Nokia In-Depth Demo Shows Off N900's Web Browsing Capabilities (And A Little More)
We've always considered ourselves fans of Nokia devices. In fact, we're not even ashamed to admit that we used one of those Nokia candybars back in the day (you know, one with 'Snake'), and we'd probably still use it today if not for things like "web browsing" and "Twitter." As times have changed, so have the engineering efforts at Nokia. The company's newest smartphone/mini computer is the N900, and with that device will come an all new mobile operating system to rival Google's Android, Palm's webOS and Apple's
Read More ...
CTERA Launches Two Cloud-Attached Storage Devices
Israeli-based CTERA Networks is adding its new CTERA CloudPlug and CTERA C200 products to the growing list of devices that let you easily convert external hard drives into network-attached storage (NAS) devices and make them remotely accessible. Unlike other devices that perform similar functionality, such as the Pogoplug and the Seagate FreeAgent DockStar, CTERA's two new devices add an additional feature that these other products lack: automatic online backup.It is the addition of online-based storage that
Read More ...
VMare Fusion 3 Allows Even More Windows 3D Games To Run on Macs
Today VMware announced the latest release of its virtualization application for the Mac, VMware Fusion 3. VMware Fusion allows Windows and Windows apps to be installed and run on Macs. While the release of the third official version of Fusion--with its "more than 50 new features"--might seemingly be meaningful to only a small group of Mac owners who need access to a handful of specific Windows applications, there is an aspect to this release that might have a much larger appeal to gamers: VMware Fusion 3 now
Read More ...
AT&T Adds Four Full Web Browsing Phones
If AT&T's latest Windows Mobile 6.5 phones don't suit your fancy, perhaps you'll be interested in one of the company's four other new phones announced today. The Pantech Reveal and Impact will join the Samsung Mythic and Flight in AT&T's phone portfolio. All four new models feature full Web browsers as well as physical and virtual keyboards. The new phones are the first to come with AT&T's new richer and faster HTML mobile browser and att.net service preloaded. The new att.net mobile platform uses
Read More ...
Man Threatens iPhone With 9-Mil Destruction
It's no secret that iPhone owners, while in general happy with their devices, are not so happy about the AT&T network. Still, is that any reason to shoot your iPhone? A Westwood, OH man went to an Apple Store late last week in the Kenwood Towne Centre. Angry over his broken iPhone, he apparently flashed a gun at one of the store's employees. Police say that Donald Goodrich, 38, told an Apple Store employee that he was so mad at his iPhone, he could "put a nine millimeter" in it. The employee replied that
Read More ...
NVIDIA Clarifies Chipset Positioning; Product Focus
There's been a rumor buzzing around, in the wake of NVIDIA's GPU Technical Conference last week, that the company intends to shut down its chipset division. After a bit of sleuthing, Hot Hardware has confirmed that this is not the case. NVIDIA fully intends to continue designing its own core logic, but the scope and purpose of its chipsets will be different going forward than in years past. NVIDIA does not intend to continue developing chipsets for current or future processors based on Nehalem, despite earlier
Read More ...
Kiosk From ecoATM Pays You For Used Phones
We all have old cell phones lying around collecting dust. Now, thanks to a new automated kiosk from ecoATM, you can recycle your old cell phone and get a reward for doing so. The self-serve eCycling station from ecoATM electronically inspects your phone, assigns it a real-time secondary market value, and then provides an in-store trade-up coupon or gift card (assuming the handset still has monetary worth). If your handset doesn't have any value, you can assign the device to the recycle bin where it will be recycled
Read More ...
Here We Go Again: Modders Reenable ATI/NVIDIA PhysX Combination
Last week, we covered NVIDIA's decision to disable PhysX support if the NV drivers detect the presence of an ATI product. Jump ahead seven days, and the utterly predictable has happened—end-users have found a way around NVIDIA's lockout and have re-enabled the one-two punch of ATI graphics and NVIDIA PhysX. Quick, kids: Can any of you guess what happens next? Over at NGOHQ, forum member Regeneration is claiming that the NVIDIA drivers published after the 185.85 WHQL series (this includes 186.18 through 191.07)
Read More ...
GlobalFoundries CEO Doug Grose Declares Sky-Rocketing Costs Slow Product Innovation
The far-reaching effects of the global economic downturn could make it easy to blame the IC industry's problems on short-term market effects, but Doug Grose, CEO of GlobalFoundries, believes the fundamental problem confronting the industry is economic, not technical. According to Grose, "Only a handful of providers can afford the costs and keep up with Moore's Law...The IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturer) model is on a slow, dying path." The numbers behind Grose's rhetoric lend credence to the man's opinion
Read More ...
