The New MacBook Air, a close look :: Posted by THRASHER2
The New MacBook Air, a close look @ tcmagazine.com
No one was really surprised when Apple announced the MacBook Air update at its Back To The Mac event three weeks ago as the most famous thin and light notebook has been exactly the same since it hit the selves two years ago which is ages in the tech word
The MacBook Air is a product line that even though having earned some dedicated fans that swore under its name it never managed to become a mainstream success mainly for two reasons. Its price was high and also it didn't do enough to distinguish itself from the rest of Apple's 13-inch laptop lineup. With the new Macbook Air, Apple promises to deliver a portable computer that is lighter than the average netbook, comparable in size but with much more muscle, at a price which starts at $999.
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SteelSeries delivers MMO Keyset for the Shift gaming :: Posted by THRASHER2
MMO gamers can now acquire a new SteelSeries product made specifically for them, a custom keyset for the Shift keyboard which features a preconfigured layout labeled for movement, communication, and emotes.
The new keyset allows for quick access to the voice key for instant push-to-talk, it lets players switch between three layers of F keys including two emote layers, and includes three layers of A keys, which are preconfigured for custom mappings.
"The new MMO Keyset is an excellent example of how the SteelSeries Shift Keyboard is offering gamers an entirely new set-up, specific to the type of game theyÂ’re currently playing, without having to commit to a big purchase," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries' CEO.
The MMO keyset costs $24.99 / €24.99, while the Shift keyboard is $89.99 / €89.99.
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Razer and Belkin develop the Nostromo gaming keypad :: Posted by THRASHER2
Teaming up with Belkin, Razer has designed and now introduced a sexy new gaming peripheral, the Nostromo keypad which features a 'tournament-grade layout' with an adjustable soft-touch wrist pad, a backlit keyboard, 16 programmable keys, and an 8-way directional thumb pad and scroll wheel.
The keypad also supports up to 20 gaming profiles, it enables unlimited macros, and comes bundled with an 'all-new' configurator software.
"A few years ago we had the privilege of working with Belkin to co-develop the highly successful Belkin n52te Speedpad," said Robert 'RazerGuy' Krakoff, President, Razer. "The Razer Nostromo is an update to this illustrious gaming keypad to meet today's competitive gaming demands. Building on the Speedpad's proven ergonomic design, the Razer Nostromo incorporates the latest gaming technologies that Razer has developed over the past few years, including a new chipset and software drivers that allow all levels of gamers to program sophisticated command strings to help decimate their opponents."
The Nostromo is now available and costs $69.99 / €69.99.
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LaCie debuts the 260 MB/s-capable FastKey portable SSD :: Posted by THRASHER2
Beside releasing the LaCie FastKey, LaCie today also came up with the FastKey, a an external solid state drive with an USB 3.0 interface which makes use of DRAM cache technology and is claimed to provide transfer speeds of up to 260 MB/s.
The new drive measures 27 x 104 x 9 mm, weights 33 grams, has a metal casing, is bundled with software enabling AES 256-bit data encryption, and 4GB of secure online storage from Wuala.
The FastKey is backed by a two-year warranty and comes in 30GB ($149.99), 60GB ($249.99) and 120GB ($474.99) capacities.
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PNY rolls out 4GB & 8GB DDR3 kits for desktops and noteb :: Posted by THRASHER2
PNY Technologies has just announced the expansion of its Optima memory series with a quartet of DDR3 products, 4GB and 8GB DDR3-1333 kits for desktops and 4GB and 8GB DDR3-1066 kits for laptops. All four are dual-channel solutions.
The 4GB and 8GB kits cost $69.99 and $129.99, respectively, and are backed by a lifetime warranty.
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New Apple Safari 5 update available, includes stability, :: Posted by THRASHER2
Apple has just let loose the 5.0.3 update for the Safari browser which features multiple (27 to be exact) security-related fixes, as well as various tweaks aimed at boosting compatibility, stability and accessibility.
