pricing or launch dates have been revealed, although an announcement is expected on 28th January which could potentially lead to the console going on sale as early as next month.

AMD Reportedly On Track with Next-Generation Graphics Chips

ATI reportedly aims to release its next-generation R700-series GPUs in mid-2008. The news comes as a surprise, as earlier it was revealed that the ATI R700-series chips are only due either in late 2008 or early in 2009.

According to a news story by the Chinese newspaper Commercial Times, ATI's RV770 GPU is due to be commercially released in late Q2 2008. Two of such chips are projected to power AMD's new high-performance ATI R700 graphics card.

AMD has already released samples of the 55nm RV770 GPU to its partners for certification and cards are expected to launch at late second quarter, added the paper.

Apple Introduces Pink iPod nano

Apple today announced that it is adding a gorgeous new pink iPod nano to the lineup of the world's most popular music player. The much-requested pink iPod nano is available immediately in an 8GB model for $199. iPod nano features a two-inch display which lets users watch the brand new iTunes Movie Rentals, or TV shows and music videos purchased from the iTunes Store. iPod nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge and is encased in a beautiful all-metal design made with anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel, which is also available in silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.

Guitar Hero Franchise Surpasses $1 Billion in North America in Record 26 Months

Activision's Guitar Hero franchise has set an industry record, surpassing $1 billion in North American retail sales in just 26 months, according to The NPD Group. Additionally, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the #1 title in units and dollars for calendar year 2007, making it the best-selling video game of all time in a single calendar year. Since its initial release in fall 2005, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold in excess of 14 million units in North America alone, according to The NPD Group. In 10 weeks since the game's launch, consumers have already downloaded more than five million songs. "Guitar Hero is one of the biggest brands and one of the most powerful distribution platforms in all of entertainment today," said Michael Griffith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Activision Publishing, Inc. "Guitar Hero's popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium."

Coolink Introduces ChipChilla Chipset Cooler

Coolink today introduced its new ChipChilla chipset cooler. The ChipChilla employs a thick 6mm dual-heatpipe as well as a quiet (19dB) 60mm fan. Thanks to its asymmetrical design ChipChilla allows for the fan to be mounted on either side in order to evade compatibility issues with CPU coolers and graphic cards. Also, the flexible mounting system for push-pins and mounting-hooks makes the ChipChilla compatible with virtually any current Intel or AMD mainboard. ChipChilla is available now at a suggested retail price of EUR 16,90 / USD 16,90.

WD Leads Market in Shipping Highest Areal Density 3.5-Inch Hard Drives

WD announced today that it is now shipping in volume its WD Caviar family of 3.5-inch hard drives based on 320 GB-per-platter technology, the same industry-leading storage areal density that the company has been shipping in its 160 GB-per-platter (320GB capacity) 2.5-inch WD Scorpio drives since October 2007. "Our technology investments and product roadmap execution have resulted in WD shipping the industry's highest areal densities in the industry's two highest volume markets," said Hossein Moghadam, chief technology officer of WD. "Our 250 gigabits-per-square-inch technology already has been reliably serving our 2.5-inch customers, and now it will benefit customers in the 3.5 inch desktop and other product areas."

IBM Accelerates Desktop Customer Choice With Support for Ubuntu, Red Hat and Novell

IBM today announced that it will offer an integrated Open Collaboration Client Solution with support for Ubuntu, a Linux-based operating system from Canonical Ltd. that is especially popular for desktops, laptops and thin clients. Showing strong momentum around its IBM Lotus Notes 8 and IBM Lotus Symphony-based Open Collaboration Client Solution, IBM also announced a new agreement working with Red Hat targeting small and medium-sized enterprises, and momentum in the Open Collaboration Client Solution powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell that was announced in August 2007. The announcements were made at the opening of Lotusphere in Orlando.

AMD HD 3870 X2 Launch Now January 28th

I'm afraid that all potential ATI HD 3870 X2 buyers will have to wait one more week until they get their hands on the new cards. TweakTown alerts that the launch of AMD's Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card has been pushed back to January 28th. AMD's new dual GPU graphics card was supposed to launch tomorrow but for unknown reasons, the launch has been pushed back. One possible version could be due to the fact that AMD is looking to have good stock quantity for this launch as it probably is a product that could do well for the struggling company.

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (R680) 1GB First Full Review Posted

The guys over at PConline.com.cn have managed again to be the first to post a full review of a graphics card that should be available later next month, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB (R680). First thing you'll notice is that the card beats NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 Ultra in every Futuremark benchmark and almost every game by quite a margin. Have a good time reading the full story here.
Monday, January 21st 2008
Sanyo Denki A11H Online UPS Review

Sanyo Denki A11H Online UPS Review

These days, computer equipment is more sensitive to power disruptions than ever before. The Sanyo Denki A11H is a true on-line UPS that provides constant power to multiple computer systems, and its design allows it to work well with backup generators. We take a look at a 700W tower-style model and the optional LAN Interface card.

Dell Launches New Blade Servers

Dell today set a new standard for data center energy efficiency and flexibility with the PowerEdge M-Series blade solution. The PowerEdge M-Series was designed from the ground up using Dell Energy Smart technologies, resulting in 30 industry patents, to help customers simplify information technology and better address mounting environmental challenges in their data centers. The new M1000e blade enclosure is now available worldwide for ordering with a starting price of $5,999, along with blades starting at $1,849.

Lenovo Outsources Laptop Production to Taiwan Makers

Lenovo has decided to change its manufacturing strategy and will outsource the whole of its own-brand notebook production to Taiwan makers, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report, citing the vice president of Lenovo's worldwide consumer notebook division. In order for Lenovo to expand its economic scale, the company has decided to remove one maker from the original four (Quanta, Compal, Wistron and Inventec) that produce consumer-based notebooks, while the company will add more makers to its ThinkPad manufacturing list.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Wii Replacement Discs Expected in February

Replacement discs for the Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock should begin shipping in Feburary. "The game has been approved by Nintendo and is currently in manufacturing," publisher Activision wrote in an e-mail to those who had registered for a replacement disc. "We expect to have the replacement discs available in February." After the game released in late October, it came to light that the Vicarious Visions-developed Wii edition of Neversoft's Guitar Hero III outputted songs in mono, though all other versions of the game were unaffected. Activision later acknowledged the issue and announced that it would provide replacement discs. To register for a new disc, consumers are urged to visit ActivisionGameExchange or call (866) 780-8286 between 8:00am-8:00pm EST, Monday-Friday.

LaCie Finds a Use for Samsung's 1.3-inch HDDs

LaCie has gotten hold of Samsung's 1.3" HDDs, and by adding a rather convenient USB interface, they have created a truly pocket size HDD capable of storing up to 40GB of data. The LaCie Little Disk is available in both 30 and 40GB versions, costing $130 and $160 respectively, and comes with a 2 year guarantee.

The second Spinpoint A1-boasting product from LaCie is the USB Key Max, which is even smaller and more portable. These advantages do come at a cost though, as it is slower. The 30GB Orange Key Max costs $120 while the 40GB Black version has a price tag of $150.

3870 X2 Goes On Sale

A Dutch site called Salland Automatisering has started to accept pre-orders for AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card, which has an expected release date of 23rd of January. Earlier reports suggested a retail price of $449 US, although the Dutch site has set a price of €425 which works out at around $615. Admittedly taxes in Europe are higher, and this site may have added a premium as it is the first to allow pre-orders, so $449 in the US isn't completely out of the question.

ASUS Launches Striker II Formula Motherboard

ASUS today released the Striker II Formula motherboard. This cutting-edge motherboard is the latest in ASUS' Republic of Gamers line and takes full advantage of the NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI MCP (Media Communications Processor). To deliver the most immersive PC gaming experience, the new Striker II Formula motherboard provides support for 3-way SLI technology, resulting in amazingly fast game-play.

Introducing Battlefield Heroes - Play 4 Free Game from Electronic Arts

At the Digital, Life, Design Conference (DLD) in Munich, Electronic Arts announced it will be releasing an all-new free Battlefield Heroes shooter. Battlefield Heroes is a brand new Play 4 Free game from the people that brought you the multi-million selling Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2. It will be a fun cartoon-style shooter which caters to players of all skill levels - easy to pick up and play, but with deep character development. Aimed at the mass market, the game will offer a downloadable client, lots of character customization and hours of shooting madness.
With the new online model we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games.
said Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at DICE, an EA company, that is behind this new project. Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in Summer 2008. Head over to the Battlefield Heroes site to keep up to date with its progress.

GIGABYTE Intros Two GeForce 8800 GT Gamer HUD Video Cards

GIGABYTE has stealthy released two new G92 cards. The fresh GeForce 8800 GT cards all have a blue PCB, a new dual-slot cooler and a few other software and hardware updates, that distinguish them from the competitiors. The 256MB GV-NX88T256H and 512MB GV-NX88T512HP are both "Gamer HUD" cards. Gamer HUD is GIGABYTE's latest video card technology which consists of a power control VGO chip built into the graphics card and Windows software that allows you to adjust the GPU voltage for 3D gaming or 2D environment. Changing the core voltage will also allow you to find your optimal clock frequencies.

DFI Unveils its Second Intel X38 Based LANParty DK X38-T2R Motherboard

DFI's latest LANParty board is based on the Intel's X38 and ICH9R chipset, DFI's second take on the Intel X38 series product line (LANPARTY LT X38-T2R first took place). The freshman LANParty DK X38-T2R supports DDR2 memory up to 1066MHz and 1333MHz FSB for the latest Intel processors. LANParty DK X38-T2R also incorporates 4-phase digital PWM, 8-channel Realtek ALC885 high definition audio codec, dual PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots for ATI CrossFire graphics, CMOS Reloaded Technology, Genie BIOS, and EZ Clear CMOS accessible from the back I/O panel of the board. The board also uses 100% Japanese-made solid capacitors, which now-a-days is considered normal in the high-end market.

New Intel Dual-core Celeron Coming in 2Q08

Having recently launching its first dual-core Celeron E1200 processor, Intel is ready to launch another family member with a faster core frequency in the second quarter of 2008. Intel is planning to launch E1400 with a core frequency of 2GHz, 800MHz FSB, L2 cache of 512KB, and maximum TDP of 65W. The chip is based on a 65nm Conroe core and supports Intel 64, XD Bit (Execute Disable Bit) and Speed Step technology. Pricing will be set at US$53 in a thousand-unit tray quantities. In the first quarter of 2008, Intel will let the dual-core Celeron E1200 and single-core Celeron 440, 430 and 420 defend the entry-level segment, while in the second quarter, the company will let the Celeron E1400, 440 and 430 continue the job, while phasing out the E1200 and 420. During its first quarter of sales, the Celeron E1000 series accounted for around 3% of Intel's total desktop CPU shipments, and the ratio will not exceed 10% in 2008. The series is expected to completely replace single-core Celerons by the second quarter of 2009.

AMD Announces New Chips for Embedded Systems

At the AMD Taiwan Embedded Forum this week, AMD announced a significant number of platform-stable, energy-efficient additions to its embedded roadmap. The high performance AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core processors TL-56 and TL-62 can deliver the exceptional leading edge 64-bit application performance and low power requested by designers in the industrial control, digital signage and point-of-sale embedded markets, while the energy-efficient AMD Sempron processor 3700+ offers additional performance in a consistent and very low-power thermal envelope for value-based designs.

New Intel Wolfdale Stock Cooler Pictured

The new 45nm Wolfdale Core 2 Duo E8000 CPUs have a new cooler bundled with the BOX package. As you can see below, the cooler is similar than the one found in Intel's 65nm Conroes. This move probably helps Intel trim down the manufacturing costs, but mostly comes to show one big plus of the 45nm process and that's the lower heat output.
Sunday, January 20th 2008
CES 2008: ASUS Review

CES 2008: ASUS Review

ASUS has a small booth with a few interesting items. There is a dedicated gaming products section and their new mainboards and other gadgets can also be seen.
Westone UM1 Earphones Review

Westone UM1 Earphones Review

The Westone UM1 in-ear-monitors are aimed at people wanting good sound quality on the move without having to spend several hundreds of dollars. With a price of $109 they are Westone's contribution to a highly competitive price segment.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Benchmarked

German hardware site PCGH had the opportunity to benchmark the upcoming Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor through various performance benchmarks. The 45nm Core 2 Quad Q9300 CPU is yet to be relased and features 2,5GHz (333x7.5) clock speed, 6MB L2 shared cache and only 1.2V default voltage. See all the tests here.

Skype Cross-zone Scripting Vulnerability Found

Security researcher Aviv Raff has discovered and demonstrated a flaw within Skype that allows malicious code to execute when the software embeds video into chat. The problem is caused by Skype's web control. The program uses Internet Explorer to render internal and external HTML, but does so using "Local Zone" security settings. Full information on the "Skype cross-zone scripting vulnerability" is posted here. There, you can also watch a proof-of-concept footage of Skype launching Windows' calculator. The bug currently effects Skype v.3.6.0.244, and may be present in older versions of the client as well. At this point, the solution is to avoid running the "Add Video to Chat" Skype feature. Simply having the program installed or using its various other functions will not expose a system to potential infection.

Detailed 3870 X2 Cooler Pics Surface

Although plenty of Radeon HD 3870 X2 pictures have found their way onto the internet, there has been relatively little to look at when it comes to cooling. CHIPHELL has managed to get hold of some nice close-ups, which you can see below. Based on initial impressions, the cooler doesn't look too impressive, but at the end of the day it's real world performance that counts so we'll have to wait and see.

CoolerMaster Centurion 590 Arrives in March

Cooler Master Centurion 590 Arrives in March

Cooler Master is going to launch a new model, Centurion 590 for the mainstream market in March of this year. This 8.5kg steel case measures (B) 213 x (H) 440 x (D) 510 mm and is designed for ATX and micro ATX motherboards. There are nine 5.25" drive bays and one of these can be converted to a 3.5" floppy drive bay. The case features a removable module that supports four HDDs, but it takes up three 5.25" drive bays. You can mount up to six 120mm fans, but unfortunately the case ships with only two: one 120mm blue LED front fan and a 120mm rear fan. Two more 120mm fans can be installed in the front to up the total amount of fans to eight, but doing so will also prevent you from installing any optical drives. The case features tool-free installation for the hard disk drives, optical drives and add-on cards. The PSU is mounted in the bottom of the case and the rear features retaining holes for liquid cooling. The Centurion 590 has a fully meshed front for improved ventilation and has cable management holes to make cable routing easier. Finally, the Cooler Master Centurion 590 should be yours for less than $85 when it's released.
Saturday, January 19th 2008

Ultralight Lenovo X300 Series Thinkpad Leaked

New offering from Lenovo may threaten Apple's MacBook Air soon enough. At a glance, the new ultralight X300 series Thinkpad from Lenovo will feature a 13.3-inch LED backlit 1440x900 screen, an ultralight 2.5 pound form factor, optional 3G or WiMAX, Intel Merom Santa Rosa Dual Core CPU 2.0GHz (800MHz FSB), single 64GB SSD drive, up to 4GB of DDR2 PC2-5300 memory, and 4 hours of battery life. No release date or price has been announced.

AMD: TLB Bug Fixed, 45nm Processors Due to H2 2008

AMD chief executive officer Hector Ruiz today uncovered that the TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer) bug in all Phenom and Barcelona quad-core processors has been fixed. According to Ruiz, the fixed B3 stepping CPUs are "running through the paces internally" at this time with engineering samples expected to be shipped to customers within "2 to 3 weeks". Volume production is scheduled to begin "later in the quarter" and first systems with the fixed processors should become available late in Q1, president Dirk Meyer said. Production volume of Barcelona and Phenom quad-core will be about double of the nearly 400,000 units that were manufactured during Q4, CFO Bob Rivet noted. As previously reported, the higher speed and triple-core Phenoms will be postponed for the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarter. Hector Ruiz also commented on the company's 45nm progress. Ruiz said that AMD's first 45 nm Opterons have been produced and the company is targeting for H2 2008 roll out.

New Vulnerability Hits Excel

A new flaw has opened up in Microsoft Excel, which could allow an attacker to compromise a remote user's computer. Microsoft warned this week that an attacker could use the vulnerability to create a malicious Excel file. Users who open an infected file would be subject to having their computer compromised. Users would need to download and open a malicious file for it to have any effect. Once opened, though, the attacker has the ability to remotely access the victim's PC, exposing personal data and other documents. This makes it a serious problem especially for businesses. The vulnerability affects the following versions of Excel: 2000, 2002, Viewer 2003, 2003 Service Pack 2, and Mac Excel 2004. So far Microsoft has not announced when it will be releasing a patch to fix the problem, but it has encouraged users who think they may have been attacked to contact its support line.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Mod Tools Available

Infinity Ward has released the mod tools for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The 603MB download includes everything required to make levels, models and mods for the game. To get people started, Infinity Ward has opened a Wiki with information on using the Call of Duty 4 version of the Radiant level editor. There's also a promise of frequent article additions.

DOWNLOAD

Second-gen Asus Eee PC rumored to have touch screen

After Asus's large success with the Eee PC, the company is looking to launch a new version, which will most probably appear in Q2 2008. The screen options will be either 7, 8 or 8.9-inch and the PC will be WiMAX-enabled. Interestingly, Asus may opt for a 9" touch screen, and is searching for a manufacturer that would be capable of supplying the screens in large quantities at a decent price.

There is a possibility that the top Eee model will feature a 10" screen, Asus does plan to keep the costs as low as possible.

Vista Successor in H2 2009?

According to TG Daily, the next version of Windows (codenamed Blackcomb Vienna) could be scheduled for release as early as the second half of next year. The operating system was originally slated to be launched in 2010, but the latest roadmap from Microsoft gives Windows 7 a release-to-manufacturer (RTM) date of H2 2009. The site is also reporting that an early version of the software, being dubbed "Milestone 1" (M1), has already been shipped to key Microsoft partners. If true, this would mean that Windows Vista will only last as the company's flagship operating system for about three years - compared to the five years of Windows XP.
Friday, January 18th 2008
Danger Den MC-TDX Waterblock Review

Danger Den MC-TDX Waterblock Review

Danger Den redesigned the TDX to improve its performance on multiple-core CPUs. This new version, dubbed the MC-TDX, features 240 pins above the CPU core area to help dissipate heat. The rest of the design is classic TDX, with its offset outlet barb, acrylic top and simple mounting hardware.