AT&T Nabs First Windows Mobile 6.5 Smartphones: HTC PURE And Tilt 2
October 6th may still be officially a day away, but that's not stopping AT&T from getting the party started early. What party, you ask? The Windows Mobile 6.5 party, of course. In a joint announcement made today with HTC, the Tilt 2 and PURE will be the carrier's first two WinMo 6.5 handsets, and both are pretty stout on paper. The PURE is a touchscreen-based phone, while the Tilt 2 relies on a tilting QWERTY slider approach. Both of the handsets support 3G browsing, HTC's own TouchFLO 3D interface and Windows
Read More ...
Update! HH/Intel Core i For The Mainstream Guy/Gal Sweepstakes!
We thought it was high time to temp and tease you all a bit, with our latest Sweepstakes courtesy of our friends at Intel. Yes, even you could win a fully equipped Core i7 870 (2.93GHz) system built by CyperPower PC. There's still time to get into the drawing that will be closing this Friday, October 9th! Let's roll the Ts and Cs for you here...Rules and Regs:As usual, we’ll be giving away this rig away to a randomly selected contributor to our on-line forum and news discussion systems.
Read More ...
Netgear's USB-Equipped WNR3500L 802.11n Router Goes Linux
Caught yourself looking for a new Wi-Fi router here lately? Netgear's new RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router with USB (WNR3500L) is certainly worth a look, particularly if you value flexibility and have an inkling to make on your favorite USB peripherals go wireless. The router is built around a powerful open source Linux platform, giving developers and coding gurus the ability to make tweaks that would generally be disallowed. Outside of that and the USB port, the guts here are similar to what you've come to
Read More ...
Canon EOS Rebel T1i DSLR Camera Review
In the last year, a handful of camera manufacturers have added HD video recording capabilities to their DSLRs. Nikon initially beat Canon in this race by introducing the $999, 12.3 megapixel D90. Canon wasn’t too far behind, though, with its $2,699, 21.1 megapixel EOS 5D Mark II that is capable of capturing 1080p (better than the D90’s 720p capabilities). At close to $3,000 however, the EOS 5D Mark II wasn’t a lot of competition for the D90 in the consumer space. Time and technology always march
Read More ...
Here We Go Again: Modders Reenable ATI/NVIDIA PhysX Combination
Last week, we covered NVIDIA's decision to disable PhysX support if the NV drivers detect the presence of an ATI product. Jump ahead seven days, and the utterly predictable has happened—end-users have found a way around NVIDIA's lockout and have re-enabled the one-two punch of ATI graphics and NVIDIA PhysX. Quick, kids: Can any of you guess what happens next?Over at NGOHQ, forum member Regeneration is claiming that the NVIDIA drivers published after the 185.85 WHQL series (this includes 186.18 through 191.07) also disable Ageia's original PPU add-on board if a non-NVIDIA GPU is installed. We've yet to see concrete proof that this is true; if you're one of the handful of people who own an Ageia PPU and don't mind testing it, let us know what the results are. Presumably, even if this is occurring, it's a bug—removing functionality on what amounts to another company's product is ballsy, even for the boys in green.
Disabling ATI cards is one thing, turning this puppy off is something altogether different...
More Fermi. Less fighting.
Read More ...
Kiosk From ecoATM Pays You For Used Phones
We all have old cell phones lying aroundcollecting dust. Now, thanks to a new automated kiosk from ecoATM, you can recycleyour old cell phone and get a reward for doing so. The self-serve eCycling stationfrom ecoATM electronically inspects your phone, assigns it a real-timesecondary market value, and then provides an in-store trade-up coupon or giftcard (assuming the handset still has monetary worth). If your handset doesn'thave any value, you can assign the device to the recycle bin where it willbe recycled or refurbished.
ecoATM recently rolled out its first recycling kiosk atNebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, NE. The company plans to install additionaleCycling Stations at several national retailers over the next quarter in SanDiego, Boston, Dallas, and Seattle. A more massive rollout is set for thesecond quarter of next year. "The ecoATM makes it easy and convenient for ourcustomers to trade-in and recycle their used mobile phones," said JayBuchanan, Electronics Division Director, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Inc.,America's Largest Home Furnishings Store. "This benefits both ourcustomers and the environment."
The machines use a camera-based system to detect signs ofwear including cracked screens, missing keys, and scuff marks. The cameras alsohelp to determine an approximate value for the phone. Even if your phone isn'tworth anything, you may still get a free gift—at the Nebraska Furniture Mart kiosk,for instance, you'll get a waterproof phone case for your efforts and ecoATMwill plant a tree on your behalf.
