FanBoy TechWeb

Tech Link (Industry): Google's Public Alerts

2012-01-26T04:17:00.000+08:00

Google announced today the launching of their new baby: Google Public Alerts (GPA, ugh). It is like Google Maps (and similar), only that it focuses on emergency alerts, like storms, earthquake and the like. It currently gets the data from three major sources: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS). So if you have a knack for disaster (or just want to research or know more about it as it happens), head on to GPA (click me, yep, me).

Public Alerts now on Google MapsWednesday 1/25/2012 06:00:00 AMToday marks the launch of a new Google Crisis Response project: Google Public Alerts, a platform designed to bring you relevant emergency alerts when and where you’re searching for them. If a major weather event is headed for your area, you might go online to search for the information you need: What’s happening? Where and when will it strike? How severe will it be? What resources are available to help? The Google Crisis Response team works on providing critical emergency information during crises. Our goal is to surface emergency information through the online tools you use everyday, when that information is relevant and useful.

Source:Google Blog

Tech Link (Industry): Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel®

2012-01-20T00:06:00.002+08:00

Intel released a very nice plan for CPU enthusiasts that is sure to be a hit for extreme overclockers. With plan selling for as low as $20, and $35 as the highest, enthusiasts that can buy $900 will be happy to have that extra protection.

The plan covers processors with "K" and "X" suffix and falls on Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ processors based on LGA2011 platform. Note that while Intel offers this plan, Intel is still playing it safe and not "endorsing" overclocking.

For the typical overclockers, this option is, just that, an option. What this plan really applies to is when enthusiasts starts pushing volts way beyond specification using exotic coolers. Of course, even casual overclockers using stock aircooler can avail of this, if only to get that secure feeling and guilt-free conscience if and when you break your CPU.

Here's the breakdown:

Intel® Core™ i5 2500K= $20
Intel® Core™ i7 2600K= $25
Intel® Core™ i7 2700K= $25
Intel® Core™ i7 3930K= $35
Intel® Core™ i7 3960X= $35

The Performance Tuning Protection Plan being offered by Intel is a chance for you to experiment with the overclocking features of your processor without the worries of what will happen if you push the procesor too far. The Plan allows you a single processor replacement, hassle-free, from our customer support. This is in addtion to your standard 3 year warranty. In other words, if it fails under normal usage, we will replace it under the standard warranty; if it fails while running outside of Intel's specifications, we will replace it under the Performance Tuning Protection Plan.So what we are saying is this: Go ahead and push it, we've got your back.

Source:Intel

Tech Link: CES 2012 Coverage

2012-01-11T05:21:00.000+08:00

If you are like me that always wanted to go to CES but never got the chance (*hint* work, budget, and family restrictions), then you're probably prowling the web for bits of information and whatever pieces you can sink your drooling mouth on about the latest and greatest upcoming gadgets in the future. But fear not, because of the popularity of the event, lots of tech websites have decent coverage, where they post pictures and even videos of products. Of course, I'm pretty sure some site will also post umm, the hot BOOTH BABES, but I digress.Here's some of my favorite sites, listed based on my preference (the first being my favorite):

Then there's the old-school gawking at some tech-sites like Tom's Hardware and Ars. I normally don't trust TehInq (yes, wrong spelling I know), but if you need more CES fix, you can also check it out.

As for the gadget I am excited about, I really would like to have a:

Glass-cased Ultrabook ala HP's Envy. If only it has a dedicated graphics like Radeon or nVidia, then I'm pretty sure I'll snag one as soon as it is released. I guess I might have to wait a little longer though.
Then I'm also rooting for a better DVR, DISH has some cool things brewing, but I am more a PC guy so I'm looking for a better solution than what Ceton currently has to offer. (And no, SiliconDust sucks, unless they improve their product, won't buy any SD product anymore).
And lastly, I'm contemplating whether I'll get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 LTE. Or whether I should just skip it and get a Windows Phone since I never had one.

And so the noodle-every-night meal begins today. I'll save up and see what I can scrounge up to buy the cool gadgets.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T15:20:00.000+08:00

Woot, Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you all got your wishes, and then more.

Tech Link (Gaming): Blizzard DOTA (!?#@)

2011-11-24T09:34:00.001+08:00

This has got to be one of the coolest thing Blizzard will be making as one of their official maps. I have always been a fan of DOTA, and with Blizzard releasing their very own version, with heroes and such, I can't be any happier. I am pretty sure that Blizzard will ensure that heroes will be fairly balanced, easy to play and learn, and like their other games, hard to master. I am not surprised, when there's actually full games released based on DOTA, Blizzard should have done this as well a looooong time ago.

Blizzard DOTABlizzard DOTA is a new official custom game for StarCraft II, inspired by the Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) custom map for Warcraft III. Much like other DOTA-style games, Blizzard DOTA is a team-based competitive game in which each player controls a powerful hero with unique abilities, and works with his or her team to invade and destroy the enemy team’s base.

Source:Blizzard

Tech Link (Industry): Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 7.0 Plus 4G

2011-11-09T11:16:00.001+08:00

This is going to be interesting: T-Mobile + Samsung = 4G goodness. Samsung has always been pretty aggressive this past years to nibble at Apple's heels when it comes to tablets and smart phones. I have come to love Samsung, due mainly to my experience with my Samsung Galaxy Mini, the most affordable and smallest Android-based smart phone at the time of release. As tablets and consumers became more mature and aware of the different offerings, Samsung is positioned to take on Apple, at least, on hardware-level.The only thing stopping me from getting one is the price. If it hits $199, I'll be grabbing it. Don't get me wrong, at $299 (which becomes $249 after mail-in rebate) is pretty good price, but still, after I got my HP TouchPad at a such bargain price, I am hoping that manufacturers would follow suit. Sure, hardware cost is still high at this time, but heck, demand has picked up and surely, there should be many parts manufacturers which should drive price down.

Perfectly portable and incredibly entertaining, the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 7.0 Plus 4G 7 inch tablet is a great way to take games, music, movies, social networking sites, and more with you—just about everywhere.

High-speed web browsing almost anywhere

Gaming, music, and video apps ready to go, right out of the box

16 GB built-in storage, expandable up to 32 GB

Source: T-Mobile

Tech Link (Industry): Hands-on: Nokia's Lumia 800 is exactly what Microsoft, Windows Phone 7 need

2011-10-27T23:33:00.000+08:00

Woot, nice to see Nokia getting its act together. My first ever mobile phone was a Nokia, and before I moved to my Android-based Samsung Galaxy Mini, I have used N9x (N95 and N98) and was pretty happy with N95. However, N98's "touch phone" isn't responsive so that pushed me to change brand and OS. I really miss Nokia's Maps though, and its FREE turn by turn navigation. Anyway, Nokia announced their newest line of product and these babies looks sleek. If they'll have smooth experience, and can perform basic functions of a phone (it's a smartphone), that is "send and receive call, and text messages, then I'm all set. And if these phones can interface to my XBox and PC with a much smoother experience than what my iOS and Android devices, then it's even more exciting. The only downside is that, US folks won't be getting their hands till next year. I can't blame them, this country is full of iPhone users.

In London today, Nokia revealed the first fruits of its partnership with Microsoft: a pair of Windows Phone handsets, the Lumia 800, codenamed Sea Ray; and the Lumia 710, codenamed Sabre. The 710 has a 3.7" LCD screen, 8GB flash memory, and a 5MP camera with an f/2.8 aperture. The 800 has a 3.7" AMOLED screen, 16GB flash memory, and an 8MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture. Both are powered by 1.4GHz processors with 512MB RAM, and both run Windows Phone "Mango". Both handsets also use tiny micro-SIMs instead of the normal mini-SIM.

Source:ARS

Tech Link (Industry): Amazon "Fire" Sale

2011-09-30T08:44:00.001+08:00

Don't mistake this for the "HP TouchPad FireSale" that happened a month or so ago. But just the same as HP's "fire sale", Amazon launched a new product called Kindle Fire which seems like an interesting device. Boasting full color, Android OS, it also has its very own browser names "Silk". Then there's also more features, it comes with a free Cloud storage, and fully support Amazon's wealth of services, from movies to music, to apps. Come to think of it, Amazon might very well be the Apple killer since they carry an eco-system similar to Apple (integrated store, and device). Head on to Amazon to check out their announcement...

Dear Customers,There are two types of companies: those that work hard to charge customers more, and those that work hard to charge customers less. Both approaches can work. We are firmly in the second camp.

We are excited to announce four new products: the all-new Kindle for only $79, two new touch Kindles – Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G – for $99 and $149, and a new class of Kindle – Kindle Fire – a beautiful full color Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, web browsing and more, for only $199.

These are high-end products – the best Kindles we’ve ever made. Kindle and Kindle Touch have the most-advanced E Ink display technology available, and the 3G Kindle Touch adds free 3G wireless – no monthly fees and no annual contracts. Kindle Fire brings everything we’ve been working on at Amazon for 15 years together into a single, fully-integrated experience for customers – instant access to Amazon’s massive selection of digital content, a vibrant color IPS touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle, a 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand, a state-of-the-art dual core processor, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, and an ultra-fast mobile browser – Amazon Silk – available exclusively on Kindle Fire.

We are building premium products and offering them at non-premium prices.Thank you for being a customer,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO

p.s. – Kindle Fire has a radical new web browser called Amazon Silk. When you use Silk – without thinking about it or doing anything explicit – you’re calling on the raw computational horsepower of Amazon EC2 to accelerate your web browsing. If you're curious, watch this short video to learn more about how it works.

Source:Amazon

Article: SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime Review

2011-09-24T11:57:00.014+08:00

I. Introduction
Just a couple of months ago, I am completely oblivious of the modern Digital Cable TV world. While I have subscribed, on and off, cable and satellite or dish TV, those experiences are years gone by and with comparably old and dated technology. I have mostly getting my fix of “TV” using a traditional “rooftop antenna” and for the most part, I am using streaming content over the web for just about anything video related. My “News” are either from radio, or from Facebook, or the intermittent pop up alert from CNN on my tablet. Boy, have I missed a lot. But now that I finally decided to upgrade my internet from AT&T DSL to Comcast Cable, it comes with a big bonus: digital cable TV.

Transition was never easy, (you can read my experience on my previous blog post), but luckily, it turned out to be lots of fun to peek and poke around this technology. Digital Cable TV / PC TV has matured greatly and has become more stable and interesting over the years, specially with software integration to Windows Media Center and the certification of Cable-card technology. Manufacturers like Ceton and SiliconDust became familiar to me as I try to immerse myself into the technology. Old school like me only remembers old brands like Hauppage and kworld. Hauppage has, interestingly, similar offering like SiliconDust and Ceton. However, kworld is missing in Cable-card development.

Ceton has InfiniTV 4, Hauppage carries WinTV-DCR-2650, and SiliconDust goes with HDHomeRun Prime 3-tuner and 6-tuner flavors. Out of the offerings out there, I opted to give SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime's 3-tuner (HDHR3CC) a go mainly because it is a “Network-Attached Digital Cable TV” tuner. I made a quick table of comparison of the four:

Manufacturer	Brand	Tuners	Interface	Price
Ceton	InfiniTV 4	4	1x PCIe	$299
SiliconDust	HDHomeRun Prime HDHR3CC	3	1x Ethernet	$249
SiliconDust	HDHomeRun Prime HDHR6CC	6	2x Ethernet	$499
Hauppage	WinTV-DCR-2650	2	1x USB 2.0	$149

II. Out of the Box
The box securely protected the HDHomeRun Premium HDHR3CC unit, with plastic protection and enough space to ensure the device reach the destination in perfect condition. It comes bundled with RG6 Coaxial cable, power supply, an installation CD and quick start manual.

The HDHR3CC comes only in one color: black. It is very light and designed to be installed laying flat. I would have liked it if it can be installed vertically, but due to the very light weight of the box, combined with heavy coax cable, it can only be safely placed in a horizontal manner.

The front of HDHR3CC has five LED lights, two on the left, and three on the right. The leftmost LED is for Ethernet status, green means connected and red means disconnected. The second LED to the LED is for Cable-card status. On the right, each LED correspond to each tuner, namely Tuner0, Tuner1, and Tuner2. If a tuner is being used, it turns on and turns off if not being used.

The rear is where the power input cord is located, along with the M-Card (Cable-card) slot, USB port, Ethernet port and Cable-in port. The Ethernet supports both 100Mbps and 1000Mbps speed and locks in the Ethernet cable I use comfortably. The USB port is only for an optional SDV Tuner device. The Cable-in is the physical link between your home to your Cable TV provider. The M-Card slot is a little stiff and does not come with an eject button. The Cable-card is actually a PCMCIA card, so the M-Card slot of the device is the same except, it is missing that “clicking” feeling when inserting the Cable-card into the M-Card. In the past, before USB reigned supreme, PCMCIA card is used for many devices, from being an Ethernet Card, Modem Card, Flash storage and more. This day, it seems that it only survives as a Cable-card

III. Set up and Installation
The HDHR3CC is light and can easily be placed anywhere on your A/V cabinet. Since it doesn't require a remote, it can stashed away from sight or just leave it sitting on top of a flat surface. It doesn't need to by physically connected to the PC but it can be done, if anyone opted to. However, it has no screw holes and can not be wall-mounted. Note however that the device has no physical on/off button, so in case you need to reboot it, the old way of plug-in/out is needed.
Software installation is also straightforward. Just download the latest software from SiliconDust's website to make sure it is the latest version. After this SiliconDust's software is installed and configured, everything happens on Windows Media Center.

