Bij Voodoo Extreme lees ik dat Internet Explorer versie 5.01 uit is. Het schijnt dat er alleen een nieuwere versie wordt geïnstalleerd van Mediaspeler. Ik heb dat zelf alleen nog niet kunnen testen. Hier kun je in ieder geval downloaden, of klik hier voor de IE5 website.

(iedereen gebruikt toch IE5? )

Dat Unreal Tournament 'gold' (=klaar) was wisten we al, maar de press-release is vandaag pas verschenen. Check hem hier. De game komt wereldwijd op 22 november uit

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1999-- GT Interactive (Nasdaq: GTIS - news) and Epic Games' much anticipated first-person action title Unreal Tournament has gone gold. The critically acclaimed game will ship worldwide on Friday, November 22nd with an estimated retail price of $54.95.

Unreal Tournament boasts exciting new game play modes, AI Bots so smart they taunt opposing players and an innovative tutorial that instructs new players in online multiplay. Unreal Tournament will set a new standard in single and multiplayer play.

``Games become blockbusters for a variety of reasons, including timing, quality and innovation,'' says Tony Kee, vice president of Marketing for GT Interactive. ``With Unreal Tournament, Epic Games has hit on all three benchmarks and sets the standard by which all future games in the genre will be judged.''

``We worked long and hard to make Unreal Tournament a worthy successor to Unreal. By incorporating outlandish weapons, brilliant AI, and spectacular visuals we feel that we've more than accomplished our goal,'' according to Epic's Vice President Mark Rein. ``We hope that the public has as much fun playing Unreal Tournament as we here at Epic do.''

Together, GT and Epic have established the Unreal series as one of the premier action franchises in PC gaming industry, having sold more than one million copies of Unreal alone. The recently released Unreal Tournament demo has achieved worldwide downloads in excess of 500,000 since it's September 29 launch.

Ruben pruim stuurde een link op van een review van de Guillemot Maxi Sound Fortissimo soundcard. Hieronder de helft:

It sounds great. There's no question about it. One amazing thing is that it even supports EAX and A3D 1.0 as well as DirectSound, so for all intents and purposes, the sound card is pretty much identical to the Sound Blaster LIVE! or Diamond MX300. Do note that although A3D 1.0 is supported, A3D 2.0 is not. Now with the statement about the FORTISSIMO being almost the same as the LIVE!/MX300, there are the techy specs which are different. I'll go out on a limb here by saying "Who cares?". To me, I buy a sound card to play games and watch a movie and do regular windows stuff. I'm not in the need for something really fancy. Although the LIVE! and MX300 supports far more features, the fact remains that almost nobody will ever need them, let alone find a use for them. Sound quality is what really matters.

Games sound pretty groovy. If I had to pick between the MX300/Live!/FORTISSIMO, it would certainly be a difficult choice. One thing to do if you buy/own the FORTISSIMO is to be sure you set your speakers up for Quad mode in the multimedia section of the control panel. We've seen some reviews which complain that the rears sound the same as the front, and it's because of them not setting up the speakers right. Heck, even we didn't have them setup right till 3D Sound Surge told us how to. :-) Once the speakers are setup right, there's no difference between the Live!/MX300/FORTISSIMO that I could tell.

Movies played with a Toshiba and Creative DVD player with whatever software comes with the Voodoo3 3500TV is great as well. The first complaint would be lack of dolby digital support, making DVD's a little more appealing to watch on a LIVE!/MX300 board. Other than that, they all sound great.

The Maxi Sound FORTISSIMO is a great sound card, for the price. It won't beat out a LIVE! or a MX300, but for those in the right price range, $49.95 can't be beat. If you dig DVD's on your PC, this isn't the sound card for you. If you dig movies (mpg/avi) and you love games, you'll really enjoy this sound card. If all you ever do is type in MS Word, anything will do.

Felix schrijft: "Hier is de Linux port (console) van Napster te downloaden...":

Pacific schrijft: "Pioneer maakt nu een beetje problemen over dat programmatje wat je DVD weer egio-vrij maakt maar hij is op andere pagina nog wel te downloaden en daar heb ik ook het quote vandaan http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/":

Fekete Istvan have some problems with the Pioneer people who ask him to remove the Region Code Eraser. Making drives region free is not illegal. People do what they want with their drives. They say the Eraser contained Pioneer copyrighted code, but it's not true. The soft use only some particular ATAPI command set. Fekete remove temporaly the Eraser 2.0B from his page but you can download it here. For more drive compatibility infos and how to use the utility continue to go to Fekete Istvan page and support him!!

Zie ook dit nieuwsbericht van afgelopen maandag.

John S. had het volgende te melden: "Bende gapt nummers gsm-kaarten":

Boeven proberen nummers van sim-kaarten van gsm-telefoons te snaaien door abonnees op te bellen en te vragen om '09#' of '#09' in te toetsen, 'ter controle van uw toestel'. Het is beter dit niet te doen en de verbinding te verbreken. De boeven beschikken over apparatuur om met de ingetoetste code nummers van sim-kaarten vast te leggen. Hierdoor kan men op grote schaal op andermans kosten bellen.

Dan's Data heeft een kleine review in elkaar geknusteld van zijn Asus V6600 GeForce kaart. Als vergelijking heeft hij benchmark scores opgenomen van een standaard V770 TNT2 kaart. Hieronder een gedeelte uit de test

If you've got a decent 3D card at the moment (a TNT or TNT2, or a Voodoo 3, for instance) and you're considering upgrading, I recommend you hold off until the games catch up with the hardware. If you've got a graphics card with lousy-to-no 3D capability, though, a GeForce bought today will not fall far behind the pack for quite a while. It's not the greatest of bargains, but neither is it ludicrously expensive.

Other, slightly cheaper GeForce cards will be along very shortly - LeadTek's WinFast GeForce board should sell for a little less than the ASUS card, and have TV out as well. But if you're looking to spend a lot less on a new 3D card, you'll either have to wait a while or settle for a nice little TNT2 or similar older card. Which, as the Quake 3 results above show, may be only half the price but sure isn't only half the speed.

If money is no object and/or you've got to be the first on your block, get a GeForce now. The V6600 is a perfectly good one; if the better game bundle with the more expensive brand name versions appeal to you then get one of them instead, but you lose nothing performance-wise with the cheaper card.

Bij Review News hadden ze een paar dagen geleden een review gepost van de TennMax Stealth V3 Fighter Cooler. Het blijkt dat een Socket 7/370 beter zijn werk doet dan de TennMax cooler.

From these results, it appears that the cooler isn't that effective. But, there are always two ways to look at it. The first is this, with both of my homemade solutions, I lost the neighboring PCI slot due to the size of the heatsink/fan combo. But, using the original heatsink with a good fan, resulted in nearly the same results as the Stealth V3 cooler. I feel thta if you don't already have a cooler for your Voodoo 3, especially the 3000 and 3500, you definately need to get this cooler. It keeps it cool and allows casual users to overclock. But, if you want to seriously push your card to it's peak on a small budget, then you have to go with a socket 7/370 cooler instead of this small fan. Even though it keep it cool, it's just too small to help out when overclocking goes extreme.

Bij Gamespot hebben ze een drietal i820 based systemen getest, allemaal uitgerust met een 733MHz Pentium III processor. Het gebruikte RAM was wel verschillend, de ene had RDRAM, de andere kregen PC100 en PC133 modules mee. Om de resultaten te vergelijken hebben ze ook een Athlon 700 systeem met PC100 RAM in de mix gegooid. Uiteindelijk is de conclusie dat alleen het P3-733 systeem uitgerust met RDRAM het kan winnen van de Athlon 700. Voor een 128MB RDRAM module betaal je alleen wel $760 dollar, katjing!

What was really surprising was the performance of the Coppermine/Direct RDRAM combination. It's clear Intel needs RDRAM to remain competitive - even the VIA PC133-based SDRAM system lags behind Athlon. Although RDRAM-based systems will likely start appearing in November or December, it's probably going to be some time before upgraders can get their hands on them. Corsair, one of the more visible name-brand suppliers of SDRAM, has put its RDRAM product line on hold for the time being, because the company couldn't get a reliable supply of RDRAM at any speed. It will be very interesting when motherboards using the Via KX133 chipset ship. The KX133 core logic supports AGP 4x and PC133 SDRAM. That may give AMD the boost it needs.

It is looking like Intel's risky move to RAMBUS may just pay off. From our initial testing, it looks like an RDRAM-equipped system will have better overall throughput than one without RDRAM - even when using the same chipset, CPU, and graphics card. The question is: Will there be enough RDRAM to go around? As we've seen, even a 700MHz Athlon will outpace a 733MHz Pentium III running on SDRAM.