"We are extremely pleased with the initial results andconsumers' delight with the system," said Mark Bowles, CEO, ecoATM Inc."ecoATM's solution finally makes it easy for consumers to give their usedphones a second life or to recycle them. Over 100 million used, but stillvaluable, phones are quietly retired to closets and drawers each year in the USwhere they decay into zero value and then enter our landfills years later. Ourautomated ecoATM provides consumers and retailers an easy, convenient,incentivized method to convert those devices into real money instead of toxicwaste."
Right now, the ecoATM only accepts phones but in the future,the kiosks should be able to accept and recognize other gadgets such as MP3players, digital cameras, notebooks, printers, and storage devices.
ecoATM kiosk at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, NE
For retailers, the ecoATM makes sense: the machines areinstalled for free and there are reward tie-ins and potential for increasedfoot traffic. "Consumer electronics retailers and their OEM partners arefacing a complex and growing set of state and municipal eWaste laws. Consumerconvenience is important to solving the eWaste problem in the U.S., andtrade-in/trade-up incentive programs are proving to be quite effective inretail," said Leslie Hand, Research Director, IDC Retail Insights.
Read More ...
Man Threatens iPhone With 9-Mil Destruction
It's no secret that iPhone owners, while in general happy with their devices, are not so happy about the AT&T network. Still, is that any reason to shoot your iPhone?A Westwood, OH man went to an Apple Store late last week in the Kenwood Towne Centre. Angry over his broken iPhone, he apparently flashed a gun at one of the store's employees.
Police say that Donald Goodrich, 38, told an Apple Store employee that he was so mad at his iPhone, he could "put a nine millimeter" in it. The employee replied that wouldn't be necessary, but that's when Goodrich allegedly showed him a gun he had under his shirt.
The employee escorted Goodrich to a technician, who began to work on the iPhone. At that point, the employee told the manager of the events, and police were called.
Goodrich has a concealed carry permit, but he is required by laws to tell them about the gun, which deputies say he did not do. Even without that fact, this guy is a little off to feel brandishing a weapon is a good thing to do.
Perhaps, as some say, it shows how he's replacing something small with something a bit larger. Ahem. Goodrich is charged with carrying a concealed weapon and aggravated menacing. He was released on his own recognizance.
Read More ...
NVIDIA Clarifies Chipset Positioning; Product Focus
There's been a rumor buzzing around, in the wake of NVIDIA's GPU Technical Conference last week, that the company intends to shut down its chipset division. After a bit of sleuthing, Hot Hardware has confirmed that this is not the case. NVIDIA fully intends to continue designing its own core logic, but the scope and purpose of its chipsets will be different going forward than in years past.NVIDIA does not intend to continue developing chipsets for current or future processors based on Nehalem, despite earlier assurances that the company would do so. Company CEO Jen-Hsun Huang was ready to box Intel on the topic as recently as last February, but OEM interest in NVIDIA-built solutions is rumored to have waned sharply once the twin spectres of litigation and compatibility raised their ugly heads. Intel's dominance of the chipset market inevitably means that OEMs who want to stay in the company's good graces pay close attention to whatever tune Santa Clara might be humming.
NVIDIA will continue to build budget AMD chipsets. According to NVIDIA PR manager Ken Brown, "The truth is, our chipset business for AMD has very high volumes overall.آ MCP 61-based platforms continue to be extremely well positioned in the entry-level segments where AMD CPUs are most competitive vs. Intel," Brown said. "We will continue to sell MPC 61-based platforms as long as there is a market for them."
The company's plans could leave enthusiasts who prefer NVIDIA/AMD combinations out in the cold, at least in the long term. The motherboard developer has no plans for any future enthusiast-oriented AMD chipsets, noting that AMD's current position vis-أ -vis Intel made such boards a poor investment.
That leaves NVIDIA's nForce 700 and NF900 (rebadged 700). The two chipsets are as feature-rich as anything else on the market; MSI even builds one board in each series that supports DDR3 at up to 1600MHz. Unless NVIDIA issues at least one additional refresh, however, features like USB 3.0 and SATA 6G will be available only via add-on card. Then again, considering how long it's going to be until either feature offers a general practical benefit, this may not be an issue.
ION-Driven Design -
NVIDIA's willingness to shift its focus in response to changing market conditions has historically been one of the company's strengths. NVIDIA's original nForce chipset was initially seen as the answer to the prayers of would-be Athlon users who found themselves stuck on VIA chipsets. The nForce architecture didn't really catch on until the nForce 2 launched roughly a year later, but various iterations of the NF product line were the backbone of AMD launches for several years running.
Now that the company's desktop and mobile chipset options are more limited by threats of litigation on one side and AMD's own chipset division on the other, NVIDIA has engineered its own competitive platform for Intel's darling of the moment, and is in the midst of designing a second iteration of that platform that will also support VIA processors. Tegra, meanwhile, gives NV a platform and processor whose design it controls from start to finish; a luxury that's probably a nice change of pace for a company that has never found itself beholden to the roadmaps of others.
