Alcatel en Gore melden in opperste blijheid dat zij de wereld een 10 Gigabit verbinding over een 500 meter glasvezel touwtje hebben gedemonstreerd:

Paris, March 7, 2000 - For the first time, Alcatel and Gore have demonstrated serial 10Gb/s transmission over 500m of 62.5 µm multimode fiber with an 850nm VCSEL.

To date, 10Gb/s transmission has only been demonstrated across 50µm multimode fibers. While confirming these results with 50/125, Alcatel and Gore have also shown the potential for 10Gb/s transmission across 62.5 µm multimode fiber, to satisfy the requirements to date under consideration by the committee IEEE 802.ae on the next evolution of Local Area Networks. In particular, 10Gbit/s Ethernet across a minimum of 300m of new generation of multimode fiber.

"850 nm VCSELs have proven to be the lowest cost laser source for Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel", says Dave Welch, Business Leader at Gore. "Our work with Alcatel demonstrates that VCSELs operating at 10 Gb/s can be used with laser-optimized, multimode fiber to address next generation LAN applications like 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Gore is working with leading companies like Alcatel to help develop standard, low cost 10 Gb/s solutions."

The fiber tested is part of the Alcatel's new generation of multimode fibers**. Optimized in the 850 nm window and associated with a prototype high speed 10Gb/s VCSEL from W.L. Gore and Associates. This fiber confirms, once again, that a multimode fiber coupled with a VCSEL source technology is an economic solution meeting the ever increasing demand for bandwidth in future Local Area Networks.

According to Armand DEDIEU, director of the multimode unit of the fiber product line of Alcatel, " these results are extremely encouraging as they demonstrate Alcatel's initiative to provide solutions that meet our customers needs. Both now, with 1Gb/s Ethernet using our new enhanced multimode fiber and for the future at 10Gb/s. These results confirm our dedication to fulfill the requirements of an increasingly demanding market".

Thanks mnijhof voor de tip.

Bavaria schrijft: "Hier op de officiele pagina van MSI kondigen ze een nieuw programma aan voor de BX Master en MSI i820 moederborden, "Fuzzy Logic". Geloof het of niet, maar dit programma overclocked automatisch je systeem tot het maximale stabiele niveau! Leuk, dan weet je als Tweaker waar je moet beginnen ":

MSI announced Fuzzy logic technology which applies to its BX-Master and i820 board only. This technology automatically verifies feasible frequency of CPU and stability of the system and sets the best optimal condition for the system.

Here's what you can do with it.

AI Concept
Detects and Saves Optimized CPU Setting by Executing Many Tests on CPU & Platform
Pre-Test to Keep The Stability of System

Auto
For an optimal CPU frequency
The software conduct the test for users

Manual
For a maximum CPU frequency
Users can manually setup the F.S.B. they want

Easy Control
1 Touch Key
Just press auto key to achieve overclocking
2 Operation Modes
Not only beginners but also power users enjoy the feature
3 Useful CPU Information
Useful CPU Information Identifies true CPU specifications for users

Computable bericht dat Versatel in samenwerking met het Amerikaanse Northpoint in Nederland, België en Duitsland DSL aan gaat bieden. De diensten zullen onder de bedrijfsnaam Versapoint vanaf deze zomer aangeboden worden:

Het Nederlandse telecombedrijf Versatel gaat zich richten op het aanbieden van DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). Dit maakte de onderneming vanochtend bekend. DSL is een technologie die snel Internet mogelijk maakt via de traditionele koperen telefoonlijnen. Versatel gaat hiervoor samen met het Amerikaanse bedrijf Northpoint, leverancier van breedband, een aparte entiteit oprichten met de naam Versapoint.

Thanks TrickTrac voor de tip.

De mannen van The Tech Zone hebben een review klaarliggen van de Altec Lansing ATP3 speakerset. Naast een vrij cool uiterlijk blijkt deze set ook een erg goed geluidje te produceren voor gamers en movie freaks:

The sound card I used for testing was the Diamond MX300. For sound quality tests I used two formats, Games and DVD movies. The games that I tested the sound quality on were: Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament. In Quake 3 Arena, these speakers took it to a whole new level. Unlike most speakers that have both full and mid range frequencies (in some cases bass as well) coming from one speaker, the ATP3 breaks these signals up and places them into the proper speaker. Due to the fore mentioned process, you get a fuller mix of sound, and because of it you hear every footstep and gunfire. This only adds to the enjoyment of the game and not to mention adds to your skill. Unreal Tournament it’s simply unreal. When I tested this game out, I had the subwoofer on my desk and due to the down firing process of the speaker; I swear my desk shook when I fired the redeemer.