It's not definite, however, that higher-clocked Athlons will do the job. I've spoken with system vendors who indicated that the Athlon 750s have slower L2 cache timings, which adversely affect performance. In some cases, the 750 barely ran ahead of the 700. That could very well change when the final 750s ship, but it is worrisome.

Right now, Intel is at 0.18 micron and can gradually ratchet up clock speed. The current Athlons are still at 0.25 micron, and the 700 runs pretty hot. AMD will be shipping 0.18-micron parts around the start of the year, so the race will soon be on. One thing is clear from all this testing: The chipset and memory types do matter.

All of this is good news for gamers. With Intel and AMD slugging it out in the performance arena, prices can only come down while performance improves. And that's good news whether you buy Intel or AMD.

Klik hier voor de rest van de round-up.

The Register meldt dat Intel in het eerste kwartaal van 2000 een 800MHz versie van de Coppermine Pentium III zal introduceren. Voorheen stond hij gepland voor een release in het 2e kwartaal.

A report on a US wire said that Intel will bring the launch date of an 800MHz Coppermine Pentium III forward to the first quarter of next year.

The Intel roadmap had this processor slated to appear in quarter two, said Pat Gelsinger, a senior VP at Intel, according to PC Week.

And Intel has also acknowledged the shortages of many of the Coppermine parts it announced in October, as reported here a day after the launch.

Gelsinger admitted that supply of many of the Coppermine parts was tight but claimed this was not due to any fundamental problem with its .18 micron process technology.

Instead, Intel had underestimated demand for processors.

However, the more fundamental problem is likely to be that Intel has not yet cranked up its .18 fabrication to produce sufficient microprocessors to satisfy demand.

Bij Reverend hebben ze in een artikel alles info en specs gepost van de nieuwe Voodoo kaarten, de V4-4500 PCI AGP, V5-5000 PCI, V5-5500 AGP en de V5-6000 AGP. Hieronder een hap uit de conclusie:

First of all, all this is just a product announcement. 3dfx don't even have first silicon to demonstrate at Comdex. Who knows what could happen between now and the expected date of delivery of March 2000? On a related note, all the performance "guesstimates" are just that - guesses. We have absolutely no idea how good a performer the Voodoo4/Voodoo5 would be without a demo board.

Secondly, the product line's pricing, while on the overall seem competitively priced, the highest end board configuration - the Voodoo5 6000AGP - has a price tag that seems absolutely insane for what is basically a video card on steroids. It has to be said that 3dfx themselves has admitted that this particular board was created to cater to the hardest of the hardcores (hmm...that came out sounding kinda, er, weird). The original Voodoo2-SLI was such a product for its time. No one really knows how many Voodoo2-SLI owners there are - we only know that lone-Voodoo2 sales were phenomenal. How much appeal would the Voodoo5 6000AGP have to the same crowd of V2-SLI owners? The video card industry is the most competitive and volatile.

And thirdly, and perhaps most damning of all, is the arguable lifespan of these products. Nobody likes buying a product and have it rendered obsolete in half (or less than) a year's time. As I mentioned earlier, consumer tendencies are to buy the latest and greatest gear they can afford. By March 2000, many games will run extremely well on the Voodoo4/Voodoo5, no doubt about that - but there will be some, in perhaps two to three months from the time the Voodoo4/Voodoo5 goes retail, that will run better on a video card with the one feature (and a BIG one at that) that the Voodoo4/5s won't have - an onboard geometry processor. nVidia would probably, if things go their way, have their successor to their geForce256, the NV15, no later than mid-2000 (probably). That would mean three months after the retail of Voodoo4/5s. And since the geForce has T&L, we can assume the NV15 will have it too (and a better implementation as well, not the current geForce256's static vertex way of doing T&L).

i2go introduceert een MP3 speler die gebruikt maakt van het goedkopere CompactFlash geheugen. De opslagcapaciteit is zo'n 96MB. Als je wilt uitbreiden kan dat ook, met behulp van extra CompactFlash kaarten tot 680MB! Het ding is er vanaf $189 dollar.

The stylish, translucent player includes a specific slot for CompactFlash Type II and also acts as a digital voice recorder with a built in speaker and microphone.

SanDisk will display i2Go's eGo MP3 player at the Fall '99 COMDEX trade show in Las Vegas, NV, Nov. 15-19 (SanDisk booth: Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, L-1509).

The player is bundled with i2Go MP3 Agent software which allows consumers to drag-n-drop MP3 links from the web in an embedded browser for scheduled or immediate download. The MP3 Agent software also includes a managing feature for local and web-synchronized play lists. With each unit sold, i2Go will include a USB cable, two ``AA'' batteries, car windshield bracket, cassette stereo adapter, cigarette lighter power adapter, belt clip and stereo earphones. With a built-in USB high-speed connection, consumers can easily transfer audio files to the CompactFlash card from Windows® based PCs. Other features include multiple play list storage and management. With the i2Go interactive digital audio player, the consumer has the option to purchase a 32 megabyte (MB), 64MB or 96MB SanDisk CompactFlash memory card. Available at i2Go's online store (http://www.i2go.com), the eGo MP3 player is priced at $189.

In deel 1 van Firingsquad's Comdex verslag besproken ze de nieuwe 3dfx Voodoo kaarten, in deel 2 gaan Thresh & Gang op bezoek bij nVidia, Matrox en VIA. Hieronder een gedeelte copy en paste:

Now that we've gone over VIA's current products it's time to discuss the future. One of the key technologies VIA plans to add to their chipsets next year is DDR SDRAM. In particular, their Pro266 chipset will support the same features as the Pro133A but add support for PC266 DDR SDRAM. With DDR PC200 offering a peak bandwidth of 1.6GB and PC266 2.1GB, these products should compete favorably against RDRAM solutions on the Intel platform. With the recent alliance with S3, VIA plans to integrate S3's Savage4 graphics processor onto their value-minded ProMedia chipset. Motherboards based on this chipset (named the Promedia 2) should be available during the 2nd half of next year.

On the CPU front, VIA plans to release the "Samuel" CPU. While we don't know much about this product, expect it to launch at a core clock rate of 500MHz with the same cache configuration as Joshua. In the future, VIA plans to integrate the CPU, 3D graphics, and North Bridge of the chipset all in one chip, while the South Bridge features sound and networking fully integrated. This step will reduce the cost and size of a computer system significantly, ushering a new era of set-top boxes.

In conclusion, it looks like VIA has secured its foothold on 2nd-place in the chipset market, and gaining ground on Intel everyday. With the Rambus/Camino delays, Intel has left a narrow gap in the high-end market that VIA is now attempting to fill with their more cost effective PC133 products. With full Socket 370/Slot 1 compatibility the costs to motherboard manufacturers are kept at a minimum allowing VIA's Apollo platform to sell for less than an 820/RDRAM system from Intel. By the time DDR SDRAM is widely available at lower prices VIA's chipsets based on PC266 SDRAM should be available from several motherboard companies. These PC266 products may be enough to break that gap wide open!

CNET Gamecenter heeft de Microsoft Gamepad Pro gereviewed. Hoewel de controller er erg kewl uitziet (vinnik) krijgt-ie maar een zesje:

Yet the D-pad is just plain uncomfortable no matter which way you set it up, and it has a small range of movement typical of other D-pads; the Pro just can't be considered a solid driving controller, even for arcade games. I took it for a spin in Need for Speed: High Stakes, Sports Car GT, and Demolition Racer, and found myself embedded in walls and off-tracking more times than I care to remember.

The Pro's analog action is pressure-activated--the more you press down in a given direction, the more response you get. Unfortunately, the more pressure you exert, the more your thumb fatigues. And that fatigue can be immense, practically numbing your opposable digit and sending unpleasant sensations shooting up into your wrist at the end of a particularly hard and lengthy gaming session.

In sports games such as NHL 2000 or FIFA 2000, with the D-pad in digital mode and requiring a lighter touch, the Pro rates a little higher, though even then it's tough to resist pushing too hard and ending up with a numb thumb. After all, that resistance is the only frame of reference you have.

Hans schrijft: "Op /. kwam ik het volgende berichtje tegen. Als we het mogen geloven heeft download.com het programma deCSS, waarmee je DVD copy protections kan 'bypassen', beschikbaar gesteld voor het publiek. lees hier een stukje copy/paste van SlashDot":

Abscissa writes "I just discovered that Download.com has listed the hottest illegal utility for "bypassing" DVD copy protection. It won't be long before they get contacted by the motion picture association!" And deCSS is also mirrored on many other, lower-profile Web sites. There's simply no way it can be stopped.

