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On one hand, I’m a little surprised that USB 3.0 didn’t arrive on the new MacBook Pros announced this week. We may see it on the next iMacs and Mac Pros—unless Apple makes one of its quantum leaps and goes directly to “Light Peak.”

According to a recent Research and Markets study, the market for digital interface technologies continues growing, and includes USB, 1394, DVI, HDMI, and Bluetooth, among others. USB is the most common and most-used interface among both home and work computer users, according to the research grouop. .

Research and Market’s 21-question survey tracked the ownership of seven interface technologies among In-Stat’s Technology Adoption Panel in both work and home PCs: USB, 1394 (FireWire to Mac users), DVI, HDMI, Bluetooth, DisplayPort, and eSATA. It also queried 1,216 tech-savvy, predominantly male, online respondents about what they connected their computers to using these connections, including peripherals, consumer electronics, and mobile devices.

The survey found that, not surprisingly, USB is the most common interface on both work and home computers. Other common interfaces include DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, Bluetooth, eSATA, and 1394. USB Flash cards are the most commonly connected peripherals.

However, just because an interface is common, doesn’t mean it’s widely used, says Brian ORourke, In-Stat analyst, says that FireWire1394 was the second most common interface, but is rarely used. HDMI is a less common home computer interface. However, among those with HDMI, a large percentage connect the computer’s HDMI port to their digital television.

DisplayPort, one of the newer PC interface technologies, has achieved surprising popularity since its release. DisplayPort was on 27% of survey respondents work computers and 24% of their home PCs.

According to the In-Stat research group more than three billion USB-enabled devices are currently being shipped. USB 3.0 is specified to transfer at five gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Plus, USB 3.0 products are backward-compatible with USB 2.0 devices and will interoperate with them, as well, so there’s no reason for Apple not to include USB 3.0 on upcoming Macs.

As for FireWire, I’m not willing to bet on its inclusion on any Macs beyond the Mac Pro and 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro. Although it could survive on the 27-inch iMac, which has to be considered, by any criteria, a prosumer machine, if not a professional machine. As for FireWire on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the MacBook and the Mac mini, I wouldn’t count on it since USB is more popular and cheaper.

Apple invented FireWire, but FireWire 400 has disappeared from the latest Macs—though FireWire 800 connectivity has taken its place for the most part. If Apple does continue its FireWire support, it could move up to FireWire 3200. FW 3200 FireWire 3200 will use the same connectors as FireWire 800, but purportedly delivers at least four times the performance. It increases FireWire speed from 800 Mbps to 3.2 Gbps. You’ll notice that, on paper, that’s slower than USB 3.0, but FireWire also has advantages in areas such as power management.

FireWire 800 products today deliver 90 MB/second of sustainable throughput. With the anticipated three percent overhead, FireWire 3200 could deliver nearly 390 MB/second of usable data bandwidth, though a straight-forward 400 percent increase would be 360 MB/second. That’s enough to drive full 1920×1200 HDTV signals at up to 50 fps.

Of course, there’s no reason computers can’t have both FireWire and USB 3.0 ports. That may be what Apple has lined up for at least most of its upcoming Macs. But if, in time, USB 3.0 crushes FireWire—and also eSATA—don’t be surprised.

On the other hand, USB 3.0 could disappear and be replaced by a technology called “Light Peak.” Developed by Intel and championed by Apple, this proposed technology paves the way for a new generation of extreme computer input and output (I/O) performance, delivering 10Gb/s of bandwidth, with the potential ability to scale to 100Gbs over the next decade, according to David Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager, Intel Architecture Group. At 10Gb/second, a user could purportedly transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds.

Intel says it intends to work with the industry to determine the best way to make this new technology a standard. There are rumors that Apple will introduce Light Speed on Macs in fall 2010 in a line of computers Macs destined for back-to-school shoppers. Following the initial launch, there are plans to roll out a low-power variation in 2011, which could lead to more widespread adoption in handhelds and cellphones, according to an engadget report. The plans from October 2007 show a roadmap that includes Light Peak being introduced to the iPhone iPod platform to serve as a gateway for multimedia and networking outputs, the article adds.

When it does, it could make both USB and FireWire obsolete, though that won’t happen for some ways down the technology road.

However, Intel says there’s no conflict between USB 3.0 and Light Peak. The company sees Light Peak and USB 3.0 as complementary, as Light Peak enables USB and other protocols to run together on a single, longer cable and at higher speeds in the future. So both may exist together in the market and perhaps on the same platform at the same time.

As for FireWire, well, if you’re a fan, keep your fingers crossed.

