Wednesday Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 01:34 PM CET - Jan,07 2004
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- Microsoft publishes program to blast MSBlast - Microsoft released
a removal tool for the MSBlast worm on Monday after Internet service
providers complained that home users' PCs infected with the malicious program
are still causing network congestion.
- AOL Goes After Spyware - An upcoming software release from
America Online will add spyware protection to the list of standard
features for its broadband and dial-up Internet customers, the company says.
AOL Spyware Protection will be included with other enhancements with the
release of AOL 9.0 Optimized software in coming weeks. The feature will enable
AOL users to scan their computer hard drives for spyware or adware programs
and, optionally, remove programs that it finds, the company says.
- BT and pals launch free Wi-Fi - Public hotspot provider BT Openzone
is offering free
Wi-Fi access to PDA and wireless-enabled laptop users who register with
the telco during Wireless Broadband Week, 26 January to 1 February. By
registering online at
www.btopenzone.com, existing and new users will be able to access wireless
broadband free for a week using BT's 1,700 Openzone public hotspot locations,
including Costa Coffee, Hilton Hotels and many airports, restaurants and
hotels around the UK.
- Quake makes it to Smartphone - Romanian software house exoSyphen
Studios has
made
available a beta version of Quake (download
beta), iD Software's groundbreaking 3D first person shooter, for devices
powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile for Smartphone platform. A work in
progress, the beta version enables users to walk around and utilize weapons in
a full 3D environment, however frame rates are indicated by users as not being
overly impressive at the current development stage.
- Gaming Console from VIA - It seems that VIA is going to be
announcing
a
"gaming platform" that is completely VIA-based hardware as a personal
gaming system and DVD player. It will have non-propietary hardware including a
standard hard drive and even component video output. The video processor
behind the box will be
VIA's S3 DeltaChrome graphics processor, and
VIA
5.1 "Vinyl" audio will supply 5.1 sound.
- Sony pencils November for PSP global launch - Newly-promoted Sony
Europe boss Chris Deering has revealed that the company is planning to roll
out the
PlayStation Portable worldwide by the end of the year, with a global
launch aimed in November 2004.
- Toshiba Unveils Multimedia Notebooks -
All Satellite A45 versions come with SRS TruSurround XT sound technology
and a DVD-ROM/CD-RW multi-function drive. Each model comes with a 15-inch
display and weighs 7.7 pounds. The notebooks also contain Microsoft's OneNote
application. At the low end of the new series is the Satellite A45-120. The
$1049 notebook includes an Intel Celeron processor and 256MB of RAM. For
$1399, the Satellite A45-150 features a Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor and
more memory--512MB of RAM. It also includes a TV-out port, allowing the user
to create an enlarged viewing area by plugging the notebook into any size TV.
Toshiba offers complete wireless use with the A45-150 through integrated WiFi
(802.11g) wireless connectivity.
- Researchers create first ever integrated silicon circuit with nanotube
transistors - In an important milestone in the fields of nanosciences and
nanoengineering, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and
Stanford University are announcing that
they have created the first working, integrated silicon circuit that
successfully incorporates carbon nanotubes in its design.
- DVD, EVD, now FVD: OES announces new development - Following on the
heels of the EVD (enhanced versatile disc) movement, the Opto-electronics &
Systems Laboratories (OES) under the government-sponsored Industrial
Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
is developing a new DVD standard, tentatively called FVD (finalized
versatile disc), according to OES deputy director Huang Der-ray. Originally
reported in local news media in the fourth quarter of 2003, the FVD standard
has appeared in the news now as Philips is considering a change in its royalty
charging mechanism, according to local drive makers. As with EVD, FVD is seen
as a way for local manufacturers of DVD drives to minimize royalty payments.
FVD adopts the video/audio compression technology WMV9 (Windows Media Video 9)
and WMA9 (Windows Media Audio 9) developed by Microsoft, which is different
from the MPEG technology developed by the DVD Forum.
- Plextor Enhances ConvertX Video Capture Device with Hardware DivX
Encoding and MPEG-4 Editing -
Plextor today announced the next generation of the ConvertX Digital
Video Converter, a real-time hardware digital video converter and editing
device for personal computers. The Model PX-M402U now supports hardware DivX
encoding, converting video to DivX in real time while the video is captured to
the computer's hard disk. This can save hours of time for users compared to
converting video to DivX after capture using a software encoding program, as
well as allow users to store up to 10 hours of video on recordable DVD discs.
