Greg's electronics

DVD capacity becoming an issue for 360

2010-02-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

Some developers are starting to whisper about the fact that the use of DVD storage on the Xbox 360 is finally leading to capacity issues. A dual-layer DVD is capped at about 9GB of available storage per disc, and with the PlayStation 3 sporting a Blu-ray drive that is able to handle discs with a capacity of 25GB to 50GB; it is easy to see how developers can start to feel cramped with the max of 9GB on a standard DVD.

According to our source, the problem is that when you know you have all of that extra storage available on the PlayStation 3 platform, it is becoming harder to make the cuts and reductions in content necessary to pare down to only a 9GB max capacity. This is why quite a few of the recently released Xbox 360 titles are arriving on two DVDs and now sometimes require installation of the second disc to the hard drive.

Word is that Capcom is the latest to feel the pinch with its upcoming release Lost Planet 2. While the first game fit on one disc, the second game required significant cuts in order to fit within the capacity limits of the Xbox 360. According to the whispers we hear, it is still undecided if the game will be one DVD or two; but the material that was cut will likely be molded into some sort of DLC content to be released at a later date.

With no potential help for this issue on the horizon, one has to wonder how developers are going to be able to curb their creativity in order to make it fit on a 9GB disc. In the end, it is just a limitation that consumers and developers will have to live with. It could be worse, as no one ever thought that a single game could take up 9GB, let alone 15GB; and now with 50GB possible, we have to wonder who will be the first to claim they are out of space with the Blu-Ray format.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17736/38/

Charge your phone via WiFi

2010-01-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

Some might think that the title is one lengthy typo, as it’s usually WiFi that depletes your battery, but we assure you it’s not. A company called RCA has managed to devise a great little gadget that will allow your phone to harvest WiFi energy and convert it into electricity, thus charging your mobile phone for free. Yes, you read it right - for free. (Tesla was a genius, but not much of a businessman. sub.ed.)

The device is called Airnergy and while this concept isn’t new, this seems to be the first time it’s found a practical use. In fact, the Airnergy managed to charge a Blackberry from 30% battery to full battery in 90 minutes, all the while using “free” energy.

The Airnergy packs a battery within, so all you need to do is carry it around with you in your pocket. Of course, reasonable proximity to WiFi spots wouldn’t hurt either, but the device runs all the time, so charging should not be a problem.

RCA says that Airnergy will hit retail in summer, with the same technology-based battery soon to follow, and will cost as low as $40, which sounds almost too good to be true. We just hope they stop using the word “free”, as history has proven many times that free energy is not something that “Big Brothers” would ever unleash on the great unwashed.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17340/38/

Jensen believes that Larrabee is not a GPU threat

2009-08-15T02:23:00.000-07:00

Since we talked to one of the most important people in the graphics world, if not the most important guy in this world, we had to mention Intel’s attempt at making a GPU codenamed Larrabee.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shares our opinion, and he believes that when it comes to the GPU part of the business, Larrabee is not a big threat. At the same time, according to Jensen, Intel recognizes that having its own is too important to be ignored, and that Intel simply admires GPUs, and desires one of its own. We believe that he is on the right track.

However Larrabee will be very good when it comes to a parallel data processing and it will definitely give Nvidia’s parallel computing a run for its money. This is where Jensen sees Intel future GPU-like chip as a threat.

Jensen expects many driver related issues with Larrabee and as GPU and gaming device, he sees a multitude of potential issues when it launches. At the same time, Larrabee has yet to come, and Nvidia will start to worry about it more once it actually launches.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14980/34/

Nokia and Microsoft kiss and make up

2009-08-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

Long term rivals Nokia and Microsoft have buried the hatchet to stick Redmond's Office software on Nokia mobiles.

Microsoft’s lucrative Office line faces an emerging competitive threat from free Web-based word processing, spreadsheet and other software, especially from Google. Punters are also using smartphones to do tasks that once could be done only on personal computers.

Analysts say that the deal is a case of the “enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Nokia and Microsoft have been rivals for years in cellphone operating systems, with Nokia adopting Symbian software and shunning Windows Mobile. It might not mean a total move to Redmond's products, they said.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/15027/38/

USB 3.0 May Arrive on PCs by Q4 2009

2009-07-03T04:07:00.001-07:00

Based on NEC Electronics and a recent convention, it's quite possible that PC's featuring USB 3.0 will hit the market by the end of the year.

