An exclusive gaming industry community targeted
to, and designed for Professionals, Businesses
and Students in the sectors and industries
of Gaming, New Media and the Web, all closely
related with it's Business and Industry.
A Rich content driven service including articles,
contributed discussion, news, reviews, networking, downloads,
and debate.
We strive to cater for cultural influencers,
technology decision makers, early adopters and business leaders in the gaming industry.
A medium to share your or contribute your ideas,
experiences, questions and point of view or network
with other colleagues here at iVirtua Community.
7:12
samengland: photos, music, tv shows, contacts, cal, bookmarks, apps
7:13
samengland: "if you lose your ipad and get another one you can back it up on an iphone"
7:13
samengland: wifi - also have 3G
7:13
samengland: built in
7:13
samengland: cost - in the US
7:13
samengland: 2 plans
7:14
samengland: 250mb data per month $14.99/month
7:14
samengland: UNLIMITED play for $29.99
7:14
samengland: AT&T only
7:14
samengland: please tell your friends and colleagues about LiveTechEvents.com
7:15
samengland: activate the ipad on the ipad itself
7:15
samengland: but how much does the device cost?
7:15
samengland: international
7:15
samengland: NO INTERNATIONAL DEALS IN PLACE YET
7:16
samengland: deals hoped for by summer internationally
7:16
samengland: email....
7:17
samengland: uses GSM microsims only
7:17
samengland: ibook store, carry 1000s of books
7:18
samengland: pricing?
7:18
samengland: $999?
7:18
samengland: aggressive pricing...
7:19
samengland: THE DEVICE WILL COST AT $499
7:20
samengland: IPAD WILL COST $499 for 16GB
32 GB $599
64GB $699
$130 more for 3G on each model
$829 for 3G+64GB
7:20
samengland: 6 models
7:20
samengland: Lowest price $499 (no 3G, 16GB)
7:21
samengland: Google offers books for free, true
7:21
samengland: iBook store is ebooks (ebooks on the ipad)
7:21
samengland: external keyboard
7:21
samengland: plug in to it
7:21
samengland: like a netbook!
7:21
samengland: plug ipad in to keyboard and charging dock
7:22
samengland: also protective case like sony reader
7:22
samengland: book style
7:23
samengland: 24 months data + 64GB IPad 3G will cost a total of $1549 same cost as an imac
7:23
samengland: the ipad is SQUARE in shape
7:25
LiveTechEvents: keyboard same size as laptop keyboard?
7:25
Why will buy the iPad?
Me!
( 61% )
Not me...
( 39% )
7:26
LiveTechEvents: no new iPhone as of yet
7:26
Which iPad would you buy?
16GB
( 24% )
32G
( 26% )
64GB
( 50% )
7:27
LiveTechEvents: please vote in polls
7:28
LiveTechEvents: everyone getting the livestream ok? promo video showing now
7:28
LiveTechEvents: it has no phone capabilities
7:28
LiveTechEvents: resolution is 2x size of an iphone, apps are pixel-doubled
7:29
LiveTechEvents: no HD, no 720p
7:29
LiveTechEvents: we have feedback due to bandwidth issues
7:29
LiveTechEvents: @junjunb true, but $130 more 3G on any model
7:29
LiveTechEvents: The apple website hasn't been changed a lot which is strange normally theirs a teaser page up.
7:30
LiveTechEvents: there are 6 models
7:30
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Apple seems to have rushed this product out.
7:31
LiveTechEvents: 2 weeks were given to NYT to develop their app - it looks unfinished like a website from 1997 based on tables?
7:31
LiveTechEvents: people already know how to use the iphone/ipod touch so they will find this easy apparently
7:31
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I'd still recommend someone buy a netbook you can get a lot more for your money.
7:31
LiveTechEvents: ibook store, app store, itunes store 125million accounts with credit cards
7:32
LiveTechEvents: the processor is NOT INTEL it is just apples own 1GhZ processor (intel atom is 1.6Ghz and a netbook costs ~£250) most have built in 3G too (dell mini more, samsung NC, lenovo ideapad)
7:33
LiveTechEvents Discussion:In the UK the iPhone is currently on Orange, Vodafone and o2 so the iPad will probably be with one of those two, probably o2 at first.
7:34
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I think the iPad would look better with a wide-screen display watching films on the iPad won't be a pleasant experience.
7:36
LiveTechEvents: It has a lot of potential, who will wait for version 2?
7:37
LiveTechEvents Discussion:The games played were extremely poor they crashed and were fuzzy. Also the iBook application doesn't look as usable as the Kindle.
7:37
LiveTechEvents: is the kindle dead?
7:38
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Amazon will most likely slash the price of the Kindle to make it more competitive and plus you don't have to pay data charges.
7:40
Are you disappointed with the iPads features?
Yes
( 46% )
No
( 54% )
7:40
LiveTechEvents: Please sign up to email updates at LiveTechEvents.com main page for updates on future major tech events. Max 2 emails per year (No spam!)
7:41
LiveTechEvents: David, yes the iPad uses Micro SIM Any carrier that can handle micro-SIM will work and no contracts.
7:41
LiveTechEvents: They said earlier that international data deals would be June/July but micro sim cards would probably just work
7:42
LiveTechEvents: micro sim doesnt need contracts
7:43
LiveTechEvents: No more announcements - no iPhone
7:43
LiveTechEvents: If the iPad had a front and pack camera, that would be a great addition. Imagine Skype - video conferencing on an ipad!
7:44
Would you like the iPad to have a camera for Skype Video Conferencing?
Yes
( 94% )
No
( 6% )
7:44
LiveTechEvents: Theres apples big mistake - 96% people think the device should have two cameras
7:45
LiveTechEvents: No OLED screen but 10 hour battery life - good viewing angle almost 180 degrees
7:45
LiveTechEvents: its quite big, 9.7 inch screen with 3/4 inch bezel
7:46
LiveTechEvents Discussion:http://www.apple.com/ipad/ - website is up.
7:46
LiveTechEvents: Would this device leave the house that often? Why do we need 3G? Whats wrong with free Wifi in starbucks
7:46
LiveTechEvents: with the stand this is also a good aeroplane device
7:46
Who wants to pay £130 more for 3G? Or will you just stick with Wifi?
I want 3G
( 32% )
Im fine with Wifi
( 68% )
7:47
LiveTechEvents: screen is very responsive, A5 chip (probably ARM) is very good
7:47
LiveTechEvents: photo app responds fast
7:47
LiveTechEvents: we will have a hands on in approx 10 mins
7:48
LiveTechEvents: ****************
Please sign up to email updates at LiveTechEvents.com main page for updates on future major tech events. Max 2 emails per year (No spam!)
****************
7:52
LiveTechEvents:
****************
Please sign up to email updates at LiveTechEvents.com main page for updates on future major tech events. Max 2 emails per year (No spam!)
****************
7:53
LiveTechEvents: it docks in landscape with a keyboard
7:53
LiveTechEvents: calendar feels like a calendar (cork board etc)
7:54
LiveTechEvents: "real world experience"
7:54
LiveTechEvents Discussion:@Rufex its a lot like the iPhone OS, we're getting a demo of the iPad soon.
7:55
LiveTechEvents: No Adobe Flash on iPad <<<<
7:55
LiveTechEvents: 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
7:55
LiveTechEvents: screen's aspect ratio is closer to 4:3 than 16:9
7:55
LiveTechEvents: its square
7:56
LiveTechEvents: @JSWolf - closer to 4:3
7:56
LiveTechEvents Discussion:For anyone who's wondering what it looks its like a large iPod Touch.
7:57
Sam: ****************
Please sign up to email updates at LiveTechEvents.com main page for updates on future major tech events. Max 2 emails per year (No spam!)
****************
7:57
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Though your eyes might get tired after a long reading period, unlike the Kindle
7:57
Sam: iphone games are blown up x2 - look fuzzy
7:59
Sam: All iPhone apps which are blown up for iPad are VERY fuzzy - will all iPhone app developers make their apps for iPad too?
7:59
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Unfortunately iWork isn't as fully featured as Microsoft Office, maybe MS will develop an iPad app?
7:59
Sam: No multitasking - unmodified iphone OS
8:00
Sam: It might LOOK better but your eyes will kill after a couple of hours
8:00
Sam: Apple event is not over
8:00
[Comment From Rufex]
REALLY?! NO multitasking? do they simulated at least?
8:00
Sam: Rufex, yes!
8:01
[Comment From Rufex]
thats where kindle wins! its basically a book!
8:01
[Comment From junjunb]
since its 3g, the underground teams will make way for phone capabilities
8:01
[Comment From Doeloe]
i expected more from apple
8:01
[Comment From junjunb]
yup.. but i think its not wise to buy right of the bat.. im SURE there are a lot of bugs still..
8:01
[Comment From Kristian]
phone app could be Skype or video conferencing with Tandberg Movi
8:01
[Comment From james]
good pricing
8:02
Sam: 114,000 people watching THIS live stream
8:02
[Comment From Ken]
I don't think a netbook can beat the 499 deal
8:02
[Comment From Lee]
Agreed, it seems they did rush it. I waited for the updated iphone, and I will wait for this as well.
8:02
[Comment From Rufex]
its not the same as a netbook, touchscreen, smaller, easily carried...
8:02
[Comment From scott]
Still AT&T? What about all of us who cannot get AT&T? This is such a huge .. horrible issue. People complain about AT&T, I would just like to have the OPTION to use it. They will not give me service.
8:03
[Comment From Lee]
Only reason I can think of getting one, is if Adobe and Coral release fully functioning versions of Photoshop, Illistrator and Painter. It would be like having a piece of digital paper.
