Friday Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 01:26 PM CEST - Sep,26 2003
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- Digital downloads defeat piracy policies - Around a quarter of
business software in use in the UK is illegal and the problem is growing,
according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Mark Floisand (pictured),
UK chairman at the BSA, said that there are a number of reasons behind this
growth, not least the fact many companies are unaware that they are using
pirated or unlicensed copies. A common entry point is the
growing number of
websites that offer pirated software, often called warez, and the ease
with which illegal software can be downloaded from the internet. The technical
commands have become less complex, and transferring files has been helped
enormously by the growth of broadband connections, the BSA said.
- Motorola and Nintendo Join Forces to Define Wireless Portable Gaming -
According
to
press release, Motorola is supplying high-speed, low-power chipsets
to enable an advanced wireless adapter accessory for use with Nintendo's GBA
and GBA SP. This fusion of Nintendo's leadership in the portable gaming market
and Motorola's own wireless communication technology together create wireless
gaming history; enabling a revolutionary portable gaming experience for users.
The 2.4GHz radio frequency (RF) chipset enables up to five players to play
each other wirelessly, allowing for flexible, mobile game playing. The
wireless adapter with the new Game Boy Advance software "Pokemon FireRed" and
"Pokemon LeafGreen" will be launched in Japan first half of 2004.
- Alcatel handset rings in MMS changes - Alcatel has launched a new
handset that can transmit images, sound and text at the same time.
The 'One Touch' 735 mobile phone also has the functions now expected of
third-generation handsets, including a four-colour, progressive x8 zoom
digital camera, multimedia messaging service capabilities, GPRS roaming and
1.8MB of memory.
Other features include 3D gaming using the 128x128 pixel screen (held
horizontally for panoramic views), a patented five-direction 'DriveKey'
designed to give the feel of playing console games, and three sample games
that come bundled with the phone (there is also a facility to download more).
- Computex Fall 2003: Day Three/Four :
THG coverage |
Computex coverage of Case trends and products |
Computex 2003 Day 3 @ Ninjalane (&
Day 4 including large gallery of Booth Babes) |
TweakTown Coverage |
OCWorkBench coverage(day4)
- Dell announces LCD TV, digital audio player, and music download service
- As expected,
Dell announced several new products Thursday, including a music player and
a music download service, designed to help the Round Rock, Texas, company ease
its way into the digital home. Dell also introduced a 17-inch LCD television
and a new Axim personal digital assistant during a conference call for
analysts and the media.
- Microsoft shows off prototype camera - Microsoft is showing around
a prototype product, called the Ring Cam, designed to make web conferences
more like face-to-face meetings. Combined with web-conferencing software that
Microsoft acquired this year, remote-meeting participants would be able to
view and hear a live, 360-degree image of participants in another location.
- New chip device speeds up disk drives -
Dubbed the 88i6535 Serial ATA system on a chip, the device ups the data
rate to 3 gigabits per second and handles tasks such as managing the disk
drive interface and converting analog signals to digital data. The new chip is
suited for devices such as blade server computers, laptop computers, portable
music players, personal video recorders and car-navigation systems.
- Intel revs up Celeron to 2.70GHz -
The .13
micron desktop chip is built using the 478 pin arrangement and has a
400MHz system bus. It costs $103 when you buy lots of them.
- Seagate Enters External Hard Drive Market - Seagate
Technology Inc. entered the external hard drive market on Wednesday,
announcing 160-GB and 200-GB models that have already begun to ship to
retailers.
- FutureMark Clarifies Run Rules -
In a statement released yesterday, benchmark maker FutureMark laid out a
refined set of guidelines that seek to limit application-specific
optimizations to its 3DMark03 benchmark.
- Casio Exilim EX-Z3 Digital Camera Review -
The Z3 is
stylish and well built; it has an extensive set of features; the
day-to-day controls are well thought out; and the larger screen is a nice
inclusion. Transfer of images from the cradle is straightforward as is battery
recharging. Macro image quality and detail is also very good. There are
key-chain cameras on sale that are smaller than the Z3, but these have fiddly
controls and a tiny display. There are larger cameras on sale that take higher
quality images, but these are awkward to carry around. The Z3 is a nice
compromise between the two extremes and in this regard it will certainly find
a niche.
