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 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,28 2003 - tech 
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:05 PM CET - Mar,28 2003 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • Software Bug May Cause Missile Errors - U.S. Central Command said that the U.S. military is investigating the possibility that a software problem in the Patriot missile defense system may be responsible for targeting two friendly aircraft, but that other scenarios could just as likely be responsible for the mishaps.  On Sunday, a Patriot missile battery on the Kuwait border accidentally shot down a British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR-4 aircraft that was returning from a mission over Iraq. Two British pilots were killed in the incident.  Then on Monday a U.S. F-16 fighter jet fired at and destroyed a Patriot battery's radar dish after the pilot said the Patriot had 'locked on' to the plane.
  • NT4.0 too flawed to fix - Although a denial of service risk exists in an "important" security vulnerability, publicized yesterday affecting NT 4.0, Redmond tells users not to expect a patch for that operating system anytime soon. Windows 2000 and XP users do have access to a fix, designed to address a flaw involving Endpoint Mapper, but the best on offer for Win NT users is advice to shelter vulnerable servers behind a firewall.

  • Toshiba PlayStation-on-a-chip company closes - Artile Microsystems Inc., the chip company that promised to bring Playstation-level processing to the embedded world, has shut down and its assets reclaimed by parent Toshiba America Electronic Components.

  • 10 Years With Intel Pentium Processor - On the 22nd March of 1993 Intel Corporation introduced the first ever Pentium processor, so, on the 22nd March of 2003 the brand-name was here for a decade. The evolution of the Pentium processors from 60MHz to 3066MHz through the years is simply amazing both in terms of performance and capabilities. Basically, the whole computer industry evolved with the Pentium and, more importantly, the revolutions are still happening!

  • SSE Technology in New Intel Prescott Processors - Xbitlabs has posted an extensive editorial looking at SSE technology that's going to be implemented when Intel's new Prescott Processors are released.

  • Watercooled Opteron Pics - The Opteron watercooling solution is ready and AMDboard has some photos that show two kind of cooling on Arima and Tyan motherboards and a cluster entirely watercooled. Opteron is set to arrive on the 22 of April.

  • BIT NF7 VDD Mod - The Abit NF7-S rev. 1.2 comes with higher adjustable chipset voltage to help overclockers hit greater FSBs. However, the max of 1.7v is a real let down for high FSB seekers. Thus many resort to soldering a resistor on the pin of an IC chip to help increase chipset (VDD) voltage.  However, for those with a phobia of soldering, here's an easy way out. All you need is a pencil and a multimeter.
  • Windows Server 2003 goes gold - Microsoft is expected to announce on Friday (today) that Windows Server 2003 has completed testing and has been certified final, or gold, code. Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition will sell for $999 with five client-access licenses (CALs), or $1,199 for 10 CALs. The Enterprise Edition will sell for $3,999 with 25 CALs.
  • Flash 6 for Pocket PCs now available - Following up on its commitment to the Pocket PC platform through players for Flash version 4 and 5, Macromedia today announced the immediate availability of Macromedia Flash Player 6 for Pocket PC 2002 (download). The new player brings first-class Flash MX citizenship to owners of Pocket PC 2002 devices, enabling developers and publishers to deploy content and applications based on the MX format on such devices - and users to view it, of course.
  • Media Player Classic 6.4.3.6 - Media Player Classic (download) is similar to windows media player 6.4 but with features pertained to minimalist advanced users. It also supports DirectX 9 and VFW drivers for capture.
  • cladDVD XP 2.98 Beta - CladDVD XP is a 'DVD Ripper', meaning it decrypts the encrypted VOB files off the DVD and saves them to your hard drive.

  • 1by1 1.35 - Tired of creating and updating playlists to listen to your audios? 1by1 is a very small sized player which is not only small: It plays whole directories without any playlist. Navigating through your tracks has never been so easy. In addition, you can also download 1by1 command set for IRAssistant (a nice tool to control applications with an IR remote controller), mpglib.dll (Decoding library for MPEG Layer III and Layer II. Needed if you don't use an MP3 ACM or MP3 Plugin),  Compressor & Wider WinAmp DSP plugin (audio enhancer).

  • AntiVir Personal Edition 6.18.15.69 - The AntiVir Personal Edition (download) offers the effective protection against computer viruses for the individual and private use on a single PC-workstation. The private and individual use of the AntiVir Personal Edition is completely free of charge.
  • XP Skins 1.1 -  XP Skins is free tool for making your old programs look great on Windows XP.
  • LimeWire 2.9.6 - LimeWire (download) is a software package which enables individuals to search for and share computer files with anyone on the internet. A product of Lime Wire, LLC, LimeWire is compatible with the Gnutella file-sharing protocol and can connect with anyone else running Gnutella-compatible software.
  • VMware 4.0 Release Candidate 2 (build 4388) - VMware Workstation (Win32 ~ Linux.tar ~ Linux.rpm ~ get S/N)  is virtual machine software for technical professionals. It lets you run multiple versions of operating systems simultaneously on a single computer. Quit wasting time configuring hardware, installing software, rebooting/reconfiguring systems.
  • Opera 7.03 & 6.06b - Opera Software has released secruity updates for it's latest and most stable browsers Opera v6.06b: with Java ~ w/o Java and Opera v7.03: with Java ~ w/o Java.
  • kX Project Drivers 5.00.3531 Beta  - The kX Audio Driver is an independent WDM (Windows Driver Model) driver for all EMU10K1 and EMU10K2-based soundcards manufactured by Creative Technology Ltd. and/or E-mu Sytems Inc., including the SoundBlaster Live! series, the E-mu Audio Production Studio (APS) card, and the Audigy series of cards.
  • S3/VIA Drivers - S3 Graphics has released some new drivers: SuperSavage WinXP/2k v12.90.89 ~ Logo'd: SuperSavage Win9x v12.32.26 ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 NoIshld ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 Rotation ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 TVLargeFont ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 w/Util. (thanks SavageNews)
  • SiS AGP Driver 1.15 WHQL - SiS has issued a new AGP driver v1.1 (SiS540, SiS630, SiS630ET, SiS630E, SiS630S, SiS630ST, SiS635, SiS645, SiS645DX, SiS648, SiS650, SiS651, SiS730S, SiS730SE, SiS735, SiS740, SiS745).
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,27 2003 - tech
Nvidia Detonator Drivers v43.45 - tech
(hx) 05:30 PM CET - Mar,27 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
NVIDIA has finally released official Detonator reference drivers v43.45 for WinXP/2K and Win95/98/ME. "Nvidia's Detonator graphics driver is an industry standard for the graphics software industry. Based on the Nvidia unified driver architecture (UDA), the Detonator driver is both forward and backward compatible - across all implementations of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs)"
  • The industry’s best Microsoft® DirectX® 9 support
  • GeForce FX and Quadro FX support for cinematic computing
  • Ultimate “The Way It’s Meant to be Played” experience
  • NVIDIA’s patented Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) – supports all products in a single driver binary
  • nView™ 2.0 multi-display technology increases productivity and provides the necessary tools to control the way users access and view applications.
  • NVRotate™ enabling image rotation on today’s advanced flat panel displays.
  • NVKeystone™ allows for real-time image correction on portable projectors and heads-up displays.
  • Digital Vibrance Control™ allows users to adjust color controls to achieve accurate, bright colors under all conditions.
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 02:04 PM CET - Mar,27 2003 - Post a comment
  • Al-Jazeera Sites Hit With Denial-of-Service Attacks - The Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera suffered a second day of sustained distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against its English- and Arabic-language Web sites on Wednesday. The attacks have pushed the network, which is based in Doha, Qatar, off the Web for the time being and forced Al-Jazeera to increase bandwidth for the sites and step up security in a desperate effort to get back online.
  • TextMaker Office Suite for Linux Unveiled - Consumers and small businesses seeking a desktop word processing program that looks and works much like Microsoft's Word but costs only a fraction as much can take a peek at the beta 2 version of TextMaker for Linux. The software, which runs on the open-source Linux operating system, is available through May 31 as a free beta download on the Web site of its developer, SoftMaker Software. TextMaker for Linux will start shipping worldwide on June 1 for about $50, Kotulla said. Users can purchase the product directly from the company's Web site.
  • Game Boy's new look - What other offerings are included in this pocket-sized device with a sticker price of approximately $100? Shoe pointed out it has increased battery life. He also mentioned the gadget's face-lift in the form of a more sophisticated look. He compared this look to a stylish fold-up cell phone or a personal digital assistant -- done to put SP's in the hands of an older audience. For those foaming at the mouth to upgrade, you'll still be able to play your old games on the new machine. Nintendo has said all current and future Game Boy Advance games will be compatible with the SP and likewise. Virtually all SP games will be compatible with the Advance.
  • Multiplayer game trial using GPRS connection - The Java Games developer, Macrospace is running a free global trial of its new CannonsME wireless Java game. The game allows up to 4 players to play an arcade classic against each other over today's GPRS networks. The trial is focused on Nokia Series 40 and 3G handsets (5100, 6100, 6610, 6650, 7210, 7250) and the Nokia 3510i. But versions for generic Java devices (e.g. the Motorola T720) and the Sharp GX10 are also available. (thanks CN)
  • Siemens SX1, M56, SL56 coming to the U.S. - The tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz SX1, Siemens' first Series 60 phone, sports a rather unusual design where the device has strips of keys built into each side of the phone rather than an ordinary keypad. Sporting a 16-bit color display, the SX1's embedded software includes a full PIM suite, support for SMS, MMS and e-mail (POP3/IMAP4/SMTP) messaging, as well as camcorder and picture management applications to handle the input from the built-in digital camera. Also on the feature list: Bluetooth, GPRS, J2ME, WAP 2.0 and desktop synchronization.
  • Lower energy power management for cell phones - The AT73C202 features a low-voltage 1.8V/300mA high-efficiency DC-to-DC converter, a set of 7X Low Drop Out Voltage Regulators, a Battery Charger, a 2.8V/1.8V SIM level shifter interface, a backup battery charger-regulator and also all the circuitry that enables the DC-to-DC converter soft start, reset generation, power supply sequencing, temperature and voltage supervision and other features. The sleep and low-power modes have been optimized in order to achieve extremely low current consumption (15uA max).
  • New cheap cameras for cellphones - Agilent Technologies has announced a new family of fully integrated CMOS camera modules that can be easily designed into mobile phones. Because they are fully integrated and require no external components, the new modules reduce time to market for handset and PDA designers. Agilent's new camera modules combine high image quality CIF or VGA resolution CMOS image sensors with a tightly integrated image processor, an embedded power supply and high-quality lens to offer a complete imaging solution.
  • Cirrus Logic to enable low-end DVD players with DivX - Cirrus Logic Inc. has licensed the DivX video codec from DivX Networks (San Diego, California) for both its high end and single-board DVD processor families. The deal would usher in the first sub-$149 DVD players that support DivX-enabled content by late 2003.
  • Intel Chipset Release Schedule - If you are interested in what chipset plans Intel has in store for us, check Adrian's Rojak Pot latest Intel's Chipset Release Schedule.
  • Samsung SyncMaster 172T LCD Review  - EnvyNews look at the SyncMaster 172T 17-inch LCD display. Featuring top-of-the-line features and specifications, this display will please corporate users and home end-users alike. Sporting a fancy-shmancy stand that allows the 172T to lie completely flat, this display is ideal for the small form-factor (SFF) power-user wishing for total portability for the entire system.
    AOpen HP-590 Vibrating Headphones video-review -     The AOpen HP-590 Vibrating Headphones are stylish, compact and offer great quality sound for music and/or gaming. One very interesting feature with this product is a vibration speaker which provides terrific bass response. These headphones have LAN party written all over them. Watch the Video to find out more...
  • Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro & Sapphire 9500 Pro comparison - TechSpot has posted a Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro & Sapphire 9500 Pro comparison.
  • Mandrake 9.1 Review - Without a doubt this is the most polished and professional looking release of Mandrake yet. The hardware detection is superb and with the exception of closed-source nvidia drivers, the installer had no problem configuring my hardware. For reference, a quick summary of my hardware is listed at the end of this review. The default look of KDE 3.1 blew me away...
  • Windows XP: Patch: Flaw In Remote Procedure Call Could Enable Denial Of Service Attacks - A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to cause a computer running Windows XP to fail. You can help protect your computer by installing this update.
  • Windows Media Player 9 Patch - The patch updates Wmvcore.dll from the original WMP9 version 9.0.0.2980 to 9.0.0.3001. Bugfix: Hardware-Created ASF Files Stop Playing in Media Player 9 Series.
  • DVDxCopy to version 1.5 - DVDxCopy is one the tools currently available to make backups of your DVD movies.
  • OpenOffice 1.1 Beta Build 644m7 - OpenOffice.org (Win32 ~ Linux) is the open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format. The OpenOffice.org project establishes the necessary facilities to make this open source technology available to the developer community.
  • Application Compatibility Analyzer 1.0 - The Microsoft Application Compatibility Analyzer gathers application inventory information from network computers and compiles this data into reports showing the application compatibility status by computer, department, or application. The tool solves many problems encountered during the early phases of software deployment.
  • DirectX 9.0a End-User Runtime Back Online - Download DirectX 9.0a English (2003-03-26).DirectX 9.0a was previously removed because of an incompatibility with ATI Catalyst 3.1 drivers, Catalyst drivers 3.2 were unaffected.
  • Logitech v9.76 - Logitech has just released new drivers v9.76 for its mouse, trackball...
  • nForce/2 Drivers v2.03 (Win9x/Me) - NVIDIA has released new nForce/2 drivers version 2.03 WHQL - Unified Component Drivers 2.03 for Win9x/Me ~ Unified Display Drivers 2.03 WHQL for Win9x/Me.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,26 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 12:12 PM CET - Mar,26 2003 - Post a comment
  • Windows 2000 Security Flaw Worse Than First Thought - A Microsoft security flaw announced last week is much more serious than initially thought, several security companies have said.  It's important that businesses apply a new patch to all Windows 2000 systems, advisories state -- not just those running Microsoft's IIS Web server software.
  • Microsoft Sets Limits to Stop Spam - Microsoft has reduced the number of e-mail messages that Hotmail users can send each day to 100 in an effort to prevent spammers from using the service to export spam. The cap, put in place earlier this month, only applies to users of the company's free Hotmail e-mail service, not to MSN 8 subscribers or to users who pay for MSN Extra Storage, a Microsoft spokesperson said Tuesday.
  • RTCW Deathmatch for $  - YouPlayGames announced that it has signed an exclusive deal with id Software and Even Balance, Inc. to offer Return to Castle Wolfenstein as the premiere title available through the company's new skill-based online gaming service. Through the agreement, gamers at any skill level can play Return to Castle Wolfenstein and vie against each other over the Internet for the opportunity to win money and prizes. Participants who connect to YouPlayGames' servers to play Return to Castle Wolfenstein will be required to have the latest version of Even Balance's PunkBuster Anti-Cheat software on their systems in order to compete.
  • EarthLink Speeds Its Dial-Up Service -  EarthLink today officially launched a "Plus" version of its Internet access software, which enables dial-up users to surf the Net at up to five times the standard rate. EarthLink Plus is powered by Propel Software's Web accelerator, which reduces the size of Web pages and Web elements sent to users' browsers, allowing users to surf faster, EarthLink said.
  • Nintendo Ups Game Boy's Allowance - Nintendo says it has invested heavily in a redesigned version of its top-selling Game Boy Advance to boost sales in the vital but struggling European and American markets.  In Europe, Nintendo has shipped 400,000 units of Game Boy Advance SP, an upgrade of the Game Boy Advance, ahead of its March 28 launch. The new device had a March 23 U.S. debut.  The company will spend $32 million in Europe alone to market the product, which features a rechargeable battery, a brightly lit screen and a sleeker metallic-look finish to appeal to an older consumer base.
  • IBM to produce Nvidia chips - Nvidia has signed a pact with IBM Microelectronics to help it avoid putting all of its graphics chips in one basket. The chipmaker on Wednesday will announce an agreement in which IBM will serve as an additional manufacturer for the GeForce family of graphics chips. Nvidia's current manufacturer is TSMC.  Nvidia wanted more manufacturing capacity and was looking to avoid the pitfalls of working with just one producer, said Nvidia spokesman Derek Perez.
  • Bye-Bye CD-RW? - Today, a top 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive costs less than $150. But for $100 more, you can get a DVD burner with CD-RW functionality. If you add another $50, you can buy a fast, new rewritable DVD drive like Pioneer's DVR-A05.
  • SPD Performance on a 333 MHz FSB nForce2? - This review will deal with four RAM manufacturers: Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, and OCZ. This is not a standard RAM review, in which a recently received stick of RAM is tested in a few benchmarks and results proclaimed; all of the RAM we'll discuss has been in our labs at least six weeks, with some of it present as long as four months.
  • Serial ATA Adapter Review - OCIA checks out a Serial ATA Adapter in their latest review.
  • Kingston 5GB DataPak PC Card HDD & Reader Review - Mikhailtech has posted a Kingston 5GB DataPak PC Card HDD & Reader review.
  • Linksys WRTG54 Wireless-G Broadband Router Review  - Linksys' WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router seems to have taken the lead over its sibling WAP54G Access Point. Although it's priced about the same, it has a key difference that you should know about before you buy. Read our review to make an informed purchase.
  • 9700 Pro to 9800 Pro SoftMod & Catalyst Driver Comparison - There comes a time when the past product has to be pulled from the shelf, dusted off and re-benchmarked with the latest drivers. This time we are going to share our findings with you as we move from ATI's Catalyst 2.3 drivers to the Catalyst 3.2 drivers and if our softmod 9700 Pro to a 9800 Pro got us some "free stuff!"
  • Mandrake Linux 9.1 - Mandrake Linux 9.1 (Bamboo) is now officially available at a number of FTP mirrors.
  • Microsoft Pulls DirectX 9.0a - Shortly after the initial release of the silent update, the Redmond based company removed the download. Now the website just displays a message that The download you requested is unavailable.
  • iuVCR v4.7.0.282 - iuVCR is a Windows 2000/XP intended video recording program. Have a TV tuner or a video capture card installed on your Windows 2000 or XP system? Now you can easily record your favorite TV programs and videos in *.AVI or *.WMV format. iuVCR has got a simple and plain interface, allows to capture video of any format, resolution and duration, can automatically start when scheduled and has a number of other useful features.
  • PowerStrip 3.31.375 Beta  - PowerStrip (download) provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards - from the venerable Matrox Millennium I to the latest SiS Xabre. It's the only program of its type to support multiple graphics cards from multiple chipset vendors, simultaneously, under every Windows operating system from Windows 95 to XP. This new version adds GeForce FX support.
  • Hmonitor 4.1.2.4 - Hmonitor (download) has much more functions than MotherBoard Monitor, for example, including thermocontrol features and COM/PerfMon API support.
  • MSN Messenger Service 5.0.0540 (official) - Windows Messenger 5 (Win98/ME ~ WinXP ~ Win2K/NT4SP6 ) supports 3 instant messaging services: MSN .NET, Exchange IM (part of Exchange 2000), and RealTime Communication Server (RTC, codename Greenwich). RTC uses an Internet-standard IM protocol called SIP (Session Initation Protocol).
  • Gainward Detonator 43.03 Drivers + 3D Stereo - Gainward have released a new set of Nvidia Detonator 43.03 drivers (Win9x/ME ~ 2k/XP ~ Stereo3D driver)
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,25 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:22 PM CET - Mar,25 2003 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • Sony's New Humanoid Robot SDR-4X II - Sony introduces at the Robodex 2003 it's new version of the humanoid Robot SDR-4X. The new version SDR-4X II has improved movement functions, safety functions and conversation capabilities. The new speech processor supports continuous speech recognition with about 20,000 words. The Sony SDR-4X II is about 580x190x270mm in size and weighs about 7kg (PR)
  • New Windows Flaw Disclosed by Microsoft - Security experts say the latest Windows vulnerability revealed last week by Microsoft Corp. has already been used by crackers to attack at least one machine belonging to the U.S. Army. And, it turns out, the flaw used to attack the Web server was discovered not by Microsoft or independent researchers but by the attacker himself.
  • War on Warez - Managers of websites offering illegal business software could face criminal proceedings under new laws due to come into effect from the end of this month, the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) warned yesterday. The new law, precipitated by the EU's Information Society Directive, makes it an offence to "communicate to the public" copyright works, such as software, if the person knew or had reason to believe that this would infringe copyright.
  • Germany restricts game it says glorifies war - Electronic Arts says it is caught in the crossfire between the German and United States governments over the Iraq war. This month, the German government listed a new game produced by Electronic Arts on an index of games the government considers violent. Such games may not be advertised or displayed on shelves in Germany, although they may be kept under store counters and sold to adults. The game, Command & Conquer Generals, depicts an animated siege of Baghdad, with the United States military battling a fictional terrorist group called the Global Liberation Army, which bombs the city with missiles carrying anthrax, killing civilians.
  • University course to tackle hacking - Microsoft has formally joined forces with the University of Leeds to develop what it believes will be the UK's first undergraduate computer security module. The course aims to provide developers with the knowledge they need to identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers or virus writers. The final course, provisionally entitled Secure Computing, is about one year from completion.
  • Telewest to trial 2Mb home service - Telewest is to trial a 2Mb broadband cable service aimed at home users. The cableco is looking to recruit around 1,500 customers of its existing 1Mb broadband service and upgrade them to the 2Mb service. If the trial proves successful, then the 2Mb service could be made available for people in Telewest franchise areas later this year. Pricing for the new service has yet to be confirmed.
  • AMD claims Intel chipsets cause system crashes - Chip firm AMD has quietly dissed its much bigger competitor Intel by claiming that the latter's 845G/GL chipset crashes peoples' machines. According to a competitive notice on its website, aimed at its resellers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Intel's "extreme graphics" technology "struggles and even fails" to run some popular software packages.
  • Micron intros 512Mb DDR400 part - Memory maker Micron has launched its 0.11 micron high density 512Mb 400MHz DDR SDRAM chip, the company said yesterday. The chip is fully compliant with JEDEC's DDR 400 specification, said Micron. DDR 400 has yet to become an approved JEDEC standard, however.
  • DDR Guide II Updated - Overclockers New Zealand has updated their DDR Guide II with new RAMs from AData (Samsung TCC4 chip) and TwinMOS (Winbond BH-5 chip).
  • Mobile Graphics - DX9 on the Go - In recent weeks, ATI and NVIDIA have been flooding the world with announcements of new 3D chips in the desktop segment. At CeBIT, in a change of tactics, we saw both companies come up notebook versions of their desktop behemoths with ATI's Mobility Radeon 9600 and NVIDIA's GeForce FX G05600/5200. Desktop DirectX 9 acceleration is coming to laptops, and we take a restricted early look at this sea change in mobile graphics..
  • DVD-ROM 16x roundup  - Two "drivers" are the two biggest companies - Pioneer and Sony. There is no segment of the DVD market where these two companies have not clashed. Naturally, everybody is more interested in the current battle between DVD-R/RW (Pioneer) and DVD+R/RW (Sony) standard. Interesting thing, however, is that these two bitter enemies are often cooperating, at least when it comes to certain DVD player models.
  • AMD roadmap slots 400MHz FSB Athlon XP launch in April/May - Japanese Web site PC Watch has posted what it claims is the latest iteration of AMD's roadmap. Essentially, AMD will launch the Barton-based Athlon XP with 512KB of L2 cache and a 400MHz FSB late April/early May. Performance ratings will range to at least 3200+.  AMD has already announced it will launch the 64-bit Opteron (aka Sledgehammer on 22 April). Barton-based uni- and dual-processor Athlon MPs will a appear sooner: we should see them before the end of March, the roadmap suggests.
  • Exchange 2000 Post-Service Pack 3 (SP3) Rollup Patch  - This patch resolves problems that were found in the Exchange 2000 since SP3 was released.
  • Windows Messenger 4.7.2005 for WinXP  - This update improves security in Windows Messenger, removes 'Make a Phone Call' feature.
  • Gameboy Emulator For The Nokia 7650 v1.2 -  Wildpalm released the first FREE Gameboy Emulator for mobile phones!
  • VMware 4.0 Release Candidate 1 (build 4320) - VMware Workstation (Win32 ~ Linux/tar.gz ~ Linux/rpm ~ changelog ~ reg.for.trial S/N)- is virtual machine software for technical professionals. It lets you run multiple versions of operating systems simultaneously on a single computer. (thanks SavageNews).
  • Coding Workshop Ringtone Convertor 4.2.1 - The Ringtone Converter (download)  is a software program for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac systems that allows you to add new ringtones to your mobile phone without the need for cables or expensive premium rate SMS services. 
  • Direct X 9.0a updated - Microsoft has updated DirectX to version 9.0a.  This release also resolves an issue with DirectX 9.0 where some multiplayer games or MSN Messenger may not work correctly. A number of minor bugs were also resolved.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,24 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 12:36 PM CET - Mar,24 2003 - Post a comment
  • Microsoft told to drop 'misleading' ad  - Microsoft claimed in an advertisement that its software is so secure, it will make hackers extinct. As it turned out, it was the ad which bit the dust.  This controversial advertisement, which was published in the November issue of Time magazine and tech digest ITWeb Brainstorm, featured three extinct animals--a dodo, a woolly mammoth and a saber-tooth tiger--as well as a caricature of a hacker.
  • Dell, IBM Ship Competing Laser Printers - Dell this week makes its first venture into the printer market, releasing a line of printers developed with Lexmark and going up against some established players. Among the new business printers, its new S2500n workgroup laser runs smack up against IBM's very similar Infoprint 1222dn. Both are based on Lexmark's T420d and have identical control panels and produce 600-dpi resolution. Their paper-handling capabilities are similar, and both use some Lexmark software.
  • Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Personal Video Recorder - Sudhian Media has published a review on the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Personal Video Recorder.
  • Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80G SATA Drive - Hardware has posted a review on the Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80G SATA Drive. This drive is the fastest Desktop/Workstation class product they've seen in a long time.
  • AOpen HP-590 Music & Gaming Headphones with Vibration Bass Review - "Once I understood what I was looking for in these speakers I went back and listened to more music and played a few other games, constantly cranking the volume higher and higher and the AOpen HP-590's started really rocking. It was like having a subwoofer inside the headphones and I began to realize while this wasn't a ground breaking technology it was a cool effect."
  • Building a Media PC - Ever wanted a PC to sit underneath your TV, that works as a TIVO, Divx Player, Web Surfer, Mp3 Player, DVD Player? Well our latest project shows you just what you need to build one of these little wonders for under $500.
  • BIOS Optimization Guide Revision 7.5 - Adrian's Rojak Pot posted the new REVISION 7.5 BIOS OPTIMIZATION GUIDE with 12 new or updated BIOS options.
  • How to Choose the Best AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred for Overclocking - Make sure you have AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred processor with B0 core stepping. To determine it, check the CPU ID of your chip with appropriate software, such as WCPUID by H. Oda. If the CPU ID is 681, then you have the Athlon XP processor based on the Thoroughbred B0 core. If it is not, it means you have something else. The information below seems to be correct only for AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred processors with B0 core stepping. Note that microprocessors based on Palomino core or Thoroughbred A0 core are rather poor for overclocking.
  • Windows XP Home/Pro Post Service Pack 1 Updates Chart -  This article will list all downloadable software packages, due to the fact that WindowsUpdate does not include many of the hotfixes that are available separately.
  • DivX Schizo Beta 1 - This version fixes lots of bugs found in DivX Pro 5.0.3 (download), and it adds a new tool, EKG , that helps manually change the bitrate distribution for multi-pass encoding. The Beta program is free and open to everyone. The beta is limited to 30 days beginning on the day of installation.
  • XviD Codec Build 22.03.2003.1420 (unstable) - XviD (download ~ changelog) is a video codec just like DivX, most new movies and videos are being encoded with XviD.
  • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.01 Final - The Final Builds of the K-Lite Codec Pack 2.01 (mirror) are available. These are the public versions. Uninstall the old version first.
  • cladDVD XP 2.97 Beta -  CladDVD XP is a "DVD Ripper", meaning it decrypts the encrypted VOB files off the DVD and saves them to your hard drive. The files can be ripped in a standard way preserving the original content along with the IFO, useful when you use or need to use a 3rd party application to process the VOB files.
  • WinAmp 2.9 beta 2 - Nullsoft WinAmp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity music player for Windows. WinAmp supports MP3, CD, Audiosoft, Audio Explosion, MOD, WAV and other audio formats, custom appearances called skins, plus audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins.
  • WinAmp Plug-In File Writer 1.15 - Version 1.15 of the File Writer Plug-In for Nullsoft's WinAmp is released. At this moment it will let you specify a directory to write files in, it will let you choose between the raw, ape, mp3, ogg and wave file formats and it supports three different modes for creating a filename, just title simply uses the title as a filename, expanded title uses the title but expands some variables just like with the title option of the LineIn plugin, the expandable string option enables you to specify an expandable string which is used to create the filename (usefull with a setting like: %ut - on %dl), you have to use at least %ut (unexpanded title), %et (expanded title) or %p# with that option, %p# expands to the playlist position (padded with zeroes upto # digits).
  • NFR v0.6 - NFR v0.6 has been released, featuring bug-fixes, enhancements and more. NFR now has new name NVIDIA File Remover > Nasty File Remover (for copyright reasons etc). NFR can remove NVIDIA driver files from users system folder (non-recursive), it supports all known windows versions and detonator versions.
  • Intel Chipset Installation Utility 5.00.1012 - The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility installs to the target system the Windows* INF files that outline to the operating system how the chipset components will be configured. This is needed for the proper functioning of the following features:Core PCI and ISAPNP Services, AGP Support, IDE/ATA33/ATA66/ATA100 Storage Support, USB Support, Identification of Intel Chipset Components in the Device Manager, etc.
  • CPUCooL 7.20 Final - CPUCooL (download) has been updated. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards. It provides Cpu cooling under Win9x/2000/XP/NT, allows FrontSideBus changing, optimizes your memory and CPU.
  • Virtual PC 5.2  - Virtual PC for Windows 5 (download trial ~ update) is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems and applications on a single workstation resulting in reduced hardware costs and improved productivity. Virtual PC for Windows allows you to create separate "virtual machines" on top of your Windows desktop, where you can install virtually any PC-based operating system including OS/2, Linux, Solaris, NetWare or other versions of Windows.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,23 2003 - tech
Weekly Hardware Reviews - tech
(hx) 01:37 AM CET - Mar,23 2003 - Post a comment
  • CPU - AMD Athlon XP-M preview | AMD Athlon MP 2.13GHz | AMD Athlon XP 2700+ | Intel Centrino Mobile Technology | BIOS Optimization Guide Revision 7.5 | Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz


  • Motherboard - nVidia nForce2 Motherboard roundup | VIA KT400A preview(1) | VIA KT400A Chipset(2) | VIA KT400A Chipset(3) | VIA KN400 Chipset | SiS 746FX Chipset || ABIT BH7 i845PE(1) | Abit BH7 i845PE(2) | AAbit KD7-E VIA KT333 | Abit BG7E i845GE | Abit NF7-S nForce2(1) | Abit NF7-S nForce2 (2) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(3) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(4) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(5) | AOpen AX4B-533 i845E  | AOpen AX4R Plus Intel E7205 | Asus A7N8X Deluxe nVidia nForce2 | Chaintech 7NJS nForce2 | EPoX 8RGA+ nVidia nForce2 | EPoX 8K9A+ VIA KT400 | EPoX 8K9A2+ VIA KT400 | e-Cube Mini Barebones System | Gigabyte 7VAXP VIA KT400 | Gigabyte 8PE667 Ultra 2 i845PE | Gigabyte 8INXP Intel E7205(1) | Gigabyte SINXP1394 SiS655(2) | Intel i845PE Motherboard roundup | Intel E7205 | MSI 655 Max SiS655 | MSI GNB Max Intel E7205 | MSI MEGA 400 Barebone | Shuttle SB52G2 XPC | Shuttle SN41G2 Barebone | SiS655 Chipset | Soyo KT400 Dragon Ultra Platinum VIA KT400 | Soyo P4I i845PE (1) | Soyo P4I i845PE (2) | Tyan Trinity S2495 VIA KT400 | VIA EPIA-M | VIA P4B Ultra P4X400 (1) | VIA P4B Ultra P4X400(2)


  • RAM - PC2700 DDR333 Memory Comparison | Dual Channel PC3200 RAM roundup | Corsair XMS-3500 Memory | Corsair TwinX PC2700/DDR333 Memory | Corsair XMS3500 vs Kingston KHX3500 | Crucial PC2700/DDR333 CA2.5 Memory | Kingston HyperX 512MB DDR PC3500 Memory | Mushkin EMS PC3500 256MB Memory | OCZ PC3500 Basic Series DDR RAM


  • Storage - DiamondMax Plus 9 320GB SATA-RAID HDD | Seagate Barracuda 7200 HDD (1) | Seagate Barracuda 7200 HDD (2) | Seagate Barracuda V SATA HDD | Seagate 10K.6 147GB Ultra 320 SCSI HDD | Highpoint RocketRAID 1542 eSATA/SATA Adapter & RocketMate 1000 e.SATA to IDE Enclosure (video) || Cendyne 48X12X48 CD-RW | Cyber Drive CW099D CD-RW | Iomega 52x24x52x CD-RW | MSI CR52-A2 52/24/52 CD-RW(1) | MSI CR52-A2 52X CD-RW(2) | Plextor PX-504A DVD+ReWritable Drive | Plextor PX-504A DVD+RW | Samsung SW-252B 52-24-52 CD-RW | Samsung SM-348B DVD/CD-RW | Yamaha CRW-F1 CD-RW || Trek ThumbDrive Secure 16MB | CoolMax USB 2.0 Drive | TX50 64MB USB Drive | Twintech Firefly USBee Flash Drive


  • Video - MSI FX5800 Ultra-TD8X GeForce FX 5800 Ultra | MSI GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | MSI G4MX440-T8X GeForce4 MX440-8X | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / 5200 Go(1) | nVidia GeForce FX Go(2) | nVidia GeForce FX Go (3) | nVidia GeForceFX 5200 / 5600(1) | nVidia GeForce FX 5200 / 5600 Ultra(2) | nVidia GeForceFX 5800 Ultra(3) | nVidia GeForceFX 5600 / 5200 Ultra(4) | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / 5200 Ultra(5) | nVidia GeForceFX 5200 / 5600 (6) | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / 5200 Ultra (7) | nVidia GeForceFX 5200 / 5600 Ultra (8) | MSI GeForceFX 5800 Ultra (9) | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200-8X || ATi M10 Mobile Graphics | Radeon 9800 Pro vs Geforce FX | Albatron GeForce4 Ti4280 GeForce4 Ti4200-8X | ATi Mobility Radeon 9600(1) | ATi Mobility Radeon 9600(2) | ATi All-in-Wonder Radeon 9700 Pro(video) | ATi All-in-Wonder Radeon 9700 Pro | ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon VE | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro | FIC A95P Radeon 9500 Pro | Gigabyte Maya II R9500 Radeon 9500(1) | Gigabyte Maya II R9500 Radeon 9500(2) | PowerColor Radeon 9700 Pro || DFI Xabre X400-T2 64MB | Key Digital XBlaster


  • Monitor - Planar PL191M 19" LCD Display | Samsung 172B 17" LCD | Samsung SyncMaster 191N LCD | Samsung 172T LCD | 15" LCD roundup (German)


  • Cooling - Shootout Socket A Cooler Shootout | P4 Cooler roundup | 3aCooler Z-Bra Cooler | Aguatec Blue Ice CP-101 Cooler | Asetek's Vapochill Cooling System | AMS gMONO CF-2029 vs CoolerMaster ATC-201C-SX2 |  Coolink U1L2 Cooler | Coolink U1P2 Cooler  | Cooler Master Black Front Bezel | CoolerMaster XDream Cooler | Cooler Master Xdream SE Cooler | Dynatron DC1207BM-X Cooler | Gyrox CP101 Cooler | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler(1) | OCZ Gladiator 2 Cooler(2) | OCZ Dominator 2-CU Cooler(3) | PCToys.com Northbridge Maxx | Pyramid V Fan Scilencer | Speeze Cooler | Swiftech MCX462-T Cooler | TaiSol K7 Cooler | Speeze CoolCat Cooler | Swiftech MCW462-UHT Cooler | Swiftech MCX4000 Cooler | Taisol CMK702151A Copper Cooler | Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 | Thermalright SK-6+ Cooler | Thermalright SLK800U Cooler | ThermalTake Volcano 9 CoolMod | Zalman CNPS7000 Cooler | Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu Cooler | Zalman ZM80a-HP Cooler | Zalman's CNPS7000-cu(1) | Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu(2) | Zalman HP80A VGA Cooler


  • WaterCooling - Cooling-Solutions UCD WaterCooler (German) | Danger Den H20 CPU Cooling Kit | Danger Den Water Cooling Kit | EverCool Water Cooler | Mega Tsunami Waterblock | Koolance Exos WaterCooler (German) | Swiftech MCW5000-A Water Block


  • Case - Case roundup  | AMS GBOX Blue Case | Antec PlusView 1000 AMG Case(1) | Antec PlusView 1000 AMG Case(2) | AOpen HX-08 Case | Beantech BT82 Acrylic Case | BeanTech Igloo8 Aluminum Case | Chieftec Black Aluminum Case | Chieftec CS-901 Case(German) | ClearPC Acrylic Computer Case(1) | ClearPC Acrylic Micro-ATX Case(2) | CoolerMaster ATC-220B-VX1 Case | Chieftech DX-01B-DU Case(German) | Enermax Mid-Tower Case | Koolance Exos Case | Lian Li PC-69 Mid-Tower Case | Thermaltake Xaser III (V-1000D) Case | Thermaltake Xaser III Case | TurboCase X-Dreamer Mid-Tower Case | Skyhawk PSR5601 Aluminium Case | SkyHawk Matrix PSR5601SL-W Case | Vexx Alien Green LE Case | Yeong Yang B-0211 Cube Case(1) | Yeong Yang B0221 Case (2)


  • PSU/UPS - Antec TruePower True430 PSU | Fortron/Source FSP350-PN PSU | High Power 420W PSU | Raidmax 400W PSU(video) | Thermaltake Xaser Edition Silent Purepower PSU | TTGI 520SS Quad Fan PSU | Vantec Stealth 470W PSU(1) | Vantec Stealth 470W PSU(2) | Vantec Stealth 420W PSU(3) | Zalman 300W Quiet PSU (video) |


  • Sound - Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Sound Card | Chaintech AV-515M Sound Card | M-Audio Revolution 7.1 Sound Card(1) | M-Audio Revolution 7.1 Sound Card(2) || Altech Lansing 5100 5.1 Speakers | Altec Lansing 2100 2.1 Speakers | Altec Lansing 5100 Enhanced 5.1 Speaker (video) | Klipsch GMX D-5.1 Speaker System | Klipsch ProMedia SWS Subwoofer | Logitech Z-680 Speaker System | Sharkoon Sound Control Extension Kit


  • Peripheral - BTC Russian Keyboard | e-Dimensional E-D Glasses | KeySonic Metal Optical Mouse (German) | Logitech Cordless Keyboards and Mice | Logitech MX500 Cordless Mouse | Logitech MX 700 Cordless Optical Mouse(1) | Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical Mouse(2) | MacAlly iceKey Keyboard | Logitech Momo Racing Wheel | Microsoft Sidewinder Steering Wheel | MS Wireless Optical Desktop | PCXMods X-Trac HS Mousepad | Pyramat PM300 Gamingpad | X-Trac Pro HS Optical Mousepad(1) | X-Trac Zoom Optical Mousepad (2) | Xide-Pad Ultra C-Blue Mousepad | Ratpad GS Gaming Surface(1) | Ratpad GS Gaming Surface(2) | MicroTracker Mousepad


  • Network -  D-Link AirPlus 802.11b Wireless Products | DSL-Router roundup (German) | SanDisk Connect Wireless LAN Card | 802.11g Part 2


  • Modding - 300mm CCFLs | Antec Cobra UV Cable | CoolerMaster Neon LED Fan | CrazyPC Inferno Side Panel | DTek UV CCFL | Extreme Alterations 12 UV CCFL | FlexGlow Dual Bubble Light CCFL Kit | iCute Laser Cut Fan Grills | ITW Vandal Resistant Type 57 Switches | Lian Li Temperature Monitor | Light-Mods.com Dual 12 CCFL Kit | MX 221 Matrix Orbital LCD | Matrix Orbital MX212 LCD-Display | Quad LED 80mm Case Fan | Sound Card Controlled CCFL(1) | Sound Card Controlled CCFL(2) | Speeze NeonBar II | Sunbeam 4 Port Rheobus | Sunbeam 5.25 Rheobus | Sunbeam Blue EL Cable | SVC UV Fan and CCFL | Vantec Nexus Multifunction Panel


  • Miscelanous -
    •  SanDisk ImageMate 6-in-1 Card Reader | Crucial 6 In 1 Card Reader(1) | Crucial 6-in-1 Card Reader(2) | Crucial 6-in-1 Card Reader(3) | Performance Memory 6-in-1 Card Reader | Enermax 3.5 System Monitor Transfer Panel | Fan Mufflers | Extreme Alterations Rounded Floppy Cable |Akasa ATA-45-L Rounded Cables | Vantec EZ-Swap Mobile IDE Rack | ATi Remote Wonder | Xoxide SS Warrior | SunBeamTech El Strip | QuietPC SilentDrive Enclosure | CDM Optics Lens System

