Saturday Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 2:08 AM on July 5, 2008

Saturday

1. TG Daily reports Nvidia expected to offer DirectX 10.1 GPU in Q1 2009
2. Acer G24 debuts as world's first LCD supporting advanced 50,000:1 contrast ratio
3. Hardware-Infos reports Hitachi announces 5000GB hard disks for 2010 (write-up in German)
4. Asus to offer Eee PC with built-in 3G wireless
5. DailyTech reports Apple MacBook Air 64GB SSD option gets $500 price cut
6. TG Daily reports Apple orders 50 million 8GB NAND flash chips
7. Fudzilla reports R700 Spartan has 2GB of memory
8. NordicHardware reports RV730, RV710 memory configurations unveiled
9. DigiTimes reports Nvidia contract makers in Taiwan low-key over defective chip reports
10. EETimes reports Nvidia takes charge for bad chips, but who is to blame?
11. 74% of HEXUS community members choose AMD over Nvidia
12. Court order on YouTube user data fans privacy fears
13. Modders-Inc's interview with mnpctech.com's Bill Owen

Software and gaming

1. New Microsoft Office subscription bundle to hit in mid-July—'Equipt' to cost $69.99 annually
2. SQL Server and the Windows Server 2008 Firewall
3. Microsoft: Silverlight content is searchable, too
4. Icrontic on installing Ubuntu Netbook Remix on the OLPC XO
5. Nvidia's Medusa demo (GT200) on AMD's Radeon DirectX 10 hardware:
   patch at ToMMTi-Systems
6. Eurogamer reports console Diablo "theoretically possible"
7. Strategy Informer's editorial: why EA needs to re-think its design
8. Handheld NES... in an NES cartridge
9. Madshrimps reports Crysis custom config boosts performance and image quality
10. bit-tech reviews Battlefield: Bad Company and Overlord: Raising Hell

Hardware

1. bit-tech reviews MSI Wind U100
   and hosts AMD 770X motherboards duel
2. Technic3D reviews Zotac nForce 790i Supreme (in German)
3. Computer Shopper reviews Linksys WRT610N dual N-band wireless router
4. CPU3D reviews Gigabyte Radeon HD 4870 512MB
5. TheTechLounge reviews Diamond Radeon HD 4870 512MB
6. PCStats reviews Asus EN9600GT TOP / HTDI / 512M
7. Björn3D reviews XFX GeForce 8800 GS & 8800 GS XXX
8. BIOS reviews Pinnacle PCTV nanoStick
9. 3dGameMan reviews 450W SilverStone Nightjar ST45NF PSU
10. APH Networks reviews SilverStone Kublai KL02 case
11. EPIAcenter reviews SilverStone PT05 Mini ITX case (in German)

40 comments —
Last post by Price0331 at 11:53 PM on July 5, 2008

Fourth of July Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 11:56 PM on July 4, 2008

Fourth of July Shortbread

1. HEXUS.channel reports Nvidia stock drops by 30% soon after opening
2. CHW posts AMD Overdrive roadmap (write-up in Spanish)
3. Futurelooks on Canadian iPhone 3G pricing and what you can do about it
4. Ars Technica on 5 ways to keep your PC cool on a hot summer day
5. Icrontic on triple-booting the MacBook Pro
6. MSI European Overclocking Challenge 2008 with Overclock3D
7. Overclockers Club takes ECS Factory Tour
8. Dan's Data atomic I/O letters #83

Software and gaming

1. Guru3D has NV PhysX Tweaker 1.0
2. [OC]ModShop asks, "Is GameFly right for you?"
3. Gaming Heaven reviews Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3 and Xbox 360)
4. SuperSite for Windows reviews Battlefield: Bad Company for Xbox 360
5. Our favorite games: Shacknews on holiday
6. Team Fortress 2 character art

Systems, case, and cooling

1. VIA Arena reviews Getway CarBook and Wibrain UMPC for the deaf
2. FiringSquad reviews Phenom 9950 Black Edition and 9350e
3. Hardware Secrets on Celeron, Pentium dual-core, and Athlon X2:
   which one is the best $70 CPU?
4. BIOS reviews MSI P45 Neo3
5. X-bit labs review Asus Striker II NSE and P5N-D
6. Digit-Life reviews AMD 780G / 780V / 740G integrated chipsets
7. Overclockers Online reviews 2GB Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000 dual channel kit
8. TweakTown reviews 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-9200 Flex-II dual channel kit
9. Big Bruin reviews In Win B2 Stealth Bomber case
10. Overclockers Club reviews Asus Triton 85
11. DragonSteelMods compare 20 Core 2 Duo coolers