Cooler Master Introduces New Cosmos S Case

Cooler Master has unveiled a new revision of the Cosmos case known as the Cosmos S. The new S version has multiple changes including a touch sensitive power button which, the company says, is switched using the capacitance when your finger presses on it for a couple of seconds. Much like the original Cooler Master Stacker, the front of the case can be used for 5.25" drives. In addition, Cooler Master has listened to user feedback and you can now install a 120.3 radiator in the top without having to butcher your system with a Dremel. Cable management has also been improved further as well.

Activision Ranked Number One U.S. Console and Handheld Publisher for Calendar 2007

Activision was the number one U.S. console and handheld publisher for calendar 2007, according to The NPD Group. The company increased its market share for the year to a record 17.7%, a 7.2% increase over the same period last year. Additionally, Guitar Hero was the best-selling franchise in the U.S. for the full calendar year and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which was released on October 28, was the #1 title across all platforms in both units and dollars, according to The NPD Group. For the month of December, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare were the #1 and #3 best-selling titles respectively in dollars across all platforms, according to The NPD Group. Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO of Activision commented, "For the first time in our history, we were the #1 U.S. publisher for the calendar year. We are well on our way to delivering sixteen years of record revenue growth and by far our most profitable year ever."

New Blu-ray 2.0 Spec Makes PS3 the Most Future-proof Player

With an unexpected announcement from Warner stating that the company would issue its movies on Blu-ray, the high-definition format war is over for many.

A new definition of Blu-ray is coming up, namely "Blu-ray 2.0". The 2.0 profile brings picture-in-picture and online functionality to Blu-ray discs; these movies will have "BD-Live" stickers on the case so you know certain features will require 2.0-compliant players.

Currently, the Playstation 3 is the only Blu-ray 2.0-compatible player available.

Dell Tops US PC Sales

Whilst HP may be the top global computer brand, Dell has retained its crown in the US market, accounting for 29.6% of sales. Dell managed to ship 5.5 million units, which represented a 15.2% year-on-year increase, with HP in second place selling 4.5 million units, a figure which gives it a 24.3% market share. Acer took third spot following its acquisitions of Packard Bell and Gateway last year, with sales of 1.5 million units - up 294.2%. Apple was fourth in the US with 1.06 million units, ahead of Toshiba in fifth. Global sales saw HP commanding a market share of 23.3%, with Dell on 14.6%. Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba came in third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Gaming Sales Grew 43% in 2007

The games industry managed record sales of $17.9bn in 2007, up 43% from $12.5bn in 2006. The Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 all saw their most successful sales figures in December, shifting a total of 1.4m, 1.3m and 800,000 units respectively, meaning that the Xbox 360 has now sold 8.5m units since its launch, the Wii 6.3m and the PS3 2.8m. However, the best selling console over Christmas was actually the Nintendo DS, which achieved sales figures of 2.5m in December. Meanwhile, the most successful game last year was Halo 3, which sold 4.82m copies, with Wii Play in second place on 4.12m and Call of Duty 4 in third on 3.04m.

OCZ Demos Mind Controlled Gaming Device

It looks like OCZ is planning the future of gaming with its Neural Impulse Actuator - the world's first gaming control system that allows users to play games by monitoring muscle movement, brain waves and eye movement. After calibration, the device allows the wearer to carry out actions such as moving, turning, strafing and changing weapons without needing a keyboard, simply by thinking what they want to do. This allows for more fluid gameplay and faster reactions - things that are essential to hardcore gamers. The mouse is still used to aim, but absolutely no keyboard inputs are required. Apparently the device is almost ready to go into production, and has been designed to take advantage of DirectX and multithreading as much as possible to minimise the performance impact. There are no details on pricing or availability yet, but if OCZ has its way, gaming could be very different in a few years time.

Microsoft Details Undertow as Free XBLA Title

Microsoft has announced the details of the free Xbox Live Arcade game that was promised by Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten in response to the service's recent online troubles. Coming as a compensation to all the frustration caused, Microsoft will offer Chair Entertainment's arcade shooter Undertow for free to all Xbox Live members from 2AM PST on Wedenesday, January 23 until 11:59PM PST on Sunday, January 27. Otherwise, Undertow is normally available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points. "If you have already purchased the game, you can contact support and they will take care of you," wrote Xbox Live programming director Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb.

ForceWare Beta 171.16 Beta Leaked

The 171.16 beta of NVIDIA's ForceWare driver for Windows Vista 32-bit has been leaked onto the internet, but as this isn't an official release there is little information about any changes - Expreview has run a few tests and found the average increase in performance to be 2.05% on an 8800 GT. The driver, which supports just about all GeForce 6, 7 and 8 series cards, can be downloaded here (Vista 32-bit only).

ASRock Launches SLI 650i Motherboard with Yorkfield Support

For users craving for SLI configuration, NVIDIA 680i SLI motherboards might be a little bit out of budget, and they are not the first priority SLI MB from the perspective of cost-effectiveness. NVIDIA 650iSLI, instead, becomes the best alternative with affordable price and powerful over clocking capability. ASRock Penryn1600SLI-110dB is unique among other 650i SLI motherboards on the market, because it is the worldwide the only 650i SLI MB that supports Intel Yorkfield CPU. There is a wide range of CPU selection for this motherboard, from the mainstream Core 2 Duo E6550 CPU, Q9300, Q9400 CPU to the high-end QX9770 CPU. ASRock Penryn1600SLI-110dB also comes with high-end ALC890 audio codec, which supports DAC with 110dB dynamic range, consumer level sound quality. And yes, this motherboard is designed with all solid capacitors, which makes it a reliable and durable MB for over clocking fans.

AMD Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual Results

AMD today reported fourth quarter 2007 revenue of $1.770 billion, an 8 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2007 and flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. In the fourth quarter of 2007, AMD reported a net loss of $1.772 billion, or $3.06 per share, and an operating loss of $1.678 billion. Fourth quarter net loss included charges of $1.675 billion, or $2.89 per share, of which $1.669 billion were operating charges. The non-cash portion of the fourth quarter charges was $1.606 billion. In the third quarter of 2007, AMD reported revenue of $1.632 billion, a net loss of $396 million, and an operating loss of $226 million. In the fourth quarter of 2006, AMD reported revenue of $1.773 billion, a net loss $576 million, and an operating loss of $529 million.

Intel SkullTrail + SLI = YES

Now that Intel Skulltrail is due to be out in the beginning of February, we can confirm this will be the first Intel motherboard to fully support NVIDIA's SLI multi-GPU Technology. Below is a proof picture of the SLI bridge included with the motherboard's bundle.

Intel Aiming to Almost Double Notebook CPU Shipments by 2011

Intel plans to agrresively expand its shipments of notebook CPUs aiming to almost double its total of 2007 within the next few years, according to DigiTimes. Since Intel launched its Centrino platform in 2003, shipments have grown from 38 million notebook CPUs in the first year to 79 million in 2006. In 2007, shipments surpassed 100 million units, and in 2008, with the help of the Montevina platform, the company expects shipments to reach 123 million units. Over the next few years shipments are forecast to continue growing to hit 145 million, 169 million and 195 million units in 2009 to 2011, respectively. In 2008, Intel will also start supporting the WiMAX wireless technology in its Montivina platform, by launching several networking products: a Wi-Fi/WiMAX mixed wireless module 5350/5150 (3x3 AGN MC) codenamed Echo Peak, a Wi-Fi only module 5300/5100 (3x3 AGN MC/HMC) codenamed Shirley Peak, 82567LF Gigabit LAN codenamed Boazman and 82567LM Gigabit LAN for digital office applications. In addition, Montivina will adopt 2GB and 4GB versions of Intel's Turbo Memory technology.

BioShock Named Overall Game of the Year 2007

The finalists for the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards have been selected, with BioShock (2K Games) taking the lead and receiving a record 12 nominations including the "Overall Game of the Year" award. The nominees list continues with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), Rock Band (MTV Games), Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo of America) and Valve's Orange Box. The awards ceremony, hosted by Jay Mohr, will take place during The D.I.C.E. Summit 2008 on February 7 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. Feel free to see all the finalists nominated in 26 categories here.

Nintendo's Game Line-up for the First Half of 2008

In a press release published yesterday, Nintendo has announced its Wii and DS software line-up for the first half of 2008. Some of the innovative Wii games in the list include Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ninja Reflex from Electronic Arts, No More Heroes from Ubisoft, DeBlob from THQ, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed from LucasArts and Okami from Capcom, in addition to compelling Nintendo DS games like FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Rings of Fate from Square Enix, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword from Tecmo and Quick Yoga Training from Ubisoft.

AMD to Launch Low-power Phenom CPUs This Year

AMD is lining up several energy efficient variants of its quad-core Phenom and dual-core Athlon CPUs to launch late this quarter or early in the second quarter of 2008. The low-power Phenom 9100e is scheduled for release in February or March this year and will come with a core frequency of 1.8GHz, DDR2 1066 memory controller and TDP of 65W. At the beginning of the second quarter, AMD will phase out the 9100e and launch the 9150e, which offers the same specifications, but will probably be based on the B3 stepping revision. In addition to the 9100e and 9150e, the company will also launch three dual-core low-power CPUs: Athlon 4850e (2.5GHz, 1MB L2 cache and DDR2 800), Athlon 4450e (2.3GHz, 1MB L2 cache and DDR2 800) and Athlon 4050e (2.1GHz, 1MB L2 cache and DDR 800). In other news, AMD is also set to launch two 45W single-core CPUs: Athlon BE-1640 with a core frequency of 2.7GHz and L2 cache of 512KB later this month, and will follow with the Athlon BE-1660 (2.8GHz, 512KB) in the second quarter. With low-power versions of AMD's next-generation CPU architecture showing up, the company will begin to phase out some previous CPUs including the dual-core Athlon X2 BE-2400, BE-2350 and BE-2300, and single-core Athlon BE-1620, Athlon 64 4000+ and 3800+. AMD will announce final order dates in the second quarter this year.

OCZ Technology Announces New PC2-8000 4GB Platinum Edition Memory

OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the PC2-8000 Platinum Edition 4GB dual channel kit, designed to boost the performance of mainstream gaming systems. These new 2GB modules are the ultimate upgrade for entry-level enthusiasts seeking an exceptional overclocking kit at a price point that suits all budgets.

Thursday, January 17th 2008

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Mousepads
Multimedia
PSUs
Diamond HD 3850 Ruby Edition 512MB Review

Diamond HD 3850 Ruby Edition 512MB Review

Diamond has designed their HD 3850 Ruby Edition with additional cooling performance in mind. Their cooler is a custom dual-slot solution which does quite a good job at keeping the card cool. In addition to that the memory has been doubled to 512 MB of GDDR3.
Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound Review

Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound Review

Noctua recently released their new NT-H1 thermal compound. This new thermal interface material is designed to give maximum performance while being simple to use. Best of all, it is ready to use immediately and does not require a "burn-in" time like the other manufacturer's products. With a long storage life, long-term stability on the CPU, being non-conductive and being suitable for compressor cooling, this thermal compound seems to have it all.

New discovery to improve battery life

Stanford University researchers have made a discovery that could signal the arrival of laptop batteries that last more than a day on a single charge.

The researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to give rechargeable lithium ion batteries as much as 10 times more charge.

The new batteries were developed by assistant professor Yi Cui and colleagues at Stanford University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

"It's not a small improvement," Cui said. "It's a revolutionary development."

Cui has filed a patent on this technology, which will hopefully be available to end users within "several years".

Mushkin Introduces Lots of New DDR2 Memory Kits

Mushkin Enhanced, today announced the immediate availability of the following new DDR2 memory kits:
  • 2x2GB DDR2-1000 XP2 Redline CL5-5-5-15 @ 2.1V
  • 2x2GB DDR2-1066 XP2 Series CL5-5-5-15 @ 2.1V
  • 4x2GB DDR2-800 XP2 Quad Kit CL4-4-4-12 @ 2.0-2.1V
  • 2x2GB DDR2-800 HP2 Series CL5-4-4-12 @ 1.8V
All Mushkin memory modules are backed by a lifetime warranty.

Qimonda Delivers First 512Mb XDR DRAM Samples

Qimonda AG, a leading supplier of memory products, today announced that it has begun to ship samples of its first 512Mb XDR DRAM. The XDR memory solution extends the Qimonda graphics RAM portfolio to better serve high-performance and high-bandwidth applications for the fast growing global computing and consumer electronics markets.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Coming to Mac

Aspyr Media announced today they will publish Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Mac. Developed by Infinity Ward and licensed by Activision, the Mac version is expected to be available in May 2008.
Featuring a tense storyline, filled with plot twists, the title thrusts players into battle like never before. With amazing special effects, including rim-lighting, depth of field, texture streaming and character self-shadowing, players are enlisted into one of the most photo-realistic gaming experiences imaginable.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Mac will soon be available for preorder through Aspyr's website for 49.99. For more information, fans can also visit the official CoD4 website.

MSI Launches Intel X48 Motherboards

Micro-Star International (MSI) today launched its latest X48 Series motherboards based on Intel X48 Express chipset. Coming in two versions: X48 Platinum DDR3 only and X48C Platinum DDR3 & DDR2 combo, these new motherboards feature "Dual-Channel PWM", enhanced fanless cooling design "Circu-Pipe" and numerous exclusive features such as Quad graphics slots, MSI SkyTel VoIP, and all Made-in-Japan solid capacitors. Water-cooling versions of the boards are also set to come in the future.

Silverstone TJ10 ESA Edition Available Next Month

Silverstone has informed VR-Zone that Temjin TJ10 ESA Edition is slated to start retailing by the end of February (pricing to be updated later). The difference from the original TJ-10 is that Silverstone has implemented an ESA (Enthusiast System Architecture) controller in the new version that works with ESA certified motherboards to provide full system monitoring and thermal control. What is ESA?

AMD Xilleon Processors to Get DivX Video Support

DivX, a digital media company, today announced a licensing agreement with semiconductor supplier AMD. This agreement will allow AMD to include DivX video technology with specific AMD Xilleon processors to power a broad range of next-generation digital TVs worldwide. "We are committed to delivering a true multimedia experience with AMD Xilleon processors providing excellent visual quality and interoperability across a number of high-definition digital TVs and platforms," said Dave Di Orio, corporate vice president and general manager for AMD's DTV Division. "DivX video is a highly attractive feature that we believe complements AMD technology to offer real value to our DTV OEM customers and consumers."

GIGABYTE to Launch Low-cost PC in June

GIGABYTE Technology has joined the growing list of companies to jump on the low-cost PC bandwagon with plans to launch its contender for the market in June, company vice president Richard Ma, has revealed. The low-cost PC will support Intel's Shelton'08 low-cost notebook platform (Basic Platform). The platform consists of a 945GSE chipset with built-in DirectX 9 graphics / single channel DDR2 memory support, and single-core Diamondville processor working at 1.6GHz (533MHz FSB, 3.5W TDP). The low-cost PC will also feature a panel size of 7- to 9-inch, Ma detailed. He also noted that GIGABYTE will design and manufacture the low-cost PC itself.

Samsung Unveils New SyncMaster LCD Monitors

Samsung unveiled its new line of LCD monitors this week at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco. The SyncMaster 2493HM and SyncMaster 2693HM are both 1920x1200 resolution displays with 4-way adjustable stands, built-in speakers and a 5ms GTG response time. The SyncMaster 2493HM is a 24-inch display which features 10,000:1 (dynamic) contrast ratio, 400 cd/m2 brightness, 160-degree viewing angles and DVI/HDMI inputs. The 25.5-inch 2693HM shares the same above specs, but with lower dynamic contrast ratio down to 3,000:1. Both monitors are available at this moment for $599 and $699, respectively.
Wednesday, January 16th 2008

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Multimedia
PSUs
Storage

ASUS Officially Launches 0.8ns 3850

ASUS, producer of top quality graphic solutions has today introduced another top performance overclocking solution - the ASUS EAH3850 TOP/HTDI/512M. Being the world's first EAH3850 TOP model to be equipped with the fastest upgraded DRR3 0.8ns memory modules, users can expect up to 12% improvement in gaming experiences. This powerful graphics card is also equipped with the newest thermal solution - the Glaciator Fansink; that utilizes a unique fansink design to keep GPU temperatures cool.

ATI Catalyst 8.1 WHQL Released

The latest and official ATI Catalyst driver package version 8.1 is ready to be tested. Catalyst 8.1 introduces MultiView support. This feature provides for hardware accelerated OpenGL rendering across multiple graphics adapters. MultiView will provide hardware accelerated 3D rendering in a system containing multiple graphics cards on an extended desktop arrangement. It will allow for the rendering performance and additional frame buffer resources to be evenly shared with the second and third graphics adapters. This feature will be supported under Windows XP (32 and 64 bit versions), Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit versions), and the Linux operating system. For more information on Catalyst 8.1, including all of the resolved issues in this release, please see the Catalyst 8.1 release notes.

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ASUS Eee PC with Windows XP Outlined

ASUS North American headquarters today confirmed the plan to offer channel-wide availability of the Microsoft Windows XP-based Eee PC. "The Eee PC has been a tremendous success since our initial launch in November last year, and our channel customers tell us they want to offer even more options to their end consumers. With the new Windows XP based offerings, we expect to engage with a broader customer base whose existing software and applications require a Windows' based device," said Jackie Hsu, President of ASUS America Channel. The Microsoft Windows XP-preinstalled Eee PC is expected to be available through ASUS North American authorized resellers by the end of Q1, 2008. The introductory models will be equipped with 4GB or 8GB of solid state drive. Pricing information is not available at this time.

Sun Acquires MySQL, Developer of the World's Most Popular Open Source Database

Sun Microsystems today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MySQL AB, an open source icon and developer of one of the world's fastest growing open source databases for approximately $1 billion in total consideration. The acquisition accelerates Sun's position in enterprise IT to now include the $15 billion database market. Today's announcement reaffirms Sun's position as the leading provider of platforms for the Web economy and its role as the largest commercial open source contributor.