The non-security part of the patch includes the following:
- More accurate Top Hit results in the Address Field
- More accurate results in Top Sites
- Fixes an issue that could cause content delivered with the Flash 10.1 plug-in to overlap webpage content
- More reliable pop-up blocking
- Improved stability when typing into search and text input fields on www.netflix.com and www.facebook.com
- Improved stability when using JavaScript-intensive extensions
- Improved stability when using VoiceOver with Safari
Safari 5.0.3 is available here for Windows and Mac OS X.
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Windows XP Embedded-running phone available for purchase :: Posted by THRASHER2
If iOS, Android, Symbian and other mobile OSes don't quite cut it then know there's an alternative which may seem quite familiar, Windows XP Embedded. This OS powers the xpphone which has recently been made available to the public.
The xpphone measures 175 x 84 x 25.5 mm and weights 345 grams without the battery, but it packs a 3G module, an AMD .Super Mobile CPU., 512MB of RAM, 8/16GB of storage, a 4.8-inch touchscreen, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, and both VGA and USB ports.
The 8GB and 16GB xpphone cost $798 and $876, respectively, but you can get it without 3G for $732/$810. There's also the option of no 3G and DOS instead of Windows XP but then it isn't an xpphone anymore.
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MSI unveils the Wind Top AP2000 All-in-One desktop :: Posted by THRASHER2
Taiwanese company MSI today announced a new Wind Top series all-in-one PC, the AP2000 model which is designed specifically for business users and office environments but can also be used in commercial environments (restaurants, hotel reception desks).
The AP2000 runs Windows 7 Home Premium and has a 20-inch (1600 x 900) panel with optional single-touch, a 2.0 GHz Pentium P6100 processor, Intel HD graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a DVD writer, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 6-in-1 card reader, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and two 3W speakers. The AiO's price tag was not revealed.
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QNAP intros the TS-239 Pro II+ and TS-439 Pro II+ NAS server :: Posted by THRASHER2
QNAP Systems is readying the addition of two new NAS servers to its product offer, that of the 2-bay TS-239 Pro II+ and 4-bay TS-439 Pro II+ which come equipped with the relatively new Atom D425 1.8 GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, enabling 'superior performance and high reliability.'
Both storage servers support 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch SATA drives, have hot-swap capabilities, advanced RAID configurations, online RAID level migration, and are paired up with the 3.3 version of QNAP's NAS management software, and the QMobile multimedia app for iPhone and Android phones smartphones.
The TS-239 Pro II+ and TS-439 Pro II+ are set to go on sale this month.
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HTC Merge smartphone slips through Verizon's site :: Posted by THRASHER2
Courtesy of yet another net blooper we can feast our eyes on a few official photos of the HTC Merge smartphone which is coming out from Verizon Wireless very soon. The new mobile device is said to feature CDMA and GSM support, a 800 MHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 3.8-inch touchscreen.
The HTC Merge also includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and should run Android 2.2 when it decides to leave all leaks behind and actually hit stores.
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Arctic comes up with four 2.1 sound systems :: Posted by THRASHER2
Arctic Sound has today revealed to the worlds its latest creations, the S Series speaker systems which aim to be paired up with PCs, TVs, DVD/Blu-ray players and promise to deliver an 'excellent sound quality with rich bass and clear highs.'
The Arctic S family is made up of four models. First up, there's the Arctic Sound S151 which costs $29.90 / €23 and features two 3.5W speakers and a 10W subwoofer with built-in volume and bass control.
Next, there's the $37.90 / €29.15 S161 with 3.5W speakers that have a circular design and built-in blue LEDs, and a solid 11W subwoofer.
Moving up the cost ladder we find the S361 which comes with dual-driver speakers (2 x 18W) and subwoofer (40W), a wired remote control pod, and a price tag of $99 / €77.
Last in the line is the S362 system which features two 12W satellites, a 50W subwoofer packing a 144mm high fidelity membrane, and costs $109.90 / €84.50. This one, like the models above, is backed by a two-year warranty.
All prices mentioned don't include VAT.
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Enermax's new Twister Bearing fans get priced :: Posted by THRASHER2
Enermax has just revealed the European pricing scheme of the case fans announced earlier this month, the T.B.Apollish, T.B.Vegas Duo and T.B.Vegas Trio. These models all feature a Twister Bearing, a Focus Blade design and come equipped with LED lights.