Zoom

The July edition of Nikkei Electronics Asia is reporting that PCs featuring USB 3.0 may ship from Taiwanese manufacturers by the end of the year. The verdict stems from the SuperSpeed USB Developers Conference recently held in Tokyo May 20-21, displaying numerous prototypes containing the upcoming technology that included PC hosts transferring data to connected external SSDs, and "mutual" interoperability between components from different vendors. NEA's Tadashi Nezu said it was clear that the industry is quickly pushing forward with compliant integrated circuits and more, and that the technology has actually matured since its earlier showings.

According to the article, one of the major factors accelerating the USB 3.0 commercialization is the shipment of the world's first USB 3.0 host controller. Manufactured by NEC Electronics Corp of Japan, the company originally introduced the device last month by providing a working sample, however the company believes--or rather predicts--that mass production will begin by September, consisting of a million units a month. This alone suggests that PCs containing USB 3.0 integrated circuits will begin to ship before the end of the year. NEC estimates that by 2011, 140 million units containing USB 3.0 will have shipped; 340 million by 2012.

"Industry observers predict the move will provide major impetus for the development of device controllers for peripherals such as external hard disk drives (HDD)," Nezu said.

Outside the promised 5 Gbps transfer speeds, Nezu also pointed out one of the biggest benefits stemming from USB 3.0: high-definition video streaming via isochronous transfer (data transmitted without interruption). An unspecified source--a measurement equipment engineer--said that the new technology should be able to handle 1080i HD video streams, "maybe more." However, the initial applications utilizing the new technology are expected to include external hard disk drives.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/usb-superspeed-esata-firewire,news-31440.html

Microsoft gags on puke

2009-07-03T04:06:00.001-07:00

Morning after sickness complaints

After a wave of complaints, Microsoft has dropped a controversial online ad for its Internet Explorer web browser that featured a puking woman.

The adverts, which star Dean Cain, who played Superman in the 1990s TV series, shows a woman who discovers an offensive website on her husband's browser. The content makes her throw up three times and Cain suggests Internet Explorer's privacy options mean that users will never have to suffer from what he calls OMGIGP - "Oh My God, I'm Gonna Puke" syndrome - ever again.

All harmless enough in a college humour sort of way but apparently it has sent people reaching for sick buckets of their own, Redmond has been flooded by complaints, due to its graphic nature, and has pulled the advertisement. In a statement Microsoft said that while much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, “some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it.”

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14507/1/

Know if You're Ready for Windows 7? Now You Can

2009-05-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 is all the rage recently, and rightly so. The soon to be released operating system is considered to be what Windows Vista should have been.

However, Microsoft admittedly has done a lot of listening as of late, paying a good deal of attention to users across the board. One of the biggest concerns for Windows 7 isn't whether or not it'll solve Vista's problems, but also whether or not it'll run on existing systems efficiently. Chances are that if you bought or built a computer within the last five years, you'll be ready. If you're running Vista right now, you'll be ready.

If you're not sure though, fear not; Microsoft has released its Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The small utility can be download and run to check your hardware, drivers and installed software for compatibility. The utility will also check attached devices, so make sure you connect things like printers, scanners, and other accessories you regularly use.

by: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/microsoft-windows-vista-xp,news-31073.html
According to the Windows Experience Blog:

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor examines a PC’s processor, memory, storage, and graphics capabilities, identifies known compatibility issues with installed software and devices and finally provides guidance on how to resolve those issues if possible. Please also note: as previously stated on the E7 blog, Windows XP users are required to do a clean install of the Windows 7 RC as well as the final product. Only PCs with Windows Vista can be upgraded to Windows 7.

Windows 7's "XP Mode" Won't Run on Some CPUs

2009-05-08T07:32:00.001-07:00

Hoping to use Windows 7's XP Mode on your new laptop? Better check your specs, because many big-name, Intel-powered notebooks including Asus, Dell Studio, HP Pavilion, Sony Vaio, and Toshiba Satellite models may not have what it takes to run Windows 7's XP mode. Featured in the recent Windows 7 release candidate, XP mode allows XP-specific applications to run inside Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7. Microsoft included XP mode to entice business customers to upgrade to Windows 7 even if they're using custom-made programs that run only on XP.