ScanDisk

Fast speeds of up to 30MB/second – CLASS 10
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Maximizes you camera’s continuous shooting abilities
Designed to perform in the most extreme conditions
Includes FREE RescuePRO Data Recovery Software Download Offer

SanDisk 8GB Extreme SDHC Class 10 High Performance Memory Card

Product Description
With 30MB/s read/write speeds, you’ll see it takes more than a great digital SLR camera to bring your ideas to life. Get exactly the shots you want with the professional-grade responsiveness of SanDisk Extreme SDHC cards. You’ll have room to capture it all in RAW+JPEG, and save the editing for later. Plus, you’ll get faster photo and video transfers from camera to computer…. More >>

http://www.electronicsreviewsnow.com/go/SanDisk_8GB_Extreme_SDHC_Class_10_High_Performance_Memory_Card_/2993/4

Six Cores for a Desktop: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU Review

Year 2010 will be remembered in the computer industry as the time when six-core processors entered the desktop segment. Intel was the first one to announce their six-core solution – a 999-dollar Nehalem modification featuring more computational cores and manufactured with 32 nm technological process.
Intel has long established itself as the maker of the fastest processors for desktop PCs. But while there can be arguments as to what CPU models are optimal today in the mainstream and low-end categories, there is no competition in the top price range. Intel’s Core i7 series has no alternatives in AMD’s product line-up. At least, this is true when I’m writing this and there are still a few weeks till the arrival of AMD’s six-core Phenom II processors codenamed Thuban. As a matter of fact, the already available 4-core Phenom II processors may even be more appealing as they are but a few dozen percent slower than the Core i7 series while being many times cheaper, but anyway. PC enthusiasts are ready to pay for the maximum performance they can get, therefore the Core i7 series enjoys high popularity.

Even without direct market competition, this consumer interest towards high-performance and expensive CPUs makes Intel keep on developing its top-end products by increasing their clock rates, introducing microarchitectural improvements, and endowing them with more and more cores. The hero of this review is the recently announced model of the Core i7 series which is the first desktop CPU with as many as six cores!

It must be noted that the arrival of the six-core Core i7 does not mark a beginning of a six-core revolution. Right now, Intel only offers one such CPU, the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition. It is a kind of a demo sample that is targeted as wealthy enthusiasts who are ready to shell out a thousand bucks for the processor alone! That’s how things will stand until this fall when one more, less expensive, six-core model is scheduled for release. And there will still be a long way till the mass arrival of CPUs with more than four cores to the market. I mean Intel’s CPUs, of course. AMD has its own vision and is going to start selling midrange six-core CPUs in near future, but we don’t yet have the opportunity to play with such products in our test labs.

The Core i7-980X is based on the new semiconductor die Gulftown that incorporates six processing cores and a 12-megabyte L3 cache. The implementation of all these units in a monolithic silicon die was made possible by 32nm tech process. The same manufacturing process is partially used for the Clarkdale series but the Core i7-980X is the first product to apply it all the way from top to bottom. Thus, it is the Core i7-980X that is going to best illustrate the evolution of the Nehalem microarchitecture. The recently announced Core i5 and Core i3 processors are a poor illustration because the distribution of CPU subunits in two semiconductor dies one of which is manufactured on 45nm tech process resulted in bottlenecks that had a negative effect on the consumer properties of the end products.

In other words, the Core i7-980X is the best Intel’s engineers can do at the moment by applying their progressive tech process to their most advanced microarchitecture. This makes the Gulftown interesting from a theoretical point of view. Practically, such CPUs will be limited to luxurious PC configurations and will not make it to the mass market this year. Intel has no plans to offer cheaper versions of the Gulftown in 2011, either, because the company is going to move on right to the next microarchitecture generation codenamed Sandy Bridge.

Nine Finalists Announced in Dimension 3D Printing Extreme Redesign Contest

MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dimension 3D Printing, a brand of Stratasys Inc. (SSYS 25.45, +0.70, +2.83%) , today announced the nine finalists in its sixth annual "Extreme Redesign" challenge.

Extreme Redesign: The Ultimate 3D Printing Challenge, is a global design-and- 3D-printing contest for high school and college students. The nine finalists were selected from an international pool of entries by a panel of experts from within the design and engineering fields. Designs fall into one of three categories: High School, University, and Art and Architecture. The three first place category winners will receive $2,500 scholarships. The remaining finalists will each receive $1,000 scholarships.

In addition to the student scholarships, each instructor of a first-place winning student will receive a laptop computer for use in the classroom. This year's contest also features a new "Green Bonus." This award will recognize one student in each category whose design best displays innovation in areas such as energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The Green Bonus winner will receive a $250 gift card.

