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 -
02.11.2006New RAM technology could drive portables, desktops
German engineers and physicists have made a prototype of an advanced RAM system that nears the theoretical speed limit for the process.
According to a
NewScientistTech report, this technology “ known as Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) “ is
claimed to be faster and more efficient then RAM currentlyavailable. Some companies speculate the capabilities and low power consumption of MRAM may
push the mobile market in the years to come. So far, however, the technology is in experimental stages at the moment, and is not available for
distribution.
winbeta.org -
14.08.2008Autodesk 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 -
05.10.2005Windows 7 and netbooks - Where are we now
There has been lot going on with Windows 7 and that it can run on 'netbooks' - lightweight, low-cost laptops that typically use Intel's
low-powered Atom processor and don't come with substantial amounts of RAM or powerful graphics processors. It all started when Steven Sinofksy,
Windows Senior Vice President, showed off Windows 7 at the PDC, on his Lenovo S10 and said it used less than half of the netbook's 1GB of RAM.
That was followed by Jerry Shen, CEO of Asus, announcing the plans to release versions of the Eee PC powered by Windows 7 in mid-2009, including a
touch-screen version.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net -
08.04.2009Vvikoo 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 -
27.01.2008Windows Machines with More than 4 GB of RAM Have Limited Shut-Down Options
Windows Vista computers that come equipped with more than 4 GB of system memory have limited shut-down options. Essentially, the Hibernate option is
no longer available on Vista machines that feature in excess of 4 GB of RAM. This scenario affects both the 32-bit and the 64-bit editions of Vista,
but at the same time also Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Microsoft has confirmed that the issue is related to the large quantity of random access
memory.
"This issue occurs because hibernation is disabled on computers that
have more than 4 GB of RAM. Hibernation
requires sufficient disk space to contain the contents of the computer's memory. Performance is poor on a computer that has more than 4 GB of memory
and that has support for hibernation. Therefore, Microsoft has disabled support for hibernation on such computers," the Redmond company
revealed.
winbeta.org -
18.03.2008More Windows 7 Release Candidate details revealed
Just a day after Paul Thurrott revealed 'Windows XP Mode' for Windows 7, he has come out and posted a few more interesting details about the
upcoming release. Here are the following pieces of information he revealed, which he's "pretty sure this is all new info." "AAC/H.264/MPEG-2
support will not be provided to Windows 7 Home Basic and Starter customers. That functionality will only go out to Home Premium, Professional, and
Enterprise/Ultimate users. But it looks like there will be add-ons made available (free or paid, it's not clear) to users of low-end Windows 7
versions. Maximum RAM. All 32-bit versions of Windows 7 "support" 4 GB of RAM, of course.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
26.04.2009Hotmail'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 -
21.07.2009Qimonda Samples GDDR5 Graphics Memory
Qimonda announced today that it has begun sampling its new
GDDR5 graphics RAM to customers. The GDDR5 RAM is available in 512MB capacities and will see duty in graphics cards hopefully in the near future.
Currently the vast majority of video cards on the market from ATI and NVIDIA are still running GDDR3 RAM. ATI uses GDDR4 in two of
its video cards. I have to wonder with the big video card makers not jumping on GDDR4 if the adoption of GDDR5 memory will happen very quickly.
Qimonda says that the GDDR5 standard is nearing finalization in JDEC. The RAM will be available with data rates up to 20Gytes/s per
component. That speed is more than double the bandwidth of the fastest GDDR3 modules commonly used today. The first GDDR5 using products are expected
in 2008.
winbeta.org -
01.11.2007Autodesk 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 -
07.08.2007Update: Re-Testing Vista w/2GB RAM, Office 2003
exo.blog: Many of our members have requested that we re-test Vista SP1 with 2GB of RAM instead of the 1GB we used in our original tests. So, without
further delay, we present our revised results table:
winbeta.org -
28.11.2007DOJ Investigating Sony for RAM Price-fixing
Add to the extraordinarily
long list of woes afflicting
consumer electronics giant
Sony the revelation today that
the US Dept. of Justice will
be investigating it, along
with market rivals Mitsubishi,
Toshiba, Samsung, and Cypress
Semiconductor, in conjunction
with a probe into alleged
price fixing in the static RAM
(SRAM) market...
betanews.com -
01.11.2006Sam & 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 -
05.10.2006Bump your notebook to 2GB of RAM for $26.99 after rebate
If you bought a budget-level notebook within the past year, chances are good it came with Windows Vista and 1GB of RAM--a poor combination to say the
least. Vista needs at least 2GB to operate efficiently, especially on notebooks with integrated graphics processors (which borrow RAM from the rest of
the system).
Newegg.com has a
Transcend 2GB PC2 5300
notebook memory module for $26.99 (after a $10 mail-in rebate). Shipping will run you $4.99.
winbeta.org -
11.01.2008
Microsoft Codename Max