THE CONNECTED HOME TECH BLOG
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF HOME-TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND VIEWS PAUL THURROTT
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[6/27/2006]
Intel Takes Server to the Core: Desktops, Notebooks Next
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
This week, Intel released a new generation of Xeon server microprocessors based on the Core architecture. The Xeon 5100 chips offer about twice the performance of the chips they're replacing while consuming 40 percent less power. Also, they give Intel a technical edge over AMD that's been lacking for about three years. Later this year, Intel will also ship desktop and notebook chips based on the new design. These chips, dubbed Core 2 Duo, will feature two processor cores and will replace all of Intel's current-generation mainstream...
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I tried a lot of pharmacies out there but the one that gave me the best service with the best price ...
John -August 01, 2006
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[6/27/2006]
Toshiba Still Hopes for Single Next-Gen DVD Format
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Although HD-DVD is already in the market, Toshiba—the format's primary proponent—is still hopeful that a truce can be reached with the Blu-ray camp for a single next-generation DVD standard. "We haven't given up on a unified format," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida said during the company's annual shareholders meeting this week. "We would like to seek ways for unifying the standards if opportunities arise." Toshiba, of course, had already tried to unify HD-DVD with Blu-ray but was ultimately rebuked by Blu-ray backer Sony, which is busy doing its version of Osborne Computers this year, for some...
LAST COMMENT
If Sony is not careful it's going to loose another format war. Most users will do nothing until this...
Videoman -June 29, 2006
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[6/27/2006]
Sony Continues to Justify the High Price of PlayStation 3
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Sure, a decent PlayStation 3 is going to set you back $600, or about $200 more than a comparable Xbox 360, but Sony has an excuse: It's future-proof. (You know, because no electronics are ever immediately outdated.) "The Price of the PlayStation 3 is high, but you're paying for potential," Sony CEO Howard Stringer said. "Obviously, it's a higher-risk strategy—as all new inventions are—but if the PlayStation 3 lives up to its total potential, I don't think anyone will be worried about Nintendo or Xbox's cheaper price." Anyone but the gamers, that is. But Xbox 360 fans who were hoping for a nice price reduction timed with the...
LAST COMMENT
I would like to point out from a development point of view a consistent hardware platform is a big r...
James W. -June 29, 2006
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[6/27/2006]
Apple to Preview Next Mac OS X in August
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
At Apple Computer's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in August, executives such as Steve Jobs will preview the company's upcoming Mac OS X release, codenamed Leopard, for the first time. This news shouldn't come as a big surprise, really, because the company announced its plans months ago, but it did decide to announce them again this week just in case you missed it. My bet for WWDC is that Apple will finally show off its PowerMac replacement, which should be based on those awesome Xeon 5100 chips that Intel just...
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[6/21/2006]
Apple and Microsoft Talking to Hollywood About Movie Downloads
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Apple Computer and Microsoft are reportedly in talks with major Hollywood movie studios about video-download services that the companies would like to introduce in the coming year. At Apple, the sticking point is price: CEO Steve Jobs would like movies to cost just $9.99, about half what they're going for today at services such as CinemaNow and MovieLink. However, knowing Apple, those movies will almost certainly be low-quality 352 x 240 conversions aimed at the video iPod. If Apple can't get the studios to agree to standardized $9.99 pricing, it's possible the company will let older movies be sold for that price and go the more typical $20...
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Name (required): -October 28, 2006
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[6/21/2006]
Microsoft Ships Webcams, Windows Live Messenger
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
This week, Microsoft shipped its Windows Live Messenger instant messaging (IM) solution, along with two slick new Web cams, to help take advantage of the software's cool video-conferencing capabilities. The Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 and VX-6000 both include a noise-canceling microphone, a Live Call button for jumping quickly to a contacts list, and one-click photo uploading to Windows Live Spaces. However, whereas the VX-3000 offers pedestrian 640 x 480 resolution and still-image capabilities, the VX-6000 ups the ante with a 1.3-megapixel still and video camera. Not too shabby for $100. (The VX-3000 is just...
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[6/21/2006]
Bill Gates Announces Semi-Retirement
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Late last week, Microsoft announced that cofounder Bill Gates would finally be taking his exit from the company at some distant date in the future. Maybe. What was really announced? Gates is stepping down from his position as Chief Software Architect, probably because the company failed to ship a single major software product while he held that position. He will move to part-time status in two years, in July 2008. During the intervening years, Gates will begin to focus more on his charitable work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he will use to dole out part of his enormous $50 billion fortune to education and health concerns...
LAST COMMENT
Yawn.......
harbortides -June 21, 2006
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[6/21/2006]
Electronic Arts Buys Mythic
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
The video game industry continues to consolidate: This week, game-making giant Electronic Arts (EA) announced that it was purchasing Mythic for an undisclosed sum. Mythic is a major player in the market for massively multiplayer online games (MMOG), with such titles as Dark Age of Camelot and the upcoming Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Its offices in Fairfax, Virginia, will be transformed into a new MMOG development center, creatively titled EA Mythic. EA already owns one of the most successful MMOG titles, a quaint little ditty named Ultimate Online, which you might have heard about. My only real concern about this...
LAST COMMENT
Paul, I have read your articles about you enjoying online gameplay of first person shooter games...i...
Everett -June 21, 2006
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[6/10/2006]
Microsoft Concocts Yet Another Reason to Love Windows Genuine Advantage
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
I was sitting around the other day listing all the things I just love about Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), Microsoft's antipiracy tool. But then I discovered a hidden WGA feature that I'd never heard about, mostly because Microsoft had kept it a secret. It turns out that WGA actually connects to a Microsoft server every time you boot your PC. That's right. It's spyware. Microsoft actually installs a tool on your PC that does nothing more than check to ensure that you're not pirating Windows, and it does this check every single day and then sends the results back to Microsoft. This insidious behavior was first discovered by Lauren...
LAST COMMENT
They talk about how bad "Spy Ware" is & then they become the "SPY". Does this mean that all software...
Kingsley Bewley -June 14, 2006
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[6/10/2006]
Users Freaking Over Vista Battery-Life Concerns
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
There's a big debate going on right now about Vista and battery life, or to put it more correctly, Vista and the lack of battery life. Turns out Vista gets a lot less battery life than does XP on identical notebooks, and many users are pointing to Vista's hardware-accelerated 3-D UI as the culprit. I have no doubts about that assertion, but I'd also caution people to remember that Vista is still a beta, and performance work is still to come. Microsoft says it'll improve Vista's battery life, but I have to think that its battery life will never be as good as that of XP, unless you turn off Aero Glass. And at that point, why bother running...
LAST COMMENT
Paul, isn't this a little black and white ? I noticed the battery power difference between xp and Vi...
Jack -June 15, 2006
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