IT News Head Lines (TechSpot) 27/11/2013

Microsoft looking to cull Windows variants, Windows RT and Phone likely to merge
The current Windows arrangement sees three different versions running on a range of devices. Windows Phone is designed for ARM-based smartphones up to around six inches in size; Windows RT is for ARM-based tablets and PCs; and of course there's regular Windows for x86 tablets and PCs.












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Samsung unveils another big-screen smartphone in the Galaxy Grand 2
Samsung on Monday unveiled another big-screen smartphone in the Galaxy Grand 2. The handset features a 5.25-inch display operating at 1,280 x 720 with a 16:9 aspect ratio that Samsung claims is perfect for playing games, watching movies and reading books.












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ZTE to launch inexpensive smartwatch by mid-2014
2014 could very well be the year of the smartwatch. Samsung and a host of others have already launched products yet we are still expecting other heavyweights like Apple and Google to unveil their take on smart wristwatches perhaps as early as next year and now, we can add another...












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Bugbear cancels Kickstarter campaign for "Next Car Game"
A couple weeks ago we gave you a glimpse at a new Kickstarter campaign for a new game by Bugbear, the creators of the popular FlatOut demolition racing series. Unfortunately, just weeks later, we're back to tell you the campaign has been canceled by the developer, falling well short of...












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Neowin: A month with the Surface 2
The second generation Surface is a well-built, highly functional machine but it has yet to catch on in the market to the same degree of that the iPad has. For Microsoft, the Surface is a must-win device as the company shifts from a software focused company, to a device and...












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Executive shuffle continues as BlackBerry COO and CMO leave, CFO is replaced
Executive shuffling continues at BlackBerry as they announced on Monday that Kristian Tear, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, and Frank Boulben, their Chief Marketing Officer, are leaving as part of the ongoing reorganization effort. What’s more, it was revealed that James Yersh will replace Brian Bidulka as Chief Financial Officer...












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Jony Ive and Marc Newson curate specially designed products for charity
Apple senior VP of design Jony Ive and his fellow designer Marc Newson sat down with Charlie Rose to talk about a recent charity event the two are involved with.












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Microsoft working with gamers to rectify Xbox One disc drive problems
Microsoft’s next generation console got off to a solid start over the weekend but the launch is in danger of being marred by a hardware issue. Some users have reported an issue with the Xbox One’s disc drive in which it makes a very loud grinding noise when inserting a...












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Star Citizen crowdfunding surpasses $30 million, Squadron 42 to receive upgrade
If you haven't heard about Star Citizen, the space-simulator epic is the newest project from Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, launched back in 2012 when a teaser website by "Roberts Space Industries" popped up. The website hoped to secure crowdfunding for a two part project, a massively multiplayer online space...












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Amazon said to be working on new Kindle Paperwhite with 300 PPI display
Amazon is hard at work on the successor to the Kindle Paperwhite which will arrive in early Q2 2014. The refreshed e-reader will feature a high resolution display operating at 300 PPI compared to just 212 PPI of the current model according to a new report from TechCrunch.












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Western Digital unveils 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD dual drive
We’ve heard of hybrid drives before which combine ample storage capacity with limited amounts of NAND flash for caching purposes. The result is a nice speed bump but not quite the same as an actual SSD. Today Western Digital is introducing its own twist on that concept with what they...












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PlayStation 4 tested with standard HDD, hybrid drive and an SSD
Sony revealed gamers would be able to swap out the hard drive in their new PlayStation 4 well before it was released on November 15. The only real question that remained, however, was what upgrade would be best and what sort of performance one could expect from a replacement drive....












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Line messaging service doubles size in just over 6 months, now has 300 million users
As messaging services from Whatsapp and Facebook continue to grow and maintain their dominance, there is another player in the space called Line that has recently reported some pretty impressive user numbers.












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Google's Eric Schmidt writes guide on converting from iPhone to Android
Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt took to Google+ this weekend to share a step-by-step guide on converting from iPhone to Android. "You will switch from iPhone to Android and never switch back as everything will be in the cloud, backed up, and there are so many choices for you", said Schmidt...












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Apple confirms acquisition of original Kinect developer PrimeSense
Apple has officially confirmed the acquisition of PrimeSense, but as it's the norm for these type of deals, the company declined to comment on how much it spent or its plans for the technology. Israeli media says the deal is valued...












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Apple confirms aquisition of original Kinect developer PrimeSense
Apple has officially confirmed the acquisition of PrimeSense, but as it's the norm for these type of deals, the company declined to comment on how much it spent or its plans for the technology. Israeli media says the deal is valued...












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A Software Challenge: Why Users Uninstall Apps
Getting an app developed is just the first step in a long journey. One of the more daunting problems facing developers is user engagement; basically, how to get users to install apps and keep them installed. It’s difficult to keep users satisfied beyond that initial app install, and it can...












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Weekend tech reading: The state of self-driving cars, Intel details upcoming 14nm process
Human beings make terrible drivers. They talk on the phone and run red lights, signal to the left and turn to the right. They drink too much beer and plow into trees or veer into traffic as they swat at their kids...












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12 Ways Black Friday 2013 Will Be Different

As the official starter for the holiday shopping season, Black Friday is expected to be a frenzy of bargains, but with each passing year there are some elements that change. Our friends at DealNews feel that the best way to make the most of this annual shopping event is to be prepared. Here are 12 ways in which Black Friday 2013 will be different than previous years.












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Sony Xperia Z1 Review

Enter the Xperia Z1. New Snapdragon 800 SoC. New 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS camera. New aluminium body. In many respects, this is what Sony was aiming for with the original Xperia Z: a solid set of features to lure any smartphone buyer. It may be out a little later than your Galaxy S4 or HTC One, but there's no doubting that the Z1 is a high-end handset to take Sony into 2014.












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PlayStation 4 Review: (In Progress), But Do You Need to Have One Yet?

The PS4 is a surprisingly small box. It is so sleek that it might as well be the 2015 PS4 Slim tossed back to us 2013ers via a time machine. Some game machines, such as the original PS3 or Nintendo DS, arrive with an imperfect design that predicts their own looming displacement. Not this one. The PS4 shapes up as a box in need of no space-saving or cosmetic improvement.












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Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti OC & Gigabyte GTX 780 GHz Edition Review

As if it wasn't already fast enough, Gigabyte has armed its GTX 780 Ti with a massive air cooler that allows its variant of Nvidia's newcomer with a 17% overclock. The company has also been working on other overclocked GTX 780s, including a "GHz Edition" allowing a core clock of 1.02GHz or 18% higher than the standard version of the card.












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Hot PC Games for the 2013 Holiday Season

To help keep track of what's actually shipping over the year's final weeks, we've prepared a list of this season's hottest PC games ordered by their North American Windows release date. As always, you're welcome to pitch in with comments about PC releases we may have overlooked or otherwise excluded.












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OCZ Vector 150 SSD Review

The Vector 150 is an evolutionary step forward for OCZ's enthusiast series, improving the original Vector's endurance and security by supposedly being able to withstand 150% more writes along with providing AES-256 encryption. Performance-wise, little has changed about OCZ's Vector series over the last year.












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Asrock M8 Mini-ITX Gaming PC Review

Even if the Asrock M8's style is not your thing, there's less room to argue that the M8 is unique and that was enough to earn our attention. We've been impressed with the looks of previous Asrock products, but the M8 is a clear step up having been designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA, the driving force behind Thermaltake's Level 10 chassis, a case as overpriced as it is iconic.












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Best Tablets of 2013: Holiday Season Edition

Apple just announced a new iPad Air and iPad mini, Microsoft pushed out the second generation Surfaces, Amazon Kindles hedged its bets on high-end hardware and real-time support, Samsung did its own thing with numerous Android devices and Google is set to refresh the Nexus line later this month.












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AMD Radeon R9 290 Review

Before Nvidia can strike back, it'll have to eat another blow in the form of the new Radeon R9 290. At $400, the R9 290 offers fantastic value when you consider it will trail the 290X closely enough. In a sense, the R9 290 has kind of made R9 290X redundant, much like the GTX 780 did to the GTX Titan.












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Battlefield 4 Benchmarked: Graphics & CPU Performance

With roots that stretch back more than a decade and enough fans to justify new content every year, Battlefield is among the handful of franchises that needs no introduction around here. Even if you hate EA's approach modern military madness, you can typically expect Battlefield's graphics to raise the bar.












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Battlefield 4 Review

Occasionally in Battlefield 4's solo campaign you'll meet some variance. Jump out of a plane to land on a ship, ready to attack immediately after landing. Ride a speedboat while shooting down those of the enemies'. Hike around that quintessential snow level. You know the sort of thing if you've ever played any shooter ever.












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Building a Hackintosh with Quo's "Any OS" Motherboard

Building a Hackintosh has definitely gotten easier over the years but there's still plenty of tinkering involved for the uninitiated. Earlier this year a company known as Quo launched a Kickstarter to fund a motherboard designed to run "any operating system". Though they don't explicitly market it as a Hackintosh board it's clearly one of the board's key selling points.












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Batman: Arkham Origins Benchmarked: GPU & CPU Performance

Despite being built with Epic's aging Unreal Engine 3, WB Montreal used a heavily modified version of the software. The PC version has received some special attention in the graphics department including many DirectX 11 and PhysX effects.












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Batman: Arkham Origins Review

On multiple levels, this game is about finding one's voice. Players inhabit a Bruce Wayne who's been Batman for two years, as he faces a crucible that will test his resolve as never before. The people making Origins are trying to establish their creative voice as well. The game has been made by a new studio who are following up two well-regarded games by originating studio Rocksteady.












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AMD Radeon R9 290X Review

In a sense, the Radeon R9 290X could be considered AMD's Titan, as it takes the Tahiti architecture and stuffs with nearly 2000 million more transistors. It's the most complex and powerful GPU AMD has created and by no coincidence, it's also one of the most expensive, but before you click away, that's 'only' $550, which is substantially cheaper than Nvidia's solution.












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Gaming Mice Roundup 2013: Corsair, Steelseries, Gigabyte, Tt eSports, Logitech and Razer Devices Tested

Shifting from a standard office mouse to something more appropriate for gaming is worthwhile if you care about your performance, but investing $60 or more in handful of plastic might seem silly if you've never experienced the realm of difference a proper mouse can make.












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When Amazon's Customer Reviews Get Ridiculous (and Seriously Funny)

What these reviews lack in helpfulness they make up for in gleeful goofiness. For its part, Amazon hasn't tried to dissuade this phenomenon, as these self-generating memes can actually increase sales. For example, when an unexceptional graphic T-shirt featuring three howling wolves caught the ire of the sarcastic community in 2008, it went on to become one of the top selling pieces of apparel on Amazon that year.












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Apple iPhone 5s: The TechSpot Review

As an incremental update, the new iPhone 5s borrows heavily from its predecessor, building upon its solid foundation yet adding an all-new 64-bit A7 processor, the Touch ID fingerprint reader, a totally revamped operating system, while also learning a few new software tricks that enhance how the camera operates.












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Windows 8.1: Six Things Microsoft Got Right and Others That Are Still Missing

Not unlike previous releases of Microsoft's ubiquitous desktop OS, Windows 8 has faced a lot of scrutiny in the year it's been available. Every time the company has made a drastic change to Windows, it's been on the losing end of user opinion. Windows 8 has been no different.












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LG G2 Review

LG has jam-packed nearly every feature you can imagine into the G2, from a powerful Qualcomm Snadpdragon 800 SoC and a 1080p display, to an optically stabilized camera and finely tuned software. LG has clearly thrown everything they can into this device, but does it stand above the rest of the flagship pack?












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Technology Before Its Time: 9 Products That Were Too Early to Market

Every now and again, someone comes up with a revolutionary idea for a product or service and brings it to market. Just as often, however, the supporting technology isn't there, consumers aren't ready to embrace it, or management mishandles its launch. Some ideas just aren't meant to take root no matter how groundbreaking.












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Ares Galaxy 2.2.6
Ares is a file sharing software which allows you to share any kind of file from the Internet. It's a free open source file sharing program that enables users to share any digital file including images, audio, video, software, documents, etc.









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Sandboxie 4.06
Isolates and quarantines the outcome of whatever a Web site may do to your pc, like the installation of unsolicited software.









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ImageMagick 6.8.7-7
Convert, Edit, And Compose Images.









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NirLauncher 1.18.34
NirLauncher is a package of more than 100 portable freeware utilities for Windows, all of them developed for NirSoft Web site during the last few years.









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Comodo AntiVirus 6.3.302093
Comodo Antivirus is the free way to rid your computer of viruses, malware, Trojans, worms, hackers, and other Internet threats.









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SwiftKey for Android 4.3.1
SwiftKey for Android replaces your deviceÂ’s on-screen keyboard to help you type in an easier, faster and less frustrating way.