Hans schrijft: "In een interview met het developer team van PHP wordt uit de doeken gedaan wat we in de toekomst zoal van PHP kunnen verwachten. Iedere enthousiaste PHP'er weet natuurlijk dat PHP 4 eraan zit te komen (check op www.zend.com) maar de developers hebben nog meer grote plannen. Ikzelf ben PHP4b2 aan het testen en ben errug enthousiast, vooral over de session functies (geen gekloot meer met PHPLIB). Hier even het antwoord op de meest belangrijke vraag :":

Jeremy: Outside of Zend, what are the other new features in PHP 4?

Stig: We've done a lot of work on the build process on UNIX, making each function module (extension) and server module independent and self-contained. It will also be much easier for vendors distributing PHP to build dynamically loadable PHP extensions. The session support looks to become the most popular new feature, but there is lots more functionality in 4.0: native support for AOLserver, an FTP client extension, multiple file uploads, being able to read multi-dimensional arrays from get/post/cookie data, output buffering, a whole bunch of new array manipulation functions and improvements to existing extensions. And most important: it takes ages to compile now. :-)

De rest van dit interview kun je hier vinden.

Kenny Mccormick schrijft: "Billy's juristen krijgen overwerk te doen. Vlak na de interim-uitspraak in de Monopoly-zaak, krijgen ze het aan de stok met Reed-Elsevier. Ditmaal wegens contractbreuk. Ooit gaat M$ eerlijk zaken doen en dan verschrompelen acuut alle bomen...":

Reed Elsevier heeft in de VS een rechtszaak aangespannen tegen Microsoft wegens vermeende contractbreuk. Microsoft zou ten onrechte advertenties hebben verkocht op een website met informatie van Reed-dochter Cahners.

In de zaak eist het Brits-Nederlandse uitgeversconcern schadevergoeding en strafrechtelijke vervolging van 's werelds grootste softwarefabrikant. Microsoft werd onlangs al onaangenaam verrast door een negatieve tussentijdse uitspraak van de Amerikaanse anti-kartel-rechter.

Het vermeende misbruik door Microsoft heeft betrekking op de website Expedia, waarop consumenten allerlei reisinformatie kunnen inwinnen. De internet-computer is gekoppeld met systemen van Cahners die voor de bijbehorende hotelinformatie zorgen.

Who's next?

Hans schrijft: "Vuurwerk is de laatste tijd stevig aan de weg aan het timmeren, en als gevolg lijkt het alsof ze een beetje uit hun voegen aan het groeien zijn. De boel moet geautomatiseerd worden om afhandeling sneller te laten verlopen":

Als gevolg van het fabelachtige tempo waarin Vuurwerk Internet domeinnamen registreert en hosting realiseert, is ze nu de grootste aanbieder op dit gebied in Nederland: 13.000 geregistreerde NL-domeinnamen op een totaal van 21.500. De helft van die 21.500 domeinen is in de afgelopen 6 maanden vastgelegd. De VersaTel-dochter automatiseert nu de afhandeling om de processen nog sneller te laten verlopen. Vuurwerk is nu met domeinen groter dan UUnet, onderdeel van WorldCom.

Agressor schrijft: "Winboost is 1 van de beter Windows Optimisation programs. Gewoon lekker je Windoos twieken dus!":

WinBoost is a special utility designed to boost Windows 98/95 performance and productivity. Using easy to use graphical user interface you can configure hundreds of Windows 98/95 hidden settings from Start Menu, Desktop, Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, etc. Something that you can't do on regular operations. Also, you will get hundreds of selected Windows 98/95 Tips & Tricks.

Check deze page om Winboost 2000 neer te halen.

CPU Review heeft zijn Athlon vs Pentium III prijsvergelijking van een update voorzien. Nieuw zijn de prijzen van de Athlon op 650 en 700MHz. Verder zijn de snellere Athlons gewoon veel goedkoper dan de P3's. Het verschil is tot wel 115 dollar op 650MHz!

Intel has not responded enough to AMD's price challange. Look at the chart showing the falling prices over time; the Intel prices were the hardest hit. They will be hit harder yet; I don't think they can sustain their current price premium.

AMD is still sitting pretty. They have the hottest x86 chip, and they know it. Looking at the current pricing suggests that AMD is now trying to take the high-end single processor market away from Intel. Beating Intel on price AND performance is the name of the new game.

We are now paying LESS for an Athlon based system than for an equivalent clock speed Pentium 3.

All of the other components that go into building a PC would be the same in an Athlon or Pentium 3 based PC the only difference in price will be the cost of the motherboard and CPU.

Speedy 3D heeft een review online gezet van de InClose Baycooler harddisk cooler. De review stelt niet veel voor, hieronder heb je de helft.

The Baycooler installed easily and an adequate number of screws were provided for the cooler and hard drive. Instructions were also available for anybody who needs them.

The Baycooler offers 2 fans, which is enough to cool all but the extremely high-end hard drives. Besides this, it can be purchased for around $12 from most on-line cooler retailers. 5400-rpm drives are not hot to begin with, and the 2-fan Baycooler was plenty powerful enough to further cool them. In my tests the average drop in temperature for my hard drive was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. That is plenty for me, and from my experience, this cooler should also be able to effectively cool 7200-rpm drives. This cooler produced absolutely no amount of noise that could be heard from my seat. That is quite a feat given that no other hard drive cooler that I have reviewed up till now has been able to claim that.

For a Price of $12 this cooler is very competitively priced. The Baycooler is such an exceptional cooler for the price, that you will be hard-pressed to find a better deal. The Performance of this cooler was standard, and did not perform any better or any worse then other bay coolers. Whilst this cooler only has 2 fans, an extra fan would have been overkill for most hard drives. Overall this hard drive cooler is a great value for the price. An unyielding cooler with an excellent price that will chill all except the power house 10,000 revolutions per minute hard drives.

Overclockers Workbench heeft wat info gepost over de nieuwe moederborden van Microstar en AOpen gebaseerd op de i820 Camino chipset van Intel. Hieronder de platen van Microstar:

Today Intel officially releases its 820 chipset, the new generation chipset with the support of 133MHz system bus and 4X AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port). To further enhance the overall system performance, it incorporates the next generation memory, RDRAM (Rambus DRAM), which enables the memory throughput up to 1.6GB/s with high speed working frequency of 800MHz, far superior to traditional SDRAM. With above new technology incorporated, the system would result in significant performance enhancement, especially matched with Intel's latest Pentium III processor.

MSI (Micro-Star International, www.msi.com.tw) showed its capable R&D ability by releasing the motherboard, MS-6192, synchronously with Intel's 820 chipset. This MS-6192 motherboard, in ATX form factor, incorporates Slot 1 CPU socket with 133MHz front side bus speed. In terms of memory, even though RDRAM is the best match for the 820 chipset, but due to its higher cost of RIMM module, the MS-6192 incorporates 2 DIMM and 2 RIMM sockets to provide consumers the highest flexibility. This allows the consumer to make the best match to his needs in utilizing RDRAM or SDRAM, with the maximum support of up to 1GB system memory. For customers' convenience of expandability, it has 5 PCI sockets and 1 ISA socket (optional).[break]Hieronder de info van AOpen (zie ook deze nieuwsposting):[/break]Leveraging the Intel(R) 820 chipset and sharing key feature designs, both the AX6C and AX6C-L support 100MHz and 133MHz front-side bus, which are specifically designed to maximize the performance of the latest Intel Pentium II, Intel Pentium III and Intel Pentium III "Coppermine" processors. Gamers and other "overclockers" will appreciate the ability to ante up the front-side bus speed of the boards to support a maximum of 160MHz. Further improving performance, the AX6C and AX6C-L support a maximum of 1GB Rambus DRAM with either 3 or 2 RIMM slots.

The boards support PC600, PC700, and PC800 RIMM specifications, which position these boards on the cutting edge of memory technology. Additionally, both boards support 1X, 2X, and 4X AGP graphics. Multimedia features are enhanced with the addition of AC-97 2.1 audio on-board, and a full complement of serial, parallel, USB, game, speaker, mic and line ports provide instant expandability. A unique board design from AOpen further adds to the boards' flexibility and expansion.

The AX6C and AX6C-L include an additional slot -- the Audio/Modem Riser (AMR) -- that provides for future expandability by freeing the boards PCI slots. AOpen currently offers a V.90 56K modem that plugs into the new AMR slot, and plans to launch additional component solutions that take advantage of the AMR design, thus giving system builders and resellers even more options to customize PCs for their customers.

[GoT]Scimitar schrijft: "Ik las op Mic's 3D Zone over een reclame van AMD, je kan em hier downloaden.

