Content and news by Rob Williams

AT&T are bastards, there is not much of an argument there. But, they are the absolutely only place to pick up an iPhone when they go on sale next Friday. What to do? Ignore the fact that the company cares nothing for your privacy, or stick to your morals and begrudgingly refuse to pick up the hot new device. That’s a tough one, but if you need more convincing, Gizmodo is here to the rescue and they just might save you $599.

Apple and iPhone fans, what’s more important to you? Having the hottest device, or knowing that you are standing up to a company, that in my opinion, has no regard for the privacy and consumer choice of Americans? Is it up to us, the customers, to stand up to these practices, or should we just keep shopping and hope the regulators do their jobs?

Source: Gizmodo

Earlier this week, we reported that Blockbuster decided to cut off Blu-rays life supply in their retail outlets. They would however continue to offer titles through their online service. This news sparked a monumental amount of attention from consumers around the web, most of who had cried in fear for a potential HD-DVD death.

Well it turns out that HD-DVD is not going to suffer that much at all, at least according to Universal. They state that Blockbusters sales/rentals of their HD-DVD movies accounted for less than 1% of their profits. This might go to show that despite Blockbuster’s hold on the rental market, they won’t have an effect in the grand scheme of things. HD-DVD fans should have nothing to fear, unless another e-tailer wants to jump on the same bandwagon.

What Ken really said would win the format war was price, with HD DVD’s lower production costs giving it an advantage here over Blu-ray. When asked about when we would see a £100 HD DVD player, Toshiba’s Olivier Van Wynendaele, said it was unlikely to be this year, but that we could soon expect for see decks from Chinese manufactures that would undercut its own entry-level HD-E1 deck, which can currently be picked up for around £260.

Source: Trusted Reviews

Here’s a Mission Impossible story for you. A crew of clever burglars broke into Best Buy, stole an intense amount of products and left without leaving a single piece of evidence. They left with laptops, plasma TV’s and even Best Buy’s store safe! Though a serious matter, it’s really hard to feel sorry for a company that blatantly deceives their customers. Payback at it’s finest. Kind of.

These high-tech robbers have also tunneled into jewelry stores and stolen 5000 pound safes according to Police. Apparently they have all the merchandise already sold so that they can just get rid of it extremely quickly. Not a single item has been recovered to this day and if they keep up at this rate, it looks like a lot more gadgets will end up missing from store shelves.

Source: CrunchGear

iPhone in your future? You might want to think twice about cancelling the service from AT&T if that was your plan, as they will be charging people a completely fair (sarcasm) $175 for the privilege of cancelling. Yes, it’s insane, but completely legal. I am not even sure if it’s known whether or not the iPhone can be unlocked, but I know it’s the first thing I would be looking into. Apple should sell an unlocked version for $100 more, which would still be cheaper than this ridiculous charge.

Like I’ve said in the past, AT&T needs to retain these iPhone customers that will swarm stores next week. Imposing a cancellation fee of that caliber sucks, but it’s how the world works. No word if customers with existing accounts will be subject to the fee.

Source: CrunchGear

So you think Windows Vista can be a pain in the ass, but you don’t want to take the time to tweak it out. You are in luck, because Stardock has just released a program to help you out, creatively named TweakVista. With it, you can handle security settings, optimize memory, handle resources, start-up and potentially increase performance.

Like most tweaker programs out there, most of the tweaks can be done by hand if you have patience and the knowledge of how to perform them. Most are registry based, which can be daunting to some. The program is currently in beta but will retail for $19.95 upon release. It will also be included in Stardock’s Object Desktop which retails for $49.95.

“TweakVista has been designed not just for power users but also for every-day computer users,” said Brad Wardell, President & CEO of Stardock Corp. “We know a lot of people who are the family/neighborhood ‘computer guy’ and this program really is for them to use themselves or to hand out to people so that they can help fix and manage their own computers safely.”

Source: TweakVista Product Page

The original Forza was known for its intense realism and car selection. Forza 2 takes all of that one step further and ends up being one title that should not be avoided, despite some of it’s blatant problems.

Helio members might have a reason to be upset, especially if they are interested in enjoying YouTube mobile. Heliocity is reporting that when the service is accessed on a Helio device, users are prompted to sign up for a service called Video Virus. I assume this to be a fancy name for unlimited data plan, although the article doesn’t elaborate.

The problem is, YouTube mobile is a completely free service, just as the main website is. Charging subscribers for free services is nothing new, but it is for Helio. If you are a Helio user interested in using YouTube mobile, adding a ?someword at the end of the URL should give you access. There has been no response from Helio regarding the matter.