8:03
Sam: That would be good - CS4 apps on iPad
8:03
[Comment From karli]
fuck of ipad
8:03
[Comment From GeeK]
The Ipad outpriced the kindle
8:03
[Comment From Ucopmok Mok]
for me kindle is not dead because kindle still have the majority online book
8:03
[Comment From Guest]
what the hell about macbook pro updates?
8:04
[Comment From Salem]
32 is the best
8:04
[Comment From Dizaat]
Is there going to be an new iPhone today?
8:04
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Dizaat - unfortunately no
8:04
[Comment From Ucopmok Mok]
it would be great if i can play the many facebook games on the iPad,
8:04
Sam: No flash!
8:04
[Comment From Rufex]
but its much more than the kindle!! cant compare different things!
8:04
[Comment From DVE]
will you be able to use graphical programs like photoshop? Or programs like office word
8:04
Sam: DVE - just iWork
8:05
[Comment From Carl]
is there an SD card reader on the side so we can upgrade the storage?
8:05
[Comment From Lee]
A built in stylus would of been nice...
8:05
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I agree but the Kindle is good at what it does iBooks looks like an afterthought
8:05
[Comment From Guest]
USB ports????
8:05
Sam: No SD card reader, No USB ports
8:05
[Comment From Lee A]
Why are people comparing the Kindle to iPad? They're two different products
8:05
Sam: The iPad directly competes according to appl
8:06
Sam: however just like when they compared the Nintendo DS to iPod Touch
8:07
[Comment From Diogo]
Is there going to be a new macbook pro today?
8:07
Sam:
****************
Please sign up to email updates at LiveTechEvents.com main page for updates on future major tech events. Max 2 emails per year (No spam!)
****************
8:07
[Comment From Carl]
Missing GPS!!! Would be great in the RV!!!
8:07
LiveTechEvents Discussion:No it was just the iPad launched today.
8:07
Sam: True - no GPS is as big a failure as leaving the camera out!
8:08
Sam: Demo hall - 60 iPads
8:08
Sam: where was the 'One last thing'?
8:08
Have you signed up to updates on the main page at http://LiveTechEvents.com Yes
( 18% )
I will right now
( 14% )
I dont want to
( 68% )
8:09
[Comment From carmen]
I wanted USB ports and flash and would like multitasking, front facing camera, tethering. Without tethering, I wouldn't bother with a data plan. Anything else can be synced. I still love it, but I'll wait.
8:09
Sam: Do you think they were creating it for a year?
8:09
Sam: front facing camera would be great on Skype
8:10
[Comment From dylan]
im a little disappointed, i expected much more after a year of creating it!!!!
8:10
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Dylan, I think they rushed it.
8:12
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Future updates in the coming years will make it a more compelling product. It did take apple more than a year to add copy and paste.
8:14
[Comment From dylan UK]
i personally think they just bought 10inch touchscreens and added the ipod touch software onto it! theres nothing 'new' on it, its all been seen before
8:14
[Comment From Rufex]
haha! a year for copy and paste! true!
8:14
Sam: Please refresh http://www.livetechevents.com and subscribe to email updates. These will be sent out only before major events. Thank you for supporting us. We are a FREE service.
8:15
Sam: A front facing camera would be a welcome addition to version 2, along with GPS
8:15
Sam: The iBooks bookstore is up now
8:16
Sam: 9000 in our stream today. Thanks for watching. Please refresh http://www.livetechevents.com and subscribe to email updates. These will be sent out only before major events. Thank you for supporting us. We are a FREE service.
8:16
9000 in our stream today. Thanks for watching. Please refresh http://www.livetechevents.com and subscribe to email updates. These will be sent out only before major events. Thank you for supporting us
I already joined
( 67% )
I'm about to now...
( 33% )
8:17
Sam: Front facing camera is a fundamental assent. What 3G operator would you rather it be exclusive to in the UK?
8:17
[Comment From dylan UK]
yes sam, as soon as they add a front facing camera i will get one. maybe they will bring out an add on? when will apple learn we like cameras on our gadgets?
8:18
[Comment From Rufex]
so, really? how much better than an iphone is it? more powerful processor, more RAM Im sure, but software the same still with no multitasking, and apps the same but enlarged and not in a good way...
8:18
Will the iPad fulfil a need in your life if you choose to buy one?
Yes
( 25% )
Np
( 75% )
8:19
[Comment From r1]
are they gonna announce the new iphone 4g?
8:19
LiveTechEvents Discussion:not today
8:19
[Comment From raymund]
so when we will get front camera?
8:19
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Probably in the next 1-2 years
8:19
Sam: Processor is almost 100% faster though no multi task and also the fact that iphone apps are being used are a big pitfull, the font size will be very big and games and graphics pixellated
8:19
Sam: Remember most iPhone apps are designed for THUMBS not HANDS.
8:19
Sam: This will cause big problems in the UI of apps
8:20
Sam: What about the ASUS nvidia tablets coming out? Competitors?
8:20
[Comment From Sunny]
iphone os 3.2? any word?
8:20
Sam: No word of this Sunny
8:21
[Comment From Rufex]
technology for the iphone existed long before its appearance but due to price issues no such phone was launched. only apple can launch an expensive thing like that and their people will buy it..
8:22
[Comment From Rufex]
will this ipad have the same success as their iphone?
8:23
Sam: Almost 10,000 people joined us today for our coverage. Thank you for joining us! We are a 100% free service. Please join our email list at http://www.livetechevents.com (refresh the page) - we will send max 2 emails per year to notify you when we do live coverage of MAJOR tech events. We will improve our coverage in the future and ensure that video quality is better and you will hear our audio discussion. This is the first event we covered and it went well!
8:23
[Comment From raymund]
will this works as a phone with the 3g connection?
8:23
Sam: No it will not, but it has 3G for data
8:23
Rufex: nope! no phone capabilites!
8:24
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Nobody really knows what the iPad will do, the iPhone had a purpose what purpose does the iPad have
8:24
Rufex: HP's tablet should should come up anyday now!
8:24
Sam: GPS would be cool on the iPad
8:24
Rufex: that should be another interesting event and something which we can compare with the ipad through and through...
8:25
What would you most liked to have seen on the iPad?
Front facing and main cameras
( 55% )
GPS
( 5% )
Tethering
( 0% )
Stylus
( 0% )
OLED Screen
( 40% )
8:26
Rufex: also, the possible name iSlate was so much better!
8:27
LiveTechEvents Discussion:yeh although I would have thought apple would be starting to move away from adding 'i' to the front of everything.
8:27
[Comment From Sunny]
to be honest i told myself i would never get an iphone, but then i became a sucker to marketing and what not and eventually got one myself. maybe the same thing with the ipad in a few years?
8:28
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Sunny, well apple certainly knows how to market a device, and I think you'll start seeing iPad's being used in your local Starbuck soon enough.
8:28
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Almost 10,000 people joined us today for our coverage. Thank you for joining us! We are a 100% free service. Please join our email list at http://www.livetechevents.com (refresh the page) - we will send max 2 emails per year to notify you when we do live coverage of MAJOR tech events. We will improve our coverage in the future and ensure that video quality is better and you will hear our audio discussion. This is the first event we covered and it went well!
8:28
Rufex: hopefully not Sunny! I mean, I'll never get tired of saying it! Two iphones and an ipad and still? No MULTITASKING?? REALLY?
8:29
[Comment From Jon Wolf]
What is the screen's aspect ratio?
8:33
[Comment From Sunny]
i dont have a macbook. well.yet maybe in about 6-9 months, but i dont think opting for an ipad would be a alternative choice? or would it?
8:34
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Sunny what kind of things would you be doing on your computer?
8:34
Rufex: I think that an ipad would never fullfill as many needs as you may have as a macbook...
8:36
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Rufex, I'd agree I think people need to realise that the iPad is basically a larger version of the iPod Touch but with a few more capabilities.
8:36
[Comment From diogo]
i need to buy a new pc, i'm thinking to buy the macbook pro, should i wait for thenew update?
8:37
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I would wait as I'm sure it's imminent.
8:37
Rufex: true! a large ipod touch is a more accurate comparison than a large iphone
8:37
[Comment From Rod Lewis]
So, I'm not the only person who wants a camera for Skype
8:38
Rufex: Guess not Rod...
8:38
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Rod, it seems a lot of people want a front facing camera.
8:38
[Comment From p0ps]
for me as a Painter, it's what I've always wanted. As a browser, social networker, emailer, reader, movie watcher, music watcher - it's got all I need. I'll get the 3G 16GB ASAP
8:39
Rufex: the painter part is really interesting!
8:39
LiveTechEvents Discussion:p0ps do you think the screen will be accurate enough to produce good paintings?
8:39
Rufex: But I'd strongly suggest you test it before you buy it!
8:39
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Almost 10,000 people joined us today for our coverage. Thank you for joining us! We are a 100% free service. Please join our email list at http://www.livetechevents.com (refresh the page) - we will send max 2 emails per year to notify you when we do live coverage of MAJOR tech events. We will improve our coverage in the future and ensure that video quality is better and you will hear our audio discussion. This is the first event we covered and it went well!
8:39
[Comment From Chris]
As a designer... I really wanted a stylus for sketching!
8:40
[Comment From p0ps]
yes, I can make it work. I can do it on the iPhone with Brushes, this will be better.
8:40
Rufex: Exactly! And what about software? Will there be good software for painting and photo editing?
8:40
Rufex: If you can do it with the iphone then go ahead!
8:41
Rufex: We have to give it to them though... If you're fine with 16Gb and no 3G, then 500 bucks is an excellent price!
8:41
[Comment From p0ps]
I expect the iPhone app developers will do a good job with making the fantastic apps available from phone to pad.
8:41
[Comment From tehbomb]
where can I watch the video
8:41
Rufex: Provided their touch screen is as good as the price...