MSI Details its First P35-Neo3 Motherboard with EFI-BIOS

Motherboard maker Micrso-Star International (MSI) is preparing its first EFI BIOS-equipped motherboard, the P35-Neo3. To mark the occasion, it has presented a few details about EFI and its benefits over BIOS. EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) is an upgraded BIOS specification created by Intel. EFI supports graphical menus and features, mouse-controlled interface, multiple languages, LAN activating environment and pre-boot applications. MSI's P35-Neo3 is set to be released next month.

Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 EOL

This first quarter of 2008 will see more than 3 video cards from NVIDIA being EOL forever. The end of this month Intel will mark the death of the Conroe-based Core 2 Extreme X6800, Core 2 Duo E6300, E6600, E6700, E6320 and E6420 processors. In March Intel will also cut the lines of the Core 2 Duo E4400 CPU.

AMD to Ship RS780 in China First Due to Driver Issues

Although AMD has already completed the hardware for its next generation IGP chipset, RS780, the company is still waiting on drivers to support its new Hybrid CrossFireX technology. As a result the motherboards will be launched first in China on January 23, while the launch date in other countries will be set after the driver is complete. Since Hybrid CrossFireX technology is a major feature of the RS780 chipset, AMD hopes to give the technology the best introduction to the market it can. However, any significant delay in shipments could end up hurting AMD's profits and momentum. Therefore, the company has decided to adopt a strategy of selling the motherboards in certain regions first. Final Hybrid CrossFireX drivers are expected to be distributed to AMD's partners by the middle of February, with the worldwide launch of the RS780 to take place before the end of February, if everything goes by plan.

NVIDIA GeForce 7600 and 7300 Reached EOL

NVIDIA has informed their partners that GeForce 7600 GT, 7600 GS and 7300 GT have reached EOL and the last shipment is March 28th 2008. This is to make way for the upcoming GeForce 9600 GT (G94) and GeForce 8400 GS (G98) launching on February 14th.

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 Launch On January 23rd, Costs US$449

According to TG Daily, AMD will be releasing its dual-processor R680 graphics card one week early. The NDA on all the technical specs was due to lift on January 28th, but apparantly ATI/AMD have decided to step on the pedal and deliver the card on January 23rd. The upcoming R680 contains two graphics processors on a single board and will eventually allow four processor CrossFire mode on select motherboards. Pictures of the card as well as some early benchmarks can be found on our front page. Also note that the story is yet to be confirmed from anyone at AMD/ATI.

Intel Posts Record Quarterly Revenue

Intel Corporation today announced record fourth-quarter revenue of $10.7 billion, operating income of $3 billion, net income of $2.3 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of 38 cents. For 2007, operating income grew 45 percent, reflecting the company's ongoing efficiency programs, with profits growing significantly faster than revenue.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008
Westone UM2 Earphones Review

Westone UM2 Earphones Review

With a price of around $300 you can expect quite some performance from the Westone UM2 Earphones. They are designed as in-ear-monitors and feature two high-end drivers aimed at people that are not willing to accept compromise.

No User Replaceable Battery for MacBook Air

There's been a barrage of Apple stories today, but here's one that people won't be quite so pleased to hear: the battery in Apple's new MacBook Air will not be user replaceable, much like the iPod and iPhone. Apple has clarified the issue, saying that the price of a replacement will be $129, just like the MacBook Pro battery, and installation will be free. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for most users given that the battery will probably be fairly durable and the notebook does boast five hours of battery life, but would cause a slight inconvenience of having to send the machine off to Apple if it does need replacing, and would prevent people from using a backup battery.

Club 3D Releases New GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 with Radial Heatpipe Cooling

Club 3D the European graphic card specialist, annouced today a new high-end model Club 3D 8800GT 512MB (CGNX-G882DDF) based on the NVIDIA G92 chipset with a special radial heatpipe cooling solution. This cooling system is more effective than the original stock cooling, which results in lower noise and better core temps. Other that that, the card ships with default 600/1800MHz core/memory clock speeds.

Microsoft Launches Office 2008 for Mac

Microsoft Corp.'s Macintosh Business Unit today announced the official availability of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac at the Macworld Conference & Expo 2008. Office 2008 for Mac is significantly enhanced to provide a simplified user experience that helps beginners and longtime experts alike deliver professional documents that are compatible for co-workers and friends on Macs and PCs. The suite provides the Office tools Mac users rely on, with a Mac-like approach and style. In addition to Office 2008, the Mac BU Web site, Mactopia (www.microsoft.com/mac), features a dramatic transformation to provide an even more resourceful hub for all things Mac BU.

Time Capsule Grants Wireless Backup for all Your Macs

Time Capsule is a revolutionary backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. It automatically backs up everything on one or more Macs running in your house. The Time Capsule combines an 802.11n base station with a server grade hard disk in one small package. "Bring Time Capsule home, plug it in, click a few buttons on your Macs and voilà-all the Macs in your house are being backed up automatically, every hour of every day," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. When it ships in February, Time Capsule will be available in models featuring 500GB and 1TB hard drives for $299 and $499, respectively.

Apple iPhone Firmware Update 1.1.3 Available

iPhone Software Update 1.1.3, a free software update available today via iTunes 7.5 or later, brings significant new features to iPhone. After installing the update, iPhone customers will be able to automatically find their location using the redesigned Maps application; text message multiple people in one message; create Web Clips for their favorite websites; customize their home screen; and watch movies rented from the new iTunes Movie Rentals right on their iPhone.

Apple Announces New Software for Apple TV; Lowers Price to $229

Available as a free automatic download later this month, the new software announced today lets movie fans rent movies on the iTunes Store directly from their widescreen TV. With iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TV - and with no computer required-customers can effortlessly rent movies just by clicking a button on their remote. By the end of February, they'll be able to choose from a catalog of more than 1,000 titles, including over 100 titles in high definition video with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. DVD-quality iTunes Movie Rentals cost just $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases. High-definition versions are just one dollar more with library titles at $3.99 and new releases at $4.99.

Apple and Twentieth Century Fox Introduce iTunes Digital Copy

Twentieth Century Fox and Apple today announced iTunes Digital Copy for iTunes, which provides customers who purchase a DVD of a Fox movie title with an additional Digital Copy of the movie. The iTunes Digital Copy can be transferred effortlessly to iTunes and then viewed on a PC or Mac, iPod with video, iPhone or on Apple TV-just like a movie purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store. In fact, the first DVD to debut with iTunes Digital Copy is being released in stores today. It's the Special Edition DVD premiere of the Family Guy "Star Wars" parody, "Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest," and the first of many more to come.

Apple introduces the Macbook Air - the worlds thinnest notebook

Apple just unveiled their new ultraportable notebook, called the Macbook Air. It features a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo, which can be upped to 1.8 GHz at a price. There is no optical drive, but a 80GB 4200 RPM hard drive or an optional 64GB SSD drive. The battery should last around 5 hours. The front is just a mere 0.16 inches high, while the back tops out at 0.76 inches. The keyboard is full size and features the same layout as on the new Mac Pro keyboard. It is backlit and has a black finish. The optional USB 2.0 Superdrive is available for $99 USD.

The Macbook Air will sell for 1,799 US Dollars or 1,699€s.

THQ to Acquire Rise of Nations Developer Big Huge Games

Publisher THQ has announced its plans to acquire Big Huge Games, the developer behind the Xbox Live Arcade board game Catan (X360), the Rise of Nations PC RTS series, and The Asian Dynasties expansion for Ensemble's RTS Age of Empies III (PC). The acquisition, which THQ hopes to complete soon, will cement Big Huge Games as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The studio will remain at its present Timonium, Maryland location, and will also retain its management and employees. "THQ provides an ideal environment to help us develop new, innovative games for both core gamers and mass market," said Big Huge president Tim Train. "We believe their passion for games, developer support, and understanding of the creative process is without parallel in the industry."

Microsoft Launches 80GB Red 'Valentine' Zune

Responding to consumer excitement for the Zune 80GB, Microsoft Corp. is making the popular wireless digital media player available in red with Zune Originals, just in time for Valentine's Day. Inspired by the themes of love and sharing, an exclusive collection of 20 new laser-engraved designs will be available to consumers for a limited time at www.zuneoriginals.net; in addition, Zune Marketplace will feature Valentine's Day playlists that can be shared with friends or loved ones Zune to Zune or via the Zune Social online music community.

Intel to Launch 15 Montevina CPUs in May

Intel is planning to launch 15 45nm notebook CPUs for its upcoming Centrino platform, Montevina, which is currently scheduled to launch in May this year. Intel will launch seven CPUs with a typical package size of 35mm squared for notebooks. The CPUs include: Core 2 Extreme QX9300 with 12MB L2 cache and TDP of 45W, (the core frequency of this model has not yet been set), Core 2 Extreme X9100 with a core frequency of 3.06GHz, 6MB L2 cache and TDP of 44W, Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz, 6MB and 35W), T9400 (2.53GHz, 6MB and 35W), P9500 (2.53GHz, 6MB and 25W), P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB and 25W), and P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB and 25W). All the CPUs will support a 1066MHz FSB. The company will also launch eight CPUs with a package size of 22mm squared. These will include: SP9400 with a core frequency of 2.4GHz, 6MB L2 cache and TDP of 25W, SP9300 (2.26GHz, 6MB and 25W), SL9400 (1.86GHz, 6MB and 17W), SL9300 (1.6GHz, 6MB and 17W), SU9400 (1.4GHz, 3MB and 10W), SU9300 (1.2GHz, 3MB and 10W), U3300 (1.2GHz, 3MB and 5.5W), and Celeron 723 (1.2GHz, 1MB and 10W). The CPUs with a TDP less or equal to 10W will support FSB speeds up to 800MHz while the rest will support up to 1066MHz.

Microsoft Investigated Again in Europe

The European Commission, fresh from a major court victory over Microsoft, launched new antitrust investigations into the software giant on Monday, on suspicion it abused its market dominance. Investigators will see whether Microsoft broke competition rules to help its Web browser and its Office and Outlook products, after complaints from Norwegian Web browser company Opera and a coalition of technology firms including IBM, Nokia Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and Oracle Corp. The European Commission opened two formal probes. The first one - triggered by a complaint from Norway's Opera Software ASA - will look at whether Microsoft illegally gives away its Internet Explorer browser for free with Windows. Opera had called on the EU to strip Internet Explorer out of Windows or carry alternative browsers. The second investigation will examine whether Microsoft withheld information from companies that wanted to make products compatible with its software - including Office word processing, spreadsheet and office management tools, some server products and Microsoft's push into the Internet under the name of the .NET framework. Microsoft said it would cooperate fully: "We are committed to ensuring that Microsoft is in full compliance with European law and court obligations," it said in a statement.

XFX GeForce 8800GS 680M 384MB Alpha Dog Edition Spotted

Following ASUS's latest GeForce release the day before, new XFX graphics card has also been spotted. The XFX GeForce 8800GS 680M 384MB Alpha Dog Edition (PV-T88S-FDD4) uses self-designed black PCB and single slot cooling solution. The card is also factory overclocked to 680MHz/1600MHz(core/memory). Expreview reports that this product will hit the market in January 16th with suggested price of around 160 EURO or about USD $238.

Britain's Fastest Supercomputer Unveiled

Britain's fastest supercomputer that could help answer some of science's biggest questions has been unveiled yesterday. With the power of 12,000 desktop PCs, the mammoth machine called HECToR is the country's fastest computer and one of the most powerful in Europe. It can make 63 million calculations each second, allowing scientists to conduct research into everything from climate change to new medicines. The purpose-built machine is housed in 60 wardrobe-sized cabinets in the University of Edinburgh's advanced computing centre near the Scottish capital. After years of development, Chancellor Alistair Darling is due to attend the official launch ceremony for the 113 million pound machine. "HECToR will enable us to do research that we simply could not do in any other way," said Jane Nicholson, of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the public body which acts as the project's managing agent. "We want to push forward the boundaries of knowledge."
Monday, January 14th 2008

NEC Also Working on Curved Monitor

Looks like Alienware isn't the only company with a curved monitor in the works. NEC has now announced its own 42" curved display, which will feature a resolution of 2880x900 pixels and a response time of under 0.02ms - pretty much identical to the Alienware specs, although an NEC spokeswoman said the two "have nothing to do with each other." NEC's offering will have a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 and uses LED-backlit DLP rear projection, just like the Alienware one. As you can see, there are clearly visible seams, although these should be gone when the display goes on sale.

Intel Skulltrail Out in February 2008

I'll be brief on this one. Intel Skulltrail is designed to compete against the AMD Quad FX platform. Although the Quad-Father was never popular enough, Skulltrail will share the same idea: dual Socket 771 Xeon processors like the 45nm Harpertown supporting up to 8 processing cores and fully-buffered DIMMs (FB-DIMM). The Skulltrail system will use the upcoming Intel D5400XS motherboard. With two NVIDIA nForce 100 MCP chips, the D5400XS will support up to four PCI Express x16 slots, finally allowing SLI on an Intel motherboard. The motherboard will have a 10-layer PCB with limited production (2000 units reported earlier) and price over US $600. Today's word is that the Intel D5400XS motherboard is scheduled for a launch on WW06. That's short for Work Week 6, tech-speak for the sixth week of 2008. In other words if that's true, expect Skulltrail to be launched somewhere around Febuary 4-9, 2008.

Scythe Celebrates its Fifth Anniversary, Intros All Copper Ninja CPU Cooler

Five years ago in Akihabara Electric Town located in Tokyo Japan Scythe began its operation and business as a distributor and manufacturer of PC parts & gaming devices for "DIY PC Experts!". Year 2008 marks the 5th anniversary of Scythe, and the firm is launching an all copper version to mark the occasion. This copper version comes with luxurious all copper heatsink fins as well as a slower speed fan (800rpm) to fully benefit from the higher performance and heat transfer ratio of the copper while keeping the noise to minimum. The SCNJ-CU1000 cooler weights 1015g (+115g Fan) and for that reason Scythe has decided to change the clip mounting mechanism with new one that features backplate and better contact pressure. This model will come in limited quantity and price around 70.00 (USD) / 59.90 (EURO).

Sager NP5792 with Intel Penryn and NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX

Sager has refreshed their 17-inch desktop replacement model NP5792 with beefed up cooling system to handle the NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX and the latest Intel 45nm processors. The NP5792 is a powerful machine with all the latest features such as Intel Wireless-N technology, fingerprint reader, and 1GB Intel Turbo Memory. It can be customized with Core 2 Duo models including Penryn T8100/T8300/T9300 /T9500, 4GB RAM, Blu-ray drive, 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) widescreen display, 200GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX with 512MB or GeForce 8700M GT (512MB), built-in 8ch Azalia Sound System, 8 cell Lithium-Ion battery, Bluetooth 2.0, Intel 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN, 2.0 mega pixel webcamera, built-in TV-Tuner with remote, and Windows Vista OS. The NP5792 starts at $1,679, but the high-end specs will charge you about $3624. Visit Sager NP5792 product page to get more facts.

SATA-IO to Simplify Power Delivery for External SATA Devices with Power Over eSATA

Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the consortium in charge of the SATA interface, today announced its Power Over eSATA initiative. SATA-IO has begun work on a new specification that will provide power to external SATA (eSATA) devices without the need for a separate power connection. Today, eSATA devices require an external power adapter to supply the necessary voltage for operation. Led by the organization's Cable and Connector group, the specification is targeted to provide power for a single drive directly from the host system using the Power Over eSATA cable. Key benefits will be to maintain compatibility with the existing eSATA connector form factor and retain high performance at the current maximum interface transfer rate of 3Gb/s. Power Over eSATA solutions are expected to be available on the market as soon as the second half of 2008.

New Team Fortress 2 PC Maps, Achievements and Gameplay Changes Coming in 2 Months

Valve is planning on releasing two more maps for Team Fortress 2 within the next two months, Valve employee Robin Walker informed. One of the new arenas is a remake of Team Fortress Classic's Badlands map. In the meantime, while waiting for the map pack to be released, Valve will ship other new content. That other content includes the forthcoming Medic achievement pack, which will add several new achievements for the Medic as well as a significant gameplay tweak for the class. "It's a large scale modification to the core of the game," Walker hinted. "It'll debut in a limited fashion through the Medic first, but it'll be affecting all classes eventually." "We're really looking forward to the community reaction," he continued. "We're really excited about where TF2 will be going over the next year."

New PlayStation 3 Bundle for UK

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced a new PlayStation 3 bundle for UK consumers retailing at GBP £349.99. As well as the 40 GB console, the deal allows consumers to pick two first-party titles from a list which includes the following games: Resistance: Fall of Man, Genji: Days of the Blade, Formula One, Ridge Racer 7, Heavenly Sword, Lair, Folklore, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, Warhawk (including headset), SingStar (including microphones) and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. The offer begins this Friday, January 18.

NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB First Full Review Posted

PConline.com.cn has posted what should be the first official full review of NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB. In this 16 page long review you'll find in depth comparison between GeForce 9600GT, GeForce 8600GTS 256MB, the newly released GeForce 8800GS 384MB 192bit and ATI Radeon HD3850 256MB. On page 3 there's also a size comparison between G92, G94, G84 and RV670 GPU cores. The review is written in foreign language, but I'm sure you won't need a dictionary to understand the pics and benchmark scores.

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 First Benchmarks

Thanks to Asian website ITOCP, we can get an idea of how fast the first ATI Radeon 3 series dual GPU graphics card will be. Benching on Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 processor at 2.4GHz and 2GB of RAM, the system managed to score 9573 marks (SM2.0: 4494, SM3.0/HDR: 4476) on Futuremark 3D Mark 2006 set to 2560x1600 resolution. The GPU Core/Memory of this card is rated at 770MHz / 2250MHz (2x512MB). Lower resolution benchmark numbers are not mentioned in the original article.

