Archive

Cooler Master Sileo 500 Mid-Tower Case | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 23:30

One thought springs to mind. Is this case too budget? It's for sale well under a hundred bucks, which might mean that there are too many cut corners, or maybe that instead of some kind of NASA-developed space quiet foam, they're using leftover packing materials. Maybe the steel's only for show, and the case is made out of plastic with a metal veneer (Cooler Master, I know you did this that one ...

Silicon Power 32GB eSATA/USB SSD | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 22:36

On this year’s CeBIT many leading manufacturers announced that they will present (portable) eSATA SSDs during this year as step forward when it comes to transfer speeds. Silicon Power has complete lineup of these disks for some time with capacities that range from 8 to 64GB. These models have dual interface: eSATA and USB 2.0. In our test lab arrived 32GB model that presents the golden ...

D-Link DIR-825 Xtreme N Dual Band Gigabit Router | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 22:10

Wireless routers have become a staple in the average home and business, but now the market for more advanced Wi-Fi routers has increased. The D-Link DIR-825 Xtreme N Dual Band Gigabit router offers both 2.4 and 5-GHz bands, 3G wireless capabilities via USB, power-saving features, and a vast amount of configuration. The good performance of the router, combined with its features and modest price ...

Antec Signature 650W | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 22:07

Over the following weeks at Tech-Reviews.co.uk we will be carrying out a mass power supply roundup. The first PSU up for review is the Antec Signature 650W. This power supply unit follows Antec’s usual high quality standard and performance as we found out. To find out more about the Antec Signature 650W, read the review over at Tech-Reviews.co.uk.

InWin X-Fighter | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 20:37

The futuristic sci-fi Star Wars films have influenced and inspired the design of In Win’s X-Fighter case with its triangular feet, geometric lines and steel and aluminium chassis. All this makes the X-Fighter into the ultimate spaceship but how will it fare at doing its job as a PC enclosure? The aesthetics certainly look great, so let’s see what the rest is like.

Mushkin Ascent XP3-14400 CL8 2GB Kit | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 19:00

The Ascent series from Mushkin represents their high-end line-up with thick eVCI heatspreaders, very tight timings and fast speeds. On top of that, the memory scales extremely well with voltage and has plenty of potential for overclockers

ASUS Rampage II Extreme | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 18:20

“There are several manufacturers that offer various products in the new X58 chipset, and today we’ll be looking at what is probably the most coveted (and expensive) one: the ASUS Rampage II Extreme. It is manufactured and marketed as a high-end, enthusiast board, and features some unique goodies that should pique the curiosity of even [...]

Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 18:00

With nearly twenty different LGA1366 kits tested in our Best CPU Cooler Performance LGA1366 - Q1 2009 article, one particular product stood out as an up-and-coming favorite. The Prolimatech Megahalems is a CPU cooler build from scratch using over twenty years of industry design experience and engineering. While the Prolimatech name is new to most [...]

NZXT Performance Power (PP800) 800 Watt Power Supply Review | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 17:50

“NZXT has positioned themselves as the choice for gamers on a budget. They offer a wide variety of decent cases which can usually be found at the largest national retailers to the smallest retail computer stores. Most of the time, budget gamers will need to purchase their own power supplies as most cases come without one. NZXT [...]

Zotac’s GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi motherboard | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 17:50

“Zotac’s GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi squeezes an LGA775 socket, dual memory channels, a GeForce 9300 integrated graphics chipset, and a PCI Express x16 slot into a diminutive Mini-ITX form factor. Join us as we explore the most potent pint-sized motherboard around.” Read the full article here

Win a 2048MB Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 Video Card | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 17:40

“Bigbruin.com turns six years old on April 01, 2009 (this is not an April fools joke). This will be the first in a series of give aways here, and to kick things off the prize up for grabs is a 2048MB Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 video card that has been updated with a hard to find [...]

Antec unveils newest additions to Performance One series: The P183 and P193 | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 17:30

Press release March 31, 2009 Antec unveils newest additions to Performance One series: The P183 and P193 ~ P183 and P193 cases introduce new design, new cooling features and greater compatibility ~   Antec, the global provider of computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and [...]

XTracPads Fat Mat | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 16:01

XTracPads have always been great cloth mouse pad manufacturers with their Pro Pad and Ripper XXL but have recently ventured into a new market with their plastic adhesive Logic series and excelled at doing so. This time we look at one of their older products, the Fat Mat which promises to combine thickness with the same high performance that we are used to seeing from XTracPads. Enough said, ...

Fedora 11 Beta Is Now Available | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 15:50

Fedora 11 is the next release of Red Hat's community distribution and among its features are a new volume control interface, Nouveau by default, Thunderbird 3.0 integration, kernel mode-setting with most graphics hardware, and numerous other improvements. This release, which has been codenamed Leonidas, has now reached a beta state. Red Hat's Jesse Keating announced this morning the release of ...

Microsoft Xbox 720 will focus on media integration | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 14:20

There are rumours online that Microsoft has been working closely with game developers Blizzard on a replacement for the Xbox360

Corsair 6GB DDR3-1866 Dominator GT Memory Review | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 14:01

The Corsair DDR3-1866 Dominator GT modules bring back the DDR3 performance we were used to but with drastically reduced voltage requirements. Read on to see how these sticks stack up against the competition and how far we are able to push them past stock speeds.

Sony Cuts PlayStation 2 Console Pricing Below $100 | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 13:30

Sony announced today that the PlayStation 2 will now be available for under $100, actually $99 to be exact beginning April 1st, 2009. Sony hopes the new price will allow the company to gain more market share from gamers who are on a stricter budget which means more families will become a part of the PlayStation 2 community. A typical lifecycle of a gaming console is around five years, but Sony's ...

Call of Duty - World at War | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 13:30

Es ist wieder soweit, das Gewehr geschultert, die Munitionstaschen gefüllt und die Ausrüstung komplettiert. Wir ziehen in den Krieg. Activision liefert mit dem neusten Teil der Call of Duty Serie wieder Futter für unseren PC und viele Actionreiche Stunden. Die Call of Duty Serie war bis jetzt immer ein Garant für soliden Spielspass und geballte Action, gepaart mit guter Grafik und ...

Netflix Customers to Begin Paying $9 More for Blue-ray | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 13:00

If you want Blu-ray movies and are a Netflix customers you will soon begin paying up to $9 more a month for the service according to Jessie Becker, VP of Marketing at Netflix. Becker explains that the number of titles on Blu-ray has increased significantly and the costs to obtain these new titles is much greater than those in DVD format. Netflix Blu-ray selection has grown 60% in six months to ...

PS2 price drop leaked | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 12:40

Leaked documents which have tipped up on the world wide wibble indicate that Sony is about to drop the price of its PS2 for $99 from April 5.

Ubuntu 9.04 Beta vs. Fedora 11 Beta | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 12:20

Last week marked the release of the Ubuntu 9.04 Beta and this week there is the planned release of the Fedora 11 Beta. Both distributions are similar in the respect they will be upgrading several common packages like GNOME 2.26, but in Fedora 11 are more upstream (and experimental) bits like kernel mode-setting, the EXT4 file-system by default, and various other features. Being the Linux ...

Argosy HV675 MediaPlay HDMI Media Player | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 11:40

The design is rather simple but sophisticated, with no indication up front as to what this little box might be used for. Couple this with the fact that all of the connections are hidden out back and that it makes zero noise, you can enjoy your media without being aware of the source (no fan noise, no gaudy lights, etc).

Corsair announces Flash Voyager Port | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 11:00

Corsair announces Voyager Port Corsair develops innovative solution to transform any USB flash drive into a powerful and flexible portable backup and recovery device Fremont, CA, March 31st, 2009 – Corsair®, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced the Voyager Port portable backup solution for USB flash [...]

HighPoint RocketRAID 2680 and RocketRAID 4320 SAS/SATA Cards Review | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 11:00

“HighPoint’s RocketRAID 2680 is a nifty little card and does as it promises. It’s affordable, and offers great performance. Of course, it did follow behind the RocketRAID 4320, but it is after all half the price. But, if you have a bit of extra money burning a hole on your pocket, the RocketRAID 4320 is [...]

MAD CATZ ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT FOR UK DISTRIBUTION OF TURTLE BEACH® GAMING HEADSETS | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 10:50

MAD CATZ ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT FOR UK DISTRIBUTION OF TURTLE BEACH® GAMING HEADSETS San Diego – March 18, 2009 - Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Voyetra Turtle [...]

AKASA coolers for mini-ITX, HTPC and SFF PC’s | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 10:50

Latest akasa products online on www.akasa.com.uk | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 10:50

Latest products online on Akasa website! Quick links: AK-CC044 (Intel ITX cooler) http://www.akasa.co.uk/akasa_english/spec_page/coolers/spec_ak_cc044.htm AK_CC032 (AMD ITX cooler) http://www.akasa.co.uk/akasa_english/spec_page/coolers/spec_ak_cc032.htm AK-CB050 (Slimline SATA optical cable) http://www.akasa.co.uk/akasa_english/spec_page/cables/spec_ak_cb050.htm AK-CAB-PC-01 (Slimline IDE ...

Mad Catz® Ships Licensed Resident Evil™ 5 Accessories for Xbox 360® and PLAYSTATION®3 | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 10:40

Mad Catz® Ships Licensed Resident Evil™ 5 Accessories for Xbox 360® and PLAYSTATION®3  San Diego, March 17th, 2009 Mad Catz® Interactive, Inc. (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, today announced it has begun shipping of a range of Capcom® - licensed Resident Evil™ 5 accessories, aimed at complementing the [...]

New Skype App Released for iPhone | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 10:20

From today, iPhone users will now be able to say their handset has even more usability as they can now make free calls via Skype. The new Skype application is available to download from the Apple App Store for the very reasonable price of free. As is the usual deal, phone calls and instant messaging is completely [...]

In Win NA eSATA & USB Enclosure | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 8:00

The In Win NA is a very stylish and unigue HDD enclosure. In Win has gone all out and included a porcelain plate as cover and hid the USB 2.0 and eSATA interface within the confines of the smooth white bowl.

Synology DS209+ NAS Diskstation | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 4:00

Being able to host your own website, FTP, Multimedia Server or other web based products meant that you had to rent a dedicated server. Well those days may be in the past as you can now buy your very own NAS server to do all this work for you and it is actually simpler than you think. Synology Inc has the DS209+ NAS and it is ready to handle all these chores for you.

Samsung SyncMaster 2263UW LCD Monitor w/ Webcam Review @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 31/03/2009 @ 3:46

\"The SyncMaster 2263UW is a great option for the consumer who wants an uncluttered workspace by having all webcam, audio and USB hub features bundled into their monitor. This monitor on its own proves that you can have your cake and eat it too for once. No longer does a multifunction monitor have to be a jack of all trades but a master of none.\\\"

Intel Xeon X5570 and E5520 Gainestown Processors | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 22:30

The Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, previously codenamed "Nehalem-EP," offers several breakthrough technologies that have radically improve server system speed and versatility. Legit Reviews spends some time with the Intel Xeon E5520 and Xeon X5570 to see just how fast these processors really are in a 2P server configuration.

Social Media: The Hunted Become the Hunter | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 22:20

The world of new media – widgets and social applications – looks like a beautiful marketing hunting grounds. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Imagine people flock to Web 2.0 locations where they blog. They upload/download audios/videos of specific interest to them. They congregate at business/special interest web sites to gain information and be entertained.

Video Card Buyer's Guide - Spring 2009 | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 22:00

It's been since the holidays that we've done a GPU buyers guide. It never seems like the right time to do a new GPU buyers guide, as NVIDIA and AMD have been pushing aggressively back and forth for leadership in the market place. When new parts or tweaked cards haven't been coming out, prices have been adjusted quickly to maintain tight competition....

Long awaited PS3 price cut, PSP Phone, or something less exciting? Find out soon… | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 20:50

Sony officials let slip to Kotaku.com that a major Playstation announcement is on the cards for tomorrow, March 31st

NOX Apex 700W | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 20:18

Time to another first here on Verdis Reviews; in this case, it’s the first power supply review and it comes from a relatively new company from which we recently reviewed the Coolbay HX – NOX. The power supply comes from their Apex modular series. I give you the NOX Apex 700W…

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 285 1GB AMP | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 20:10

In the midst of all the rebranding and fine-tuning, NVIDIA managed to make again, the most powerful single-GPU video card. Well, they also made the most powerful dual-GPU video card but thatÂ’s not what IÂ’m reviewing, is it. IÂ’m reviewing the GTX 285, the die-shrunk, power-boosted bastard of the GTX 280. ItÂ’s really, really powerful. There has to be some kind of flaw, right? ...

Bitch Fight Between Microsoft and Apple | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 19:20

Remember back to when you first saw the Mac vs Windows adverts, either on the TV or on the net like I did which featured Mitchell (PC) and Webb (Mac) doing a sketch? Well, the most important bit about that advert was the fact that they were advertising for Apple. In case you've forgotten bits, here's a picture to jog the old memory..

The Best Server CPUs part 2: the Intel "Nehalem" Xeon X5570 | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 19:00

Better hardware virtualization, a vastly improved server platform, and eight logical cores per CPU: it's no secret that the Xeon "Nehalem" X5570 is the Formula One car among the server CPUs, but how much faster is it, and more importantly, does it offer return on investment? Find out as we run real world server applications on the newest Xeon....

Intel Xeon W5580: Nehalem EP | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 19:00

If you thought Core i7 was fast, prepare to be shocked all over again - you can run two Nehalem EP Xeon W5580s together in one motherboard. We take a look at Intel's latest workstation/server CPU which is up to 93 per cent faster than previous Core 2 architecture Xeons.

Gigabyte EP45C-DS3R Motherboard | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 18:00

Let's take an overall look on Gigabyte's mainstream motherboard for Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors based on Intel P45 chipset.

NVIDIA Calls It A Month With Five Driver Releases | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 17:40

You may have just installed the 180.37.04 Linux driver since it was released merely six days ago with OpenGL 3.1 support, but this morning NVIDIA has officially released the 180.44 Linux driver. The NVIDIA 180.44 Linux driver officially adds support for several new graphics processors, fixes various OpenGL crashes (including the KDE 4.x Plasma problems), adds support for OpenGL 3.0 ...

Microsoft Adverts cause stir for Apple fanboys | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 16:40

Microsoft's new adverts have made the Apple fanboys furious after the adverst suggested that apple computers were more expensive than ordinary PC's Furious letters are flying everywhere on the net about the adverts which point out that when the economy is in tatters the last thing you want to do is spend more than $1000 on a computer which does less than those that are cheaper.

AMD has no plans for new HD 4890 based X2 | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 16:40

We've learned that despite the fact that Radeon HD 4890 will be more power efficient, at the end with 850MHz clock it will have max power consumption that will come close to 190W.

GTX275 factory overclocking speeds | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 16:40

We have already reported that Geforce GTX 275 ends up with a 633MHz core, 1404MHz shader clock and 2268 MHz memory speed. The card uses 448-bit memory interface and GDDR3 memory, so no surprises here.

Skype is coming to the iPhone | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 16:40

iPhone users will finally be able to enjoy the popular internet telephony service Skype, and the Skype iPhone app will be available on iTunes on Tuesday.

ASUS N81Vp Gaming Notebook Review | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 16:40

With all the rage low-cost netbooks have been getting lately, let's not forget that there are some good deals to be had on performance notebooks. Gaming laptops are still being developed and are always improving. Today we take an in-depth look at ASUS's pairing of a T9550 Core 2 Duo processor and ATI's Mobility Radeon 4650 in the N81Vp laptop.

Metal Gear Solid Touch | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 16:40

If you own a PS3 then you own/ owned Metal Gear Solid: Guns Of The Patriot. If you own an iPhone or an iPod Touch then you can now own it’s spinoff….Metal Gear Solid Touch. It plays and more importantly looks just like the PS3 game. You have sneak and shoot your way around 12 stages [...]

The walking house- because caravans just aren’t cool anymore. | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 12:10

I’ve been listening to ‘War of the Worlds’ recently. The musical, not the crappy Tom Cruise film. For those not familiar, Victorian London is attacked by Martians in big metal walking machines with heat rays. It’s got some kick ass songs, and rumour is it terrified the Americans when it was played on the radio, [...]

Moblin V2 vs. Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Ubuntu MID | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 12:10

Last week Intel had pushed out a second alpha release of Moblin V2 and now it boots even faster, which means they are down to the point of being able to boot in just a few seconds. Beyond a very quick boot process, they have already incorporated kernel mode-setting and other newer Linux/X.Org technologies while also working to build a desktop environment around the Clutter OpenGL tool-kit. Moblin ...

DFI LANPARTY JR X58-T3H6 mATX | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 10:00

Mit dem LANPARTY JR X58-T3H6 mATX präsentiert DFI ein Mainboard, welches einen X58 Chipsatz von Intel auf kleinster Fläche unterbringt. Die Platine im Micro ATX Format bietet zwei PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Lanes, sechs DDR3 DIMM Steckplätze sowie alle möglichen externen Anschlüsse.

Win Prizes by signing up to the Gaj-It Newsletter | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 8:30

In the current financial climate, you may not have been able to go out for a night out or buy the latest toy that you’ve been eying off for the last month.  We’ve even been told that food is going to become exhorbitant soon! Well, we at Gaj-It.com are here to help you out of the [...]

Silverstone Sugo SG04-H | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 8:20

Silverstone's sturdy little Sugo SG04-H is in fact the next instalment to the company's line of portable micro ATX cases. Build quality and portability are both strong points for the SG04 but as ever certain compromises have to make when going small form factor.

Lancool Metal Boned K6 | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 8:00

The Lancool Metal Boned K6 packs a lot of the exclusive new features found in the modern Lian Li cases in a sleek and clean designed case. The Lancool Metal Boned K6 is intended for LAN party gamers, wanting great construction quality and sturdiness in combination with the looks and engineering backbone one has come to expect from Lian Li.

Red dot design award 2009 for Revolution85+ and Aurora Wireless | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 7:40

PRESS RELEASE red dot design award 2009 for Revolution85+ and Aurora Wireless The end of shapeless and grey PSU housings With PSU series Revolution85+ and keyboard Aurora Micro Wireless this year even two Enermax products won popular „red dot design award“ – a further demonstration of Enermax’s successful and creative product development. Revolution85+ is the [...]

EVGA GeForce GTX 295 HydroCopperTM | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 7:10

Press Release – Version Europe For Immediate Release EVGA GeForce GTX 295 HydroCopperTM March 13, 2009 — EVGA Corporation, the leading-edge 3D processor graphics cards and motherboard manufacturer, announces the fastest water-cooled dual GPU graphics card, the EVGA GeForce GTX 295 HydroCopperTM. The powerful 3D processor board features [...]

The SSD Update: Vertex Gets Faster, New Indilinx Drives and Intel/MacBook Problems Resolved | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 6:30

Another week, another SSD update. OCZ's Vertex drive got even faster, the first non-OCZ Indilinx drives show up and some Intel issues get resolved....

ASUS Rampage II Extreme | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 5:44

There are several manufacturers that offer various products in the new X58 chipset, and today we’ll be looking at what is probably the most coveted (and expensive) one: the ASUS Rampage II Extreme. It is manufactured and marketed as a high-end, enthusiast board, and features some unique goodies that should pique the curiosity of even the most discerning consumer out there.

Xigmatek “Red Scorpion” HDT-S1283 | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 3:40

“Inherited best product in the market, HDT-S1283, but also with Nickel Heat-pipe, transparent colorful and 4pcs white LED lights on fan, RED SCORPION is not only an outstanding performing product but also looks like art collection. With Anti-vibration rubber, spoiler design and Push-pin/Clip for INTEL & AMD, RED SCORPION offers [...]

NZXT Performance Power (PP800) 800 Watt Power Supply Review | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 3:20

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400S | Posted on: 30/03/2009 @ 0:06

If you thought that nothing interesting is going to happen on Socket 775 scene after Core i7 was promoted, we can only tell you that you have made a wrong assumption. Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad CPUs are still very fast and, to be quite honest, enough for most today tasks. Intel decided to continue with optimizations of Core 2 Quad models and results are presented in form of model Q9400s that we ...

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 295 1792MB | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 22:10

The GTX 295 is, like ATI's HD 4870 X2, two cards in one. It has two GPUs, connected by an onboard PCI-Express bridge, in SLI fashion. The GPUs are modified GTX 260s, architecturally identical, clocked at the same frequencies, although slightly-cut improved memory bandwidth (the GPUs of the 295 have 589-bit memory interfaces unlike the 260-216s with 448-bit interfaces). So there are two ...

VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB Redux | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 21:40

Only after being bested by it could I ever hope to wield it'sÂ… Oh screw it, it's just a video card. I mean, it's the best video card and all, and definitely not for everybody. Actually, as you'll see, it's not really intended for mainstream gaming. You need a damn big display to really see this card make frames. If you're looking to spend serious dollars for the best gaming experience, ...

Coolink Chillaramic | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 21:02

The thermal paste market is highly competitive with almost every computer component manufacturer having its own special paste. Each compound will have unique properties that decide how well it performs: burn-in time and conductivity to name but a few. In more recent times, manufacturers have moved away from using metallic particles and started to use ceramic nano-particles so as to make ...

SanDisk Extreme III 4GB SDHC Flash Card | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 16:30

SanDisk Extreme III SDHC memory card features 30MB/sec sequential read and write speeds and has been optimized continuous shooting capability for cameras like the Nikon D90. If you are looking for ultra fast download speeds when you offload your photo and video content read on to see if this Flash card is right for you!

Testing Out The Nouveau Driver On Fedora 11 | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 15:20

With the forthcoming release of Fedora 11, Red Hat has made the bold (but wise) decision of replacing xf86-video-nv as the default open-source NVIDIA driver with the Nouveau driver instead. The xf86-video-nv driver is officially maintained by NVIDIA, but it's their half-assed attempt at being open-source friendly...

AMD Releases R700 Instruction Set Architecture | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 14:00

Back in January there was the release of the R600/700 3D documentation that is being used along with some open-source code to begin powering up the Radeon HD 2000/3000/4000 hardware with OpenGL acceleration support in Mesa. Some of this code should be out soon, but this past week AMD has released some more NDA-free documentation...

The Best Alarm Clock Ever Makes You Breakfast | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 12:10

In the run up to Christmas last year, I confess I did notice that gadget shops seemed to be trying to out do each other is stocking the most annoying alarm clocks possible. As if it’s not bad enough to be jarred out of your peaceful slumber at 6:00am on a Monday morning, some alarm clocks [...]

360 gets new upgraded dev kit | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 11:00

A new Xbox 360 development kit was announced by Microsoft to address the shortcomings of the original development kit. Microsoft claims that the new development kit is designed for triple-A game development.

BenQ MP512-ST Short-Throw Projector | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 6:50

Fancing something a little bigger than your usual 24" or even 30" monitor? This BenQ short throw projector will display a 50" image at less than a meter from the wall! With a HDMI input and an attractive price - could it be the answer to big screen gaming and movies?

Grand Theft Auto: ChinaTown Wars Review (DS) | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 1:00

The phenomenally successful Grand Theft Auto series roars onto Nintendo DS in style in the very impressive Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars. Using the same outlay of Liberty City that was featured in Grand Theft Auto 4, the game tells the story of Huang Lee who is tasked with delivering a sword to his uncle after the murder of his father. The sword is a key symbol that will allow his family to ...

MLB 09 The Show Review (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP) | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 0:40

Just in time for the Baseball Season Sony has released MLB 09 The Show for the PS 2, PSP, and PS3 gaming systems. For my review, I used the PS 3 version and was immediately gripped by the strong graphics and lifelike animation of the players. The game is stocked with full rosters from all the teams and lifelike animations and mannerisms that reflect their flesh and blood counterparts. The ...

Monsters vs Aliens Movie Review | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 0:30

Ushering in what they hope will be a bold new era in 3D movie making, Dreamworks has set a very high standard with “Monsters Vs Aliens”. By combining science fiction and monster films, pop culture references, a strong cast, and cutting edge 3D technology, the film is likely to score big with audiences of all ages. The story involves a bride to be named Susan (Reese Witherspoon), ...

An Early Look At OpenSolaris 2009.06 | Posted on: 29/03/2009 @ 0:20

Sun Microsystems has been hard at work on their OpenSolaris 2009.06 operating system, and Solaris Express Community Edition (SXCE) for which it is based. This week marked the release of Solaris Express Community Edition Build 110 and the crew at Genunix have spun a new preview build of OpenSolaris 2009.06 atop this latest build, which we decided to try out this evening and have provided a few ...

Is Apple pushing consumers and developers loyalty too far? | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 22:20

As global recession deepens we're wondering if Apple is asking a little too much of its loyal user-base with its proprietary peripherals, steep upgrade costs and restrictive T&Cs

The Phantom Keystroker v2- how to be even more annoying | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 16:40

So April Fools Day is next week. I know its not exactly a wildly celebrated holiday once you get past the age of about ten, but sometimes everyone gets the urge to be just a little bit… wicked. But buckets of water on top of the door or cling film on the loo seat just won’t [...]

Open-Source R600 OpenGL Support May Come Soon | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 15:30

In late December AMD had released open-source R600/700 3D code and a month later they released the 3D documentation that covers these Radeon HD 2000/3000/4000 series graphics cards. The initial code drop didn't do much good for end-users as they couldn't do much more than render a couple triangles, but over the past few months the open-source developers have been working on the proper Mesa ...

Hornettek Travel Plus 2.5" SATA to USB External Enclosure | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 14:40

Have a spare 2.5” hard drive floating around? I've got a few of them and I've found they make nice, large capacity portable storage devices, but you'll need some sort of enclosure to make it usable really for portable storage. There are many on the market, I've reviewed several of them, but the one I've got today is one that I find I like quite a bit, it's from a new company called ...

New Garage Elevator Takes You Directly Up To Your Apartment | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 13:50

So you live in Manhattan, New York and you know that finding a parking spot is always a problem - what is one to do? Park your car in your condo, what else? For a small $3.65 million you can have a "en suite Sky Garage" valued at $700,000 which is the now the world's most expensive garage.This is the first time in the US a garage elevator system has been approved for a residential building. ...