I have broken down the installation of this device in more detail below (Windows only step):

Physical Installation – insert the Cable-card, with the name/label facing up. Connect the Ethernet cable to the network port, and plug it to your switch, hub, or router. Connect the coax cable from your wall outlet directly to the HDHR3CC, without any intermediate device in between. Ensure you have as little cable splitter as possible when connecting the coax cable. If needed, and you expect weak signal, get a signal booster. At this point, power up the device.
Software Installation – after the physical connectivity is done, download and install the latest software from SiliconDust. The file is lightweight and should be easy to download quickly. Install the software accordingly.
1. On the “Location” tab, select United States and then enter your Zip Code
2. On the “Application” tab, make sure Windows Media Center and HDHomeRun QuckTV are selected
3. On the “Tuners” tab, make all three tuners as Cable-card
4. On the “Cable card” tab, hit “scan” for each tuner. You may uncheck channels that you don't subscribed.
5. Finally, hit “Apply” and wait for the software to complete.
Cable card Activation – a call to provider is needed to activate the Cable-card Some cable providers may offer a self-activation process thru web so just check with your provider. To be able to activate the card, follow these steps.
1. If you haven't done so, open HDHomeRun Config. On the “Device” tab, click on the “Device Web page” link. This should resemble the IP address of the device. This will open up the web based interface of HDHR3CC.
2. Once on the web page, click on “Status Menu”. Make sure all of these items shows “success”: Card Authentication, Card OOB Lock, Card Activation. If “Card Activation” is the only one not showing success, then you're ready to call your provider to have the card activated. In my experience, “Card Authentication” does not show “success” if the Cable-card itself it not working properly, i.e. not properly inserted or faulty, but of course, it can also signify faulty HDHR i.e. faulty connector or corrupted firmware. But most of the time, this is only about the Cable-card itself. The Card OOB Lock can signify a faulty cable, loose cable connectivity, weak signal from provider, and/or faulty Cable-in port. For this, make sure the coax cable is properly connected to the wall and use a high-quality cable. If needed, use a signal amplifier.
3. After verifying the physical connectivity is good i.e. both Card Authentication and Card OOB Lock shows success then go to the main screen (i.e. hit back on the web page browser) and then click on “Cable-card Menu” then click on “Cable-card/Host ID Screen”. It is important to note these three: Cable card ID, Host ID, and Cable-card Serial Number. Most of the time, you will only need the first two, just to be more comprehensive, take note of the serial number as well. Give your cable provider a call, tell them you are going to pair your cable card. If agent ask if it's a TiVo, just say yes, so as not to waste too much time explaining what the device is.
4. The agent may require some time to activate the card. Prepare to spend enough time for this part. Mine never activated till 1hr after my call. And it took me 7days, 8+ calls, two tech visits before I ended up with a knowledgeable agent and knows what I am talking about. Keep checking the summary page on the web page to see if the card becomes active. You'll know it's active once you see “success”.
Optional: QuickTV Verification –Even without the Cable-card being activated, using QuickTV software already enable watching digital cable TV. But without Cable-card activation, only the ClearQAM signals can be seen. Premium Channels such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and the likes requires Cable-card activation and many other HD channels. Just browse thru the non-Premium channels and check out the shows. If everything is working, you'll be watching these channels quickly and easily.
Windows Media Center Preparation and Activation – if you are not sure if your Windows Media Center is ready, then just run this on the command prompt:
“c:\windows\ehome\mcupdate.exe -u” (without the quotes)
Make sure you enable admin/elevated privilege. Also make sure that you have the latest stable build of video card driver. After this, follow the following steps:
1. Open up Windows Media Center and on the main screen, go the Extras Gallery
2. Select Digital Cable Advisor, download it and then install
3. Follow the prompts, for your Digital CableTV installation
4. After all is said and done, and you have selected your area, you may now go back to the main WMC screen and select “TV”, then “Live TV”

IV. Test Set Up, and Methodology
For the purpose of testing, two laptops and one HTPC will be used. All of these are running Windows 7 Ultimate Edition. All three will be connected via wired network 100Mbps, on Cisco Valet M10 Wireless router. The HDHR3CC will be run using the latest stable firmware 20110830 and latest beta build 20110920beta1.

To be considered successful, all three machines will be used and the device should be accurate, functional and stable.

Accurate means TV guide must be up to date and correct, recording starts and end at the assigned time, and recording should record the correct show (s). The device should also be able to display the right show on the right channel compared to STB.
Functional means that the device should be able to play TV and allow premium channel shows, channel change will be snappy, and can be detected by both WMC and QuickTV
Stable means the device should work within the full burn-in test and supporting and supported software works without glitch. The burn-in test will be conducted to run 12hrs of continuous “Watch” for all three tuners with 3 machines, while 24hr recording will be done on a single machine with all three tuners. All recording and watch should show low number of minor issues (slight pixelation, missing caption, etc.) or should have no major errors (stopped recording and/or skipped recording, missed recording).
- While the 24hr “recording” can already be considered “watching”, the additional 12hr is to ensure that the device can run a full 36hrs of continuous use. It would have been good to run a full 36hrs of recording instead, but the lack of storage prohibited me from executing such.

The test machines have the following configuration:

Laptop A: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0Ghz), 2.0GB RAM, 111GB SATA HD, Intel i965 (GMA X3100), Win7 Ultimate 32bit SP1
Laptop B: Intel Core Duo T2300 (1.66Ghz), 1.5GB RAM, 50GB IDE HD, Intel i945 (GMA 950), Win7 Ultimate 64bit SP1
HTPC: Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83Ghz), 2.0GB RAM, 1000GB SATA HD, Intel GMA 4500, Win7 Ultimate 64bit SP1

None of them is “latest” by today's standard, specially Laptop B which is showing its age already. All of them have McAfee Anti-virus v15 (Build 15.0.291) running in the background since they are the day-to-day machines at home. This reflects the typical usage scenario of many users, i.e. not building a clean system just to run HDHomeRun. While this provides many challenges, it also brings the set up closer and mimic the integration of HDHomeRun to existing tech ecosystem at home.

The router has the following configuration:
Cisco M10 Valet Router 2.4Ghz-only, with 4-port FastEthernet. Configured as broadband router. No QoS configured.

Connectivity is configured as follows:

WAN Port: Connected to Cable Modem Ethernet Port
LAN Port1: Connected to Laptop A, Auto-Negotiation, Full Duplex, 100Mbps
LAN Port2: Connected to Laptop B, Auto-Negotiation, Full Duplex, 100Mbps
LAN Port3: Connected to HTPC, Auto-Negotiation, Full Duplex, 100Mbps
LAN Port4: Connected to HDHR3CC, 100Mbps

V. Performance
Below is the performance score for the device.
Accuracy

Firmware	TV Guide	Record: Start	Record: Stop	Correct Show Recording	Coorect Show vs STB
20110830	Pass	Fail	Fail	Fail	Pass
20110920beta1	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

For Accuracy, recording of shows using the latest stable firmware has resulted to missed recording and hence, all related recording metric shows failed. Amazingly, the latest beta firmware seems to have fixed it.

Functional

Firmware	ClearQAM	Premium	Channel Change	Detection
20110830	Pass	Pass	Pass	Fail
20110920beta1	Pass	Fail	Pass	Fail

This time around, it's a mixed bag. While the beta has improved detection of the device, it failed to play Premium Channels using QuickTV. However, Premium Channels play just fine using WMC. This is a bummer since Windows does not allow multiple instance of WMC hence the only way to have some sort of “PiP” is to run multiple shows on the same PC. For the production firmware, QuickTV plays all channels that I subscribe with but with beta, I can't play Premium Channels.

Detection of TV tuner on the network has been improved significantly on the beta firmware, but WMC still sometimes failed to locate the device. For example, running WMC and then quitting it and then shutting down the machine. Boot up the same device and launch WMC, and it cant find the device unless a “rescan” is done using the HDHomeRun Config utility.

I also notice one thing that is really good with beta firmware. With production firmware, the tuner seems to be always locked up and being used even after the PC has closed the WMC or QuickTV application. However, with beta firmware, releasing the tuner as soon as the video player exits is quick and snappy.

Stability

Firmware	Minor Issues	Major Issues	12Hr Watch [3tuners]	24Hr Record [3tuners]
20110830	Pass	Fail	Pass	Fail
20110920beta1	Pass	Fail	Pass	Pass

With stability, the “Major Issue” referred is the missed recording due to a tuner failing on the production firmware, the LED on one of the tuner suddenly turned off. I tried to keep trying for about a few times and gave up. This also resulted to a failing score on the 24Hr simultaneous recording. As for the beta firmware, I can't run multiple instances of Premium Channels anymore.

For both firmware, HD quality and audio quality are both great, capturing shows in full 1080i, with complete close captioning. With the beta firmware, recording has really been a breeze and concluded the recording with flying colors.

VI. Other Observations, Experiences and Concerns
Watching on wireless environment
On my own personal testing, the device performs really well on wired network. With wireless connectivity however, I am only able to sustain two HD channels successfully. On wired network, sustained peak bandwidth for 2seconds is 45Mbps for all three tuners, with each tuner hogging anywhere from 7Mbps to 18Mbps. Assuming 15Mbps is the continuous average bandwidth, a good wireless N network of at least 105Mbps should be good enough. My 54Mbps wireless on my laptop can barely keep up.

I haven't been able to isolate the issue to the router or to the client, but there will always be one disconnection and it's any of my two wireless laptop and never on my wired desktop. With lack of time, I haven't run any network analysis protocol, but I have seen my 54Mbps wireless usage is going as high as 30% which correspond to the 15Mbps average sustained bandwidth and I'm guessing that the HDHR3CC is too sensitive with latency and losing “keep alive” functionality leading to lost communication between device and PC.

Watching SD show however, yield positive experience. The wireless connectivity allows SD viewing on both laptop, and been tested for 4hrs. Average sustained bandwidth for all 3 tuners running 3 SD is only 15Mbps or 5Mbps for each tuner. At 5Mbps, the “G” wireless is able to handle it quite nicely.

Again, the issue could be bandwidth related, client related, driver related, or even router related.

Gigabit Wired Network
Lacking enough time to test further, and due to lack of equipment, Fast Ethernet is the only way that has been tested to enable sustained and simultaneous watching and recording of HD channels. If Fast Ethernet has enabled me to complete all tests flawlessly, then the Gigabit connectivity shouldn't be posing any severe performance issue.

Cablecard Activation
This is the toughest issue I have surmounted so far. Calling the 800 customer service from Comcast has been terrible, but the 877 number has been awesome. Comcast even send out two knowledgeable techs at home. The techs has been amazed at the device, and took pictures. The techs helped sending enabling Premium Channels unknowingly, yep, unknowingly.

During the initial Cablecard activation, on the date I noticed that my card has been activated already, two on-site techs arrived. Prior to their visit just a couple of hours earlier, I have been in contact with Comcast's Lv2 Tech from New Jersey (I am from Florida) who has been helping me activate my card. It turned out that there was something wrong on the database, and when that was fixed, the Lv2 Tech has activated my Cablecard. However, my Premium Channels aren't working and not showing on QuickTV. But I was willing to let it go.

Then, these two onsite techs walked by, saying they have been sent by Lv2 tech (thank you Comcast) just to verify if everything is fine on my side. They double checked the cable, signals, and everything. They even have extra Cablecard that is known and tested to be working just to be sure. They have seen my issues, and called back in the local office to send me “cold hits”. QuickTV still isn't showing Premium Channels but they can see “EMMs” being sent and acknowledge by my Cablecard. They advised me that they are not aware of the issue, which is fully understandable, considering it's a new device for which they haven't seen any yet. The techs advised me that they will be letting their manager know about this device, and will provide their agents the script and steps to have the device activated. This is to ensure that future calls will be dealt with properly and to arm their team with knowledge on the device.

And then when I tried to watch Premium Channel, I saw on the screen that Digital Cablecard needs to be activated. I have already done this before, but I just decided to do it again. And wolah, there it is, all my Premium Channels are up and running.

Multiple TV Shows on one PC
HD channels can really pull out a lot of CPU resources. While 3 SD channels running on one PC all at the same time is doable, it is still putting some strain on the laptop. With HD channels, my laptops often froze and choke. However, newer CPUs such as Core i3 (and higher) should be able to handle them quite easily. Considering I am only using onboard old Intel graphics, newer Intel graphics should be able to play all 3 HD streams easily.

Windows Media Player
For some reason, when I turn off my TV, WMC also stops working. For example, during my early “watch” test, I just want the PC running, but since I am not watching the show, I wanted to turn off the TV. However, I noticed that whenever I turned on the TV, WMC will say that it is restarting. So it would seem that WMC is closing whenever my TV shuts off. I haven't research on why this happens, but it might be related to DRM (i.e. all devices must be secured to be able to play contents).

Configuring three tuners on all PCs on WMC
It seems that the best way to configure and set up WMC on multiple PC is to ensure that no tuner is in use during installation. I noticed that if a tuner or two is in use, at the time of WMC configuration, WMC can only detect the “unused” TV tuner (i.e. if tuner 0 and 2 are being used, only tuner 1 is configured). So only one tuner is tied up to WMC at the time of set up. So when the time comes that even if there are 2 available tuners (i.e. tuner 1 and tuner 2 are available), but that particular tuner is being used (tuner 1 is being used by a different machine), then WMC can't find that tuner. So, if all three tuners are in use and you are setting up a another WMC for the tuner, then you won't be able to detect any of the tuners.

