Hi-tech news

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Vista SP1: Release Candidate test build goes to 15,000 testers
2007-11-15 12:12:00
Microsoft has delivered yet another test build of Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 to testers.Microsoft has been making builds of Vista SP1 available to progressively larger groups of testers since earlier this spring. The company has been dangling the promise of making a test build Vista SP1 available more broadly, first as a semi-public build downloadable by Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) members, and ultimately, by any interested parties. Microsoft posted a note to MSDN two weeks ago announcing avaiablility of a Vista SP1 beta, but later pulled the note and apologized for the false alarm.Source: zdnet
More About: Release , Test , Build , Release Candidate

Vista's Biggest Problem Remains Windows XP
2007-11-15 12:08:00
Windows Vista biggest worry shouldn't be rival operating systems from Apple Inc. or Red Hat Inc., but competition from Microsoft's own Windows XP.Microsoft Corp.'s biggest worry over Windows Vista shouldn't be rival operating systems from Apple Inc. or Red Hat Inc., but remains competition from its own Windows XP, an analyst said Wednesday."The big story isn't that 32% of the companies we surveyed said that they would start Vista deployments by the end of next year," said Benjamin Gray, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. "It's that companies have been hugely successful in standardizing on Windows XP."According to a survey of nearly 600 U.S. and European companies that have more than 1,000 employees, 84% of all their PCs now run Windows XP, up from 67% the year before. While XP may have peaked, Gray warned not to bet against the 6-year-old operating system. "There are plenty of companies looking forward to XP SP3," he said. That next hot-fix and patch rollup is to ship somet...
More About: Windows , Problem , Windows Xp , Mains

Vista mistakes Microsoft won?t repeat with Windows 7
2007-11-15 12:05:00
Microsoft learned some hard lessons with Windows Vista that it already is applying to Windows 7 .First and foremost: Keep Windows architectural changes to a minimum. And secondly, be more predictable (and believable) when it comes to delivery targets.That?s according to Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, who is chatting this week with press and bloggers about the state of Vista, just about a year after the company released the product to manufacturing.Source: zdnet
More About: Microsoft , Stakes

Infineon, Intel to Develop High-Density SIM Card Solutions
2007-11-14 23:10:00
Under the terms of the agreement, Infineon will architect modular chip solutions with Intel offering memory capacities from 4MB to 64MB (Megabytes). Infineon contributes its vast expertise in security hardware and will develop a 32-bit security microcontroller based on its existing SLE 88 family for use with HD SIM cards. Intel is contributing its leading-edge flash memory technologies, capabilities and manufacturing.The close technical collaboration will allow Infineon?s HD security microcontroller to be optimally calibrated with Intel?s flash memory solutions for efficient integration into HD SIM cards. The initial development of the flash memory product line will scale up to 64 MB with NOR flash memory manufactured on 65-nanometer (nm) and 45-nm process technologies. The security microcontroller is currently produced on 130-nm process technology, which is state-of-the-art for chips used in smartcard applications. All HD SIM solutions operate across the voltage range of 1.8 V to 3...
More About: Card , High , Solutions

Solid State Drives: Fast, Rugged, and Really Expensive
2007-11-14 22:57:00
Hard drives based on flash memory have become the must-have for the "in crowd" among the digerati. Flash drives are compact, make no noise, and consume less power than their standard hard drive counterparts. However flash offer lower capacity and cost a lot more.Source: Extremetech
More About: State , Fast , Solid , Soli

SanDisk to introduce new NAND flash-based accelerator for PC
2007-11-14 19:41:00
SanDisk unveiled a solid-state storage solution, Vaulter Disk, that works in conjunction with a PC's hard drive to store and launch the computer's operating system and software applications. This new solution aims to provide enhanced performance over a PC that has only a hard drive. Vaulter Disk will be offered to OEMs in early 2008 in capacities of 8-16GB.By introducing the Vaulter Disk, which is a flash-based PCI Express module, both laptop and desktop computer manufacturers are able to harness the speed of embedded flash memory for frequently accessed files while continuing to use a spinning hard drive for bulk storage of less frequently accessed data, said SanDisk.Related articles: Now...what about a 100x faster hard drive?Source: Digitimes
More About: Flash , Sandisk , Accelerator , Nand