Space Shuttle Discovery Crew Begins Deorbit Preparations | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 13:31

Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery are set to land at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today at 1:39PM EST. The weather conditions look favorable for the return flight home. The seven person crew on Discovery spent 13 days of their missions installing the space station's last $300 million set of solar wings which brought the station up to full power to support a six person crew ...

New Intel IGP Appears In Linux 2.6.30 Kernel | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 12:40

The merge window for the Linux 2.6.30 kernel is now open and Linus has already accepted a horde of new patches for this next quarterly Linux update. Among what has been pulled in so far is the DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) support for a new Intel chipset...

Phenom II X3 720BE & CrossFire X Performance - Does it Compete? | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 7:30

Has the Phenom II X4 940 met its match when it comes to CrossFire X performance at resolutions that most of us use on a daily basis? Let's find out....

TP-Link TL-WR941ND Wireless N Router | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 7:00

Wireless is becoming a standard in the home with the demand for faster and longer range devices. TP-LinkÂ’s TL-WR941ND has both at an affordable price.

Mesa 7.4 Released, Fixes The 7.3 Bugs | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 1:50

Just a bit more than two months have passed since Mesa 7.3 was released (and about one week since the first 7.4 release candidate), but this evening Brian Paul announced the final release of Mesa 7.4. This new Mesa release incorporates bug-fixes since the 7.3 release...

FSP Group BoosterX 5 450W Plus GPU Power Supply | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 0:40

“Today, we pull out the big guns with the FSP Group BoosterX 5 450W Plus GPU Power Supply. As a dedicated graphics card PSU, can this beast just about handle anything you throw at it. Join us as we take a look at what happens when Chris Breaks out the Palit 4870 Sonic Editions in [...]

Asus M4A78T-E AM3 DDR3 Motherboard | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 0:30

“Asus has always been in the fast lane when it comes to releasing new technology and this time they’re one of the first to field a viable AM3 board that budget minded enthusiasts can afford. The Asus M4A78T-E is targeted toward the new AM3 Phenom II lineup of CPU’s and takes DDR3. We were excited [...]

Antec Truepower New 750W Power Supply Review | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 0:30

“In the many forums I frequent, I sometimes see people wishing they could afford one of Antec’s high end Signature units and yet not quite willing to go for one of the Truepower Trio models. Well, Antec’s decided to freshen up the Truepower line once more, and they’ve just released the brand new Truepower New [...]

Cooler Master V10 Hybrid Heatpipe/T.E.C. CPU Cooler Review | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 0:20

“Cooler Master’s V10 is impressive in many respects. Size and stature are reassuringly large, but fitment may be an issue for some motherboards and cases. The engineering innovation and design are quite nice, as is the fit and finish. Unfortunately, the high cost and potentially troublesome installation leave something to be desired. Frankly, there are [...]

GSkill 2000 MHZ C9 DDR3 review | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 0:20

“We test some very fine G.Skill DDR3 memory today. They recently introduced a 2000 MHz | PC3 16000 DDR3 triple channel memory kit for Core i7. Very impressive, nice timings and a good price. G.Skills 3GB DDR3 2000MHz DDR3 Triple Channel memory kit comes with timings of CL9 (9-9-9-24) at 1.65V, and next to that [...]

VIA ARTiGO A2000 Storage Computer Review | Posted on: 28/03/2009 @ 0:10

“Generally, when I think of a NAS, I think of computer which has been stripped of any input/output devices and is really little more than a hard drive on a motherboard with a network port. I liken it to a motorcycle compared to the car which is a desktop computer: only the necessities of storage, [...]

Ubuntu's LPIA-based MID Edition Can Save 10%+ Power | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 21:50

When it comes to putting Ubuntu Linux on mobile devices, Canonical has two flavors of their popular Linux distribution to suit the needs of vendors and end-users: Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Ubuntu MID. The former targets netbook computers (hence its name), particularly those with Intel Atom processors, and brings a unique interface atop GNOME. The Ubuntu MID edition is targeted for very small ...

Windows 7 vs. Vista: high-end cards put to the test | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 21:50

GeForce GTX 260 vs. Radeon HD 4870 1GB: fight.

WINE 1.1.18 Brings Many Direct3D Cleanups | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 21:40

In the bi-weekly update to the WINE development series are a few interesting interesting. Today's release of WINE 1.1.18 brings many Direct3D cleanups, debug symbols in WineDbg on Mac OS X, improved support for upgrades in MSI, and RPC over HTTP support...

Sony Ericsson and Maria Sharapova launch New T707 | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 19:50

March 26th in Miami saw Sony Ercisson launch the new T707. The company teamed up with tennis star and style icon, Maria Sharapova. “The T707 is the next step in the style evolution from Sony Ericsson,” said Linda Schori, Global Marketing Business Manager for Style Category, Sony Ericsson. “Maria Sharapova is the perfect partner for us [...]

AMD Catalyst 9.3 Brings OpenGL Composite Support | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 18:10

While the Catalyst driver for Windows was released a number of days ago, the Catalyst Linux driver was missing. It has, however, been released today. AMD's Linux engineers ended up delaying the Catalyst 9.3 release so they could spend additional time tuning this driver, since it will be the last release that supports the R300 through R500 series as the support is being dropped. The significant ...

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 Processor Review | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 17:00

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 has four processing cores running at 2.66GHz, 6MB of shared L2 cache, and a 1333MHz Front Side Bus (FSB). If you are thinking of building an Intel LGA775 platform this processor should be at the top of your list. Read on to see how the Intel Core 2 Quad 9400 does against the other 25 processors it was benchmarked against.

The Pitt for Fallout 3 available again | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

As we told you yesterday, Bethesda was hard at work trying to resolve the issues that plagued the initial offering of The Pitt downloadable content on Xbox Live for Fallout 3.

How to copy songs from your iPod to you computer for free | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

This is just a short guide to show you how to get songs from your Ipod/iphone to your computer for free! This means that there is no need for expensive softwares ect... In fact all you need is access to the control panel!

Tech-Xtreme - Site Theme | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

Due to some strange problems with our custom made theme, a temporary theme is now in place while our custom theme is fixed. Sorry for any problems you may have had with the site today.

Intel to launch new logos April 1st | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

It turns out that Intel plans to launch its new logos on April 1st and we don’t need to remind you that this is internationally April fool’s day.

Radeon HD 4890 to launch for €239 | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

Pricing is usually a live thing that can change up to the last moment and we’ve heard that Radeon HD 4890 might launch at least €10 cheaper than we’ve all expected.

Nvidia files countersuit against Intel | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

Nvidia yesterday announced that it has filed a countersuit against Intel, which it accuses of violating the companies' four-year-old cross license agreement.

Blizzard is looking at console development | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:51

Our moles tell us that Blizzard has had some talks with Microsoft about what the successor to the Xbox 360 might, in fact, look like and what kind of features a next generation console would offer.

Tech-xtreme is changing their CMS | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:50

After meeting with TX staff, we have come to the conclusion that we will be now using joomla as our content management system. This means that the temporary theme will stay in place for atleast a couple of weeks while we create our joomla compatible theme.

Apple and Orange mix | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:50

Fruit-themed religion Apple is about to sign a deal with the fruit-themed mobile phone outfit, Orange, to flog its nice looking but jolly expensive laptops. Under the deal, Orange will subsidise Apple laptops and sell them through its own shops.

Sony rumoured to have new VAIO P models | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 16:50

Although we'd take this one with a pinch of salt for now, it seems as if Sony is working on another VAIO P range of mini notebooks/netbooks. According to Sony Insider we're looking at two different SKU's as well, not counting the colour options.

200 Googlers Got Pink Slips Today | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 15:20

Google today announced that 200 Googlers got pink slips and will no longer be working for the search engine giant. Google has grown too fast too soon and as they stated in their blog, it's almost impossible to get everything right when companies do this. "In some areas we've created overlapping organizations which not only duplicate effort but also complicate the decision-making process. That ...

New iPhone Set For June? | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 15:20

From the 8th to the 12th of June 2009, the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be taking place as set by Apple. There have already been many masses of rumors about when the next generation iPhone will be announced, but the final result of the rumors was that it would happen sometime in June, and what [...]

Speedlink Formula Laser | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 15:17

With a few very high end gaming mice passing through XSReviews, we take a look at the mid range market today. This product comes in the form of Speedlink’s Red Formula Laser Mouse and has some very interesting features. The main one being the cable compartment which allows the USB cable to coil up inside the mouse.E Speedlink has a very god reputation of providing top quality products, so ...

OnLive to Offer On Demand Gaming Without a Graphics Card | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 13:20

Imagine playing Crysis or Half-Life 3 on your computer, laptop, netbook, or TV - without having a fancy graphics card or 2GB+ of memory. This all is becoming true this winter when OnLive, unleashes its cloud gaming service. The days of high powered gaming rigs are no more, meet the new way to game and new digital distribution service. OnLive's CEO Steve Perlman presented the OnLive service at SF ...

Sapphire PURE CrossFireX 790GX Motherboard | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 13:20

AMD isnÂ’t dead by a long shot. Phenom II, while not a stellar performer, still has a place and today Sapphire comes out with a new Dragon board.

Top 5 Data Losses | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 12:20

Most companies with any sort of IT infrastructure have got some sort of disaster recovery plan. Whether it be a set of tapes or CD's or a redundant data centre, the idea of loosing the company accounts on a hard drive that has become a paperweight is something that keeps IT managers awake at night.

Twenga: Shop for Electronics on Your iPhone | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 11:40

In the current financial climate, money has become tight for a number of us. This doesn’t mean that we need to necessarily give up on our desire for a new Nintendo Wii or iPod accessory, it just means we need to be a bit more savvy in doing our homework to ensure we get the [...]

Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 11:40

This is the Antec MicroFusion 350, the micro ATX little brother of Antec's awesome Fusion HTPC chassis. Although the case has had a face lift, the Fusion styling is still there, but why does opting for less case mean you have to pay more money? We built a PC inside it to find out.

Mophie Juice Pack Rechargeable Battery for iPhone 3G Reviewed | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 9:00

User Complaints Prompt Facebook Changes | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 8:30

If you’ve got a facebook account, chances are you’re part of the “MEMBERS WANT THE OLD FACEBOOK BACK!” group, or have voted “NO to the new facebook layout”. In short, the Twitter-like changes to the social networking site have been less than popular. The guys over at Facebook haven’t been able to ignore all of the [...]

A+ Cupid 3 Mini-ITX HTPC Chassis | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 5:20

A+ have sent us a mini-ITX case solution, the Cupid 3, with a 200W power supply included. Could this be the HTPC enclosure for you?

Galaxy GeForce GTX 260+ OC Graphics Card | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 3:10

We have another look at a Galaxy card today; this time a GTX 260+ sporting 216 SPs and an overclock.

As Jaunty Nears, Ubuntu 9.04 Beta Released | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 1:40

While there is about a month to go until the release of Ubuntu 9.04, this evening Canonical has released the only beta release for this next Ubuntu release known as the Jaunty Jackalope. Among the features in Ubuntu 9.04 are the GNOME 2.26 desktop, Linux 2.6.28 kernel, X Server 1.6, KDE 4.2, and various other updated packages...

3G Phone Sales Slump in Europe | Posted on: 27/03/2009 @ 0:00

It’s hardly surprising news, but is still a piece of information that should be a concern for many phone manufacturers out there. Latest figures from industry research company GfK show that 3G is not as important to Europe consumers as was once hoped. Sales figures of 3G handsets in Western Europe have fallen to 18 per [...]

Canonical To Not Enable UXA, Too Problematic | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 23:30

In August of last year Intel had introduced the UMA Acceleration Architecture (commonly referred to as UXA). UXA is based upon the very common EXA acceleration API but it handles the pixmap management using GEM objects...

Acer Aspire One D150 | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 23:10

The age of netbooks has started with models that had 7 inch displays. Very soon all of us noticed that this is not enough, so models with 8, 9 and 10 inch displays became netbook mainstream models. Acer postponed presentation of its 10 inch model for a long time but it seems that they have made a right decision because this will be, probably, the year of transition to 10 inch models. As a ...

HIS HD 4650 iSilence 512 MB | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 22:10

Phoronix Test Suite 1.8.0 "Selbu" Beta 2 | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 20:50

The second beta release for Phoronix Test Suite 1.8.0 "Selbu" is now ready for testing. In the past nine days a fair amount of work has been committed for the 1.8 release...

Meet iPredator - Secure Anonymous VPN from Pirate Bay | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 19:10

Are you scared the RIAA or MPAA is always in your shadows? Pirate Bay, the notorious torrent site of legal and illegal materials, will be introducing IPREDATOR. IPREDATOR is a new VPN service that will go further than any existing company on the market today. The service promises to help protect your privacy online and help prevent big brother from tracking your every move by encrypting your ...

NOX Coolbay HX | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 18:09

For the first case review at Verdis Reviews, we have a highly promising company that special in PC enclosures and power supplies – NOX-Xtreme. The case we will be looking at today is the Coolbay HX and it offers a massive potential for cooling with its four large system fans. Interesting visuals and innovative features all make for a great product so let’s see how it gets on…

A pinch of curiosity, a few clicks of a mouse and hoorah! Access to 3 Mobile’s database and 80,000 personal details! | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 17:50

A curious reader of Bitterwallet.com, known as ‘Dan’ stumbled across a 3 Mobile database containing almost 80,000 names and addresses of UK citizens. Although exact details of how Dan came across this information cannot be revealed, it was apparently very simple. Here’s a taster image below of the list of names and addresses.  Bitterwallet have checked it [...]

Gigabyte EX58 Extreme Motherboard | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 17:20

Let's take an overall look on Gigabyte's high-end motherboard for Core i7 processors based on Intel X58 chipset.

Speedlink Mini Chat | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 16:46

Even though speaking to other players over VOIP or other services is becoming more prevalent, with PC games including voice chat in game, and console users able to discuss over headsets within their parties, and within certain games, one of the main modes of chat is still the text message interface. One problem with this on consoles, is how long it takes to spell out a message with a standard ...

Apple Set To Release 17-inch Student iMac Computer for $899 | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 14:30

Are you a student on a tight budget but want an iMac? If dishing out $1150 bucks for a 20-inch iMac would set you back several months, then Apple's new 17-inch iMac priced at $899 might just be the ticket! Apple has confirmed that it plans to bring back a 17-inch model to the Apple Store for students. Apple originally had an 'eMac' that had a 17-inch screen and was priced around $800 but was ...

PowerColor SCS3 Radeon HD 4650 512MB | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 13:50

Back in December we looked at the Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 512MB OC graphics card. This mid-range ATI graphics card had performed well under Linux and what separated it from the other Radeon HD 4650 graphics cards on the market was its factory overclock of 650/900MHz. While not factory overclocked beyond the RV730PRO specifications, PowerColor has the PowerColor SCS3 Radeon HD 4650 512MB, which ...

Software Billionaire Makes Second Trip Into Space | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 13:00

United States based software mogul and billionaire, Charles Simonyi is set to aboard the International Space Station today to make history yet again, this time being the first space tourist to make the trip twice. Simonyi has paid a total of $60 million for the two space trips thus far but does not plan to make a third trip."I cannot fly for the third time because I have just married and I have ...

ASUS SDRW-08D1S-U External DVD-RW USB 2.0 Slim Drive | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 13:00

The ASUS SDRW-08D1S-U Diamond slim USB DVD was created as a stylish accessory to the innovative ASUS Eee Top. With its vertical mount and small footprint, it can fit almost anywhere and helps to prevent a cluttered workspace. Read on to see if it performs as well as it looks!

Zerotherm Nirvana NV120 Premium Towerkühler | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 11:20

Zerotherm präsentiert mit dem NV120 einen schwarz vernickelten Towerkühler, der komplett aus Kupfer besteht und über eine edle Optik verfügt. Weiter wurde der knapp 640 Gramm schwere Block mit einem 120 mm durchmessenden Lüfter bestückt, der für ordentlich Frischluft sorgen soll.

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Core i7 Specific CPU Cooler | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 11:20

Noctua knew they were onto a good thing with the standard NH-U12P and now we get a look at the Special Edition Core i7 specific model with extras.

XFX Radeon HD 4870 X2: the last performance bastion for AMD? | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 10:50

Offer anything new over what we've seen before?

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB Vapor-X | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 10:29

Attention in some quarters may be turning to AMD\'s forthcoming refresh boards, but for now the firm\'s current Radeon HD 4800 series offerings still offer up plenty of bang for your buck. Today, we take a look at one of the latest creations to come from Sapphire\'s stable, the vapour chamber cooled Radeon HD 4850 512MB Vapor-X.

Photofast G-Monster V2 128 GByte MLC SSD | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 10:00

Photofast, ein Flashspeicher-Hersteller Japanischen Ursprungs, ist in unseren Breitengraden noch eher unbekannt. Mit der G-Monster V2 bringt man ein Produkt auf den Markt, das auf eine interne RAID-0 Architektur bezüglich der verwendeten JMicron Controller setzt. Hierdurch sollen Lese- sowie Schreibraten von 230 MByte/s respaktive 160 MByte/s möglich werden.

A novel use for your novelties | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 9:20

If you’re anything like me then your computer has about a million cables coming out of it. Looking at my laptop right now I have a network cable, a memory stick, an ipod connection cable and a mini USB cable for uploading photos. And I’m sure I could find more if I looked around in [...]

Nintendo's Development Secrets, Cloud Gaming & new Killer NIC - GDC '09 | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 8:30

Our first day of coverage from the Game Developer's Conference includes a rare insight into how Nintendo develops games, a new service that offloads GPU/CPU computation for games and Bigfoot's brand new Killer NIC....

Hi-Den Vision HDMI 1080p Digital Photo and Video Viewer Review | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 8:20

What is going on in the labs? | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 8:00

Our title comes from an email I received today. It is a very good question and one that certainly deserves an answer. Well, let's start off with Anand and Derek attending GDC 2009 this week so they are consumed with meetings and even more meetings. Hopefully we will hear from them shortly, if not, we will send a process server out to find them. Jarred is busy...

Strange dual-sim razor phone Cool758 hits the market | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 7:00

We see a lot of cool gadgets and innovations here at Gaj-it.com, where chalk and cheese are combined to create a perfect symphony of functionality but we just can’t see this one catching on; folks, we introduce you to the Cool758 mobile phone. This Chinese-made little number seems to come in a few colour variations but [...]

Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600W PSU Review | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 2:40

The more good, clean power your PSU puts out means the more components you can safely power inside the computer. So it is never safe to go cheap and get an inferior power supply. We're going to take a look at the Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600W to see if it can handle today's demanding computer components. Read on for a look at a near silent PSU with SLI80 certification and modular cabling from ...

ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi Motherboard | Posted on: 26/03/2009 @ 1:50

ZOTACÂ’s mini-ITX motherboard line-up has managed to impress us so far. Today we have their latest addition with us in the form of the 9300-ITX WiFi.

Sony Ericsson W995 Promotional Video | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 23:30

Looking back to its unveiling last month, the Sony Ericsson W995 has been generating massive amounts of interest. It holds all the high end capabilities of Walkman functionalities, an 8.1MP camera amongst many other nifty features have allowed the release of the phone and details that surface before its release to be very popular as you could expect as lets be fair here....this is the most ...

Ultrasone PRO900 Headphones | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 19:50

High numbers equal high performance in the Ultrasone product lineup when it comes to the PRO900s. In this review we see how well the newest addition to the Ultrasone lineup compares to some of the best modern headphones out there.

A New Gaming Era with ‘OnLive’ Streaming Games Service | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 17:50

March 24th saw the launch of a new online video game distribution network - OnLive - at the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco. OnLive promises instant access to the most advanced, high-quality games in the world. Big promise! Some say it could very well provide competition for the likes of Playstation, Xbox and the Wii. Company [...]

Sat Navs VS Common Sense | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 17:10

There has been many a debate as to whether technology is making people lazy. And, perhaps, stupid. Let’s take Sat Navs for example. How many people in the UK alone do you reckon use a Sat Nav? Well, if that Sat Nav told you to jump in a fire, would you? If it directed you [...]

Canon unveil HD-video capable entry-level DSLR | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 16:10

Canon has announced that they are launching the EOS Kiss X3, a budget/entry-level HD-video capable camera for the amateur market, which will launch first in Japan next month, followed by the US, Europe and Asia.

WD Scorpio Blue 500GB Notebook Hard Drive | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 15:40

The Western Digital Scorpio Blue series of hard drives was designed to offer high-performance, low power consumption, and cool operation. The Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB hard drive is one of the largest on the market, which makes it perfect for your storage needs. Read on to see how this 5400 RPM drive performs when LR puts it to the test.

Intel Moblin V2 Alpha 2: It Boots Even Faster! | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 15:10

Back in January Intel had pushed out its first alpha release for Moblin V2. This Intel-optimized Linux distribution targeting systems with Intel Atom hardware was quite unique and offered a number of advantages for being a netbook-oriented operating system. Particularly special about Intel Moblin V2 was its boot-time, which was extremely fast when using a Solid-State Drive. Intel has now put out ...

iPhone Claim 50% Of Traffic In The U.S. | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 14:00

As of last week TechCrunch reported that there has been 17 million iPhones sold worldwide, and put this together with Apple’s iPod Touch they have sold over 30 million devices combining both. This is one hell of a figure! It is no surprise then that the iPhone is one of the most used gadgets in the [...]

Tagan A+ Cupid 3 Mini-ITX HTPC Chassis | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 14:00

TaganÂ’s A+ division have sent us a mini-ITX case solution, the Cupid 3, with a 200W power supply included. Could this be the HTPC enclosure for you?

Asus Eee PC Keyboard: No Monitor Required | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 13:20

In the interest of minimalism, Asus have created quite a stir with their lastest Eee PC Keyboard that comes complete with its own 5 inch touch screen. Of course for a keyboard to have its own  screen, it will need a few other things in the background for it to actually show you what you’ve typed. In [...]

Intel DG45FC mini-ITX motherboard | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 12:10

Rounding off our short mini-ITX season, we take a look at Intel's tiny G45 based motherboard to deconstruct its build, layout and performance - does Intel's own beat third part manufacturers and is the G45 chipset up to the HTPC task? Read on to find out.

Flip Mino HD | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 11:30

Is your camcorder's size preventing you from taking it with you? Do you need something that's small enough to fit in your back pocket and light enough so you don't know it's there? Want to capture HD movies with a minimum of fuss? Well the Flip Mino HD might be what you've been looking for.

ECONOMIC RECESSION : Rebirth Of The Smart Computer Consumer @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 5:58

Consumers are no longer replacing their computer every 2-3 years seeing the one they bought in 2002 after a format and OS reinstall is still perfectly fast and they are only out the cost of paying a tech to return their computer back to factory fresh.

BFG EX-1200 Watt Modular Power Supply | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 5:00

Evolution of the breed. BFG seeks to distinguish itself with a unique power supply design. But, is different a good thing in this case?

Gallium3D Now At Version 0.3 In Mesa | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 3:40

It has been a number of months since version 0.2 of Gallium3D was declared, but today Keith Whitwell finally bumped the version to 0.3. While Gallium3D isn't yet in a state for end-users, may changes have went on since the creation of the Gallium3D v0.2 branch...

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 6GB DDR3-1600 | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 2:50

For those who crave something unique, we\'ve just the thing to satisfy that hunger today: a set of Crucial Ballistix Tracer 6GB tri-channel DDR3-1600 modules, sticks that are probably the most pimped-up modules you can buy, complete with logarithmic-inducing blinking LED lights. Necessary? Perhaps not. Overdone? Maybe. Over the top? Hellya. These sticks are about as crazy as it gets, and frankly, ...

Samsung Monochrome Laser Printer ML-2855ND | Posted on: 25/03/2009 @ 1:50

While we may be in a digital age with Twitter, Facebook and e-mail making the most of our written communication, there is still the occasional need to print something out. The Samsung ML-2855ND is a simple no-fuss network and duplex ready printer suitable for your home office or small business.

Olympus FE-5000 | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 23:45

The FE-5000 model represents novelty in FE series of Olympus digital photo camera product lineup and it is positioned as top model in this series, right beside Olympus FE-5010 model. Difference between these two cameras is in 2MP larger sensor that uses model FE-5010, along with noise reduction for expositions slower than 0.5 seconds. Olympus FE-5000 has its debut on this year’s CES held ...

HIS HD 4870 IceQ4+ Turbo 1 GB GDDR5 | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 22:30

In addition to the long and complicated name, the HIS HD 4870 IceQ4+ Turbo features twice the memory compared to the AMD HD 4870 reference design. The clock speeds have also received a boost, now running at 770 MHz core and 1000 MHz memory out of the box. Last but not least, HIS replaced the AMD cooler with their own IceQ cooling system.

Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB Hard Drive | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 21:40

Western Digital is one of the big names in hard drives, and one of their latest releases puts a much stronger emphasis on the word big. Model number WD20EADS is a 3.5" SATA 3Gbps hard drive from their "eco-friendly" Caviar Green series that sports 32MB of cache memory and an industry leading 2TB of storage capacity.

Four Days Pass, Time For New NVIDIA Linux Driver | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 21:30

NVIDIA pushed out the 185.13 Beta Linux driver just four days ago, but already they have released another new Linux driver. This time around, the NVIDIA 180.37.04 driver was released...

OpenGL 3.1 Released Plus New Audio Standard | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 19:10

Nine months ago the Khronos Group released the specification to OpenGL 3.0. OpenGL 3.0 brought version 1.30 of the GL Shading Language, the introduction of Vertex Array Objects, texture arrays, more flexible frame-buffer objects, and a number of other graphical features...

iPhone 3G 16gb | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 18:37

Many people, since the iPhone’s launch, have ridiculed the iPhone for lacking certain functions that every other phone/Smartphone in the world is capable of such as a good camera and the cut, copy and paste option, but we’re here to prove it’s still a great phone.

Speedlink Vento 2.0 | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 17:38

With the growth of notebooks, netbooks, and other portable media players, something people tend to like to do when they aren\'t in a far away place with their beloved piece of kit, is enhance it with improved peripherals. Be it a mouse, larger keyboard, increased screen size, or improved sound quality. Today I\'ll be reviewing something that would probably suit that purpose very well, the ...

