Tech News

City of Villains Launches

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 31, 2005—NCsoft® North America announces that City of Villains™, stand-alone sequel to the hit massively multiplayer online PC game City of Heroes®, has gone live in North America. Developed by Cryptic Studios™ and published by NCsoft, City of Villains introduces a host of new features including the ability to create massive evil lairs from the ground up, and player-versus-player (PvP) zones where villains can battle against hero players from the City of Heroes game.

Woot! Check out the official website here.

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Mono Used to Scale Up imeem .NET Application to Linux

WALTHAM, Mass. – Oct. 31, 2005 – imeem, a free desktop service that allows users to create personal private networks, has tapped Mono to quickly scale up its application from a simple technology demo running on .NET to an industrial strength server infrastructure to support its rapidly growing user base. The imeem development team also used Mono to develop client software that runs on both Windows and Mac OS X, two critical platforms in the consumer Internet market. Sponsored by Novell and led by Miguel de Icaza, Mono is an open source implementation of Microsoft .NET used to run rich client and Web applications on Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris. Using Mono, developers can take advantage of a complete development environment and stable APIs to build cross-platform applications by leveraging their .NET skills.

Check out the full press release here.

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Interview with VC from Arctic Cooling

NGOHQ: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions for our members. Please take a moment to introduce yourself and describe your position with Arctic Cooling.

VC: As third Swiss in the Management of Arctic Cooling I’m responsible of any Marketing activities at Arctic Cooling. Among other duties I’m in contact with online and print reviewer worldwide every day and will try my best to support them with information and review samples.

Check out the full interview over at NGOHQ.

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Direct Sound Extreme Isolation Headphones Review

There is a calling for specialized equipment for every purpose – for chopping lumber, a Bosch chainsaw is called upon; for Beethoven recordings, the Steinway & Sons piano is used; and for isolating sounds – the Extreme Isolation Headphones come into place. Originally designed for drummers to hear the actual music while isolating the drum noises, CyberwizardPit toys with the prospect of enjoying Beethoven’s Chorale Fantasy and operating a chainsaw at the same time – and whether it is a plausible idea at that, with the Extreme Isolation Headphones in this review.

Check out the full review at Cyberwizard Pit.

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Wacom Graphire 4×5 Pen Tablet Review

Wacom is a name known throughout the photography and graphics world. They have been the makers of some of the most wanted graphic design and photography pen tablets for years, and probably years to come. Wacom produces several different types of pen tablets that are widely used in today’s professional and sometimes home environments.

Check out the full review at Extensive Mods.

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FAKT Software GmbH Supports AGEIA PhysX Processor in Crazy Machines II

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – October 31, 2005 –AGEIA™ Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games, today announced that German game developer FAKT Software GmbH will be leveraging the full power of the AGEIA PhysX processor for its upcoming Crazy Machines II. The announcement is the result of an agreement that enables FAKT Software to use the AGEIA PhysX SDK to implement comprehensive physics dynamics in Crazy Machines II. This physics functionality will take on a new, breathtaking dimension for gamers using PCs equipped with the AGEIA PhysX processor.

Check out the full press release here!

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X-Micro Video Mp3 400 Player Review

This is where the fun begins. To start off X-Micro have supplied all the software needed for converting your video/music files on the installation CD included with the package which are MTV convert tool/AWV convert tool/AWV player and sound convert tool, but I’ll explain more on that later. I really couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw my video playing as seen above, the picture was crystal clear and the sound was amazing. I didn’t know really what to expect to be perfectly honest because of the LCD being only 96/64 in size but the picture quality using all 65,000 colors had me speechless.

Check out the full review at Xtreme Computing.

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nVHardPage SE version 3.2 Released

Our NVIDIA tweaking tool underwent quite some changes. nVHardPage nVidia videocard tweaker is tweaking utility for nVidia display adapters running under Windows 98 (SE) / Windows ME / Windows 2000 and Windows XP. With this tweak utility you can enable/disabe hidden features in nVidia control panel, tweak nVidia Direct3D and OpenGL settings and overclock your nVidia display adapter.

Grab the download over at Guru3D!

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HIS X800GTO IceQ II Turbo 256MB Video Card Review

With the spotlight on the recently released X1000 family it seems as though the X800 family is quickly becoming a thing of the past. This is a very good thing for most consumers as well all know the older a technology gets the cheaper it becomes. The X800’s are slowly slipping into the “bargain” card category. However today’s X800 family member is fairly new and at an affordable price, the HIS X800GTO is definitely worth a close look.

