Content and news by Rob Williams

“The promise comes from none other than CEO Kevin Rollins, and is probably just another indication that Dell is twisting and turning like a twisty turny thing with the mighty Intel or is hanging out for a better deal with AMD.

Rollins comments were made at a press conference that took place at the conclusion of Dell’s annual analysts’ meeting for Wall Street and the news media.”

For the love of CPU’s, Dell would you just pull up your slacks and provide AMD chips? Check the posting at The Inquirer.

” Linux leader Linus Torvalds has begun looking for a new electronic home for his project’s source code after a conflict involving the current management system, BitKeeper.

The move could slow Linux development as Torvalds reverts to a less automated system based on e-mail, he said Wednesday in postings to the Linux kernel mailing list. But it’s better to start shifting away sooner rather than later, he said.”

This move will likely slow Linux development a little, but hopefully not too much. Check out the posting at Comment (0) -->

Peace is never certain, though death is. Or is it? Missing and presumed dead, the One nevertheless remains a symbol of peace for those who would believe. Led by Morpheus, these true believers are ridiculed for their fervent search for Neo’s remains. While the Merovingian mocks Morpheus’s search, his lieutenants seem strangely Comment (0) -->

“PCSTATS is pleased to be looking at the MSI NX6800GT-T2D256E Geforce 6800GT-based PCI-Express videocard in this report. Beyond the catchy name, the NX6800GT’s notable points are 256MB of GDDR3 Samsung BGA DRAM, and that it doesn’t take up an extra slot on your motherboard with a huge cooling solution like ATI seem so fond of doing lately. nVidia had its fun in this ballpark with a loud, and now obsolete GeForce 6800 Ultra videocard series. Quiet is king, so listen closely as we dish out the details…”

Check it out at PC Stats.

“Leesburg, VA, Apr. 8 (UPI) — A Virginia judge Friday sentenced one of the top 10 spammers in the world to nine years in prison.

Jeremy Jaynes, named one of the top spammers by spam watchdog Spamhaus, was convicted in November of using aliases to send more than 10 million e-mails a day. Jaynes, 30, of Raleigh, Va., allegedly made much as $750,000 per month through his spam operation.”

Whoa.. all I can say is OWNED. Enjoy your stay in prison beyatch. Seriously, I cannot be happier about this. Read it here.

“The importance of a PDA during a journey abroad cannot be denied. Many seasoned travelers swear by them.

Join Jason today in his journey to Beijing with his trusty Sony CLIE TH55 PDA. See how a PDA can save your trip from a disastrous end!”

Check it out at Rojak Pot.

“NGO ATI Optimized Driver v2.4

The NGO ATI Optimized Driver is a tweaked version of the ATI Catalyst driver. The main purpose is to satisfy the users with a better performance and better image quality. The Driver has support for all Radeon cards. (even Mobility and FireGL cards)

Changes:
• Updated to Catalyst 5.4
• OpenGL Driver Switcher has been updated
• Added support for more X800/X850 cards.

Check it out at NGOHQ.

“For those who are looking for an upgrade to their system, PCIe (short for PCI Express) is a great technology to take advantage of. However, if you are looking to have the best possible graphics, there is no reason to splurge on a motherboard just with PCIe as AGP 4x and 8x should provide ample bandwidth for any intensive games you run, including Doom III / Half Life 2 and other soon-to-be released titles.”

Check it out at Viper Lair.

“The Logitech MediaPlay serves an interesting niche in the mouse market that no other mouse manufacturer has even entered yet, by doubling as both an optical mouse and a wireless remote to add HTPC functionality to your computer. The black body of the mouse in in an elongated hour-glass shape with a high arch to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand, with a rubberized blue trim to highlight the mouse’s shape and a silvery blue top that compliments our monitor, speakers, and the enhanced function keys of our keyboard.”

Check it out at Everything USB.

“We remember back over thirty years which is beyond the so called news reporters seen on UK TV to when the UK had many individual car makers with names such as: A.C., Alvis, Aston Martin, Austin, Austin Healy, Bentley, Bond, Bristol, Daimler, Elva, Fairthorpe, Ford, Hillman, Humber, Jaguar, Jensen, Lagonda, Lotus, M.G., Morgan, Morris, Reliant, Riley, Rolls Royce, Rover, Singer, Sunbeam, Tornado, Triumph, Turner, T.V.R., Vanden Plas, Vauxhall, Wolseley to name just a few.”

I’ll take a TVR please. They are wicked hardcore. Check it out at A1 Electronics.

