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Now I’m a Believer
But I eventually tired of the endless reboots, the constant threat of viral infection, and the incredibly clunky nature of Windows. I live on my computer, for work and play, and it’s important to have the best. Once the Mac went with the Intel processor, my mind was made up.
Yet another Mac OS X success story. According to the above quote though, it seems like he didn’t know how to use a computer to begin with. Only complete noobies will run into that many problems, or hardcore system tweakers.
Duke Forever in September?
AMAZON UK is taking preorders for highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever and it claims that the game should be available on the 29th September 2006. This story may have been around teh block many times before, with different dates attached, but it would be a refreshing change if the game actually hit the shelves in September.
If only this were true, then that would be a great day. We are on what, year 10 of waiting?
All I Want To Do Is Activate Windows!
I’ve never liked the idea of the Windows Product Activation, though over the years I’ve grown fairly accustomed to the process which can frequently require a call to Microsoft and the reading of a 54-digit long “Installation ID” to a friendly computer with speech recognition (something Microsoft is still working on). Tonight, however, was the first time that many of my misgivings over the activation process were realized and validated. If that picture of a nearly 22 minute phone call with Microsoft’s activation hotline has peaked your interest, please do read on.
I am quite thankful that I have never run into such a problem. This is like punishing people who legally fork over the $300 for a copy of Windows. Doesn’t seem that fair.
Jack is back to beat up on Bully
You knew it was coming. So I’ll spare the lengthy story and just start with the quotes from the train-wreck that is Jack Thompson, Attorney at Law. Identifying numbers and addresses have been blanked out. These documents were kindly provided by Jack himself to Trusted Reviews and Bit-tech.
It didn’t take long for good ‘ole Jack to get the train rolling. I have to wonder if he realizes that there are other violent and questionable games out there. Then I also have to wonder if Rockstar purposely created Bully to egg him on. Good times!
Areca PCI Express 24 Port SATA RAID Controllers
The PCI Express x8 based Areca SATA II RAID controllers are based on Intel’s 81341 I/O processor clocked at 800 MHz. One 240-pin DIMM slot is available as a cache and comes with 256MB of DDR2-533 ECC. Memory can be upgraded to 2GB with another DDR2 memory module. Non-ECC memory modules are supported as well.
If you have ever set up a raid, you will appreciate this card. 24 ports! As you would expect… it’s an absolute monster.
OCZ Technology Group Remains Performance Leader with Worlds First 1100MHz DDR2
OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the first ever production DDR2-1100 modules, developed for the latest processors from AMD® and Intel®. The new OCZ PC2-8800 Gold Edition will offer computer enthusiasts and gamers unparalleled performance and the piece of mind they are guaranteed to produce the world’s fastest memory speeds within their personal desktop or gaming system.
You can read the full press release here.
Lenovo and Novell Unveil World’s First Linux-enabled ThinkPad Mobile Workstation
SAN FRANCISCO (LinuxWorld Conference & Expo) – Aug. 15, 2006 – Lenovo and Novell today announced the industry’s first Linux-based ThinkPad mobile workstations, which will run Novell’s recently released SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 operating system. The workstations are based on Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology. This groundbreaking innovation, the result of a two-year research and development effort between Lenovo, Intel and Novell, allows electronic engineers engaged in integrated circuit and board level design the necessary support solution for numeric intensive applications in any mobile environment.
You can read the full press release here.
Next-Generation AMD Opteron Processors Introduced
Sunnyvale, Calif. – Aug. 15, 2006 – AMD (NYSE:AMD) today introduced its Next-Generation AMD Opteron(tm) processor family, featuring industry-leading performance-per-watt and outstanding virtualization capabilities. As the only x86 server processor with planned upgradeability to native quad-core within the same thermal design power envelope, Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors are designed to enable customers to increase computing capacity without altering datacenter infrastructure. Improving upon what already is recognized as a standard-bearer for energy-conscious microprocessor architecture design, new platforms based on Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors will be offered in record numbers from global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
You can check out the entire press release right here.
Review Roundup for August 16
- 7zoneUSA PC DIY Kits – ModTheBox
- Shuttle X100HA Small Form-Factor PC – Hexus
- Thermaltake Mozart TX – techPowerUp!