Head over to Bona Fide Reviews for the full review.

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Advent Rising Review

Overall, I would say that Advent Rising is worth a try. The only major complaint I have is the story, which I was expecting to be the best part. Advent Rising is the first in what is meant to be a trilogy of games. I can only hope that as time goes by GlyphX straightens out their story telling skills. I’m also aware that in a market flooded with sci-fi games it can be hard to be truly original in terms of art and architecture, but I do still feel more effort is needed. Much potential lies in this game/series. Pick it up if you’re interested, since it can be found for $28.88USD at the time of this review.

Head over to GamePyre for the full review!

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Seagate 5.0GB USB2.0 Pocket Hard Drive Review

This funny looking USB 2.0 hard drive from Seagate has a retractable USB cable, enclosed 5GB 1″ Hard drive and a very cool blue activity light. It is a step further than a USB stick, in that it offers a whopping 5GB of truly portable storage, on its speedy shock-tollerant hard disk. It also boasts plug-and-play connectivity and a hot-swappable interface, and is compatible with both PCs and Macs.

Check out the full at Cache-Community.

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PC Heatsink Water Block Tests

Today we review test six PC CPU heatsink blocks to see which works the best out of the ones we have here. The efficiency of a water block is very important for no matter how powerful a pump or how many radiators you have in your computer heatsink system they will not compensate for having a water block that does not transfer the heat from your AMD or Intel processor efficiently. It makes a difference if one is designed for low flow and a lot of water passing through it.

Check out the full review over at A1 Electronics.

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ProClip Mounting Solutions – Ipod and Treo 650 Holders Review

In my previous review of ProClip’s devices, I took a look at their car-specifc vehicle mounts, as well as several handheld-device-specific holders that attach to these mounts. The solutions are elegant and useful, and I urge you to read the original review. In this particular review, we’ll be looking at three more recently-released device specific holders: two upgraded iPod holders, and a holder (and charger) for a Palm Treo 650.

Head over to XYZ Computing for the full look.

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ViewSonic VX924 3ms LCD Monitor Review

Over the past year or two computer users have been witnessing something very interesting- the maturation of the LCD monitor. In a short amount of time these products went from being overpriced and awkwardly designed to being the mainstay of the display industry and the forefront of technology. This review will be taking a look at ViewSonic’s VX924 display. This display has been making headlines for a number of reasons, the foremost being its impressive 3ms response time. When it comes to LCD displays ViewSonic has been doing well, but much of the focus has been on their competitors, like Samsung. The VX924 marks a major step in the right direction and one of the more interesting displays to come along in some time.

Check out the full review at XYZ Computing for the full review.

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Razer Copperhead 2000 DPI Laser Mouse Review

Razer has packed a lot of features into a mouse with great looks. From the on the fly DPI switching, to the onboard memory that stores user’s profiles right in the mouse, to the drivers that allow for extreme fine tuning of the mouse for a user’s personal preferences, you would be hard pressed to find a mouse that offers more to the hard core gamer.

Check out the full review at Big Bruin!

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Inno3D 7800 GT Review

Overclocking both the 7800 GT and GTX is a little bit more complicated than usual. This is because there are three different clock speeds to deal with – the vertex, shader and ROP clocks and these are all controlled by the root clock. The root clock is the one you will be tweaking in overclocking tools such as ATI Tool or Riva Tuner. When you adjust the root clock, you actually adjust these three clocks.

Check out the full review over at Pure Overclock.

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FREECOM DVB-T USB Stick – Worlds Smallest Digital TV Tuner Review

This little USB stick from Freecom, is the smallest digital TV tuner in the world available to computer users. Initally it looks just like any USB memory stick, but once you’ve plugged it into your computer, and connected the antenna, it is capable of displaying a massive choice of digital TV channels full-screen on your moniter at extremely high quality. This is great for home viewing, but even better when coupled with your laptop, as it means you can take the telly with you whaerever you go!

Check out the full review at Cache-Community.

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OCZ DDR2 PC2-4200 Value Pro Review

What can I say, this is some serious RAM, you can find it online for less than $100 for a 1GB kit. With some mild tweaking you got from some decent priced PC 4200 value RAM to some REALLY decent priced PC5400. Every once in a while a product comes along that gives you WAY more bang for the buck than you expect, like the ti series NVIDIA cards, the JIUHB XP 1700 and the ABIT NF7-s motherboard. You mention any of those products to an enthusiast and it brings a smile to their faces.