8:42
p0ps: It has 10 finger multi-touch, correct? That's pretty sweet.
8:42
Rufex: I assume the screen is capacitive and supports multitouch... Is that the case?
8:42
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Yes it's both
8:42
p0ps: They demoed Jobs typing with all 10 fingers.
8:43
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I'd like handwriting recognition. I think it'll be a pain using the keyboard.
8:43
[Comment From DVE]
using it as a wacom tablet on our mac would be great too
8:45
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Now your talking, it would be cool if it worked out of the box as a secondary surface for the mac computers.
8:45
[Comment From diogo]
imminent like days? weeks?
8:45
p0ps: and a remote for TV & Macs
8:45
LiveTechEvents Discussion:more likely weeks.
8:46
LiveTechEvents Discussion:p0ps, let's wait for the jail breakers to get their hands on the iPad!
8:46
p0ps: Yes this is waiting to be hacked big-time.
8:47
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Almost 10,000 people joined us today for our coverage. Thank you for joining us! We are a 100% free service. Please join our email list at http://www.livetechevents.com (refresh the page) - we will send max 2 emails per year to notify you when we do live coverage of MAJOR tech events. We will improve our coverage in the future and ensure that video quality is better and you will hear our audio discussion. This is the first event we covered and it went well!
8:47
[Comment From diogo]
this ipad can't replace a wacom tablet,right?
8:48
LiveTechEvents Discussion:No I doubt it will 'officially' .
8:49
Rufex: I dont think that apple is ready to drop the i on front the names of their products. I believe their goal is that you hop on your iCar and go to your iOffice to work, have a delicious iLunch, finish the day, stop at an iBar for a beer and go home to eat and sleep with your iWife.
8:54
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Almost 10,000 people joined us today for our coverage. Thank you for joining us! We are a 100% free service. Please join our email list at http://www.livetechevents.com (refresh the page) - we will send max 2 emails per year to notify you when we do live coverage of MAJOR tech events. We will improve our coverage in the future and ensure that video quality is better and you will hear our audio discussion. This is the first event we covered and it went well!
8:56
Rufex: This was the first event covered by you guys?
8:56
Rufex: Excellent work!
8:56
Rufex: Clearly you did a great job! It's the first time I seek out to watch some live show due to my poor latin american width band and already I ended up here!
8:56
Rufex: Cheers!
8:57
LiveTechEvents Discussion:it was indeed we plan to do more in future, glad to hear it.
8:57
Rufex: bandwidth.. you know what I mean...
8:57
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I do indeed.
9:00
[Comment From Sam]
does the ipad have snow leapard
9:00
LiveTechEvents Discussion:No it's based on the iPhone OS
9:01
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Any other questions you want answering?
9:03
Rufex: it has VGA out support or AV out via dock connector and converter cable... thats interesting...
9:03
LiveTechEvents Discussion:that would be good, but it's something the iPod's/iPhone's have been able to do for sometime.
9:05
[Comment From john]
is ipad going to be consider as computer or something else?
9:05
Rufex: It's definitely not a computer...
9:05
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I would say something else, like the iPhone/Touch it can't really compete with a computer.
9:06
Rufex: It's software is not powerful enough to be one...
9:06
[Comment From convert]
That was me, windows user until I was 33yrs old, starting with a tandy. On the macbook for 1 week and I knew I'd never ever go back to windows.
9:07
Rufex: We'll all be using linux or other free software OS by the end of the decade... Ubuntu is only getting better and the new Gnome that comes out in April shall rock!
9:08
LiveTechEvents Discussion:I'm all for Ubuntu it's a great OS.
9:09
LiveTechEvents Discussion:Right, that's a wrap folk we're over and out, remember if you want to stay up to date with Live Tech Events please join our email list at http://www.livetechevents.com (refresh the page) - we will send max 2 emails per year to notify you when we do live coverage of MAJOR tech events.
Edit Delete
9:10
LiveTechEvents Discussion:thanks for participating, head over to iVirtuaforums.com if you have any more questions about the iPad.
It happens to all of us eventually, theExtremeTech staff probably more than most. Whether due to failure orobsolescence—or after you've run out of alternative upgrade paths—itcomes time to pull a motherboard out of a working system and replace itwith something different.
That's a job. It requires you to pull all of your expansion cards,disconnect and work around all the cabling, wrest the big board fromsometimes-tight quarters within a case, prep the new board, wiggle itinto that possibly cramped quarter, and, when you think you're alldone, you still have to coax Windows through the trauma of waking upwith new hardware.
We find the process daunting but fun—but then again, we're almostdisgustingly techy. If it's less of a treat for you, we've got, well, atreat for you. In the following pages we share our very best hints onswapping out a motherboard, culled from years of experience and scoresof system builds and upgrades.
Now, remember—this is a series of tips, not a step by step how-to.Don't expect a full-on motherboard installation manual; instead, usethe manual that comes with your motherboard, and use our tips to makethe job even easier.
Also, we're assuming you're keeping your existing Windowsinstallation in place. In general, it's better to perform a freshoperating system install if you're replacing your motherboard, butpractical realities often prevent this. So we've got a number of tipsthat should help you prep your Windows installation for the switch,then bring it up properly.
Preparing Windows for the Inevitable Freak-out The first stepin motherboard replacement is to prepare the operating system, andsince most of the world runs on Windows, we'll concentrate on that.Before you even think about pulling the board out of the case:
Uninstall motherboard drivers. Anything you installed withthe disc that came with your previous motherboard (or anything youdownloaded specifically for that board) has to come out. You can dothis easily through Add/Remove Programs (XP) or Uninstall a Program(Vista) in Control Panel.
Don't forget, during your uninstallations, to remove drivers foronboard devices. If your motherboard contains, and you installeddrivers for, an audio codec, a graphics subsystem, a Wi-Fi networkinterface, a wired Ethernet interface, or what have you, uninstall thedrivers for them.
You may leave drivers for expansion cards in place, but you mayhave to reinstall them after the upgrade process. Graphics drivers areespecially touchy.
This is a good time for general maintenance: Clean up the harddrive. Empty the recycle bin, delete old files you don't need any more,uninstall unused programs, run a registry cleaner if you're into thatsort of thing, and generally tidy up. Then, defrag the hard drive.
Make a complete backup of your system. If you have the necessarysoftware, create an image (in other words, an exact snapshot saved to afile) of your entire hard drive(s). If not, use Windows' own backupsoftware to create a complete backup. At the very least, save off yourimportant data files to removable media. You must do this. Shouldsomething go awry and you lose the contents of the drive, you willregret it if you don't back everything up.
Remember Your Activations!
If you have applications that require activation, those may be tied tosome portion of your existing motherboard. The most obvious of these isWindows itself. However, a number of other applications, including somegames and Adobe applications, may also require activations.
The best thing to do is to deactivate and uninstallthese apps. This is particularly true for Adobe apps. You can thenreinstall and reactivate as needed after your motherboard upgrade isdone. Of course, you'll also want the correct CD key or serial numbersfor those apps. In the case of Windows, you may not be able to activateover the Internet, but will need to talk to a live human through theWindows activation phone line. We've never had a reactivation turneddown using this method.
Removing the Old Board
Now that you've tidied up, backed up, and generally prepared thesoftware, it's time to do battle with the hardware. The first step, ofcourse, is to remove the outgoing motherboard. Let's hope your computercase doesn't have any sharp edges. Tips ahoy:
Make sure you have plenty of room to operate. Clean off aworkbench and place the off, unplugged system upon it. Make absolutelysure there aren't any metal shavings or other metal detritus on thebench.
Be static-safe: Plant your feet and ground yourself before touching any electronics. If you move your feet, repeat the process.
Have some sort of repository ready for screws that would otherwiseroll or get scattered away. Old 35mm film canisters work well, as dopaint can tops, shot glasses, or (clean) ashtrays. As you pull screws, drop them in the container for easy access later when you're reassembling the system.
Pull as many wires as you can from the board before you pull it outof the case. It's easier to remove data and power cables with the boardscrewed tight into the enclosure.
Leave the CPU, cooler, and memory in place until the board is out.It's much easier to remove them (or just discard them if you'reupgrading everything) when they're out of the case.
Keep any expansion cards you remove from the PC in antistatic bags,especially if you plan to transfer them to the new system. Set them ina safe place until you're ready to place them into the newly remodeledcomputer.
Leave the cabling in place, but move it out of the way. Sure, youhave to pull cables from the motherboard, but you don't have to pullthe other ends. Leave the cables in your system's hard drive, opticaldrive, media card reader, and so on; simply pull them aside or cramthem in a handy crevice to make room for board swapping.
If your case has a removable drive mount rack, remove it to make more room for trading the motherboards.
Pull the motherboard up by the edges as much as possible. If youmust grab something else, grab a plastic expansion slot; don't move theboard by the CPU cooler, the installed memory, or the various north-and south-bridge heat sinks.
Place the board and any components you won't need in antistaticbags and keep them safe until you know you won't need them (say, incase the new board is a nonworking dud). You might even place the oldboard in the box your new motherboard came in, relabeling it with amarker.
Preparing and Installing the New Board
Now it's time to reverse the process and install the brand-newmotherboard, and any other new components, into the system currentlyunder the proverbial surgical knife. Here are the tips:
Unbox the motherboard and examine it. Familiarity will makelife easier, especially if it's significantly different from your oldone. Know where the SATA and, if necessary, IDE and floppy ports are.Check out the CPU socket if it's different from your old one (it'squite a culture shock to go from an AMD-style ZIF (zero insertionforce) socket to an Intel-style LGA (land grid array) socket).