High School Category Finalists

-- Robby Ridzy, Medina County Career Center, Brunswick, Ohio: Gutter Guide

-- Maxwell Krist, Eckstein Middle School, Seattle, Wash.: Electricity Usage Meter

-- Korrina Reed, Milford H.S., Milford, Ohio: Fragrance Bracelet

University Category Finalists

-- Donald Nicholson, Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio: EZwriter

-- Ross Warrel, London South Bank University, London, England: Squirrel

-- Dale Herzog, Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester, Mass.: Robo-Prosthetic Development Platform

Art and Architecture Category Finalists

-- Chris Green, Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah: Helical Staircase

-- Trevor Clarke, Fullerton College, Fullerton College, Fullerton, Cal.: Roy

-- Amir Naeem, Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Fairfield, Conn.: Horus Research Center

Winners Announcement

The category and Green Bonus winners and will be announced on Tuesday, May 11th at www.DimensionPrinting.com.

"It was a highly competitive pool this year, thanks in part to a major increase in entries," said Jon Cobb, Stratasys global vice president of marketing. "Congratulations to all of the students who entered the challenge -- especially those who have made it through to the final nine. We would like to thank our panel of judges -- Ian Kovacevich (Enventys), Scott Schermer (S.C. Johnson), and Leslie Langnau (Design World magazine) for helping us with the difficult task of evaluating and ranking the designs."

Dimension, a brand of 3D printers by Stratasys, offers computer-aided-design (CAD) users a low-cost, networked alternative for building functional 3D models from the desktop. The printers build models layer-by-layer using ABS plastic, one of the most widely used thermoplastics in today's injection-molded products. Dimension 3D printers allow users to evaluate design concepts and test models for form, fit, and function. Online at: www.DimensionPrinting.com.

Stratasys, Inc., Minneapolis, manufactures additive fabrication machines for prototyping and manufacturing plastic parts under the brands Fortus 3D Production Systems and Dimension 3D Printers. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, an online service for part prototyping and production. According to Wohlers Report 2009, Stratasys supplied 43 percent of all additive fabrication systems installed worldwide in 2008, making it the unit market leader for the seventh consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the process known as FDM.(R) The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 250 granted or pending additive fabrication patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business & industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com.

Dimension, uPrint, Stratasys, and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) are registered trademarks of Stratasys, Inc.

Attention Editors: If you wish to publish reader contact information, please use: info@DimensionPrinting.com, 952-937-3000, 1-866-721-9244, www.DimensionPrinting.com.

Epson Endeavor Pro7000 Extreme Edition Core i7 desktop computer

Intel’s Core i7 processors promises raw power. And this powerful processor has been featured in the latest Extreme Edition of Endeavor series desktop computer by Epson labeled as Pro7000. Endeavor Pro7000 Extreme Edition features Intel Core i7-980X processor. Whether it would be gaming or multimedia tasks, Pro7000 desktop PC offers you with the best of performance.

In addition to its 3.33GHz Intel Core i7-980X processor, it offers you with 3GB of PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM. And together, they offer you with incredible robustness and stability.

Extreme Edition features superior graphical support by ATI Radeon graphic card. It offers you with ATI Radeon HD 3450 which inject 256MB of VRAM. Endeavor Pro7000 might not prove to be a sheer gaming or multimedia machine, but it is surely a powerful computing machine that your regular desktop computer.

With Pro7000 desktop PC, you need not worry much about its storage space as it offers you with 250GB of SATA HDD which runs at 7200rpm. And the best part about this Epson Endeavor desktop computer is the fact that it is upgradable. Based on your requirement and budget, you can enhance its RAM up to 12GB. In addition to it, it also offers you with number of Hard Disk capacity configurations.

You can also choose to equip it with Blu Ray recorder, and select the graphical support from ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB, ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB, ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB, NVIDIA Quadro FX1800 768MB graphic cards. The basic version of Endeavor Pro7000 is being sold at 261,870 Yen (2100€).

Computers, Children and the Digital Divide

download MP3 (Right-click or option-click and save link)

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Market researchers estimate that more than one billion personal computers are in use worldwide. Availability has improved in developing countries, but still remains limited compared to industrialized nations. Experts continue to debate how best to close this digital divide.

Nicholas Negroponte established the One Laptop Per Child project in two thousand five. He would like to put a low-cost laptop in the hands of every child, especially those living in extreme poverty. His nonprofit organization has shipped its specially designed laptop to developing countries around the world.

NICHOLAS NEGROPONTE: "It is already in the hands of 1.2 million children, in 31 countries, 19 languages. And one country, Uruguay, has just completed doing every single child in the country."

But the program has critics. They say trying to supply every child with a laptop, even at the current price of one hundred sixty dollars, is costly and inefficient.

