IT News HeadLines (Elite Bastards) 21/01/2010

No Half-Life 2: Episode Three this year?

I apologies for any spelling mistakes in this news post, the tears of sorrow and frustration are blurring my vision.آ Let's just hope this means that 2011 will bring us Half-Life 3 instead...

Half-Life 2: Episode Three will not be released this year, despite the latest "episodic" Valve instalment having been released almost two and a half years ago.

That's according to the latest issue of US mag Game Informer, which states that there won't be any new Half-Life instalments in 2010. What's more, it's not even clear what form the next game will come in - episodic or full sequel - says the mag.

Computer and Video Games brings us the bad news.

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TSMC says 40nm yield issues resolved

If feels like we've heard this headline a few times now, so have TSMC really nailed their 40 nanometre yield issues permanently this time?

TSMC has improved yield rates on its 40nm manufacturing process, with the quality now being about the same level as its 65nm node process, according Mark Liu, Senior VP of Operations at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). During a company event yesterday, Liu stated that the chamber matching problems that had impacted yield rates for the company's 40nm node have been resolved.

DigiTimes has the report.

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BioShock 2 available for pre-order on Steam

If you've been looking forward to the sequel to BioShock on the PC, then here's some good news for you - Not only will this title be available on Steam, but it's also available to be pre-purchased right now, complete with a 10% price reduction and a free copy of the original game!

Bioshock 2, the epic sequel from 2K Games, is coming to Steam and is now available for pre-purchase. Those who pre-purchase the game via Steam will save 10% off the regular price and receive a free copy of Bioshock. If you already own Bioshock, you may send the extra copy to a friend using Steam's Gifting functionality. And to help folks prepare for Bioshock 2's multiplayer action a Bioshock 2 Four Pack is also available for pre-purchase-- offering 10% off the regular price plus four free copies of the original game.

You can find out more at the Steam web site.

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NVIDIA GeForce/ION driver 196.21 WHQL released

If your NVIDIA graphics board is feeling neglected then fear not, for the GPU giant has today released a new set of WHQL drivers featuring updated PhysX software and a whole slew of new SLI profiles.

- Adds SLI and multi-GPU support for many top new gaming titles including Avatar Demo, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, City Bus Simulator, Dirt 2, Ferrari Virtual Race, GREED: Black Border, Mass Effect 2, Mortal Online, Ninja Blade, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Demo, Planet 51, RUSE, Serious Sam HD, and Wings of Prey.
- Upgrades PhysX System Software to version 9.09.1112.
- Includes numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release notes on the documentation tab for information about the key bug fixes in this release.

Download NVIDIA GeForce/ION driver 196.21 WHQL for Windows Vista/7 (32-bit)
Download NVIDIA GeForce/ION driver 196.21 WHQL for Windows Vista/7 (64-bit)

Download NVIDIA GeForce/ION driver 196.21 WHQL for Windows XP Home/Professional
Download NVIDIA GeForce/ION driver 196.21 WHQL for Windows XP Professional x64

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