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ASUS at CES 2009 - All About Eee and Multi-Touch

Written by Greg King on January 7, 2009 in Consumer Electronics Show

ASUS kick-started their CES announcements two days prior to the official show start, and to say that a few interesting products were unveiled would be an understatement. At the event, we saw a hard push for multi-touch technology, a slew of Eee products and even an entire computer inside of a keyboard.


Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB

Written by Rob Williams on January 7, 2009 in AMD-Based GPU

If you game at ultra-high resolutions and want to know where the best bang for the buck can be found in graphics cards, look no further than Sapphire's dual-GPU HD 4850 X2. At $300, it's priced-right and offers incredible performance regardless of whether you prefer high anti-aliasing settings or resolutions.


Audio Archiving Guide: Part 2 - CD Ripping

Written by Matt Serrano on January 6, 2009 in Audio

In the first part to this series, we took a deep look at the various music formats available, while here, we'll tackle the actual ripping process. Believe it or not, some methods are better than others, and we'll explain why. We'll also discuss specific rippers for Windows, Mac and Linux, so no matter your OS choice, we have you covered.


My First Netbook Experience

Written by Rob Williams on January 4, 2009 in Notebooks, Staff Editorials

Alright, so I'm a little behind on the times. Netbooks have been around for a while, but it wasn't until recently that I've been able to spend a little more than a few minutes with one. With CES right around the corner, I decided to finally get one in and spend a week using it exclusively at the event. Read on for my initial thoughts.


Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200

Written by Rob Williams on December 29, 2008 in Intel Dual-Core

Need to upgrade or build a brand-new PC, but are on a very limited budget? If you don't mind making some small sacrifices, Intel's Wolfdale-based Pentium Dual-Core E5200 is worthy of serious consideration. Despite retailing for only $80, it offers solid performance and some incredible overclocking headroom.



Tech News From Around The Web

Tech Roundup - January 7, 2008

Posted on January 7, 2009 3:00 AM by Rob Williams

    Displays & Video Cards
  • MSI Radeon HD 4830 512MB OC Edition - TweakTown
  • Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 1GB - Elite Bastards

    Peripherals & Gadgets
  • Microlab MD332-2.1 iPod Audio Docking Station - ModSynergy
  • Nova Killer 2 Mousepad - OCModShop

    Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
  • Budget Gaming Part 1: The Basics - XS Reviews
  • MSI Wind U100 Netbook - HotHardware
  • Samung NC10 Netbook - Phoronix


ASUS Pushes for Multi-Touch and Ultimate Wireless Capabilities

Posted on January 6, 2009 5:37 PM by Rob Williams

Greg and I are sitting in on an ASUS event where the company is showing-off many cool products. Multi-Touch technology is something that's being pushed hard, and we're going to be seeing ASUS deploy implementation into a wide-variety of products. Eee PCs will feature it, and so will some of ASUS' regular notebooks. On the M50, for example, there isn't a typical touch-pad, but rather a touch-screen that doubles for both tasks.

Then we have an Eee-based keyboard media center PC, that includes a full computer inside of a regular-sized keyboard. You read that correctly... a full-blown PC, inside of a freaking keyboard. It will connect to a display via Ultra Wideband HDMI, and the keyboard itself will feature a 5" touchscreen/touchpad, a microphone and speaker and also a LAN port. This one will be very interesting to see hit the market.

Pushing the multi-touch scheme even further, ASUS will also unveil an Eee PC-based tablet PC. It will convert from both a regular notebook to a tablet, and comes in an 8.9" form-factor. It will be great for those work-hounds on the go. Hopefully we'll see some decent battery-life out of this one.

We also learned that ASUS is working tightly with Microsoft to make sure Windows 7 works well on all mobile PCs, especially the company's own Eee PC. An example shown on-stage showed-off the OS running on a netbook with 1GB of RAM, and it ran well for the most part. There are sure to be great things to flourish from this partnership.