IP Address Change of HDHR
This is a big concern for HDHR. Note that this device works on DHCP, and there is no way to assign an IP address to this device statically. While that may not be an issue, in and of itself, note that WMC seems to tie up “Digital Cablecard Activation” with the IP address of the device. In the event that the device changes IP, you'll have to redo the whole reconfiguration and reactivate of Digital Cable services (this means Premium Channels) on WMC. There is no need to call Cable Co., but it's a pain to set up it again. The quick fix of course, is to make sure HDHR is getting the same IP every time it requests for one and once it gets the same IP, then there is no need to redo any configuration. A solution for this can be any of the following:

Enable HDHR to have static IP addressing feature , requires a firmware update
Ensure your router has DHCP reservation capability, requires a router or DHCP server feature
Change IP lease time of your DHCP to “forever”, i.e. the host devices always gets the same IP address every time

Update 09/24/2011:
nickk of SiliconDust advised that HDHR shouldn't pose any issue if it indeed changed IP. HDHR is using uPnP to announce IP address change, and WMC tracks HDHR through UUID. However, as my own test shows, WMC failed to detect any tuners as soon as IP address has been changed.

Time stamp logging
I may really be getting annoyed with all the issues I am getting so maybe I just don't how how to get HDHR's timestamp be the same as my home machines. For some reason, it is delayed by about 8hrs. If it is getting timestamp on my router, then it should be correct but right now, the logging is completely off the mark.

Update 09/24/2011:
nickk of SiliconDust advised that HDHR is pulling timestamp from CableCo. and there is no feature to set this manually.

Control of show
There is no way to stop the show using a web interface or even using the HDHomeRun Config utility. While there is a “Stop” button, it is always grayed out. The only way the “Stop” button works is when “View” is clicked, followed by “Override”. Other than this, that stop button is fairly useless. Would have been good to make it work, and also have some security so that kids can not mess with that control. Preferably, this should also be doable on web console.

Web Console Security
Come on, while I understand that most info on the web console are mainly status and logs, I still prefer if a password can be added. It gives me a sense of security. While there might be no security hole right now, but who knows, maybe someone or something can find a way to use it as some sort of spamming zombie bot. While the idea of having it compromised seems absurd (i.e. the only way to compromise it is if the home network has already been compromised), an additional layer of security wouldn't hurt.

Parental Controls
It seems that the only way to do it is by unchecking those channels on the HDHomeRun Setup utility. It would been better if this can be done, again, on the web console. A simple time-of-day security and limitation will be nice as well, in addition to the typical channel block.

VII. Missed Opportunities
I honestly believed that SiliconDust is missing a lot of opportunities to improve their product. Despite the fact that they have a long time to polish the product since they have started announcement of Pre-Order (was that 4months ago?), they probably have this in development far longer than that. I think these features would have really made a good impression:

Decent App for Android and iOS Devices. While there is an El Gato iPad 2 App, the feedback on the App is so bad, it probably never took off. If SiliconDust made their own software, which should be logical since they developed the hardware, then they could have raked in more $$$ for their app.
Improved Web Console. As it is now, the web console is just for just a bunch of status and a log. Wouldn't it be nice if recording can be scheduled thru the web, reboot the device if it is stuck, and start/stop channels?
Centrally managed recording. Thru web console, once recording is set, the device can trigger recording to start when the time comes. It can even send wake-on-lan signal to PC when the time comes. Or, the device can send scripts to WMC (or a PC agent can pull in from device) to enable recording of shows properly.
Quad Tuner. For some reason, SiliconDust can only enable 3 tuners. It is evident on their HDHR3CC (3-tuner, 1-CableCard) and HDHR6CC (6-tuner, 2-CableCard). Ceton, however, can utilize four tuners per CableCard as is apparent with their InfiniTV 4 (I assume 4 means 4 tuners). SiliconDust is better than Hauppage though when it comes to utilizing CableCard since Hauppage can only do two tuners. With four tuners, SiliconDust will come much cheaper per tuner than Ceton ($62.25/tuner vs $74.75/tuner). With 3 tuners, SiliconDust is more expensive per tuner than Ceton ($83 vs $74.75). With such comparison, I'd say this is a very good price comparison.

VIII. Conclusion
The device has been fun to use, when it works. However, it lacks many features and still got many quirks. I like the idea that SiliconDust has been spewing out beta firmware, however, the issues I encountered prevented me from recommending this device.

I am very excited with this device when I got this from Amazon, but all that seems to be fading away. I have to wait 5 days to get the device to work, and activated, and firmware is still in beta. The QuickTV software is nice, but lacks captioning and recording, and instead, HDHR relies on WMC for recording. The config utility is flaky, while I uncheck channels, these channels still appear on WMC and QuickTV.

The biggest letdown for me however, is the stability. If I have to always start/close WMC and rescan just to have the tuners re detected, then it is going to be a pain for the kids. Lack of parental controls, IP addressing issue, all added up to my frustration.

However, if you are looking for device that lets you watch, rewind, and record and willing to live with the quirks, then this device fits the role. But if you are like me who just sometimes wants their device to work whenever it's needed, then maybe wait for a bit till SiliconDust comes out with stable firmware or look elsewhere for an alternative solution.

The good thing though, whether you stick with this device or with others, you'll be removing that stupid ugly looking set top box, and saving you rental fee on the long run.

Article: Fanboy's quest for Digital Cable TV enlightenment

2011-09-20T21:36:00.017+08:00

As a “newbie” at Cable TV, I have been learning a lot stuff rather painfully. As a guy who mostly watch movies, TV shows and series at Netflix, Hulu, and the old traditional TV antenna, I haven't really been catching up with the latest trends in Cable TV and HDTV in general. So jumping in this haven't been easy, what with all the cost associated with the service and the “complexity” of having a decent digital Cable HDTV system.

As an upstart in this field, I decided to go with Comcast/XFinity and skipped AT&T mostly because I've just had enough of AT&T's internet service. Besides, other than AT&T, I can't really find any provider in my area so either AT&T or Comcast.

Note: I do not own of the images used here, if you own any of them and are offended by my use, let me know and I'll remove them.

Plunging in to the world of Cable TV has gotten me thru a roller coaster ride of new things to learn. Aside from getting a subscription, it never really ends there. If you are like me who have HDTV, you'll soon find out that the standard STB (set top box) that the provider installs is called an “SD” (Standard Definition) box . This means, no matter if you got the latest and greatest TV, you won't get 1080i from the Cable broadcast. And yes, 1080i and not 1080p, the “i” isn't a typo. As I said, I learn quite a few things, and that 1080i vs 1080p TV broadcast is one such thing, and it's all about bandwidth. I won't go into details on that so I'll skip to the issue at hand, and to the matter that leads me into reviewing this device. Is it a “failed” device, is it cool, is it what it's advertised, and what is this device really?

I. The impending issue lingers.....
The first issue that plague me, a thing that I can't set aside in my mind no matter how hard I try, is that I am only viewing SD channels. While there are HD channels, for the life of me, I can't get it displayed, and the main reason is that my STB is an SD-only box. Now I can bypass the STB and connect the cable directly to my Digital TV since my TV is digital-cable-ready, however my whole channel line up just becomes messy (i.e. I have Channel 13.1, 15.9, wth?!?) and I also lose the “TV Guide” (on-screen TV program menu that shows time, title and channel of shows). The only good thing with bypass is that I got local HD broadcast, but not even all of it since Comcast has encrypted many of the channels. As it turned out, I can only get what is called ClearQAM and unencrypted HD channels. Again, this never came as “common knowledge”, and a continuous research ensues.

A workaround seems obvious, get an HD STB. While it indeed sound obvious, being a newcomer in this has delayed me for a day before I figure out I can get one from the provider. So off to the local office provider I go and told them my issue and I got myself and HD-DVR. This will allow me to watch both ClearQAM, unencrypted AND encrypted channels which include Premium PPV (i.e. Showtime, HBO).

I am not really sure what I signed up for when I got the HD STB. All I want is HD channels, and this time, I got an STB that is called HD-DVR, and I was happy thinking I finally got what I wanted. While I know DVR means I can also record stuff, what I didn't know is that it carries a rental price, and to add insult, it is much more expensive than HD box (almost twice the price), despite the fact that I returned the SD box which was originally installed.

In my mind, there was an error with the installation, so I just need to return the SD STB, go to the store, and get a replacement HD STB without additional cost. But it wasn't the case. The SD STB is “free”, but returning it and replacing it with HD isn't free. While I did settle for an HD STB instead of the HD-DVR STB, I still get the SD STB since it has no rental fee anyway. The HD STB costs about $8.5/mo, the HD-DVR is about $17.00/mo. The cool thing about HD-DVR is that you can “pause and rewind” live TV and also “record” any show. That feature sticks to me like a glue, I just got to have that feature but at $17/mo for a single TV, that allows me to watch recorded shows on that same TV seems too much. Hence, I got two additional issues that needs resolving: get DVR feature but eliminate monthly cost.

In summary, the three issues are:

Enable HD
Enable DVR features
Eliminate rental cost

II. The hunt begins!
Spending time after time after time for “DVR” Holy Grail costed me weeks of research. I stumbled across sites like AVSforu m, Cnet Top DVRs, and various other sites. One thing that keeps popping up as best DVR is the Magnavox MDR-513H/F7 320GB, but the price tag of $299 is not for the faint of heart. There have been various times where I almost hit that “buy” button, but for the life of me, I just can't seem to make the move.

For one, the price is just too high. Staying with my current rental of $17/mo, break even comes after about 17months which makes it a little more enticing. Another is the fact that the device is just an SD DVR, and receive encrypted and other Premium channels. Without this means that an STB (HD or SD) is still needed since using the Magnavox will be just similar to bypassing the STB. So in reality, I will get a Magnavox, and if I need HD (which I really need), then I'd still be shelling out $8.50/mo for the STB. Definitely too costly to sustain.

However, the fact that reviews of this Magnavox DVR is very high, because parts can be replaced (i.e. upgrade hard drive, replace optical drive) plus decent TV tuner capability is making me really push that “buy” button. But my self-control prevails and I decided to look for a PC-based solution to my issues. I mean, from the looks and definition of the Magnavox, it is more like a PC appliance, rather than your typical electric appliance.

III. Diversionary Focus
From DVR-centric approach, my mindset chenges into more PC-enablement of capability. The hunt resulted to a few interesting results, pushing me forward to find that silver bullet. I stumbled into solutions such as Roku, Apple TV, Sony Google TV, and Western Digital Live TV. However, these things are “streamers” rather than devices with TV tuners, and hence, has no “Cable in” ports. And after a few more poking around, I ended up with TiVo and Moxi. However, TiVo has subscription fee and Moxie's price hovers above $400. They sure are alternatives to rental HD-DVRs, but they cost more than the normal STB offerings from Comcast.

Then I remember about Hauppage, I have always known about this device for a long time, but never really thought of as my primary choice. Back then, my experience with Hauppage device is for my laptop, plugging it in as a USB TV and then adding a rabbit antenna. Not the prettiest site, but it works till I get tired of grainy and snowy signals and swore never to use such contraption again. While the set up is clunky, it wasn't the deal breaker. What I really hated was the software that are bundled with it and it's probably because Windows XP (or was it Win95) wasn't really cut out for such. Because of such experience, Hauppage was lost in my memory as device for watching TV on the PC (back then, the idea was really really really cool).

IV. Right path!
And just then when I found out about Hauppage, I am once again catapulted into to another path. From researching on appliances that can record TVs (Personal DVRs), stumbling to streaming boxes (media streamer/players), learning about proprietary alternative to Cable STBs (Moxie/TiVo) and then doing a complete turnabout to PC TV.

But this isn’t smooth sailing from here, it’s far from anything like that. Hauppage reminded me to go back to my roots, what I love about, which is the PC and the technologies around it. Researching more about how to ensure I can get HD channels, record TVs, and remove rental fees has brought me to yet another learning path: CableCard. Reading and hearing about this for the first time brings me back to another new beginning. But CableCard is not bed of roses, as I slowly try to absorb most of what this technology has to offer. I even ended up at FCC website just to make sure I know my rights and how I can take advantage of this technology.

V. A door of options opens.
Armed with Cablecard crash course, I learn about new alternative that opens up for me. Hauppage’s WinTV-DCR-2650 ($149.99) device is indeed enticing, with dual tuners, enabling dual recording or recording while watching on the other tuner. And yes, TiVo and Moxi are both Cablecard capable, but they are cost-prohibitive for what I would like to achieve. And then there’s also Ceton, whose product I mistook for Comcast’s own XFinity service, the InfiniTV 4 Quad Tuner PCIe card ($299).

I would have jumped at Hauppage’s solution, for $149.99 but its USB connection has got me thinking that I can only use one PC at a time. While it’s not big deal at the time I was contemplating about it, I would really have loved if I can share it on my home network. The FAQ did mention that WinTV can be shared, but still, having to open the “host PC” just to share the device doesn’t meet my “wants and needs”.

As such, I researched more about Ceton’s offering that boasts quad tuners. With such capability, surely there’s a way to harness those 4 tuners and put them to good use. And sure enough, reading to various feedback and personal experiences from owners has gotten me interested. While Ceton’s solution does carry the same limitation as the Hauppage (i.e. needing a host PC to operate ) I am sold about this option due to the fact that I get 4 tuners! I am now left with one big concern: my HTPC has no more PCIe slots to hold the device.

This has gotten me into thinking I’ll need to build a PC to house the Ceton, but I completely discarded the idea. While I love to build a new PC, I just don’t want to set up the PC besides my TV (unless my TV is my monitor). I also wanted to use my current HTPC, with on-board Intel Graphics that’s more than enough for my HD needs. The other issue would be the cost of the device, but comparing it with other solutions to my issues and the amount of time I have already invested, I am willing to take the plunge into Ceton. That is, till I found about SiliconDust’s offering: HDHomeRun products.

VI. Light at the end of the tunnel?!
SiliconDust’s offering on HDHomeRun DUAL and HDHomeRun Prime struck me as my Philosopher’s stone(s)! A network-attached device that can stream Cable TV signals to any computer at my home network, and it comes with two tuners. The “DUAL” offering is priced at $129.99, however, it has one shortcoming: inability to play Premium Channels. I understand that CableCard’s limitation about on-demand videos, but I have long accepted that fact, and I can always use my SD STB for such anyway. The other offering the “Prime”, but the price at $499.99 is a little too much for me, but with 6 tuners, this looks to be the best offering.

Luckily, SiliconDust is preparing to launch their trimmed version of “Prime”, which only comes with 3 tuners but at similar capability and similar features. At the time, it hasn’t gone on sale, and Pre-order on NewEgg has long been depleted (darn those who ordered bulk of them). I don’t know, NewEgg seems to have policy regarding this, but “businessmen” may have found a way to circumvent it/work-around it and enabled them to just hog all the supply. Fortunately, after frequent trying to get myself the product, I was able to place a Pre-Order at Amazon. And Amazon even shipped out the product ahead of schedule, and by the 15th of September, the product has arrived at my doorsteps. And after this, the next step commences to completing the 3 issues I have been meaning to resolve. I have begun installation, but, that is reserved for another Blog Post…

VII. In Summary and “Pre” Recommendation:
A quick of recap of issues I am working on resolving:

Enable HD
Enable DVR features
Eliminate rental cost

Pre-recommendation (disclaimer: I haven’t tested all the recommendations, except for one device with which is on-going burn-in test. This recommendation is based on my personal research and reading into what are available options for me)

If you don’t like messing with PC but would like to get DVR functionality, the Magnavox MDR-513H/F7 320GB would fit the bill. Out of many similar devices I have seen and reviewed, this one is the most highly rated. You can get one at Wal Mart online, and priced around $299. From what I read, using this device is so simple, and easily upgradeable. The only issue I have about this is price. It is limited to a single TV, but for common usage of DVR, single-TV connectivity isn’t a deal breaker.
If you would like to use PC as your Home Entertainment center but looking for an inexpensive solution, Hauppage WinTV-DCR-2650 looks nice, priced around $149. It comes with two digital tuners, allows watching of Premium channels, and you can install it via the most common USB cable. With DVRs costing around $15+/mo, you’d see ROI after just 10months. And yes, you can rewind, pause, and record Live TV! As with anything that requires use of “CableCard”, be prepared to spend some time with your Cable provider tech support. You can grab one at Hauppage's website.
Then there’s SiliconDust HDHomeRun DUAL. This still meets the 3 issues I have, so for those who don’t have Premium Channel Subscription, this is a good deal. At $129.99, it is even cheaper than Hauppage, less technical issue to set up (lack of CableCard), and network-attached. If you are not bothered by the limitation and just want to watch basic Cable Signal (and yes, that includes local HD broadcasted channels), then this might be your choice. Note, this requires use of PC as well and decent home network. NewEgg, Amazon and other online retailers have them available and even at SiliconDust' own website.
For the more adventurous, SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime, both 3 tuners and 6 tuners are good solutions. I prefer the 3-tuner version and mainly because: a) I am a newbie at this area, and b) the 6 tuner version is priced like two 3 tuners anyway so if I ever wanted to additional 6 tuners, then it's just a matter of getting two boxes. While others might argue about two power outlets being used, well, that’s really not an issue for me. As for power consumption, in case I do have two 3-tuner version, how hard could it be to turn off one box?
Ceton's PCIe-based Infinity 4 solution is looking to be solid as well. At $299, the cost per tuner is cheaper than SiliconDust's offering. However, tinkering with PC hardware is needed since it needs to be installed. If you have a free PCIe slot, and is not hardware-challenge, then this is the best solution out there when thinking of price/tuner ratio.

And as of this writing, I learned that Ceton is coming out with a Quad-tuner USB-connected STB open for pre-order at $299. This would have resolve my concerns with their PCIe-based solution, but while I "heart" quad tuners, I hate having to boot up host PC. A quick price comparison (without looking into other variables), is that Ceton's quad tuner is cheaper (i.e. $299 / 4 = $74.75 per tuner) vs Silicon's triple tuner (i.e. $249 / 3 = $83). Another way to look into it is compare to DVR monthly cost to Cable provider at @ $15+/mo so Ceton's break even is around 20months, while SiliconDust is around 17months. And then there's full usage comparison with Ceton's 4 tuners (i.e. 4 DVRs @ $15ea = $60/mo) compared to Silicon's 3 tuners (i.e. 3 DVRs @ $15ea = $45/mo) and ROI is quickly reduced to 4.9mos in favor of Ceton vs 5.5mos for SiliconDust.

So whichever way you look at, whether saving $50 initial cash out-the-door, or should I (or you) save in the long term monthly usage, these two solutions are much better than what your Cable company provider is offering. Of course, argument can be done that for cable operators, if the equipment breaks, that Cable Co. replace at their own cost, less technical hassle, but really, I wouldn't be blogging if I am concerned about that :)...

That’s it for today, FanBoy out!

Quick Look: Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC

2011-09-09T22:09:00.004+08:00

Well, I bought a new gadget for home and I figure I might as well add my review here at my own Blog to bring it "up to date" a bit and also help a few people out there.

Anyway, I transferred to my new home, well far far away from my previous one (one country to another), so I needed to sell a few things and acquire new things. Unfortunately, some of the things I brought with me are basic, but working just fine. While I will bring the "core components", I left the common ones. An example is my HTPC. While I brought the whole CPU (Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 500GB HD), I did leave my wireless mouse and keyboard behind to save up some baggage space and of course, shed off some weight (you know how airlines tend to penalize for overweight baggages).

So like I said, while I did save off a few $$$ here and there, the trade off is that I can't bring the "whole system" up. And when the time has come to bring up all the sytems, I am faced with using the old keyboard and mouse set up, but this time, I decided I needed something more elegant (my old set up is still more PC than HTPC).

Going thru the web, I got several options. There are some pretty cool offers for a full-sized wireless keyboard and mouse for about $30 but I don't want to go that route anymore. Then there's mini, really portable mouse and keyboard too, but it goes a little higher than usual, about $40. I just want an inexpensive solution for a very simple problem: "remote" (whether it's in actual remote form-factor or wireless keyboard and mouse for cheap). And after a wee bit more of searching, I stumbled upon this little gadget: Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC.

Well, it's a mouthful for name for such product. The weird as well is that, this product is manufactured by a rather doubtful name: unknown. Well, either this product is bad, or it's just a generic one. I was rather skeptical, but I went along and bet my $6.75 won't go to waste. I went ahead and purchased it.

Technical Details (taken from Amazon):

Plug & Play - no driver or software required
Remote has a maximum range of 18 meters
Infrared receiver with 4ft cable plugs into your USB port
Compatible with Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
Powered by 2 'AAA' batteries

Product Build Impression:

I haven't used this product for more than a day, hence the "quick look" mention on the title.

Packaging: The product packaging looks really cheap, very flimsy box. There's no other things inside the packaging except for the product itself, the USB receiver and documentation. This product could have used some styro or plastic to retain the shape of the box. I understand that this product is dirt-cheap, so buyers do get why is paid for.
Documentation: The instruction is in English, but it is so badly written, it makes my own English reads and sounds like a genius. I can barely get past the 2nd paragraph, and I gave up trying to understand the documentation after the first few seconds. If you have patience and have a knack for deciphering codes, then understanding what's printed in the documentation may provide some bit of excitement and fun, but as for me, I'm done with it.
Product: There are two pieces here, the actual remote and the IR USB receiver. The "remote" doesn't come with batteries, and it's clear from the get-go that it's not included. Adding the battery is easy and straight-forward, the battery compartment is easy to open and close, and very secure. However, the whole remote feels and screams "cheap". Not that I am complaining, but if this product was indeed sold for $34.99, then I would be very disappointed. As it is priced a lot cheaper, I can't complain much for the build quality. But the product is responsive, I have tested it a couple of feet away and work like a charm. I can't vouch for 18m advertised distance though. The buttons worked as advertised, and the shortcut A, B, C, and D worked nicely too. Entering text and Scrolling is also easy, but takes a bit of getting used to, but it's acceptable considering the price I got this for. As for the USB IR Receiver, I guess it's good since the remote works just as fine. Remember it is an "IR" so line of sight is very much needed. And oh, the "switch Window" only works for two Windows. So if you have multiple applications open and would like to "scroll across open applications", this won't work. And one last things, while the tech detail never mentions Win7, this product works with Win7 as well.
Other things: I just want to comment on shipping and shipping package. I believe that for this device, and its price, the shipping package it comes with is acceptable. The product is not damaged, looks new, and sealed securely. The delivery time is also fast, "two-days free via Amazon Prime"

Verdict:

This isn't the best "PC remote" out there, but it certainly gets the job done. Again, the buyers gets is paid for in this device. It's not fancy, it's probably not durable as well, but it works fine. I tend to say that it looks ugly actually, but aesthetic aside, the only gripe I have for this device is the window-switching and bad documentation.

Press Release: ViewSonic Brings Dual OS Intel Atom Processor-Based Tablet to Market

2011-08-26T01:23:00.001+08:00

Wow, best of "two worlds" has come. This has gotta be nice, at least in paper. Running Android, for the rich app, simplicity of use, and just being one of the "them" will surely entice fans of the genre. Of course, with Win7 OS as well, flexibility and support for so many devices and software will surely make this a very appealing replacement for netbook/ultra portable and also make this a viable hardware for use in corporate environment...

Now, if only HP's WebOS can only be installed in these babies, then it would be awesome. This will mean that there will be more market for consumers. However, I can only imagine the support might not be as smooth. With one OS, it would be acceptable, dual OS is going to be tough, and triple OS might be impossible...

ViewSonic Brings Dual OS Intel Atom Processor-Based Tablet to Market
ViewPad 10pro delivers the best of both worlds in a 10.1 tablet, offering a true dual Windows and Android OS experience

WALNUT, Calif. – August 15, 2011 – ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions, today announced its latest 10.1” Windows® and Google Android™ dual OS tablet – the ViewPad 10pro.

The ViewPad 10pro is one of the first tablet solutions to be powered by the new 1.5GHz Intel® Atom™ processor Z670. Designed specifically for tablets, this new CPU minimizes power consumption, while enabling smaller and thinner product designs. Partnered with a 1024x600 capacitive multi-touch panel, ViewPad 10pro users can enjoy impressive Full HD 1080p video playback, fast Internet browsing and longer battery life, without sacrificing on performance. Paired with 2GB of integrated memory, the ViewPad 10pro is the optimal mobile computing powerhouse.

“We listened to our customers. We made the ViewPad 10pro dual OS interface as quick and intuitive as possible, while partnering with industry CPU leader Intel to deliver the latest in design and innovation across all fronts,” said Michael Holstein, vice president of business development, ViewSonic.

Tailored for business users, the ViewPad 10pro makes it even easier to enjoy a dual OS experience within a single tablet. Android 2.3 runs as an application on top of the Windows 7 operating system so users need to simply tap on the Android icon to make a seamless switch between business productivity and ultimate entertainment. Throw in the built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, an HDMI out for content sharing, a 1.3 megapixel built-in front camera and a high capacity battery for up to 8 hours of battery life, and you get the ViewPad 10pro – a fully optimized, true dual OS tablet to keep users connected.

“The new Intel Atom processor-based tablet from ViewSonic is a cool, and distinguished product that brings a personalized and flexible experience,” said Bill Kircos, general manager of marketing for Intel’s Netbook and Tablet Group. “Our Intel platform supports multiple operating systems, and this tablet shows how consumers can move between Windows and Android experiences in a way that offers rich graphics, high-definition audio, easy Internet browsing and longer battery life in a slick form factor.”

To ensure the ViewPad 10pro grows with each person’s individual needs, the device offers expandable storage options via a micro SD card slot for up to 32GB of additional space. The dual OS ViewPad 10pro is available in two configurations – with Windows 7 Professional (with a 32GB SSD hard drive) and Android 2.3 for an ESP of $699, or with Windows 7 Home Premium (with a 16GB SSD hard drive) and Android 2.3 for an ESP of $599. A custom docking station accessory is also available for an ESP of $59. Both tablet configurations will be widely available in late August, with limited numbers currently available.

Source:Viewsonic

Tech Link (Industry): Previewing ‘Windows 8’

2011-06-02T11:48:00.001+08:00

This is a very interesting demo from Microsoft. I have always been a Windows user, and while I don't loath or hate other OS, I just got too used to this operating system. I don't even have to "hard learn" new stuff whenever MS came out with new OS, well, except during my transition from MS DOS to Windows 3.1/WFW (Windows for Workgroups). So anyway, the big news is super cool: touch interface for the upcoming Windows 8.