Is wel strak filmpie, over een trein die op een vent af komt denderen, hij krijgt de keuze uit 2 computers om zo snel mogelijk de baan van de trein te veranderen, hij mag kiezen tussen een Intel Pentium III of een AMD Athlon. Hij kiest de P3 en wordt overreden... ":

Haha, z'n verdiende loon

hjs stuurde een link naar een artikel van Maximum PC waarin ze je uitleggen hoe je het beste je Game PC kan benchmarken. Check alle info hier.

I built my game rig about 2 months back, and like all perfomance freaks, I wanted to see how well my new system stacked up against the competition. So I did a little research to see how everybody "in the industry" tested thier game systems. Now before I get too much further, let me just say that there are about a million and one benchmark programs out there made by various developers that all measure various aspects of system performance. However, concerning game rigs all we really need to focus on is measuring the performance of our CPU and graphics sub systems. By measuring and combining these two through different testing methods, we derive our base and max 3D performance data.

BDW, als ik het artikel pagina 5 en 6 niet werken, haal effe de hoofdletter weg uit "Benchmark".

Whizzy schrijft: "AMD heeft dit jaar de Technical Excellence Award gewonnen met hun Athlon processor":

Just when we thought Intel had a lock on the high end of the x86-compatible marketplace, in came AMD with its formidable AMD Athlon chip. A talented design team led by Dirk Meyer created this processor, based on an entirely new core. Like the Pentium II and III, the Athlon is mounted in a module with separate SRAM chips for the L2 cache, and it has a special bus that connects the processor to the L2 cache chips. As with Intel's current processors, the L2 cache has a size of 512K, and the interface runs at half of the processor's clock speed.

The Athlon's design has several advantages over the Pentium III. The Athlon has four times the L1 cache of the Pentium III, can execute more RISC-like internal instructions per cycle, and can often decode more x86 instructions at a time. AMD's chip even beats the Pentium III in floating-point processing by a substantial margin. The Athlon uses a 200-MHz system bus, based on the Alpha 21264 bus, providing headroom for faster memory subsystems. Eventually, it may be used in everything from portables to multiprocessor units. For now, it's the chip that battles Intel for top PC performance.

Check deze page] bij ZDNET voor meer info.

Tjark schrijft: "Sony blijft leuke ideeën houden. Wat dacht je van een MP3 speler in pen formaat (ok, een beetje dikke pen, maar toch).":

Sony has jumped into the portable MP3 player scene today with the announcement of the VAIO Music Clip-a two-ounce wonder that oddly enough resembles the memory-erasing device used in the movie, "Men in Black". And speaking of memory, this sleek cylindrical Music Clip comes packed with 64MB of built-in flash memory, which holds up to 120 minutes of music when compressed in Sony's new ATRAC3 66kps audio format.

Just like Microsoft and AT&T, Sony is pushing to create a new secure online music standard to take the place of MP3. But while promoting their new audio standard Sony is still acutely aware of the proliferation of MP3's. The Music Clip sports a programmable decoding engine that plays MP3's and can be upgraded to play new formats such as files compressed through Microsoft's WMA. The Music Clip sports a USB port for rapid file transfers and is powered by a single AA battery that yields five hours of continuous playback. It will be on store shelves early next year in metallic silver or basic black stylings.

LoDi schrijft: "Cracke die zooi!":

Fuji daagt computergebruikers uit een bestand op de sites Thunderstore.com en Fuji-magnetics.nl te kraken. Lukt dat, ondanks de beveiligingssoftware ThunderSafe, dan levert dat een gloednieuwe auto - de VW-Beetle - op. In elk doosje met Fuji diskettes zit vanaf eind november een diskette met ThunderSafe, een programma voor het beveiligen van documenten, tekstgedeeltes en e-mailberichten. Om aan te tonen dat het beveiligingsprogramma werkt is deze kraakactie opgezet. De actie loopt tot het voorjaar van 2000.

Bovenstaande is gejat van Omroep.nl)

wildhagen schrijft: "Build 2183 van Windows 2000 is mogelijk RC3... hopelijk klopt het gerucht deze keer wel ":

According to reports at Comdex, Windows 2000 RC3 is supposed to be released today. The NTBeta FTP Site has build 2183 posted in a locked folder. Microsoft has mentioned a release later this week at COMDEX, we'll be waiting. Be ready.

Klik hier voor de NT Beta FTP server.

Hans schrijft: "Het ziet er naar uit dat Warner overstapt naar de streaming services van MicroSoft nadat er oorlog is ontstaan tussen Warner en RealNetworks over reclame en merkgezeur. Een beetje jammere ontwikkeling, gezien het feit dat MS nu ook op die markt een greep begint te krijgen.":

RealNetworks has lost a high-profile Hollywood deal after becoming embroiled in a bitter dispute with Warner Bros. over Webcast branding, sources say, opening the door to rival Microsoft in the process.

RealNetworks, by far the leader in streaming video and audio on the Web, had been in negotiations with Warner Bros. to Webcast the Drew Carey Show simultaneously with an airing of the TV program on ABC. The two companies had also discussed the use of RealNetworks technology and distribution channels for Metallica's "S&M" album.

Warner representatives said those talks collapsed, leading the company to turn to Microsoft's streaming technologies instead. Details of the dispute were not disclosed, but studio executives said they involved brash demands by RealNetworks to promote its brand.

The loss of the deal to archrival Microsoft is a clear blow to RealNetworks, particularly as industry figures show that the software giant may be gaining ground in the digital media market. Moreover, the fallout with a major Hollywood studio could bode ill for future deals in an industry that is infamous for exacting revenge.

"We're totally at war with RealNetworks," one Warner executive declared.

Hans schrijft: "De RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is pissed over de plannen van Napster over een stukje software waarmee je je MP3 collectie kan delen met de wereld. De RIAA is van mening dat Napster piraterij promoot":

Volgens de platenindustrie –verenigd in de machtige RIAA – is al het verkeer dat via Napster loopt illegaal. Volgens Napster valt dat wel mee. De twee partijen komen er niet uit via gesprekken en het dispuut zal in de rechtszaal worden voortgezet.

Hoewel Napster pas een paar maanden bestaat, is het bedrijf de afgelopen weken de inzet van felle discussies. Aan de ene kant vindt vooral de traditionele industrie dat Napster piraterij promoot. Anderen prijzen het bedrijf om zijn pogingen muziekliefhebbers met elkaar in contact te brengen en internetgemeenschappen ('communities') te creëren.

Napster maakt gratis software waarmee men bestanden op de eigen computer kan delen met anderen (zie nieuws van 13 oktober). Behalve de mogelijkheid om al dan niet illegale MP3'tjes te downloaden, kan er via de software ook gechat worden en muziek worden afgespeeld. Napster is nog altijd in Beta, onlangs is Napster 2.0 Beta 4 uitgebracht.

De muzieksite Webnoize berichtte voor het eerst over mogelijke stappen van de RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), volgens Wired is het nu zeker dat de Amerikaanse platenindustrie gerechtelijke stappen gaat nemen. De zaak spitst zich toe op copyright-inbreuk.

Hier is de link naar het complete artikel.

Abit heeft onlangs op de Comdex beurs aangekondigd ook de videokaarten markt in te stappen. Hun Siluro reeks zal gebruik gaan maken van nVidia's TNT2 en GeForce 256. 3D Wars heeft in een artikeltje wat meer info over de kaarten gepost.

First off, we have three models of the TNT2 chipset. Why in the world is Abit making a graphics card and having a TNT2 chip on it? I have no idea why, but lets just see what this one has to offer...

Obviously, the card will have all of the standard TNT2 features implemented on it. The GT2 Ultra will be a highly tweaked version of its predecessor, the GT2. Going down the chain, we have the GT2 will basically be the very standard TNT2 card you see everywhere else. Now, with Abit's history of graphics cards (what history), I'm not really sure if this card will have any great features to make it stand out from the rest. Anyway, moving back up, we have the GT2V. As for the complete differences of the GT2V and the GT2 Ultra/non-Ultra, Abit has not announced those just yet. Now we shall move on to the GeForce line...

Abit is plunging into a very competitive market here. Nvidia has released a very high end graphics processor and it is being made by quite a few companies right now. Each company is adding a special few perks to the card to make it stand out from the rest of them. Abit is now introducing the GF256 (catchy name, huh . What in the world is Abit planning on doing for this card that will help the industry? As for now, only Abit knows. They want to bring out these new product lines to increase their companies reach obviously. There is one thing you can count on for sure though and that's good support with these cards on Abit motherboards. Wait, there is one more thing about them...