Samsung Movies – New Online Store for Samsung Mobile Customers | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 17:20

March 19th saw Samsung launch their online movie store, Samsung Movies. The new service is powered by digital movie retailer, Acetrax and will bring Samsung mobile users over 1,000 movies and TV shows from Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal and Momentum Pictures, including top titles like The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, E.R and Gossip Girl. “Movies direct from [...]

Benchmarking The Linux 2.6.24 Through 2.6.29 Kernels | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 17:20

With the release yesterday of the Linux 2.6.29 kernel, we have set out to explore how the desktop performance has evolved over the past six major kernel releases. On a few occasions in the past we have provided kernel benchmarks (at one point even benchmarking 12 kernels), but this time around we have included nearly two dozen benchmarks using the Phoronix Test Suite. How has the Linux ...

Leaked: Acer Android Smartphone – due September? | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 17:10

You may (or may not) have noticed the many rumours emerging with regards to Acer jumping on the Android bandwagon…  Well, an official at the Taiwanese Acer company has told the Philippines Business Mirror that the company will release an Android based touchscreen smartphone this September. Spokespersons at Google Beijing and Taipei Acer both declined to comment.  [...]

Unlocked iPhones available to purchase now, PLUS next-gen iPhone tidbits revealed | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 15:40

Online UK retailer Play.com are offering unlocked 8GB and 16GB iPhones for pre-order right now, with delivery expected to start on the 27th of this month. That’s not all though, we’ve also caught wind of a little of what to expect when the new iPhone hits the shelves later in the year

Creative Labs Continues To Shaft Linux | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 15:10

It has been a while since last mentioning the Creative X-Fi sound cards at Phoronix, but it's not because the Linux support is all nice and working now that Creative open-sourced their X-Fi driver, but rather things have stalled. The X-Fi sound cards still are a sore spot on Linux and there isn't "out of the box" support in major Linux distributions. First, however, it's important to note how ...

Mobile Broadband On Linux To Improve With ModemManager | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 14:20

With NetworkManager 0.7, which can be found in most modern Linux distributions already, there is "out of the box" support for many mobile broadband / cellular cards in this excellent network management utility. Most SM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HDSPA, HSUPA, and EVDO devices can then provide an Internet connection to a Linux host usually with the click of a menu item from the NetworkManager plug-in...

ATI Catalyst 9.3 Analysis - XP & Vista | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 13:40

AMD has just released a new Catalyst driver for Radeon graphics cards – we check out performance under XP and Vista.

Titan Fenrir TTC-NK85TZ CPU Cooler | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 13:40

Titan has seen the light and submits to TweakTown the Fenrir 120mm tower cooler for some rigerous testing.

GMail Provides Undo Feature for Mistake Emails | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 13:30

Email certainly has made life a lot easier by letting us quickly communicate with each other all day long without having to be constantly by our phones. The only downside has been when ever we hit the “send” button by mistake and your boss ends up with half an email of unedited gibberish from you. Google [...]

Antec Fusion Remote Max | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 13:02

It’s been nearly a year since we reviewed Antec’s Fusion 430 – a similar HTPC case to this – which proved a very worthy HTPC enclosure. Since that case, Antec have improved on their Fusion range massively. For a good reason too, with more and more people purchasing LCD or Plasma TV’s, many people too are buying HTPC’s to go with their shiny bit of tech. ...

And you thought it was safe to go back in the water… | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 12:00

Ok, so I know I went robot hunting last week, but allow me this one overlap. Because this is a robotic fish which is currently in development, in the UK, and could actually help save the environment while looking incredibly cool all at the same time. BMT Group Ltd have joined forces with a team of [...]

Three-way shootout: XFX XXX 4870 vs. HIS IceQ4+ Turbo 4870 vs. Inno3D iChiLL GTX 260 | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 11:00

And all are pre-overclocked, too.

Jetway NC92-330-LF dual-core Atom mini-ITX | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 10:00

Are you after a multi-tasking mini-ITX board, but something that's low power and pretty cheap? Jetway's dual-core Atom is light on features but the Atom N330 doesn't cost much on this basic board. We see how it stacks up against the competition!

NZXT Guardian 921 Crafted Series Mid-Tower Steel Chassis Review | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 4:30

Linux 2.6.29 Kernel Released; Hello KMS and Btrfs! | Posted on: 24/03/2009 @ 0:00

With much anticipation, the Linux 2.6.29 kernel was released just moments ago by Linus Torvalds. Besides introducing an interim logo to stand-in for Tux, the Linux 2.6.29 kernel most notably introduces support for kernel mode-setting on Intel hardware...

NZXT Whisper (2009-03-23) | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 20:50

Backup company Carbonite loses customer data | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 20:50

This story at TechCrunch has shown just how precarious your data might be up in the cloud. It turns out that the company has possibly lost over 7,500 companies data over the weekend.

Rockstar Games Announces Max Payne 3 for 2009 Winter Release | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 19:30

Rockstar Games today announced that Max Payne 3 is currently in development and is on schedule for a winter 2009 release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and PC. Developed by Rockstar Vancouver, Max Payne 3 tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense ...

Win an AMD Phenom X4 Bundle @ eTeknix | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 18:11

This is your chance to win a *BRAND NEW*AMD Phenom X4 Bundle. What’s included in this bundle is as follows: * AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz Socket AM2 - Retail * Asus M3A79-T Deluxe AMD 790FX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard * G.Skill PK 4GB (2×2GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit To be within a chance of winning this ...

Bigfoot Network Unveils Killer Xeno Gaming Network Card | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 18:00

Bigfoot Network today launched the Killer Xeno Gaming Network Card, the companys next-generation voice chat-enabled network interface card for online gamers. The new product comes with more memory, an upgraded network processing unit (NPU), and integrated audio for hardware-accelerated voice-chat, all designed to bring gamers the ultimate online experience. The Killer Xeno platform provides ...

Gallium3D: TGSI IR, OpenCL, LLVM Work Ahead | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 17:30

FreeDesktop.org hacker Zack Rusin has provided an update on his blog about some of his recent activities when it comes to Gallium3D. In particular, this blog post largely talks about his recent work on TGSI, which is the intermediate representation used by Gallium3D, to improve the compilation of shaders. In order to improve TGSI since most modern hardware is designed around DirectX needs rather ...

Cooler Master Cosmos-S Full Tower Chassis | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 16:10

When it comes time to select the ideal chassis for your build. You will find that you have a ton of options to select from. Manufactures are constantly trying to keep up with the ever growing demand for innovative, stylish, and functional cases. Cooler Master is a well known manufacture when it comes to Quality built cases. From the great looks of the Wavemaster, to the monstrous size of the CM ...

Palit GeForce GTX 260 Sonic 216SP | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 16:01

Because of the various factors working against desktop graphics, I\'d say that now is the time for manufacturers to stop building a bigger mousetrap, and instead build it better. That\'s what Palit does, and their approach to discreet graphics products usually follows the rule of function before fashion. In this case, it\'s function and realistic performance needs before fashion and marketing ...

XBMC Receives Mainline Support For VDPAU | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 16:00

While AMD continues to sit on the sidelines of Linux video playback as they have yet to release the needed information to expose their X-Video Bitstream Acceleration (XvBA) interface, NVIDIA's video API continues being adopted by various open-source multimedia projects. NVIDIA engineers working on the Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix had only provided official patches for FFmpeg and ...

Tata Nano - A Brand New Car Under $2,000 | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 15:10

Costing under $2,000 USD, the Tata Nano - also the world's cheapest car, is due to go on sale across India in the next few days. The Tata Nano measures 10 feet long and 5 feet across, giving enough room for fivepassengersand is a bit larger than the Smart cars we see on the street in the U.S. today.The four-door Nano has a 33hp 624cc engine in the rear of the car. To save on costs, you'll find no ...

IE 8: Losing ground and attracting complaints | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 14:10

Web rumblings suggest that all is not well with the newest version of internet explorer

ASUS Rampage 2 Extreme Motherboard Review | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 13:30

The Asus Rampage II Extreme X58 LGA 1366 motherboard was deisgned to be the ultimate gaming/overclocking platform for the Intel Core i7 processor series. Based on the Intel X58 chipset, the Asus Rampage II Extreme supports Intel's new QuickPath Interconnect, 12GB of DDR3 triple-channel memory, and multiple graphics cards!

Radeon Driver Rewrite Only Has A Few Things Left | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 12:40

Back in February we talked about the work that David Airlie is doing to rewrite the ATI Radeon driver for Mesa. Soon it now looks like this rewritten code may land in the mainline Mesa code-base once a few more items are addressed...

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Unboxed | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 12:20

We've got our hands on a brand spanking new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and are looking to share the Christmas-morning-unboxing-excitement with you. A viewer warning with this video- if you're the kind of person who likes to keep the plastic film on the screen of your new electronic goods, there is action in this film that may be distressing...

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Review | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 12:20

After all the hype surrounding the release of the Xperia X1 towards the end of last year, how has the phone fared in a already dominated by the iPhone and Blackberry? We've given the Xperia a few months to do the rounds, and now we're taking a close-up look at just how this handset really is to live with.

Unleashing NVIDIAÂ’s GTX 295 Graphics Card | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 11:20

We move the i7 920 from stock clocks to 3.8GHz and see what kind of performance gains it gives the powerful GTX 295.

Win an AMD Phenom X4 Bundle | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 10:50

This is your chance to win a *BRAND NEW*AMD Phenom X4 Bundle What’s included in this bundle is as follows - AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz Socket AM2 - Retail Asus M3A79-T Deluxe AMD 790FX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard G.Skill PK 4GB (2×2GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit To be within a chance [...]

XTracPads Logic Hard Mouse Surfaces | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 10:12

XTracPad’s latest product has only just been released and is something very exciting which promises to take mouse pads to a whole new level. The product is not really a mouse mat at all but more of a mouse surface that sticks, using an adhesive, directly onto your desk. These surfaces, called the XTracPads Logic, are also ultra thin – roughly half the thickness of a credit card and ...

Thermaltake Xaser VI | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 9:30

“The folks over at Thermaltake apparently noticed that even full tower cases were no longer big enough to get the job done for some builds. Seeing this need, they sought to correct this problem, by creating a “Super Tower” case. The case to solve the growing need for more space comes to us in the [...]

G.Skill Titan 128GB SATA SSD FM-25S2S-128GBT1 | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 9:30

“For the past several years, G.Skill has built a reputation for offering premium-grade products at economy-level pricing. Similar to their competition, G.Skill offers enthusiast products in several different markets. The brand name has been built on a solid history of quality system memory product lines, and not long ago they introduced the very impressive G.Skill [...]

Xeno: Bigfoot's Second-Generation Killer NIC | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 7:10

I was invited to speak with the guys at Bigfoot Networks to discuss their new product, the Killer Xeno Network Card. Harlan Beverly (Chief Technology Officier) and Sean McCann (Product Marketing Manager) sat down with me to unveil the new product, and to set the record straight about their previous Killer NIC. To address the Pink Elephant in the room, Harlan started off by admitting that they ...

Blasting Away with a Nintendo Wii Zapper Shootout | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 4:50

Space Station Urine Recycler Fails Test - Repair Made | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 1:00

Around noon on Sunday Mission Control in Houston gave International Space Station Commander Mike Fincke a "go" to begin processing the first Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) sample since a new Distillation Assembly was installed in the UPA earlier in the mission. It usually takes between four and five hours to process samples. At approximately 12:46 PM on Sunday Mission Control began to evaluate an ...

Logitech QuickCam Communicate Deluxe | Posted on: 23/03/2009 @ 0:25

While a relatively simple device, web-cameras are still an area on Linux that can be problematic when it comes to compatibility and the device functioning properly. The level of Linux support for USB web-cameras has improved quite a bit in recent years, and for many devices it is now a plug-and-play experience, but that is not the case for all devices. In this article we are taking a brief look ...

eMachines G520 and eMachines G620 | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 22:14

Notebooks have obvious advantages over desktop configurations but also have one drawback: price. Now we can introduce to you two models that overcome that last obstacle that can unsettle you in deciding whether you will go for notebook or desktop. Since screen size does matter if you decide to get a notebook, we found two 17 inch models: Acer eMachines G620 and G520.

Nanoxia FX Series 80mm Fans | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 20:40

We've all got fans in our cases to keep our computers cool, but some of those fans, especially those that come in a pre-built system can be quite loud so we need to find a quiet replacement, but yet one that can still keep our systems cool. Today for review I've got two of the FX Series of 80MM fans from Nanoxia, a 1600RPM fan and a 3000RPM fans. In my time with these fans I've found them to be ...

QEMU 0.10.1 Released With Bug Fixes | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 20:40

QEMU 0.10.0 was released earlier this month as the first major update to this open-source processor emulator in more than a year. Being pushed out yesterday afternoon was now the first point release for QEMU 0.10.0...

Director R.W. Goodwin talks Alien Trespass and The X-Files | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 19:30

Recently I had the chance to speak with Director R.W. Goodwin about his new movie “Alien Trespass”. R.W. Goodwin served as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on the X-Files for many seasons and has crafted a very funny and nostalgic look at the classic 50’s sci fi and monster films of the past. I want to thank Danielle at THA for setting up the interview and R.W. for ...

Wallace and Gromit Grand Adventures Interview with Telltale | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 19:20

Recently I got the chance to speak to the good folks at Telltale about their new Wallace and Gromit game. I want to thank the team and Emily for answering my questions. GVK: What is the background and setting for the game? Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures is a four episode series based on the characters and world created by Aardman Animations in the Wallace & Gromit films. In our ...

Sharp Aquos LC-52D85U | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 18:20

One of the latest great deals in LCD HDTVs is the Aquos LC-52D85U from Sharp, which offers 52-inches of 1080p HD resolution with a lightning fast 120-Hz display for under $2000. The low price point of this TV along with its above-average picture quality puts it near the top of our list for one of the best LCD HDTVs for the money.

Battle For Wesnoth Gets New Campaign, Graphics | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 16:40

For those interested in turn-based strategy games, Battle For Wesnoth 1.6 is now available on Linux and other supported platforms. This major update to Battle For Wesnoth brings a new campaign (called The Legend of Wesmere), many multi-player improvements, improved game graphics, new terrain types, user-interface improvements, and an improved map editor. More information on this open-source ...

Seagate Momentus 7200.2 200GB Notebook Hard Drive | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 13:30

The Seagate Momentus 7200.2, 200GB hard drive offers 7200 RPM performance, 200GB of storage capacity, and mobility in a 2.5" form factor. With a price tag under $55 this notebook hard drive is a quick and easy way to boost storage space and improve performance on older notebooks.

Microsoft Announces Availability of IE8 | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 13:20

“Today Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Windows Internet Explorer 8, the new Web browser that offers the best solution for how people use the Web today. It can be downloaded in 25 languages at http://www.microsoft.com/ie8 starting at noon EDT on March 19. Internet Explorer 8 is easier to use, faster and offers leading-edge security [...]

ATI Linux Drivers Gain Support For Unreleased RS880 | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 13:00

AMD's current flagship offering when it comes to integrated ATI graphics is the Radeon HD 3300 / 790GX. This IGP was introduced last fall as a minor refresh to the Radeon HD 3200 / 780G Chipset...

ITunes HD: The Price Is What? | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 12:20

“In one of those stealth announcements that we’re sure will have critics up in arms about its lackluster nature, Apple’s now allowing customers to buy and rent HD movies from the iTunes Store on their computers. If you thought that was already the case, I won’t blame you for the confusion–the progression of HD content [...]

Access multiple email accounts with Gmail in 3 easy steps | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 10:20

It seems as though nearly everyone has at least two email addresses these days, and it’s not uncommon to have upwards of four that are used on a regular basis for separate purposes. You may or may not have heard of Gmail’s multiple inboxes feature and how useful it is, so if you’d like to take [...]

Classic Gaming Madness: Megaman 3 | Posted on: 22/03/2009 @ 7:30

After Megaman 2 basically showed us how to make an awesome sequel. Capcom did what they later would be notorious for: The made more sequels. Even today, Capcom schedules their yearly catalogue around sequels to their top franchises. Usually when they come out with something original, it tanks. Once they have one game that sells pretty well from the two original titles introduced a year, you ...

Prestigio Data Safe III | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 19:14

Attracting customers is these days very important task for any company, especially on overcrowded PC market of external hard disks. Company Prestigio managed to produce series of external storage devices under the brand Data Safe that has caught a lot of attention. This was achieved by unusual design that was inspired by art and style. New series of external hard disks, Prestigio Data Safe III, ...

A Working X Input 2 Implementation | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 15:50

X Input 2, a major rework to the X.Org input extension, is a step closer to reality. Originally it was hoped that X Input 2 would be ready for X Server 1.6, but that didn't end up happening and also resulted in Multi-Pointer X being disabled in this latest X Server release...

Classic Gaming Madness: Megaman 2 | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 7:40

The original Megaman was a fun game, sure, but it wasn’t a best selling masterpiece like you may think. Regardless, Capcom brought out a sequel, Megaman 2. The first noticeable difference in MM2 was the fact that rather than six robot masters there were eight. Granted, stages were shortened a bit, but the level variety was vastly improved.

BBCs Botnets. | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 7:00

The BBC, in the name of “public interest”, recently accuired the means to get together a botnet. The Click Online program for the BBC paid “£254 - £290″ per 1,000 computers, and secured themselves an army of 21,696 PCs. They then use these PCs to send spam email to two addresses that the BBC team [...]

Patriot Warp V3 256GB 2.5-inch Solid State Disk | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 4:10

Patriot evolves the Warp Series into its third generation. LetÂ’s see how fast it can go this time around.

Kingston DataTraveler 64GB | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 0:34

To prove or dispel the notion that high capacity drives are slow, we\\\'re going to pit the Kingston DataTraveler 64GB flash drive against a popular and fast, smaller capacity flash drive. We think you may be quite surprised with the results.

Mesa 7.4 Release Candidate 1 Released | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 0:20

Mesa 7.3 was released back in January and was branched from the master Git tree so that it can be stabilized further and go on to form Mesa 7.4. Well, nearly three months later, Mesa 7.4 is getting close to being released...

Another Week, Another New NVIDIA Linux Driver | Posted on: 21/03/2009 @ 0:10

It has not even been a week since the release of 185.13 Beta Linux driver, but today these Santa Clara engineers have pushed out yet another driver update for Linux. The NVIDIA 180.41 driver is this newest driver and it brings support for new Quadro FX graphics cards, improved power management on some systems, and bug-fixes. The NVIDIA 180.41 driver introduces support for the Quadro FX 380, ...

Blu-ray Focus Grows Within FFmpeg Project | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 22:30

Earlier this week Google had published their list of 2009 Summer of Code projects and FFmpeg was among them. Last week we published an interview with the FFmpeg developers where we learned more about their v0.5 release and other topics like OpenCL, Blu-ray, and multi-threading...

Hot Deal - RocketRAID 4320 for $329 | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 21:20

We receive a lot of press releases each day for various products from a wide variety of sources. We will start providing these on a more timely basis, but one press release this week really caught our eye. HighPoint Technologies recently sent us their RocketRAID 4320 for a full review and now through a partnership with NewEgg, the cost has been reduced to...

Know1ng Movie Review | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 19:30

John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) is a man who lives in a world of facts. As a professor at M.I.T. he is more concerned about things that can be proven through hard science than with things that cannot be proven. With the recent loss of his wife leaving him a single father, John is not willing to accept the notion of a grand plan or the notion of heaven easily. John’s son Caleb (Chandler ...

CoolIT Domino A.L.C CPU Cooler | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 17:50

The CoolIT Domino A.L.C. CPU cooler is a water cooling unit at the price of an air cooler. It has three fan speed modes and features a blue backlit LCD screen. Installation is simple for a water cooling unit and its performance is exceptional considering its low price of $79.99.

TopoPointUSA iPhone App Provides Live Topographic Maps | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 16:50

Are you into GeoCaching or just Hiking in general? TopoPointUSA may just be the iPhone App for you! Today, Ebranta released the first GPS enabled cell phone application for displaying United States Geological Survey (USGS) high resolution topographic map images and your GPS position whether you are online or not!USGS topographic maps contain the highest detail of any map suitable for wilderness ...

Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 Released for Consoles | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 16:50

Activision today releases the Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1, available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Players will fight through the burning streets of Berlin in "Nightfire," take position in the deadly jungles of "Knee Deep" and carefully traverse the bombed out underground of "Station." The Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 will also add another heart-pounding chapter to the ...

Cisco Set To Acquire Flip Video Company | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 16:50

Cisco has announced that it intends to acquire privately held Pure Digital Technologies Inc. San Francisco-based Pure Digital, creator of the best-selling Flip VideoTM brand, is a pioneer in developing consumer-friendly video solutions with mass-market appeal."The acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco's strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer ...

Space Station 115-Foot Solar Wing Unfold Procedure Completed | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 16:50

Today, astronauts aboard the International Space Station are seeing their hard work being paid off. Late Friday morning the team aboard the orbiting outpost pushed a button that commanded one of the solar wings to begin unfolding. The 115-foot wing will take several hours to unfold according to NASA.The team members aboard the ISS watched intently as the wing began to unfold with their finger on ...

NVIDIA Ion - Intel Atom Done Right? | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 16:50

Today I have something special for everyone! I've spent the past couple of weeks playing with one of the NVIDIA Ion reference platforms and get to bring you my thoughts on this new innovative platform. Read on to see how the NVIDIA Ion does when it comes to 1080P movie playback, gaming and much more!

The iPhone goes cheap on O2 | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 14:20

Good news for anyone looking to upgrade their phone, MP3 player or both. You do have to wait until the magical date of April 3 when O2 have announced a reduction in price for the iPhone 3G. If you’re willing to take out a contract, you will be able to get the 8GB iPhone 3G [...]

Wedding Crashers HD Movie Review | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 13:30

“You shut your mouth when you're talking to me!”

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 Vapor-X 512MB: last throw of the RV770 dice | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 13:30

Custom cooling on a proven GPU, how good is Sapphire's Vapor-X?

Gmail Gives Us Ability to Undo a Sent Message | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 13:20

Sometime you wish you wouldn't have hit the "Send" button on an email, regretting what you said or sending it to the wrong person. Gmail users need not to worry any more because the Gmail team has provided us a new feature called "Undo Send" which allows us to cancel a sent message.

Robomop- surely a student essential? | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 12:10

 We have the technology, we can rebuild him….  Ok so that was the Million Dollar Man, but I can’t think of any Robocop quotes right now. Actually the only ones I can think of are ‘You’re dead! We killed you!’ and ‘Dead or Alive you’re coming with me’. But they’re not really appropriate when I’m going [...]

Open-Source ATI Graphics In Ubuntu 9.04 | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 10:20

Ubuntu 9.04 will be released towards the end of next month and it is picking up the Linux 2.6.28 kernel, GNOME 2.26, and other improvements like install-time support for the EXT4 file-system and some subtle improvements. When it comes to the X.Org side it is shipping with X Server 1.6 and the stabilized version of Mesa 7.3. Specifically in regards to the ATI Linux graphics, it will be shipping ...

SSD versus Enterprise SAS and SATA disks | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 8:10

We compare RAID configurations of up to 16 SATA drives, up to eight SAS drives, and up to eight Intel X25-E SLC SSDs in different situations and try to find out which configuration makes the most sense for different enterprise applications. OLTP in particular has our attention: are the expensive SLC SSD drives capable of outperforming SAS RAID...

Western Digital Caviar Green 2.0TB (WD20EADS) SATA Hard Drive Review | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 7:30

Acoustibuds Earphone Adapters Review | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 7:30

Acoustibuds are add-on silicone adapters that can be slipped over generic earbuds. Not only does it prevent your earbuds from slipping out, but it makes them more comfortable, too. Regular earbuds are "one size fits all" and remain snug by pushing your ear's cartlidge around hard plastic. After a while, your ears start to hurt. With Acoustibuds, the hard plastic is out of your ear, and ...

Fusion-io SSD faster than Linford with the trots. | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 7:00

Solid state drives have always looked like being the answer to a lot of prayers. The latency time they offer is head and shoulders above that which a SCSI drive, for example, could attain, also the read time for the same reasons, is so much better. So the next part of the jigsaw is to [...]

GIGABYTE GeForce GTS 250 1GB Graphics Card | Posted on: 20/03/2009 @ 2:10

GIGABYTE has taken the time to do something different with the GTS 250. LetÂ’s see if itÂ’s enough to stand out from the pack.

Intel Core i7: Dual-Channel vs. Triple-Channel Memory Mode | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 23:45

Intel Core i7 CPU introduced few novelties to desktop users and one among those was triple channel memory mode. This mode is supported by memory controller that is integrated into CPU itself. If you plan to upgrade to Core i7 platform one of advantages will be triple channel memory mode and with this test we offer you a straight answer to question: Is triple channel memory mode faster and better ...

Sony First Cuts Workforce and Now Freezes Salaries | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 18:30

Sony today announced a drastic measure in an effort to cut costs that involves freezing workers' salaries this year. Sony's raises usually come to employee's based on their performance and role - and generally how well they did in the previous year towards the companies success. "This time we decided to keep the workers' salaries unchanged," Sony spokeswoman Mami Imada said. Back in December of ...

Best CPU Cooler Performance LGA1366 - Q1 2009 | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 16:55

Throughout all of 2008, I made it my mission to test every high-performance CPU cooler that Benchmark Reviews received. The Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors did their part to separate the cream of the crop from our large collection of LGA775 coolers. In our previous Best CPU Cooler Performance article, Benchmark Reviews retired the LGA775 platform from its testing duties and made room for ...

Seasonic M12D SS-850W PSU | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 15:40

We've rounded up and finalised our opinions of the Seasonic M12D, and now it's time for the overall performance results. Does Seasonic's champion 80Plus Silver model hit the spot to overrule the Antec Signature, Enermax Revolution 85+ and Cooler Master UCP 900W?

Samsung Begins Shipping 16GB DDR3 Memory Modules | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 14:10

Samsung today became the first memory maker to begin shipping 16GB DDR3 modules based on the 50nm DDR3 fabrication process. The new modules will be shipped in 18 different configuration types ranging from DRAM to RIMM and everything in between.Samsung claims they are the first to offer 16GB RDIMMS that operate at only 1.35 volts, which provides up to 20% in savings in power consumption compared ...