To run XP Mode, your Intel-powered computer must support Intel Virtualization Technology. Problem is, many Intel laptops found on retail shelves aren't packing Intel VT. Affected chips include Intel Celeron, Pentium Dual-Core, Pentium M, and Atom 270 and 280 processors. If you've got a Pentium D, Core, or Core 2 Duo chip you'll need to check your model number because P7350/7450, T1350, T2050/2250, T2300E/2350/2450, T5200/5250/5270/5300/5450/5470/5550/5670/5750/5800/5850/5870/5900 and T6400/6570 do not support VT, according to ZDNet. AMD-powered computers may also find difficulties running XP mode since Sempron processors and some Athlon 64 chips don't support virtualization.

That's a pretty big list of processors that can't support virtualization, so it's no surprise that many laptops will be frozen out of Windows 7's XP mode. However, for the everyday user this may not be as big an issue since XP Mode is targeted at a small segment of the market anyway -- gamers take note that XP mode was not built to support video games.

If you are a part of the XP-specific minority running a custom application or another XP-specific program, you'd better make sure your processor supports virtualization before making the switch to Windows 7.

by: http://www.pcworld.com/article/164437/windows_7s_xp_mode_wont_run_on_some_cpus.html

XFX HD 4890 Black Edition 1GHz available

2009-05-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

It looks like XFX managed to get ahead in the Radeon HD 4890 at 1GHz race, as we’ve learned that these cards have entered the mass production.

The first quantity of just fewer than 100 cards was produced last week, and it should be available shortly in the Euro region at €259. The price will depend on the exchange rate and the country. The first batch will be limited to Black Edition-registered users only and after the second batch arrives, it will be available for the global market.

The second batch of more cards is expected in the next two weeks and the card will launch covered with Black edition brand.

Our sources also imply that the Black edition HD 4890 at 1GHz will also feature HAWX DirectX 10.1 game in the box as well as local priority Black Edition support. This might be first 1GHz card available.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13574&Itemid=1

Hackers broke into FAA air traffic control systems

2009-05-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hackers have broken into the air traffic control mission-support systems of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration several times in recent years, according to an Inspector General report sent to the FAA this week.

In February, hackers compromised an FAA public-facing computer and used it to gain access to personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, on 48,000 current and former FAA employees, the report said.

Last year, hackers took control of FAA critical network servers and could have shut them down, which would have seriously disrupted the agency's mission-support network, the report said. Hackers took over FAA computers in Alaska, becoming "insiders," according to the report dated Monday.

Then, taking advantage of interconnected networks, hackers later stole an administrator's password in Oklahoma, installed "malicious codes" with the stolen password and compromised the FAA domain controller in the Western Pacific Region, giving them the access to more than 40,000 FAA user IDs, passwords, and other data used to control a portion of the mission-support network, the report said.

And in 2006, a virus spread to the air traffic control (ATC) systems, forcing the FAA to shut down a portion of its systems in Alaska, according to the report.

The attacks so far have primarily disrupted mission-support functions, but attacks could spread over network connections from those areas to the operational networks where real-time surveillance, communications and flight information is processed, the report warned.

"In our opinion, unless effective action is taken quickly, it is likely to be a matter of when, not if, ATC systems encounter attacks that do serious harm to ATC operations," the report concluded.

An audit of the FAA's air traffic control cybersecurity protection measures finds them lacking and says there have been several breaches by hackers and a virus.
(Credit: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General)

The breaches were possible because Web applications that support the air traffic control system operations are not properly secured to prevent unauthorized access and network intrusion-detection software is not adequately being used to monitor and detect cyberattacks, the report concluded.

The FAA's increasing use of commercial software and Internet Protocol-based technologies as part of an effort to modernize the air traffic control systems poses a higher security risk to the systems than when they relied primarily on proprietary software, the report said.

"Now, attackers can take advantage of software vulnerabilities in commercial IP products to exploit ATC systems, which is especially worrisome at a time when the Nation is facing increased threats from sophisticated nation-state-sponsored cyber attacks," the report said.

In general, the nation's critical infrastructure is increasingly at risk as previously isolated and closed systems are moved to the Internet and commercial software, like Windows, is used, security experts have said.

The air traffic control system auditors said they discovered more than 760 high-risk vulnerabilities in the Web applications tested, including holes that provided "front-door access" to the systems and could allow attackers to inject malicious code onto FAA user computers. Web applications were not adequately configured and the applications with known vulnerabilities were not patched in a timely manner, auditors found.