It's such a long time coming for the interface to show up. While "touch" has been implemented on desktop PC before this version of OS, it requires 3rd party hardware/software and it doesn't really operate differently than having a mouse (yeah, that was too long ago). Anyway, so now MS comes up with cool-looking interface and if this proved to be stable, it is a definite winner. I mean, it can run your usual Windows program, and then you can have both touch and "traditional" desktop interface, a marriage of both world = awesome. Check out the video and then read on more to see the official MS statement.

REDMOND, Wash. – June 1, 2011 – Today, at the D9 Conference, we demonstrated the next generation of Windows, internally code-named “Windows 8,” for the first time. Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, from the chip to the interface. A Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse.

The demo showed some of the ways we’ve reimagined the interface for a new generation of touch-centric hardware. Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact.

Here are a few aspects of the new interface we showed today:
•Fast launching of apps from a tile-based Start screen, which replaces the Windows Start menu with a customizable, scalable full-screen view of apps.
•Live tiles with notifications, showing always up-to-date information from your apps.
•Fluid, natural switching between running apps.
•Convenient ability to snap and resize an app to the side of the screen, so you can really multitask using the capabilities of Windows.
•Web-connected and Web-powered apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that have access to the full power of the PC.
•Fully touch-optimized browsing, with all the power of hardware-accelerated Internet Explorer 10.

Source:Microsoft

Tech Link (Industry): Intel's Maloney Talks Mobile Growth, Industry Opportunities at Computex

2011-05-31T11:28:00.001+08:00

Nothing new, err, I mean, it's not unusual to see Intel to take a stab at Computex and show off their new line of products in the near future and at times, readily available.A new category for mobile devices has been announced, and this time, Intel smarten up and trademarked it (Ultrabook™). Unlike in the past, they let one of their "coined term" be used up by anyone (i.e. netbook and nettop).

Another interesting tidbit is that, despite what detractors are saying, Atom™ is very well alive and kicking and yes, Netbook isn't dead. Atom™ will power the next-gen fanless, yep fanless, netbook platform. Read to get the full run thru of the announcement...

New Roadmaps Across Intel® Core™ and Atom™ Processor Families to Usher in Next Wave of Laptops and Connected Mobile Devices
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Intel defines new category of mainstream thin and light mobile computers, called Ultrabook™.
Intel aims to shift 40 percent of consumer laptops to the Ultrabook™ by end of 2012.
Separately, Intel is accelerating the Atom™ processor roadmap to a one-process-generation per year cadence to enable a wider range of optimized solutions for multiple market segments.
Intel highlighted its next-generation, fanless netbook platform, codenamed “Cedar Trail,” a range of new Atom processor-based tablets available today, and a “Medfield” tablet reference design for sub-9mm designs, weighing less than 1.5 pounds and supporting a choice of operating systems.

Source:Intel

Tech Link (Industry): Intel Releases Their First Ever 10-core Server

2011-04-06T23:00:00.003+08:00

Super cool server just came out from Chipzilla. Gotta love the future that this server will bring to our world: from health, to astronomy, and of course even entertainment. And the great thing about this chip, it never consumes power any more power than last year's processor releases!!!!!!! Check out the YouTube:

Here's the full press release linky: Performance + Reliability + Security = Intel Xeon Processor Formula for Mission-Critical Computing

Article: Making “Apple iPad” FanBoy Approved Part 2

2011-03-30T12:27:00.007+08:00

If you haven't seen the first part of this article, you can head over here and my rant is of course, still up. Anyway, on Part I of this article, I mentioned two usage models that I targetted for my iPad. While iPad 2 may have changed the ball and I don't personally own one to give a better opinion, seeing the reviews and looking at those changes made me feel lucky that I am not an Apple FanBoy jumping in every iteration of what SJ (Steve Jobs) has to offer. With a crappy camera, same iOS, the only thing major I see from reviews: dual core, better graphics. Which, while I may have digress a bit, still falls way below of what SJ mentioned why iPad is better than NetBook (yes, I am still picking on this topic).

Movie Watching:
So to continue, another major gripe I have with iPad is the inability to play HD movies. And when I say HD, the 1080p BlueRay ripped ones encoded either as .MKV or simply .AVI. Putting those movies at your iPad spells doom (even for iPad 2) for it will quickly eat up your storage. So the next best thing, re-encode your HD movie collection for iPad so not only does the movie plays, the file size will be more manageable.

However, since I was getting really pissed before of how iPad performs when playing movies, and moving files between computer and iPad is such a clunky procedure (you have to use iTunes? WTF! you have to use another app? WTF!!!!), I ended up getting two apps that can stream videos: VLC Streamer and AirVideo. If you're wondering why I get two, that's because I thought VLC Streamer is as good as VLC (fudge me) because of the similar logo and similar names. Because I hated VLC streamer performance, I dumped it and found a much much much better one. Of course, it's another paid application (curses!!!!!).

First things first: avoid VLC streamer at all cost. Don't be fooled like me (fudge me) by the similarity in name and logo. This software perform very poorly. However, the developer is responsive, but even after escalating the issue and doing all the steps I was asked for, this software just keeps stuttering whenever streaming. And to think I got a pretty good streamer PC (Core i7).

Now, let's go for the better news than VLC Streamer, which is the AirVideo. Now this thing is pretty nice. It will set you back $2.99, but it's easy to use. True to its name, AirVideo does and can play movies almost instantly over the air, including HD movies. Yes, those BlueRay ripped movies gets "LiveConverted" and played really well. What's even better, you can even convert those movies so that if you ever wanted to convert movies for iPad, this app can do it for you without much hocus pocus.

So there you have it for Part 2. Not much huh, but while I would like to discuss another usage I found for iPad, my laziness kicks in. But to give you a clue of what I will be adding: PC Management. This will be the last part that I would like to cover, so if I get the inspiration, then I'll do more. Until then, ciao!

Tech Link (Industry): The Apple iPad 2 Review

2011-03-20T18:09:00.000+08:00

iPad 2 has been out for quite some time and many other early reviews have praised it without much negative impression: i.e. iPad 2 is a perfect device for everything. Well, I never bought their story and that wasn't just because I am not an Apple FanBoy but I went out and tried it with my own hard earned money and the verdict wasn't anywhere near good (check out my own review). It looks like it's not just me who ended up having an issue finding where and what kind of usage iPad falls into, even the boyz at AMDTech encountered the same. I quoted some of their personal usage, taken from their article, read on to go to the source...

Brian Klug's iPad 2 Experience
I have to be completely honest here, the original iPad didn’t really ever fit in with my workflow. I carried it around for about a month after our initial WiFi iPad launch review, realized I was never using it, and then left it on my desk where it sat unused for months. Only after my significant other expressed interest in using it did that iPad 1 ever see any real use.

Vivek's iPad 2 Experience
I ended up buying the original iPad when it launched, mostly out of sheer curiosity as to what Jobs and Co. had cooked up for the tablet market. It lasted just about 12 days before I took it back. I was impressed by the hardware, particularly the IPS display and the aluminum unibody, but like Anand and Brian, I had basically no use for it. There weren’t many iPad-specific apps, and the ones that were available tended to be buggy and slow. Document creation was a pain, there was no multitasking, and it didn't really end up being a whole lot more useful than my iPhone.

Anand's iPad 2 Experience
Brian and I tend to see eye to eye on a lot of matters and the iPad is no exception. We both liked the original device, but we both found ourselves casting it aside completely as the months went by. Just like Brian, I couldn't integrate the iPad into my workflow.

I do most of my work on a desktop (these days a laptop pretending to be a desktop). When I travel I need a notebook of some sort. I've got a MacBook Air that I carry with me if I just need something lightweight to do work, and a MacBook Pro if I need to do a lot of work on the road. While you can technically write articles, prepare HTML, edit images and post all of it via the iPad, it's still no where near as quick to do so as it is on a notebook for me. As revolutionary as touch is as an input form, the mouse is a very tough act to follow. Then there's the issue of multitasking and the fact that switching between apps is still far too much of a pain compared to a desktop. Data sharing between apps is much better on a desktop/notebook.

Source:Anandtech

Tech Link (Industry): iPad 2 Unveiled

2011-03-03T16:39:00.002+08:00

Well, it's no secret and if you're wanting to check out the latest and greatest from apple regarding iPad 2, you can check out their site for the official information. Check it out at Apple...

Tech Link (Industry): Weekly Address: Winning the Future at Intel

2011-02-21T09:33:00.002+08:00

Future At Intel - three strong words, summarized into one word = Awesome! Intel hosting one of the world's most powerful man on Earth is just uber pimp. President Obama visited Intel to emphasize how technology and innovation can make for better future. President Obama met with CEO Paul Otelinni who announced that Intel will build a new Fab at Arizona. This means more employment, not to mention more Fab means better output for Intel and better output means more mass-produced processors and that could lead to even more cheaper and more innovative products! Check out the video at the White House Blog below...

The White House Blog
Weekly Address: Winning the Future at Intel
Posted by Jesse Lee on February 19, 2011 at 05:30 AM EST
The President speaks from the Intel campus in Oregon about educating our kids for the jobs of tomorrow so we can make sure America wins the future.

Source:WhiteHouse

Article: Making “Apple iPad” FanBoy Approved

2011-02-17T19:08:00.002+08:00

I ranted about iPad last time, and how I am not happy with its “advertised” advantage(s) over NetBook or Ultraportables. If you would like a refresher of why iPad is awesome, Steve Jobs himself advertises it here. Namely, iPad, according to him, is best for:

Browsing
Email
Photos
Video
Music
Games
eBooks

Steve also mentioned how NetBook are slow, that it has low quality display and uses PC software. What a big LOL. NetBook are built with that speed (you don’t call bike slow and compare it to motorized vehicles); low-quality display: LCD and LED display are low quality? nuff said. And boy oh boy, PC software are being used almost universally across the globe and Steve say it like PC software is a plague. I wouldn’t call Steve stupid, but I’ll call him a big deceiver. Granted, Steve’s statement was made sometime January of 2010, but still, he missed a lot of points. Anyway, I got iPad mainly because of

Games
Videos

All others are bonuses. However, again, as my rant shows, iPad failed to deliver those two things I was looking to use iPad for and iPad failed miserably. Not even my kids considers iPad a must-have, in fact, it’s rarely being used by my kids anymore and never considered iPad as a “serious gaming” device, nor a “decent movie” device, nor a “great browsing device”. So, what do I do? Do I have to resell it? I don’t think so, I’d probably get less than 60% of what I paid for it, that is if I even got lucky. So rather than putting the iPad aside and gather dust, I figure I have to make use of it: one way or another.

Navigation and/or GPS:

If you’re an Intel FanBoy like me and also lost on how to make use of the stupid thing, then I’ll begin with a basic use for iPad. Since most of the time I go on travel, iPad offers great navigation capability. I wouldn’t replace my TomTom though nor my Magellan, but iPad’s big screen makes it easier to look at the map and figure out where you are and where you are heading. It works great in combination with your traditional GPS device. However, make sure you get the iPad with 3G, otherwise, you won’t get this benefit. Get an app that works best for you, I got my self the following apps:

If you are not in the US (or Canada) and have to choose only of those two then get the MotionX(tm) GPS HD. Of course, there are free ones as well or you could use the default Map app in your iPad. I highly recommend it, and it at least makes getting iPad justifiable. Yes, I am still bitter, but really, most NetBook and Ultraportable doesn’t come with GPS device so this is one usage model that can somewhat pacify your anger and frustration of buying a very expensive eBook or overpriced MP4 device or a stupid gaming device.

Stargazing:

This capability makes camping in the “wild” and going out more fun, or just make your typical night a little different. While you could use MotionX GPS to track where you are on the surface of our planet, another app makes you look up to the sky at night and learn more about the stars. There are a few I found on the app store, but I particularly like one app and again, makes getting iPad justifiable.

Star Walk for iPad

The utility makes use of the built-in GPS and compass to “spot” stars.The app also has more features to it, such as Satellites Tracking, Time Machine, Picture of the Day and more.

And the journey continues…

While the two usage model makes owning an iPad justifiable, it still failed to meet my expectations. I just have to adapt iPad and find a better use not easily done by my NetBook or laptop and those two I mentioned above fits.I did made a few more playing around on how I can best utilize iPad but that will be for Part 2 (and probably Part 3 if I get the inspiration) and making iPad FanBoy friendly.

Article: Sandy Bridge HD Graphics Info

2011-02-15T10:27:00.005+08:00

I had a chat with friends and they have been asking me about some info for Sandy Bridge. While the info is fairly easily found at Intel's site, my friends aren't really tech savvy to compile what they want and I just did what I could to give them the info they need. Then I figure I'll share this to my Blog as well, just in case someone needs it.

Anyway, as the blog title says, it's not a review of the Sandy Bridge processor but a simple matrix for the graphica capability. Check it out...

Tech Link (Industry): Awesome New Rockin' Director At Intel

2011-01-26T10:26:00.002+08:00

"In a few weeks, at the Grammys, people are gonna hold their Grammy awards and I’m going to be rocking it with my Intel badge. I’m going to say, ‘Puffy, your cologne’s nice, Kanye, you got nice shoes, but do you work at Intel?’"

- says the new celebrity Intel Employee. Intel Ads used to say, “Our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars” but dang, this time around, Intel's rockstar is indeed everyones rockstar!

Guess who is our new Director of Creative Innovation? the mastermind behind 'BEBOT!' ..... FILIPINO! FILIPINO! FILIPINO! :)

Source:Intel Facebook Page

Note: The quoted comment was taken from "insider info" ;)

Tech Link (Industry): 3D Without Glasses

2011-01-21T15:29:00.006+08:00

Man, this is funny as heck. I believe it is fake, but if it's true, it's one funny technology. I know, I'll probably won't be jumping in to use this if it's true and if it ever came out. Though my opthalmologist advise me to blink 20x per minute, this guy is just awesome. Check it out...

