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Need For Speed Carbon Announced
The available screenshot doesn’t look as impressive graphically as Most Wanted. Either way, this seems like Underground 3 with an alternate title. I can’t wait for this one.
Best-Selling Racing Title to Hit the Streets this Fall
EA announced today that Need for Speed™ Carbon is in development and will hit the streets this November. Developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia, Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of adrenaline-filled street racing and will challenge players to face the ultimate test of driving skill on treacherous canyon roads.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to reinvent the franchise and continually uncover new and exciting trends in car culture. Canyon Racing is a real test of a driver’s skill and we think it provides a fantastic game play opportunity to lean into,” said Larry LaPierre, the game’s executive producer.
What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you into the world’s most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. You and your crew must race in an all-out war for the city, risking everything to take over your rivals’ neighborhoods one block at a time. As the police turn up the heat, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve. Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of customization giving you the power to design and tweak your crew’s cars in every way using the ground-breaking new Autosculpt™ technology. Represent your car class, your crew, and your turf in Need for Speed Carbon, the next revolution in racing games.
Need for Speed Carbon will be available for Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Wii™ as well as the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance, PSP™ (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system, PC and mobile.
ECS Factory Tour
While we were in Taiwan covering Computex, ECS whisked us away for a quick tour of its manufacturing facilities in China and showed us exactly how these motherboards are built. We saw it all, from traces being etched onto individual PCB layers, to the mounting of surface components like DIMM slots and capacitors, all the way through testing and retail packaging. Join us as we walk through ECS’s Golden Elite Technology campus and witness the birth of a motherboard.
It’s always amazing to see how a motherboard is built. ECS specifically seems to be a well oiled machine, with amazingly fast workers that didn’t even get distracted by the journalists hovering over them.
Adobe & Google Sign Distribution Deal
Adobe Systems Inc. said late Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Google Inc. to distribute the Google Toolbar with various Adobe products. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The term of the agreement also wasn’t disclosed, with Adobe referring to it only as a “multiyear” deal.
As long as it’s an optional install, this shouldn’t really prove a problem for the user. Get ready to battle this with all your future Adobe installs though, including Acrobat reader.
Toshiba’s 1TB HD-DVD Set Top Recorder
Toshiba is on the ball with HD-DVD technology and it plans on having another first in the industry with the launch of an HD-DVD RD-A1 super-receiver on July 14th, 2006 in Japan only. The company was already the first to launch an HD-DVD set top player back in April. The Toshiba RD-A1 is a digital video recorder with HD-DVD built in. The receiver features 1TB worth of storage, analog and digital receivers, Ethernet, and all of the other trimmings featured on the HD-A1 receiver already announced.
This thing is completely ugly, but it sure packs a punch. There are numerous connections on the back, so you know it means business. But for $3,500USD equivalent? It should only cost you half that to build yourself… and probably have one that’s less ugly.
SiN Episodes Blog Update
Now, normally, most people don’t really give two shakes about a patch update. But this is pretty big. The oft mentioned Arena Mode is coming. This is really exciting for us because we’re not only adding an entire new mode to Emergence, but one with a very devoted focus — replayability.
Picture a multiplayer mode that’s singleplayer. It sounds odd, but I’m willing to give it a chance. Shawn also notes that we -may- see Episode 2 media ‘soon’.
iTunes’ Movie Downloads the ‘Tipping Point’ for Online Movie Distribution?
Will iTunes do for online movies what it did for online music? Does Apple’s entry into this space represent a ‘tipping point’ for the entire segment, or is such an outcome even relevant to Apple? In other words, is this simply the next step in Apple’s larger strategy to establish a presence in living room?
Chances are even a $9.99US movie would have it’s quality downgraded significantly. Most music on iTunes is currently at a very low bitrate, so it would not be a surprise. I think it would have to be straight DVD quality before this ever catches on.
