Legit Reviews News History
PowerColor Special Edition Year of the Pig Graphics Card
TUL Corporation, a leading provider of graphic cards, today announced the PowerColor Chinese New Year Special Edition graphics card. This card features a limited edition golden pig fan to celebrate the year of the pig; to welcome a joyful and prosperous year to come.
“We’re in the fast moving industry of graphics cards that reaches people from all over the world, but PowerColor still hasn’t forgotten its roots of Chinese traditions.” says Ted Chen, CEO of TUL Corporation. “We want to take this opportunity to share the good fortunes of Year of the Pig.”
Posted by | Thu, Feb 15, 2007 - 08:00 AM | Comments
Annual U.S. Data Center Energy Consumption: 45 Billion kWh
In a keynote address at the LinuxWorld OpenSolutions Summit in New York today, Randy Allen, corporate vice president, Server and Workstation Division, AMD (NYSE: AMD), revealed findings from a study that comprehensively calculated, for the first time, the energy consumed by national and global data centers annually. Addressing the need for thorough, credible estimates on data center power use, the study found that in 2005, in the U.S. alone, data centers and their associated infrastructure consumed five million kW of energy, the equivalent of five 1,000 MW power plants.
The study found that in 2005, total data center electricity consumption in the U.S., including servers, cooling and auxiliary equipment, was approximately 45 billion kWh, resulting in total utility bills amounting to $2.7 billion, with total data center power and electricity consumption for the world estimated to cost $7.2 billion annually. The report also examines the growth in electricity demands since the year 2000, concluding that over the last five years server energy use has doubled.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 15, 2007 - 08:00 AM | Comments
Dell hires Solectron CEO, Michael Cannon
Dell on Thursday announced that Michael Cannon, the current president and CEO of electronics maker Solectron, will head a newly formed group that will oversee much of the company's operations, including manufacturing, procurement and suppliers.
Cannon's appointment is the latest sign of a management shakeup underway at Dell, and underscores the seriousness of the challenges facing the company. Paul Tufano succeeds Cannon and will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 15, 2007 - 07:56 AM | Comments
Apple still quiet on game strategy - Wonder Why?
Anyone who has seen Apple's television ads knows "PC" is a stodgy business guy. But he sure spends a lot of time chasing down alien terrorists in video games. Given the "cool factor" of the Mac as portrayed in those ubiquitous ads, some might think gamers choose Macs more often than the average PC buyer.
Some believe, however, that Apple could be preparing for a renewed attack on the game industry through products like the iPod and Apple TV. Certainly, many games are available for the Mac. Apple maintains a list of games on its Web site that are currently available for its technology, and that roster includes popular titles such as Age of Empires III and Civilization IV. And with the switch to Intel, it's easier than ever to compare the performance of the Mac to other PCs on the market. "The Mac is faster and more powerful than ever, has stunning graphics and a growing list of popular games that our customers enjoy, including World of Warcraft, Prey and The Sims 2.0," Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox said in a statement.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 15, 2007 - 07:55 AM | Comments
IBM reveals embedded DRAM breakthrough
In papers presented at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) today, IBM revealed an on-chip memory technology that features what the company claims are the fastest access times ever recorded in eDRAM (embedded dynamic random access memory).
This new technology, designed in stress-enabled 65nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) using deep trench, dramatically improves on-processor memory performance in about one-third the space with one-fifth the standby power of conventional SRAM (static random access memory), IBM indicated. The company added that the breakthrough will more than triple the amount of memory contained on a single high-end chip, and its prototype eDRAM contains over 12 million bits and high-performance logic. IBM expects the technology to be a key feature of its 45nm microprocessor roadmap and will become available beginning in 2008.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 15, 2007 - 07:51 AM | Comments
Google Earth gets overlay search
Google has created a searchable index of Google Earth data files, a feature that should make it easier for users to find and adopt third-party overlays for this popular mapping application.
"Users can now search through all of the world's KML files, making the millions of Google Earth layers on the Web instantly accessible for geobrowsing and exploration," wrote Chikai Ohazama, a Google Earth product manager in an official company blog. Google expects to later extend this capability to its mapping Web site Google Maps, Ohazama wrote.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 14, 2007 - 06:42 PM | Comments
AIDS virus weakness detected
Scientists have captured an image of the AIDS virus in a biological handshake with the immune cells it attacks, and said on Wednesday they hope this can help lead to a better vaccine against the incurable disease.
They pinpointed a place on the outside of the human immunodeficiency virus that could be vulnerable to antibodies that could block it from infecting human cells. U.S. National Institutes of Health researcher Peter Kwong said the study, published in the journal Nature, may reveal HIV's long-sought "site of vulnerability" that can be targeted with a vaccine aimed at preventing initial infection.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 14, 2007 - 06:42 PM | Comments
Take-Two founder pleads guilty to options charges
Ryan Brant, the former chief executive of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges related to backdating of stock options. Brant, who in 1993 founded the company best known for the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto urban-action game, pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to falsifying business records.
"I am deeply sorry for my role in the inappropriate manner Take-Two granted incentive stock options," Brant said in a statement. "I accept responsibility for my actions, and apologize to the company's shareholders," said Brant, who agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle the civil charges and $1 million in penalties related to the criminal case.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 14, 2007 - 06:41 PM | Comments
Thursday's News from Around the Web
Tweaktown have the scoup on Gigabytes new DQ6 Rev. 3.3 motherboard, which has native support for 1333MHz FSB! This and more can be found in the Legit Forums.
Today we will explore the revision 3.3 DQ6 motherboard as there have been quite a few changes made to the overall design. We’ll check out those new changes and then compare it to the first DQ6 released and against one of the best P965 motherboards we have tested so far, the ASUS Commando."
