Content and news by Rob Williams

“The Seattle PI is reporting on a lawsuit being brought against Microsoft in response to their WGA spyware. Groklaw is also covering the story. Although there are a lot of similarities to Sony’s rootkit, the actual harm done is less concrete. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.”

Somehow I doubt a petty lawsuit is going to stop WGA, but it would be nice. Not that I disagree with Microsoft trying to protect their software, but they need to find a better way. Preferably one that doesn’t waste the time of completely legal users.

The new Bluetooth-based wireless keyboard is aimed at making your Windows Vista experience even more pleasurable with such features as a backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor and proximity sensing to power down the lighting when you leave the room. Even more impressive is the included pad that charges your mouse when not in use. It’s probably using some kind of induction charging system similar to what’s used in A4Tech’s BatteryFree Mouse.

I am not usually one to put down a product before even touching it, but what are they thinking? No numpad, wired keyboard, bluetooth mouse and an odd shape. Doesn’t sound like an ultimate keyboard to me. Maybe they should call this a Tolerable Media Keyboard instead.

Sunnyvale, CA—June 27, 2006—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the PC2-8000 Titanium Alpha VX2 Edition, a special extremist series of modules specifically geared towards the high-end overclocking community. Carrying on the OCZ Voltage eXtreme (VX) legacy, the PC2-8000 Ti Alpha is the first high-voltage DDR2 product that offers enthusiasts the performance edge they crave. With the arrival of AM2 CPU technology and the impending release of Intel Conroe, the high-speed Ti Alpha VX2 is an unparalleled memory solution for the latest DDR2 platforms.

Whew, these modules would be fun to play with. Check out the full press release right here.

Cases & Enclosures
• Cooler Master Ammo-533 Case – Modders-Inc

Cooling
• Thermalright HR-01-K8 w/ Blue Fan Duct – Think Computers

Memory & Storage
• Crucial Ballistix PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB – PC Stats

Motherboards & CPU’s
• M2N32-SLI Deluxe – Hard|OCP
• MSI K9N Platinum – Legion Hardware

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• Apevia As550w-bk Power Supply – Red & Blackness
• Cooler Master iGreen 500 – Overclockers Online
• Everglide Gaming Products Roundup – Virtual-Hideout
• Pyramat S2000 Sound Rocker – GameApex
• Razer Armadillo – XYZ Computing
• Soundmatters FULLstageHD Audio System – A True Review
• Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 Pro Gamer Edition – techPowerUp!
• Ultra Products X2 550W Power Supply – XYZ Computing
• XG Lazer Laser 2500 DPI Mouse – Bjorn3D

Video Cards & Monitor
• Connect3D Radeon X1900 GT- Hardware Secrets
• Inno3D GeForce 7600 GST – Overclocker Cafe
• Gainward Bliss 7900 GT 512 MB Card – Technic3D

Etcetera, Complete Systems & Contests
• Cellular Services Comparison – Digital Trends
• Dell XPS M1710 Notebook – HotHardware
• rock Pegasus 650 Dungeons And Dragons Online Laptop – Hexus
• Sidekick 3, Harmony 720, and The Face Sucking Scarf! – Digital Trends (Podcast)

Mario has appeared in so many games, but this one is special. In some ways, this game can be considered his ‘largest’ adventure yet. Even though Nintendo introduces many new elements to the series, they still manage to retain it’s classic feel.

While Microsoft’s XBOX 360 has no trouble reaching an older target market, the company is looking to expand its reach to a younger demographic. Those looking to just hop in and game may be a bit intimidated by the controller’s overabundance of functions. Said Microsoft XBOX head Peter Moore of the XBOX 360’s controller, “Shoulder buttons, triggers, analog sticks, d-pads – I mean, there’s a lot going on there.”

It sounds like this will be suited for kids or people with very small hands. At least that’s what I gather considering Moore brought his daughter into the equation. I wish my daddy could design a special controller just for me!

The second of three videos showing different playing styles in Dark Messiah is a video on stealth, the Assasin video. Hide in the shadows, sneak up on your opponents and dispatch them quickly!

This game is looking fantastic.. a true RPG’ers RPG. You can ‘sneak’ up and grab the latest video from the official site, or if you have Steam, you can grab them from there also.

The Free Map Pack introduces a new gameplay style, Detonation, in two brand new missions (Jagd, Colmar). In addition to the new missions and gameplay style, the Summer 2006 Update also introduces new technical features and gameplay enhancements to Day of Defeat: Source. Some of the new gameplay enhancements – such as spawn clip adjustments, improved hit location detection, and weapon balancing – were made after reviewing the player statistics gathered since the stats (www.dayofdefeat.com/stats) feature was added to DoD: Source earlier this year.

Finally, the time has come. All of you who couldn’t sleep due to the anticipation of the game can now relax and go kick some butt. If you are unsure of what’s new, you can read our impressions here. If you just want to see a list of updated features, jump on over to the official site.

As I began rambling about on in the introduction, this is essentially the city building RTS equivalent of Rome: Total War. Everything is done well enough, and historically accurate enough to my limited knowledge that the game was vastly enjoyable to me. Though those first three lines don’t seem like much, this is definitely a title I’d recommend to seasoned RTS players. Overall a fun game with a few downfalls.

If you enjoy Roman Empire based RTS games, this one could be for you. I must say, it has some gorgeous visuals!

