Intel's Medfield: Android concept Mobile & Tab is awesome

its seems like Intel finally now woke up and started to enter to the smartphone’s world with Medfield CPU.

and we are hoping that intel will bring his new mobile model in first half 2012 in CES. now here’s some main features of the intel’s Concept Model:

1-larger screen than iPad2 & enough lighter than iPhone 4S because of his plastic body.

2-Intel promised that this mobile will be faster in its range, with more power consumption.

3-can play B-Ray HD video & stream it to a LCD through Wi-Fi.

4-can take 10 snaps with its 8MP cam in burst mod in 15 snaps per second.

Intel doesn't have best record of giving power friendly mobile cpus, now has developing new phone and tab with his new Medfield CPU.

now we are hoping that intel will dominate smartphone market same as in personal computers market over the AMD and will satisfy their customers like his next gen core i series.

Apple MacBook Air 13 with Thunderbolt

The 2011 MacBook Air addresses nearly every concern anyone could lob at its predecessor. It's still light on ports, the missing SD slot on the 11-inch model is a drag, and no, it isn't cheap, but this machine is fast, efficient, and not to be underestimated. It's a supermodel with a law degree from Columbia, a hunky motorcycle racer who looks good in leathers yet is also a concert pianist -- whatever your passion it won't disappoint, all while making a lot more room in your bag. More room for what? Well, your life, for starters.

When last we tested an Air, the 13-inch model with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor scored a 2,717 on the GeekBench benchmark. This new 13, configured with the default 1.7GHz Core i5 and paired with 4GB of DDR3 and a 128GB SSD, nearly doubled that: 5,373. No, that won't threaten the full-bore 15-inch MacBook Pro for sheer speed, but double the performance in nine months is a welcome improvement, living up to Apple's 2x promises here, and from what we've seen elsewhere the 11-inch lives up to its 2.5x promises as well.

The outside of this 2011 refresh of the MacBook Air is virtually indistinguishable from that which came before it. Yes, that means compromises. On the 13-inch model you'll still have to make do with but one USB port on the left and one on the right, but now that latter one is flanked by a Thunderbolt connector, Apple's implementation of Intel's Light Peak standard. This 10Gb/sec interconnect has become standard fare on all new machines coming out of Cupertino, a fact that should help to accelerate the so-far tardy uptake in support from accessory manufacturers.

The 11-inch model is likewise emblazoned, but sadly has still not been granted an SD reader, something restricted to the bigger 13. On the left you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, the MagSafe power connector and... nothing else. All other ports have been deemed unnecessary by Apple's designers and therefore relegated to myriad USB adapters for things like Ethernet -- though if you start relying on those you'll likely need to start packing a USB hub as well.

Like before, the omission of these ports leaves the Air free to pinch down to a delicious taper beneath the keyboard, thin enough to make for a decent cleaver when no proper blade can be found -- or when you just can't be bothered to find one. Even on the fat end it measures a mere .68-inches (17mm) thick. Or thin, rather. (engadget.com)

Intel's Core i7-980X Launches with a Bang

Intel today launches its newest processor, the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, which promises to be the new king of the CPU hill. The Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (codenamed "Gulftown") is Intel's first six-core processor for consumers, more specifically gamers and well-heeled multimedia professionals.
The Core i7-980X replaces the Core i7-975 as the top-of-the-line Intel processor. It costs approximately $999 per chip, which is the same price as the i7-975. (It's therefore no surprise that the Core i7-975 will be going away soon.) The Core i7-980 is truly a "drop-in" replacement, since it shares the same LGA-1366 socket as the i7-975 (and i7-920, i7-960, etc.). You should be able to use the most recent motherboards with an Intel X58 Express chipset; all you'll have to do is flash the motherboard's firmware before you install the chip. The usual suspects will have BIOS updates available on their Websites: Intel, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, Foxconn, EVGA, Biostar, etc.

The Core i7-980X has six cores and comes with Intel's Hyper-threading technology. This means it can work on twelve streams at once. This is a boon for people that need multi-processing, like graphics professionals transcoding videos, or people doing 3D rendering in software (think CGI). Like previous Core i7 systems, the i7-980X has TurboBoost, which can turn off some of the cores and give that power to the remaining cores (if, for example, your photo editing program can only address two cores). It also can "boost" all six cores above the usual 3.33-GHz specs, as long as the CPU cooler can keep up with the heat output. Intel can do this because it builds a large amount of overhead into its chip design, so that its new standard cooling fan can handle the occasional spike in thermal energy. Needless to say, this on-demand overclocking won't be constant, but most of the time a computer is waiting for you, rather than vice versa.

Another boost in performance is the result of the larger 12MB L3 cache on the processor (up from 8MB on the Core i7-975). The L3 cache is a holding cell for the data the CPU is processing, and more L3 cache means that the CPU has to access the relatively slower DDR3 memory less often. The cache will help speed up single-threaded tasks like gaming, though as seen in our testing, the choice of GPU is still more important to the hardcore gamer..

Not surprisingly, the Core i7-980X will show up on gaming PCs first, like the Maingear Shift and Falcon Northwest Mach V (Core i-980X). Well-heeled gamers are exactly the type of consumer who will crave a $6,000+ system with a $1,000 processor and $1,500 worth of graphics cards. Gaming system builders have a lot of experience combining the extra overhead in the CPU's thermal envelope with liquid cooling to bump the stock 3.33GHz clock speed up to as much as 4.3GHz while running heavy loads. The overclocked processors still cool down while idle, so they're not running at full speed all the time.