It seems rather premature to carve Requiescat in pace above the lintel of the NVIDIA chipset division.
Read More ...
Update! HH/Intel Core i For The Mainstream Guy/Gal Sweepstakes!
We thought it was high time to temp and tease you all a bit, with our latest Sweepstakes courtesy of our friends at Intel.آ Yes, even you could win a fully equipped Core i7 870 (2.93GHz) system built by CyperPower PC.آ There's still time to get into the drawing that will be closing this Friday, October 9th!آ Let's roll the Ts and Cs for you here...Rules and Regs:
As usual, we’ll be giving away this rig away to a randomly selected contributor to our on-line forum and news discussion systems.آ To be entered into the sweepstakes, you’ve got to be a registered, active member and a resident of the United States or Canada (Canadian winners are responsible for all international duties/taxes). If you’re not already a member, you can sign up quickly and easily (and it's free), right here or click the log-in link at the top, right nav bar of HotHardware.com.
System Spec Update!
OK, we have some good news and a bit of a change to the system spec, now that we've actually received it from the manufacturer (see below).آ First, instead of it being equipped with a GeForce GTX 295, the system is actually setup with a GeForce GTX 285.آ Sorry for the misprint there but a GTX 285 is certainly no slouch graphics card either.آ Have no fear though, to make it up to you, CyberPower tossed in a 22" widescreen monitor by Viewsonic. آ Also, the case has been upgraded to a CoolerMaster Sniper Storm Gaming case.آ Check out the knob on the top that allows you to adjust fans speeds manually.آ Ooohh... ahhh!
OK, we have some good news and a bit of a change to the system spec, now that we've actually received it from the manufacturer (see below).آ First, instead of it being equipped with a GeForce GTX 295, the system is actually setup with a GeForce GTX 285.آ Sorry for the misprint there but a GTX 285 is certainly no slouch graphics card either.آ Have no fear though, to make it up to you, CyberPower tossed in a 22" widescreen monitor by Viewsonic. آ Also, the case has been upgraded to a CoolerMaster Sniper Storm Gaming case.آ Check out the knob on the top that allows you to adjust fans speeds manually.آ Ooohh... ahhh!
But you've got to be in to win!آ From this point forward, we’ll be monitoring discussion on the site and will be randomly selecting a winner based on community involvement, contribution and comments, lots of comments! To increase your chances of being a winner, sign up for our HotHardware RSS News Alerts as well, and we'll toss your name into the mix for double credit!
;)
;)
;)
The sweepstakes runs through October 9th with a winner to be announced October 12th 2009!
Win A Cyberpower PC Gamer Xtreme 5000 - Intel Lynnfield System!
Specs:
-Intelآ® Coreâ„¢ i7 870 @ 2.93 GHz LGA 1156 45nm 8MB L3 Cache
-Intel P55 Chipset Mainboard
آ آ آ آ آ آ آ - 3x PCI-e 16x
آ آ آ آ آ آ آ - 4x DIMM DDR3 Memory Slots
آ آ آ آ آ آ آ - 2x PCI-e 1x
آ آ آ آ آ آ آ - 2x PCI
آ آ آ آ آ آ آ - 10 USB (8 x rear, 2 x front)
آ آ آ آ آ آ آ - GB LAN
- 6x SATA, 2x IDE
- I/O: 2x PS2, 8x USB, 1x IEEE1394a, Optical S/PDIF Out Port, Coaxial S/PDIFآ آ آ آ آ آ آ آ آ آ
آ Out Port,2x RJ-45, Audio
-8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333 Memory(Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
-1TB SATA-II 3.0 Gb/s 7200RPM HDD
-Nvidia Geforce GTX 285 PCI Express Video Card
-Blu-Ray Player Drive
-22x DVDآ±R/آ±RW DUAL LAYER DRIVE
-Flash Card Reader Drive
-Viewsonice VA2226W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor
-Xtreme Gear USB Keyboard
-Xtreme Gear USB Mouse
-Microsoftآ® Windows Vistaâ„¢ Home Premium 64-Bit
(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)
-CoolerMaster Sniper Storm Gaming Case With Side Window and 800W Power Supply
-Shipping weight : 42Lbs.
-Shipping Dimension : 28 آ¼â€ (L) x 21 5/8†(W) x 11 7/8†(H)
-1 Year Warranty and Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support Services
3DMarkآ 2006 Score - 1280X1024 Resolution
And now, as they say in the biz, here's a word from our sponsor, the good folks at Intel...
