Well, it’s official
at any rate. Contrary to what
you’ve heard, Windows
Vista will not be shipping
with any of the original
technologies, features,
capabilities, or subsystems
originally promised. First it
was the real Aero –
complete visual control over
one’s system. Amazing
graphics, sidebars that were a
part of the Windows Core, Aero
Diamond. Then it was NGSCB and
its amazing security features
– not DRM, but total
privacy control; your privacy.
Monad. Last we heard, it was
WinFS, the king-pin feature
that was promised to change
the way you think of
data… And now the last
one is gone: Microsoft Max is
dead.
neowin.net -
02.11.2006Autodesk now owns Maya and 3D
Studio
Autodesk, the makers
of 3D Studio Max has acquired
Alias, the makers of Maya for
$182 million in cash. For
those of you who thought that
3D Studio Max was made by
Discreet, well, Autodesk now
owns Discreet so in effect,
the 3D modeling software
market is under control by
Autodesk.
Most 3D modeling that you see
in movies, TV, and games is
done using either Maya or 3D
Studio Max. This
concentration of market power
by a single company in such a
key market has many designers
and artists quite
nervous.
"What
about the cost of both
products?" said Scott
Tykoski, a 3D graphics
designer at Stardock. "These
are expensive products today
when there's competition,
what about in the future? Are
we going to be paying $12,000
base cost for these programs
in a
year?"
According
to Autodesk, the product
release schedule for both
products will continue into
the foreseeable future without
modification. The two
companies will continue to
exist and market and sell both
Maya and 3D Studio Max for the
near future.
What
the actual effect on
development of both products
now that competition between
the two is gone remains to be
seen.
winbeta.org -
05.10.2005Vvikoo 8800GT Max 1GB Review
While it's always exciting to receive review samples from the big boys in the hardware world, it's also nice to take a look at something a
little different and this almost always comes from the little guys. Now, Vvikoo are manufacturers of some top end nVidia and ATI based GPU solutions,
so using the word "little" is probably a little harsh, but they are definitely the new kid on the block and have a lot to prove. What I have with me
today is an 8800GT, but not just any GT... oh no. This one has 1gb of DDR3, a huge aftermarket Zalman cooler, and it's purple.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
27.01.2008Hotmail's maximum storage size increases to 500 GB
As part of its Wave 3 update announced back in 2008, Windows Live Hotmail was to have "ever increasing storage", and now as reported by LiveSide,
the current maximum mailbox size for Hotmail is 500 GB, and this includes e-mail accounts as part of Windows Live Admin Center, Office Live, and MSN
Premium. The new maximum size is shown in the two screenshots below courtesy of PicturePan2 from LiveSino: Screenshot from MSN Explorer where you
check your inbox folder sizes. It shows the max size being 512000 MB (Note: 512000 MB translates to 500 GB). Screenshot from Office Outlook
Connector, where it shows you the size of your Hotmail mailbox. It too shows the max size being 500 GB.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
21.07.2009Autodesk announces Maya 2008, 3ds Max 2008
Autodesk
today announced new versions
of its modeling and animation
packages Maya and 3ds Max.
According to the
manufacturer, Maya 2008
provides more workflow
efficiency for artists in the
film, television, game
development, design and
manufacturing industries.
Also, the software offers
improved polygon modeling,
performance increases through
new algorithms as well as
multi-threading to take
advantage of multi-core
processors, new tools such as
HLSL shaders and a hardware
shader API to enhance the look
of games on third-generation
game consoles , as well as
more flexibility for character
setup and animation.
Maya 2008 is
expected to be available in
September with upgrade pricing
starting at $899 for the
"Complete" version and $1249
for the "Ultimate" package.
Standalone prices are $1999
and $6999, respectively.
Artists and
designers get an update for
3ds Max, which mainly
addresses the need to overcome
challenges associated with
large and complex 3D scenes,
Autodesk said. The software
includes a new viewport
technology, a new scene
explorer, new rendering
options, a new review toolset,
as well as new workflow tools.
Autodesk said that 3ds Max
2008 will be available in
October, with the upgrade
carrying a price tag of $795.
The full version is priced at
$3495.
winbeta.org -
07.08.2007Sam & Max Season 1 pricing revealed
October 4, 2006 - Digital
entertainment pioneer Telltale
Inc. and GameTap, the first-of
its-kind broadband
entertainment network from
Turner Broadcasting System,
Inc., today announced a
comprehensive pricing plan for
Sam & Max: Season 1 that
offers customers excellent
value, flexibility, and
choice.
