Technology in your hands.

The high definition disc format wars could be over after reports revealed that the main backer of HD DVD, Toshiba, is preparing to fall on its sword.

The move would mean consumers won’t have to worry about choosing a format that could eventually become obsolete. But the reduced competition could eliminate incentives for the rival Blu-ray camp to keep prices low.

A Toshiba source, speaking to Reuters, confirmed earlier reports that the company was planning to concede defeat as early as this month.

Earlier, a report by Japanese public broadcaster NHK said Toshiba would soon discontinue all HD DVD production and close factories in Japan. It estimated the move would cost Toshiba hundreds of millions of US dollars.

It follows a series of defections to the Blu-ray camp by major US retailers, which came on the back of already disappointing sales and movie studio support for HD DVD.

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Researchers are cannibalising the Sony PlayStation 3 console and other gaming hardware, turning them into low-cost supercomputers to model pharmaceutical molecules and black holes, the weekly New Scientist says.

The PS3 console uses a Cell chip, made by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, that comprises a central processing unit and eight slave processors and can run on the open-access Linux operating system.

The chip is prized by chemists and physicists because the kinds of calculations required to make high-quality graphics for games are similar to those used to simulate reactions between particles, ranging from the molecular to the astronomical.

University of Massachusetts astrophysicist Gaurav Khanna has strung together 16 PS consoles to simulate gravity waves that occur when two black holes collide, the British magazine says.

Another innovation is a graphics processor made by NVIDIA that boosts gaming-image quality in personal computers.

By using the C programming language to run the chip, University of Illinois chemist Todd Martinez found he could run calculations 130 times faster than on an ordinary PC.

His is now calculating the energy of the electrons in 1,000 atoms, which add up to the size of a small protein…

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Texas Instruments Inc said on Monday it would demonstrate a prototype cell phone based on Android, the highly anticipated mobile phone operating system being built by Web search leader Google Inc.

The U.S. chip maker said the phone it will demonstrate at the Mobile World Congress trade show has “one button access” to key applications such as Web browsing, e-mail, messaging and video, making it easier for consumers to use such features.

The device will also allow for the integration of different applications, a capability mostly limited to desktop computers. For example, a real estate agent could combine information from its database with mapping software to let customers easily locate properties on the go, TI said.

The prototype handset will run on TI’s OMAP850 phone processor, which includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth short-range wireless connectivity…

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Whenever I format a computer I look too see if I am missing any drivers. First to see this menu, right click my computer and go to properties. Once there Click the hardware tab and then click the device manager button. If you have an exclamation that means it is missing a driver.

To update or install a driver, you have two options go to windows update or search Google and download one. However, sometimes you get a “Unknown Device” and you may have no idea on what this device is. You can find the type of device by right clicking the Unknown device and going to the details tab. Now change the drop down box to compatible IDs. Now you might see something like this “pci/ven_13f6&dev_0111&rev_10 ” What you need to do is copy down the items that would be on your hardware in bold. Your numbers will be different then 13f6 and 0111.  Now Search the first four numbers/letters on this site using control F. Now once you locate the company, click on it and search for the second set of numbers/letters. Now it will give you a device, Google this device to find the drivers to download.

This maybe a little confusing so feel free to leave comments if you need further explanation.

This is just a rough idea of what my computer would have if I decide to build one.

1 Q6600 CPU 2.4 GHZ

2x Transcend AxeRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

1x or 2x Standard GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3

1x ABIT AB9 QuadGT LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

These are just the basic specs that I have going ATM. I haven’t decided the case that I am going to use but will have to most likely be pretty spacious. I also haven’t chosen the fans for it and I will make a dual boot with Vista and XP. Gonna go with maybe a 100gig or 250 gig HDD, not sure yet. Don’t like what I have or want to add something? Just place your thoughts in comment.

OK by good computer I mean it has to be able to play pretty good games, such as crysis and all the other games coming out this holiday season. The only way to get a good deal on these computers is to build one yourself. By building one yourself you can save over $500. Major companies like Dell and HP overprice their computer because they can. Not many people know much about comouters so they will pay how much they are told to pay. So I suggest you learn how to build computers from the internet or even from a book in your library. Now the pricing of a computer would cost around $1500 for what I would think is a really good computer. I mean I am talking about quad core, 3-4 gigs of ram, no monitor, 8800 GT video Card,  and a nice case. You also have to look on new egg and other stores for the best price. 

Well, if you are looking for a new pc this christmas, you’ve got to take a look at the EEE pc. The eee pc is one of the best pc’s not only by its sleek design, but also its rapid boot time, and the the hardware it consits. Most importantly, an amazing pc at an amazing price of only $199, but due to high demand it’s going for mid $300’s.

Check some of the specs here:

an ultra mobile notebook computer that runs a custom Linux OS and uses a solid state flash drive (SSD) as its primary storage medium. The unit features a 7 inch screen and a built in webcam including wireless internet connectivity.

Also, it consists of 512 mb memory, a ssd 4gb hard drive, and some  other uber specs. Grab one of these and make your life mobile.

If any of you are looking for a top tier graphics card while still trying to save money, you should look into Nvidia’s 8800 GT. Many reviews on it hail it as handleing performances for cards that cost $100’s more.

Product Features
Powered by the GeForce 8800 GT OC graphics processing unit (GPU)
512MB GDDR3 memory
PCI Express x16 interface
Dual 400MHz RAMDACs
2560 x 1600 at 60Hz maximum digital resolution at 32-bit color for ultrarealistic gaming experiences
NVIDIA SLI technology delivers up to 2x the performance of a single CPU
DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.0-compatible GPU and powerful unified architecture for enhanced gameplay
Shader Model 4.0 support ensures compatibility with current and future gaming titles
2 dual-link DVI-I connectors; VGA, HDTV and TV outputs
HDCP-enabled
Includes 2 DVI to VGA adapters, 1 dual 4-pin Molex to single 6-pin PCI Express power adapter and software CD-ROM

I must say, if you are looking for a new graphics card, you should honestly consider this one.

Yes, it’s one of those glory days where I can actually do a video chat. I’ve wanted to get my hands on these gadgets for quite a awhile now, and now that I finally got it, I am ready for some online conferences.

What does the Logitech quick cam offer?

It has video Capture 640 x 480 pixels, still image capture (there is a snap button in the back), a usb cable, manual focus, and obviously a sleek slip for computer monitors.

I am going to get the cam setup, and going on. Let’s see how this comes out.

The day and age for dual core cpu’s seem over to me. I beleive we should move on to quad core CPUs like the q6600. People might believe that the dual core surpasses quad core CPUs because programs aren’t made to run it. That might be true, for now, but games will soon utilize quad core CPUs to better handle 3d gaming. Also quad core CPUs can be OC a lot. For example, with the right motherboard, a 2.4ghz quad core cpu can be OC to 3.6. So basically you have 4 CPU’s at the speed of 3.6ghz. So if you are considering getting a new computer you might want to try quad core CPUs.