Posted by | Wed, Feb 14, 2007 - 05:05 PM | Comments
NVIDIA ForceWare 100.64 Drivers Released For GeForce 8800 Series
NVIDIA released a new driver today that adds support for the 320MB GeForce 8800 GTS. This is an incremental driver release since v100.59 with a few additional fixes. Be sure to head on over to NVIDIA to grab these drivers as they do fix a few issues!
ForceWare driver 100.64 fixes include:
- A black screen bug with Quake 4
- an issue with the NVIDIA DirectX 10 demo “Cascades”
- a Control Panel bug
- a flat panel scaling issue
- a number of other bugs to improve overall stability
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 06:09 PM | Comments
Belgian newspapers win claim against Google
A court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Belgian newspapers that sued Google Inc., claiming that the Web search Internet search leader infringed copyright laws and demanded it remove their stories. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company that operates the world's most-used search engine immediately said it would appeal, claiming its Google News service was 'entirely legal.'
The court ordered Google to remove any articles, photos or links from its sites -- including Google News -- that it displays without the newspapers' permission. But in the future, it said it would be up to copyright owners to get in touch with Google by e-mail to complain if the site was posting content that belonged to them. Google would then have 24 hours to withdraw the content or face a daily fine of 1,000 euros ($1,295). The court cut a retroactive daily fine of 25,000 euros ($32,390) for each day Google did not comply -- far lower than an earlier judgment that threatened 1 million euros ($1.3 million) a day.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 10:39 AM | Comments
Sun puts Unix in open-source stack - Enter SAMP
I'm sure you've heard of LAMP, the popular open-source infrastructure stack featuring the Linux operating system, the Apache Web server, MySQL's database, and the Perl, Python and PHP scripting languages. This server is an example of LAMP! It seems that Sun wants to get involved and is now replacing Linux with its own Solaris Unix OS as part of its Solaris + AMP, or SAMP, stack for building Web applications.
The Solaris + AMP unveiling is part of a multifaceted announcement of free development offerings to debut on Tuesday with Sun hoping to sell support as a way to generate revenues. While stressing that Sun was not trying to compete with LAMP itself, Dan Roberts, Sun's director of developer tools marketing, did note that Sun believes its Solaris platform presents a viable competitor to Linux. Developers can build to Apache, MySQL, and the scripting languages but deploy their applications on Solaris or the open-source variant, OpenSolaris, to get advantages such as reliability and security, he said.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 09:21 AM | Comments
Opera Mobile browser selected by ASUS
Opera Software today announced that the Opera browser for mobile phones has been selected by ASUSTeK to bring the Web to the company's Vodafone deliveries. Opera 8.65 for Mobile will be initially integrated on the V1210 for Vodafone International or the VDA IV for Vodafone Germany.
"Our strategy is to deliver a phone that has basic functionality without cumbersome accessories, and yet have the power to simultaneously bring the full Web to the user," says H. C. Hung, Head of ASUSTeK's Handheld Business Unit. "Opera completes our strategy by bringing a superior Web experience to the V1210, allowing customers to get the information they want, when they want it, from the convenience of their simple, business-minded mobile phones."
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 09:07 AM | Comments
Bigfoot Networks Introduces $149.99 Gaming Nic Called K1
Bigfoot Networks, Inc., a research and development company, today introduced the Killer K1, a new, more affordable version of its flagship gaming product, the KillerTM NIC. The Killer K1 is available for a limited time from selected e-tailers for a price as low as $149.99 after rebates. Powered by Lag and Latency Reduction (LLR) Technology, Killer K1 uses Bigfoot Network’s 333 MHz Network Processing Unit (NPU) and 64 Megabytes of dedicated DDR RAM to offer gamers a faster online gaming experience.
“We often hear gamers saying that they believe in the power of LLR Technology but that the Killer NIC is too expensive for their budget.” said Harlan Beverly, co-founder and CEO of Bigfoot Networks. “The new Killer K1 is exactly what they are asking for: LLR Technology at a price they can afford. Killer K1 offers the same great gaming performance of the Killer NIC and works with all games including popular titles like World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2.” Unlike the original Killer NIC, the Killer K1 does not require a heat sink and does not come standard with Flexible Network Architecture (FNA™) enabled.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 09:05 AM | Comments
Symantec CEO Says He Has Never Insalled Vista and Has No Use For It
Coming off a good quarter for Symantec's consumer businesses, CEO John Thompson warns against viewing Windows Vista as a solution to security woes. He goes on to say that he has never installed the operating system and that he sees no need for it for what I do online today. Ouch!
Consumers should not be confused. Vista is not a security solution. Vista is an operating system, and Vista provides some very important advances from Microsoft's perspective and for the industry's point of view on building a more stable, more reliable, more secure operating platform, but people still need the efficacy that comes with the products that Symantec and others in the industry build, and so we should not be confused by the marketing rhetoric with what Vista is. It's a hopefully much better product than XP or any of its predecessors, but it's not a security solution.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 09:03 AM | Comments
Sony to slash chip spending and may move to TSMC or UMC
Sony Corp. will cut back on future chip spending and may not produce advanced chips used in its PlayStation 3 (PS3) in-house, a senior executive said on Tuesday, in a move aimed at driving the semiconductor unit's nascent earnings recovery.
