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AMD buy ATi for $5.5 Billion
It was no rumor folks… the deal is done!
NEW YORK-July 24, 2006-AMD (NYSE: AMD) and ATI (TSX: ATY,
NASDAQ: ATYT) today announced plans to join forces in a transaction
valued at approximately $5.4 billion. The combination will create a
processing powerhouse by bringing AMD’s technology leadership in
microprocessors together with ATI’s strengths in graphics, chipsets and
consumer electronics. The result: A new and more formidable company,
determined to drive growth, innovation and choice for its customers,
particularly in the commercial and mobile computing segments and in the
rapidly-growing consumer electronics market. Combining technologies,
people, and complementary strengths, AMD plans to deliver in 2007
customer-centric platforms for the benefit of customers who want to
collaborate in the development of differentiated solutions.
You can read the rest of the press release right here. This is going to get interesting…
Review Roundup for July 24
- Akasa Mirage-62 Case – Xtreme Computing
- Apevia X-Pleasure Blue Aluminum Case – Overclockers Club
- Cooler Master Mystique 631 – Phoronix
Cases & Enclosures
- Corsair Nautilus 500 – Red & Blackness
- OCZ Tempest CPU Cooler – Pro-Clockers
Cooling
- Verbatim 4GB Store ‘n’ Go USB Drive – Bjorn3D
Memory & Storage
- Abit AW8D – Motherboards.org
- Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition – XYZ Computing
- ASUS P5WD2-E Premium – techFEAR
- Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 Intel P965 – Hexus
Motherboards & Processors
- Altec Lansing VS2321 Powered Audio System – Think Computers
- Matrix Orbital MX630 – FastlaneHW
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ATI X550 XT 128 MB – BytePress
- Hauppauge MediaMVP Networked Media Player – Big Bruin
- New Catalyst 6.7 Drivers for ATI – MadBox PC
- NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT SLI Performance – TechSpot
Displays & Video Cards
- Nike+iPod Sport Kit – Digital Trends
- NZXT Apollo Giveaway – ZeroPCReview
- OtterBox Rugged Laptop Case – techFEAR
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
Logitechs profits up
Logitech today announced the results for the first fiscal quarter of the year. They reported that profits had increased from $22.4 million in Q1 2005 to $30.1 million in the same period this year, a 35% year-on-year increase. The company also noted that sales had increased 20 % during the quarter, with all sectors reporting growth.
How could a company not feel good about a 35% increase in profits? Logitech doesn’t plan to stop these increases though. The CEO of the company states that cool new products released later this year will accelerate the profits further.
New secure AIM client: ScatterChat
Speaking of HOPE, a new secure AIM client was announced and distributed there.
ScatterChat is a HACKTIVIST WEAPON designed to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory. It is also useful in corporate settings, or in other situations where privacy is desired.
If you are interested in a more secure AIM session in Windows or Linux, check Scatterchat out. It uses four different encryption schemes, including the ever popular 256-Bit AES.
Feds Arrest Private Eye at HOPE
Rambam was arrested this afternoon by FBI agents just moments before he was to lead a panel discussion on privacy here at the HOPE hacker conference in New York City. Rambam and three other panelists were to discuss how they dug up — in just 4.5 hours of searching private and public databases — more than 500 pages worth of data on HOPE attendee Rick Dakan, who agreed to be the guinea pig for the project.
This HOPE project was planned for a little while now, and it’s somewhat sad to see it disrupted like this. If the FBI was following Rambam for whatever he was up to (hacking likely), why would they wait until moments before his speech? Are the feds in that bad of shape that the need to pull a publicity stunt as such?
Microsoft iPod killer coming Zune
Microsoft will expand the Zune user experience by allowing users to share their content with the XBOX 360, Windows Media Center based PCs and Windows Mobile-based mobile phones. Microsoft is really looking to expand its portfolio of “Live” services and Zune is likely to be a big part of its strategy.