OCZ Technology Announces New Low-Latency DDR2-800 Kits
Sunnyvale, CA—June 22, 2006—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced two low latency PC2-6400 memory solutions prepared to deliver enthusiasts the performance they demand on the latest DDR2 platforms. The new PC2-6400 Platinum Revision 2 Edition is rated at 4-4-4 and the new PC2-6400 Titanium Alpha Edition is rated at 3-4-3-9 making this dynamic duo an exciting new addition to the acclaimed OCZ memory line.
You can read the full press release here. How ’bout those purty ‘spreaders?
Hardware Roundup for June 23
- Microfly SFF Case – Motherboards.org
Cases & Enclosures
- Rainbow Fan TC – Bjorn3D
- Scythe Samurai Z – Tweak3D
- Thermalright SI-120 CPU Cooler – Rojak Pot
Cooling
- Corsair TWINX2048-4400PRO 2GB Kit – PC Modding Malaysia
- OCZ PC2-8000 EL Platinum XTC DDR2 – Virtual-Hideout
Memory & Storage
- Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe nForce 590 SLI AM2 – PC Stats
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Creative ZEN Vision:M – UK Gamer
- Everglide g-1000 Gaming Mouse and Titan Monster Mat – Fastlane HW
- SanDisk Sansa e260 4GB MP3 Player – XYZ Computing
- Summer 2006 MP3 Player Buyers Guide – Think Computers
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Diablotek 6600GT 256MB – MB Review
- GeForce 7900 GT – TechSpot
- HIS X1900XT IceQ3 Dual DL-DVI VIVO 512MB – HotHardware
- Nvidia prepares 7600LE, 7500LE and 7300SE – NGOHQ
- Sony SDM-E96D – BIOS Magazine
- XFX Overclocked GeForce 7600 GT – Hardware Secrets
Video Cards & Monitor
Microsoft Workers Prefer Google
A story just released by the Inquirer shows that 80% of incoming search requests from Microsoft’s domain arrived via Google’s search engine. In contrast, 64% of Yahoo! staff and 100% of Google staff use their own company’s search engine. How’s that for a product endorsement? I’d guess that Microsoft may soon add google.com to the list of blocked URL’s on their intranet.
This is no surprise, at all. It would not be odd to see MS block the Google domain from internal use though. Ballmer once noted in an interview that he doesn’t even allow his own children to use Google, so we know the stance on this one.
Prey Demo out!
The highly anticipated demo of 3D Realms latest creation is finally available. From gameplay I have seen, this game has massive potential. You play as Tommy, who is a Native American that had his life overturned by aliens. If you guessed that it’s your job to take them out, you would be correct. Some key features that helps Prey stand out though, are wall walking and portal jumping. You will also have the ability to leave your body and play as your spirit, which will become imperative to accomplishing specific goals.
The demo is around an hour long for average players, and you can grab it from one of the download links listed on the 3D Realms site.
AMD’s Socket 939 and 754 End-of-Life Dates
DailyTech previously reported AMD Socket 754 processors would outlast Socket 939 parts. We’ve received confirmation that Socket 754 processors will indeed be available for a couple months after the early death of Socket 939. AMD Athlon 64 3700+ and 4000+ will be the first to get the axe on July 2nd of this year. Right before 2007 rolls around AMD intends on discontinuing seven Socket 939 and 754 processors. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+, Athlon 64 3200+ and 3000+ Socket 939 processors will cease to exist December 31st, 2006 leaving the Athlon 64 X2 4800+ as the sole Socket 939 processor available.
This gives us a good idea that 754 and 939 are both on the way out. While 754 will last a bit longer than the 939, it looks like AM2 is the only way to go if you want a system that is ‘future proof’.
HP Goes After Walgreens, OfficeMax Over Ink Refills
It appears that third party ink refill companies need to be careful about their businesses. HP announced this week that it has launched legal action against Walgreen Co. and OfficeMax over patent infringements that HP says it found in multiple stores across the countries. Both Walgreen and OfficeMax have ink refilling stations in stores that will refill ink cartridges that customers bring in. Unfortunately, HP is not happy that customers are bringing in HP cartridges and refilling without genuine HP ink.