Sony Executive Deputy President Yutaka Nakagawa told reporters that investment in chips would come down significantly from the 460 billion yen ($3.8 billion) allocated over the three business years since April 2004. Sony is already producing the cell chips, dubbed "supercomputer on a chip", using 90- and 65-nanometre circuitry for the PS3, and plans to move onto the 45-nanometre variety by 2009. A nanometre is one billionth of a meter.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 13, 2007 - 09:00 AM | Comments
AMD sees first fruits of ATI integration in 2009
Advanced Micro Devices will likely see the first fruits of its $5.4-billion acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI in 2009, according to what Paul Dal Santo told the media today. It's amazing how long these things take, but remember that ATI and AMD are two giant companies from different countries!
Dal Santo said AMD would sell more intellectual property (IP) licences, such as one agreed with European semiconductor group STMicroelectronicsfor mobile multimedia graphics technology that was announced earlier on Monday. "We'll see more like this," he said, adding that such agreements were part of a drive towards open industry standards needed to create a real market for mobile multimedia.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 12, 2007 - 09:20 PM | Comments
AMD "Barcelona" Quad-Core Details Released
Lots of news from AMD today capped off with them releasing detailed information on their "Barcelona" chip. This will be their native Quad-Core processor and AMD claims that there will be about a 40% increase in performace over its competition. Available in mid-2007, Legit Reviews hopes to be one of the first to bring you real-world results when Barcelona is released.
"Today's IT system purchasers must weigh performance-per-watt as well as raw performance as they make their buying decisions," noted Nathan Brookwood, Research Fellow at Insight 64. "By doubling the number of cores, adding a shared third level cache and applying a variety of other extensive CPU design enhancements, AMD's 'Barcelona' designers clearly have addressed the numerator in the performance-per-watt equation. The combination of these new performance and power-saving features should drive a dramatic improvement in the already strong performance-per-watt AMD Opteron processor-based systems offer today."
Posted by | Mon, Feb 12, 2007 - 11:47 AM | Comments
AMD Introduces Imageon Media Processors
Today, AMD announced the AMD Imageon 2298, 2294 and 2192 media processors. These processors, available now to handheld devices makers, offers next-generation features such as high-resolution image processing, DVD-quality video and high-definition audio for mobile devices and on-the-go multimedia experiences. It will be interesting to see just how many devices these new chips end up in.
Next-generation AMD Imageon 2298 and 2294 processors are designed to bring the latest multimedia performance to mobile devices with a combination of features that enable a seamless, high-quality, multi-tasking entertainment experience unprecedented in today's handheld market. The AMD Imageon 2192 media processor enables similar feature-rich devices for mainstream consumers.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 12, 2007 - 11:15 AM | Comments
More AMD price cuts announced, Athlon 64 X2 targeted
AMD has published yet another set of price cuts this time for its mid- to high-end dual-core desktop CPUs, the Athlon 64 X2. A recently as January 22, AMD announced similar cuts for its lower-end desktop models, and on February 7 the company slashed prices for its Opteron series server-targeted processors.
The price cuts published on AMD's website today begin with the Athlon 64 X2 5600+, currently the top-end processor in the range, falling in price from US$505 to US$326, while the next highest model, the 5400+ is reduced even further from US$485 to US$267. The 5200+ and the two versions of the 5000+ (based on 90nm and 65nm processes) each see their prices cut by US$63, from US$295 to US$232 for the 5200+ and from US$285 to US$222 for both 5000+ models.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 12, 2007 - 06:03 AM | Comments
Intel Advances Tera-scale Computing With 80-Core Chip
Intel Corporation researchers have developed the world’s first programmable processor that delivers supercomputer-like performance from a single, 80-core chip not much larger than the size of a fingernail while using less electricity than most of today’s home appliances. This is the result of the company’s innovative “Tera-scale computing” research aimed at delivering Teraflops -- or trillions of calculations per second --performance for future PCs and servers. Technical details of the Teraflops research chip will be presented at the annual Integrated Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) this week in San Francisco.
Intel has no plans to bring this exact chip designed with floating point cores to market. However, the company’s Tera-scale research is instrumental in investigating new innovations in individual or specialized processor or core functions, the types of chip-to-chip and chip-to-computer interconnects required to best move data and, most importantly, how software will need to be designed to best leverage multiple processor cores. This Teraflops research chip offered specific insights in new silicon design methodologies, high-bandwidth interconnects and energy management approaches. “Our researchers have achieved a wonderful and key milestone in terms of being able to drive multi-core and parallel computing performance forward,” said Justin Rattner, Intel Senior Fellow and chief technology officer. “It points the way to the near future when Teraflops-capable designs will be commonplace and reshape what we can all expect from our computers and the Internet at home and in the office.”
Posted by | Sun, Feb 11, 2007 - 05:06 PM | Comments
Samsung unveils Ultra Smart F700 Mobile Phone
Samsung Electronics Co. has unveiled a new mobile phone that features some of the sleek design and functions of Apple Inc.'s much-hyped iPhone. Samsung's Ultra Smart F700 will be exhibited at next week's 3GSM World Congress, a telecommunications exhibition in Barcelona.
The ultra-thin iPhone is controlled by a large touch screen. It plays music, surfs the Internet, and runs a version of the Mac OS X operating system, among other functions. Samsung said the Ultra Smart F700 also has a full touch screen as well as a traditional QWERTY key pad that slides out "for users who are not yet familiar with a touch-screen-only user interface."
Posted by | Sun, Feb 11, 2007 - 10:13 AM | Comments
Microsoft to release next generation phone
Microsoft Corp. plans a launch this spring of its next-generation operating system for wireless devices, Windows Mobile 6, which is important for the company's efforts to grab market share beyond the desktop.