For DVD movies I test the following: The Matrix, Double Jeopardy and Donna Summer: Live and More Encore! (I grew up listening to her, love her!). In The Matrix Bass frequencies were more present, this is due to the number of fight and explosion scenes they have. Double Jeopardy sounded great, since the movie has a broader range of sounds; it provided a good test for the ATP3. The ATP3s were really humming in this movie, sound re-creation was great, I never heard distortion of any kind; watching the movie was like being in a movie theater. Donna Summer: Live and More Encore! Sounded awesome, sound re-production was flawless; every drumbeat was heard, and Donna Summer’s vocals were clear.

VROEM! schrijft: "Ik kwam vandaag weer bij mijn dealer om te kijken hoe het staat met de AK72. De release is weer uitgesteld, dit keer drie weken, dit keer omdat de VIA chip nog niet geheel stabiel was. Ben nu benieuwd of de andere fabrikanten dit probleem niet hebben".

Op de CeBIT kregen we in een gesprek met AOpen's marketing manager Loes de Vlaam en product manager Chris Liu wel te horen dat er 'issues' waren met de KX133 chipset, maar dat deze o.a. zijn opgelost door de plaatsing van extra condensators onder de KX133 chipset.

Dean Kent schreef in zijn March Industry Update het volgende:

Unfortunately, because VIA has limited resources, the focus on the P6 chipsets means that less attention is paid to the KX133. On the other hand, since the KX133 is essentially the Apollo Pro133 chipset with an EV6 bus, there are few compatibility and stability issues to deal with.

What the limited focus has meant is that the rollout is not ramping quite as quickly as first intended. In addition, it appears that there is only one clock chip for the Athlon, and it reportedly has some loading problems when 3 DIMM slots are populated.

BoomGames brengt ons een review van de Quantum Atlas V hardddisk, da's een dikke 18GB SCSI drive met 7200rpm en een gemiddelde seek time van slechts 6.3ms. Hieronder een hap uit de review, lees hier de rest.

Pros: Quiet. Fast, with 6.3 ms average seek times and a very fair 9.7 ms random seek time, this drive is no slacker. SCSI! I have said it before, and I will say it again, god bless SCSI. Dedicated bandwidth for devices is GREAT and can go miles towards helping smooth out the jitters in your machine, no matter what the use (ok, well, if you only check e-mail and browse the net, it probably doesn’t matter much to you).
Cons: Friggin expensive. For around $488 you too can own an Atlas V 18GB drive, which is actually fair considering most 18GB SCSI drives will cost you a fair amount more than that. SCSI, don’t have SCSI in your machine yet? Tisk tisk, that’s going to cost ya’. Luckily it will come in handy for more than just a HDD, Scanners, CD-ROM’s, DVD-ROM’s and CD-RW’s are all using SCSI nowadays and it can make life so much easier on you.

Volgens The Register hebben diverse distributeurs gemeld dat er momenteel een tekort is aan Athlon moederborden. Het probleem lijkt zich voornamelijk concentreren rond de KX133 borden, waarvan de supplies zich op dit moment beperken tot planken van Epox. Verwacht wordt dat KX133 mobo's pas in april goed leverbaar zijn. Weer uitstel dus...

There are limited supplies from companies like Epox, but large mainboard firm First International Corporation (FIC), like Via a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics, is delaying pushing the boards out of the door. However, on the other hand, FIC is the first third party mobo maker to have its mainboard certified by AMD as suitable for the 1GHz Athlon.

We understand that Chaintech, another big Taiwanese mobo manufacturer, is also chary about pushing the boards out of the door and still wishes to further test the KX-133 because of concerns over reliability.

FIC is telling smaller system builders that widespread availability of KX-133 mobos is unlikely until April. "Good" boards are being supplied to OEMs with large orders first.

Ik lees net bij EETimes dat de optical switch van Agilent uit deze nieuwsposting van eerder vandaag gebruik maakt van HP's inktjet technologie. De werking van het apparaat is...vaag?:

Agilent Technologies Inc. described its efforts to develop an optical cross-connect switch component based on technology used in ink-jet printers from Hewlett-Packard Co. At the Optica Fibers Conference on Tuesday (March 7), J.E. Fouquet of Agilent reported that her group has developed a 4 x 4 optical device based on a silica planar lightwave circuit matrix.

