Fw: New 3.2Gbps FireWire spec approved, not as fast as USB 3.0

URL:
http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/352046004/20080731-new-3-2gbps-firewire-spec-approved-not-as-fast-as-usb-3-0.html

The IEEE 1394 working group has formally approved FireWire's
next-generation standard. The new version defines transfer speeds of
1.6Gbps and 3.2Gbps, is backwards compatible with FireWire 800 and 400,
and uses the same cable standard as FireWire 800. Remember the original
Firewire vs. USB 2.0 debates? It's time for the big Firewire S3200 vs.
USB 3.0 discussion.

Read More...

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Fw: Team overclocks Core 2 Quad to 5.1GHz, claims world record -- too bad it's not

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/351928879/

Filed under: Desktops

So we hate to break it to the good guys at Tom's Hardware, but while
we're impressed that they managed to overclock a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2
Quad 6600 to 5.1GHz using a cryogenic cooling system, it's not nearly
close to the world record they're claiming -- we've seen P4's at up to
8.18GHz, and just a couple months ago someone jacked a Core 2 Extreme
QX9775 on a Skulltrail board to 6GHz. Still, it's always fun to watch
people pour LNO2 over a mobo -- video after the break.

[Via PC World]

Continue reading Team overclocks Core 2 Quad to 5.1GHz, claims world
record -- too bad it's not Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: Intel's Recent Price-Cut Drops Price of Quad-Core Chips to Below $200

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20080729100303_Intel_s_Recent_Price_Cut_Drops_Price_of_Quad_Core_Chips_to_Below_200.html
Intel Makes Select Chips More Affordable

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Fw: Dell slots in 24-inch widescreen S2409W LCD monitor

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/349392494/

Filed under: Displays

Just over a month after Dell added in a new 27-incher to its
(admittedly unwieldy) LCD monitor family, along comes a sibling with a
few less pixels and a much smaller price tag. The 24-inch widescreen
S2409W checks in with a 1,920 x 1,080 panel, 300 cd/m2 brightness,
5-millisecond response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, VGA / DVI / HDMI
sockets, and 160- / 170-degree viewing angles. The best part(s)? It's
available for just $379, and it's shipping within one to two days.
Hooray!

[Via Electronista]
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Fw: China's Blu-ray competitor CBHD brings HD DVD back from the dead

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/348411850/

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

CBHD, née CH-DVD -- the Chinese version of the now-deceased HD DVD
format -- is in production, gearing up for a fourth quarter launch.
DigiTimes cites reports from enorth.com.cn that Shanghai United Optical
Disc has laid out the first production line, although Taiwanese disc
makers (already burned by HD DVD) aren't as confident it can take on
Blu-ray, even with considerably lower royalty fees and hardware costs
for disc replicators. Coming alongside news that Chinese-built Blu-ray
players based on increasingly affordable hardware is on the way, plus a
decided lack of studio support, it's not hard to see how this one will
turn out (again.) Not to underrate China's national pride, but unless
it can gain an unexpected foothold among DVD pirates, CBHD will
probably be on the high definition scrap heap alongside HD DVD, EVD and
the rest before long. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: Dell explains NVIDIA GPU issues, throws out BIOS updates to help

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/346529373/

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

So yeah, quite a few NVIDIA GPUs have been acting up. Nothing new
there. However, Dell's attempting to help its laptop owners out by
making a few notable BIOS updates readily available for download.
Apparently the issue "is a weak die / packaging material set, which may
fail with GPU temperature fluctuations." In order to combat the
problem, Dell's BIOS flashes "modify the fan profile to help regulate
GPU temperature fluctuations," though the Round Rock powerhouse only
promises that the updates will "help reduce the likelihood of GPU
issues." Hit the read link and give it a go -- it can't hurt... we hope.

