The gap between high performance desktops and notebooks is getting smaller and smaller - yet one area where notebooks could use a boost is undoubtedly the graphics department. For any sort of high resolution/high detail gaming, a notebook integrated GPU just won't cut it.

It would be benefitial if power-hungry GPUs could be placed outside of the notebook, and then connected to it via some interface. ASUS has caught on, its XG Station should offer such a solution.

Now, it looks like ATI has something in the works as well. Hexus reports that ATI is developing Lasso, an external board interconnecting multiple graphics boards with your notebook.

Below is a picture of an early prototype:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 28, 2007 - Members of a special United Nations group met today with Silicon Valley leaders to explore how the technology industry, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can come together to bolster development around the world.

Intel Corporation and the U.N.'s Global Alliance for Information and Communications Technology and Development (U.N. GAID) jointly organized the summit. Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, who also chairs the U.N. GAID, said the meeting provided a critical platform for sharing ideas and forging partnerships among prominent members of government, the international development community and Silicon Valley's businesses, academia and the venture capital industry.

Many users have bought Windows XP based notebooks during the Christmas season and have applied for the Windows Vista upgrade. While the retail version has now been available for almost a month, those who took advantage of the upgrade offer will have to sit tight some more. Most upgrades should be shipped out in March. While some orders have been shipped already, most will receive the new Windows OS in that month. I for one do not mind sitting tight for a few more weeks.

Los Angeles (February 23, 2007) - Acclaim Games and video game industry superstar David Perry have partnered to present the ground-breaking "Top Secret" project. In this project, players actually get an opportunity to participate in the entire video game development process from start to finish.

KDE, or "K" for short, is a windows manager for the X window system in *nix. Without window managers like KDE or Gnome, the *nix GUI would be rather bleak. KDE is currently developing the next version of it's software, KDE 4. In this version, there will be a multi-lingual spell checker built into the window manager. There will also be much better support for hardware, and a gigantic tweak of the software that allows for interoperability between a Windows/Mac system and a *nix system. There is also "Dolphin", the new file manager. You can get more details of KDE4 off of dot.kde.org.

With Microsoft's Windows Vista released and being integrated into today's PCs at full speed, Apple can't be expected to just sit around and watch Windows get PC sales. We could possibly see a refresh of everything from the Mac Mini to the Xserve. Apple workers have confirmed one important thing though- a black iMac. The 20" and 24" versions will have a nice black paintjob, similar to the black Macbook and the black iPod Nano. Mac Pro's could get upgraded to eight-core models, and we may see a low-priced 15" Macbook. There are also rumors of new iCinema displays with HDMI ports that support HDCP content.

A sketchup of what the new iMac might look like:

As the DailyTech author Tuan Nguyen states in one of his new articles the IEEE, a non-profit standardization gremium, is currently working hard on the new 802.16m standard. The technology behind should bring wireless products to new speeds as fast as 1Gbps. The good part is that the standard will apply to Wireless LAN but WiMAX and 4G as well. The bad news is that the standard itself is one or two years away from being finished.

ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference) seems to be packed with interesting stuff this year. Earlier today, we reported how Samsung demonstrated 4 GHz GDDR4 memory modules at the conference, and now, VR-Zone reports that the Cell Broadband Engine is in for a die-shrink. The 'new' 65nm chip will replace the current 90nm units that can be found in PS3s. It is smaller as compared to the 90nm version, thus it is cheaper to produce and emits less heat. Also, the SRAM on the 65nm Cell B.E is improved. Sony engineers managed to run the 65nm Cell B.E. chip at 6GHz with just 1.3V. Sony is expected to continue using Cell B.E. architecture into their next generation PlayStation 4 and there is a possibility that IBM's eDRAM technology will be employed.

Intel Corp. announced on Wednesday that its server and workstation products made using 45nm process technology are on schedule, and will be available this year.

Kirk Skaugen, the chief of Intel's Xeon group, said during a conference call with analysts that the company plans to introduce low-power quad-core chip with 50W thermal design power in early March, to present code-named Caneland multi-processor server platform in Q3 2007 and to launch the first Xeon DP (dual processor) products made using 45nm process technology in the second half of the year.