- "iPod mini" due to launch next month - Apple Computer Inc. on
Tuesday said
it would introduce a smaller and cheaper version of its popular iPod music
player next month to challenge rivals in the market for flash-memory-based
digital devices. The new "iPod mini" will be priced at $249 -- $50
cheaper than the current entry-level iPod. The device, smaller than most cell
phones, will offer 4 gigabytes of storage -- enough to hold about 1,000 songs
-- and will be sold in five colors, Jobs said.
- FujiFilm Readies 1GB XD Picture Card - Fuji Photo Film expects to
see the maximum capacity of its
XD Picture Card flash memory format double before the end of this year.
Pricing details for the 1GB card are not expected to be announced until nearer
commercialization. At present the 512MB card costs around $235 in Japan.
- IBM to manufacture chips for VIA - IBM will manufacture the
"Esther" microprocessor for Via. The chip is due to be released in the
second half of the year. The chip will be made with the 90-nanometer
manufacturing process. In related news, VIA plans to
speed its line of processors to 2 GHz before the end of the year. The
company also expects to see its processor business turn a profit for the first
time this year, according to a company executive. VIA plans to introduce 2-GHz
versions of its low-power C3, Eden, and Antaur processor lines, with the first
2-GHz chips to enter production during the second half of this year, says
Steven Lee, head of VIA's Embedded Platform Division.
- Prescott will be no faster than Pentium 4? -
According to
AceHardware, the Prescott will have better cache and a slightly improved
branch predictor, however these effects will probably be "totally negated" by
the higher branch misprediction penalty. Says the article: "This means that
some software will not run, clock for clock, faster on the Prescott than on
the Northwood P4". It says that a 3.4GHz Prescott will perform similarly to a
Northwood 3.4GHz. (thanks
TheInquirer)
- NVIDIA nForce3 ready for New AMD Athlon64 - NVIDIA announced that
its NVIDIA nForce 3 media and communications processors
fully
support the new AMD Athlon64 Processor 3400+ announced yesterday.
- AMD Launches Mobile A64 Processors - AMD yesterday introduced
a new Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processors 3200+, 3000+ and 2800+. The mobile
chips are priced at $293 for the 3200+, $233 for the 3000+, and $193 for the
2800+, all in 1000 unit quantities.
- Abit AI7 (Intel 865PE Springdale) motherboard review -
The specific feature of the board is the presence of an additional mGuru chip
(or micro-Guru) with which the engineers at Abit implemented several
additional functions. Note that recently it's not the first occasion when
proprietary chips are installed on motherboards. Take, for instance, MSI
boards (MSI KT6 Delta and MSI 865PE Neo2) on which there is the CoreCell chip.
- KT Hyperam PC4200 1GB Dual Channel Kit review - ClubOC as posted
a review of the competitively priced KT Hyperam PC4200 Dual Channel
RAM Kit.
- AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5700 Ultra / Inno3D Tornado GeForce FX 5700
Ultra / Sparkle GeForce FX 5700 Ultra comparison -
All the cards look equal, though it's difficult to give a palm of
supremacy to the 5700 Ultra based cards as the FX 5900XT have nearly the same
price. I just want to say that Sparkle's card is equipped with VIVO and ships
in a beautiful box. Inno3D's card will be cheaper than the rest, but it has a
good software suite and boasts of the effective backlight.
- HIS AIW 9200SE/9600Pro Roundup -
HIS
9200SE AIW:
8/10. No where near as fast as the 9600Pro, and the overall feature set
seems slightly less polished, but the value is great. Perfect for the TV/Video
capture users who don't have any need for intense 3D application.
HIS
9600Pro AIW -
9/10. Fast like a normal 9600Pro, and absolutely amazing feature wise. If
you want the best of both the gaming and video/tv capture worlds, this is the
card to get, however, users not wanting any 3D performance at all should
probably look towards the 9200SE AIW, as it isn't exactly cheap.
- Artec BKM-52X16 (52x24x52x/16X DVD) CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive review -
Explosive Labs has posted
a
negative review of the Artec BKM-52X16 (52x24x52x/16X DVD) CD-RW/DVD Combo
Drive.
