Tech News

Review Roundup for August 24

Posted on August 24, 2006 10:09 AM by Rob Williams

    Memory & Storage
  • Kingston HyperX DDR2 800 SLI-Ready 2GB Kit – XYZ Computing

    Motherboards & Processors
  • Albatron KM51PV-AM2 Geforce 6150 – PC Stats
  • Three Core 2 motherboards from Asus – Tech Report

    Displays & Video Cards
  • ATI Radeon X1950 XTX / CrossFire Evaluation – HardOCP
  • HIS 1900XTX 512MB CrossFire – 3D Gameman

    Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
  • Back to School Essentials 2006 – Digital Trends
  • LG Software Innovations’ 1Click DVD Copy Pro – BIOS Magazine

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Snakes on The Net Fail to Put Butts in the Seats

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:35 AM by Rob Williams

An article in The Globe & Mail discusses the disappointing performance of Snakes on a Plane. Despite extensive Internet hype and unprecedented audience involvement in the movie’s development, it barely slithered into first place with a meager $13.8M weekend box office.

Though the movie has a ridiculous name and plot, I am surprised that it did so ‘poorly’ in the first weekend. They will likely enjoy more profit off DVD sales, by those who want to see the movie but don’t want to admit it.

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Phoronix Launches SpreadGNOME.org

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:33 AM by Rob Williams

In an effort to promote the adoption of GNU/Linux desktops, SpreadGNOME.org has launched with the goal of being a resource to help spread the word of GNOME to GNU/Linux desktop users and potential converts. It is meant as a place to share ideas to help promote GNOME in the community, and helping those who wish to get involved with GNOME. This site is completely ad-free and is designed to be a user-driven system.

If you are a fan of GNOME or GNU/Linux in general, jump on over to the website to check things out. If you are in the mood to jot up an article to express your love for GNOME, then get over there because they make it easy to do so.

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Desktop Linux Survey

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:30 AM by Rob Williams

DesktopLinux.com launched its 2006 Desktop Linux survey on August 21, asking users of Linux desktops to identify what distributions they use, as well as their choice of windowing environment (KDE, GNOME, etc.), web browsers, email clients, and Windows-on-Linux solutions.

If you use Linux and want your distro and favorite apps to dominate the polls, then head on over and answer the five quick questions!

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Weird Al Says ‘Don’t Download This Song’

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:28 AM by Rob Williams

Known geek and comedy singer/songwriter Weird Al Yankovic has released the first song from his new album ‘Straight Outta Lynwood’ for free on his MySpace page. The track is entitled ‘Don’t Download This Song’ and tells of the dangers of illegally downloading music from filesharing sites.

As you would expect, you can go to Weird Als MySpace and download the first single. “Cuz you start out stealing songs, then you’re out robbing liquor stores.” I think that about sums up the song quite nicely. Give it a listen.

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Paris Hilton on YourTube

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:27 AM by Rob Williams

With a little help from Paris Hilton, video-sharing site YouTube today announced the launch of two new advertising concepts that take queues from the site’s own user-generated content. “Hey, YouTubers, it’s Paris,” purrs socialite and aspiring pop-singer Paris Hilton in a new video that graces the right sidebar of the online video hub’s front page.

I admit it, I watched the video and it was horrible. However, if this is what it takes to keep YouTube free to the average user then fine by me. What’s humorous about the video however, is how many times the scene ‘switches’.

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Steam getting Pop Capped

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:26 AM by Rob Williams

SEATTLE, Washington – August 21, 2006 — Valve®, creators of the Steam broadband gaming platform, and PopCap Games®, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced an agreement to deliver PopCap’s games via Steam.

Steam is really filling out their inventory with this one. Pop Cap makes plenty of games, and each one of them will have a free trial before you decide to purchase. This is quite similar to how Xbox Live handles their Arcade games. You can read the full press release right here.

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Futuremark Adds Sapphire as Latest Benchmark Development Program Member

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:25 AM by Rob Williams

Saratoga, California / Hong Kong – August 22nd, 2006 –Futuremark Corporation, a leading provider of system performance-analysis software and services for PCs, smartphones and other handheld devices, in joint cooperation with Hong Kong based Sapphire Technology Ltd, the world’s leading manufacturer of ATI based video graphics accelerators and mainboards, announced today that Sapphire has become the first board manufacturer to join the 3DMark Benchmark Development Program.

You can read the entire press release here.

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AMD Expands China Operations with Opening of New Shanghai Research and Development Center

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:25 AM by Rob Williams

SHANGHAI, CHINA – Aug. 22, 2006 – AMD (NYSE: AMD) today officially
opened the Shanghai Research and Development Center (SRDC), a
multi-million dollar research and development facility driving
next-generation AMD processor-powered platform innovation through
increased technology partner and customer collaboration. Initially, the
SRDC’s engineering staff will focus on the development of AMD’s
next-generation mobile platforms, but will also provide an important
role in the validation and testing of AMD’s broad range of current and
future microprocessors.