Apple's Phones Prompt iTypos
2007-11-14 19:38:00
iPhone users make mistakes more often when texting compared to users of phones with hard keys, a new study found. User Centric tested how many mistakes mobile phone texters make, comparing the results of iPhone users with customers who have phones with full keyboards and those with numeric keyboards. User Centric, a Chicago usability consulting company, studied 20 users in each group. The study, while based on an extremely small sample size, makes for interesting reading.Source: PC world
More About: Phones , Prompt , Typos

Seagate warns of infected drives
2007-11-14 17:19:00
Seagate is warning users to scan their systems for malware after a password-stealing Trojan was found on some of its hard drives.The vendor said that the malware was discovered on the Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 model by researchers from security firm Kaspersky.Seagate did not reveal how many infected drives had been sold, claiming only that it was "a small number".The firm has halted production until all of the drives can be disinfected, and said that "inventory is being reworked" to retrieve infected drives shipped to retailers.Source: vnunet
More About: Seagate , Infected

Intel's ships new 45nm procesors
2007-11-14 17:01:00
Intel Penryn procesors have circuits just 45 nanometers wide, compared with the 65 nanometers that is used now. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.Smaller circuits usually translate into higher computing speeds and lower energy consumption. Chipmakers also see improved productivity because they can squeeze more circuits onto a given area of silicon.Related articles: AMD Phenom X4 retail prices surface
More About: Ships

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday Brings Two Fixes
2007-11-14 14:26:00
Compared with previous Patch Tuesday s, November's version was quite small with Microsoft releasing only two patches for the Windows operating system: one rated critical and the other important.The critical patch addresses an issue with how the Windows shell handles URIs. A specially crafted URI could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code due to an error in the way it is validated.Currently the issue has only been identified to be exploitable through Internet Explorer 7. However, the actual flaw itself is in a shell DLL, which can be found in Windows XP and Server 2003.Source: BetaNews

The hack of the year
2007-11-14 13:58:00
A Swedish hacker tells how he infiltrated a global communications network used by scores of embassies over the world, using tools freely available on the internet.In August, Swedish hacker Dan Egerstad gained access to sensitive embassy, NGO and corporate email accounts.Swedish hacker Dan Egerstad had infiltrated a global communications network carrying the often-sensitive emails of scores of embassies scattered throughout the world. It had taken him just minutes, using tools freely available for download on the internet.In time, Egerstad gained access to 1000 high-value email accounts. He would later post 100 sets of sensitive email logins and passwords on the internet for criminals, spies or just curious teenagers to use to snoop on inter-governmental, NGO and high-value corporate email.Source: The Age
More About: Hack , Year

Animated wallpapers no longer just for the Vista elite
2007-11-13 22:32:00
Animated wallpapers have been one of the ?Extras? that Microsoft has touted as a selling point for customers of its priciest Windows Vista SKU. But now Stardock is bringing animated wallpapers to the Vista masses.Stardock, a Gold Certified Microsoft partner, worked with Microsoft on DreamScene ? a desktop-display feature that allows users to make looped, full-motion video their desktop wallpaper (as opposed to using static images only for background wallpaper).Source: Microsoft
More About: Wallpapers , Elite , Animated

Apple patches image buffer overflow in iPhone, iPod Touch
2007-11-13 22:14:00
Apple on Monday released a patch for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The TIFF vulnerabilities associated with the patch are serious. However, in fixing the security flaws, users will no longer be able to apply Jailbreak, software that allows for third-party applications on the iPhone. Further, Apple says the update is only available through iTunes, and will not appear in the Mac OS software update application, or on the Apple downloads site, and requires the latest version of iTunes to receive this update.Apple operating systems and personal computers are know for their stability, performance and (almost) bug free, but since the launch of iPhone in England we only hear about security issues and patches release for the so aspected phone.Related articles: iPhone Sells 10,000 Units in Germany , iPhone Firmware 1.1.2 Hacked Before Release , iPhone queue forming at Regent Street storeSource: News website
More About: Apple , Iphone , Ipod , Patches , Image