Detailed in full below, Enermax's fans come with the following price tags:
- T.B.Apollish - 80mm (€6.99) | 120mm (€9.99) | 140mm (€14.99)
- T.B.Vegas Duo - 80mm (€11.99) | 120mm (€18.99) | 140mm (€23.99)
- T.B.Vegas Trio - 120mm (€24.99)
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iBuyPower debuts the Madge XLC M1 AMD-based gaming PC :: Posted by THRASHER2
iBuyPower has now added a new member to its XLC (Extreme Liquid Cooling) family of gaming PC, the Madge XLC M1 which is based on an AMD platform can comes equipped, by default, with an Asetek liquid cooling system boasting a 240mm radiator.
The fresh gaming machine can be housed in an NZXT Phantom or Cooler Master HAF 932 chassis, and features up to a Phenom II X6 processor, a maximum of 16GB of RAM, up to two Radeon HD 5970 or GeForce GTX 580 cards, two hard or solid state drives, one/two optical drives, and a power supply pumpin' 1500W.
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Maingear rolls out the ALT-15 & ALT-17 multimedia notebo :: Posted by THRASHER2
Maingear today expanded its laptop offer and introduced the ALT-15 (15.6-inch) ALT-17 (17.3-inch) laptops which are based on Intel's Calpella platform and come equipped with a GeForce GT 425M 1GB card backed by Nvidia's Optimus graphics switching technology.
The new mobile machines have LED-backlit displays with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, a DVD or Blu-ray drive, a HDD, SSD or HHD (hybrid hard drive) for up to 750GB of storage space, a 2.0 megapixel webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi.
The ALT-15 has a base price tag of $1,049, while the ALT-17 starts at $1,099.
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3DMark 11 to be released on November 30th, pre-orders :: Posted by THRASHER2
Futuremark has just announced that its highly-anticipated DirectX 11-capable benchmarking software, 3DMark 11, will be available on November 30th in three versions - free, Advanced and Professional, the latter two being up for pre-order at $19.95 and $995, respectively.
The incoming test tool features three pre-defined presets (Entry, Performance and Extreme) and requires a system running Windows Vista or 7 that has at least a 1.8 GHz dual-core Intel or AMD processor, 1GB of RAM, 1.5GB of free storage space and a DirectX 11 graphics card.
For a bit more info about 3DMark 11's editions, and maybe a pre-order, see this page . For more drooling, click play on the video below.
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Cooler Master delivers Nvidia-themed HAF X PC case :: Posted by THRASHER2
Continuing is collaboration with Nvidia, Cooler Master has now introduced a customized version of the HAF X full-tower chassis which instead of an all-black paint job, it has a black and green color scheme. Green is of course, Nvidia's color of choice.
Aside from the change in coloring, there's nothing new about the Nvidia-flavored case so it measures 230 (W) x 550 (H) x 590 (D) mm, and features a tool-free design and a 'refined' cable management system, six exposed 5.25-inch bays, a front I/O panel with eSATA, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire and audio ports, a SATA dock, a side window, three pre-drilled holes for watercooling tubing, and four fans - a 230mm fan winth green LEDs in front, two 200mm models (top and side), and a 140mm fan (rear).
The HAF X Nvidia Edition is selling for $229.99.
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Club 3D readies overclocked Radeon HD 6870 :: Posted by THRASHER2
Dutch add-in board maker has now exposed its latest Barts-based graphics card, the Radeon HD 6870 Overclocked Edition which features a custom dual-slot cooler (with two heatpipes apparently) and upped clocks - 940 MHz (900 MHz stock) for the GPU and 4400 MHz (4200 MHz) for the memory.
Club 3D's card also has 1120 Stream Processors, a 256-bit memory interface, 1GB of GDDR5 VRAM, DirectX 11, CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, plus dual-DVI, one HDMI 1.4 and two mini DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The retail date and price tag of the Radeon HD 6870 Overclocked Edition are currently MIA (Missing in action).