Graphics

1. Phoronix considers AMD Radeon HD 4870 performance on Linux
2. HardwareZone reviews AMD Radeon HD 4870 512MB
3. Motherboards.org reviews VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 512MB
4. Neoseeker reviews Diamond Radeon HD 4870
5. HEXUS.net reviews PowerColor HD 4850
6. Benchmark Reviews on Sapphire Radeon HD 4850
7. techPowerUp! reviews Point of View GeForce GTX 260 Assassin's Creed Edition
8. I4U reviews PNY GeForce GTX 260
9. X-bit labs review Chaintech Apogee GeForce 9800 GTX
10. CPU3D reviews Palit GeForce 9800 GTX
11. ProClockers review Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 Ultimate

30 comments —
Last post by matdem1 at 12:27 AM on July 6, 2008

Thursday Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 7:54 AM on July 3, 2008

Thursday

1. Fudzilla reports Nvidia to drop GTX 280 /260 prices
2. DigiTimes reports AMD Radeon HD 4870 X2 ready by August
3. Steve Jobs and other Apple honchos allegedly face serious fraud charges
4. TG Daily reports study claims Windows usage market share could fall below 90% soon
5. Cablevision ups HD in battle with satellite, FIOS
6. Adobe's PDF format becomes ISO standard
7. Beyond graphics—the present and future of GP-GPU
8. DailyTech reports researchers make leap in stem cell research;
   cells can now be produced from any tissue

Software and gaming

1. Firefox 3 sets world record for largest number of software downloads in 24 hours
2. Ars Technica says the critics are wrong: KDE 4 doesn't need a fork
3. SuperSite for Windows has Internet Explorer 8 security preview
4. Update for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista systems that are running Hyper-V
5. Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 Service Pack 1
6. Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2
7. EMA's 2008 home entertaiment annual report: gaming tops DVD sales
8. 'Diablo III' producer justifies controversial art direction: 'color is your friend'
9. Eurogamer's interview with Blizzard's Mike Morhaime
10. Day of Defeat Source Palermo update available now
11. Gaming Heaven reviews Alone in the Dark (Xbox 360)

Systems

1. Digit-Life tests Phenom X4 in real-life applications
2. Sharky Extreme reviews Phenom X4 9950 BE & 9350e
3. HotHardware reviews Gateway P-6831FX gaming notebook
4. Digital Trends reviews Asus Eee PC 901 laptop
5. HardwareZone reviews Gigabyte GA-EP45T-EXTREME
6. Ninjalane reviews DFI LANParty UT X48 T3R
7. t-break reviews ECS P45T-A Black Edition
8. Hardware Canucks review 4GB G.Skill PI PC3-12800 dual channel kit

Graphics

1. [H]ard|OCP adds power draw figures for HD 4870 / 4850 and GTX 280 /260 cards
2. Guru3D tests Asus Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 CrossFireX
3. 3dGameMan reviews HIS HD 4870 512MB GDDR5
4. Benchmark Reviews on Zotac GeForce GTX 280 Amp! Edition
5. Big Bruin reviews Sapphire Radeon HD 3850 1GB
6. techPowerUp! reviews PowerColor TV Wonder 600
7. Björn3D reviews Soyo Pearl Series 24" LCD monitor
8. BIOS reviews BenQ G2400W LCD monitor
9. AnandTech on Nikon's D700
10. Overclockers Club reviews Aten CS1782 DVI KVM switch

Multimedia, power, and cooling

1. TweakTown's Razer vs. SteelSeries headset comparison
2. Modders-Inc reviews Razer Piranha gaming communicator
3. Legit Reviews on Motorola H680 Bluetooth headset
4. ASE Labs review Lubix UBHS-NC1 Bluetooth headset
5. Techgage reviews XtremeMac Tango X2 docking iPod speaker
6. Techware Labs review Symphonic Designs tube amplifier
7. Gadgetzone reviews Asus P750 smartphone
8. ThinkComputers reviews 700W Sigma SP-700 PSU
9. [H] Enthusiast reviews Sigma Shark SP-635 PSU
10. TweakTown shows how to replace memory heat spreaders
11. Madshrimps review Intel's retail Core 2 Extreme CPU cooler
12. HardwareLogic reviews Scythe Orochi CPU cooler
13. CPU3D reviews Glacialtech Igloo 5750 CPU cooler
14. DragonSteelMods review Kingwin Revolution RVT-12025D CPU cooler

