Tech News for Saturday December 18th
1999.
Cable Industry To Offer Broadband Services.
Posted: 12/18/1999 Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
Found this interesting article up on TechWeb regarding
the future of cable services to your home. I'm just going to "snip"
the most important clips from the article.
The cable TV world tuned in to fast home
networks and cable telephony as the future of a converged network at the Western
Show this past week.
<SNIP>
DirectX 7.0a details.
Posted: 12/18/1999 Source: Microsoft
Added by: Kim Heise
Here is a more detailed description of what's fixed in
the latest version of DirectX. If you have not downloaded the updated yet, you
can grab the 6MB download here.
Force feedback joystick owners may want to seriously consider downloading this
update.
DirectX 7.0a is an update to DirectX 7.0, providing improved force feedback
performance and the best compatibility with today's input devices. This latest
version of DirectX also offers excellent graphics, faster frame rates, and more
immersive audio when running and displaying programs rich in multimedia elements
such as full-color graphics, video, 3-D animation, and surround sound. If you
had an earlier version of DirectX installed on your system, you will see little
difference in available space on your hard drive, since DirectX 7.0a will
overwrite the earlier version.
Get ready for DirectX 8.0.
Posted: 12/18/1999 Source: BetaNews
Added by: Kim Heise
This is the last day to sign up as a beta tester for
Microsoft's next version of DirectX. The new version of DirectX will ship with
Windows Millennium and versions for Windows 2000 & Windows 98 will follow.
New features will include more photo realism and smoother surfaces within
Direct3D, a new graphical input device control panel in DirectInput, and voice
communication with DirectPlay.
AMD demonstrates 900mhz Athlon K7.
Posted: 12/18/1999 Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
Just after Intel announced that the new 800mhz Pentium
III will be released ahead of schedule, AMD demonstrated a 900mhz version of the
AMD K7. The race is still on for the 1000mhz checkered flag.
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Advanced Micro
Devices has demonstrated two different versions of its Athlon microprocessor
running at 900 MHz.
One uses the company's standard 0.18-micron
process with aluminum interconnects, while the second is produced at the same
line width, but comes from AMD's Dresden, Germany, fab and features copper
interconnects.
DirectX 7a released.
Posted: 12/18/1999 Source: Microsoft Added by: Kim Heise
Microsoft has released the latest version of DirectX
7a to the public that resolves various DirectInput issues. You can download it here.
Tech News for Thursday December 16th
1999.
Windows 2000 has gone gold.
Posted: 12/16/1999 Source: N/A Added by: Kim Heise
Several web sites have posted articles regarding the
fact that Windows 2000 has gone gold. You should be able to pick it up on the
retail shelf starting February 17th 2000. For Windows Professional it is
$219 upgrade from Windows 9x, a $149 upgrade from NT 4.0 Workstation, or $319
for the full product.
Atlas 10,000RPM 73.4GB HD (Updated)
Posted: 12/16/1999 Source: RivaExtreme
Added by: Kim Heise
All I can say is: "WOW!". Here's the press
release from Quantum:
MILPITAS, Calif., December 15, 1999 – Quantum Corporation’s Hard Disk
Drive Group (NYSE:HDD) today announced its Atlas™ 10K II – the industry’s
highest density 10,000 RPM disk drive. At 4.7ms seek time and 73.4GB capacity,
the Atlas 10K II family nearly doubles the available capacity and improves
performance by 10-15 percent over Quantum’s previous 10,000 RPM generation.
The Atlas 10K II drive is the optimum choice for Windows NT or UNIX enterprise
and departmental servers, as well as high-performance workstations running 2-D
graphics, 3-D video, and other high I/O applications. “The Atlas 10K II is an
industry leader in areal density – this allows for fewer heads and platters
contributing to the overall improved reliability and performance, which in turn
results in savings for the end user,” said Brendan Collins, program marketing
manager for the Atlas 10K II product. “Our partnering OEMs demand solutions
that give them the competitive advantage. We believe the Atlas 10K II does just
that.”
Prices are 9GB - $325, 18GB - $480, 36GB - $720, 73GB - $1300
I apologize for misprinting the wrong prices earlier and the numbers above are
directly from the press release.
Tweaking your Windows "swap-file".
Posted: 12/16/1999 Source: Adrian's
Site Added by: Kim Heise
This guy is truly impressive on the level of detail in
his technical documents. Take a look at Adrian's guide
to optimizing your Windows "swap-file" and how you can configure it
for maximum system performance. The system "swap-file" is temporary
storage allocated on your hard drive so the operating system has some extra
pseudo-ram to work with.
DirectX 7a to be released tomorrow.
Posted: 12/16/1999 Source: N/A Added by: Kim Heise
Can't remember on which site I saw this news post but
Microsoft will be posting DirectX 7a on the DirectX website for download
tomorrow to address some major issue with DirectInput. DirectInput is
responsible for joystick/mouse game controllers.
Tech News for Wednesday December 15th
1999.
Poll: CPU of the Year.
Posted: 12/15/1999 Source: Ars-Technica Added by: Kim Heise
The team over at Ars-Technica have setup a online poll
for users to vote on the CPU of the year. Not surprisingly the leader the last
time I checked was the AMD K7 Athlon. Make your voice heard here.
Next generation GeForce 256.