Microsoft is expected to disclose details of Windows Mobile 6 on Monday at a telecommunications conference in Barcelona, Spain. The company pledged that the new software would render e-mails and other documents much as they appear on desktop computers. The software also will have deeper connectivity to Microsoft's "Live" suite of online services, including instant messaging.
Posted by | Sun, Feb 11, 2007 - 10:10 AM | Comments
ATI's Upcoming R600 Video Card Pictured For the First Time
It was only a matter of time, but it seems that today is the day that pictures of ATI's upcoming R600 video card got leaked for all the world to see. Head on over to the forums to take a peak at this 12.4" long monster.
VR-Zone has learned about some new details on 80nm R600 today and there will be 2 SKUs at launch; XTX and XT. There will be 2 versions of R600XTX; one is for OEM/SI and the other for retail. Both feature 1GB DDR4 memories on board but the OEM version is 12.4" long to be exact and the retail is 9.5" long. The above picture shows a 12.4" OEM version. The power consumption of the card is huge at 270W for 12" version and 240W for 9.5" version. As for R600XT, it will have 512MB of GDDR3 memories onboard, 9.5" long and consumes 240W of power. Lastly, there is a cheaper R600XL SKU to be launched at a later date.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 09, 2007 - 05:56 PM | Comments
Big set of Microsoft security patches coming Tuesday
Microsoft plans to release 12 sets of security patches next Tuesday fixing critical vulnerabilities in a number of its products, including the company's new security software. The bulk of the patches will fix flaws in the Windows operating system and Office, Microsoft said in a statement published Thursday on its Web site.
The patches will be released as part of Microsoft's monthly cycle of security updates. There will also be patches for Microsoft's Step-by-Step Interactive Training and Microsoft Data Access Components and an update that covers both Windows and Visual Studio. Finally, Microsoft will also publish an update that patches critical flaws in its Windows Live OneCare, Antigen, Windows Defender, and ForeFront security software.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 09, 2007 - 09:18 AM | Comments
Number of HDTV homes to triple by 2011
The number of households around the world with high-definition television (HDTV) will triple over the next five years as viewers switch to its clearer, more vivid picture, according to a report on Friday. The transition to HDTV has been called a landmark move for the industry, similar to the shift from black-and-white television to color.
According to Informa Telecoms and Media, the number of homes taking the product will jump to 151 million worldwide by 2011 from 48 million at the end of 2006 when an estimated 1.2 billion households had a television. The report said some 58 percent of HD homes were currently found in the United States and 20 percent in Japan, with Britain, Canada, China and Germany also high on the list.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 09, 2007 - 09:17 AM | Comments
Acer PC shipments to grow 30-40% on year in 2007
cer expects its 2007 PC shipments to grow at least 30-40% from the amount it shipped in 2006, lifting its global ranking to third place, from the current fourth ranking, for one or two quarters, or even the whole year according to company chairman, JT Wang.
According to data compiled by IDC, Acer's PC shipments, including notebooks and desktops, totaled 13.58 million units, representing an annual growth of 37.9%, which is the highest among the world's top-five vendors. For notebook shipments in 2007, Acer sets a low-end target of 12 million units and a high-end target of 14 million units, according to company sources. In addition to pushing its shipment growth, Acer is also pondering how to narrow the gap in terms of global market share it has with the top-two vendors, Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP), Wang noted. Data made available by market research firms showed that Dell and HP currently each account for 15% share compared to Acer's 7%.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 09, 2007 - 09:12 AM | Comments
Anna Nicole Smith dies after collapsing in hotel
Reality TV star and former model Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead Thursday after being taken to a Florida hospital, a law enforcement source told CNN. Smith, 39, collapsed at a south Florida hotel, according to news reports.
"I can confirm that she is deceased. It's as shocking to me as to you guys," Smith's attorney, Ronald Rale, told Reuters. "I don't know anything further. [Her lawyer and husband] Howard [K. Stern], obviously, is speechless and grieving." TMZ.com had reported that Smith collapsed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood just after 2 p.m. ET. According to reports, Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 03:19 PM | Comments
February 8th News From Around the Web
Thursday's Web Reviews
"During my battery of tests, Xclio's Stablepower 460W PSU lived up to its name. They could also legitimately call it the “Silentpower,” as it performed its duties without a whisper of noise. This PSU is available at several online retailers for around $60 US, making it a very good value."
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 01:40 PM | Comments
Mobile ESPN to relaunch through Verizon Wireless
ESPN is relaunching its shuttered cell phone service through Verizon Wireless, this time delivering its flashy feed of sports scores, news and video highlights through a top industry player instead of competing for subscribers with its own full-blown wireless brand.
The Mobile ESPN service, expected to launch in the coming months, is to be included free as part of the $15 a month or $3 a day charge for V Cast's assorted multimedia offerings, the executives said. The Verizon relationship is the first example of the new strategy that ESPN executives promised last September in announcing they were pulling the plug on Mobile ESPN as a standalone cell phone company featuring its own handsets, calling plans, customer service and monthly phone bills.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 09:16 AM | Comments
Firefox has pop-up blocker flaw in Version 1.5.0.9
A flaw in the pop-up blocker of the open-source browser Firefox could allow an attacker to access local files, according to security analysts. No big deal for many enthusiasts as we are running Firefox 2.0.0.1 and not the older 1.5.0.9 version! Update People!
The flaw, however, does not affect Firefox 2.0, the latest version of the browser, but version 1.5.0.9, according to Beyond Security, which credited the find to Michal Zalewski. The attack could occur if a user manually allows a pop-window to appear. The browser normally blocks access to local files, but when a pop-up is manually allowed, "normal URL permission checks are bypassed," Beyond Security said.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 09:15 AM | Comments
Level 3 Swings the Ax
Level 3 Communications posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, set plans to cut 1,000 jobs and said it would raise $500 million in its latest financing transaction. The Broomfield, Colo., telco lost $237 million, or 20 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to the year-ago continuing operations loss of $226 million, or 32 cents a share. Revenue rose to $846 million from $418 million a year earlier. Analysts were looking for a 14-cent loss on revenue of $831 million.
