[H]ardNews - Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all. Once we have a few news items to post we will put them up!

[H]ardNews 9th Edition

Snow Globe Screensaver:

How about a little holiday cheer in the form of a snow globe screensaver made by Paolo Martella for the fellas at Driver Heaven. Pretty spanky screensaver, install it…run it and use your mouse to shake it up. Damn, we shoulda though of that one…a [H]-oliday screensaver would kick ass. Much props to Paolo and the DH gang for spreading the holiday spirit.

[H]ardNews - Blair's Tech Ed. II

Wearable Mouse:

Operating computers without a keyboard or mouse but just by moving two hands in empty air as seen in many Hollywood films like ``Disclosure,'' featuring Michael Douglas, will soon become a reality. Samsung Electro-Mechanics on Wednesday unveiled the world's first wearable and virtual input device called ``Scurry.'' The company developed the product last October but has been keeping the product on the shelf due to difficulties in commercializing it.

Long Road To Yukon:

Microsoft watchers have voiced concerns that delays in the company's introduction of its Yukon database software could derail other products, including a new version of Windows, code-named Longhorn. But Microsoft executives dispute that notion. They told CNET News.com that the delivery of Yukon--which marks the debut of the company's key unified storage technology--won't affect other future products. Microsoft says a delay in shipment of Yukon, a new version of its SQL Server database that ushers in a new storage technology, won't affect other upcoming products using the same technology.

Novell Owns Linux:

Novell Inc. is re-asserting the claim that it, and not The SCO Group Inc., owns the copyright to the Unix System V source code that has been at the heart of a protracted dispute between SCO and the Linux community. On Monday, the Provo, Utah, software vendor confirmed that it has been quietly registering copyright for some of the same Unix System V code that SCO registered copyright for earlier in the year.

You Go First:

How would you feel about drinking a glass of water distilled from your own raw sewage? You’ve no doubt just experienced what Bill Zebuhr, founder and CEO of Nashua, NH’s Ovation Products, calls the “yuck factor”—which may present a major hurdle to market acceptance of his household water distiller. Then again, it may not. If, for example, you live in a part of the world where your drinking water is already directly contaminated by sewage (yours and your neighbors’), the distilled option is clearly more palatable, and one that might save your life.

Symantec Wins Counterfeit Case:

Internet security company Symantec Corp has reportedly been awarded a USD3m judgment against Baltimore-based Maryland Internet Marketing. Maryland Internet Marketing was found to have sold counterfeit Symantec software and the company and its CEO were permanently barred from producing or selling unauthorised products protected by Symantec's registered trademarks and name. The injunction also prohibits the use of spam e-mail as a means to sell Symantec products.

[H]ardNews 7th Edition

ABIT KV8-MAX3:

Motherboard Review has posted a motherboard review today (say that ten times fast). The ABIT KV8-MAX3 is on the MBR test bench being run through every test known to man…twice. You can also check out our review here of this board for comparison purposes.

Overclocking our hardware on the KV8-MAX3 was nothing but exciting. The motherboard proved to us that it can bring out the full potential an Athlon64 system can currently offer with a VIA K8T800 chipset. Although the overclock was only a hairline above what other K8 motherboards have achieved with the same chipset, ABIT continues to show us they are serious contenders within the realm of the overclocking world.

Intel 64-Bit Plans?

This little bit of info at Investors.com is pretty damn interesting. The title of the article is “Intel May Be Ready To Copy Rival AMD”:

Intel Corp. appears ready to backtrack — perhaps swayed by success its smaller archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) is having with a product. The world's largest chipmaker is quietly designing a 64-bit chip for PCs based on x86 architecture, says American Technology Research analyst Rick Whittington.

[H]ardNews 5th Edition

High-End Graphics Round-up:

Overclockers New Zealand has posted a high-end Radeon round-up that sports a Gigacube 9800Pro and a PowerColor 9800XT so far, with plans to add other cards in the future.

The GeXcube R9800Pro 256MB is being over-shadowed by its "younger" brother, R9800XT 256MB. Judging from the benchmark and current price, user will be better off with either a standard R9800Pro 128MB or R9800XT 256MB. The use of DDR-II memory offers minimal improvement over the standard DDR memory, while significantly increases final retail price and over-all heat generation.

