Content and news by Rob Williams

“Front panel card readers, fan controllers, and I/O ports are nothing new to us. They have been around a long time. Today we will be looking at a device that combines these 3 things into 1 superior panel. So without further ado I present the Sunbeam 20 in 1 Superior Panel!”

A panel that does TWENTY things? I’m there! Check it out at Think Computers.

“The K8 has its own on-die North Bridge unlike Intel which uses the external FSB to communicate core to core. This on-die North Bridge gives plenty of benefits to the AMD K8 design for multi-threaded and multi-tasking processes. AMD have kept to their 939 & 940 sockets so that these dual-core processors are compatible with current motherboards which is great for everybody but means that it only uses the same memory bus which is still 128-bits wide and supports a maximum speed of DDR400 for 6.4GB/s.”

It’s a smaller review, but in-depth. Give it a look at A1 Electronics.

“Most of us, at one time or another has heard about the importance of a computer’s power supply. A good power supply will insure clean and stable power is supplied to all of the computer’s various components; thus, keeping the system stable and trouble free. Moreover, a good looking power supply will help keep the inside of your case esthetically pleasing, which is especially important if your case has a window. With all that said, the average do it yourself (DIY) computer user is most likely not willing to spend $100+ dollars for a power supply, nor should they have to. It is with this in mind that Raidmax has released the KY-550ATX 480W power supply. Does this aggressively priced power supply belong in your system? Read on and find out.”

Looks like a solid PSU for a great price. Read more about it over at A True Review.

“Wintec introduces AMP-X as their enthusiast line of memory. Although new to the whole ballgame, the AMP-X DDR2 memory provides some tough competition for the bigger established boys.”

Great looking memory for sure. It’s nice to see names we don’t usually see, as well. Check out the full review at InsaneTek.

“Because Nikon scrambled a portion of the file, legal worries have kept third-party developers like Adobe Systems from supporting Nikon’s uncompressed “raw” photos in their software. Nikon sells its Nikon Capture utility for $100.

“Because Nikon scrambled a portion of the file, legal worries “It’s an open format now,” said programmer Dave Coffin, who posted the decryption code on his Web site this week. “I broke that encryption–I reverse-engineered it.”

Good work Dave! I could not imagine buying an expensive camera, like a Nikon, and then not even be able to use the photos in Photoshop. Read more here.

“The company, which plans to unleash a massive marketing blitz around Longhorn, needs to create a bigger stir than when it last rolled out a “major” OS upgrade in 2001 with Windows XP. Through no fault of its own, Microsoft’s launch coincided with a tech spending slowdown and an accompanying economic recession. The bigger problem: XP was only marginally more interesting than Windows 98 and no amount of marketing hoopla could convince otherwise.”

I personally am looking forward to Longhorn, even though I can’t see a reason to be. Mac OS users usually have the right to look forward to their OS’s, because of the flair and excitement Apple builds around them. Hopefull Longhorn will prove the same. Read more about it here.

“The creator of the C++ programming language claims there has been a backlash against some of the newer programming languages such as Java and C#, with developers moving back to using C++.”

I can’t ever see C++ going anywhere.. it’s one of the few languages that gives you ultimate control over every aspect. Read all about it at News.com.

“Microsoft will officially roll out 64-bit versions of its Windows operating systems on Monday. The OSes will support 64-bit processors from both Intel and AMD.”

It’s going to be interesting to see comparison benchmarks with multimedia and gaming, from the 32Bit and 64Bit OS’s. I’m hoping it will be substantial enough to warrent a 64Bit purchase, and give current 64Bit owners something to be happy about. Read all about it at Information Week.

“A defiant Steve Jobs lashed out for the first time publicly against activists who claim Apple Computer Inc. has irresponsible environmental policies for recycling products like old Macintoshes and iPods.”

Quite the statement. The iPOD’s contain a small amount of Lead, which could be the harmful part. Read the article at SF Gate.

“Microsoft’s hardware devices are among some of the best there is in the market. Among these hardware is the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse which is design specifically for the notebook users (obviously).

