[H]ardNews 7th Edition

ASUS Radeon 9800XT/TVD:

Hexus has a review of the ASUS Radeon 9800XT/TVD. ASUS has always went the extra mile with their products and put out great video cards in the past, let’s see how this card stacks up this time around.

It overclocks decently, SmartDoctor makes it quieter than almost any other card, it's presented well, exudes quality and carries ASUS' 3 year warranty. Factor Half Life 2 into the price too, if you're feeling that way inclined. Shipping date for that title stops it making any real difference though. Should you want the fastest graphics card money can buy and you're deep of pockets, the ASUS is as good as any to relieve you of your cash.

MS Wants Google:

Is Microsoft actively pursuing Google? This story says that MS is desperate to get a piece of the ad generating search engine pie. Could Google patches & BSODs be in our future? (heh….kidding, just kidding)

Wall Street is not the only one wooing Google. Microsoft is as well. Google, the highflying Silicon Valley Web search company, recently began holding meetings with bankers in preparation for its highly anticipated initial public offering as it was still engaged in meetings of another kind: exploring a partnership or even a merger with Microsoft.

Speed Of Light CPU:

I could’ve sworn we had covered this already, but I can’t find anything on it..so pardon me if this is a repost. Israel has developed a CPU that uses optics instead of silicon enabling it to work at the speed of light.

“Optical processing is a strategic competitive advantage for nations and companies,” said Avner Halperin, vice president for business development at Lenslet. “Processing at the speed of light, you can have safer airports, autonomous military systems, high-definition multimedia broadcast systems and advanced next-generation communications systems.” An optical processor is a digital signal processor (DSP) with an optical accelerator attached to it that enables it to perform functions at very high speeds.