“Intel is excited about our new Lynnfield line of processors—Core i5 and Core i7.آ To show how excited we are, we are giving away over a dozen Core i7 800 systems to the readers who put the products through their paces daily!آ “Core i for the mainstream guy (and gal)" is what we affectionately call it, bringing the Nehalem architecture to mainstream PC price-points everywhere.آ Our awesome etail partners below helped make this happen, hit them up when you go shopping for a system.آ And special thanks to CyberPower and Ibuypower for delivering the goods yet again.â€
آ
TigerDirect - www.tigerdirect.com/go/corei5
Newegg.com - http://promotions.newegg.com/Intel/corei5/index.html
ZipZoomfly.com - http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Special/Intel_p55_launch_083109.jsp
Mwave.com - http://www.mwave.com/mwave/inteli5.asp
Ncix.com - http://www9.ncix.com/lp2/Corei5-P55/ca/آ
آ
This is a great opportunity for to you to win a custom, powerful new system and HOT Intel hardware. Now go make some new friends in our discussion areas and get in the running!آ Good Luck!
Read More ...
AT&T Adds Four Full Web Browsing Phones
If AT&T's latestWindows Mobile 6.5 phones don't suit your fancy, perhaps you'll be interestedin one of the company's four other new phones announced today. The PantechReveal and Impact will join the Samsung Mythic and Flight in AT&T's phoneportfolio. All four new models feature full Web browsers as well as physical andvirtual keyboards.The new phones are the first to come with AT&T's newricher and faster HTML mobile browser and att.net service preloaded. The newatt.net mobile platform uses data compression from Opera Software to providefaster delivery of HTML Web pages.
AT&T's new att.net browser provides users with threewindows to the Web. From the homepage, users can browse the Internet and assignbookmarks and shortcuts. A second window provides location-aware local news andweather as well as one-click results for nearby restaurants, ATMs, and otherpoints of interest. A third window displays headlines from popular news,sports, and entertainment sites. Customers can also customize their mobileatt.net page by sending shortcuts to Web sites through a Send To Mobilefeature.
Pantech Reveal
On shelves October 18in red and blue, Reveal is a slim and snappy slider that features an open-facednumeric keypad on the front of the phone which slides up to uncover a fullkeyboard underneath. Uniquely, both sets of keys stay active simultaneously,giving users fast access to numbers and letters at the same time. Whetherupdating your status with new pictures and videos, or texting, IMing oremailing friends, Reveal keeps you connected to your digital life at everyturn. Reveal utilizes AT&T Navigator and the power of 3G to make GPS,surfing the Web and listening to music fast and convenient.
Pantech Impact
Bringing a new formfactor along with a more color choices to the quick messaging portfolio, Impactfeatures an OLED touch screen that lets users send text messages, make calls,and control their music library without having to open the phone. Impact'sscreen features haptic controls which register each key-press with a soft,tactile buzz. A sideways flip of the phone reveals a full physical keyboard anda second display screen, allowing for a fuller experience when typing longermessages. Additionally, Impact's bright screen and tri-band 3G functionality,lets users manage social networks and explore the Internet with quickness andease. Available in two colors, pink and blue.
Samsung Mythic
A touch screen-onlydevice, the AT&T Mobile TV-capable Mythic will be available in black inNovember. The large 3.3 inch touch screen scrolls left to right on the homescreen for additional applications with the touch of a finger. With the swipeof a finger you are a touch away from your favorite apps including AT&TNavigator, AT&T Social Net, att.net and more. Samsung's TouchWiz userinterface allows for quick access to your favorite features and has speciallydesigned widgets to customize and personalize the way you use your phone.
Samsung Flight
The next generationmessaging device from Samsung, the Flight has a vertical sliding form factor,with full keyboard underneath. A textured design and subtle ridge on the backmake it easy to text or use the touch screen with one hand. The main displayfeatures a unique user interface which provides one-touch access to functionslike shortcuts, favorites and messaging. The Flight, available in red andsilver color options, will be available in November.
Read More ...
VMare Fusion 3 Allows Even More Windows 3D Games To Run on Macs
Today VMware announced the latest release of its virtualization application for the Mac, VMware Fusion 3. VMware Fusion allows Windows and Windows apps to be installed and run on Macs. While the release of the third official version of Fusion--with its "more than 50 new features"--might seemingly be meaningful to only a small group of Mac owners who need access to a handful of specific Windows applications, there is an aspect to this release that might have a much larger appeal to gamers: VMware Fusion 3 now includes DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.1 support.One of the reasons why the Mac hasn't had anywhere near the same market share as Windows systems is that the Mac has never really been considered a gaming system--at least not for games with high-level 3D graphics. (This is neither the primary nor the only reason--Mac OS licensing availability, or lack of it, has more to do with this than just about all other factors.) There are still far more 3D game options for Windows systems than there are for Macs; but ever since the Mac platform switched over to using Intel processors, a slowly-growing momentum has been building of Windows games being ported to the Mac--or Mac versions of Windows games being released around the same timeframe as their Windows counterparts.