20 comments —
Last post by DASQ at 11:00 AM on July 4, 2008

Nvidia forecasts lower revenue, notebook failures
by Cyril Kowaliski — 12:00 AM on July 3, 2008

Despite posting its best first fiscal quarter ever in May, Nvidia has forecast lower-than-expected revenue and gross margin for the following quarter that will end on July 27. Nvidia now expects revenue of $875 million to $950 million for its second fiscal quarter, potentially down from $935.3 million a year before and $1.15 billion in the first quarter.

Why the drop? Nvidia blames a variety of factors, including weak markets, a delayed next-generation chipset, and GPU price adjustments in response to "competitive products"—presumably a reference to the GeForce 9800 GTX's recent drop to $199 after the launch of AMD's Radeon HD 4850.

Separately, Nvidia says it will "take a one-time charge . . . against cost of revenue" of $150 million to $200 million because of notebook graphics and chipset problems:

[The charge will cover] anticipated warranty, repair, return, replacement and other costs and expenses, arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products used in notebook systems. Certain notebook configurations with GPUs and MCPs manufactured with a certain die/packaging material set are failing in the field at higher than normal rates. To date, abnormal failure rates with systems other than certain notebook systems have not been seen. NVIDIA has initiated discussions with its supply chain regarding this material set issue and the Company will also seek to access insurance coverage for this matter.

To quell these issues in the future, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang says, "We have switched production to a more robust die/package material set and are working proactively with our OEM partners to develop system management software that will provide better thermal management to the GPU."

40 comments —
Last post by Sniper at 2:46 PM on July 4, 2008

Intel to developers: Code for as many cores as you can
by Cyril Kowaliski — 4:38 PM on July 2, 2008

If programmers want to write software for tomorrow's processors, they should start fashioning algorithms that can tap into chips with "tens, hundreds, and thousands of cores." That's the gist of a blog post by Intel microprocessor engineer Anwar Ghuloum titled, "Unwelcome Advice."

In the post, Ghuloum talks a little bit about how Intel is selling the concept of many-core chips to developers and what those developers will need to do. He says because of discussions from a couple of years ago, coders sometimes do the bare minimum to write software that can use two or four cores. However, he adds Intel has begun talking about scaling to core counts the company hasn't started to ship yet. Over time, Ghuloum notes, "I find that developers migrate their thinking from the first kind of discussion to the second."

As one would expect, writing code for many-core CPUs takes a little more effort than updating software to take advantage of a couple of extra cores. Ghuloum explains that developers need to go back to the drawing board and perhaps change programming languages, libraries, and ways of thinking. He calls the need for those changes an "opportunity," but developers who've spent years or decades working with single-core CPUs may see things differently.

70 comments —
Last post by Saber Cherry at 12:06 AM on July 6, 2008

British site compares MSI Wind, Eee PC 901, Aspire One
by Cyril Kowaliski — 2:53 PM on July 2, 2008

How do Asus Eee PC 901, MSI Wind U100, and Acer Aspire One low-cost subnotebooks look when they're all sitting on the same table? The people at UK site Mobile Computer were curious, and they've shot some photos and a video of the three notebooks side-by-side (and on top of each other).

The photos show that the Wind U100 and the Aspire One are about the same size, while the Eee PC 901 is shorter horizontally. MSI's laptop is the only one with a larger display, and the 901 gets stuck with the smallest keyboard of the three. Paradoxically, the Eee is quite noticeably the thickest of the bunch, although the Wind's sleek and rounded white casing makes it look a tad thinner than it actually is.

Mobile Computer didn't just stick to comparing form factors. The site has whipped together a full review of the Wind U100, as well, examining the system's design and performance without forgetting to throw in plenty of pictures and videos. The Wind was good enough to deserve the site's Editor's Choice award, but Mobile Computer says Acer's Aspire One is still the "best realisation of the small, cheap and simple netbook idea." The Wind should be available in the United States next week.

