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Google Talks up free phone calls
Earlier this week Google announced its free phone service, Google Talk, and in the process grabbed much media attention.
Which is both good, and a shame. Good, because it has focused attention on the PC to PC free calls and instant messaging market. Bad, because there have been Voice over IP services around for ages, and some of them are very good.
We downloaded and tested Google Talk, and you can read the review here. In the meantime, if you're interested but have never tried any of these free call services and want an easy introduction to the world of VoIP, check out Skype, which is currently the most popular, well-developed and best available.
New Ipod 'could cause flash shortage'
A new solid-state 4GB Ipod set to launch later this year could cause a scarcity of flash memory, according a US report. Apple as much as 40 percent of the NAND flash modules made by major supplier of Samsung says the magazine EE Times.
It quotes market researcher iSuppi as saying Samsung had offered Apple "extremely low prices" in to switch from hard-disk storage to NAND memory for its 4GB modules.
Dixons sells tablets
Tablet PCs are a rare sight in the major UK computer stores but selected Dixons and PC World branches are to stock the Toshiba Satellite R10. This is fairly cheap for a tablet at £999 inc Vat, for a machine with a 14.1in screen and multi-format DVD burner.
No precise specifications have been announced but the R10s are sold with either 1.6GHZ and l.7GHz processors. A big drawback is that the R10 weighs 2.85Kg, which is a lot to carry about.
Why Toshiba is plugging this model in the UK rather than the smaller 12.1in Portege M200, weighing 1.1Kg, is anyone's guess. The M200 is on sale here but you have to look for it. It's priced a little above the R10.
We are still waiting to get our paws on the Motion LS800, which is also very small and light. Watch this space.
Pentium 4 Successor Announced
At the fall Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel announced plans to release a series of new processors and micro architectures due for arrival in 2006. First on the agenda was news of the Woodcrest, Conroe, and Napa platforms for Server, Desktop and Notebook platforms. Conroe chips are the successor to Presler Pentium D processors, and are inspired by the current Pentium M platform used in many notebook PCs. The new architectures de-emphasise clock speeds and instead focus on the amount of performance that can be extracted per watt. According to Intel, Conroe chips will give up to 5x better performance per watt than Northwood CPUs used in Pentium 4 processors, but the firm refused to reveal details of final product implementation. In true PCW style, we plied several key Intel representatives with drink and managed to extract unconfirmed reports that the initial batch of Conroe chips will run between 2.8GHz and 3.4GHz. All Conroe chips will be fabricated using a 65 nanometre process and are expected to utilise far less power than current Pentium 4s. Most will use two cores on a single die, but single-core implementations are being planned to replace mainstream Prescott CPUs.
02 pilots true mobile TV
A mobile TV service using DVB-H, a mobile version of the technology used for Freeview digital TV, will be piloted in Oxford from October by O2 and Arqiva (formerly known as NTL Broadcast).
Around 350 testers will use Nokia 7710 phones (see picture) to access any of 16 channels covering music, sport, news, comedy, soaps and drama. The idea is to investigate the viewing habits of people in the move, though how realistic the results will be with pilot content is open to question.
Mobile multimedia can make much freer use of text than is feasible on TV because it is easier to read close-up on small screens. It could therefore evolve into a medium in its own right with elements of traditional broadcasting content, newspapers, and the web.
The TV viewing window on the 7710 does leave space for text on the side, which could be used for interactive adverts that could in turn develop into more innovative uses of the medium.
DVB-H uses clever power-saving techniques to reduce battery drain, including switching on only during the one-sixteenth time slice carrying the channel being viewed. However it is rivalled by DMB, the multimedia version of DAB audio broadcasting.
Both can do the job and which wins out will depend as much on industry politics and spectrum allocation as on technology. But improving battery life will also be critical to their success.
Orange launched what it called a TV service in May, but this uses the 3G signal and is not broadcast. The 02 model could generate revenues from adverts and by providing a back channel for purchases and other interactivity.
o2 bbc Nokia
2GB SD Card from Kingston
Kingston technology have annouced an addition to its SD Ultimate card line. The new card comes with a 2GB capacity and has 120X transfer rate, offering much better performance than the Standard and Elite Pro cards. Kingston's X-speed ratings are based on 'write' speed (MB/sec).
Price should be around £105 (ex VAT).
'Double life' batteries on sale
Panasonic says its Oxyride batteries, which are said to last twice as long as standard products, are now on sale at Morrison's, Waitrose and Argos stores. Prices will vary but the company says the 'average' price of a pack of AA (ZR6) or AAA (ZR03) will be £3.99. The batteries, previewd at CES earlier this year, are targeted at digital-camera owners.
Corrupted MS Office Files
A recent distress call from a friend, whose PHD dissertation in MS Word had corrupted due to a system crash, led me to a utility from Cimaware Software, called OfficeFix. The utility fixes Word, Excel and Access files, and did an excellent job on the recovering the corrupted file. Later on in the year an Outlook module will be added. Sold as a package or in individual modules for both personal or Enterprise environments, it can be a life saver. Whilst the Demo will allow you to check how well it would work on your corrupted file before you purchase the product.
WordFix £59
OfficeFix £269
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Xbox 360 Priced
Microsoft has just announced the price of its forthcoming Xbox console. Two bundles will be available at launch; a basic package costing £209, and a more well-equipped package costing £279. The basic package will come bundled with a wired controller, while the deluxe set will include a wireless controller, 20GB hard drive, Ethernet cable, headset, and remote control. Xbox 360 is expected to launch in Europe and the US in time for Christmas 2005. Microsoft and Sony fanboys are welcome to supply the usual puerile comments via the link below.