AMD Releases ATI Catalyst 9.3 Driver for Windows 7 | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 13:20

AMD has released the ATI Catalyst 9.3 Unified Driver for Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7. ATI Catalyst 9.3 represents the industrys first unified driver installation package to incorporate Windows 7 support, including Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.1 compliance, bringing with it a host of benefits for developers currently testing and updating applications using the widely ...

ASUS Eee Top Review - Touch Screen Desktop PC | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 13:00

The ASUS Eee Top is an innovative, low power, touch screen computer with many uses. It uses an Intel Atom N270 Processor for a solid workstation, and it has modified software for functionality and user-friendliness. ASUS claims that the Eee Top is great for meetings, communications and education. Read on to see if it really is all that ASUS claims it to be, or is it just another marketing ...

Intel Poulsbo DRM Proposed, But Rejected | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 13:00

Back in January we shared that Intel's Poulsbo driver was a bloody mess. This Intel GMA 500 Chipset is used by a few select devices at the moment and its core is originally based upon a PowerVR ASIC...

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Final Release Available | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 12:40

Today Microsoft announced the availability of Internet Explorer 8, its latest addition of web browser for Windows. IE8 as we all call it by can be downloaded in 25 languages from Microsoft.com starting at noon EDT on March 19th. IE8 provides many new security and privacy protections as well as being much quicker with Javascript and other performance areas needing improvement.Customers have made ...

Beware of the Cheeky Monkey Joyriders! | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 11:00

If you've ever been to a safari park then you will always be warned not to feed the animals or leave your car unattended. Ok, so you might end up leaving the safari park with a few scratch marks on your bonnet or saliva marks from the baboons licking the windows, but let me tell you that it's time to thank you lucky stars!

MADWORLD - Wii | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 9:50

Get ready for a blood-bath as you enter SEGA's stylish and brutal reality TV Show.

Fallout 3 SuperGuide! | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 8:00

Fallout 3 is the 3rd game of the Fallout series. The first 2 were major hits and cult classics, with incredible plot and substance to satisfy the RPG gamer in everyone. Fallout 3 was changed a little. It is now a first person shooter, where as the previous 2 were top down turn based combat games. Because Fallout 3 is a first person shooter, many things were changed in the game that wouldn't work ...

Linux in the limelight. | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 7:00

A recent article by John C. Devorak, posted on Extreme Tech, has proclaimed the authors enthusiasm for the Ubuntu operating system. For those of you not indoctrinated, Ubuntu is a Linux distro that is currently heading up the push for Open Source on our desktops and servers. And, having been a part-time Linux user for [...]

Nouveau Companion 43 | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 5:10

In this edition of the Nouveau Companion, covered is the status of this open-source NVIDIA display driver and what went on at FOSDEM with the Nouveau project status and combining LLVM with Gallium3D. Recently the Nouveau developers have been successful in using EXA acceleration on newer GeForce 9 graphics cards, backlight controls working on more NVIDIA graphics cards, and a port of the Nouveau ...

Thermaltake BigTyp 14 Pro CPU Cooler | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 4:40

We fire up the T.E.C.C. and examine the theory of "bigger is better" with Thermaltake's BigTyp 14 Pro.

Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 CPU Cooler Review | Posted on: 19/03/2009 @ 2:10

Xigamtek offers up a slick looking and inexpensive CPU cooling solution with the Dark Knight.

GIGABYTE M912 Convertible Tablet PC Netbook Review | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 21:20

GNOME 2.26 Desktop Environment Released | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 21:10

After being in development for about six months, GNOME 2.26 has been released. New in GNOME 2.26.0 is the integration of the Brasero disc burning utility, volume control integration with PulseAudio, improved display management support (powered by RandR), and many other desktop enhancements. Also released for GNOME 2.26.0 was GTK+ 2.16, which has a few improvements as well...

AMD Releases Display Library For Linux | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 21:10

This afternoon AMD has released the Catalyst 9.3 driver for Windows along with ADL, or the AMD Display Library. The AMD Display Library is a cross-platform library that provides a single SDK to access graphics hardware information. In the past AMD has provided a few SDKs for obtaining this information on Windows, but this is the first time we are seeing such support on Linux.

XPAD SLIM Non-slip Laptop Cooler & Heatshield | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 20:10

Laptops are great products, they allow us to take our computers with us easily to get work done and have fun as well. There's one problem with most laptops though, they're really not meant to be on your lap, they all can get fairly hot and being on your lap is the possibly of covering the vents or fans making them even hotter and even more uncomfortable to use. There are many types of laptop ...

Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooler | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 19:40

Overall, the cooler seems to be well made and so far the design intrigues me. The more compact size might be good for HTPCs or other computers with side panel fans that interfere with larger heatpipe towers. I just hope that the two 'smaller' fans can compete with the noise level and cooling performance of a 120mm unit.

One Last Hurrah For USplash: A New Theme | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 18:10

Pushed into the Jaunty repository this morning for Ubuntu 9.04 was a new theme for USplash. This Canonical project for providing a splash screen at boot-up on Ubuntu is being replaced by Plymouth with Ubuntu 9.10 (the Karmic Koala release), but there is a new Ubuntu theme as one last hurrah...

Terrafugia Transition Flying Car Flight Test Successful! | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 17:50

Terrafugia, an aircraft company that builds 'Flying Cars', announced today that it's first flight of the Transition Roadable Aircraft Proof of Concept was a great success! Often referred to as a flying car, the Transition is a two-seat aircraft designed to take off and land at local airports and drive on any road. Transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 seconds.The first ...

The iPhone 3.0 Update | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 15:00

For the past week, the major talking point amongst iPhone owners has been the up-coming 3.0 firmware update, and what it will have and what it wont have. Now lets not forget that we have been waiting a while for this firmware update as it contains several important features that put in simple terms should have [...]

Zotac GeForce 8200 ITX WiFi Motherboard | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 14:50

Based on a small 170mm x 170mm footprint, the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi is feature packed with support for AMD Phenom II, Phenom, Athlon and Sempron processors, dual-channel DDR2 memory, integrated 802.11b/g WiFi, Gigabit LAN, PCI Express x1 expansion, four SATA 3.0 Gbps ports and dual-display. The ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi also supports NVIDIA CUDA-enabled applications with its integrated ...

The Linux Kernel Saves Animals, Gets New Logo | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 14:40

Tux, the Linux penguin mascot, will be taking a break during the Linux 2.6.29 kernel cycle. Committed to the Linus's kernel tree last night is a new temporary logo known as Tuz...

Fujitsu Unveils FLEPia - First Color eBook Reader | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 14:20

Fujitsu today announced the start of consumer sales of the world's first color e-paper eBook Reader, the Fujitsu FLEPia. Developed by Fujitsu Frontech and Fujitsu Laboratories, FLEPia is the first ever mobile information terminal to feature color electronic paper (color e-paper). In addition to being lightweight and thin, the color e-paper mobile terminal features an easy-to-view 8-inch display ...

Twitter Job Search: Can Social Networking help with the Recession? | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 13:30

Figures have been released today that unemployment in the UK has passed 2 million, meaning there are 10 job hunters for every single UK jobcentre vacancy advertised. Unforutunately, times are tough. This is where search specialist Workdigital today have stepped in. To help you get the edge in looking for a new job amongst all of [...]

Phoronix Test Suite 1.8.0 "Selbu" Beta 1 | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 13:10

With lots of positive feedback and results since Phoronix Test Suite 1.8 Alpha 3 earlier this month, the first beta release is now ready. The first beta release for Phoronix Test Suite 1.8 (codenamed "Selbu") contains a bit of code reorganization, various bug-fixes, numerous improvements to the GTK2 GUI, improved support for BSD (particularly NetBSD), PCLinuxOS support, and a few test profiles ...

Discovery Docks With Space Station To Begin Its Mission | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 12:40

NASA gave word yesterday that the Space Shuttle Discovery successfully docked with the International Space Station at 5:20PM EDT on Tuesday. The Shuttle is delivering the final truss segment for the ISS and a pair of solar array. The Shuttle is also providing a new crew member to take up residence aboard the growing outpost.At 6:09PM, the Shuttle and Station crews opened the hatches and greeted ...

VirtualBox Gets 3D Acceleration For Linux Guests | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 12:40

VirtualBox, the popular virtualization software platform owned by Sun Microsystems (though Sun may soon be owned by IBM), has been reaching a number of 3D milestones in the past few months. Back in December, Sun had introduced OpenGL acceleration for Windows guests through a modified OpenGL driver for the XP/Vista virtualized operating systems that would then execute the OpenGL calls through the ...

IBM In Talks To Acquire Sun Microsystems? | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 12:20

IBM has been in talks with Sun Microsystems this week, looking to acquire the struggling company for $6.5 Billion. The Sun stock has reach a 52-week low of $2.60 a share recently and it has been trading in the downward territory for the last several years. Today, in pre-morning trading the stock has rocket up 65% to $8.22 a share - in the hopes of the buyout.If the deal were to go through, it ...

The Oboe: Let your dead relatives live on in robot form | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 12:10

The picture on the right looks like the latest evolution of the robot toys that have been popular for the last few Christmas’ right? Except this one actually looks as sleek as we’re led to believe by Will Smith in ‘I Robot’ (is that movie title satirically based on the iPod by the way?). Once again [...]

Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi Motherboard | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 10:00

Could this mini-ITX GeForce 9300 Zotac board with integrated HDMI and WiFi possibly be the greatest home theatre board ever created? We drop in an inexpensive Intel E5200 CPU, bolt on a blu-ray drive and check out this £100 mini marvel.

The SSD Anthology: Understanding SSDs and New Drives from OCZ | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 9:20

The SSD market appears to have changed a lot. Drives are cheaper, newer controllers are everywhere and there are more questions than answers as to how these SSDs perform and which ones are worth buying. In the follow-up to last year's Intel X25-M Review, this article will hopefully catch you up to speed on everything from why SSDs get slower over time to how...

Lord of the Rings: Conquest Review | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 7:30

Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a solid release from Pandemic Studios and EA that will delight fans of the novels and films as well as gamers who crave lots of action and options in their games. The game allows players to decide to play for the path of good or evil and once that decision is reached, then the real fun begins. If you chose the path of good, then you will follow Frodo on his mission ...

Lab Update - Patriot Memory Viper Series DDR3-1333 | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 5:40

We take a first look at a very impressive DDR3-1333 (PVT36G1333ELK) 6GB memory kit from Patriot and figure out our assumptions about inexpensive DDR3 memory were misguided. ...

Lite-On eSAU108 External Slim DVD Writer | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 5:40

We take the time to have a look at an external DVD drive from Lite-On. Is it something we can see people using?

ATI rolls out Catalyst 9.3 with official Windows 7 support: we benchmark high-end cards | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 5:10

Do not publish

Unreleased ATI Catalyst Driver Appears In Ubuntu | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 3:00

Last year when Ubuntu 8.10 was released it had shipped with an unpublished ATI Catalyst driver since the proprietary ATI drivers available to the public were not compatible with X Server 1.5, which was used by this Ubuntu release. Now with Ubuntu 9.04 coming around the corner and the ATI Catalyst driver lacking X Server 1.6 support, we have run into a similar situation. Canonical's Bryce ...

MSI EX620 | Posted on: 18/03/2009 @ 0:46

When we characterize design of an notebook, in most cases we describe it or as neutral business or as visually very attractive. MSI EX620 is somewhere in between: very nice notebook without tacky and too showy details but still unusual and pleasing. Ocean Wave design is much noticeable on this than on some earlier models and now same wavy texture is noticeable on palm rest area.

Coolink Silent Savior | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 20:57

Coolers have adapted to fit and cool almost every single part of a computer rig in order to maximise performance. Today, Coolink have kindly sent us their Silent Savior hard drive cooler which promises to be a cheap way to keep your HD cool so as to work to its full potential. However, do all these coolers really help keep your PC running smoothly by keeping temperatures down? The Silent Savior ...

Meet the Cajun Crawler - A Segway Like Device With Legs | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 20:40

We've all heard of the Segway but what we all might not have heard about is the Cajun Crawler, a Segway-like personal transportation device with insect like legs. It looks a bit creepy, really cool, and it's a lot faster than one might think. This Segway competitor was created by some students from the University of Louisiana, hence the name "Cajun Crawler". The crawling mechanism uses six pairs ...

Ultrasone HFI-680 Natural Surround Sound Headphone Review | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 20:30

Google-powered Samsung touchscreen on the horizon | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 20:00

A picture of what is rumoured to be the first Android handset from Samsung has been leaked online Extremely blurry pictures of what may be Samsung’s first outing with the Google Android operating system have surfaced on the Dutch website GSMhelpdesk.nl The information posted over on the Dutch site purportedly shows Samsung’s first foray into the touchscreen [...]

Apple iPhone 3.0 OS Full Features Unveiled | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 19:20

Apple today has announced enhancement that iPhone OS 3.0 will bring us. Below is a recap from the event held at the TownHall Event.Cut/Copy and PasteYes, it's finally here. We now have the ability to copy and paste text anywhere we please.

Amazon Kindle 2 Review | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 18:10

Review of the Kindle 2 electronic book reader. How is it compared to the previous Kindle and other e-book readers Check it out.

Boxee iPhone Remote Control Application Launched | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 16:00

Boxee has launched a new iPhone Remote App which allows you to control Boxee remotely from your iPhone. It's a pretty basic application but it does the job and has some functionality to it. It has two modes that you can place the app in, Gesture and Buttons. In the Gesture mode you need to hold down your thumb and move it around in order to navigate and of course in button mode - you simply click ...

Scythe Mugen 2 | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 15:27

With the last CPU Cooler review here at XSReviews way back in October of last year, it was time for another. It comes in the form of the Scythe Mugen 2 which is a revision of the previous Mugen cooler and features Scythe’s new MAPS (Multiple Airflow Pass-through Structure) technology along with a Multi Fan Mount Structure. Read on to find out more…

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 15:10

The march of ever larger hard drive capacities takes a big step forward with Western Digital's massive 2TB Caviar Green. With four enormous 500GB platters boasting more storage than any other 3.5" drive, we find out how this colossus of hard disk drives performs.

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 15:10

Another Core i7 motherboard creeps in the price bracket of affordability along with the MSI X58 Pro at £160. Not only is the Gigabyte UD3R a damned sight better looking, this time the overclocking and cooling performance is one thing that has not been trimmed off to keep the costs down.

Akasa Enigma | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 15:10

Today we're taking a look at Akasa's entry into the SFF market with the Enigma Mini-ITX case and finding out if its the ideal home for an Intel Atom based system or media centre.Do good things really come in small packages?

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard - PS3 | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 14:40

The third person shooter with a sense of humour - alledgedly.

Sony MS500 Bluetooth Enabled Outdoor Wireless Speaker To Go | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 14:30

Sony has announced a new Bluetooth-enabled outdoor speaker that can tag along where ever you happen to go. Whether it's to hang out at the beach or enjoy urban life, the MS500 can be there with you cranking out your tunes for all to hear. Available in trendy orange and black or chic white and pink the MS500 speaker is the ultimate accessory for any dedicated pop rocker or dancing queen - small ...

Ericsson Demonstrates VDSL2 At Speeds Of 500Mbps | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 14:30

While it may only take you 20 to 25 minutes to download 500MB of data on your highspeed cable, DSL users may soon be able to download the same amount of data but in only 12 seconds. It would take longer to copy the file to disk than it would to download the data. This is all thanks to VDSL2, which allows unprecedented speeds on existing copper lines.Ericsson announced today that it has performed ...

PaLiT GeForce GTX 260 55nm Video Card Review | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 14:30

The PaLiT GeForce GTX 260 Sonic 216 SP is factory overclocked to give gamers the ultimate gaming and home entertaining experience. With the latest 55nm GPU powering this NVIDIA GeForce GTX Core 216 graphics card it should be interesting to see the power savings and temperature decrease versus a standard 65nm version of the same card.

Scythe Kama Angle and Thermal Elixir Scyte-1000 | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 14:17

The CPU Cooler we have here today is a little different on the usual tower-format design; the distinctive V-shape makes this product stand out but will it be able to compete with the tried and tested tower-format that has dominated in recent times? Introducing the Scythe Kama Angle…

Blu-ray Support In FFmpeg? Coming Soon, Perhaps. | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 13:40

A week ago at Phoronix we published an interview with the developers of FFmpeg (well, just three of their active developers) where topics from OpenCL to their release cycle to multi-threading support were discussed. Diego Biurrun, Baptiste Coudurier, and Robert Swain also talked about their version 0.5 milestone...

New Electric Urban Scooter System Designed | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 13:20

During the Australian Design Award's, Anton Grimes from the University of New South Wales developed a "Link Scooter System" which is designed as a modular transport solution that can be retrofitted to existing Streetscape Smart Poles. It allows users to hire a small lightweight electronic scooter from a hub and ride to the desired destination and then return the scooter to another hub, where it ...

ASUS Eee Top Fails With Linux | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 12:30

ASUS is among the few tier-one hardware vendors that understands Linux. Of the dozens of ASUS products we have tested over the years, it is hard to remember a product from ASUS that did not work well with Linux. ASUS was even the first motherboard vendor to ship with an embedded instant-on Linux environment known as SplashTop and they continued their adoption of this lightweight Linux desktop ...

Akasa Enigma | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 11:40

Today we're taking a look at Akasa's entry into the SFF market with the Enigma Mini-ITX case and finding out if its the ideal home for an Intel Atom based system or media centre.Do good things really come in small packages?

Apple turns to Wii for a Remote Idea | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 10:30

When there’s a proven idea on the market, an even better idea is to “borrow” the concept for yourself. This is exactly what Apple is doing by filing a patent application for a Wii Remote style wand for use with Apple TV. This Wiimote-type remote will use IR sensor technologies to access a range of functions [...]

ASUS Rampage II Gene mATX | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 9:01

Mit dem Rampage II Gene mATX präsentiert ASUS sein erstes High-Performance micro ATX Mainboard. Auf minimaler Fläche wird an dieser Stelle versucht maximale Performance zu ermöglichen. Das micro ATX Board basiert diesbezgülich auf einem Intel X58 Chipsatz, zwei PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Slots mit SLI und Crossfire Unterstützung, sechs DDR3 DIMM Steckplätze sowie einen X-Fi ...

Resistance: Retribution Review | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 8:00

This volume of the Resistance story takes place in the weeks after the fall of the Chimeran toiwer at the end of Resistance: Fall of Man. The primary character is James Grayson, who is a British Royal Marine, who is forced to hill his brother Jonny inside a Chimeran conversion center. After these events James goes AWOL and enters into his own personal vendetta agains the aliens and sets out to ...

Coverage from Live MST3K Show in Seattle | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 6:20

The creative talents behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 came to Seattle this past weekend to present a live version of their latest project, Cinematic Titanic. For those who do not know of Mystery Science Theater 3000, it was the creation of Joel Hodgson who along with his robot pals, lampooned the worst films in cinematic history as well as an endless array of short films.The series ran for 11 ...

Thermaltake V9 Gaming Case (Mid-Tower) | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 5:10

Today we are going to take a look at one of Thermaltakes newer gaming case, the V9. The V9 is a mid-tower case that is built mostly of steel with a plastic top and front panel. Normally when you hear "Gaming Case", you know that its going to be designed to offer optimal cooling. The V9 chassis uses one 230mm top exhaust fan, one 120mm rear exhaust fan, and one 120mm front intake fan. The front ...

ASUS GeForce ENGTX295 Graphics Card | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 5:00

We have a look at the GTX 295 from ASUS and see how the card is comparing to the GTX 285 these days.

Five Fighting Games for St. Patrick’s Day 2009 | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 3:20

Icy Dock MB881US-1S-1 External Hard Drive Docking Station Reviews @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 17/03/2009 @ 1:53

The stand in particular turned out to be more rugged than I initially thought it would be. Despite that though, a drive mounted on the dock can still shimmy around pretty easily with the slightest touch. Because of this, it is probably best suited for an environment where it\'s not likely to be disturbed.

Linux Benchmarking: As Easy As Dragging and Dropping | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 23:50

Next month at Phoronix Media we will be introducing version 1.8 of the Phoronix Test Suite. Among a horde of new features, new test profiles, bug-fixes, and much more, there is a Phoronix Test Suite GUI (updated screenshots)...

Windows 7 RC/Office 14/Exchange Server 2010 Insider Info | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 23:20

From TechReviewSource.com's insider Microsoft source: Windows 7The most recent build compiled is build 7061 on March 11, 2009Internal RC-escrow builds of Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 will be delivered to select testers on the fourth week of April 2009Release candidate for Windows 7 for Windows Server 2008 R2 will be released to the public during the last week of May 2009Office 14First ...

Overclocking with ASUS at CeBIT 2009 (2009-03-16) | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 21:20

Antec Fusion Remote Max | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 20:40

Like the Sonata Elite, also the Fusion Remote Max is an updated version of a case we've already reviewed on Metku.net once before. While the Sonata Elite still followed the footprints of its predecessors, the Fusion Max goes a bit further and the internal layout is redone to take full-size ATX motherboards.

Microsoft Surface 2 'Second Light' Has Touch-Free Controls | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 18:00

The next generation Microsoft Surface is coming, dubbed 'Second Light' and will be built from the original model but will include many new enhancements. For one, the new Surface 2 will include a second projector within so that images can be projected onto a layer above the original surface screen. This allows you to overlay things such as satellite imagery or radar on street maps for example. It ...

Copy and Paste Function iPhone 3G 3.0 Update Confirmed | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 15:10

Kevin Rose, technology geek and Digg founder, has confirmed that Apple will implement the much needed, Copy and Paste function in the next version of Apple's iPhone update, Version 3.0 which is set to debut this week at Apple's Townhall Event. He also says that the new OS version will NOT include support of running background processes or tasks. Kevin explains the copy-n-paste functionality in ...

Sandisk ImageMate Multi-Card USB 2.0 Reader Review | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 15:10

With digital cameras and mobile phones using Flash memory there is still a need for an easy and quick way to transfer files from the device to your PC for storage and touch-up. SanDisk introduced the ImageMate Multi-Card USB 2.0 Reader/Writer last month and today we bring your our thoughts after spending some time with the device.

Nokia Unveils Three New Mobile Phones for Audiophiles | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 14:20

Nokia has released three phones with Music being the centerpiece of the devices. The Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 5330 XpressMusic and Nokia 5030 bring people's music to life with features that give music lovers around the world easy access to the music they love. By expanding the music range to different price points, introducing more markets with Comes With Music service and the Nokia Music ...

Shuttle Discovery Launch Successfully, Finally! | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 13:40

After months of delays, Space Shuttle Discovery finally lifted off on Sunday to send its crew of seven into Orbit and then on to the International Space Station. The Shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral on Sunday at 7:43PM EDT just as the sun was getting ready to set. The clear skies allowed the Shuttle to be seen for several minutes.The launch was given delay after delay due to an engine issue ...

MSI Unveils World's Most Power Saving Netbook - U110 ECO | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 13:40

MSI today has launched what they call, "The World's #1 Power Saving Netbook", the U110 ECO in Wind Netbook. The battery life of the U110 ECO is around 9 hours, but of course this varies on operating conditions and settings. The new netbook features the Intel Menlow Platform with Atom processor, includes a high resolution webcam, 2 channel stereo speakers and microphone, and of course your 802.11 ...

U.S. Building $400 Million Solar-Powered Spy Airship | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 13:40

A new U.S. Spy Blimp, or Airship, being developed by the US military will measure 400 feet long, will fly 65,000 feet up in the air, can travel to any global destination within 15 days, can survey targets up to a 375 mile radius and can remain airborne without landing for ten years. This next generation airship will provide the U.S. with intelligence that they have never had before. They can have ...

Ever think your teacher was a robot? She could be by 2015… | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 12:10

Replacing things with robots is a common theme of sci fi movies. R2D2 and co are now so much a part of our vision of the future that when robots really do come along, we’ll probably not even realise it. Of course, once the robot revolution then starts it’ll be too late and we’ll all [...]

File-System Benchmarks On The Intel X25-E SSD | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 12:10

Late last month we looked at the Intel X25-E Extreme SSD on Linux. We ran this high-performance solid-state drive within a System76 Serval Notebook and compared its performance to a Seagate Momentus 7200.2 SATA HDD. During that testing we were just using the default EXT3 file-system, but now we have taken the Intel X25-E SSD for another spin as we looked at its performance when using the ...

Noctua NF-R8 | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 10:07

To conclude the Noctua trio of fans, we have the smallest of the three – the NF-R8. With both the 120mm and 92mm versions proving to be right up there at the top of the market, the NF-R8, featuring the same technology, seems sure to follow in the footsteps and achieve some great cooling results. Let’s have a look…

ThermoLab BARAM CPU Cooler | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 9:50

Today we fire up the T.E.C.C. on the ThermoLab BARAM and see what this universal AMD and LGA775 cooler is all about.

Scythe Mugen 2 Towerkühler | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 9:30

Mit dem Mugen 2 stellt sich der neuste Kühler von Scyhte seiner Konkurrenz. Dabei versucht die Japanische Firma einen weiteren Kühler im High-End Segment zu platzieren. Der imposante und 870 g schwere Kühler besitzt 5 Heatpipes und bekommt gar eine Backplate zur sicheren Montage.

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 9:20

Another Core i7 motherboard creeps in the price bracket of affordability along with the MSI X58 Pro at £160. Not only is the Gigabyte UD3R a damned sight better looking, this time the overclocking and cooling performance is one thing that has not been trimmed off to keep the costs down.

System Buyers Guide: PCs under $800 | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 8:20

Entry, Bargain, or HTPC - $800 can buy a lot of PC these days....

Cooler Master V10 Hybrid Heatpipe/T.E.C. CPU Cooler Review @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 7:16

Cooler Master\'s V10 is impressive in many respects. Size and stature are reassuringly large, but fitment may be an issue for some motherboards and cases. The engineering innovation and design are quite nice, as is the fit and finish. Unfortunately, the high cost and potentially troublesome installation leave something to be desired. Frankly, there are better performing coolers out there that are ...