9 comments —
Last post by d0g_p00p at 12:22 AM on July 6, 2008

Availability check: Radeon HD 4870 and GeForce GTX 260
by Cyril Kowaliski — 1:06 PM on July 2, 2008

When we first checked the availability of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 260 and AMD's Radeon HD 4870 last week, we didn't find many models listed. The GTX 260 was especially scarce, with our search yielding no available models at all. We decided to have a second look today to see if the situation has improved.

As always, we limited our search to Newegg, TigerDirect, ZipZoomFly, and Buy.com. These are the four computer hardware e-tailers with the most reviews on both our price search engine and ResellerRatings.com, so they should be a good indication of general availability. We highlighted available models in green.

	Price
Model	Newegg	TigerDirect	ZipZoomFly	Buy.com
HIS Hightech H487F512P	$309.99	N/A	$299.99	N/A
Asus EAH4870HTDI512M	N/A	N/A	N/A	$309.99
DIAMOND 4870PE5512	$309.99	$309.99	$299.99	$305.99
POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5-H	$309.99	N/A	N/A	N/A
SAPPHIRE 100243L	$309.99	N/A	N/A	$309.99
VisionTek 900244	$309.99	$309.99	N/A	$308.99
Average	$309.99	$309.99	$299.99	$308.74
Overall average	$307.18

On the AMD front, the Radeon HD 4870 definitely seems more plentiful than last time, and average pricing has dropped from $309.99 to $307.18.

	Price
Model	Newegg	TigerDirect	ZipZoomFly	Buy.com
BFG BFGEGTX260896E	$379.99	N/A	$399.99	$379.99
BFG BFGEGTX260896OCE	N/A	$409.99	$399.99	N/A
EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR	$389.99	$399.99	N/A	N/A
EVGA 896-P3-1262-AR	$399.99	$409.99	$389.99	$409.99
EVGA 896-P3-1264-AR	$414.99	$419.99	$419.99	$419.99
EVGA 896-P3-1266-AR	$449.99	$449.99	$449.99	N/A
GIGABYTE GV-N26-896H-B	$399.99	N/A	$389.99	N/A
PNY VCGGTX260XPB	$379.99	$399.99	N/A	$374.99
XFX GX260NADDU	$405.99	$399.99	$425.00	N/A
XFX GX260NADF9	$379.99	$399.99	$389.99	$389.99
MSI N260GTX-T2D896 OC	N/A	N/A	$399.99	N/A
ASUS ENGTX260/HTDP/896M	N/A	N/A	$449.99	N/A
Palit XNE/TX260+T394	N/A	N/A	N/A	$420.99
Average	$384.99	$404.99	$399.99	$379.99
Overall average	$392.49

The most drastic change is on the Nvidia front, where the GeForce GTX 260 is now widely available at an average price almost $8 lower than Nvidia's suggested retail price.

27 comments —
Last post by Umbragen at 10:18 AM on July 5, 2008

Mozilla outs third Weave test release
by Cyril Kowaliski — 11:28 AM on July 2, 2008

A new milestone release of Mozilla's Weave browser has slipped out of Mozilla Labs. For those not familiar with the effort, Weave more or less picks up where the now-defunct Google Browser Sync extension left off. Like the Google extension, it lets users synchronize their bookmarks and other browser settings across different machines. But unlike Google Browser Sync, this effort comes from Mozilla itself rather than a third party.

Weave 0.2 builds up on previous test releases with various enhancements, including a new start-up experience, better scheduler performance, a greater set of supported browser settings, and new encryption functionality. Testers can use Weave 0.2 to synchronize bookmarks, browser history, cookies, saved passwords, saved form data, and browser tabs.

You can grab Weave 0.2 from this page. A word of warning, though: Mozilla points out that this is still an "experimental prototype," and it advises that users back up their Firefox settings before installation.

18 comments —
Last post by Tamale at 5:40 PM on July 4, 2008

45nm, Socket AM3 Phenoms to work in current sockets?
by Cyril Kowaliski — 10:13 AM on July 2, 2008

Yesterday, we spotted a couple of reports that hinted AMD would have 45nm Phenoms with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory support out before the end of this year. One of the reports, which was whipped up by Fudzilla, said DDR3 support in Phenoms would imply a new AM3 socket incompatible with current AM2/AM2+ sockets.