Posted: 12/15/1999 Source: Yahoo Added by: Kim Heise
The fastest consumer level video card
on the market is undoubtedly the DDR GeForce 256 (also known as the NV10) but
nVidia, the company behind the super video chip is not standing still and has
the next generation processor ready. The new card will will called the NV15 and
here are some specs on the new card:
We have just completed our next-generation
follow-on to our award-winning GeForce 256(TM) GPU (more than 23 million
transistors, 50 Gigaflop graphics processing unit). This new processor, enhanced
in both features and performance, absolutely demanded the accuracy, capacity and
efficiency delivered by Star-RCXT.
Why every bother buying
a video card these days to get the best performance possible when next week it
is now second-hat? Don't get me wrong as I'm all for progress but this is
becoming a hard hit on your wallet if you like to "ride" the power
curve on PC hardware.
Windows 2000 going "Gold" with build 2195?
Posted: 12/15/1999 Source: ActiveWindows Added by: Kim Heise
Looks like the new OS is almost upon us and
ActiveWindows reports that the latest build 2195 is most likely to go
"Gold". When a product is going "Gold" it basically means
the it's the final product that is shipped of to cutting on CD's to be
distributed to the retail market. Build 2195 will be the final Windows 2000
version assuming Microsoft's Q&A team do not find any showstoppers.
Razor "Boomslang" 2000dpi mouse review.
Posted: 12/15/1999 Source: Planet
Hardware Added by: Kim Heise
I wonder if the team who invented this mouse are Dutch
because the word "Boomslang" literary means "tree snake".
Not sure how that relates to this mouse but take a look a this review on this
very precise mouse that is not only designed for high speed gaming but also for
graphics intensive applications. The author takes the mouse on a very thorough
field test and even sprinkles crushed Doritos chips on the mouse mat to see if
the new optical technology holds through. The mouse passes the
"Doritos" test just fine.
The plus side of this mouse is that it is very precise but the down sides are
the high prices at $69 for the 1000dpi version and $1999 for the 2000dpi version.
Also the author has some issues regarding the placement of the buttons on the
mouse.
I have Microsoft's latest "IntelliEye" mouse on my Christmas wish list
after reading how precise the device is and it does not even require a mouse
mat. How do they do that? Simple - no mouse ball but a very highly sophisticated
set of "eyes" that allow you move on any surface.
Tech News for Tuesday December 14th
1999.
Site News Update.
Posted: 12/14/1999 Source: N/A Added by: Kim Heise
I apologize for the lack of news postings over the
last couple of days but I was hit with a major flu. News will be slow until I'm
back on my feet.
Updated Diamond Viper V770 drivers released.
Posted: 12/14/1999 Source: DiamondMM Added by: Kim Heise
I never thought I see the day Diamond would release
updated drivers for their highly popular nVidia TNT2 series video cards. The new
drivers are based on the latest reference (V3.53) drivers form nVidia. You can
download the Ultra version here
and the non-Ultra version here.
Intel to release 750mhz and 800mhz P3's by
Christmas?
Posted: 12/14/1999 Source: ZDNET
Added by: Kim Heise
ZDNET has posted an article regarding the sudden move
by Intel to attempt to ship 750 and 800mhz Pentium III's by this Christmas. I've
heard this rumor circulating the net for a couple of days now and I'm not sure
if you will actually see the chips this year even if the CPU giant announces
them because the latest 700mhz Pentium III' are extremely rare.
Windows 2000 will go to manufacturing this
Wednesday.
Posted: 12/14/1999 Source: ActiveWin
Added by: Kim Heise
Here's a direct clip from the site:
Users said Microsoft Corp. will release Windows 2000 to its manufacturing
facilities on Wednesday, meaning that the company has settled on the first
production version of its flagship operating system.
Microsoft declined to confirm the report, saying only that
the code would go to manufacturing by the end of the year. Its general release
is scheduled for Feb. 17.
3COM to spin off Palm Computing division.
Posted: 12/14/1999 Source: BetaNews
Added by: Kim Heise
Santa Clara,
Calif. (eFront News) – 3Com Corporation has filed the necessary paperwork to
begin the initial public offering of Palm Computing Inc. In connection with the
IPO, Palm Computing will change its name to Palm, Inc. The IPO will begin with
3Com offering 20% of its ownership in Palm Inc. Six months later, the remainder
of the shares in Palm will be distributed among all of 3Com’s existing
shareholders.
3Com aquired Palm Computing when it purchased US Robotics, the former parent
company of Palm Computing. Since then, Palm as gained market share and
introduced many more successful products. According to International Data
Corporation, Palm had a 68% share in the personal digital assistant market in
1998.
Earlier this year, Palm introduced the Palm VII – the first digital organizer
with built in wireless Internet. Complete story to follow.
Novell Netware 5.1 launch
date set for January 2000.
Posted: 12/14/1999 Source: BetaNews
Added by: Kim Heise
In an attempt by Novell to compete directly with
Windows 2000's active-directory system, the company will be shipping Netware 5.1
to distributors in January of Y2K. Prices will begin at $715 for a 5-usr upgrade
license and will be available for Windows NT 4.0 (Workstation & Server),
Windows 2000, Solaris and Linux.
Contact Information: Kim Heise kheise@hitechbits.com
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