Abit has also chosen to add a set of features that will enhance the Siluro graphics cards, mainly the GT2. It's only something that Abit can do and that is using their well known MaxGraph Software Utility to provide for hardware monitoring on the graphics cards. This is a great feature to have considering many users like to tweak their cards to the max. More performance equals the best buy for your dollar. The MaxGraph software is a very nice addition to the lineup.

Koen Crijns van Hardwareinfo.net heeft een errug uitgebreid artikel in elkaar geknutseld over multi-processor systemen. Hij behandelt o.a. de basics, de benodigdheden, de rol van het OS en hoe hoog de performance winst is. Dit zelfde artikel wordt trouwens ook gepubliceerd in het december nummer van Computer Totaal.

Het systeem dat wordt toegepast bij multi-processor computers heet SMP (Symmetric Multi Processing) en is een samenspel tussen processoren, moederbord en software. Zoals al vermeld, zorgt het besturingssysteem ervoor dat de benodigde bewerkingen zo goed mogelijk worden verdeeld over de twee processoren. We zullen als voorbeeld het besturingssysteem Windows NT beschouwen.

Om e.e.a. voor elkaar te krijgen, gebruikt Windows NT een zogenaamde Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). Deze HAL is een gedeelte van de kernel van het besturingsysteem dat de hardware “onzichtbaar” maakt voor de software. Je kunt de HAL het beste vergelijken met een doorgeefluik: de software geeft hardwaretaken door aan de HAL en de HAL geeft deze weer zo optimaal mogelijk door aan de aanwezige hardware. Hierdoor hoeft de software niets te weten van de gebruikte hardware en is het mogelijk dat hetzelfde softwarepakket op veel verschillende PC’s kan werken.

Een serie CPU-opdrachten die aan de HAL worden toegevoerd wordt een thread (vrij vertaald “draad”) genoemd. Normaal gesproken is één programma één grote thread. De HAL kan besluiten welke CPU een bepaalde thread gaat uitvoeren. Een enkele thread kan echter niet verdeeld worden over meerdere CPU’s: een standaard programma zal daarom ook maar van één CPU gebruik kunnen maken. Er zijn echter twee systemen waardoor een multi-processor systeem tot zijn recht kan komen: multi-tasking en multi-threading.

Lees hier de rest van Koen's artikel.

Obiwan is er snel bij: "Niks geen sabotages en dat soort lulkoek. Gewoon een bugje, die bij deze weer gefixed is. En nu weer fijn aan het werk.":

Hi all,

The SP6 issue, discovered last week, that affects Lotus Notes and some other Winsock applications has been fixed. Customers using these applications should install the corresponding Alpha or X86 hotfix after installing SP6. For more information on this issue, please read Microsoft KB Article Q245678.

JanKees schrijft: "Niet erg bekend hier, maar Outrageous was ooit een begrip. Dezelfde boys van toen zijn in gewijzigde samenstelling nog steeds goed bezig (in Zweden geloof ik, op www.absolutemm.com) met nVidia en Vortex spul. Nu dus een GeForce met DDR voor ca. fl. 800,= en 3 games naar keuze. Kromme vertaling, met dank aan Babelfish ":

Absolute Outrageous GeForce DDR-RAM

The Absolute manufacturer let us know that it was going within six days to put on sale his card video containing GeForce 256 and provided with 32 MB of DDR-RAM. The bundle will be probably about 2390 FF and one will find to card in addition software for reading DVD Intervideo DVD player as well as CD software: you can choose three free games in their complete version (I would be curious to know which all the same). Nevertheless, to 2390 FF, it seems that it is the least expensive of this kind of cards but we will see soon what she is worth really.

MB stuurde een link naar een artikel van BBC News, over een 160 Gigabit/s snelle glasvezel lijn van Bell Laboratories:

Bell Laboratories believe they have broken two world records in the use of optical fibres to transmit information.

Firstly, the scientists crammed 160 billion bits (gigabits) per second down 300 kilometres of optical fibre using only one wavelength, or colour, of light.

And, in a separate development, they have used 1,022 different colours of light to send simultaneous signals down a single optic fibre.

Zo'n kabel wil ik wil in mijn tuin planten .

mOnTEuR schrijft: "Dit is een mailtje dat ik via de (onofficiële) Superweb mailinglist ontving. Daar stond het volgend in, alhoewel met aardig wat spelfouten ":

Geachte heer Loodewijk, Inmiddels zijn de start tarieven van de Webgate 0800 dienst bekend: Inschrijfkosten eenmalig Fl 25,- inclusief BTW Maandelijkse kosten Fl 55,- inclusief BTW We zijn hiermee inderdaad een stuk duurder dan een andere provider die dezelfde dienst aanbiedt, echter proberen wij een kwalitatief betere dienst te bieden. Voor elke 30 inbelpoorten is er 2 megabit per seconde bandbreedte naar het internet vastgesteld. Dit is naar onze ervaring meer dan voldoende om elke client een snelle verbinding te leveren. Er zijn 600 poorten opgeleverd, en we verwachten deze week de oplevering van nog eens 300 poorten. Wij hopen u met deze nieuwsbrief wat meer informatie geboden te hebben, en reacties, ideeën en opmerkingen kunt u altijd sturen naar webgate@limit.nl

Webgate Internet start met 900 poorten met een 0800 inbelnummer. Beide Internet provider zijn fysiek aangesloten op alle verbindingen van het netwerkcentrum. FAQ over de nieuwe 0800 inbeldienst - Zijn er eenmalige inschrijfkosten? Ja, er komen lage, eenmalige inschrijfkosten van maximaal Fl 25,- per cliënt .

- Met hoeveel cliënten starten jullie op het inbelnetwerk?

Wij willen de eerste maanden starten met maximaal 8 cliënten per inbelpoort, om te bekijken of dit een realistisch aantal is. Het maximaal aantal cliënten dat in de eerste maand dus onmiddellijk zal kunnen starten met deze dienst is 7200. Met dit aantal zullen wij een aantal maanden bekijken of een 1 op 8 ratio voldoende inbelpoorten levert om iedereen tevreden te laten inbellen.

- Kan ik via Webgate op IRC en online games spelen?

Jazeker, dit kan. U krijgt immers een normaal IP adres.

- E-mail en homepage?

Er komt een POP3 e-mail adres client@webgate.nl Er zal geen homepageruimte beschikbaar gesteld worden

- En Usenet, hoe zit dat?

Wij proberen een Usenet server beschikbaar te stellen. Echter is het nog niet zeker dat er onmiddellijk gebruik gemaakt kan worden van Een locale Usenet nieuwsserver.

- Wordt de verbinding verbroken door Webgate?

Nee, in het begin zal de verbinding niet automatisch worden verbroken. Echter als teveel cliënten geen acceptabel gebruik maken van de verbinding en de verbinding nodeloos open laten staan, zullen wij deze optie overwegen.

- Kan ik altijd verbonden blijven?

Natuurlijk niet, het is immers geen vaste lijn verbinding en het is ook geen Volwaardige permanente verbinding. Het blijft een inbeldienst, alleen in dit geval betalen wij de telefoonrekening. Probeer ten alle tijden een acceptabel gebruik te maken van de dienst, natuurlijk zullen er cliënten zijn die meer op het Internet zullen zijn dan anderen, maar honderden uren per maand is niet realistisch voor de abonnementsprijzen die wij in gedachten hebben.

- Wat als er toch veel cliënten honderden uren per maand met Webgateverbonden zullen zijn?

In het geval dat cliënten geen acceptabel gebruik meer maken van de aangeboden dienst, dan hebben we een aantal opties: Een waarschuwing verzenden naar de betreffende cliënten, en indien er continue misbruik gemaakt blijft worden deze cliënten hun abonnement niet verlengen. Voorcliënten die honderden uren op het internet willen blijven een tweede 0800 inbelnetwerk aanvragen en een wat duurder abonnement voor dit 'heavy use account' vragen. Ten allen tijden willen wij benadrukken dat wij minder telefoonkosten betalen dan u, dus dat u altijd voordeliger uit zult zijn met dit abonnement, echter moeten de kosten/baten we realistisch blijven.

Wij hopen u met deze nieuwsbrief wat meer informatie geboden te hebben, en reacties, ideeën en opmerkingen kunt u altijd sturen naar webgate@limit.nl.

Hufkes schrijft: "De bron van dit verhaaltje is geheel onbekend, kreeg het via via toegestuurd. De inhoud is, zelfs als het onzin is, wel lachwekkend." :

Sony has announced its own computer operating system now available on its hot new portable PC called the Vaio. Instead of producing the cryptic error messages characteristic of Microsoft's Windows 95, 3.1, and DOS operating systems, Sony's chairman Asai Tawara said, "We intend to capture the high ground by putting a human, Japanese face on what has been -- until now -- an operating system that reflects Western cultural hegemony.

