Content and news by Rob Williams

ASUS launched their Eee notebook PC last week and so far it’s been receiving rave reviews. It’s really quite an impressive product given it’s price range, and it’s not so bad to look at either. It’s no surprise though, that ASUS is now planning on a desktop version of their Eee PC, according to DigiTimes.

Asustek Computer is developing a desktop version Eee PC which it hopes to launch in 2008, according to Jonathan Tseng, president of marketing at Asustek. Tseng noted that the PC will not include a display, but further specifications and pricing are still under evaluation.

Source: DigiTimes

The sly folks at SlySoft are known for being vocal on their stance with regards to copy protection, and well, we love that. Copy protection hurts no one except those legal buyers who fork over $30 or more for the latest releases. Pricing aside though, consumers should have the ability to back up their own copies. I do this with each new PC game I pick up so that I can install from the backup in order to protect the original. It gives a quick sense of security and knowledge that if something happens to the backup, I won’t need to purchase another copy of a game I already paid for.

That rant aside, SlySoft have just released an updated version of AnyDVD that fully supports duplication of your Blu-ray movies encrypted with BD+. This is a huge accomplishment, and ironic since this protection was designed to last at least ten years. When will they ever learn? Given the prices of today’s Blu-ray blank media ($10 – $15), I have to wonder how many are actually planning to back up their legal copies. It would get expensive quick and prove far less expensive to just re-purchase a movie if one goes down the chute. But, for those of us who plan to wait until media is less expensive, it’s nice to know that the ability to backup will be waiting for us.

Note to Twentieth Century Fox: As you can see, BD+ didn’t offer you any advanced security, it just annoyed some of your customers with older players. So could you please cut this crap and start publishing your titles on HD DVD? There are thousands of people willing to give you money.

Source: SlySoft

The word “Awesome” is used to describe many things, but when it comes to displays, only a 30″ LCD fits. Why? They offer a 2560×1600 resolution for superb gaming and workflow. Dell’s 3007WFP-HC is also the least expensive model available on the market, but how does it perform?

Last year, it would be rare to go a month without seeing a handful of new heatspreaders from various manufacturers. All of them shared the same goal… to better cool your memory modules. To date, we’ve never seen a heatspreader that hurt performance, but it’s rare to see one that actually makes a notable improvement.

OCZ’s latest ReaperX series might be one of those rare kits, however. Similar to their Reaper series, which we’ve taken a look at in the past, the modules have base spreaders that allow heat to run along a heatpipe to the top where it dissipates. ReaperX takes things to a new level, by having the heatpipes closer to the memory chips, and also by including a fin array at the top which should prove better heat dissipation overall. Whether or not you choose to use a fan, these should be appropriate for overclocking. Well… if the chips themselves will cooperate.

Sunnyvale, CA-November 6, 2007- OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the ReaperX memory series, an innovative memory solution that utilizes highly effective heat transfer technology. Re-engineering the Reaper HPC (Heat Pipe Conduit) design, the DDR2 PC2-6400 ReaperX uses a dual metal heatpipe formation to effectively offload heat and increase stability of memory modules. The unique ReaperX heatspreader is designed to deliver superior heat dissipation that is more effective than traditional heatspreaders.

Source: OCZ Press Release

The blatant fact about video games is that there is a title for each niche out there, no matter how inane. Case in point: Lawnmower Racing Mania 2007. I can’t begin to express the reaction when I spotted this game in the store. Of course, I jump to conclusions, since I am sure there are an enthralled bunch waiting to race against Lawnmower Racing legends such as Bobby Cleveland and Mr. Mowjangles in a huge mowdown. What mow could you want? Oh geez…

‘Lawnmower Racing Mania 2007’ puts players in the driver’s seat of the world’s fastest racing lawn mowers while capturing the excitement and bizarre world of the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA). It’s a cross between NASCAR and dirt-track racing,”said Bruce “Mr. Mow It All” Kaufman, USLMRA president. “You can master a variety of racing styles from ultra-tight oval tracks like the Springfield Sod Sling to long road rallies like the Corn & Tater Cross Country. It’s much more exciting than watching the crab grass take over your lawn!”

Source: Lawnmower Racing Mania 2007

In what could be considered ‘freaking incredible’, Toshiba managed to sell over 90,000 HD-DVD players last weekend, giving them a nice boost in the so-called format war. It’s not entirely surprising though, given that most of these players were sold for a mere $99. The models of course are the lower-end HD-A2, but for $99, what do you expect? With all the HD-DVD movie holiday sales to come, Toshiba is no doubt walking with an extra spring in their step.

90k isn’t that impressive, but considering the estimated loss Toshiba took on each unit, we can see why they’d want to limit the supply. The problem for the HD DVD camp is that they’re really up against the PS3’s sales, and even though only 40% of PS3 owners realize that there is a Blu-ray player built in, that’s still about 750,000 people in the US.