Filemaker serves snack-size database for Leopard
2007-11-13 22:09:00
Filemaker is betting that its new database software, Bento, will please Mac users seeking a multipurpose personal information manager. The application will ship in January 2008 for $49, or $99 for a family pack. A free test drive is available on the Web site of Filemaker, which is owned by Apple.Bento can pool together personal and professional contacts, dates, and objects.Source: News website
More About: Database , Leopard , Snack , Size , Serve

IBM to acquire business-intelligence firm Cognos for $5 billion
2007-11-13 14:18:00
IBM Corp. is making its largest acquisition ever, a deal announced Monday to buy Cognos Inc. for $5 billion in cash in hopes of keeping up with rivals in "business intelligence" software.Source: SiliconValley
More About: Business , Intelligence , Business Intelligence , Acquire

Microsoft announces 8 versions of Windows server 2008
2007-11-13 14:13:00
Microsoft will release eight versions of Windows Server 2008 when it ships in late February 2008, three of which will include its hypervisor technology, Hyper-V. - The Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter versions of Windows Server 2008 will be offered with and without Hyper-V, both in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.Windows Web Server 2008, designed as a single purpose Web server, will cost $469, and Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based systems, which is optimized for large databases and line-of-business and custom applications, will cost $2,999 a processor.Related article: Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0
More About: Microsoft , Anno

IBM's Roadrunner set to smash supercomputing marks
2007-11-13 14:09:00
IBM is working on a computer nicknamed "Roadrunner" that will combine Cell processors, a family of chips found inside the PlayStation 3, and processors from Advanced Micro Devices.Roadrunner, which will be delivered to the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory in summer 2008, will be capable of performing more than a quadrillion operations, or a petaflop, when it's fully operational. A supercomputer like this operating at a petaflop is performing more operations than a 1.5-mile-high stack of laptops.Source: News website
More About: Marks , Smash , Mash

AMD Phenom X4 retail prices surface
2007-11-13 14:00:00
If you had some doubt that AMD will not be able to deliver its desktop quad-core processors in time for Christmas, there are now signs that a release of the CPUs may be closer than we previously thought. Several online stores have published retail prices of AMD?s new processors, indicating how AMD?s new CPUs will be competing with Intel?s Penryn processors.At this time, three CPUs are being published. The 2.2 GHz Phenom X4 9500, the 2.3 GHz 9600 and the 2.4 GHz 9700.The 9500 is currently indicated to hit the retail market in the $260-$270 range; the 9600 could be available for prices between $290 and $300 and the 9700 is listed for prices between $310 and $330. These numbers would put the new Phenoms squarely against Intel?s new Penryn quad-core desktop processors, which are scheduled to debut with the high-end QX9650 next Monday.According to sources, Intel will not deviate from the pricing strategy that has been in place since the introduction of the Core architecture in July of la...
More About: Retail , Surface , Prices

Google new mobile OS SDK is available
2007-11-12 19:33:00
How Open Handset Alliance promised, an early look at the software development kit (SDK) for the new mobile operating system called Android is now available for download on their main page.And to attract developers they started a contest with $10 million prize. (Android Developer Challenge)Source: Open Handset Alliance
More About: Google , Mobile

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2007-11-12 16:07:00
After the first 3 edition of Call of Duty which simulate combats in first and second word wars the 4th release of the game simulate combats in more modern word. The player will now use modern weapons, vehicles and sophisticate technology.The game offers a multiplayer option including LAN and over the internet games.Source: CallofDuty website
More About: Modern , Call of Duty , Call of Duty 4

Fedora 8 is out
2007-11-12 15:59:00
After Ubuntu launched their 7th versions the operating system in 18 October, now came the time for Fedora to launch their 8th edition of the operating system sponsored by RedHat team.Both OS are free and are based on the linux kernel.If you want to try one of this two OS you can visit the links below:Fedora, Ubuntu