Trenches are etched in the matrix of the Champagne switch, and a refractive index-matching fluid is used to fill the trenches. The path of the light then is directed by the location of a large bubble in the fluid, which is generated by a thermal actuator using technology from ink-jet printers. Agilent used the 4 x 4 prototype to design a 32 x 32 multi-stage optical switch, configured as a Clos-style multistage array. When hermetically sealed, the switch has a projected lifetime of 20 years.

Wegens problemen met het afspelen van DVD's en het saven van data roept Sony alle 8MB memory cards, die in de nieuwe Playstation II worden geleverd, terug. Ook zijn er volgens Gaming Age meldingen van overhitte en hangende PS2's:

Vendors in Japan and Asia have notified NCS of numerous issues with the Playstation 2 8M memory card. It appears that playing Ridge Racer V will cause corruption of the card data which in turn destroys the DVD drivers that are loaded onto the card. DVD functionality is thus removed from the PS2 and the user will have to re-load the DVD drivers onto the 8M card. Sony have issued an official recall of the PS2 memory card in Japan.

Other problems reported to NCS over the past 48 hours include "skippy" DVD playback where the sound skips intermittently when watching a movie on the PS2. The DVD drivers also appear to have problems recognizing Japanese region 2 DVDs as valid media, and rejects attempts at playback. Finally, double sided, dual layer DVDs require numerous attempts before the PS2 will accept the disc or perform the layer switch. As such, any PS2 units that NCS imports this week will contain a defective PS2 memory card that will need to be returned to our vendors. If the problem is more severe and somehow related to the actual PS2 hardware, NCS will not offer the console for sale until all issues are resolved. At this time however, the problems appear to be limited to the memory card and DVD drivers.

More limited are reports of problems with the PS2 overheating and "freezing" after a certain amount of time. Looks like we'll have to do what we did with the Japanese DC launch where every unit had to be tested and validated for integrity before shipping...

ZDNet heeft een artikeltje neer gemikt over Intel's 1GHz Pentium III processor, die overigens een dikke $300 dollar minder duur zal zijn dan de Athlon 1GHz, die $1.299 dollar gaat kosten. Hieronder de informatie over Dell's systeem gebaseerd op de 1GHz P3, die een slordige $5.999 kost!

Dell will begin taking orders Wednesday on the Special Edition Dell Dimension, a high-end PC that it will sell in limited quantities with the Intel 1GHz chip. The desktop will be pricey at $5,999; however, Dell feels it will appeal to certain consumers because of a load of high-end equipment.

"We're adapting our offer at the high-end for the customer who wants to have the PC equivalent of a Porsche Boxter," said Ron Van Dell, general manager for the Dimension Product Group. "This is a showcase. It's not something we think people are going to buy thousands per day of."

The PC will come with the 1GHz Pentium III, 256MB of Rambus Direct RAM, a 30GB hard drive, an NVIDIA GeForce video card with 64MB of DDR memory, a 12-speed DVD-ROM drive and an eight-speed CD-ReWritable drive. The PC will also include a 19-inch monitor.

With this equipment, Van Dell says the PC will "smoke every benchmark."

Dell will offer the Special Edition "until (the 1GHz Pentium III) gets to the point where it is mainstream," Van Dell said.

Lead times on the system, which is admittedly a low-volume product, are expected to be about 10 days.

Jurgen schrijft: "Op Oom Tom's hardware page staat een zeer uitgebreid artikel waar diverse 133MHz FSB moederborden worden vergeleken. En jawel, wat blijkt? Het goede oude BX moederbord met PC133 geheugen verslaat de nieuwe intel i820 met het nieuwe en peperdure RDRAM. De VIA Appollo Pro 133 presteert in een aantal gevallen zelfs beter dan de i820. Tja, als dit niet het einde van RDRAM wordt ......":

I know that the inclusion of an overclocked 440BX-platform will upset quite a few of you, but it will delight a lot of others at the same time. Even though this old chipset was running beyond spec, its exceptionally good results should make us wonder what is going on in the platform market right now. Can we really accept that the latest Intel-platforms with the super-expensive RDRAM are not even able to beat the 'tuned' version of its two-year-old predecessor? Shall we sit idly, nod and go buy those platforms without even getting any real benefit? For most computer users the new chipsets i820 and i840 present the biggest fraud in the IT-industry that I have personally ever encountered. RDRAM seems nothing but a very bad tasting joke, unless you really use workstation type OpenGL-software. Maybe we should wonder why AMD never jumped on the RDRAM-bandwagon. Maybe AMD was wiser to stay away from it and count on the upcoming DDR-SDRAM memory solution. Could it be that Intel is only trying to get its return of investment out of Rambus? I really wonder what is going on here, but I know for a fact that I will stick to the BX-platform in my personal systems or that I will switch to an AMD Athlon-platform. I am simply disappointed and can only shake my head.