For example, we have replaced the impersonal and unhelpful Microsoft error messages with our own Japanese haiku poetry. The chairman went on to give examples of Sony's new error messages:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A file that big?
It might be very useful.
But now it is gone.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Web site you seek cannot be located but endless others exist
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ABORTED effort:
Close all that you have.
You ask way too much.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
First snow, then silence.
This thousand dollar screen dies
so beautifully.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
With searching comes loss and the presence of absence:
"My Novel" not found.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Tao that is seen
Is not the true Tao, until
You bring fresh toner.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Stay the patient course
Of little worth is your ire
The network is down
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A crash reduces your expensive computer to a simple stone.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yesterday it worked
Today it is not working
Windows is like that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
You step in the stream,
but the water has moved on.
This page is not here.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Out of memory.
We wish to hold the whole sky,
But we never will.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Having been erased,
The document you're seeking
Must now be retyped.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rather than a beep
Or a rude error message,
These words: "File not found."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Serious error.
All shortcuts have disappeared.
Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CoH weet te vertellen dat Corel z'n Linux distri gereleased heeft. Het hele gebeuren (althans, de standaard versie) kan neergehaalt worden vanaf linux.corel.com. Hier een hap uit de press release:

Corel Corporation (NASDAQ: CORL, TSE: COR) is pleased to announce that the much-anticipated Corel® LINUX® OS is now available as a not-for-charge download. Corel is launching the Corel LINUX OS today, at Fall Comdex in Las Vegas.

There are three versions of Corel LINUX OS: The no-charge download version, available today from Corel’s Web site at www.corel.com; the Standard version, which will sell for a suggested retail price of US $59.95*; and the Deluxe version, which will sell for a suggested retail price of US $89.95*. The Standard and Deluxe English versions will start shipping in North America only on November 30, 1999.** Computer users who would like the not-for-charge version on a CD can purchase the CD for US $4.95 (plus shipping and handling) from Corel customer service at 1-800-772-6735.

Er is een nieuwe beta van Be Opera verschenen, zo bericht Betanews. Geen idee wat er nieuw is, maar het zal wel beter zijn. Een 30 dagen trial kun je hier neerhalen.

Silicon Graphics heeft een nieuw type supercomputer aangekondigd dat zal draaien op Linux en Intel Itanium processors. Hier de info van Yahoo News:

Computer maker Silicon Graphics Inc (NYSE:SGI - news) Monday unveiled a new type of supercomputer based on Intel chips and the Linux operating system instead of its own proprietary technology.

It said the new design will help it make machines that are more powerful than anything now on the market, while also driving down costs to make them affordable to a larger group of customers.

[...] Its new machine also incorporates a different design, based on a cluster of individual computers, instead of one big one. The product now on display is a cluster of four Intel-based machines, however the company says it plans to eventually combine up to 100 machines.

The machines use Intel's Itanium microprocessor, and the free Linux operating system, which will also help limit cost.

Eric van Fastgraphics heeft een review gepost van de Conrad Conmark L2000 3D laser scanner, waarmee 3D objecten ingescant kunnen worden. Conrad is de eerste die een dergelijk apparaat voor een redelijke prijs aan kan bieden: 850 dollar is de overkomen:

The good part of Conrad 3D scanner is definitely the mechanism which is very precise. Both the laser and the table are adjustable in very small steps. The servo's used are obviously high-quality. The overall impression you get when you look at the L2000 is that of quality. I've been scanning dozens of objects with the L2000 and it never failed or cracked or made any dangerous noises. The mechanism inside is definitely built to last. Nothing but good stuff constructionwise.

Ik zag dat GA-Source een artikeltje heeft gepost over de leveringsproblemen met de nieuwe Coppermine en mobile Pentium III processors. Het probleem zou niet alleen liggen bij de onverwacht hoge vraag (volgens Intel), maar ook bij problemen die te maken hebben met de omschakeling naar het 0,18micron produktieproces:

Gelsinger played down the significance of the shortage. Intel always faces "exciting issues" when it switches to a new manufacturing process, and the problems it is experiencing with the Pentium IIIs are not atypical, Gelsinger said.

"We need more maturity with the [0.18-micron] process," he admitted.

The executive wouldn't be drawn out on whether Intel is having technical difficulties producing the chips, but said unexpectedly high demand, as well as disruptions caused by the recent earthquakes in Taiwan, contributed to the difficulties.

"Everybody wants more," Gelsinger said. "We are meeting all of our backlog commitments to customers; we can't satisfy all of their upside requests."

Overclockers.co.uk heeft een artikel gepost waarin het beschrijft hoe de AMD Athlon van z'n cartridge ontdaan kan worden:

All the chips I have currently done have been the same, with regards to case, two of the four plastic case retaining pins easy to pop off, one quite tough and the other stubborn as a mule!!!!! arrgh!!!!!. The trick is to be not too gentle with the chip. I just stand it up on the bench with the edge connector pointing upwards, with plastic case away from me (metal plate towards me), insert a 3mm flat blade screwdriver between the metal plate and the plastic case on the right hand side and push straight down. Make sure you keep the screwdriver level with the right edge of the metal plate so as not to hit the PCB. Having pushed the screwdriver right throuch to the bench, two of the retaining clips should now have been released.

Datalight heeft een BIOS ontwikkelt waarmee binnen 8 seconde geboot kan worden vanaf een RAM image op de harddisk. Hier een stukje uit de press release bij Vision Online:

Datalight, a provider of system software, today announced a new full-featured BIOS designed to comply with the Microsoft Easy PC initiative. The Datalight Legacy Free BIOS offers full-compatibility with all desktop standards including WindowsÒ, WinLightÔ, LinuxÔ, DOS and several real-time operating systems. It also supports the Advanced Micro Devices' EasyNow! reference platform. The BIOS is Year 2000 compliant, written in Solid Assembly Code, and scaleable to as small as 8KB.

Boot To Windows In Less Than 8 Seconds.

The new Datalight BIOS can suspend the RAM image to a disk drive and be powered down. When turned on, the BIOS restores Windows and all applications from disk, exactly where it was powered down in 8 seconds with 32MB of RAM. The entire system, including the RAM, is fully powered down and can be unplugged, or even shipped in this hibernate state. With this feature, PC manufacturers can ship systems with an internet service provider's log-on screen already open and ready to launch upon system power-up. In this way, even novice computer users can be up surfing the web in less than 10 minutes.

"Our Legacy Free BIOS not only meets the specific needs of information appliances, such as the AMD EasyNow! platform, but also embedded systems manufacturers", said Andrew Poliak, Strategic Alliance Manager at Datalight. "For example, it boots in less than two seconds. This means that hand-helds and other embedded devices can be up and running with the flick of a switch - no waiting for the sign-on screen to load."

Target PC heeft een review van de Creative Labs SBLive! X-Gamer op het net gegooid:

The main competitor for this card is the SoundBlaster Live! Value. The Value supports the same surround sound modes and is also software upgradable with Live!Ware. While the value can still be found in stores with the same $99 pricetag I found it online for close to $50 at several vendors. The Value lacks the digital out plug but I think most won’t miss it since there are many analog speaker sets available with excellent sound reproduction.

The other competitors for this card are all based on Aureal chipsets. Iomagic recently released new cards with Aureal A3D 2.0 surround support that begin at $50. Aureal has announced that their latest drivers will support EAX emulation. Early reports on Aureal cards using EAX emulation aren’t entirely positive but as these are only beta drivers one can only expect better results with the final release. Most new games will support either A3D or EAX but I have found that A3D is a better surround environment for games. Creative’s EAX sounds great but there is a slight advantage with the sound produced by Aureal’s A3D. It wouldn’t surprise me to find Creative adding A3D emulation to their cards. The one thing to remember about Aureal’s cards are that there are numerous reports of problems with multi-processor based systems. If a dual processor board is in your future you are limited with your choices but there are no reports of problems with Creative’s cards and SMP.

Storage Review heeft een review gepost van de <copy> Quantum Fireball lct QM326000LCT-A </paste>. Leuk, waar zo'n naam waar je een aparte organizer voor moet aanschaffen om er uberhaupt iets van te kunnen onthouden... Gelukkig mogen we 'm ook kortweg 'Vuurbal lct' noemen. De schijf bestaat uit platters met een capaciteit van 8,7Gb en heeft een 512Kb klein cache. De rotatiesnelheid bedraagt 5400rpm. Yup, het betreft hier geen high-end schijf:

The Fireball lct's low-level scores provide an interesting contrast to those turned in by the Maxtor DiamondMax VL20. As one would expect from it's advertised seek time, the lct brings the fastest access time we've yet seen from a 5400rpm drive. It slides by the VL20's access time scores by margins of more than a millisecond. Sounds insignificant, doesn't it? Perhaps, but that same margin of difference is what one experiences in rotational latency reduction when jumping from 7200rpm to 10,000rpm operation. As one would expect, the VL20's higher linear data density allow it to transfer data at rates up to 5 MB/sec faster than the lct. How do these differences translate into high-level performance, though?