Customers' payment
options
are:
- Downloa
d individual Sam & Max
episodes for Ű.95 each
from
Telltale.
- B
uy the entire season for
า.95 from
Telltale.
- S
ubscribe to GameTap for
ű.95/month to get
exclusive early access to Sam
& Max episodes, along with
over 600 other
games.
"W
e want customers to be able to
get Sam & Max the way they
want it, when they want it,"
says Telltale CEO Dan Connors.
"One of the biggest benefits
of the episodic model is the
flexibility it provides.
We've listened carefully to
what this audience wants from
an episodic game, and as a
result, Sam & Max: Season
1 is the first series with
episodes released so
frequently and
affordably."
Sam
& Max aren't your average
crime-fighting duo. One's a
six-foot tall canine shamus
with a love of justice. The
other's a hyperkinetic
rabbity-thing with a taste for
violence. Together, Sam &
Max are the Freelance Police,
ridding the streets of
bottom-feeding sludge one
dastardly miscreant at a time.
Over the last two decades, Sam
& Max have appeared in a
number of formats, including
independent comics, a graphic
adventure game, and a Saturday
morning cartoon. Sam &
Max: Season 1 marks the duo's
triumphant return into the
limelight.
Sam
& Max: Season 1 is
scheduled to kick off in the
coming weeks and run through
April. The pilot episode,
Culture Shock, will debut
October 17, 2006 on GameTap,
and will become available
worldwide on Telltale's
website November 1. Episodes
2-6 will follow the same
pattern, with each episode
debuting on GameTap 15 days
before its worldwide release.
Beginning with episode 2 in
December, the games will be
released monthly. Stand-alone
machinima "shorts" will be
released weekly to bridge the
gap between episodes,
beginning in
December.
neowin.net -
05.10.2006Testing IE8's Connection Parallelism
Ryan Breen: A few weeks ago,
I discussed
IE8's improved connection parallelism, specifically the increase from 2 concurrent connections per host to 6. One open question was the total
number of connections allowed my speculation was that the IE team would stick with a max of 6 rather than triple that value as well.
I was wrong. The new max is an astonishing 18 (!) concurrent connections...
winbeta.org -
19.03.2008Adobe service puts browsers side by side
Adobe on Tuesday said it is offering a free preview of its BrowserLab service, which allows Web developers to quickly see what their site looks like
on a number of browsers.
The technology, previously code-named Meer Meer, was shown last year at the company's
Max developer conference. Using virtualization, the
tool can show how a site will look in
Firefox, Internet Explorer, and
Safari running on different operating systems.
Running BrowserLab requires a
Mac or PC with Adobe Flash 10.
winbeta.org -
03.06.2009Mac Mini and iMac Updates coming tomorrow! [Confirmed by multiple sources]
Hardmac posts what it claims are the product numbers and rough descriptions of the iMac and Mac mini which are expected to be released tomorrow:
The new iMac models and their corresponding references:
- MB417: Entry level model
- MB418: "Mass market" model
- MB419:
high-end model
- MB420: ultimate model
The entry level model should come with a 20" display, while the three other models will feature a
24" panel.
For the Mac mini, the references are the following:
- MB463: entry-level model
- MB464 high-end model
They cite a "reliable" source that has told them that both models will become available tomorrow. HardMac.com is the english counterpart to
MacBidouille and is generally considered trustworthy.
Earlier today a photo of the Mac mini packaging was leaked and is increasingly
looking to be legitimate.
Update: OneMoreThing.nl also "confirms" that the iMac and Mac mini will be released tomorrow and provides the
following specs (translated by Sijmen):
Mac mini
- 5x USB
- 1x FireWire 800
- 1x mini DVI
- 1x Display poort
-
Nvidia chipset (like the newest MacBook)
- starting at Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz
- 1 of 2 GB DDR3 memory (max 4 GB)
- 120 GB hard
disk (max 320 GB)
iMac
- one 20" model, three 24" models
- Intel Core 2 Duo (not a quad core): 2.66 Ghz, 2.93 Ghz and 3.06
Ghz
- 1x Display port
- 20" 2 GB DDR3 memory, 24" 4 GB DDR3 memory (max 8 GB)
jcxp.net -
03.03.2009Channel 10's Max Zuckerman shows off AMD Spider chipset
AMD, however, has not given up... not by a longshot. While we all have waited to see the results of their ATi acquisition, today I had the chance to
check it out firsthand. That's right, folks, AMD has its own triple-play to show off: new true quad core 64 bit CPU--the Phenom, a new Radeon
3800 series set graphic cards, and to support it all... a fancy new chipset known as "Spider." One of the key differences with the AMD Quad
Core architecture versus the Intel is that the cores are all capable of communicating on-chip. Intel's solution requires communication through
the chipset since it is actually two dual-core processors on the same die.
neowin.net -
19.11.2007Microsoft Readies 'Monaco'
Competitor to Apple'
Some industry watchers have
portrayed Apple Computer's
decision to make Windows
available as a dual-boot on
Intel-based Mac OS X systems
as a big win for Microsoft.