Also examine the extra stuff that came with your new board. You'llprobably have SATA cables, an IDE cable, a floppy cable, some expansionbrackets for USB and/or IEEE 1394 ports with onboard headers, a bookand CD or DVD, and, depending on the price point of your board and thegenerosity of the manufacturer, other goodies. Decide whether you planto use any of it, and unwrap that which you will.
Check the layout of screw holes in the board and brass standoffs inthe case. Make sure they all match up, and move any brass standoffsthat do not match with motherboard screw holes.
Install the CPU, CPU cooler, and memory before you insert the boardinto the case. It's far easier to do that on a nice, flat surface thanit is when the board is deep within the confines of the enclosure.
Lay the board on the corner of the case and attach as muchcabling as you can. It's easier to attach cables with the board out ofthe case than with it buried within. Attach SATA, IDE, and floppy datacables to their ports; front-panel connectors to the front panelheaders; any expansion bracket ports you wish to use to the properheaders; and even the power supply cables.
Lower the board into the case by the edges. Again, if you have tomaneuver it by a component, avoid the RAM and cooling parts in favor ofexpansion slots.
Screw the case into place with every screw available. Secure itsolidly within the case. With electricity and fan action comesvibration: Using every available screw will cut down on vibration thatcan eventually cause premature failure of the board.
Finally, replace any straggling wires, add expansion cards and you're almost ready.
When you first start the system up, do it with the case open. Makesure the PC will POST before you even think of sealing it up. You mighteven launch Windows once before you close the case. There's some sortof law of nature that says if you close the case too early, somethingwill be loose or unplugged and you'll just have to open it again.<!-- start ziffarticle //-->
Resolving Windows' Contortions of Protest
A Windows computer doesn't relish the idea of getting new insides.Windows installs hoards of low-level subsystem drivers on installation,and when you change-up the low-level subsystems the OS gets fidgety.Here are some tips to make its reentry a bit smoother:
Begin by letting it do its thing. It will run its driverinstallation routine for what might seem like hours. Let it install allits low-level stuff; anything you install manually will supersedeWindows' built-in drivers.
As dialog boxes appear asking for discs or driver locations, click Cancel on them. You'll install any drivers Windows doesn't already have on your own.
Windows will probably want to reboot between two and fifty times(we're kidding!) before it lets you install drivers. Allow it to do so.
When the time comes that Windows finally stops installing its owndrivers, start installing your own. Do them in this order: Motherboardcore INF files; then any other motherboard drivers (SATA/RAID,Ethernet, audio, and so on); then graphics; then any other devices thataren't working.
If you're unsure about which devices need drivers, use DeviceManager. It's available in the System area of Control Panel andpresents a list of devices in the computer. Devices lacking driverswill appear with an alert icon near their entries.
When your drivers are all installed, you should be through with the process. Enjoy your new souped up computer!
Upgrading your motherboard doesn't have to be an adverse experience.Our tips should help you streamline your motherboard install, reducefrustration, and enable a smooth transition.
Microsoft has announced that it willbe producing a new $349 60GB Xbox 360, and the 20 GB version that itwill slowly replace will be cut in price in the US to $299.
AlthoughUK price changes have not been published, the arrival of a new 60GBversion – giving users much more memory for things like movies,trailers and Xbox Live Arcade games – is in keeping with Microsoft'spush into downloadable content.
"We know consumers need moreand more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers,and we're giving it to them at no extra charge," said Albert Penello,Xbox director of product management at Microsoft.
"No onedevice offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 candeliver, and now you'll have three times the storage to manage all thatgreat content."
What does it mean for UK? The20GB version of the Xbox 360 – normally known as the Pro – currentsells for £199.99, and it seems likely that the news 60GB version willretail for the same price when it hits UK shelves.
This meansthat the older 20GB version will be given a price reduction, althoughit remains to be seen how close that will be to the Arcade version(with a much smaller storage capacity) which is currently priced at£159.99.
Microsoft's support of the now-failed HD DVD drive has meant a shift of focus onto downloadable HD (and SD) content.
Thesuccess of Xbox Live Marketplace has buoyed the console, and the offerof extra storage to boost these services makes a good deal of sense.
Prices for all other models remain unchanged, so that’s $279(£141/€176) for the Arcade (that’s the one with a 256MB memory card)and $449 (£226/€283) for the Elite – the flagship model with anintegrated 120GB HDD.
Although the leaked email said the new machine would be called thePro, Microsoft’s official announcement of the 60GB model didn’t use anysuch uplifting title.
The bad news is that – at least for the time being – the 60GB Xbox360 will only appear in the US and Canada when it goes on sale nextmonth.
You. Your friends and family. Your classmates and coworkers. In thebrave new world of the internet, everybody has power. Information isinteractive, knowledge is collaborative and history is open source. Thenerdy kid next door has just as much influence as a high schoolteacher; the dorky dude at the comic book shop has just as much voiceas a college professor.
Problem is, the nerds and dorks tend to have a lot morefree time - and passion - than the teachers and professors. The endresult? A hilariously skewed, terrifyingly twisted view of the world inwhich all the wrong things are deemed "important" and worthy of seriousacademic discussion.
Here are 15 mind-boggling examples.
See what we mean? When the deadliest, costliest war in the history of mankind has been trumped by a videogame franchiseabout that war,you know something's off. One involved over 50 countries and took over70 million lives; the other involves button mashing and tea bagging.
On an encouraging note, we did have to add all the Call of Dutygames' individual pages together to reach the crazy number above. On adiscouraging note, we didn't have to add Call of Duty 4 and itsnon-WWII setting, which would have brought the total word count to aneven crazier 18,927.
Oh, and on a simply ridiculous note? Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare beats "modern warfare"... 5,858 to 2,873.
Alsoless important than Call of Duty! • American Revolutionary War = 8,078
• American Civil War = 11,729
• English Civil War = 8,030
• Napoleonic Wars = 7,951
• Hundred Years' War = 7,992
• War on Terrorism = 10,674
• War on Drugs = 7,628
• Cold War = 10,117
• "War" = 9,233 While the magic menagerie of super-powered, frilly-maned, sparkly-eyed, rosy-cheeked wonder beasts might make for slightly more exciting cards than a Three of Spades, the emphasis here is still extremely wonky.
Poker has been around for longer than anyone can remember... the Pokemon Trading Card Game was invented in 1996. Poker has created millionaires and forced bankruptcy... the Pokemon Trading Card Game might have resulted in some lost lunch money and a temper tantrum or two.
Alsoless important than Pokemon Trading Cards! • Baseball cards = 4,686
• Blackjack = 5,228
• Roulette = 5,492
• Checkers = 2,326
• Pool (Billiards) = 621
• Bowling = 407
• Wheel of Fortune = 4,521
• "Trade" = 3,038
• "Games" = 2,830 Before you get the wrong impression, no, the Master Chief does not win in a Wikipedia matchup against George W. Bush... though his approval ratings are undoubtedly higher.
The truly astounding thing, however, is that he does emerge victorious against not one, not two, but TENof this country's past commanders in chief. Yes, 23% of the men whohelped make the United States the strongest nation on Earth are easilydefeated by a fictional and faceless videogame character who barelyknows how to speak and takes orders from a naked hologram. Go America!
The orange word count above is an average taken from the USPresidents beaten by the Master Chief. Here's the full, patheticbreakdown:
Leaders of the Free Worldless important than Master Chief! • James Monroe = 2,820
(5th President)
• John Quincy Adams = 3,457
(6th President)
• John Tyler = 3,431
(10th President)
• Zachary Taylor = 2,235
(12th President)
• Millard Fillmore = 3,631
(13th President)
• Franklin Pierce = 4,203
(14th President)
• James Buchanan = 3,888
(15th President)
• Rutherford B. Hayes = 2,686
(19th President)
• James A. Garfield = 3,915
(20th President)
• Chester A. Arthur = 3,078
(21st President)
In the future, when Captain Kirk is battling tribbles and Data islearning how to love, this lopsided comparison will make completesense. Why wouldn't the entries for the glorious Starship Enterprise dwarf that for a dusty museum piece like the automobile? We expect the pages for hoverboards, robot maids, personal time machines and giant laser death rays to do the same.
For the present, though, why does a make-believe spaceship deserve more words than the planet's principal mode oftransportation? Also, why does that make-believe space ship deserve noless than nine separate pages, including unique entries for six different models of the NCC-1701? Seriously?!
You think Hideo Kojima's cut scenes are long? Try reading Leo Tolstoy's epic tome. War and Peace waspublished in four books over five years, covers nearly a decade ofhistory and includes more than 1,400 pages, more than 560,000 words andmore than 3 million characters. It's generally considered one of thelongest novels - hell, one of the longest things - of all time.
Somehow, though, the writers on Wikipedia managed to summarize thewhole plot in 1,922 words. Well done! Now we'd be really impressed ifyou guys could squeeze the plot of a single damn videogame - even therambling old man that is Metal Gear Solid 4 - into less than 2,548 words.
The top numbers (in orange) are for the entire entries.The numbers in the preceding paragraph, as well as the list below, arefor the subsections entitled "plot," "story," or "synopsis."
Alsoless important than Metal Gear Solid 4!
(by plot, story or synopsis)
We won't get jealous and play the competition card here. EGM isimportant, a veritable titan of the industry with a massive and devotedfollowing. Many of us here at GamesRadar include ourselves in that camp.
But come on... do the latest screenshots of Chun-Li'sthighs really carry more weight than the 2008 election? Do you reallyneed to know the review score for Turok more than you need to know thereasons for the recession? Is the dropping price of the PS3 morecritical than the rising price of gasoline?
Yes, Electronic Gaming Monthly - and any videogame publication - is totally worthy of 4,429 words. We just wish that Time and other vital news sources received the same attention.
