New Gfx cards, New MS Device, New mobiles, AMD Attacks intel..
Feb 28, 2006 Tech
ATI, last week announced the first HDMI-HDCP Video Card, the card comes with no VGA or DVI connections making this card HDMI only, The job of encoding and serving the protected HDCP video signals will fall to a Silicon Image HDCP TMDS transmitter. mean while Nvidea released the 7900GTX, the reported spec is as follows:
this card is expected to debut early march. in other news, a website owned by microsoft, “origamiproject.com” hints at a new device, from what the website says, the device is a Tablet style PC device with an approx 7″ screen.
it would appear that these devices can play back music, connect to WiFi networks (and possibly Bluetooth devices), and has enough power to handle graphics work and games. Like Tablet PCs, Origami makes use of a pen input device, as well as buttons on either side of the screen
Man, that sounds cool. more info here. would be even better if that ATI card had a VGA/DVI port though.. although it think its probably been made a dedicated card for a reason.
Also yesterday AMD attacks intel over performance claims:
“It’s driven by the fact that they can’t talk about their current products, because everybody knows their current products aren’t very good,” said Henri Richard, AMD’s chief sales and marketing officer, in an interview with CNET News.com late Friday.
This was in reponse to a prediction by an intel executive that the companys chip scheduled for the second half of the year will deliver a 20 percent improevment in performance. source.
lol.
Sony ericsson’s new mobile phone the k800i/K790 comes with sony’s new imaging software, Cyber-shot & software specifically built in for uploading the pictures to Blogger, googles blogging service.
While various Java apps have been available to allow cameraphone shots to be uploaded directly to a blog, these new handsets are the first to come with a built-in blogging capability.
All the user has to do is select a picture and then pick the option for sending via ‘blog’ rather than MMS (picture messaging) or email. By default this will link the user directly to Google’s Blogger service.
Better still it will be entirely feasible for the user to customize his or her blogspot address from the handset – no need to access a PC. Meanwhile vodafone are showing off thier latest mobile phone, with face recognition, VGA screen and a 3.2Mp camera. The 904SH handset made by Sharp, will go on sale in Japan in April.
The security system uses a small camera positioned under the main display and replaces the PIN-code or fingerprint authentication found in some other phones. It is based on technology from Oki and is capable of authenticating within one second whether the face of the person trying to use the phone matches that of the pre-registered owner. Should recognition fail – for example, in a dark room – a backup question-and-answer system can be used.
Other features of the 904SH include support for network-based software upgrades. This allows users to download new and updated firmware across the network when required. At present upgrades typically need a visit to a service center or shop.
The 904SH has a 3.2Mp (megapixel) camera with 2x optical zoom and supports the Felica nearfield wireless communications system. This latter support means it is possible to use the handset as a touch-and-go transport pass on railways in the Tokyo area and for payment in convenience stores and other shops that accept the Edy e-money system.
Man that sounds so geeky, i want one. the blogging phones sound like a good idea, although i probly wont use one, since i dont use blogger :p vodafone article | blogger phone
Speaking of google….
has expanded its online payment service so that users can buy and sell everything from bicycle brakes to Beanie Babies through its Web site, posing an immediate challenge to eBay Inc.
Currently, Google’s payment service, Google Accounts, is available from a limited number of sellers on Google Base. More are expected to be added over the next few months, the company said.
To use the service, users must register with Google Accounts and submit credit card information. To make a purchase, users must click on a “buy” button next to a product and then go through the checkout process, which includes an estimate of the shipping costs.
Im not sure if it’ll get as popular as ebay, as ebay/paypal are a pretty strong brand when it ccomes to online auctions, although google has a good name too, so it may happen…
Users of eBay’s marketplace bought and sold $44.3 billion worth of merchandise on the Web site last year. The number of PayPal accounts has surpassed 100 million.
…in a few decades. source
Next: Blu-ray to be released 23rd Feb, this is for film titles and the first BD player from Samsung. you cant buy the blank discs yet :p
The first BD titles from Sony and MGM Home Entertainment include “50 First Dates,” “The Fifth Element,” “Hitch,” “House of Flying Daggers,” and “The Last Waltz.” Additional movies released on the new video technology will arrive in June.
Sony offered no pricing details for the BD movies or the Samsung player (BD-P1000), but the next-generation video discs are expected to sell for about $30, with the player in the $1,000 range.
I think i’ll probably wait for a while until they come down in price. source
Also today, new apple stuff!
the new iPodhifi keeps your music collection at your finger tips, and delivers high quality audio, in a clean compact design. what the iPod hifi basically is, is a sound system for your iPod, also comes with a remote :p pretty pricy for $349 though.
the new macmini, comes with a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo & up to Up to 2GB of memory.
Sounds nice, if only i could afford one :p
Blue-ray disc pricing, MS OnceCare, Ram Prices increase..
Feb 8, 2006 Tech
Sony this week announced pricing for blu-ray discs & UMD. Catalog Blu-ray titles will wholesale at $17.95, which is roughly the same price that DVDs debuted at in 1997. New releases will wholesale for $23.45, a 15 to 20 percent premium over new release DVD titles.
Sony also said they are also planning a “bundle” type thing with different formats as a taster for the consumer of whats to come in the future. Combos will be priced at $28.95, which is considerably lower than the retail price for each format purchased individually. see here for more info on that. I think thats actually a decent price, shame the writers will cost so much, but thats to be expected really.
Also this week microsoft have released prices of thier OneCare Service. Already in beta, the subscription-based package will be officially released in the US in June from retailers and via the Web. A year’s subscription will cost $49.95 and will cover up to three personal computers. The service will offer anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall components, as well as performance optimisation utilities and back up and restore tools. Technical support – in the form of e-mail, phone and chat, will be included as part of the package. more details on that here. I Dont think i’ll be buying it from people ive spoken too its rather slow and buggy atm, although it is still in beta. I think this will be like Microsofts version of Symantec’s “Internet security suite”.
Also announced this week, DRAMeXchange, a research company which tracks prices of DRAM modules and flash memory, increases in contract rates from major RAM manufacturers have sent up DDR2 prices 18 percent from the second half of January.
Hynix hiked prices 5-10 percent, while Samsung, which chose not to give specific numbers, raised prices “significantly”. More info here.
That doesnt really bother me, im not going to be buying DDR2 for a while yet :p
*hugs kin*