Check hier de rest van de info.

Naast gisteren een review te hebben geplaatst van de AMD Athlon 1GHz, is vandaag de Pentium III aan de beurt om door Anand getest te worden. Intel zal overigens alleen een 133MHz FSB versie van de 1GHz P3 releasen, waardoor je een i820 of een VIA Apollo Pro 133A mobo zal moeten gebruiken. Uit de benchmarks bleek verder dat de Pentium 3 onder applicaties en games meestal nét iets sneller is dan de Athlon. Het verhaal is echter compleet anders in de Specviewperf scores, waar een een 1GHz P3 + RDRAM combo het zelfs moet afleggen tegen een Athlon 800 met KX133 mobo. Pijnlijk :

For content creation applications and games (in most cases), the 1GHz Pentium III is faster than the 1GHz Athlon. Whether this is because specific SSE optimizations or because of the full speed on-die L2 cache of the Pentium III depends on the particular game and/or application, but for the most part the Pentium III will come out on top.

Things change once you enter the professional graphics arena, where the Athlon completely dominates provided that it is paired up with a KX133 motherboard.

For most users, neither of these CPUs is worth the time of day simply because of their cost, whereas overclocking a slower chip to speeds close to 1GHz would make much more sense. For the Pentium III, reaching 1GHz via normal overclocking methods may be a bit difficult, but it has definitely been done before with the Athlon.

In terms of motherboard platforms, the VIA Apollo Pro 133A is now, hands down, the best platform for the Pentium III. While the BX is still the most intelligent for those users that have motherboards that support the new CPUs and don't mind the fact that they run at a 100MHz FSB, for new system builders, the 133A makes the most sense, especially since there are motherboards out there based on the 133A that are pretty solid.

Check hier de rest van de review!

Daar is hij dan! We zijn maandag over de 1100 leden gegaan, en we staan nu op 1105 leden!

De DPC Hitparade Top 10 van 7 maart 2000

1. 53,483 Interior Lulu(16, Totaal:464,730)
2. 30,352 Teampje KOHA(6, Totaal:686,510)
3. 12,445 BRILSMURF(160, Totaal:70,169)
4. 12,110 Ferion Power!(18, Totaal:417,249)
5. 9,937 HarryB(13, Totaal:530,348)
6. 8,722 wildhagen(8, Totaal:636,778)
7. 6,791 [eNeRGy](15, Totaal:481,286)
8. 5,892 The Vinz(274, Totaal:29,259)
9. 5,891 Nosferatu(20, Totaal:384,216)
10. 5,571 DPC Division
Asten/Someren(151, Totaal:76,027)

En de nummers 11 tot en met 20:

11. 5,338 Chainsaw(17, Totaal:424,405)
12. 5,156 my_sirion(34, Totaal:258,289)
13. 4,976 Katsov(19, Totaal:414,684)
14. 4,748 Jorma(3, Totaal:880,692)
15. 4,672 jcbergh(107, Totaal:102,562)
16. 4,625 #hekje team(38, Totaal:228,476)
17. 4,382 sienema(2, Totaal:1,082,913)
18. 4,160 Richard Zuidhof(28, Totaal:312,719)
19. 4,130 ijzer7(204, Totaal:49,929)
20. 4,117 Binary(330, Totaal:21,685)

De Top 15 teams van 7 maart 2000

1.( 2) 735,503 Slashdot.org
2.( 0) 713,161 AnandTech
3.( 2) 695,728 Russian Team
4.( 1) 680,045 #DeathMatch
5.( 1) 564,494 HackZone Team -- Combined power of Russia and exUSSR countries
6.( 0) 493,850 Team Warped (OS/2)
7.( 1) 488,820 The Amiga RC5 Team effort
8.( 36) 412,304 Team KIKUMARU
9.( 2) 406,138 Dutch Power Cows
(PC's Rule!)
10.( 1) 392,650 Team EvangeLista
(Macs Rule! :-)
11.( 2) 304,780 L0phT Heavy Industries
12.( 1) 291,535 Japan FreeBSD Users Group
13.( 3) 285,788 Japan Windows NT Users Group
14.( 2) 277,239 Libertarians for Privacy
(Freedom Works!)
15.( 0) 272,663 CCC.de
65.( 14) 58,429 The #koffie Team