;) آ |
| آ Windows OS and Mac OS running at the same time with VMware Fusion 3 |
Another option the Intel processor brought to the table for the Mac is support for the Intel processor's integrated virtualization features. By using a virtual machine, the Windows OS can run on top of the Mac OS--giving you access to both operating systems at the same time. This is not a native solution, however, so the Windows OS will not behave precisely as it would if it was installed and run natively from its own partition--performance won't be quite as good and some features, such as full DirectX or OpenGL support, might not be enabled. That said, other than full 3D gaming support and a slight performance hit, the Windows OS experience via virtualization with the current application offerings should be almost identical to running the OS natively. Fusion even adds a number of features that help foster moving data back and forth between the Mac OS and Windows, as well as migrating a physical Windows system over to a virtual Windows Machine on a Mac.
;) آ |
| آ VMware Fusion 3 supports Aero and Flip 3D |
Intel Macs owners actually have a number of other options for running Windows apps on their Macs. One is the free, open-source Wine project, and another is a commercial-implementation of Wine: CodeWeavers' CrossOver Mac. CodeWeavers also has a special version of CrossOver, made exclusively for running Windows games on the Mac: CrossOver Games. CrossOver Games currently supports DirectX 9 Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 3.x. Unfortunately, the Mac OS presently supports only up to OpenGL 2.1, so you won't be able to run any games that demand OpenGL 3.x. A CodeWeavers representative tells us that DirectX 10 Shader Model 4 support is currently in development and "will likely be ready next year."
There is a big caveat here that bears mentioning. Despite all this software support for DirectX and OpenGL, there is limited hardware support for these features on many of the Macs that are presently in owners' hands. Many iMacs and MacBooks have GPUs that simply lack the necessary support and horsepower for games that use DirectX 9 and above and OpenGL 2.1 and above. For instance, Apple has a matrix on its Developer site (located here) that shows the OpenGL support for the different GPUs found in its systems--some of the GPUs support only up to OpenGL 2.0, and one supports only up to OpenGL 1.4. As Apple embraces gaming more and more for the Mac platform, however, some higher-end GPU options have been slowly becoming available.
In addition to updating its 3D graphics support capabilities, VMware Fusion 3 also adds compatibility for Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) and officially supports Windows 7, including Windows Aero and Flip 3D. (VMware Fusion 2 identifies Windows 7 as Windows Vista, while Parallels 4's Windows 7 support is considered "experimental.") Starting today, VMware Fusion 3 is available for pre-orders from the VMware site, the Apple Online Store, and Amazon, for $79.99. VMware Fusion 3 will start shipping on October 27. On this date, users of previous versions of VMware Fusion can also upgrade to the new version for $39.99 via the VMware site.
Read More ...
Rig wish list
Hi
Compiling a list of everything i want for a new PC, could you look through the list and let me know if it will work.
Please any suggestions welcome.
Flaming Blade ATX Raid Core I7 Motherboard
Intel Core I7 920 2.66ghz Processor + Artic Cooling Freezer Xtreme
BFG GTX275oc Graphics
Samsung Spinpoint F1 750gb Hard Drive
OCZ 700w Modxstream PSU
6gb OCZ Reaper DDR3
Soundblaster X-FI
Read More ...
No More Booting!
Computer makers seek to banish boot-up blues
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/05/computers.bootup.speed/index.html
"People want PCs to be like their toaster. Push a button and it is ready," says Steve Jones, vice-president and chief scientist of core systems at Phoenix Technologies, one of the biggest BIOS makers.
That would be pretty cool!
Read More ...
Nokia In-Depth Demo Shows Off N900's Web Browsing Capabilities (And A Little More)
We've always considered ourselves fans of Nokia devices. In fact, we'renot even ashamed to admit that we used one of those Nokia candybarsback in the day (you know, one with 'Snake'), and we'd probably stilluse it today if not for things like "web browsing" and "Twitter." Astimes have changed, so have the engineering efforts at Nokia. Thecompany's newest smartphone/mini computer is the N900, and with thatdevice will come an all new mobile operating system to rival Google'sAndroid, Palm's webOS and Apple's iPhone OS.That operating system is Maemo 5, and while there's still no way totruly tell if it'll be a runaway hit, we get the feeling that it'll doquite well amongst the cellphone multitaskers out there. One of thebiggest problems the modern day smartphone has it accessing theInternet in a way that closely resembles the desktop Internetexperience. With a desktop browser, loading Flash sites and complicatedsites are generally no big deal. They may take a few seconds to load,but in the end most everything pops up as expected. However, on themobile front, only Apple's iPhone comes close to delivering a true "webexperience," but without Flash support, even the mobile version ofSafari is seriously lacking.