The company said it will sell $500 million of senior notes in two tranches -- one tranche that will mature in 2015 and will bear interest at a floating rate and a second tranche that will mature in 2017 and will bear interest at a fixed rate -- in a proposed private offering to qualified institutional buyers" as defined in Rule 144A. Level 3 intends to call for redemption its 12-7/8% senior discount notes due 2010 using cash on hand.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 09:14 AM | Comments
2GB DDR2 modules may not be mainstream until 2008
While 1Gbit DDR2 chips are still available in very limited quantities in the open market, 2GB DDR2 desktop modules may not go mainstream until 2008, according to industry sources. Memory module houses currently put more focus on 2x1GB dual-channel solutions, which consist of two identical 1GB modules, typically using 512Mbit (64x8) chips, offering them at lower prices than "pure" 2GB modules utilizing 1Gbit (128x8) parts, with the price gap exceeding 50% in some cases.
1Gbit DDR2 chips are currently traded in very low volume in the spot and contract markets, representing less than 1% of trading volumes, said DRAMeXchange industry research division director Joyce Yang. Seeing only Samsung offering 1Gbit DDR2 chips, DRAMeXchange expects other DRAM makers to follow when their 70nm production processes reach mature yields, she added. According to DRAMeXchange, DDR2-800 modules will go mainstream in the second half of 2007 while 2GB DDR2 modules will likely have to wait until 2008.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 09:13 AM | Comments
PCs to get updated Energy Star ratings
Standards for energy-efficient PCs are about to take a step forward for the first time in more than a decade. The Energy Star program is set to release the first revision to the specification for PCs since 1992, which was practically the Bronze Age of the PC industry. This has been a long time coming for the PC industry and I think that this is a step in the right direction for all.
Due to the lag in formulating a new certification, more than 90 percent of PCs currently on the market are eligible for an Energy Star sticker. But come July, a new voluntary specification will go into effect for energy-efficient PCs and game consoles that includes new recommendations for power supply efficiency and idle power consumption.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 08, 2007 - 09:10 AM | Comments
Unarmed ICBM blasts through 105-ton door in test
The Air Force launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile early Wednesday, officials said, in a test flight that blasted open a 105-ton silo door for the first time in years. The Minuteman 3 missile's dummy warhead traveled about 4,200 miles in about 20 minutes, hitting a target at the Kwajalein Atoll in the western chain of the Marshall Islands.
The launch at 12:14 a.m. from the Central Coast base marked the first time in years that the Air Force conducted a closed-door missile test. In previous launches, the 576th Flight Test Squadron performed the tests with the concrete door open to cut costs. The test was also the first flight using only global positioning satellites for navigation instead of radio transponders. The Air Force returned to closed-door testing because such launches provide more accurate data for tracking the missile, according Lt. Col. Stephen L. Davis, the unit's commander.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 07, 2007 - 09:47 AM | Comments
Apple's Jobs calls on music industry to drop DRM
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday called on the four major record companies to start selling songs online without copy protection software to thwart piracy known as digital rights management (DRM). Jobs said there appeared to be no benefit for the record companies in continuing to sell more than 90 percent of their music without DRM on compact discs, while selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system.
"If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies," he said in a statement posted to his company's Web site.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 07, 2007 - 09:43 AM | Comments
Study: Video games are good for eyes
Video game addicts, rejoice: U.S. researchers have found that playing is actually good for your eyes, and despite all those dire warnings from your parents, it won't make you blind. A study by the University of Rochester showed that people who played action video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month improved their vision by about 20 percent.
"Action video game play changes the way our brains process visual information," Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences, said in the study published on the university's Web site on Tuesday. "These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it. That learning carries over into other activities and possibly everyday life."
Posted by | Wed, Feb 07, 2007 - 09:41 AM | Comments
AMD slashes Opteron prices, adds high-end models
AMD has published across-the-board price cuts for its Opteron range of high-end and server processors in all of its 1-way, 2-way and 8-way lines. Additionally, it has released several new high-end models, as well as high-efficiency (HE) variants of its Opteron 1000 series CPUs.
Stating at the top of the scale, the price of the AMD Opteron 8220 SE has been slashed from US$2,149 to US$1,514, a 30% reduction, and a new model, the 8220, has been added to the series at the same cost. Other 8000 series models have also fallen in price by between 20% and 30%. In the high-efficiency range, the Opteron 8128 HE has been added at a cost of US$1,340. In the 800 series, the Dual-Core Opteron 890 has been added at US$1,514, and the lowest-end 865 has been removed. All models in the series have moved down a step in price equivalent to those of the previous list. This trend continues in the single-core variants in the range, with the Opteron 850 falling to US$523, and the high-efficiency variants. The model 848 HE has also been removed. The 2000- and 200-series sees similar additions with the introduction of the Opteron 2200 at US$698, 2218 HE at US$611, and Dual-Core AMD Opteron 290 at US$698. Both standard and HE variants of the model 246 are no longer listed.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 07, 2007 - 09:40 AM | Comments
Hynix denies move to China
South Korean memory chip giant Hynix Semiconductor on Wednesday denied local media reports that it planned to move its operations to China. A problem finding land in South Korea for a new factory to make chips on 12-inch (300 millimeter) wafers apparently turned into speculation that the company, frustrated, would simply move to China, where it already operates a joint venture chip factory.