- AMD Athlon 64 Based Notebook PC Review -
The notebook weighs about 2.5 kg. Judging by a powerful battery and a
bulky cooler AMD's new processor is not a competitor for the Intel Pentium M.
It's not that light and slim. Well, the mobile Athlon 64 differs from the
desktop one only in a metallic cover on the die, that is why the Mobile Athlon
64 3000+ consumes up to 85 W. This particular sample consumes 81.5 W. As a
result, the AMD Mobile Athlon 64 is targeted at powerful notebooks like DTR
(desktop replacement) and universal models, i.e. the models which actually
work in the steady-state conditions and which, if necessary, can function in
the offline mode. Hence its main competitor will be the Intel Pentium 4-M.
- AMDs Athlon 64 and FX-51 Battle Intels Pentium 4 Extreme Edition -
Sudhian Media has posted
a
comparison review between AMD's Athlon 64 and Intel's Pentium 4 "Extreme
Edition"
- Crossover Mission II Water Cooling Kit Review - Viper's Lair take
a look at the Crossover Mission II Water Cooling Kit.
- PC Power and Cooling TurboCool 510W Deluxe PSU Review - EnvyNews
has posted
a review of PC Power and Cooling TurboCool 510W Deluxe PSU.
- Zalman ZM400A-APF 400watt PSU Review - The implementation of
active PFC (Power Factor Correction) means a higher power factor (94% at
full load, up from 75%) and less harmonic resonance. Active PFC uses active
elements such as IC, FET and diodes to create a PFC circuit, whereas passive
PFC uses passive elements (as the name implies) such as an iron core inductor.
Although the passive method is more cost efficient, the power factor is
significantly lower and harmonics are greater and harder to control, leading
to higher levels of EMI. Another advantage of active PFC is that it can accept
a full range (90-260v) of AC input, so no 115/230v switch is necessary (notice
the sticker between the on/off switch and the plug).
- Samsung Syncmaster 192T Review - Design Technica has posted up
a
review on the Samsung Syncmaster 192T. "Of the LCD panels we have seen,
the Samsung 192T stands out as the all around best performer. While ghosting
is inherent to all LCDs, it was minimal enough to make games playable, the
image quality overall was excellent, as was the display's brightness."
- Video card review mania -
Gainward GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 1600XP 256MB Golden Sample |
XFX GeForce FX5600 Ultra 128MB |
Albatron Gigi FX5600 Ultra 128MB |
BFG Asylum GeForce FX 5600 Ultra Video Card
- M-Audio Revolution 7.1 review - Ohls-Place has posted
a review ofe M-Audio Revolution 7.1 and they liked the card: "So what
do I think of the Revolution 7.1 and is it worth the $100.00 price tag? I
absolutely love it, period. I have now taken my Promedia 5.1 speakers and
added my Bose Wave radio as a second set of speakers to creat a 7.1 stereo
system and let me tell you it will rock your socks off and even my wife is
totally stunned by how well it sounds."
- TEAC DW-548D Combo Drive Review - EnvyNews has posted
a review on
TEAC's DW-548D Combo Drive. The burner is rated 48X Read, 24X Rewrite, and
48X Write and the DVD at 16X.
- Logitech MOMO Racing Wheel Review - Fans of driving simulation
games tend to be among the pickiest lot when it comes to controls. If money is
spent on a wheel, it has to be high quality and needs to provide an experience
somewhat close to that of actually being in a car. These wheel kits used to be
pricey and beyond the reach of most gamers, but thanks to Logitech those days
are over.
The MOMO Racing wheel offers a nice wheel system for a good price. Will
this wheel kit get you where you want to go, or will it drive you around in
circles?
- Flash your Hercules 9800 to a 9800 Pro! - The Madshrimps have
written
a
descriptive guide on how to get the maximum out of your Hercules 9800 None
Pro. "You need to have Samsung (2.8, 3.0 or 3.3ns) in order to flash
you're video card correctly. Ask your vendor or look at the labels on your
video card. All Hercules 3D prophet 9800np cards seem to have Samsung 3.3ns
memory."