We love, love, love the soundtracks to Final Fantasy... but someone put way, way, way too much effort into this Wikipedia page. The intro alone is nearly 700 words, lengthier than the entries for many singers, bands and genres. Rock and roll, the biggest genre of them all, doesn't stand a chance.
Of course, the vastness of the web was made to hold such exceedinglyniche minutiae, but even the fan who owns all of these compilationalbums probably agrees that they could have fit onto the page forgeneral Final Fantasy music. Unless that fan is the one who wrote this obsessive love letter to begin with...
Alsoless important than obscure Final Fantasy music!
Email this article Bookmark Bookmark this Article
Close Digg.com Del.icio.us Reddit.com
Facebook Slashdot.org Google Bookmarks
N4G Stumbleupon.com Fark.com
Jeffrey Dahmer was a cannibal, Charles Manson was a deranged cultleader and John Wayne Gacy, worst of all, dressed up like a friggin'clown. Yet the complete list of these horrible, horrible murderers -together with dozens of depraved others - is apparently about 3,000words less significant than the list of Maverick boss characters in the Mega Man X series.
And that's compared to the list of serial killers by country. Look up the list of serial killers by number of victims andthe difference grows to 6,000. Go ahead and add the two lists togetherif you want - at 8,000 words total, they still fall short of the sheerterror and infamy inspired by Cyber Peacock, Blizzard Buffalo,Overdrive Ostrich and Armored Armadillo. Ooh, we're getting chills justthinking about them!
Above: The true face of evil
Let's be honest. Who doesn't love Gardulla the Hut? Who didn't havea poster of Cole Fardreamer or Elan Sleazebaggano hanging on theirbedroom wall as a kid? Who wouldn't beg their parents to buy them thatKlaatu action figure for the holidays?
Qwi Xux, Plo Koon, 2-1B, Chief Chirpa, Yarna D'al Gargan, BaronSoontir Fel, Meewalh, Oola, Commander Cody, Baron Soontir Fel, TraskUlgo, Gartogg, Wam "Blam" Lufba and, of course, little Windy... all ofthem are forever entwined in our dreams and imaginations.
No surprises here. After all, Superman (10,641 words) has been known to survive a nuclear explosion... inside his own ass. And Batman (10,818 words) invented his own damn brand of shark repellent Bat spray!
Obviously, these guys are far superior to the rest of us. End of discussion.
Above: Holy sardine!
Both the fictional Umbrella Corporation and the real world National Human Genome Research Institute studythe mysteries of genetics. Both engage in the cutting edge field ofbiomedical engineering. Both are located in small towns. Both haveseemingly harmless, yet somehow creepy names. Both have seeminglyvague, yet somehow menacing logos.
Wait a second - are these two organizations actuallyone and the same?! Has Umbrella been a front all along, a clever ployto distract us from the true zombie overlords? We knew that tiny word count seemed suspicious...
Above: Oh shit.
According to Wikipedia, Kirby is "a small, pink, spherical creature with large red feet."
Exactly. Done. Enough said. Oh, if only that were the case...instead, that is merely the first sentence of a 1,512 word subsectionentitled Characteristics, which goes on to describe - in disturbinglydetailed sub-subsections - the Personality, Abilities and Species of Kirby. Yes, species.
The dog hasan overall longer page, sure, but the fact that Kirby's"characteristics" actually overcome those of man's best friend isabsolutely insane. They shouldn't even be close.
As expected, Jesus whoops Mario byquite a large margin in total Wikipedia word count. In a miraculousturn of events, however, Mario's Legacy section is actually longer thanJesus' Legacy. Yes, you heard right - a pixelated plumber is consideredto have had a bigger impact on the world than the central figure ofChristianity and, to some, the physical embodiment of God. Wow.
Then again... Jesus can walk on water and heal the sick,but Mario can shoot fireballs out of his hands and turn into a raccoon.Jesus has an awesome beard, but Mario's got a super sweet mustache.Jesus ushered in much of modern religion, but Mario ushered in much ofmodern gaming. Both can come back from the dead, though to be fair,Jesus only did that once.
At last, we reach the ultimate showdown. In this corner, we have God, who Wikipedia describes as:
"... the principal or sole deity in religion..."
"...the creator and overseer of the universe..."
"... omnipotent and eternal..."
"... the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable being existent..."
His opponent? Knuckles of Sonic the Hedgehog fame, who Wikipedia describes as:
"... a red, teenage, anthropomorphic echidna..."
"... the fourth most popular character in the series..."
"... shy around girls..."
And, uh, yeah. How did this guy beat God by more than 4,000 words again? Well, to reach Knuckles' number, we did have to add two pages together, one for his game character and one for his comic character. To level the playing field, we should probably give God the Bible or something, right? Of course, we'll also have to give Knuckles his comic books and two videogames (Knuckles Chaotix and Sonic & Knuckles) to keep things even...
Damn! Sorry God - you lose again. Looks like we have a new omnipotentoverseer in the universe... or at least in the strange, silly, scaryand seriously skewed universe that is Wikipedia.
I would not recommend anyone to get a quad core for gaming. I have a socket 939 Operteron 180, a 2.4GHz dual core with 2mb of L2 cache. I got it for $170, which is not bad for a dual core Opteron. You may say "That thing sucks you couldn't do any good gaming on it". Well apparently, with my 7900GT, I played the Crysis demo with medium-high settings (physics were maxed as far as I remember) and with a 25-45 framerate, my cpu usage stayed below 90%. Now, if my video card were not the downfall, it is possible my cpu would reach 100% but if I had a better video card, I probably would be using a better cpu as well. My point is, even a 2.4ghz dual core is good enough to play crysis, so those "know-it-alls" who get their precious 2.8ghz quad core intels have not only wasted a ton of money but have more performance than they'll really need.
Mountain House (CA) – It appears that AMD’s ATI Radeon 4800 GPU has turned out to be a much better chip than initially expected and AMD’s aggressive pricing puts enough pressure on Nvidia to prompt price adjustments. If you are planning on purchasing a GTX 260 or 280 card, you may want to delay until next Monday. Price cuts are on the way.
Over the past several days we have spent some time with several Nvidia’s partners in the Silicon Valley and in Taiwan, which made it obvious that there are tensions between GPU manufacturers and add-in board companies. A raging price war put five companies on the verge of bankruptcy. We cannot disclose who almost kicked the bucket, but we were told that three vendors are still walking on very thin ice.
With the debut of GeForce GTX 200 series, made some adjustments protecting its partners with greater margins, but the ATI Radeon 4800 series is changing that scenario again. AMD has received praise from the press for its ATI Radeon 4800 series, causing Nvidia partners to demand price adjustments. We were told that Nvidia finally stepped down from its pedestal and agreed to offer limited price protection for some products - as well as price cuts.
We contacted Nvidia to get more details on this information and were provided with the following statement by Bryan Del Rizzo and Ken Brown, spokespeople for Nvidia:
"We’re working with our partners on adjusting the prices for the GTX 280 and 260. The changes are being implemented over the next few days and will take effect sometime next week. Please obtain final retail pricing from the partners, because they set them for their products."
The third sentence has to be taken with a grain of salt, a most partners complained to us about Nvidia’s Unilateral Minimum Advertised Price Policy, short UMAP, and the way it affects them. For the consumer, however, we have yet another example how well competition works. The race between the Radeon 4800 series and GTX 200 will ultimately drag prices down.
According to our sources, Nvidia cut the price of the GTX 280 by $90 and $30 for the GTX 260. Of course, that is a price cut Nvidia is handing down to its partners and does not reflect retail prices.
GeForce GTX 260 cards currently sell for $379.99 on Newegg ($399.99 minus $20 instant rebate on XFX, BFG and PNY cards), while GTX 280 cards sell for $619.99 ($649.99 minus $30 for the XFX board).
After Nvidia’s adjustment, we should see Monday prices going down to $359.99 for GTX 260 cards and to $559.99 for GTX 280 cards. Please note that we are not including the possibility for additional rebates that may be offered. For example, if you purchase PNY's GTX 280 from Newegg.com, you currently pay 569.99. After price cut, this might dip down to $479-499, lowering the price below $500 mark.
It appears that we might end up with permanent price brackets at $199, $299, $399 and $499. This would greatly simplify the search for the best possible graphics card at a certain point. Also, this opens the battlefield between single and multi-GPU setups: Could two boards for $199 provide more value than a single $399 or $499 card?
We are sure, hardware review websites are going to find out.
We like big explosions, the bigger the better, in fact.
Wealso like smoke effects, water ripples, dappled lighting filteringthrough jungle canopies and creeping up silently behind people, beforemurdering them with our bare hands. But enough about our weekendpastimes…
What we really like are the fantastic visuals that DX10 gaming offers.
If you listen to most people, they will tell you that you need a quad-core, DDR3, triple-SLI setup to play Crysis. The sort of setup that requires you to remortgage your house to own. These people are wrong, and we're going to show you why.
We'vepreviously demonstrated how to build a DX10 setup for just under £300,a not unreasonable amount that should be within the reach of mostpeople. But what if you just blew all your money on a sordid weekend inAmsterdam, and you've resorted to scrambling under the sofa for loosechange? Would you believe us if we told you that it's possible to builda DX10-capable rig for well under £200? Well, it's true.
Ofcourse you can't connect it to a 22-inch wide screen monitor withoutthe frame rates plummetting, but if you're on that tight a budget, abig monitor is probably the least of your concerns.
Wheneveryou work to such a tight budget, something has to give and this projectwill be no exception. We need to prioritise in certain areas, whileothers can be largely ignored.
Yes, a case is important to stopyour gear being an untidy heap of electronics on the floor, but reallyyou just need a metal box to screw things onto. Optical drives are dirtcheap, and with memory stick capacities being what they are, hardlyanyone burns DVDs, so we only need a DVD ROM.