"There were some local news reports that we're planning to move our operation to China. ... Hynix is not reviewing that option," said Kim Mi-Young, a Hynix representative. The company started looking for a new site for the planned factory after South Korea's environmental protection agency turned down a request to build it near its Ichon complex in Kyonggi Province, for fear it might contaminate a nearby river.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 07, 2007 - 09:39 AM | Comments
NASA astronaut charged with attempted kidnap
Lisa Nowak, a married mother of three who police believe was in a love triangle with a fellow astronaut, was charged with trying to abduct a woman she saw as her romantic rival, authorities said.
Nowak faces charges including attempted kidnapping, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. Police said she drove 900 miles, donned a disguise and was armed with a BB gun and pepper spray when she confronted a woman she believed was a competitor for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 06, 2007 - 08:28 AM | Comments
IBM sells part of its stake in Lenovo
IBM sold off a chunk of its stake in Lenovo Group, leading the world's third-largest PC vendor to temporarily suspend trading of its shares in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Reports have shown that IBM has sold 300 million shares in Lenovo Group in a sale worth HK$960 million (US$123 million).
Prior to the reported sale, IBM held a 13.2 percent stake in Lenovo, making it the company's second-largest shareholder. The sale of shares -- estimated at 3.5 percent of Lenovo's total shares -- will reduce IBM's holdings to 9.7 percent of the company. While IBM reduces its stake in Lenovo, the two companies remain close partners. Lenovo Tuesday announced the signing of a five-year agreement for IBM to provide technical support, installation, deployment and other PC-related services to its customers. The deal could be worth up to US$245 million to IBM, Lenovo said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 06, 2007 - 08:23 AM | Comments
Wii outselling PS3 in Japan
Nintendo's Wii game console outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 by nearly three to one last month in Japan, the country's largest video-game magazine publisher said Tuesday. Nintendo sold 405,000 Wii units in January, compared with 148,000 PS3s, publisher Enterbrain said.
Wii and PS3, made by two of the biggest players in the $30 billion global video game industry, went on sale late last year in a three-way showdown with Microsoft's Xbox 360. A wider range of software titles and a lower price tag is helping the Wii, Enterbrain said. The basic model of the PS3 sells for $416 (49,980 yen) in Japan, double the price of the Wii. Nintendo has sold a total 1.4 million units of the Wii in Japan, far outpacing the 614,000 PS3s sold, Enterbrain said.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 06, 2007 - 08:21 AM | Comments
Wal-Mart starts test version of HP video downloads
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday introduced a test version of its new video download service, making it the first major retailer to offer such a service with the backing of all of Hollywood's big studios.
The service, which is powered by technology from Hewlett-Packard Co., features more than 3,000 movies and television shows from 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lions Gate, MGM, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros., Wal-Mart said. The downloads are priced from $1.96 for episodes of television shows to up to $19.88 for new movies.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 06, 2007 - 08:20 AM | Comments
Intel to cut 1-way server CPU prices in April
Intel plans to lower the price for its Quad-Core Xeon 3200 sequence (Kentsfield) and Dual-Core Xeon 3000 sequence (Conroe) processors, in April 2007, in a bid to help boost demand in the 1-way server market, according to server vendor sources. It will also introduce new 1-way targeted chipsets in the second half of the year, but will hold off releasing new processors based on 45nm technology until 2008.
The Quad-Core Xeon X3220 is expected to drop from US$851 to US$530, while the X3210 will be cut from US$690 to US$423, say the vendors, both decreases of close to 40%. Prices for Dual-Core Xeon 3040, 3050, 3060 and 3070 CPUs are also set to fall between 10-40%, add the sources. These two processor series will form the basis of Intel's 1-way lineup throughout 2007 and early 2008 with 45nm-based CPUs, dual-core (Wolfdale) and quad-core (Yorkfield) processors, scheduled to join the market in the first quarter 2008, the sources revealed.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 06, 2007 - 08:19 AM | Comments
OCZ Unveils High-Speed, PC2-6400 4GB Dual Channel Kits
OCZ Technology today announced the PC2-6400 Gold Edition 4GB (2x2048MB) dual channel kit. These new modules are optimized for perfect compatibility for extreme gamers transitioning their high-performance systems from Microsoft Windows® XP to Vista. These new 800MHz modules are the ultimate upgrade for gamers taking advantage of the feature-rich, yet demanding operating system.
'Windows Vista provides a fresh experience for both the casual gamer and the die-hard enthusiast, and we are excited to introduce our new 4GB Gold memory kit designed specifically for gamers,” commented Alex Mei, VP of Marketing, OCZ Technology. “To assist in delivering the optimal experience for gamers on the new platform, the OCZ Gold Vista Performance memory features a unique blend of high speed and tight timings, providing superior bandwidth to power through groundbreaking DirectX 10 titles.'
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 09:42 PM | Comments
SanDisk Introduces TrustWatch for USB Flash Drives
SanDisk Corporation today introduced the TrustWatch integrated suite of applications that transform off-the-shelf USB flash drives from a security threat to a competitive advantage in the enterprise. The announcement was made at the RSA Conference 2007. TrustWatch is built around a secure network appliance and a management console, through which IT administrators can easily configure and deploy secured USB flash drives (UFDs), while preventing information from being copied to unapproved devices. The TrustWatch solution allows the IT department to select from SanDisk’s line of standard flash drives for issue to employees.
