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News for
Thursday November 11th 2006.
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NVIDIA Announces nForce 600i Family.
Source:
Dailytech
NVIDIA is set to announce its latest core-logic family for Intel
processors. The new nForce 600i family spawns three new products—the nForce
680i SLI, 650i SLI and 650i Ultra. The three chipsets will target hardcore
enthusiasts, performance gamers and mainstream gamers respectively. With the
nForce 600i chipset family, NVIDIA has adopted a new naming scheme to
differentiate its Intel and AMD products. Beginning with the nForce 600i
family, NVIDIA chipsets will have “i” designations for Intel chipsets and
“a” designations for AMD variants.
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Windows Vista goes RTM Wednesday 11/10.
Source:
Winsupersite
Ok - guess it's old news today but yesterday was a major milestone for
Microsoft where Windows Vista was finally released to RTM (Release to
Manufacturing). Vista has been in development for at least 5 years and
hopefully will bring much needed enhancements to the table. Paul Thurrott
makes a good point where Microsoft is going to have a difficult time
convincing Windows XP users to upgrade since Windows XP is stable, has solid
driver support and finally "just works!".
Curious about what is in the Vista final build? Well jump on over
HERE
It's hard to put Windows Vista in perspective. On the one hand, the
product has been in development for over five years, which means that Vista
had one of the longest development cycles in the 20+ year history of
Windows. Paradoxically, Windows Vista is both revolutionary and
evolutionary. While it includes modern OS features, such as a new
hardware-based graphical user interface (GUI), Vista will also feel like
familiar territory, for the most part, to anyone that's already familiar
with Windows XP. The sheer size and scope of Windows Vista makes it
difficult to review, to digest, and to understand. If you step back too far,
it doesn't look very impressive at all: It's like XP with a spit-shine. But
if you get too close, it's easy to get lost in the seemingly never-ending
lists of new features. Yep, it's a major Windows version all right. And now
it's complete. Let's dive in.
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Making sense on the various versions of
Vista.
Source:
Winsupersite
If you are planning on upgrading to Windows Vista this table (courtesy of
Paul Thurrott) will help explain the main differences between all the
various flavors.
|
Vista product edition |
Compare with... |
x64 version? |
Type |
Retail price |
Upgrade price |
|
Windows Vista Starter |
XP Starter Edition |
No |
Select countries
only, with new PC purchase |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Windows Home Basic |
XP Home Edition |
Yes |
Retail |
$199 |
$99.95 |
|
Windows Home Basic N |
XP Home Edition |
Yes |
Retail, EU only |
$199 |
$99.95 |
|
Windows Vista Home Premium |
XP Media Center
Edition |
Yes |
Retail |
$239 |
$159 |
|
Windows Vista Business |
XP Professional
Edition |
Yes |
Retail |
$299 |
$199 |
|
Windows Vista Business N |
XP Professional
Edition |
Yes |
Retail |
$299 |
$199 |
|
Windows Vista Enterprise |
XP Professional
Edition |
Yes |
Volume-license
only |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Windows Vista Ultimate |
n/a |
Yes |
Retail |
$399 |
$259 |
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News for
Thursday November 6th 2006.
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'Silent jet' could ease airport
noise...around 2030.
Source:
ZDNET
Ok - don't hold your breath on this one....planned to be released around
2030. Bet the military is keen on this technology for the next-gen stealth
bombers. While this is indeed good news I wouldn't get too excited - much
can happen in the next 23 years and the whole current concept of air
transport may change completely.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--A radically redesigned passenger jet could alleviate a
major complaint of people who live near major airports--the deafening sound
of planes taking off and landing.
A team of 40 researchers from Cambridge University and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology spent three years working on the wide, streamlined
jet, which they plan to unveil in London on Monday.
The "silent jet," which from outside an airport would sound about as noisy
as a washing machine or other household appliance, would carry 215
passengers and could be in the air by 2030.
"Noise really is one of the major barriers to airport expansion and the
expansion of flights," said Edward Greitzer, an MIT professor who helped run
the project. "It gets a lot of complaints."
The breakthrough could bring a welcome change to aviation, industry experts
said.
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Next-gen DVD war to end soon?
Source:
EETimes
Expect firmware updates from both camps to be released the day these dual
format drives ship to no longer provide compatibility. If Next-Gen DVD
manufacturers can pull this off it would be not a bad idea to wait for these
dual format models. I'm curious if this will be possible with recorders to
support both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
SAN FRANCISCO — Machines capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD-DVD disks
will emerge next year to short-circuit the format war in next-generation
DVD.
Leading chip vendors such as Broadcom, STMicroelectronics and NEC
Electronics told EE Times they are developing ICs that allow high-definition
optical drives and players to comply with the two competing specifications.
These suppliers appear to have specific knowledge that their potential
customers—whose names they declined to disclose—will roll out universal
players as early as 2007.