So, is it worth it? Yes and no. Our performance tests with the Falcon Northwest Mach V and Maingear Shift show a significant performance bump in multi-threaded tasks like CineBench R10 (a doubling of performance from the mid-range Core i7-870). There's also a significant speed bump for the PCMark Vantage test, which is multi-threaded and measures day-to-day tasks. However gaming tests still depend more on the graphics you put into the system, with the credit going to multi-GPU systems rather than multi-core CPUs. The multimedia tests are starting to reach a plateau of diminishing returns: while the scores are still getting faster, having an ultra-fast quad core and SSDs are "enough" for tasks like Windows Media Encoder and PhotoShop CS4. Throwing two more cores at the multimedia tasks won't help at this time. Maybe they will help when Adobe releases CS5; time will tell. (story Link)

Intel Core i7 [860] Lynnfield Processor Review

Last week Intel's latest addition to its arsenal of desktop processors was released in the form of the Core i7 and Core i5 series' for the LGA1156 socket. These new cores, previously known as Lynnfield (and we will still call it as much throughout our reviews), differ from the previously available Bloomfield processors (only available as Core i7 CPUs for the LGA1366 socket) in a few ways:

• Dual-channel memory controller- Lynnfield does indeed still have an integrated DDR3 memory controller but here Intel has removed one of the channels from Nehalem to make the new core dual-channel. While this is theoretically a performance drawback, in real-world testing (as you will soon see) the third channel made very little performance difference in most consumer applications. By removing one channel Intel was able to make the CPU package smaller (less pins required), lower the cost of ownership (only two DIMMs needed now) while keeping performance very high.
• No QPI interface- While Nehalem used the QPI interface to communication with the north bridge of the motherboard, Lynnfield uses a connection called DMI. DMI is much slower than QPI (2 GB/s versus 26 GB/s or so) but in nearly all cases that bandwidth will be more than adequate for the amount of data moving between the processor and chipset even in a worst case scenario. Again, with this change, Intel was able to lower the pin count for Lynnfield in relation to Nehalem.
• Integrated PCI Express 2.0- A first for a consumer processor, Lynnfield actually takes 16 lanes of PCIe 2.0 and moves them onto the die of the processor itself. That means that the graphics cards (or any other PCIe devices) now communicate directly with the processor itself rather than through a north bridge or chipset controller. The advantage here is for a lower cost chipset though I am betting that performance advantages from this are going to be minimal to non-existent. This is basically another move towards a more highly integrated platform on the Intel CPU.
• Split HyperThreading integration- HyperThreading is still around on the Lynnfield processors, but it will only be enabled on SOME of the product offerings. While the die size and transistor counts will be exactly the same, Intel will basically just flip off the HyperThreading capability in order to create a market differentiation and pricing segmentation. More details on what CPUs have what on the next page.
• Larger Turbo Mode differentiations- While Lynnfield was being prepared Intel's engineers found out how to get a little more frequency out of the Nehalem architecture and you'll notice that when you see the larger Turbo Mode improvements on Lynnfield. Essentially, the cores have been fine tuned in a way that will allow them to auto-overclock higher than even the most expensive Core i7 processors available today.

I won't get into all of the architectural or product differences here, but if you are still a bit behind the curve in that regard you should definitely be checking out the previous Lynnfield launch review in which I go into great detail about all things new and old in the processor, motherboard chipset options, pricing and more.

While we already tested the Core i7-870 and Core i5-750 processors, the Core i7-860 finds itself resting directly in the middle of those two parts in terms of clock speeds and Turbo Mode overclocking. (full Story)

10 Questions for Google's New Chrome OS

Google’s not-so-surprising announcement that it would launch an operating system, the Google Chrome OS, in 2010 was full of heady promises, but painfully lacking in detail. Naturally, I have some questions for Google.

1. Why Do We Need This?
Consumers like variety, but stress levels tend to rise when there are too many technology options. I think this is mostly because each platform has its own metaphors. And while some may tell users that this operating system is better than that one, most users are too scared to switch because they don't know if they can learn to use a new OS. Google, however, is applying the same thinking it used when the search giant launched the Chrome Web browser: We can do it better. They did build a super-fast Web interface, but Chrome still lacks many of the basic features we've come to expect from a good browser. Will a Chrome OS have similar gaping holes?

2. Hardware Support?
Google's blog post on the new Chrome OS seems to gloss over hardware support. "[Users] don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware." In other words, the Chrome OS should work seamlessly with all of the peripherals you currently use. But why is that? The OS is being built on a Linux kernel, which means that while driver support is decent, it's not foolproof. Will Google work with OEMs to have a rich set of drivers available within the OS? Will you have to download all the drivers you need for your existing hardware? How will they ease the process of installation?

3. Linux? Really?
I know I've said this before, but why do people keep going back to Linux as the best alternative to Windows? There are excellent Linux distros out there, such as Ubuntu, but none of them are quite as easy to use as Windows or the Mac OS. More importantly, two years of Vista did not create a new user bonanza for the Linux platform. It didn't even do all that much for the Mac OS. Instead, Windows users suffered but stayed put. Now many feel like they're about to be rewarded for their patience with Windows 7. Look at it this way: When gas prices soared to record highs, people did drive less and they even traded in their Hummers for Hyundais. What they didn't do is rush to hybrid vehicles. I know there are more of them on the road than ever before, but they are far outnumbered by traditional gas-guzzlers. Face it, the tried and trusted (Windows) seems to stick around even when better alternatives are available.

