![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
There is a newer version of Firefox out today. This brings the incredibly popular browser up to version 1.5.0.5. Grab it if you want it, try it if you haven’t.
Firefox 1.5.0.5 is a security update that is part of our ongoing program to provide a safe Internet experience for our customers. We recommend that all users upgrade to this latest version.
Some people like USB drives, others like FireWire drives but have you ever tried out network attached storage devices like the Vantec NexStar LX NAS hard drive enclosure? Same principle as USB and FireWire except NAS storage doesn’t have to be connected to a PC. Head on over to [H] Consumer and see what they thought of this drive enclosure from Vantec.
The LX is similar to the familiar USB- or FireWire-based external hard drive enclosures with two distinct differences. First, it offers 10/100 Ethernet connectivity via an RJ-45 connection, and secondly, it doesn’t need to be directly connected to a PC to function.
VIAArena was on hand at Euskal Encounter, one of Europe’s largest LAN parties, taking pictures of some of the best case mods at the event. The PC with a leg of ham on top is worth the trip over all by itself.
Held yearly in Bilbao Spain, the Euskal Encounter is one of the largest LAN parties in Europe. Bringing together over 5000 gamers, the massive event is a 4 day computing orgy of gaming. It goes without saying then, that any time you bring together such a sea of gamers, you are guaranteed some cool case mods.
ZDNet seems to think that Apple will move away from ATi now that they are owned by AMD. It does make sense that the Intel would have some influence over Apple considering they now power their entire product line.
The move leaves Apple in a bit of a quandary because ATI video subsystems currently power two of Apple's Intel-based Macs: the MacBook Pro and the iMac both ship with ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 GPUs. The Mac mini and MacBook use Intel GMA950 graphics.
This morning, the home office of AMD demonstrated a 4x4 enthusiast system, affectionately referred to as the “Quad Father”, running a variety of different multi-threaded applications. Among the demonstrations given, Half Life 2 was run while encoding MP3 audio and MPEG4 video in the background.
AMD, in an attempt to appeal to the entire enthusiast market (not just the high-dollar enthusiast market) , promised dual CPU bundles for well below $1,000. AMD says they are targeting what they call the "Megatasking" enthusiast, those of us who use their machines for everything, all the time. Hopefully this little nugget of information will hold you over for now, we’ll have more details for you soon.
It was also hinted at that if you bought a 4x4 system around Christmas of this year, you would be able to update it to a true 4-Core X 4-Core system by the middle of 2007 with a simple CPU upgrade.
This morning, the home office of AMD demonstrated a 4X4 enthusiast system, affectionately referred to as the “Quadfather,” running a variety of different multi-threaded applications. Among the demonstrations given, a Half Life 2 demo was run while encoding a MP3 audio and MPEG4 video in the background.
AMD, in an attempt to appeal to the entire enthusiast market (not just the high-dollar enthusiast market) , promised dual 4X4 CPU bundles for well below $1,000 mark. AMD says they are targeting what they call the "Megatasking" enthusiast, those of us who use their machines for everything, all the time. Hopefully this little nugget of information will hold you over for now, we’ll have more details for you soon.
It was also hinted at that if you bought a 4X4 system around Christmas of this year, you would be able to update it to a true 4-Core X 4-Core system by the middle of 2007 with a simple CPU upgrade.
Will the acquisition of ATi by AMD be good for Linux? Honestly, I just can’t see how it could be anything but good for ATi when it comes to Linux support. Maybe they will even dedicate more resources to Linux driver development. Well, we can always hope.
Clearly, AMD will be trying to get more traction in the Windows desktop space. However, I have several thoughts on what the acquisition may mean for the non-Windows desktop world. First, while Apple's Intel-powered Macs run Intel chips at their heart, they also tend to use ATI chips for their graphical faces. Could AMD make a run at the Mac space? I think they will, and that they should.
Bit-Tech is featuring a pretty neat soccer ball PC mod that is worth a look. The mod consists of an EPIA based PC squished into a regulation sized soccer ball and pair of cleats.
When Foxconn approached me to ask if I could put a computer inside a football - I thought, why not? As far as I am aware, no one had done such a thing and I thought it might prove to be an interesting challenge. Aside from obviously actually getting a working PC inside a match-sized football, there was the challenge of keeping the ball inflated!
Driver Heaven has an interview with ATi posted today that deals directly with yesterday’s merger announcement. When asked whether AMD will “force” processors on those people wanting to buy ATi video cards, this was the response:
This merger is about growth, innovation and choice for our customers. AMD is committed to an approach of delivering open platforms where customers can choose the right solution to meet their unique needs. We’re also committed to delivering market-leading products that provide the highest levels of performance, power efficiency and scalability. As part of that model we have to give customers the ability to choose – whether that be a unified platform or best-of-breed solution.
MSNBC does a bit of analyzing of today’s announcement that AMD is buying ATi. Whether you are for the deal or against it, one thing is for sure, plenty of people are talking about it. There is a lively discussion going on in our ATi forum as well as in our AMD forum.
The marriage leaves a couple of jilted partners by the wayside, and it will probably bring Intel and Nvidia closer together. AMD will continue to support the entire ATI product line, including chipsets for Intel processors, though rumor has it that Intel will withdraw ATI's license to build them.
At first I thought this was a guide to getting addicted to the internet, then I realized this is a serious internet addiction guide. Hey, maybe we can get all "hopped up" on the internet and end up going to that clinic we mentioned here last month.
What "Internet addiction disorder" (IAD) is still difficult to define at this time. Much of the original research was based upon the weakest type of research methodology, namely exploratory surveys with no clear hypothesis or rationale backing them. Coming from an atheoretical approach has some benefits, but also is not typically recognized as being a strong way to approach a new disorder. More recent research has expanded upon the original surveys and anecdotal case study reports. However, as I will illustrate below later, even these studies don't support the conclusions the authors claim.
[H] readers, JLangejans and J. Kuhn, both sent me this link to AMD’s new processor pricing page. There are some significant price cuts, here is a screenshot of the Athlon64 X2 Dual-Core processor pricing graph:
