ATI's Crossfire is Finally Working!

ATI announced the release of their Crossfire technology a few months back. It is meant to compete with nVidia's SLI multi-GPU solution, but until recently has been unusable because the required hardware was not in the market yet. Unlike SLI, Crossfire requires a Master Card that controls the pair of cards, and until recently there were no Master Cards on the market.

So in comes the X1800 Crossfire Edition. The first card that will actually allow someone to use this technology. The reviews are better than they were a few months back. The setup has improved, and hardware is actually out there now. However the biggest drawback seem to be that costs are higher, and compatability seems to be sketchy.

Anandtech has a good review of a Crossfire setup. check it out here.

Windows Security Flaw Much Worse than Expected.

The latest Windows security hole has taken the leap from small time to big time. The hole that allows the installation of malicious code was discovered on tuesday. Once the description of the problem was released, it ook only a few hours for the virus and spyware authors of the world to take advantage. Now what once was a small yet serious issue, has become a severe problem for both computer users and Microsoft.

Windows hasn't always been the most secure, but this vulnerability is much more dangerous than many of the previous ones because all it requires is the user to view a picture in their email. Once that picutre is viewed then the infection has found a way in.

It effects Windows 98 through Windows XP and people running older versions of Microsoft's Outlook email program.

The Washington Post has more here.

HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray, Microsoft's Point of View

EETimes ran a fantastic article about why Microsoft has thrown its weight behind the HD-DVD format. Basically there are two theories; one is that since the Xbox 360 is still based on current DVD technology Microsoft wants to delay the adoption of the Blu-Ray enabled PlayStation3. They fear that since the PS3 will have the High-Def capability that comes with Blu-Ray it will get a leg up over the new Xbox. The second theory, and the one that I feel more adequately suits the Redmond monster, is that once a new HD format hits the streets the download centric media distribution that MS is pushing for will fall by the wayside. Once a new physical media is released into the public, the subscription based download services that Senor Gates is salivating over will be less lucrative.

Both fears carry some merit. PCs are becoming a very large part of the new home media systems people are installing these days. If Microsoft can get the Xbox integrated into each one by leveraging their OS compatibility with it, then they stand to make a ton of money. This coupled with a Windows powered media content download service will set the company financially for many years to come.

As is usual, they are taking it way to far. Offering cash incentives to PC builders that join the HD-DVD group and bundling HD-DVD support in the new Vista OS. In my honest opinion more proof of the monopoly that we all know is alive and well in Redmond.

Blu-Ray advocates need to be concerned. There maybe many big name companies onboard, but any initiative with Microsoft pushing it cannot be taken lightly. For a while Blu-Ray looked to be the winner, but as these latest developments and HP's sudden indecisiveness show us, the war is far from over.

Large Hard Drive Bench Tests.

AnandTech has a article describing their benchtests on 3 of the largest hard drives in the desktop market place; the Seagate 7200.9 500GB, Hitachi 7k500 500GB, and the Western Digital WD400YR 400GB. Suprising results? Absolutly, the Western Digital is neck and neck with its larger counterparts on almost all tests. This is suprising because the WD400YR is a SATA 1.5GB/Sec drive, while the 7200.9 and the Hitachi are both SATA 3GB/Sec (The test machine ran all drives at their native speed). In other words, outside of RAID arrays SATA 3GB/Sec is useless.

Read more here.

Review: Intel Extreme Edition 955

Hot Hardware has posted a review of Intel's latest dual core hyper-threaded pocketbook monster. Read it here.

Seagate buys Maxtor for $1.9 Billion

Seagate has released that they would buy Maxtor with $1.9 billion dollars in stock. The deal is set to be finalized in the later part of 2006. The deal will combine the world's largest hard drive manufacturer with the third largest (Seagate is the current market leader). I guess this is Seagate's move to incoporate more of their products into the desktop market where they are strong but could be much stronger. Very interesting.

Steam Power Makes a Comeback..

This isn't computer related, but I thought it was pretty cool. The title of this blog is high-tech minute but I figure some low-tech advances in auto technology couldn't hurt.

Those crazy Bavarians at BMW have unveiled their latest concept car, dubbed the 'Turbosteamer'. The idea behind it is to reuse the heat energy that is lost in the exhaust to assist the engine. The idea was taken from the fundamentals of a Steam engine. The liquid in the steam unit is heated and then travels to an expansion case that is attached to the crankshaft. According to BMW this unit results in a 15% increase in performance and gas mileage for the car that it is attached to. They are now in the process of developing smaller and simpler parts so that the idea of the turbosteamer can reach the market. Their aim apparently is to fit these units into existing 4-cylinder 3 Series models.

More here.

CSI vs Hypertransport; Intel vs AMD.... What Else is New!

Intel has announced that it will finally have an answer to AMD's Hypertransport, in 2008. The technology named CSI is a High-speed serial interconnect that was delayed due to a botched implementation into Intel's Whitefield Xeon chips. Intel has blamed the failure on inexperienced staff at Intel India where the development was occurring.

According to Intel the interconnect will have a much lower latency than AMD's Hypertransport, and should outperform it's competitor. The Tukwila Itanium will be the first to host this new technology. I wonder where AMD will be in 3 years...

8GB Memory Modules

Samsung has built a 8GB fully buffered memory chip for server use. That is a TON of memory on one chip. It has 32 80nm 2Gb DDR 2 SDRAM devices that utilize AMB (Advanced Memory Buffer) technology. These are not on sale yet, but I bet the $5000 plus price tag they will carry is going to create a run on these bad boys.... (that was a joke). Although I am sure this exciting to some, it really is only aimed at the highest level server applications right now. Don't expect your desktop to be using these anytime soon.

More here.

Yonah & Centrino 3

Rumors are flying that Intel will take the curtain back from it's new dual core laptop cpu (Yonah) and the next incarnation of their Centrino wireless technology early in Q1 of next year. The speculation is that on the 6th and the 9th of January we will see the next step in Intel's laptop line. Read more here on the Register.

FireWire on it's Last Leg

FireWire, the best friend of video professionals out there has been thrown to the ropes by it's biggest supporter. Apple has slowly been phasing-out support on their iPods, and with the impending switch to Intel CPUs it is not looking good for FireWire. Apple has always championed the bus, and for a while it showed promise. However when USB 2.0 hit the streets the game was on between the two. USB offered more bandwith and backwards compatability at a lower cost. The first claim is still highly debated but that hasn't stopped the ever growing support of USB 2.

Not a big suprise, check it here.

MIMO Showdown

I mentioned a while back about the Pre-N technology that is finding its way into people's wireless equipment. Anyway, Tom's Hardware did a showdown of different MIMO and Pre-N stuff, and here is what they say.

You can find out more about the 802.11N standard here.

Intel Based Apples to Land June 6th

Intel based Apple PCs will offically reach the public on the 6th of June 2006. Taiwan seems as if it will be the first locale to see these new Macs, according to Taiwan PC distributors. Apple, in their usual style has not said anything. Digitimes covers more here.

DRAM Prices Falling, Hurting Manufacturers

Prices on DRAM has been falling to incredible lows lately, prompting a drop in revenues for Taiwan's chip makers. Estimates put the drop at anywhere from 3 to 5% for the month of November. Digitimes has more here.

Apple Enters the Media Center Market

When Apple released its new line of DDR2 capable G5 machines, they also slid their hat into the media center market with their new iMacs. The iMac utilizes a program called Front Row which in many ways mimics Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition. The iMac mixed with Apple's 'Simplicity' frame of mind we are seeing a new type of media center. Anyway check it out here on CNN and here on ThinkSecret.