4. What About Android?
Android is a decent little mobile operating system, and it may even do a good job of powering a new generation of netbooks—I'm still waiting to see the first one—but it hasn't exactly taken its primary market by storm. In fact, it's taken almost a year for the second Android-based phone to arrive. I don't know what caused the holdup. Perhaps it's the same problem that Linux has: consumers have found the mobile platforms they really prefer and aren't interviewing any others.

5. Which OEMs?
Most major PC manufacturers have offered Linux boxes at one time or another, but they don't push them. There are no ad campaigns out there, and they're typically not featured on, say, Dell's homepage. Google certainly has the clout to get into the offices of Acer, Dell, and HP, but how receptive are these companies to Google's platform overtures? Like the rest of us, they've suffered through a bad 2008 and a dismal 2009. Would they really want to risk precious marketing dollars on an untested platform? All are gearing up for Microsoft's Windows 7 push (which kicks off in earnest on October 22). It's the closest thing these manufacturers have to a sure thing. The Chrome OS has risk written all over it.

6. Can We Trust Open Source?
The open source community is brilliant at building out new OS features, but it also tends to fracture. Does anyone know how many different Linux distributions exist? Can Google depend on the open source community to put the interests of the lowest common denominator first?

7. Will the OS Be in Beta?
Okay, I'm asking this one somewhat facetiously. Google officially grew up this week when it pulled most of its major apps and services out of Beta. I'd say it's no coincidence that it did this right before the Google Chrome OS announcement. The ever-present "beta" tag on many of the company's products made it seem somewhat less than serious about software. The company can't afford that perception now.

8. Is Chrome Chrome?
One thing that isn't clear is whether the Chrome OS desktop is actually going to be a brand new interface, with new code, or if the whole thing is simply a rejiggering of the Chrome Web browser with a Linux kernel underneath. Google's blog post makes it sound more like the latter. That could be kind of cool; you get things like tear off tabs and an incredibly lean, speedy interface. On the other hand, how does it handle tasks and applications, navigation, file storage, networking? Does that all get passed off to the Linux platform?

9th and 10the will continue on full post Link

Intel May Release Core i7 975

Several distributors and retailers are showing that Intel's upcoming Core i7 975 will ship at the beginning of April, not the end of May.
Is the Intel Core i7 975 coming sooner than we think? That's what many distributors and retailers are reporting, and actually have the upcoming processor listed for next month. As an example, this website shows an April 6 street date, and this website shows an estimated date of April 7. Granted, these dates aren't official, and are estimates only. However, it's a huge jump considering that the Core i7 975 wasn't expected to ship until the end of May.
The release of the 45nm Core i7 975 (Extreme) is a rather highly-anticipated one, as the quad-core Bloomfield processor will serve as the new flagship chip for Intel, boasting a core speed of 3.33 GHz, support for LGA 1366 sockets, uses 1 MB of L2 cache and 8 MB of L3 shared cache memory, and has a TDP of 130W. Recently the processor was leaked, overclocked, and benchmarked, pushed up to an "extreme" clock core speed of 5,239 MHz, breaking the then-current record of Futuremark's 2DMark05 benchmark application. As it stands now, the benchmarked rig featuring the Core i7 975 sits in the #2 position, recently conquered by a rig sporting Intel's Core i7 965.
As of this writing, the Intel Core i7 975 will cost end-users a whopping $999 USD; the Core i7 950, clocking in at 3.06 GHz, will be available as well for a cheaper-but-still-hefty $562 USD. Other processors included in the original May lineup consist of the Core 2 Duo E7600 ($84), the Pentium Dual-Core E6300 ($84), and the Celeron Dual-Core E1600 ($53).
Intel also plans to ship six Core 2 Quad processors next month. (link)

Asus W90Vp : World’s Most Powerful Gaming Laptop

Asus W90Vp is a desktop replacement notebook that offers record-breaking performance in a stylish, aggressively-designed chassis inspired by high-performance luxury vehicles.

Based on an ASUS motherboard using an Intel X38 desktop chipset, the W90Vp boasts a Discrete Graphics Engine (DGE) using a pair of ATI Radeon 4870 videocards with 1GB of video memory in CrossfireX, 6GB of system memory, and an overclockable Intel Core 2 Quad-core processor for class-leading performance. The DGE with its dual Radeon cards offers mind-blowing performance, allowing it to reach over 15,000 3Dmarks in 3DMark06 in overclocked mode – a score that puts all notebooks, and some desktops, to shame.

The W90Vp is a portable movie theater with its Blu-ray drive, glorious 18.4” LCD running at full 16:9 HD 1920x1080 resolution, and an amazing Dolby-certified sound system. The sharp display features an edgeless cover for a true home theater experience that is complimented by booming audio from the integrated 5.1 Altec Lansing speaker system with a built-in subwoofer.

Seven Second Boot with Express Gate
With the W90Vp you can quickly and easily access the web, instant messages, look at photos and more with its Express Gate quick-boot environment. Just press the W90Vp’s Express Gate button and in seconds you’ll be in a fully-functional Linux environment – perfect for quickly checking your email, listening to music, or making a Skype call.