Tech Link (Industry):2011 XtremeSystems CES Party

2011-01-19T19:27:00.002+08:00

With such a beauty benching and overclocking in the event, I don't think I can concentrate. However, the XS team seems hellbent with tweaking and stuff so they are able to do what they do best: overclock!

For 7 years now, XtremeSystems has held a party every year to coincide with the international Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This year was my first attending CES, and I took the opportunity while in town to join Fugger and his gang of miscreants at the XS party to enjoy some good company, warm food, cold drinks, and frozen processors. While this wasn’t an Overclockers.com event, I’m happy to cover it as thanks to Fugger for the hospitality and as thanks from the Overclocking community for a great event.

Source:Overclockers

Tech Link (Industry): Apple Invests $3.9 Billion into Mysterious Technology.

2011-01-17T23:27:00.001+08:00

I wonder what could it be. Apple has always been doing interesting stuff for their cult followers. Well, I am not a cult follower, I never had an iPhone nor an iPod nor its incarnation nor any kind of Mac and its flavors. I did get an iPad and along with it, tons of hatred to Steve Jobs for saying how it's best for web, movies, and email. The iPad is good, if you're an Apple Fanboy who will just gobble anything and everything Apples spews out. And really, if iPad has been the best gadget they have released after all those years, I'd say I'd be even more pissed if I have ever owner their earlier iterations. Apple's product, as always, are just overpriced gadgets...

Apple said Tuesday that it would spend $3.9 billion onto securing supplies of an undisclosed technology that it believes would be important for the company as well as for the industry at large. The company declined to disclose the type of the technology as well as its intention.

“During the September and December quarters, we executed long-term supply agreements with three vendors through which we expect to spend a total of approximately $3.9 billion in inventory component prepayments and capital expenditures over a two-year period. We made approximately $650 million in payments under these agreements in the December quarter, and anticipate making $1.05 billion in payments in the March quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, chief executive officer of Apple, during the recent conference call with financial analysts.

Tim Cook, the chief operating officer of Apple did not reveal any details about the technology, but compared the supply agreement to the flash agreement from 2005.

“It is something I do not want to give out because I view it as a competitive, something I just do not want our competition knowing. From our point of view on the design side, we design components where we believe we can innovate beyond what's available in the market. […] As you probably remember, we have historically entered into certain agreements with different people to secure supply and other benefits. The largest one in the recent past has been we signed a deal with several flash suppliers back at the end of 2005 that totaled over $1 billion because we anticipated that flash would become increasingly important across our entire product line and increasingly important to the industry,” said Mr. Cook.

One the thing that is known about the tech is that it requires process equipment and tooling, which means that the technology is yet untapped and may be in the stage of experimental or low-scale production. Another thing is that it is available from three vendors.

“We constantly look for more of these [technologies]. So, in the past several quarters we have identified another area and come to some recent agreements […]. These payments consist of prepayments and capital for process equipment and tooling. Similar to the flash agreements, they are focused in that area we feel is very strategic. And so I would prefer not to go into more detail about what specific area it is in, but it is the same kind of thinking that led us to those deals that led us to the flash deal,” added Tim Cook.

There are a number of promising technologies on the market in different areas, including batteries, displays, storage and other. The announcement by Apple mostly means that it plans to utilize an innovative technology that is not in mass production today.

Source:XbitLabs

Article: Intel Fanboy's Kinect Experience

2011-01-16T18:40:00.000+08:00

By this time, many has heard about this product and this technology. Not too long ago, it was called Project Natal, and the first time I saw it on YouTube, I was so excited and I even thought this as something like a hoax. Of course, after more than a year, an actual product has been released, and various other “hack” could be found on the web.

However, despite such amazing capability, I am just not a console guy, and even more so, not a gamer. While I do play Blizzard games almost exclusively, I just don’t spend enough quality time to even call myself a casual gamer and so while Kinect does present an interesting enough technology (more interesting than stupid Apple iPad), I never thought I’d really need a Kinect.

But my interest to own a Kinect has changed a lot, not by the games that it presents to me, but because of my curiosity with how the hackers out there makes some cool modifications to adapt the technology outside the bounds of its original scope. And this led me to just, well, go get one. And thus, start my saga and my very own first purchase of console system: Microsoft XBox 360 4GB Slim with Microsoft Kinect bundle.

Note: I will not go about what is inside the box, nor the game bundles, since this article is about the Kinect experience and my thoughts about it. For that level of detail, there will be other articles on the web that should cover that in a lot more detail.

First Impression on the Console:
XBox 360 4GB Slim edition comes in a surprising form factor for me. It’s just about the right size, nice Black matter color, and with a cool touch-sensing Power-On button and Optical-Drive open/close button. The physical set up is easy, not so messy cabling required and a Kinect port is available. With standard USB port in front and in the rear, I can only imagine what other add-on peripherals could be added to this baby. Over-all, I’m impressed. Well, I’d say since my last console was an Atari, this baby is a miracle.

First Impression on the Kinect:

The device looks odd, but not ugly, and has mic and “smart” cameras built-in. Microsoft is nice enough to make the color black and give it a finish like most televions are now today. It never really stands out and doesn’t detract users when watching TV or playing a game. The device is sturdy, and has long enough cable. It would be cool if it has wireless interface to the XBox 360 console and wireless power, that will be totally awesome.

Usage:
I actually bought several games, not knowing what to really expect from Kinect. I bought Dance Central, Joy Ride, and Sports. Of course, witht the bundled Kinect Adventures, I pretty much have too much title to just see how it performs. This range of games will hopefully give me more insights as to what the technology is all about, full body motion capture.

The Kinect (and XBox 360) experience:
The first start up is a bit too much for my liking. I can’t actually recall the full steps, but the things I really dislike is entering my home location and credit card stuff. Though I did have an option to skip the credit card thingie, adding text information with several buttons isn’t as intuitive as using a keyboard. Granted, XBox has that kind of accessory, but come on, if the set up will require me to enter that much text, it should be bundled rather than an add-on.

I am also a little annoyed that the bundle came with only one controller. I may not be the most experienced console owner out there but I sure remember my Atari having two controllers out of the box. My friends’ Nintendo Family Computer has two controllers attached to it as well. And as far as I can recall, PS One has two controllers right off the box. Anyway, I just shrug it off and think that Microsoft probably added only 1 controller since Kinect is supposed to make “players” the controller. But really, during the initial set up, the Kinect is useless as most of the pre-configuration is done via the wireless controller.

Now that I think about it, it’s similar to my first iPad experience: too much pre-configuration. Manufacturers should make pre-config as optional and allow “owners” to use the device right out of the box, and if they like advance functionalities, then that’s where those pre-config should kick off. If there’s any pre-config, it should be as few as possible and not where you’ll spend at least 30mins to set things up.

After the set up is all done and completed, it’s time to put in that game disc and see what Kinect is all about. The first time, as I recall, walks me thru optimizing my “game area”. It makes sense and I don’t mind it at all since it is really needed. It gives users an idea of what Kinect sees and allows users to adjust their game space.

When that’s done as well, things are getting a lot more interesting. Playing with Kinect gives a new twist in gaming. While playing using your body isn’t something new or foreign mainly because we’ve been doing, the experience is quite interesting seeing how the platform easily recognize different parts of my body. About 11 or 12 years ago, I used to have fun playing “pop the bubbles” with my Intel webcam with Intel Pentium 4 2.0GHz processor under Windows 98, but this Kinect totally bring the experience to a whole new level. The gaming platform is smart enough to detect multiple players, at multiple distance to the machine, doing various other things.

While the amount of delay and lag is annoying, it doesn’t really make the gaming experience bad or unplayable. I have played 4 titles and while I can’t say it will be the same experience for all game titles, one thing Kinect proves is that: it can be done and it works great.

More Kinect experience:
Later on, I found out that Kinect can even do voice and facial recognition. While I have seen it in the demo (Project Natal), I totally forgot about this feature. However, once I got it set up, it made the experience more enjoyable. I can’t say it’s perfect, but it works most of the time and can recognize me and two other people who plays the game. Voice recognition is quite tricky, but on the main Kinect menu, it works just fine. Just make sure your surroundings isn’t as noisy as mine.

In closing...
All I can say is that I am excited on what future gadgets will come to us all. Sure, common household robots and flying cars are still too far ahead from being a reality, virtual interaction has gone a good step ahead. And with all the hackers and hacks around, I can only look forward to a better exciting and more entertaining future. I wonder how Kinect Pr0n would look like, hmmm...

Article: Intel Fanboy's Journey to the beyond, err, Apple® iPad

2011-01-15T14:05:00.019+08:00

Well, it should be apparent that I'm no Apple® lover; if not, well I'm saying I am not an Apple® lover. What with Mac being based off a different architecture back then. However, not that I hate Apple, specially when Apple® made one of their greatest decision: go x86 on their "computer" platform (there, I never called Apple's devices "PC"). It's just that, like many others in the computer era, I belong to the "masses" of Windows user. And being this as my first ever "Apple device", I am now a newbie, novice, or back in the the days of CB radio, I am what they call a "green apple" (pun intended of course). Before moving forward with the article, whenever I mention "Apple", it refers to the "x86" platform (i.e. hardware and/or software) or the "company" unless otherwise stated. Also note that the images here aren't mine, I just took em off the interwebz, so if you own the image and offended by me using it without permission, lemme know and I will remove it

I. Why did I even get one?
Certainly, I'm immune to people around me saying how good Apple® product is. I mean, I am an overclocker, a bencher, a tweaker, and Apple® products just doesn't seem to give me that much interest. Not that Apple® isn't overclockable and such, I can think of at least a couple of ideas to put Intel's processor on Apple's Mac platform a few clock boost here and there. However, I just find Apple® products to be good for those who like "boxed in support" or in the PC world, I tend to give advice to non-techie people to get their PC from "MNCs". Apple, for me, seems to be good for their "well proprietary" software and tools and utilities. Windows, on the other hand, gives a lot of flexibility and freedom of choice. So when I started to ponder whether I should get a new tablet device, I never really considered Apple® (not even an iPod or iPad)...

But one fateful day, wifey asked me whether I want to buy an Apple® iPad for my trip going home since it's about 26hrs all the way. And I said, well, I have my laptop with a few movies. However, come to think of it, on the way to meet wifey, I never even bothered to open my laptop as it's too bulky for me. So, I figured I'll get a netbook/ultraportable instead, Costco, BestBuy and WalMart all had pretty good deals.

Going to the store and finding the right netbook/ultraportable (which ranges from $249-$349), I find pretty good deals. However, wifey insisted why would I get a netbook/ultraportable if I already have a laptop, which both runs Windows 7. Chances are that, I won't be using the netbook/ultraportable once I got out of the airplane and head home. But I told her that I can get two netbook/ultraportables for a price of a mid-ranged iPad. Still, wifey insisted that I will get more mileage and usage if I'd just buy an iPad, rather than trying to sell a netbook/ultraportable once I got back home.

So there, I am 90% convinced. But I still never got one. Till the day my kids ask me to buy movies for them for when we start our long drive from Miami to Orlando so they won't get bored. netbook/ultraportable lasts about 6hrs or probably 8hrs, and I read somewhere that iPad lasts for 10hrs, boots up fast, and is easy to use being it "touch" interface rather than mousing around and such. So there, I ran off to the nearest Apple® Store at Boca Raton, and boom, I got myself an iPad. It doesn't help that a co-worker just got one too and said "I even use it in the toilet".

II. UnBoxing and booting up for the first time my Apple® device
When I got it, I don't really feel the excitement to open it. My kids doesn't seem to mind as well, they aren't Apple-inclined as well. All they wanted is anything that can play movies or games, whether it's an Apple® or PC. Anyway, I have to open it because I have to copy my movies to the device and just get on with it and be done with it.

So opened it up, and lo and behold, it's the iPad, yey! Aside from the device itself, there's the charger, and a small envelope with a couple of papers and a metal thingy (which I later found out is the tool for opening the tray for Micro-sim since the one I got is 3G version). For the life of me, I can't figure how to boot the darn thing. I pressed power on (if it was the power on) and there was something in the display (an Apple® logo?), if I recall correctly, it wanted me to connect to something. I thought maybe the battery's drained so I left it plugged in to an outlet for a couple of hours while I take a nap. When I woke up, I tried booting it up again and to no avail. Anyway, I keep looking around the device, and eventually gave up. I was about to go out and return to store, when I got the idea to stick the darn thing to my PC. (I told you I'm a newbie). Hey, don't blame me, there was even no installer CD so I don't even know it needs to be connected to a PC (or probably a Mac too) to boot it up for the first time. I think it's pretty stupid of Apple, I still haven't read the manual so maybe it's in there. But hey, I never knew Apple® can talk to PC, I just have no idea, with iTunes and stupid apps. I thought you just boot it up and off it goes like a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS.

There, so I got the thing running. Apple® wasn't as user-friendly as it claimed to be. I'm a techie guy, and I'm newbie to Apple, but I wasted about 3hrs just trying to boot it up. Sure, most of the 3hrs was spent waiting for the thing to charge, but still, it should be easy to just turn it on. Weren't many handheld devices operate the same way? I mean, you don't need a PC to turn on a cellphone. I also don't think you'd need a PC to boot your PSP. Heck, my printer can turn on by itself without a PC. Why would iPad requires it?