The same site has now retracted that claim. While Phenoms will indeed require a new AM3 socket to tap into DDR3 memory, Fudzilla says today, the AM3 socket will be backward-compatible with AM2+ sockets. If true, that means users will be able to slap a Socket AM3 Phenom into a Socket AM2+ motherboard and have the chip use DDR2 memory. If mounted into a Socket AM3 board with DDR3 slots, however, the same chip will be able to use DDR3 RAM.

Fudzilla goes on to say these Socket AM3 Phenoms will come out late in the fourth quarter of this year, with production to follow in greater numbers in the first quarter of 2009. AMD itself told us in April that volume shipments of 45nm processors would begin in the fourth quarter.

24 comments —
Last post by moritzgedig at 3:40 AM on July 4, 2008

DisplaySearch: Transition to 16:9 displays is 'unstoppable'
by Cyril Kowaliski — 9:45 AM on July 2, 2008

Many of us may find ourselves using PC and notebook monitors with 16:9 aspect ratios within a few years, if DisplaySearch has its facts straight. According to DigiTimes, the market research firm predicts that 16:9 panels will account for 90% of notebook displays and 67% of desktop monitors by 2010, adding that the transition is "unstoppable."

Wide-screen displays in most of today's notebooks and monitors have 16:10 aspect ratios, leading to resolutions like 1280x800 and 1920x1200. With 16:9 panels, those resolutions would turn into 1280x720 and 1920x1080—that is, you'd get 9/10ths of the vertical pixels but (in theory) all of the horizontal pixels.

Users may not be thrilled about getting smaller panels, but DigiTimes says panel makers are "bent" on promoting the 16:9 aspect ratio. One manufacturer told the site it can make 20% more 15.6", 16:9 panels than 15.4", 16:10 ones using the same 5G substrate. As a result, DisplaySearch predicts that panel manufacturers will soon start phasing out 16:10 panels and push 16:9 panels in their stead. "Panel makers did it for square panels, and they know how to do it again," DisplaySearch's David Hsieh comments.

167 comments —
Last post by Saber Cherry at 11:48 PM on July 5, 2008

Wednesday Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 6:13 AM on July 2, 2008

Wednesday

1. Powerset joins Live Search (semantic search)
2. Intel: CUDA will just be a 'footnote' in computing history
3. Ars Technica and HEXUS.net report Intel looks ahead to a many-core future
4. New iPhone to sell for $599 - $699 without contract
5. TG Daily reports Toshiba to launch Internet-enabled DVD player?
6. TweakPC posts GeForce PhysX article: videos (write-up in German)
7. Overclockers Club covers Gigabyte's overclocking tournament
8. Hardware Secrets updates Phenom models comparison page
9. Tech ARP on what happens when the CMOS battery fails
10. tkArena's Blu-ray Disc HTPC guide
11. Cyber Snipa & ProClockers giveaway

Software and gaming

1. Goodbye, XP. Hello, Midori. (MIcrosoft's secret OS project)
2. 2Manydownloads has AMD Catalyst 8.7 beta for XP and Vista
3. Firefox 2.0.0.15 released
4. Opera 9.51 RC3
5. Microsoft Hyper-V: the day after
6. Outlook Anywhere is 'broken' on IPv6 in Windows Server 2008
7. Hardware Secrets on DirectX versions
8. Techware Labs on gaming with Dell & hp
9. Ars Technica on the best console games to beat the heat
10. Valve: a Heavy problem (TF2 class pack)
11. Team Fortress 2 update released

Systems

1. AnandTech, HardwareZone, and Legit Reviews on Phenom X4 9550 / 9350e / 9150e
2. Phoronix on Core 2 Duo E8400 Linux performance
3. Gadgetzone reviews Asus Nova P20 desktop PC
4. Computer Shopper reviews Gateway P-172X FX gaming laptop
5. Spicy Gadget reviews Dell Vostro laptop
6. ThinkComputers reviews ASRock K10N780SLIX3-WiFi

Multimedia

1. CPU3D reviews MSI R4850-T2D512
2. Hardware Canucks review Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB
3. HEXUS.net reviews XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX Edition
4. [H] Enthusiast evaluates BFG Tech GeForce 9800 GTX H2OC WC Edition
5. BIOS reviews Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130
6. Futurelooks reviews Samsung SC-HMX20C HD digital camcorder
7. I4U reviews iMetal iP-HS2 isolation headset for iPhone
8. TheTechLounge reviews Apple wireless keyboard