Stephen Dukker also makes low-cost computers. But his can run programs and applications for several students at once. He says these "virtual desktops" lower costs, reduce energy use and lessen the need for technical support. His company NComputing says it has set up over forty thousand networks in more than one hundred countries.

Stephen Dukker says all you need to connect to a network is a keyboard and monitor.

STEPHEN DUKKER: "You think you've got your own computer all to yourself and you can't tell the difference that you're working on something other than a computer and sharing this other resource and doing it at a much lower cost than having your own PC."

As computers reach more children in developing countries, so too in many cases is the Internet. It can be a great educational tool. But children also need to learn about the possible threats that can be found on social networks and other sites.

Mark Matunga is with Microsoft East Africa in Kenya. He says poverty may put African children especially at risk.

MARK MATUNGA: "They're being told that, 'Hey you know what, I can send you a few dollars. I can come and visit you. I can buy you a ticket. You come to my country.'"

His company is working with the Kenyan government and a children's rights group. Mark Matunga says the coalition is trying to educate the public about how to protect children from online abuse.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms with reporting by Adam Phillips and Cathy Majtenyi. Want to learn more about international development and technology? You can find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Enjoy Xtreme Fun with Aggressive Inline Skates – Free Online Coupons

New popular activity and sport that emerged into mainstream over last ten to fifteen years is Aggressive inline skating or rollerblading. There are different types of aggressive skating and small underground community, culture are associated with this elitist sport. the famous aggressive inline skating are Vert, Street and Park. Skates used for aggressive skating are bit different from regular skates.

these skates are smaller, softer and have smaller wheels with a higher durometer, sole plates as well as freestyle frames. Aggressive skates have a harder shell to protect feet of skater and provide more support. these inline skates also have smaller wheels to help accelerate, decelerate faster and to help with tricks and speed.

Get aggressive inline skates from some of the very popular sports stores like Dicks Sporting Goods, Sports Authority and lots more. They perform variety of grinds, rail slides, switch up’s, grabs, aerials and many other types and variations of tricks. Enjoy aggressive inline skating with these innovative inline skates!

Remz 08one Pro Aggressive In-Line Skate: Remz 08one Pro aggressive in-line skate is backed by an untouchable team including Franky Morales and Chris Haffey. It features unique details and innovations that only Remz knows how to put together, with unique customizable ankle support, a tight-fitting original neoprene liner and a distinctive leather construction. It’s set-up with a 1-piece soul system and a Hi-Lo frame from ground control. Original price of Pro Aggressive In-Line Skate at Dicks Sporting Goods is $299.99.

Bladerunner Fury Aggressive Inline Skates

Enjoy Xtreme Fun with Aggressive Inline Skates – Free Online Coupons

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick (Silver/Black)

From Logitech

Product Description

When the pressure is on, your stick performance is the difference between victory and total oblivion. The Extreme 3D Pro twist handle joystick will never let you down. The 12 programmable buttons and 8-way rubber hat switch give you optimum control, personalized to your taste. Whether youre dropping bombs at a distance or firing guns in a dog fight, the stable and precise Extreme 3D Pro will have you dominating the enemy in no time.
Product Details

* Color: Black/Silver
* Brand: Logitech
* Model: 963290-0403
* Released on: 2005-10-10
* ESRB Rating: Everyone
* Platform: Not Machine Specific
* Format: CD
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Dimensions: 8.50″ h x 9.25″ w x 10.50″ l, 2.85 pounds

Features

* Product Type – Joystick
* Quick and easy access to fire weapons
* Product Type – Replacement Lamp
* Rapid-fire trigger allows shots in quick succession
* Shipping Weight: 1.50 lbs

Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer
When the pressure is on, your stick performance is the difference between victory and total oblivion. The Extreme 3D Pro twist handle joystick will never let you down. The 12 programmable buttons and eight-way rubber hat switch give you optimum control, personalized to your taste. Whether you’re dropping bombs at a distance or firing guns in a dog fight, the stable and precise Extreme 3D Pro will have you dominating the enemy in no time.

* Dominate the skies or the ground with the control of 12 well-placed, fully programmable buttons and a rapid-fire trigger
* Home in on your target with the deadly accurate direction control of the twist handle
* Smooth and accurate throttle settings are a major bonus whether you’re entering the fray or bugging out

What’s in the Box
Joystick with USB cable, CD-ROM with gaming software, setup guide, warranty and registration card

Customer Reviews

A very good joystick: well made and comfortable to use4
The Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is a good all-around stick. For those wanting to use, say, Flight Simulator for educational purposes, the Extreme 3D is a good choice.

In fact, this type of stick is much more realistic than models with “Force Feedback”: the stick movement on a genuine modern helicopter in flight feels smooth and fluid, like power steering on your car. Force Feedback may be fun, but I don’t think it’s very realistic for many of the scenarios it’s currently used in.

