Something nice for your office desk

Subject: General Tech | February 12, 2007 - 06:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Getting yourself a Boomslang or Habu might raise a few eyebrows at work, but is that really the mouse you want to be using?  Logitech's LX 710 Cordless Desktop might make a better impression, and since response rates aren't as important as they are in Battlefield, you can enjoy going cordless.  Modders-Inc has a full review of this black cordless keyboard and mouse combo that will look nice on your desk.  I won't give you any ideas on what to do at work with a mouse that has the extra weight of AA batteries in it.

[H]ard|OCP in [H]|D

Subject: General Tech | February 12, 2007 - 12:25 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

If trying to figure out High Definition is driving you nuts, from figuring which resolution to use to what HDCP will mean, then get over to [H]ard|OCP.

AMD Ushers in Breathtaking Multimedia for Mobile Devices with Next-Generation AMD Imageon

Subject: General Tech | February 12, 2007 - 12:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

SUNNYVALE, CALIF.

Spending time on the PCPerspective forums - it's a good thing!

Subject: General Tech | February 9, 2007 - 06:02 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The E4300's OCing ability has caught a few eyes on the forum, especially for those who don't care about Virtualization Tech, but so is the early release of the X2 6000+.  Of course, buying a new motherboard can lead to a variety of issues, from video to squeezing it into the case to <

Better sound means better FPS?

Subject: General Tech | February 9, 2007 - 01:54 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The name gives a hint as to the purpose of this particular soundcard, as Razer only does fast.  The Razer Barracuda AC1 Gaming Sound Card claims to increase your framerates by not using any system memory.  OCC proves that claim, although don't expect to see the increase blow your mind.  As well, the audio quality impressed them enough to convince them to toss out their old Diamond Monster MX300.  It also will attract modders, the Razer logo lights up to add a little extra to the inside of your case.

More of Duke Nukem Forever's competition breaks down and releases a game

Subject: General Tech | February 9, 2007 - 12:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is only 6 years old, compared to DK Forever's 10, but it was in the running for most delayed game ever.  No longer, it would seem; according to this preview at bit-tech.  It is always possible a brand new game engine will appear before the end of March and cause a delay, but it looks like this game is going to make it.

General Purpose GPU

Subject: General Tech | February 9, 2007 - 12:03 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The Inquirer reports on a project by AMD/ATI to make dedicated server CPUs a thing of the past.  For certain types of calculation, a GPUs particular structure allows it to beat the pants off of a CPU ...

Intel and USAID Commit to Broaden Technology Access in Emerging Markets

Subject: General Tech | February 8, 2007 - 12:59 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 8, 2007 - Intel Corporation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are working together to broaden access and usage of information and communications technology (ICT) in developing communities around the world.

Bugs for Firefox, something old and something new

Subject: General Tech | February 8, 2007 - 12:28 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

CNET reports on 2 vulnerabilities found in Firefox.  The first is found in Firefox version 1.5.0.9 but fixed by 2.0, it uses a combination of the built in pop-up blocker and XMLHttpRequest to relay info about the system to a remote server.  You can find the full description of the flaw by following the link to SecuriTeam on CNet.

A Wii was harmed in the making of this review

Subject: General Tech | February 7, 2007 - 12:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Still aren't sure if the Wii is a groundbreaking gaming system from a farsighted company, or just a silly excuse to 'accidentally' whack your friends in the head with the nunchaku?  [H]ard|OCP has published a full review covering their thoughts about this new console and a few issues they ran into.  They discovered it isn't possible use a projector to game without buying additional equipment and they also figured out how to kill a Wii.  At least the TV survived intact.

"Nintendo is back with a vengeance and is going toe to toe with the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Can the Wiimote nunchaku continue to successfully fend off the competition or is it just a whole lot of flailing?"