You wouldn’t expect a games developer to proclaim too loudly that their latest release is a load of balls, but for Bonus.com the boast is justified. Mile High pinball is a daunting 5,280 feet of non-stop ball flipping action peppered with power-ups, super slo-mo’s, multi-balls, multipliers, bosses and extra terrestrial baddies all played out behind an atmospheric if slightly twee soundtrack and on some of the most decorative tables you’ve ever set eyes upon.

Contrary to popular belief, the N-Gage is still alive and kicking! It’s uncertain how many future titles will be released, but this one sure has potential.

NBC and YouTube have reached agreement for NBC to advertise and promote some of its shows on YouTube. The TV network is going to promote its fall lineup of shows by creating an official NBC channel on YouTube. Longer promotional video clips will made available from popular shows like “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Office.” Both companies will work together to try and produce ads that viewers will actually want to take the time to view.

What a completely natural thing to do. Threaten legal action on a website to remove an SNL clip that helps the shows popularity, then partner with the said site. Makes sense to me.

During ATI’s 2006 third quarter financial results conference call this morning, ATI CEO Dave Orton revealed to analysts that despite demonstrating physics processing earlier this year, actual retail availability will not be available for another “9 to 12 months.” Orton indicated that the technology was still undergoing testing and preparation. Interestingly, ATI indicated earlier that its physics technology was already on the market and needed only driver updates.

Does this mean that AGEIA has more time to strut their stuff, or does it mean that ATI is taking the smart road and not trying to rush anything? Either way, it will be interesting to see this evolve.

During a recent press conference, Google CEO Eric Schmidt indicated to reporters that the new service would not be a competitor to eBay and said that it would be “different” from PayPal. Checkout will be compatible with all major credit cards and Google is currently holding a special promotion with Citi. The company also indicated that Checkout will tie in with other programs like AdWords and AdSense — an ideal tracking and marketing combination for merchants it said.

I don’t think it really matters -what- they say it’s for… if it can be used in place of PayPal, it will be. Here’s to hoping that checkout really takes off.

Las Vegas, Nev., June 29, 2006 — MALIBAL, LLC, a world leader in innovative laptop design and development, today unveiled its new line of high-performance Intel® Core™ Duo laptops. Available immediately, the Satori Series™ features the latest in dual-core technologies, high-performance graphics and wireless connectivity.

You can read the full press release here.

Cases & Enclosures
• Antec Solo Case – XS Reviews
• Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition – BIOS Magazine

Memory & Storage
• Kingston HyperX PC8000 2GB – Xtreme Computing

Motherboards & CPU’s
• ECS RS480-M Crossfire Xpress 200 K8 – PC Stats

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• AeroCool PowerPanel – Think Computers
• Kodak Easyshare C300 3.2MP Digital Camera – Big Bruin
• Razer Krait Gaming Mouse – OCIA
• Seasonic S12 500w Power Supply – Virtual-Hideout
• Ultra X-Connect X2 550W SLI PSU – Driver Heaven
• XG Magnum 600W External PSU – Pro-Clockers

Video Cards & Monitor
• Asus 7900GT TOP and 7600GT Silent Graphics Cards – PC Perspective
• ATI Radeon X1600 round-up – Hexus
• HIS X1300 512MB HyperMemory 2 PCIe x1 – 3D Gameman
• Samsung SyncMaster 204B 20 Inch LCD Monitor – TweakNews
• XFX Overclocked GeForce 7950 GX2 – Hardware Secrets

Etcetera, Complete Systems & Contests
• Gamepyre Monthly Giveaway Sponsored By XFX – GamePyre

If you are intrigued by the Linux world, there is no better time than now to get in on the action. There has never been so much support, or a wide variety of distros to choose from. One of the most popular distros in recent years have been SuSE, due to it’s ease of use.

A brand new version of the popular CPUID program has been released with a few new updates… mainly for support.

• ATI RS350, RS400, RS480/RX480, RS482, RD580/RX580, RS600/RD600, RS690, RS700 chipsets support.
• ATI SB600 southbridge support.
• Intel P965 chipset support.
• Engineering samples Core based CPUs report.
• Windows Vista product line report.

You can grab the new version from the official site.

When DirectX 10 rocks your PC with the release of Windows Vista early next year, it will come courtesy of a trio of forces: The graphics card companies obviously play a huge role, as do the game developers, but DirectX is Microsoft’s baby. Ultimately it is up to Microsoft engineers to work together with IHVs (the independent hardware vendors that build the graphics cards) and game developers (aka ISVs—independent software vendors) to define the API.

This is a fantastic look into the minds of the people behind DirectX. It’s a rather lengthy read, so grab a cup of coffee.

Intel is expected to launch a dozen new motherboards based on the upcoming 965 Broadwater family of chipsets. The upcoming boards will be based on Broadwater G965, Q963 and Q965 chipsets scheduled to launch the last week of July. Also launching the last week of July is Intel’s Digital Home Bridge Creek platform which will also be named Viiv 1.5.

The roadmap is chock full with upcoming releases. It looks like version 2 of the Bad Axe board is only a month or two away..

Stung by a series of data losses or disclosures at federal agencies over the past month, the White House is requiring all agencies to follow new guidelines when allowing employees to carry sensitive data on laptops or access the information from afar, according to the Washington Post. From the article: ‘To comply with the new policy, agencies will have to encrypt all data on laptop or handheld computers unless the data are classified as “non-sensitive” by an agency’s deputy director.

I like where this is going. Not only will a standard password be required to access a remote database, but a keycard will also be needed. Then after 30 minutes of activity, the connection will be severed. The real question is… what took them so long to figure out how things should be done?