The new Intel Xeon 45nm microprocessor for dual-socket applications based on the core that Intel calls Penryn will be drop-in compatible with the company's contemporary Intel 5000-series core-logic sets (code-named Bensley and Glidewell platforms), however, there will be an improved version of the Intel 5000-series chipset aimed at HPC/WS market segments that features 1600MHz processor system bus (PSB) coming in the second half of the year to support higher-performance Xeon "Clovertown" chips with operation at 3GHz.

In a presentation Intel reveals a 3GHz 1600MHz FSB quad core Xeon. New features aren't mentioned. If Intel doesn't stay ahead of AMD with this chip they have yet another weapon nearing completion, the 45nm Xeon parts which should offer even higher clock speeds and more cache are over 3 months ahead of schedule. Intel will also launch Tigerton for quad socket configurations in Q3 this year, with Tigerton Intel should reclaim the crown on the multi socket market as well. If this will actually be enough to beat Barcelona (K10, former K8L) is yet to be seen, it looks promising though.

For the full presentation follow the source.

It looks like the Rydermark benchmark is just around the corner - the Inquirer brings us some screenshots:A single Geforce 8800 GTX, G80 card under Windows XP and dual Athlon FX 74, Quad FX PC scores 217.11 in the test:And lastly, a new video has popped up (uploaded onto Fileshack by PC Perspective). It can be downloaded here.

NVIDIA has announced the release of beta versions of the SDK and C compiler for their Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) technology. The C compiler includes a set of C language extensions that will enable developers to write C code that targets NVIDIA's GPUs directly. These extensions are supported by software libraries and a special CUDA driver that exposes the GPU to the OS and applications as a math coprocessor.

This approach differs to that taken by AMD/ATI and their "Close to Metal" (CTM) initiative. With CTM, AMD/ATI has opened up the low-level ISA so that their graphics products can be programmed directly in assembly language. CTM relies on developers creating libraries and higher-level tools for in-game use.

NVIDIA CUDA technology is a fundamentally new computing architecture that enables the GPU to solve complex computational problems in consumer, business, and technical applications. CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) technology gives computationally intensive applications access to the tremendous processing power of NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) through a revolutionary new programming interface. Providing orders of magnitude more performance and simplifying software development by using the standard C language, CUDA technology enables developers to create innovative solutions for data-intensive problems. For advanced research and language development, CUDA includes a low level assembly language layer and driver interface.

Although Vista is still a new OS, many users are complaining about the driver support, with one of the biggest complaints being NVIDIA's GeForce drivers - or lack of them. NVIDIA's Vice President of Software Engineering, Dwight Diercks, has been justifying the problems in an interview with Real World Benchmarks. To see the whole interview I suggest you visit the source, but the major contributing factor for the delay is that the company needs to write six new drivers - one for each of DirectX 9, DirectX 9 SLI, DirectX 10, DirectX 10 SLI, OpenGL and OpenGL SLI. One of NVIDIA's drivers for Vista has over 20 million lines of code, which is similar to all of Windows NT. He goes onto comment that the certified 8800 series driver should be released by the end of the month, and the SLI driver for the 7x00 series should be available in March, as well as support for Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Travellers Tales, the same studio that gave us a Lego Star Wars game and a Transformers movie, have announced that they are developing the Transformers game. The Transformers game will be available on just about every modern console, which translates into the Xbox360, PS3, PS2, DS, Wii, PSP, and PC. It will also allow gamers to choose between Autobots or Decepticons, for extra fun. There are no rumors as to how many Transformers will be included in this game.

3GSM WORLD CONGRESS-BARCELONA, SPAIN-FEBRUARY 12, 2007-In order to meet the growing multimedia demands of today's mobile phone user, NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, today unveiled its new strategy to target the rapidly growing applications processor market . The NVIDIA GoForce 6100, the company's first in a family of applications processors, is a highly integrated and optimized multimedia solution that consumes less than half the power of any applications processor available on the market today.

Codenamed lasso, AMD's external graphics solution will use the external PCI-e connection announced last week. This solution is targeted at both desktops and laptops, but obviously will make the biggest difference in the latter. Laptops are not known for their high powered graphical solutions, but with an external unit, you may be able to enjoy high quality, portable graphics without sacrificing battery life when on the go. A crossfire implementation is also said to be in the works. It is not yet known whether these devices will utilize a seperate power supply, but I'd say it's a safe bet.