ASUS Launches World's First OC Version for EN8800GS Series with Glaciator Heatsink

ASUS today introduced the new ASUS EN8800GS TOP/HTDP/384M and EN8800GS/HTDP/384M graphic cards. The ASUS EN8800GS TOP/HTDP/384M is the world's first overclocking version of the GeForce 8800GS chipset - allowing users to enjoy 8% improvements in gaming experiences. Additionally, both models come equipped with the newest thermal solution - the uniquely designed Glaciator Fansink, which features quiet and efficient heat dissipation to enable stable performance. Furthermore, the integrated SmartDoctor feature will provide users with the option to overclock the Shader Clock for even better graphical performances.

Sunday, January 13th 2008

9600 GT Benchmarks Released

VR-Zone claims to have some benchmarks of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce 9600 GT graphics card, which will be the first of the GeForce 9 series of cards that the company will release. However, as always with benchmarks for unreleased products, take these with a pinch of salt - as often as not they're totally made up.

Intel Launches its First Modular Server Building Blocks

Intel Corporation today announced the launch of its first modular server building block products that support a server specification announced last July by the Server Systems Infrastructure (SSI) organization. In using these modular server building blocks, system builders can uniquely integrate computing, networking and storage capabilities in one system for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), and their needs for budget-friendly IT simplicity and flexibility. The modular server building blocks are based on Intel Multi-Flex Technology, a set of management and storage technologies developed to enable ease of use, low-cost and flexibility.

Bill Gates Says the Xbox 360 Will Be the Most Reliable Console

For the current generation of gaming consoles, the Xbox 360 has several reputations. On the positive side, the Xbox 360 is the undisputed leader of online service and multiplayer, but on the negative side, it also holds a track record of being fairly unreliable. At one point, up to one-third of all Xbox 360 consoles experienced the hardware failure popularly known as the Red Ring of Death, which rendered the console unusable. While many from Microsoft's entertainment and devices division have spoken on the Xbox 360's reliability record, Bill Gates was mostly removed from commenting on the issue - until now. Speaking in a BBC Video interview, Gates revealed that it's now Microsoft's goal to make the Xbox 360 "the most reliable" console on the market.

Biohazard Showcases Phase Change Cooled System

Biohazard, an ultra high-end PC system builder, is the first to showcase a PC that will cool a quad core CPU and two high-end graphic cards using a phase change unit. The pictured below prototype machine comes with two 8800 GTX cards and 9650 CPU running at -15 Celsius. There's no word on clock frequencies, but Biohazard claims that the compressor will be able to get sub-zero temperatures on both GPUs and a super overclocked up to 4GHz QX9650 processor.

Analysts Forecast Big Q4 Losses for AMD

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will report fourth- quarter results next week with Wall Street projecting bigger losses at the struggling chip giant. Analysts expect AMD to report a loss of 36 cents on revenue of $1.79 billion, compared with a loss of 4 cents, on revenue of 1.77 billion in the year-ago period, according to Thomson Financial. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company has been struggling to become profitable over the past year as it faced stiffer competition from archrival Intel and grappled with the cost of a major acquisition. AMD reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss of $396 million in October, largely due to a $120 million charge for its merger with ATI Technologies in 2006. The company has also struggled with product roll-out delays and mounting operating costs that some analysts warned were not sustainable. Analyst also foretell that AMD could bounce back as a stronger competitor, especially with the graphics technologies it now has after the ATI acquisition. The company also got a boost recently from an Abu Dhabi firm, which invested $622 million in AMD. Executives vowed last month that AMD will be back on its feet in 2008, and that recent production missteps will not be repeated.

The One Laptop Per Child Project Would Welcome Intel Back

The One Laptop Per Child project feels sorry for the Intel loss, said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC, in an interview. "It was very unfortunate what happened with Intel and I hope there's a way of rebuilding it in the future because there's no interest in OLPC pushing Intel out. It just is not in our interest. Our goal is to get this to as many children as possible," he said. He called it unfortunate that Intel made statements that OLPC asked the chip maker to stop working on the Classmate PC. "The picture that painted was one of OLPC being anti-competition, which is ridiculous. We'd like to see as many laptops out there as possible and kids have the widest choice possible," On the other hand Agnes Kwan, an Intel manager responded that Intel would be willing to talk with OLPC, but she added that the organizational break-up came about because of differences that the groups have been so far unable to resolve.
Saturday, January 12th 2008

Hitachi to Form New Hard Drive Brand with Toshiba and Fujitsu?

Although not confirmed by any of the firms, this story could have your attention for a moment. According to unspecified sources Hitachi, the Japanese conglomerate, is talking to Toshiba and Fujitsu about forming a new company dedicated to hard drives and storage systems. The new company would combine the hard drive divisions of Hitachi and Toshiba as well as some of the storage systems technology from Fujitsu. Each name would own a third of the newly formed venture. It's not a secret that Hitachi is not happy with its current hard drive group, so this may be the best opportunity for them to continue in the right way.

Catalyst 8.1 Beta for Vista Available

The beta version of the 8.1 Catalyst driver for Windows Vista has found its way onto the internet, although very few details are available so you'll have to try it yourself to find the improvements. The driver works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the OS and should be compatible with all Radeon 9550 and newer cards. The driver can be downloaded here.

GoldenEye Almost Came to Xbox Live

N64 fans will remember GoldEye as being an instant classic, and many gamers have been calling for Nintendo or Microsoft to release it on the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade respectively, which had always seemed unlikely. However, Rare has recently revealed that the game was within two months of being released on Xbox Live. According to the game's original developer, the port had been in development for several months, and would be identical to the original other than that it would feature an online multiplayer mode and several characters would have to be removed due to licensing issues. Unfortunately, just as it was nearing completion, Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't agree on the financial side of things - apparently whether Nintendo would receive a one-off payment or a cut of the revenues.

Sony and Nintendo Sued Over Wireless Technology

A Pennsylvanian company called Copper Innovations Group has filed a lawsuit against Sony and Nintendo for the wireless technology used in their PS3 and Wii consoles respectively. The firm is arguing that the controllers infringe on a "Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method" patent filed in 1996, which covers a method for connecting devices to a system and sorting their inputs by means of hardware identification numbers tied to each transmission. The devices in question are the Wii Remote, the Wii Nunchuk, the Sixaxis controller and the Blu-ray Remote. Copper Innovations is seeking damages plus interest, legal fees and an injunction prohibiting Sony and Nintendo from infringing on the patent.

Vista SP1 RC Refresh Publicly Available

Just three days after releasing it to approximately 15,00 beta testers, Microsoft has made the Vista SP1 RC Refresh publicly available. It can be downloaded here, but any previous versions of the service pack must be removed before installing this one. For details of the changes included with Vista SP1, visit this site.

Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu Could form Hard Drive Company

This is another story which is still at the rumour stage I'm afraid, but some sources are claiming that Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu could be planning to form a new company dedicated to producing hard drives and storage systems. The deal would be instead of Hitachi selling its struggling hard drive division to a private equity firm, and comes following unsuccessful talks with Silver Lake, the company responsible for turning around Seagate's fortunes years ago. It is thought that Hitachi is not particularly keen on selling part of its company to 'outsiders' such as Silver Lake for cultural reasons, and would be more trusting of other Japanese companies such as Toshiba and Fujitsu. Any deal is expected to be reached by April 1st, which represents the start of the business year in Japan.

PS3 Production Costs Halved

BusinessWeek is reporting that Sony has managed to halve the production costs of the PS3 since November 2006, suggesting that the company could now be making a profit on each 80GB console it sells. In an article analysing Blu-ray, the website comments that the cost per machine is now around $400, compared to $800 when the console was launched. This would mean that Sony could be making a profit on the 80GB model, which retails for $499, and would be making much smaller losses on the $399 price tag of the 40GB model. Despite the lower production costs, which are being largely attributed to a reduction in the parts count, Sony's games division is still expected to see overall losses of $1.4 billion this fiscal year, although that's down from $2.1 billion last year.

Microsoft Could be Planning Bid for Logitech

Rumours are flying around the internet that Microsoft could be planning a takeover bid for computer peripherals firm Logitech. Apparently Microsoft will offer 48 francs per share, compared to the current value of 39.46 francs, giving Logitech a value of around 10 billion francs (or roughly $9 billion US). Amid this speculation, share prices have risen over 12% from 34.80 francs on Wednesday to their current value, although many analysts are still sceptical of any takeover, with Michael Foeth from Vontobel bank saying:
Today's share price rise is probably more related to a rebound in the market than any rumours.

ASUS Launching 0.8ns DDR3 HD 3850

ASUS is set to launch a new 0.8ns version of AMD's HD 3850 card, which will feature stock clock speeds of 730MHz core and 1.9GHz memory. The card will be equipped with 512MB of 0.8ns GDDR3 RAM, which should allow for greater overclocking potential and could apparently offer performance gains of up to 12%. The card will also be fitted with ASUS' Glaciator fansink. There is a picture and all of the specs below - they're not in English, but it's pretty easy to understand.

AMD Phenom Quad-Core Processor Update

You may have seen a few online headlines today indicating "AMD Phenom processor delays." AMD sent Legit Reviews an e-mail as they would like to clarify where things stand with this on-going roll-out of new true quad-core and triple-core processors.
  • AMD launched its highest-volume versions of AMD Phenom quad-core processors in mid-November (models 9500 and 9600), and we shipped hundreds of thousands in Q4 2007. OEMs demonstrated production AMD Phenom processor-based desktops during 2008 International CES this week.
  • For the enthusiast market, AMD then launched a performance tunable "Black Edition" of the 9600 model in December 2007 to address the enthusiast market. This was an additional quad-core product added to our Q4 roadmap and is now available on major e-tailer sites.
  • AMD will now introduce the AMD Phenom 9700 and 9900 models in Q2 2008. This decision was based on OEM input on how AMD should prioritize its next two waves of AMD Phenom processor models. Based on these customer inputs, AMD will continue to prioritize volume-based Phenom products, including the AMD Phenom triple-core processor introduction for consumer and commercial markets this quarter, and now a new energy-efficient 65W AMD Phenom 9000e series processor in this quarter (instead of Q2). AMD Phenom 9700 and 9900 models will immediately follow next quarter.
  • Our OEM customers are placing more priority on our energy-efficient and triple-core processors, where the volumes and ability to differentiate products take precedence over the more prestigious, but much lower volume, higher performance quad-core products.
Friday, January 11th 2008

Alienware m15x Gaming Notebook Now Available for Order

Alienware blasted out an email informing all newsletter subscribers that the ordering of Alienware m15x has begun. For $2,099 you get the following configuration of the m15x: 15.4" WXGA+ display, Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.20GHz processor, NVIDIA Go 8700m 512MB graphics card, 2GB RAM 667MHz, 120GB 7200RPM drive, Ripley case design, 8x dual layer CD burner / DVD burner optical drive and Intel 4965 a/b/g wireless. Most of the parts are customizable and for an additional 600$ you can get the same configuration boasting NVIDIA's 8800M GTX graphics. No word is out on when the larger m17x 17" screen gaming laptop will be available. Visit the Alienware m15x home page for details.

Zero-Day Exploit for Apple QuickTime Posted

An Italian security researcher has posted a proof-of-concept exploit for a zero-day vulnerability in the most current version of Apple's QuickTime media software (7.3.1) which affects both Windows and Mac OS X. According to Luigi Auriemma the bug is a buffer-overflow which happens during the handling of the HTTP error message and its visualization in the LCD-like screen which contains info about the status of the connection. Buffer overflows can often be exploited by attackers to compromise the affected system. In this scenario, that's exactly what this bug can do. It can allow the attacker to take control the affected system. The vulnerability Auriemma has identified has no fix at the moment, so keep it in mind if you use the latest QuickTime on your system. Find out more about the exploit here.

New York Begins Investigation of Intel

New York state launched a formal investigation of Intel Corp on Thursday, to determine if the world's No. 1 chipmaker broke state and U.S. antitrust laws to squeeze out its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office issued a broad subpoena seeking information about whether Intel coerced customers to exclude AMD from the worldwide market for microprocessors. "Our investigation is focused on determining whether Intel has improperly used monopoly power to exclude competitors or stifle innovation," Cuomo said in a statement. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy confirmed the company had received the subpoena and would "work very hard" to comply with the subpoena, in keeping with its normal practice. "We believe our business practices are lawful and that the microprocessor market is competitive and is functioning as one would expect a competitive market to function," Mulloy said. AMD said it had been contacted by Cuomo's office. "I can confirm that we have received a subpoena, too," said spokesman Drew Prairie.

MAXDATA Launches New Belinea s.book 1 Mini-Note Sub-notebook

VIA Technologies and MAXDATA, one of the top ten European IT manufacturers, today announced the launch of the Belinea s.book 1, a tiny 1kg Mini-Note, on the German market. Powered by the 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor, the Belinea s.book 1 delivers the performance, connectivity, and functionality of a conventional notebook PC in a sleek and light form factor that provides an ideal solution for today's increasingly mobile business users, and will be available now at qualified specialist dealers in Germany for €629.

DFI LANParty DK 790FX-M2RS Launched

Arriving at the very beginning of 2008, DFI has announced the immediate availability of LANParty DK 790FX-M2RS. The DK 790FX entirely supports AMD's latest Phenom Quad-core processors, and Hyper Transport 3.0 technology. Further more, LANParty DK 790FX-M2RS brings you decent cooling for the AMD 790FX and SB600 northbridge and southbridge, 4-phase digital PWM, 8-ch high-definition Bernstein audio module, 3-way CrossFire support as well as the company's proprietary EZ Switch and CMOS Reloaded overclocking features. DFI LANParty series motherboards also incorporate 100% Japanese-made solid state capacitors and DK 790FX-M2RS does not make an exception.

GECUBE Launches AGP HD 3850

GECUBE today announced the best ever performance levels for systems using the industry standard AGP bus, an exciting new series of Radeon HD3850 utilizing 256-bit 512MB GDDR3 memory, combining the latest graphics architectures with Unified Shader support for Shader Model 4.0 and the forthcoming DirectX 10.1, high performance and exceptional value for your money.

Tomb Raider: Underworld Delayed

The release date of the next Tomb Raider game, Tomb Raider Underworld, has been moved to the fourth quarter of 2008, Eidos announced this morning. Originally Lara's last adventure was only announced for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, but due to the changes the game will ship simultaneously on six platforms for the 2008 Christmas season (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, DS, Wii and PS2). Details are a bit slim on Tomb Raider: Underworld, but it's being developed by Crystal Dynamics and will cover events taking place after Legend. It'll also include more animations and is said to be pure woman versus wild.

A Spin-out From OLPC Aims to Create 75$ Laptop

Can you imagine having a laptop which costs just 75$, the current price of a 120GB mobile hard drive? Well, this may become reality if the new venture formed by former chief technology officer of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), Mary Lou Jepsen, can deliver on its promises. Jepsen left OLPC two weeks ago to form Pixel Qi, a company that's in "currently pursuing the $75 laptop, while also aiming to bring sunlight readable, low-cost and low-power screens into mainstream laptops, cellphones and digital cameras." As Chief technical officer, Jepsen was responsible for hardware development for the rugged and power-saving XO laptop, designed for use by children in developing countries. Currently this is only a bright project, no details, no specifications, no pics, no release date were announced. We're looking forward to seeing it in the hardware stores near-by.

Intel Adds New Segments in its Naming Scheme for Montevina CPUs

Intel has decided to extend the original naming scheme for the upcoming Montevina platform, by adding a P segment to CPUs targeting notebooks and an S class for small form factor PC processors. Intel originally had four segments for the July official Montevina launch: X for the extreme segment - CPUs that have a TDP over 40W, T for mobile high-performance at 20-39W, L for mobile high energy efficient at 12-19W, and U for mobile ultra-high energy efficient with a TDP less or equal to 11.9W. Now Intel will add a P segment for power-optimized energy-efficient high-performance processors with a TDP between 20-29W, which indicates that the original T segment will have its TDP range changed to between 30-39W. The company will also add an S class of CPUs, with a smaller package size, aimed at small form factor products. There will be three segments under the S class: SP, SL and SU with TDP ranging from 20-29W, 12-19W and smaller or equal to 11.9W, respectively. In addition, Intel plans to launch quad-core processors for its notebook platform in the third quarter of this year. The company will use the same Q code branding used in its desktop Core 2 Quad line-up.

Microsoft Releases New Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh

On January 9th Microsoft made availble the latest pre-release build of SP1 - 'Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh' - to approximately 15,000 beta testers. This group includes corporate customers, consumer enthusiasts, software and hardware vendors, and others. The code is not available for public download.
We are still on schedule to deliver SP1 RTM in Q1 CY08. The final release date is based on quality, so we will continue to track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date.

Apacer Introduces 4GB (2GBx2) DDR2-800MHz High-Capacity Memory Modules

Apacer Technology has launched a new 4GB (2GBx2) DDR2-800MHz dual-channel memory module pack for desktop PCs. This high-end memory module has a single-stick memory capacity of 2GB that uses 1GB (128Mb'8) pin architecture, with 70nm process technology and FBGA chip packaging. It provides reasonable CL5 timings with only 1.8V. The 4GB memory kit also comes with a lifetime warranty.

Blizzard BlizzCast Launches

The first BlizzCast episode is now online through Blizzard's website. In each episode favorite Blizzard developers and staff members will be inteviewed, giving you a glimpse of what it's like from their perspective to make the games you love. The first BlizzCast series, begins with Samwise Didier, Art Director and concept artist for many of the popular Blizzard icons, such as the Pandaren, Fel Orcs, Dark Templars, Zerglings, and many more. During the 21 minutes long interview you'll learn how he came up with the characters he did, as well as what it is like to work on both the Warcraft and StarCraft franchises. Check out the new BlizzCast page.
Thursday, January 10th 2008

Valve Acquires Turtle Rock Studios

Fresh off the success of The Orange Box, the 2007 game of the year award-winning collection of new games heralded as "the best value in gaming history," Valve Corporation announced the acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios, the Orange County-based development house behind one of 2008's most anticipated games, Left 4 Dead. The merger of the two companies will extend Valve's development team and provide the company with a new studio in southern California. "We have been seeing very strong growth with Steam and Source, our content distribution and development platforms, up over 150% over the last 12 months. Given our expectations for Left 4 Dead and our long-standing relationships with members of the Turtle Rock team, this was an easy decision. It also gives us a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "Left 4 Dead fills a long-standing demand gamers have had for a co-op first-person action experience, and it will also help Valve's expansion into the console market," added Doug Lombardi, Valve's VP of marketing.