Cooler Master Elite 330 Case RC-330-KKN1-GP | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:54

Benchmark Reviews has been on the web for over a year now. In that time I\'ve had the pleasure of reviewing some very nice higher end computer items, including mid and full tower cases. While I love the high end market I realize for every high end part sold, there are probably 100\'s of mid to lower end parts sold. So who\'s buying these parts? Everyone is that\'s who. So where do they get ...

QNAP TS-509 Pro Gigabit 5-Bay SATA NAS Server | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:52

When corporate funds are tight, companies find new ways to reduce operating costs wherever they can. As a network administrator for several small and medium businesses, I\\\'m used to seeing pedestal servers with expensive Windows Server edition Operating Systems running for the sole purpose of serving files out to the workgroup or domain. These environments have made it necessary to look for ...

HT Omega Claro Plus+ AD8620BR Op Amp Sound Card | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:50

HT Omega, Inc. was one of the first companies to offer authentic high-fidelity sound at a true 24-bit level of performance in their Original Claro sound card. Now revised, a new AD8620BR Op Amp from Analog Devices has joined the world class Oxygen 8788 based audio processor in the Claro Plus+. Like the Claro, the new Plus+ model supports EAXâ„¢ 1.0 & 2.0, A3Dâ„¢ 1.0 and ...

Xigmatek Thor\'s Hammer S126384 CPU Cooler | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:48

Overclockers are always looking for the best CPU cooler made, and Benchmark Reviews has taken a new approach to determining this for them in every Cooling article we publish. Most enthusiasts are already very familiar with the Vendetta 2, TRUE, and HDT-S1283, but the landscape is going to change with the Xigmatek Thor\'s Hammer S126384 CPU cooler. Benchmark Reviews compares the top coolers using ...

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE Black Edition AM3 CPU | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:46

Three is a number not normally associated with processors, although its actually gaining momentum thanks to Intels triple-channel memory architecture that caters to the 3GB sweet-spot for Windows XP. Dispite this, a triple-core processor just doesnt seem natural to many of us, because were so used to seeing everything come in twos. But three isnt a bad thing at all, because AMDs Phenom II X3 720 ...

G.Skill Triple-Channel 1600MHz DDR3 Memory Kit | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:41

With 64-bit Operating Systems nearing popularity as Windows 7 approaches, the 4GB system memory barrier is going to be a relic of the past. Still, there are several enthusiasts using 32-bit systems with Windows XP or Vista, which makes the G.Skill Triple-Channel DDR3 1600MHz CL8-8-8-21 memory kit F3-12800CL8T-3GBHK a perfect fit for overclockers. Benchmark Reviews tests the performance against ...

G.Skill Titan 128GB SATA SSD FM-25S2S-128GBT1 | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:39

For the past several years, G.Skill has built a reputation for offering premium-grade products at economy-level pricing. Similar to their competition, G.Skill offers enthusiast products in several different markets. The brand name has been built on a solid history of quality system memory product lines, and not long ago they introduced the very impressive G.Skill FM-25S2S-64GB SATA-II MLC SSD. ...

ASRock AOD790GX/128M AM2+ Motherboard | Posted on: 16/03/2009 @ 0:22

Everybody knows that if you\'re number 2, you try harder, What if you\'re number 3 or 4, what do you do then? You look for Golden Opportunities to prove that you have first class products. ASRock did just that during the rise of the Core2Duo era, when overclocking nearly became a household word. ASRock built a stellar reputation with LGA775 motherboards that survived (and thrived) at the high ...

AMD Phenom II X4 810 | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 23:37

Whenever is new generation of CPUs presented, either by Intel or by AMD, besides high-end models always are presented models for users that don`t demand top-performance levels. There are various ways to `slow down` existing high-end core. One of those is `partial amputation` of L2 or L3 cache memory, or `total amputation` of one or more cores. In most cases faulty segments of CPU are disabled ...

Weekly Giveaway - Vizo Ninja HS Notebook Cooler | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 19:01

Ok, time for the weekly Give Away. This week we've got something to keep your laptop cool, it's the Vizo Ninja HS Notebook Cooler. Read on to learn what you need to do to get it!

Deep Space: Extraction Interview | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 17:20

Recently I got the chance to speak with the production team at EA behind the next chapter in the Dead Space saga. I want to thank the team and Melissa for taking the time to answer my questions. OCMS: What is the background and setting for the game and how closely does it follow the events of prequel movie?

Samsung LN52A630 LCD TV | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 14:50

We have probably all considered buying that enormous flat screen TV to complete our home entertainment system. When money is tight but dreams are still big, what can we do? Samsung has a range of models that'll surely fit your price and the A630 is a budget friendly model without skipping on any key features.

3-in-1 USB Adapter for HTC Phones | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 14:10

So yesterday we took a look at a USB adapter for HTC cellphones, and it's a good product but I found it lacking one thing, a standard 3.5MM jack for headphones. USBFever carries many products, and they sent me over another HTC USB adapter, this one is similar to the one I reviewed yesterday, but it includes the 3.5mm audio jack, along with the mini-USB audio jack and the standard sync/charge ...

Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice CPU Cooling Insulation Guide | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 14:00

Today we will take you through the steps of a method for insulating motherboards against the harsh elements they are exposed to during extreme overclocking. We'll be insulating the board for liquid nitrogen benching and we'll show you how effective this insulation method is in preventing harmful condensation from forming on the board.

ANTEC True Power 750 Watt (TP-750) Power Supply Review | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 10:50

Samsung Lucido Officially Announced | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 9:00

Thinking back to the MWC just under a month ago, Samsung neglected to show us the so-called “Eltz S7220″. This appeared slightly odd, on Friday however Samsung officially announced it under a different name, the Samsung Lucido (Italian for ’sleek’). Now this phone looks great as you can see from the picture, so then looking at [...]

Google Continues to Lead Searches in U.S. | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 7:20

In U.S. searches for February 2009 Americans conducted 13.1 billion searches, down 3 percent from the month before - but probably due to being a shorter month. Google led the pack as usual with 63% of the searches being conduced with Google Sites, Yahoo came in second with 20% of the searches, followed by Microsoft sites at 8% and Ask.com at 4%. Google Sites handled 8.3 billion core searches, ...

Hard-Core Gamers Losing Their Edge | Posted on: 15/03/2009 @ 7:10

Hard core gamers have lost their "most sought after" position for video game system and software producers. Without a lot of fanfare the developers/manufacturers have found that there is a huge general and casual gamer market out there... young or old, male or female. The game industry was in its infancy and only accounted for a few hundred million bucks. Today the market is huge and serious.

OCZ Apex 120 GByte MLC SSD | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 19:40

Mit der Apex stellt OCZ eine SSD basierend auf einer internen RAID 0 Architektur vor. Dabei werden zwei JMicron JMF 602 B Controller der neusten Generation verwendet, die zusammen frühre Probleme bezüglich "Stottern" des Systems beheben sollen und desweiterne Transferraten von 230 MByte/s lesen respektive 160 MByte/s schreibend ermöglichen sollen.

HTC 2-in-1 USB Audio & Charger Adapter for HTC ExtUSB Smartphone | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 19:40

Our phones have become a big part of our lives, the majority of us can't leave home without them, there have been many times I've forgotten my phone only to turn around just to go back and get it. Many of the phones out there though have only one USB adapter port meaning you can only do one thing at a time, like just charging or just listening to music, for most people that's fine though. What if ...

NVIDIA Pushes Out New Driver With No Change-Log | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 19:20

It was just one week ago that NVIDIA released the 180.37 Linux driver, but already there is a new bleeding-edge release available. Last night a NVIDIA Linux engineer pushed out the 185.13 beta...

Bluepack iPhone/ iPod Back-Up Battery Pack | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 9:10

So you’ve just bought your brand new iPod or iPhone and suddenly….bang, the power runs out. Now usually this would be an absolute nightmare, because I know from past experience that when your iPod runs out it’s usually in the worst place possible, in the middle of a train journey for example. But from now on [...]

Resident Evil 5 Complete Walkthrough! | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 7:10

This guide was created aiming to contain the least amount of spoilers possible, however it may contain one or another. I apologize for that. Also, at least not for now, I do not intend to give a detailed strategy for The Mercenaries mode. It was also written for the Japanese Xbox 360 version of the game, but it should work just fine for the US and Playstation 3 and PC versions. If you're ...

Death Race HD Movie Review | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 6:30

“Now that's entertainment.”

xf86-video-ati 6.12.0 Driver With R600/700 Support | Posted on: 14/03/2009 @ 0:20

The xf86-video-ati 6.11 driver was released less than a month ago, but coming out today is now the xf86-video-ati 6.12.0 release. What this release brings is most notably EXA and X-Video support for the ATI R600 and R700 generations of graphics processor...

Last House on the Left (2009) Movie Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 21:50

The film centers around 17 year old Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton), who is taking time off from her competitive swimming and school to spend the summer with her parents Emma and John (Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn), at their remote cabin in the woods. The family is coming to grips with the loss of their son, and Mari is anxious to spend some time with her friend Paige (Martha MacIssac), whom she ...

Race to Witch Mountain Movie Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 21:30

“Escape to Witch Mountain” enjoys an undeniable place at the massive table of classics that Disney has offered us over the years. In the last three decades the movie has failed to slip into oblivion, and quite the contrary, as some might say it is worthy of cult status. When Disney announced their plans to bring that franchise to a new generation I wasn’t quite sure what to ...

VDPAU + OpenGL 3.0 On Gallium3D This Summer? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 19:50

This is the fourth year that the X.Org project will be participating in Google's Summer of Code project. In the past we have seen work like Generic Gallium3D Video Decoding using a graphics card's shaders to assist in video decoding no matter the hardware vendor...

WINE 1.1.17 Released With 64-bit Improvements | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 17:10

Since the release of WINE 1.1.16 two weeks ago, the open-source developers have been working on joystick support for Mac OS X, implementing iphlpapi on Solaris, a number of 64-bit improvements, the obsolete LinuxThreads support has been dropped, and Windows regression test fixes. These changes plus the usual round of bug-fixes has now gone on to form the WINE 1.1.17 release. The announcement of ...

Smooth Creations Reaper TweakTown Edition Promo | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 14:20

Don't Fear the Reaper! - Chris shows off an extra special new Core i7 gaming system from Smooth Creations today, influenced by none other than... us!

Downadup Win32/Conficker.C Worm Revving Up to Spread | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 14:02

A new variant of the Conficker or sometimes referred to as Downadup, worm is about to start spreading like wildfire on April 1st. Win32/Conficker.C is a worm capable of blocking security related websites, terminating system security services and downloading component files using time-based generated URLs.When the worm is executed, it drops a copy of itself using a random filename in the System ...

Microsoft's New USB-Powered Notebook Cooling Base | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 13:38

Microsoft has unveiled a new Notebook Cooling Base, designed to make notebook use more comfortable with a built-in fan and sleek form factor. The Notebook Cooling Base has a slim, portable design at only 1.16 inches thick, a cable management clip to allow the cable to be neatly stored when not in use, and is USB-powered so no batteries are needed. The Notebook Cooling Base will be available in ...

Sprint Announces LG Rumor 2 Cell Phone | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 13:20

Sprint and LG has announced that the LG Rumor 2 which features a full sliding QWERTY keyboard, email and social networking, stereo Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a large QVGA display. It will also feature a removable backplate allowing users to personalize their phone. The original Rumor by LG quickly became one of Sprints best selling CDMA devices when it launched in late 2007. The new ...

Team Fortress 2 Servers Now To Include Server Rating | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 13:00

According to the TF2 Blog, game servers will now be scored so that players can easily see which are "good" servers and which are considered "bad" servers by the new scoring system. Below is the formula used to determine the score of a TF2 server:New servers start with a score of 0 pointsEach time a player connects to a server, it loses 15 pointsFor each minute the player stays on the server, it ...

Cooler Master V10 CPU Cooler Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 12:30

The Cooler Master V10 CPU cooler is said to be capable of dissipating over 200 Watts of heat generated by processors, which makes it one of the most powerful coolers money can buy. With ten 6mm heat pipes, a TEC (Thermo-Electric Cooling), and two cooling fans this CPU cooler looks like it should cool any processor with no problems! Read on to see how it performs with an Intel Core i7 and Core 2 ...

The Peter Petrie Egg Separator- truely WTF?! | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 12:20

I have a healthy appreciation for incredibly weird gadgets, as you’ll no doubt have guessed by now. And the weirdest gadget I’ve seen so far this week has to be this one- The Peter Petrie Egg Separator. You’ve got to have a pretty good- or at least rather twisted- sense of humour to possess one of these [...]

Linux 2.6.29-rc8 Kernel Released | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 11:50

In what will hopefully be the last test release, Linus has announced the Linux 2.6.29-rc8 kernel. This release brings a variety of fixes including a few Intel DRM tweaks, Blackfin architecture changes, a couple ALSA fixes, and a temporary fix for an Intel Atom bug...

JerkStopper Laptop Power Cord Retention Kit | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:40

There are many products out there that make you think 'Why didn't I think of that', they just seem so simple, but yet very useful. Have you ever forgotten your laptop was plugged in and started to walk away with it? That's a stupid question really, because everyone who has a laptop has done it at least once. If you do this enough times though you can damage your power supply or AC adapter, it's ...

HTC 11 pin Mini USB to Stereo 3.5 mm Jack Adapter | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:40

Cellphones are a big part of our lives, but many of the companies seem to do things to piss off their customers, and I'm not sure why they do it. Well maybe I do know why, it's because they want more money from us. An example would be headphones for cellphones, many of the cellphones today can act like an MP3 player, but these companies build in proprietary connections, every set of earbuds or ...

Orbita Freestyle Mouse GiveAway Update | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:40

Hello, Tim A. won the Orbita Mouse and it shipped out this morning. I apologize for the delay in doing anything with this contest, but my Mother died the day after the GiveAway started and honestly this was the last thing on my mind. ...but I'll be announcing another this coming Sunday, we should be good to go on that one....

Microsoft Sidewinder X8 Wireless Mouse | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:40

Mention the word wireless mouse in front of a hardcore gamer and you will probably have as much credibility as Alex Rodriguez. Wireless mice have long been shunned by gamers due to the lag in signal from the mouse to the PC. This lag may be microseconds, but in the world of gamers, that may be the time between life and death. In the gaming peripheral market, Microsoft has been getting some ...

NVIDIA Ion Blu-ray Investigation: Not a problem? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Hey guys, late last night I published an article on Blu-ray performance with NVIDIA's Ion platform.  NVIDIA was quick to respond and they believe that the data isn't correct and want some time to re-create my environment and test the titles themselves.  In the interest of being completely accurate I've pulled the article for now...

Toshiba X305-Q725: Quad-Core Gaming Notebook | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

We put Toshiba's recently updated version of their X305 through its paces. Offering a quad-core mobile CPU, SSD+HDD, and a 9800M GTX, there's plenty of performance packed into this desktop replacement....

Space Shuttle Discovery Launch Delayed Until March 15th | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

We reported earlier today that the Space Shuttle Discovery launch had been delayed again, and now late this afternoon we hear from NASA that the target launch date is now no earlier than March 15th. NASA managers postponed Wednesday's planned liftoff due to a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely ...

AMD Sells 50 Millionth ATI Graphics Chip for Nintendo Wii | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Today AMD announced that it had sold the 50 millionth ATI 'Hollywood' graphics chip for the Wii gaming console for Nintendo. With 50 million units delivered, the ATI graphics processor code-named Hollywood becomes the most successful AMD game console chip to date in terms of unit sales. The Hollywood GPU was manufactured using the same 90nm CMOS fabrication process as the 'Broadway' processor, ...

Apple Releases iTunes 8.1 With Many New Enhancements | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Apple has released iTunes 8.1 which allows syncing support for the 3rd generation iPod Shuffle, the latest generation Shuffle that was unveiled earlier today. The new version also has many other features like giving friends the ability to request songs for iTunes DJ, providing an AutoFill for manually managed ipods, and allowing CD's to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus. Genius ...

Panasonic BT300 and BT200 Blu-Ray Home Theater Systems | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Panasonic today released two new 7.1 channel Blu-ray Home Theater Systems with wireless-ready rear speakers and integrated iPod dock. The models SC-BT200 and SC-BT300 boast seven speakers to envelop viewers in a remarkably true-to-life surround sound experience.The front and center channel speakers are made with a bamboo diaphragm which provides a tightly intertwined fiber to deliver greater ...

ATT To Spend $565 Million on 15K Alternative-Fuel Vehicles | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

AT&T announced plans today to convert more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next 10 years, spending up to $565 million on the total project. This initiative is one step by ATT that will highlight the growing demand for cleaner domestic vehicles. AT&T expects to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and approximately $215 ...

Dell Launches Studio One 19 - All-In-One Multitouch PC | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Dell today announced an all-in-one multi-touch screen system dubbed, Studio One 19. The Studio One 19 is made with beautiful aluminum, glass and fabric that make a style statement that people will want on display in their home rather than hidden. A single power cord means a much neater computing environment and experience. The Studio One 19 comes in several colors, including Solid Pure White, ...

Google Voice Service Unveiled - A GrandCentral Makeover | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Google has released a preview of its newest service, Google Voice, an application that better enables you to manage your voice communications from one central location. Google Voice will be available initially to existing users of GrandCentral, a service Google acquired back in July of 2007.The new application improves the way you use your phone. You can get transcripts of your voicemail (see the ...

Crytek Announces CryENGINE 3 for Crysis 3 Game and More | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Crytek announced today that it would be showing off its latest all-in-one game development solution, CryENGINE 3, at this years GDC Expo. CryENGINE 3 is the first development platform for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, MMO, DX9/DX10 that also is truly Next-Gen-Ready - with scalable computation and graphics for all major upcoming platforms. It provides the complete game engine to create AAA quality next ...

Apple iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update Release Information | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

On March 17th, Apple will be holding an event at Apple Building 4 Town Hall starting at 10:00AM to unveil a new SDK and to allow invited people to get a peek at the new iPhone OS 3.0 software. So far we understand that the new 3.0 OS will feature MMS and also tethering via USB and Bluetooth.Perhaps the new version will also include the ability to allow programs to run in the background and maybe ...

MIT Develops Lithium Battery That Recharges in Seconds | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

A newly re-engineered battery material developed by MIT engineers could soon pave the way to rapidly recharging battery powered devices in seconds instead of minutes or hours. Think about plugging your car into an electrical plug while you run into the gas station to get a drink and by the time you come out, your car is charged up and ready to go another 100 miles or more. The MIT team was led by ...

Silent Hill Homecoming | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

Kalte, dunkle Nebelschwaden streifen dich sanft, es ist Nacht. Du suchst, verfolgt von der Angst, nach Hinweisen um das Verschwinden deines Bruders aufzuklären. Jede Spur, jeder noch so kleine Gegenstand kann dich näher an dein Ziel führen. Aufgeschreckt von jedem Geräusch und verfolgt von zwischenweltlichen Wesen beginnst du deine Reise in Shepherd’s Glen und wagst dich bis auf ...

Thermolab Baram CPU Cooler Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:32

The new Baram CPU tower heat pipe cooler from ThermoLab has been designed with optimal aerothermodynamics in mind, so the CPU stays nice and cool. With here area total of five ‘U’ shaped pipes this cooler has a total of ten vertical pipes for heat dissipation. Read on to see how the Baram does against more than a dozen LGA775 coolers!

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S Processor Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 has four processing cores running at 2.83GHz, a whopping 12MB of shared L2 cache and a 1333MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) to keep things moving along nicely. At $275.99 the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 is roughly 60% more expensive than the Q8200, but is it worth it? Read on to see how the Intel Core 2 Quad 9550 does against the other 24 processors it was benchmarked against.

Super Talent Luxio 64GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Super Talent has released one of the largest capacity USB flash drives available with their new Luxio 64GB drives. Does high capacity mean low performance? We've given it a test drive to find out for those thinking of investing in a high-capacity portable storage device.

Which Internet Browser is Fastest for Windows? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Futuremark Corporation today unveiled Peacekeeper, a free online benchmarking tool for measuring and comparing the performance of common internet browsers. We ran the benchmark on 11 browsers to see which one is the fastest and we even included Firefox 3.1 beta 3, which just came out today!

iLuv iMM173 Clock Radio | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

With almost everyone possessing an Apple iPod or iPhone these days, it would be advantageous to integrate it into the traditional alarm clock. With the iLuv iMM173, it is a fully-featured alarm clock that actually has two iPod docks built right in. The wake-up alarms can utilize the iPod/iPhone's music library, FM radio, or a traditional buzzer. The large backlit blue LCD display is really ...

Windows 7 Release Candidate Desktop Backgrounds | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

ASUS Xonar Essence STX Headphone Amp Sound Card Reviewed | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

How to clean CD and DVD Drives | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

When your CD or DVD (disc) drive starts giving you problems, your first thought may be to replace it or take it to the repair shop, but a good cleaning may be all it needs. Below are three methods to clean the disc drive. The easiest method is the least effective. The hardest method is the most effective. Since the hardest method takes some time to do, I recommend that you start with the ...

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Walkthrough | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

I love the FEAR games. That may sound odd because I don't like games that stay the same, but FEAR has always done a good job of offering a nice and engaging story while highlighting combat. Unlike most FPS games FEAR has always let the player determine how a fight goes down. I know that in COD5 there was next to no variation in how to get through a level. But in FEAR the enemies are always ...

NZXT Zero 2 Case Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Zero 2 is a steel full-tower case from NZXT supporting a total of nine fans. Let's take a good look on this new model from NZXT.

RunKeeper a brilliant free iPhone app to monitor your fitness activities | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

I do love the outdoors and last Sunday was a lovely springs morning so I decided to get some fresh air by jogging alongside the canal. This also gave me the opportunity to test RunKeeper, which is an application built for the new 3G iPhones that uses the built-in GPS to enable fitness tracking (duration, time, pace, speed, route on a map).

Tiscali in financial trouble | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Looks like those annoying ads haven’t won over many fans for internet service provider Tiscali. The Italian company now faces a cash crisis after talks to sell its UK business to BSkyB collapsed. Tiscali has approximately 1.7 million British customers, after it acquired Pipex and Home Choice, the broadband TV company. Despite these business moves Tiscali UK [...]

Drum stick pencils- for your inner artistic musician | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Rock band and Guitar Hero World Tour have a lot to answer for. For a start, I finally got to play the latter at a party the other night for the first time and I was convinced I could drum. Then my friend took over and switched from easy to expert and I had to [...]

Google Mail (GMail) Offline Again | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Google have been having a few problems lately haven’t they? First Google Mail, or GMail, went offline a couple of weeks ago for a good few hours, sparking concern for businesses who rely on the service. Now Google have confirmed that once again GMail is unavailable to a “small” number of users. Instead of emails from [...]

Review Asus S101 High-end netbook | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

This review is on the Asus S101 netbook. This is a top of the range EeePC , the cream of the brand, and at around £400.00 not cheap in Eee terms either. Let see what you are getting for this princely sum!

The Tie Fighter Webcam- is this how Darth Vader vblogs? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

The Death Star must be a lonely place for someone like Darth Vader. Not only does the guy have major skin issues, but the second he thinks a bad thought about one of his friends they’re going to get strangled to death. What person will ever trust the poor guy enough to really get through [...]

Scan Toaster: Wear your heart on your toast | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

If you’re bored with your regular everyday toast with butter and jam, why not bring a bit of culture to the breakfast table with some toast art? This nifty scan toaster by designer Sung Bae Chang, will transform your plain piece of bread into an art canvass, and the best thing is, you can still eat [...]

Three New Nokia Music Devices Announced | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:31

Today Nokia announced that three new music phones will hit the shelves soon along with the arrival of new Nokia Music Stores and more Comes With Music launches. The Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, the Nokia 5330 XpressMusic and the Nokia 5030 are the new arrivals and Nokia expect these “to go to the top of the charts”. [...]

New 4GB iPod Shuffle: The first iPod that speaks to you | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Apple have been drip-feeding us new toys lately with the surprise release of new range iMacs and Mac minis last week, and now a brand new iPod shuffle to add to your new mix of toys. Usually low-end models don’t generate a massive amount of interest- why shuffle when you can Nano for a few pounds [...]

Quake Live Beta. Quake in your boots! | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Perhaps you remember a post I did on Battlefield Heroes some time back, and perhaps you don’t. Well for those who don’t, then the basic premise is that EA created an on-line game that you can play for free. EA plan to make their money through micro-payments. That is to say you can buy a [...]

What Goes On Within AMD's Linux Beta Program? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

This year NVIDIA has been following the "release early, release often" mantra with it seeming like two weeks can't even go by without seeing a new Linux driver -- whether it's a beta driver, an official driver update, or one of their legacy drivers picking up a few fixes (at times they have even released four drivers at once). On the opposite spectrum, AMD continues with monthly Catalyst driver ...

GCC To Receive Automatic Parallelization Support | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

IBM's Razya Ladelsky today outlined plans for providing automatic parallelization support within the GNU Compiler Collection. The Graphite Framework, which provides high-level loop optimizations based upon the polyhedral model, was merged for the forthcoming release of GCC 4.4 and it will be used eventually to provide some level of automatic parallelization support...

An Interview With The Developers Of FFmpeg | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Earlier this week the FFmpeg project reached version 0.5, which was quite significant considering no new FFmpeg release was made available in years. This release contained a plethora of new encoders and decoders, support for VDPAU, a variety of bug-fixes, and many other improvements. What is next for FFmpeg? When will we see proper Blu-ray support? Will there be a 1.0 release in the foreseeable ...

A Clutter Backend For The Wayland Display Server | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Wayland, a project by Kristian Høgsberg to create a new display server for Linux that leverages kernel mode-setting, the Graphics Execution Manager, and other newer Linux graphics technologies, continues to mature. Last month Eagle (the Wayland EGL stack) got working DRI2 support (DRI2 was also masterminded by Kristian) and now there's also some work going on within the tool-kit realm...

Caustic Graphics Will Provide Linux Support | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Caustic Graphics, a brand-new company to the computer graphics scene that hopes to compete with AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA when it comes to ray-tracing power, announced the CausticRT on Monday. The CausticRT is "the world's first massively accelerated ray-tracing system" and can be found in CausticOne, which is their first product and it promises to deliver ray-tracing performance that's reportedly ...