- Vizo Luxon 3.5″ IDE/SATA Hard Drive Enclosure – Big Bruin
Cases & Enclosures
- OCZ Tempest CPU Cooler – Think Computers
Cooling
- OCZ Rally 2 Thumb Drive – Overclocker Cafe
- Vantec NexStar LX NAS Storage – A True Review
Memory & Storage
- Gigabyte M59SLI-S5 – TechSpot
Motherboards & Processors
- AMD AM2 3800 x2 – XS Reviews
- Cooler Master Musketeer III Tube Amplifier – Motherboards.org
- Corsair CMPSU-620HX PSU – HotHardware
- FrozenCPU Ultimate LCD Power Supply Tester – Virtual-Hideout
- SteelSeries SteelPad QcK heavy – techFEAR
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS – BIOS Magazine
- Microsoft Does “Who wants to be a Game Designer?” – Digital Trends
- Samsung SCX-4200 Multifunction Printer – XYZ Computing
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
Firefox crop circle?
This past weekend, they descended on a field in beautiful Amity, Oregon for two days of plotting and stomping. By Sunday, over an acre of oats was emblazoned with the Firefox logo. To get the pictures, they pulled out the planes and the helicopters.
Wow. Time well wasted maybe? Firefox is a great browser, but this is crazy dedication! That, and some people know how to use up a few days worth of free time.
RIAA drops dead mans case
However, out of their “abundance of sensitivity” (yes, they used that phrase), they have decided to drop the case. Seems a bit funny that said abundance of sensitivity didn’t show up until the equally abundant “bad PR” hit the internet.
In the end, the only thing that matters is that the RIAA will stop hounding the grieving family. It’s just ridiculous what cowards they are to begin with though.
New Version of OSX Leopard Leaked
InfoWorld has an article informing us that an early beta of Mac OS 10.5 has been leaked. This appears to be the same build Steve Jobs previewed at WWDC, and contains most of the new features, including Time Machine and Spaces.
Now this is what a call a quick leak! Despite legally binding agreements, someone leaked it on the internet that quickly. There’s no doubt Apple is working hard to figure out who the culprit is.
Opteron Socket F Gets Official
In even more Optie news…
AMD has officially announced its revision F Opteron 8000, 2000 and 1000 series of server and workstation class processors to take on Intel’s previously released Xeon Woodcrest processors. AMD Opteron revision F processors are architecturally similar to AMD’s socket AM2 consumer processor architecture. Revision F processors introduce DDR2 to AMD’s Opteron—a feature Intel introduced a few years back to its Xeon lineup. Opteron revision F processors also have a new socket too; this time around AMD has abandoned the traditional pin-grid array layout for a land-grid array layout originally used by Intel with its LGA775 socket. AMD’s land-grid array socket has 1,207 pins.
I look forward to seeing the performance from these, but unlike the legendary 939 Opterons, these will require a completely new board. A board which obviously will not be designed for overclocking.
AMD Announces Quad-Core Tape Out
“AMD plans to deliver to customers in mid-2007 native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors that incorporate four processor cores on a single die of silicon.” For a little historical perspective, AMD’s dual-core Opteron was taped out in June 2004, and then officially introduced in late April, 2005.
One huge benefit with the upcoming Quad-Cores, is that they will work in current Dual Core capable motherboards. Though mainly for servers, this one will be interesting to watch.
Websites that changed the world
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the web we’ve assembled a list of sites that have become the virtual wallpaper of our lives. What the corresponding list will be like in 15 years’ time is anyone’s guess. As the man said, if you want to know the future, go buy a crystal ball. In the meantime, read on and wonder.
Yesterday, I posted a link to Times 50 coolest websites, but this new list from the Observer is one I can actually agree with. On the list is eBay, Slashdot, Amazon and Wikipedia.
HP Announces Support for Debian Linux
PC World reports that HP is to offer support for Debian Linux on its ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers. Support will be provided by HP telephone operators rather than the discussion groupmethod that curent Debian users rely on. The move to support Debian continues HP’s relationship with the community based os which stretches back to 1995.
Seeing official support for Linux like this is great. It’s too bad there were not more distros to choose from, but it’s certainly better than nothing!
Dell recalling over 4.1 Million batteries
The recall affects certain Inspiron, Latitude and Precision mobile workstations and XPS units shipped between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. Sony manufactured the batteries that are being recalled, the representative said.
You will want to check out the posting here to see if your notebook is included. Despite me buying a Dell laptop in that timeframe, it does not look like my model is affected. Phew.