Although confused consumers might welcome a box that resolved the
incompatibility between HD-DVD (HD) and Blu-ray Disc (BD), its advent could
also put a crimp in immediate sales. "Many consumers we've interviewed said
they would hold off buying a next-generation DVD player until some universal
players hit the universal player hits the market," said Richard
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2007 Microsoft Office System Is Golden.
Source:
Microsoft
REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 6, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today
announced the completion of the 2007 Microsoft® Office system code and
confirmed its release to manufacturing (RTM). This gold code milestone
concludes the largest Microsoft Office beta program to date, with more than
3.5 million people downloading Beta 2. The unprecedented quantity of
feedback from beta testers and customers helped the Office development team
effectively validate product quality and optimize performance. Microsoft
Office RTM also marks a critical step toward worldwide business availability
of the 2007 Office system, Windows Vista™ operating system and Exchange
Server 2007 on Nov. 30, 2006. To underscore the significance of this new day
for business, Microsoft executives will participate in events around the
globe, including an event with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in New York.
General availability of the products will follow in early 2007.
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Wikipedia used to spread malicious code.
Source:
News.com
A Wikipedia page has been used by hackers in an attempt to spread
malicious code.
The entry for the MSBlast worm in the German version of the popular online
encyclopedia was altered to include false information about a new version of
the Lovesan/MSBlast worm, with links to a supposed fix, according to Sophos.
The fix was actually a piece of malicious code, the antivirus vendor said in
a notice published Friday.
It's not clear how long the vandalized page was live, but the editors of
Wikipedia.de moved quickly to delete the links once they were discovered.
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Ultron G1-Clawpad Review.
Source:
techPowerUp!
techPowerUp! sent me a link on the Ultron G1-Clawpad review. Thanks
techPowerUp!
Must say for $35 this looks to be appealing for gamers and users who use
assigned key macro programs. If I can figure out how to fit the Clawpad on
my keyboard drawer I may need to pick one up.
The Ultron G1-Clawpad is a great gaming device, once the user is
accustomed to it. The buttons are well placed with the exception of the ALT
button and the thumb is used to reach more buttons than on a normal
keyboard. The device has all the keys needed by the gamer and places them
around the left hand, and only the left hand. You will not be able to use
this pad if you move your mouse with your left hand and use the keyboard
with your right hand. While some may wonder if a normal keyboard does just
fine, it will be perfect for anyone playing long sessions of Counter-Strike
or World of Warcraft. Overall the Ultron G1-Clawpad can definitely be
recommended to anyone looking for a special input device instead of a normal
keyboard.
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News for
Thursday November 2nd 2006.
-
Microsoft backtracks on Vista transfer
limits.
Source:
News.com
This is good news since hardware enthusiasts can easily upgrade or rebuild
their main systems at least twice a year (or more).
REDMOND, Wash.--Reversing a licensing change announced two weeks ago,
Microsoft said on Thursday that it will not limit the number of times that
retail customers can transfer their Windows Vista license to a different
computer.
On Oct. 16, Microsoft issued the new user license for Vista, including terms
that would have limited the ability of those who buy a boxed copy of the
operating system to transfer that license. Under the proposed terms, users
could have made such a switch only one time.
However, the new restriction prompted an outcry among hardware enthusiasts
and others. Microsoft is returning the licensing terms to basically what
they were in Windows XP--users can transfer their license to a new PC an
unlimited number of times, provided they uninstall and stop using it on the
prior machine.
The software maker said it paid attention to the response both directly to
the company and on blogs and decided to reverse course. Microsoft had hoped
to use the change to aid its ongoing efforts to thwart piracy.
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OEMs blame AMD, Dell for Athlon shortages.
Source:
EETimes
I was afraid of this happening when Dell/AMD signed a partnership - AMD
please don't forget the OEM's and enthusiasts the helped the AMD CPU series
rise to fame! Anyone else remember the AMD and Intel fiasco not so long ago
when everything was mostly "paper-launch" since you couldn't find anyone who
had the products in stock?
I suspect AMD's take is that they will most likely make more profit from
Dell who buys x million CPU's compared to the OEM's and enthusiasts with the
couple of hundred orders...so of course the resource pipeline flows in
Dell's direction.
System builders are irked about a severe shortage of Advanced Micro Devices
Athlon 64 X2 processors and blame the chip maker's partnership with Dell.
"It's a fiasco. There's no product in the channel. It's all going to Dell,"
said Glen Coffield, president of CheapGuys, a system builder in Orlando,
Fla. "AMD is divorcing the channel."
Coffield said AMD is hurting its loyal system builders, who feel they have
been used and dumped now that the chip maker has a partnership with Dell and
other top-tier OEMs.
Dell formerly was an Intel-only system maker. But after Dell and AMD inked a
deal, the Round Rock, Texas-based computer giant unveiled its first
AMD-based PCs in September and first AMD-based servers in October. System
builders said the timing makes the problem clear.
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10 things you should know about Internet
Explorer 7 Security.