Teams om ons heen (total stats):
27.( ) TeamUFies
(All Hail the Dust Puppy!) (Tot:51,471,630, Gis:191,896)
28.( ) Prof. James
Challis' Most Excellent UK Team (Tot:51,341,731, Gis:146,321)
29.( ) AL-Mail Users (Tot:49,108,169, Gis:85,396)
30.( ) Team RimArts UsersGroup (Tot:47,703,947, Gis:96,443)
31.( ) Dutch Power Cows
(PC's Rule!) (Tot:45,498,432, Gis:406,138)
32.( ) NetBSD Users (Tot:42,676,478, Gis:85,041)
33.( ) SwissTeam (Tot:39,316,496, Gis:113,817)
34.( ) QUALCOMM Incorporated (Tot:38,462,656)
35.( ) Michigan State University
(MSU Spartans) (Tot:38,255,163, Gis:105,558)
(Teams waarvan de score van gisteren ontbreekt, hadden geen score in de top 100!)

Wanneer halen we ze in:
TeamUFies
(All Hail the Dust Puppy!): 28 dagen
Prof. James Challis' Most Excellent UK Team: 23 dagen
AL-Mail
Users: 12 dagen
Team RimArts UsersGroup: 8 dagen

Dutch power cows is vandaag 9e en heeft een kans van een op 97 om de sleutel te vinden!

Ik lees bij iXBT Labs dat 3dfx op 9 maart de specificaties van de 3dfx Rampage aan game developers bekend zal maken. Dit gebeurt uiteraard onder NDA, maar dat lekt toch wel ergens weg :

3dfx has chosen the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2000 (March 8-12) for VSA-100 graphics processor debut in USA. Besides, two days later they are going to give an opportunity for developers to have the first look at specifications of the next-generation processor, codename "Rampage", under NDA at company's special event - Immersion 2000, "The New Generation". So, we should wait for March, 9 to see the specs on the Web (despite of NDA )) ) [break] iXBT heeft verder een paar vage ATi Rage 6 geruchten van het net weten te plukken. Dit is de eerste keer dat ik iets over het bestaan van een Rage 6 hoor, dus het zal wel wat te maken hebben met de Charisma Engine en Pixel Tapestry die gisteren werd aangekondigd: [/break] 1. ArtX has nothing to do with Rage6
2. Alpha silicon finely runs Quake3. It means that there are no hardware problems with a chip and it looks great…
3. The performance of the chip will be higher not by percentage but in times than all currently available graphics chips
4. It won't probably have a word 'Rage' in its final name

Agilent Technologie heeft bekend gemaakt dat het een optische switch heeft ontwikkeld waarmee het niet langer nodig is om optische signalen van bijv. een glasvezel touwtje naar elektrisch te converteren alvorens deze geswitched kunnen worden. Een puur optisch netwerk maakt hogere bandbreedtes mogelijk en dat is weer prettig voor Napsterende tweakers:

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A - news) today announced a switching technology breakthrough that allows information (voice, data, video) to be switched as optical signals without converting them from photons to electrons, thus accelerating the telecommunications industry's move toward an all-optical network.

When combined with technology for cost-effectively increasing bandwidth (dense wavelength-division multiplexing, or DWDM), the Agilent Photonic Switching Platform provides a powerful solution for unlocking the full potential of the all-optical network. This technology will enable network equipment manufacturers to accelerate the time to market for next-generation, all-optical network elements.

The Photonic Switching Platform includes the first commercial photonic switches ever created by Agilent -- a 32 x 32 port photonic switch and a dual 16 x 32 port photonic switch. Agilent will unveil the platform tomorrow (Mar. 7) at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibit 2000 in Baltimore.

Agilent's new platform is a vital missing link in the development of the long-envisioned, all-optical network. With Internet applications driving an urgent need for increasing capacity in telecommunications networks, a new generation of optical switches has become necessary so that wavelengths can be better provisioned and managed as information signals across entire networks.

[...] Commercial prototypes of the Agilent Photonic Switching Platform will be available by the end of 2000.

