While Steve Jobs did a good job of stealing its thunder several weeks ago with the launch of the iPhone, Waterloo-based Research In Motion is still on track and has recently been doing quite well. As Sun Tzu once said, someone on the defense is preparing for an attack, or something along those lines. Indeed, it appears that RIM is preparing...Read more...
It's been only years after a combination of powerful hardware and software allowed Deep Blue to defeat World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, and now researchers have announced the completion of an ‘unbeatable’ checkers program. “After 18-and-a-half years and sifting through 500 billion billion (a five followed by 20 zeroes) checkers positions,...Read more...
According to a telephone interview with John Antone, VP and GM of Intel’s Asia-Pacific division, Intel is providing samples of its Penryn workstation and server CPUs to various computer makers way before the planned launch date, which is Q4 of 2007. “‘We're now broadly sampling [Penryn] for all the various platforms.’” Penryn is the code...Read more...
VoodooPC Smashes Industry Records with Next-Gen Notebook PC 17-inch laptop sets new standard for performance notebooks (CALGARY, Canada) – Wednesday, July 18, 2007 – VoodooPC, the world’s leading architect of personalized, handcrafted high-performance PCs, today...Read more...
Intel has made a recent revision to its game plan: Conroe-based E2140 budget-class desktop CPUs will no longer be phased out, at least not until later on. Intel’s original arrangement was to reduce the price of the E2160 from $84 to $74 USD and launch the E2180 on August 26 to take the E2160’s place at $84 USD. The original plan called for...Read more...
Ever wonder how much juice your SLI gaming rig sucks up every month? You probably won’t know exactly how hard it’s digging into your pockets, but if you’re living in the UK, that might change quite soon.A new government project in the UK aimed at raising environmental awareness and fighting global warming is providing some 15,000 Britons with...Read more...
Core 2 Duo-based notebooks abound these days and along with Asus, IBM and Dell, HP has always offered innovative designs that can be attention-grabbers with the HH editorial team. We hereby summon the HP team to provide us with one of these gems for testing and evaluation. T7100 processor, 15.4 wide screen and special casing. That is a...Read more...
Pirate sites are here and Microsoft might have a new scheme to make use of them. The idea is that Zunes transfering pirated files to others will give them only 3 plays before the song has to be purchased: “The technology proposed by Microsoft would essentially allow them to capitalize on this by "encrypting" songs transferred offline (in...Read more...
It wasn’t that long ago that the loss of a laptop or hard disk containing sensitive information about consumers was big news. Sadly, it’s becoming much more common these days. In fact, it’s so common that U.K. Information Commissioner Richard Thomas and his staff have looked into some 6000 complaints. "The roll call of banks, retailers,...Read more...
Mobile phone carrier Sprint Nextel has sent out about 1000 "Dear John" letters, terminating service to customers that called Sprint's customer support line between 40 an 50 times a month, often about the same thing over and over. Industry analysts estimate that it costs $10 to $20 per call to handle customer service. So, right, wrong, or indifferent,...Read more...
At the E3 Media and Business Summit today, NCsoft Corp., the leading developer and publisher of online games in the world announced a deal with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) to develop several games for the Playstation 3 and PSP platforms that will be accessible through the Playstation Network. "Their track record of creating successful...Read more...
If you were a young lad who was enjoying youth during the 1980s, you may remember your very first computer experience, whether it was with a Commodore 64, Vic-20, or Amiga. Feeling nostalgic? Well Commodore is making a comeback in the U.S. quite soon, this time as a powerful gaming computer. Meet Commodore Gaming, which has already been launched...Read more...
OCZ Technology Introduces New DDR2 4GB Quad Kits for Memory-Hungry Gaming Systems and Vista Workstations Sunnyvale, CA—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the PC2-6400 Platinum and PC2-6400 Gold 4GB “Quad” Kits....Read more...
Acting off a hunch, a patent, and some reliable inside information, Kevin Chang of JP Morgan believes that the iPhone Apple plans to release in Q4 of this year could be based on the iPod Nano. The iPhone has done well thus far, but the price tag of $500 to $600 depending on storage size is keeping Apple's first cell phone out of the hands...Read more...
Information Week goes beyond asking who would buy used tech gear, -the answer is pretty much everybody- and examines the real-world factors that drive hardware hungry equipment users to look for goods unauthorized by manufacturers, or the so-called "gray market" of counterfeit hardware, to look for bargains or just plain hard to find stuff....Read more...
Have you ever dropped off your PC for repairs and wondered if the techs might be looking over your private media collection? If so, you’ve not alone. The Consumerist decided to do a little research on the subject, using the Geek Squad techs as their test subjects. Instead of just using logfiles for evidence, they actually have video of...Read more...
It's being reported that anti-piracy watchdog, MediaDefender, may have set up a trap for potential pirates: “Several days ago, anti-piracy watchdog MediaDefender launched MiiVi.com, a decoy piracy site claiming to offer "fast and easy video downloading." It displayed copyright by "MiiVi, Inc," and mentioned no affiliation with MediaDefender,...Read more...
Most of us probably thought it was in the bag when Sony announced many weeks ago that it was going to lower its PS3 prices in order to stay competitive in the gaming market. However, according to Sony’s president, Ryoji Chubachi, it’s not gonna happen. Currently, the PS3 is still over twice as expensive as its rival, the Nintendo Wii, which...Read more...
Valve Software just released some cool images of the cover artwork for the 'Orange Box'. Here's what the packaging is going to look like for the PC, XBox360, and PS3 version of 'Orange Box', which includes Half Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, and the much anticipated (and very cool looking) Team Fortress 2......Read more...
The least Hot Hardware in the world might be your set-top cable box. It unscrambles your signal and changes the channel. The FCC thought it would sex up the lowly technology and spur competition by requiring set-top boxes be configured to allow the end user to purchase the box, with an installable card supplied by the cable provider to make...Read more...
When you get right down to it, there's really only one thing that matters about a cellphone. Can I call someone on it? No matter what? Because most cellphones are fairly delicate, the answer too often is: No. Casio's "ruggedized" G'zOne phone might be the solution to the abuse the real world dishes out to your cell phone. Inspired...Read more...