Power, case, and cooling

1. Technic3D reviews Tagan PipeRock TG1100-BZ PSU (in German)
2. PC Perspective reviews Corsair HX1000W modular PSU
3. Hard Tecs 4U reviews GMC Noblesse AVC-K1 case (in German)
4. ProClockers review Sunbeam Core Contact CPU cooler
5. Tech-Reviews on Nexus HOC-9000 CPU cooler

11 comments —
Last post by 0g1 at 8:09 PM on July 2, 2008

All-in-one Eee Monitor shot from every angle
by Cyril Kowaliski — 6:00 AM on July 2, 2008

The rumor mill has been grinding on about an iMac-like Eee Monitor desktop since January, but only now have high-resolution photos of the machine begun to emerge. Whoever leaked the photos has certainly made up for the wait, though: Laptop Magazine has posted a total of 15 shots showing black and white versions of the machine from just about every angle.

The system in the photo set looks decidedly iMac-like, but with a much simpler stand design that has the monitor leaning back like a picture frame. A 17" or 19" wide-screen display sits at the front, and Asus has stuck a webcam on top of it and a set of buttons and speakers below. Those buttons include display/audio controls as well as a power button, which lies next to what might be an infrared port for a remote.

Looking around the back, the Eee Monitor sports one Ethernet port, one modem port, four USB ports, a DC power input, three audio ports, and (apparently) a Kensington lock socket. Oh, and Asus has stuck a card reader and a couple of extra USB ports on the right side of the system.

Asus wouldn't tell Laptop Magazine when it plans to release the Eee Monitor—or how much the system will cost—but the site quotes a rumored launch price of $500. Considering Asus' Atom-powered Eee Box launched at just $269 last month, and low-end 19" wide-screen displays sell for about $160, such a price certainly doesn't sound implausible.

6 comments —
Last post by Trymor at 3:27 PM on July 3, 2008

AMD market share sees short-term drop, long-term rise
by Cyril Kowaliski — 5:03 PM on July 1, 2008

The microprocessor market has been especially turbulent lately, with AMD forced to price its Phenom processors out of the high end in a bid to remain competitive. How has the situation affected AMD's and Intel's market shares? iSuppli has posted numbers that say AMD managed to increase its market share between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, but on the flip side, it lost ground between Q4'07 and Q1'08.

iSuppli says AMD had 13% of the global microprocessor market (which includes non-x86 CPUs) in the first quarter of this year, while Intel was sitting pretty with 79.70% of the market. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, AMD's piece of the pie has shrunk: the company had a 14.1% share to Intel's 78.5% then. However, AMD only had 10.9% of the CPU market to Intel's 80.4% in the first quarter of 2007, so it has actually gained 2.1 market share points between Q1'07 and Q1'08.

According to iSuppli, AMD took roughly half of those growth points from Intel, while the other half came from other, smaller players in the CPU market. Those smaller players have seen their aggregate market share drop from 8.7% in the first quarter of 2007 to 7.3% in the first quarter of this year.

13 comments —
Last post by tfp at 11:23 AM on July 2, 2008

Internet Explorer keeps losing ground to Firefox, Safari
by Cyril Kowaliski — 3:48 PM on July 1, 2008

Microsoft's web browser is steadily losing ground to competition from Mozilla and Apple, according to Net Applications figures quoted by TG Daily. The numbers peg Internet Explorer's market share for June at 73.01%, down from 73.75% in May and 74.83% in April.

Meanwhile, Firefox reportedly enjoyed its biggest-ever piece of the browser market last month: 19.03%, a very healthy rise from 18.41% in May and 17.76% the month before. Apple's now-cross-platform Safari browser also saw gains, although it only made it up to 6.31% in June. Net Applications says Safari's market share sat at 6.25% in May and 5.81% in April.

Well behind the three major contenders lies Opera, which the Net Applications numbers pin at only 0.73% for June. Opera's market share is slowly increasing, though, since it had an even-smaller share of 0.69% in April.

62 comments —
Last post by clone at 6:15 PM on July 5, 2008

Adobe pushes to make Flash sites searchable
by Cyril Kowaliski — 2:54 PM on July 1, 2008

Sometimes, trying to find content in sites that that rely heavily on Adobe Flash isn't so easy. In an attempt to resolve that problem, Adobe has teamed up with Google and Yahoo to help the two firms better index Flash files through their respective search engines.