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Viking Modular develops 8GB very low profile DDR3 memory :: Posted by THRASHER2
California-based Viking Modular Solutions today introduced a trio of 8GB VLP (very low profile) DDR3 registered memory modules designed specifically for use in demanding environmental conditions like those in telecommunications, enterprise, cloud and embedded computing markets.
"Viking Modular continues to be at the forefront of developing leading DRAM packaging and stacking capabilities," said Adrian Proctor, Vice President of Marketing for Viking Modular Solutions. "This new DDR3 8GB VLP RDIMM allows our OEM customers in the enterprise server, storage and embedded markets the flexibility to upgrade new or existing platforms to maximum memory capacities."
Now available for qualification, the new RDIMMs utilize Viking's patent-pending BGA stacking technology, feature 2Gbit DRAMs, thermal sensing energy management, work at 800/1066/1333 MHz while powered at 1.35V to 1.5V, and can operate at -40 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees C.
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GeForce 263.09 driver outed for GeForce GTX 580, GTX 460 SE :: Posted by THRASHER2
After probably getting approval from Nvidia, card maker EVGA has made available a new WHQL-certified graphics driver, the GeForce 263.09 which includes support for the GeForce GTX 580 flagship and the 288 core-packing GeForce GTX 460 SE.
The GeForce 263.09 comes with the PhysX System Software v9.10.0514 and the HD Audio driver v1.1.9.0, and can be downloaded from this page .
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Zotac shows its own GTX 460 SE :: Posted by THRASHER2
The 288 Cores GTX 460
Following Nvidia's official release of the GTX 460 SE, Zotac has also rolled out its version of this card.
The GTX 460 SE is still based on the GF104 GPU and features 288 CUDA cores as opposed to the 336 on the regular GTX 460. The card works at 650MHz for the GPU and 1300MHz clock for Shader units. It has 1GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 3400MHz and paired up with a 256-bit memory interface. The card has a dual-slot cooler with a center placed fan, and features two DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.
The card is yet ot show up in retail but you can expect a price similar to the GTX 460 768MB version.
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Hacker claims to have cracked AMD chips :: Posted by THRASHER2
Not sure about this one
A hacker claims to have discovered a debugging mechanism within AMD CPUs which enables people to learn more about how exactly AMD's chips work, and reverse engineer them. [I'm gonna build one in my shed over the weekend. sub.ed.]
The hacker “Czerno” posted his findings here. He claims that AMD processors have included firmware-based debugging features that expand greatly over standard, architecturally defined capabilities of x86. “Czerno” does not know why, but claims AMD has been secretive about these features which we would have thought would have given them some advantage over Intel. He said that hint of their existence was gained by glancing at the list of undocumented machine specific registers (MSRs). He said that there are four new machine specific registers (MSR) that are involved in the expanded debug facilities.
All those MSRs are "password" protected against casual access: read/write access (RDMSR/WRMSR) to the registers is granted only if EDI holds the correct password value (9C5A203A), otherwise, a GPF exception occurs. All these registers default/reset values are zero. The registers may do something with built-in self test of microprocessors. However they could also be something to run the processor's microcode during development. However since “Czerno” has been a bit vague about it all it is not clear if any of it is true.
We wonder if our readers have views on it.
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MSI working on HD 6870 Twin Frozr II card :: Posted by THRASHER2
Cooler and quieter
MSI is working on its custom made AMD HD 6870 graphics card. Of course, as you could have guessed, MSI plans to use its Twin Frozr II cooler on this card which should make the card a bit cooler and a bit more quieter compared to the reference cooled card.
The Twin Frozr II cooler is quite well known as MSI used it on wide variety of both Nvidia and AMD cards. According to the report, the Twin Frozr II cooler shoudl keep the HD 6870 GPU up to 19 °C cooler and 12.8 dB quieter than the reference cooler. The cooler has 8mm heatpipes connected to a rather large aluminum heatsink that is cooled by two 90mm fans.
The report didn't reveal if the card will be factory overclocked but the overclocking potential should be pretty good. The new card should be available pretty soon.