- TDK Cyclone 52x32x52x review - Summing it all up,
the CyClone 52x32x52x CD-Writer, probably the last to bear the CyClone
name from TDK is a definite keeper providing perfect competence in Digital
Audio Extraction, a generous bundle considering its low retail price, good
media compatibility and sound overall performance. This is one purchase you
probably won't regret.
- Zalman Theatre 6 Surround Sound Headphones -
The sound from these headphones is rich, vibrant and best of all very very
loud. The surround effect is perfect and you can tell which direction sound is
supposed to come from with ease. One reservation I did have though is the lack
of a volume control on the headphone cord. The cord is really long which is
great if you need to move about during listening sessions but the lack of a
volume control means you have to leave a game or movie to adjust sound levels
which kind of sucks.
- Revolution 7.1 High-Definition 7.1 Surround Sound Card -
The Revolution 7.1 sound card based on the Envy24HT chip. With support for
8 outbound streams the VIA Envy24HT can easily support the latest theatre
quality 5.1, 6.1 or even 7.1 surround sound systems. For enhanced playback the
VIA Envy24HT enables hardware downmixing that allows customers to experience
the complete surround sound experience whether using four, or even two
speakers. The Revolution 7.1 sound card is a good solution for music listening
and playback of DVD movies.
- AOpen H600B Case review -
The H600B has great looks and provides superb air ventilation. The price
is affordable and quite reasonable especially since it comes with a nice
powersupply. Its drive-rails, 300Watt power supply and 9 drive-bays will be
attractive to people looking for a midsize tower with a lot of expandability
and the moniker of Super Midtower is well deserved.
- AOpen A600 Aluminum ATX Case review - The new all-aluminum
AOpen A600 case is a prime example of AOpen engineering; an elegant design
combined with a quality build. What more could you really want? The A600
includes a 350W power supply standard, but for those of you with beefier
systems, you may want to swap that PSU out for something a bit bigger on the
wattage scale.
- Samsung SyncMaster 172X TFT-LCD Monitor review - The only
negative aspect of this product where the
slight
ghosting images noted during game play and the missing power and DVI cable
which were not included with this package.
- Samsung ML-2151N & ML-2150 Digital Laser Printers - If you only
require a normal stand alone printer that pumps out a quick 21 pages per
minute, the
ML-2150 would be perfect for you.
- Exploring Hyper-threading Performance - Part I - Here is an
excerpt: "The
DivX benchmark, and for the most part all video encoding, is all about
accessing system memory as fast as possible. The data sets are so large that
they can't always be stored in the processor(s) cache, so it's constantly
hitting the bus to fetch data from main memory. The processors being used in
that article were 2.0 and 2.4 GHz Xeons. All four logical processors in those
test machines were sharing its plodding 400MHz bus. There probably just was
not enough bandwidth available to meet the needs of four logical processors
all wanting access to the bus at the same time."
- ProblemSolver: Tips for Fixing XP File and Printer sharing - Don't
you just hate it when Windows' File and Printer sharing isn't working
correctly? If one-way file sharing and invisible computers have you tearing
your hair out and flattening a spot on your forehead, check out
THG's latest ProblemSolver.
- RADEON 9800 Flashing Guide - Think Computers have poublished
a flashing guide for turning the ATI Radeon 9800 Non-Pro or SE card into a
Radeon 9800 Pro.
- Bandwidth Monitor Pro 1.28 -
Bandwidth
Monitor Pro (download)
is a utility that displays and logs your network adapters bandwidth usage. It
supports logging of all your network adapters at once and has a detailed
transfer history. You can let Bandwidth Monitor Pro run in the background and
it will log all your incoming and outgoing traffic for you to view later in
the transfer log, or in real time if you wish.
- K-Lite Codec Pack 2.21 RC16 - The
K-Lite Codec Pack (download)
contains everything you need to be able to playback the most popular audio and
video formats.
- BeSweet 1.5b25 -
BeSweet 1.5b25
correctly handles samplingrate change requests from Nero, so it will
automatically downsample to the proper samplingrate required for a certain
bitrate and you don't have to worry about proper downsampling anymore.
- A-Tuner 1.7.40.5304 -
A-tuner is a
small tool for changing Anti-Aliasing (including all unofficial modes),
Anisotropic Filtering, Vsync, MipMap LOD (Level Of Detail) Bias settings on
your ATI and Nvidia cards and should work with Nvidia Detonators 23.11 - 53.04
and ATI Catalyst 3.0 - 3.10.
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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