As NewsFactor reports, Google has already begun more thorough indexing of sites with Flash content. "Through our recent collaboration with Adobe, we now help Web-site owners that choose to design sites with Adobe Flash software by indexing this content better. Improving how we crawl dynamic content will ultimately enhance the search experience for our users," explained Google Engineering Senior VP Bill Coughran. Yahoo is still working with Adobe, but it also plans to add Flash search support to Yahoo Search.

Adobe may not limit its push to Google and Yahoo, either. NewsFactor quotes Adobe Platform Business chief David Wadhwani as saying his company will extend the effort "to benefit all content publishers, developers and end users."

18 comments —
Last post by sigher at 1:12 PM on July 4, 2008

Microsoft: We must avoid simultaneous PC/Xbox 360 releases
by Cyril Kowaliski — 12:46 PM on July 1, 2008

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft Game Studios Europe Business Development Manager Peter Zetterberg has made some interesting comments about how PC and Xbox 360 games fit into Microsoft's business plan. According to Zetterberg, Microsoft needs to release titles for the Xbox 360 first to avoid cannibalizing sales of its own console:

On a global scale the Windows Vista business is as important as our Xbox 360 business. But in Germany for example, we want more gamers to buy our Xbox 360. If we launch a game that is on 360 and PC simultaneously, we basically shoot ourselves in the foot by allowing the German market to choose to play the PC version – because they are more likely to buy that than spend their money on the Xbox 360.

However, Zetterberg stressed that the PC and Xbox 360 are "equally important" to Microsoft, even if the company must "pick and choose" formats to stimulate 360 sales in some areas.

Later in the interview, Zetterberg also commented that Microsoft ought to push both major, Gears of War-style blockbusters and smaller, indie PC games like World of Goo and Crayon Physics. "It's harder to go back to Microsoft Games Studios management and show them a smaller game and say 'we should do this.' But if you can find a business model that allows for a multitude of these independent games under and MGS flag, that's very interesting for us," he explained. (Thanks to Shacknews for the heads-up.)

82 comments —
Last post by MarioJP at 6:41 PM on July 4, 2008

45nm Phenoms to support DDR3 memory?
by Cyril Kowaliski — 11:36 AM on July 1, 2008

If AMD's latest server roadmaps are any indication, multi-socket Opterons won't start supporting DDR3 memory until 2010 with the 6-/12-core Sao Paulo and Magny-Cours processors. That said, two separate reports hint that AMD will add DDR3 support to its Phenom desktop CPUs a little sooner than that.

CHW claims to have nabbed an AMD desktop chipset roadmap, and that roadmap explicitly mentions DDR3 memory for products due in the late fourth quarter of 2008 and early 2009. Corroborating that information, Fudzilla says the memory controller in AMD's 45nm Phenom core—code-named Deneb—will indeed support both DDR2 and DDR3 memory.

You may not want to count on any future Phenom motherboards featuring both DDR2 and DDR3 slots, though. According to Fudzilla, DDR3 support will involve a new socket (AM3) with a different pin layout and package than the current AM2/AM2+ socket. On the Intel front, leaked roadmaps suggest desktop variants of Intel's next-generation Nehalem processors will only support DDR3 RAM.

17 comments —
Last post by green at 4:42 AM on July 4, 2008

AMD intros two 65W Phenoms for under $200
by Scott Wasson — 11:14 AM on July 1, 2008

The folks at AMD keep, er, chipping away at Intel's lead in the CPU market by finding new ways to price and package their quad-core Phenom processors so they offer compelling value propositions. Their latest move on that front comes today with the introduction of several new Phenom models, including the energy-efficient Phenom X4 9350e and 9150e. The lower-case "e" at the end of their model numbers denotes energy efficiency, and in this case, that translates into a 65W maximum power draw rating, or TDP, for both products. The X4 9350e runs at 2GHz, and the 9150e clocks in at 1.8GHz.

AMD points out that Intel doesn't yet offer any quad-core processors for under 200 bucks, and even the 45nm Core 2 Quad 9300 has a TDP rating of 95W. That puts the new Phenoms into a category all their own—a category that may appeal to builders of home theater PCs and the like, especially in conjunction with the 780G chipset. AMD has been shipping a Phenom X4 9100e to PC makers for a while now, but these CPUs will be selling to end users, as well.