[Via Electronista]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: Intel Rumoured to Speed Up Nehalem Launch on Desktop

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20080724230640_Intel_Rumoured_to_Speed_Up_Nehalem_Launch_on_Desktop.html
Intel's Bloomfield Processor to Emerge in September - Rumours

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Fw: Microsoft pesquisa tecnologia que concorre com LCD - Autor(Camila Rodrigues da Silva)

URL:
http://uoltecnologia.blog.uol.com.br/arch2008-07-20_2008-07-26.html#2008_07-22_12_18_20-130772099-27

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Fw: AMD Initiates Pilot Production of 45nm Chips

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20080721084621_AMD_Initiates_Pilot_Production_of_45nm_Chips.html
AMD to Bring 45nm Products in Early Q4 2008

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Fw: Eee PC 1000H gets a $100 price drop

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/340140011/

Filed under: Laptops

It's only been on sale for six days, but the pricetag on the Eee PC
1000H just dropped by $100, down to $549. We're not sure if early
buyers will get that extra Benny back, but it certainly can't hurt to
ask -- and ASUS, while you're at it, how about taking a little off the
901 as well?

[Via Mobile Stylus; thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: Intel turns 40

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/339134465/

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Happy 40th birthday, Intel! Now that you're over the hill, we'd suggest
buying a Porsche, building completely custom one-off chips for Apple,
or in some other way jeopardizing your financial well being in order to
actualize pent-up childhood dreams, but we'd say AMD's recent struggles
are just about the best present you could've asked for. Sure, the EU is
trying its best to put a damper on things, but don't let that get you
down, your best years are still to come. Maybe.

[Thanks, Kevin]
Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: Consultoria prevê fim de uso doméstico do mouse

URL:
http://redir.folha.com.br/redir/online/folha/informatica/rss091/*http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/bbc/ult272u423484.shtml
Uma das consultorias em tecnologia mais importantes do mundo, a
Gartner, prevê que o mouse para uso doméstico está com os dias
contatos. Um dos consultores da empresa, Steve Prentice, afirma que o
mouse, que já tem quase 40 anos de idade, poderá ser aposentado nas
casas nos próximos três ou cinco anos. Para substituir o dispositivo,
Prentice diz que serão implantados computadores com os chamados
mecanismos gestuais, como os operados por toques de tela e dispositivos
de reconhecimento facial. "O mouse trabalha bem em ambiente de
escritório, mas, para o entretenimento doméstico ou para trabalhar em
um notebook, está acabado", afirma o analista. Leia mais (17/07/2008 -
18h02)

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Fw: Intel CEO: Atom is Something "Most of us Wouldn't Use"

URL: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12411
Intel's CEO talks about the Atom processor...

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Fw: Hello AMD Socket G34

URL: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12400
AMD's 12-core and 8-core processors get a new home in 2010...

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Fw: Atualização da Dell permite deixar tela de tablet PC multitouch - Autor(Camila Rodrigues da Silva)

URL:
http://uoltecnologia.blog.uol.com.br/arch2008-07-13_2008-07-19.html#2008_07-16_17_10_50-130772099-28

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Fw: NVIDIA denies rumors of faulty chips, mass GPU failures

URL:
http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/337083060/20080716-nvidia-denies-rumors-of-mass-gpu-failures.html

NVIDIA is taking a $200 million hit in the second quarter for costs
related to laptop GPU failures, but some websites have claimed the
company is hiding the true extent of the issue. The company tells Ars
that only a "very small percentage" of its chips are "potentially
affected."

Read More...

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Fw: AMD Plans to Launch Two Dual-Chip ATI Radeon HD 4800 Graphics Cards

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20080711222632_AMD_Plans_to_Launch_Two_Dual_Chip_ATI_Radeon_HD_4800_Graphics_Cards.html
ATI Touts 8-Way ATI CrossFireX Multi-GPU Technology

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Fw: Indefinição da TV digital faz com que Sony não aposte em TV com conversor embutido - Autor(Camila Rodrigues da Silva)

URL:
http://uoltecnologia.blog.uol.com.br/arch2008-07-06_2008-07-12.html#2008_07-10_16_11_32-130772099-28

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Fw: Seagate First to Announce 1.5TB Desktop HDD

URL: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12335
Seagate 1.5TB HDD uses four platters...

