IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 16/01/2009

iGoogle theme-building tool now available
Users who want to customize their personal iGoogle homepage even more can now get cracking to create their own themes with the help of a new tool made public by Google. The application doesn't require any XML knowledge and features a simple and friendly interface and a set of basic tools like image cropping, color schemes and real-time preview.

Once a theme is created, it is added to the user's iGoogle page and can be shared with others. The new theme tool can be checked out here.
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BFG has nothing but overclocked GeForce GTX 285 cards
Apparently not happy with what frequencies Nvidia has chosen for the GeForce GTX 285, BFG has decided to take the word 'stock' out of its GTX 285 offer and released only factory overclocked cards, four in total. Still based on Nvidia's reference design, the GeForce GTX 285 OC, OC+, OC2 and OCX all feature dual-slot coolers to cover their 240 Processing Cores-boasting 55nm GT200b GPU and 1024MB of GDDR3 memory, and have a 512-bit memory interface, DirectX 10 support and PhysX, GPGPU capabilities.

As opposed to the standard GPU, shader and memory clocks of 648, 1476 and 2484 MHz respectively, the new BFG cards reach 666/1512/2484 MHz (OC model), 675/1548/2520 MHz (OC+), 691/1566/2592 MHz (OC2) and 702/1584/2664 MHz (OCX). For the cards' prices you'll have to wait just a bit more.

Futuremark's 3DMark and PCMark database reaches 30 million results
The former mad onions at Futuremark Corporation have proudly announced that their online database has reached the milestone of 30 million 3DMark and PCMark benchmark results. According to the company, that number makes ORB, the world's largest source of PC system comparison data, with one new result being added to ie every 4 seconds.

"Weأ¢آ€آ™re very proud to celebrate 10 years of our flagship product by reaching this milestone of 30 million results," said Tero Sarkkinen, Futuremark's CEO. "The long lasting popularity of the 3DMark series comes from providing a useful service to gamers who wish to optimize their hardware. Instant access to over 30 million benchmark scores in the ORB database gives them unprecedented power to search and compare their gaming system to others."

As you might expect, Futuremark isn't stopping here and is surely working on its next generation of benchmarking tools that will keep ORB well supplied with scores.

Oracle said to layoff 10% of workforce
Unconfirmed reports from sources within Oracle state that the company has began to reduce its headcount by roughly 10%. An ex-Oracle employee who was subject to redundancy said that the company had been taking its time to issue statements because of internal Human Resources issues that needed to be resolved. A statement is likely to be released soon, he said.

With the lack of an official word from the company, it is unclear exactly how many people will be affected, but we do know that the majority of staff that will be asked to leave will come from consulting or sales departments, according to, again, anonymous staff that have already been affected.

"My manager would not disclose [the number of staff being cut] to me, but I overheard another laid-off consultant who said his group saw 200 people cut," said one US employee, who added he had received his notice by FedEx on Friday.

Losses have already occurred in the United States and India, but there is still no confirmation on whether the UK will be affected.
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Tarma Installer 5.4.3303
Tarma QuickInstall creates fast & friendly software installers for Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista and later platforms. It provides Windows-compliant installation and removal functionality with a small distribution size, a straightforward and simple user interface, and smart install and uninstall behavior in 27 languages. Tarma QuickInstall requires no scripting; it includes an intuitive and comprehensive development environment with extensive preflight checking to suit novices and experts alike.