- Make your Xbox rock at 1.4GHz - Firm on the show floor in
Taipei is
offering the chance to buy an Xbox that uses a Celeron 1.4GHz/256K cache
chip rather than the feeble 733MHz Pentium III that ships with the console.
Friendtech is also offering a mod for the Xbox which provides S-Video and A/V
output, 5.1 surround sound and a hard disk upgrade. The package it sells
includes the console, a gamepad, an S-Video AV cable, a bag, a power cable and
manuals. The chip inside this machine can be switched from a so called
"standard speed" of 740MHz to a "turbo" speed of 1480MHz.
- The Athlon 64 FX at 2.8 GHz - When working with this system, a few
interesting facts popped up. The system was actually running at 14 x 200 MHz,
and could be set at multipliers ranging from 4 (800 MHz) to 14 (2.8 GHz). All
AMD Athlon 64 FX are de facto unlocked and it seems that the maximum
multiplier for this stepping is 14. The only
thing from stopping you from overclocking with the multiplier seems to be the
BIOS. The ASUS SK8N inside the nVENTIV Mach II featured a special ASUS
bios that allowed us to change the CPU core voltage and multiplier.
- AGP Secondary Lat Timer BIOS Feature Published - Adrian's Rojak Pot
just posted a
special update of the new REVISION 8.0 BIOS OPTIMIZATION GUIDE. This time
they have specially released the AGP Secondary Lat Timer BIOS feature. "This
mysterious BIOS option has plagued me (and many BOG readers) for months. Even
a search on the vaunted Google search engine revealed just 17 links! All of
which had virtually no information on this BIOS feature. Two links actually
point back to Adrian s Rojak Pot. The name itself is very misleading as the
AGP bus does not have a secondary latency timer. But even certain motherboard
manufacturers insist that it does nothing but point to the location of the
mysterious secondary latency timer of the AGP bus."
- Macromedia Studio MX 2004 review - At only $899, Studio MX is
an incredible bargain. It delivers not only the four stellar authoring
programs but also ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition for building and
deploying Web applications and services. The only deal better is the
Macromedia Studio MX 2004 with Flash Professional version, which for only $100
more delivers the more robust Flash developer (with advanced features such as
support for forms, database connectivity, an enhanced video encoder, and
more).
PCMag has posted a review of programs that have been updated for this
release: Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash.
- Python 2.3.1 Final -
This is a bug-fix release
for Python 2.3 and supersedes the original Python 2.3 release. No new
features have been added in Python 2.3.1. Instead, this release is the result
of two months of bug hunting. A number of obscure bugs that could cause
crashes have been fixed, as well as a number of memory leaks.
- Google Toolbar 2.0.102 -
Google Toolbar increases your ability to find information from anywhere on
the web. The toolbar appears along with the Internet Explorer toolbar.
- BitTorrent 3.3 - According to the official BitTorrent website, long
awaited
release 3.3 is out (direct
link).
- KaZaA Lite K++ 2.4.3 - Kazaa Lite K++ 2.4.3 is now available for
download.
- Real Alternative 1.05 -
Real Alternative will allow you to play RealMedia files. This way you can
play RealMedia files without having to install RealPlayer.
- QuickTime Alternative 1.14 -
QuickTime Alternative will allow you to play QuickTime files (.mov, .qt
and other extensions) without having to install the official QuickTime Player.
- Avant Browser 8.02 Build 102 - Avant
Browser (download)
is a fast, stable, user-friendly, versatile web browser. Avant Browser is a
multi-window browser which features with many functions such as Pop-up
Stopper, Built-in Google Searching, Safe Recovery, Integrated Cleaner and
Advanced Browsing Options.
- Hot CPU Tester v4.0 -7Byte's
Hot CPU Tester Pro 4 is a system health and stability tester. It tests
CPU, chipset and virtually all parts of motherboard for errors/bugs, defective
parts and components.
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Updated:10:31 PM CEST Jun,20
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