  • Notebook, Camera, MP3 players -
    •  Small Form Factor Pentium 4 PC roundup | iAudio CW200 | Minolta Dimage F300 Camera | iRock Bling MP3/CD/FM Player | MSI Metis 266 Slim PC | CubesystemZ CF-S968 System | Pentium-M Notebook | Sony PEG-TG50 | Sony Ericsson T300 Mobile Phone | Axis 2130 PTZ LAN camera
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,22 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:13 AM CET - Mar,22 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • Microsoft slashes Japanese Xbox operation - The Japanese arm of Microsoft's Xbox division is to see personnel reductions across the board, as the console continues to struggle in the Far East - but the company denies any scaling back of the Xbox operation itself in the territory. The headcount of the 200-person strong division will be cut by 34, with reductions affecting personnel in both marketing and production. The company claims that these changes are being made to improve the profitability of the business. It's not clear whether the departments affected are purely related to the sales, distribution and promotion of Xbox in Japan, or whether development personnel will also be hit.
    • Office 2003 may pose antivirus problem - The latest test version of Microsoft Office 2003 could cause problems for antivirus companies because the XML-based format it supports will bog down scanning software, according to security experts.  The problem centers on macros embedded in documents in the Office 2003 beta, or test, version. When saved as an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file, the macros can more or less wind up anywhere. This means that scanners must search the entire contents of a file, rather than examine the part of the file where macros are always positioned.
    • Microsoft Warns of Firewall Flaw - Microsoft is warning customers of another security vulnerability, this one affecting its Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 firewall and Web cache product. A software flaw was found in the ISA Server's Domain Name Service intrusion detection application filter that could allow an attacker to launch a denial of service attack against the ISA Server that prevents that device from processing DNS requests.
    • Microsoft Asks Colleges to Teach Hacking - Microsoft is working with a number of universities in several countries to set up courses that teach students how to write secure code, the company said Friday. The University of Leeds in England is the first to announce such a course. As part of an 11 week module that will start in January next year, third-year undergraduates at the University of Leeds will be asked to hack into software and fix any security bugs they find, Nick Efford, senior teaching fellow at the School of Computing, University of Leeds, said.
    • CeBIT 2003, full report - Hardware Analysis has published their CeBIT 2003 report with lots of pictures.
    • First Opteron Pricing - After publishing the exclusive Opteron Launch Schedule on the 17th of March and being the first to group all known Opteron distributors in one single page, AMDboard is publishing the first Opteron official price taken from an official price list coming from one of the leading Opteron distributor in the USA.
    • Sweet Hercules Radeon 9800 Pro Card - Hercules has provided a first product shot of their upcoming Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card. The card features a brighter blue PCB than what we are used to from the earlier 9700 Pro and again sports the well received copper cooling solution and memory heatsinks. The card comes at standard clock frequencies: 380Mhz core / 340 memory on a 256bit bus with an initial 128Mbyte setup.
    • Windows XP Embedded with SP1 - Microsoft has released an update for Windows XP Embedded with SP. This update (Q816654) addresses a potential problem when using EWF on certain Windows XP Embedded with SP1 runtimes. In some cases, a blue screen error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL can occur during EWF usage.
    • History of Windows - Neowin has an article that shows the progression of Microsoft Windows from pre-windows 1.0 through the 2003 server.
    • List of Win2k post SP3 fixes updated - The list of hotfixes released after windows 2000 service pack 3 came out has been updated.
    • Programs Run Slower After You Install Windows XP SP-1 - This problem may occur if the programs you run frequently allocate and deallocate large blocks of memory. Changes in Windows XP SP1 in the memory management system have caused this operation to take significantly longer than with pre-SP1 Windows XP. This fix (isn't publicly available) may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this fix.
    • ZoneAlarm v3.7.143 (Free) - ZoneAlarm provides solid PC protection for the home user. It's free for personal and non-profit use (excluding government and educational entities.
    • Nullsoft Winamp 2.90 Beta  - Nullsoft has made available Winamp 2.90 Beta (what's new)
    • HyperSnap-DX 5.04.02 - HyperSnap-DX 5 (download) is a screen capture and image editing tool for MS Windows. It captures screens from standard desktop programs and even those hard-to-grab DirectX, Direct3D, 3Dfx Voodoo and Glide mode games.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,21 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 02:46 AM CET - Mar,21 2003 - Post a comment
    • Microsoft yet to set date for Opteron 64-bit support  - When Microsoft Corp. rolls out its next big PC server operating system on April 24 it will have versions supporting Intel Corp.'s 64-bit Itanium processor. But the software giant does not expect it will have any public schedule at the event for when it will ship a version supporting the 64-bit capabilities of AMD's Opteron microprocessor to be launched the same week.
    • Internet traffic cops could foil web attacks - Microchip maker Intel says it has come up with a way to automatically thwart distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, in which malicious hackers paralyse a website by flooding it with endless "packets" of junk data.
    • 3GHz CPU in a Notebook - Notebook buyers who can live with 1 to 2 hours of battery life are snapping up portables built around Intel's desktop PC processors (as opposed to Intel's mobile CPUs); this yields fine performance and saves up to $250 in the bargain. One of the first units with the desktop 3.06-GHz Pentium 4 (with HyperThreading) is the WinBook J4 732 3.06 ($3,136 direct).
    • M-Audio Revolution 7.1 PC Surround Sound Card  - The Revolution 7.1 is an audio card boasting 8 available channels of output. The card is based on the Envy 24HT sound chip, and boasts some impressive features.
    • Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 320GB Serial-ATA RAID-0 Review - EnvyNews has posted a review on the Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 320GB Serial-ATA RAID-0 harddisk.
    • LAN Camera: Axis 2130 PTZ - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a review on the Axis 2130 PTZ LAN camera. The Axis 2130 PTZ is a network camera that has pan and tilt functionality built in. It also features a 16x optical zoom for some good close up images.
    • Latest OS Updates - There are recommended updates that you should install if you have Windows XP, 2000, Millennium Edition or 98 Second Edition. KDE 3.1.1 - The KDE Project today announced the immediate availability of KDE 3.1.1, a maintenance release for the third generation of the most advanced and powerful free desktop for Linux and other UNIXes.
    • Apple iPod Software 1.2.6 Update  - iPod Software 1.2.6 (Win32 ~ MacOSX) provides improved battery management which solves a problem that may appear to shorten your iPod's battery life.
    • SPECviewperfR 7.1  - SPECviewperf is a portable OpenGL performance benchmark program written in C. It was developed by IBM. Later updates and significant contributions were made by SGI, Digital (Compaq, HP), 3Dlabs (Creative Labs) and other SPECopcSM project group members. SPECviewperf provides a vast amount of flexibility in benchmarking OpenGL performance. Currently, the program runs on most implementations of UNIX, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Linux.
    • SecureFX 2.1.4 - The SecureFX (download) client application lets you choose between SFTP or FTP over an encrypted SSH2 connection for secure transfers, or standard FTP for non-secure transfers. It has a simple Explorer-like interface, so it's easy to learn and use.
    • Intel Chipset Installation Utility 5.00.1012 - The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility (AsusMirror, Fujitsu Mirror) installs to the target system the Windows* INF files that outline to the operating system how the chipset components will be configured.
    • MotherBoard Monitor 5.3.0.0 - Motherboard Monitor (MBM) is a tool that will display information from the sensor chip on your motherboard in your Windows system tray. MBM supports a wide range of Chipsets & Sensor Chip combinations. MBM is compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and .NET.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,20 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:42 AM CET - Mar,20 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP Preview  - The Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP ($99.95 list), a sleek innovative update to the wildly successful GBA, is due to hit North America on March 23.
    • Cosmic rays could catch nuclear smugglers  - The particles generated by cosmic rays crashing into the Earth's atmosphere could reveal nuclear material and other dense objects hidden inside cars, trucks and sea containers. The objects can be detected because the particles are deflected by dense matter. For example, a cube of uranium only 10 centimetres wide hidden in a livestock truck could be spotted in just one minute, say the scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico who have developed a detector.
    • Iraq war could send German cars in wrong direction - The satellite-based system, funded and controlled by the US Department of Defense, provides specially coded signals that can be processed to enable the receiver to compute their position, speed and time. The German automobile club AvD said experts fear that just before military action against Iraq, which seems likely to start later this week, the signals will be encoded in order to make them less accurate. The argument is that by doing so, the enemy -- in this case Iraq -- would not be able to exploit the system to pinpoint US-led forces sweeping into the country. Currently, the GPS system has an accuracy to within around five metresfeet), but AvD said it could be reduced to more than 100 metres.
    • Security: Another Critical Windows Flaw Found - A new software vulnerability that affects a number of different versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system could enable remote attackers to use a Web page or HTML formatted e-mail message to run their own malicious code on a Windows machine.
    • Security: Flaw Found in Siemens Mobile Phones - A long-known bug can still freeze two series of cell phones manufactured by Siemens if users haven't yet installed a patch. Siemens' 35 and 45 series phones are affected by the bug, said Siemens spokesperson Michael Stenberg. The company's new 55 series is not affected. The bug, according to Stenberg, is linked to the EMS, or enhanced messaging service, technology used in the phones. By sending a single word, for instance, from the phone's language menu surrounded by quote marks and preceded by an asterisk as control code to an EMS-capable handset, people can cause the phone receiving the message to freeze
    • Security: Latest Windows Patch Poses Problems - The patch, announced Monday in security bulletin MS03-007, is incompatible with 12 software fixes for Windows 2000 issued by Microsoft's Product Support Services between December 2001 and February 2002. Users running any of those fixes won't be able to reboot their Windows 2000 systems after applying the "critical" patch. Customers running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 installed should verify the version of a file called "ntoskrnl.exe" on their system before applying the patch. Versions of this file from 5.0.2195.4797 up to and including 5.0.2195.4928 were distributed by PSS and are not compatible with the patch.
    • Security: New Ganda Worm - The worm, called Ganda, appears to have been written in Sweden and promises images taken from Iraqi spy satellites.  It uses a variety of email subject lines to encourage users to open its attachment, with some exploiting latent anti-US sympathies by promising satirical screensavers ridiculing President Bush. These include: 'Spy pics', 'GO USA !!!!', 'G.W Bush animation', 'Is USA always number one?'.
    • CeBIT 2003: Final Day Coverage - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted the final day of their CeBIT coverage. This time they bring you up-to-the-minute reports of cooling solutions from Coolermaster, Pentalpha, Spire and Titan. In addition, there are new graphics cards from Abit, Chaintech, ECS, Elsa, Gainward, Innovision and Sapphire.
    • Micron sends 4-Gbyte DIMM to Intel - Micron Technology Inc. said today that it has delivered the industry's first 4-Gbyte DDR dual-in-line memory module (DIMM) to Intel Corp., even though Samsung claimed it had a 4-Gbyte DIMM back in January 2003. Micron's DIMM has been fashioned to meet 184-pin PC1600 and PC2100 DDR SDRAM standards. Micron used 1-Gbit DDR-266 SDRAMs in 400-mil thin small outline packages (TSOP), Micron said.
    • Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz Review - Interestingly under Comanche 4 we can see that the best performance occurs with HyperThreading enabled. With HyperThreading On, the P4 3.06GHz is in the 25%-28% performance increase range over the P4 2.53GHz, which is a little better than the 21% clock speed increase. In comparison to the P4 2.4GHz the performance is over 50% better - much more than the 27% clock speed advantage.
    • Slackware Linux 9.0 Final - The Official Release of Slackware Linux (download) by Patrick Volkerding is an advanced Linux operating system, designed with the twin goals of ease of use and stability as top priorities. Including the latest popular software while retaining a sense of tradition, providing simplicity and ease of use alongside flexibility and power, Slackware brings the best of all worlds to the table.
    • AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 463 - AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 463 is out - download
    • Sony DRU500AX DVD Burner Firmware - Sony has released new firmware v2.0e for Sony DRU500AX DVD writer.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,19 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 04:31 AM CET - Mar,19 2003 - Post a comment
    • Tiscali UK downed by 'external attack' - Tiscali UK was knocked out this afternoon after the ISP came under attack from Internet saboteurs.
      The company experienced a massive Denial of Service assault that downed the ISP's portal, Net access and email services. The full details behind the attack are not know. However, in a statement the company said: "Tiscali has been subject to an external attack on our network.
    • London is a wireless hacker's playground - Many wireless Lans still open to attack, security experts warn Wireless local area network (Lan) deployment in London has rocketed but most businesses continue to leave their network open to hackers, security experts have warned. According to the second annual report of wireless Lan research commissioned by security firm RSA Security, wireless deployment has grown by 300 per cent. But levels of security have failed to improve.
    • Important: Critical Windows 2000 flaw found - Windows 2000 users need to patch (details) their systems immediately to avoid hackers taking control, Microsoft has warned.  Users have discovered a flaw in the operating system's implementation of the World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol.  WebDAV provides a standard for editing and file management between computers on the internet using HTTP, and is commonly used to manage web servers remotely.  If a hacker sends a specially crafted HTTP request to a server running IIS they can either shut down the server or cause it to run their code. The flaw is not related to the new version of CodeRed II that also attacks IIS servers.
    • Internet banking passwords stolen - The warning follows a scam email being sent en masse to Australian internet users in an attempt to steal their account passwords. The email, purporting to be an official communication from the Commonwealth Bank, asks customers to "reactivate" their account by logging in after a technology update. But the website provided for customers to log onto, while similar to the bank's website and including its security advice, is bogus.
    • Dropping GameCube: Argos' turn? - Nintendo may be facing a fight for its life at UK retail, as the decision by the Dixons group to liquidate GameCube stocks is replicated by another leading retailer - high street and catalogue sales outlet Argos. In an effort to clear existing stock of the GameCube, Argos will be cutting the price of the system to an all-time low of L78.99 - over L50 cheaper than Nintendo's SRP for the console, and significantly lower than the L99 price point set by Dixons in its stock clearance effort.
    • CeBit 2003 Editorial - Guru3D has posted pretty extensive article (over 15 pages) about CeBit 2003.
    • LGP Announces The Linux Game Development Project Team - Michael Simms announced the eight winners of LGP's game development company initiative last evening and Linuxlookup's very own resident programmer Matt Wilson was granted one of the eight positions on the team.
    • Details on Matrix Phone Emerge - A little more information on Samsung Electronics' as-yet unannounced "Matrix phone" has come out after the device received U.S. regulatory approval at the end of last week. The phone, which is a tie-in product to the upcoming "The Matrix Reloaded" movie, is called the SPH-N270, according to documents submitted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission by Samsung. All devices that emit radio signals require FCC approval before they can be sold in the U.S.
    • TI unveils Lan, Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS PDA - Texas Instruments has unveiled a PDA design which it said is the first handheld to incorporate wireless local area network, Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS technologies.  Code-named Wanda (Wireless Any Network Digital Assistant), the Windows Pocket PC "tri-wireless PDA concept design" is powered by Texas Instruments' OMAP processors.  Its hybrid communications capabilities enable simultaneous phone calls, web browsing, mobile commerce and Bluetooth connectivity, such as printing and headset listening.
    • ECS said to launch notebook at US$599 - According to sources, second-tier Taiwan-based motherboard and PC maker Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) will launch a US$599 notebook in March or April. The notebook, equipped with Transmeta's Crusoe CPU, will command the lowest price in the market to date, sources said. Unlike ECS's DeskNote mobile PCs, the low-price notebook will come with a battery.
    • Personal Video Recorders Round-up - In this roundup, PC Magazine reviews several approaches to personal video recording: audio/video devices that hook up to your television (like the TiVo and the SonicBlue ReplayTV; new PCs with integrated PVR functions; PVR/tuner cards...). All of these products accept broadcast TV, cable TV, satellite, and digital cable signals. Most have program guides. About half of the PC products have video outputs so you can show your recordings on a television set. Recordings saved to hard drives take up about 1GB (VCR-quality) to 5GB (DVD-quality) per hour of video. no tuner included.
    • NextVision N6 HDVP Review - EnvyNews has posted a review on ViewSonic's High-Definition Video Processor; a box that enables you to adapt your computer CRT or LCD to display HDTV output from consoles, satellite broadcasts, Progressive-scan DVD players, and the like.
    • 802.11g Need-To-Know: Part 2  - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted the second part of their 802.11g Need-To-Know series.
    • TVTool 7.0 with nView support Announced - According to TVTool official website, the end of the development of TVTool 7.0 is in sight. In that version nView (formerly called TwinView) will be supported on GF2-MX and GF4 cards. This is probably interesting especially for GF2-MX card owners as the standard graphics card drivers don´t offer any overscan support (fullscreen without black borders). Also digitally connected (DVI) flat panel displays will be supported, as well as notebooks with GF2Go chips. This version should be available within this month.
    • Trojan Remover 5.0.0 - Trojan Remover was written to aid in the removal of Trojan Horses from a computer where standard anti-virus software has either failed to detect the Trojan Horse or is unable to effectively eliminate it. In no way should it be considered as an alternative to regularly using good anti-virus software to protect your computer.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.00 Final - The Final Builds of the K-Lite Codec Pack 2.00 are available. These are the public versions. Uninstall the old version first.
    • MySQL 4.0.12 Gamma - MySQL 4.0.12-gamma (changelog) has been released today.
    • Riva Tuner v2.0 RC12.3 & SoftR9x00 - Rivatuner is an extremely polular tweaking utility for any NVIDIA based GeForce or ATI based Radeon graphics cards. This new version adds Detonator 43.xx support, updates scripts AnisoBoosterOGL, AnisoBoosterD3D, NVStrap antiprotection and LODBiasFix for the Detonator 42.90, revises NVStrap v1.4 driver for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP, adds ATI RV280 and R350 graphics processors support, and also updates SoftR9x00 scripts for both Windows 9x/ME and Windows 2000/XP. Now the scripts are tested and certified for use with Catalyst 2.0 - 3.2 (both beta and release versions) and allow you to force RADEON 9800PRO PCI DeviceID as well as RADEON 9500 and RADEON 9700PRO PCI DeviceIDs, and many more.
    • Athlon XP Processor Identifier - This script turns the user unfriendly markings from any Athlon XP based processor to human readable information such as CPU frequency, FSB, operating voltage, cache size, multiplier and so on. One of the most useful function is that the script automaticaly identifies weather the CPU core is Palomino, Thoroughbred (A or B revision) or the newest one - Barton.
    • HighPoint BIOSes and Drivers v3.02 - There are some new HighPoint 3.02 BIOSes and Drivers for the RocketRAID 404 and the HPT374 RAID.
    • Pioneer DVR-A05/105 recorder firmware - A new firmware version 1.30 has been released for the Pioneer DVR-A05/105 DVD-recorder.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,18 2003 - tech
    Nvidia Detonator v42.42 - tech
    (hx) 10:43 AM CET - Mar,18 2003 - Post a comment
    Nvidia has released yet another set of drivers, this time its Detonator version 42.42 (Windows 2000  ~ Windows XP) This release is still not the anticipated cross-platform reference driver set. Instead it was released as a 3rd party partner certified driver set. This driver is recommended for:  Aveva Engineering IT and Softimage (Softimage XSI). (thanks warp2search & -HairBall-)
    Nightly Tech Madness - tech
    (hx) 03:22 AM CET - Mar,18 2003 - Post a comment / read (5)
    • OFF-TOPIC: Bush Sets Ultimatum for Saddam: Leave Country or Face War - President Bush today gave Saddam Hussein a 48-hour deadline to flee Iraq or face a U.S.-led invasion, saying American forces will wage war "at a time of our choosing."
    • OFF-TOPIC: Deadly pneumonia has spread globally - The threat from a highly contagious form of pneumonia is now global, with at least nine countries thought to be affected. The cause of the illness, dubbed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), is still unknown. But some victims are responding to a combination of anti-viral drugs and steroids, Hong Kong's health minister said on Monday.
    • Techno sniffer dog debuts at Heathrow -  The world's busiest international airport, London Heathrow, unveiled a new electronic "sniffer dog" Monday, becoming the first in the world to trial the new screening technology.  The "Sentinel II" portal "sniffs" passengers as they pass through a detection arch, analyzing air that is blown across their bodies for particles of explosives or other banned substances, according to airport operator BAA.
    • BT accused over music piracy - The British Phonographic Industry said the telecoms giant had been reluctant to discuss the issue of online piracy, despite repeated attempts by its anti-piracy division to get BT to discuss peer-to-peer file-swapping. BT denies it is supporting illegal services, pointing out that peer-to-peer technology is not illegal. The record industry blames illegal music sharing for contributing to a fall in sales.
    • Man claims he's reduced Windows OS to 40MB - An enterprising soul claims to have taken the bloatware out of the Windows 9X operating system and reduced it from the huge size it was to a mere 40MB. And that means his PC boots "in seconds", needs no security updates and flies along like the proverbial off the hot shovel. The chap even posts free CDs and instructions to people who want to try out his SPEEDOS or STREWTH! operating system.
      Motorola Introduces New Mobile Phones       - Motorola today revealed two new additions to the company's growing 2003 mobile experience portfolio -- the Motorola E310 and V810. The new handsets deliver the latest technological advances in intelligent design, situational lighting, customizable music and interactive gaming -- all brought together in full color. Unveiled for the first time at CTIA Wireless, the Motorola models E310 and V810, offer North American consumers the most in-demand features for experiencing mobile fun, personalization and productivity.
    • Intel introduces Gigabit Ethernet networking chips - Intel Corp. introduced several Ethernet products to the market today including a gigabit/s Ethernet controller, a 10-Gbit/s Ethernet server adapter and 10-Gbit/s optical transceiver. The Intel PRO/1000 CT is Intel's gigabit/s Ethernet controller. It works with Intel's soon-to-be-released Springdale and Canterwood peripheral logic chipsets to double the performance attained on desktop-PC GbE-network connections, Intel said.
    • Microsoft Warns of Windows Flaw - Microsoft said Monday that it discovered a critical security vulnerability in a component of its Windows 2000 operating system that could enable a remote attacker to gain total control of a machine running Windows 2000 and Microsoft's Internet Information Server Web server.
    • New worm W32/Deborm-R - W32/Deborm-R is a network worm which carries and installs Trojans. When run, the worm searches for shares named C or C$ on the local IP subnet that have no password. If a share is found the worm will attempt to copy itself to one of the following folders in the share: WindowsStart MenuProgramsStartup ~ Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsStartup ~ ~ WinntProfilesAll UsersStart MenuProgramsStartup
    • Intel Pentium on-chip flash could hide big secrets - Last Summer Intel started sampling Pentium 4 processors with Hyperthreading. At the time the chips came in 2.53GHz and 2.8GHz varieties. Since then, the only Pentium processor with Hyperthreading enabled to appear on the shelves has been the 3.06GHz Pentium 4. But suppose that much cheaper processors also had Hyperthreading on them, just disabled. And what if the thing disabling the Hyperthreading also set the processor clock speed?
    • CeBIT 2003: Swollen Feet on Day 3  - Today, THG was on the trail of innovative cooling solutions. They also bring you news from the area of mass storage, as well as a Centrino notebook with proportions that dreams are made of.