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. -- February 13, 2007 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced a new business focused on developing and licensing leading-edge graphics core technologies to semiconductor manufacturers throughout the handheld industry. This move is a part of the AMD commitment to enable The Ultimate Visual Experience across all devices from handhelds to PCs. As a result, new handheld devices developed with AMD graphics technology inside will reach a large audience of customers who want to enjoy stunning user interfaces, immersive 3D games, and dynamic multimedia content.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 11, 2007 - Intel Corporation researchers have developed the world's first programmable processor that delivers supercomputer-like performance from a single, 80-core chip not much larger than the size of a finger nail while using less electricity than most of today's home appliances. This is the result of the company's innovative 'Tera-scale computing' research aimed at delivering Teraflop -- or trillions of calculations per second --performance for future PCs and servers. Technical details of the Teraflop research chip will be presented at the annual Integrated Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) this week in San Francisco.

AMD today unveiled more industry-defining architectural features for its upcoming native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors (codenamed "Barcelona") during a presentation to the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). In addition to the estimated 40-percent performance advantage native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors can offer over the competition in benchmark testing, AMD's redesigned microarchitecture will enable new power- and thermal-management techniques, strengthening the industry-leading performance-per-watt AMD Opteron processors currently deliver today. Among the new features are enhancements to AMD PowerNow! technology for dynamic adjustment of individual core frequencies.

As you probably know, Intel is working on their own graphics card. Most people scoff at this idea, considering that Intel was rumored to buy NVIDIA so that they could have graphics cards. However, in a few years (late 2008/2009), Intel is planning on becoming a serious threat to the market dominance owned by NVIDIA and ATI. Intel is claiming that by late 2008 they will have at least sampled a card with multiple cores (up to sixteen) on one die. They also claim they will be able to do this on a 32nm architecture. This 16 core, 32nm GPU is estimated to run sixteen times faster than the 8800GTX.

So everyone has been looking forward to a small MacBook Pro, but those who has ever seen the size of the 15 inch MacBook Pro mainboard, knows how small it is. Most of the space is taken up by the slot loading optical drive and battery. So what to do? Just place the optical drive on the bottom of the notebook and add a sensor which knows when you are turning the device upside down. This may sound very stupid, but it might not be as crazy as you think. If anyone can pull this off, it is Apple. I am sure all future Mac(sub)Book Pro owners will agree.

Although many Xbox 360 gamers may have been worried that the Halo 3 online beta would be hard to find, IGN is reporting that all versions of Crackdown will come bundled with the beta. Previous reports had suggested that only a few limited copies of the game will have the beta, but a Microsoft representative has confirmed that all initial copies of Crackdown will include an invite to test it out. This will probably give a boost to crackdown sales and give Xbox 360 fans the chance to get an early look at one of the most anticipated games of next-generation consoles.

G80 owners worldwide are probably wondering why they do not have even a beta driver for their high-end expensive graphics card. The reason is very simple: the driver is not stable. Games that are stable on any other video card using any other driver are great on Windows Vista. However, once the G80 was plugged in with the current driver, the test system was prone to frequent and unpredictable reboots. With Windows Vista launching in a matter of days, we sure hope NVIDIA can make a stable driver for the launch of Microsoft's brand new operating system.

Intel Corporation today introduced the Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N network connection, an upgrade to the wireless component found inside Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology and other Intel-based laptops that helps consumers better connect to wireless networks. As notebook PCs increasingly download broadband-intense content such as movies, videos and music, a more powerful networking solution is needed. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, the Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N technology addresses that need by offering users up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range - while providing up to an extra hour of notebook battery life when compared to existing Draft-N products.

Samsung Electronics said it is aiming for stronger growth in its large-size panel shipments in 2007 compared to the overall panel industry. The company also said it is unlikely that large-size panel prices will undergo a significant price reduction during the year. The Korea-based company said its large-size panel shipments will grow 24% from 55.5 million units in 2006 to 68.9 million in 2007 while growth of global shipments will likely reach 22%, from 266 million to 324 million. The strong shipment growth will be mostly driven by a continued stress on larger-size panels and high value-added ones, the maker said. Read the full story here.