III. A culture shock, iTunes and being a "closed" system
So, the darn thing booted up, thank goodness. It asks for alot of things, it even asks for my credit card, would you believe that? It asks for my "critical" personal info the first time I booted it. And I can't even get past or skip that information screen if I recall, I just need to enter a valid credit card, valid billing info, and what nots. I hope other handheld devices don't follow suit, it's just annoying and downright suspicious for me.

After all is said and done on the set up, I finally am greeted with the familiar iPad screen, at least that's what I always see on the images on the net and that's what is on the iPad box. I quickly tried to find a way if the device is mapped as a storage device on my laptop to which it is currently connected, walahhh, I can't find it. However, iTunes sure says my iPad is "docked" to the PC. After a few research on the net, I gave up. I realize that I can't do much transferring easily between my PC and iPad. I am not sure if the experience is the same when using Mac, but with my laptop and iPad, I can only do things via iTunes.

And oh, so where do I copy all my .MKVs blu-ray ripped movies and how do I copy them? I think it's probably via the "library" thingy, but unfortunately, in my hurry to boot iPad up, I connected the iPad to my work laptop and I don't have movies in there. But I do have movies on my "western digital passport" however, I never tried copying as soon as I realize that when I copy at least 4 movies of around 4GB each file, I'd be filling up the 32GB capacity. Hey no worries I told myself, it's all cool since the iPad's screen isn't big enough to optimize for full HD anyway.

So I downloaded a few movies thru my "favorite" locations, put it up on my portable drive, and went back to iPad. But I decided I don't really want iPad/iTunes to use my work laptop's folders and such so I tried to find a way to copy my files to iPad without iTunes. Boy, am I such a hard headed guy. Good thing, I find VLC for iPad. I was annoyed since its got a price ($2.99?) since VideoLAN for PC is free, and this app is charging me, a simple App want to get me money!!! Oh well, anything for the kids. So I gulp and install the app (later on, I found out, VideoLAN didn't develop VLC for iPad, it's Applidium, and later on, Apple® has to remove VLC from AppStore).

Anyway, the first 720p movie (~1.2GB) I tried to play encountered some nasty comment from VLC. VLC reported that my device may be too slow to play the movie smoothly. But I moved on and just play it, and it was horrible! I almost curse Apple® and Steve Jobs. How come they said it's the best device for web and movie when it can't even play a movie nicely. A few more research here and there and I found out I have to reencode some of my movies to conform to the iPad format and whatnots. Bleh. So I tried it, downloaded those apps for PC and installed them and tried to do the re-encoding. Five minutes into re-encoding, I gave up. The other laptop I'm using is just not powerful enough to re-encode a 1GB movie into an iPad format, at least, not quick enough. It would take me 4hrs to 5hrs for 1 movie, no way I'm going to re encode everytime, for that matter, so I can watch my movies, on a device that is supposed to be user friendly and the best device for watching movies....

It was faster to just download a few movies in standard definition format (~600MB) than to re-encode (not to mention, less stress on the system too). I am getting really riled up with the device, so I just put my attention to adding games. If I can't add movies easily, maybe games is a lot easier, at least my kids can still play games. So I search on the net, where I can download games, simple ones, that my kids can play. Lo and behold, almost everything has a price and I can only install games via iTunes again (what????). Sure, there are games that are "free", but they offer very limited features (i.e. a few levels) or with "ads". I mean, my kids plays full-featured free MMOs on their laptop, and I never even pay a cent to install a game. Simple games are free too, like Poptropica and many other flash-based games. I feel I am being ripped off with this iPad thingie.

But still, since I got this device already, I might as well just install some apps just for the heck of it. So I plunk down some $$$ and installed a few games such as Angry Birds, Cut The Rope, World of Goo, Fruit Ninja, Monopoly, Sim City, Pinball, and Zombie Smash.

IV. I could go on and on, but I will stop here
Yep, I can go on with my frustration and more. However, it's not Apple's fault, at least, not entirely. Being "Windows"-based all my life, and the flexibility and ease of use it offers me, I hate the idea of having my whole tech eco system revolve around iTunes, a Safari Browser, and an email client. Sure, iPad can also function as iPod, a glorified iPod but its novelty is lost upon me. For even the simplest of tasks, this device requires me to install an App (and pay for it) to do even the most trivial tasks. Want to transfer your Word files from your Mac or PC and work on your iPad? Either use iTune in a cumbersome manner or get an App that does that for you. I mean, this feature is as native as a File Manager back in Windows 1.x days, adding Apps for the simplest of tasks brings back memories of my DOS days, where I needed Norton Commander for such simple tasks.

I do appreciate the smoothness and responsiveness of the device. I like how the graphics looks nice and applications runs fine, and though I read a lot of patch updates about crash fix, I never really encountered crashing on my system.

Battery life is as advertised, it lasted me thru out my 5hr trip from Miami to Orlando. And also my 26hrs trip from US to the other side of the world. The device feels heavy the longer you use it, but is portable and easy to carry than a netbook/ultraportable as a "handheld" device. And oh, charging the device isn't quick, while it'll last you about 10hrs, charging from 0% to 100% can set you back 4hrs waiting time with the default charger. No wonder Apple® is selling "dock" so you get to enjoy the device while charging it at the same time. And no, the device never charge using USB port from my PC.

The AppStore and iTunes is seamlessly integrated, you'll get used to it in time, but still, it's very restrictive for what I would like to do.

As I said, the novelty is quickly lost on me. Sure, it's a nice companion device, and I love it and use it for its simplicity. However, I still think and believe that a netbook/ultraportable (for which Steve Jobs compared it before) is superior than an iPad in price/performance. For user experience, I don't really know, it will probably depend on the user. For me, a netbook/ultraportable will be a lot better than an iPad.

My kids don't use the iPad anymore, only during long trips back in the car. But in day to day thingy, for school and fun, they find the PC more entertaining and fun. They can read books just fine with the PC, and can move to bigger monitor, with better keyboard, without needing to buy additional accessory just to type better during chats, or gaming, or doing research.

iPad is great, I love it. But it can never replace a netbook/ultraportable, more so, a full featured laptop. In hindsight, if I'd like games, I should have sticked with Sony PSP, Nintendo DS. But hey, it never hurts to have another device, and join the "Apple Community" if only to while my idle time....

V. Pros, Cons and the Verdict
Pros:
Cute, simple interface, responsive, long battery life, nice graphics, sturdy hardware, with many accessories to buy

Cons:
Expensive, not tweak-friendly (hardware and OS), very closed system (requires iTunes for everything), cumbersome to transfer files (requires apps for the simplest of tasks), long charge time, stupid browser, lack of Flash support (yes, i know it before buying, but it still sucks), hard to read the display at outdoor, accessories are very expensive for what they would worth compared to PC, display gets easily smudged leaving you with smudgy screen at the end of the day that you'll probably need anti-bacteria to even let others use it, stupid keyboard UI, pricey Apps, pricey Music download, pricey Movie download, etc. etc. etc.

Verdict:
* If you're an Apple® FanBoy, you'll probably get it no matter what so GET it. But make sure you have a netbook/ultraportable for all other things
* If you're a PC FanBoy who have lotsa money to spare, GET it, and then get a netbook/ultraportable.
* If you're neither a PC FanBoy nor Apple® FanBoy looking for a good mobile computing device, get a netbook/ultraportable. You get more storage and free FULL-FEATURED utilities abound for almost anything
* If you're a tech geek getting tired of your old PC, get a Sandy Bridge, it's out now. Or look for a used Gulftown, or just get a netbook/ultraportable if you would like to fiddle with mobile device
* If you're new to gadgets and wanting to get into mobile computing, get a netbook/ultraportable
* If you're a gamer looking for cheap games while on the go, get a netbook/ultraportable
* If you just want to browse the web and do web stuff, get a netbook/ultraportable, Safari sucks
* If you're rich, get whatever you want but don't forget to get a netbook/ultraportable

Brag: Sandy Bridge has arrive!

2010-12-14T15:43:00.003+08:00

Ok, I got good news and bad news, not that you care anyway. But since it's my Blog, I'll just spew out the good and the bad. The good news is that, Sandy Bridge has arrived and the motherboard, BIOS, and OS are all humming along just fine. The bad news, I'll be off for a vacation and can't play around with it.

It's not the gift I am expecting for this Christmas, but hey, I can live with it. After all, who can complain getting the latest gadget from Chipzilla? So how about you? What are your wishes this coming festive season?

Press Release: Kinect for Xbox 360 Hits Million Mark in Just 10 Days

2010-11-17T09:22:00.002+08:00

OMG! I am not console guy, but the reason why I said OMG is that I have been waiting for the product to launch since I saw it a year (or two?) ago. And about a month ago, I saw console stores having "Kinect Ready" and "Kinect pre-order" flyers and ads all over. My wife and I was thinking if we should get one, but one review turned me off. Furthermore, wifey said she tried one over at Wal Mart and while she had fun, she feels the "game" is not responsive. Well, I am thinking it's the kinect that isn't fast enough to track motions. Anyway, Microsoft is racking up some $$$ and that seems to be good for business.

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 15, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it has sold 1 million Kinect for Xbox 360 units worldwide in 10 days and is on pace to hit 5 million by the end of the year. The announcement comes a week before the biggest selling day of the year, Black Friday, and in the wake of increasing momentum for Xbox 360, which led U.S. video game console sales for the past four months.1

“We are appreciative of the response we have seen from consumers that has culminated in sales of more than 1 million units in the first 10 days on the market for Kinect for Xbox 360,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “This is a great start to the holiday season, and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5 million Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year.”

Before the Kinect launch, Microsoft raised its worldwide sales forecast from 3 million to 5 million sensors sold by year-end. Kinect launched in North America on Nov. 4, followed by Europe on Nov. 10, and will land next in Asia (Nov. 18) and Japan (Nov. 20). By this holiday, controller-free games and entertainment will reach more than 60,000 retailers in 38 countries with up to 17 Kinect games available.

“We have seen tremendous excitement from customers for Kinect for Xbox 360,” said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of the home entertainment group at Best Buy. “There were lines of customers at our stores all over the country on the night of the Kinect launch, and thousands more are trying it for themselves in our stores every day. It’s no surprise Microsoft has already surpassed 1 million units sold, and we expect Kinect to be one of the must-have gifts at Best Buy this holiday.”

For Xbox 360 consumers worldwide, Kinect provides a unique and exciting way to access and interact with entertainment. With just the wave of a hand or the sound of a voice, consumers can play games, stream music, watch HD movies and live ESPN sporting events, and engage in video chat.2

Microsoft also recently announced that the more than 25 million Xbox LIVE members have spent more than 1 billion hours on the service a month, an average of over 40 hours per member. In addition to Xbox 360 console momentum, and the ever-expanding service and content library of Xbox LIVE, Microsoft released franchise games such as “Halo: Reach” and “Fable III” to hordes of devoted fans this fall, as well as announcing that Xbox 360 will be the first console to launch add-on content for all “Call of Duty” titles through 2012, helping drive industry software sales. With Xbox 360, Kinect and Xbox LIVE, Microsoft is proving to be a leading gaming and social entertainment service in the living room and the industry this holiday.

Kinect for Xbox 360 is an approachable, simple and affordable experience that the whole family can enjoy. No gadgets, gizmos or additional controllers are required. There are several opportunities for new and current consumers to literally jump into the action:

•
Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor. For consumers who already have an Xbox 360 console, the stand-alone Kinect for Xbox 360, at an estimated retail price (ERP) of $149.99 (U.S.), includes the Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures” and works with all of the 45 million Xbox 360 consoles currently in homes worldwide.3
•
Xbox 360 4GB console with Kinect. For new Xbox consumers, the Xbox 360 4GB console with Kinect, priced at $299.99 ERP (U.S.), includes the new flat black Xbox 360 4GB console, Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures,” which will have families off the couch and enjoying entertainment quickly and easily.
•
Xbox 360 250GB console with Kinect. For the serious entertainment experts in the family, the Xbox 360 250GB console with Kinect, priced at $399.99 ERP (U.S.), includes the glossy black Xbox 360 250GB console, Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures” and provides more memory to store movies, music and more.
More information on Xbox 360 and Kinect for Xbox 360 is available at http://www.xbox.com/Kinect or http://www.facebook.com/xbox.

Source:Microsoft News Center

Tech Link (Industry): CPU-Z v1.56 is out

2010-10-28T17:10:00.002+08:00

Go and get it you techno geeks. Who could resist the latest release of the ever sweet CPUZ? I know I can't, and if you're an overclocker, you'd probably be wanting it. And best of all, it's still free for the picking!

Intel Core i3/i5/i7 "2000" serie processors (Sandy Bridge) with new logos.
Intel Core i7 970 "Gulftown".
Intel P67 chipset.
AMD Phenom II, Athlon II and Sempron II "Caspian" processors.

Source:CPUID

Tech Link (Industry): 3DMark 11 Sneak Preview

2010-10-19T19:01:00.002+08:00

Lost Circuits has a nice sneak peak of the upcoming "de facto" 3D benchmark software "3D Mark 11". Michael Schuette goes over the features quickly. Since it's a preview, don't expect a lengthy article, but it's enough to wet your appetite (be forewarned, for some odd reason, that article is under an ATI/AMD article group, brrr).

