The EU's attacks on American tech companies appears to be progressing unabated:“European Union regulators said Monday they were again investigating software giant Microsoft Corp. this time on suspicion of abusing its market position by squeezing out competing Internet browsers and software rivals dependent on Microsoft programs.The European...Read more...
Toshiba, backer of the HD DVD standard for next-generation high-definition disc players, is reacting to the move of many Hollywood studios to exclusively offer their entertainment on rival Sony's Blu-ray format. By "reacting," I mean "slashing their prices to the bone."Toshiba's third generation 1080i-capable HD-A3 is selling for a mere $139.98...Read more...
While mice and keyboards don't typically get reviewed as often as new video cards and CPUs, they are still a major part of the computing experience. Those who've plunked down a little extra money and purchased a product from one of the major players in this arena such as Logitech, don't often go back to bargain basement equipment. ...Read more...
There are those who still love the Amiga and the AmigaOS, and they've gone and hacked an OLPC to run it!Cloanto Italia srl, Amiga software developers since 1986, were excited to preview details of Amiga Forever 2008 running without modifications on a One Laptop per Child XO laptop.Ironic: the doomed yet still beloved AmigaOS and the not-doing-so-well...Read more...
The Attorney General of New York has issued subpoenas to Intel, seeking information about whether Intel unlawfully compelled their customers to exclude rival AMD from the market for certain computer chips. At issue in Cuomo's probe is whether AMD has a fair chance to supply its X86 computer processing units for desktop and laptop computers...Read more...
Hitachi can read the digital writing on the wall. Small hard disk drives have nowhere to go but down, soon to be made obsolete by NAND flash memory. They're phasing out their small drive business and focusing on making their bigger 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Large-sized hard disk drives used in PCs and servers hold a cost advantage over NAND flash...Read more...
Even though Microsoft has a search engine, Google and Microsoft don't often get portrayed as competitors in the press. Redmondmag explored the complex relationship that Google has with the open-source community, and answers the question: "What's the greatest threat to Microsoft's dominance, Google or open source? " with a resounding "both."Google's...Read more...
Don't get too excited, though. The promotion is only for MSDN and TechNet subscribers who beta tested Vista.Under terms of “The Ultimate Offer,” testers can go to any retail or online store and buy a copy of Vista Ultimate (full or upgrade version) for full price and Microsoft will match it with a second complimentary Vista Ultimate...Read more...
Turning over the calendar means lots and lots of lists. The lists cataloging the year gone by get boring fast. We like crazy stabs at the future much better. Here's a list of ten things that could change the next ten years of your future, chosen despite --and because -- they seem so unlikely. But as the author points out, pretty much...Read more...
My mistake. That's Open Source. In a bid to get the European Union off their back after their stunning defeat in the EU's anti-trust trial, Microsoft has now licensed some of its proprietary code to the company that developed "Samba," software that allows operating systems other than Windows to communicate with a Windows client.So basically...Read more...
Toshiba and Sharp are fierce competitors. Both based in Japan, they manufacture and sell flatscreen LCD TVs, among many other things. They've decided to cooperate with one another, and have announced that Toshiba will purchase LCD panels over 32 inches from Sharp, and in turn Sharp will purchase chips for use in their TVs from Toshiba. Toshiba...Read more...
According to research provided by the security firm Securina, Mac OS X has approximately 10 times the number of critical vulnerabilities of Windows XP and Vista combined. We'll let the numbers speak for themselves:“While Mac OS X had 234 highly critical vulnerabilities reported in 2007, Vista and XP combined had 23, Ou wrote."This shows...Read more...
We recently had the opportunity to test Intel's upcoming QX 9770 CPU and of course a supporting X48-powered motherboard. At that time we were informed that Intel was hoping to launch both products in Q1 '08, but now we're hearing rumors that the X48 chipset might be delayed by a month or two.Apparently the delay has little to do with...Read more...
To say that Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), developers of many of the most notable MMOs, has had a brain drain over the past few years is a massive understatement. They've lost any number of great talents, and had to dig deep to bring some, such as Brad McQuaid, back.It seems that the latest person to be moving on will be Scott Hartsman,...Read more...
Any time that a console is responsible for the bulk of a next-gen disc format's sales, we're willing to consider the possibility that most consumers just don't give a damn. Yet, it seems that nearly ¾ of all North American Blu-ray Disc players are found in PS3s and more than a third of all HD DVD Drives are Xbox 360 HD add-on drives...Read more...
Prior to holding its Financial Analyst Day in New York City, AMD showed off some new CrossFire-related technology to a few select members of the press. What we saw was AMD’s Hybrid CrossFire and its associated hardware, which marries next-generation integrated graphics processors (IGP) and entry-level discreet graphics cards for increased...Read more...
Prior to holding its Financial Analyst Day in New York City, AMD showed off some new CrossFire-related technology to a few select members of the press. What we saw was AMD’s Hybrid CrossFire and its associated hardware, which marries next-generation integrated graphics processors (IGP) and entry-level discreet graphics cards for increased...Read more...
This is interesting. Free software, but you potentially give up your privacy for it.Microsoft pulled the free software offer from its Web site Tuesday, which made free copies of Vista and Office among other applications available in exchange for feedback.Users will be required to install a piece of software on their computers for three...Read more...
Microsoft's download servers must be on overload this week. First Office 2007 SP1, then Windows XP SP3 RC1, and now Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) have gone public.Microsoft was vague this week about when Windows Vista SP1 RC1 would be available, but based on the other two releases yesterday, it was going to be soon, and here...Read more...
Why do I say "sneaks out?" Because while Microsoft was pretty open about Windows Vista SP1 RC1 releasing to the public this week, as well as Office 2007 SP1, it was tight-lipped about Windows XP SP3 RC1. Why not? After all Forrester Research has noted that XP remains Vista's biggest rival.Microsoft has begun making a near-final Release Candidate...Read more...
If you aren't wearing your tin-foil hat, you might want to go get it before reading any further.Now that you have your tin-foil hat, we'll issue a not-too subtle warning that this as a wild rumor/allegation and it could easily fall under the heading of 'crackpot' theories despite having a big Hollywood name attached to it. Microsoft...Read more...
Hot Hardware loves handicapping the horserace between the two large chip manufacturers, Intel and AMD. By many measures, Intel has crushed AMD recently, to the point where Intel is flirting with a monopoly position. Maybe that's a bit over the top but you get the idea. However, at least according to Wired, AMD isn't going anywhere, because...Read more...