Today, Ken, who’s a veteran Microsoft hardware user, takes a look at the wireless version of the Notebook Optical Mouse which he has been using for almost a year. Does it have what it takes to be the ultimate mobile companion? Read on the find out!”

Looks like a solid mouse for sure. I love the look of the design. Read more about it over at Rojak Pot.

“Our mouse is our life blood when it comes to playing games and navigating the computer. Any way to enhance using a mouse makes us better. Optical mice have made us look for texture and reflectiveness over a pretty picture on a rubber pad. That is why gaming pads are all the rage now. X-Ray produces the Thunder line of gaming pads to aid our experiences with a mouse. This review will look at the Thunder 8 gaming pad and Zero Friction mousekates for the mouse.”

Very sharp looking mousepad! Check it out at A True Review.

“Hoarding old magazines pays, at least for a few lucky ones like David Clark. An engineer from Surrey, England, Clark discovered that in his collection of old magazines was an April 19, 1965 issue of Electronics Magazine.”

Intel offered to pay anybody who owned a good copy of Electronics Magazine, the April 19th 1965 edition, $10,000. Looks like I’m never throwing out my issues of CPU and Maximum PC! Read more about it here.

“The new product from MicroStar is almost a complete copy of its predecessor MSI 925X Neo. The only difference between these two motherboards is their chipsets. Intel has designed a new chipset — i925XE — to support recently released Pentium 4 XE (Extreme Edition) processors. In its turn, such a large company as MSI couldn’t ignore this event and designed MSI 925XE Neo Platinum based on the Intel chipset.”

Check out the full review at Digit-Life.

“In the period around 300 BC, the Carthaginians are a major economic force across the entire Mediterranean region, with a series of trade outposts from Iberia to Sicilia and beyond. Based in northern Africa, they are sworn enemies of Rome due to a long-standing, irreconcilable feud. The Gauls occupy a large portion Comment (0) -->

“As you might guess, here at PCstats we like computers… things with ‘gadget’ value, and tiny electronic devices in general. When something comes along that can fulfill all of these cravings, we tend to take notice. Such was the case when this lovely little Sony laptop arrived.”

Check out the full review at PC Stats.

“Processors have made some huge leaps in the last year. Way back in the 66MHz days chips barely spit out 15W of power. Today you find P4 pushing over 100W. If you can’t picture the amount of heat generated by such a tiny object, put your face near your desk lamp and that should give you a nice idea. While very rarely do systems shutdown because of heat issues, most of these issues being bad heatsink installations, it is always important that you have a solid heat sink/fan unit on your chip at all times.”

Head over to 3D Accelerated.

“Lightweight notebooks have always been the weapon of choice for the professional with a need for speed and an eye for style. As new entries are brought into the market during the spring refresh, numerous companies have been scrambling to bring something that fuses aesthetics and power together in a conveniently portable package.”

Check out the review at Hot Hardware.

“The ISOTOPE chassis is much like Marmite; you will either love it or loathe it. I must confess, having first seen it on display at the recent CTS show, I was set against it. Too many hard edges and too much internal activity. However, it’s the kind of chassis that grows on you … it becomes a talking point as much as anything else, and if you’re the kind of enthusiast that likes to have something look a little different, the chassis, with its pre-distressed look and colour choice, is a real alternative to regular SFF PCs.”

Check it out at Hexus.

Greetings from the Central Wastelands! The Changed have arrived! GameSpot has posted the third and final Auto Assault player race profile, The Mutants, and you can read all about them at Gamespot and download the accompanying video from our Downloads section here. We have two new class profiles up on the www.autoassault.com Comment (0) -->

“This product stands true to its name, Zeus. It’s definitely the ruler of most other PSUs in heaven or on earth! With a continuous wattage of 650 & a peak wattage of 710 it’s at ease in a server environment or for the hardcore gamer. While the power rating is exceptional it also carries the official NVIDIA SLI certification. Unquestionably, the top of the line! Watch the Video to find out more…”

Check out the full video review at 3D Gameman.