Specifically, here’s what I rated it by:
* Quality of components and assembly: The action of the stick is smooth. No flimsy play in the controls. The hat switch and trigger pull have a positive feel with close tolerances.
* Comfortable handgrip: like the overall product, the design and machining of the grip is off high-quality, without any annoying seems or sharp ridges.
* Smooth throttle control: this is a small detail, but compared with some of the other models out there, it’s notable.
* Stable base that allows you to either rest it firmly on a table or in your lap.
* Subtle movements are reflected in the game.
* Overall appearance – it looks as good as it performs.

Things to NOTE:
* This is definitely a right-handed joystick.
* It plugs into a USB port
* I used it with Microsoft Flight Sim 2002 running on an XP Pro system: Installing the software that came with the joystick was effortless and when I opened Flight Sim, all of the buttons were already mapped to the appropriate functions.

Great joystick at a decent price.5
I bought this joystick for gaming on my Mac and was a bit disappointed when the box arrived and it said PC only… However, I plugged it in to my iBook and it worked just great on Battlefield 1942 even without installing any drivers (I’m using OSX). I also can use it on my PC without any problem. It comes with a drivers CD for Windows.

It improved my game 100% when flying planes in Battlefield, I would definitely recommend this to anybody who plays games in which flying is involved. It’s pretty sturdy and quite large, and very comfortable to hold, though it’s definitely for right-handed gamers only.

It has a separate throttle control (a lever that you push forward or backward) that’s quite sensitive, and the handle twists left and right to control the rudder (as well as moving 360 degrees like any other joystick). There are 13 buttons so plenty of choice when mapping your controls.

Personally I much prefer this joystick over one that comes with force feedback – the vibration works against what you’re trying to do and makes playing harder. You can’t beat this joystick for the price.

After this I could never go back to just using a mouse and keyboard. Takes the gaming experience to the next level.

A Fine Joystick5
I received this joystick as a Christmas gift for use on my computer
. The initial set up and installation was quick and easy, and I immediately used it on “Pacific Fighters”. The stick is comfortable to hold, or it can be placed on a table or desk. The rapid fire trigger is especially helpful in combat games, and the swivel feature is an added plus. There are several programmable buttons which can be customized by the user, and the throttle control is very smooth to operate.

I highly recommend this joystick. It performed exceptionally for me on “Pacific Fighters”, and I’m looking forward to trying it out on “Axis and Allies” and “MVP Baseball 2004″. With this joystick, you’ll be able to play your favorite computer games with ease and comfort.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com

Extreme Catalog Pro 2.0.0.1

Tool for organizing and managing CDs, DVDs

The program catalogs, contents of your media, imports descriptions and thumbnails, and makes it available for offline browsing and searching. Extreme Catalog Pro is ideal to handle your downloaded programs, magazine CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs, music collections like MP3s or audio CDs, graphics collections, documents and all other types of files. You can access the contents of your collection from the cataloged database, even if the media itself is not available on the system - you can browse lists of files and folders, search by any criteria, use descriptions, thumbnails, categories, flags, etc.

Extreme Catalog Pro is very user friendly and easy-to-use software for cataloging disks, folders and files.
Have you ever had to look through dozens of CDs, trying to find some file or song? With Extreme Catalog Pro you will never waste your time again. Process your CDs with Extreme Catalog Pro just once and from that moment onwards finding anything is possible in a few seconds without inserting the disk into the drive.

Platforms: Windows Vista , Windows XP , Windows2000 , Windows2003 , Win98 , Windows Vista Business , Windows Vista Business x64 , Windows Vista Enterprise , Windows Vista Enterprise x64 , Windows Vista Home Basic , Windows Vista Home Basic x64 , Windows Vista Home Premium , Windows Vista Home Premium x64 , Windows Vista Starter , Windows Vista Ultimate , Windows Vista Ultimate x64 , WinXP

System requirements: .Net Runtime version 2.0 or higher, Microsoft Visual J#™ Redistributable Package version 2.0

FREE DOWNLOAD
Download Extreme Catalog Pro 2.0.0.1

Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme CPU Cooler Review

Introduction



This time we tested a CPU cooler from Tuniq, Tower 120 Extreme. This cooler has a tower design with five U-shaped heatpipes and with its fan installed inside the heatsink. Will it show a good performance? Check it out!

The box is beautiful and has a robust structure: there is an external box, made of card paper, and a thicker (and harder) one inside, with a plastic transport handle.



Opening the box we were gladly surprised to find, besides the cooler itself, a very complete book-style user manual (instead the common B&W one-sheeter) and a box where the installation hardware is organized in a foam with matching holes, as you can see in Figure 2.