Sony Japan Discontinues the 20GB and 60GB PlayStation 3 Models

Sony is making all potentioal PS3 buyers choice easier by discontinuing the 20GB and 60GB PlayStation 3 SKUs from the Japan market, leaving only the new 40GB slimmed down version. Sony's game unit said it would end shipments of PlayStation 3s with 20- and 60-gigabyte hard disk drives by the end of this month. Sony is pinning its hopes on the cheaper PS3 with a 40GB HDD that was introduced in Japan in November last year. Unlike the two original versions, which were launched in November 2006, the newest PS3 model lacks PlayStation 2 support, has two high-speed USB ports instead of four and has no super audio CD system. The company will "vigorously promote the expansion of the PS3 platform by further concentrating on the 40GB hard disk drive model," Sony Computer Entertainment said in a statement. The move comes as rival Nintendo continues to enjoy strong demand for the Wii, known for its motion-sensitive controller, outselling the PS3 three-fold in its domestic market last year.

First Sightings of Malicious iPhone Trojan Appear Online

On Monday, Symantec found a Trojan software identified as iPhone firmware 1.1.3 prep. "This Trojan claims to be a tool used to prepare the device for an upgrade to firmware version 1.1.3," the US-CERT advisory said. "When a user installs the Trojan, other application components are altered. If the Trojan is uninstalled, the affected applications may also be removed." The Trojan appears to be timed to exploit rumors that began in early December about new features in an upcoming iPhone firmware upgrade. Various online news sites and blogs cited a report published by CNET France that claimed an imminent iPhone update would feature a disk mode, for using the iPhone as a portable flash drive, and a voice recording mode. In a blog post here, Symantec security researcher Orla Cox said that "this is technically the first Trojan horse seen for the iPhone, however it does appear to be more of a prank than an actual threat,"

Kingmax Displays 2GB DDR3-2000 Memory at CES

It seems that the new barrier standard for high-performance DDR3 memory is at least 2000MHz. First Team Group, now Kingmax is showing off a 2GB memory module that is rated at 2000MHz. The DDR3 memory is claimed to work at 2.15V with CL9-9-9-24 timings and as you can see in the picture below, it is equipped with a heatsink very similar to that found on Corsair's Dominator modules. Apparently Kingmax is already taking orders for the new 2GHz memory so you should be seeing it and its price tag later this month.

Nintendo WiiWare Service to Start in March

WiiWare, Nintendo's upcoming downloadable games service, will launch in March, according to Engine Software. The company is preparing Project Bang, a casual game aiming to take advantage of the Wii remote, for one and two players. "Nintendo's WiiWare service is a new downloadable game content service that is scheduled to be launched in March 2008," stated Engine Software.
Engine is currently working on DS projects Dragon Quest for PlayLogic and GoPets: Vacation Island for Konami. "We are very excited about our first game for the WiiWare service," commented Ruud van de Moosdyk, VP of development at Engine. WiiWare (Wii Software in Europe) was unveiled by Nintendo in June last year, and intends to offer developers a chance to produce small budget titles for digital download, much like Sony's PSN service and Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade.

Sony's New Mylo 2 Now Official

Sony has reworked the original Mylo toy to now offer the COM-2 model or briefly Mylo 2. The new version has a 800x480, 3.5-inch touchscreen display and comes with 1GB of internal storage, 1.3-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g support and colored info-LEDs. This gadget plays WMA / PlaysForSure DRM, MP3, AAC, ATRAC, and MPEG-4 files as well as Flash Lite 3 capable of playing back YouTube videos. It has Netfront-based browser with AIM/Gtalk/Yahoo/IM and Skype support. Podcast and RSS aggregator, and an expandable widget panel with access to Google, YouTube, Facebook and other web 2.0 sites are also presented. The Sony Mylo 2 is shipping this month for $300 with free Wayport WiFi access at your local participating McDonald's until December 31, 2010.

CES 2008: Arctic Cooling Freezer Extreme CPU Cooler

Arctic Cooling has a new CPU cooler available called the Freezer Extreme that features 8 heat pipes, 226 fins and pre-applied MX-2 thermal paste. It also features a push pin installation which eliminates the need for screws. It is constructed out of aluminum, keeping the weight to a minimum and the heatpipes act as a stabilzer for the large number of fins on this beast. Arctic Cooling estimates a February launch and they are currently in production. Also on display was the Arctic RC active memory cooler that should be available in roughly two months.

NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB First Benchmarks

Expreview reports what we should expect from NVIDIA's GeForce 9 series first born in terms of performance. The card's clocks are 650/1625/1800MHz(core/shader/mem), using PCB design P545, GPU codename is "G94-300", made by TSMC's 65nm process technology. The testbed: Intel Core 2 QX9650@3GHz, ASUS Maximus Formula ROG X38 DDR2, Geil 2x1GB DDR2-800 4-4-4-10-1T, Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit SP1 Beta V.668 using modded ForceWare 169.25WHQL drivers.
Wednesday, January 9th 2008

Ubisoft Titles to Support amBX Surround Sense Technology

Ubisoft has confirmed two days ago at CES in Las Vegas that it is going to use Philips' Ambx-technology in some of its major upcoming titles. amBX allows developers to include "surround sense" elements in games through various peripherals, including light, colour, sound, rumble and air flow through enabled devices like fans and LED-powered lights. The tech is being shown at CES working on both Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Far Cry 2, which were recently delayed by Ubisoft until the next fiscal year beginning April 2008. "Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Far Cry 2 are titles that will showcase just how powerful and in your face amBX effects can be in a war game. This is just the start of the alliance between amBX and Ubisoft and the level of our comarketing with Ubisoft will underline our dedication to bringing all-new ambient effects to world class games." said amBX COO Jo Cooke. amBX only works with PC titles at the moment, but console announcements are on the way too. The agreement will also see an amBX patch being released for the original Far Cry. Further patches for existing Ubisoft games will also be released with the amBX-enabling of additional titles to be announced later.

Microsoft Security Bulletin for January 2008

Microsoft published the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for January 2008 which includes only two patches. The first one rated critical, fixes an issue with the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) processing on Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Server 2003. The second one, rated important resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). The vulnerability could allow an attacker to run arbitrary code with elevated privileges. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system and then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

DOWNLOAD: MS08-001 - Critical | MS08-002 - Important

Valve and NVIDIA Offer Portal: First Slice Free to GeForce Users

The most recent Steam Hardware Survey shows more Steam gamers play on NVIDIA GeForce hardware than any other graphics platform. In an effort to further support this popular PC gaming configuration - Steam games plus NVIDIA hardware - Valve and NVIDIA have entered into an agreement to collaborate on development, distribution, events, and more. Effective immediately, all NVIDIA gamers may receive a free copy of Portal: First Slice, a special version of the award-winning new game from Valve, by visiting www.steamgames.com/nvidia1 and "Taking the test." Steam will then auto-detect the presence of NVIDIA hardware and make Portal: First Slice available immediately, free of charge. To make it easy for all NVIDIA customers to redeem this offer, a link to the Steam offer will also be included in all NVIDIA drivers.

Everex Unveils the 9-inch CloudBook Ultra-Mobile PC at CES

Everex, a world leader in the design and production of personal computers, today launched their much anticipated Ultra-Mobile PC featuring the latest Open Source operating system from gOS. Measuring 9" in length and 2 pounds in weight, the Everex CloudBook caters to users seeking the latest in mobile computing. With its 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV mobile processor, the laptop averages 5 hours of battery life on a 4-cell, lithium-ion battery. Unlike many of its competitors, the CloudBook also features 30GB of internal storage, digital video output (DVI-I), 4-in-1 card reader and 1.3MP webcam.

Blu-ray to Feature PSP Transfer

It looks like Sony has truly admitted defeat with UMD movies following plans to allow the PS3 to transfer Blu-ray movies onto PSP memory sticks. Rather than re-encoding the HD content for the PSP's resolution, Sony plans to have Blu-ray disks which feature a PSP-specific version of the movie on the same disk as the main feature, allowing the PSP to simply copy it from the disk directly to the memory stick. The one downside of this would be that Blu-ray films which have already been sold will probably not be compatible with this feature. President of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, David Bishop, said:
This way, you can have a portable copy you can take with you. There was always the promise of greater interactivity. You'll see that coming in the new year.

McDonald’s Boss Claims Video Games Cause Child Obesity

McDonald's Boss Claims Video Games Cause Child Obesity

Well if this isn't the pot calling the kettle black then I don't know what is. McDonald's UK chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, has hit out at video games claiming that they are responsible for obesity among children. Easterbrook also commented that people need to be aware of the importance of a balanced diet, saying:
The issue of obesity is complex and is absolutely one our society is facing, there's no denial about that. But if you break it down I think there's an education piece: how can we better communicate to individuals the importance of a balanced diet and taking care of themselves? Then there's a lifestyle element: there's fewer green spaces and kids are sat home playing computer games on the TV when in the past they'd have been burning off energy outside.

Xbox 360 Could Back Blu-ray

According to Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware, the Xbox 360 console could be equipped with a Blu-ray add-on in the future if HD DVD fails to take off. Penello said:
It should be consumer choice, and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider. I fundamentally don't think this has a significant impact on Xbox 360 versus PS3. You can't say it's not a bummer, not a setback, but I've seen this battle declared over so many times. I want consumers to have a voice in this and I think there are a lot of consumers who bought HD DVD who are going to have a say in how this shakes out.

Apple to Lower UK Music Prices

Apple today announced that within six months it will lower the prices it charges for music on its UK iTunes Store to match the already standardized pricing on iTunes across Europe in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain. Apple currently must pay some record labels more to distribute their music in the UK than it pays them to distribute the same music elsewhere in Europe. Apple will reconsider its continuing relationship in the UK with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the UK to the pan-European level within six months.

"This is an important step towards a pan-European marketplace for music," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We hope every major record label will take a pan-European view of pricing."

New Line Cinema Abandons HD-DVD too

According to announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), New Line Cinema has joined Warner Bros in revealing that in future it would only be supplying its movies in Blu-ray format - the competitor to Toshiba's format. The news means that just two of Hollywood's major studios have retained support for HD-DVD, which is mainly supported by computer companies such as Microsoft. The Blu-ray consortium - which consists of a wide range of entertainment companies as well as manufacturers including Sony and Apple - now has the potential to become the de facto standard for next generation DVDs. The two formats - which both offer higher capacity discs that are able to hold larger, high-definition video files - are incompatible with each other.

Cooler Master Debuts Three New Huge Coolers

Cooler Master impressed many at CES with three of the largest coolers to hit mass production soon. I'll start with the V12 cooler made of 8 heatpipes and cooled by two 120mm fans. Next is the V10 which consists of two 120mm fans, one mounted vertically and the other horizontally. The horizontal fan is located above the DIMM-slots and will cool the ram through the fins of the cooler later. His little brother, the V8 just like the car engines has a slightly different design that the V12, with only one 120mm fan located in the middle of the cooler. Other specs are still to come.

NVIDIA to Promote Hybrid SLI Using Additive Brand Strategy

NVIDIA recently informed its hardware partners of its "Additive Brand" strategy, a new marketing move which takes advantage of the company's recently announced Hybrid SLI technology to help increase the rate of motherboard and graphics card bundling by OEM makers. NVIDIA Hybrid SLI technology is based on the company's GeForce GPUs and SLI multi-GPU technology. Hybrid SLI enables NVIDIA motherboard GPUs to work cooperatively with discrete NVIDIA GPUs when paired in the same PC platform. Hybrid SLI provides two new technologies, GeForce Boost and HybridPower that allow the PC to deliver graphics performance for today's applications and games when 3D graphics horsepower is required, or transition to a lower-powered operating state when not. Under the Additive Brand strategy OEM makers who bundle an NVIDIA motherboard with one of the company's graphics cards using GeForce Boost technology, will be allowed to state the graphics card specification of the system based on the potential performance of the combined IGP and discrete card. For example, an nForce 780a motherboard bundled with a GeForce 8500GT graphics card may be marketed as a GeForce 8600 system, or a GeForce 8400GS as a GeForce 8500. Hybrid SLI-capable products will include motherboards based on the upcoming NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI, nForce 750a SLI, and nForce 730a chipsets for AMD CPUs, which will be released in February. Furthermore, NVIDIA Hybrid SLI notebooks as well as desktop products designed for Intel CPUs will be available in the second quarter of this year.
Tuesday, January 8th 2008

EVGA Presents the nFORCE 780i SLI FTW Motherboard

EVGA Corporation announced the release of a new flagship gaming motherboard for Intel platform: nForce 780i SLI FTW with enhanced features for scalability in extreme overclocking and stability under high voltage load. EVGA nForce 780i SLI FTW offers features such as unique power management to provide clean and stable power under extreme high voltage load and all solid-state capacitors for extended durability as well as a proprietary hybrid cooling solution with a built-in water block that supports either liquid or air cooling. It also features 2 Gigabit Ethernets, 8-channel HD audio and 8x SATA II ports instead of 6 on the reference board. With three 16x PCI-Express slots and PCI-Express 2.0 support, nForce 780i SLI FTW has all the features a true gamer can ask for including support for the newest 45nm Intel microprocessors and 3-way SLI (Scalable Link Interface) allowing three similar graphics cards to operate in unison to boost graphics processing performance. nForce 780i SLI FTW comes with a limited lifetime warranty and is available through leading resellers.

Sony Hopes for PS3 Profits by Next Year

It's been no secret that Sony has been losing money on each PS3 it sells, but the firm has now revealed that it is hoping to be making a profit from PS3 sales within the next fiscal year. Sony Computer Entertainment's chief executive, Kaz Hirai, said:
We want to get to the positive side of the equation as quickly as possible. The next fiscal year starts in April and if we can try to achieve that in the next fiscal year that would be a great thing. We are going through the budgets right now. That (profitability) is not a definite commitment, but that is what I would like to try to shoot for.
Hirai is hoping that lower production costs due to fewer components in the 40GB model will be the main factor in helping the console achieve profitability. The PS3 managed to sell 1.2 million units in North America over the Christmas period, which accounted for about 40% of total yearly sales.

OCZ HydroJet on Display at CES

The long awaited and better late than never released OCZ HydroJet self-contained liquid cooler for CPUs has a new face-lift. The OCZ HydroJet is the first heatsink to make use of directional carbon nanotubes in the base of the cooler for improved thermal performance. On the two pictures below you'll see the fourth generation HydroJet prototype pictured during the first day of CES 2008.

TwinMOS Intros TwiSTER DDR3-1600 and DDR3-1800 Memory Modules

The DDR3 has become more popular in the market since Intel's introduction the P35 and X38 chipsets. After introducing the high-level DDR3-1333 module for desktops and the high-level DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM for laptops, TwinMOS today introduces the TwiSTER over-clocking series, which includes DDR3-1600 and DDR3-1800 models, to fulfill the hardware requirements of professional game players and overclockers. The TwiSTER series is the highest quality product line from TwinMOS, made with selected original dies and high-standard production processes. More importantly, every module is tested to comply with the published specifications, and quality is controlled according to the highest standards. DDR3-1600MHz and DDR3-1800MHz memory modules of the TwiSTER series come with chips form Micron Technology in a 128Mx8 layout and are delivered in 1GB capacity. Other specifications of these modules include 240-pin design, working voltage at 1.8V, CL= 8-8-8-21, clock frequency at 1600MHz and 1800MHz. TwinMOS provides global, lifelong warranties for all memory products.

Take-Two Acquires Illusion Softworks

Take-Two Interactive Software today announced the acquisition of Illusion Softworks, a premier Central European-based game development studio with operations in Brno and Prague, the Czech Republic. Illusion Softworks has approximately 200 employees and will join Take-Two's 2K Games publishing label as its newest studio, 2K Czech. Established in 1997, Illusion Softworks is the creator and owner of several hit video game franchises, including Mafia, Hidden & Dangerous and Vietcong. The studio is currently working with 2K Games on Mafia II, the sequel to the original Mafia, which helped establish the gangster genre and sold more than two million units.

Team Group Demonstrates 2133MHz DDR3 Memory

Team Group looks set to take the crown for having the fastest-rated DDR3 memory with the 2133MHz modules which it is showing off at CES. The memory will run with timings of 10-10-10-30 (not exactly aggressive) at require 2.1-2.2V, compared to the industry guidelines of 1.5V. The memory will feature special "Super Thermal Conduction" black heat spreaders and ship in 2GB kits, although no pricing details have been revealed.

Mozilla Appoints John Lilly as Chief Executive Officer

Mozilla Corporation today appointed its current chief operating officer John Lilly as CEO, effective immediately. Concurrent with the appointment of Lilly, Mozilla also announced that Mitchell Baker, Mozilla's current CEO, would continue as Chairman and a full-time executive of the corporation. "John Lilly is the right person to guide the maturation of Mozilla," said Mitchell Baker, Chairman of Mozilla Corporation. "John has been instrumental in developing an organization that is both embedded in Mozilla and open-source DNA and that can function at the extremely high degree of effectiveness that our setting requires." As CEO, John will focus on the product, technology and execution of the Mozilla Corporation. Mitchell will focus on bringing Mozilla goals and mindshare to affect change in related aspects of Internet development, such as standards and interoperability, treatment of data, and use of market mechanisms to support public benefit organizations.

Radeon HD 3870 X2 at CES

Still no specs yet unfortunately, but AMD is showing off its Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card at CES. As you can see, the card has been installed in a system, which would suggest its working - to some extent at least.

Razer Destructor Gaming-Grade Surface

Going beyond competition Razer today released the new Destructor gaming-grade mousing surface made for optical and laser mice types. In response to the gaming communities search for improvements in mousing technologies, Razer has co-developed the Razer Destructor with some of the best pro-gaming teams in the world. The end result is a 350mm (length) x 280mm (width) x 2.3mm (height) mousepad which will cost you US:$39.99/Europe: €39.99. "Other gaming-grade surfaces today lack the ability to truly accommodate gaming optical and laser sensors," says Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff, president of Razer. "The Razer Destructor is designed specifically for gaming mice. Where other gaming surfaces fail, the Razer Destructor shines through and gives gaming mice the ability to achieve the tracking ability that they are designed for."