You can read the entire press release here.

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Logitech announces ChillStream For PC

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:24 AM by Rob Williams

FREMONT, Calif. — Aug. 22, 2006 — Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today
unveiled a new game controller with an innovative built-in fan-based
cooling system, designed to keep the hands of gamers cool and dry – even
during intense competition. The Logitech® ChillStream™ controller for PC is
the only new game controller to offer this exclusive, patented technology.

You can read the entire press release here.

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Review Roundup for August 23

Posted on August 23, 2006 9:22 AM by Rob Williams
    Cooling
  • Apack ZeroTherm BTF90 Intel Duo Core / AMD AM2 Processor Cooler – TweakNews
  • MACS Triumph Deluxe – MadBox PC (Spanish)
  • OCZ Technology Tempest CPU Cooler – Big Bruin
  • Thermaltake Bigwater 735 Liquid Cooling Kit – Red & Blackness

    Memory & Storage
  • Mushkin Redline XP 2-8000 DDR2 – Technic3D
  • USB 2.0 To SATA/IDE Adapter With One Touch Backup – Think Computers
  • Verbatim 4GB Store ‘n’ Go USB HD Disk – GamePyre

    Motherboards & Processors
  • Asrock AM2V890-VSTA & MSI K9A Platinum – Legit Reviews

    Peripherals & Power Supplies
  • 700W GameXStream & 620W Enermax Liberty PSUs – HotHardware
  • Dark Power Pro 600 Watt PSU – Guru3D
  • Tagan Turbojet 1100w Quad SLI PSU – Overclock3D
  • Ultra X2 550W PSU – Modders-Inc

    Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
  • “Win a Conroe E6300 and help a good cause” – techPowerUp!

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Kevin Mitnick Web site hacked

Posted on August 22, 2006 11:07 AM by Rob Williams

Online vandals, apparently operating from Pakistan, broke into the computer hosting Mitnick’s Web site on Sunday and replaced his front page with one of their own. As a result, four Web addresses belonging to Mitnick, including KevinMitnick.com and MitnickSecurity.com, displayed an explicit message on Mitnick and hacking.

Of all people, you would think Kevin Mitnicks server would be rock solid secure. Apparently not.

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Are Plasma TVs doomed?

Posted on August 22, 2006 11:01 AM by Rob Williams

For the second quarter of 2006, 22 percent of all televisions shipped were LCDs, up from 17 percent for 1Q 2006. DisplaySearch’s data also shows the effect increased LCD panels sizes are having: the mean screen size for LCDs jumped to 28.3″ from 27.0″ the previous quarter. Perhaps most significantly, the price gap between plasma and LCD TVs in the 40-43″ range fell below $300 for the first time.

I have an LCD TV, albeit a small one, but I can say it’s picture is brighter, sharper and more robust than any Plasma I’ve ever seen. If prices continue to drop, there’s no doubt that Plasma will eventually be phased out.

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Does It Take Pornography To Get People Talking About Broadcast News?

Posted on August 22, 2006 10:55 AM by Rob Williams

To give television news broadcasts a gritty, live-from-the-studio feel, an anchor will sometimes appear with a bank of barely-viewable video screens behind him. But the screens did not go unnoticed, recently, when a Swedish news broadcast inadvertently showed a pornographic movie in the background.

I think the funniest part of this is that it wasn’t even intentional… or a joke. A worker simply watched a sports broadcast earlier in the day and forgot to turn the channel back. Classic.

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Wozniak to Judge American Idol-Inspired Mac App Contest

Posted on August 22, 2006 10:16 AM by Rob Williams

Mac entrepreneur Phill Ryu today launched My Dream App, a new American Idol-inspired online competition where contestants can win the chance to have their killer app idea realized by experienced Mac developers. Over forty industry luminaries, including Apple founder Steve Wozniak, have signed on to My Dream App as guest judges to help contestants hone their ideas.

Though the Idol thing is getting a little thinned out now, this is actually a cool idea. Having the Woz back it up should give it a needed boost.

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NVIDIA Goes 80nm

Posted on August 22, 2006 9:59 AM by Rob Williams

HKEPC reports NVIDIA will be releasing its new G73-B1 graphics core in September. G73-B1 is NVIDIA’s first 80nm product and set to take on ATI’s upcoming Radeon X1650 family of graphics cards. NVIDIA is expected to launch two variants of G73-B1. One variant will be a standard die shrink of the G73 core and fully pin compatible with current PCBs. It appears G73-B1 will be passively cooled like current 7600GS graphics cards. There’s no word on the core clock of G73-B1 cards yet.