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Fw: AMD Loses Microprocessor Revenue Share to Intel - iSuppli

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20080708180715_AMD_Loses_Microprocessor_Revenue_Share_to_Intel_iSuppli.html
AMD, Intel Continue to Gain CPU Revenue Share

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Fw: Transition to 16:9 PC Monitor Panels Inevitable - Research Firm

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20080703212817_Transition_to_16_9_PC_Monitor_Panels_Inevitable_Research_Firm.html
16:9 Panels to Replace 16:10 Panels, Says Research Firm

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Fw: Computex 2008 - ASUS Brings Joy to Our Ears

URL: http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=3324
ASUS releases the Xonar HDAV1.3 that features output capabilities for
uncompressed multi-channel audio including the latest Dolby True-HD and
DTS-HD Master audio formats....

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Fw: Larrabee Based On a Bundle of Old Pentium Chips

URL:
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/329220391/article.pl
arcticstoat writes "Intel's Pat Gelsinger recently revealed that
Larrabee's 32 IA cores will in fact be based on Intel's ancient P54C
architecture, which was last seen in the original Pentium chips, such
as the Pentium 75, in the early 1990s. The chip will feature 32 of
these cores, which will each feature a 512-bit wide SIMD (single input,
multiple data) vector processing unit."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Fw: Pioneer's Blu-ray disc hits 400GB across 16-layers

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/328684026/

Filed under: Storage

16-layers -- that's how many layers it takes to the hit the center of a
400GB Blu-ray disc, pops. That's 25GB per layer just like those
dual-layer 50GB discs available for retail. Best of all, the technique
used by Pioneer is expected to be backward compatible with existing
Blu-ray gear since the specs and lenses required for pickup are
identical. The prototype is read-only for the moment but R&D's on it so
let's give them some time to work it out.

Update: Now that the English press release is out, it's less clear
whether the new media -- whenever it might come to market -- will work
in existing Blu-ray players or not. While "it is possible to maintain
compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and the BD discs,"
players would seemingly require a modified optical pick-up mechanism to
see the data. We'll learn more on July 13th when Pioneer discusses the
breakthrough in detail.

[Via Impress]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: NVIDIA said to be dropping GeForce GTX 280 price in response to AMD

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/326128697/

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

It only launched a few weeks ago, but it looks like NVIDA could already
be set to cut the price of its top-end GeForce GTX 280 graphics card --
a move that would be prompted, as you might have guessed, by AMD's
cheaper but powerful Radeon HD 4800 series. According to HotHardware,
that word comes from "multiple NVIDIA board partners," who say that the
card could be dropping to as low as $499 (the same as AMD's competing
card). One board partner reportedly added that the price "may be a
little higher, or potentially even a little lower." Obviously, all of
that is still up in the air until we hear from NVIDIA itself but, as
HotHardware points out, it could certainly pay off to hold out a couple
of weeks if you've been considering taking the plunge on one of these.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: ASUS Eee PC 900 gets livened up with touchscreen

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/325283070/

Filed under: Laptops

If you're tired of waiting for ASUS to offer a touchscreen option for
the Eee PC 900 (or you're the proud owner of an existing unit),
jkkmobile is happy to show you their shortcut to touchy-feely nirvana.
As we've seen on all those other Eees, installing the touch panel into
the 900 doesn't seem to be extraordinarily difficult for those with a
few mods under their belt and a reliable Chinese parts supplier. For
those who'd prefer to simply watch from the sidelines, you can peek the
video after the break and lots more photos in the read link.

Continue reading ASUS Eee PC 900 gets livened up with touchscreen
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: NVIDIA says "significant quantities" of laptop GPUs are defective, stock tumbles

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/325418750/

Filed under: LaptopsIf you're the type to watch the late stock tickers,
you might have noticed that NVIDIA's stock just took a pretty big hit,
down 24 percent to $13.56 -- that's because the company just informed
investors that "significant quantities" of previous-generation graphics
chips have been failing at "higher than normal rates," and that it's
lowering its Q2 estimates due to pricing pressure. NVIDIA will be
taking a $150M to $250M charge against earnings next quarter to cover
the cost of repairing and replacing the affected chips, but didn't
specifically announce what products were defective, just that they
include GPUs and "media and communications processors." Laptop makers
have apparently already been given an updated GPU driver which kicks in
fans sooner to reduce "thermal stress" on the GPU, and NVIDIA says it's
talking to its suppliers about being reimbursed for the faulty parts.
That's great and all, but we'd really rather know which chips
specifically are failing -- if you're serious about playing in the big
leagues, you better come clean, guys. Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments

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Fw: SSDs save battery power, right? Wrong.