Specifications

Processor and Cache Memory
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T9600/T9400/P8600/P8400
Intel® X38 + ICH10R Chipset, FSB=1066 MHz

Operating System
Microsoft® Vista 64 bit SP1 Premium

Main Memory
DDR2 800MHz, up to 6GB, 3xSO-DIMM slots support

Display
* 18.4” widescreen HD ultra-bright LCD display (W90Vp/W90Vn)
* 17” widescreen WUXGA ultra-bright LCD display (W90V)

Graphics Card
* ATI CrossFireX™ technology with ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4870 graphics, GDDR3 1024MB VRAM (W90Vp)
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS, GDDR3 1024MB VRAM (W90Vn)
* ATI CrossFireX™ technology with ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3850 graphics, GDDR3 1024MB VRAM (W90V)

Hard Disk Drive
320 + 320GB / 250 + 250GB / 500 + 500GB (5400rpm)

Optical Drive
Blu-ray Combo/ DVD Super Multi DL

Video Camera
2.0M Pixels Auto Focus Webcam

Communication
* 802.11 Draft N wireless connection
* BlueTooth 2.1+EDR
* 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
* 56k Modem

Audio
* 5.1 channel Altec Lancing speaker (w/ subwoofer),
* 2nd Generation Dolby™ Home Theater

Interface
* 1 x HDMI
* 1 x E-SATA
* 4 x USB 2.0
* IEEE 1394
* VGA-out (D-Sub)
* Headphone (SPIDIF)
* Mic-in
* 8 in 1 Card Reader
* 1 x Express Card
* 1 x CIR
* RF-in (w/ TV SKU)
* 1 x Modem jack (RJ11)
* 1 x LAN port (RJ45)

The W90Vp-A1 features an introductory MSRP of $2,499 USD and is available immediately at leading online e-tailers. (story Link)

NVIDIA Tesla Personal Supercomputer – Now Available 4 You

Get your own SuperComputer. Experience cluster level computing performance-up to 250 times faster than standard PCs and workstations- right on your desk. The NVIDIA® Tesla™ Personal Supercomputer is powered by up to 960 parallel processing cores and 16 GB of dedicated compute memory to solve large datasets. Based on the revolutionary NVIDIA® CUDA™ parallel computing architecture, the Tesla Personal Supercomputer puts nearly 4 teraflops of computing muscle at your fingertips.

Connoi Model : NTPSC-5400
* 4 x Tesla C1060 Computing Processor (With 4GB each Onboard Memory)
* Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 2.40GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, 1066MHZ FSB
* Intel® 5400 Express Chipset
* 16GB FBDIMM Quad Channel RAM
* 500GB SATA Hard Disk Drive with 32MB Buffer Cache
* NVIDIA QUADRO FX570 Card
* 4 PCI Express* 1.0 x16 (electrical x16)
* 10 Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 6 back ports / 4 ports via 2 internal headers
* Up to 2 IEEE 1394a ports (1 back port, 1 via internal header)
* 6-port SATA (3.0 Gb/s) and 2-port eSATA
* Intel® Matrix Storage Technology (RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, with Intel® Rapid
* Recover Technology)
* Intel® PRO 10/100/1000 Network Connection
* Logitech Keyboard & Mouse
* ATX Chassis with 1000Watts Cooler Master Power supply
* DVD Writer

Price INR 4,79,500+  Connoiseur.com

Connoi Model : NTSP-780i
* 2 x Tesla C1060 Computing Processor (With 4GB each Onboard Memory)
* Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 3.00GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHZ FSB
* NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Chipset
* 8.0GB DDR2 Dual Channel RAM
* 500GB SATA Hard Disk Drive with 32MB Buffer Cache
* NVIDIA QUADRO FX570 Card
* 1 x UltraDMA133
* 7.1 Channel, Azalia (HDA)
* 2 x 10/100/1000Mbit LAN
* 1 x PS2 Keyboard
* 1 x PS2 Mouse
* 1 x Serial Ports
* 10 x USB2.0 ports (6 external + 4 internal headers)
* 2 x IEEE1394a (1 external + 1 internal header)
* Logitech Keyboard & Mouse
* ATX Chassis with 850Watts Cooler Master Power supply
* DVD Writer Price INR 2,58,500+

Review: Acer Aspire Timeline 4810T Notebook

Acer’s engineering approach has fairly assisted to innovate, highly advanced notebooks, which have tremendously attracted the notebook users, towards the Acer Brand. It is really true in the case of, Acer Aspire Timeline  4810T Notebook – a smart combo of creativity and truly the breaking news to the notebook zealots.

This latest model notebook operates on two types of systems, either on Intel® Centrino® 2 or Intel® CoreIM2 Duo SU9400 ultra low voltage processor.  It is also operating on Intel® CoreIM2 Solo SU3500 highly low energy consumption processor.

Out of many features, motherboard flexibility gives users far more alternatives to select either they intend to use it for web surfing or business scheduling.   This new model has a fitted-in dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM slot for memory enhancement that can assist up to 4GB 1066MHz memory.  The memory capacity can be upgraded to 8GB, you may have rarely thought for before. (story Link)

Intel Core i7 : No Speed Limit Processor

The best desktop processors on the planet

Brilliantly fast

With faster, intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it's needed most, new Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in PC performance. They are the best desktop processors on the planet.

You'll multitask applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation. And you'll experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost technology and Intel® Hyper-Threading technology (Intel® HT technology), which maximizes performance to match your workload.

Product information

* 2.93 GHz and 2.66 GHz core speed
* 8 processing threads with Intel® HT technology
* 8 MB of Intel® Smart Cache
* 3 Channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory

Features and benefits
Go to the next level of multi-core performance.