I have to admit that I am looking quite forward to the Zune. If it’s an all-in-one experience package for Xbox 360 and Windows users, it seems like a ‘win/win’ really. Let Apple users use the iPods, that’s what I say! On the other side of the coin, Cnet believes that the Zune could kill Microsofts partners.
Review Roundup – Weekend Edition
- CoolerMaster CoolDrive Lite – OC Wizard
- Kingwin Supernova SN-213HTS Micro ATX Case – PC Apex
- VoyeurMods PrimoChill X-QPack H2O Case – ModTheBox
Cases & Enclosures
- Evercool Turbo 2 VGA Cooler – MadBox PC (Spanish)
- Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX – PC Modding Malaysia
- Zalman CNPS8000 Low Profile CPU Cooler – Think Computers
Cooling
- Brando USB Skype Phone with LCD Display – DragonSteelMods
- Cooler Master iGreen 430W PSU – GotFrag
- Cooler Master iGreen 430W PSU – XS Reviews
- Mouse Grips v2.0 – Think Computers
- Nimcard Mobile Scanner – Technic3D (German)
- NZXT Precise 650W PSU – 3D Gameman
- Ultra High-End PSU Shoot Out – ByteSizedReviews
- Zboard Fang Gamepad – nVNews
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- HIS Radeon X1900XTX IceQ 3 Turbo – TweakTown
- XFX GeForce 7900 GT 550M Xtreme VIVO – HotHardware
Displays & Video Cards
- NZXT Apollo Case Giveaway – Overclocker Cafe
- Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft Knot 1 – Phoronix
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
abit recalling AM2 boards
After detailed quality control testing Universal Abit found hardware issues with the boards that can cause overheating. This is due to improperly installed heatsinks that can get loose during shipping. Universal Abit has recalled products that were shipped to retailers. Consumers that received affected products can send the boards back to Universal Abit for repair, with shipping costs fully covered by Universal Abit.
If you happen to own one of these enthusiast boards, you will want to check out the recalled model numbers. Though, if it is a simple ‘loose’ chipset heatsink, chances are good that can be fixed with a screwdriver…
High PS3 Price is Pushing Away Developers
When you have a $200 higher price of entry than your next closest competitor that turns away customers, high licensing costs to offset the cost of development and Blu-ray drive technology that drives up the cost of the console without a 100% guarantee of wide-spread adoption, you know that you’re in for a bumpy ride.
Things just seem to be getting worse for Sony, and it’s really hard to feel sorry for a company with such arrogant execs. Either way, it looks like the PlayStation may lose it’s steam this time around. Sony tried to take too many leaps, and the competition is learning from their mistakes.
ATI Radeon X1950 Announced
R580 features a robust memory controller capable of utilizing several different types of memory, including GDDR4 which was not even available when the Radeon X1900 was first announced. The new GDDR4 variants of R580-based Radeons are now called Radeon X1950. Radeon X1950 will retain all of the features of the Radeon X1900, and really only have the added benefit of a new cooler, GDDR4 memory and different frequency clocks.
Here comes GDDR4! I have to say, the best part of the X1950 may very well be the reference cooler. That aside, both cards will include 512MB of memory and higher clocks that previous offerings.
AMD Board Approves Acquisition of ATI
According to a report on the Globe and Mail, the board of directors at AMD has allegedly approved the take over of Canadian graphics firm ATI Technologies. The reports said that the information was released by an investment banker that was part of the discussions. According to other sources, AMD executives were also seen at ATI’s headquarters in Thornhill, Ontario. The report indicated that AMD is considering a $5.6 billion takeover bid for ATI.
Regardless of how many people tell me that this is a great idea, I can see it being sketchy if it ever happens. Because recent Intel roadmaps have not included motherboards with ATI chipsets, it almost appears that this very well could become a reality. Things are going to get interesting, to say the least.
