Content and news by Rob Williams

Despite last week’s article about running World of Warcraft on Linux with CodeWeavers’ CrossOver, I can’t help but feel a sense of despair when I think of gaming under Linux. It seems that over the last few years, with a few exceptions, things have gotten worse rather than better. Frankly, I’ve had it with gaming under Linux. It’s not worth the time or the effort.

If you are a diehard Linux user and wouldn’t think of running Windows, then this is not the article for you. In the end, the author notes it’s simply much easier to dual boot. Owning more than one computer would work also, if you have the cash for it.

Several leading consumer electronics companies are expected to announce Tuesday that they are working together to develop a new standard for transmitting high-definition audio and video signals wirelessly.

As it stands, it’s hard to imagine a high quality HD broadcast run over a wireless connection. I hope to actually see these standards somewhat high, to make purchasing such a setup when it becomes available a worthwhile reason to crack open your wallet. Only have to wait until the Spring to find out…

You don’t need a Ph.D. in scientific visualization to have some fun with three-dimensional data. Whether you’re searching for an unused nook in a cramped disk partition, or trying to find the bloated temp/ folder that’s crashing your system, sometimes the flat folder view of a traditional GUI file browser is little help. Luckily, Linux offers a variety of 3-D filesystem that can make your disk usage statistics come alive.

If you are bored of du, or don’t feel that you look geeky enough while at your Linux PC, then here are a few 3D programs that analyze your usage and show you straight out what’s hogging your hard drive.

“It was pretty apparent that Google shared our vision for how groups of people can create, manage and share information online. Then when we had conversations with people at Google we found ourselves completing each other’s sentences,” he continued. “Joining Google allows us to plug into the resources that only a company of Google’s scale can offer, like a huge audience, access to world-class data centers and a team of incredibly smart people.”

Finishing each others sentences? How cute! It’s like an online soap opera for geeks! Up to this point, I have never even heard of Jotspot (jot.com) and am still unclear of what it is, but Google sees potential. It’s going to be an interesting ride to see where they take all these newly aquired websites… or if they plan to stop ;-)

In a statement issued late Tuesday, the Japanese company said there will be 32 new titles for the $250 Wii by the end of the year, as well as a roster of 30 classic games. Among the new titles will be “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,” “Madden NFL ’07,” “Need for Speed: Carbon,” “Call of Duty 3,” “Marvel Ultimate Alliance,” “Rampage: Total Destruction,” “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature from Krusty Krab,” “Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam,” “Red Steel” and many others.

30 classic games means 32 next-gen games, and since most of them are also for other consoles, it’s hard to see how many “new” games there will be that are Wii exclusive. Either way, Zelda and Downhill Jam should well make up for any lacking. In my opinion of course.

Bill Hilf, a Microsoft technical strategist, said the Zend deal, a multiyear, multiphase partnership, will ensure PHP programs run on past and future versions of Microsoft Web server software. The pact covers both the established Windows Server 2003 and the upcoming version, code-named Longhorn.

Hmm… Longhorn… that’s a new one! This is great, but is it going to make people switch from a Linux server to Windows? Either way, any improvement should be good improvement.

Children hoping to get Lego toys for Christmas may be in for a disappointment. The Danish toymaker is having a hard time keeping up with demand for its popular plastic building blocks as toy stores stack their inventories for the Christmas season, a company official said Tuesday.

If you were planning to pick up legos for a loved one (or yourself), it looks like you may be out of luck. The hurt is on Lego though, as the expected losses will be well over $100 Million.

Fremont, CA (November 1, 2006) –Corsair, a worldwide leader in high performance enthusiast computer products, today announced total premium module shipments for calendar year 2006 year-to-date surpassed 1 million units. Corsair premium modules include the award-winning XMS, XMS PRO, XMS XPERT and the newly released XMS DOMINATOR line of products. This explosive growth reinforces Corsair’s position as the world’s largest performance module maker, and the 8th largest DRAM module manufacturer, according to iSuppli. Celebrating the company’s 1 millionth premium modules shipped in 2006, Corsair will offer 5 custom 2GB DDR2-8888 gold-plated DOMINATOR memory kits as contest prizes for the “Why I Love Corsair” 200-word essay contest. The contest will run from November 1 to November 14, and the winners will be announced on the Corsair web site on December 1, 2006.

You can read the full press release here.

Cases & Enclosures
• Antec P180B – Modders-Inc
• NZXT Adamas – Bjorn3D

Cooling
• Arctic Cooling Accelero X1 – Futurelooks
• Coolermaster Hyper UC Cooler – Technic3D
• Cooler Master Mars and Eclipse CPU Coolers – Big Bruin

Motherboards & Processors
• ECS 945G-M3 M-ATX – Gruntville
• Intel X6800 Core 2 Extreme – Viper Lair

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• USB Skype Phone with LCD Display – Think Computers

Displays & Video Cards
• ATI 8.30.3 Display Drivers – Phoronix
• Three HDMI Graphics Cards Tested on LCD TV – TweakTown

Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
• Asus G2P Gaming Notebook – HotHardware
• Olympus SP-510UZ – Digital Trends

A surprising part of Gateway’s announcement is that the Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 dual-core processor can be ordered overclocked from the factory while retaining the full warranty. However, it is unknown what the clockspeed increase will be, or whether or not the end-user will have any control over clock frequencies.

This is quite surprising to say the least, but in a good way! It is likely to be a very minor overclock… in the 5% range. I cannot see them going much higher, but anything to help them gain a little more “respect” and sales.