Review Roundup for August 15
- HSPC Large Top Deck Tech Station – Virtual-Hideout
- Sansun Galaxy – Technic3D
- SilverStone LC18 HTPC – 3D Gameman
- Apevia Corp X-Discovery – DragonSteelMods
Cases & Enclosures
- Zalman CNPS8000 – Overclockers Online
Cooling
- Crucial Ballistix DDR2-5300 2GB Kit – Think Computers
- DDR2-800 7-way Roundup – Driver Heaven
- Supertalent 2GB memory kit – Red & Blackness
- Transcend JetFlash 210 1GB Finger Print USB Flash Drive – Big Bruin
Memory & Storage
- Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe – Viper Lair
- ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe – Legion Hardware
- Core 2 Duo E6600, E6700 and X6800 – Guru 3D
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 – PC Masters
- Phylon 7F2WE-1G5 Mini-ITX – EPIA Center
Motherboards & Processors
- 400-500Watt PSU shootout – Hexus
- Bigfoot Networks Killer NIC Card Seen For The First Time – Legit Reviews
- Logitech G15 – TweakNews
- Razer Krait Mouse – Hi-Tech Reviews
- Ultra 1200W Uninterruptible Power Supply – Legit Reviews
- XClio GREATPOWER X12S4P3-550W – Pro-Clockers
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Acer CU-6530 6.3MP Digital Camera – UK Gamer
- onOne Software’s PhotoFrame Pro 3 – BIOS Magazine
- So How do GPS Companies Get Their Maps? – Digital Trends
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
Microsoft To Enable User-Created Xbox 360 Games
Talking on the eve of its Gamefest event in Seattle, Microsoft has revealed XNA Game Studio Express, a new product which will allow indie developers and students to develop simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PC, and share their games to others in a new Xbox 360 ‘Creators Club’.
Now this is what I call a great idea! The development software will be free for Windows PCs, and it appears that you can code on the PC and immediately give it a test on the 360. Future plans include an enhanced Live Arcade section that may include these homebrew games.
Mid Range GPU Roundup – Summer 2006
The vast majority of us can’t afford to drop over $1000USD on graphics hardware. Instead, we must approach our love for graphics in one of two ways. Either we need to determine the minimum level of graphical quality we are comfortable having, or we must look for the fastest card we can afford within a certain price range. What ever perspective one might have, the end result usually ends up somewhere near the topic of this article: midrange graphics cards.
If you are willing to spend just under $300 for a great mid-range GPU, it looks like you may want the X1900GT. Throw a few more dollars on top and you will wind up with a 7900GT. Both cards offer some great performance, as evidenced by the article. All the cards also seem to have some good overclocking headroom; It’s hard to go wrong with a purchase of any of the cards. Good situation to be in ;-)
Higher quality downloads from iTunes coming?
A recent upgrade to the iTunes Producer software used by studios to encode tracks for iTMS distribution may be a good sign for the discriminating audiophile community, as Apple has included the necessary tools to create lossless AAC content that could presumably be uploaded to the online store.
If this happens, then great. The poor audio quality has always been one of my complaints regarding the service. However, if Lossless was to ever happen, there is no doubt that there would be a premium price. At that point, it just makes more sense (or cents) to go out and buy an album you to do what you please with. I’m skeptical, but looking forward to seeing if anything actually progresses.
50 Coolest Websites
How do we select our finalists? We evaluate hundreds of candidates—some suggested by readers, colleagues and friends, others discovered during countless hours of surfing. Many of this year’s choices are shining examples of Web 2.0: next-generation sites offering dynamic new ways to inform and entertain, sites with cutting-edge tools to create, consume, share or discuss all manners of media, from blog posts to video clips.
I must be out of the loop, because I have only heard of 7 out of all 50 sites mentioned. Included are YouTube and MySpace of course, in addition to The Morning News, Digg and Google Spreadsheets. Yes, I said Google Spreadsheets, and I don’t get it either.
Hiper Modular Type-R II Preview
Hiper is back with a new iteration of the uber-bling PSU. Cunningly named the Type-R II, it continues the design ethic with a new twist for PSUs. Look at the back of the unit – just the ATX cable and another 80mm fan. So where are all the connections? That’s right – on the bottom.
Now this is a unique PSU. I am not sure if I’d enjoy the connectors running out the bottom, but it’s an interesting concept. Also through the link, they preview the upcoming FSP Booster.
Beyond DirectX 10… DirectX 10.1
If you want to see what’s to come, check out the article over at Elite Bastards. I am not sure I want to look -that- far ahead, but it’s going to be an interesting ride.
Nasdaq puts Apple on notice
On Friday, Apple Computer, which has delayed a quarterly regulatory filing amid a stock-options accounting probe, said that it has received a letter from Nasdaq warning that it’s not in compliance with the exchange’s rules.
This could result in being bad for Apple if things don’t shape up quickly. Is this a sign of bigger things to come? Probably not, but hopefully it gets sorted out soon.