Microsoft Releases Windows XP RTM, No True Reason for Excitement

With Vista SP1 having been out for just over a month, isn't it about time that Windows XP gets the love it deserves? If you say yes, then don't worry, it will happen next Tuesday, according to a TechNet forum post. At that time, it will become available as a direct download off of the Microsoft web site, and also become available through Windows' built-in updater.

Should you be excited? Not really. Not unless there is a specific feature you know that's going to be added, because after installation, the noticeable differences are minimal. According to the Defense In Depth blog at News.com, SP3 will prove useful for network administrators far more than home users, but everyone should upgrade on release for the sake of being up to date.

Initial installation reports are good, and when I installed the RC1, I also had no problem, so I only imagine that the RTM is all the better. Worth the download if you can find it now, but for those who don't mind waiting, look forward to it next Tuesday.

Microsoft says the service pack includes functionality previously released as updates. Perhaps that's why the download and installation for SP3 was effortless on our test system. XP SP3 took only 30 minutes to download, and 10 minutes to install.

Source: Defense In Depth

Western Digital Unleashes the Fierce VelociRaptor VR150

It's been quite some time since Western Digital has issued a follow-up to their Raptor line-up, but that happens now, with the help of their "VelociRaptor" VR150 drive. What's this mean to you? More space, faster speeds, quieter operation and oddly enough, lower power consumption.

The biggest issue with previous EL150 drives was their density. Granted, 10K RPM is undoubtedly fast, but when you only get a maximum of 150 GB out of the drive, it's a definite trade off. Most things were done right with the VR150, however. Despite being physically smaller (2.5" compared to 3.5"), it has faster seek times, higher data rates and as I mentioned, lower power consumption. It seems like the perfect drive.

But even at 300 GB, there are a few issues. The first is the price, at $1 per GB. The second is that the drive utilizes a 16 MB Cache, whereas most other high-end desktop drives use 32 MB. What differences could be seen are unknown, but it would have been a nice number regardless. Our friends at the Tech Report were so impressed with WD's new offering, it deserved their Editor's Choice award, so don't hesitate to take a look at their (exhaustive) review.

Credit: Tech Report

The VelociRaptor offers excellent performance across a wide range of applications, but its most spectacular showing was easily with IOMeter's multi-user workloads. These workloads don't simulate typical desktop environments, of course, but they're the most demanding tests we run. And they make a heck of a case for an enterprise derivative of the VelociRaptor. The 2.5" form factor is perfect for rack-mount systems where the VelociRaptor's low power consumption and strong multi-user performance will surely be appreciated.

Source: Tech Report

Intel Drops Prices on Select 65nm Processors

Intel today has announced price-drops on many models from their 65nm line-up, including the Q6600 and E6850. The Q6700 sees the biggest drop, from $530 to $266, while the Q6600 sits comfortably at $224. For some Dual-Core action, the fast E6850 has dropped 31% in price, and all three Xeon-equivalents to these models have had their price dropped respectively as well.

While these prices drops are nice to see, I wish we saw them sooner. Because Intel's own 45nm line-up is becoming more readily available, the decision between these price-dropped models or the newer product is made more difficult. This of course excludes the Celeron's and Pentium's, since there are no 45nm models for those, yet.

The Q6600 drop is a good one though, since even the lowest 45nm Quad-Core (Q9300) sits at $290 on most e-tailers. The E6850 is well-priced at $183 as well, but if that's a "to e-tailer" price, then it would still be priced the same as the E8400, which we find to be a much better option. If you happened to read our review of the E8400, then you'd know why.

Psystar Begins Shipping Apple "Open Computer"

When a company boasts products that emulate Apple's own offerings but for a fraction of the price, people tend to listen. Such was the case with Psystar over the course of the past two weeks. The company seemed to come out of nowhere, and then offered a product no one would have ever expected.

If you've been following the story, then you are likely aware that there is a lot of skepticism surrounding the company, and for good reason. Over the past week, Psystar changed their business address no less than four times, and at one point even had to disable their checkout system. Sketchy, indeed.

The company has now updated their site announcing that all orders up to now are now shipping, and that the initial orders have now shipped. That's a good sign, but I still remain skeptical and would not recommend going through with a purchase until we see others with actual systems in hand. If this is legit, who can help but be excited to see how Apple handles this?

To all, we challenge you, let’s see if we can max this one out. Regarding shipping, orders placed the week of April 7th are currently being shipped. We will be shipping units out of our new facility starting Monday, April 21st, including those orders placed the week of April 14th.