Buffalo Technology, a well-known supplier of memory modules from Austin, Texas, is expected to unveil memory modules at 1200MHz and 1250MHz in the near future, according to reports from Japan. The company already sells 1150MHz Firestix-series memory modules, which are already the fastest in the industry and have slightly higher clock-speed than leading-edge products from Corsair Memory and OCZ Technology Group.

The speed is not what impresses me, really. It’s the fact that you can use them without active cooling. But, this is something I will have to see to believe. Even for standard timings at these speeds, 2.4v is the “norm”, and that is not too cool. They must’ve come across a nice batch of chips!

According to the Windows Vista Team Blog, the compact packaging is made out of plastic and is designed for long-term protection and storage of the software. Microsoft’s Nick White also indicates that the new packaging will be carried over to future Microsoft software releases.

The new packaging is extremely well done. It really does beat the usual cardboard box with a poor design. This is packaging you wouldn’t even throw in the closet… almost showcase worthy ;-)

Our host for the tour was Jason Coon, a long time [H]’er and a Operations Program Manager for Xbox Live. The Xbox Live facilities are located away from the main Microsoft campus in a nondescript three story building with no outside markings other than a small Xbox logo on the front door of the lobby.

This is a great look inside the Operations Center if you have ever been curious. Even if you weren’t, it’s refreshing to see exactly how things are done to assure a smooth online experience. To say this place is well run is a huge understatement!

Microsoft has announced that it will debut the so called sixth generation of its Xbox Live online service on Tuesday, October 31, with 85 new features and enhancements, including support for native 1080p games and movies, faster Xbox Live Arcade game list display times, and more options for video playback. The free download will be available to all Xbox Live Silver and Gold account holders, and will not require the use of the Xbox 360’s hard drive.

If you are unsure whether or not your TV supports 1080p… it probably doesn’t. If you can’t take advantage of that update, then there are plenty more that should make the overall experience more enjoyable.

Are you ready to win the hottest new gaming console the Nintendo Wii? The Wii Weekend is your first chance to get your hands on the console when it comes out. Starting October 27th and throughout the weekend anytime you hear an old Nintendo video game song call 1-877-768-2507 and be the tenth caller to be entered to win the console which will be given away on October 30th.

You can find out more here.

REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 30, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today released to the public Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP, a significant milestone for music fans and the digital entertainment experience on Windows. This latest version of Windows Media Player offers consumers a test-drive of the breakthrough capabilities in Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista™, including enhanced search and media management technologies, a visually driven user interface, and optimized support for portable music players.

If you love having the latest version of everything, be sure to grab it here. To see all that’s new, you can read the full press release here.

Sunnyvale, CA—October 30, 2006—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the addition of high-speed 133X parts to the cutting-edge OCZ Secure Digital™ “Dual” Series. The new memory cards will offer a solution for enthusiasts who not only seek the convenience of USB port access, but require high speeds for their digital cameras and electronics.

You can read the full press release here.

Cases & Enclosures
• NZXT Zero – Overclocker Cafe
• Ultra MicroFly – OC Modshop

Cooling
• Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B Cooler – Pro-Clockers

Memory & Storage
• Kingston DataTraveler Secure – 3D Velocity

Motherboards & Processors
• abit AW9D-Max – Motherboards.org
• abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X – PC Modding Malaysia
• Abit SG-95 Micro-ATX LGA775 – Virtual-Hideout
• AMD “Fusion” Vision for the Future – on-die GPU – Overclock3D

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• be quiet! Dark Power Pro 430W – Bjorn3D
• HiS Radeon X1650 PRO with ICEQ – Guru3D
• Medusa ProGamer Surround Headset – HW Zone
• OCZ EvoStream 600w Modular PSU – Overclock3D
• Razer Tarantula – XYZ Computing
• SilverStone ST75F 750W Modular PSU – 3D Gameman
• SteelSeries Professional Gaming Mouse Pad – GamePyre

Displays & Video Cards
• ATI Radeon X1650 Pro vs. Nvidia GeForce 7600GS – TechSpot
• ATI Radeon X1650XT – Legit Reviews
• ATI Radeon X1650XT – MadBox PC
• Leadtek GeForce 7950GT Extreme 256MB – Boot Daily
• Sapphire Radeon X1950XTX 512MB – Virtual-Hideout

Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
• Garmin Nüvi 660 – BIOS Magazine
• HP M7590n Media Center – Digital Trends
• Next Gen Gaming- Why the Stats Don’t Matter – XYZ Computing
• Nokia N93 GSM Handset – Digit-Life

The experiment promises to improve forecasts dramatically, warn pilots flying into dangerous ice storms or turbulence and even track hijacked flights. The new sensors measure weather conditions every few seconds while planes are flying.

This sounds great! Anything to help with the prediction of bad weather is welcomed, especially where planes are concerned. These sensors go beyond simply detecting bad weather though, but are also capable of detecting ice buildup on the wings.

If you ask Jim Wong, senior corporate VP at Acer, Microsoft has crippled Home Basic so thoroughly that it is essentially just an excuse to wring more money out of OEMs. Wong told PC Pro that “Premium is the real Vista,” drilling home his view that Home Basic is a lemon that consumers will shun entirely.

You know a release is bad when OEM’s don’t -want- to sell it. So it looks like Home Premium is the way to go, unless you want a seriously crippled machine.