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Media Markt gets AMD :: Posted by THRASHER2
Some like the Vision
Media Markt has finally started to sell AMD systems in its stores and those that are familiar with Media Markt know quite well that this has been an Intel-only store for quite some time. However, it looks like AMD managed to squeeze itself in and that those shopping in the Media Markt will finally see some of those Vision stickers.
The latest brochure from Media Markt includes Acer Aspire 7551 notebook and HP dv7, running either AMD Athlon II P320 GPU with HD 4250 graphics, or in the HP dv7 a Phenom II and HD 5650 graphics. The lineup doesn't end there as Media Markt is apparently happy to offer a couple of Acer and HP desktop systems based on AMD insides as well. Media Markt Germany has still to update its offer but we are quite sure that this will happen pretty soon.
This happens some eighteen months after EU fined Intel for granting discounts to several retailers in order to exclusively sell Intel-based systems and it looks like things are finally starting to tip into AMD's favour.
The guys from Tweakers.net managed to get a nice clear screenshot of this brochure but we are quite sure that Media Markt isn't the only one on AMD's list and other shops might get products with Vision stickers pretty soon.
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NY teen makes $130,000 selling white iPhone kits :: Posted by THRASHER2
Accused of selling stolen goods
A 17-year-old New Yorker has made more than $130,000 selling white iPhone conversion kits.
Fei Lam started flogging the kits a couple of months ago at the "bargain" price of $279 and so far he has managed to sell about 500 units.
However, the young entrepreneur got a letter from a private investigator who accused him of selling stolen goods. Lam told The New York Observer that the claims were ridiculous and that he was 100 percent sure the parts were not stolen and that they were bought from a source close to Foxconn.
"There are a couple of other sellers online and somehow I'm the 'focus' of it all. I think this guy is just trying to scare me into stop selling on behalf of Apple," he said. "I don't know how this legal stuff works."
Lam is planning to use his earnings to help pay for college and set up a small startup. Considering he managed to make $130,000 in two months and irk Apple in the process, we believe he will do quite well.
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Sapphire HD 6850 Toxic Edition :: Posted by THRASHER2
Preview: OC'd to 960, matches 6870 performance
Sapphire HD 6850 Toxic Edition is the first Sapphire-flavored card from the new AMD HD 6000 series. The HD 6850 Toxic Edition boasts original Sapphire cooling and the card is overclocked for extra performance. The HD 6850 Toxic's GPU runs at 820MHz whereas the GDDR5 memory comes clocked at 1100MHz (4400MHz effectively). Reference clocks, as you may remember, are 775MHz for the GPU and 1000MHz for the memory (4000MHz effectively)
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Point of View / TGT GTX 580 Ultra Charged :: Posted by THRASHER2
Preview: Reinventing Nvidia @ fudzilla.com
TGT is definitely keen on showing everyone they mean business, and the GTX 580 Ultra Charged stands as proof of this. This is one of the first factory overclocked GTX 580 cards and its clocks are pretty high compared to the reference ones. While the reference cards run at 772MHz for the GPU and 1002MHz (4008MHz effectively) for the GDDR5 memory, Point of View / TGTÂ’s GTX 580 Ultra Charged comes with a GPU clocked at 841MHz and memory at 1026MHz (4104MHz effectively).
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AMD rolls out Catalyst 10.11 :: Posted by THRASHER2
New driver for the new month
AMD has updated its Catalyst drivers to a new WHQL version, 10.11. Although the list of the performance improvements is less than impressive, the new drive does fix some issues that were noticable under Windows 7 and Windows Vista OS.
The new driver includes the AMD display driver and Catalyst Control Center, both version 8.791, and features performance improvements for ATI Radeon HD 5800 series single and Crossfire configurations in Battleforge and STALKER - Call of Pripyat benchmark games/benchmarks. The performance increase includes up to 3% for Battleforge with anti-aliasing disabled and STALKER - COP gets up to 5%.
The resolved issues list is a bit longer as it includes couple of key fixes known to happen with ATI/AMD graphics cards and Windows 7 and Windows Vista. You can check out the full list in release notes at the download link.
It is still a minor update but you can find it here just in case that you are plagued by one of those issues.