Updates include:

- Fixed a regression problem that cleared some symbolic variables during Tin3 conversions
- Changed project I/O to prevent unintended upgrading of project items
- Added some hacks to DLL registration process to make it Vista-compatible for typelibs
- Updated RegCLR3Version and RegCLR35Version for greater robustness
- Fixed problem with registry value removal
- Changed component linking scheme during project file I/O for greater robustness
- Added support for side-by-side assembly policy installation
- Added per-configuration SignCode settings
- Added missing IA64 system requirements checks.
- Redesigned prerequisite handling. Prerequisite checking and installation is now implemented through prerequisite handlers: specialised action sequences that are executed if a prerequisite is missing and then perform the actions required to install it.
- If a Run Sequence action fails, its failure is now propagated up until the highest level. This makes it easier to terminate the installation process in case of problems. To cater for the new behavior, the predefined _ExitHandler action sequence (which is always executed, even upon failure) now displays the final Installation cancelled dialog box in case of error.

Download: Tarma 5.4.3303
Website: Tarma
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Upcoming Casio camera models reach 1000fps
Casio has just announced that it will be bringing ulta-cool slow motion directly into the hands of the consumer, this time skipping the stop-gap at the Matrix. The company's two new basic point n' shoot cameras are capable of super-slo-mo video capture, right there in your pocket.

True slow motion recordings involve an incredible number of frames being recorded per second, and then played back at a regular frame rate afterward - rather than just stretching each frame like some devices use to 'boast' the technology. The two new 9 megapixel devices will be capable of a maximum of 1000fps, and will likely be able to do playback at different speeds with a native resolution of 720p. Both cameras will also be capable of burst shots at 30fps, at 6 megapixels per shot, which could also result in ultra-high resolution video clips made up from the jpegs taken.

The devices will come in at $350-$400 each, and will boast 3-5x optical zoom depending on the model - as of yet, Casio has not announced when the products will be available in our local stores, but it should be before the end of Q2.
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GeForce GTX 285 reaches stores, reviews invade
After an official unveiling at CES last week, the GeForce GTX 285 has now finally begun to hit stores with Nvidia giving the thumbs up for the posting of articles reviewing its performance. Coming to claim the title of fastest single-GPU graphics card around, the GTX 285 is equipped with a 55nm-built GT200b GPU with 240 Processing Cores, has a 512-bit memory interface, PCI-Express 2.0 x16 connectivity, DirectX 10 and PhysX support, plus two DVI ports.

Requiring extra power through two 6-pin PCIe plugs, the card has its GPU, shaders and memory clocked at 648, 1476 and 2484 MHz respectively and a recommended price tag of $399. For a complete view of the GeForce GTX 285 be sure to check out the reviews

@ PC Perspective
@ AnandTech
@ Hexus
@ PC Games Hardware
@ Guru3D
@ FiringSquad
@ TweakTown - one and two
@ HotHardware
@ Hardware Canucks

ElcomSoft offers GPGPU-enabled WiFi network hacking tool
ElcomSoft has now released a GPGPU-ready version of Wireless Security Auditor 1.0, a software that enables system administrators to determine how safe is a wireless network. By tapping into the still not tamed power of today's GPUs, the application will do what it does best, attempting to hack into a WiFi network by recovering its original WPA/WPA2 PSK password, hundreds of times faster than when only CPUs were used.

According to Elcomsoft, the WSA supports both Nvidia and AMD GPUs, including the former's Quadro professional cards and the Tesla desktop supercomputers. Able to work on Windows XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003 andServer 2008, Elcomsoft Wireless Security Auditor is available for $1199.

Sapphire releases GDDR4-equipped Radeon HD 4670 card
Seeing as how AMD is letting Nvidia take the graphics spotlight in this beginning of 2009, Sapphire has decided to give an older card a new twist and released a Radeon HD 4670 with GDDR4 memory instead of the common GDDR3. Pictured below, the card has a blue PCB and a custom cooler with a noise output of less than 20 dBA, a 128-bit memory interface, 320 Stream Processors and comes with D-Sub, DVI and HDMI connectors.

Clock wise, the Radeon features a GPU frequency of 750MHz and the 512MB of onboard GDDR4 memory at 2200 MHz, up 200 MHz higher than reference models. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 GDDR4 can now be found for as low as 73 Euro.

Friday, January 16, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 16/01/2009

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