New Half-Life 2: Episode 2 Trailer Released
A new, extended version of the Episode Two trailer is now available for download. Half-Life 2: Episode Two advances the 16-million unit selling franchise, as Valve’s trilogy of episodic single player releases continue the award-winning story of Half-Life 2. Armed with new weaponry and vehicles, Dr. Gordon Freeman must race through a countryside riddled with an increasingly feirce Combine threat. Episode Two is coming to PC, PS3, and 360, and will also include Portal and Team Fortress 2.
Wow, this trailer is making it hard to wait for the second installment. The graphics seemed to have been amped up in various ways.. check out the trees!
The trailer weighs in at 105MB, displays in 720p and is 1m 20s in duration.
Google profits double
Google just announced a very strong quarter. The internet search engine said it had net income of $721m, or $2.33 per diluted share, up from $343m a year earlier. Wall Street had expected earnings of $1.94 per share. Earlier this week Yahoo had announced lower than expected earnings.
It’s noted in the article that 99% of Googles income is from advertising. AdSense and their other services have been around for quite a while now, so to see a spike like this is interesting. Since Checkout seems to be taking off, that 99% may sway a little bit in the next quarter.
Paul Thurrott’s WGA turmoil
Microsoft announced its Genuine Advantage software initiative in March 2006. It’s designed as part of the company’s wider assault on software piracy (another infamous part of this fight, Product Activation, won fame and fortune for Microsoft went XP was released in late 2001). The Genuine Advantage initiative is comprised of three parts: Education (customers should understand the risks of pirated software), Engineering (Microsoft’s ongoing investment in anti-counterfeiting technologies and product features), and Enforcement (Microsoft is helping law enforcement agencies go after the world’s worst software pirates).
Of course Paul is not using a pirated version of Windows, but it goes to show that WGA can affect -anybody-, regardless of whether you are legal or not. Paul takes a look through the history and aspects of WGA, and even includes some screenshots.
Should you wait for Quad Core?
I believe that these architectural features will allow Kentsfield to succeed in the short term against both the 4×4 platform and AMD’s own quad-core architecture when it arrives later in the year. By that time though, I would hope that Intel’s architects were well on their way to completing a native quad-core version of Conroe with all four cores sharing the same cache.
After reading the article over at Bit-Tech, you may question your need for a Conroe right away. If Quad Cores are actually going to see the light of day in 5 – 6 months, it will certainly make current processor purchases seem like a waste of time.
Top 10 Coolest LEGO Gadgets
Created by Anders, this fully-functional LEGO vending machine consists of four light sensors, four touch sensors, four motors, and two RCX’s. It even has a coin-slot with the total amount being shown on an LCD display.
If you are bored and happen to be a fan of legos, this is the perfect round-up for you. The vending machine is by far my favorite here, but the Connect 4 game is pretty sweet also.
Yahoo! selling DRM-free songs
Yahoo is considering selling songs at a price of $1.99 each, which is roughly double that of an iTunes song. But Yahoo is hoping that regardless of the new price, DRM-less MP3s will attract a significant amount of people. Being without restrictions, customers can afford to play music on any device they desire. Yahoo says that DRM is very expensive for companies to implement, even for its own online store, it would much rather spend the money on developing end-user experiences.
It’s good to finally see that someone stepped up to the DRM-free plate. Of course, there are a few downsides. $1.99US per song is not a great way to welcome users. Yahoo! believes that this will appeal to a specific crowd. In reality, this is good only if you want a single song and not an entire album. It would be cheaper to buy the actual album in the store and have the -best- sound quality, any way you look at it. We’ll also have to see how long it takes the RIAA to step in.
World Of Warcraft Crushing PC Game Industry?
Age of Empires co-creator and Iron Lore co-founder Brian Sullivan has been discussing his studio’s first game, Titan Quest, but along the way has openly wondered whether World Of Warcraft’s success is part of the reason for the decline of the PC retail game market.
There are some great points made here. There’s no doubt that WoW has very, very dedicated players and many of them. However, I think the entire MMO market would be included in this speculation. How many people do you know that play MMO’s religiously go out any buy new games on a regular basis?