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iPods blamed for poor hearing
Reports in the press today suggest we are breeding a generation who will have impaired hearing thanks to the growing phenomenon of iPods and MP3 players.
According to a report on Sky, one in four users are damaging their ears by playing music too loudly, with volumes 'similar to that of lawnmowers and power tools, above 85 decibels'.
It seems to us this is yet another piece of research looking for a home. People listening to music too loud is not new and has certainly been on the increase since the first headphones were slipped over ears when the Sony Walkman hit the streets.
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Showshifter updates on horizon
Home Media Networks, makers of TV and home theatre software Showshifter, are working on a couple of updates for the product.
Currently on version 3.12, Colin Tinto, chief technology officer, told us earlier today that we can expect a point upgrade within about three months, followed by a major new release - version 4 - early next year.
Version 4 will include support for multiple tuners and be better able to cope with recording in the background while a PC is being used for other tasks. It will also act more like a database for the various digital media, cataloguing it and making it easier to search video, TV, photos or music.
We're seeing a lot of TV tuner cards with more than one tuner onboard, mainly because people want the ability to watch one programme while another is recorded. Many have had one analogue and one digital tuner, but as Freeview gets more popular the number of multi-tuner cards will rise.
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Return of the spotted cow
With remarkably little fanfare, veteran US PC maker Gateway has started selling PCs again in the UK. The co
mpany, instantly recognisable for its black and white cow-inspired logo and boxes, closed its Dublin factory in 2001 and left the UK under a bit of a cloud.
At its height in the UK, it boasted a showroom in Covent Garden where you could look at its products in a mocked-up home environment.
The Test Bed staff spotted (sorry) a Gateway PC in a Comet store, and investigating further found that the company is also selling its limited range through Dixons, Currys, and PC World.
In actual fact, Gateway has been selling PCs in the UK ever since it acquired the eMachines brand in 2004, but it seems to be trying out the waters, offering just 2 low-priced models of Gateway-branded PCs and 2 laptops.
Gateway was founded in 1985 by entrepeneur Ted Waitt using a $10,000 loan secured by his grandmother.
gateway pc world dixons ted waitt
Online games can kill
A report on the BBC today, suggests that a South Korean man died after playing online continuously for over 50 hours, and is thought to have died through exhaustion. Although the exact cause of death is yet to be established.
Gaming can be a serious business, with prize money and sponsorship deals worth hundreds of thousands, although there is a thin line between dedication and addiction, be warned.
LANsurveyor for Visio
LANSurveryor from Neon, recently reviewed in PCW, is now included in Microsoft's Office Visio Resource Kit for IT Professionals. The total cost of the solution is less than half the cost of LANsurveyor for Windows by itself. It acts primarily as discovery tool to automate Visio documentation.
Learn More
Nforce4 SLI X16 powers new Dell XPS 600 gaming PC
Dell has just announced its latest top-end gaming PC, the XPS 600. It's notable mainly for premiering Nvidia's new Nforce4 SLI X16 chipset. This chipset resembles the Nforce4 Professional chipset used for high-end workstations, and offers a total of 40 PCI Express lanes, 32 of which are used for the twin graphics slots.
It will be available with Intel Pentium Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Pentium 4 CPUs, up to 8GB of DDR2 533/667MHz RAM, and, not surprisingly, requires a massive 650Watt power supply with 2 cooling fans. There are also 3 case fans, but we're assured it doesn't need tethering to the floor.
Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but it certainly won't be cheap. And as soon as Dell gets sends us a review model, we'll post performance results right here.
Settings for Kodak inkjet photo paper
We're in the middle of an inkjet paper test here in the labs, and we've come across a useful service from Kodak that deserves a mention. If you go to the Kodak web site , you can find the optimal printer driver settings for Kodak paper on over 200 different models of inkjet printer.
And if you download the free Easyshare software (you do need to register with Kodak to use it), it will adjust your printer settings for you automatically, and lets you do lots of other useful things with your photo collection. It would certainly make our job a lot easier if other paper manufacturers went to this trouble. Fujifilm offers some basic settings, but it's certainly not as comprehensive as Kodak.
All we have to do now is find out how well the settings and the paper work: watch out for the full results in the November issue of PCW.
iTunes and iPod offer from BT
While NTL and UK Online are busy offering broadband for under a tenner (though only in specific areas), BT has announced it will be offering 40 free iTunes downloads as well as a £15 discount on a new iPod to all new BT Broadband and BT Yahoo! customers. BT is still running its discount scheme on new connections, although £2 off the normal monthly fee for three months isn’t the best deal we’ve ever seen, and you’ll need to sign up for a 12 month contract.
Head to BT’s site for more information on this offer and how to get BT Broadband.
Would this be enough to convince you to opt for a BT broadband connection? Post your thoughts below...
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ and Sempron 3400+ results
AMD today launched two new processors aimed at the value and mainstream market segments. The Athlon 64 X2 3800+ is aimed at the midrange user who wants the benefits of a dual core processor but without the heavy price penalty of the X2 4800+. The 2.0GHz X2 3800+ is designed to compete against Intel's 820 and 830 CPU's. Also announced today is the fastest processor to date in the value Socket 754 Sempron range -- the 3400+.
AMD also released price cuts for the Sempron and Athlon 64 product lines as well as announcing the forthcoming demise of the Socket A Sempron line.
New 512MB graphics card from Gigabyte
Gigabyte has just introduced an addition to their line-up of graphics cards. The GV-RX80L512V is based on ATI’s X800 XL card but with 512MB of memory. The card also features a dual 256-bit memory interface and Silent Pipe cooling technology making it ideal for quiet PCs or media centre PCs.
For more information: Gigabyte