Meanwhile, intrusion detection systems (IDS) are deployed at only 11 of hundreds of air traffic control facilities and none of the IDS sensors is installed to monitor operational systems at those sites, the report said. Cyber incidents are not effectively monitored or fixed quickly, the report concluded.

In 2008, more than 870 cyber incident alerts were issued to the organization responsible for air traffic control operations and by the end of the year 17 percent (more than 150 incidents) had not been remediated, "including critical incidents in which hackers may have taken over control" of operations computers, the report said.

The FAA is "identifying and fixing weaknesses," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told The Wall Street Journal. "We are working on developing security architecture for that whole system."

However, Brown dismissed the notion that hackers could get access to critical air traffic control operational systems.

The audit of the air traffic control systems was requested by the ranking minority members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Aviation Subcommittee.

by: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10236028-83.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Windows 7 System Requirements Finalized

2009-05-04T08:09:00.001-07:00

System requirements for Windows 7 aren’t any great mystery, but now we’re getting a much better idea of what it’ll say on the retail box.

Microsoft posted relatively modest system requirements (at least for any computer belonging to a Tom’s Hardware reader) when it released the Windows 7 public beta in January and only slightly modified them for the release of yesterday’s Release Candidate.

The system requirements for the beta at the time called for:

* 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
* 1 GB of system memory
* 16 GB of available disk space
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)

The system requirements published yesterday for the official Release Candidate are the following:

* 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
* 1 GB of RAM (32-bit)/2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
* 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit)
* DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher driver

The only real changes to the system requirements since January are slightly bumped up ones for the 64-bit version, though we suspect anyone who plans to run the x64 build will have a machine that’s way beyond the minimum (having at least 4 GB of RAM would be a good starting point).

While the system requirements posted yesterday apply to the Release Candidate, Microsoft told ZDNet that they were ‘final’, though it’s unknown if there will be different requirements between different SKUs such as Starter Edition or Ultimate Edition. “The system requirements are final and not SKU-specific,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.

Those who plan to run XP Mode will need at least 2 GB RAM, 15 GB of additional hard drive space and a processor that supports hardware virtualization.

According to early tests, Windows 7 performs better than Windows Vista on the same hardware.

"It's been a long time since we've had a version of Windows that will actually run better [than the previous version] on the hardware that most customers have," Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Windows product management group, said during a conference call with reporters, quoted by ComputerWorld.

Windows 7 does carry with it slightly heftier system requirements than Vista does, despite it being a better performer. From one generation to the next – and three years later – Windows 7’s system demands does seem positively modest.

For reference, Windows Vista’s system requirements are:

* 1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
* 512 MB of RAM (for Home Basic); 1 GB of RAM for all other versions
* 15 GB of available disk space
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory (for Home Basic); 128 MB of graphics memory plus WDDM support for all other versions

by: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-system-requirements-hardware-rc,7701.html

Google sued over Android name

2009-05-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

Illinois developer Erich Specht, sued Google and some 47 other companies in the Open Handset Alliance for using his trademark.

Specht claims he has the rights to the Android name which denotes Google's version of Linux that adorns their handsets. Specht has registered the trademark in 2000 and two years later, the US Patent and Trademark Office awarded the trademark to Android Data, Specht's company.

According to the USPTO, no application would be granted the exclusive right to use the term data, therefore making "android" that dominant word and the trademark. However Android Data never amounted to anything and was dissolved in 2004.

Specht claims that he was not aware that Android was software and thought it was something to do with mobile hardware. Not surprisingly Google said that the case has no merit and it will defend against it. It would not surprise us, however, if it just gave him some money to go away and not tell us about it.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13486&Itemid=1

Windows Vista SP2 RTM is now on MSDN

2009-04-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

As well as Windows Server 2008

It looks like Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RTM and Windows Server 2008 RTM just made their ways out of Microsoft’s closed testing environment and into the homes of happy beta testers. According to company officials, channel partners and MSDN subscribers are now able to get their hands on these fresh new releases.

"Today we are announcing the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement. It includes all updates that have been delivered since SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards."

Microsoft has mentioned that the key benefits of Vista SP2 include Windows Search 4.0 for improved searching performance, the ability to natively record data to Blu-ray in Windows Explorer, a Bluetooth feature pack to support the 2.1 specification (perhaps 3.0 as well?), more simplified Wi-Fi configuration with Windows Connect Now (WCN), and UTC time zone support in the exFAT file system.