“We are excited to partner with SanDisk on TrustWatch, a solution that effectively balances cost, convenience and security as businesses seek options for strongly authenticating employees,” said Toffer Winslow, vice president of product management and product marketing at RSA. “Built-in support for RSA SecurID technology enables businesses to leverage unmatched interoperability, with over 350 enterprise applications and infrastructure devices.”
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 04:30 PM | Comments
Excel under zero-day attack, Microsoft warns
Microsoft is warning of an Excel-focused zero-day attack that affects several versions of its Office software, including one for Macs. In its security advisory issued Friday, Microsoft warns people of a "very limited" zero-day attack that takes advantage of vulnerabilities in the Excel spreadsheet program.
The "extremely critical" Excel vulnerabilities are found in Microsoft Office 2000, Office 2003 and Office XP, as well as in Office 2004 for computers running Apple's Mac OS, according to a separate advisory from security company Secunia. Attackers are sending e-mails with malicious Excel attachments and are hosting Web sites that house Office files that attempt to take advantage of the security flaws, according to Microsoft. Once an attacker exploits the vulnerabilities, they can gain control of a person's system remotely. Microsoft noted that the vulnerabilities may extend beyond Excel.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 10:57 AM | Comments
Corsair Launches DDR2-667 SODIMM Modules for Apple PCs
Corsair today launched Mac Memory, their first memory DDR2-667 SODIMM products to support Apple PCs. Three products were announced today, the 1GB upgrade module, the 2GB upgrade kit (two 1GB modules) and the 3GB upgrade kit (one 1GB module and one 2GB module). The 1GB upgrade module and 2GB upgrade kit are compatible with the MacBook family, MacBook Pro family, and Intel-based versions of the iMac. The 3GB upgrade kit is compatible only with the MacBook Pro family and those models of iMac’s supporting up to 3GB of system memory.
“Apple’s hardware and software products are making it simple for users to create and edit their digital memories, such as their home videos and photo albums. Hence, users need all the performance they can squeeze out of their systems to create those items fast,” said Richard Hashim, Director of Product Marketing at Corsair. “Adding system memory is a really effective way to improve performance. Corsair’s Mac Memory product family is the choice for upgrading the MacBook, the MacBook Pro and the iMac family of products.”
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 09:00 AM | Comments
VIA Celebrates 5th Birthday of EPIA Mini-ITX Mainboards
Five years ago today, VIA Technologies, Inc. launched the first EPIA mainboards through its VIA Platform Solutions Division (VPSD) based on the Mini-ITX form factor it had invented three months earlier – the smallest, most integrated standard PC platform in the world, with global channel availability announced in April 2002. This launch has proved the catalyst for a “Big Bang” of small form factor innovation among industry players and enthusiasts alike.
“VIA’s success has been in consistently anticipating market trends, and we realized back then that the PC industry was in desperate need of a breakthrough product to spur innovation on the x86 platform. The Mini-ITX mainboard proved to be that breakthrough,” said Richard Brown, VP of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “VIA’s continued innovation to the standards of integration and miniaturization seen today at both the silicon and platform levels is testament to our engineering excellence, our vision of where the market is heading and our commitment to driving new industry standards.”
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 07:58 AM | Comments
Wait on Upgrading to Windows Vista says Apple
Apple has released a small repair tool that solves one compatibility issue between its jukebox software iTunes and Microsoft's new operating system Windows Vista, but says PC users are better off waiting for the next version of iTunes before upgrading to Vista.
The latest version of iTunes, 7.02, may work with Vista on many typical PCs, but Apple knows of a few incompatibility problems, including some that are serious. For instance, users who remove their iPod from their computer using the "safely remove hardware" feature in Vista may corrupt the contents of their iPod, Apple said. In addition, users may not be able to make changes to their iPod settings, synch contacts and calendars with the iPod, or play songs they've bought online from the iTunes Store.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 07:48 AM | Comments
Disney in uncharted waters with FREE "Pirates" game
Disney Online will offer the legions of fans who have flocked to see Captain Jack Sparrow in movie theaters a chance to star in an original video game adventure for free with "Pirates of the Caribbean Online." The massively multiplayer online game, slated to launch in the spring in conjunction with the May 25 theatrical release of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," will bypass retail and be available via a free download at www.PiratesOnline.com
Disney Online will offer consumers two ways to play the game, both of which will include a free electronic download (there will be no retail PC box version of the game at launch). Gamers can choose to play the free version of the game, which will incorporate about one-third of the game world and content. Gamers who want to upgrade to the full "Pirates Online" experience will be charged a $9.95 monthly subscription, which offers such extras as more customization options and characters and the ability to take part in tournaments and engage in player-to-player combat. All the actors from the film, including Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, have granted Disney Online the use of their likenesses. The game will use voice-alikes for the original dialogue.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 07:37 AM | Comments
Michael Dell Sends Cost-Cutting Missive
Michael Dell is wasting no time in telling Dell employees what the company needs to do to improve its sagging performance. After returning Wednesday to the CEO position at the PC company he founded, Dell sent an email to workers on Friday saying he will cancel 2006 bonuses and reduce managers.
In order to cut through bureaucracy at the leadership level, he wrote that the number of managers reporting directly to him would go from more than 20 to 12. To make up for the lost bonuses, Dell wrote that "limited discretionary awards" would be available to some workers, and that the company would budget for "above-market" raises this year. "We have a tough couple of quarters ahead," Dell wrote. "We didn't get here overnight and we won't fix things overnight either."
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 07:34 AM | Comments
MSI considering motherboard maker alliance
Micro-Star International (MSI) president, Hsiang Hsu, stated at the company's annual banquet, held on February 3, 2007, that motherboard makers in Taiwan have the opportunity for increased profitability, if they are willing to cooperate with each other. MSI may be looking to form alliances in the future, even with motherboard makers that are not running the same business plan as the company, Hsu said.