It also means noquad-core and no SLI. But dual-core chips are surprisingly cheap, andwe'll see just how well a budget DX10 card performs. Don't forget thatif you have any parts available from an existing PC, such as cases anddrives, you can reuse them and put the money towards a higher-end CPUor graphics card.
Case and PSU Ifyou want a well-designed case, with plenty of fans, numerous ports andplenty of upgradability, then it's easily possible to spend more thanour entire budget on such a beast.
Likewise, if you want a 1KwPSU that supports the likes of SLI, then it's going to cost a fairamount of cash. At the other end of the spectrum is the all-in-one caseand PSU deal. We found one for just £26, which includes a 400W PSU.
Thismay not sound like a lot of power, but it's more than enough to run oursetup. When spending such a small amount of money on a case, you'dexpect it to be quite horrific, but it's surprisingly well featured. Ithas a matt-black finish, which helps on the looks front, and the frontpanel has USB and audio ports.
Most of the internals can befitted without the need for a screwdriver, and it even has a lockingside panel. Sure, it isn't the best-looking or quietest case we've everseen, but for this sort of money, we're not complaining.
The result? As the most basic DX10 card available from NVIDIA, it comes as no surprise that the performance of the 8400 is not the best.
However,at £20 it still does pretty well, as long as you keep the resolutionrealistic. Okay, not everyone wants to play at 800x600, or even1024x768, but then you shouldn't be so cheap, should you?
Surprisingly, Crysis gave some of the best results, although BioShock achieves the best framerates of all. Using the Optimal settings button, Crysisdid set all the detail level to low, but the results still lookedpretty good. However, if you're going to be realistic about playingDirectX10 games, then you are going to have to find a little more moneyin your budget.
Hooking the 9600GT up to our budget CPU workedabsolute miracles, and at around £70 extra is an absolute steal. Notonly could we turn the detail right up, but we could run a higherresolution and still get twice the frame rates of the 8400GS.
Surprisingly,adding a high-end quadcore CPU doesn't give much of an increase, witheither the 8400 or 9600GT. In conjunction with the 8400Gs, the Phemom9550 does give you some extra fps over the Athlon X2 4400+, but withwhen it comes to the 9600GT, the difference over the 4400+ setup ismarginal.
So, if you want the best performance, and can spend alittle extra, buying the 9600GT is the logical choice. You know itmakes sense.
Linuxis a hacker’s dream computer operating system. It supports tons oftools and utilities for cracking passwords, scanning networkvulnerabilities, and detecting possible intrusions. I have here acollection of 10 of the best hacking and security software tools forLinux. Please always keep in mind that these tools are not meant toharm, but to protect.
1. John the Ripper
John the Ripperis a free password cracking software tool initially developed for theUNIX operating system. It is one of the most popular passwordtesting/breaking programs as it combines a number of password crackersinto one package, autodetects password hash types, and includes acustomizable cracker. It can be run against various encrypted passwordformats including several crypt password hash types most commonly foundon various Unix flavors (based on DES, MD5, or Blowfish), Kerberos AFS,and Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 LM hash. Additional modules have extendedits ability to include MD4-based password hashes and passwords storedin LDAP, MySQL and others.
2. Nmap
Nmapis my favorite network security scanner. It is used to discovercomputers and services on a computer network, thus creating a "map" ofthe network. Just like many simple port scanners, Nmap is capable ofdiscovering passive services on a network despite the fact that suchservices aren't advertising themselves with a service discoveryprotocol. In addition Nmap may be able to determine various detailsabout the remote computers. These include operating system, devicetype, uptime, software product used to run a service, exact versionnumber of that product, presence of some firewall techniques and, on alocal area network, even vendor of the remote network card.
Nmapruns on Linux, Microsoft Windows, Solaris, and BSD (including Mac OSX), and also on AmigaOS. Linux is the most popular nmap platform andWindows the second most popular.
3. Nessus
Nessusis a comprehensive vulnerability scanning software. Its goal is todetect potential vulnerabilities on the tested systems such as:
-Vulnerabilities that allow a remote cracker to control or access sensitive data on a system.
-Misconfiguration (e.g. open mail relay, missing patches, etc).
-Defaultpasswords, a few common passwords, and blank/absent passwords on somesystem accounts. Nessus can also call Hydra (an external tool) tolaunch a dictionary attack.
-Denials of service against the TCP/IP stack by using mangled packets
Nessusis the world's most popular vulnerability scanner, estimated to be usedby over 75,000 organizations worldwide. It took first place in the2000, 2003, and 2006 security tools survey from SecTools.Org.
4. chkrootkit
chkrootkit(Check Rootkit) is a common Unix-based program intended to help systemadministrators check their system for known rootkits. It is a shellscript using common UNIX/Linux tools like the strings and grep commandsto search core system programs for signatures and for comparing atraversal of the /proc filesystem with the output of the ps (processstatus) command to look for discrepancies.
It can be used from a"rescue disc" (typically a Live CD) or it can optionally use analternative directory from which to run all of its own commands. Thesetechniques allow chkrootkit to trust the commands upon which it dependa bit more.
There are inherent limitations to the reliability ofany program that attempts to detect compromises (such as rootkits andcomputer viruses). Newer rootkits may specifically attempt to detectand compromise copies of the chkrootkit programs or take other measuresto evade detection by them.
5. Wireshark
Wiresharkis a free packet sniffer computer application used for networktroubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocoldevelopment, and education. In June 2006, the project was renamed fromEthereal due to trademark issues.
The functionality Wiresharkprovides is very similar to tcpdump, but it has a GUI front-end, andmany more information sorting and filtering options. It allows the userto see all traffic being passed over the network (usually an Ethernetnetwork but support is being added for others) by putting the networkinterface into promiscuous mode.
Wireshark uses thecross-platform GTK+ widget toolkit, and is cross-platform, running onvarious computer operating systems including Linux, Mac OS X, andMicrosoft Windows. Released under the terms of the GNU General PublicLicense, Wireshark is free software.
6. netcat
netcat is a computer networking utility for reading from and writing to network connections on either TCP or UDP.
Netcatwas voted the second most useful network security tool in a 2000 pollconducted by insecure.org on the nmap users mailing list. In 2003, itgained fourth place, a position it also held in the 2006 poll.
The original version of netcat is a UNIX program. Its author is known as *Hobbit*. He released version 1.1 in March of 1996.
Netcat is fully POSIX compatible and there exist several implementations, including a rewrite from scratch known as GNU netcat.
7. Kismet
Kismetis a network detector, packet sniffer, and intrusion detection systemfor 802.11 wireless LANs. Kismet will work with any wireless card whichsupports raw monitoring mode, and can sniff 802.11a, 802.11b and802.11g traffic.
Kismet is unlike most other wireless networkdetectors in that it works passively. This means that without sendingany loggable packets, it is able to detect the presence of bothwireless access points and wireless clients, and associate them witheach other.
Kismet also includes basic wireless IDS featuressuch as detecting active wireless sniffing programs includingNetStumbler, as well as a number of wireless network attacks.
8. hping
hpingis a free packet generator and analyzer for the TCP/IP protocol. Hpingis one of the de facto tools for security auditing and testing offirewalls and networks, and was used to exploit the idle scan scanningtechnique (also invented by the hping author), and now implemented inthe Nmap Security Scanner. The new version of hping, hping3, isscriptable using the Tcl language and implements an engine for stringbased, human readable description of TCP/IP packets, so that theprogrammer can write scripts related to low level TCP/IP packetmanipulation and analysis in very short time.
Like most tools used in computer security, hping is useful to both system administrators and crackers (or script kiddies).
9. Snort
Snortis a free and open source Network Intrusion prevention system (NIPS)and network intrusion detection (NIDS) capable of performing packetlogging and real-time traffic analysis on IP networks.
Snortperforms protocol analysis, content searching/matching, and is commonlyused to actively block or passively detect a variety of attacks andprobes, such as buffer overflows, stealth port scans, web applicationattacks, SMB probes, and OS fingerprinting attempts, amongst otherfeatures. The software is mostly used for intrusion preventionpurposes, by dropping attacks as they are taking place. Snort can becombined with other software such as SnortSnarf, sguil, OSSIM, and theBasic Analysis and Security Engine (BASE) to provide a visualrepresentation of intrusion data. With patches for the Snort sourcefrom Bleeding Edge Threats, support for packet stream antivirusscanning with ClamAV and network abnormality with SPADE in networklayers 3 and 4 is possible with historical observation.
10. tcpdump
tcpdumpis a common computer network debugging tool that runs under the commandline. It allows the user to intercept and display TCP/IP and otherpackets being transmitted or received over a network to which thecomputer is attached.
In some Unix-like operating systems, auser must have superuser privileges to use tcpdump because the packetcapturing mechanisms on those systems require elevated privileges.However, the -Z option may be used to drop privileges to a specificunprivileged user after capturing has been set up. In other Unix-likeoperating systems, the packet capturing mechanism can be configured toallow non-privileged users to use it; if that is done, superuserprivileges are not required.
The user may optionally apply aBPF-based filter to limit the number of packets seen by tcpdump; thisrenders the output more usable on networks with a high volume oftraffic.
Do you have a favorite security software tool for Linux? Feel free to comment and tell us about it.
The 4870 X2, like its predecessor, the 3870 X2, essentially sports apair of GPUs, each with its own memory bank, and operatingco-operatively using AMD's CrossFire technology.
No wonder then that the 4870 X2 has two 4870 'RV770' graphics chips and 2GB of GDDR 5 memory - 1GB per GPU.
Reports citing Taiwanese graphics card suppliers say the X2 will bepriced at around $499 (£251/€314) when it goes on sale around themiddle of next month.