The Fireball comes out on top in Win9x WinBench 99 scores. It bests the DiamondMax by a 3% margin in the Business Disk WinMark and a 12% margin in the High-End WinMark. The lct loses some ground to the VL20 in NT, however, where it trails the Maxtor drive by 4% in Business tests and 2% in the High-End.

Eerdere bericht van Gamespot dat de Diamond Viper II niet over een T&L engine zal beschikken, zijn volgens Savage2000.com bullshit:

We have seen a report stating that Viper II will not be supporting T&L. As far as we are concerned this is a fabricated report. We have met with S3 this afternoon, and nobody ever mentioned that T&L would not be included. The drivers supporting hardware T&L might not be ready at the time you bring your board home, but a quick update will follow soon. We will talk to S3 about this issue tomorrow and get a clarification on it. We will also make sure that person responsible receives a complimentary spanking session. This is take directly out of Viper II press release today.

"Additionally, with S3’s fully integrated geometry engine, Viper II is capable of performing all 3D transformation and lighting computations in hardware to accelerate next-generation content with 4-10X the polygon and lighting complexity of today’s applications."

Overclocker's Workbench heeft een screenshot gepost van de VGA BIOS technologie die een maand geleden door AOpen werd aangekondigd. Met behulp van het VGA BIOS kunnen belangrijke settings van de videokaarten, zoals chip voltage (kan leuk worden voor overklokken ), memory en core clock worden ingesteld:

Because VGA has embedded more functions including DVD/TV-out/Capture/DFP/3D virtual reality glass… These functions need more settings to adjust. Also in VGA chip, the internal architecture becomes more complex like 4X/2X/1X AGP, 3D engine... It’s time for a computer system to have a VGA BIOS setup to simplify VGA functions usage and fully drive the VGA power. We believe it is an important impact in VGA market that AOpen releases VGA BIOS technology to the market. It will be a trend too since VGA is going to high-end application field. VGA BIOS technology is too essential now.

PA3030 with nVidia Ultra-TNTII/32MB fastest SGRAM/TV-out and VGA BIOS technology build in. We make Ultra TNTII Ultra on AOpen PA3030. The important BIOS features are:

“CHIP VOLTAGE ADJUST” - Keep stable and high performance adjustment while operating under high core / memory clock. (All voltages is within safety range of chip voltage)

“MEMEORY CLOCK ADJUST” – Graphic card memory clock adjustment to enhance performance

“CORE CHIP CLOCK ADJUST” - Chip core clock adjustment to enhance performance

There are more practical functions also built in VGA BIOS like TV-FORMAT/Boot Up devices… We believed there will be more items needed to put into BIOS to make a central control. Central functions in BIOS make user easily use and control the card’s functions well. For examples, we all know the core clock only can be adjusted under window95/98 before. Now we have VGA BIOS technology, that can adjust it without O.S. limitation. So users can fully enjoy the power of PA3030.

AOpen VGA BIOS team invites users to enjoy the convenience of VGA BIOS. PA3030 will be the first product with AOpen VGA BIOS technology. And we are preparing more VGA products with VGA BIOS technology in future.

iXBT Labs heeft een overzicht met het hardware nieuws van de afgelopen maand neer gemikt. Hier een stukje over de bewegingen op de geheugenmarkt:

The things with DDR DRAM stood much better this month, which could probably be just an illusion on DR DRAM's background. Micron was actively promoting this memory type, having shown a few samples of memory modules on 266MHz chips, which cost less but could boast a higher bandwidth than 800MHz DR DRAM. IBM in its turn opened a new web-site supporting DDR DRAM modules and systems manufacturers. However, DDR appeared pretty successful on other fronts as well. Infineon started supplying 32Mbit 200MHz DDR SGRAM chips for the latest generation graphics cards, and Nintendo played Rambus false and decided on DDR VCM DRAM from NEC for its Dolphin.

PC133 SDRAM also kept improving towards the chip size increase. One of the leading memory modules manufacturer Corsair Micro set up the supplies of 256MB modules based on 128Mbit PC133 SDRAM chips. However, we think that the most important event in terms of memory manufacturing increase turned out the beginning of the commercial chip production on the first factory in the world using 300mm silicon wafers. This factory was Semiconductor300 - Motorola and Infineon joint venture. The most popular today 64Mbit SDRAM chips manufactured with 0.25 micron technology were the first products of this giant. Theoretically the cost of the products made from 200mm wafers is expected to be 30-40% higher than that of the products made from 300mm ones. And hence within a couple years most largest semiconductor manufacturers are about to shift to 300 wafers.

Zoals we van iXBT gewend zijn weer een erg informatief artikel. Lees 'm hier.

Onze vrienden van Philips hebben op de Comdex een nieuwe CD-Rewriter en 2 nieuwe DVD-ROM drives vrij gelaten. De PCRW804K (oh dank lieve Sint, voor deze heerlijke naam) CD brander toast op achtvoudige snelheid en herfikt op 4-speed. De PCVD104R en PCVD104K DVD drives lezen op 10-speed DVD en 40-speed CD snelheid. Hier wat soep uit de press release:

The Philips PCRW804K ReWritable Drive

The newest addition to the wide variety of Philips CD-ReWritable drives is the PCRW804K. The internal 804K utilizes an IDE/ATAPI interface for direct connection to the motherboard of almost any Pentium PC. The fastest of the Philips drives, the PCRW 804K reads CD-ROMS at 32X, writes at a blazing 8X rate, and rewrites at a 4X rate. For a smooth high-speed data transfer and writing, the Philips drives utilize a 4 MB buffer to reduce buffer underruns. Designed for serious desktop computer use, the PCRW804K offers speedy data storage and retrieval. With the ease-of-use, versatility, and storage capacity that these Philips drives offer, computer users will consider their floppy drives obsolete.

The Philips PCVD104R and PCVD104K DVD-ROM Drives

Also making its debut are the Philips PCVD104R and PCVD104K DVD-ROM upgrade kits. Enjoy home entertainment by turning your PC into a desktop multimedia theater with the new 10X DVD-ROM products.

With the 10X/40X DVD drive, Philips makes it possible to upgrade a PC with DVD without trading off CD-ROM read-back performance. The drive boasts a maximum data transfer rate of up to 13,580 KBs per second in DVD mode (10X), while offering an incredible maximum data transfer rate of up to 9,600 KBs per second in CD mode (40X).

The PCVD104 will turn an average PC into an engaging, interactive entertainment system, providing seamless, razor-sharp playback of video and sound from both DVD and CD-ROM titles. Consumers can experience the brilliant clarity of DVD-Video movies, play the hottest computer video games, benefit from interactive educational DVD or CD-ROM programs, and listen to all their favorite Audio CDs -- all on their PCs.

The 104K drive features a high-capacity DVD-ROM drive for high-speed data transfer, as well as an MPEG2 board with REALMagic technology that features analog video overlay technology for virtually all VGA cards and Dolby AC-3 with S/PDIF digital audio output. The kit also includes connection cables for TV and application software with a simple-to-operate user interface for playback of DVD-Video titles on a TV or PC. Suggested street price for the PCVD104K DVD-ROM Drive with a REALMagic(TM) MPEG2 board is $249.

Volgens ZDNet UK veroorzaakt Service Pack 6 voor Windows NT4 problemen in combinatie met Lotus Notes:

A potentially very serious bug in Windows NT Service Pack 6, which is actually meant to repair existing problems with the operating system, was uncovered Monday.

The flaw means that users will be denied access to Lotus Notes on NT unless they have been granted administrative access to the entire network. This opens up a potentially disastrous scenario in which network administrators could be forced to grant users root access to a network, enabling them to use important databases and email facilities. This could mean grave security breaches or errors in network configuration.

Op /. wordt al gesuggereerd dat het hier om doelbewuste sabotage gaat (IBM/Lotus en Microsoft zijn niet echt goede vrienden)...

Een afgeslankte versie van BeOS, genaamd 'Stinger', is door National Semiconductor verkozen tot besturingssysteem voor hun WebPad internet appliance (best wel cool dingetje trouwens - portable touchscreen met draadloze verbinding naar computer):

Alternative OS developer Be's scheme to break into the embedded market took a major step forward today, when its cut-down version of the BeOS, codenamed Stinger, was selected by National Semiconductor as the OS component of its WebPad Internet appliance reference design.