Source: Psystar - Via: One More Thing Blog

Could GTA IV Downloadable Content Include Full Cities?

It was discovered the other day that most, if not all of the initial Grand Theft Auto IV reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but if that wasn't enough to get you excited, then maybe the latest rumor to hit the wire will do the trick. According to Computer and Video Games' new GTA Collector's Edition magazine, Rockstar may be planning to include complete cities as downloadable content.

At first glance it's easy to think, "Yeah, right!", but the fact of the matter is, it is possible. But as usual, there are so many facts to look at. First and foremost, the revamped Liberty City in GTA IV will be smaller than the map in San Andreas, so adding another city seems unlikely. But on the other hand, Microsoft did pay $50 million for the rights to exclusive content. Could the game itself even cost $50 million to develop?

The fact of the matter is, and also the sad reality, is that the Xbox 360 will be seeing the bulk of the DLC, whether or not it will be an entire city... completely unfortunate for those who plan on purchasing the PS3 version. Like most things, we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

...but GTA IV is set to completely redefine the idea with expansions that are to GTA IV what Vice City or San Andreas were GTA III. Yes, Rockstar is clearly hinting at new downloadable cities; and the chances of them being London, Vice City or SA again are slim to none. So that's new as in brand new. GTA IV's Liberty City is the beginning. Think about that and be excited.

Source: Kotaku

PayPal to Fight Phishers by Blocking Outdated Browsers

I doubt it will take many people by surprise to learn that PayPal and eBay are two of most popular sites vulnerable to phishing attacks, and even though it might not be evident, both have been taking that fact seriously. Recently, PayPal has put forth a plan to ban certain browsers from accessing the site due to their lack of anti-phishing features. Though most of the browsers are outdated, Apple's Safari is looking to be a notable current browser to be banned - at least until it includes anti-phishing protection.

The sad reality is, though, that this added protection will only affect those who regularly visit PayPal or eBay, because that's the only way someone will find out about a browser incompatibility. If a user doesn't visit either site and receives a phishing e-mail, nothing stops them from clicking it. The ideal scenario is that a user will visit either site, see the warning and then proceed to upgrade to a different browser. Then from that point forward, they'd be less likely to fall for a phishing attack.

This is a fantastic move and one that should have been implemented a bit sooner. However, once in place, it should better prevent poor saps from falling into these attacks. PayPal boasts that over the previous two years, their efforts have resulted in far less phishing e-mails being sent out, so we can only hope this latest step will further push them towards nothingness.

Third-tier browsers are the only browsers that would be blocked from accessing PayPal altogether. Again, PayPal is light on the details, though the company does state that both Internet Explorer 3 and IE 4 fall into this category. The most surprising part of the company's presentation, in fact, may have been its revelation that some PayPal users are actually still using IE 3 at all.

Source: Ars Technica

April 21st Tech Roundup

Motherboards & Processors
• ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n - Bjorn3D
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 - Hardware Logic
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 - Legit Reviews
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 - Tech Report

Displays & Video Cards
• ASUS EN8800GT 1GB - TweakTown
• BFG 9800GTX OCX - Hardware Canucks
• Leadtek 9600 GT SLI vs. 9800 GTX - Madshrimps
• Palit GeForce 9800GTX - GamePyre
• PowerColor AX3650 512MD2 - Overclockers Online
• XFX 8800 GS XXX Alpha Dog - i4u
• Zotac GeForce 9800GTX AMP Edition - T-Break

Memory & Storage
• Sans Digital MobileSTOR MS2UTN+ - OCIA
• Silverstonetek TS01B - RFID Protected HDD Enclosure - Metku

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Klipsch Image Earphones - techPowerUp!
• Logitech Z Cinema SRS TruSurround HD USB Speakers - EverythingUSB
• Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 - i4u

Cooling
• Best Thermal Paste Application Methods - Benchmark Reviews
• Scythe Kaze Master Fan Controller/Temperature Monitor - Dreamware Computers
• Thermalright IFX-10 Motherboard Backside Cooler - Hardware Canucks

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Corsair TX650W Power Supply - Technic3D
• Rosewill RX81-CW Enclosure - GideonTech
• Thermaltake Armor+ Case - 3D Gameman
• Vantec Hard Drive Dock - Pro-Clockers

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• Phoronix Test Suite 0.3.0 Released - Phoronix