In Figure 3 we can have a general view of the cooler. At first look it seems like there is no fan, but looking carefully you can see the fan inside the heatsink.

Google Blogging About Experimental Fiber Network

Leave it up to Google to hopefully bring some change to the broadband industry.

We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.



On Google's official blog page is a link where you can submit your area and explain why you think it is a good candidate for their experiment.


I live in Houston and sadly you have two choices... AT&T or Comcast. Neither is that great, both promise more than what they can deliver. I've been getting mailers for AT&T Uverse for YEARS, but still to this day I can't get it in my area... AT&T either needs to stop taunting me or make good on their promises! Comcast... I'm not even going there...

AMD 890GX/SB850 Chipset Released & ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

AMD is releasing yet another chipset (the 8-Series), starting with the 890GX & SB850. The biggest feature of this combo is the SB850 now supports SATA 6Gb/s! We will also be taking a look at the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 motherboard, one of their first models to utilize the new 8-Series chipset.

Full Review: EXTREME Overclocking

ATI Catalyst 10.3 & NVIDIA 197.13 Drivers Released

ATI Catalyst 10.3 Drivers:

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx or
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx

NVIDIA GeForce/Ion 197.13:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index5.aspx?lang=en-us

AMD's 8 & 12-core "Magny-Cours" Opterons Released!

We've been reading a few previews about these new Opteron processors the past few weeks, but now they have officially launched.... How do these puppies stack up against Intel's 6-core Xeon's? Hmm...

Anandtech - AMD's 12-core "Magny-Cours" Opteron 6174 vs. Intel's 6-core Xeon
Little Blurb & Hot Hardware

The new AMD Opteron 6000 Series platform features include:

* The industry’s only 8- and 12-core server processors performing at up to two times the level of AMD’s previous generation 6-core processors, including an 88 percent increase in integer performance4 and a 119 percent increase in floating point performance.
* Enhanced integrated memory controller supporting four channels of DDR3 memory for up to a 2.5x improvement in overall memory bandwidth.
* Thirty-three percent more memory channels per processor than competitive 2P solutions.
* 50% higher DIMM capacity compared to previous generations, with up to 12 per processor, increasing the available memory overall and improving virtualization, database and HPC applications.
* AMD 5600 Series chipset with I/O virtualization capability, HyperTransport™ 3.0 technology and PCI Express® 2.0.
* Removal of the “4P tax”, since the same processors can be used in both 2P and 4P designs, and 4P-capable processors are now the same price as 2P-capable processors, bringing greatly improved value to the 4P space.
* Unprecedented price/performance. In a comparison between a best-performing 2P competitive platform versus a similar best-performing 4P AMD-based platform, customers can recognize up to double the performance and more than 10% lower total processor price.
* Significant new power management features including a C1E power state to conserve energy when idle, the Advanced Platform Management Link allowing APML-enabled platforms to be remotely monitored for power and cooling, and AMD CoolSpeed technology, which automatically reduces p-states if a specified temperature limit is exceeded.
* A wide range of power and performance options with no compromise on the available feature sets.
* A legacy of consistency and stability. The new AMD Opteron platform is chipset- and socket- compatible between 2P and 4P and will be compatible with the planned processors based on the next-generation AMD server processor core, code-named “Bulldozer”.

Mouse Computer announces 5 Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Desktops

Mouse Computer Japan introduced this morning 5 Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Desktops with:

2 Business oriented models including the Lm-i900X2 and MDV-ADG9120X sold respectively at 199,500 and 259,980 Yen (1600 – 2100€), including obviously a i7-980X CPU, bust also 12GB of RAM (PC3-10600), 500GB of HDD, a GeFroce GTS250 (1GB of VRAM) a DVD Multi and Windows Home Premium 64Bit for the Lm-i900X2, while the MDV-ADG9120X has 1TB of HDD, a GeForce GTX285 (1GB of VRAM), a Blu-Ray Burner and Windows 7 Professional 64bit.

3 Gamers oriented models including the :
– NEXTGEAR i710GA1-MAMB with a i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition, DDR3 6GB PC3-10600, 2 Intel X25-V 40GB SSD in RAID 0, 1TB SATA II HDD, a DVD Super Multi, a GeForce GTX285 (1GB of VRAM), Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit for 259,980 Yen (2100€)
- MASTERPIECE i1500BA6 with a i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition, DDR3 12GB PC3-10600, 2 Intel X25-M 80GB SSD in RAID 0, 1TB SATA II HDD, a Blu-Ray Drive, 2x GeForce GTX285 (1GB of VRAM) SLI, Windows 7 Home Professional 64Bit for 389,970 Yen (3130€)
- MASTERPIECE i1500BA6-ATI with a i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition, DDR3 12GB PC3-10600, 2 Intel X25-M 80GB SSD in RAID 0, 1TB SATA II HDD, a Blu-Ray Drive, 2x ATI Radeon HD 5850 (1GB of VRAM) CrossFire, Windows 7 Home Professional 64Bit for 379,980 Yen (3050€)