Source: Engadget

AsylumLAN 30 took place this past weekend and ran smooth overall. There were minor hitches along the way, but I think everyone there had a great time. Thanks to Derek, his wife Kim and the rest of his crew for the hospitality and for making us feel welcome as always. This time around, not only Greg attended, but Matt H, Cory (THUMPer from our forums), my friend Chris and me as well.

We couldn’t come back without a slew of photos, so we started a thread and posted many photos from the LAN itself and also from out and about. Lots of gaming was to be had, and not to mention a lot of Bawls gulped. You can expect a complete review of the LAN later this week, including information on how our overclocking contest went!

Source: Techgage Forums

For many, the Zune has about as much appeal as a dead iPod, and the slogan, “Welcome to the social” might not have helped anything. But, that slogan is now officially dead with the replacement being, “You make it you”. Sure, this is yet another slogan that fails to jump out at you, but it is better than the previous offering.

AdAge has a piece profiling the “180” Microsoft made in marketing the Zune; many have already seen this year’s far less, shall we say, esoteric ads, but few (including us) realized the new hardware’s marketing onslaught was the result of Microsoft’s doubling — even quadrupling — its Zune ad budget, switching advertising firms (which resulted in those trippy Flash sites), and, oh yeah, killing off “the social”.

Source: Engadget

We’ve followed the case of Hans Reiser to some degree in the past, but now the trial has finally officially begun. The creator of the ReiserFS (file system) is accused of killing his Wife, Nina, last year, but her body has never been found. Despite that, law enforcement believe they have overwhelming evidence to believe it was Hans who killed her, while Hans himself believes she might have gone back to her home country of Russia.

Wired also posted an interview with Reiser back in June, which might be of interest to those who want to get into the mind of the popular open-source programmer.

Reiser, 43, is accused of killing his wife, Nina, last year as the separated couple endured a bitter divorce. “Intellect is not always an ally,” defense attorney William DuBois said of his client, whose Namesys company was responsible for the widely-used open source Reiser3 and Reiser4 file systems.

Source: Wired

Some folks are waiting for a PS2 price-cut, but this might be the next-best-thing. Sony has unveiled a new PS2 model in Japan that features a built-in power supply… and that’s it. The slim console appears identical to previous models… the difference would be the power cord. This is still a solid move, since power bricks take up far too much room when there is little to begin with (I’m calling you out, Xbox 360).

While you’re holding out for a slimmer, $99 PS2 Sony has gone ahead and released a new model in Japan. The SCPH-90000 with integrated power adapter hits Japan on November 22nd for Â¥16,000 or about $140 — that’s the same price as the SCPH-79000 model already available. Â¥1,500 (about $13) will buy you the optional vertical stand.

Source: Engadget

We are going to be at AsylumLan 30 this weekend in Evansville, IN and want to see a full house! If you live in IN or the surrounding area, pack up your gear and head on down to spend the weekend gaming it up. Greg, Matt and myself will be there playing a variety of games including Counter-Strike: Source, Call of Duty 2, Half-Life Deathmatch (the original!) and UT2004. But the best part is…

… we will be holding an overclocking contest! YOU will be able to take over our PC for a half-hour, overclocking our Intel QX9650 Quad-Core as high as you can muster and attempt to acquire the highest Cinebench R10 score. Whoever musters the highest score will walk away with an Intel Q6600 Quad-Core processor, ASUS P5K Deluxe motherboard and a 2GB kit of OCZ Platinum ram. Runner-up will also walk away with a 2GB kit of OCZ ram! So, if you didn’t have plans for this weekend… now you do.

We are a group of gamers in the Evansville, IN area that get together every few months for some LAN party goodness in a friendly family-oriented atmosphere. Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome.

Source: AsylumLAN

If you own a digital camera, and there is little doubt that you do, then you well realize how much of an arduous chore it is to find the USB cable in order to milk the pictures onto your computer. That’s where Eye-Fi’s SD card would come in handy.

Though it retains the same form-factor as a normal SD card, it features an embedded WiFi chip which will allow offloading of all the images to your PC… wirelessly, with the help of some proprietary software. At $100, it’s not cheap, but something like this has to catch on, so prices should not be so high for long.

The “Eye-Fi” is a brilliantly simple device: a flash memory card with a Wi-Fi chip inside. As long as you remain in range of your computer’s network, the Eye-Fi will automatically transfer any image you snap to your computer, where it can then be uploaded to the web manually or with the Eye-Fi software. (And it would be simple to set up some automatic uploading for instant uploads as soon as you take a snapshot if you wanted a custom solution.)

Source: BoingBoing

According to new reports, the 40GB PS3 model not only runs cooler and is quieter, but also uses 65W less overall power, for a total running wattage of 135W. Quite an impressive drop in power draw for just the processor swap to 65nm. This almost makes up for the blatant lack of backwards compatibility. Almost.

A report from German site Computer Base reveals that consumers giving up backward compatibility on their 40GB PS3s are at least getting something in return. The new systems utilize the new 65nm version of the Cell processor, reducing the power usage from 200 watts to 135 and further limiting the heat and noise the system gives off.