The company has also stated that the SP1 Service Pack Blocker Tool is being removed today, as was announced back in January. Service Pack 1 will now be available in Windows Update, but we highly recommend skipping it and getting a download of Service Pack 2 when it is publicly made available.

It comes as no surprise to us that Windows Vista SP2 RTM version 6.0.6006.18005 is already circulating around torrent portals in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The majority of industry is expecting Microsoft to make the update publicly available sometime this week. While no plans have been confirmed, it is best to stay patient until an announcement has been made.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13416&Itemid=38

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 Lets You Browse Privately

2009-04-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

Find yourself visiting websites only soon after trying to cover your tracks by clearing the browser cache and history? If so, then you might be a candidate for Firefox 3.5 Beta 4.

Zoom

If you’re wondering what happened to beta versions 1 through 3, they were labeled as Firefox 3.1, but Mozilla decided that the jump in features from 3.0.x were significant enough to make the numbers a bit further apart.

Although the latest versions of Chrome and Safari feature private browsing modes, Firefox 3.5 brings the most fully-featured implementation of it thus far.

The private browsing mode, enabled under the Tools menu, will not store any trace of pages visited, form or search entries, passwords, download lists (though downloads stored on the hard drive will remain), cookies and cache.

Clearly the first use for this mode is for those to feel less paranoid when browsing more adult-oriented sites, but it can also be used for secretly shopping for gifts on shared computers.

Firefox 3.5 also adds geo-location support. The completely optional feature, which Mozilla promises is designed with the utmost care for the user’s privacy, uses IP addresses, wireless access points and GPS data (sent over SSL) to provide web services with location-specific information. A search for pizza will show results closest to you first, and mapping software will determine your starting point automatically.

The newest Firefox also incorporates support for new web technologies such as HTML5 and elements, downloadable fonts and other new CSS properties, JavaScript query selectors, HTML5 offline data storage for applications, and SVG transforms.

Even if the new features don’t interest you, general browsing speed is improved with the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine and improved Gecko layout engine, which includes speculative parsing for faster content rendering.

Download Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 here, though as with all beta software we recommend it only for experienced and adventurous users.

by: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/firefox-beta-porn-private-mode,news-30997.html

New Drivers from Ati and Nvidia

2009-04-14T05:18:00.002-07:00

Both Nvidia and ATI released new drivers over the past few days: Nvidia's GeForce 185.68 beta driver and ATI's Catalyst 9.4

Wednesday Nvidia quietly released a new GeForce beta driver, supporting the GeForce 9 series, 100 series, and the 200 series desktop GPUs. Now listed as v185.68 (98,9 MB), the only new feature the beta driver offers is optimized performance for the PC game The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Originally, v185 brought support for the new GeForce GTX 275 GPU and CUDA 2.2. The driver also gave many PC games a considerable performance boost including Crysis: Warhead (22-percent), Far Cry 2 (14-percent), and Mirror's Edge (45-percent). In addition, Nvidia added support for the GeForce Plus Power Pack #3 as well as provide numerous bug fixes.

Consumers interested in downloading the new v185.68 beta drivers can do so by hitting the links provided below:

Nvidia GeForce Driver 185.68 Beta: Windows XP (32bit) (64bit)

Nvidia GeForce Driver 185.68 Beta: Windows Vista (32bit) (64bit)

TZoomhursday AMD also released a new driver, Catalyst 9.4, just twenty-two days after the release of v9.3. In this release, AMD has included the new ATI Overdrive auto-tune application, a program that finds over-clocked engine and memory values for Radeon cards that support the ATI Overdrive feature (in this case, the Radeon HD 4000 series). The ATI Overdrive technology allows for safe overclocking by constantly monitoring the GPU temperature, ensuring that it always stays at a safe level. More additional info regarding ATI Overdrive can be found here.

Furthermore, the Catalyst 9.4 driver also addresses a few additional issues including a problem with flickering in World of Warcraft when Shadow is set to medium/high using ATI CrossFire configurations, full screen resolution problems above 1024 x 768 for specific HDMI displays, and many other issues.