Intel Core i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in quad-core performance and feature the latest innovations in processor technologies:

Intel® Turbo Boost technology maximizes speed for demanding applications, dynamically accelerating performance to match your workload—more performance when you need it the most.

Intel® Hyper-Threading technology enables highly threaded applications to get more work done in parallel. With 8 threads available to the operating system, multi-tasking becomes even easier.

Intel® Smart Cache provides a higher-performance, more efficient cache subsystem. Optimized for industry leading multi-threaded games.

Intel® QuickPath Interconnect is designed for increased bandwidth and low latency. It can achieve data transfer speeds as high as 25.6 GB/sec with the Extreme Edition processor.

Integrated memory controller enables three channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, resulting in up to 25.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth. This memory controller's lower latency and higher memory bandwidth delivers amazing performance for data-intensive applications.

Intel® HD Boost significantly improves a broad range of multimedia and compute-intensive applications. The 128-bit SSE instructions are issued at a throughput rate of one per clock cycle, allowing a new level of processing efficiency with SSE4 optimized applications.

Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor (2.66 GHz) Model: BX8Ø6Ø192Ø (Price $319.99 newegg.com)

Intel® Core™ i7-940 Processor (2.93 GHz) Model: BX8Ø6Ø194Ø   (Price $599.99 newegg.com )

Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 3.2GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 Quad-Core Processor- BX80601965 (Price $1069.99 newegg.com)

Key for Switch to Apple – 07

1. Should I buy a Mac-Intel PC now or wait until the new systems running the new OS X 10.5 (code named Leopard) arrive?
There's no particular need to wait because Tiger will work just fine. If you decide you want Leopard later on you have to buy.

2. Can I run Windows and Mac OS simultaneously toggling between the two?
The short answer is no. Boot Camp, Apple's downloadable application (in beta now but expected to come standard with Leopard), lets you switch between OSs but you have to reboot with each switch. You can run both OSs simultaneously with a utility, like Parallels Workstation.

3. Can I play my favorite Windows games, like Doom3, on a Mac? What other games can I play?
You'll be happy to hear that you can play your favorite Windows games on the new Mac-Intel systems, even against other Windows users. Keep in mind though that the 3D performance is directly affected by which graphics GPU you're using. And in a Mac-Intel, the highest end graphics card is the mid-range ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, which isn't as fast as the nVidia GeForce Go 7900GTX graphics system now available in systems like our Editor's Choice, Dell XPS M1710.

4. At home, I have two Windows PCs networked via WiFi. How difficult will it be to add the Mac-Intel into the mix? Will I be able to share files between my Windows PCs and my Mac-Intel whether it's running Windows OS or Mac OS?
Setting up your new Mac-Intel machine onto your PC network is easy. The Mac OS includes built-in support for Windows Sharing, which allows Macs to access files on your other Windows PCs. However, you need to enable this file-sharing option in OS X yourself since it's not a default factory setting. Enable File Sharing in Windows XP to view your Mac files.

Third party solutions are also available, like DAVE by Thursby software, which makes identifying Microsoft networks and sharing hard drives even easier in OS X.

5. Can I still use my old printer/scanner/wireless router or do I need to invest in a device?
First, check the Apple site or your peripheral manufacturer's site and see if they have Macintosh support and download the software for that specific model. Your wireless router will work with both Macs and Windows PCs without any additional software installations.

6. I do a great deal of work in Photoshop, and heard it runs slower on a Mac-Intel computer. Is this true?
Right now, yes that is true. The Universal Binary version of Adobe Photoshop CS2 is expected to address this disparity but will not be available until sometime in 2007. If you work primarily with OS X and rely heavily on Photoshop, you will notice a slow down. In that case, it might make more sense for you to wait until the next revision comes out. For a list of all the universal binary applications, check out (http://guide.apple.com/universal/).

7. Will I be able to see my IE bookmarks in both Mac OS and Windows OS?
Bookmarks are not synchronized between the Mac OS and Windows OS. You will have to import your bookmarks into the Mac OS and update them accordingly.

8. Does it slow the computer down to have both OS's open?
Technically, you cannot have both OS's open simultaneously. You can use Virtualization software like Parallels which is a PC emulator program that runs within OS X. Doing this though will place extra strain on your Mac's resources.

9. Is the Mac surround sound interface compatible with consumer electronic devices such as home theater receivers? I have a nice 5.1 living room speaker set up already.
The included optical out port on the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro gives you surround sound capability and easily connects to home theater stereos provided you have an Optical Mini Jack To TosLink Cable.

10. Can I boot Mac OS X on a PC?
No. Mac OS X is not available for Windows-based PCs. (story Link)

Dell Studio Hybrid PC

The Dell Studio Hybrid PC is a small form factor PC that retains much of the power found in large desktop computers. The compact design gives the Studio Hybrid a smaller desktop footprint than a notebook and even some netbooks. With an Intel Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM, this may be all you need for your next workstation PC purchase.

 

 

 

Specifications

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.1GHz
• RAM: 2GB DDR2
• Hard drive: 320GB
• Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• Slot Load CD / DVD Writer
• On board high definition sound
• Five USB 2.0 ports
• Firewire (IEEE1394a) port (4-pin)
• HDMI video connector
• DVI video connector
• Network connector 10/100/1000 (RJ45)
• Digital Audio: S/P DIF Out
• Analog Audio: Headphone (front); Line-in / Line-out (back)
• 7-in-1 Media Reader
• Standing vertical with stand (as pictured) — H 8″ X W 3″ X D 8.3″
• Additional information
• For a closer look, check out the Dell Studio Hybrid First Look Photo Gallery

Who is it for?