“CORE LOGIC CHIPSETS. I’ve spent the last six days knee deep in ’em, those unappreciated chips that glue everything together inside of a system. Back in my Amiga days, the core logic chips were stars, a constellation of sexy custom chips that provided what was then considered amazing audio and fluid, colorful graphics. But that was long ago. Nowadays, core logic chips aren’t considered very exciting, except by what they enable the more exciting chips, like CPUs and GPUs, to do. Fortunately, the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition’s would-be role as an enabler is quite the proposition: this chipset will allow a Pentium 4 processor to team up with a pair of GeForce 6 GPUs in SLI mode and pump out tasty eye candy by the bucketload.”

Check it out at Tech Report.

“Today, InsaneTek has the honor of reviewing Thermaltake’s latest addition, the Thermaltake Kandalf Series. The Thermaltake Armor Series has already received considerable praise for its amazing features and versatility. The Kandalf series adds some extra features to the already acclaimed Armor series. We will be looking at the black version of this case, which utilizes a steel chassis. Thermaltake also has a silver version of this case that utilizes aluminum for lighter weight.”

Check it out at Comment (0) -->

“The SilverStone Aluminum TJ05-ST Case has numerous very unique and functional features. The overall design is exceptionally stylish and attractive, and it’s quite a large case. There is plenty of room inside to work with, and lots of drive bays. Two 120mm fans are included and more can be added for excellent air circulation inside the case. Watch the Video to find out more…”

Check it out at 3D Gameman.

“This product offers quality power and quietness in one package. Unlike most power supplies with 2 or more fans this product only one small 60mm. This fan only is to be used if there’s poor case air circulation and/or operated in a hot environment. The Luxurae PSU coupled with the HDD Silencing Solution are excellent steps in quieting a PC. Watch the Video to find out more…”

Check it out at 3D Gameman.

“Thanks to dropping prices, this month we were able to give our video card a slight boost. We’re still recommending a Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO, however this time around we were able to get the 256MB (vs. 128MB) version. The extra memory helps in certain cache-intensive, high content games (such as World of Warcraft). Having full DX9 and OpenGL 1.5 support as well as 400MHz core and 446MHz memory clocks allows this card to play all the latest titles at least on medium settings. We’re only a few dollars shy of a 9800SE (though it’s a toss up between getting the 128-bit or 256-bit version) or a vanilla GeForce 6600 (non-GT). Hopefully next month we’ll be able to make the switch.”

Check it out at MikhailTech.

“In this review, PCSTATS will be testing out one of its latest TFT-LCD models, the 24-inch Samsung SyncMaster 243T. This lovely piece of LCD technology sports some impressive specs including a 1920×1200 native resolution, a 500:1 contrast ratio, 170 degree horizontal/vertical viewing angles, 0.270mm pixel pitch, a pivoting display and dual digital/analog modes. It is ideally intended for commercial applications where its wide viewing angles and crisp graphics would be a definite asset. At a cost of approximately $2700 CDN, this is not a home desktop monitor by any stretch of the imagination.”

Check out the article at PC Stats.

“The four memory slots support up to 4GB of DDR2-533 memory in dual channel configuration, and the graphics slot is the latest PCI-Express x16. In addition to the four native SATA connectors on the Intel ICH6R Southbridge, ECS has included a SiS180 controller, so there is support for up to six SATA hard drives in various Raid configurations and up to four IDE drives. Intel’s chipset includes the latest eight channel High Definition Audio, and this is fully supported by a C-Media CMI9880 chip with digital input and output.”

Check out all the details at Hexus!

“To fully appreciate Enermax’s design with this case, you need to understand the current state of form factors. There is currently a transitional period taking place. The ATX form factor (Advanced Technology eXtended) will eventually be replaced with BTX (Balanced Technology eXtended), Intel’s new internal PC design standard for combating the ever increasing power demands of components, such as processors and graphics cards. Despite all these increases in heat and power output, the demand for quieter working environments from the consumer is ever increasing. BTX will attempt to address these crucial issues. The CS-718 is not BTX, though, but during this transitional period, BTX has inspired case designers to implement BTX style designs using the ATX form factor. Enermax is one such company.”

Check it out at Pureoverclock.

“A number of additional accounts and CD keys have been tied to the use of a hack or cheat program while playing Warcraft III on Battle.net. In keeping with our aggressive stance against cheating, we have permanently closed 5,900 Warcraft III accounts. 2,300 of the Warcraft III CD keys used with the Comment (0) -->

“For reasons that remain largely inexplicable, some companies occasionally send us preview builds of their upcoming titles. Last I saw of Dungeon Siege II, Certis and I were sitting in one of Microsoft’s backrooms at last year’s E3 where two producers from Gas Powered Games wondered who the hell we were and Comment (0) -->