I sincerely hope this was a mistake by someone who was a bit too jumpy with a plan that slipped into the “Do this next!” pile rather than the trash bin. Hopefully it miraculously undoes it self by the time you read this post. If not, we’ll be looking for the fire escape sooner than later.

Source: Heliocity

This is the first time we have posted about it, but a guy by the name of Steve Smith (wonder if he’s an American Dad fan?) has admitted to the world that he is a Zune fan. Not just a fan, a fanATIC. A few weeks ago, he had a Zune logo tattoo’ed on his left arm, and a week later he decided to get a character out of a Zune commercial on the left arm. Whew.

So he didn’t want to stop there. He has full intentions of getting a third, but I don’t care to know where he plans to put it. Microsoft, not known to ignore their biggest fans, caught on to Steve’s antics. Now he is getting a free trip to Redmond to meet up with the Zune team and perform an interview with On10. Everything aside, I think I am most interested in knowing what music he has on his Zune. He seems like an interesting fellow.

Source: Engadget

From the O-RLY files, we have EMI who recently started selling DRM-free music on iTunes. Not surprisingly, it’s selling quite well. Pink Floyd’s amazing Dark Side of the Moon album had sales go up 350% in the first week, and is still hovering at 272%. If stats like that aren’t enough of a hint to music companies, I have no idea what could be.

Although the iTunes Store was the first online store through which EMI sold its DRM-free tracks, Amazon recently said that it will also be selling DRM-free EMI songs through its newly-announced music store later this year.

Source: Ars Technica

When Apple released their latest Santa Rosa based MacBook Pros, eyes moved towards the 17″ model with the amazing 1920×1200 supported resolution. If you’ve debating whether or not it’s worth the extra $100, Mac World firmly believes so. The author is so impressed, he compares it to moving from Standard-Def TV to a High-Def model.

I’m still a little wary on such a high-resolution on a small monitor, when comparing the fact that this is the resolution seen on 24-inch+ monitors. It might be one of those things that you will just need to see in person.

Oh, and did I mention that screen? You know the difference between regular TV and high-def TV? That’s what it feels like using this model. Not that the standard screen offered by Apple is a slouch; 1,680-by-1,050 pixels is plenty fine for most users. But for those of us who always want faster, bigger, more, Apple has created what I’d call the MBP Ultimate.

Source: PC World

Sony released the 1.80 firmware update for the Playstation3 last month, which offered PS1/PS2 and DVD upscaling capabilities. There has been mixed reaction to the actual gains however, though they are clearly there. It’s just not a night/day transition. It seems that Sony themselves are not that pleased with the result, and intend to attempt to improve it by another 30 – 40% with the help of the powerful Cell processor.

Sony expects to improve the quality of the image another 30 – 40% when all is said and done, and is waiting on a stable version of the Blu-ray spec so it can enable scaling of 1080i BD content to 1080p. The duo also hinted that a remote media playback solution that doesn’t involve having to leave the PS3 on at all times is in the works, and that Sony plans on updating the PS3’s firmware every quarter.

Source: Engadget

Sylish cameras are nothing new, but Nikon takes sexiness in cameras to a new level with their S50c. It’s curvy, sleek, compact and feature-packed. It includes a huge 3.0″ LCD screen and offers 7.2 megapixel images. Is the smaller frame worth the slight lack of image quality?

It’s been known for a while that NVIDIA was interested in getting into the super computer business, but I am not sure if anyone knew it was going to happen so soon. GPUs are capable of blowing away desktop processors for certain operations, so now NVIDIA is putting that into action with their personal supercomputer solution called Tesla.

Similar to an 8-series card, the Tesla GPU features 128 parallel processors and delivers up to 518 gigaflops of parallel computation. Throw four in a system and it will offer you a staggering 2 teraflops of computation to deal with. It doesn’t stop there though, as you can daisy chain machines to tackle computations together, essentially offering up to 8 teraflops. These GPUs are not for the home user, but the need is obvious and many examples are laid out on the site. The GPUs themselves are pricey, reportedly starting off at $1,500 each.

Revolutionary NVIDIA Tesla high performance computing (HPC) solutions arm scientists, engineers and other technical professionals with the power to solve previously unsolvable problems. A dedicated, high performance GPU computing solution, Tesla brings supercomputing power to any workstation or server and to standard, CPU-based server clusters.