Personally, we think you should buy as much graphics card as your budget will allow. So if your budget allows a 9800XT, hell yeah you better get one. But, the best thing about the 9800XT right now is the way they drive the price of current 9800Pro cards down. Another month or so and the 9800Pro 128MB cards could be as low as $250 or so.

Shuttle SB61G2R SE:

Hexus shows us the latest Shuttle XPC that comes with all the bells and whistles. The Shuttle SB61G2R Reflexion 20th Anniversary Special Edition XPC System is getting high praise from our friends at Hexus today, let’s see why.

Does that make it the perfect small form factor system, then ?. It's pretty close, especially with a competitive online price of around £250. The features listed above help it to jump to #1 position in the Intel XPC pecking order and add value to the overall bundle. Other lesser Intel XPCs don't appear to be much cheaper, thus making the RefleXion that much more of an enticing proposition. It's a case where the special edition tag can be justified on a number of grounds.

9600Pro Apple Mod:

TechSeekers is busting a little G4 graphics card conversion info on you today by demonstrating how to mod your Radeon 9600Pro to work in an Apple G4. All this business of taping pins reminds me of the days when we had to use the same techniques to get more voltage out of our Slot 1 processors…remember that?

"Will the OEM G5 Radeon 9600 Pro work in my G4?" This question has popped up more and more in mac forums around the world, and the answer is usually "No", "I don't think so", "Definitely NOT!!". Well today I am going to say yes! Yes it can, to an extent.

[H]ardNews 4th Edition

Prolink GFFX 5700:

What makes this Prolink PixelView GeForce FX 5700 review so special is not the cards performance or price…it is the big monster box-like cooling solution on the card itself. You have got to see this one. Damn thing puts Leadtek coolers to shame.

The 5700 is definitely not meant for the hardcore gamer, but the ones that occasionally do play a game or two. Combine that with video in and output function, dual monitor options and let us not forget excellent DVD/Media playback, peachy fine 2D quality and a product that has the looks that can kill bill.

Albatron KX18D Pro II:

The Athlon64 platform may be the next big thing on the AMD side of the isle, but the truth be told, there are a lot of you still using or upgrading to boards like the Albatron KX18D Pro II. Let Bjorn3D give you all the gory details:

Overall, I am liking this board a lot. There are not many bad things you can say about any of the boards featuring the beloved nForce2 chipset. This is no exception to the norm. The Albatron KX18D Pro II is a top performer through and through. The layout is simple and clean. It is also feature-loaded with just about everything you can think of needing in a motherboard.

Biostar i-DEQ 200P:

It seems to be a trend to brag about having a small unit these days. Trusted Reviews has a review of once such small unit, the Biostar i-DEQ 200P SFF PC. Here is a quote from the review:

The Biostar i-DEQ 200P offers quality, great design and good looks at an affordable price. On top of this you also get top notch performance without the noise associated with most desktop PCs.

[H]ardNews - Blair's Tech Ed.

Digital Cinema:

Grab the popcorn, cinemaphiles. You may be about to sit through one of the best movie sequels in years: digital cinema. "The digital image is brighter, sharper, the colors are more crisp and the image is a bit steadier," says Patrick von Sychowski, an analyst with Screen Digest, the British-based media research firm. After years of Hollywood hype, 2004 could truly be a watershed year for digital cinema. A recent surge in investment by theater chains and technology companies means the number of digital projectors in cinemas will more than double to over 400 in the next 12 months, Screen Digest reports.

Ion Engine Tech:

A new ion propulsion engine design, one of several candidate propulsion technologies under study by NASA's Project Prometheus for possible use on the proposed Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter mission, has been successfully tested by a team of engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. The event marked the first performance test of the Nuclear Electric Xenon Ion System (Nexis) ion engine at the high-efficiency, high-power, and high-thrust operating conditions needed for use in nuclear electric propulsion applications.

Automated Tech Support:

Retailers annually dread the post-Christmas rush of people returning presents that don't fit, don't match, don't work or simply aren't wanted. But the return counter isn't the only place gift-getters turn after Christmas. They also flood customer service phone lines, waiting on hold for hours for help using their new laptops to conquer the Roman Empire or for advice on how to record a dozen bowl games with their new digital video recorders.

Nanoparticles Tackle Cancer:

Researchers are working on developing ultrasmall nanoparticles to tackle breast and prostate cancers more effectively. It could allow higher doses of more toxic drugs to be used without fear that widespread damage to tissues will be caused. The work is being carried out by the recently established Centre for Polymer Therapeutics established within the Welsh school of Pharmacy at Cardiff under the direction of Professor Ruth Duncan. It specializes in the use of so-called designer molecules made up from polymers which are chemicals constructed of long chains of molecules.