AMD Introduces AMD LIVE! Ultra Desktop and Notebook PCs

AMD today announced AMD LIVE! Ultra, a new PC brand to help consumers identify forthcoming desktop and notebook PCs designed to deliver the ultimate visual entertainment experience. AMD LIVE! Ultra-branded PCs will be powered by AMD multi-core platforms for desktop and notebook PCs, codenamed "Spider" and "Puma", respectively. Thanks to innovative AMD technology, such as AMD Phenom 9000 Series quad-core processors, forthcoming AMD Turion Ultra mobile processors and ATI Radeon HD graphics, AMD LIVE! Ultra PCs will be packed with more computing power plus cutting-edge visual performance to meet consumers' demands for increasingly rich, high-definition (HD) digital entertainment.

NVIDIA Launches Quadro FX 3700 Graphics Board

NVIDIA, the world leader in visual computing technologies, once again takes the lead in improving productivity for computer-aided design (CAD) and digital content creators with the announcement of the NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700, a high-end graphics board capable of delivering a performance increase of up to 2X as compared to the previous generation of product.

Crysis 1.1 Patch Released

The first patch for Crysis has been released, which you can download from here. The changes are as follows:

Fixes:
  • Damage dealt to vehicles when shot by LAW has been made consistent
  • F12 (screenshot) now works in restricted mode as well
  • When player melees during gun raise animation, their gun will not be in a permanently raised position anymore
  • Memory leaks and potential crashes

Microsoft Says There Will Be No HD DVD Xbox

Despite rumors to the contrary, Microsoft did not unveil an Xbox console with HD DVD capabilities built-in at CES, and has no plans to do so in the future, according to an executive in Microsoft's entertainment business. "Absolutely not," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for interactive entertainment at Microsoft, when asked Monday if an HD DVD Xbox was in the works. Microsoft has been pushing HD DVD over Blu-ray as the format for high-definition video, but HD DVD suffered a significant setback last week when Warner Bros. said it would drop support for the format in favor of Blu-ray. Monday during an interview at CES in Las Vegas, Bell said Microsoft is taking a more agnostic view on how to serve up HD video. He said that it's up to consumers to make a choice between the two formats, not vendors. "We'll let the market decide how they're most interested in consuming entertainment," he said.

Apple Introduces Xeon Xserve Servers

Apple has put Intel Xeon steroids inside the latest iteration of its Xserve, promising the server to be up to twice as fast as the previous model. Shipping now, the new breed Xserve includes up to two Quad-core 3.0GHz Intel Xeon processors offering 8-core performance. These new systems also boast a new server architecture, faster front side buses, faster memory, two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots and up to 3TB of storage. As ever, this new version of Apple's 1U server includes an unlimited client licence for Mac OS X Server Leopard, with Xserve prices starting at £1,999 (US$4,000), including VAT. "With the latest Intel processors and no client access licenses, Xserve offers unbeatable server performance and value for under $3,000," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. "Xserve's power, storage and Leopard Server make it ideal for supporting Mac clients and mixed platform workgroups."

Via Mobile ITX Board Expected in 2009

Via Technologies is not likely to ship its supersmall Mobile ITX motherboard, aimed at ultramobile PCs (UMPCs) and other light portable devices, in production volume until next year, company officials said here at the CES show Monday. The company attracted industry attention when it unveiled the board at Computex in Taipei last June, declaring that it would find its way into markets this year. But "manufacturability issues" will likely prevent the board from being used in commercially launched devices this year, according to Alp Sezen, a sales director for Via based in Fremont, California. Via expects to announce the Mobile ITX production schedule at this year's Computex, and will probably just manage to ship sample boards by the end of the fourth quarter, he said.

ASUS Unveils G70 Gaming Notebook

ASUS today unveiled its new ASUS G70 notebook featuring powerful dual-graphics based on the highly acclaimed NVIDIA SLI technology, as well as the support of dual hard drives and 8GB of system memory for optimal transfer rates. The new G70 delivers a new level of immersive cinematic graphics with an unprecedented combination of computing power and gaming performance.

Apple Introduces New Mac Pro

Apple today introduced the new Mac Pro with eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor. The new Mac Pro combines two of Intel's new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799.

NVIDIA to Launch MCP7A and MCP7C IGP Chipsets in the Coming Months

With the MCP73 failing to pose a strong challenge to the Intel 3-series, NVIDIA will launch IGP (integrated graphics processing) versions of its MCP7A and MCP7C chipset series for the Intel platform. Launching in April the MCP7A will have two IGP versions, the MCP7A-U and MCP7A-S, both of which will support Intel 1333MHz FSB, dual-channel controller, Hybrid SLI, DirectX 10, HDMI, DVI, HDCP, and PureVideo HD. The MCP7C to be unveiled in August will support Intel 1333MHz FSB and feature a single-channel memory controller supporting a maximum speed of DDR2-800. It will also feature HDMI, DVI, HDCP, and PureVideo HD. Hybrid SLI technology is not mentioned as supported. DigiTimes also indicates that free on board (FOB) prices for motherboards based on the MCP7A-U will be about US$80, while motherboards based on the MCP7A-S will be priced in the US$70-75 range.
Monday, January 7th 2008

Turbine Announces DirectX 10 Support for The Lord of the Rings Online

Turbine announced today that The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar has become the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) to support the Microsoft DirectX 10 API and NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors. The Lord of the Rings Online, named the PC Game of the Year 2007, now offers gamers with DirectX 10 graphics the most out of their cards. Players can now experience Middle-earth like never before with major improvements to The Lord of the Rings Online's graphics, including upgraded shaders for water, particle effects and lighting for distant terrain. Players will also be treated with new DirectX 10 dynamic shadowing features which render realistic real-time shadows. The update is available now to subscribers.

Alienware Shows Off Curved Monitor at CES

GIZMODO has taken some interesting pictures and a video of Alienware's curved monitor, which the company plans to release later this year. The monitor has a resolution of 2880x900 pixels, and according to HEXUS.net it contains four DLP rear projection screens. The most impressive feature (other than the fact it's curved of course) is the 0.02ms response time Alienware is claiming. As you can see, seams between each of the four screens are visible, but Alienware is promising that these will be gone by the time it is released to the public.

Wikipedia Founder Launches ‘Wikia Search’

Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, has just launched his new Wikia search engine. The site, which is being dubbed as a major rival to Google, works by using feedback from users to arrange results in the most relevant order - although it's only at its alpha stage of development right now so the results aren't too great.
Wikia's search engine concept is that of trusted user feedback from a community of users acting together in an open, transparent, public way. Of course, before we start, we have no user feedback data. So the results are pretty bad. But we expect them to improve rapidly in coming weeks, so please bookmark the site and return often.

Right now, the most important thing you can do is help with the "miniarticles" that appear at the top of popular search terms. These will vary in purpose according to the circumstance, but the primary uses will be:
  • Short definitions
  • Disambiguations
  • Photos
  • See also
If you want to take a look, head over to the Wikia Search page.

Wii Gets Royal Support

This isn't an amazing new hardware release at CES I'm afraid, just an interesting story about the Wii. According to a "royal insider," the Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, has discovered the Wii to be quite an entertaining console. Apparently Prince William received the console from his girlfriend for Christmas, and when the Queen saw her grandson playing on it she decided it might be fun to have a go herself. The anonymous royal insider said the following:
When she saw William playing a game after lunch at Sandringham she thought the Nintendo looked tremendous fun and begged to join in. His only difficulty now is prising it away from the Queen's clutches. She showed all the signs of becoming a Nintendo addict.
Nintendo's marketing strategy of trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible certainly seems to be working!

EVGA Launches Overclocked 512MB 8800 GTS

The ultimate in bang for the buck performance has now been equipped with even more acceleration. With 128 stream processors clocked at a remarkable 1.83GHz, an astounding GPU clock of 740MHz, and a whiplash-induced fillrate of over 47 Billion pixels per second, the EVGA 8800GTS 512MB KO and SSC cards are all you need for extreme pedal to the metal performance.

ViewSonic to Soon Offer the 22-inch LED Backlit VLED221wm Desktop Monitor

ViewSonic's commitment to state-of-the-art technology is yet again displayed with the launch of the 22-inch widescreen VLED221wm desktop monitor, which features the world's first 12000:1 dynamic contrast ratio in a LED desktop display. The VLED221wm reaches new heights with 118-percent of the NTSC color gamut, native 1680x1050 resolution, a 5ms response time and power consumption of only 38W. The ViewSonic VLED221wm is Windows Vista certified and will be available next month for the estimated street price of $799. Sold through authorized ViewSonic resellers, distributors, retailers and e-tailers, the display is backed by a three-year limited warranty on parts and labor.

NVIDIA Announces Hybrid SLI

NVIDIA today announced the industry's first hybrid technology for PC platforms - Hybrid SLI - that addresses two critical issues: increasing graphics performance and reducing power consumption. NVIDIA Hybrid SLI technology will be incorporated into a wide variety of graphics and motherboard desktop and notebook products that the Company is rolling out for both AMD and Intel desktop and notebook computing platforms throughout 2008.

Microsoft to Deliver BT Vision Content via Xbox 360

Microsoft Corp. and telecommunications leader BT announced they are bringing together the next-generation TV service BT Vision with Microsoft's Xbox 360 games and entertainment system. All BT broadband customers will have the unique opportunity to receive the best in high-definition gaming, television and movies through an Xbox 360 console, in a powerful, all-in-one entertainment experience. BT Vision, which is powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) platform, plans to make this first-of-its-kind device and service offering available to customers in the middle of 2008. The announcement was made during the keynote address by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Microsoft President Robbie Bach of the Entertainment & Devices Division at 2008 International CES on Jan. 6.

Toshiba Launches New Satellite A215 Laptops Powered by AMD Turion 64 X2 Processors

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America, announced today that it has updated its mainstream AMD-based Satellite A215 notebook line with the additions of the Satellite A215-S6804, Satellite A215-S6814 and the Satellite A215-S6820. The new Satellite A215 models incorporate AMD's leading-edge AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile processor. Incorporating a 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite display and a DVD SuperMulti optical drive with Labelflash as well as embedded Webcam, these Satellite A215 models easily allow users to perform a variety of tasks and leisure activities. For users that require a significant amount of storage space, the Satellite A215-S6814 and the Satellite A215-S6804 provide generous hard disk storage capacity of 250GB and the Satellite A215-S6820 provides a massive 300GB hard drive. The new Satellite A215 configurations are currently available at Toshiba Direct and a variety of major consumer electronics and computer stores nationwide. The base price for the 15.4-inch Satellite A215-S6804 with Turion 64 X2 at 2GHz, 2GB PC5300 DDR2 memory, 250GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD, ATI Radeon X1200, and one-year standard limited warranty is 899$. Complete product specifications for all models within the Satellite A215 series are available here.

EA Completes BioWare Pandemic Acquisition

Electronic Arts' acquisition of VG Holding Corporation for $860 million has now been completed, meaning that highly-rated studios BioWare and Pandemic have now officially become part of the EA label. The deal was originally announced last October in an attempt to fill up a gap in EA's RPG, action and adventure genres. BioWare bosses and co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have been nameds as EA vice presidents and co-general managers. Pandemic's Andrew Goldman and Josh Resnick have each been named vice presidents of EA and co-general managers, while Greg Borrud has been named vice president of EA and chief production officer of Pandemic.

Intel Unveils 16 Next-Generation Processors, Including First 45nm Notebook Chips

Intel Corporation unveiled 16 products today, including the company's first 45nm processors for Intel Centrino Processor Technology based laptops. All of these new chips include the company's new transistor formula and 45nm manufacturing process that boost a PC's speed, reduces power requirements, saves on battery life, helps the environment and comes in smaller packages for more fashionable and compact computer designs. With the introduction of the new processors, Intel will be offering a total of 32 desktop, laptop and server processors based on these industry-leading innovations.

Broadcom and Microsoft Collaborate on Next-Generation IPTV System-on-a-Chip

Microsoft and Broadcom Corporation today announced a collaboration in Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) products. The collaboration includes Microsoft and Broadcom working together to enable the popular Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV client software to operate on next-generation set-top boxes (STBs) utilizing the Broadcom BCM7405 system on a chip (SOC). This technology will permit service providers and original equipment manufacturers to support a range of features such as whole-home digital video recording (DVR), high-performance user interfaces, and photo and music sharing.

Sony Debuts Sub $200 BD-ROM Drive

Sony has introduced its first sub-$200 internal BD-ROM drive, the BDU-X10S drive that can upgrade an existing desktop computer into a high-definition Blu-ray Disc player, as well as a DVD and a CD player. This is purely a read-only device, without any Blu-ray, CD or DVD burning functions. The new BDU-X10S BD-ROM drive comes with CyberLink's PowerDVD BD Edition software for playback of commercial movie titles, recorded Blu-ray Disc home videos, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs. It features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside desktop PCs running the Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP operating system. The new BD-ROM drive will start shipping this month.

OCZ Technology to Revolutionize CES 2008

OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, computer components, and systems, today unveiled a number of ground-breaking, next generation products at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. With last year's acquisition of Hypersonic PC and PC Power & Cooling, two cutting edge providers of high-end computing products, OCZ will have a wealth of new solutions covering the entire span of the enthusiast industry, from high performance hardware to complete desktop and laptop systems.

Napster to Sell Music as MP3 Files

Napster Inc. said Sunday it will begin selling music downloads as unprotected MP3 files in the spring, joining other online retailers. The file format change will apply only to single tracks and album purchases, according to a company press release. Tracks downloaded as part of the company's music subscription service will continue to have copyright restrictions. Unlike music files that come with copy protections embedded, MP3 files are compatible with most portable music devices, including Apple Inc.'s market-leading iPod media players, Microsoft Corp.'s Zune and mobile phones that play music. "The ubiquity and cross-platform compatibility of MP3s should create a more level playing field for music services and hardware providers and result in greater ease of use and broader adoption of digital music," Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. The company did not say which record companies had agreed to license music for sale as MP3s via Napster.

Logitech at CES 2008

Logitech is also trying to make some attention at CES. For starters there's a brand new Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution keyboard and mouse combo that features the award-winning Logitech MX Revolution cordless laser mouse, a dynamic keyboard display and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Logitech is also displaying the stylish Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System which connects through a USB port. The Z Cinéma 2.1 consists of two-way satellite speakers (26 watts RMS x 2) and an 8-inch subwoofer (110 watts RMS). Using hybrid Class D and Class AB amplifiers plus SRS TruSurround HD, Logitech claims that the system can reproduce true surround-sound without the need for rear speakers. More to come are the new Logitech diNovo Mini palm-sized keyboard with media remote and ClickPad and the Harmony One advanced universal remote control. Please visit Logitech for more information and current item pricing.

Samsung Brings 500GB Spinpoint M6 Hard Drive to Laptops

Samsung has announced that it has paved the way for laptops to come with upto 1TB hard drives following an announcement at CES in Las Vegas. The South Korean company has announced the development of its new Spinpoint M6 500GB hard drive, the world's first 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive that fits in the industry's standard 9.5mm height dimension of laptops. The announcement comes just a few days after Hitachi Ltd. announced it will be introducing a 500 GB laptop hard drive in February. Samsung's new Spinpoint M6 500GB consists of three 166GB platters spinning at 5400rpm. The M6 drives will feature 8MB cache, and 3.0Gbps SATA interface. Samsung's Spinpoint M6 500 GB hard drive is scheduled to launch in March this year.

Xbox LIVE Marketplace Adds HD Content from ABC, MGM and Disney Channel

As part of Bill Gates' CES keynote speech, Robbie Bach, Microsoft's president, Entertainment & Devices Division, announced that TV programs from ABC Television and Disney Channel will be added to Xbox LIVE programming available to Xbox 360s in the States. In addition to the American television additions, MGM will bring its library of movies to the mix. Later this month, all US Xbox LIVE members will begin to have access to certain TV shows and movies from the ABC Television Network, ABC Family, ABC News, Disney Channel and Toon Disney as part of an agreement with Disney-ABC Television Group. More than 500 hours of content, in both standard definition and high definition when available, will be offered including "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy." On the MGM side of things, such titles available as part of the deal will include "Rocky," "Terminator," and "Silence of the Lambs". United Artists, an MGM sister company, will also make select films available on demand.

Zaward RAM Cooler Unveiled

Zaward unveiled a new cooling product for memory modules simply called RAM cooler. The firm claims this product can reduce the temperature of your modules by up to 15 degrees Celsius in comparison to a memory module without cooling. The product is compatible with SDRAM/DDR/DDR2/DDR3 single and double-sided memory modules and features two tiny 30mm fans. Zaward says the fans produce only 20dBA but the specifications list a very low airflow level of 2.5CFM.

ATI to Reveal Mobility Radeon HD 3000 at CES

AMD's turn at CES announcements has added the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series, its latest graphics chipset for notebooks. Similar to what standard Radeon HD 3000 line did for desktops, the Mobility version is said to bring visual and interface features that have never been seen for portables; it adds new graphics shader support for games and other 3D apps that can use the new features of DirectX 10.1 or more recent updates to OpenGL 2.0, such as new lighting techniques. The HD 3000 range also adds PCI Express 2.0 as well as the first-ever option of relaying video to DisplayPort monitors such as Dell's recently announced Crystal LCD, AMD says. The HD 3000 series is also more power-efficient than before while still maintaining useful extras such as full hardware decoding of 1080p video when exposed by software. AMD says it is already shipping a low-end HD 3400 chipset with 40 stream processors and a mid-range HD 3600 sibling with 120 stream processors in notebooks as of today, beginning with ASUS' M50 gaming notebook. Future versions, such as a likely HD 3800 version, are also expected in the first half of 2008.
Sunday, January 6th 2008

Tiger Direct Owner Systemax to Buy CompUSA Franchise and Stores

Systemax Incorporated is currently in talks to buy the CompUSA brand, trademarks, e-commerce business and as many as 16 retail stores. Systemax analysts predict that the CompUSA brand name still has quite a bit of value, and can be turned around and brought to profitable glory. Systemax is willing to spend $30 million USD on this acquisition. Systemax has not yet announced what exactly they will do to make CompUSA a profitable enterprise.