Microsoft Promises to Compete Fairly
Microsoft this week released a formal pledge, a list of 12 rules that the company said it will abide by, in order to facilitate healthy competition in the software market. Microsoft said that it will comply by the self-imposed rules, as well as comply with industry and government regulations.
In a way, this is actually pretty cool. If Microsoft ends up sticking to their own commitments, that would be even cooler.
3D Gameman celebrates over 650 video reviews
After 700 reviews and over 650 video reviews, it’s time to reflect. Take a peek through 7 years of Rodney Reynolds Video Reviews. Rodney also explains how he got started doing video reviews and much more. Warning: It will be funny at times, so popcorn is definitely recommended! Watch the Video to find out more…
Congrats to Rodney on the big accomplishment. It would be a lot of work to churn out 650 video reviews, especially solo. I have to wonder where he hides all of that stuff!
Intel Announces Management Changes
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 20, 2006 – Intel Corporation today announced that it is making a number of senior management changes focused on improving the company’s structure and achieving faster and better decision making. The company also announced that two senior executives will be retiring.
You can read the full press release right here.
AMD Reports Second Quarter Results
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — July 20, 2006 — AMD (NYSE: AMD) today reported sales of $1.22 billion, operating income of $102 million, and net income of $89 million, or $0.18 per share, for the quarter ended July 2, 2006. These results include $18 million of employee stock-based compensation expense and a net gain of $10 million associated with Spansion LLC.’s repurchase of its 12.75 percent senior subordinated notes.
If you are interested in additional information regarding the quarter results, you can read the full press release on the AMD website.
Review Roundup for July 21
- Corsair Nautilus 500 Water Cooling – TechARP
- Jetart Aquacool AK2000 – XS Reviews
- Zalman CNPS8000 – Red and Blackness
- Zalman CNPS8000 and CNPS9500 CPU Coolers – Driver Heaven
- Zalman ZM-RF1 Reserator Fan – OCIA
Cooling
- Crucial PC2-6400 Ballistix 2GB – PC Stats
Memory & Storage
- ECS RS482-M – Hardware Secrets
- MSI K9N SLI Platinum AM2 – MadBox PC (Spanish)
Motherboards & Processors
- Brando Optical Twin Mouse – DragonSteelMods
- FSP Group Booster X3 (Snapshots) – Hexus
- Logitech G3 – Modders-Inc
- Razer Krait – NGOHQ
- Xtrac Pro HS Mouse Pad – Think Computers
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Asus EN7600GT Silent – PC Stats
Displays & Video Cards
- Building a Socket 939 Workstation – XYZ Computing
- Dell XPS M1710 Metallic Black 17-inch Notebook – PC Perspective
- Lenovos ThinkPad T60 – Tech Report
- JVC GZ-MG505 – Digital Trends
- Rock LE Dungeons & Dragons Laptop – BIOS Magazine
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
Motorola RAZR: 50 Million Served
Motorola announced today that has shipped its 50 millionth Motorola RAZR V3 handset. The company celebrates today at the U.S. Cellular Store in downtown Chicago by giving away 144 RAZRs in two hours (one every 50 seconds—clever, huh?)
Any way you look at it, that is a lot of cellphones! I’ve never understood the infatuation of the Razr, but Motorola is certainly doing something right.
eBay losing its ‘magic’
Has the shine come off online auctions? eBay chief Meg Whitman has acknowledged that the site has lots some of its “magic”, as the balance tilts away from home sellers to professional retailers. Not that eBay is grumbling too much. The company reported profits of $310m on turnover of $1.4bn for 2Q 2006 yesterday. eBay also has $4bn cash in the bank. $9bn worth of trading went on under its roof in the period.
I am unsure how they figure that eBay is losing it’s ‘magic’ when it had a 20% gain in users and 35% increase in listings over the past year. If there is indeed any ‘magic’ being lost here, it’s likely due to PayPals high rates. That’s just my speculation though.