Microsoft Releases Info on Vista Editions

ArsTechnica has an article about the editions of Windows Vista. Nothing new but it is worth checking out.

Click here to read.

AMD Shows us the Future, Socket F

AMD has released images of the new LGA Socket that will run their new Dual-Core and Quad-Core Opterons. Socket F (LGA-1207) is the name and you can see pictures here. I can only hope that the heat sink retention system is better than Intel's P4 fans.

Intel Begins the Death to IDE Chant

Bad news for all of those out there that love their IDE connections. Intel's new generation of south-bridge chips will leave the tried and tested technology by the wayside. Even though the technology is older than sin, it has stood up to the test of time. Up until a few years ago it was the defacto standard for PCs to run any drive attached inside the case, boasting efficiency and low cost. Lately it has run all CD-Rom & DVD drives. The last few years however has seen the rise of SATA, the serial connected cousin of IDE. SATA boasts the same low cost of IDE, with faster transfer speeds and a much easier setup. It also finally brings an affordable alternative to the server crowd who have been at the mercy of SCSI (Another antiquated technology but still very strong).

It was only a matter of time before Intel started pushing this. SATA is here to stay and we can only go with the flow.

Register has the article here.

Howto: Memory Tests in an Apple

Working here at TCM has subjected me to numerous situations where I need to test memory in a Mac. MacWorld finally has an answer for that with this article. I guess they ported good old memtest to the Mac. It takes a bit of Unix knowledge to use but nothing difficult.

18x DVD Burner Released by Plextor

Plextor has released a Dual Format 18x DVD burner. It is compatable with 16x certified media, and it comes with the standard accessories and software. It also touts an impressive 10x DVD+DL speed. I was always under the impression that 16x was as far as DVD media could go, but I guess through some tricks anything is possible.

More here.