Nokia is hoping to make Maemo 5 the go-to mobile OS for those who valuea good web browsing experience on a mobile device. A recent overview ofthe N900 and the aforesaid OS shows the five main points to deliveringa desktop-like browsing experience on a mobile device, and of course,it shows how the N900 accomplishes that. We have to admit--Maemo 5'sweb browser looks really promising from the video. Of course, this is aNokia video, but we still think there's more to it than just marketinghoopla. Have a look at the video below for a tour of Maemo 5'sMozilla-based browser, and see if catch the Easter Egg located in thefirst half. No cheating! (Oops!)
Read More ...
What Would You Do With The Contest Prize? (New Specs Oct. 5)
NEW SPECS!!! (Oct. 5)
-Intel® Core™ i7 870 @ 2.93 GHz LGA 1156 45nm 8MB L3 Cache
-Intel P55 Chipset Mainboard
- 3x PCI-e 16x
- 4x DIMM DDR3 Memory Slots
- 2x PCI-e 1x
- 2x PCI
- 10 USB (8 x rear, 2 x front)
- GB LAN
- 6x SATA, 2x IDE
- I/O: 2x PS2, 8x USB, 1x IEEE1394a, Optical S/PDIF Out Port, Coaxial S/PDIF
Out Port,2x RJ-45, Audio
-8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333 Memory(Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
-1TB SATA-II 3.0 Gb/s 7200RPM HDD
-Nvidia Geforce GTX 285 PCI Express Video Card
-Blu-Ray Player Drive
-22x DVD±R/±RW DUAL LAYER DRIVE
-Flash Card Reader Drive
-Viewsonice VA2226W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor
-Xtreme Gear USB Keyboard
-Xtreme Gear USB Mouse
-Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-Bit
(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)
-CoolerMaster Sniper Storm Gaming Case With Side Window and 800W Power Supply
-Shipping weight : 42Lbs.
-Shipping Dimension : 28 ¼” (L) x 21 5/8” (W) x 11 7/8” (H)
-1 Year Warranty and Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support Services
Old Specs:
-Intel® Core™ i7 870 @ 2.93 GHz LGA 1156 45nm 8MB L3 Cache
-Intel P55 Chipset Mainboard
- 3x PCI-e 16x
- 4x DIMM DDR3 Memory Slots
- 2x PCI-e 1x
- 2x PCI
- 10 USB (8 x rear, 2 x front)
- GB LAN
- 6x SATA, 2x IDE
- I/O: 2x PS2, 8x USB, 1x IEEE1394a, Optical S/PDIF Out Port, Coaxial S/PDIF
Out Port,2x RJ-45, Audio
-8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333 Memory(Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
-1TB SATA-II 3.0 Gb/s 7200RPM HDD
-Nvidia Geforce GTX295 1792MB PCI Express Video Card
-Blu-Ray Player Drive
-22x DVD±R/±RW DUAL LAYER DRIVE
-Xtreme Gear USB Keyboard
-Xtreme Gear USB Mouse
-Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-Bit
(With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon)
-NZXT Beta Gaming Case With Side Window and 800W Power Supply
-Shipping weight : 42Lbs.
-Shipping Dimension : 28 ¼” (L) x 21 5/8” (W) x 11 7/8” (H)
-1 Year Warranty and Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support Services
Are there any weak links here? We're speculating the mobo will be an ASUS P7P55D Deluxe, pretty solid from what's available now. Big name PSU? Blu-Ray burner? Faster RAM? Even the case is pretty awesome.
For me I'd pretty much buy one or two 24" 1920X1080 monitors and a serious sound card, that's it.
Edit for new specs Oct. 5 - Slight downgrade of video card but still smokin'. Tossed in a 22" monitor and CM Storm Sniper. I think I like this case even better, integrated fan controller?
Read More ...
CTERA Launches Two Cloud-Attached Storage Devices
Israeli-based CTERA Networks is adding its new CTERA CloudPlug and CTERA C200 products to the growing list of devices that let you easily convert external hard drives into network-attached storage (NAS) devices and make them remotely accessible. Unlike other devices that perform similar functionality, such as the Pogoplug and the Seagate FreeAgent DockStar, CTERA's two new devices add an additional feature that these other products lack: automatic online backup.