Both companies were keen to stress that their partnership isn't a formal one -- so any OEM that licenses WebPad will have to license Stinger separately -- and it's not clear whether Stinger is being used in all WebPad-based reference platforms or simply for those aimed at multimedia applications. Still, it's good news for Be, which has come to see the embedded market, and the Internet appliance arena in particular, as the place where it can really make its mark.

Zie The Register voor meer info.

Ga'ash Soffer van Voodoo Extreme heeft nog zo'n leuk/stom onheilspellend 3dfx-gaat-dood artikeltje in elkaar gedraaid. Hier een stuk van de taart:

Many of you will remember the original Voodoo2 also came in an SLI flavor which, bluntly stated, put the smack down on every board available. The cost? $5-600. The difference between the Voodoo2 SLI solution and the upcoming Voodoo5/6000 is the longevity. Voodoo2 SLI is still a more than capable product, provided you are willing to sacrifice 32bit color. And it's been nearly two years. Voodoo5/6000 will dominate the performance market, but for two years? Highly doubtful for a variety of reasons, but most notably, lack of T&L. In two years, T&L will be widely used and an expected feature for high-end products. The difference between T&L and non-T&L support will not be like the difference between 16 and 32bit color. It will be extreme. Some games may even require T&L speeds only available in hardware to run properly. Voodoo5/6000 will not be able to compete with the big boys in two years; Voodoo2/SLI can today. Another immediate threat to Voodoo5/6000 is the Glaze3D. Unless Bitboys scratch the project, Glaze3D should be available at most six months after Voodoo5/6000. Glaze3D/1200 looks to provide comparable performance while the bigger 2400 version looks like it will lay the smack down on the $600 Voodoo5/6000. The price? Most likely much less than $600. Who knows what NVIDIA, ATI and Matrox will have in store for us shortly after the arrival of Voodoo5. Voodoo5/6000 will provide more longevity than all the other new Voodoo solutions, but two years as an enthusiast solution? Not a chance. One year? Probably not. Probably because of the irresistible.

Micronas brengt een USB audio controller op de markt die het gebruik van een geluidskaart in principe overbodig maakt. Waarschijnlijk zal de CPU belasting van dit systeem wel weer zodanig hoog zijn dat het geen optie is voor de power user, maar voor trage Aldi dozen is het wellicht wel een leuke oplossing. Hier wat info uit de press release bij GA-Source:

Micronas has introduced a Universal Serial Bus (USB) audio controller that renders the use of sound cards unnecessary in the future. The chip contains everything required to balance a loudspeaker enclosure and connect speakers directly to a personal computer without the use of a sound card which makes retrieving high-quality music from the PC (e.g., via MP3) possible at a low price.

The USB standard facilitates hot plug-in, which enables peripherals to be directly plugged into the PC without having to switch it off and reconfigure. The audio controllers are designed for applications such as digital loudspeakers, speakers in flat panel displays, speakers in VGA screens, home amplifiers, amplifiers in cars and in receivers.

[...] The integration on the chip of a DSP (96 MIPS, 48 MHz, pipelined), EEPROM, digital-to-analog converter, operation amplifier, and a USB controller gives speaker manufacturers a wide scope of new options. One design can be used for different speakers, only the content of the EEPROM needs to be matched with the corresponding speaker type. Once created, designs can be used repeatedly. Furthermore, the manufacturer can pass on tonal characteristics measured in the laboratory, for example supplying classic, jazz or pop settings as presets. This allows a PC and speaker system equipped with the UAC 3552A to be configured for optimal performance.

nVidia heeft aangekondigd dat het HDTV software playback voor de GeForce kaarten zal demonstreren op de Comdex beurs:

Nov. 16, 1999--NVIDIA(TM) Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA - news) today announced it will demonstrate a new, industry leading software HDTV solution at Fall Comdex, Las Vegas, November 15-19, 1999. Combining its latest graphics architecture with RAVISENT's Cinemaster HDTV software decoder, NVIDIA is the first company to enable this powerful capability, providing PC OEMs with a high-quality HDTV playback solution at a lower price point than comparative hardware-based solutions.

``HDTV is one of the most exciting developments of the new millennium,'' said Dan Vivoli, vice president of marketing at NVIDIA. ``NVIDIA intends to lead the way by offering all the pieces for cost-effective DTV equipped PCs. This exciting new digital platform will make the transition to HDTV on the PC easier and faster for our PC OEMs and their customers.''

NVIDIA GPU Architecture Enables Hardware and Software HDTV

Solutions

RAVISENT's Cinemaster HDTV software, when combined with the powerful HDTV motion comp (MC) engine based on NVIDIA's GeForce 256 architecture, delivers full-quality decode and display of all HDTV formats. This includes the 720 progressive format (720p) at 60 frames per second and the 1080 interlaced format (1080i) at 30 frames per second on any of today's high-performance, mainstream CPUs.

``Without NVIDIA's GPU architecture, the CineMaster HDTV software solution would require a processor not yet available today to decode all HDTV resolutions at an acceptable rate,'' said Mike Harris, co-founder and chief technology officer at RAVISENT. ``With their powerful HDTV MC engine, NVIDIA has allowed us to decode and display 720p and 1080i across a number of high performance processors offered today.

3D Concept heeft z'n errug handige 3D Chip comparison tabelletje van een update voorzien. De maandag door 3dfx aangekondigde Voodoo4 en Voodoo5 varianten zijn nu ook in het lijstje opgenomen.

Sow, best wel heftig nieuws (of heb ik iets gemist?!) floepen ze daar bij Gamespot uit: de Diamond Viper II, de eerste incarnatie van S3's Savage2000, zal _niet_ over onboard geometrie acceleratie beschikken!

First, the upcoming Viper II, featuring S3's Savage 2000 graphics chip, will not be supporting transform and lighting (or more commonly referred to as T&L) in hardware. Like its competitor 3dfx, S3 says the gaming market isn't ready for T&L just yet and decided not to add the feature. And since the only game that currently uses the hardware technique is Quake III Arena (a game that actually only uses transform and not lighting), gamers may be able to wait. In the meantime, the Viper II will be able to render T&L through software.

The next iteration of the Viper, a 64MB Savage 2000, will be clocked higher than the Viper II's 125/155 and will include hardware T&L. Gamers won't see the 64MB card until the end of Q1 2000.

Update: volgens Savage2000.com berust bovenstaand bericht van Gamespot op een misverstand, zie deze nieuwsposting.

Battlax stuurde me onderstaande links naar wazige japanse site (aka Akuba's PC Watch), met foto's van de Comdex:

- Athlon 900MHz, SuperG(Athlon 1GHz), K6-2/533, Joshua
- New Voodoo
- 12x CD-RW / 5.7GB ORB / ORB Video Recorder etc.

Dave Morrison van Voodoo Extreme heeft bij z'n meeting met 3dfx op de Comdex wat verhelderende info over de stroomvoorziening van de Voodoo5 meegepikt:

A. The Voodoo 5 5000 and 5500 will use an internal power supply that connects to the power supply the same way a hard drive does. Click here for a pic of this one. If you look at the top right of the card you'll see the plastic connector for the power input.

B. The V5 6000 will use an external power supply at this time dubbed internally the "VoodooVolt". The power transformer looks just like the one that comes with most laptops. If you want to see a pic of it, click here.

HardOCP heeft een artikeltje in elkaar gedouwd waarin ze uitleggen welke mods je aan je socket370 plank moet aanbrengen om het ding geschikt te maken voor de nieuwe FC-PPGA Coppermine's. Intel heeft namelijk een paar vuile grappen uitgehaald waardoor oude socket370 modderborden onbruikbaar worden met de Cumine:

We have all heard the nasty rumors of Intel changing pin outs for the new FC-PPGA PIIIs, you know those Coppermine thingamajigs? Well not only are they ugly rumors but for the most part they are not rumors at all, they are stone cold fact.

What Intel has done this time round to throw us off from using our current Socket370 Celeron Boards, such as the beloved ABIT BP6, is move the Location of the #RESET pin. It has been moved from CPU location X4, where it resides on PPGA Celerons, to Location AH4 on the new FC-PPGAs.

We think it might be possible to convert an existing PPGA Socket370 motherboard to Run FC-PPGAs with the addition of a “pull up line” from location X4, to AH4. Without this pull up line the CPU would just hang in reset, just like if you held your figure on the reset button. (You know the way you have to a lot with Windows98!! J)

Verder moet er ook nog een probleempje met de voltage pins worden gefixt. HarOCP kent de oplossing.