- Qualcomm Launches Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Platform
- AMD Launches Ryzen PRO 7000 Series Mobile & Desktop Platform
- Intel Launches Sleek Single-Slot Arc Pro A60 Workstation Graphics Card
- NVIDIA Announces Latest Ada Lovelace Additions: GeForce RTX 4060 Ti & RTX 4060
- Maxon Redshift With AMD Radeon GPU Rendering Support Now Available
Social & RSS Feeds
Latest Videos
Latest News
Tech News
Casino Royale Blu-ray Cracks Amazon Top Ten
In another high-def first, the Blu-ray edition of ‘Casino Royale’ cracked the top ten on Amazon’s DVD top sellers list upon its release Tuesday, peaking late in the evening at #8.
It was predicted that this title would really prove success of a next-gen disc and Blu-ray easily came out on top. That aside, I don’t watch many movies but I make sure to catch all James Bond flicks. This one did not disappoint.
Source: High-Def Digest
CeBit 2007 Coverage – Part 2
CeBit is now officially underway and information is abundant. Tweaktown is back with new updates including Intels Bearlake chipset, MSI’s latest MCP73 board and unique products from ASUS, such as the XG Station.
VR-Zone also some some initial coverage. Like TweakTown, they also have information on Intels Bearlake chipset and other various products. ASUS had a white Lamborghini for their VX1 laptop display. Strange since their laptops don’t come in that color. Interestingly though, they had some sound cards on display.. an entry into yet another market for them.
Source: Tweak Town, VR-Zone
Xbox Live to hit PC in May
“Games for Windows – LIVE” – the PC take on Xbox 360’s multiplayer and community services – is due to launch in the USA on 8th May. The service will allow anybody with an existing Xbox Live account to log in on the PC, enjoying much the same feature-set – along with the potential for cross-platform multiplay and multiplayer achievements through Windows if theirs is a “Gold” membership.
I love Xbox Live… a lot. Depending on how similar it is to their Xbox counter-part, this could be a huge success. Or it could be if it weren’t Vista-only…
Source: Eurogamer
McAfee Ranks the Riskiest Web Domains
The most risky large country domains are Romania (.ro, 5.6% risky sites) and Russia (.ru, 4.5% risky sites). These country domains are also the most likely to host exploit or “drive-by-download” sites, according to the report. Scandinavia holds three of the five least risky country domains with Finland (0.10%), Norway (.no, 0.16%) and Sweden (.se, 0.21%).
Not surprisingly, .edu and .gov proved to be the safest top-level domains on the web. Chances are good that the tainted .edu domains were hacked or thrown together by idiots, since it’s a rather exclusive top-level to get ahold of. Romania and Russia had the largest amount of bad domains… expected.
Source: Daily Tech
Red Hat Enterprise 5 Released
Today we’re witnessing the rebirth of a company central to the Linux movement. In case you didn’t realise, Red Hat has launched its Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 operating system at Cebit and, more importantly, overhauled its corporate infrastructure to more closely involve the open source community.
This looks like a great offering from RH. Virtualization is playing a huge role this time around with the ability for an unlimited number of sessions to be run if you have the advanced version. Compiz is included also, which I find weird, but some may find it of some use in an enterprise OS.
Source: Linux Format
802.11n Draft 2.0 Finally Approved
Draft 2.0 of the 802.11n spec has been approved by the 802.11 Working Group, moving the increasingly popular wireless networking technology a step closer to its final form. 83.4 percent of the votes were for approval, easily surpassing the 75 percent supermajority required—a marked contrast from the early days of 802.11n, when infighting over competing technologies stalled development.
Wow, finally. There is still a lot of work and revisions to be done, but the core technology is pretty much finalized at this point. It’s still going to be a while before it’s all finalized, with the Draft 3.0 due early next year, according to the article.
Source: Ars Technica
Charges Against Former HP Chair Dropped
A state judge in California Wednesday dropped the charges against ex-Hewlett-Packard Chair Patricia Dunn, who was accused of wire fraud in the company’s boardroom spying scandal. Dunn originally faced four felony charges and jail time in the case. Three other defendants – Kevin Hunsaker, Ronald DeLia and Matthew Depante – pleaded “no contest” to the wire fraud charge, a misdemeanor in California.
Finally, this case is dunn with. Alright, that’s not funny but I had to… at least once.
Source: CNN.com
GNOME 2.18 Released
GNOME 2.18 is out, on time as usual. The top-class free desktop for the masses looks and feels better than ever. This is another progressive release in our road to perfection. It integrates another load of improvements done in the visual design, the performance of the desktop components, and the growing collection of integrated applications. The web browser and the themeable window manager are two good examples to check.