The NPD Group has released US PC software sales datafor the week ending June 21, with EA's Spore Creature Creator comingout on top.
Maxis reported that one millionSpore creatures were created and shared during the stand-aloneprogram's first week of availability. The full Spore game will bereleased in September.
Sales of Spore Creature Creator werestrong enough to place the game at number six on the All Categorieslist - the only game to appear alongside business, education andutility software.
The Top Ten best-selling PC games in the US for the week ending June 21 were:
1 Spore Creature Creator (EA)
2 The Sims 2 Double Deluxe (EA)
3 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Eidos)
4 World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack (Vivendi>
The Spore Creature Creator was software that allowed players to create their own creatures with a standalone version of the Creature Editor from Spore; the software was one of the first aspects of the game to receive focused development, and had undergone ten rewrites since the start of development. It was rated E by the ESRB in early March 2008, indicating that the editor would be released separately well before the game's release as a utility program. Electronic Arts told MTV Asia that "EA Screen will provide visitors a chance to interact with EA's game producers hailing from the studios, and unveil the hugely anticipated SPORE Creature Creator demo version to gamers for the first time in Asia." Electronic Arts VP Mark Buechner stated on the Spore Facebook page that the editor would be released in June or July 2008, saying, "We are looking at releasing it two to three months before the launch of the full game."
The SimCity Box artwork showed a blurb stating that the creature editor would be included with it. IGN revealed that the Spore Creature Creator utility will be available in two different versions on June 18, 2008. There was a paid version (for $9.95) and a free demo that was downloadable from Spore.com and included for free, bundled with The SimCity Box. The free version of the editor only contained 25% of the available creature parts that were found within the full version.
The utility included a test environment for players to see their creatures go through animations and allow the player to import other user-created creatures through the Sporepedia at Spore.com. The utility included screen capture and video tools as well, including YouTube functionality.
The editor also gave the user the ability to create animated avatars,and output in RSS and embeddable HTML code to facilitate easy incorporation into such sites as MySpace and Facebook.
Shortly after its introduction, the Creature Creator was used to create creatures with oversized genitalia, either stand-alone or engaged in coitus (a phenomenon quickly dubbed 'sporn'). EA responded with e-mails sent to those who made pornographic machinima from its demo, and has flagged certain on-line accounts for "TOS violations". Furthermore, YouTube has pulled several such videos for violations of its own TOS.
By June 24, 2008, users had already created over one million creatures.
It has been noted by those using the Spore Creature Creator, that while the Social and Attack categories can reach a max score of 20 with enough parts on the creature, the Abilities category does not achieve a max in the Creature Creator. This has led to speculation from it being the brain levels to advanced sensory abilities to telekinesis.
Electronic Arts confirmed that Spore will be receiving post-release expansion packs. No other information is available as to what sort of content the packs will feature, but EA has hinted it will be similar to The Sims expansions.
A Wii spinoff of the game has been mentioned by Will Wright several times, such as in his October 26, 2007 interview with the Guardian.Buechner confirmed it, revealing that plans for a Wii version were underway, and that the game would be built from the ground up and would take advantage of the Wii Remote, stating, "We're not porting it over. You know, we're still so early in design and prototyping that I don't know where we're going to end up, so I don't want to lead you down one path. But suffice to say that it's being developed with the Wii controls and technology in mind."The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Spore are still under consideration.
Merchandising
There will be an iTunes-style "Spore Store" built into the game, allowing players to purchase external Spore licensed merchandise, such as t-shirts, posters, and future Spore expansion packs.There are also plans for the creation of a type of Spore collectible card game based on the Sporepedia cards of the creatures, buildings, vehicles, and planets that have been created by the players.There are also indications of plans for the creation of customized creature figurines; some of those who designed their own creatures at E3 2006 later received 3D printed models of the creatures they created. The Spore Store also allows people to put their creatures on such items as T-shirts, mugs and stickers.
The Spore team is working on a partnership with a comic creation software company to offer comic book versions of your own Spore story. Comic books with stylized pictures of various creatures, some whose creation has been shown in various presentations, can be seen on the walls of the Spore team's office.
A man who hacked into a third partyValve file server and stole the credit card numbers of Steam Cyber Caféusers has been caught by Dutch police.
The hacker, who went by the onlinehandle MaddoxX, managed to break into a server containing credit cardinformation, transaction amounts, Valve's bank balance and data thatallowed the creation of counterfeit Cyber Café websites.
MaddoxX posted the information on a website, but didn't use the information for personal gain. According to ShackNews, he posted a message that said: "We also don't want money from VALVe, we want a simple message on their site."
Despite making a moral standing on that occasion, the Dutch Ministry ofthe Interior said that the 20 year old hacker had managed to "burn 13million Euros playing poker online and shopping for notebooks, flatscreens and MP3 players." Based on that, we're guessing he wasn't asmorally resolute every time he came across personal data.
Inaddition to the Valve incident, he is also being charged with hackinghis way into an Activision server and downloading an unfinished copy ofEnemy Territory: Quake Wars. Which, if nothing else, is not the gameyou want to get caught hacking for.
While there's been rumours surrounding the D700 for some time now, at a press event in London yesterday, with TechRadarpresent, Nikon finally confirmed it is to release the D700 andexplained how it fits into the company's expanding DSLR portfolio.
The D700 is a 12MP camera that uitlises the same image quality of its bedfellow, the Nokon D3.
The12MP images come courtesy of the cam's CMOS sensor, while othertechnology taken from the D3 include the EXPEED high-speedimage-processing system, 14-bit A/D conversion and 16-bit processingpipeline that helps with smoothing out images when they are reproducedon a large scale.
Lightweight design TheNikon D700 is a lightweight and durable camera that builds on the workdone by the company with the D3, but achieves it with a smaller,lighter design.
Working in low-light conditions the D700 isimpressive, shooting up to ISO 6400 and delivering virtually noise-freeimages, according to its makers.
Continuous shooting can bedone 8fps with the appropriate battery pack, while autofocus is done toprecision with a 51-point AF system.
As Nikon has made its DSLRrange easier to carry, it has taken on board that people may want toshoot in less-than perfect conditions, so the company has added a sealto the camera that protects it from moisture, dust and evenelectromagnetic interference.
The sensor is also protected withan Integrated Dust Reduction System that stops the CMOPS chip fromcoming into contact with dust and humidity.
Recognition Oneof the newer options is the ability for the camera to recognise peopleand places and to automatically configure the controls accordingly.Included is Nikon's Scene Recognition System, and the camera will alsorecognise certain colours that can aid in faster capturing of, say,individuals at a sports event.
As with most new cameras, the D700 houses Live View, but the company has made the mode more responsive this time around.
Accordingto Nikon, you can now focus the camera while in this mode, and you canalso zoom in, which can aid in setting up the focus for your shot.
The menu system is the same as that found on the D3 and D300 so regular Nikon users will feel right at home using the camera.
TheNikon D700 is an expansion of the companies FX range and has beendesignied to sit in between the D3 and D300 in terms of technology. Thecamera is out in July at a price of £1,999.99 (body only).
The introduction of Nikon's new D700 may been one ofthe worst kept secrets in an industry with more leaks than the Titanic,but it was still something of a surprise coming so hot on the heels ofthe D3 and D300. Essentially a D3 shrunk down and squeezed into a bodyroughly the same size as a D300, the D700 is Nikon's first 'compact'professional SLR, and seems designed to go head-to-head with whateverCanon has up its inscrutable sleeve to replace the EOS 5D.
Theimaging side of the D700 is pretty much the same as the D3; it sharesthe acclaimed 12.1MP full frame ('FX') sensor and has the sameprocessing engine, so we would presume output to be almost identical.The main differences (aside from being considerably smaller) arephysical; there's a different shutter (good for 150,000 exposuresrather than 300,000 on the D3), different viewfinder prism (with 95%coverage) and a slower burst rate. You also lose the rear LCD infopanel (there's no room for it) and one of the D3's two CF card slots,but you do get a couple of extra features to soften the blow slightly;most notably a self-cleaning sensor and a built-in flash. We'll look alittle more in-depth at the differences between the D3 and D700 in amoment.
Because this isn't a mandatory question I'll keep it short.
But basically what I've been seeing lately is Nvidia and ATI are almost just about equal in performance. But I'm so confused as to what is ATI doing wrong that is so ineffective? For example, Most Nvidia cards have a 600/1700MHz clock speed (core/memory) and no more than 128 streaming processors. ATI's competitive cards are more like 800/2000MHz with 240 streaming processors.
This is just an example off the top of my head but its about what things are like right now, so what I want to know is what is ATI doing that makes everything they have significantly slower? Their latest card has 640 streaming pipelines, thats nuts. Yet it just barely compete's with Nvidia's good stuff, and it sure as hell doesn't have over 320.
I don’t know about you but I’m not much into fancy-pants 3D firstperson shooters. I can’t be bothered to build a massive gaming rig,blow $500 on a video card, and figure out what custom weights give me the best mouse response.
I’ve got a WII, and I love it, and one of the big reasons I do is for the emulation. Sadly however, I can’t bring my WII to work or to the coffee shop down the street - but I can bring my laptop, jump on their WiFi and fire up these four awesome sites for a quick old school gaming fix!
VirtualApple (Apple II and Apple IIGS) I don’t know about you but every now and then I get a craving tohunt square rabbits, hire unfit workers, make them walk too far andthen lose three days because I’ve got scurvy. Virtual Apple alwayssatisfies my Oregon Trail fix; but don’t other classics like JohnElway’s Quarterback, Crystal Castles, and Max Headroom (don’t lie, youremember Max Headroom).
c64s.com (Commodore 64) My family’s first computer was the UPS-brown Commodore 64, so thisone really takes me back. I even remember “modding” the case to thenewer, more angular style when it came out. Yikes. Thrill to suchCommodore favorites as Zork, Wizard’s Lair and Pakacuda. The site hasall the titles categorized by genre and features screenshots - furtherunderscoring the real graphical prowess of the C64!