Why Is Moblin's X.Org Stack Faster Than In Ubuntu? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Canonical's Scott James Remnant recently set out to explore why X.Org started up so much faster on Moblin than on Ubuntu (particularly, the latest 9.04 development code). On an Atom-based netbook (the Dell Mini 9) he found it took Ubuntu's X Server about four seconds to start before the session manager was called...

Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 6 Released | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

We are just a little more than a month away until Ubuntu 9.04 (the Jaunty Jackalope) will be released. With the release getting near, Canonical has today put forth the final alpha release of Jaunty...

UT3 Linux Still Undergoing Work, No ETA | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Unreal Tournament 3 was released back on the 17th of November in 2007. Nearly a year and a half later, we still have no UT3 Linux client -- nor do we know the reason(s) behind this massive delay...

AMD FirePro V8700 1GB | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

The ATI FireGL graphics cards have been a staple of the workstation graphics scene for about a decade, but last year AMD made the decision to end the FireGL series and create the FirePro 3D series in its place. The FirePro 3D series is now made up of graphics cards ranging in price from under $100 USD and built using their RV730 GPU to their highest-end models costing well over $1,000 and using ...

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

“120mm quiet but powerful PWM fan, 3pcs Φ8 mm heat-pipe and H.D.T. technology, HDT-S1283 is not only outstanding performing but also silent. With Anti-vibration rubber, spoiler design and Push-pin/Clip for INTEL & AMD, HDT-S1283 offers friendly, easy to install, reliable and powerful performance for users.” Click on the photo to visit [...]

Xigmatek Dark Knight - 1366 Review | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

“Today we are examining the Xigmatek S-1283V Dark Knight on Core i7 1366, a cooler which looks gorgeous in nickel-coated black and is available at a very attractive price. The only question that remains if whether its performance can match its stunning looks.” Click here to see the full article

Xigmatek Achilles S1284C CPU Cooler | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

“As promised, here is the last installment of my three part mini-series of Xigmatek product reviews. The previous two were some of the newer releases from Xigmatek, while this one is a trusted cooler that has made its place on most retail shelves a while back. While the sample is a little late in getting [...]

Itami FiTrainer | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

“The FiTrainer from Itami seems to be a very handy gadget whether you are already in great shape, are looking to shape-up, or even are attempting to just find a way to fit a quick exercise into a daily routine. Join Erik as we find out whether or not the FiTrainer does its job or [...]

Galaxy GeForce GTS 250 1 GB | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

While NVIDIA's GTS 250 isn't really new technology, Galaxy has chosen to put an Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo cooler on their card. Even though it uses two fans, the card is extremely quiet making it an excellent choice for a media PC. The best is that it won't cost you anything extra. Galaxy is offering their cards at NVIDIA's reference design MSRP of $149.

FiiO E3 & E5 Portable Headphone Amplifier | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

When it comes to portable headphone amplifiers one brand that has everybody talking is FiiO. Their inexpensive portable headphone amplifiers shook the market and has gained immense popularity. Read on as we take the E3 and E5 out for a spin.

BenQ E2400HD - 24" Full HD Monitor | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Full HD monitors are becoming increasingly commonplace these days in both 22in and 24in panel sizes. We've been impressed by the 22in models we've seen so far, but we haven't looked at a 24-incher until today. Read on to find out how BenQ's E2400HD shapes up.

Ikonik RA X10 SIM | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

Today we take a look at new start-up manufacturer Ikonik's flagship case, the RA X10. With a premium price tag and packing an insane 13 separate cooling fans powered by an innovative fan control system, can this aluminium colossus deliver? We find out.

MSI X58 Pro | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

As the months roll on, Core i7 motherboards are coming closer to what most people would consider affordable. We take a look at MSI's X58 Pro to find out if taking the cheaper option will leave you short-changed in the way of performance and features.

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:30

The march of ever larger hard drive capacities takes a big step forward with Western Digital's massive 2TB Caviar Green. With four enormous 500GB platters boasting more storage than any other 3.5" drive, we find out how this colossus of hard disk drives performs.

Tagan SuperRock TG880-U33II 880 Watt Power Supply | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:29

Today we throw rocks at an 800 pound gorilla. Specifically, a Tagan 880W SuperRock. Is it super enough to survive the ensuing punishment?

AMD Phenom II – DDR2 vs. DDR3 Performance | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:29

Today we compare the performance between DDR2 and DDR3 on the AM3 platform using JetwayÂ’s new combo motherboard which supports both memory types.

Chieftec HM-01B HTPC Case | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:29

Installing a system in the Chieftec HM-01B HTPC case was extremely simple, and the tool-less drive features may be the best I have ever used. Unfortunately not all aspects of the installation are tool-less, but it went quickly anyway. The internal layout gives you plenty of room for all the necessary components, with means to manage the wires neatly.

SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection - Xbox 360, PS3 | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:29

49 classic SEGA titles on one disc, now that's a bargain.

Kingston's DDR3 2,000MHz 6GB Core i7 memory kit | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:29

Upping the ante and dropping the price.

XFX Radeon HD 4850 XXX 512MB. £125 worth of value? | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 10:29

Are the upgrades worthy of of a £125 price-tag?

Cooler Master ATCS 840 | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 2:16

Everything old is new again, so the saying goes. Well, newer isn\'t always better, but on rare occasions it can be if you fuse the best of the old with the new. Today we\'ll take a trip down memory lane, sort of, with the new Cooler Master ATCS 840, a full tower case that has its roots in yesteryear and has been reborn with a redesign by Cooler Master. A stunning full tower, we see if it\'s the ...

Cooler Master Storm Sniper | Posted on: 13/03/2009 @ 0:38

Obviously Cooler Master decided to have product for every user category that exists, when it comes to computer chassis. If you take a look at last few reviews of Cooler Master chassis, you will see that each chassis is suited for different user group. This time we got a chassis that is attended for gamers and all of you out there that feel like one.

Speedlink Medusa NX | Posted on: 12/03/2009 @ 14:47

Speedlink are well known for making some top notch headsets, with their previous range of Medusas making real waves in the review community. Now though it\'s time for a refresh, a re-release if you will. The Medusa is back, this time termed the NX and while it\'s still got a really long cable and 5.1 surround sound, can it stand up to the previous generation\'s top notch performance?

Nextar Digital Folio N3-506 Review | Posted on: 12/03/2009 @ 13:20

Nextar's Digital Folio is a convenient way to bring your digital pictures with you wherever you go.

XFX Radeon HD 4870 XXX 1GB | Posted on: 12/03/2009 @ 10:37

Today, we take a look at another part from XFX\'s recently launched range of AMD-based graphics boards, this time taking in their factory overclocked Radeon HD 4870 XXX 1GB part. How does it compete in both price and performance terms?

XFX Geforce 9800 GTX+ Black Edition Video Card w/ Far Cry 2 Review @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 12/03/2009 @ 8:12

Overall, to say I am impressed with XFX\'s tweaked version of the 9800GTX+ would be an understatement. It handles all the recent games with relative ease all while under very tough image quality and resolution settings and all for a price of around US$189. Couple in the fact that you get one or even two quality recent games with the package and you have a purchase that will perform right out of ...

Evercool Buffalo HPFI CPU Cooler | Posted on: 12/03/2009 @ 0:24

Evercool offers up an inexpensive Intel CPU cooling solution with the Buffalo HPFI. How much extra bang for your buck, both at stock speed and at overclocked speeds, can you get with this rather fancy looking heatsink in a relatively modest hardware configuration? Read on to find out.

Tom Clancy's HAWX - Xbox 360, PS3 | Posted on: 12/03/2009 @ 0:20

The popular Tom Clancy franchise invades the flight combat arena.

Noctua NF-B9 | Posted on: 11/03/2009 @ 23:02

Continuing with our cooling theme here on Verdis, we take a look at a product from a company that deserves all the accolades it receives. Yes, you guessed it – Noctua. In the past we have seen great performance from products from this manufacturer and so the NF-B9 fan up for review today straight away has high expectations. Let’s hope it can deliver…

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro Sound Isolating Earphones | Posted on: 11/03/2009 @ 21:30

The super.fi 5 Pros are the best-of-the-best headphones in Ultimate Ears' super.fi range. You're getting into pretty serious territory when your headphones start sporting two drivers per ear, and barring Apple's still unreleased set, it's nigh impossible to find a set that retail below 200 dollars. A couple of months ago, I couldn't have told you this kind of headphone existed, or why. But, in ...

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro Review | Posted on: 11/03/2009 @ 21:00

The super.fi 5 Pros are the best-of-the-best headphones in Ultimate Ears' super.fi range. You're getting into pretty serious territory when your headphones start sporting two drivers per ear, and barring Apple's still unreleased set, it's nigh impossible to find a set that retail below 200 dollars. A couple of months ago, I couldn't have told you this kind of headphone existed, or why. But, in ...

Evercool Buffalo HPFI CPU Cooler Review | Posted on: 11/03/2009 @ 1:20

Evercool offers up an inexpensive Intel CPU cooling solution with the Buffalo HPFI. How much extra bang for your buck, both at stock speed and at overclocked speeds, can you get with this rather fancy looking heatsink in a relatively modest hardware configuration? Read on to find out.

Toshiba Portege R600 | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 23:34

Do you like the idea of notebook that is light and small so you can easily carry it all around? And you don`t like that it has relatively slow CPU and no optical device? What do you say about a notebook that has 12.1 inch display, Core 2 Duo CPU, DVD writer and weighs only 1.1 kg? Well, notebook with these specs actually exists and its name is: Toshiba Portege R600. This little `masterpiece` will ...

Scythe Ninja Mini CPU Cooler | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 20:40

The Ninja had everything going for it: silence, performance, a low price, and, er, size. It's monolithic design was a concern, in that people really did need to be concerned that it might not fit in their computers. The Ninja Mini is less of a revision and more of a derivation: a much shorter, broader heatsink that's got titanic shoes to fill. Besides a simpler mounting system, lighter weight, ...

Vizo Luxon Advanced | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 17:05

From Vizo today, we have a product very much out of their forte – hard drive enclosures. With great things seen from Vizo in the past earning them a highly acclaimed reputation, we are expecting another great product from this company. Earlier in the week we were impressed with their Orbiter HDD cooler, let’s find out whether the Luxon Advanced impress us just as much. Read on to ...

Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x Dual Layer SATA DVD Re-Writer Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 15:04

As most of you know, the highest speed DVD±R media available to the consumer market is 16 speed, so Pioneer must be doing something special with their 20x DVD±R Re-Writer. According to Pioneer, if using 16x media, you should be able to see up to 25 per cent extra read and write speed.

LanCool (Lian Li) Metal Boned K6 (PC-K6) Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 11:58

“The LanCool Metal Boned K6 was a pleasant change from the other gaudy, large cases I have reviewed recently. It does not have a window or any other extraneous aesthetic features which serve no real purpose. It is compact, stylish, minimalistic and elegant while still featuring a vast array of features. With a removable motherboard [...]

Samsung LN40A650A 40-inch LCD HDTV Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 11:57

“Today PCSTATS is testing Samsung’s LN40A650A mid-sized 40″ widescreen LCD HD TV display. The screen has a native resolution of 1080p (or 1920 x 1080 pixels), a pair of built-in 10W speakers, is 120Hz compliant and boasts no less than five HDMI inputs in addition to a variety of other connections. The Samsung LN40A650A [...]

BFG Tech GeForce GTS 250 Graphics Card Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 11:57

“The BFG Tech GeForce GTS 250 1GB performed roughly the same as the original GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB, which makes sense since both cards have the same ‘engine’ under the hood. The BFG Tech GeForce GTS 250 1GB’s larger 1GB frame buffer came into play when the image quality was cranked up or when running [...]

AMD and Seagate discuss the new 6Gbps SATA Standard | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

AMD and Seagate are teaming up today in New Orleans to demonstrate the next-generation Serial ATA specification. The new specification, SATA 6Gbps, will offer twice the disk-to-host bandwidth of the existing 3Gbps Serial ATA standard. Besides the improvement in bandwidth, SATA 6Gbps offers full backwards compatibility with the earlier...

PMA 2009: Panasonic GH1 & Olympus E620 | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

All the “DSLR” action at PMA was in 4/3 as Olympus launched the E-620 and Panasonic added real auto-focus HD Video to Micro 4/3 with the new GH1....

NVIDIA's Ion Platform: Blu-ray Investigation | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

When we last looked at NVIDIA's Ion platform we theorized that it may drop frames while playing back Blu-ray content. It turns out, it does. We spent some time watching Blu-ray movies to find out exactly how well this platform can play Blu-ray discs. It turns out, not so well...not without a dual-core Atom that is. ...

Shuttle Launch Countdown Underway for Wednesday | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

The countdown has begun for the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, the first shuttle flight of the year. Now, with less than two days to go before launch seven astronauts arrived at the Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility in their T-38 aircraft to prepare for launch. The official countdown clock for STS-119 began counting down from the T-43 hour mark at 7 p.m Sunday evening leading to a planned ...

Obama to Overturn Stem Cell Research Restrictions | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

The Obama administration is expected to lift a newly 9 year ban on federal funded embryonic stem cell research today. In 2001 President Bush placed a freeze on federal funding that involved experiments using stem cells but later in the year released federal funding for research on existing stem cell lines. He stated that no additional embryos are to be destroyed for their stem cells. Back in May ...

AMD Unveils ATI FirePro 2450 Energy Efficient Video Card | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

AMD introduced the ATI FirePro 2450 today, a low profile quad display graphics accelerator that consumes minimal power, delivering exceptional power efficiency. The new quad display card is able to operate at less than 18 watts of power. The ATI FirePro 2450 offers the reliability professionals expect and the efficiency IT departments require. IT managers want a card they can test once, deploy ...

Baby Laughing Uncontrollably at Dad Playing Golf on Wii | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

This is why we buy Wii's, to bring laughter to the whole family and in this case - the baby. Listen to this baby laugh as he watches his Dad play golf on the Wii.

Windows 8 to Include Software Management System? | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Announced by Microsoft on Friday in the Windows 7 Engineering blog, Windows 7 will have the ability to turn certain major functions and applications off in its next version of Windows. While having the ability to turn off features isn't really all that new, we have this ability in Vista, Server products, XP, and so fourth however this is the first time we have had the ability to say turn off ...

Siftables A Domino-Size Computer Toy Like No Other | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Siftables, which sounds like some crazy toddler show on Disney, are actually cookie-sized computers with motion sensing, neighbor aware, graphical display, and wireless communication. They act in concert to form a single interface: users physically manipulate them - piling, grouping, sorting - to interact with digital information and media. They look like slightly thicker square domino's with lcd ...

Seagate and AMD Shows Off 6Gb/sec SATA Hard Drives | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Today at the Everything Channel Xchange Conference AMD and Seagate demonstrated the first SATA hard drives to operate at 6 Gbps. SATA drives today usually operate at either 1.5Gb/sec or 3Gb/sec. The new 6Gb/sec interface doubles the speed of the latter and also offers backwards compatibility with 1.5 and 3.0 SATA interfaces - allowing for seamless integration into existing technology already in ...

Hundreds of Twitter Accounts Hacked by Porn Spammer | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Today, security engineers at Twitter discovered that 750 Twitter accounts had gotten hacked by a porn spammer who had posted tweets out to a link of a webcam site. The Twitter team reset the passwords of the compromised accounts and removed the spam updates that the intruder had made.Twitter is urging users to only use "strong" passwords as they can help prevent accounts from being brute forced ...

Mimi Switch Allows Control of Your iPod with an Eye Blink | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Simply by winking you could start your iPod music or by raising an eyebrow you could go to the next song. These are all a reality now thanks to a new Japanese based gadget called the Mimi Switch or Ear Switch. The Mini Switch allows you to control your iPod or other devices simply by using facial expressions such as blinking an eye, smiling or raising an eyebrow. All of this is done by using tiny ...

Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H AM2+ Motherboard Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Today we have Gigabyte's GA-MA790GP-DS4H motherboard for review. Equipped with the AMD 790GX north bridge chipset and the AMD SB750 south bridge, this board makes for an excellent candidate for an HTPC while packing enough of a punch to handle the fastest chips AMD has to offer.

ASUS VH242H 24-Inch 16:9 LCD Monitor Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R Ultra Durable 3 Motherboard Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

Project: Subwoofer | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

I have a pair of Genelec 8030 speakers. They are good but bass reaches only 55 hz. Music sounds great but movies lack a bit of depth. This subwoofer project is based on 10" subwoofer driver made by Norwegian Seas and Hypex subwoofer amplifier.

Consumers Need Voice in Driving Products | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

On any given day you will find a group of engineers or programmers huddling in the back room, sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, or gathering around the most recently divorced individual's kitchen table to plan the next major new company built on breathtaking technology. The hard fact is…we really don't need more technology. What we do need is better application of the ...

The Watchmen Movie Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

In an alternate 1985, where Nixon is president, The U.S. won the Vietnam War, and costumed heroes have been banned by an act of the Senate, a superhero is killed. The death of the mercurial entity known as The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) sets a string of events into motion that will soon see the world poised on the edge of nuclear annihilation, and the few remaining heroes locked in a life or ...

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Game Interview with Dan Vondrak | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

What is the background and setting for the game and how closely does it follow the events of the film? DV: This story explains Wolverine’s mysterious past. How did he get the Admantium skeleton and claws? What happened between Wolverine and Stryker (the relationship they hinted at in the previous X-Men movies)? We started the game before there was a movie and once the movie got involved ...

Gamepad vs Keyboard: Which is best for PC Gaming? | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:29

It was when I made the transition from “strictly console gamer” to “strictly PC gamer” that I started to lose my feel for the gamepad. The mouse and keyboard seemed to feel so much more natural to me, and the maneuvers I could perform on a PC completely overshadowed the unholy mess I would make on a gamepad. As I write this I am fully capable of completing every portion ...

BlackBerry Storm Review | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

Our review of the BlackBerry Storm touch screen cell phone.

Plymouth Packages For Ubuntu Are Now Available | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

Last November we learned that Plymouth would replace USplash in Ubuntu, but the official graphical boot splash screen change wouldn't come until Ubuntu 9.10 (a.k.a. the Karmic Koala)...

System76 Serval Professional Notebook | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

Finding a laptop that can run Linux is no longer much of a challenge. As we have shared in numerous netbook and notebook reviews, a majority off the shelf PCs shipping with Windows can easily be replaced with Linux and chances are most -- if not all -- of the components will "just work" on this open-source operating system, while ill-supported parts can usually be configured to work in just a few ...

Forthcoming VDR Release To Support VDPAU | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

NVIDIA's VDPAU feature for providing greater GPU acceleration during video playback on Linux desktops has experienced great adoption since its November launch. This NVIDIA-spawned video API has already worked its way into open-source projects like MPlayer / FFmpeg, MythTV, Xine, and XBMC...

CodeWeavers Working On New GUI, DirectX 10 | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

CodeWeavers, the company behind the WINE-based CrossOver Office and CrossOver Games for running Windows office applications and games, respectively, on Linux (and Mac OS X) has shared some of their plans for 2009. Among the items they are getting ready for is DirectX 10 support and a new GUI for its CrossOver software. Jeremy White, the founder and CEO of CodeWeavers, has shared their outlook ...

FFmpeg Experiences A New Release, Finally! | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

FFmpeg, a popular free software project to record, convert, and stream audio/video files of various formats, has finally readied itself for a new release. FFmpeg is relied upon heavily by MPlayer, but official releases are far and few between...

Intel Readies New X.Org Video Driver Release | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

It has been nearly three months since the release of xf86-video-intel 2.6, which means it's almost time for their next open-source driver update to arrive (they abide by a quarterly release cycle). As a sign of this, Intel's Carl Worth is heading the xf86-video-intel 2.7 driver management and he has pushed out the first release candidate. The xf86-video-intel 2.7 RC1 driver contains a variety of ...

What is a heatspreader? | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

What is a heatspreader? Last week we looked at What is a heatpipe? A heatspreader works in a similar way, but with memory modules. In a simple explanation, a heatspreader is an external cover for memory modules to help dissipate heat. Like heatpipes, they are usually made from copper, or in some cases, aluminium. The way that they [...]

Thecus N4100 Pro | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

The Thecus N4100 Pro is a relatively low cost four bay NAS. It features basically all features the other models do and promises high performance. Where is the catch? We tested the N4100 to find out.

BFG Tech GeForce GTX 285 H2O | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

BFG has paired Nvidia's GeForce GTX 285 with a Danger Den waterblock and overclocked it. Will this make for a tempting purchase or just price it out of its depth? Probably the latter, but at least you can also read about Danger Den's new DD-GTXX285 block - it's like two reviews in one, you lucky blighters.

Super Talent Godfather Series USB Flash Drives | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

With both the Rubber and Swivel Godfathers arriving on his doorstep, Chris looks to see if Super Talent “make an offer you can’t refuse”.

Palit GeForce GTS 250 2GB Graphics Card | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 10:28

Palit has decided to strap 2GB of memory onto the new GTS 250 to make it stand out from the pack. We see what exactly this does for the model today.

NZXT Avatar | Posted on: 10/03/2009 @ 4:07

Today we are looking at the NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse, a sleek rodent that shows great promise in a very competitive market segment. With a nice feature set, range of buttons, and a straightforward setup, it it is a no-nonsense solution for those who do not like things complicated or fussy.

XTracPads Ripper XXL | Posted on: 09/03/2009 @ 21:13

After reviewing their Pro Pad, Christopher from XTracPads has been kind enough to send over another mouse pad for review. This time it’s the other end of the spectrum with a massive pad – the Ripper XXL which not only offers greater space for mouse movement but also encompasses the keyboard and pretty much everything on your desk. Let’s crack on and see how it performs…

Steelseries QCK Mass | Posted on: 09/03/2009 @ 17:53

After Whoopty apparently found the ‘best gaming mouse mat’ ever, in the Mionix Alioth 400, future mouse pads are going to have a lot to live up to. The first one giving it a shot, is another cloth surface that boasts a high thickness and smooth surface; and a top notch name to boot. The Steelseries QCK Mass, we all know their credentials, but have they delivered again? Let\'s see.

ASUS Xonar Essence STX | Posted on: 09/03/2009 @ 11:23

After taking a look at Auzentech\\\'s latest X-Fi Forte a couple of weeks ago, today we examine the newest member of ASUS\\\' Xonar family of discrete sound cards, the Essence STX. With a design aimed squarely at headphone users, it should be obvious how this board stands out from the crowd, but in our review we take a look at just what the Essence STX offers up and how it performs.

Samsung 2433BW | Posted on: 09/03/2009 @ 0:39

We already write about monitor`s price drop, and why and how this price cuts didn`t have influence on prices of monitors that have 22 inch and bigger diagonals. Price drop is inevitable force of advancing technology, so now even 22 inch and 24 inch monitors are entering into low-budget category. We had on test Samsung 2433BW that is, if judged by specification, suited for users that want biggest ...

CrossFire vs. SLI | Posted on: 09/03/2009 @ 0:34

On every presentation of new GPU generation that we attended in past few years, systems with more than one graphics card were presented as ultimate performance setup. Problem with those configurations was their price in a real world environment. Even now there are more users that have only one graphics card in their rig but the times has changed and now even low-budget users can have Crossfire of ...

Antec AXE Square | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 22:28

Last week at Tech-Reviews we reviewed Asus’ Silent Knight II CPU cooler; today we have another Asus CPU cooler for review: the Asus Axe Square. As I’m sure you’re fully aware, the computing industry has evolved massively in the last few years. One form of product which has seriously advanced – to keep up with the newer processors – is the CPU cooler. This ...

What is the difference between DVD+R and DVD-R? | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 21:00

What is the difference between DVD+R and DVD-R? This is quite a common question asked around the internet, so here is the answer. First things first, no single company “owns” DVD. Secondly, there are two ways of answering this question. The Commercial Answer The two competing technologies use different formats, hence the name -R and +R. Sounds simple enough? DVD-R/RW (based [...]

G.Skill Triple-Channel 1600MHz DDR3 Memory Kit | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 21:00

With 64-bit Operating Systems nearing popularity as Windows 7 approaches, the 4GB system memory barrier is going to be a relic of the past. Still, there are several enthusiasts using 32-bit systems with Windows XP or Vista, which makes the G.Skill Triple-Channel DDR3 1600MHz CL8-8-8-21 memory kit F3-12800CL8T-3GBHK a perfect fit for overclockers. Benchmark Reviews tests the performance against ...

CeBIT 2009 - ASRock | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

We dropped by ASRock’s display area to have a look at a few new products that ASRock is introducing at CeBIT 2009 and an interesting update on a recently released product. We just received the products we are discussing today and will have product reviews up later this month. First up is a revised AMD 780G motherboard from ASRock....

Craigslist Sued For Allowing Prostitution Ads | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

Thomas Dart of the Cook County Sheriff Department in Illinois has sued the popular online ad site, Craigslist accusing its owner of knowingly promoting prostitution in the United States. According to Dart, CraigsList was failing to prevent offers to trade sex for money."Craigslist is an extremely unwise choice for those intent on committing crimes, since criminals inevitably leave an electronic ...

Hulu Once Again on Boxee | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

The latest version of Boxee now includes Hulu, which Boxee lost as a content provider late last month. In a roundabout way, Boxee has added back Hulu as a content provider but not in the same light as before.The Boxee team has decided to enable access to users favorite content via a new built-in RSS reader optimized for video and it supports Google Video, Yahoo, YouTube, and feeds from other ...

Circuit City Officially Closing All Stores March 8th | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

Circuit City announced today that it plans to shutdown all 567 stores across the country on March 8th, 2009. Many of the stores have already closed down due to low inventory. In January, Circuit City announced its bankruptcy and closing of stores which would go down as the largest electronics retailer to go bankrupt.The company began liquidating its $1.7 billion in inventory in January to help ...

BlackBerry App World Store Unveiled | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

The BlackBerry App World or App Center as it previously was called, will soon be going live. The store will provide a place to download games, social networks, personal productivity application and much more.BlackBerry Apps will range in price from free like in the Apple App Store to paid ones. The App World system exclusively uses PayPal for its payment processing which means you will be ...