Samsung Announces New Spinpoint F1 RAID Edition 1TB 3.5” Hard Disk Drives

Samsung Electronics also announced today its new F1 RAID Class 3.5" SATA hard drive featuring 1TB of capacity specifically designed and manufactured for enterprise storage and surveillance applications. Offering the world's highest recording density using only three platters and running at 7,200rpm, the F1R drive is designed for demanding applications such as database, email servers, web servers, super computing, software development, data warehousing, surveillance, call center and nearline/backup storage systems.

Samsung Introduces 128GB MLC SSD SATAII Drive

Two months after Samsung announced its new SATA II-based 64GB solid-state disk (SSD), the firm is now doubling the capacity of its latest SATA II SSD offering to 128GB. The newly developed multi-level cell (MLC) flash-based 128 Gigabyte (GB) solid state drive (SSD) will hit mass production this year in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch versions for notebook and desktop PCs, as well as other mobile applications. The new drive offers a data reading speed of 100MB/s and writing speed of 70MB/s, the industry's highest for MLC-based SSDs. Samsung's 128GB SSD will be demonstrated in a notebook PC at CES 2008. The complete suite of Samsung SSDs will also be displayed at Samsung Electronics' Booth 11033, in the LVCC's Central Hall. Information regarding this product and other Samsung news at CES is available online here.

Thermaltake to Unveil DuOrb CPU Cooler at CES 2008

Thermaltake will be showing off its latest CPU cooler at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. The company will have a live demonstration of its new DuOrb CPU Cooler that has long been anticipated. The CPU version of the DuOrb is based on the same concept as the DuOrb VGA cooler but with six heatpipes and the same all copper construction. With two independent heat radiating areas, this twin fan cooler cools twice as fast and efficient than the ordinary CPU cooler. The wide coverage of the heatsink and fans allows the cooler to cool the surrounding chipset and RAM areas as well.
Saturday, January 5th 2008

Sony PSP Skype Functionality Detailed

Earlier this week, Sony's Consumer Electronics Show site slipped news that Skype VoIP functionality for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) will soon be added. Japan's Nikkei Net news service is reporting today that Skype functionality will be added to the PSP as early as this month. Skype's Internet phone technology will be limited to owners of the PSP Slim only. Those who own the redesigned handheld will be able to download Skype software directly onto their PSPs and then use a specially designed microphone to communicate. The Skype service will be free for PSP-to-PSP and PSP-to-PC calls. PSP Slim owners will also be able to sign up for a dedicated phone number, which Nikkei is reporting will run for 2,250 yen (about $20.70) for three months of usage. Expect more information on the service next week during the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Microsoft Sued Over Xbox Outage

It was a matter of time since someone decide to take his chance in court over the last Xbox LIVE service issues. Microsoft now faces a lawsuit over recent problems with its Xbox Live online gaming service. Three Texas residents filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of themselves and others who have had trouble connecting to Xbox Live in recent weeks. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Houston, claims Microsoft's outages represent a breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation for which the software maker is liable. The suit doesn't claim specific damages, but notes the amount is in excess of $5 million. In the suit, the plaintiffs allege that Microsoft should have known strong holiday sales would tax its servers. "Microsoft knew the increase in subscriptions would increase game-play on its servers, yet failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers."
Friday, January 4th 2008

Sony BMG to Drop DRM

Sony BMG has become the last of the 'big four' record labels to drop Digital Rights Management - on part of its music collection at least. Specific details have not yet been released, so this could potentially apply to all of the songs that Sony offers for download. Digital Rights Management is the technology that limits users to playing songs only on certain computers and devices, and has been the subject of fierce opposition over recent months. Warner, EMI and Universal have all made plans for DRM-free downloads, and Sony is set to launch its DRM-free downloads in the first quarter of this year.

Warner Bros. Opts for Blu-ray Exclusivity

The HD disk market has seen another twist with the news that Warner Bros. plans to make all of its high definition film releases exclusive to Blu-ray. The movie label is claiming that the decision was a strategic move, saying:
The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers. A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry. Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience.
Warner Bros. will stop releasing HD DVD movies in May this year, and any movies it does release before that cut-off will be initially launched on Blu-ray and released on HD DVD after a "short window." This news follows Paramount and DreamWorks announcing that they would release movies exclusively on HD DVD four months ago.

Rockstar Games Joins Steam

Rockstar Games, the publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, and Valve announce an agreement to launch Rockstar Games' entire PC catalog on Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content with over 13 million accounts around the world. Starting today, gamers may purchase Rockstar Games' titles, including the complete Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne series plus Manhunt and Midnight Club II. To celebrate the launch, Rockstar is offering all its Steam games for a 10% discount during launch week. The Rockstar games now available on Steam include: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto II, Grand Theft Auto, Midnight Club II, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Max Payne, Manhunt and Wild Metal Country. For more information about Rockstar Games on Steam, please visit this page.

PowerColor Launches AGP HD 3850

Just like SAPPHIRE in the previous news story, PowerColor has launched an AGP version of the Radeon HD 3850 graphics card, continuing its support for the industry's old standard. The card is listed as featuring 512MB of 256-bit GDDR3 memory running at 828MHz (1656MHz DDR), with a core clock speed of 668MHz. As with all other HD 3850 cards, it supports DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1, and should be available immediately.

SAPPHIRE Announces AGP HD 3850

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced support for legacy PC systems using the AGP graphics bus with a new product in its HD 3000 series which brings the latest graphics architectures and features to this industry standard platform.

The SAPPHIRE HD 3850 AGP is available with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, running at 846MHz (1.7GHz effective) and has a core clock speed of 700MHz. It is a standard ATX format card, compatible with the industry standard AGP interface and with its slim fan assisted cooler the card occupies only a single expansion slot in the PC.

ASUS Launches VENTO TA-B1 Case

Reflecting a level of top-notch functionality and life-style aesthetics, ASUS has today released the new VENTO TA-B1 Series Chassis. The TA-B1 is compliant with Intel's Thermally Advantaged Chassis (TAC) standard that promises superb thermal efficiency while minimizing acoustic noise levels generated from the cooling fan running at higher speeds. In addition, the aesthetically clean design brings in a higher level of taste and life-aesthetics.

Nintendo Not Planning Full DS-Wii Game Downloads

Though Nintendo will eventually allow Wii owners to download DS demos and transfer them to the portable system, those plans do not include whole games, as was indicated earlier this week. "In the future, the Nintendo DS will be able to receive demo versions of some DS games from Wii, but not the entire game," a Nintendo of America has told Gamasutra. "The demo will be erased once the Nintendo DS is turned off," the company continued, allaying any hopes of a potential storage device to store and execute multiple demos.

BiTMICRO Introduces 832GB SATAII SSD for CES 2008

BiTMICRO, developer of flash disk, solid state disk (SSD), network storage and file cache solid state drive solutions is about to make strong appearance at CES this year. According to a press release, the company is introducing a new, 2.5-inch solid-state drive with the whoppping 832GB of space. The SATA II drive comes as a new addition to the company's E-Disk Altima line, and utilizes a technology the company calls multi-level cell (or MLC) memory, which apparently doubles the number of bits stored per memory cell when compared with single-level cell (SLC) NAND. The drives are expected to ship Q3 2008 in capacities ranging from 32GB to 832GB.

Zotac Shows off GeForce 8800GT 1024MB GDDR3 with Orange PCB

Right before the opening of the upcoming CES, graphics manufacturers are starting to show 1024MB versions of GeForce 8800GT. First to do that in public this time is Zotac with their redesigned GeForce 8800GT 1024MB GDDR3. While not AMP edition, the card utilizes orange PCB and 8 Qimonda GDDR3 memory chips. Inside the card's bundle, there is a DVI to HDMI converter.

AMD to Showcase Radeon HD 3450 and HD 3470 at CES

Although AMD will officially announce the Radeon HD 3450 and Radeon HD 3470 on January 23th, they intend to give visitors a glimpse of their new product at CES. The Radeon HD 3470 and 3450 both utilize the 55nm TSMC manufactured RV620 Pro and RV620 LE GPUs with core clocks of 800MHz and 600Mhz respectively. Both cards support the PCI Express 2.0 specification, and feature 40 stream processors, full DX10.1, SM4.1, UVD, Powerplay support. The cards will have 64-bit memory interface with 256MB of GDDR3. The Radeon HD 3470 will use 950MHz GDDR3 whereas Radeon HD 3450 will use 500MHz GDDR2. AGP versions of both cards is also expected to arrive in near future.

Xbox Live Users to Receive Free Arcade Game

Following a number of connectivity issues with the Xbox Live service over the Christmas period, Microsoft is to offer all its subscribers globally a free Xbox Live Arcade game as a "token of appreciation." The announcement was made by Xbox Live's general manager Marc Whitten on the Major Nelson blog, who explained that while the service was never completely offline, the team was "disappointed in our performance." The statement went on to explain that the issues were caused by the "largest sign-up of new members to Xbox Live" in the service's five year history, and while the game is not offered as compensation for the problems, it's instead being billed as a "thank you for your loyalty during this holiday period." Details on the offer will be made available in the coming weeks, and at this point it's not clear if users will be offered a free choice of game, or whether a specific title or selection of titles will be pinpointed by Microsoft.

MSI Prepares to Enter Low-cost PCs Market in June

Micro-Star International (MSI) is preparing to introduce a low-cost PC product line in June at the earliest. The first low-cost PCs from the company will be built on Intel's 45nm Shelton processor, and will come with a 7-inch panel and Linux support. Initial pricing is set at around NT$10,000 (US$308). Another model which runs on Windows XP is still under testing. Besides the first models built on Intel processors, MSI is also in talks with AMD about a potential partnership. The company also noted that it may either postpone or hold off its launch schedule if demand fails to reach expectations during the first half of 2008.

Realtek and Intel to Demonstrate Wireless USB Single-Chip Solutions at CES 2008

Realtek will demonstrate its RTU7105 Wireless USB device with Intel Wireless UWB Link 3480 Single-Chip CMOS Wireless USB host solution at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7~10, 2008, providing the industry's first public multi-vendor demonstration of interoperability based entirely on single-chip solutions. Wireless USB has been developed to extend the convenience and widespread market penetration of wired USB to wireless operation, enabling wireless connection of PCs and PC peripherals, CE, and mobile devices. The demonstration will take place in the Intel booth in WiMedia Techzone South Hall #31642. For more information please be sure to check the full press release here.

OLPC and Intel Part Ways

More bad news for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project, fortunately this time nobody asks for $20 million in lawsuit. After only six months Intel has announced it is leaving the One Laptop Per Child project. According to Intel, Negroponte asked the chipmaker to stop selling its Classmate PC while it was part of the OLPC, which is currently shipping its XO laptop based on a chip from AMD. Even more surprising, Intel is saying that the OLPC actually asked the chipmaker to stop working with any company that produces low-cost laptops, such as Asus' Eee PC. "It is basically a philosophical impasse and, as a consequence, we've decided to go our separate ways," said Intel Asia-Pacific spokesman Nick Jacobs. "Despite many months of work to align Intel and OLPC, fundamental differences remain in our respective approaches to the challenge of bringing technology into education. Intel remains a strong supporter of OLPC's philanthropic goals, but we were unable to agree to some of their requests ... most notably that we cease support for non-OLPC platforms including the Classmate PC."

LG.Philips LCD Enrols Flexible A4-Size E-Paper Display at CES

LG.Philips LCD announced today that it will debut the world's highest resolution 14.3-inch flexible color E-paper display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008. The 14.3-inch E-paper display, which is equivalent in size to an A4 sheet of paper, represents a significant improvement over its predecessors with a never before seen resolution of 1280x800 pixels, and the ability to display 16.7 million colors, making it perfect for use in high end multimedia applications. These displays are extremely energy efficient, only using power when the image changes. Additionally, the displays are extremely thin, at less than 300 micrometers. LG.Philips LCD's use of metal foil and plastic substrates, rather than glass substrate makes the flexible color E-paper display bendable and durable, while maintaining superior display qualities. Furthermore, it can also be viewed from a full 180 degrees, so that images always appear crisp, even when the display is bent. LG.Philips LCD will also unveil the highest resolution mono flexible E-paper which is similar in size to a B5 size paper and it plans to launch this mono flexible E-paper in 2008.
Thursday, January 3rd 2008

ASUS Formally Splits Into Three Companies

ASUSTeK plans to promote and build the ASUS brand by splitting it into three distinct units. The new ASUS will only produce ASUS-branded computers while the second company, Pegatron, will handle all original equipment manufacturer (OEM), motherboard, and component manufacturing. The third and final company Unihan, will concentrate on casing, module, and other non-PC manufacturing. Both Pegatron and Unihan are expected to continue the former ASUS manufacturing tasks with little to no dropoff or transition.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 Exclusive Pics and Specs

If you want a sneak peek at the GeForce 9800 GX2, [H]ard|OCP has exclusive pictures, specs and this time the source cited is trustworthy. The GeForce 9800 GX2 card unites two 65nm GeForce 8800 GPUs working in SLI configuration under one hood, I mean PCB. The card will feature 1GB Frame Buffer and 256 stream processors. The GeForce 9800 GX2 will launch in late February or early March as it now stands and will replace the 8800 Ultra (single GPU) card in NVIDIA's high-end product line up. The 9800 GX2 is said to be 30% faster than a 8800 Ultra. Now I give you the pictures:

CoolIT Debutes New Line of Liquid Cooling Solutions at CES

CoolIT Systems, known for their high performance MTEC liquid cooling systems, is now readying a new lineup of liquid cooling innovations for release at CES. I'll start with the Freezone Elite ($449.99), both liquid and TEC cooler bundled with the firm's MTEC Control Center. CoolIT will also showcase dual TEC video card cooling solution, named Dual Drive Bay VGA Cooler ($299.99). The cooler is currently only compatible with a few cards from ATI and NVIDIA. Moving on, we've got the universally compatible PURE, which consists of "pre-plumbed, factory sealed, closed loop radiator and pump module" to keep CPUs cool for just $134.99. Finally, the Boreas MTEC Chassis combines powerful liquid cooling device with the Silverstone TJ-07 full-size aluminum tower case, taking the notable $949 price tag.

Far Cry 2 Announced for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Publisher Ubisoft has announced Far Cry 2 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Set in Africa, the exploration-heavy first person shooter is slated to arrive within the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which begins in April. A PC version of the game was first revealed last summer. All editions of the game are being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, which previously handled the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Wii spin-offs of the first Far Cry (PC). Original Far Cry creator and developer Crytek is not involved with the project, as Ubisoft acquired the Far Cry and Crytek Engine rights in 2006.

PNY Signs License Agreement with SanDisk to Settle Patent Litigation

SanDisk Corp said it signed a patent cross-license agreement with PNY Technologies to settle patent cases it filed against PNY last year in Federal District Court and the International Trade Commission, regarding flash memory products. Under the terms of the cross-license, PNY will pay SanDisk royalties on flash memory products that were not previously licensed. The agreement allows PNY to continue marketing and selling USB drives and CompactFlash cards, now as SanDisk licensed products. Other specific terms of the cross-license are confidential.

ASUS and DFI Add Penryn Support to 680i Boards

Motherboard manufacturers ASUS and DFI are both working on BIOSes which will allow users to install quad-core Intel Penryn processors on motherboards equipped with an nForce 680i chipset - a feature which was labelled as being a major advantage of the new nForce 780i chipset. The enabling factor for these two companies is that they both use their own motherboard layouts, rather than NVIDIA's reference designs. Therefore, they have managed to create beta BIOSes capable of working with quad-core Penryn chips on 680i systems - the ASUS Striker Exteme and the DFI LanParty UT NF680i SLI-T2R. These BIOSes are not yet available to the public, but assuming there are no legal issues that would prevent them from doing so, it shouldn't be long before ASUS and DFI release them.

No DirectX 10.1 for GeForce 9600 GT

TechConnect Magazine is reporting that NVIDIA's upcoming 9600 GT, which will be the first card to be launched as part of the new GeForce 9 Series of graphics cards, will not feature DirectX 10.1. DirectX 10.1 provides some extra features over the current DirectX 10 used in Windows Vista and is expected to be adopted as the standard for most cards released over the next year, with AMD's Radeon HD 3400 and 3600 cards already supporting it. However, it looks like NVIDIA has decided not to include DX10.1 support with the first of its new midrange cards, which is unlikely to cause too much of a performance impact but is surprising given that it would have made the card look better on paper, if nothing else.

VIA Focuses on Own CPUs

VIA Technologies, a firm which is probably best known for producing chipsets for AMD and Intel motherboards, has merged its CPU and chipset divisions to allow it to focus on supporting its own brand CPUs. This is according to the Chinese Apply Daily, which says the company plans to slowly phase-out development of chipsets for third-party products, although it will continue to support both its AMD chipsets and any older Intel chipsets not affected by patent issues. The firm has not yet completely given up on negotiations with Intel to acquire a patent contract, but it certainly seems to have its sights set on bigger things with its CPUs.

Blizzard Expands on Lich King's PvP Warfare

The upcoming World of Wacraft expansion (Wrath of the Lich King) will feature a large area dedicated to PvP (Player vs. Player) battles, Blizzard has revealed. A "cool part of Northrend is new big PvP zone. It's about the size of Westfall, and will be all-PvP - in no way, shape or form will we support PvE [Player vs Environment] players in it", the developer's Jeff Kaplan has told PC Zone. He continued, "It'll be optional, but it'll be completely non-instanced, have multiple objectives, siege weapons and destructible buildings". In the interview, Kaplan went on to promise that WoW adventurers will be pleasantly surprised when they first enter the new continent of Northrend. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is expected to launch this year, though Blizzard has yet to confirm when.

SPARKLE Launches 8800 GT Featuring DisplayPort

SPARKLE Computer today announced the World's First Display Port Graphics Card Sample, the world's first graphics card with DisplayPort support.