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Bizarre may have sale options :: Posted by THRASHER2
A number of companies express interest
Just a day after things were looking bad for the folks at Bizarre Creations, a number of sources are claiming that numerous companies have expressed an interest to Activision in purchasing the developer. Reportedly, a meeting took place that confirmed this was the case to the higher-ups at Bizarre.
While the mood of doom and gloom has changed to at least some optimism, it is not clear yet who the “interested companies” might be that would want to take Bizarre off Activision’s hands. Apparently, whispers confirm that while employees were given notice of a potential closure or sale of the company, the staff remains on consultation status for at least the next ninety days, so there is time yet to get a deal done.
From the shadows we are hearing that perhaps the most likely company that may want to acquire Bizarre is none other than Microsoft. Talk has been circulating for some time now that Microsoft would like to revive the Project Gotham Racing franchise; and since Bizarre is the creator of the franchise, who better to take up the reigns and again resume development on a new PGR title?
Our sources confirm that Microsoft might not be the only option for Activision to sell the studio. Apparently, a couple of other publishers have also expressed an interest in the developer, but it isnÂ’t yet clear who those other potential suitors might be. While it would seem that a deal with Microsoft would likely be the best and most likely option, some rumblings we have heard suggest that several other publishers have IP that they own that we could see a revival of, provided they are able to land the talent at Bizarre.
We will just have to wait and see what happens, but at least it is a ray of hope for the developer to continue. One of the biggest questions that seem to now be floating around is whether the Blur IP might be part of any sale that Activision might do. While some sources suggest that it is possible, several have told us that it is unlikely the Blur IP would be part of any sale. The news all but crushes the possibility of a Blur sequel in the immediate future, but in the long term you just never know.
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Zambezi lineup slide shows up :: Posted by THRASHER2
125W for the top one
The guys from Ati-Forum.de have managed to get their hands on an AMD's Zambezi slide which shows some info regarding AMD's new lineup that should start to show up sometime in the second quarter of 2011.
The lineup includes a total of four Zambezi CPUs, two 8-cores, one 6-core and one 4-core, all with Turbo Boost. The two 8-cores share the same amount of L3 cache, 8MB, and should be the first ones that will appear during the first half of the 2Q 2011. The top one will have a 125W TDP while the second will have a 95W TDP and it will probably be somewhat slower.
The 6- and 4-core parts should show up in the second half of Q2 2011, and both will have a 95W TDP. The 6-core will have a same amount of L3 cache as the 8-core models while the 4-core will have half of that, 4MB. Of course, it is still early to talk about the precise date and things might change while we get closer to Q2 2011, but for now AMD's roadmap looks like that.
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Microsoft launches Lync 2010 :: Posted by THRASHER2
Office Communications Server in drag
Software Imperium Microsoft has just launched Lync 2010 which is the next generation of Office Communications Server (OCS).
Lync is a beefed up version of the OCS and allows different forms of communication from one UI. In other words instant messages, voice calls, video calls, meetings, and shared whiteboard sessions can all be lumped together. Lync also includes enterprise voice functions whould should help reduce the cost of telco infrastructure.
The software works with Office, SharePoint, and Exchange and replaces OCS 2007, released in November 2007, and OCS 2007 R2, released in February 2009. Microsoft tells us that it will be in the shops from December 1. There is also Lync Online, which includes instant messaging, presence, audio and video conferencing, and PC-to-PC voice calls, will come as part of Office 365, with voice capabilities slated to arrive in 2011.
Lync can work with Windows Live Messenger for voice and video conversations. One function which is amusing is that if you are conducting a conference call and one person has poor audio or is adding background noise, Lync will automatically identify which phone to mute. Device switching lets you swap between your headset and phone in the middle of a call, and you can also use your headset to make a phone call using WiFi.
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Destroying Apple products finally an art form :: Posted by THRASHER2
Expensive one though
A wet dream of many a tech writer has finally been brought to life – destroying Apple products and calling it art.
It has been brought to life by artist Michael Tompert, who over time diligently bought AppleÂ’s stuff and then meticulously destroyed it, only to photograph it in an artistic manner.