This type of thing has been going on for years, so I am surprised it took this long for a company to finally whine about it. I don’t blame people for taking the Walgreens route though. When it costs as much to fill your car with gas as it is your printer with ink, that’s when you look for alternatives.
iBUYPOWER P4 Custom Build Evaluation
Given the company’s cheap prices, near-endless configuration options, and bold claims, we wanted to see what a PC in the $1000 range could do. We also noticed that many of their products mirrored that of “competitor” Cyberpower. We purchased both this machine and our Cyberpower machine at the same time.
They give their tech support and presentation a terrible 1.0/10. I think that’s a good hint to stay far away.
Novell Introduces Portable Training for SUSE Linux Enterprise
WALTHAM, Mass. – June 21, 2006 – Novell has unveiled a new, comprehensive training course for SUSE® Linux Enterprise 10 completely self-contained on a portable USB drive. The SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 First Class course provides users a first look at the upcoming SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, including both the new server and desktop products. As a result, customers gain a flexible, cost-effective new option for learning about Novell’s latest platform.
You can read the full press release here.
Hardware Roundup for June 22
- Spire Pininfarina PALU/S – A1-Electronics
- Thermaltake Tenor Case – Modders-Inc
Cases & Enclosures
- BlueGears b-COOL and b-ice Computer Fans – A True Review
Cooling
- AMD’s new Hammers to bludgeon Conroe? – Hexus
Motherboards & CPU’s
- 8-way SLI and Crossfire Power Supply (PSU) Roundup – Legit Reviews
- I-Star TC-750PD2 750W PSU – ModTheBox
- Kingwin Absolute Power ABT-600CW PSU – Think Computers
- Plextor EX-PH25L NAS – Overclockers Online
- SteelPad 5L – Phoronix
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- AGEIA PhysX – Tech Report
- HIS Radeon X1900XT IceQ3 – Overclocker Cafe
- MSI NX7600GT VT2D256E – HotHardware
- Nvflash 5.16 for Windows 2000/XP/2003/x64 – NGOHQ
Video Cards & Monitor
- Apple Intel-powered Mac mini – Hexus
- Beginners Guides: Understanding and Tweaking WindowsXP Services – PC Stats
- Computex 2006: Day 5 – NGOHQ
- Dell XPS M2010 Desktop – Digital Trends
- Nokia N91 – BIOS Magazine
Etcetera, Complete Systems & Contests
Los Angeles invaded by Drones
In the months ahead, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will test an unmanned, remote-controlled surveillance plane. If deputies want a bird’s-eye view of a standoff, they might scramble the unmanned drone instead of a helicopter to get a closer, quieter look. Within minutes, real-time color video would be streamed to a portable computer system manned by an officer 250 feet (76 meters) below.
This sounds like something from a sci-fi movie. Why they could be a huge benefit though, is that they cost less than a helicopter, especially after taking fuel and maintenance into consideration. How long until we see this in other cities?
2.5 Inch Drive on the Desktop
With the transition to solid-state, totally silent, desktop drives still a long way off enthusiasts are always looking for better storage options for silent/power efficient computers. This article is going to examine the use of a 2.5″ notebook hard drive in a desktop computer. The unique demands placed on portable hard drives have made them evolve into devices which are very small, have minimal power demands, and are very quiet. The tradeoff for these qualities has always been limited capacities, high costs, and slow transfer rates, but a the recent progression in portable storage techology has changed the 2.5″ drive greatly. We put the Seagate Momentus 5400.3 160GB SATA notebook drive in our test system and took it for a spin.
If you have ever pondered what it would be like to run a 2.5″ drive on your desktop, this is the article to read. While it does prove slower than the 3.5″, it’s an interesting concept regardless.
3 Monitors? Nah.. four!
Matrox has begun shipping its four-screen graphics adaptor. The part is pitched at back-to-basics PCs that act as display and input terminals for apps running on a server. It expects the device to appeal to trading rooms and other financial institutions that favour multi-screen rigs.
Obviously, this is not suited for gaming at all, or for people with small desks. I think we are experiencing the ‘shaver’ phenomenon with monitors. Three blades were not good enough, and neither was four. Maybe next we will see 5 blades. Err.. monitors.