"We work hard to deliver the best platform solutions that consist of CPU and GPU, said AMD senior manager of advanced marketing Ian McNaughton. "As the only company in the industry that can deliver both we have the unique opportunity to develop free software to optimize performance across AMD-based platforms. I don’t think we say enough about our gaming software."

by: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Nvidia-GeForce-ATI-Catalyst-Drivers,7523.html

Bad News From Microsoft

2009-04-14T05:18:00.001-07:00

A new survey reveals that 84 per cent of IT pros don't have plans to upgrade to Windows 7 in the next year and that half of respondents are considering alternatives.

The survey, which was conducted by Dimension Research and commissioned by KACE, a systems management appliance company. The survey had 1,142 respondents and 99 per cent of them had a Windows installed at their companies.

We don't know who Dimension Research are, but clearly they didn't think through there questions very well. Windows 7 is in beta at the moment, few companies would consider upgrading their operating systems until the operating system has bedded in a while. The fact that 16 per cent are thinking of doing so in the next year is unusual.

It means that IT pros think it possible that they will upgrade their systems in just six months to make the leap. The rest of the statistics make Microsoft look good. Within two years, 59 per cent of IT pros plan to upgrade to Windows 7.

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13157&Itemid=38

Intel Launches Nehalem Xeon Chips

2009-04-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

Intel has officially launched its latest Nehalem-based Xeon processors, the single-socket 3500 and dual-socket 5500 series for servers and workstations.

While the announcement may seem a bit stale in light of all the hubbub about the desktop Xeons such as the latest Mac Pros and the Lenovos D20 and S20 offering Nvidia Quadro or ATI FirePro graphics, and Nvidia's Tesla C1060 GPU co-processor platform.

CNet reports that fresh announcements are due today from the bigger server suppliers, among them IBM. "If you thoroughly maximize the capabilities of Nehalem, generation to generation you can get something like two times the performance capability," said Alex Yost, vice president IBM BladeCenter.

According to Mercury News, HP yesterday launched 11 products incorporating Xeon 5500 chips, including blade servers, rack servers and tower servers.

When asked where these new releases would leave AMD's Shanghai server processor, Intel’s Pat Gelsinger told the Financial Times that Intel sees Nehalem having a huge impact on AMD's four-socket business.

"The performance gains we showed over the previous 5400 processor, all 30 of them are new two-socket records, and every one of those benchmarks bar one beats the four-socket Shanghai," explained Gelsinger. "We see Nehalem having a much bigger impact on their four-socket business than our own four-socket one," he concluded.

The launch of Intel’s Xeon processors comes in the middle of the company’s legal battle with Nvidia over the its new line of processors. Intel doesn’t believe that Nvidia has the right to design integrated memory controllers. Intel filed a lawsuit back in February which stated that the chipset license agreement the two companies signed four years ago does not extend to its future generation CPUs with integrated memory controllers.

The new processors are now shipping for $188 to $1,600 for the Xeon 5500 and $284 to $999 for the Xeon 3500. Hit up the press release for the full scoop.

by: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-Nehalem-Xeon-3500-5500,7419.html

Geforce 185.66 beta drivers

2009-04-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Within the past 72 hours, Nvidia has released Geforce 185.63 beta and Geforce 185.65 beta drivers for its Geforce 8-series (G92), 9-series, and 200-series GPUs. Apparently, these releases didn’t meet up to the company’s expectations so it pulled them and came back today with an update, Geforce 185.66 beta.

These drivers are identical in feature set to .65, including support for Ambient Occlusion, the newly released Geforce GTX 275, and CUDA 2.2 for improved performance in GPU Computing applications.

As we mentioned yesterday, this release reinstates the Ambient Occlusion feature, although to a more limited extent. In 185.20 beta, the setting could be set to Low, Medium, High and Off. In the more refined .63 and .65, only On and Off can be selected. On another note, Nvidia claims the following examples of improvement over official Geforce 182-family drivers:

Up to 11% performance increase in Call of Duty: World at War. Up to 5% performance increase Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. Up to 22% performance increase Crysis: Warhead with antialiasing enabled. Up to 11% performance increase in Fallout 3 with antialiasing enabled. Up to 14% performance increase in Far Cry 2. Up to 45% performance increase in Mirror's Edge with antialiasing enabled.

Again, the drivers are bundled with the PhysX 9.09.0203 WHQL system software and include support for GeForce Plus Power Pack #3.

Geforce 185.66 beta Vista 64-bit

Geforce 185.66 beta Vista 32-bit

Geforce 185.66 beta XP 64-bit

Geforce 185.66 beta XP 32-bit

by: http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12997&Itemid=1

Eee PC With Optical Drive

2009-03-30T04:47:00.001-07:00

The original idea of the netbook, at least in modern terms, was for a light, no-frills, barebones PC that was used to access and communicate on the internet. After all, that’s why it was called a ‘net’book.