Source: Joystiq

Apple is a company that loves their huge numbers, so they wasted no time to let the world know that they sold 2,000,000 copies of their latest OS X, Leopard, over the weekend. No matter how you look at it, 666,000 copies per day (Fri – Sun) is an impressive feat and once again proves that Apple fans don’t sit around when a new product is released. I’d be interested to see numbers in the next week and see how fast (or slow) they dwindle.

CUPERTINO, California-October 30, 2007-Apple(R) today announced that it sold (or delivered in the case of maintenance agreements) over two million copies of Mac OS(R) X Leopard since its release on Friday, far outpacing the first-weekend sales of Mac OS X Tiger, which was previously the most successful OS release in Apple’s history. Sales included copies sold at Apple’s retail stores, Apple Authorized Resellers, the online Apple Store(R), under maintenance agreements and bundled with new Mac(R) computers. Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X and is packed with more than 300 new features.

Source: Apple Press Release

I first learned about PlentyOfFish last year when a friend passed me a link. It was an impressive read. One man, one server, and $10,000 per day ($3.5m/y). It’s hard to not feel a bit envious. It turns out the site is still growing rapidly with over 500,000 unique logins per day, and Markus, the man behind the site, expects $10+ million per year earnings next year. Not bad for a site created and wholly run by a single man!

I caught up with Markus today via email and asked how the business is doing now. He didn’t want to get specific about earnings, but he said that POF will earn $10 Million + next year (which puts it at around $30k per day). So just in earnings, POF has grown rapidly over the past year or so. As well as Adsense, income now comes from banner ads and affiliate marketing. A May Wall St Journal article has a good general profile of Markus and his company.

Source: Read/WriteWeb

Price drops on Toshiba’s HD-A2 HD-DVD player have been lingering around the web for the past week, but now it’s official. Circuit City is selling the player now for $197.99, which looks to be the actual SRP. Wal-Mart will be selling the player beginning this Saturday, for $198 as well. This is the same player that sold for $499 just last December, so this is quite a deal. As an added bonus, the five-free movies deal applies on this player as well.

Toshiba’s HD-A2 was originally released in December 2006 with a $499 price tag. Over the past year, the price for the player has steadily dropped to $399 in April and to $299 in July. Toshiba’s long-running five free HD DVD movie offer [PDF] has also been available to give customers more bang for the buck. The Toshiba HD-A2 supports a 1080i resolution and comes equipped with an HDMI 1.2 port. The player features a SHARC DSP and supports Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, DTS 5.1 and DTS HD audio formats.

Source: DailyTech

I can’t remember how I stumbled on this link, or when the page was even published, but if you are interested in installing a Linux distro other than Gentoo or Fedora on your PS3, you will be good to take a look at this guide for installing openSUSE.

Personal experiences with Linux on the PS3 have been good. I’ve had Gentoo on mine for the past few months and dabble with it every once in a while. I have mine set up to run an NES emulator which I can control with the PS3 gamepad, although that took a fair amount of hacking and tweaking to make function properly. Regardless, it would be nice if Sony opened up more and offered full support of the CPU and on-board graphics as well, since the console itself is very slow with normal PC tasks, despite having a blazing-fast Cell processor.

Source: openSUSE PS3

If you’ve been living under some virtual rock and somehow ignored the fact that a Crysis demo is now available, you should quit what you are doing and grab it! The demo weighs in at 1.77GB (!) and apparently is doing a great job of bringing huge machines to their knees. Even those with Quad-Core processors and 8800GTX cards need to use lowered settings in order to use high resolutions. Ahh, when’s the last time a game was released that truly pushed high-end hardware like this?

This is a huge chunk-o-game, which if explored gleefully could take you well over an hour to play through. (I’m sure idiots could rush through it in minutes, but I care not for the antics of idiots). And finally, we can believe in the powers of the suit. But there are some problems.

Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Intel will be launching their first 45nm desktop processor in a few weeks, but we have an in-depth look for you here today. Penryn brings improved efficiency, new high-k metal gate transistors, additional cache and something that will make multimedia buffs rejoice: SSE4. Welcome to the 45nm era!

OCZ has gone and done it again. Earlier this year, they made the surprise announcement that they acquired PC Power & Cooling, and now they’ve acquired Hypersonic PC, a high-end system builder. We won’t be seeing any OCZ-themed laptops or desktops, but you can be sure all of their systems will utilize OCZ memory and PCP&C power supplies.

Sunnyvale, Calif. -October 25, 2007-OCZ today announced immediate plans to bring Hypersonic PC into the OCZ Technology Group. Known primarily as the worldwide leader in innovative, high-performance computer memory and power supply units, OCZ acquired Hypersonic PC to employ their rich expertise in high-end system building and take the organization and mobile gaming to the next level. Hypersonic has been paving the way in maximum performance computing since 1996 and established themselves as a leader attributable to their diligent focus on technology, quality, craftsmanship, and world-class support. Under the OCZ Technology Group, the Hypersonic vision can be taken to new heights and grow in key areas of innovation, product development, and market reach.

Source: OCZ Technology Press Release