Google Desktop Extreme 2.1

Google Desktop Extreme is one of the thousands of gadgets available for the Google Desktop Search application. But what are the gadgets anyway? The gadgets are plug-in components that enrich your Desktop experience and performs the most incredible and handy tasks that you can imagine and more.
At this point, if you’re not a user already, you might be wondering what is Google Desktop Search. Let me explain that to you and then we come back to the Calendar. This tool is developed by the people from Google, which is quite a reference of its quality, and is a desktop searching engine that allows you to perform searches within your computer as you were searching something on the Internet.
Back to the Desktop Extreme, first thing to say is that you need to have Desktop Search 5 or above running on your system to use this gadget. On the side bar of the Desktop Search you’ll find a round button with an addition sign on it. When you press it, a gadget search window will open and you can browse the huge list to find the one you want. In this case, you just can type in Extreme and Google Desktop Extreme will be listed. Then you press the “Add” button below the gadget thumbnail and that’s it, you’re done! Easy, right? Optionally, you can download the installation file from the Google Gadgets web site and then execute it by double clicking on it. A short installation will take place and the gadget will be ready to go.
Immediately, you will see a new magnifying glass like icon on your tray from where you can perform searches and display the Settings dialog box. From there you can set up some options regarding to the search process, view and behavior of the plug-in. There’s also a quick link to donate if you feel like it.
The basic idea after this gadget is to enhance the searching abilities of the standard Google Desktop Search. When you search with this gadget a window will show the results as you enter your search criteria, in real time. Also, it can classify your results according to categories such as documents, music, video, etc.
All these cool features are accessible for you free of charge, and no matter if you are a Windows, Linux or Macintosh user.

Advantages

* Enhanced search abilities.
* Easy to use.
* Good interface.

Disadvantages

* Adds another icon to the tray.
* Doesn't hide the basic Desktop Search bar.
* Only available in English.

DOWNLOAD GOOGLE DEKSTOP 2.1

Gigabyte X48T-DQ6 Motherboard Features

Gigabyte has chosen the high-end X48/ICH9R chipset to power their X48T-DQ6 motherboard, and it is currently the top X48 combination on the Intel chart. This is a standard ATX motherboard, with measurements of 30.5cm x 24.4cm and it has no board overhang from the standard mounts. The X48T-DQ6 motherboard supports only DDR3 memory, with 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets for up to 8GB of system memory. The X48T-DQ6 offers dual channel DDR3 speeds of 800, 1066, 1333, and 1600 MHz, along with XMP support. The Gigabyte board also provides DDR3 speeds up to 2000 MHz, but this involves higher bus speeds and an overclocked CPU.

The Gigabyte X48T-DQ6 includes dual PCI-E 2.0 x16 graphics with support for ATI CrossFire dual-GPU technology, three PCI Express x1 slots, and two PCI slots. Available storage options include 6 x eSATA 3.0 GB/s ports through the Intel ICH9R, 1 x Parallel ATA IDE and 2 x SATA ports from an onboard Gigabyte SATA chip, and a standard floppy drive connector. The Gigabyte X48T-DQ6 features eight USB 2.0 ports on the back panel, with an additional four ports through onboard headers, for a total of twelve. Also included are three IEEE 1394 ports (two on back panel + one using a bracket), Realtek ALC889A 7.1 audio, and Realtek 8111C Gigabit LAN.



The Gigabyte X48T-DQ6 motherboard backplate/back panel features standard PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors, eight USB 2.0 ports, two IEEE 1394a ports, two RJ-45 LAN ports, one optical digital line-out, one coaxial S/PDIF line-out, and six audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out / Rear Speaker Out / Side Speaker Out / Line In / Line Out / Microphone). The lack of an eSATA 3Gb/s port is bothersome, but Gigabyte has included two brackets that each feature dual eSATA connectors (for a total of four) and a Molex power connector. We also like when USB ports are set at the top of the back panel for the mouse and keyboard, rather than PS/2.

Hardcore Computer Reactor Extreme PC

$9K Liquid Cooled Gaming Rig Makes Big Splash

The ancient art of overclocking is more delicate ballet than exact science. The goal is to force your hardware to perform at much higher speeds than the manufacturer intended, while compensating for the immense amount of heat generated — heat that can cause system instability, and ultimately deep-fry your PC's innards. Beat the heat and your overclocked PC will frag faster and live longer.