Also new today is a slightly faster flagship, the Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition, which finally reaches the 2.6GHz core clock frequency AMD forecast last November when it seeded reviewers with 2.6GHz review samples. Of course, early Phenoms saw their share of delays for multiple reasons, including the infamous TLB erratum. Happily, all of the Phenom models introduced today are based on B3-revision silicon, which is free and clear of the TLB problem. Like prior Black Editions, the X4 9950 has an overclocking-friendly unlocked multiplier.

The introduction of these new Phenoms means some pricing changes for the rest of the lineup, as well.

Prices have dropped almost across the board, with the triple-core Phenom X3 now reaching as low as $125. The energy-efficient parts command a bit of a premium over their 95W counterparts, of course, but the 9150e still lists for just $175.

The Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition takes a very different path to its destination, seeking higher frequencies at the cost of a 140W TDP rating—15W above the previous top Phenom. This processor will require fairly beefy cooling, and like some 125W Phenoms, it won't be compatible with lower-end Socket AM2/AM2+ motherboards. AMD recommends enthusiast-class boards like the MSI K9A2 Platinum and the Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe for this one.

If that additional 15W puts you off, you may be pleased to learn that AMD will be keeping the Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition around as an unlocked model for the time being; it will transition to a conventional, locked model at some point, but not until later this year. We have an asterisk next to the $205 price for the 9850 Black Edition in the table above because that price won't officially take effect until July 7th. Once it does, the 9850 Black Edition should continue to be one of the best deals in the Phenom lineup.

We do have reviews of these processors planned, but we've been buried in GPUs for the past couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more in the not-too-distant future.

68 comments —
Last post by maroon1 at 11:38 AM on July 5, 2008

UPDATED: Eee PC 903, 904 photos leak out
by Cyril Kowaliski — 11:12 AM on July 1, 2008

Yesterday morning, we pointed to a report about upcoming Eee PC 904 and 905 laptops. Barely a day later, we see that a whole batch of pictures of the 904 model and an "Eee PC 903" have leaked out. German site Eee PC News got hold of the 904 photos, while French site Blogeee.net posted the 903 shots in a different article.

As we reported yesterday, the Eee PC 904 is said to be a version of the Atom-powered 901 model squeezed into the same enclosure as the bigger Eee PC 1000. The photos confirm these rumors, showing a machine with a larger keyboard than the 901, but with some unused space around the display panel.

The 903 is a little more puzzling, since it seems to have more in common with the Celeron-powered Eee PC 900 than the Atom-based 901 system. Still, it trades the Asus branding for an Eee logo just like the 901, and Blogeee surmises that Asus will outfit it with an Atom processor. (Thanks to Engadget for the tip.)

Update: British site PC Retail now says it has received confirmation from Asus that an Eee PC 904 HD will hit UK store shelves "within a month." The device will reportedly feature a hard drive, and it will be "the cheapest of the new models available."

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Last post by Hattig at 12:33 PM on July 1, 2008

OCZ unveils 128GB solid-state drive priced at $479
by Cyril Kowaliski — 9:31 AM on July 1, 2008

Although still expensive, solid-state drives seem to be coming down in price rapidly. Almost two months ago, we reported on Super Talent's new MasterDrive MX SSDs, which topped out at $699 for a model with 120GB of storage capacity. OCZ has attempted to one-up those products with its new Core Series 2.5" SSDs, which include a 128GB model priced at only $479.

The Core Series also incorporates a 32GB drive priced at $169 and a 64GB model with a $259 price tag. OCZ claims all three drives are 50% cheaper per gigabyte than "other high speed offerings currently on the market," and it quotes sequential read speeds of "120-143Mbps" and write speeds of "80-93Mbps." Unless these drives are exceptionally slow, we assume the press release means MB/s rather than Mbps—at least, that's what OCZ would have one think when it says the Core Series is "up to 10x as fast on a seek-time basis and up to 40% faster on a R/W basis that the best performing 2.5" [hard disk drives] on the market."

OCZ rates all three drives for a 1.5-million-hour (171-year) mean time between failures, and it covers them with two-year warranties. The press release hints that the drives are available already, but we couldn't find them at major U.S. e-tailers just yet.

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Last post by A_Pickle at 11:22 PM on July 2, 2008

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