Source: NVIDIA Tesla Page

We posted yesterday that Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 was the first console game to receive an AO rating. Well, as it turns out, that is not a good thing. Both Nintendo and Sony have explicitly stated that AO games will not be released on their consoles. Although the game was never slated for a Microsoft console, they also agreed to that rule. It looks as though the only possible way for them to have the game released is to tone it down. It’s going to be an interesting predicament to watch.

Both companies forbid licensed third-party publishers from releasing games rated AO for Adults Only on their various hardware platforms. Though Manhunt 2 isn’t slated for any of Microsoft’s systems, the company has also confirmed that it does not allow AO-rated titles on the Xbox or Xbox 360.

Source: Gamespot

Memory masters OCZ have again released a super-fast kit that you obviously want. Part of their Platinum series, the DDR3-1333 kit runs with timings of 7-7-7-20, on par with other high-performance DDR3 available from the likes of Corsair and Kingston. OCZ’s kit requires 1.8v while the others require 1.7v, so if there is any downside, it would be that. I’ve been told to expect some amazing overclocking ability however, with clocks far beyond stock with a modest voltage increase.

Sunnyvale, Calif. – June 20, 2007 – OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the newest OCZ DDR3 product addition. The leading-edge PC3-10666 Platinum Edition was developed to offer the enthusiast community a solution that fully exhausts the capabilities of the Intel P35 and X38 Express chipsets.

Source: OCZ Press Release

To say that Steam has grown quickly since inception would be a huge understatement. As far as game developers go, Steam is one of the first places to consider placing your pride and joy, and this is evidenced by the fact that Valve sends out multiple press releases each week telling the world about new games they have picked up.

In the platforms largest update since 2004, July will welcome profile pages, groups, game scheduling, player history, stats, chat and more. There is support for every single game on Steam and the services are free of charge, as they should be. Essentially it sounds like a networking type site, but strictly for Steam users. Knowing Valve, this is going to grow into something big, very quickly.

Beginning in July, Steam users can set up their own personal Steam pages and profiles, create and join groups, schedule games with friends, review who they’ve played with, see how well everyone played, chat with groups, chat via voice, and more. These new community services and features can be used with all Steam games, which include new releases and classic titles from leading publishers and independent developers.

Source: Valve Press Release

It’s been a while since Logitech released any noteworthy notebook accessories, but yesterday they had a whole slew of things to unveil. These products are classified as “notebook essentials” by Logitech and include two notebook stands, USB hub, external numpad and Kinetik notebook cases. Yes, notebook cases. Those, in addition to their recent $2,000 Slim Devices product shows that they are very interested in expanding their product lineup. Keep it comin’ Logitech.

FREMONT, Calif., and ROMANEL-SUR-MORGES, Switzerland — June 20, 2007 — Logitech today announced that shopping for the essential peripherals that complement a notebook PC just got easier. The company has expanded its line of notebook PC essentials and is working with retailers to conveniently display and merchandize notebook essentials in a way that matches the right set of products to the right notebook user.

Source: Logitech Press Release

Published on June 21, 2007

Microsoft wants you to stop being a slackass and run out to purchase Windows Vista. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of unsupported applications, or if you hate the updated layout, or if you find it slow, or if gaming performance lacks, you need to go buy it now.

Well, this is what Microsoft is basically saying, and they are encouraging people to not wait until SP1 before taking the plunge. You should “proceed with confidence”. Personally, I have no problems with XP, and they are not giving a great reason for upgrading. It won’t be much longer before it’s forced though, if you enjoy support of the latest applications and games.

SP1 is no minor update. Although Microsoft won’t officially comment on its contents, we do know that Microsoft is at some point going to provide a complete replacement for the Windows kernel, moving from version 6.0 to 6.1 — the same kernel found in Windows Server 2008.

Source: APC Mag

If you have your heart set on picking up a copy of Office 2003 with your new computer or notebook purchase, you should do it within the next ten days. Microsoft is officially pulling the plug on the software, giving full attention to their latest 2007 version. This is a bad thing for consumers who enjoy the older version more, and there are some that do. This is for OEMs only, however, so you are feel to purchase it elsewhere for now.

Office 2003 has been around for nearly four years and Microsoft feels that it’s time to send the old mare off to the glue factory. According to Microsoft, OEM versions of Office 2003 will no longer be available from Microsoft after June 30.

Source: DailyTech

Looking for a 27″ LCD? Your choices are essentially between two models, Dell’s 2707WFP and Samsung’s 275T. We took a look at the Dell a few weeks ago, but are now putting the 275T to the test to see how it held up in comparison.