    • Beyond3Ds CeBit Coverage  - Beyond3D had a short time at CeBit too: "Gainward showed me their low end, entry level GeForce FX 5200, with passive cooling, an FX 5600 class product and their version of the 5800 Ultra, with a mindbogglingly large array of bundled extra's. Gainward will still be opting for a 2 slot solution for the FX 5800 Ultra, but in this instance it will be drawing air from the inside of the case and expelling it out, which means that at least this solution will not only be dumping more hot air in the case, as is the case with NVIDIA’s reference solution."
    • DDS-DAT is back from the dead - Two years after terminating DDS-DAT with extreme prejudice, customer pressure has pushed HP and Seagate into reviving the popular mid-range tape technology. Showing at CeBIT, the new version is called DDS Generation 5 and stores 72GB of compressed data per cassette.
    • Gamers to Decide on New Color Options for Xbox Controllers - Recognizing that color allows people to express their individuality, Microsoft Corp. is listening to gamers who wanted color options for their Xbox controller. Xbox is offering gamers a vivid palette of choices, including red, orange, green, blue and clear. The new color controllers will retain the physical characteristics of the highly popular and ergonomic Xbox Controller S.
    • PC silence is golden - Hush Technologies has launched the Silent Mini-ITX PC at the CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany. It uses a new cooling technology to eliminate all fans from the system so it produces no noise at all during normal operation. Only when the CD-ROM drive is used does any sound escape the sleek metal chassis. This chassis is the key to the system, having cooling fins down both sides that help dissipate the heat generated by the processor, power supply and other components.
    • Opteron release schedule - After taking back the performance crown with Barton XP 3000+ and releasing no less than 12 Athlon XP-M (M for mobile) processors, the company is now on the verge to storm the server market with the most-awaited Opteron processor. This is what could be confirmed by an unofficial Opteron's launch schedule, published today at AMDboard, which shows no less than 12 different Opteron models, from 1 to 8-way, to be released from April to June 03.
    • Creative SB Audigy 2 Review - You will be happy to know that Creative has taken care of the board quality from the ground up, newer and better DACs are used to ensure 24-Bit/96-kHz/192kHz playback and among the rest of niceties the card offers you have DVD-Audio playback, full 6.1 surround sound, THX certification and the mandatory (for a Creative soundcard) EAX Advanced HD.
    • Interview With ATI's Dave Orton - Within3D has posted an interview with ATI's President and Chief Operating Officer David E.
    • New Revision 7.4 BIOS Optimization Guide - Adrian's Rojak Pot just posted a new revision 7.4 BIOS optimization guide. Covering a total of 175 BIOS options, this is the most comprehensive guide to BIOS tweaking... until the next revision, that is. :) This new version adds AGP Fast Write, CPU Level 3 Cache, ISA Enable Bit, L3 Cache, Split Lock Operations.
    • Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0  - The Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0 brings the power of XML Web services to Office XP by enabling developers to use the Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Business Registry or the URL to a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file to reference XML Web services.
    • mp3DirectCut 1.30 - mp3DirectCut (langpack ~ mpglib.dll)  is a small tool for editing MPEG audio directly. You can remove parts, change the volume, split files or copy regions to new files. All without the need to decompress your MP3 into PCM/WAV. This saves work, encoding time and disk space. And there is no quality loss through any re-compressions.
    • KaZaA Lite K++ 2.1.0 - KaZaA Lite K++ 2.1.0 Final and a couple of translations are released! The following languages are available: English, Deutsch (German), French (Francais), Italiano (Italian), Dutch (Nederlands) and Czech.
    • Avast! Home Edition 4 Build 525 - Avast! Home Edition is a complete anti-virus package for Windows 9x/Me, NT/2000/XP. It is FREE for registered home noncommercial users. It's certified by ICSA and obtained 100% mark from Virus Bulletin in June 2002 under Windows XP Pro.
    • Serv-U 4.1.0.6 Beta - Serv-U (download) is a powerful, easy-to-use, award-winning FTP server created by Rob Beckers. An FTP server uses the FTP protocol to share files across the Internet.
    • CPUCooL 7.20 Beta - CPUCooL (download) has been updated. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards.
    • HWiNFO32 Version 1.30 - A new version of HWiNFO32 has been released. HardwareInfo32 is a powerful system information utility designed especially for detection of hardware.
    • WinRAR 3.2.0 Beta 2 - WinRAR (changelog) is a 32-bit Windows version of the RAR archiver - a powerful tool which allows you to create, manage and control archive files.
    • SiS Xabre WHQL Driver 3.10 & BIOS v1.09.01 - SiS has just officially released a brand new WHQL v3.1 driver for SiS Xabre and also new BIOS.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,16 2003 - tech
    Sunday Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 04:28 PM CET - Mar,16 2003 - Post a comment / read (3)
    • Fight Your Way to Victory with Three Fighters for Xbox - Fighting games set in the context of the martial arts have long been favorites among gamers. While some believe that fighting games are nothing more than "button mashing fests" that destroy your fingers, others believe that the manual dexterity and mental concentration required to press the buttons along with the memorization of the correct button combinations takes quite a serious level of skill. In this article, Tom's Hardware will give you the low down on three fighting games for the Xbox.
    • New Radeon 9700 coolers- Do they look familiar? - Tom's Hardware have posted a couple pics up of new Radeon 9700 coolers and boy do they look familiar, check them out for a little laugh.
    • Samsung SyncMaster 191T LCD Monitor -  This monitor is the successor to the Samsung SyncMaster 191N which is an LCD that can save you $100-150 compared to the 191T. The only difference between the 191N and 191T is that the 191N doesn't have a digital connector. It still has all of the same stylish looks as the 191T and on-screen menu so it's up to you if the extra money is worth the DVI connector. In my opinion with out a doubt it is.
    • DangerDen H2O CPU Cooling Kit Review  - The reservoir is not necessary to run a water cooling system. You can set up a closed-loop, as long as you have a valve you can open and close to 1) bleed air from the system and 2) fill the system.
    • ATI Radeon 9800 PRO F-Buffer Opinions - Following the announcement of the Radeon 9800 PRO Beyond2D have asked a few developers (Epic, Croteam, Ubisoft) for their opinion on the F-Buffer.
    • Windows Server 2003 as a Workstation Guide - So Windows 2003 Professional turned out to be a pipe dream, faster than we could get used to the idea being a reality it was played down/denied by Microsoft and all the knowledge base articles were removed to be corrected. It turned out to be an oversight. Well, we aren't ones to give up so easily at Neowin, so we have put together a guide that turns Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition into what we would rather call Windows 2003 Professional.
    • ABIT's Intel Canterwood board with... 1000MHz FSB! - ABIT decided to set its own record at CeBIT 2003 and announced an Intel Canterwood-based system featuring 3.319GHz Pentium 4 overclocked via the bus: 13? multiplier provided 1021MHz FSB (255.34 ? 4)! The memory has also been overclocked to 465MHz.
    • Radeonator project discontinued - Marcel Hoffs announced the fact that he is stopping development on Radeonator. As the main reason is the lack of motivation to continue. You can download latest Radeonator 3.0 alpha and Radeonator 2.0 final.
    • NeroVision Express 1.0.4.6  - NeroVision Express will guide you through the whole process of creating DVDs, VCDs and SVCDs in an easy and innovative way. Limitations: Free of charge for Nero 5.5 users. Neither the MPEG-2/SVCD encoder nor the MPEG-2/DVD encoder are integrated in NeroVision Express.
    • Style XP 1.01n - Style XP allows you to easily add new visual styles or themes to Windows XP. Style XP is not a skinning engine. It uses Microsoft's built-in visual style engine, but enhances it by providing many useful tools. Style XP can import, select, rotate, and manage Themes, Visual Styles, Wallpaper, and Logons.
    • Trillian v0.74D - Trillian (download ~ download patch) simplifies your chat as well as your desktop and system resources by letting you simultaneously connect with the five most popular chat clients on the Web: Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, ICQ, mIRC, and AIM.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,15 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:39 AM CET - Mar,15 2003 - Post a comment
    • Sony shifts PS2 production to China  - Sony is to shift the production of its PlayStation 2 console to Chinese production facilities next year in a bid to reduce costs, the company announced this week, prompting speculation that the company will pass on the cost savings to consumers in the near future.  Spokesman Koichiro Katsurayama said the company would move production to Chinese plants run by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and Asustek Computer Inc, and cease production in Japan, where half of its current PS2 output is based.
    • Sony reportedly looking for PS3 component suppliers - According to Digitimes, Sony will come to Taiwan next month to hold talks on product and component purchases of up to US$4 billion, said an official at Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The talks reportedly are for PlayStation 3 game console-related orders.
    • VIA graphics team unwraps DX9 DeltaChrome - VIA's graphics division, S3, yesterday announced its first chip to support DirectX 9, DeltaChrome.  Versions of the 0.13 micron part will be tailored for a range of market segments, VIA said. The S8 and S4 will be aimed at the mainstream and value sectors, respectively, while the F1 will target top-end systems.  The F1 supports up to 256MB of video memory; the others support up to 128MB. It has an eight-pixel pipeline, as does the S8, capable of a 2.4 billion pixels per second fill rate. 
    • SanDisk announces new capacities, formats - SanDisk has released not only newer, larger flash cards for existing formats, but a new flash card format as well. Compact Flash now reaches 4 GB, SD reaches 1 GB, and miniSD hits the market. In a market already saturated with different flash card form factors, SanDisk has released a new format dubbed miniSD. Developed by the SD Association of which SanDisk is a member, miniSD is essentially just a shrunken Secure Digital card measuring a tiny 21.5 mm long, 20 mm wide and 1.4 mm thick.
    • iPAQ H1915 arrives in Europe - Despite persistent rumours and a previous confirmation from Hewlett-Packard itself, the newly announced iPAQ H1915 model for the European market does not offer integrated Bluetooth. In fact, it does not offer any new features over the iPAQ H1910 which was only made available in the UK, except for what according to HP is a slightly improved display provided by a different manufacturer than the one responsible for the display in the iPAQ H1910. The iPAQ H1915 should now be available in most European countries for 399 EUR.
    • Music companies fear new 100-hour discs  - The music industry this week condemned the launch of two recording systems that will let people copy between 30 and 100 hours of music onto a single disc. The launches, from electronics giants Sony and Philips, are being seen as a potential pirates' charter.  Philips's system uses a computer DVD recorder to save at least 100 hours of MP3 music on a blank DVD, which will play on a new portable DVD player.
    • AMD's enchanted April - After years of hype, the AMD Opteron 64-bit processor will debut in April. The advantages of AMD's new design are many. The most talked-about feature is the CPU's support for 64-bit applications. Unlike previous 64-bit processors, Opteron implements the full x86-32 instruction set. Software that runs on a Pentium III or AMD Athlon now will run unmodified on Opteron. Opteron-based servers will likely spend the majority of their time running the 32-bit Windows and Linux programs that businesses use today.
    • CeBIT 2003: Day 1 - There's one trend that's clear: move away from killer performance, and towards products with a more promising profit margin. Tom's Hardware makes its rounds at the CeBIT, visiting partners and manufacturers. You can also find Plextor & CloneCD coverage @ CDFreaks.
    • CeBIT 2003:  Day 2  - Tom's Hardware has posted their second round with AMD, MSI, Gigabyte, Soyo and Twinmos, and they gathered lots of news.  You can also find Lite-On IT & Nero Burning Rom Coverage @ CDFreaks.
    • CeBIT 2003 : Xabre II - The Xabre II will offer through the Frictionless Memory Control III technology bandwith usage optimizations : Hidden Surface Removal (HSR), color compression, Z Culling and other compression algorythms.
    • SiS655 With Dual DDR333  - The Taiwanese manufacturer SIS follows Intel's footsteps with a Pentium 4 chipset that supports two DDR channels. The SiS655 has been developed from the Sis648, and it now has APG 8X. Unlike the Intel E7205, it not only supports DDR 266 but DDR 333 as well, finally. This gives the newcomer an edge, at least on paper. Can it live up to expectations?
    • Centrino notebooks Round-up - Japanese notebook vendors Sony, NEC Electronics and Toshiba launched their versions of Centrino-based notebooks on Wednesday.
    • MSI 52X CD-RW Drive Review - HotHardware has posted a MSI 52X CD-RW Drive review.
    • Samsung SW-252B 52/24/52 CD-RW Review - EnvyNews has posted a Samsung SW-252B 52/24/52 CD-RW review.
    • Windows Server 2003 RTM Delayed--Again - The latest target date to start duping disks is now March 28, sources close to Microsoft said. A company insider also confirmed that this is the latest proposed release-to-manufacturing date. Previously, the RTM had been scheduled for March 19, which followed an earlier target date of March 12.
    • Virtual PC 6 Review - Connectix recently released version 6 of Virtual PC, the standard for emulating Windows on a Mac. With version 5, the main feature was Mac OS X compatibility. With version 6, the focus is on better performance and Mac integration.
    • SoftModding a Radeon 9500 Pro  - Not too long ago there was a flurry of 9500 Mod articles and guides, most of which showed exactly which items to solder and move. However, as drool-worthy as they were, they did not take into account that a significant portion of the end-user crowd would faint at the mere mention of these procedures on their expensive cards. Thankfully, there are other options, and this is where this small article comes-in. For those of you who want an extra 20% performance without opening-up your case, read on!
    • Myth II Updated  - Today, MythDev and Project Magma are releasing their first update to Myth II: Soulblighter, created by Bungie Software. This update brings the game to version 1.3.2, and patches noticeable bugs in Windows XP/2000, as well adding native support for Mac OS X. Coinciding with this release, the group is also announcing Myth II 1.4, to be released May 15th, which is a major update to Myth II that contains over 100 enhancements, including: graphical and interface improvements, OpenGL support for Windows and Mac OS X, gameplay bug fixes and improved AI, and the addition of vTFL, allowing virtual play of Myth: The Fallen Lords in Myth II. (thanks Slashdot.org)
    • Microsoft IPv6 1.205 Technology Preview - IPv6 is a new suite of standard protocols for the network layer of the Internet. It is the future of networking. It is designed to solve many of the problems of the current version of IP (known as IPv4) with regard to address depletion, security, autoconfiguration, extensibility, and more. Its use will also expand the capabilities of the Internet to enable a variety of valuable and exciting scenarios, including peer-to-peer and mobile applications.
    • Active WMA Studio v.1.2 - Active WMA Studio is the audio conversion utility with Explorer-like interface, It allows you to encode WAV, MP3 and OGG files to WMA (Windows Media Audio) format with a lot of format options(from 8000 to 48000Hz, up to 192kbps), convert WMA and MP3 files to WAV PCM format, convert WMA files to MP3 format with LAME 3.92 encoder library, convert WMA to OGG Vorbis format, resample WMA files, grab audio CDs into WMA.
    • PowerDVD 4.0 Add-On Pack Patches - The first patch will update PowerDVD SE for Windows XP to build 2417, the second patch will update PowerDVD MP3 PowerEncoder for Windows XP to build 2417.
    • Getright 5.0 Final - GetRight is a Download Manager program to help you download files from the Internet. It allows you to easily download files and recover (resume downloading) if errors occur--and has many other advanced features.
    • Zoom Player 3.00 beta 6 - Zoom Player (download ~ changelist) is a robust media and DVD front-end player. It was designed to be simple at first glance while being remarkably dynamic and flexible when used to its full potential. It works in two modes: a Media mode which can play any file supported by DirectShow (any file which plays in MediaPlayer) and a DVD mode which uses pre-installed DirectShow DVD filters to play DVD content.
    • Savage4 Server Drivers - S3 Graphics has released new server (Windows XP and .NET Serv) drivers for the Savage4.
    • SofR9800 for ATi Catalyst 3.2 - Mod your Radeon 9500 into a Radeon 9500 Pro or your 9700 into a 9800 with this patch (direct link) (~ or Guru3D). To execute the script you'll need the latest RivaTuner 2.0 You must start it at least once, then simple extract and open attached file with Windows explorer, RivaTuner will do the rest. This script works with Catalyst 3.2.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,13 2003 - tech
    Late Afternoon Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 11:12 PM CET - Mar,13 2003 - Post a comment
    • U.S. nanotech funding expected to hit $1 billion - The race for the high ground in nanotechnology development and applications is heating as U.S. government efforts gain momentum, funding and direction.  Congress approved $849 million for nanotechnology research and development in fiscal 2003. "We're rapidly heading toward a $1 billion program," said Richard Russell of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "Now's the time to shape the program."
    • World's first brain prosthesis revealed  - The world's first brain prosthesis - an artificial hippocampus - is about to be tested in California. Unlike devices like cochlear implants, which merely stimulate brain activity, this silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing.
    • Indian hackers target Pakistan - A new e-mail virus has been released on the internet in the latest cyber war of words between rival hackers in India and Pakistan.  A variant of the Yaha internet e-mail worm has been written by a group of hackers calling themselves the Indian Snakes.  It has been attacking websites in Pakistan, including government sites, internet service providers and the Karachi Stock Exchange, said anti-virus firm Sophos.  Yaha-Q arrives as an e-mail attachment and can send itself to people listed in the recipient's e-mail address book.
    • Renault F1 revs up IT network links - Formula One may be trying to take IT out of racing, but the drivers will not go short of information. Renault Formula One has upgraded its network and speeded up links between design staff and cars on the circuit, in time for the 2003 championship which started at the weekend.
    • Via Chips in to Build Smaller PCs - Via Technologies Thursday will introduce a 1-GHz processor with an integrated Northbridge chip that will allow vendors to build smaller PCs. Called Mark, the chip includes a 1-GHz C3 processor and Via's Pro Savage CLE266 Northbridge chip, which is one of the components that comprise the Northbridge-Southbridge chipset architecture used in most PCs.
    • A PDA With A Long Memory  - Toshiba this week announced a new version of its popular line of Pocket PC devices that uses another type of flash memory known as NAND flash. The difference between NAND flash and conventional flash memory is that NAND (NAND is a contraction of the words "Not" and "AND"--the relevance of which isn't worth explaining) can maintain the data stored on it even after the battery runs down. Toshiba's new unit is the e750. The device looks like previous Toshiba-made Pocket PCs. It has 96 megabytes of memory, 32 MB of which is NAND flash
    • Opteron rated 3800+ in September 2003! - According to Canadian Ontario distributor MRS MAINTENANCE, the chip will be available in 3 flavors: 3400+ - 3600+ and 3800+. The price list mention only the speed of the 3400+ that is 2GHz which show a better rating for 32Bit operation than actual Barton XP+ 3200 with an 400MHz FSB running at roughly the same speed. (big thanks AMDBoard)
    • ATI unleashes the MOBILITY RADEON 9600 family - ATI Technologies unveiled the MOBILITY RADEON 9600 family of mobile visual processors today at a worldwide launch event at CeBIT. The MOBILITY RADEON 9600 will be the first mobile graphics processor to ship with hardware support for the richest Microsoft DirectX 9.0 feature set and version 2.0 programmable pixel and vertex shaders, which are required for dramatic, true-to-life cinematic special effects.
    • ATI unveils MOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP - ATI Technologies today announced MOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP, the newest addition to its award-winning lineup of mobile integrated graphics processors for Intel-platform PCs. The new processor is a performance-enhanced version of its market-leading predecessor, RADEON IGP 340M. MOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP is the first true mobile IGP to bring support for DDR333 memory to notebook users, which means more memory bandwidth for higher performance and image quality settings.
    • Microsoft Makes Plans for Media2Go Device - Creative Labs will make a personal media player that runs Microsoft's forthcoming Media2Go software, Microsoft said Wednesday. The Singapore-based hardware company is the fifth device partner for Media2Go. Samsung Electronics, Sanyo, ViewSonic, and iRiver were announced as partners earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Microsoft announced the software. Media2Go is the code name for Windows CE 4.2-based software for devices that can play video and music and display still images. Prototypes of devices Microsoft is displaying at the CeBIT trade show here have a 4-inch screen, 20GB hard drive, and IEEE-1394 ports to connect to a PC.
    • An Introduction to 64-bit Computing and x86-64 - This article deals with the x86-64 ISA only. The sequel will cover the specific implementations (Hammer, Opteron, etc.). And note also that the general discussions of 64-bit computing that make up the first half of the article are applicable to 64-bit platforms, not just x86-64. So those of you interested in the implications of a possible Apple move to a 64-bit platform like the PPC 970 might want to read at least the first half of the article.
    • Seagate 10K.6 147gb Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive Review - VR-Zone Hardware has posted a review of the newest Seagate SCSI Drive, the Seagate 10k.6 147gb Ultra 320 SCSI hard drive.
    • CeBIT: Overclock your PC with a twist of your wrist - ECS, in Taipei, on Wednesday introduced its EZ-Buddie line of PCs which let users overclock their CPUs by adjusting a dial located on the front of the PC case. Expected to be available worldwide in May, the EZ-Buddie is based on either an Intel Pentium 4 processor, Intel Celeron or AMD Athlon processor and will be priced starting from around $700 to $800, depending on the exact configuration, said Frank Niessen, marketing director for ECS in Germany.
    • How to unlock an XP! T'Bred UPDATE! Feb 12th '03 - BE CAREFUL doing this, I just killed my 1900+ this way! Here is a method of breaking the bridges on your Athlons and Durons that is much easier than cutting them with a pin or small blade! What you need: AT PSU, some pins/nails(the pointer the better) and a female molex connector.
    • RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.0 Pre-release - RightMark Audio Analyzer is an independent audio measurements open-source project developed by iXBT.com / Digit-Life team. The test suite performs various tests of electro-acoustical performance of sound cards and other real-time audio devices. Testing is accomplished by playing the test signals and recording them after they pass through the testing chain.
    • GetRight 5.0 Final - GetRight solves this problem by allowing you to resume a download. If you got part of the file before the problem, GetRight will restart the download in the middle so it only gets the rest of the file, without having to restart from the beginning. This makes downloading your files much easier and faster. Sadly GetRight costs some money, if you want something for free try Download Express :)
    • PHP 4.3.2RC1 - This is the first release candidate and should have a very low number of problems and/or bugs.
    • StarOffice 6.1 Beta 1 - StarOffice 6.1 builds on the features in StarOffice 6.0 by adding accessibility, the StarOffice Configuration Manager, Asian language enhancements, PDF export, keyboard macro recorder and a Software Development Kit (SDK). StarOffice is a full-featured, affordable alternative in office productivity suites that runs on Solaris[tm] Operating Environment, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. The office suite has a simple, easy-to-use interface and contains full-featured applications including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics and database capabilities.
    • SpeedFan 4.08 - SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds and temperatures in computers with a known monitoring chip.
    • Opera 7.03 - Opera 7.03 (download Java-version ~ Non-Java version ~ what's new) is the latest version with special language support, already available in a Japanese version. Many more language versions will follow in the weeks to come.
    • Mozilla 1.3 - Mozilla is an open-source Web browser, designed for standards compliance, performance and portability. What's New in Mozilla 1.3: Mozilla Mail has junk-mail classification. With some initial "training" the client can identify and segregate spam messages from good messages. To see more about Mozilla's junk-mail classification, visit the Mozilla Spam Filtering page. Newsgroup filters have been implemented, etc...
    • nForce NVSwap 1.0 - NVSwap is an NVIDIA utility designed to help you set up and optimize your NVIDIA nForce audio experience. NVSwap tests and configures the setup of a 4 or 5.1 speaker system attached to the following qualified NVIDIA audio products: NVIDIA nForce2 with NVIDIA SoundStorm, NVIDIA nForce with MCP or MCP-D, NVIDIA nForce2 with MCP or MCP-T, Any NVIDIA nForce-supported AC' 97 audio codec.
    • DivX 5.0.3 Updated - DivX is a package that includes all the DivX codec, player, utilities, and documentation that you need to play DivX files. DivX codec is based on the MPEG-4 compression standard. This codec can reduce an MPEG-2 video (DVD format) to ten percent of its original size. DivX is a digital video compression technology based on the ISO MPEG-4 standard.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Release Candidates -K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Test Builds are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only. Uninstall the old version first.
    • Foobar 0.58 - Foobar is a very recommendable media player. It is developed by Peter Pawlowski, who used to work on WinAmp. It uses a plain and simple UI, no skins, no fuss. While in playback mode, it only approximately consumes 1.9 Mb of RAM.