Like in many other product categories, companies are not only competing on price, but also in features. Just as how the Honda Civic grew far enough from its humble origins that it’s no longer the entry-level offering, it seems netbooks are growing closer just becoming notebooks.

According to Digitimes, Asus will next month launch the Eee PC E1004DN, which will have an optical disc drive. The E1004DN reported to sport an Intel Atom N280 CPU paired with GN40 chipset, a 120 GB hard drive, and will retail between $531 and 590 -- sitting straight inside the territory of budget notebooks.

In May Asus is expected to launch the aesthetically-oriented 1008HA, which could also encroach on full notebook ground.

There’s no arguing that today’s netbooks are more capable and feature-filled than products from just a year ago, but are netbook makers losing sight of the original philosophy behind the concept?

by: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/asus-eee-netbook-optical-drive,7406.html

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 275 Specs Revealed

2009-03-21T02:53:00.000-07:00

Although the specifications were not officially announced, details regarding the upcoming GeForce GTX 275 have surfaced.

There's nothing juicer than a good rumor, especially when gamers are looking for quality, performance, and value. There's certainly a lot of talk about Nvidia and ATI GPUs lately, with leaked specs, tasty rumors and thorough speculations circling the industry every day. However, when evidence presents itself without pictures or proof from official sources, sometimes information can be nothing more than a little hoopla and high hopes.

Fudzilla, claims that it scored a few details regarding the upcoming GeForce GTX 275. The site reports that the GTX 275 actually looks like a GTX 295 with a higher clock. By comparison, the GTX 275, featuring a 55nm GT200 GPU, clocks in at 633 MHz with a 1164 MHz memory clock; the GTX 295 has a core clock speed of 576 MHz and a memory clock of 999 MHz. However, both cards provide a 448-bit memory interface and uses GDDR3 memory. Additionally, the GTX 275 will share a trait with the GeForce GTX 285 as well, both offering 240 shaders.

Sporting a single GPU, the GeForce GTX 275 will be a dual-slot card with the usual CUDA, PhysX, and 3-way SLI support, selling for $249 when it ships during the second week of April. For the price, the card will certainly offer an impressive amount of power although the Radeon HD 4890, set to hit shelves around the same time, will give it a run for its money. With a core clock of 850 MHz and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, the meatier ATI offering will more than likely be the dominant card if the price isn't set too high.

Still, until Nvidia dishes out the official info or the GeForce GTX 275 actually surface, fans will just have to suffice with supposed facts and rumors.

ATI's HD 4890 doesn't come on April 6th

2009-03-21T02:52:00.001-07:00

According to the info we've gotten our hands on, ATI's HD 4890 will be launched on Thursday, April 9th and not on Monday April 6th.

We heard the April 6th date before, but our sources are telling us the new date is April 9th. The new date reportedly isn't a delay, and as far as we could find out, the launch date was never supposed to be 6th of April in the first place.

AMD used the "week of April 6th" as a guidance for its partners and someone most probably mistook it for a launch date. The new date is April 9th, and Thursday is the D-Day for the HD 4890 card. The RV740 should come at the end of April or early in May, but the launch is too far to speculate about the precise date.

PC Gaming News

2009-03-17T03:14:00.000-07:00

Leaked Wolfenstein Multiplayer Screens?
Apparently, there's a load of "leaked" environmental screenshots from Raven's upcoming Wolfenstein title over on Photobucket, taken from the multiplayer portion. While Activision could not "confirm their authenticity" (thanks Shack), the copyright information at the bottom right corner could or could not mean that these screens are genuine. Still, they're cool to look at and gets us pumped up for the game's summer release.

Unreal Engine 3 Goes MMOG
This morning Epic Games said that it will sport new Unreal Engine 3 features next week at the Game Developers Conference, revealing an integrated MMOG back-end environment (Atlas Technology), a new content browser and search engine, the Unreal Master Control Program, and the Unreal Lightmass, a new global illumination solver. As for the Atlas Technology aspect, announced today by Epic Games China, the UE3 engine now supports MMOG content creation that is already licensed by developers in North America, Asia and Europe. “The increasingly competitive MMOG landscape is forcing developers to commit to exceptional production values. UE3 combined with Atlas Technology gives development teams a firm foundation to help them bring their products to market,” said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic Games.