That's all we can report on for now, but I had to get this out there since some of their announcements are pretty amazing. Please refer to our ongoing CES forum thread where we will post updates as we're able.


Tech Roundup - January 6, 2008

Posted on January 6, 2009 2:00 AM by Rob Williams

    Motherboards & Processors
  • AMD Shanghai Opteron 2384 - Phoronix

    Memory & Storage
  • Hitachi Deskstar E7K1000 Hard Drive - Tech Report
  • OCZ Gold 3GB PC3-12800U Triple Channel - Hardware OC
  • PromoLocker Custom VH USB Drive - Virtual-Hideout
  • Western Digital Scorpio Black, the non-SSD Laptop Upgrade - Madshrimps

    Peripherals & Gadgets
  • ButtKicker LFE Kit - OC ModShop
  • Hawking HWRN1A Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Router - Red and Blackness
  • Perixx Periboard-306 Keyboard - Technic3D
  • PowerSquid Home Theater Surge Protector PD-SQ3K-CALAMARI - TestFreaks

    Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
  • How-To: Overclock your PSP - OC ModShop


Breaking: RIAA Officially Kicks MediaSentry To The Curb

Posted on January 5, 2009 9:04 AM by Rory Buszka

We last reported on MediaSentry, the firm hired by the RIAA to snoop around various P2P networks for potential lawsuit targets, when they accidentally targeted the distribution network of Revision3, a legitimate content provider, causing a disruption in Revision3's service.  Recently, however, rumors began to circulate that the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) was severing ties with MediaSentry (a division of SafeNet Inc.) for reasons unknown.

According to a new story published less than two hours ago by the Wall Street Journal, those rumors had their basis in fact. The RIAA does in fact plan to stop working with MediaSentry to identify ripe lawsuit targets. However, this doesn't mean that the RIAA is abandoning the practice of monitoring P2P networks. Instead, the industry group plans to work with the Danish firm DtecNet Software ApS, which claims to have a more advanced means of determining whether a person shared a particular song. MediaDefender's tactics were only capable of determining that defendants had shared the music file with them, with no proof that the song had been shared indiscriminantly, a fact that had caused the RIAA some trouble in court earlier.

Mr. Beckerman cites MediaSentry's practice of looking for available songs in people's file-sharing folders, downloading them, and using those downloads in court as evidence of copyright violations. He says MediaSentry couldn't prove defendants had shared their files with anyone other than MediaSentry investigators.

Source: The Wall Street Journal


Rumor: Microsoft Prepares To Slash 15,000 From Workforce

Posted on January 5, 2009 9:03 AM by Rory Buszka

Call it a sign of the times, or call it something bigger – according to DailyTech, rumors have begun circulating that suggest Microsoft plans to cut 15,000 employees in the month of January, in a massive cost-cutting move that targets underperforming segments of their business. At present, the cuts remain the stuff of rumor, but for some Microsoft employees, it’s like finding the memo in the ‘out’ tray of the office copier.

At least Microsoft was charitable enough to wait until the first normal business week of January, after the holidays were over, to make any job cuts that may be announced as part of a potential restructuring plan. It’s suspected that any restructuring that occurs may focus on the company’s MSN (Microsoft Network) division, which manages its network of MSN-branded portal sites, such as MSN Money and MSN Autos.

Whether Microsoft is simply feeling the pinch of the current recessive American economy or something larger is to blame, many believe that Microsoft will need to be more focused on doing what it does best, instead of simply trying to own everything in sight that looks profitable. Yet, according to the DailyTech article, analysts don’t predict that Microsoft will simply ‘shut down’ divisions as part of a restructuring plan, but would prefer to sell them instead.

Microsoft is looking hard at areas where it can make money or save money. Making money is the reason that Microsoft keeps postponing the retirement of Windows XP. XP is huge in the netbook market thanks to the fact that most netbooks won't run Vista and Linux isn't appealing to many customers.