The Dell Studio Hybrid PC is designed to be a powerful computer in a stylish, small footprint package. This PC can perform the function of a typical low graphics-required workstation, but without the large rectangular box on or under the desk.

What problem does it solve?

If desktop real estate and aesthetics are a concern, at the receptionist’s desk for example, the Dell Studio Hybrid PC is a safe bet. If a professional sleek office décor is important to your business, this small PC can be deployed unobtrusively anywhere a workstation is required.

Features

• Small form factor: The power of a workstation in a package smaller than a bread basket.
• Style: Available in many colors, the Dell Studio Hybrid PC can be deployed without infringing on the office décor.
• Performance: With an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB RAM, and a 320GB hard drive, the Dell Studio Hybrid PC has enough power for your average business workstation needs.
• Digital output: With DVI or HDMI output, the Dell Studio Hybrid PC can be deployed without a multitude of cables.
• USB 2.0 connections: There are five USB ports for connecting peripherals and flash drives.

What’s wrong

• Not expandable: With the Dell Studio Hybrid PC, what you see is what you get. There is no room for stand-alone graphics card or additional optical drives.
• Lack of 3D graphics: With the Intel integrated graphic chip set, the graphical performance, especially in terms of three dimensions, is marginal at best. You could not use the Dell Studio Hybrid PC for almost any graphical workstation.
• Cost: At $750 for our review model, the Dell Studio Hybrid PC is definitely in the highest-price range. If you want style to go along with your performance, you are going to have to pay the premium.

Bottom line for business

The Dell Studio Hybrid PC is very capable small form-factor machine. For the traditional workstation relying on e-mail, office software, and data entry applications, this computer will surely handle the workload. If style and office décor are important, a Dell Studio Hybrid PC can be found that will meld with just about any style. However, because these machines are not expandable and tend to cost more than conventional workstation PCs, the Dell Studio Hybrid PC is really a niche item. If you don’t have that niche to fill, it is likely more typical PC will have the better ROI. (story Link)

Mac OS X 10.5.7 may have Nehalem, Radeon HD 4000 support

In addition to expected fixes, Apple's upcoming 10.5.7 update to Mac OS X Leopard is now claimed to recognize Intel's newer Nehalem architecture as well as AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4000 graphics chipsets.

The reported discovery by netkas has produced just five kernel extensions for the video cards and doesn't appear to work perfectly in a bootleg installation for 10.5.6 meant for hacked Mac OS X installations. The retrofitted version doesn't recognize DVI ports fully and doesn't even recognize widescreen resolutions without third-party utilities to force the expanded screen area.
However, the extensions are enough to not only identify the mid-range Radeon HD 4850 and high-end 4870 chipsets by name but to enable Core Image and Quartz Extreme acceleration of the Mac OS X interface, which would require the direct involvement of AMD, Apple or both firms to work. They also support the full OpenGL 2.1 specification for 3D graphics.
And while screen captures aren't available to support the claims as with the video hardware, the slip also hints that 10.5.7 is the first edition of Mac OS X to recognize Intel's Nehalem architecture.

Radeon HD 4800 series cards in the OpenGL Extensions viewer and Apple System Profiler. | Image credits: netkas.

The structure is a major overhaul of Intel's approach to processors and abandons the conventional system bus in favor of an interface that lets the processors talk directly to memory, peripherals and each other.
While it's not known when or even if Apple will definitively expose the new hardware support in the formal release of 10.5.7, such add-ons will eventually be necessary. It's commonly thought that Apple will use Nehalem-based Xeon processors at the heart of its next Mac Pro workstations and will eventually filter the technology down to its portables and mainstream desktops through Core i7 processors, which share the same essential design.
Apple has also remained comparatively dormant in its support for AMD's ATI Radeon graphics and hasn't used hardware newer than the Radeon HD 2600 found in the iMac and as an option for the Mac Pro; the technology is now approximately two generations old. (story Link)

Opera 10 Alpha

Today Opera Software made available a preview of its next major browser version, Opera 10. The pre-release alpha version showcases a new rendering engine, Presto 2.2, which the company states will improve browsing performance over the previous version by 30 percent. The company also claims that the reengineered browser and rendering engine will lead in standards support, saying that it manages 100 out of 100 on the Web Standards Project's Acid3 browser test. The previous best among major browsers was Google's Chrome, scoring 79 out of 100. In my testing, I confirmed the rare 100 score, as you can see from the accompanying slideshow.

The very lightweight installer is a mere 6MB download. Firefox is just a bit bigger, at 7.2MB. Internet Explorer 7 dwarfs both, at 14MB. Installation itself is straightforward and quick. When you launch the browser, it loads in less than 2 seconds. On the same machine, Firefox 3 and Google Chrome take slightly over 2 seconds. But startup speed for all of the browsers is good on a reasonably up-to-date machine.

For speed, Opera 10 won't set any records, but it's fast—and it's still an alpha. Chrome's performance on the Sunspider JavaScript benchmark, however, vastly exceeded what the new Opera engine managed. The test runs a balanced variety of JavaScript operations—such as string manipulation, graphics operations, and decompressions—multiple times. Opera took 8,088ms (a lower score is better), far faster than Internet Explorer 7's 256,116, and slightly lower than Firefox 3's 6,535, but still substantially trailing Chrome's 2,763 on the same Vista machine.