It is the addition of online-based storage that inspires CTERA to refer to these two products as "Cloud Attached Storage" devices (CTERA owns the trademark on that phrase, so don't expect to see other companies use the same expression to describe their products, unless they are licensing CTERA's technology). CTERA first announced the CloudPlug back in January at CES. Following months of beta testing, the CloudPlug now makes its official debut.It is not a coincidence that several different products have popped up recently that are designed to convert external storage into NAS devices. Both CTERA devices, as well as the Pogoplug and FreeAgent DockStar are all based on Marvell's Plug Computing initiative and SheevaPlug Development Kit, which is a full system-on-chip (SoC)-based device. In fact, Pogoplug licensed its technology to Seagate for the FreeAgent DockStar.
;) آ | ;) آ |
| آ CTERA Portal (left) and CTERA User Web-Interface (right) | |
The CloudPlug is a small box that includes a High-Speed USB 2.0 port, eSATA port, and a Gigabit Ethernet connection. Setting it up is as simple as attaching the power cable, plugging in an external hard drive, and connecting the device to a router. There is no software to install, as the device is managed "via an online portal." Once the device is configured, it allows you to access the contents of the hard drive over your local network or remotely over the Internet. You can also set up remote access for additional users. Data stored on the CloudPlug can be configured to automatically backup to CTERA's online backup service--backups use "high-grade AES encryption and [are] encoded to maximize bandwidth utilization." The C200 provides the same functionality, but it is a larger device that also has two 3.5-inch 3.0Gbps SATA drive bays, with RAID support.
;) آ | ;) آ | ;) آ |
| آ CTERA CloudPlug front (left), bottom (middle), and back (right) | ||
CTERA's goal is not just to sell its products directly to consumers, but instead to partner with service providers who will offer the products and services to consumers and small businesses. The first such partner to come online is Rackspace, which will "promote and market the CloudPlug via online and channel programs."
;) آ |
| آ CTERA C200 |
The CloudPlug and C200 are both available starting today. The CloudPlug is available directly from CloudPlug and sells for $199, which includes one year of 10GB of online storage. The C200 is available now, buy you'll have to purchase it from one of CTERA's channel partners. The C200's price starts at $499, which includes one of year of 10GB of online storage (with a 30-day retention). You can purchase more online storage space for both the CloudPlug and C200, starting with $9.95 per month (or $110 per year) for another 10GB.
Read More ...
AT&T Nabs First Windows Mobile 6.5 Smartphones: HTC PURE And Tilt 2
October 6th may still be officially a day away, but that's not stoppingAT&T from getting the party started early. What party, you ask? TheWindows Mobile 6.5 party, of course. In a joint announcement made todaywith HTC, the Tilt 2 and PURE will be the carrier's first two WinMo 6.5handsets, and both are pretty stout on paper.The PURE is a touchscreen-based phone, while the Tilt 2 relies on atilting QWERTY slider approach. Both of the handsets support 3Gbrowsing, HTC's own TouchFLO 3D interface and Windows Marketplace.WinMo 6.5 will also bring along an improved UI and Flash-supporting Webbrowser. As for pricing, the phones (which are hitting retail storesnow) will sell for $149.99 (PURE) and $299.99 (Tilt 2). That'sincluding a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year agreement on a $69.99+phone plan. A steep entry point for sure, but did you really expect thefirst AT&T Windows Mobile 6.5 phones to hit the bargain basketright out of the chute?
HTC Tilt 2
Designed for thebusiness professional, the HTC Tilt 2 is designed with distinct styleand strength while delivering the most powerful productivity experienceavailable on a mobile phone. The HTC Tilt 2 features a high-resolution3.6-inch widescreen WVGA display which can be easily tilted for anexpanded viewing area and a large QWERTY keyboard, which is optimizedfor heavy email use. A quality speakerphone experience is enabled bydual speakers and dual microphones with advanced noise cancellation,and HTC's Straight Talkâ„¢ which allows for simplified conference callingand activation of the speakerphone by simply turning over the device.The HTC Tilt 2 also features a 3.2 megapixel camera.HTC PURE
Leveraging HTC's TouchFLO 3D experience, the all touch screen HTC PUREoffers an advanced touch experience that is optimized for one-hand use,which further evolves the compact smartphone design. Incorporating alarge, brilliant 3.2-inch WVGA touch screen, the HTC PURE is crafted tofit perfectly into the hand and accentuates one's sense of style. Witha crisp advanced five megapixel auto-focus camera with video capture,expandable memory, gravity sensor and an ambient light sensor, the HTCPURE brings many of the most sophisticated features to a broad consumeraudience looking for the professional benefits of a smartphone, withoutsacrificing size, looks or functionality."TheHTC Tilt 2 and HTC PURE are not only powerhouse devices, they alsoprovide a natural simplicity in the way we communicate with the peoplein our lives whether through voice, text or email," said JasonMackenzie, vice president of HTC America. "Our desire is to put peopleat the center of every mobile experience, and we are pleased to workwith AT&T, who shares this common vision."
Read More ...
No comments:
Post a Comment