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Launch Slated for Next Week | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

NASA has scheduled the Discovery Shuttle launch, despite that some high-level NASA engineers believe the shuttle should remain grounded. However, NASA mission managers are preparing to set Wednesday at the new launch date.The launch of the shuttle was originally slated for February 12th but was later delayed due to an engine issue. Then it was delayed yet again for NASA to gather more information ...

Barnes and Noble Opening eBook Store After Acquisition | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

Barnes & Noble has purchased Fictionwise, the company that owns eBookwise and eReader for $15.7 million in cash. Barnes & Noble said it plans to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year. In addition to the closing purchase price, Fictionwise may receive earn out payments for achieving certain performance targets over the ...

Space Shuttle Discovery Launch Officially Set for Wednesday | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

It's now official, March 11th will indeed be the launch date of the Shuttle for the STS-119 mission. Commander Lee Archambault and his six crewmates are now scheduled to lift off to the International Space Station at 9:20 p.m. EDT on Wednesday next week.Discovery's launch date was announced following Friday's Flight Readiness Review. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed ...

NASA's Kepler - Alien Hunting Mission Now Underway | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

The Kepler mission is now underway after a success full into space last night from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Kepler is designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars at distances where water could pool on the planet's surface."It was a stunning launch," said Kepler Project Manager James Fanson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our team ...

Hulu Again Removed from Boxee and Again Added Back | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

In a mouse and cat game, Hulu the popular online content provider of shows, movies, and more has blocked Boxee yet again from accessing the Hulu content from the Boxee application. We reported early Friday that Hulu made its way back on Boxee and the same very day Hulu responded with blocking Boxee users from accessing the content via RSS feed. As many of us know, RSS feeds allow users to obtain ...

Watermark Movies Find Positions of Camcorders in Theaters | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

We all know pirates use camcorders to record new release movies in theaters and recently there hasn't be a universal way to prevent this illegal activity, at least until now. The IEEE has published information about a new watermarking technology that could soon find its way into movies near you!The new deterrent of camcorder piracy involves a system for estimating the recording position from ...

Cooler Master Storm Sniper Black Mid-Tower Case Review | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

Today, we get to get hands on with the new case from Cooler Master - the Storm Sniper Black Mid-Tower Case. The Cooler Master Storm Sniper Black Mid-Tower chassis is loaded with all the features that enthusiasts want - great airflow, 8 expansion slots and an all black interior. Read on to see if the Cooler Master Sniper will be your next case!

PNY & XFX GeForce GTX 285 Video Card Reviews | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 graphics card offers 10% greater performance than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 and has improved power consumption numbers and overclocking. That is because this card is based on the new 55nm G200b core! Both the PNY and XFX GeForce GTX 285 graphics cards have some serious packed in under the hood, so read on to see how they do against a GeForce GTX 280 graphics card.

OCZ 2GB Diesel USB 2.0 Flash Drive Review | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:33

In June 2008, OCZ Technology introduced the 'Diesel' USB 2.0 Flash drive series, which are now available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities. The Diesel USB 2.0 Flash drive has been on the market for nearly a year now and since it has been out for so long the prices have come down. Read on to see if this value drive is worth it!

SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Music Player Review | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

Power Management: ATI Catalyst vs. Open-Source ATI Driver | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

Yesterday we broke the news that AMD will stop supporting the R300-500 GPUs in the Catalyst driver. There have been well over one hundred posts in the Phoronix Forums from ATI customers upset with this decision, but fortunately, there is first-rate open-source support available. AMD continues to release documentation and code while the X.Org development community has been hard at work on the ...

S3 Graphics Linux Driver Faster Than Windows? | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

Back in November we saw the launch of the S3 Graphics Chrome 530 GT and with that they talked up a new magical Linux driver that would provide HD video acceleration support along with OpenGL 3.0 capabilities. But no driver was released, however, a day later it was confirmed by S3 Graphics that they were working on a new Linux driver...

Sacred Gold On Linux Has Gone Gold | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

It took longer than expected, but Linux Game Publishing is now prepared to ship Sacred Gold. The description of this game is below. In his fortress of Shaddar-Nur, the necromancer Shaddar, a pariah of the Band of Mages from Mystdale Castle, plans his triumphant return to the world of Ancaria...

You Can Now Play UT3 On Linux, Sort Of | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

The Linux client for Unreal Tournament 3 still hasn't been released, but it's now possible to easily play this game on Linux. Cedega 7.1 was released this morning and it now supports Unreal Tournament 3 along with better supporting Bioshock, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, FEAR 2, Medal of Honor Airborne, and Sins of a Solar Empire...

RandR 1.3 Has Officially Been Released | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

Present in X Server 1.6 is the server component to RandR 1.3, but today version 1.3 of the Resize and Rotate extension has been officially released. RandR 1.3 introduces panning support and other changes that we have talked about previously...

QEMU 0.10.0 Release To Bring Many Features | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

QEMU, the popular open-source processor emulator that can be run as a user-space program and also has found its way into use by the KVM and VirtualBox projects, will soon reach version 0.10.0 As was announced on the QEMU development list, a 0.10.0 branch has been created in its SVN repository and the 0.10.0 release has been made available. This release does bring some exciting changes. The ...

Read Phoronix Without Advertisements | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

If you would like to read our thousands of news posts and articles at Phoronix without any advertisements on the page, or to be able to view multi-page articles on a single page, we would recommend you join Phoronix Premium. For as low as $2.50 USD per month you can have these exclusive benefits and the funds generated are vital to the continued existence of Phoronix.com...

NVIDIA Releases 180.37 Linux Display Driver | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

It was not even two weeks ago that the NVIDIA 180.35 display driver was released for Linux, but yesterday NVIDIA decided to push out yet another update (they have been on a driver updating rampage this year). The NVIDIA 180.37 display driver as it's called brings a few fixes, improved recovery for certain types of GPU errors, and a few more VDPAU updates. The NVIDIA 180.37 driver change-log and ...

Bandits: Phoenix Rising Finally Gets A New Beta | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

Bandits: Phoenix Rising, a unique racing game that was released for Windows back in 2003, is finally getting closer to being released on Linux. Linux Game Publishing began work on porting this title to Linux in January of 2007 and up to February of 2008 they had only issued two betas...

Phoronix Test Suite 1.8.0 "Selbu" Alpha 3 | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

The third alpha release for Phoronix Test Suite 1.8.0 "Selbu" is now available for testing. This release contains numerous improvements to the GTK2 interface, support when running the Phoronix Test Suite in more locales, improved file-system detection support (for SquashFS, AuFS, and UnionFS), and support for reading enabled monitors...

EVGA GeForce GTS 250 Superclocked | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“The first mid-range offering of NVIDIA’s GeForce 200 series is here, in the form of the GTS 250. As a follow-up to the company’s 9800 GTX+, we already have a good idea of what to expect. But, various improvements aim to make things interesting, such as a redesigned PCB, smaller form-factor, single PCI-E connector, improved [...]

TechSpot Laptop Buying Guide - March 2009 | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“It’s been six months since our last laptop buying guide update and while the scene has changed a bit, we’re still waiting on the inevitable implementation of Intel’s Core i7 in notebooks through the course of 2009. Regardless of what’s to come, the Core 2 Duo is still holding strong and probably will for a [...]

Palit GeForce GTS 250 2048 MB | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“Today NVIDIA released their GeForce GTS 250 Series which is based on the G92 graphics processor that has already been used on a number of GeForce 8 and GeForce 9 designs. While NVIDIA’s reference design comes with 1 GB of memory, Palit has chosen to create a card that comes with 2 GB of VRAM.” Click [...]

EVGA GTS-250 1 GB Superclocked Edition | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“To that end we have an EVGA GTS-250 1 GB Superclocked edition to take a look at today. The GTS-250 1 GB edition is a G92 core with a twist, it’s a 55nm shrink of the G92 core and has been rechristened the G92b. There are currently two models of the GTS-250 available, the GTS-250 [...]

Cooler Master Black Label Limited Edition Bundle Review | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“Today we are going to look at the Cooler Master Black Label limited edition chassis, cooling and PSU bundle. This very limited edition kit only has 500 units available worldwide. If you want a case bundle for your next gaming rig that not many people will be able to get the CM Black Label bundle [...]

Hard Drive Click of Death Explanation and Live Demonstration | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“Many of us have experienced the dreaded “Click of Death” that immediately tell us that our hard drive is dead or dying. What does the click of death look like? What causes it? Can I fix it by freezing my hard drive or giving it a whack? See a live demonstration of the click of [...]

Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera reviewed | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“Research shows that in this digital age, more than ever, people still have a deep-rooted need to see, feel, mark, share or use their digital images or information in a physical form. Paper, of some type, in fact. While digital cameras are high-tech and fun, printing a photograph is hardly quick and easy. That’s all [...]

Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme reviewed | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“ZoneAlarm Extreme Security is probably the strongest and most comprehensive security suite available to protect all areas of your online life, but we can’t help feel that it’s totally over the top. Sure the firewall is tough, the layered protection prevents malware installation and spam protection is comprehensive, but there’s just so much more to [...]

Kingston 16GB microSDHC Card | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“Kingston is well known for their memory products, and they just doubled the capacity of their microSDHC card lineup with the introduction of a 16gb version. High capacity is nice, but can it perform? Not that it really matters much though when it comes to cellphone, you don’t necessarily need a super fast card to [...]

FEAR 2: Project Origin | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:32

“Fear 2 is a game for people who aren’t alright with a safe world. Even a despotic world. Those places can be made safe with skill and determination, and a gigantic supply of ammunition. There’s a grim glee in being scared, truly frightened, by something that isn’t even real. Fear 2 [...]

CeBIT 2009: Girls | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:31

In times of economic crisis companies are saving where it hurts most: the amount of booth babes at this year's CeBIT has been at an all-time low. We looked extra hard to bring you proof that there are still companies out there who can afford to please your eyes.

Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:31

While we've looked at plenty of SSDs recently, there's still place in the market for an ultra-fast mechanical drive.Today we're looking at Western Digital's 10,000RPM 300GB VelociRaptor and finding out if it's a clever girl or facing extinction in the face of the new crop of SSDs.

Planet Terror HD Movie Review | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:31

“Don't shoot yourself. Don't shoot each other. And especially... don't shoot me.”

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:31

AJ says you can be loud and proud with RazerÂ’s latest flagship stereo headphones and mic.

Galaxy GeForce GTX 285 Overclocked Graphics Card | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 18:31

Galaxy has taken the time to overclock the GTX 285 and we see exactly what this does for the cards performance.

Sparkle GeForce 9800 GTX+ Graphics Card | Posted on: 08/03/2009 @ 15:20

The strongest selling point of the Sparkle GeForce 9800 GTX+ is that it stays cool and quiet at all times, which coupled with an integrated HDMI port makes it a good fit for an HTPC. It can handle games just fine when the settings aren't turned up too high, and the multimedia capabilities are more than adequate for any HD playback.

Eagle Tech Consus I-Series & iNeo | Posted on: 07/03/2009 @ 1:40

In today’s information world the transformation of data is such a large and integrated part of our lives. From work to home to school, or just about anywhere else, moving a large database of files can be painful if you’re not properly equipped. An external hard drive is one such way to ease that pain, an inexpensive and handy device that can save many frustrations. Today we will ...

Griffin Window Seat for iPhone / iPod Touch | Posted on: 07/03/2009 @ 0:10

The Window Seat can attach to any flat surface like a windshield or dashboard to hold your phone or iPod touch. How well does it stand up? Really well, read on to find out what other ideas I can come up with for using one.

Cooler Master Sileo 500 Case Review | Posted on: 06/03/2009 @ 1:50

Cooler Master offers up an affordable mid-tower with noise reduction panels built-in. How will it stack up among the plethora of so called "silent" PC cases on the market today? Read on for our take.

Eagle Tech ET-CS2MSU2-BK 2.5" SATA to USB mesh enclosure | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:50

USB Drives are great little gadgets for transporting our data to and from places we need to go, but sometimes they're just not big enough so we've got to use an actual hard drive. Hard drives are nice for storage but standard 3.5” hard drives when put in an enclosure can end up being big and bulky, and of course you've got to provide a power supply as well for them, so you end up carrying ...

Patriot 64GB Xporter Magnum USB Flash Drive | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

Patriot Memory claims the Xporter Magnum is the perfect solution to transport your important data around. It offers 210X fast transfer rates and boasts a massive 64GB of storage. You won't be filling this up anytime soon.

Cooler Master Storm Series Scout Gaming Chassis | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

Cooler Master unveiled the Storm Sniper case at CES 2009 in January to the cheers of the enthusiast and gamer community. Today, Cooler Master has announced the second chassis in the Storm series; the Scout! Read on to see what this case is all about!

ASUS Marine Cool Concept Motherboard Pictures | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

CeBIT has had a number of very interesting products announced this year and the ASUS MARINE COOL Motherboard is certainly one of them. ASUS wanted to show off a revolutionary design with new innovations that would deliver the ultimate in stability and durability for consumers. The motherboard they came up with is called the Marine Cool and it shows what the future might hold for motherboard ...

Clay Enos Talks about Photographing 'Watchmen' | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

OCMS: How did you get involved with Zack on the project and what other films have you documented in the past? CE: Watchmen was my first job as still photographer on a feature film. I was asked by the filmmakers to shoot for them because they knew my work and my approach. They knew that when I have a camera in my hand I move with an intention and focus that would serve them well. They were well ...

New Mac Mini and iMac released today? | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

Still don't get what this whole recession thing is about? If you're on the market for a new Mac, today may just be your lucky day. Rumour has it that no less than six new Macs including a new Mac Mini and iMac will be released by Apple today. There will be four brand new iMacs with three of them featuring a 24-inch panel while the fourth will be an entry level 20-inch display model.

Spy gadgets update: The Mini Spy Video Camera- get even more into 007 mode. | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

So, are things going OK with the spy pen I told you about earlier in the year? Found out who was stealing your paper clips, or what your colleagues REALLY thought of you? Glad to hear it- you've passed your initiation into the world of spies, and now you're ready to move on to catching the bigger fish. The great thing about the spy pen was how mobile it was. If, however, you're looking for ...

Latest ASUS Mobile Release - P835 Touchscreen Smartphone | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

Following the hype of MWC, ASUS last week announced the launch of the ASUS P835 smartphone. The title of their press release states ‘ASUS Raises the Bar for Mobile Web Surfing and Multimedia Enjoyment with P835′… so let’s take a quick look at what it’s got to offer. The P835 is an attractive, black and [...]

Safari 4! | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

The release of Safari 4 Public Beta a little over a week ago now has spurred on a lot of downloads on the Apple site, heres just a post about what I think to “the worlds fastest web browser” update, and a heads-up on it’s new features. Firstly, Safari 4 is available for free download as [...]

Microsoft Office 14 due for release in 2010 | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

Office 14, the next version of Microsofts Office suite looks to have had its release date pushed back to 2010, a transcript of a speech made by Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer has revealed. Not many details are known about Microsoft Office 14 as the features are still being worked on, but we are aware of some [...]

The Econav: Drive Green | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

For anyone who has a car, there is the attached guilt of owning and using a gas guzzler. Practically, we’re not going to give up our modern conveniences, so it’s up to innovation to help us live our lives the way we do now, but with a reduced carbon footprint. Enter the Econav. Like any [...]

Calling All Girls!!! Exclusive Sony Ericsson C905 Pink Offer from Phones 4U | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:41

Now if you don’t already know me, I love pink and girly! So Phones 4U totally have my attention with this fab offer! The C905 is a great quality phone, with WiFi and a 8.0 megapixel camera.  (For a full overview and specs, check out Arutha’s review here). Now the handset gets a make-over in a luscious [...]

Dropbox and the dropped clanger. | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

Having recently written a post on five of the best online storage solutions [here], we received quite a bit of feedback regarding, what seems to be a glaring omission. Here at Gaj-it, we are open to a bit of the old constructive criticism, and to that end I would like to review Dropbox. Lets see [...]

KDE 4.2.1 Desktop Released | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

It has been just over a month since the release of KDE 4.2 and now the K Desktop Environment developers have released its first update. KDE 4.2.1 focuses on bug-fixes and other maintenance items...

Gnash Starts To Shine With Fourth Beta Release | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

Gnash, the Free Software Foundation project to create a completely open-source SWF movie player and browser plug-in that aims to be compatible with a majority of Adobe Flash files, has reached version 0.8.5, which is its fourth beta release. There's quite a bit of new work in Gnash 0.8.5 including MIT-SHM and X-Video support, NetConnection compatibility with more video sites, support for saving ...

XBMC Media Player Has Support For NVIDIA VDPAU | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

The Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix is one of the best innovations to occur within the proprietary NVIDIA Linux display driver in recent times. VDPAU allows offloading much of the video acceleration work from the CPU onto the GPU, which results in a $20 CPU and $30 GPU being able to sustain HD video playback and great video benchmark results. The VDPAU API was just introduced late ...

GNOME 2.26.0 Release Candidate Is Now Out | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

Vincent Untz on the behalf of all GNOME developers has announced the release of the GNOME 2.26.0 release candidate. This release candidate serves as the last test release prior to the emergence of GNOME 2.26, which is happening in just ten days...

AMD Dropping R300-R500 Support In Catalyst Driver | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

Beginning next month with the Catalyst 9.4 release, support for the R300/400/500 generations of graphics processors will be dropped from AMD's mainline ATI driver. In a move they hope will allow them to focus their efforts on newer and upcoming graphics processors, the mainline Catalyst driver on both Linux and Windows will stop supporting cards older than the Radeon HD 2000 series. Linux ...

Super Talent Luxio Series 64GB USB Flash Drive | Posted on: 05/03/2009 @ 9:40

When it comes to flash drives Super Talent has all the answers. Today our attention is toward a high capacity offering with elegant wood grain finish.

Intel Announces Intent to Manufacture Atom SoCs at TSMC | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

What could have been a universe imploding sort of announcement amounted to something that just made sense: Intel will be making Atom SoCs at TSMC in addition to at its own fabs. I'll take you though why....

Corsair enters the case market | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

When we visited Corsair in the beginning of the year in Fremont, California the company told us about plans to move into the case market. There weren’t actually pictures or prototype builds available at that time which is why we didn’t mention it. Now first pictures are available and Corsair will even show a first prototype sample...

NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250: A Rebadged 9800 GTX+ | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

First it was the 8800 GT, then the 8800 GTS 512, then the 9800 GT then the 9800 GTX and shrunk down to the 9800 GTX+. Now it's the GeForce GTS 250. Architecturally no different than the G92 parts that came before it, the only change here is a smaller, cooler PCB and more memory on board....

CyberPower Core i7-920 | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

CyberPower's midrange Core i7 system takes a spin through our test lab, all without breaking the bank....

World's Fastest Notebook… Coming Soon | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Many people have no desire for anything other than a moderately fast laptop -- in fact, these people are certainly the majority by a huge margin. They would rather have reasonable performance and improved battery life, preferably in a package that doesn't weigh as much as a small car. On the other hand, there are users out there who want as much performance as...

Roku Player Now Supports Amazon Video On Demand | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Beginning today Roku, the maker of the popular digital video player, is making avaliable to customers movies and TV shows from Amazon Video On Demand. With Amazon Video On Demand, Roku customers can for the first time purchase or rent new release movies the same day they are released on DVD and watch commercial-free TV shows the day after they air all from Amazons extensive selection of more than ...

Linux Foundation Purchases Linux.com | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

The Linux Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, and SourceForge, a leader in community-driven media and e-commerce, today announced that the Linux Foundation will be the new host for Linux.com, taking over the editorial and community stewardship for the site. The two companies will collaborate to create a vibrant and long-lasting community destination ...

Obama Selects Julius Genachowski To Be FCC Chairman | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

As we reported back in January, Barack Obama has selected Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission and today made it Official.Genachowski is a technology executive and entrepreneur with strong experience in both the private sector and public service. He is Cofounder and Managing Director of LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures, and a Special Advisor at General ...

News Fragments From Around The Web | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Here are the odd, funny, scary, offtopic, and sometimes ironic news that didn't make its way into a full featured article on Tech Fragments today. We hope you enjoy these articles that we have found today.DisplayFusion 3.0 Manages Everything Across Multi-Monitor SetupsWoman Finds Cell Phone in Her Potato Chips Bag

Amazon Launches Kindle Application for iPhone and iPod Touch | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Don't want to dish out $360 bucks on a Kindle 2 when you have a perfectly good iPhone or iPod touch? Then simply down the Amazon Kindle App from the Apple App Store! Sure it won't give you the full functionality of the Kindle such as e-ink but it will give you most of the features, including Amazon's new Whispersync technology that saves and synchronizes your bookmark across multiple devices. You ...

MSI Unveils Ultra Portable X-Slim X340 and X600 Notebooks | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

After debuting the ultra portable X-Slim notebooks in January at CES, MSI is now unveiling two new ultra portable notebooks adding to the X-Slim series, the X340 and X600. The all-new X340 and X600 both feature Intel ULV architecture for performance and power saving advantages. The X320 includes a 16:9 cinematic 13" LED display, weight of just 1.3kg, full I/O ports, HDMI port, and Blu-Ray ...

Western Digital Unveils 8TB ShareSpace Storage System | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Western Digital (WD) today announced its latest WD ShareSpace network storage system which now offers 8TB (terabytes) of storage, up to 30 percent faster speed, and DLNA media streaming capabilities. Also bundled with the ShareSpace system is WD Anywhere Backup software which automatically and continuously protects your data from every PC and Mac on the network.To speed up both backup and ...

NVIDIA Releases First Geforce Driver for Windows 7 Beta/RC1 | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

NVIDIA has released the first set of drivers specifically for Geforce and Windows 7 Beta and RC1 owners. "We expect Windows 7, coupled with NVIDIAs graphics technologies, to deliver the fundamental performance our mutual customers have come to expect. NVIDIAs graphics technologies enable applications to take advantage of the visual capabilities in Windows 7 such as manipulating photos, video, and ...

Sprint Officially Announces Palm Treo Pro Availability | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Sprint today officially announced the upcoming availability of the Palm Treo Pro smartphone for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network on March 15th. Treo Pro will be available through all Sprint retail channels, including sprint.com, 1-800-SPRINT1 and Sprint retail stores, for $199.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement (after a $100 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate, with an Everything plan ...

IBM Develops ZTIC A USB Stick To Secure Online Banking | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

IBM has developed the ZTIC (Zone Trusted Information Channel), essentially a USB stick, designed to secure online banking by using full TLS/SSL authentication directly to the bank site, bypassing the PC's software and keyboard entirely therefore avoiding key loggers and malware on the PC.The ZTIC achieves this by registering itself as a USB Mass Storage Device (thus requiring no driver ...

Xigmatek NRP-HC1001 Netzteil | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Auf dem Kühlermarkt konnte sich Xigmatek bereits einen Namen machen und seit nunmehr einem Jahr hat der Taiwanesische Hersteller auch Netzteile in seinem Portfolio. Mit dem NRP "No Rules Power" HC1001 präsentiert Xigmatek ein Netzteil, welches über vier +12 V Leitungen verfügt (2 x 20A, 2 x 36A) und somit in die Kategorie der Multirail-PSUs mit Kabelmanagement fällt. Weiter soll ...

Pandora - Automatischer Flüssig-Stickstoff-Charger | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:42

Unser Team-Mitglied Besi (Marc Voser), seinerseits CAM Programmierer und Netzwerkadministrator, entwickelte und perfektionierte in 250 Stunden Arbeit ein System, welches vollautomatisch Prozessoren sowie Grafikkarten bei einer vordefinierten Minus-Temperatur halten kann unter Verwendung von flüssigem Stickstoff (LN2) als Kühlmittel. Intern war dieses Projekt unter dem Namen Pandora bekannt. ...

Qt 4.5 Released, Qt Extended Discontinued | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:40

The Norwegians at Qt Software (formerly known as Trolltech, which was bought out by Nokia) have released version 4.5 of the Qt Toolkit. This major update brings performance improvements, the introduction of the Qt Creator program, an improved WebKit rendering engine, Netscape plug-in API support, a new Javascript engine, and a horde of other improvements. Qt Creator 1.0 was released in ...

LLVM 2.5 Released, Receives Numerous Improvements | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:40

The LLVM (Low-Level Virtual Machine) still isn't a big competitor to GCC since the Clang compiler front-end remains unfinished, but the LLVM folks have issued a version 2.5 release. LLVM 2.5 is made up of a bunch of bug fixes, a new XCore back-end, performance improvements (in the compiler and its generated code), new development documentation, and plenty more new work. The announcement of LLVM ...

Gallium3D Gets Xorg, DRI2 State Trackers | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:40

Gallium3D recently landed in Mesa's mainline code-base and work on it continues to move forward in a steadfast manner. Committed to Mesa's master branch last night for Gallium3D were state trackers for Xorg and DRI2. State trackers are used in Gallium3D to track the state of something (such as Mesa's state) and to then translate that into operations...

Intel Updates Its X.Org Driver Again | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:40

Just over a week ago Intel had come out with the xf86-video-intel 2.6.2 driver, but today that is already being replaced with xf86-video-intel 2.6.3. The 2.6.2 release was significant in that it presented some major fixes to the Graphics Execution Manager and kernel mode-setting...

Ubuntu 9.10 Release Schedule Is Now Available | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:40

Ubuntu 9.04 will not even be out for another month and a half, but Ubuntu enthusiasts can already start getting excited for its successor, Ubuntu 9.10. Ubuntu 9.10 has been codenamed the Karmic Koala and this release from Canonical will integrate Plymouth to provide a rich kernel mode-setting experience, feature performance improvements, and contain enhancements for Ubuntu cloud computing...

ASRock N7AD-SLI | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:39

Years ago when we started reviewing ASRock motherboards, most of them were fairly basic with very few features compared to what could be found on the ASUS or Gigabyte motherboards. With time though ASRock has begun ramping up their motherboards with more features, new innovative designs, and other improvements that cater towards the desires of enthusiasts and gamers. These days there are ASRock ...

Linux 2.6.29-rc7 Kernel Released | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 18:39

This month we will see the release of the Linux 2.6.29 kernel. This updated kernel will bring kernel mode-setting support on Intel hardware, the Btrfs file-system, the mainlining of SquashFS, improved EXT4 support, and other new features...