Google Office: Will you use it?
It’s no secret Google is on a mission to provide a complete online office suite of tools and because of this I find them in quite a bit of trouble. The fact is that Google is creating office products with a vast majority of features that have been around for decades and not really improving on the user’s experience. There is hardly a reason to use their applications unless you have a mission critical need of instant file sharing and collaboration, which again appeals more to the business crowd and less to the average consumer.
I would personally never bother with an online application like this. Stand-alone, installed programs work far faster and are there when you are offline. Without a doubt though, it will be interesting to see how popular Googles solution will become.
T-Mobile Launches Sidekick 3
T-Mobile and Danger Inc. officially unveiled the Sidekick 3 today, 6 days earlier then we had expected. DailyTech reported that the Sidekick 3 had cleared the FCC less than 2 weeks ago. The Sidekick 3 will get a swanky debut at The Hollywood Palladium where celebrities and Sidekick fans alike will fawn over the latest in mobile communications.
In continuing Sidekick news, the new version has many various improvements over the previous gen. If you want to get ahold of one, head into your T-Mobile store on July 10. Or try your luck at finding one in a cab.
How Not To Steal A Sidekick..
After two weeks of enduring endless calls, emails, radio interviews, denials from the thieves, runaround from the police, and numerous late nights, the Sidekick guy finally got a resolution. Tonight, the NYPD picked up Sasha, the girl that either paid for the Sidekick from a cabbie, on the subway, or got it from her mother—their story isn’t quite straight yet.
If you’ve been following this story at all, as many have, it’s good to see it is finally resolved. It’s surprising it worked out to the owners favor. Persistence really can pay off.
Fully Internal Water-cooled Xbox 360
Dano2k0 created a fully internal water-cooled Xbox 360. Unlike previous water-cooled Xbox 360 mods, this one has everything inside the original Xbox 360 case, including the water reservoir and pump. Both CPU (Zern GPU block) and GPU (Koolance GPU-180-H06 block) are water-cooled, with internal Tank-o-Matic mini reservoir, 12v thermaltake pump and DD fill port on the plexi window.
This is an incredible mod. Not only does it pack in some great cooling action, it is one of the most amazing modding jobs seen on a 360. We’ve seen water cooled 360’s before, but this is completely internal. Source: Slashdot.
Thinking ahead… what’s after Conroe?
Penryn, also known by Intel’s lithography team as P1266, is a 45nm unified core set for launch in 2007 that is also expected to stay into production into 2008. Intel has already produced SRAM samples for 45nm CPUs, as demonstrated in the lithography shot on the right. Aside from the process shrink on Penryn, the major divergence in design from Conroe is the new material design. With P1266, Intel shifts away from Silicon Dioxide gate dielectrics — a process the company has used since the mid-90s — to High-k dielectrics.
It’s hard to imagine 45nm when Conroe hasn’t been released yet, but even past that we should see 32nm in late 2008. It would be nice to have this much knowledge about upcoming AMD processors :)
MySpace to start protecting teens
News Corp.–the owner of MySpace–has been working to address concerns about the safety of the many teenage users of the site, while not clamping down on the freewheeling and flirtatious interchanges that are the source of its appeal. Next week, the site will restrict how users older than 18 can contact those aged 14 and 15. Older users sending a message asking to become friends with younger users will have to enter the recipients’ actual first and last names or their e-mail addresses, rather than simply their user names.
While this seems like a good idea, what’s stopping an adult from creating a new account under a false date of birth? In the end, it really comes down to people sticking to better judgement, instead of letting a service decide for them.
AMD Partners with K-Systems
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, Jun 20, 2006 (CCNMatthews via COMTEX News Network) — ATI Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYT)(TSX:ATY), a global leader for PC graphics, has been selected as the exclusive GPU provider for all IRBIS desktop PCs, produced for back-to-school season by K-Systems, one of the leading manufacturers of PCs in Russia. IRBIS computers with ATI graphics processors will be available in major Russian retail networks and online at www.k-systems.ru.
You can read the full press release here.