As a new high-end graphics card designed for the most demanding DirectX 10 games, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT DisplayPort Graphics Card uses the 65nm GeForce 8800 GT, the newest and powerful GPU in the GeForce 8 series from NVIDIA, raises the bar for DirectX 10 graphics and video performance. Besides all these great 3D features, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT DisplayPort Graphics Card is designed for the new PCI Express 2.0 bus standard and is backwards compatible with the original PCI Express standard, to be full ready for future games and applications which have rigorous requirements on bandwidth.

ASUS Unveils New LightScribe 20x DVD Writer

ASUS Unveils New 20x DVD Writer

In order to provide users with more options, ASUS has unveiled the new DRW-2014S1/S1T - an industry leading DVD rewriter that supports 14x DVD-RAM write, 20x DVD+/-R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW and 8x DVD+/-R dual layer media write speeds. The ASUS DRW-2014S1/S1T incorporates Over-speed Burning - a technology that is able to burn DL 2.4X discs at 8X speeds, a feature that can save you up to 29 minutes of burning time. The drive is available in both PATA and SATA versions, boasting 2MB of data buffer. The ASUS DRW-2014S1/S1T also adopts several innovative burning technologies found exclusively on ASUS optical drives like Flextralink and Flextraspeed for superb burning quality, as well as FlextraSpeed for optimal recording speeds. More info on this product can be found here.

Dell Updates 15.4-Inch Inspiron

Dell today announced the Inspiron 1525, a 15.4-inch notebook that is smaller, slimmer and lighter than the generation it replaces. The new notebooks also offer more personalization options with four new cool patterns in addition to the original eight colorful LCD back choices. With a starting price of $499, the Inspiron 1525 is available at www.dell.com/inspiron.

WDC Launches New Line of GreenPower AV Hard Drives

Drawing on its expertise as a leading supplier to major consumer electronics and surveillance manufacturers worldwide, Western Digital Corp. has designed its new GreenPower (GP) version of its WD AV hard drives with technologies that provide cooler and quieter operation and lower power consumption. WD's GreenPower family of hard drives for desktop, enterprise and audio video applications reduces power consumption by as much as 40 percent over standard drives in their respective classes. The new WD AV-GP family of drives offers capacities of 500 gigabytes (GB), 750 GB and one terabyte (TB), and is perfect for audio video applications such as DVRs (digital video recorders), as well as surveillance video recording.

WirelessHD 1.0 Specification Launches

WirelessHD, currently comprised of Intel Corporation, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), NEC Corporation, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, SiBEAM, Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, today announced it has completed the development of the first wireless specification for high-definition baseband video transmission and will present the format to Adopters in early 2008. Additionally, since the October 2006 WirelessHD announcement, it has grown to include 40 Early Adopter and Promoter companies as well as technical support with regards to content protection for WirelessHD 1.0 from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and technical support for DTCP content protection from the Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator (DTLA).

Qimonda to Jointly Develop Non-volatile Memory with Macronix

Qimonda AG, a globally leading memory solutions company, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Macronix International Co, Taiwan, on a joint development of non-volatile memory technologies. The co-operation project will focus on the development of different kinds of non-volatile memory technologies over a five year horizon. Both partners will share development costs and contribute engineering resources and know-how. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Dell Crystal Concept LCD Monitor Launched

Last year at CES in Las Vegas, Dell previewed a "concept" ultra-sleek monitor with tempered glass design and super-thin, clean profile. Now, just a few days before CES '08 we learn that the concept has made it to mass production. The Dell Crystal, much like its name implies, is the latest in Dell display innovation - featuring a breathtakingly slim and stylish design. The 22" widescreen LCD panel is encased in 4mm premium grade ultra-clear tempered glass floating on a beautiful chrome-plated zinc alloy tripod stand. Not only beautiful, this display offers exceptional performance including: 1680x1050 native resolution, TrueColor Technology with 98 percent color gamut (typical), 2ms gtg response time, 2000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, HD connectivity with DVI / HDMI with HDCP, sub-woofer out, USB and built-in 2.0 megapixel webcam with microphone. Priced at $1,199, Crystal is available at Dell.

Patriot Memory to Build Plant in Taiwan

US-based Patriot Memory has decided to build a plant to manufacture DRAM modules and NAND flash products in Taiwan to cater to its growing operations, according to the company. Initial plans for the plant involve an investment of NT$100 million (US$3.08 million) to set up two production lines. Patriot, which set up a branch office in Taiwan in 2004, has outsourced most of its production for DRAM modules and NAND flash products. But the fast growth in both segments has prompted the company to set up its own production facilities in Taiwan, which will be the company's Asia-Pacific operations center and one of its global production bases. Patriot is expected to showcase 32GB and 64GB flash drives at the upcoming CES, with volume production for the 32GB products starting in the first quarter, and the 64GB ones in the second. The company also plans to launch a 128GB solid state drive (SSD) in the first half of the year.

Hitachi and ASUS Collaborate to Deliver the World’s First One Terabyte Notebook PC

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced that ASUS has integrated Hitachi's Travelstar 5K500 hard drive into its new M50 and M70 notebook PCs, the latter of which delivers up to 1TB of storage capacity in a two-drive configuration. The companies are breaking new ground in personal computing by combining industry-leading storage capacity - exceeding that of a typical desktop system - with the portability of a notebook PC. One TB of storage capacity translates to 1,000 hours of video, or more than 350 feature length movies or 250,000 four-minute songs.

Hitachi Rolls out Half-Terabyte Hard Drive for Notebooks and Other Mobile Devices

On the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, at a time when most of the technology world is asking "what's the next big thing?", Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) has answered that question quite literally by introducing the world's highest capacity 2.5-inch mobile hard drive. Setting a new industry benchmark for capacity, the half-terabyte (500GB) Travelstar 5K500 is poised to usher in a new era of "slim" desktops, full-featured notebooks, gaming consoles and other advanced applications for consumers on-the-go.

Lenovo Launches New Family of IdeaPad Notebooks

Lenovo has launched three new notebooks aimed at the heart of the consumer market. The new IdeaPads are available in three models: the U110, the Y510 and the Y710. All three IdeaPad mobile devices feature Centrino technology, frameless widescreen displays, touch-sensitive control surfaces, VeriFace face recognition security feature and premium Dolby Home Theatre surround sound systems. The IdeaPad U110 is the smallest member of the family and features an 11.1" widescreen display screen backed by a red, aluminum-alloy LCD lid. The notebook weighs just 2.3 pounds and is only 0.7 inches thick. Lenovo will make a solid-state disk (SSD) optional when the notebook launches in March. The 6.4 lb, 15.4" widescreen Y510 is the middle-child and sports a textured black LCD lid. Lenovo includes a Core 2 Duo T5550 processor, 2GB of memory, a 250GB HDD, DVD+-RW drive and adds four speakers plus a subwoofer with the Y510. The Y510 will be available for purchase on January 6, 2008. The top-of-the-line 7.9 lb, 17" Y710 features hot-swappable second hard drive bay. Also included is Game Zone functionality which provides larger directional keys for gaming and four user-defined buttons and a secondary display. The Y710 also supports overclocking of the Core 2 Duo T9300 processor and includes an ATI Mobility Radeon HD2600 GPU - a Blu-ray drive is optional. Like the U110, the Y710 will be available in March. Pricing begins at $799 USD for the Y510 and $1,199 USD for the Y710. Pricing has not yet been set for the U110.
Wednesday, January 2nd 2008

SanDisk Adds Automated Online Backup to Flash Drives

SanDisk Corp. unveiled a Universal Serial Bus flash drive that automatically copies files to an online backup service when plugged into any PC with an Internet connection. The new Cruzer Titanium Plus flash drive is priced at $59.99 with 4GB of memory. It will be available in March, replacing the older Cruzer Titanium line. The online backup capability is priced at $29.99 per year, after the first six months of the service which are offered without charge. The files will be copied to Tel Aviv-based BeInSync Ltd.'s online backup service under an arrangement with SanDisk. The backup service will store up to 4GB for each product, effectively mirroring the capacity of the USB drive. Any new or changed files copied to the USB flash drive while a PC is offline will be backed up during the next connection. Any files deleted from the flash memory product will be kept online for approximately 30 days. The backup service currently supports PCs running Microsoft Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP and Windows Vista. SanDisk has no plans to provide online backup support to Macintosh- and Linux-based systems.

Team Fortress 2: Free Weekend in Germany

All gamers in Germany may experience what many are calling the best multiplayer game of 2007 during the Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend, offered exclusively to German gamers via Steam January 4th through 6th. The Free Weekend is open to all gamers in Germany during the event. To participate, simply visit steamgames.com and install the free client. To maximize the free play time, Team Fortress 2 is available now for pre-loading, so players can have everything installed and ready to play the moment the Free Weekend begins on Friday, January 4. The Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend in Germany will conclude on Sunday, January 6 and no purchase is required to participate in the free weekend. Team Fortress 2 is one of three new games introduced in The Orange Box, a unique collection of new critically acclaimed games from Valve available for the PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 that is winning Game of the Year awards across the world. For more information, please visit Steam.

Notebooks Outsell Desktops in 2007

Consumer notebook computers managed to outsell their desktop counterparts for the first time in 2007, thanks largely to the introduction of low cost notebooks such as ASUS' Eee PC and strong advertising campaigns for Intel's Centrino technology. Overall market figures, including corporate purchases, saw notebook sales rise 21% to 31.6 million units, whilst desktop sales fell 4% to 35 million units. Notebook sales are expected to account for 66% of the overall market and 71% of the consumer market by 2011. ASUS' Eee PC can be had for just $299, whilst reasonably equipped Celeron-M and Pentium notebooks can be found at some retailers for between $399 and $499, both of which have driven this surge in sales.

OLPC Gets Blocked from Nigeria

Some readers may remember the story posted on techPowerUp! at the end of November about a Nigerian firm which was trying to sue the non-profit One Laptop Per Child project regarding some of the features on the XO laptop's keyboard. According to Groklaw, this lawsuit has now begun and an interim injunction is preventing the laptop being distributed in Nigeria - an interim which could potentially last for months. The Nigerian firm, known as Lagos Analysis Corp (LANCOR), is also seeking a permanent injunction and $20 million in damages. The OLPC project did not appear in court but it is expected to "aggressively respond shortly" according to the site.

Lexar Media Announces Crucial Solid State Drive (SSD) Product Line

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced its line of Crucial solid state drives (SSD). Crucial SSDs are more durable, require less power, and offer greater overall system performance than traditional hard disk drives. The SSDs will be available in capacities of 32GB and 64GB in an industry standard 2.5-inch drive enclosure with an industry-leading native SATA 3.0Gb/s interface. Additionally, Lexar Media will offer the Crucial SK01 external drive kit and various online customer tools-including the Crucial SSD Advisor tool. Product availability is expected in Q1 2008.

GIGABYTE Aiming to Become 20% Greener in 2008

GIGABYTE today announced its commitment to greener motherboards and VGA cards as part of the hardware giant's 2008 New Year's resolution. The move follows a remarkable turnaround for GIGABYTE who has led the trend towards better quality PC components ever since the adoption of ROHS manufacturing practices in 2005. The rest of the industry has been following GIGABYTE's example ever since, and the company is hoping that this will continue to be the case with its latest green computing initiative - 20% better power efficiency across all new motherboard product lines in 2008.

Microsoft to Compensate Xbox LIVE Members for the Network Issues

Members who paid for Gold accounts may receive compensations for the holidays Xbox LIVE downtime. While nothing has been officially announced, a Microsoft rep said "...we will definitely be doing something for our Gold members that weren't able to get online over the last week." Microsoft still hasn't completely resolved the issue, but company's Larry Hryb reassured that "As people have noticed, we have made good progress. We have a bit more work to do, but we're doing much better now. I know some of you still may be having issues, and we're working on those."

Marvell Announces Industry's First 802.11n 450 Mbps Solution for Consumer Electronics

Marvell announced today at the International CES 2008 trade show, the Marvell TopDog 11n-450, an 802.11n 3x3 WLAN solution with three spatial streams, the industry's first 802.11n chip operating at 450 Megabits-per-second (Mbps.) With maximum bandwidth more than eight times faster than 802.11g 54 Mbps versions and 1.5 times faster than current 802.11n 300 Mbps offerings, the new product will enable significant performance enhancements for notebooks and desktop PCs, printers, routers, set top boxes, digital TVs, gaming devices and DVD players and recorders. The TopDog 11n-450 provides 500 percent increased range over 802.11g, as well as 160 percent increased range compared to competing 802.11n solutions.

Bill Gates to Make Important Announcement Regarding the Xbox 360 at CES 2008

Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates is set to make an "important announcement" regarding the Xbox 360 at next week's CES show in Las Vegas, reports The Seattle Times. The paper doesn't say exactly what Gates' revelation will regard at the electronic show, but it does go on to speculate that it might be the reveal of yet another Xbox 360 SKU with built-in HD-DVD playback. "In particular, Microsoft could work with Toshiba to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities." says Seattle Times columnist Brier Dudley. "Microsoft could also make a splash by announcing plans to give the Xbox 360 an internal HD-DVD drive, putting it on par with Sony's PlayStation 3 that has a built-in Blu-ray drive." he also added. Built-in HD-DVD playback is the logical next step for the 360, but let's wait until next week and see what happens then.

Skype Comes to Sony PSP

Skype, a program that allows you to talk to people for free via the internet, is headed for the PSP, Sony has revealed.
Call friends, talk trash to fellow gamers or catch up with acquaintances via Skype for PSP system,
Sony states on its official site for the upcoming CES show. Expect more detailed information soon after the CES 2008 grand opening next Monday.

Nintendo Plans Full DS Game Downloads Through Wii

Nintendo DS owners will eventually be able to download both demos and whole games from the Wii, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime informed The New York Times. The games and demos will presumably be downloaded through the online Wii Shop Channel and then transferred to the portable via the wireless capabilities of both systems. At present, the Nintendo DS can only hold one demo at a time in its internal memory. Once downloaded, users cannot power off the system or run any other software without losing the demo.

IBM Acquires XIV

IBM today announced it has acquired XIV, a privately held storage technology company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. XIV, its technologies and employees, will become part of the IBM System Storage business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group. Financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed. "The acquisition of XIV will further strengthen the IBM infrastructure portfolio long term and put IBM in the best position to address emerging storage opportunities like Web 2.0 applications, digital archives and digital media," said Andy Monshaw, general manager, IBM System Storage.

Sapphire Atomic HD 3870 Reviewed

Although Sapphire's new Atomic HD 3870 series was mentioned only twice on our front page and never announced officially, the guys over at Overclockers Club have already published their full review of the card. The HD 3870 Atomic Edition is an overclocked version of the ATI RV670 chipset, which is the basis of the 3800 series of graphics solutions. The Sapphire HD 3870 Atomic Edition is also remarkable for its single slot cooling solution which utilizes a vapor-x chamber. Those of you who are interested to know more can read the full review here.

AMD Licenses NAND Flash System Solution From Denali

Denali Software, a world-leading provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software and intellectual property (IP), today announced it has licensed its NAND Flash solution to AMD. Per this agreement, AMD is licensing Denali Databahn NAND Flash controller and Spectra flash file system for inclusion in next-generation processors for handheld devices, providing high performance, simplified system development and low development cost benefits to handheld manufacturers.

ASRock Launches its First High-end Motherboard

ASRock has recently launched its first high-end motherboard, the 4Core1600P35-WiFi+ adopting Intel's P35 chipset. Although the P35 will only support up to 1333MHz FSB officially, ASRock has enabled support for up to 1600MHz. In addition to solid capacitors and overclock control software, the motherboard features the Realtek ALC890 chip for sound, and also built-in IEEE 802.11g. ASRock is also planning to soon launch motherboards adopting NVIDIA's nForce 650i and 680i chipsets, according to the company. Finally, the board supports Dual Channel DDR3 1333/1066/800 (2x DIMM slots) and Dual Channel DDR2 1066/800/667 (4x DIMM slots) memory.

More Than 20% of Windows Applications are Unpatched

One in five Windows applications is not patched, according to Danish security firm Secunia. The company said that more than a fifth of the applications scanned by its Personal Software Inspector (PSI) utility were open to attack because available fixes for security flaws had not been applied. "More than 20 percent of all applications installed on users' PCs have known security flaws, but the users have yet to install the patch provided by the vendor of [the] product," said Jakob Balle, Secunia's development manager, on Secunia's blog. The 20 percentfigure was based on scans of more than 14.5 million applications installed on the Windows PCs operated by users who downloaded and installed Secunia's PSI. The 1-in-5 ratio, however, is an improvement over earlier PSI scans. Last May, Secunia said that 28 percent of the applications PSI scanned were missing available security updates.

HP Begins Selling PC With AMD Quad-Core Phenom Chip

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has begun selling systems based on the AMD quad-core Phenom processor at Wal-Mart, according to the retailer's website. HP becomes the first top-tier U.S. computer vendor to offer systems using the Phenom processor. Smaller vendors, such as Falcon Northwest and iBuypower, have been offering systems for a number of weeks. The HP M8330F Pavilion Desktop comes with the Phenom 9500 Quad-Core Processor (2.2GHz), a 640GB (2x 320GB) 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive, 3072MB of PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory, and Windows Vista Home Premium. The system is priced at $959.99. Other large retailers, such as Sears, are also offering the system. The Phenom 9500 and 9600 processors, generally available now, contain a bug that can cause system instability in certain rare overload situations. The bug can be fixed with a workaround. AMD is also in preparation of a new "B3" revision processors that should fix the TLB bug.
Tuesday, January 1st 2008

AMD to Collaborate with Commex

And now our first post for year 2008 coming from the AMD corner, a story which all AMD admirers will like. Advanced Micro Devices has reached a collaboration agreement with the Israeli Commex, a chip company founded two years ago by president and CEO Tal Horowitz together with brothers Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel who joined him as seed investors in the company. Horowitz comes from the Intel development center in Haifa, where he was involved as a senior member of the development team of the dual core processors. Now he is going to work for AMD. Under the deal, the chipset which Commex develops for multi-core processors will be distributed together with AMD's next-gen processor solutions. Commex is expected to begin continuous production in May of this year.
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