MSI hopes to achieve more than 50% growth in its notebook and consumer electronics (CE) products, and to increase growth more than 30% in the channel during 2007, Hsu also revealed. MSI will achieve this growth through the expansion of related devisions in the company. In the end, MSI will extend and shift its business to a higher level, similar to that of the leading motherboard maker, Asustek, said Hsu.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 07:33 AM | Comments
Intel Plans Tolapai CPU w/ Integrated MCH & ICH
Intel scheduled a release of new processor which combined north and south bridge in the same chip for the industry market in late 2007, code named Tolapai, according to friends in the industrial market. Tolapai is designed for embedded system and industrial computer market, against its rival VIA C7 and AMD Geode.
Using 65nm manufacturing technology, Tolapa which combined traditional processor, north and south bridge into one single chip is packed in 1088-Ball FCBGA, and its size is only 3.75cm x 3.75cm. As a Pentium M based processor, it could able to be adopted into any IA-32 operation system without any change to drivers and applications. It’s saying that Tolapa would be the best and most powerful product for Intel to advance the embedded system and industrial computer market, helping in minimizing the form factor. Tolapai build-in DDR2 memory controller, supporting different DDR2 speeds at 400 MHz, 533MHz, 667 MHz and 800MHz. Dual Channel and ECC capability are also included in this new processor. The highest memory capacity supported is 2GB.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 05, 2007 - 06:39 AM | Comments
Holiday profit slumps at EA
The video game industry's transition to new game consoles is still weighing on publishing giant Electronic Arts, but the company's bets on new technology are starting to pay off. Those opposing trends were evident Thursday when the Redwood City company released its holiday earnings. On the one hand, the company reported that its profit for the period slumped, thanks to rising overhead and development costs. On top of that, EA offered a worse-than-expected forecast for its current quarter.
On the other hand, the company's results for the holiday period were much better than anticipated. And the company is seeing strong growth in sales of games for new platforms such as Microsoft's Xbox 360, almost to the point where those sales are making up for declining demand for games for older systems such as Sony's PlayStation 2. In an interview with the Mercury News, company Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson noted that EA's earnings topped the outlook the company gave in November. The profit decline was largely the result of investments the company is making that should pay off in the future, Jenson said.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 02, 2007 - 09:24 AM | Comments
Is your domain safe from deletion?
Go Daddy's controversial decision last week to suspend the domain name of a popular computer security Web site did more than merely raise questions about the extent of free speech on today's Internet. It also prompted owners of domain names to wonder about the reliability of their own registrars--and whether the domains they own are safe from suspension in the absence of a court order. This is a must read for anyone that owns domains and I'm glad to see that our registrar was one of the few that commented.
In response to requests from readers, CNET News.com conducted the following survey of 12 leading registrars: DirectNIC; Dotster; eNom; Gandi.net; GoDaddy; Melbourne IT; Moniker.com; NameKing; Network Solutions; OnlineNIC; Register.com; and Tucows. We found that the French registrar Gandi.net and New Orleans-based DirectNIC offered the most extensive guarantees against unnecessary domain name suspension.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 02, 2007 - 09:10 AM | Comments
U.N. climate panel says warming is man-made
The world's top climate scientists said on Friday global warming was man-made, spurring calls for urgent government action to prevent severe and irreversible damage from rising temperatures.
The United Nations panel, which groups 2,500 scientists from more than 130 nations, predicted more droughts, heatwaves, rains and a slow gain in sea levels that could last for more than 1,000 years. The scientists said it was "very likely" -- or more than 90 percent probable -- that human activities led by burning fossil fuels explained most of the warming in the past 50 years.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 02, 2007 - 09:05 AM | Comments
AMD 690 series chipsets to launch in February
AMD will launch its 690 series chipsets by the end of this month, according the sources from Taiwan-based motherboard makers. AMD acquired chipset and graphics processing unit (GPU) company ATI in October 2006, and this new chipset series for AMD processors comes as a development of the merger.
The AMD 690 chipset series will include variants incorporating integrated graphics processors (IGP) based on the former ATI's Radeon graphics technology, and is designed to be paired with the ATI-developed SB600 south bridge, said the sources. At least two IGP versions are planned which promise to offer higher visual performance than current IGP solutions, noted the sources. Additionally, the higher-end variant, the AMD 690G, will offer extra support for features including DVI, HDMI, and HDCP, added the motherboard makers. With Nvidia's range of IGP chipsets such as the GeForce 6100 and 6150 going strong in the market, the release of the 690 series should help AMD win back the market share ATI lost after the two companies merged, added the sources.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 02, 2007 - 09:05 AM | Comments
Hynix expects DRAM ASP to drop 30% in 2007
While its quarterly sales were driven up in the fourth quarter of 2006 by increased DRAM demand in anticipation of the launch of Windows Vista, Hynix Semiconductor shares similar views with its competitors, expecting DRAM average selling prices (ASPs) to slide by 30% in 2007, according to the company's management team during a recent investor conference.
For 2007 as a whole, DRAM ASPs will reduce by 30% on year, versus the less than 15% price erosion that was recorded for the previous year, Hynix said. The Korean chipmaker said the DRAM market situation was especially good in 2006, and sustained price stability. Hynix reiterated that market demand for DRAM will be slow in the first half of 2007, with quarterly ASPs to drop consecutively by 15% per quarter during the period. However, price trends will grow more stable in the second half of the year, and there may be even chances for ASPs to grow slightly, the company predicted.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 01, 2007 - 11:03 AM | Comments
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