We must admit we were impressed by the artistic touch carefully integrated into the process of inventive and aesthetically pleasing destruction.
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Update dropped for Black Ops :: Posted by THRASHER2
360 & PS3 versions get a number of fixes
Coming through with their promise of additional big fixes and tweaks, Treyarch dropped a Call of Duty: Black Ops update for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, which the developer says is the first major update of the title since it has been released. The majority of the fixes from what we see are directly targeted at resolving issues around the multiplayer gaming for the most part.
The update does work hard to deal with all of the matchmaking issues, and it should make matchmaking more seamless and generally just work better. The update does take into consideration network speed and conditions, which should help some of the issues of hosts being moved from one to another because the network performance is degraded.
Beyond the fixes of a number of network game issues, apparently a significant amount of work went into fixes for the leaderboards and stat tracking to get it both reporting and working correctly. The weekly and monthly leaderboards should function correctly now.
While PC Black Ops users are still waiting for an update to take care of a number of issues still causing havoc with the PC version of the title, it sounds like this update should really help the console players. Sources suggest that a PC update is coming, as well, but PC players will just have to be patient, as they are working as fast as they can to get it fixed. It does seem like they are on the ball with releasing patches to continue to fix and tweak the game.
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Tegra 2 tablets at CES 2011 :: Posted by THRASHER2
Gingerbread dependent
Nvidia is a year behind of its Tegra 2 tablet plans. This time around, it is not the green goblin's fault, it is actually a GoogleÂ’s fault. The infamous Gingerbread operating system is the one Google wants tablet maker to use.
Gingerbread will likely become Android 2.3 and Dr. Erick Schmidt has announced at the web 2.0 conference that it should launch “in a few weeks”. Everything points to a late 2010 launch, most likely December.
NvidiaÂ’s Tegra 2 chip is waiting for this OS, as only Samsung dared to go out with Android 2.2, something that is not that good for tablets, claims Google. Tegra 2 tablets will definitely be showcased at CES 2011, a tradeshow that starts in early days of January 2011, some six weeks from today, and we can hope that some of them will ship reasonably quickly after that.
Tegra 2 phones, LG in particular will also see the light of the day. We only fear that by the time Nvidia ships its first Tegra 2 design wins that iPad 2 with a dual-core ARM 9 Cortex-based chip will be just around the corner.
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Carmack's Rage HD is all the rage :: Posted by THRASHER2
Best looking iPhone game ever
Once again John Carmack has managed to prove that he's the undisputed daddy of the FPS genre. As of yesterday, id Software's Rage shooter is available on Apple's App Store and reviewers are touting it as the best looking iPhone game ever.
Rage is available in SD and HD versions and as the name implies the latter is aimed at the iPhone 4 and the iPad. The SD version is best suited to the 3G and iPod Touch, while the 3GS can run both versions, albeit the HD is somewhat pointless on the 3GS.
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Nvidia's dual chip card waits for Antilles :: Posted by THRASHER2
Most likely 2011
Nvidia has a dual GF110 card that is supposed to launch very soon. However, since AMD has postponed its dual-chip card for Q1 2011 it looks like Nvidia will do the same.
Sources close to company are saying that Nvidia partners are more or less ready and that the company can pull a quick launch even in 2010, but it looks like it will only happen after AMD's Antilles Radeon HD 6990 dual chip card comes out. Nvidia badly wants the two-chip card performance crown and has to see and study Antilles before its launch. The rumoured name for dual GF110 card is Geforce GTX 590.
We still have to see Cayman Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950 cards in late 2010, and whether they can beat Geforce GTX 580 and soon to launch Geforce GTX 570. The challenge for AMD is that making a big chip and clocking it high is not that easy.
Last time ATI did this was with R600, more than three years ago and things didn't go as smooth as planned. The chip was quite hot and didnÂ’t perform that well. After that the head of graphics Rick Bergman said that ATI is changing the course to make RV770 and a year later RV870, two chips that were chasing AMD's performance-per-watt dream.
Now this dream is apparently over as Cayman, a massive chip is powering Antilles, Radeon HD 6990. LetÂ’s hope it all goes well for AMD.
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