URL: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/324324562/

Filed under: Storage

If you just shelled out some pretty pennies for the a high-speed,
low-power SSD, Tom's Hardware may have stumbled onto some findings that
won't sit well. According to a rigorous benchmarking session, they
discovered that not only do the drives not save you battery power...
they eat more of it. How is this possible you ask? Well mechanical
drives only hit peak drainage when the actuator has to move the heads,
whereas SSDs use full power whenever they're in use, so the end result
is actually a diminished efficiency. What that means is that the hype
over "green" drives may be just that: pure hype. On the other hand,
you're still getting a drive with no moving parts, which at least makes
your data more secure, if not more eco-friendly.

[Via Eeeuser; Thanks, Tony]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Fw: Nvidia's GeForce 8300 chipset

URL: http://techreport.com/articles.x/14993
AMD's 780G was the first to bring full Blu-ray decode acceleration to
integrated graphics chipsets, and now Nvidia has an answer in the
GeForce 8300. Join us as we pit this new challenger against the
reigning champion to see which comes out on top.

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Fw: OCZ Unveils Lineup of Affordable Solid State Drives

URL:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/display/20080630225529_OCZ_Unveils_Lineup_of_Affordable_Solid_State_Drives.html
OCZ Offers 128GB Solid State Drives for $479

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Fw: Lojas virtuais dizem que têm custos menores

URL:
http://redir.folha.com.br/redir/online/folha/informatica/rss091/*http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/informatica/ult124u417580.shtml
Lojas virtuais e sites que vendem produtos eletroeletrônicos afirmam
que seus custos são menores do que os do comércio tradicional, o que
permite tornar os preços mais competitivos e oferecer mercadorias até
pela metade do preço. Isso não significa, segundo eles, que estejam
praticando "concorrência desleal". O Mercado Livre informa, por meio de
sua assessoria de imprensa, que os preços dos produtos que anuncia
podem estar menores porque podem ser seminovos ou porque o usuário que
já tem um home theater, por exemplo, ganha outro de presente e, em vez
de trocar por outro produto, decide vender por meio do site. "Se o
consumidor entrar no site de grandes redes varejistas, verá que, muitas
vezes, os preços anunciados na internet são inferiores aos praticados
na loja física. Isso porque locar uma loja no shopping custa muito mais
caro que um espaço na internet", afirma, em nota, o site
www.mercadolivre.com. Leia mais (30/06/2008 - 09h54)

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Fw: Sites cobram menos que preço de custo, dizem lojistas

URL:
http://redir.folha.com.br/redir/online/folha/informatica/rss091/*http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/informatica/ult124u417575.shtml
Um grupo de lojistas que vende produtos de áudio e vídeo, software e
equipamentos para automação residencial acusa lojas virtuais de
venderem os mesmos produtos a preços abaixo do custo. Para enfrentar o
que consideram "concorrência desleal", lojistas dos Estados de São
Paulo e do Rio Grande do Sul decidiram montar uma associação com o
objetivo de ter mais poder para pedir fiscalização intensa da Receita
Federal e das Fazendas estaduais nas lojas que só vendem pela internet.
Levantamento feito por lojistas na semana passada mostra que preços de
produtos vendidos em suas lojas e em lojas virtuais têm diferença da
ordem de 50%, ou seja, metade do preço. Citam exemplos. Receiver da
marca Marantz modelo SR 8002, vendido por eles por R$ 9.900, custa R$
5.500 em loja virtual. Projetor Sony modelo VPL-EX4, comercializado por
eles por R$ 3.799, sai por R$ 2.395 em lojas on-line. Leia mais
(30/06/2008 - 09h50)

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