GNOME seems to be more active lately, which is good to see. Some additions to “note” is Tomboy, a note-taking applet, updated Disk Usage Analyzer and a better power manager.
Source: GNOME
File Sharing a Threat to Children and to National Security
Interestingly, the report makes numerous references to RIAA and MPAA legal actions against file-sharing activity, as well as cites a 2005 Department of Homeland Security report that government workers had installed file-sharing programs that accessed classified information without their knowledge.
The only real "threat" I can make up in my head is that they will be misled to download porn. Downloading their songs is hardly a threat.
Err, I mean it is. Don’t download songs kids, it’s bad practice. Respect those who sue dead people and poor families.
Source: Shadow Monkey
Google Earth Highlights Destruction
While Google Earth has primarily been touted for its uncanny ability to take users on a tour of the world’s most beautiful sights right from their desktop, a new feature added Monday highlights the immense destruction human beings leave in their wake.
Awareness is a good thing. As cool as Google Earth is… it seems to be one program that’s actually getting better over time.
Source: Beta News
Mushkin Announces Two 4GB Kits
DENVER, CO (March 14, 2007) – Mushkin, a global leader in high performance computer products, today released the XP2-8500 5-4-4 modules available in 4GB dual-channel kits and 2GB single DIMMs. Designed for the most demanding enthusiasts, the XP2-8500 is specified for operation at 1066MHz, 5-4-4-12 latencies. Each kit is tested beyond its rated specification to ensure the overclocking headroom and quality that Mushkin customers expect.
Many companies are barely pushing out PC2-6400 4GB kits, let alone PC2-8500 with tight timings. Speaking of that though, they did also announce a PC2-6400 kit with 4-3-3 timings. Those are tight for even a 2GB kit, let alone 4GB. Kudos to Mushkin for this one.
OCZ Flex Contest Ends Today
It’s hard to believe that two weeks have passed already, but this is the final notice for the contest because it ends at midnight tonight. All you need to do is guess all twenty games that are listed in the thread and you will have a chance at winning the fast PC2-6400 C3 kit, courtesy of OCZ.
I should note that only two people so far have guessed all 20 games correctly. So get in there!
Source: Contest Page
Can Video Games Help Detect Depression?
With some illnesses, such as diabetes, a simple test can usually quantify how severe a person’s condition is, but depression is more complicated. The condition has been linked to a shrunken hippocampus, a part of the brain that also plays a role in spatial memory, so Neda Gould at the US National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and her colleagues wondered whether a video game that tests spatial memory could help measure the severity of the illness.
You have got to love the fact that games are becoming more commonly used for medical tests and procedures. The game they have been using is Duke Nukem… quite an interesting choice. It would be almost difficult to play that game and remain depressed for long.
Source: New Scientist
Aptera Unveiled at TED, 200MPG!
Steve Fambro and his merry band of geniuses over at AC let the math do the talking when it came to the design so that the car would be as aerodynamic as possible. Pair that with a super-efficient diesel hybrid engine, and the result is 200mpg. It’s only fair to note that they originally predicted 330mpg, but we’re cool with 200. It’s also supposed to be pretty affordable (around $20,000), thanks to some magical carbon fiber fabrication process that AC won’t really talk about.
200MPG is incredible regardless of what the car looks like. That said, if you don’t know what the Aptera looks like, prepare to wonder if you want to be seen inside one.
Source: Wired
Excercise Boosts Brainpower
Exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss, U.S. researchers reported Monday. Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus that is known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans.
I work out every other day… why do I still feel foolishly stupid? I can see it now… people will now exercise for brainpower rather than health!
Source: CNN.com
Dell Might Care About Linux After All
Linux on Dells has been a hot topic for the past month. It’s been a roller coaster ride for the most part, considering it seemed like it would happen right away and then were told it wouldn’t.
Apparently, Dell is open to suggestions and has opened up a new survey containing such questions as, “Which systems should we prioritize on for Linux factory installation?” and “What types of activities will you perform on your Dell system with Linux factory installed?”. If you are wanting Linux on a Dell, go take this quick survey to help the cause.
Source: Dell.com
Rabbit-Ear TVs Hitting End of Road
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said it is setting aside $990 million to pay for the boxes. Each home can request up to two $40 coupons for a digital-to-analog converter box, which consumer electronics makers such as RCA and LG plan to produce. Prices for the box have not been determined, but industry and consumer groups have estimated they will run $50 to $75 each.
People that still use these old TVs are not completely out of luck then. Even with the coupon, they will need to shell out a little for the converter, but that’s a whole lot better than having to get a new TV.
Source: SF Gate
Sport Is Unrelated To Obesity In Children
The UK government is planning to stop funding a study to understand obesity in children. The study fits children with accelerometers to measure how much energy each child uses in a day by moving. The results are surprising. Those children who do sports at school do not burn more calories than those who don’t. Furthermore there is no correlation between body mass index and the number of calories used!