Source: DailyTech


Richard Stallman, Free Software, and 25 Years

Posted on January 5, 2009 9:02 AM by Stetson Smith

In an article on TechRadar, the GNU founder and SourceForge supporter, Richard Stallman states his views of his now 25 year old program with GNU to help support and develop free software for all, his criteria for what he considers free software, and why Tivo sucks. (And that barely get the article going.)

What is surprising to me is that the bulk of some of we consider today to be free still comes with some proprietary software packaged in courtesy of NVIDIA and the likes for hardware and other needs. The proprietary bit of code comes with licenses, and handling the legal aspects alone while developing open source software can be difficult. Can Linux distros ever really compete and become popularized while competing in a market stacked against them? If it is up to Richard Stallman and people like Steven Fry, maybe.

Projects like OpenOffice are always helping the cause for free software, but the recent release of 3.0 was not as ground breaking as the release of Firefox 3.0. And While Android is carving a niche for itself in the cellphone world, there are still some people completely clueless to this “open source thing” that is finally starting to stumble awkwardly into the spotlight.

It is a bit old, but you can view a video of Steven Fry discussing the GNU project's 25th anniversary here. (http://www.gnu.org/fry/)

25 years after Stallman first set the GNU project in motion, what have these ideals achieved, and what can we do to ensure the future of free software? Linux Format spoke to him to find out.

While Linux Torvalds gets most of the plaudits nowadays for the Linux kernel, it was Stallman who originally posted plans for a new, and free, operating system. Free had nothing to do with the cost of the operating system, but with the implicit rights of those who were using the software to do with it exactly as they pleased.

Source: Techradar.com


China Busts Counterfeit Ring, Convicts 11

Posted on January 5, 2009 8:10 AM by Rob Williams

It goes without saying that piracy of any sort is a huge issue, from movies to music to software, and sometimes, even to hardware. In the US and Canada though, we are well aware of what can happen to software pirates, as through the years, many have been carted off to prison for an uncomfortable sentence, even if they weren't selling the software, but only making it available.

One common conception though, is that China couldn't care less about the piracy issue in their country, but stories leaking out now contradict those beliefs. Just last week, a Shenzhen court handed out 11 penalties to people tied to a sophisticated counterfeit ring that's existed for years. They mass-produced Microsoft software, specifically it seems, and distributed it around the world - not just China.

The sentences are somewhat modest, ranging between 18 months to 6 years, but the move should take a nice chunk out of piracy in China, and maybe other parts of the world... at least for a little while. Microsoft is quoted as being very pleased with the sentences, and they should be, since supposedly, they are the stiffest ones ever handed out.

The counterfeit products produced were of such high quality that they were difficult to tell from authentic software. The counterfeit goods were packaged in similar packaging and even had counterfeit Microsoft authenticity certificates. The counterfeit ring produces software like Windows XP and Office 2007 and was broken up in July of 2007 according to The New York Times.

Source: DailyTech


Windows 7 to Bundle Popular Video Codecs

Posted on January 5, 2009 7:30 AM by Rob Williams

Given I'm not a Macintosh user, I'm unsure of this situation on that platform, but I think for the most part, many people well-understand how things go down with a fresh Windows installation. Once the OS is installed, the quest for normality is far from over. We'll need to go online and download a variety of patches, updated drivers, and if you plan to watch videos, a robust player and some codecs. With Windows 7, Microsoft hopes to take some of the hassle out of the video issue for people, by including a few of the most common codecs within.

Included will be DivX support, which is great given so much of the web offers downloadable videos in that format. In addition, H.264 and AAC audio will also be supported, meaning most high-definition downloadable video will be good to go right away. With these additions, will we also see Adobe Flash built-in? Not surprisingly, no. Bundling that would cause a conflict of interest, given Microsoft develops a competing technology (Silverlight).