[H]ardNews 2nd Edition

More SCO Targets:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…another round of SCO lawsuit threats. So much for the Christmas spirit and all that stuff, SCO couldn’t wait to start their next round of litigation and threats, this time going after universities ad other organizations. SCO and the RIAA are running a close race for this years “Bah [H]umbug” award!

Last week, SCO started sending out the first of an estimated 3,000 letters to companies, universities and other organizations that licensed Unix, typically from AT&T, the company that invented the operating system and sold it years later. Previously, SCO had limited its legal saber rattling to the world's largest companies.

[H]ardNews 1st Edition

SFF Comparo:

Two new small form factor PCs battle it out today at VR-Zone. The AOpen XC Cube and the Soldam Pandora Claire go head to head to see who has got the most performance and features crammed into the their SFF. Have a look:

Christmas is just around the corner and we have a White X’mas Special review for all our readers today. AOpen has just released their XC Cube series of SFF PCs and we will be reviewing the EZ65 in our test lab today. It is available in 5 different colors; Pearl White, Volcano Gray, Jazz Black, Danube Blue and Cherry Red. Our review sample is as you would have guessed, the Pearl White version of the EZ65.

Swiftech MCW50=T:

The MCW50-T™ is a fully assembled liquid-cooled thermoelectric (Peltier) solution, specifically designed for high-end graphics processor. Operating temperature ranges from ambient to freezing levels, depending on the thermal load. This unit is intended for advanced users and requires appropriate insulation to prevent the formation of condensation in sensitive areas of the graphics card. Whereas Swiftech provides gaskets, and specific installation instructions for such assembly, utilization of this device is at the sole risk of the user.

BrookGPU:

What is BrookGPU? Ripped straight from the pages of the BrookGPU Project the explanation is easy…sorta. The BrookGPU is a compiler and runtime implementation of the Brook stream program language for modern graphics hardware. The goals for this project to demonstrate general purpose programing on GPUs.

Brook is an extension of standard ANSI C and is designed to incorporate the ideas of data parallel computing and arithmetic intensity into a familiar, efficient language. The general computational model, referred to as streaming, provides two main benefits over traditional conventional languages: Data Parallelism: Allows the programmer to specify how to perform the same operations in parallel on different data. Arithmetic Intensity: Encourages programmers to specify operations on data which minimize global communication and maximize localized computation.

[H]ardNews 10th Edition

Mad Cow In WA:

I wish this was some sort of stoopid headline that lead to a big joke, but that is not the case. Thanks leeper.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The first case of mad cow disease in the United States has been discovered in Washington state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

[H]ardNews 9th Edition

Holiday Spirit Cubed:

The holidays are upon us, but many ( and I do mean MANY ) of you guys are stuck working for your Grinch boss, or maybe you are the Boss stuck at work paying them year-end bills and such. Well, there is no reason to be miserable…do like this guy did and deck out his work cubicle with some holiday cheer. Bob Villa better watch out.

[H]ardNews 8th Edition

Crucial Radeon 9600Pro:

The Radeon 9600Pro is a great choice for gamers on a budget, now all you need to do is find a brand of 9600Pro that suits your needs. DesignTechnica looks at the Crucial 9600Pro to see if this board has what you want. The crew at DT do reviews a little different from everyone else, the conclusion is posted on page 2 of a 4 page review, so make sure you get to the benchmark on page 3 & 4.

The Crucial RADEON 9600 Pro is definitely the beginning of the shape of things to come from ATI chipsets in the near future. With die sizes shrinking and memory solutions becoming more available and affordable, it would definitely seem as though the potential is here for a compromise between the cost of a high-end graphics card and an affordable one.

Orac³ Part 4:

Most of you guys will remember that killer case mod at Bit-Tech called the Orac³ . Well the fellas have done an awesome “how-to” write up that covers the whole mod from beginning to end. There are a ton of really, really good ideas you can get from this write up.

Here you will see me beginning what I would call the final stages of the project. This is where the modding of practically every part becomes dependent on the modding of another part, as they all have to fit together like a big 3D Jigsaw Puzzle with space fast running out. In this article I'll only be covering the parts of this '3D Jigsaw' I have completely finished at the time of writing.