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri @ Strategy Informer
• Dreamlords Intro Trailer @ Strategy Informer
• Savage 2: A Tortured Soul @ Strategy Informer
• Back on Top! Can Wii be Nintendo's Ultimate Weapon? @ OCModShop
• Supreme Commander Demo @ Strategy Informer
• Wii & DS WWE titles revealed @ Strategy Informer
• KillZone 2 at GDC 2007? @ Strategy Informer
• EB sells Burger King games for $8? @ Strategy Informer
• Maelstrom Terrain Trailer @ Strategy Informer
• The Professor's Brain Trainer: Memory @ Strategy Informer
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Walkthrough @ OCModShop
• Dark Messiah of Might & Magic coming to the Xbox 360? @ Strategy Informer
• More Project Gotham Racing 4 details @ Strategy Informer
• Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Trailer @ Strategy Informer
• The Destiny of Zorro Revealed @ Strategy Informer
• The Hottest Games Coming in 2007 @ Bjorn3D
• World of Warcraft: the Burning Crusade @ Strategy Informer
• Battlestations Midway (XBOX 360) review @ GH
• Jack Thompson Faces Disciplinary Hearing @ Slashdot

You already knew it was true, here comes the proof

Subject: General Tech | February 7, 2007 - 12:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Video games are good for you!

FPSes and other visually complex games are good for your eyes, says this story on CNET.  Thanks to the speed of the game and the number of things you have to keep track of, you push the part of your brain governing image processing to it's limits, and this exercise carries over into the other parts of your life.  I don't think it will be a good enough excuse to get you out of eating your carrots.

There's somethign about BitLocker

Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2007 - 12:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

New with Vista is an encryption program called BitLocker.  Before you go hiding all of your secrets and guilty pleasures in a BitLocker protected folder, you might want to take a careful read of this story at The Register.  It turns out 2 of the 3 protection schemes won't even work, as there are not really any motherboards currently for sale with a TPM compatible BIOS.  XP's encryption never managed to stop anyone determined to get at the data, and neither will Vista.  That isn't all bad news th

A breath of fresh audio

Subject: General Tech | February 5, 2007 - 03:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Creative has a competitor, the C-Media Oxygen HD chip, aka CMI8788.  The Tech Report has published a huge review of the chip focusing on 2 cards, Auzentech's X-Meridian and Sondigo's Inferno.  Everything is covered in the review, not only the performance of positional audio in games, the CPU utilization is compared to the X-Fi as well as some serious work with Rightmark's Audio Analyser.

Internet killed the magazine star

Subject: General Tech | February 5, 2007 - 12:25 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

E-books are having a hard time catching on.  Many dedicated readers miss the visceral experience of holding a book, and the ease of use.  You can't really take your monitor to the beach or into the bath, and PDAs don't let you see a full page at one time. 

Magazines, on the other hand are disappearing quickly, as the web quickly trumped them as a way of getting target information quickly.  Take a look at [H]ard|OCPs article examining that change.

AMD Appoints Douglas Grose to Lead Worldwide Technology Development and Manufacturing Operations

Subject: General Tech | February 5, 2007 - 11:53 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Feb. 5, 2007 - AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that Douglas Grose has been appointed to the role of senior vice president of technology development, manufacturing and supply chain at AMD.  In this role, Grose will have global responsibility for AMD's global manufacturing and process technology operations as well as overall supply chain management.  Manufacturing responsibilities include AMD-owned facilities as well as all current foundry relationships.

Use our forums as your pregame show

Subject: General Tech | February 2, 2007 - 07:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

First off, we at the PC Perspective forums want to make sure you have a safe SuperBowl weekend, so don't go getting a Trojan.

Look at the pretty pictures!

Subject: General Tech | February 2, 2007 - 12:51 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

HEXUS.tv has something to show you, the new Crysis trailer, using DX10.  Compression kills, but you get the idea of just what this game will look like.  With their proprietary physics engine, you won't need an Aegia card, but as they suggest at the end of the preview, it might be a good idea to get your hands on an 8800.

Not your father's Superbowl

Subject: General Tech | February 2, 2007 - 12:19 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Join AnandTech in a look at the technology behind a little known game that will be taking place on Sunday.  Did you realize there needs to be a laser map the entire field and a programmed palette to limit the colours that can be painted on, just to project an accurate First Down line on the grass and not the players?  Many have noticed the wires that the cameras run along to bring the brilliant angles we have become used to, but did you know they ran on RTLinux?  Make sure you check out the stats behind Eyevi