Virtualnes.com (Nintendo Entertainment System) vNes has a huge catalog of NES cartridge titles available for play on their site via a Java-based emulator- 765 of them to be exact. I’ve noticed a few problems with slowness ona few titles, but all in all it’s an excellent place to play old gamesonline and satisfy your urge to jam on Super Mario Brothers, Zelda, orone of my favorites: Ivan Stewart’s Super Off Road.
Playnes.net (Nintendo Entertainment System) Another big catalog of NES titles, but you’re able to register whichgives you the ability to save states in the games you’re playing. Youcan even open other people’s states - meaning that when your buddy getsstuck trying to battle through the ninjas, you can swoop in, rescue thePresident, and prove just how bad a dude you really are.
GetBack.Com Arcade Unlike the rest of the sites I listed, GetBack isn’t strictly agaming site. It’s kind of a “throwback culture” site. The upside isthat they do have several games in their arcade that you can play, likeIntellivision Backgammon and River Raid.
What about you? Where do you go to satisfy your vintage gaming urges? Let us know!
his past week, 38 Studios (the developer founded by Red Sox pitcherCurt Schilling) announced that Thom Ang was appointed Director of Art.He will oversee the direction and management of 38 Studios' artisticdevelopment, including the MMOG codenamed Copernicus, whileworking closely with Todd McFarlane and R. A. Salvatore. Ang willreport to Vice President of Creative Development, Scott Cuthbertson.
"38 Studios' creative teams have been meticulously crafting thesignature look and feel for our upcoming MMOG over the past 18 months,"said Brett Close, CEO and president. "Thom's extraordinary talent andexperience will be key in driving the vision and quality of our OnlineEntertainment Experience."
Ang has been working as a director for notable franchises and brandsfor over 15 years. He's worked as a senior artist at DisneyInteractive, working on titles like Toy Story II and Tarzan. Ang also created illustrations for TV shows, including The X-Files and was a storyboard artist for Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star TV Animation programs, which include Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles and Max Steel.He then moved on to be art director at EA LA, where he headed up artproduction, team management and visual concept development for the Medal of Honor franchise. In his last position, Ang was art director at THQ, managing more than 25 titles.
"38 Studios is absolutely committed to the next evolution of MMOGs, andevery team member has great pride in the value of what they do,"remarked Ang. "I am excited to contribute to this vision and become apart of an extraordinary team."
Lisa Jablonsky - Kongregate Kongregate announced this past Friday that Lisa Jablonsky will open thecompany's New York ad sales office. She will work with Kongregate'sChief Revenue Officer Lee Uniacke to secure high-profile advertisingpartnerships based on the site's reach and appeal to young men, ages 13- 34.
"With high user engagement and a growth rate of over 25 percent monthover month, Kongregate provides the ideal medium for advertisers tryingto reach this hard-to-pin-down demographic," stated Uniacke. "As webuild our sales force to address these opportunities, Lisa's proventrack record in developing successful partnerships across a range ofyouth-driven digital consumer brands will add tremendously to theexpertise of our team."
Jablonsky has worked in the New York advertising scene for 21 years andshe was as an early proponent of the digital advertising arena. Amongher projects, she has conceptualized and implemented ground-breakingfilm contests for Intel and Kohl's, and created one of the first mobilecontests for Alltel. Jablonsky helped create games for McAfee Softwareand the National Guard, as well as construct an editorial integrationprogram for Coke's NBA March Madness Flash game. She was most recentlyan account executive with MTV Networks, where she successfully droveadvertising and integrated sponsorships for Comedy Central,AddictingGames.com, Shockwave.com, and AtomFilms.
"Kongregate is an advertiser's dream as it attracts young men betterthan virtually any other site on the Web and puts them in a cool, edgyenvironment where our audience can really interact with their brand,"commented Jablonsky. "At over 3 million unique users today, a highgrowth rate, and just being named one of Time Magazine's Top 50 sitesfor 2008, we're on track to give advertisers the big reach that theyneed to effectively target the young male demographic this fall."
Trion World Network - Glen Van Datta Trion World Network announced recently that Glen Van Datta has beenhired as Vice President of Engineering and General Manager of TrionWorld Network Austin. He will oversee day to day operations at Trion'sAustin studio and supervise all customer service, quality assurance,operations and other support activities with relation to the Trionplatform.
"Glen is a tremendous hire for Trion and an excellent addition to ourworld class technical organization", said Nicholas Beliaeff, VicePresident of Product Development & Head of Trion World Network SanDiego. "Glen's vision, leadership, and deep history maturing andproductizing compelling online game technology will help Trion take ourserver based game technology to the highest levels while helping us andour partners get to market more quickly."
Notably, Van Datta has worked for over 22 years in softwaredevelopment, including the past dozen in game development. He wasco-founder and Vice President of Engineering at RTIME, where he oversawthe development, design and testing of the RTIME SDK online, in-gameand player matching platform. Van Datta most recently worked at SCEA asDirector of Online Technology, where he oversaw a team of more than 80employees that developed SCE-RT SDK to enable online games for PS2, PS3and PSP games, including Singstar, Warhawk, Resistance, Home and GT5 Prologue.
"For more than 12 years I've believed that online games, online socialnetworks and online media distribution were the future ofentertainment," said Van Datta. "Trion's innovative, dynamic platformand content are the next generation in the online entertainment space."
IGN Entertainment – Jamie Berger IGN Entertainment announced recently that senior vice president ofconsumer products and technology Jamie Berger will start overseeingbusiness development for the company. He will continue managing IGN'ssubscriptions, digital distribution, and e-commerce portfolio includingIGN's Direct2Drive and GameSpy Technologies.
Berger has over 16 years of professional brand management and marketingexperience from within the online gaming industry. He began hisprofessional career as an Account Manager with the NCR Corporation.Berger spent six years in the consumer products division of The WaltDisney Company before joining IGN Entertainment. He currently helpsextend the IGN brand by creating and leading partnerships thatdistribute content and drive revenue.
AMD - Emilio Ghilardi AMD, which runs the ATI graphics card business, announced this pastweek that Emilio Ghilardi has been appointed senior vice president andgeneral manager of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He will beresponsible for all sales and marketing operations within EMEA,starting in mid-August 2008. Ghilardi will report to AMD chief salesofficer Gustavo Arenas.
"Emilio adds tremendous global sales and marketing leadership to AMD inEMEA which we expect to help strengthen and grow relationships with ourend-user customers, OEMs and distribution partners," said Arenas.
Ghilardi comes to AMD from HP, where he started as vice president ofConsumer PC Clients in EMEA. He then moved on to be vice president andgeneral manager of Commercial Hardware within the Imaging and PrintingGroup. Ghilardi was most recently vice president and general manager ofHP's EMEA Consumer Business Unit, managing the business for consumerPCs and Imaging and Printing products.
AMD added that Alberto Macchi, corporate vice president of Sales andMarketing for EMEA, is departing the company "to pursue newopportunities."
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution - Jacqueline Jourdain Hayes Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) recently announced thatJacqueline Jourdain Hayes has been named Senior Vice President Businessand Legal Affairs. She will manage legal issues around new digitalbusiness models (such as distribution of Warner properties on Xbox Liveand elsewhere) globally, oversee the negotiation of Warner Bros.video-on-demand and electronic sell-through licenses across multipledigital platforms, and provide legal counsel to the Company's seniormanagement on the acquisition, distribution and protection of contentfor digital platforms and other digital initiatives.
"Jackie has been working on our digital business for quite some time,her expertise in this area is unparalleled," said Clarissa Weirick,General Counsel, WBDD. "The digital business is still one of thoseareas where you are often making the rules as you go along, whichrequires someone like Jackie who is confident and creative innegotiating this new terrain. We are extremely fortunate to have hercontinued expertise as our digital business moves ahead."
Hayes has worked as an Associate in the Corporate Departments of TroopMeisinger Steuber & Pasich in Los Angeles, of Goulston and Storrs,P.C. in Boston, and of Moses & Singer in New York City. She joinedWarner Home Video in 1998 as Counsel, and was promoted to VicePresident Business and Legal Affairs of WHV in 2000. Hayes joined theWarner Bros. Digital Distribution division in July 2006.
TC Digital Games – Andi Smithers Recently, TC Digital Games announced that it appointed Andi Smithers tothe new position of Director of Technical Development. He will overseedevelopment of the company's digital services, including mediatechnology and format strategy as well as interoperability of digitalservices and devices.
"Andi joins our team at a pivotal moment in the evolution of Chaoticand TC Digital," said Bryan C. Gannon, President and CEO of TC DigitalGames. "He will become an integral part of our efforts to enhance theChaotic online experience and further develop our digital services.Andi's expertise in developing technology, his extensive background increating computer game software and his vision for emerging technologymake him a perfect fit to lead this innovative game play convergence."
Smithers has held several executive roles and technical positionsthroughout his 20-year career, having worked for Microsoft, Activision,Psygnosis, LucasArts, and Midway. He was most recently with Sony OnlineEntertainment where he served as Senior Engineer in the Research andDevelopment group. Smithers pushed advanced physics and graphicstechnologies forward to ensure their quality and was responsible foroverseeing the strategy and development for a cloth simulator.
Microsoft – Michael Delman As we previously reported, Microsoft this past week appointed MichaelDelman to the position of corporate vice president of global marketingfor the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) in the Entertainmentand Devices Division. He takes over the role for Jeff Bell who left thecompany earlier this month. Read more about the move here.