Of course, according to Microsoft, JavaScript performance accounts for just a small fraction—under 4 percent—of actual Web-page loading time. And anecdotally, a PCMag.com page that took 4 seconds to load in Chrome took only 2 in Opera 10. But in a test called Lots of Text, which evaluates a different aspect of performance, Opera took only 92ms compared with IE's 128ms. Chrome blew both of them away, clocking a mere 12ms Firefox posted a respectable 64ms. I should note, though, that the developers may not have optimized Opera's memory usage yet in this alpha build. I loaded the same ten popular media-rich sites into Opera 10 and Firefox, and Opera required 156MB of RAM, and FireFox only 111.

In real Web site testing, the Opera 10 alpha works well with Facebook, though it didn't seem any faster than Firefox, despite the Opera team's claims. And Yahoo mail (in its newest form) still presents an error page stating that the browser isn't supported. Opera had no trouble with Citibank's site, but the Fidelity Investments financial site claimed that the browser didn't support 128-bit encryption, and it wouldn't display in my account.

The new version keeps all of the former's helpful and unique browsing helpers, such as tab previews, mouse gestures, and its trademark speed-dial page. With speed-dial, whenever you create a new tab, it opens and shows nine favorite sites of your choice, any of which you can visit with a single click. Of course, you still get a predictive address bar, much like what you'll find in Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer 8. And Opera still boasts one of the best implementations of tabs in any browser. The "new tab" button is the clearest of that in any browser, and you can drag tabs out to a new window or to the trash can. This version adds spellchecking and a streamlined feature for updating the browser. (story Link)

What's Behind the First 3D Super Bowl Ads

Who or what is InTru3D? That's the message of one of the first two Super Bowl ads to be displayed in 3D, which will feature Intel, DreamWorks, and Sobe.

Two spots will debut on Sunday: a 30-second trailer for the DreamWorks animated movie, Monsters vs. Aliens, and a second spot highlighting Sobe LifeWater energy drinks. A 3D-encoded version of the NBC show "Chuck" will be shown the day after the Super Bowl.

The 3D advertising block will air at the end of the second quarter of the Super Bowl, Intel said. Over 125 million pairs of free 3D glasses, which use a new type of 3D technology, were created by Intel and distributed by PepsiCo through their brand SoBe Lifewater.

The glasses include the InTru3D logo, although it's unclear how high profile Intel and DreamWorks will make the brand. Intru3D represents a "premium 3D cinema experience," an Intel spokesman said.

And how important is 3D to DreamWorks? It's the future of moviemaking, according to DreamWorks chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, whose support was documented in a video blog shot by an unnamed Intel representative during the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

"The whole enchilada," Katzenberg replied, when asked if the studio's films would be made in 3D following the release of Monsters vs. Aliens. "[It's] all 3D from here on out for us."

InTru3D represents the fruits of a partnership Intel and DreamWorks struck last July, where DreamWorks said that Intel microprocessors would be used as the rendering engines to create DreamWorks films. Intru3D is a "new set of rendering and animation tools that run on top of Intel hardware," according to an Intel spokesman.

The Intel spokesman referred to what DreamWorks refers to internally as Shrek's Law, where the processing power needed to calculate clothes, hair, backgrounds, and other scene components in the Shrek movies with the appropriate visual fidelity doubles with each film. "With 3D, you're quadrupling your processing requirements," the Intel spokesman said.

DreamWorks used Intel's Xeon processors to render the film, and will move to "Nehalem" processors, the Intel spokesman said; the first Xeon server chip will be known as the Nehalem-EP, Intel executives have said previously. DreamWorks will also be a future test site for "Larrabee," Intel's upcoming multicore graphics processor for PCs and rendering farms, the Intel spokesman said.  (full Story)

Technorati Tags: Intel Nehalem,Dream Works,3d Animation Movie,Entertainment

Intel’s Core i7 Gets Cold Reception

Intel’s channels are finding few takers for its newly launched Core i7 processors, due to reasons ranging from a slowdown in economy to prohibitive costs of building blocks used to build systems with Core i7.

Core i7, which was previously code named Nehalem, had won rave reviews across the globe. However, it has so far received luke warm response as the costs of building a fully fledged system based on Corei7 is approximately Rs 50,000. This is largely because the mainboards supporting Nehalem only support DDR3 memory, which though superior in performance to DDR2 memory modules, costs more than three times. Moreover, the cheapest available motherboard supporting Nehalem is currently the Intel BOXDX58SO which is priced at just over Rs 15,000 on the street. “Unfortunately, the current market situation does not help either, as the usual buyers of high-end technologies have tightened their purses,” informed Sunil Kumar, CEO of Bangalore-based Lampo Computers, an Intel Premier Provider.

Though vendors such as Transcend and Kingston have launched their DD3 memory modules, the prices are very steep. Street price of a 2 GB DDR2 memory is less than Rs 1,000 mid-January, but 2 GB DDR3-1333 is priced at about Rs 3,500.

Intel distributors are also said to be carrying limited stock of processors, as they are not finding many enthusiastic buyers. “The demand is low, and anyone who asks for the motherboard and processor, usually is discouraged after hearing the price,” informed a senior manager at an Intel distributor. 