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Kaspersky RectorDecryptor 2.6.10.0
Cybercriminals use Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Rector for disrupting normal performance of computers and for unauthorized modification of data making it unusable.









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Comodo Internet Security 6.3.302093
Free Award-winning Comodo Firewall plus Antivirus protection for PCs.









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Nero Burning Rom 15.0.03300
The powerful burning software Nero Burning ROM allows you to burn your data, music and videos to disc.









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Comodo Firewall Free 6.3.302093
Free Comodo Firewall with prevention-based protection.









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Line for Android 3.9.4
There are no limits. Call and message as much as you want.









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Google Web Designer Beta 1.0.1.1025
Create engaging, interactive HTML5-based designs and motion graphics that can run on any device.









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Shareaza 2.7.1.0
Shareaza is the most luxurious and sophisticated file sharing system you'll find.









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CCleaner 4.08.4428
Freeware system optimization tool that removes unused and temporary files.









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CCleaner Portable 4.08.4428
The normal CCleaner program, but it doesn't require installing.









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PeaZip for Linux 5.1.1
Cross-platform file and archive manager. Features volume spanning, compression, authenticated encryption.









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MultiMonitorTool 1.55
MultiMonitorTool is a small tool that allows you to do some actions related to working with multiple monitors.









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RogueKiller 8.7.9
RogueKiller is a program written in C++ and able to Kill malicious processes, stop malicious services and unload malicious DLLs from processes.









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Cloud System Booster 3.0.0
Clean & optimize your PC with a Cloud-based approach.









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ID3 Renamer 7.0.0
Rename a large number of files in a directory accordingly to their ID3 description and a given "formula".









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Image Tuner 4.3
Image Tuner is a free batch image resizing, renaming, conversion and watermarking tool with a super-intuitive and straightforward interface.









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AdwCleaner 3.013
AdwCleaner is a tool that deletes Adware/Toolbar/PUP/Hijacker.









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Wise Care 365 2.8.8
Wise Care 365 is an all-in-one PC tune-up utility. It will keep your Windows secure, clean and fast.









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AIDA64 Extreme Edition Beta 4.00.2706
System information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiasts users.









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Slim Browser 7.00.069
Tabbed multiple-site browser with built-in popup killer, skinned window frame, form filler, etc.









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AMD Mobility Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit



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AMD Mobility Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7



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AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit



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AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7



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AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows XP 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows XP 64-bit



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AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows XP
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows XP



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Realtek 10/100M Fast Ethernet PCI Express Driver 7.053 for Windows 7
Driver Date: 3/22/2012 OS Support: Windows 7



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Realtek 10/100/100M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Driver 5.719 for Windows XP
Driver Date: 3/22/2012 OS Support: Windows 2000/XP



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Realtek Wireless LAN ICs IEEE 802.11b/g/n RTL8188SU Driver 1086.48
Driver Date: 4/19/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7



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Realtek Wireless LAN ICs IEEE 802.11b/g/n RTL8192SU Driver 1086.48
Driver Date: 4/19/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7



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Realtek Wireless LAN ICs IEEE 802.11b/g/n RTL8191SU Driver 1086.48
Driver Date: 4/19/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7



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Cisco Linksys E1500 Firmware 1.0.04
Driver Date: 3/28/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7



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Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows 7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7



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Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows XP 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows XP 64-bit



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Nvidia GeForce Notebook Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7



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Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows 7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit



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Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows XP 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows XP



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Nvidia GeForce Notebook Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit



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Cisco Linksys E2500 Firmware 1.0.04
Driver Date: 4/9/2012 OS Support: Windows (all)



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Realtek PCIe FE GBE Family Controller Series Driver 6.250 for Windows Vista
Driver Date: 4/3/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista



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Realtek PCIe FE GBE Family Controller Series Driver 7.053 for Windows 7
Driver Date: 4/3/2012 OS Support: Windows 7



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Realtek PCIe FE GBE Family Controller Series Driver 5.794 for Windows 2000/XP
Driver Date: 4/3/2012 OS Support: Windows 2000/XP



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Realtek HD ALC 880 Audio CODECs R2.68 for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/2/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit



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Realtek HD ALC 880 Audio CODECs R2.68 for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/2/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7



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Realtek HD ALC 880 Audio CODECs R2.68 for Windows 2000/XP (32/64 bits)
Driver Date: 4/2/2012 OS Support: Windows 2000/XP



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