Palit GeForce GTS 250 2048 MB | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 15:38

Today NVIDIA released their GeForce GTS 250 Series which is based on the G92 graphics processor that has already been used on a number of GeForce 8 and GeForce 9 designs. While NVIDIA's reference design comes with 1 GB of memory, Palit has chosen to create a card that comes with 2 GB of VRAM.

SilverStone Sugo SG03 | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 15:38

Opting for small form factor cases often involves demoting style to the subs bench. We take a look at Silverstone's Mini-ATX Sugo SG03 which is breaking all the rules and setting new standards for pint-sized PCs.

Xigmatek Achilles S1284C CPU Cooler | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 15:38

The last of the trio gets tested from Xigmatek. This time we are testing the Achilles S1284C with optional i7 mounting hardware.

Topower PowerBird 1100 Watt Special Edition Power Supply | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 15:38

We subject the new Topower Powerbird 1100 Watt Special Edition with our new testing regimen. Is that ozone I smell?

FEAR 2: Project Origin | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 15:38

Fear 2 is a game for people who arenÂ’t alright with a safe world. Even a despotic world. Those places can be made safe with skill and determination, and a gigantic supply of ammunition. ThereÂ’s a grim glee in being scared, truly frightened, by something that isnÂ’t even real. Fear 2 is a place where the most dangerous place isnÂ’t tangible, but can and wants to kill you, because ...

Icy Dock MB561US-4S Quad Bay External Hard Drive Enclosure @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 9:07

Icy Dock has done a fine job with this enclosure. With four bays, a removable 80mm cooling fan, and USB and eSATA interfaces, it will meet the needs of just about anyone looking for a high capacity external storage solution. On top of all that it has a modern, stylish design that looks great sitting on a desk.

Xigmatek Dark Knight - 1366 | Posted on: 04/03/2009 @ 3:26

Today we are examining the Xigmatek S-1283V Dark Knight on Core i7 1366, a cooler which looks gorgeous in nickel-coated black and is available at a very attractive price. The only question that remains if whether its performance can match its stunning looks.

XFX GTX285 and GTX295 | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:40

In its last financial reports nVIDIA has acknowledged losses that are consequence of global economic crisis and relatively low sale rates. Main culprit for second reason is, of cours, ATi that performed better in this period and proved itself as best AMD investment so far. nVIDIA\'s first answer to ATi\'s success was GTX260+ model. This had limited effects and now it is time to take drastic ...

China Intentionally Crashes Lunar Probe Into Moon | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

Chang'e 1 was an un-manned lunar orbiting spacecraft which was used in the first phase of the Chinese Lunar program. The spacecraft was named after a Chinese mythological figure, Chang'e, pronounced roughly as chang-uh. The probe was sent into space back in October of 2007 but the mission came to a crashing end by striking the moon's surface on Sunday, only 16 months after it was launched into ...

Report Shows Apple App Store Miles Ahead of Competition | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

The Global Intelligence Alliance Group (GIA) today released an analysis of Mobile Application Marketplace initiatives, which indicate Apple's App Store is miles ahead of the Android by Open Handset Alliance and Ovi by Nokia. This is based on timeliness and the number of variety and appeal of application made available to consumers. The analysis was conducted along five parameters which GIA deem ...

Nortel Under Bankruptcy Protection Posts Further Q4 Losses | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

Nortel, now under bankruptcy protection, today announced further quarterly losses that more than doubled its previous announced loss. The total revenues in the fourth quarter were $2.72B a decrease of 15% compared to 2007."The fourth quarter revenues decreased 15 percent as the market continued to deteriorate and customers either reduced or deferred spending. However, strong operating performance ...

NASA Awards Contract For Moon Spacesuits | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

NASA has awarded an interim letter contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston to begin work on the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system for the Constellation Program. The system will protect astronauts during voyages to the International Space Station and exploration of the moon's surface.T. Jay Collins,nPresident and Chief Executive Officer, stated, We are ...

T-Mobile Launches $50 Unlimited Nationwide Calling Plan | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

As we previously announced, T-Mobile today officially announced the Unlimited Nationwide Calling Plan for $50 to customers via email and on the web to those who are eligible. Under the same promotion, T-Mobile is offering customers a $135 credit for switching to T-Mobile from its competitors. Under the $49 unlimited calling plan you can add up to four more lines for $39 a month each, add ...

Microsoft's Kumo Search Service Gets Powered Up! | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

We reported in November of Microsoft Kumo, a new cloud based service or search service coming to Microsoft. It still really isn't known exactly what Kumo will be used for; many still say it will be a new branding to replace Microsoft Live search this year but others still believe it has more to do with cloud computing. What ever Kumo is, it's getting powered up this week and Microsoft will be ...

NASA Ares Rocket Parachute Tests Completed Successfully | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the second drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The test took place Feb. 28 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz.The Ares I, the first launch vehicle in NASA's Constellation Program, will send explorers to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond in coming decades. The drogue parachute is a vital ...

IBM Firmware Bug Could Cause Data Loss | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

IBM today announced that a software bug in a firmware affecting hard drives of IBM based servers could cause data loss after a power cycle. After the power cycle, the SATA drive is no longer avaliable and becomes unresponsive. "Data may become inaccessible due to the drive not responding." the bulletin by IBM stated. The affected firmware is level BB10 on the following ...

News Fragments From Around The Web | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:37

Here are the odd, funny, scary, offtopic, and sometimes ironic news that didn't make its way into a full featured article on Tech Fragments today. We hope you enjoy the articles that we have found today.What Technology In 2019 Will Look Like From Microsoft's EyesHow to Automatically Install Required Software After a Windows Reinstall

AT&T Offers 100 HD Channels in All U-Verse Markets | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

AT&T today announced that AT&T U-verse TV now offers 100 HD channels exceeding the HD channel lineups offered by the local cable providers in every U-verse TV market.With recent expansions to the U-verse TV HD lineup, customers can now enjoy ABC Family HD, Disney Channel HD, Disney XD HD, ESPNews HD and ESPNU HD as part of their existing HD service subscription, depending on their programming ...

How to Install Vista on the ASUS P6T Deluxe with SAS RAID | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Today's hard drive market is starting to grow towards enterprise level hardware, which is SAS. SAS, or Serial Attached SCSI, is the server grade storage medium of choice these days. Some desktop motherboards like the ASUS P6T Deluxe offer support for up to a pair of SAS drives, so read on as we show you how to setup a pair in RAID and install Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

Corsair Designs an Enthusiast ATX Case | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Corsair likes to try out new things and this time around they have developed a new chassis from the ground up that is clearly aimed at computer enthusiasts. Corsair has a prototype of the yet to be named case on display at CeBIT this week and since we couldn't be there they sent us the following pictures of the original prototype that was produced back in December.

Clickfree HD325 (320GB) | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

External backup drives are really important these days with all of the important information that we all have stores on our computers. Just think about it...what would you do if you lost all of your financial documents, photos, e-mail contacts, and more? With the Clickfree HD325 you get file backup protection and 320GBs of space to backup all of your precious files. It is both Mac and PC ...

Are Netbooks Already Obsolete? | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Online storage, five of the best.. | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Welcome to a review of five on-line storage solutions that are on offer today on the net. I have chosen them because if you type, "on-line storage" into Google, these are the ones that take up the top spaces. I have also chosen a bit of a sneaky choice that may be of interest if you like using existing technologies creatively. If you would like to know, read on...

Esquire Magazine E-Reader: Watch Out Kindle | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Following in the footsteps of the successful Amazon Kindle, Hearst Corp. is looking to launch a similar device for magazines in an attempt to capitalise on the growing interest in electronic readers. Hearst is one of the biggest magazine publishers in the world with titles including Cosmopolitan and Esquire. If you’re more of a niche magazine [...]

Tengu: Lipsyncs like Britney Spears | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

There’re approximately a million USB ‘friends’ available to you. Most will make some kind of noise and remind you that there is someone who cares for you, even if they’re completely controlled by the wire coming out of their bum. They do require attention though, most of them and will do anything to get it. [...]

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Last month we looked at the OCZ Fatal1ty 700W which performed very well and was another nice power supply from OCZ Technology, the company that also owns PC Power & Cooling. Another one of their power supplies to have been introduced in the past few months is the ModXStream-Pro 600W. Unlike the Fatal1ty series, the ModXStream Pro series has modular cables and a few other differences, while still ...

Thunderbird 3 Coming To Fedora 11 | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Fedora 11 is reaching an impressive number of accepted features. Beyond introducing Intel and NVIDIA kernel mode-setting, Nouveau becoming the default NVIDIA driver, and a new volume control interface, there will be a plethora of package updates...

RadeonHD Driver Takes A Blow In Novell Layoffs | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Due to the tough economic conditions around the world, Novell last month began slashing some of their workforce. With that reduction, a good percentage of the paid OpenSuSE developers were laid off...

2nd March 2009 Daily Roundup | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

The latest news and reviews from our affiliates. Canon PIXMA iP4600 Printer reviewed @ ITreviewed Will truly DIY laptops ever exist? @ Hardware Secrets ASUS Striker II NSE nVidia nForce 790i SLI Motherboard Review @ PCSTATS.com NZXT Sentry LX Fan Controller @ Techgage.com Apple iLife ‘09 reviewed @ ITreviewed Leadtek WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ in SLI @ TweakTown Eagle Consus ET-CSPESU2-BK ...

Visit the Corsair Booth @ CeBIT 2009, Hannover, Germany | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Corsair will be at CeBIT 2009! It’s the best opportunity to get first-hand information on: Our Ultimate Memory for High Performance Overclocking New Flash Memory Devices Preview New Upcoming Corsair Components - a CeBIT Exclusive Award-winning Power Supplies. Where: Hall 21, Booth B40 When: March 3rd through March 8th

Antec introduces TruePower New series of power supplies | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Press release March 2, 2009 Antec introduces TruePower New series of power supplies ~ TruePower New series delivers advanced system efficiency and stability at affordable price~ Antec, Inc., the global provider of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and do-it-yourself markets, today announced the [...]

Microsoft to cut contractor pay by 10% | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

Wants to lower is temporary staff costs by 15% It seems like Microsoft isn’t doing all too well, as the company is about to implement another cost cutting move which could see its contractors lose 10 percent of their pay. The cost cutting is targeting the employment agencies, but this is likely to have a [...]

What Does A $16,000+ PC Look Like | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

“A couple of months back, I was talking to the folks at Puget Systems for the first time, and in our initial discussion, they mentioned a high-end system they were working on. Curious as to what the company meant by a true high-end machine, I asked about the box’s innards. The project was just getting [...]

FEAR 2: Project Origin Performance Review | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

“Many gamers will remember F.E.A.R., the horror-themed first-person shooter from 2005 by American developer Monolith. After a long legal tussle between original publishers Vivendi and the new owners of Monolith, Warner Brothers, over the rights to the franchise, a sequel has finally emerged - F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.” Source

Nintendo Unveils New Controller | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:36

“Normally we’d scoff at the idea of Nintendo releasing yet another new controller (hell, we’ve already got the Wii-mote, nunchuk, zapper shell, wheel shell, balance board, classic controller, and GameCube controller, not to mention third party offerings like the Hori sticks and alternate pads) but in this case, we’re on board.” Source

Solar Panel Drops to $1 per Watt | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:35

“A solar power milestone was reached on Tuesday when First Solar Inc brought its manufacturing costs for solar panels down to $1 per watt. But a study from the University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs suggests that this might be the bottom for a price-point—if solar power is ever going to scale up [...]

AMD divides itself in two | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:35

“After a couple of years of preparation, Advanced Micro Devices is finally going to split itself in two today in the belief that competing with Intel is easier done with two heads instead of one. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD will retain 14,000 employees focused on the design and marketing of microprocessors. Meanwhile, the temporarily-named Foundry Co. [...]

Palit GeForce GTX 260 Sonic 216SP 55nm Graphics Card | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:35

Palit has created a Sonic version of the 55nm 216SP GTX 260 and we take the time to check it out.

Crucial Ballistix Tracer Blue PC3-12800 6GB Memory Kit | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:35

We take a look to see if the Crucial Ballistix Tracer Blue PC3-12800 modules deliver more excitement than just a bunch of flashy lights.

Galaxy GeForce GTS 250 1GB Graphics Card | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:35

Today we see the new GTS 250 launched, which is a merely a relabeled 9800 GTX+, which is simply an overclocked 9800 GTX.

NVIDIA (eVGA) GeForce GTS 250 1GB: much ado about nothing? | Posted on: 03/03/2009 @ 9:35

A GeForce 9800 GTX+ with a different name?

Noiseblocker MultiFrame Case Fan Series Review | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 21:10

The latest case fans to go under the wire at Verdis Reviews are the Noiseblocker Multiframe series. The manufacturing company is a specialist in the cooling department and so we’re expected these fans to be really exceptional products especially as the company is known to make changes to their products in order to make improvements. Let’s see how they shape up…

What is overclocking? | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 16:50

What is a overclocking? Overclocking involves changing your computer system’s hardware settings to work at a faster speed than the manufacturer initially intended. This generally involves changing the motherboard bus speed, the CPU speed, or both. This practice has become highly popular among gamers, modders and general PC enthusiasts.

Spire Blackmoon 450w | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 16:27

With high emphasis on high wattage and the most ‘bang for your buck’ in recent times, is it time we took a step back and looked at much lower wattage units in order to help the environment and become a little greener? Today at XSReviews we have a small, mid priced unit to put to the test, let’s see if it can persuade any of you to swap to a less electricity munching unit.

New Site Offers 100% Free Credit Scores and Credit Reports - Tech Fragments | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

We all know tracking your credit score is an important thing to do, especially when wanting to get a mortgage or some other type of loan such as a car or personal loan. Today, you'll have to dish out money to get your "true" fico score, from MyFico.com. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, well actually free alternative then you might be interested in Credit Karma. Credit Karma offers a ...

Thunderbird 3 Beta 2 Released - Tech Fragments | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

The most striking part of the release is the sheer volume of bug fixes. The list of bug fixes is quite long, which is actually a good thing to see during a beta program. Among the new features include; an archive feature which looks a lot like the Gmail's archive feature, hit the 'A' hotkey to select all, and IMAP auto-syncing. Other features you may notice:- Much more useful Growl notifications ...

CCleaner 2.17.853 Released - Tech Fragments | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to ...

Team Fortress 2 Scout Pack Cheaters Slapped on the Hands - Tech Fragments | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

Only hours after the release of the new Team Fortress 2 Scout Updates, cheaters began developing external programs that allow them to unlock all of the scout features without having to work for it. Below is a posting from the TF2 Blog:This time it seems a number of you used an external application to unlock all of your achievements in order to get items unfairly. Coming as a surprise to no one ...

Dell Unveils G2210 22 Inch LED Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor - Tech Fragments | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

Hot on the heels, or should I say out in front of the Dell SX2210 LCD Monitor, is the Dell G2210 - a 22-inch LED Wide Screen Flat Panel monitor that has environmentalists names written all over it. This ultra efficient LED monitor comes packed with power-saving features such as an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness based on the ambient brightness, PowerNap which can ...

Phenom II System Buyers' Guide - AnandTech | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

Phenom II is generating new excitement for AMD Buyers. We look at Phenom II systems built for value, maximum overclocking, and top performance....

MultiGPU Update: Finding the True Halo with 4-way - AnandTech | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

We round out our series on multiGPU performance with a look at 4-way SLI and CrossFire. Who will come out on top? The answer will surprise you....

How Much do Cost and Value Matter? - AnandTech | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:06

So here we are once again to find out what you guys think about some aspect of graphics hardware. In response to our recent articles on multiGPU scaling, set to conclude with a 4-way shootout coming soon, we have gotten a lot of feedback about cost and value. Our attempt to distill some of the decision making process will always be clunky, as there is no...

StarLight Creations Light Laptop Stands - CCE Reviews | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Laptop stands are often accessories neglected by most. More often than not, they only offer minor improvements and aren't always the quietest with their active cooling. StarLight Creations has come up with an incredibly no-fuss simple laptop stand that works without fans.

Enermax Pro 82 - XSReviews.co.uk | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

When Enermax contacted us regarding reviewing a power supply for them, we were pleasantly surprised. With such a prime range of PSUs, it's difficult to see why Enermax would release yet another series of units. However this was made clearer after doing some research...price. All of Enermax's units top the £60 bracket, but the Pro 82+ series is aimed more so at the low-mid range and the price ...

Enermax Pro 82 | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

When Enermax contacted us regarding reviewing a power supply for them, we were pleasantly surprised. With such a prime range of PSUs, it's difficult to see why Enermax would release yet another series of units. However this was made clearer after doing some research...price. All of Enermax's units top the £60 bracket, but the Pro 82+ series is aimed more so at the low-mid range and the price ...

StarLight Creations Light Laptop Stands | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Laptop stands are often accessories neglected by most. More often than not, they only offer minor improvements and aren't always the quietest with their active cooling. StarLight Creations has come up with an incredibly no-fuss simple laptop stand that works without fans.

How Much do Cost and Value Matter? | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

So here we are once again to find out what you guys think about some aspect of graphics hardware. In response to our recent articles on multiGPU scaling, set to conclude with a 4-way shootout coming soon, we have gotten a lot of feedback about cost and value. Our attempt to distill some of the decision making process will always be clunky, as there is no...

MultiGPU Update: Finding the True Halo with 4-way | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

We round out our series on multiGPU performance with a look at 4-way SLI and CrossFire. Who will come out on top? The answer will surprise you....

Phenom II System Buyers' Guide | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Phenom II is generating new excitement for AMD Buyers. We look at Phenom II systems built for value, maximum overclocking, and top performance....

Dell Unveils G2210 22 Inch LED Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Hot on the heels, or should I say out in front of the Dell SX2210 LCD Monitor, is the Dell G2210 - a 22-inch LED Wide Screen Flat Panel monitor that has environmentalists names written all over it. This ultra efficient LED monitor comes packed with power-saving features such as an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness based on the ambient brightness, PowerNap which can ...

Team Fortress 2 Scout Pack Cheaters Slapped on the Hands | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Only hours after the release of the new Team Fortress 2 Scout Updates, cheaters began developing external programs that allow them to unlock all of the scout features without having to work for it. Below is a posting from the TF2 Blog:This time it seems a number of you used an external application to unlock all of your achievements in order to get items unfairly. Coming as a surprise to no one ...

CCleaner 2.17.853 Released | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to ...

Thunderbird 3 Beta 2 Released | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

The most striking part of the release is the sheer volume of bug fixes. The list of bug fixes is quite long, which is actually a good thing to see during a beta program. Among the new features include; an archive feature which looks a lot like the Gmail's archive feature, hit the 'A' hotkey to select all, and IMAP auto-syncing. Other features you may notice:- Much more useful Growl notifications ...

New Site Offers 100% Free Credit Scores and Credit Reports | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

We all know tracking your credit score is an important thing to do, especially when wanting to get a mortgage or some other type of loan such as a car or personal loan. Today, you'll have to dish out money to get your "true" fico score, from MyFico.com. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, well actually free alternative then you might be interested in Credit Karma. Credit Karma offers a ...

The 12 Best Firefox About:Config Performance Tweaks | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Below are a few of our favorite Firefox performance hacks, tweaks, and productivity enhancements that can be made via the About:config of Firefox. We show you step-by-step how to perform the tweaks and what each of the tweaks are responsible for and how they improve your performance in Firefox and increase your productivity.Make Firefox Give Back RAM When MinimizedTypically when a program in ...

AT&T To Launch Trade-in Program For Mobile Phones? | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

The rumor mills keep on turning as AT&T might be considering a Trade-In Program for mobile phones, paying anywhere from $50 - $200 bucks - at least that's what the word is on the information superhighway. Apparently you can't just trade-in any old phone, the phone must meet a set of guidelines;1) The phone may not be older than 2-years old - free of dents and dings as well as in working order.

LG Recalls 830 Spyder Mobile Phone Due to Software Issue | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

LG Mobile, a subsidiary of LG Electronics, today announced that the LG 830 "Spyder" cell phones with software version T83LGV03 and T83LGV04 have been recalled and require a software upgrade. LG has initiated the "voluntary program" to provide the required upgrade for free. "Many of you with LG 830 Spyder cell phones with those software versions have already received the upgrade, and no other ...

News Fragments From Around The Web | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Sometimes we just need a break from the ordinary and some of the articles below reflect this. Below are a few articles that we have found that might be of interest to you, as they were to us - technology related or not, here they are:Top 10 Google Earth FindsJudge Orders Defendant To Decrypt PGP Encrypted Laptop for Child Porn Case

Six Must Have Antispyware Tools To Add To Your Toolkit | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Like it or not, spyware and malware is here and probably always will be but we don't have to spend lots of time cleaning it off our systems on a regular basis if we have a free anti-spyware toolkit at our disposal. This is exactly what we have put together, or at least our favorite ways to protect us against the elements of malware and spyware.Spybot Search and Destroy - Scanning ...

ASUS 4870 Matrix | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Mit der ASUS Radeon 4870 Matrix erreicht uns eine Grafikkarte, die in beinahe jedem Punkt vom Referenzdesign einer HD 4870 abweicht. Die GPU verfügt über einen Takt von 800 MHz anstatt 750 MHz und die 512 MByte GDDR3 Speicher werden mit 1900 MHz anstelle von 1800 MHz getaktet. Weiter verfügt diese Karte über ein eigens von ASUS entwickeltes PCB, welches einen Dual-Slot-Kühler ...

SanDisk 16GB Mobile Ultra microSDHC Card Review | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

The 16GB SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC was designed from the ground up to work with newer mobile phone models that support higher capacity cards. With a Class 4 speed rating this 16GB microSDHC is one of the fastest cards on the market today. If you like to store music or watch movies on your phone read on to see if this card is right for you.

Coolermaster HAF932 Full Tower ATX Chassis Review | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Sunbeamtech Hard Drive Docking Station Review | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:05

Convenience of Function is the term I give any good product that does its damned job without a whole bunch of crap work involved. Install these drivers while plugging in this and then rub the top counter-clockwise whilst singing the Star Spangled Banner. You know the usual nonsense that comes with most electronics. My review today is on a product that is an excellent example of convenience of ...

SilverStone Raven RV01 Case Review | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

Raven is a full-tower case with a unique design where the motherboard is rotated 90 making the rear connectors to be available on the top part of the case.

Which Linux Graphics Driver Bugs Do You Hate? | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

This week we received a note from Matthias Dahl, a Phoronix reader, who wanted to remind us about current problems plaguing the NVIDIA 180.xx driver series. Using any of the newer NVIDIA Linux drivers can cause graphics corruption followed by the system locking up...

Arch Linux Revolts Against ATI Catalyst Driver | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

While AMD continues to improve the ATI Catalyst Linux driver from where they were at years ago by introducing new features like CrossFire and OpenGL 3.0 support while addressing outstanding bugs, no Linux graphics driver is yet in a perfect state. As a result from our post yesterday we have read many driver complaints for both ATI and NVIDIA on Linux...

REMINDER: Win $500 USD From Phoronix | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

For those US or Canadian residents interested in their chance to win $500 USD from IDG TechNetwork, our advertising partner at Phoronix, there is just five days left to fill out the Phoronix survey. All of the details and link to the audience demographics survey can be found in this Phoronix news post...

LM_Sensors 3.1.0 Released, Plenty Of New Work | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

As we shared would be coming soon, LM_Sensors 3.1.0 was just released by Jean Delvare. This significant update to the LM_Sensors 3 code-base has a significantly reworked sensors-detect utility, various improvements to the LM_Sensors library (libsensors), a new /etc/sysconfig/lm_sensors format, and a new default sensors.conf configuration file. The improvements to sensors-detect make this initial ...

Xigmatek Achilles S1284C | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

“Achilles S1284C, a new generation H.D.T. cooler, once again proves that it is possible to do concurrently both good-looking and performance. Its H.D.T. technology and 4pcs Φ8 heat-pipe makes Achilles a remarkable performing and special fan design makes it to reach a silent level. With LED lights, transparent fan, Anti-vibration [...]

Hiper Type R MKII 680 Watt ATX Power Supply Review @ Tweaknews | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

"Hiper's new TYPE R MKII 680W ATX power supply brings a lot to the table, and it's all good. With excellent performance, quiet operation, and a very innovative feature set, this PSU could easily find a home in all but the most demanding systems."

Inno3D iChill GTX 260 896 MB (216 SP) | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

If you are looking for a quiet high performance card, then the factory-overclocked iChill GTX 260 is certainly a great choice for you. Using Arctic Cooling's Accelero XXX cooler it emits less fan noise than most low-end cards, yet offers performance close to the GeForce GTX 280.

Gaming Mouse Roundup | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

If you're using your PC, you're almost always using your mouse, which means it's essential to have the right one. We take a look at three new gaming mice vying for your attention; one sporting Microsoft's ludicrously over-specced BlueTrack engine and another made specifically for World of Warcraft.

MTRON PRO 7500 32GB 2.5-inch SLC Solid State Disk | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

MTRON is back with another SLC based SSD. Is SLC still the fastest, or has MLC closed the gap? LetÂ’s take a look and see.

ASUS BC-06B1ST Blu-Ray Disc Optical Combo Drive | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 12:04

It wasn't more than a few months ago that Benchmark Reviews tested the ASUS BC-1205PT Blu-ray Drive (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=172 Itemid=60), which was proven to be a future-proof asset with the format war recently ended in favor of BD media. But sometimes technology isn't adopted quite as fast as we might think, because in the age of Blu-ray there are people out there who still ...

What is a heatpipe? | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 10:29

What is a heatpipe? Heatpipes are pipes (usually made from copper) which can quickly transfer large quantities of heat from one point to another. They are normally used as a pathway for heat to travel from the core to a large dissipation surface area such as fins in a heatsink. The pipes are hollowed out and either filled with a fine powder (once again, usually copper) or a liquid with a ...

What is lightscribe? | Posted on: 02/03/2009 @ 10:28

What is LightScribe? LightScribe in its simplest explanation is a new technology that Hewlett-Packard announced for home users to professionally label their burnt optical media. The idea is that you buy a CD or DVD burner that supports this technology. Then to purchase optical media such as CD’s or DVD’s that are specially coated on the non-data side to work with the ...