Abobe running on Mac OS X Leopard
2007-11-12 14:04:00
Adobe Creative Suite 3 is compatible with the the latest Apple operating system (Mac OS X Leopard v10.5).Maybe not all of the Adobe software is already compatible with Leopard but they say in the near future will be.Source: Abobe
More About: Running

Intel makes smaller circuits
2007-11-12 13:49:00
The world's biggest microchip maker, unveiled fast new processors on Sunday made with new techniques that can etch circuitry nearly 200 times smaller than a red blood cell.The chips are the first in the world to be mass-produced with a 45-nanometer process, about one-third smaller than current 65-nanometer technology.With this new technology both the performance and energy efficiency will be increased.Source: Reuters
More About: Intel , Circuits

ATI is preparing the launch of Radeon HD 3800
2007-11-12 13:33:00
After Nvidia got 8800GT out for sale, Ati is preparing the launch of it's rival graphic board Radeon HD 3800, which will be available in two versions:-3870 (having 512MB GDDR4 with a core frequency of 825MHz and a memory frequency of 2.4GHz)-3850 (having 256 or 512MB GDDR3 memory with a core frequency of 750MHz and memory frequency of 1.8GHz).Ati graphic board will be with about 150$ cheaper and the performance of both models is higher that those of Nvidia 8800GT.Read this article to: Nvidia 8800GTSource: Digitimes
More About: Launch , Prep

Hard to destroy laptop
2007-11-12 13:11:00
Toughbook CF-30 is made to work even in the hardest conditions. It's resistant to shocks, drops, heat, cold, dust and damp, having a army design.It runs on a Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile, having a 13.3 inch XGA touchscreen with with low light reflexion , making the display readable even in direct sunlight, and a lithium-ion battery with up to 8 hours running time.Source: Toughbook website
More About: Laptop , Hard

Prince to sue The Pirate Bay
2007-11-11 18:56:00
Prince will file similar suits against The Pirate Bay in the U.S., France, a country with laws favorable to copyright owners, and Sweden, where The Pirate Bay is based. In addition, Prince is preparing to take civil action against companies that advertise on The Pirate Bay, many of which are headquartered in IsraelSource: News website
More About: Prince , Irate

Disney reportedly to launch cell service in Japan
2007-11-11 18:48:00
Walt Disney , the No. 2 U.S. entertainment company, plans to launch mobile phone service in Japan next spring offering customers animated content, the Nikkei business daily said Sunday.Disney would use Japan's No. 3 mobile phone carrier Softbank's network and the two would jointly develop handsets, the paper said without citing sources.Source: News website
More About: Cell , Service , Launch

The biggest BSOD
2007-11-11 18:40:00
For the last few days, the four giant display "screens" at The Bay downtown have been crashed.Source: blogto

iPhone Sells 10,000 Units in Germany
2007-11-11 18:34:00
Deutsche Telekom officials confirmed that more than 10,000 units were sold by mid- afternoon on the first day on sale.Also, Deutsche Telekom said there had been no disorder at its shops and it had enough phones in stock.In London, fans had started queuing at stores overnight and numbers swelled to several hundred for the launch Friday evening. Staff cheered as the doors opened and excited customers made their way into the store. There were scenes of "mayhem" when the doors opened, reported the BBC.The iPhone will go on sale in France on November 29, which is twenty days later then in Germany and UK.In its financial report for the second financial quarter AT&T confirmed that in two days since iPhone launch 146,000 iPhones were activated.Source: efluxmedia
More About: Iphone , Units , Unit

YouTube Introduces Multi-Video Uploading
2007-11-11 18:30:00
YouTube's Multi -Video Uploader allows members to upload videos that are up to 1 gigabyte in size, compared to the previous limit of 100 megabytes. But note, a video must still be no longer than 10 minutes. And of course the main purpose behind this feature: the ability to upload many videos at once. So why is YouTube doing this? It is speculated that Youtube is trying to compete with another social networking video site (Vimeo), which announced it will now support high definition videos.Source: Neowin
More About: Uploading , Loading