“It’s a proverbial Catch 22 situation. Till demand drives up, you won't see volumes increasing and prices plummeting. It is very unlikely that the demand and volumes will increase till the price drops,” observed Kumar. (full Story)

Intel Cuts Quad Core Chip Prices by 40 Percent

Intel on Monday announced price cuts across a wide range of chips used in mobile and desktop PCs, including cuts of up to 40 percent for its quad-core chips.

Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9650 processors are now priced at US$316, a 40 percent drop from December. Other Core 2 Quad chip prices were cut between 16 percent and 20 percent. The quad-core chips are used in high-end desktops like gaming systems.

Intel's move could be a response to increasing price pressure exerted by rival Advanced Micro Devices, which recently announced the Phenom II quad-core chips for high-end desktops. AMD has priced its Phenom II quad-core chips between $235 and $275.

Intel also cut prices of its Xeon chips for servers and Celeron processors for mobile devices by up to 48 percent. The quad-core Xeon 3370 is now priced at $316, a 40 percent drop from December, while the Celeron 570 chip was cut by 48 percent from $134 to $70.

Amid the price drops, Intel also introduced three power-efficient quad-core chips with the "s" moniker. The Core 2 Quad Q9550s processor includes 12MB of L2 cache, runs at 2.83GHz and draws 65 watts of power. The chips are priced at $369. The chip is power-efficient version of the Core 2 Quad Q9550 chip, which draws 95 watts of power.

Intel also introduced the Core 2 Quad Q9400s processor, which runs at 2.66GHz, and the Core 2 Quad Q8200s, which runs at 2.33GHz. This chips are priced at $320 and $245 respectively. (story Link)

Intel’s CULV to Come in Q2

Intel’s new platform for thin and light ultraportables should appear as early as Q2 2009, according to Digitimes. The new platform, dubbed CULV for consumer ultra-low voltage, is a tweaked ULV Core series architecture, designed to take on AMD’s Neo platform.

According to reports, the top three notebook vendors are working on CULV based products, and expect to sell as many as 10 million CULV based units before the end of the year. As the platform is scheduled for launch in Q2, this is quite an impressive number, but the $699-899 price tag of upcoming CULV notebooks is quite tempting.

Intel apparently plans to divide the notebook market into four segments. Everything above 12.1-inches will be traditional notebooks, it will have a Atom netbook segment, Menlow MID segment and the new, thin and light 11 to 13.3-inch market segment.

Intel’s CULV platform should fill the gap between Atom based netbooks and ultraportables, or even classic 12.1-inch machines, mainly due to its competitive pricing. Intel’s decision not to allow Atoms in machines over 10 inches also makes sense, as it would hurt its own upcoming platform and further lower the average selling price of its mobile CPUs.

Recently it was reported HP would ash Intel to allow it to build 11.6 and 13.3-inch Atom based machines, but it seems HP has opted for the CULV platform instead, following pressure from Intel.

AMD launched its Neo platform on CES, and at least on paper it is in the lead, but we have still to see actual product announcements or any word from AMD on the number of design wins. When Puma was launched some six months ago, AMD boasted 90+ design wins at launch day, and we all know Puma didn’t manage to make much of an impact on the market. (story Link)

Price Watch: Aspire One Netbook, $289.99 Shipped

Notebook or Netbook? It's a question for the ages, or at least for anyone shopping for a new portable PC. Buy.com has the Acer Aspire One Netbook for a tantalizing $289.99 shipped. The hitch: it's a refurb.

The last time I posted about the Aspire One, it was $309.99 new. However, this refurb has much beefier specs, including 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows XP instead of Linux.

The One also features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, an 8.9-inch screen, a Webcam, and 802.11b/g wireless. It's modeled in sapphire blue, which I can tell you firsthand looks mighty attractive.

That's because I've got one of these babies right here. You can read about my experiences with it in The Netbook Diaries, but I'll sum up: it's a great little travel companion if you don't mind a slightly cramped keyboard and screen and have easy access to AC power (battery life bites).

This configuration sells for around $370 new, so if you don't mind a 90-day warranty instead of the usual 12 months, the refurb is definitely a good deal. If Buy.com runs out, you can get the same model for the same price from TigerDirect. (story Link)

Foolish Forecast: AMD Is Stronger Than It Looks

Semiconductor underdog Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) will report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday night. The last few quarters have been disastrous, and AMD's share price has shrunk to microscopic levels. Is this where the proverbial rubber hits the road, or will long-suffering investors continue to suffer? Let's have a little chat about all of that.

What Fools say
Here's how AMD's CAPS rating stacks up against some of its peers and competitors:

Company	Market Cap (billions)	Trailing P/E Ratio	CAPS Rating
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC)	$73.42	14.3	****
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)	$19.2	7.8	****
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA)	$4.0	11.9	****
Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA)	$2.73	N/A	**
AMD	$1.26	N/A	**

Data taken from Motley Fool CAPS on 01/20/2009. Financial data courtesy of Yahoo! Finance.

CAPS member skymutt2 wrote the following in bearish volley in early December: "Burning thru cash, loads of debt, no end in sight for the losses." Ouch.

"This is a big one for a come back," says all-star member Vet67to82, who has an "outperform" rating on AMD. "Intel's only competition ... AND saving Intel from regulatory heat as a monopoly. Intel needs AMD to survive and prosper. ... Less price competition will be good for both companies bottom lines. Sooo, I'm looking for AMD to go from $2.00 to $10 to $20." (Story Link)