New Add-On Scenario for Final Fantasy XI Soon
This morning, Square Enix said that the first of three add-on scenarios for Final Fantasy XI will go on sale March 23. Called "A Crystalline Prophecy - Ode of Life Bestowing," the content will cost $9.99 via the PlayOnline viewer but won't be accessible until early April. According to Square Enix, the creation of the three upcoming content packs is led by Masato Kato, the mastermind behind the Final Fantasy XI stories and scenarios as well as the first expansion pack, Rise of the Zilart. As for the new content pack, the story goes like this: "One day, a giant crystal appeared in the skies above Jeuno, triggering a series of unexplained happenings across the land. Now, adventurers will set forth to unravel the mysteries of this primordial crystal that holds the secret of Vana’diel’s past."

Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins Launches Today
Uforia announced that its new MMO Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins really begins tonight -or at least its cash shop- at 8 PM Pacific Standard Time. The company said that players who participated in the open beta last week will be able to keep and play with that character. However, changes were made to the PK balance system to make for more even gameplay. "Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins has received a great response in just the few short weeks since we announced it and held some beta tests," said Mike Min, Game Operations Producer of Uforia. "Now we are inviting the community and fans and MMO players out there to come and enjoy the full Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins experience."

Wallace and Gromit Demo
Telltale Games released a playable demo of Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures, located over on FilePlanet (meh) and Yahoo Games for now, with more websites taking on the download burden tomorrow. According to the company, the series will launch next week, however the demo pieces a few scenes from the upcoming first episode. Players can check out the demo with either a keyboard or gamepad, and the demo even supports Italian, Spanish, German and French. Don't forget, through Monday, March 23 we're offering a really great deal for people who preorder the season," says the company. "You can get the entire four episode series for $26 -- that's 25% off the regular $34.95 price."

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/PC-Gaming-News,news-30633.html

Nvidia spent $43.6 million on faulty graphics chips

2009-03-17T03:13:00.000-07:00

In the last fiscal year Nvidia spent $43.6 million on warranties and product replacement claims, due to the lousy die packaging. We wrote about this before and you might remember that although the problem was existent on desktops as well, it's the laptop thermals that escalated the problem, whereas desktops happily chugged along thanks to superior cooling solutions.

Nvidia apparently set aside $196 million to deal with the warranties and replacement costs, which leaves $152.4 million still available. Nvidia also sent software updates to its vendors and the updates made the fans run more often in order to improve thermals and not stress these components to the point of breaking.

Still, the original $196 million might have been less than the company expected to pay for the slip-up, but the company still might have to cover the lawsuits from investors and angry customers, so they're still not in the clear.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12637&Itemid=1

Windows 7 Build 7057 Leaked

2009-03-14T02:45:00.000-07:00

With Windows 7 being the new hotness that could make things spiffy for many new (and some old) computers whenever it ships, every new build just adds to the anticipation.

Making its way through the intertubes as we speak is Windows 7 build 7057. Rejoice -- Microsoft is making progress! Deciphering the file name of the disc image indicates that this build was compiled on March 5, 2009, reports Neowin.

Interestingly enough, the About Windows screen indicates that this evaluation copy is good for a year, expiring in March 2010. Though run this unfinished version of Windows 7 would be assured that the final version, perhaps even for retail, will be available before the evaluation license expires.

As a better indication than anything else that the Release Candidate is just around the corner is the EULA that refers to the build 7057 as “Release Candidate 1.”

At this point we’d expect that development on Windows 7 is more about fine tuning and bug squashing rather than new features, but there are a few things that SuperSite picked up as new, such as new desktop themes and user account images.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/windows-7-beta-5075-rc,news-30617.html

First Nvidia Ion in Q2 2009

2009-03-14T02:44:00.000-07:00

Acer is the first one to leak its Ion design and we´ve heard that people like Zotac might have a reference nettop design out at some point. They are not alone, there will be more of them.

Our well informed sources have confirmed that the first Ion designs should be out in Q2 2009, while others will follow in Q3. Everyone making Atom based systems is interested, but it looks like that most OEMs want to see what happens to the first one that brings the design out.

Intel is a nasty player and partners know that. The big question is, do you really want to upset Intel and possibly hurt your business in 2009?

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12595&Itemid=1