Source:
Techrepublic
I'm not here to sell you on Internet Explorer over the other alternatives
but Techrepublic outlines 10 reasons why you should upgrade to Internet
Explorer 7.0. I'd recommend upgrading to IE 7 if you use Firefox regardless
- since IE is so tightly integrated into the OS and it will provide overall
a more robust and secure environment.
Internet Explorer 7 is designed to make browsing safer. Here's a quick
rundown of some of the new security features, including Active X opt-in, the
Phishing Filter, cross-domain security, enhanced privacy protection, and an
international character alert.
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Windows Media Player 11 Review.
Source:
Supersite
In reading the review Paul Thurrott summarizes the "new" Media Player very
well by stating it has some improvements but missing several critical
features - such as Ipod support. I know Microsoft is trying to push the
users over to their pending Zune player but to leave out the vast majority
of Ipod users makes no sense.
Too little, too late?
That's the problem Microsoft faces with Windows Media Player (WMP) 11. It's
an excellent upgrade, no doubt about it. But with its major competitor,
iTunes 7 (see my review), stealing its most exciting new feature, and
Microsoft's own Zune player doing its own thing and not utilizing WMP for
device connectivity, WMP 11 is sort of a lame duck. Sure, millions of people
will eventually download the software and happily use it. And they'll be
getting a top-notch media jukebox, one that in many ways still outclasses
the various other similar solutions on the market. I'm just not sure it
matters anymore.
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Symantec rolls out support for Vista.
Source:
InfoWorld
In the next few weeks, Symantec will roll out products aimed at early
adopters of the Windows Vista OS and 64-bit computing, while also expanding
the capabilities of its backup software.
Symantec on Wednesday unveiled Backup Exec 11d, which has been under testing
since early this year. Available on Nov. 6, the newest upgrade adds recovery
support for Microsoft Exchange with what Symantec calls "granular recovery
technology."
The feature can restore an individual e-mail rather than a whole mailbox. It
can also be used for data contained in SharePoint Portal Server or Active
Directory, Microsoft's software for managing identities, such as in the case
of restoring a deleted user.
Backup Exec 11d, which also works with SQL Server, continuously backs up
data as it's created. Users have an option of 128-bit or 256-bit encryption
for stored data. The software also works with 64-bit Windows environments,
Symantec said.
The company also announced an incremental beta release just ahead of the
December release of its Antivirus Corporate and Antivirus Enterprise
editions. Antivirus 10.2 is available for download for current Symantec
customers who are now testing Vista. Both editions work for 32-bit or 64-bit
editions of Vista.
After all the complaints and threat lawsuits from Symantec against Microsoft
for locking down the Vista Kernel (which is a much needed change) looks like
the company is after all able to release their products. Initially the
releases will be for 64 bit Vista which I'm hoping most other vendors will
follow suite to lead the way for most consumers to move to 64 bit computing.
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Intel Quad Core Review.
Source: PC
Perspective
Intel's quad-core processor, known in the tech industry as the Kentsfield
core CPU, is very similar in theory to the Pentium D processor that Intel
released in Q2 of 2005. If you remember, the Pentium XE 840 processor was
the first dual core to hit the streets as a single die, monolithic
processor; that meant that both of the seperate cores were present on each
die . The new Kentsfield processor is nearly the same thing, but here we are
looking at a multi-chip processor similar to the Presler core on the Pentium
Extreme Edition 955 and 965 CPUs. There are two pieces of silicon and two
execution cores.
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First wireless USB hub launched.
Source:
Yahoo
SAITAMA, Japan and CAMPBELL, Calif., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Y-E Data
Ltd., and Wisair, a leading provider of Ultra Wideband (UWB) chipset
solutions, today announced that the Y-E Data UWB hub product, based on the
Wisair chipset, is being launched today to the market, after receiving TELEC
certification. The Y-E Data hub is the first UWB product to receive Japanese
certification and to be launched commercially.
Y-E Data's four-port wireless hub is designed to seamlessly replace any
wireline USB connection with a wireless connection. USB devices such as
printers, scanners, remote hard disks, and digital cameras can plug into the
UWB hub, which can be placed anywhere in the room. Data is transmitted
wirelessly from the hub to a PC or notebook via a dongle that is plugged
into the PC's USB port.
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Business Vista, Office slated for November 30
Source:
TGDaily
Redmond (WA) - Barely meeting the announced November release date for the
business versions of Office 2007 and the operating system Windows Vista,
Microsoft has confirmed that the two software products will be released on
30 November.
Windows Vista, Microsoft's next generation operating system, was originally
planned to be released in November for everyone, but it was delayed early
this year and given a January 2007 target. Despite rumors that it would get
pushed back even further, Microsoft maintains the January 2007 release date
for the home user versions of Vista.
Microsoft Office 2007, as the companion software suite to Vista, also was
originally slated for the end of 2006, but got pushed back to next year as
well.
Retail pricing for Vista ranges from $200 - $400, with upgrade discounts of
$100 to $140 for those who have valid copies of previous operating system
software. Office 2007 is priced between $149 for the student edition to $679
for an "ultimate" package.
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