NVNews.net heeft een paar Quake III Arena anti-aliasing screenshots online gemikt. Persoonlijk vind ik FSAA er best wel cool uit zien, alleen is de performance hit op dit moment onacceptabel als je op een beetje redelijk resolutie wilt spelen:

Gamers Depot heeft een preview gepost van de ATi Charisma T&L engine, die gisteren door ATi werd aangekondigd. ATi blijkt een flinke emmer features in de chip gekieperd te hebben. In de preview worden genoemd: T&L engine, 4-Matrix Blending, 3 texels per pipeline, 3D Textures, Bump Mapping (Emboss, Dot Product 3 en Environment Mapped Bump Mapping), Cubic Mapping, Shadow Mapping en Range-Based Fog:

The Charisma Engine takes 3D characters and environments to a higher level of realism by performing transformation, clipping, and lighting “faster than any CPU of 3D graphics chip on the market”. One of the ways it does this is by using 4-matrix vertex skinning and keyframe interpolation.

Thanks Tachyon voor de link.

Analisten doen in een News.com artikel over de X-Box hun voorspellingen over het besturingsysteem dat Bill en Steve voor hun game console zullen gebruiken. WinCE is geen optie, Win9x te zwaar?

Microsoft likely will develop a new operating system, but this presents another dilemma. On one hand, Microsoft ideally wants the X-box to provide a different experience. On the other hand, it wants it to be compatible with PC software.

In the end, this will probably result in an OS that looks different, but doesn't radically rewire underlying functionality, said Peter Glaskowsky, an analyst with MicroDesign Resources. How attractive an experience this will present, especially compared against the realism Sony has achieved with the PlayStation 2, remains to be seen.

If anything, don't expect Microsoft to push Windows CE, he added. The company tried to promote Windows CE as an OS on Sega's Dreamcast, but the effort floundered, Glaskowsky, among others, noted.

Prudential's Mosesmann also predicted that Microsoft would come up with a hybrid OS. "Windows CE is too weak and Windows 98 is overkill," he said. [break] Vorige week zei ene John D Dvorak in een nieuwsbericht van The Register dat het X-BOX OS gebaseerd zal zijn op een geoptimaliseerde versie van Windows 2000, da's weer het andere uiterste...

Om bij het C|Net artikel te blijven: verwacht wordt dat Microsoft geld zal toeleggen op de produktie van de X-Box. Dit is op zich niet vreemd, want de configuratie die Microsoft voor ogen heeft kan nooit tegen een voor consumenten financieel aantrekkelijke prijs geproduceerd worden. De poen moet voor Microsoft uiteindelijk binnen komen rollen op de verkoop van games en licenties: [/break] Subsidies are nothing new to Microsoft. The company subsidizes the cost of WebTV boxes. In that case, however, Microsoft recoups the up-front cost through monthly service fees. In the game market, Sony and other console makers garner their profits from selling game CDs or cartridges.

Webwereld meldt dat de Duitse energiesupplier Veba in samenwerking met het Amerikaanse netwerkbedrijf Enikia nog dit jaar internet via het stopcontact wil aanbieden:

Deze zomer wordt in Europa begonnen met uitgebreide proeven met een breedbanddienst. Deze zal onder de naam Oneline worden aangeboden. Veba en Enikia willen ook in de Verenigde Staten proeven nemen, maar dit zal waarschijnlijk meer problemen opleveren. Het elektriciteitsnet in de VS is namelijk minder geschikt voor internetverkeer.

Eerder werden in Europa door Nortel en het Britse NorWeb proeven gedaan met internet via het stopcontact. Deze werden echter door technische obstakels afgeblazen. Online en Enikia rekenen wel op succes (thanks Jeroen 98675432 voor de tip).

Sandeman schrijft: "De Amerikaanse marine (of all people!) is hard bezig een nieuw soort non-volatile geheugen (net zoiets als Flash-memory) te ontwikkelen. Misschien hebben we over een paar jaar geen harddisks en CD-ROM/DVD's meer nodig, allen RAM en VRAM":

VRAM memory has the potential to replace all mechanically driven storage media, including computer hard drives and compact discs. The new goal is a technology, which will produce a 100 to 1,000-fold increase in the storage capacity over semiconducting memory. The dynamic RAM used by today's personal computers must continually refresh their memory cells or all of the information contained in them would be lost. A static form of RAM exists that does not need constant refreshing, but it is expensive and consumes a lot of chip area. VRAM dramatically reduces the need for transistors, leading to lower cost, and retains information without continual refreshing, reducing the power requirement. The information contained in the memory cells remains there, even when the power is turned off. The researchers estimate that VRAM technology will also increase memory access speed by a factor of 10. The high-density, non-volatility, radiation-hardness and low-power attributes of VRAM make it well suited to space, avionics, and shipboard applications. In addition to its freedom from moving mechanical parts, the technology is particularly advantageous when a component or system, once implemented, is difficult or impossible to retrieve.