The sample card has a rather strange cooler, but the jump to 80mm is what’s important. Hopefully we will be seeing even small fab processes in the near future… such as 65nm.

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Review Roundup for August 22

Posted on August 22, 2006 9:39 AM by Rob Williams

    Cooling
  • Thermalright Ultra-120 Low Noise Heatsink – Frosty Tech

    Peripherals & Power Supplies
  • Altec Lansing iM500 Portable Audio System – Think Computers

    Displays & Video Cards
  • ASUS’ PG191 Gaming LCD Monitor – BIOS
  • Compro VideoMate H900 TV Tuner – XS Reviews

    Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
  • Oppo Digital LT-2007 – Digital Trends

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Writely.com – Google’s answer to Word

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:58 AM by Rob Williams

My first experience was not good – as IE had crashed – well it was running at almost 100% CPU and eating all the resources (click the image to see details). Which meant at the end of the day I could not kill that process and I had to restart the machine. But, since I am running IE 7 (Beta 3), I am not sure if there is an issue with IE itself or if the problem is with writely.

So, Writely (which wins the stupid name of the year award) is a tad buggy. That’s no surprise since it’s such an early version. The problem I see though, is the fact that any information you input into the program, Google -will- have access to. Like the searches, it could also be used against you in the future. If that kind of thing doesn’t bother you, give it a try.

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Have vinyls lying around but need CD’s?

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:56 AM by Rob Williams

The Teac GF-350, a machine that makes it possible to turn old records into CDs, is a heavy, standalone cabinet clad in black wood. Lifting its lid reveals a standard, no-frills record turntable. The back panel has stereo inputs for connecting a tape deck. And the silver front panel harbors an AM-FM radio, stereo speakers–and a sliding tray for the CD player/burner.

This is actually pretty cool, and for $330, it’s not that bad of a price considering what it does.

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Holdout Bands Give In to iTunes

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:55 AM by Rob Williams

the artists argue online distribution leaves them with too small a profit. And, they say, iTunes wrecks the artistic integrity of an album by allowing songs to be purchased by the track for 99 cents. Some bands, such as AC/DC have released albums on other, more flexible sites, but not iTunes.

I can understand a lot of these bands concerns, and hopefully something will get settled out of this. But hey, Bob Seger has a new album coming out!

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Google wants TV ads?

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:54 AM by Rob Williams

Schmidt is frustrated that “When you watch the television you see ads that are clearly not targeted for you.” What does he plan to do about it? Google is preparing to deliver “targeted measurable television ads” and Schmidt says Google has “a good shot at it.”

Well, I am tired of seeing Oil of Olay and Tampax commercials, so this can’t be so bad. I think it’s ‘clean and clear’ though… Google wants to own the world.

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What do the color blind see?

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:53 AM by Rob Williams

After 26 years I discovered that I see the world in a different way than all others see it! I’m a successful web designer, and a lot of people were asking me “so, what do you see!!”. This post is to make you see what exactly I see.

I caught this posted over at Digg.com, and while it’s not really tech-related, it’s quite interesting. If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to be color blind, than you will want to give this quick article a read!

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ASUS WL-700gE Router Review

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:51 AM by Rob Williams

The ASUS WL-700gE is more like a combination of a wireless router/gateway and a thin client system, and the feature-set is rich, rich, rich. Read on and make awe-inspired gasping noises at all the appropriate places.

Normally I would not link to a simple router review, but this is not a simple router. By any means. Equipped with a 160GB hard drive, you can literally download torrents while your PC is off. Be the envy of all your friends… and check it out.

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Review Roundup for August 21

Posted on August 21, 2006 11:49 AM by Rob Williams

    Displays & Video Cards
  • ATI 8.28.8 Display Drivers (Linux) – Phoronix
  • ATi Catalyst 6.8 with Control Panels – NGOHQ
  • Catalyst 6.8 Comparison – Technic 3D (German)
  • EVGA 7900 GT KO Superclocked – Technic 3D (German)
  • HIS X1600 XT IceQ Turbo DL-DVI DVI 256MiB GDDR3 CrossFire – Hexus
  • Neoseeker Catalyst 6.8 Report – Neoseeker

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An Interview With Mindware Studios (Tomas Pluharik)

Posted on August 20, 2006 11:59 AM by Rob Williams

Last year Mindware Studios delivered its inaugural project (Cold
War) to Windows users, while last month they finally delivered the full
client to Linux users. We have managed to strike up an interview with
Mindware Studios to learn more about the company itself, their future
outlook, stance on Mac/Linux clients, and other technical details to
share. In this interview we had a word with Tomas Pluharik, the lead
designer of Cold War and the executive producer on some upcoming Mindware
titles.

Head on over to Phoronix for the great interview.

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