Check out the full review over at Viper Lair.

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Its not all fun and games yknow — is too!

The kind of games vary from 2D roll and scroll things to fantastic cinematic FPS and RPGs. We can play them by ourselves, with friends in the same room, with friends on a LAN, or with friends and strangers in the either-net.

And everyone plays. It’s not just pasty faced fat boys in cut offs, it’s old guys like me, young girls like my daughter, lawyers, pilots, moms, bakers, and train engineers – literally every category, sex, and age you can think of.

Head on over to Hexus for the full article.

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X-Micro Video Mp3 400 Player and Mini DisGo Review

I was a little disapointed by the Video MP3 400. While it’s a decent enough mp3 player and radio, and I do like the color display, it’s just too bloody small for videos, pictures or text. It’s got a nice novelty factor, but I really don’t see anyone getting much use out of the video function. Also, I wasn’t really happy with it needing a USB cord, or with the cheap plastic construction. The control scheme isn’t very intuitive, either.

Check out the full review at Got Apex.

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America’s Army v2.5 Direct Action

As we look back at past America‭’‬s Army releases,‭ ‬we find
most of them to be very diminutive in their changes; generally adding a
map or two,‭ ‬fixing numerous bugs,‭ ‬and‭ ‬a number of miscellaneous
improvements.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬the latest America‭’‬s Army‭ ‬release,‭
Direct Action (‬2.5‭)‬,‭ ‬is quite substantial with its alterations.‭
‬Some of the many upgrades include the addition of two new Special
Forces maps – SF Extraction and SF Dockside, Shoot House (MOUT
Training), tournament mode enhancements, and several game-play
enhancements.‭ For Linux and Macintosh users, this upgrade is even more
significant with four new SF maps, two new weapons, and an updated game
engine (Unreal Engine 2.5) due to the lack of a Q-Course (2.4) build.
‬Will America‭’‬s Army:‭ Special Forces Direct Action (‬2.5‭) ‬reflect
the game-play of what we‭’‬ll be seeing in‭ ‬America‭’‬s Army:‭
Stryker-Overmatch, which will utilize the Unreal Engine‭ ‬3‭ ‬and will
sport other state-of-the-art features‭

Check out the full pictorial at Phoronix.

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Enermax Liberty 620W Review

Over the years, we’ve reviewed and tested countless power
supplies. Sometimes it becomes a chore, as most power supplies don’t
bring much of anything new to the table. However, to mark our 300th
article here at Phoronix, we have something a little more special.
Enermax has provided us with their newly announced Liberty series power
supply. Interested? We certainly were. Read more inside.

Head on over to Phoronix for the full review!

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Biostar M7VIG-400 Combo Review

Well, today we have something new and rather exciting, at least for me anyway, from our friends at Computers Geeks (www.geeks.com). I say it is exciting for me because I have never had a Micro ATX motherboard before. I never realized just how small a Micro ATX motherboard is really, they are very small, it’s amazing all the features they can pack into such a small package. Obviously it is a Micro ATX mobo, but it features a Mobile Athlon XP 2600+ Barton core processor as well. The price from Geeks is $94.99, a VERY nice price. I went and checked prices for the Mobile Xp 2600+ and found that the cheapest I could find was $89.00, when you factor in a Biostar Micro ATX motherboard, this is one great deal, the cheapest I found the Biostar M7VIG for was $46.99, by buying the combo from Geeks you save almost $50, and get a great motherboard and an awesome CPU.

Head on over to Think Computers for the full look!

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A4 Tech NB90 BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse Review

Not many people know that A4 Tech is the first company world wide to come up with a wireless optical mouse that does not require batteries. That alone is a pretty cool trick, but what is even cooler is the method they use to pull this off. It is done with RFID, you know these things that people are all concerned about for fear that the Government will be able to track you wherever you go. I am not worried about that I just want it to remember where my mouse is. So come check out the review to learn more about this subject.

Check out the full review at Hi-Tech Reviews.

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OCZ EB DDR PC-4000 2GB Platinum Edition Dual Channel Memory Kit Video Review

This item has a fast memory timing of 3-3-2-8. Because of this, it performs very well, & is also overclockable for added performance. This kit is 2GB’s in size which is fantastic for the latest games. For those who need stable, reliable, & fast memory, this product will not disappoint. And like all OCZ memory, it comes with a lifetime warranty! Watch the Video to find out more…

Check out the full review at 3D Gameman.

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