VRAM dramatically reduces the need for transistors, leading to lower cost, and retains information without continual refreshing, reducing the power requirement. The information contained in the memory cells remains there, even when the power is turned off. The researchers estimate that VRAM technology will also increase memory access speed by a factor of 10. The high-density, non-volatility, radiation-hardness and low-power attributes of VRAM make it well suited to space, avionics, and shipboard applications. In addition to its freedom from moving mechanical parts, the technology is particularly advantageous when a component or system, once implemented, is difficult or impossible to retrieve.

De VRAM in dit verhaaltje staat overigens voor "Vertical Giant Magnetoresistance Random Access Memory" en is dus totaal iets anders dan het aloude dual port Video RAM dat enige jaren geleden populair was op videokaarten.

nVidia krijgt mogelijk serieuze concurrentie van ATi, want deze zal aanstaande vrijdag op de Game Developer Conference in San Jose haar Charisma Engine en Pixel Tapestry Architecture presenteren. De Charisma Engine is in tegenstelling tot hetgeen veel hollanders denken géén direkt ingespoten benzinemotor, maar een geometrie processor . De Pixel Tapestry architectuur is volgens ATi de eerste GigaTexel rendering engine. Uit de press release wordt het nog niet duidelijk of de Charisma Engine en de Pixel Tapestry Architecture in één chip verenigd worden, of dat dat het om losse T&L en rendering processors gaat:

ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE: ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT) will unveil to the world's leading game developers the details of two important technologies that will revolutionize the 3D graphics power of PCs and deliver life-like virtual characters in real time. The new technologies, to be introduced in upcoming products, will establish ATI as a major force in the performance gaming and workstation market segments.

``ATI's Charisma Engine and Pixel Tapestry Architecture will shatter the barriers to realistic gaming on the PC platform,'' said Philip Eisler, Senior Director of Component Marketing, ATI. ``3D characters will come to life on the screen.''

The Charisma Engine(TM) is the world's fastest geometry processing unit and is also the first to incorporate advanced game character acceleration for 3D skinning and key-frame character animation. These effects are critical for enabling game characters to reveal life-like facial expressions and to achieve fluid movement and motion.

The Pixel Tapestry(TM) Architecture features the world's first GigaTexel rendering engine, and includes support for deep multitexturing and new 3D effects with eye-popping photorealistic impact. It easily deals with complex elements such as metals, liquids and wood and their complex interaction with lighting and shadows.

``The technologies that ATI delivers in their upcoming chips will raise the bar for PC graphics,'' said Alex Garden, CEO of Relic Entertainment. ``Leading-edge features to enhance character animations and to create realistic environments will have a significant impact upon the graphics in our next-generation games.''

Details behind the Charisma Engine(TM) and Pixel Tapestry(TM) Architecture will be presented in separate technology sessions at the Game Developer Conference:

• Charisma Engine(TM) will be described on Friday, March 10, from 12:00pm - 1:00pm in the presentation "Hardware Techniques for Real-Time Character Animation"
• Pixel Tapestry(TM) Architecture is on Saturday, March 11, from 9:00am
• 10:00am in "Photo-realistic Lighting Effects Using Per-pixel Multitexturing Operations".
• In addition, a comprehensive technology white paper is available to qualifying ISV's at the Game Developer Conference

ATI's booth at GDC is No. 1614, San Jose Convention Center.

De aandelenkoers van nVidia is door het dak gestuiterd nadat Microsoft bekend maakte dat nVidia is uitverkoren tot exclusieve leverancier van de X-Box graphics chipset. Binnen een dag steeg het aandeel 45% van 60 naar 87 dollar:

Shares of Nvidia Corp., a provider of 3D graphics processors, soared on Tuesday on speculation that Microsoft Corp. will soon announce plans to use Nvidia's technology in its XBox gaming console.

Nvidia shares were up 17 to 75 1/2 on the Nasdaq stock market. Neither company was available for comment.