Now that’s an interesting statement, and a difficult one to understand. I look forward to seeing what the “International Obesity Task Force” finds out as time passes. Yes, that’s really what the group calls themselves.
Source: Slashdot
NVIDIA GeForce 8600-Series Details Unveiled
Earlier today DailyTech received it’s briefiing on NVIDIA’s upcoming GeForce 8600GTS, 8600GT and 8500GT graphics processors. NVIDIA’s GeForce 8600GTS and 8600GT are G84-based GPUs and target the mid-range markets. The lower-positioned G86-based GeForce 8500GT serves as the flagship low to mid-range graphics card.
As if there were not enough models as is… now we have 8500 series. The cards don’t look overly impressive, but we’ll have to wait for final samples to be released before we can conclude. As it stands though, it looks like a current mid-end card with DX10 capabilities… which still are of no use to us right now.
Source: Daily Tech
Is AGEIA Hiding Something?
What if I told you that most of what the tech press thinks they know about Ageia and the PhysX PPU is completely wrong? What if I told you that there’s more to PhysX than physics? And what if I said that there exists a grand unified theory of stream computing and the high-performance computing (HPC) market that’s simple and perhaps even a bit obvious, but it makes sense of all the stream-computing-related press releases from NVIDIA, AMD/ATI, Ageia, Peakstream, and others that have been coming down the wire in past year?
Their conclusion is that AGEIAs ultimate goal is to conquer the HPC market, but are using the gaming side of things to kickstart things, including their bank account. Sounds reasonable enough.
Source: Ars Technica
CeBIT 2007 Coverage
CeBit is now close to being underway, so we will relay a lot of news that comes along our newsdesk during the week the conference is going on. TweakTown is the first out the door with a comprehensive look at a few high-end products, including the upcoming Intel P35.
We managed to get the low down on Intel’s upcoming P35 Bearlake chipset with native 1333 FSB and DDR-3 memory support. We got our first look at some brand spankin’ new DDR-3 memory modules. Albatron was showing working nVidia MXM modules along with some fancy Mini-ITX motherboards. TEAM Memory showed us 64GB and 128GB IDE and SATA Solid State drives. MSI were showing a range of new products including a portable device capable of picking up digital TV on the run. ABIT showed us a range of their upcoming Intel Bearlake motherboards and the list goes on.
Source: TweakTown 1 and 2
Donations Requested For Josiah Gross
Many of you already are aware that Josiah was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma two years ago. This is an immediate appeal for funds to support his fight for life. $38,000 needs to be raised immediately to get Josiah into a state of the art, comprehensive medical program in the hopes of reversing his cancer. All donations are welcome. Approximately $200-$300 per person is what we need.
Our friends at Techware Labs sent along an appeal for donations for their friend Josiah Gross who is diagnosed with lymphoma. If you are interested in helping out, you can read more at the link below.
Source: Josiah Gross
Super Talent Announces SATA Solid State Disk Drives
San Jose, California – February 14, 2007 — Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of DRAM memory modules and flash products, today announced a full range of Solid State Disk (SSD) drives with an industry standard Serial ATA interface.
There is an array of different sizes available, including a 3.5" model with 128GB of storage. I do not want to know what that will cost.
Source: Super Talent Press Release
Rumblings about the PS3
Everything last-gen is new-gen when it comes to the PS3 and its suspiciously absent rumble feature — at least that’s the impression we got from God of War Game Director Cory Barlog, who apparently told 1UP that God of War 3 for PS3 will be 1080p and, more importantly, have vibration (aka rumble, aka force feedback, aka what Sony’s been making piss-poor excuses for not having in the PS3 for quite some time). Obviously this is absolutely not a shock considering that Sony and Immersion finally settled and made nice; and we’re more than happy to finally have the feature, we’re just experiencing a dash of lingering resentment about the facts that a) Sony hadn’t been so disingenuous about why the feature wasn’t included in the first place (including claims of technical infeasibility) and b) everybody’s going to have to buy expensive new controllers for that “last-gen” feature.
Source: Engadget
Open-Xchange Community Project Now Open
Open-Xchange on Monday unveiled the opening of its Open-Xchange Community project and the availability of source code and development documentation for its latest AJAX-based e-mail and groupware technology.
The open source collaboration software provider and 1&1 Internet, a Web-hosting firm, recently announced the availability of MailXchange, 1&1’s hosted e-mail and collaboration solution based upon Open-Xchange’s Smart Collaboration technology.
Open-Xchange is releasing the MailXchange server components’ source code under General Public License and the AJAX-based user interface under the Creative Commons License “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5.”