These additions do a good job of making Windows 7 look even better though. When Vista came to launch, the vast majority of people were skeptical, and not really too excited. Windows 7 is a stark contrast, with clear excitement being seen all over the Internet. As we did with the Vista launch, we'll be sure to cover 7 as we get a little bit closer to launch, taking a look at things from both a performance and usability perspective.

The ability to play back these additional formats has implications for new Windows 7 services like libraries and networked media player support, as Windows 7 users can index and search across their iTunes media without needing to use iTunes as the default player, and can send a wider variety of media content to a centralized location.

Source: APC Mag


Tech Roundup - January 5, 2008

Posted on January 5, 2009 2:00 AM by Rob Williams

    Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
  • Alpha 400 MIPS 400MHz 128MB 1GB 7" Linux Ultralite Notebook - TestFreaks
  • Elite Bastards of the Year Awards 2008 - Elite Bastards
  • Sony BDP-S350 - Digital Trends
  • Year In Review: 2008 Computer Hardware Industry Failure - Benchmark Reviews


Zunes Attempt to Shun 2009

Posted on December 31, 2008 1:19 PM by Rob Williams

Some people spend the last day of the year differently than others. Some might prepare their resolutions, while others treat it like any other day. If you are a Zune user, you might very-well not be listening to your music today. Although the reason for the mass suicide isn't verified by Microsoft, some feel that it has to do with this year being a leap year, and in some small way, that makes sense.

Or does it? The reports at that some Zunes are simply dying off at around 2:00AM today, which if EST time, would be midnight PST. The good thing is that all of the Zunes should begin working tomorrow (we can hope), but I am pretty interested in the real reason this is happening. If a Zune can die off simply because of a date issue, that doesn't give me much reason to believe in the stability of the product.

If it is indeed a date issue, Microsoft will likely issue a firmware update for the device, but that might not matter to many people. By the time the next leap year rolls around, we'll likely be toting around 3TB Zunes (don't quote me, my assumptions have been known to be absurd).

Update: Whoops, it seems my math was a little (lot) off. 2:00AM EST would be 11:00PM PST, not midnight. Thanks to Johnny for the correction.

According to reports this isn’t a few 30GB Zune's that have failed, the vast majority of the devices have the same exact failure symptoms and have been reports by hundreds of owners according to Gizmodo. At this point little is known as to what is causing the mass failures of the devices. Once Microsoft is up and running for the workday, perhaps we will get more information on the issue.

Source: DailyTech


Notebooks Outsell Desktops for First Time

Posted on December 31, 2008 7:38 AM by Rob Williams

There's been a few notable people in the industry over the course of the past few years who have made suggestions that mobile computers would outsell desktops very soon, but most of these "guesses" hovered around 2010. But thanks to the massive surge of netbook sales, that time has hit much, much quicker.

According to industry research firm iSuppli, notebook shipments increased a staggering 40% in Q3 of this year compared to last year, equating to 38.6 million units. During that growth, desktop sales declined 1.3% to total 38.5 million units. To say that both notebooks and desktops are head-to-head would be a massive understatement. It will be interesting to see the results from Q4 in the coming months, since we may see a more noticeable gap.

Who were the big winners? Well, Hewlett-Packard once again cleaned house, as they were responsible for 14.9 million units, while Dell came in second with ~11 million sold. Acer came in third, thanks to some massive growth throughout the year. They sold 3 million additional units over Q3 last year, and they have nothing other than their netbook lineup to thank.

"The big news from iSuppli's market share data for the third quarter was undoubtedly the performance of Taiwan’s Acer Inc.," Wilkins said. "On a sequential basis, the company grew its unit shipment market share by 45 percent, and by 79 percent on a year-over-year basis. Acer shipped almost 3 million more notebooks in the third quarter than it did in the preceding quarter, with the majority of those 3 million being the company's netbook products.