Microsoft doesn't seem to be
taking the move as a sign that
it can call off the dogs,
however.
Microsoft is still pushing
full-steam-ahead with a
music-making program,
code-named "Monaco,"
according to Microsoft
partners who requested
anonymity. Monaco would be
very similar to Apple's
GarageBand application, but
would be optimized to take
advantage of Windows Vista and
the Aero user interface.
GarageBand is
Apple's MacOS application for
amateur musicians. It comes
with 1,000 pre-recorded
sampled loops, and 50 sampled
or synthesised instruments
that can be played using a
MIDI keyboard connected to the
computer, or using an
on-screen keyboard.
Thanks
boytoy
for the heads
up!
jcxp.net -
10.04.2006Apple Adds iPod Max Volume
Setting
In an effort to shield itself
from possible legal action,
Apple announced the
availability of a software
update Wednesday that can set
a maximum volume setting on
the iPod. The update is
available for fifth generation
iPods and the iPod nano.
Furthermore, parents could
also set a maximum volume
setting and lock it...
betanews.com -
29.03.2006Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 review
Hot on the heels of the Core
2 Duo launch, Intel came out
and released the world's
first quad-core processor last
November. Given how powerful
the Core 2 Duo had proven to
be, we wondered how much of a
performance gain this new
quad-core version could
offer.
According
to our previous tests, there
are currently no games that
take advantage of the
additional two cores; however
software such as Photoshop,
Pinnacle Studio Plus,
QuickTime and 3D Studio Max
all greatly benefited from the
power of four dedicated cores.
For example, the QX6700 was
15% faster than the Core 2 Duo
E6700 in Photoshop, and gains
as big as 43% were seen in
Pinnacle Studio Plus. The
biggest performance gap was
found in 3D Studio Max where
the QX6700 was 89% faster than
the E6700.
Even
though there will be those out
there that will want the power
of the QX6700 for image and
video editing, the
processor's steep price
($1000) might set high
barriers for getting one.
Today Intel is releasing a
second quad core processor
called the Core 2 Quad Q6600.
This new entry that comes
clocked at 2.40GHz does not
belong to the Extreme family
of processors and will begin
life at $530, making it a
much more affordable
alternative than the
QX6700.
neowin.net -
08.01.2007Steam vs. Microsoft Live... Fight!
If anyone stands a chance
against Microsoft's
pay-to-play Games For Windows
Live service, it's Valve's
Steam. Turns out the gloves
come off in just a few weeks.
Starting in July,
Valve plans to offer a free
update that adds social
networking services like
personal pages and gamer
profiles, groups, game
scheduling, the option to see
who's played what games (or
with whom), and both voice and
text-based chat. The services
work across all existing
titles, old or new. And for
all that, you'll only have to
pay? Absolutely nothing.
Microsoft Live currently
has Halo 2 and Shadowrun, the
former an oldie (if goodie),
the latter a middling
multiplayer-only shooter.
Steam has Half-Life, Half-Life
2 (plus all the upcoming
episodes), Medieval 2: Total
War, Trackmania, Civilization
4, Hitman: Blood Money, Sid
Meier's Pirates,
Counter-Strike, Geometry Wars,
Sam & Max, The Movies, DEFCON,
and several dozen more
critically well-received
games...
winbeta.org -
22.06.2007Adobe bringing full version of flash to mobile phones
Adobe is shifting its efforts from "Flash lite" to developing a Flash Player 10 to work on higher-end smartphones. The admission came from Adobe
Chief Technology Officer, Kevin Lynch, at Adobe's Max conference in San Francisco. "We are midst of evolving Flash Player 10 for mobile," Lynch
said. "We're taking the full Flash Player and making that run on the higher end of the mobile market." Adobe demonstrated Flash Player 10 on
Nokia, Windows Mobile and Google's Android devices. Lynch was unable to demonstrate Flash Player 10 on the iPhone and commented "This needs a
little more baking.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net -
18.11.2008
Microsoft Codename Max