This usually means air-cooling with loud fans, water-cooling, or some combination of the two. Hardcore Computer is trying something a bit different — submerging all of the fancy, expensive PC components in 4.5 gallons of industrial cooling fluid.

This is the DNA that makes up the Reactor PC. Weighing in at just over 100 pounds, this behemoth is clad in 2.5 mm of aircraft aluminum. The tank that contains the fluid is comprised of a plastic similar to a NASA astronaut's visor, plus it's bullet proof, should your gaming lair come under small arms fire.

We received a Reactor test unit packed with variety of high-performance parts, including an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor overclocked to 4 GHz, 4 GB of ram, and three 64-GB solid state drives for wacky-doodle fast (and expensive) data-transfer rates.

Gamers will be interested in the slot loading DVD burner (or optional Blu-ray reader), and the three Nvidia GTX 280s running in SLI. In addition to seeing impressive scores on benchmarking software, we ran the all-important Crysis test, and saw an average of 40 to 45 frames per second with every setting pumped to the absolute maximum. And there's still room to push the pre-overclocked components even further.

For the tinkerers, haxz0rs and IT-minded in the audience, the Reactor is built with high-performance server-grade technology in mind. This includes a pair of 650-W power supplies that provide a total of 1300 watts of juice, plus redundant backup — if one dies, the other will keep on churning. A pair of hot-swappable drives, weighing in at 1 TB each, let you switch your battle plans out for family vacation videos without ever shutting off your PC. Wifi is even built in, complete with two funky antennas that would normally be considered eyesores but somehow look right on the rig.

A substance called Core Coolant is the bloodstream of this gaming monolith. It's a biodegradable, dielectric, non-toxic cooling oil created by Hardcore Computer, and it's is responsible for chilling your key components. Like the typical liquid-cooled setup, a pump circulates the fluid through the Reactor's chassis and into a radiator, where the warmer fluid is made frosty and sent back into the tank.

The key difference between an air- or water-cooled setup and the Reactor is unparalleled heat transfer: You can overclock every piece of your machine without fear of a catastrophic burnout. Fans are positively archaic; air simply can't disperse the amount of heat generated by a gaming rig — it's often in the area of 158 degrees F. Liquid-cooled systems are more efficient, but while the maze of tubes might draw heat from the CPU and graphics cards, plenty of other thermal-generating components are left at risk, typically resulting in system instability.

Submerged cooling isn't perfect. The most obvious issue is the size and weight of the thing, with 4.5 gallons of fluid sloshing around in there. And no matter how careful you are, you'll want to keep a roll of paper towels handy, because there will be a bit of unavoidable splashing when you inevitably pop the lid and start poking around inside the machine. Luckily, Core Coolant (which is clear, odorless, and has the consistency of mineral oil) is safe enough to drink, according to the company. (Please don't drink the Core Coolant.)

But the biggest caveat with the Reactor is that you're buying into an ecosystem. While many of the components can be swapped with off-the-shelf parts, the motherboard and power supplies are packed into custom shells. That means when you want to upgrade the motherboard (maybe to check out that nifty Core i7 CPU from Intel) you'll have to contact Hardcore Computer directly to pick out a new one.

And finally, there's the price.

The configuration we tested came in at a hefty $9,790. But the models start at a reasonable $3,670.

How is that reasonable? A bit of painstaking calculation (method: Google + newegg + napkin) reveals that the DIY price for the components in the starter model comes to roughly $1,000. Essentially you pay about $2,700 for service, a warranty, Core Coolant and a chassis that will support a substantial amount of abuse, overclocking and general tinkering. With the right amount of research, a savvy enthusiast could customize a build to fit their budget and overclock individual components until their performance dwarfs far more expensive machines.

But really, outside of a few supercomputers and aquarium tanks filled with mineral oil, we can almost guarantee you'll be pressed hard to find a PC like this anywhere else.

For more photos of the Reactor PC, inside and out, check out our photo gallery: Soak It To Me: Inside Liquid-Suspended Gaming PC

WIRED Unsurpassed overclocking performance. High quality components at a price that's semi-reasonable. Those LEDs are optional.

TIRED Weighs as much as a '72 Buick and is twice as ugly. Potentially very messy — don't spill Core Coolant on tile floor, it gets slip 'n' slide slick. If Hardcore Computer ever flounders, how will you upgrade those custom parts?

Processor: Core 2 Extreme QX9770

Power Supply: 2 650W Server Grade PSUs

RAM: 4GB of DDR3

Graphics Card: 3x Nvidia Geforce GTX 280 in SLI

Hard Drives: 2x Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F1, 3x Samsung 64GB SSDs

OS: Vista Ultimate