    • WinAce 2.50 Release Candidate 2 - WinAce is an archiving utility with an easy-to-use interface for creating, extracting, and viewing archives. It includes built-in compression for ACE, ZIP, LHA, and MS-CAB formats, and built-in decompression for ACE, ZIP, LHA, MS-CAB, RAR, ARJ, ARC, GZIP, TAR, and ZOO formats. You can create multi-volume (disk-spanning) archives for ACE and MS-CAB formats and self-extracting archives (sfx) for ACE and ZIP formats.

    • Sound Blaster Live! - LiveDrvUni-Pack - This package upgrades the Sound Blaster Live! driver and enhances the overall product performance on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The package also upgrades core applications including Audio HQ and Surround Mixer for optimal Sound Blaster Live! performance.
    • ATI  CATALYST 3.2 Available - ATI Technologies Inc. unveiled CATALYST 3.2, a high-quality, reliable graphics software suite that includes unified driver and software applications to enable its RADEON family of graphics products. This latest release features ATI's industry-recognized MULTIMEDIA CENTER 8.1 (release notes) software suite.  Note: The drivers are FINALLY available for download!(thanks jd)
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,12 2003 - tech
    Afternoon Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 06:55 PM CET - Mar,12 2003 - Post a comment
    • Struggling GameCube's shop price slashed - Shops are slashing the price of the GameCube to get more people to buy it.  The price has been cut to Ł99 from Ł129 at Dixons, Currys and PC World. That price includes a game too. BTW: Does anyone here know where I can buy premoded Europien(PAL) PS2? Mail me pls :)
    • First test for US monster bomb - In a show of military might seemingly aimed at intimidating Iraq's armed forces, the US has tested the most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever developed. The new weapon is named the Massive Ordinance Air Burst (MOAB), but has also been dubbed the "Mother of All Bombs". The 9.7-tonne device contains only conventional explosives, but creates a mushroom cloud and a shockwave similar to that of a small nuclear explosion. It has blast range of several hundred metres.
    • How Hydrogen Can Save America - How much money? How about the amount spent to put a man on the moon: $100 billion in today's dollars. With that investment, the nation could shift the balance of power from foreign oil producers to US energy consumers within a decade. By 2013, a third of all new cars sold could be hydrogen-powered, 15 percent of the nation's gas stations could pump hydrogen, and the US could get more than half its energy from domestic sources, putting independence within reach. All that's missing is a national commitment to make it happen.
    • British scientists in bio-terror breakthrough - A UK scientist has developed a revolutionary computer-based DNA fingerprinting technology that he hopes could save thousands of lives. The computerised technique can identify bugs far more quickly than current methods.  Authorities could use it to identify killer bugs contained in biological attacks launched by terrorists and speed up the treatment of victims.
    • McDonald's to Offer Wireless Internet  - Would you like super-sized Internet access with that burger and fries? In a further sign of the spread of wireless Internet technology, McDonald's restaurants in three U.S. cities will offer one hour of free high-speed access to anyone who buys a combination meal. Ten McDonald's in Manhattan will begin offering wireless WiFi, or 802.11b, Internet access on Wednesday, McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa Howard said.
    • Are Windows Broadband Users at Risk? - The weakness specifically refers to nonexistent or easily discovered passwords on SMB (Server Message Block) file shares, with thousands of systems being compromised in this way, CERT/CC said in an advisory. Windows uses the SMB protocol to share files and printer resources with other computers. The two versions of the operating system referred to in the CERT bulletin transfer information via TCP/IP. These systems are vulnerable to attacks using tools such as W32/Deloder, GT-bot, sdbot, and W32/Slackor. Older operating systems which share SMB information differently are not vulnerable, according to CERT/CC.
    • New Code Red Variant Causes Concern - A new version of the Code Red worm is spreading on the Internet, more than 18 months after the original worm infected Web servers worldwide, according to alerts posted Wednesday by a number of antivirus software vendors. The new version, labeled CodeRed.F, is almost identical to another Code Red variant, CodeRed.C, also known as Code Red II, according to information posted by F-Secure of Helsinki, Finland.
    • Intel Unveils Wireless Computer Chips - At news conferences throughout Asia and Europe Intel unveiled a set of chips known as Centrino, which it said will allow mobile computer users to access the Internet at home and a growing number of public places via radio waves. Intel said Centrino notebooks would cost about the same as current laptops, starting as low as $1,399. In Japan, models are expected to sell for as low as 200,000 yen (US$1,702).
    • Samsung unveils Sens X10 Centrino-based notebook - Samsung Electronics today unveiled its Sens X10 Centrino-based notebook, weighing 1.8 kilograms and measuring only 23.8mm (less than one inch) in thickness.
    • AMD Unveils Notebook CPUs - AMD is trying to steal some of Intel's Centrino thunder by announcing 12 new notebook processors, including five low-voltage chips designed for thin-and-light notebooks and higher-wattage chips for larger notebooks. AMD's five new low-voltage chips carry the model numbers 1800+, 1700+, 1600+, 1500+, and 1400+. They make use of a Micro PGA (pin grid array) design that differs from AMD's traditional Socket A pin design, Varela says. Micro PGA occupies less space on the motherboard, allowing notebook vendors to build smaller systems, he said. The low-voltage chips dissipate 25 watts when operating at maximum power.
    • AMD Drops Prices On Processors - AMD Athlon XP CPUs are continuing on the trip down the pricing roadmap today. Surely it must be a complete coincidence that the prices are being dropped on the same day as Intel launches its new Centrino technology.  The biggest shift has happened in the middle of the range with the 2200+ dropping to $107, the 2400+ to $141 and the 2600+ to $241. Playing odd-man-out in the pricing curve is the 2700+ which is only $26 more than a 2600+. The full list of new prices on the XP follows: 3000+ $588, 2800+ $375, 2700+ $267, 2600+ $241, 2400+ $141, 2200+ $107, 2100+ $92, 2000+ $81, 1800+ $67, 1700+ $54.
    • VIA releases KN400 chipset for new Athlon XP-M processors - Following its recent launch of the KT400A chipset for the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) desktop platform, VIA Technologies on March 12 introduced a new chipset, the VIA ProSavage KN400, supporting AMD's new notebook-use Athlon XP-M processors. AMDBoard has posted a short preview of this newest VIA chipset.
    • NVIDIA GeForceFX 5600 Ultra & FX 5200 Ultra - Performance - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a review on the NVIDIA GeForceFX 5600 Ultra & FX 5200 Ultra video cards
    • NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra Benchmarked  - HotHardware has posted some NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra Benchmarks. They directly compare the 5200 Ultra's performance to a Radeon 9000 Pro, using a mid-level CPU, indicative of today's "mainstream" PCs.
    • Tennis Addict goes Series 60 - Hexacto has now ported well-known Tennis Addict to Nokia's Series 60 platform, making the game available for owners of Nokia's 7650 or 3650 models, as well as future Nokia N-Gage and Siemens SX1 owners. Players can choose from 16 different opponents and four court types, and either play a quick game using the "Quick Match" option or an entire tournament. (thanks InfosyncWorld).
    • SuSE Announces SuSE Linux 8.2 Personal and Pro - SuSE Linux today unveiled the latest version of its Linux package - introducing an easy to use, application rich desktop for home users. Available April 14, SuSE Linux 8.2, sets a new milestone for ease of use - incorporating the latest versions of KDE 3.1 and Gnome 2.2. (thanks OSNews).
    • Windows 2000 Patch: The Correct File is Not Installed When You Chain Multiple Hotfixes - This update addresses the Windows 2000 issue, "The Correct File is Not Installed When You Chain Multiple Hotfixes" and is discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article 815062. Download now to install the updated copy of qchain.exe
    • Microsoft flicks on IM Webcam - Microsoft Tuesday said it has begun offering Webcam functionality on its MSN Messenger instant messaging software, heating up the battle of features against America Online and Yahoo. The new application allows MSN Messenger 5.0 users to stream live videos to other contacts using the software and a Webcam. Logitech will host the video streams on its servers, and will allow 56kbps modems a resolution of three to five frames per second (fps) and broadband as high as 15fps.
    • Ad Muncher 4.41 Build 4936 Beta - Ad Muncher (download) is a program for Windows systems which removes adverts, popups and general browsing annoyances from all popular browsers and web-utilizing programs (as well as most banner displaying and popup generating programs like ICQ, Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, Opera, iMesh, Bearshare, LimeWire, etc).
    • ClonyXXL 2.0.1.4c - ClonyXXL is a copy protection detection scanner, which can show what kind of protection is used on a disc. It will provide you with the right settings for CloneCD, so you can make a working copy of the disc!
    • SANDRA 2003 Standard SP1 9.44  - SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility.
    • Coding Workshop Ringtone Convertor 4.2 - The Ringtone Converter (download) is a software program for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac systems that allows you to add new ringtones to your mobile phone without the need for cables or expensive premium rate SMS services.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Release Candidates -  K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Test Builds are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only. ninstall the old version first.
    • NetCaptor 7.1.0 Final - The small IE based browser NetCaptor has been updated to version 7.1.0 Final.
    • DirectX 9 & Mad F/X -  Mad Software has released an optimized DirectX 9 version of Mad F/X, a cutting-edge real-time visualization and animation software package for the desktop PC.
    • Dell's Nvidia Detonator v43.30 - Dell released a new Detonator Driver v43.30.. Files are dated 3rd of March, 2003.
    • ATI Delivers CATALYST 3.2 - ATI Technologies Inc. today unveiled CATALYST 3.2, a high-quality, reliable graphics software suite that includes unified driver and software applications to enable its RADEON family of graphics products. This latest release features ATI's industry-recognized MULTIMEDIA CENTER 8.1 (release notes) software suite.  Note: The drivers are not yet available for download.  (keep checking this page)
    Early Evening Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 12:06 AM CET - Mar,12 2003 - Post a comment
    • Bad passwords open new can of worms - A spike in Internet traffic caused by a worm over the weekend can be largely blamed on bad passwords and poor security practices, security experts said on Monday. The Deloder worm, which spreads by communicating with Windows computers that have file sharing enabled, may have spread to perhaps as many as 10,000 systems using a list of 86 passwords to break into computers running WinNT/2k/XP. While not an epidemic, the attack did highlight that people frequently choose easily guessable passwords to guard their computers' security.
    • Support wanes for antipiracy chips - Chipmakers have not completely abandoned efforts to create such copy protection features, but developers now say that they're ready to move ahead with what some call a second best alternative in order to feed surging demand for chips bound for new multimedia devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, and PDAs. This so-called soft coding--putting antipiracy rules into software that is more accessible to users--is slower and less secure, but lets companies adapt to rapid changes in the market more easily, developers say.
    • Toshiba Boosts Pocket PC Flash Memory  - Toshiba American Information Systems' new Pocket PC e750 series builds on the promise of the older e740 product that helped the company make strides in the handheld market despite a product recall. The e740 PDA was Toshiba's first unit with integrated 802.11b wireless connectivity, and the new e750 also comes with that technology. It features 32MB of NAND flash memory dedicated to data storage, out of a total of 96MB of memory, said Craig Marking, senior product marketing manager for Toshiba.
    • A Host of Options - PCMagazine has reviewed 7 nationwide Web site-hosting services that have all the options small and midsize organizations need.
    • Microsoft Unveils Office 2003 Beta 2 - Microsoft expects to distribute about 500,000 copies of Beta 2, and is offering it publicly through its TechNet site and an Office preview site. New features in the works include Business Contact Manager, an Outlook add-on intended for small-business users who want more-powerful tools for customer relationship management (CRM) but don't need a more sophisticated and expensive multiuser app such as Act or Goldmine. In addition, Microsoft has release some MS Office 2003 Videos: Excel 2003 XML Mapping Video ~ Word 2003 XML Mapping Video ~ Building Managed Solutions Behind Excel 2003 Workbooks Video ~ Building Managed Solutions Behind Word 2003 Documents Video.
    • AMD targets NT 4.0 users with Opteron - AMD will target users of Windows NT 4.0 with its 64bit Opteron processor, due for release on 22 April. The strategy highlights the diverse approaches of AMD, which is encouraging firms to make a gradual move from 32bit to 64bit worlds, and its larger rival Intel, which expects firms to make a sharper change because its 64bit Itanium processors slow the performance of 32bit applications.
    • Nforce 2 BIOS problems confirmed and fixed - Users of a new Shuttle Nforce 2 based machine had reported problems with the BIOS. They had been trying to overclock their machines only to find that, once they went past a certain point, the machine would stop working. Hard Tecs 4U, a German site, unwittingly uncovered the missing jumper. They had reviewed six Nforce 2 motherboards from different manufacturers and managed to kill all of them. The only one that was easy to recover was an MSI K7N2-L board which has the jumper. Using the jumper sets the BIOS back to a 100MHz FSB safe mode.  Other people had discovered that you could use a 100MHz FSB processor, for example a Duron, in a motherboard that had stopped working to get it going again.  And there lies the problem. Setting the FSB too high can stop Nforce 2 motherboards from POSTing. Once the motherboard has stopped POSTing, the only way to get it going again is to reset the FSB back down to 100MHz. Only most motherboards don't have the jumper so you can't do that.
    • Mitsumi to release 485FTE - first 54x CDRW - The Mitsumi 485FTE CD-RW drive offers a highly reliable 54X write speed, 32X rewrite speed with the power and performance of a 54X read speed. The Mitsumi 54x32x54 CD-RW drive's Enhanced IDE interface can be installed easily and is fully compatible with almost any PC for true plug-and-play capabilities.
    • Sony BDZ-S77 blue-ray recorder preview - Most news sites have recently posted that SONY Japan Corp is going to start sales of first household blu-ray DVD recorder, 23 GB, in Japan on April 10, 2003. The manufacturer-recommended price runs into US $3800. SONY BDZ-S77 DVD recorder based on blu-ray media is probably positioned for the Japanese and US consumer markets with their digital satellite broadcasting bringing high-definition TV to a growing number of houses. SONY BDZ-S77 has a built-in digital BS (broadcasting satellite) tuner for digital satellite television. In addition to 2 hours of high-quality video you can record MPEG-2 AAC 5.1 sound from digital satellite boadcasting. One-layer one-side optical blu-ray disc can contain 23 GB.
    • Samsung 172B 17" LCD Review - Techware Labs has posted a review of the Samsung 172B 17" LCD monitor.
    • Samsung Syncmaster 191N 19INCH TFT LCD Monitor Review - Tweaknews.net has posted a review on the Samsung Syncmaster 191N 19INCH TFT LCD Monitor. "Now let me add this up. Improved 191N analog technology which is better than the older digital 191T, same great looks and a US$200-$300 price cut? I don't think there is even a question that this product deserves the Tweaknews.net's seal of approval, the "Top Rank Award". Better and cheaper are always a good thing in my mind, wouldn't you agree?"
    • VIA chipset targets Athlon XP 3000+  - VIA has unwrapped its latest Apollo chipset, the KT400A, which it claims is the fastest single-channel DDR chipset designed for AMD's Athlon XP 3000+ and more than ten per cent faster than previous Apollo offerings. The chipset comprises VIA's FastStream64 memory controller, developed to reduce memory latency without forcing vendors to provide dual-channel DDR memory banks. FastStream64 supports DDR at 200-400MHz. The KT400A provides an AGP 8x graphics channel, and supports 200-333MHz processor bus speeds.
    • The VIA KT400A Special - AMDBoard informed us that its VIA KT400A special page is now online. The page offers the 3 following choices:
      KT400A Preview  ~ KT400A Special Page with previews from around the world and Soyo KT400A Dragon Ultra first KT400A specifications and photo.
    • New copy-protection released in the UK - Soldiers of Anarchy - In the thread, started by CDFreaks forum member logicwatch, a new copy-protection has possibly been discovered on the UK release of the game 'Soldiers of Anarchy' version 1.1.2.177: "you CANNOT use dpm on alcohol it will hang at 98%. you CANNOT make a bwa using blindwrite again it hangs with "error reading during measurement at sector 8150. you CANNOT make a normal image using clone cd or alcohol..."
    • Reclaiming Resources under WinXP - WinXP, like its predecessors works very quickly after a fresh install. Unfortunately, as time goes by, things tend to slow up as your hard drive gets clogged and more applications decide to run in the background without as much as a by your leave. Removing some of these items allows you to regain systems resources, Hard Drive (HD) space and Memory (RAM) and as an added bonus, they can provide free performance gains. This article attempts to provide step-by-step instructions for the unfamiliar, an aide-memoire for the old and the bold!
    • Sound Forge Studio 6.00e Build 237 - Sonic Foundry has released an updated version of their audio content editing software called Sound Forge 6.0e.
    • AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 461 - AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 461 has been released.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 1.9 Release Candidates - K-Lite Codec Pack 1.9 Test Builds are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only. Uninstall the old version first.
    • MAME v0.66 - MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, and currently runs 1800+ classic (and even some not so classic) arcade games! Believe it or not, MAME now even runs Neo Geo Games.
    • Alcohol 120% 1.4.2.308 - Alcohol 120% is a CD/DVD emulation and recording software that allows users to copy a visible and invisible discs. It enables users to create 31 virtual CD/DVD-ROMs to play discs without needing a physical disc.
    • TaskInfo 2003 v5.0.0.86 RC3 - TaskInfo2002 is combination of Task Manager and System Information Utility, It visually monitors different types of System information in Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
    • BPS SpyWare/Adware Remover 7.0 - BPS Spyware/Adware Remover is a multi Adware, SpyWare, Trackware, Thiefware & Big Brotherware removal utility with multi-language support. It scans your memory (for active memory ad components, which are not stored on your hard drive and last only as long as the computer is powered up), registry and hard drives for known SpyWare parasites and scum-ware components and lets you remove them safely even ad component DLLs.
    • Rage3D Tweak 3.8b - Rage3D Tweak v3.8b (download) has been just released. What is the Rage3D Tweaker? Rage3D Tweaker is a Radeon Tweaker program designed to fit right in with the other ATi option tabs in the Advanced Display Properties accessed through the Control Panel.
    • VIA Hyperion 4in1 v4.46 (released 10 March 2003) - VIA Tech has posted new, updated set of VIA 4-in-1 (Release Notes) set of chipset drivers
    • Realtek ALC AC97 Audio Driver 3.41 - Realtek released version 3.41 driver (.de Mirror) for their ALC AC97 audio chipsets. The driver supports all ALC series audio chipsets from ALC100 up to ALC650.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,11 2003 - tech
    Microsoft's big PC gaming plans - tech
    (hx) 12:30 PM CET - Mar,11 2003 - Post a comment
    According to GameSpot, DirectX 9 will be the last DX release for a while, as Microsoft focuses resources on making bigger improvements for PC gaming in Longhorn, including introducing a standard controller. At GDC, they had a chance to sit down with Dean Lester, the head of Microsoft's Windows Graphics and Gaming division, to hear about the software giant's major new project to make the PC a better gaming platform. Lester acknowledged that two or three years of the company's attention was focused on launching the Xbox, but he said that now it's the PC's turn. The PC gaming initiative has support from "Bill and Ballmer" on down, and it's enough of a priority that there are some 200 people working on it. Basically, Microsoft will make improving the PC gaming experience one of the central appeals of Longhorn, the next major version of Windows that's expected in about two years.
    As has been rumored, Longhorn will likely include a major overhaul in Window's visual presentation, which may include 3D interface elements. Lester also said it would include a special "My Games" view that would centralize all the matchmaking, control panel settings, patching tools, and game lists and make such tasks much simpler. Microsoft is working on streamlining a number of current technical trouble areas, like the installation process and display drivers, and will centralize game updates through a Windows Update-like patch server. It's also looking into making it possible to run Windows games directly from the CD without installation. Somewhat more straightforward features include adding sophisticated matchmaking into Microsoft Messenger and parental controls over which users can play certain games.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,10 2003 - tech
    Evening Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 02:14 AM CET - Mar,10 2003 - Post a comment
    • Pentium 4: next price cut in May  - According to Taiwanese industrial sources, about May, 11, after Pentium4 with 800MHz FSB are released, Intel plans to cut prices for previous models. Despite sales were high in January and February, distributors believe May price cut will be well-timed to prolong market activity for some time.
    • Valve Releases Hammer Port of Counterstrike Server  -  Valve, L.L.C., creators of Counter-Strike and Half-Life, announced immediate availability of a 64-bit version of the Counter-Strike dedicated server using the upcoming AMD Opteron processor. Counter-Strike has the largest service footprint of any game on the Internet, with 35,000 servers generating over 4.5 billion player minutes per month. In a straight port of code highly optimized for x86-32, Counter-Strike dedicated server tests with both 32- and 64-bit versions revealed a 30% clock-for-clock gain, and is expected to show further performance gains in future upgrades.
    • Love at first sight - Nokia's 7250 - The 7250 has all of the features that you want in a phone, for the most part. It is triband GSM, it has a color display, polyphonic ringtones, Java, and a speakerphone function, too. Sure, it is missing Bluetooth, but I pretty much have given up on Nokia and Bluetooth ever really working well together. For as much as Nokia seems bent on getting others to use their UI standard (Series 60), they sure seem unable to play by somebody elses rules (those of the Bluetooth SIG).
    • Office 11 Resource Kit Documentation Beta Preview - Microsoft has released Office 11 Resource Kit Documentation Beta Preview. This is a collection of deployment and tools documents to support the Office 11 Resource Kit Beta release.
    • Ad-aware 6.0 Reference File 0R125 09.03.2003 - This update includes updated signatures for Mainpean, Unified Dial-In System (Bloiscom), Hot Connector,GoIndirect,Deepthroat Trojan, LOP.com and IGetNet.  To install, unzip into your Ad-aware and restart the program. Ad-Aware also includes an web updater, so you can do this through the program if you like, or are not comfortable doing it manually.
    • LCD Analyzer version 1.2 - LCD Analyzer allows you to check the quality of Palm LCD. It can be used for inspecting for dead pixels or dust on your Palm LCD.
    • ShellToys XP 3.0 - ShellToys XP 3.0 has been released. A suite of 33 shell extensions for Windows XP/2000/Me/98, adding powerful new features to the context menu for files, folders, windows and file-dialogs.
    • Magic Utilities 2003 - Magic Utilities is a cute program designed to make your computer clean and more stable. These utilities include Uninstller Plus,StartUp Organizer,Process Killer.Magic Utilities enables you to easily and safely uninstall programs;inspect and manage the programs that automatically start when your turn on or logon to your computer;lists and controls all currently running processes(system and hidden processes are also shown).With a cool and user-friendly interface makes it easy for anyone to use Magic Utilities.
    • WinRAR 3.2.0 Beta 1 -  WinRAR (download Win32 ~ Linux ~ changelog) can backup your data and reduce size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
    • DivXRepair v1.0.1 - Using DivXRepair you can repair corrupt avi files and eliminate freezes. This program automatically detects and eliminates bad frames. This program is based on VirtualDub (version 1.4.2.x) - mp3 - VBR.
    • Alcohol 120% v1.4.2.308 - Alcohol 120% (download) is a combination of both Alcohol 52% and Alcohol 68%. It enables users to both copy and emulate real or virtual CDs & DVDs. Alcohol 120% can handle the creation of 31 virtual CD & DVD-ROMs, allowing the user to play discs whithout needing the physical disc.
    • CpuIDMax 2 - This release includes support for new CPUs (including Prescott and Barton), support for SSE3, bugfixes, etc
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,09 2003 - tech
    Weekly Hardware Reviews - tech
    (hx) 07:17 PM CET - Mar,09 2003 - Post a comment
  • CPU - AMD Athlon XP3200+ CPU | AMD Athlon XP Barton 2.167 GHz / 3000+ (German) | Barton Overclocking Database | Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz

  • Motherboard - nVidia nForce2 Motherboard roundup | Abit KD7-G VIA KT400 | Abit NF7-S nForce2 | Albatron PX845PEV Pro i845PE | AOpen AX4GE Max i845GE | Asrock K7S8X SiS746FX  | Asus A7N8X nForce2(1) | Asus A7N8X nForce2(2) | Asus P4SDX SiS655 | Asus A7N8X Modding Guide | CubeSystemZ CF-S968 SFF System | e-Cube CF-S968 SFF System(1) | e-Cube CF-S968 SFF PC (2) | EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2(1) | EPoX 8RGA+ nVidia nForce2(2) | EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2 | Intel E7205 / Granite Bay roundup | Intel D845PEBT2 i845PE | Iwill P4GB Intel E7205 | Iwill XP4 Cute Cube | Leadtek K7NCR18G Pro nForce2 | SiS 746FX Chipset | MSI 845PE Max2-FIR i845PE | MSI K7N2-L nForce2  | Soltek 75FRN-L nForce2 | Soyo P4I i845PE | VIA Epia-M Platform

  • RAM - Crucial 256MB PC2700 DDR333 Memory | Crucial PC2700 DDR Memory | Corsair XMS Twin X PC3200 LL PC3200 Memory | GeIL PC3500 Ultra Platinum Memory | GeIL PC3500 256MB Ultra Platinum Memory | OCZ Technology Basic Series PC3200 Memory | OCZ 1gb PC2700EL Dual Channel DDR Kit(1) | OCZ PC2700 EL Dual Channel Memory(2) | OCZ PC3200/DDR400 CAS2.0 Memory | TwinMOS PC3200/DDR400 Memory

  • Storage - High-End IDE HDD roundup | IceCube 3.5"USB 2,0 HDD | Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA(1) | Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 HDD(2) | Seagate Serial ATA Barracuda V 120GB HDD || CD-RW roundup | MSI StarSpeed MS-8216M 16x DVD-ROM Drive | BenQ 52x24x52x Internal IDE CD-RW | Samsung DVD-V2500 Combo Drive  || Lexar 2 / 4 GB Compact Flash | Twintech 32MB USB Drive

  • Video - Albatron TI4680 GeForce4 Ti4200-8X | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400-8X(1) | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400-8X | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400-8X(3) | GeForce FX 5800 Ultra(1) | GeForce FX 5800 Ultra(2) | nVidia GeForce FX 5600/5200 Ultra(3) | nVidia GeForce FX Family(4) | MSI G4Ti4800SE-VTD8X GeForce4 Ti4400-8X | MSI G4Ti4600 GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | MSI GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | nVidia QuadroFX 2000 | Reference GeForce FX 5800 Ultra | XFX GeForce4 MX440 64MB  || ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(1) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(2) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(3) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(4) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (5) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (6) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(7) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(8) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(9) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(10) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(11) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(12) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(13) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(14) | ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon VE | Radeon 9500 Pro roundup | Sapphire Radeon 9100(1) | Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9100(2) | Sapphire Radeon 9500 Pro | Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9700 Pro || PowerColor Xabre 600 | Soltek Xabre 600

  • Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 760v LCD | Planar PX171M 17" LCD | Sharp LL-T1620 16" LCD

  • Cooling - Socket A Cooler Comparison | Arctic Silver vs Nanotherm Thermal Paste | AVC Tundra 2 Cooler | Cobalt3 Pyramid V Fan Controller | CpuFX Z4 Micro Intercooler Kit | Dynatron Crossflow Blower  | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler | OCZ Gladiator II Copper Cooler (video) | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler | PCMods 3.5 4 Channel Fan Controller | Spire Socket A Cooler roundup | Spire 5R265B1H3T SkiveStream Cooler | Titan Aluminum Frame Fans | Thermaltake Spark 7 Cooler | Thermaltake Volcano 9 CoolMod | Thermaltake Xaser III Aluminum | Thermaltake Volcano 11 Cooler | Thermalright SLK-800 Socket-A Cooler | Thermalright SLK-900 Copper Cooler(video) | WForce Super Panel FanController | Vantec VP4-C7040 Cooler | Zalman HP-80A VGA Cooler (video)

  • WaterCooling - Aguatec CPU Water Cooler | Little River White Water Block | ThermalTake Aquarius-II | Water / Air Cooling Hybred Cooler | Watercube GT3 WaterCooler (German)

  • Case -  Antec Lanboy Portable Case | Chenming ATX-301K Case | Chieftec Dragon DX-01 GN-D Case | Crazy PC Silver Inferno Case | Colorcases 0106 Web Tower Case | CoolerMaster SAF-B82 Case Fan | Cooler Master 201B-BXT Case | Enermax CSX-3181L Case | Koolance PC2-601W Case | Skyhawk Aluminum AL4378D-SL Case | SS Warrior Aluminum Case | Sunrise Tequila C3 Case | Thermaltake Xaser III V1000D Case | Z40 Insight Case | Zalman ZM-F1 Silent 80mm Case | X-Pider Case | X-Sonic Aluminum Case

  • PSU/UPS - Antec True 550 Watt PSU | Antec True Blue 480W PSU | I-Star TC-400R8A 400W+400W Mini Redundant PSU |

  • Sound - Chaintech AudioExcel AV515M 6 Channel PCI Sound Card | Creative Audigy2 Platinum eX | Terratec Sound Cards || Logitech Z-340 2.1 Speakers

  • Peripheral - Logitech MOMO Racing Wheel | Ratpadz vs Icemat mousepad | X-Trac Standard Optical Mousepad


  • Printer/Scanner - Epson Perfection 3200 Photo Scanner

  • Network - Gigabit Ethernet |  Linksys Wireless Access Point Router | Winter WonderLAN

  • Modding - Antec 120mm Red LED Fan | Antec 80mm Trilight Fan | AutoDeletePro UV Reactive Fans | Bitspower 12 Cold Cathode Kits Rev 2.0 | Bitsmodding Blue CCFL | Bittspower CCFLS and UV Fan | Crystalfontz 632 USB LCD Screen | Cyber Cooler 80mm Blue LED Fans | DIY Led Fan | Lamps Electronics CCFL | Luxeon LumiLED | Mac Style Case | Molex LED Mod | PcToys System Maxx Multi-Function Panel | Sunbeam Sound Activated Electroluminescent Cables | SunBeam 12 RGB Cold Cathode Kit | UV Lazer LED PSU | Vantec Tornado 80mm Case Fan

  • Miscelanous -
    •  Belkin 2 KVM Switch | Belkin OmniView E Series 4-Port KVM  | Californeon Lightstrip | Dremel Multi-Pro 395 | Duracell Prismatic Battery  | Innovatek SoundDampening Mats | Noiseblocker HDD Silencer | Nokia 7210 | Tweakmonster EL Lightstrip Rev3.0(1) | Tweakmonster Rev 3.0 Light Tape Kit(2) | Vantec Nexus NXP-201-SL FanController | Vantec Nexus Fan Controller

  • Notebook, Camera, MP3 players -
    •  Canon PowerShot S50 Digital Camera | Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen | iRiver SlimX iMP-350 | Kodak LS633 First OLED Display | Magic Star MP3 Player USB Flash Drive | Nokia HS-1C Camera Headset | Olympus 4/3 Digital SLR E System | Olympus C-730 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera | Sony Ericsson P800 Mobile Phone
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,08 2003 - tech
    Saturday Tech Madness - tech
    (hx) 05:18 PM CET - Mar,08 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • Dawn of the Airborne Laser - The Air Force is readying the first airborne laser weapon, which could be used to intercept Scud missiles. Lasers have long been used to cut tile, correct vision, weld with extreme precision and, yes, point to things on chalkboards; except in Star Wars or Star Trek, however, no laser has ever been successfully fired in anger. But when all the components of the ABL are installed in a 747 later this year, it could become the world's first functional laser weapon-at a time when the need for such a weapon couldn't be more urgent.
    • Dinosaur-Killer" Asteroid Crater Imaged for First Time - A high-resolution map from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), released yesterday, has provided the most telling visible evidence to date of a 112-mile (180-kilometer) wide, 3,000-foot (900-meter) deep impact crater, the result of a collision with a giant comet or asteroid on one of Earth's all-time worst days. 
    • Microsoft speaks, site goes dark - In an uncommonly harsh application of a widely used Internet enforcement tool, a Windows news site was taken offline for nearly 24 hours this week after Microsoft accused the site of infringing its copyrights.  Neowin was shut down late Thursday and came back online Friday afternoon. Microsoft's Internet investigator sent a takedown notice on Tuesday, alleging the site was infringing the company's copyrights relating to its recently released Windows XP Peer-to-Peer Software Development Kit (SDK), apparently due to a message posted by a reader in an online feedback forum. And here is some info directly from Neowin: "IF YOU WONDER where your post count has gone or why half of our hacks on the boards or site are still not working or even why Neowin has been warped back to Feb 13th you might want to ask Andrew G. Tereschenko ([email protected]) at TAG Software Research Lab, Odessa, Ukraine. He seems to be mass mailing websites claiming a personal victory against Neowin for reporting us for breaking NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) that we haven't signed. It seems Microsofts contracted Anti-Piracy team did find something they could email our Server provider for what followed was icing on the cake for Andrew G. Tereschenko."
    • Games anti piracy bot fingers ZX Spectrum archive site - The Interactive Digital Software Association last month sent a "Berne Convention - Demand for Immediate Take Down - Notice of Infringing Activity" to World of Spectrum, which is home of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum archive and also describes itself (maybe carelessly, considering how some phrases set robots' juices going) as "the largest on-line gaming center on the Internet."
    •  Intel to boost Xeon chips next week - The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker is expected to launch the new chips, running at clock speeds of 3GHz and 3.06GHz, on Monday. Though they've yet to be officially unveiled, the new Xeon chips first appeared in workstations in early February.
    • Samsung develops ear bud microphone - The device, according to Samsung, is the first earbud headset to contain both a transmitter and a microphone. It picks up the sound of speaking directly via the user's head, filtering out some 90 percent of the background noise. The Korea-based manufacturer explained--in promotional material released ahead of the world's largest ICT show--that "when we speak, our heads act as natural resonance chambers. That's why, for example, singers use earplugs: so they can hear their own voice better when on stage."
    • MiTAC unveils Smartphone 2002-based Mio 8380 - Taiwan-based MiTAC has after a brief flood of rumours now introduced its Mio 8380 smartphone, based on Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 platform. Joining HTC and Samsung as manufacturers using this platform, MiTAC delivers the most fully featured device based on Smartphone 2002 thus far, with the clamshell 8380 sporting tri-band GSM/GPRS, J2ME, MMS, MPEG4 playback and even an integrated digital camera. As a phone, the GPRS Class B, Class 10-compliant Mio 8380 supports 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz cellular networks, as well as SMS and MMS out of the box. Powering the device is a 200 MHz Intel XScale processor, joined by 16 MB of internal RAM and 32 MB of ROM.
    • Mobile phone Java games ported to the GBA - aJile Systems has developed a way for companies that develop Java Games for mobile phones to also sell them for use in the Nintendo Game Boy Advance players. aJile's JAMiD game development kit is also the first platform to use Sun's latest MIDP 2.0 technology, which offers advanced audio and graphics features to Java mobile game developers.
    • Logitech Revelaed New USB Keyboard And Optical Mouse Designed For PS2 - Logitech today announced that its USB Keyboard and Optical Mouse designed for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system are scheduled to arrive on retail shelves in the U.S. and at www.logitech.com later this month. The USB Keyboard has a suggested retail price of $29.95 USD and the Optical Mouse has a suggested retail price of $19.95 USD.
    • Microsoft Promises End to 'DLL hell' - ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft is attempting to do away with DLL version conflicts in its next version of Windows with a technology it calls 'Strong Binding'. When new programs attempt to overwrite old versions of DLL's, the Strong Binding will index the DLL's and allow the programs to reference them by a unique ID, rather than by file name.
    • Windows XP Patch: Application Compatability - This update addresses the "Some Application Compatability Fixes Stop Working After You Install the 328310 Update" issue in Windows XP. Download now to update Application Compatability Fixes. For more information about this issue, read Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 814995.
    • WinBoost 4.15 - WinBoost 4 (download) is a special utility designed to boost Windows XP/2000/Millennium Edition (ME)/98 Second Edition/98/95 performance and productivity.
    • Media Player Classic 6.4.3.1 - Media Player Classic (download) is similar to windows media player 6.4 but with features pertained to minimalist advanced users. It also supports DirectX 9 and VFW drivers for capture.
    • VCool 2.0 Alpha 1 - VCool 2.0 will cool your Athlon/Duron processor on any VIA KT133 or KX133(A) (VT8363, VT8361, VT82C691/693A/694 or VT8371 +VT82C686x) chipsets during idle.
    • ATi's Radeon9800 Tech-demos - ATi Technologies released two technical demos (MPEG/EXE format) for their RADEON 9800 graphical card. Both demos require DirectXR9.0 and latest CATALYST 3.1 display drivers.
    • NVidia releases GeforceFX demo executables - Nvidia official website has been updated with some GeForceFX demos (Dawn, Ogre, Time Machine, and Toys) - check it out.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,07 2003 - tech
    Morning Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 12:27 PM CET - Mar,07 2003 - Post a comment
    • Australian ISPs raided in MP3 probe -  Federal have executed search warrants on Telstra and internet company Eftel in one of Australia's largest investigations into alleged music piracy, which could be worth up to $60 million. Warrants were also executed at several other un-named internet service providers, with more warrants possible as the investigation continues.
    • Bank glitch gives student $9.9 million - An online banking glitch gave a Princeton University student access to university accounts totaling $9.9 million when he tried to access a student publication's account.
    • Two men arrested for allegedly stealing $136,000 from bank using Internet - Two Japanese men were arrested for allegedly hacking into bank accounts through the Internet and stealing $136,000, police said Thursday. Police suspect 35-year-old Ko Hakata, a former computer software developer who is now unemployed, and Goro Nakahashi, a 27-year-old businessman, robbed the unidentified bank's accounts from a computer at a Tokyo cafe Sept. 18. The men allegedly downloaded software from the Internet that detects what keys previous users of the computer punched, police said. They then figured out the passwords that five people had used to access their bank accounts online, and transferred a total of $141,000 from those accounts to another bank, police said. Using an alias, Nakahashi allegedly withdrew $136,000, police said.
    • PayPal Users Hit With Another Scam - Another Internet scam that targets online shoppers who use the EBay PayPal payment service is circulating, according to reports from those who have received the suspicious e-mail and to messages posted to online discussion groups. PayPal did not respond to requests for comment.  The e-mail appears to come from "[email protected]" and has a subject line that reads "Your PayPal account is Limited." The body of the message reads, in part: "PayPal is currently performing regular maintenance of our security measures. Your account has been randomly selected for this maintenance, and placed on Limited Access status."
    • GDC 2003 - And Now for ATI's Next Trick - First up was the 9800 -- the product aimed at hardcore gamers. Like its predecessor, the 9700, this accelerator features eight pipelines, 256-bit memory, full precision architectures, and full support for DirectX 9. Its versions of Smartshader, Smoothvision, and Hyperz III have been updated as well. The standard version ships in April and sports 128 MB of RAM, while the Pro model is slated for an April release and touts a hefty 256 MB. ATI did not reveal the core and memory frequencies at this time. Pricing of these models should top out at $399.  For comparisons sake, ATI ran some benchmarks against an overclocked NVIDIA Quadro 2000. The rationale was that the GeForce FX 5800 Ultra was not available for testing. It was a bit silly since ATI could have easily procured a 5800, but the company wanted to illustrate how its chief competitor has yet to ship silicon. Getting back to ATI's benchmarks, the company asserts that the 9800 outperforms the FX 5800 by 50 to 60 percent.
    • $300,000 for Unreal Engine Per Game - Epic Games asks developers who want to use the Unreal graphics engine $300,000 per game plus 3 percent of royalties, according to an article on NewsObserver.com. The company also offers a $600,000 deal that won't include payment of royalties to Epic Games. Mark Rein, Epic's vice president, is quoted saying the company still makes most of its money on its own Unreal games. Sales of the graphics engine can make up half of Epic's annual income between releases of its own titles though. (thanks PlanetUnreal).
    • Nokia gaming phone set for post-summer launch - Finnish mobile phones giant Nokia expects to launch its first foray into phones that double as portable game consoles shortly after the end of summer, executives of the company said on Thursday. At the annual Game Developers Conference in this Silicon Valley town, Ilkka Raskinen, senior vice president of Nokia's entertainment and media business unit, told Reuters that the company's N-Gage combination unit was getting ready to go into testing.
    • Tiny Firm Loads MP3 Song Files Onto Cellphones -  A tiny company called Xingtone on Thursday said it has developed technology to enable users to load digital songs onto cellphones for the first time, but admits the software may hit a sour note with the embattled music industry.
      The software converts MP3 files, or compressed digital music files, onto wireless phones, which would take the current ring-tone phenomenon one step beyond providing the robotic sounding renditions of tunes currently playing on phones.
    • Zooming in on the nanoscale - Researchers have created the highest resolution optical image ever, revealing structures as small as just tens of billionths of a metre across.  Carbon filaments: The technique can resolve detail down to about 25 billionths of a metre "This is the highest resolution optical spectroscopic measurement ever made," said Lukas Novotny, professor of optics at Rochester University, US.
    • From SoundBlaster Live! to Audigy - Please read carefully, it does not say that it can convert a Live! into an Audigy2! However, it does unlock more features in a SB Live!
    • Windows XP Patch: Windows XP Media Center Edition Fast User Switching Hotfix - Download this package if you use Fast User Switching on Windows XP Media Center Edition. This will correct the problem where your Media Center PC may stop responding when you switch between users while watching live TV.
    • OpenOffice Build 644m4 - OpenOffice.org (Win32 ~ Linux) is the open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format. The OpenOffice.org project establishes the necessary facilities to make this open source technology available to the developer community.
    • Official NVIDIA Quadro Certified Detonator Drivers 43.00 for Win2K/XP - NVIDIA has released new Quadro Certified Detonator Drivers version 43.00 for Win2K/XP.
    • Xabre Performance Drivers v3.10.58 - The official SIS Xabre website has some new Xabre Performance drivers.
    GDC 2003: NVIDIA's New GeForce FX Chips - tech
    (hx) 07:25 AM CET - Mar,07 2003 - Post a comment
    HomeLAN attends and reports on NVIDIA's press conference which introduced the GeForce 5600 and 5200 brands of graphics chips. Here is an excerpt:
    The GeForce FX 5600 will be priced between $150 and $250 and to demo the capabiities of the chip they showed the demo of the upcoming GSC GameWorld first person shooter Stalker: Oblivion Lost, and indeed the game looked very impressive with solid lighting and shading as well as some detailed texture maps. Products up to 256 megs will be offered for the 5600.