``We now believe that Microsoft will use 3D graphics technology from Nvidia in its gaming console that will compete with the Sony Playstation and other gaming consoles,'' said Hans Mosesmann, an analyst with Prudential Securities. [break]

AMD deed het om dezelfde reden ook erg goed en bereikte gisteren een historisch hoge koers, schrijft News.com:[/break] AMD, meanwhile, may be in a position next year to provide low-cost Athlons for the Microsoft box, Mosemann added. AMD rose to an all-time high of $53.25 today, following the release of a 1-GHz Athlon yesterday.

Altavista schrijft dat Microsoft komende vrijdag meer duidelijkheid over de X-Box game console zal verschaffen. Op dit moment is al min of meer bekend dat het doosje een Athlon 600 krijgt met een 3D accelerator van nVidia en 128MB RAM (volgens de San Jose Mercury News). De ontwikkelingen in de PC industrie gaan hard en als Microsoft nu specificaties vaststelt dan zijn deze tegen kerstmis 2001, wanneer de X-Box op de markt komt, hoogstwaarschijnlijk al weer zwaar verouderd of gaat het om technologie die tegen die tijd niet eens meer in produktie is (bijv. de Athlon 600). Deze lastige kwestie zullen we over moeten laten aan het visionaire brein van Bill en Steve ...

Microsoft Corp. is expected unveil a new video game system at a conference on Friday, one with the power of a high-end gaming system and the flexibility of a personal computer.

[...] The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the console and games would be "competitively priced,'' with the Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation2 and Sega Dreamcast. The system is not likely to reach store shelves until 2001.

[...] The San Jose Mercury News reported Monday that the game console would feature a 600 megahertz processor and 128 megabytes of random-access memory -- features normally found on better-than-average home computers.

A company source said Microsoft discussed the Xbox with a number of independent game programmers and developers, and found interest to be high. Many developers have already written games to be run on the Windows operating system, a stripped-down version of which will power the Xbox.

nVidia is door Microsoft uitverkozen als de fabrikant die de 3D hardware van de X-Box game console mag verzorgen. Gigapixel werd hiermee op het laatste moment afgetroefd door nVidia, dat vanwege haar positie van marktleider en de goede banden met software developers meer vertrouwen kreeg van generaal Steve. Microsoft wil met de X-Box niet alleen een leuke spelkast ontwikkelen, maar wil ook een halt toeroepen aan de opkomst van de Playstation II. Met de combinatie game console, DVD player en netwerk computer dreigt de PS2 een belangrijke plaats in de huiskamer te veroveren. Voor Microsoft is dit niet alleen een interessant gat in de markt, maar ook een mogelijke bedreiging voor het Windows monopolie:

Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates will announce the company's long-rumored X-Box game console at the Game Developers Conference (San Jose, Calif.) on Friday (March 10). Still in its final stages of development, X-Box is touted as a killer consumer platform designed to compete against Sony Computer Entertainment's recently-launched Playstation 2. And Microsoft has decided to work with Nvidia Corp., its graphics chip partner, on the X-Box architecture.

Current plans call for an X-Box launch in time for the Christmas 2001 selling season.

The development of X-Box is crucial to Microsoft's effort to extend its presence into a TV-centric consumer market. Lately, the software giant has been leveraging its WebTV technologies to drive Web applications and Microsoft's TV platform on a TV set-top. A group of Microsoft engineers working on X-Box resides in Microsoft's WebTV building in Mountain View, Calif.

[...] Meanwhile, there is no shortage of explanations for Microsoft's eagerness to launch X-Box. Sony's Playstation 2 offers three key applications for TVs in the living room — gaming, DVD playback, and network connections — and neither Microsoft nor Intel wishes to see this huge segment of the consumer market dominated by Sony.

Zie voor het complete verhaaltje dit uitgebreide artikel van EETimes.

Onze Russische kameraden van Reactor Critical zijn er rap bij met de eerste FSAA benchmarks op een GeForce SDR. Eerder heb je kunnen lezen dat full scene anti-aliasing met de nieuwe Detonator 5.08 drivers middels een registry tweak aangekacheld kan worden. Anti-aliasing met 4 sub-samples vraagt op gelijke resolutie een vier maal zo hoge fillrate als zonder AA, daarom viel het te verwachten dat er met FSAA op hoge resoluties weinig framerate over zou blijven:

Op 800 * 600 met 16-bit kleur heeft FSAA een impact van een faktor 3.

Thanks JanKees voor de tip.