Source: iSuppli Report


Tech Roundup - December 31, 2008

Posted on December 31, 2008 1:45 AM by Rob Williams

    Motherboards & Processors
  • AMD Phenom In-Depth Performance Scaling Analysis - Madshrimps

    Displays & Video Cards
  • Gainward Rampage 700 GS GLH "The Beast" - ocaholic

    Memory & Storage
  • G.Skill PI Black PC3-12800 (1600MHz) CL8 6GB - TweakTown
  • Patriot 128GB Warp SSD Drive PE128GS25SSDR - TestFreaks

    Cooling
  • Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LP Low Profile Heatsink - FrostyTech


Intel Launches Five 45nm Mobile Processors

Posted on December 30, 2008 4:15 PM by Rob Williams

I am not quite sure if new launches were to be expected, but Intel has updated their price list to include five new Penryn-based 45nm mobile processors, including a brand-new entry to their Quad-Core family, the Q9000. This 2.0GHz offering halves the amount of L2 Cache of its bigger siblings, to 6MB, but the front-side bus remains the same, at 1066MHz. The Q9000 is to be sold at a cost of $348/1,000.

It's a little difficult to sound enthused with a 2.0GHz chip, but if you are a mobile warrior and need multi-threadedness more than raw single-threaded performance, then the CPU will prove to be a worthy choice for the money. Consider the fact that the next step up, the 2.26GHz Q9100, sells for $851/1,000... a rather significant difference.

On the Dual-Core side of things, the new models include the new highest-end T9800, a 6MB L2 Cache / 2.93GHz offering that simply screams. That's a lot of power for a Dual-Core, but at $530, it's definitely not cheap. The other models include the 2.66GHz P9600, the 2.66GHz T9550 (slightly higher power than the P9600), and also the 2.53GHz P8700, which becomes the lowest-end model to include 6MB of L2 Cache.

Since Intel doesn't generally know themselves, we're unsure of when you could expect to find these processors pop up in notebooks from various system builders, but it shouldn't be too long. It is important, however, to make sure you get a good deal on that new notebook, and compare the prices with a given CPU installed. In a brief look, I found some builders who still charge a huge premium for older mobile Dual-Cores, when the newer ones cost less and are more powerful. It pays to shop around and do some research, that's for sure.


Tech Roundup - December 30, 2008

Posted on December 30, 2008 2:30 AM by Rob Williams

    Displays & Video Cards
  • AMD Releases Open-Source R600/700 3D Code - Phoronix

    Peripherals & Gadgets
  • Enermax Aurora KB007US Aluminum - PC Stats

    Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
  • Garmin Nuvi 200W GPS - GPS Trends


First Blu-spec Audio CDs Hit the Market

Posted on December 29, 2008 9:27 AM by Rob Williams

Early last month, SonyMusic Japan sent out a press release touting the "Blu-spec" CD specification, which isn't a new format in itself, but rather a new method for recording CD masters. Traditional methods use infra-red lasers, which as has become common knowledge, cannot produce pits on CDs as cleanly as a blue laser, which Sony's Blu-ray discs use exclusively.

So with using a "Blu" laser, you'd imagine that you'd need a Blu-ray player to listen to the new discs, but that's not the case at all. As mentioned, it's a new method, not a completely new disc, so they can be used in any ROM drive that supports typical audio CDs. In the press release (300KB PDF), Sony shows how much cleaner the pits on the disk are, and it's hard to disagree... it looks much better.

The big question though, is would this new technology make a real difference at all in the real-world, even to audiophiles? Well, it shouldn't take too long to find out, as it seems this will be the week for the initial releases, with almost all of them being available on Amazon.

Sadly, because most of the launch discs are imports, they're at least twice as expensive as a typical audio disc, so you'd have to enjoy one of the offered CDs an awful lot in order to want to pay such a premium for them. Still, I'm curious to see opinions from audiophiles who manage to score a few of these, because if Blu-spec really does make a difference, then we might see the process become more common-place.

Source: Blu-spec CD Official Site (Japanese)


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