    Finally, Huang showed off a demo of not one but four detailed "Dawn" characters on the same screen running at a fast frame rate. Huang said this demo was from a early silicon of their next generation product but declined to elaorate further. The impressive demo, however, certainly peaked the interest of all who saw it. And the announcements from NVIDIA may not be over year as during the Q&A session NVIDIA exec hinted that their next-generation laptop graphics chip may be officially introduced next week.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,06 2003 - tech
    Morning Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 01:55 PM CET - Mar,06 2003 - Post a comment / read (4)
    • "Phantom menace" may rip up cosmos - Stand by for a nightmare end to the Universe - a runaway expansion so violent that galaxies, planets and even atomic nuclei are literally ripped apart. The scenario could play out as soon as 22 billion years from now. End of everything  "Until now we thought the Universe would either re-collapse to a big crunch or expand forever to a state of infinite dilution," says Robert Caldwell of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. "Now we've come up with a third possibility - the 'big rip'."
    • Chinese start-up readies 64-bit processor - In another sign that China is becoming a player in IC design, one of the country's most promising start-ups, BLX IC Design Corp., Ltd., said it is closing in on a 64-bit, 500-MHz microprocessor. BLX plans to market the new chip to China's leading server vendors.
    • Toshiba to show off fuel cell prototype - The Japanese electronics company, which ranks among the top notebook makers, said it would present direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology for portable computers that can provide about five hours of power with a single cartridge of fuel. The new fuel cell, about 275 millimeters by 75 millimeters by 40 millimeters (about 11 inches by 3 inches by 1.5 inches), provides an instant power supply for a significant amount of time using replaceable methanol cartridges, the company said.
    • Sony responds to Xbox Live boasts - Sony has greeted Microsoft's announcement this week that Xbox Live now has 350,000 users with scorn. It has issued a counter-statement claiming sales of over 600,000 PS2 network adapters.
    • GDC 2003: ATI's Title Club-Radeon Event - HomeLAN attends and reports on ATI's "Title Club" press event during the Game Developers Conference last night where they introduced their new Radeon family of graphics chips. They also have pictures from the event.
    • GDC 2003: Nokia And The N-Gage - HomeLAN reports on yesterday's mobile gaming keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference where Nokia gave its vision for mobile wireless gaming with its upcoming N-Gage.
    • Delta Chrome Interview - HomeLAN chats with S3 Graphics' Nadeem Mohammad as he talks about Delta Chrome, their newly announced DirectX9 consumer graphics chip.
    • GeForce FX 5800 Ultra card - The 5800's most impressive test result: Our preproduction unit ran Unreal Tournament 2003 at 126 frames per second in 1600-by-1200 resolution and 32-bit color, besting its main competitor--an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro-based board--by 25 fps. However, at real-world resolutions the 5800 Ultra couldn't always outrun the 9700 Pro. For example, at 1024 by 768 the ATI chip ran Unreal Tournament at 175 fps; the 5800 logged 168. In our 1024-by-768 antialiased Unreal Tournament test, both ran at 154 fps--but testers preferred the image quality of the Radeon. The 5800's inability to significantly outperform the 9700 Pro is notable since boards based on the NVidia chip will sell for about $400, roughly $80 more than comparable 9700 Pro-based cards.
    • RADEON 9800, 9600 and 9200 P/reviews - Only a month has passed since the introduction of NVIDIA's GeForce FX 5800 Ultra, and already ATi is preparing its counter-offensive, launching the Radeon 9800 PRO alias R350 (PR) , the successor to the Radeon 9700 PRO. At the same time, the 9500 and 9000 series is being replaced by the 9600 and the 9200. The chip will initially be available in a single 128MB Pro flavour, priced similarly to that of the current top-end FX card from Nvidia, and ATI claims its partners should have cards for sale in Europe by mid-April. A little later, hopefully by late May, two further boards will appear, one standard model, also 128MB but running at slightly reduced frequencies, and a second Pro card, this time with a 256MB frame buffer of DDR 2. Coverage:  Sim HQ | AnandTech | Tom's Hardware | Bjorn 3D | Driver Heaven | The Tech Report | Gamers Depot | Nordic HW | Extreme Tech | Hot Hardware | Rage3D | [H]ard|OCP | The Register | NordicHardware | Tech PC comparative benchmarks | HardOCP
    • Canon i950 Photo Printer Preview - The i950 looks good, with its graceful lines and handsome beige, silver, and dark gray design. As with most photo printers, inside the box you'll find six ink colors-cyan, yellow, magenta, light cyan, light magenta, and black-for a wider color gamut than you get with just four inks. You'll also find a print head that produces 2 picoliter drops and resolutions of up to 4,800 by 1,200 dpi for fine ink-placement control. The extra colors and precise control contribute to the subtle shading you need for true photo quality.
    • Bigger cache boosts performance of Athlon 3000+ processor - PCWorld has tested three high-end PCs carrying the Athlon XP 3000+: Polywell's $2155 Poly 880NF2-3000; Sys Technology's $3153 Sys Performance 3000+; and Falcon Northwest's $3275 Mach V Athlon XP 3000+. All of them had 1GB of 333-MHz DDR memory and a slew of high-end components, including ATI's Radeon 9700 Pro graphics card. The Polywell and Falcon machines ran Windows XP Home while the Sys ran Windows XP Professional (a negligible factor in our PC WorldBench 4 tests). Polywell sent a preproduction unit; the other two PCs were shipping models.
    • Samsung SW-252B 52x24x52 CD-RW Review - With a rating of 52x write, 24x rewrite and 52x read speed, you won't be able to find anything faster then the SW-252B currently on the market. In terms of features, the drive has a large 8MB frame buffer as well as Buffer Under Run Free technology (all these BURN proof type technologies work on the same concept) and can support even 90min (790 MB) CD-R's! The SW-252 also supports all the usual writing methods, DAO (Disc At Once), TAO (Track At Once), SAO (Session At Once) and Multi session Packet Writing (both variable and fixed).
    • Gigabit Ethernet: Need-To-Know, Part  - You might think that a small network would never need to run at gigabit speeds, but it wasn't long ago that most folks thought the same thing about 100 Mbps! Tom's Hardware new Gigabit Ethernet Need-To-Know will help you answer the question of whether it's time to consider kicking your LAN's speed up a notch, and give you the straight dope on what you need to know to get there.
    • HyperSnap-DX 5.04.01 - HyperSnap-DX is a screen capture and image editing tool for MS Windows. It captures screens from standard desktop programs and even those hard-to-grab DirectX, Direct3D, 3Dfx, 3dfx, Voodoo and Glide mode games.
    • EPoX 8RDA+ Bios 3/3/03 - Epox.nl has now offers new BIOS for 8RDA+ motherboard - download.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 1.7 RC - Release Candidates of K-Lite Codec Pack 1.7 are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,05 2003 - tech
    Morning Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:03 PM CET - Mar,05 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • IBM Recalls 5-Year-Old Monitor - IBM, in conjunction with the Consumer Products Safety Commission, is issuing a recall of some 56,000 15-inch CRT monitors sold between June and September of 1997. According to IBM officials, the G51 monitors contain a component that can overheat, produce smoke and create a potential safety and fire hazard. IBM is also separately recalling an additional 117,000 G51's sold outside the U.S.. Consumers and companies that own the monitors (matching these part numbers: 6541-02N, 6541-02E, 6541-02S, 6541-Q0N, 6541-Q0E, and 6541-Q0S) can contact IBM. The company will supply a shipping crate and label, replace the faulty component at their facilities and return the monitor free of charge.
    • Critical Hole Found in Flash Player - Macromedia warned Monday of what it called a critical security flaw in the latest version of its Flash animation player and advised users to install a new version that it released on the Web to fix the problem. The vulnerability affects the integrity of the player's "sandbox," which is supposed to act as a cordoned-off area where Flash code retrieved from the Web can be run safely, without access to a user's files. The flaw could allow a malicious hacker to run native code on a user's computer, outside the sandbox, possibly without the user's knowledge, according to information on the company's Web site. (updated/fixed player)
    • Randon" Threatens Port 445! - "Randon" spreads via IRC channels and local area networks and infects computers running Windows 2000 and Windows XP. To penetrate computer systems the worm registers itself in the IRC server (or local area network), scans for all present users and connects to victim computers via port 445 and attempts to gain access by using a fixed list of the most commonly used passwords. When "Randon" manages to successfully break-in it proceeds to transmit to this system the Trojan program "Apher", which then, from a remote web site, loads worm's remaining components (a total of 13 files, including a full-fledged mIRC client for work with IRC channels).
    • Sun pushes biometric security to banks - Sun Microsystems is aiming its high-security log-on system, combining biometrics with smartcard technology, at banks and healthcare. The product provides user login authentication in line with the FBI's National Institute of Standards and Technology criteria. It combines the company's Sun Ray Solaris clients with AC Technology's BiObex software and Cross Match Technologies' Verifier fingerprint scanning device.
    • U.S., software maker craft Arabic tool - Basis Technology, a privately held company based in Cambridge, Mass., that has been working with U.S. intelligence agencies, said Tuesday that it is launching an "Arabic language analyzer," which lets users create programs that can search, analyze and decode Arabic text. Since virtually all U.S. government systems are designed to work with Latin and English-language characters, users who want to work with Arabic had few options, the company said.
    • Telerobotic surgery a first - Surgeons in Hamilton and North Bay, Ont., announced Tuesday they had successfully collaborated on an operation to correct a patient's acid reflux disease using telerobotic 'arms' - a procedure they claim is the first of its kind in Canada. In Friday's operation, Dr. Mehran Anvari of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton used Computer Motion's ZEUS Surgical System. ZEUS used sensors to take information from Dr. Anvari's hand, wrist and finger during the surgery, and sent it to robotic instruments controlled by Dr. Craig McKinley of North Bay General Hospital via Bell Canada's Virtual Private Network Enterprise (VPNe)system. Bell's VPNe uses Cisco Multiprotocol Label Switching technology to allow private networks to be created out of Bell's national IP structure.
    • Beaming Video at Speed of Light  - On the large television screen, a Kiwi singer strummed a guitar and sang an old country favorite. Looking away from the monitor, the audience could barely pick out a tiny red light in the tall building 1.4 kilometers -- a little less than a mile -- away It was this light that brought the singer's performance to the 100 or so in the audience this week in what is believed to be the first live broadcast of high-quality television images over visible light spectrum. (btw: you ever heard about Czech project RONJA?)
    • Sony Ericsson unveils new phones - The new phones include the T610 (~$710), which has a built-in camera, a flash to brighten photos and Quickshare, new photo sharing software. The T310, which will sell for about $355, is the handset maker's answer for Nokia's n-Gage wireless gaming device.
    • ATI Announces Technology Development Agreement with Nintendo -ATI Technologies announced today that it has entered into a technology development agreement with Nintendo Co., Ltd. Under the agreement, ATI and Nintendo are developing technologies for use in Nintendo products. No other details regarding the nature of this agreement are being made available at this time.
    • Athlon Platforms Compared  - Up till now, there has been four generations of Athlons; the fifth, called Barton, has just begun. Equally important, however, is the platform: there's a total of 11 chipsets, from KT133 to nForce2, which have contributed much to the success of Socket A Athlon. Tom'sHardware put these chipsets in a side-by-side comparison in order to take a look at the progress made with regard to the platform.
    • KT400A Benchmarks  - GZeasy has posted preliminary scores for KT400A chipset from VIA (3DMark2001, Quake III, Winstone). It slightly outperforms NVIDIA's nForce2.
    • GeForce vs. Radeon - Competition in the graphics chip market is expected to be pushed to a new high of intensity in the second quarter as Nvidia and ATI Technologies plan to roll out a total of 12 products. After debuting its long-awaited GeForce FX (NV30) chip at the 2002 Comdex Fall show, Nvidia has scheduled to introduce a series of NV30-based chip products at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose from March 4-8. In addition to the top-end GeForce FX 5800 Ultra and GeForce FX 5800, Nvidia will showcase two other lower-end lines, the GeForce FX 5600 and 5200 (each with Ultra and non-Ultra versions), in its "Cinematic Gaming Era" launch conference. Together, the six chip products will replace Nvidia's current GeForce4 Ti and GeForce4 MX series of chips.
    • Nvidia Bringing GeForce FX To Low-End Markets - Huang notes that his company has begun producing 0.15-micron versions of current GeForce FX GPUs (NV30) geared towards the low-end market, and aims to have "millions" of these ready for shipping. On the topic of GeForce FX, he also expects the GPU to make a bigger splash in the industry once the cards based on them hit $99 (US dollars, we presume).
    • Second Episode of The Animatrix - The second episode of Antimatrix is now available.
    • Lottery To Launch PC Game - The Connecticut Lottery Corp.'s new animated computer game is drawing fire from critics who call it a ploy to lure in children - and from the state attorney general, who says it may violate Internet gambling laws. In the new game, Treasure Tower, players may use their computer mouse to lead a cartoon character from ancient Babylonia through "a fantastic and humorous universe" of exotic Middle Eastern passageways, palaces and hidden doors in search of cash prizes. There is a one-in-260,000 chance of winning $25,000 in the game, which goes on sale Thursday.
    • Codename Longhorn build 4008 Tweak Guide - This guide is much more extensive than the previous guides.
    • FrontLook Screen Capture for FrontPage and Office - FrontLook Screen Capture makes it easy for users of Microsoft FrontPage and Office to capture screen shots with a click of a button. FrontLook Screen Capture is compatible with FrontPage 2000 and FrontPage version 2002.
    • Ad-aware 6 ReferenceFile Updated - This update includes updated signatures for Lop, Moneytree, Keytrap, Webdialer, Ukvideo 2 and Coulomb "Dialler", newly added signatures for BlazeSoft Perfectkeylogger (Basic + commercial) and several unclassified dialers.
    • KaZaA Lite Toolbar 1.8.1 - KaZaA Lite Toolbar is a customizable toolbar and web address bar integrated to KaZaA Lite interface. It's useful to open favorite web pages, web email, shared folder or external tools (like Antivirus, Windows Media Player, AVI Preview, Sig2Dat, etc.) directly from KaZaA Lite. Also works with KaZaA Media Desktop. The toolbar also includes a file organizer that classify the downloaded files in separate folders based on the file extension.
    • Macromedia Flash Player 6.0.79.0 - Macromedia released an updated Macromedia Flash Player 6.0.79.0 on March 3, 2003. This update contains release 79 for all platforms.
    • Microsoft DirectX 9.0 "March Update" - This is Microsoft's DirectX 9.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) Update - "March 2003 Preview" (4.09.000.0900). This preview release only contains updated D3DX associated files (headers, libs, and D3DX debug dll), High-Level Shader Language Manual, and additional animations for Tiny. The next pre-release will include the Full DirectX 9.0 SDK Update files.
    • Microsoft Windows XP Embedded with SP1 component update - This update (download) addresses a potential problem when using MUI language packs on Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 runtimes, where extra files are copied as part of the Service Pack 1 MUI language pack build process. These extra files contribute to larger footprints and in rare cases can cause functional problems on the runtime.
    • Nero 5.5.10.15a - Nero (mirror1 ~ mirror2 ~ mirror3) is a flexible, reliable, and easy-to-use application designed to write both data and CD audio to CD-R and CD-RW discs. It supports ISO 9660 images as well as ISO mode 1 and XA mode 2, and allows for on-the-fly disc recording in addition to overburning (if supported by hardware).
    • Nero Win9x/ME problems - The official Ahead.de website has a note that they have replaced the web version 5.5.10.15 with version 5.5.10.15a due to a problem with one driver. If you have downloaded the web version 5.5.10.15 before and you are using Windows 95, 98 or ME, please download this file (nerocd95.zip) and extract it to Windows Installation Folder "SYSTEMIOSUBSYS"
    • WinAMP 3.0d - Nullsoft has silently released this updated version of WinAMP3.
    • nForce 1/2 Audio Driver v2922 - The driver version is 5.10.2922.0 which makes it the latest available nForce audio driver at the moment.
    • Creative Jukebox 2/3 And Zen Drivers - Creative Asia has released new WHQL certified drivers for its Jukebox series including the latest addition Zen. The new drivers are version 1.20.04 and support all Windows Operating Systems.
    • Nvidia Detonator 42.92 WHQL Candidate - TerraTec.de FTP has  latest known drivers of the 42.xx series (Win2k/XP ~ Win9x/ME).
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,04 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 04:43 AM CET - Mar,04 2003 - Post a comment
    • sendmail 8.12.8 fixes critical security problem  - Sendmail, Inc., and the Sendmail Consortium announce the availability of sendmail 8.12.8. It contains a fix for a critical security problem discovered by Mark Dowd of ISS X-Force; we thank ISS X-Force for bringing this problem to our attention. Sendmail urges all users to either upgrade to sendmail 8.12.8 or apply the patch for 8.12 that is part of this announcement. Patches for older versions can be downloaded from ftp.sendmail.org, see http://www.sendmail.org/ for details. Remember to check the PGP signatures of patches or releases obtained. For those not running the open source version, check with your vendor for a patch. There is a bug fix for ident parsing in 8.12.8. While this is not believed to be exploitable, if you are not upgrading to 8.12.8, you may want to turn off ident checking by adding this to your .mc file: define(`confTO_IDENT', `0s').
    • China Sets Sights On Lunar Mission - China, which is poised to send a manned spacecraft this year, could launch an unmanned Lunar mission within the next two-and-a-half years, a top space official has said.  "We will be able to embark on a maiden unmanned mission within two and a half years if the government endorses the scheme now," the chief scientist of China's lunar exploration programme, Mr Ouyang Ziyuan was quoted as saying by the official China Daily today.
    • The US M1A2 Abrams, and war as a video game - TheRegister has posted pretty interesting article about upgraded M1A2 Abrams tanks.
    • SMS text: The new English? - Educationists are in a state of alarm after a Scots teenager presented an essay written in the shorthand commonly used in mobile text messages, the Times reported on Monday. The unnamed 13-year-old girl submitted the essay to a teacher in a state secondary school in the west of Scotland and explained that she found it "easier than standard English".  The essay began: "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kds FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc." The Times offered a translation: "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York, it's a great place."
    • Sony Shows First Blu-Ray Recorder - Sony has taken the wraps off the first commercial consumer-use video recorder that uses blue-laser technology. Sony's first generation recorder will land on Japanese retail shelves on April 10, at a price of $3,815. It looks similar to the prototype Blu-ray player that Sony showed at the Ceatec show in Japan last October.
    • New 'all-in-one' printers from HP  - The $150 PSC 1210 is part of a growing crop of so-called all-in-one, or multifunction devices, which HP says have continued to enjoy rising sales. In addition to being smaller than prior models, the new printer is cheaper and has a power cord that is designed to allow the device to be pressed right up against the wall. HP also introduced a new line of business-oriented all-in-ones, the OfficeJet 7100 series, which ranges in price from $399 to $699 and adds faxing abilities as well as the option of being attached to a network.
    • Intel's wants to 'unwire' your notebook - Intel, which plans to introduce the new chip family at a March 12 event in New York, will kick off the Centrino campaign with teaser TV ads. The Centrino family, which includes Intel's new Pentium-M processor, a supporting chipset and an 802.11b radio module for wireless networking, will form the core of a new generation of lightweight notebooks from computer manufacturers.
    • T-Mobile team on Treo 270  - The two companies on Tuesday plan to announce that they are working together to market and sell a co-branded Treo 270 device. The $499 device already is available on the Handspring Web site and through T-Mobile stores. A $100 rebate will be offered to new T-Mobile subscribers when they activate their service. The device includes some specialized preloaded T-Mobile software and the ability to access next-generation GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks.
    • Digicam memory cards crack 4 gigabytes  - Lexar Media said Monday that it will soon release two new CompactFlash cards that far exceed the memory capacity of other digital cards on the market, while rival SanDisk unveiled a line of CompactFlash and SD cards that transfer data at a higher rate of speed. The new cards, unveiled at the Photo Marketing Association convention in Las Vegas taking place this week, are aimed at professionals and avid hobbyists in digital photography. With capacities of 2GB and 4GB, the Lexar cards will let photographers take reams of pictures before downloading. Other companies are currently selling 1GB cards, while most cameras come with a 32MB card.
    • Microsoft quits OpenGL board - Microsoft has tendered its resignation from the consortium governing the OpenGL standard, signalling an intention to go it alone with its Direct3D graphics platform. Actually, the OpenGL ARB website still listed Microsoft as a member today. This doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft is making a huge break with the OpenGL standard.
    • Windows Server 2003 Pricing To Remain Flat But Add-Ons Will Cost  - Microsoft said Monday that Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with be priced at $999 with five user or five device client access licenses (CAL) and $1,199 for 10 CALs, while the pricing for the enterprise edition -- similar to Windows 2000 Advanced Server -- will remain flat at $3,999. The company's new SKU Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, will be priced at $399 but will only be available to OEMs and select channels.
    • Source Code To Dungeon Master Java - There were many requests for Alandale to release the source code to Dungeon Master Java and now he has released the source code on the Dungeon Master Java site. Dungeon Master was an all time classic RPG game first released in 1987 that made monumentous improvements in user interface design in gaming, and many other improvements. (thanks Slashdot.org)
    • kX Project Drivers 5.00.3530 Beta - The kX Audio Driver is an independent WDM (Windows Driver Model) driver for all EMU10K1 and EMU10K2-based soundcards manufactured by Creative Technology Ltd. and/or E-mu Sytems Inc., including the SoundBlaster Live! series, the E-mu Audio Production Studio (APS) card, and the Audigy series of cards.
    • Hot CPU Tester Pro 3.4.2 - Hot CPU Tester Pro (download) is a system health and stability tester. It tests CPU, and virtually all parts of motherboard for errors/bugs and defective parts. It is a burn-in test with uniquely designed state of the art DefectTech engine.
    • A4Tech Drivers - A4Tech have updated their mouse drivers to version 7.40.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,03 2003 - tech
    Morning Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 12:39 PM CET - Mar,03 2003 - Post a comment
    • GeForce FX 5800 Ultra (Reference Sample) Review -  Beyond3D has posted an extensive review of NVIDIA's reference GeForce FX 5800 Ultra. "Well, after some fairly exhaustive testing we can begin to paint a slightly clear light on GeForce FX 5800 Ultra's performance. As we can see it fairs very favourably against NVIDIA's previous generation. In normal rendering modes the 5800, most of the time, has a relatively good performance gain over GeForce 4 Ti 4600, and it has some very good performance gains when FSAA is utilised"
    • Aguatec CPU water cooler - Aguatec's integrated CPU water cooling system has a radiator, pump and water block all built into one compact object, which you attach to your CPU like a regular HSF. It can be used on Socket 370, Socket A _and_ Socket 478.
    • Advanced XP Tweak 2.4 - Advanced XP Tweak allows you to fine-tune your Windows XP and Internet Explorer easily and safely. Advanced XP Tweak gives your system the look you want, and optimizes its performance for the tasks you do most often, while cutting CPU and RAM expenses on the tasks you are unlikely to perform.
    • Nvidia File Remover 0.5 - Nvidia File Remover (NFR), is a small and simple to use tool that scans system folder for nvidia files and presents the user with a list.
    • Easy CD-DA Extractor v5.0.7 -  CD-DA Extractor is a powerful and easy digital audio extraction utility that makes digital copies from audio CDs and saves as audio files such as MP3, Windows Media Audio and Windows Wave.
    • Nero WMA Plugin 2.0.9.1 - This Freeware plug-in will install WMA support (decoding) within Nero 5.5.
    • Ogg Vorbis plugin for Nero - CDFreaks have a mirror (direct link) for the first Ogg Vorbis plugin for Ahead Nero Burning ROM. The plugin 238Kb in size has been developed by someone with the nickname Mausua. To make it work, just drop nxMyOgg.dll from the package in your Ahead//Shared//AudioPlugins folder.
    • n.player v1.1.0.4 - n.player is a versatile media player that plays DVD, audio CDs, MP3, WMA, AVI, DiVX, or any media with the preisntalled DirectShow decoder.
    • AutoDub 1.7 - AutoDub 1.7, the automated DivX3/4/5/XviD encoding tool fully supports the latest XviD builds including VHQ mode, automated AltCC High/Low distance calculations, ChromaMotion and B-frame offsets.
    • Media Player Classic 6.4.3.0 - Media Player Classic 6.4.3.0 (download) has configurable shortcut keys, can play QuickTime and Flash files when the respective IE plugins are installed, playlists can be saved via the context menu and clicking the seekbar with the shift key pressed jumps to an I-frame.
    • aTuner 1.3.26.4300 - A-tuner is a small tool for changing the Anti-Aliasing (including all unofficial modes), Anisotropic Filtering, Vsync and MipMap LOD (Level Of Detail)  on your Nvidia card and should work with Nvidia Detonators 23.11 - 43.00 and Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.
    • nVidia Detonator Drivers 43.00 (9X/ME/2K/XP) - Here is a list of mirrors: MajorGeeks, Guru3D, Techconnect, 3DChipset, Mister.de. These tweaked detonators increases performance in C&C Generals, Unreal 2 and other major games. (thanks Neowin.net)
    • GeForce4 Go 440 and Quadro 4 GoGL Detonators -Dell has released Detonator  43.00 drivers for mobile cards GeForce4 Go 440 and Quadro 4 GoGL video cards.
    • Sound Blaster Live! PlayCenter 3 Updated - This package upgrades all versions of PlayCenter from v1.01.xx to v3.02.52 for users running Windows 2000 and Windows XP. For NOMAD users, this package also supports Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows Millennium Edition.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,01 2003 - tech
    Saturday Tech Madness - tech
    (hx) 11:24 PM CET - Mar,01 2003 - Post a comment
    • Nuclear bunker busters come under scrutiny - The controversial Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) programme has been awarded $15 million development funding in 2002, with the same amount likely in 2003. But a new clause attached to the funding calls for the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to investigate what effect any use of the weapon would have. The RNEP would be designed to plunge 30 metres or more into the ground before detonating a nuclear warhead. This would make it far more effective against buried targets, say advocates, who claim that it will produce less fallout than airburst nuclear weapons.
    • China gets a look through Windows - Software giant Microsoft has agreed to show China's government the underlying source code for its Windows software in an attempt to assuage official concerns about the integrity of its computer operating systems.  The announcement was made Friday during a visit to Beijing by company Chairman Bill Gates, who said Microsoft was intent on providing the "maximum level of cooperation" in assuring governments of network security.
    • ISONEWS Returns After Piracy Crackdown - A public Internet site that offered information on the underground software piracy scene was back online Thursday, only days after it was "seized" by the Department of Justice.  Now, the ISONews.com site has reappeared at a new domain, stolemy.com, registered to a Tim Dorr. The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.
    • Samsung Shrinks Optical Drives - Samsung Electronics has developed an optical disc drive for notebook computers that is 25 percent thinner than existing drives, and also lighter and more efficient, according to the company. The new drive, which is now available to notebook PC makers, is .3 inches high compared to .5 inches in most current notebook computer drives. Samsung said it weighs 5.1 ounces, roughly 35 percent less than most current drives and also features a power-saving mode that can cut power consumption by around 20 percent over current drives.
    • Casio Unveils Better Cell Phone Security - Casio Computer and Alps Electric have developed a small fingerprint scanner built into a short, thin cylinder for use in cellular telephones and other portable devices. The cylinder, 0.2 inches in diameter and 0.6 inches long, contains a sensor, light, and lens. When users roll their fingers over the device, it can produce an 8-level monochrome fingerprint image at 600 dots per inch resolution, the two companies said in a joint statement. To demonstrate the device, the companies built it into a prototype cellular telephone handset.
    • IDC Finds that Broadband Adoption Will Drive Internet Traffic Growth - IDC predicts that the volume of Internet traffic generated by end users worldwide will nearly double annually over the next five years, increasing from 180 petabits per day in 2002 to 5,175 petabits per day by the end of 2007. To put these figures into perspective, the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress amounts to only 10 terabytes of information. By 2007, IDC expects Internet users will access, download, and share the information equivalent of the entire Library of Congress more than 64,000 times over, every day.
    • NTL customers not 'tech' enough to grasp BB cap -  NTL decided not to inform its customers about its decision to cap its broadband service because it didn't think they were "'tech' enough to understand".  You can visit  Don't Pay NTL to find more info about it :) This is kinda old news but that doesn't matter. (thanks Gary Di Girolamo)
    • EU sets jail terms for hackers - Computer hackers and virus spreaders could be jailed for five years in serious cases under new laws approved by European Union justice ministers Friday. The new law seeks to harmonize existing national rules in the 15-nation European Union, where there are vast gaps in laws.
    • Win2k3 RTM postponed to March 19 - Windows Server 2003 Build 3778, built last week and originally intended for Escrow and RTM, did not make it. A small flaw was found and the Microsoft development team together with JDP's decided to give it all a few more days (builds). Current build to be targeted for Escrow is build 3780, finished this morning. (thanks WinXP.Bink.Nu).
    • Game Controller Roundup - The keyboard is also not the most ergonomic of devices and in games there are certain positions your hand has to make that aren't really ideal. In a perfect world it would be nice to have a smaller device which can perform a range of functions without having to move your hands around much and have all the buttons easily accessible. This brings me neatly to the reasoning behind this article, to compare and evaluate 3 controllers that aim to do this from Belkin, Thrustmaster and Ferraro.
    • XFree86 4.3.0 - The latest version of XFree86, 4.3.0, has been released. The XFree86 Project, Inc is the organization which produces XFree86t, a freely redistributable open-source implementation of the X Window System. XFree86 runs primarily on UNIX(R) and UNIX-like operating systems such as Linux, all of the BSD variants, Sun Solaris x86, Mac OS X (via Darwin), as well as other platforms like OS/2 and Cygwin.
    • UltraEdit 10.00a - UltraEdit is a text editor with support for unlimited file sizes, a spell checker, drag and drop, full HEX editing capabilities, user configurable syntax highlighting, column editing, sorting, and a configurable toolbar.
    • Maxon CineBench 2003 - CINEBENCH 2003 is a free benchmarking tool for Windows and Mac OS based on the powerful 3D software CINEMA 4D R8. The tool is set to deliver accurate benchmarks by testing not only a computer's raw processing speed but also all other areas that affect system performance such as OpenGL, multithreading, multiprocessors and Intel's new HT Technology.
    • TVTool 6.8.4.4 - A new version 6.8.4.4 of TV Tool (download) has been released. The tool helps with the TV ouput of Nvidia graphic cards. The main problem is the black borders around the picture on the TV screen. They are very annoying for most applications like e.G. DVD-playback.
    • Fresh UI 5.40 - Fresh UI is a fresh solution for configuring and optimizing Windows. Loaded with hundreds of useful hidden settings this software covers the customizing and optimizing techniques that you'll be glad to know.
    • Nero 5.5.10.15 - Nero (Mirror1 ~ Mirror2 ~ Mirror3)  is a flexible, reliable, and easy-to-use application designed to write both data and CD audio to CD-R and CD-RW discs. It supports ISO 9660 images as well as ISO mode 1 and XA mode 2, and allows for on-the-fly disc recording in addition to overburning (if supported by hardware).
    • PNY's NVIDIA Detonator Drivers 43.00 - The Detonator 43.00 (Win9x/ME ~ Win2k/XP  ~ WinNT4) -  is a reference driver set that supports all Nvidia cards to date. It is a multilanguage release, includes a setup routine and is dated February 13th, 2003.
    • Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live! Drivers - Creative is pleased to announce the availability of the latest Sound Blaster Live! Driver update. This update contains optimized support for Windows 2000 and XP, and is designed for use with all versions of the Sound Blaster Live!
    • Philips Sonic Edge 5.1 / Dynamic Edge 4.1 Drivers - Philips has released new drivers for their Sonic and Dynamic Edge soundcards.
    • Matrox drivers 5.88.061 - Matrox released PowerDesk drivers package version 5.88.061 for Windows 2000/XP for the following graphic cards: G550, G450 MMS, G450, G400, G200 MMS, G200 MMS with TV Tuner, Millennium G200, Mystique G200.
    Weekly Hardware Reviews - tech
    (hx) 06:10 PM CET - Mar,01 2003 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • CPU - CPU roundup (65CPUs) | AMD Athlon XP: Thoroughbred vs. Barton | AMD Athlon XP 3000+(1) | AMD Athlon XP 3000+(2) | AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (3) | CPU Insulation


  • Motherboard - Intel i845G Motherboard roundup | nVidia nForce2 Motherboard roundup | VIA KT400 Motherboard roundup(1) | VIA KT400 Motherboard Roundup(2) | Abit BG7E i845GE | Abit BE7-RAID i845PE | Abit KD7-RAID VIA KT400(1) | Abit KD7 VIA KT400(2) | Abit IT7-Max2 i845PE | Abit AT7-Max2 VIA KT400 | Abit NF7-S nForce2(1) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(2) | ACorp 6A815EPD i815EP | Albatron PX845PE Pro II i845PE | AOpen AX4PE Max i845PE | Asus P4SDX Deluxe SiS655 | Asus P4G8X Deluxe Intel E7205 | Asus P4PE i845PE | Asus P4G8X Intel E7205(1) | Asus P4G8X Intel E7205(2) | Chaintech 7NJS nForce2 | EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2 | EPoX 8K9A2+ VIA KT400 | Gigabyte SINXP1394 SiS655 | Gigabyte 7VAXP VIA KT400 | FIC AU11 nForce2 |  Gigabyte SINXP1394 SiS655 | Iwill P4GS i845G | Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro nForce2 | MSI K7N2-L nForce2(1) | MSI K7N2-L nForce2(2) | MSI K7N2G-ILSR nForce2 | MSI K7N2G-ILSR nForce2 | Shuttle SN41G2 and SB51G Barebones (1) | Shuttle SN41G2 and SB51G XIB XPC (2) | Soltek 75FRN-L nForce2(1) | Soltek 75FRN-L nForce2(2) | Soltek 75FRN-L nForce2(3) | Tyan Trinity S2495 VIA KT400(1) | Tyan Trinity S2495 VIA KT400(2) | Tyan Trinity S2495 VIA KT400(3) | Tyan S2662 Trinity i7205 | VIA EPIA M9000 | BIOS Optimization Guide (updated)

  • RAM - Corsair XMS DDR434 Memory | Corsair TWINX512-3200LL Memory | Corsair TWINX Memory Kit | Corsair PC-3200LL Dual Channel RAM Kit (video) | Crucial PC3200 256MB DDR | Crucial 512MB DDR333 Memory | CRUCIAL PC2700 DDR333 Memory | GeIL PC3500 DDR433MHz Ultra Memory | Kingston PC2700/DDR333 Memory | Kingston HyperX PC3500 DCDDR Memory | OCZ PC2700/DDR333 CAS2.0 | OCZ PC3500/DDR433 CAS2.0 Memory

  • Storage - IBM/Hitachi Deskstar 180GXP HDD | Seagate Barracuda SATA V HDD | Seagate Barracuda V 120GB Serial ATA HDD || Highpoint RocketRAID 1542 eSATA/SATA Adapter(1) | Highpoint Rocket RAID 1542(2) | Silicon Image Serial ATA Sil 3112 Controller || Asus CRW-5224A CD-RW | Lite-On LTR-52246S 52/24/52 CD-RW | Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM | Philips DVDRW228 DVD+R/RW | Plextor PlexCombo USB Drive | Plextor PX-W4012TS CD-RW | Samsung SM-348 CD-RW || Bonzai USB Drive | Pen Drive 2GB | Transcend JetFlash Thumb-Drive 64MB | Transcend 128MB 30x CompactFlash

  • Video - Albatron Ti4200-8X(1) | Albatron GeForce4 Ti4200-8X(2) | Albatron Ti-4280PV GeForce4 Ti4200-8X | Albatron GeForce4 Ti4600-8X(1) | Albatron GeForce4 Ti4600-8X(2) | Albatron Medusa GeForce4 Ti4600-8X(1) | Albatron Medusa GeForce4 Ti4600-8X(2) | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | MadDog Multimedia Raptor GeForce4 Ti4200 | Mercury KOB N884L GeForce4 MX440 | MSI GeForce4 Ti4200/Ti4600-8X | MSI GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | nVidia GeForce FX 5800 Ultra 128MB | PointOfView GeForce4 Ti4200-8X | XFX GeForce4 Ti4200-8X || ATi Remote Wonder | ATi Radeon 9700 Pro | BulletPC Modded Radeon 9500 To 9700 | Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro | Hercules 3D Prophet 9500 Pro |  Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9700 Pro(1) | Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9700 Pro(2) | Sapphire Radeon 9700 Pro(3) | Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9500 Pro | 3Dlabs Wildcat VP560 / VP970

  • Monitor - BenQ FP781 LCD Monitor | Eyegonomic T17 TFT 17" LCD | Miro FP 158 15" LCD(German) | Samsung Syncmaster 152T 15" LCD | Samsung Syncmaster 191n LCD | LCD 17: Samsung 171N & NEC LCD1760V vs. Everyone Else

  • Cooling - Spire Cooler roundup | Spire cooling product roundup(video) | Artic Silver III (German) | Cooler Master IHC-L71 Cooler | CoolerMaster HAC-V81 X-Dream(1) | Coolermaster X-Dream HAC-V81 Cooler(2) | Cooler Master 111C-BXJ Case | CoolerMaster AFP-U01 CD Faceplate | CoolerMaster TLF-R82 LED-Fan (German) | Crystal Fontz 633 Cooler | IOSS Cooler | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler(1) | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler(2) | OCZ Technology Gladiator II Coolers(3) | OCZ Technology Gladiator 2 Cooler(4) | Speeze Cooler | Speeze Easystream 2 Cooler | Spire HD05040B FlowCooler | Spire SkiveStream 5R265B1H3 Cooler | Thermaltake Hardcano 8 VR Cooler  | Thermalright SLK-700 Cooler | Thermalright SLK-900U Cooler | Thermaltake Volcano 11 Cooler | Tt P4 Spark 7 Cooler | Vantec CopperX 6040H Cooler | Zalman ZM80A-HP Cooler(1) | Zalman ZM80-HP VGA Cooler(2) | Zalman ZM80A-HP Heatpipe Cooler

  • WaterCooling - Chrome II Mini-Pump / CrazyPC Radiator | Icebear-Systems Atotech WaterCooler | Thermaltake Aquarius II WaterCooler (German) | Water Cooling Reservoir | Watercool Heatkiller 1.6 | Watercool Heattransformer (German) | X-Aqua GeForce 4 Waterblock

  • Case - Case roundup (German) | Antec Lanboy Portable Case | Antec LanBoy Case(1) | Antec Lanboy Case(2) | Antec Lanboy Case(3) | Antec PLUS1080AMG Case | Antec PlusView 1000AMG Case | Beantech Igloo 3 Case | Case Arts Black Marble Painted Case | Colorcases Mars-X Case(video) | Coolermaster ATC-220 ATX Case | Cooler Master ATC 610-GX1 Case | Enermax Silver Wizard II Case | Kingwin KT-436S-WM Aluminum Case | Koolcases Red Nest PC Case | Lian-Li PC-6070 Aluminum Case | PCToys Icechip Chipset Cooling Kit | Raidtronics Aluminum 288 Case (video) | Silver X-Window Diamond-Bubble 5 LED Case | Sunbeam Tech Acrylic PC Case | Skywawk AL-4378D-SL Case | Thermaltake Volcano II Xaser Case | Z40 Insight Black Case | X-Pider Aluminum Case

  • PSU/UPS - Antec True 550 Watt PSU | GoldenTree 550W PSU(German) | Kingwin KWI-450WABK PSU | NoiseControl Enermax EG365AX-VE 365W PSU | ProSilence 350 Watt Fanless PSU | SuperFlower SF-450TS 450W PSU | How-to Quite a Noisy Power Supply

  • Sound - NVIDIA nForce APU | Philips Sonic Edge 5.1 Sound Card | Hercules XPS 510 Speakers | Logitech Z-640S Speaker System(1) | Logitech Z-640 5.1 Computer Speaker System(2) | Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speakers (3) | THX-Certified 5.1 Speaker Shootout

  • Peripheral - Game Controller Roundup | Cordless Mouse roundup | Belkin Wireless Keyboard and Mouse | ESens Optical Mouse | Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical Mouse | Logitech Elite Duo | Microsoft Optical Mouse Blue | Gyration Ultra Cordless Optical Mouse | CoolerMaster Aluminium Mouse Pad | Xide-Pad Ultra | PCToys Mouse MAXX Yellow Flame Mousepad

  • Network -  D-Link Dual-Mode Wireless Networking


  • Printer/Scanner - Canon i70 Color Bubble Jet Printer | Epson Perfection 3200 Photo Scanner

  • Modding - Blue LCD roundup | 60mm-80mm LED Fan Adapter | Bitspower' Cold Cathode Kit | Cre Air Ultra Violet Fans | Coolermaster Neon LED Fan | HiPro Digital Thermometer | Koolance PC2-C/Antec Plusview 1000 Case | Lamps Yellow CCFL Fan Grill | Noise Isolator 3.5 Fan Control | PCXmods X-Trac Eels | Sharkoon CCFL | SunbeamTech Cold Cathode UV Sensitive Fans | Sunbeam Laser LED | Sunbeam Tech Green Lazer LED | Sunbeam Rheobus II | Tweakmonster EL Window Applique | UV Fan Adapters  | W-Force Super Panel | Xport1 Laser Etched Window Kits

  • Miscelanous -
    •  SanDisk ImageMate 6in1 Card Reader/Write | PQI Travel Flash 6 in 1 Reader/Writer | TwinMOS 7-in-1 USB Card Reader/Writer  | TwinMOS GoGo Egg Card Reader | Belkin KVM w/USB and Audio Support | IOGear MiniView III USB KVM | Matrix Orbital MX212 LED | Mouse Wax | MouseWax Anti-friction Liquid | Innovatek Acoustic Matting | Akasa Pax.Mate Acoustic Absorption Mats | AcoustiPack Sound Reduction Materials | SilentDrive Enclosure | Dremel MultiPro 395 | SwissTech Utili-Key 6-in-1 Key Ring Tool

  • Notebook, Camera, MP3 players -
    •  Palm PDA roundup | Intermec 760 Color Mobile Computer | iPaq e330 | Sony Clié PEG-NZ90 PDA | Game Boy Advance SP | Pentax Lens-Interchangeable Digital SLR Camera | Wireless Pen Camera | Canon EOS-1Ds ($8,000 street) | Nokia 3530 Mobile Phone | Sony Ericsson T68I Cell Phone
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