Over the past decade, we have had a very close relationship with Futuremark and even its predecessor Remedy Studios that essentially brought us the first comprehensive graphics benchmark in the form of FinalReality 1.01. I have met Markus Mäki, Tero Sarkinen, and more people than I can remember with Finnish names that I could not pronounce if my life depended on it. Needless to say, they were all good guys and hard drinkers.

Source:Lost Circuits

Tech Link (Industry): New AIDA64

2010-10-08T22:16:00.002+08:00

Woohooo, another software is out! For those old benchers out there, you'll notice the "familiarity" of the name "AIDA". Well of course, the developers of AIDA64 are those who are behind AIDA32 (which became EVEREST). If you have space for another benching software, give this one a try.

AIDA64 is here
64-bit benchmarks & 64-bit System Stability Test

All CPU, FPU and memory benchmarks are fully ported to 64-bit, utilizing MMX, 3DNow! and SSE instruction set extensions, and scale up to 32 processor cores. An enhanced 64-bit System Stability Test module is also available to stress the whole system to its limits. For legacy processors all benchmarks and the System Stability Test are available in 32-bit version as well.

Hash benchmark with SSE2 & SSSE3 optimizations

A brand new 64-bit security benchmark to measure CPU performance using the SHA1 hashing algorythm. The Hash benchmark is optimized for every popular AMD, Intel and VIA processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate MMX, MMX+/SSE, SSE2, or SSSE3 instruction set extension. It is hardware accelerated on VIA PadLock Security Engine capable VIA C7 and VIA Nano processors.

SSD database with SSD-specific SMART disk health status

AIDA64 further extends its exhaustive hardware database by adding 300 solid-state drives (SSD), making the database count over 115,000 entries total. On top of the usual ATA auto-detect information the new SSD database enables AIDA64 to display flash memory type, controller model, physical dimensions, and data transfer performance data. AIDA64 v1.00 also implements SSD-specific SMART disk health information for Indilinx, Intel, JMicron, Samsung, and SandForce controllers.

Fine-tunable Alerting module

Overheating, over-voltage, and cooling fan alerts are now fine-tunable with alert sound and emergency application launch. In AIDA64 alert methods are individually customizable for each alert triggers.

DIMM thermal sensor, QST 2.0, Koolance TMS-200 support

The real-time hardware monitoring module was further improved by adding Intel QST 2.0, Koolance TMS-200, Koolance TMS-EB200, and DIMM thermal sensor device support. Improved cooling fan speed measurement on Fintek, ITE and Winbond sensor chips. Sensor support for the latest Fintek, Nuvoton and SMSC hardware monitoring devices.

Support for the latest graphics technologies

Graphics processor and GPGPU details, temperature and cooling fan monitoring for the latest GPUs: AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5430/5450, AMD Radeon E4690, AMD Radeon HD 5550, nVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, nVIDIA GeForce GTX 460, nVIDIA GeForce GTX 465. Exhaustive Direc3D and OpenGL video card capabilities detection with DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 support.Source:FinalWare

Tech Link (CPU): The Sandy Bridge Preview

2010-09-06T10:01:00.003+08:00

I never really liked Anandtech, and in the past, I hated that site with a passion. Of how "unfair" their comparisons well. Anyway, it's the past and their head honcho has been sucking up with Intel too for the past several years (started when Conroe was born). And this time, there's an article posted about a performance preview of the upcoming new uArch from Intel: Sandy Bridge. Check it out...

With Sandy Bridge next year you'll get higher clock speeds, more performance per clock and reasonable integrated graphics at presumably the same prices we're paying today. What's even more exciting is the fact that what we're looking at is just mainstream performance. The high end Sandy Bridge parts don't arrive until the second half of 2011 which add more cores and more memory bandwidth.

Source:AMDTech

Tech Link (Industry): H.P. Ousts Chief for Hiding Payments to Friend

2010-08-11T09:40:00.002+08:00

Ok, this news made really feel very very afraid of making any kind of expense report. I don't wanna get fired. I mean come on, I don't deliberately mis-use funds but what if I made a mistake and turned into something like this? Well I'm pretty sure I won't get headlined since I a no-name guy anyway, but heck, this would still suck big time.

"Mark V. Hurd, who turned Hewlett-Packard into the world’s largest technology company on the back of fierce fiscal discipline, has been ousted from his post for the lowliest of corporate offenses — fudging his expenses." Source:The New York Times

Tech Link (Industry): "Deciding between a PC and a Mac?"

2010-08-11T08:47:00.015+08:00

A friend sent me an update regarding the latest buzz over at Microsoft. Just recently, Microsoft has launched a page comparing Microsoft's (Windows) OS vs Apple's OS (MacOS). I am a Mac-newbie and I don't have enough time to research on this thing so I really can't say much whether Microsoft is doing at least a "decent" comparison. I mean, it's a Microsoft site, what can you expect right? However, what I can suggest is if you're like me who's Apple/Mac newbie, then don't just chew everything that's posted on the site. And just the same, if you're a Microsoft/Win newbie, don't just chew everything said on the Apple/Mac camp.

In any case, my take on this is that, IA x86 hardware has really gotten strong and very powerful over the last several years and a lot of OS and applications has gotten a lot easier to learn and use. Maybe Microsoft is seeing it in the same light, because in the past, going from DOS to Unix or to OS2 or to Windows or to Mac is requires a lot of learing curve.

Besides, I only have gripes with how software seem a bit lagging behind hardware development. Don't get me wrong, I know that the software has gotten quite improved too but what I'm saying is that, while we have 6cores/12threads, how many "real life, regular, day-to-day, consumer-level" can take advantage of this hardware's power? True, Microsoft Windows (and other advance OS) support multi-core and multi-threading and multi-processing (and host of other "multi-this-that") but these hardware needs heavy software uplift to be very very useful to most everyone.

Case in point, the current Intel EE Gulftown is currently relegated to those multimedia-savvy users, workstation-type workload, high-end enthusiasts and gamers. And I think the main reason why that's the target market segment is mainly driven with the "usage" model. This means that either the software is lagging behind to take advantage of multi-core, or usage model has stopped to just very few useful applications (listening to music, while browsing the web, and doing some downloading stuff in the background, while the anti-virus is checking every activities with the PC).

Anyway, I have swayed much on the topic so I'll stop before I made this simple post into a full blown article (which would suck for me) because I have a lot of things going in my brain when looking into this topic.

PCs are designed for work and play, with features you need to get things done on the job or at school and have fun at home or on the go. From easily sharing Microsoft Office documents to watching HDTV and Blu-ray movies, PCs help you do it all.

Source:Microsoft

Tech Link (Industry): Aiptek's 3D HD Camcorder and Portable 3D Display

2010-08-10T19:45:00.007+08:00

Woah, first time I have seen such products. Aiptek is going to release their new line of 3D-enabled products, namely 3D HD 720P Camcorder and Portable 3D Display. These are cool nifty toys, and are pocketsize, making it portable and handy. However, I find the product name too lame for its capability. The products are not released yet, but you can pre-order these products at Amazon, Sears, Target, Walmart, and B&H. That's right folks, US only! I don't know if and when they plan to released it in Asia.

The 3D HD 720p Camcorder can record and capture stills and videos in 3D. It's got a built-in 3D-LCD for quick playback. Of course, it can also capture in standard 2D! The other toy, Portable 3D Display, also offers nifty features, because you can now watch and view pictures and videos without 3D glasses! I reckon it's something akin to those "3D" postcards I used to get when I was a kid. Aiptek said, they made it possible thru their "Parallax Barrier" technology.

3D HD 720P Camcorder

Aiptek's new 3D-HD camcorder is the most powerful on the market today. Utilizing powerful, dual-HD sensors allows you to capture 3D stills and videos that can be converted with the included software to work with most major brand 3D televisions. The 3D-HD has a built-in 3D LCD for instant playback, or you can connect it to your PC via USB, or to your HDTV via HDMI. It also has the ability to shoot video and capture still photos in standard 2D. Open up a whole new Dimension of video with Aiptek's 3D-HD camcorder.

Source:Aiptek 3D HD 720P Camcorder

Portable 3D Display

Aiptek's new Portable 3D Display allows you to view your pictures and videos in a brand new way! Utilizing an 8" Parallax LCD Screen, your pictures and video will have a whole new dimension. View pictures and videos that you have captured on your 3D camcorder, or use the included software to convert your existing works into three-dimensional masterpieces that you can share with all of your friends and family. Open up a whole new Dimension of your world with Aiptek's new Portable 3D Display.

Source:Aiptek Portable 3D Display

Tech Link (Overclock): Core Temp 0.99.7.7 and Core Temp Gadget 2.3 Released

2010-08-07T19:12:00.000+08:00

Well, I know I'm late but hey, better late than never. Anyway, since I am "trying" to come back in being active with Blog and in the tech community, I have started to visit my old favorite sites. It's a good timing I guess, as I'm just a few days late about the cool new updates from CoreTemp author. Aside from the latest CoreTemp 0.99.7, there's also a new Core Temp Gadget 2.3!

This cool little add-on looked really nice on my Win7 desktop and I'm like "Ohh, schweeetz!" I suggest you go and grab 'em coz they are not only hot, they are FREE! I mean, with such cool software costing nothing, not even crippled, but a full-blown, no fuzz software, this is totally awesome! Grab it!!!!!!

Version 0.99.7.7 - 29th July, 2010

- New: Core Temp FAQ is now available online, see About Core Temp dialog.
- New: System tray icons for CPU speed and CPU load - see System Tray setup under Options.
- New: Support for the latest mobile AMD processors.

- Fix: Multiple "Fail" messages when the computer exits sleep or plugged into/unplugged from power (laptops).
- Fix: Several mobile Intel processor recognition issues.
- Fix: When disabling Windows 7 Taskbar feature with Cycle mode, icons still continue to cycle.
- Fix: Windows 7 Taskbar settings UI bug.

- Update: "Start with Windows" function in Vista and 7 now works on a per-user basis.
- Update: Change the time and date layout of the log file name to YYYY-MM-DD HH-MM-SS.
- Update: All of the readings logged are now numeric only.
- Update: In single instance mode, the previous instance will be brought to the screen.

- Known issue: Core Temp may stop responding for a period of time or completely lockup on some systems when switching between power supplies (wall/battery) or exiting sleep/hibernation mode.

Source:CoreTemp

Core Temp Gadget 2.3

This is a sidebar gadget for Windows Vista and 7 for use in conjunction with Core Temp. There is not much to say about it, I think the screenshot speaks for itself.
the gadget requires Core Temp 0.99 or higher to be running for it to work.
If you liked the gadget please rate it on the Windows Live Gallery.
Download

Source:CoreTemp Addon

Tech Link (Gaming): Cologne's soil will quake heavily!

2010-08-06T22:25:00.006+08:00

What does Intel and FanBoy have in common (aside from lovin' Intel products?). Well, they are both Blizzard supporter!

Intel, together with ESL (Electronic Sports League) is sponsoring a Starcraft II tournament game in the Intel Extreme Masters event. There are 16 players who will compete for the event, and 14 of them have already been predefined (lucky them). Check out more of the details below...

Cologne's soil will quake heavily!

All StarCraft II participants for gamescom's Global Challenge are determined. So we go on with the second tournament held at the Intel Extreme Masters event in Cologne. It's Quake Live that will join StarCraft II to bring you another tournament packed with top players from all over the world including Season 4 World Champion Shane 'rapha' Hendrixson!

All in all 16 players will compete for $10,000 at the Intel Extreme Masters stage. 14 top-notch players have already been invited due to their performance during the last season of the Intel Extreme Masters. The two remaining players will be determined in an open qualifier this weekend.

Source:ESL

Tech Link (Gaming): STARCRAFT® II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™ BECOMES BIGGEST PC GAME LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

2010-08-04T12:59:00.005+08:00

Well, it's no surprise this game has reached such following. It has been long awaited and highly anticipated by Blizzard fans. I, for one, have been longing for the new release, and not because I rule in RTS games, but more about the continuation of the storyline. I have already developed a sense of "relationship" with the characters and it feels incomplete to have no closure on the story.

However, the plot thickens. For those who are on the prawl, they may already got an idea that this is just the early installment. Because this is a "trilogy", the first installment, the current released is entitled: Wings of Liberty focusing on Terran race. And first expansion is called Heart of the Swarm, putting the Zerg race in perspective and the final one is Legacy of the Void, which as you may have already guessed, Protoss part of the trilogy.

With more than 1.5 million copies sold in its first 48 hours, Blizzard Entertainment's sci-fi sequel is the bestselling PC game of 2010 and the fastest-selling strategy game of all time

Source:Blizzard

Tech Link (CPU): AMD Ontario performance numbers leaked

2010-08-01T13:31:00.000+08:00

Apparently, a leaked performance of AMD's upcoming architecture (Bobcat) shows that it has "good" performance against Intel's Atom D510. However, I am really not sure what the graph shows since it says on the right most column under the heade "Speed-up" (vs Ontario), Atom D510 shows 0.58x. The rest of the column, from top to bottom, shows 1.15 (vs Athlon II X2 250u) and 2.42 (vs Phenom II X4 965BE). If I am to read that, Atom is 0.58 faster than Ontario. Oh well...

Raw performance figures for AMD's first Fusion based product, the upcoming Ontario processor, have been leaked and frankly things are looking pretty good.

Source:bit-tech

Article: Fanboy's Feedback on The Last Airbender Movie

2010-07-26T19:10:00.013+08:00

I just saw The Last Airbender [in 3D] last weekend together with my kids. I decided to write a mini review to share my feelings about the movie since I am a fan of the animated series. I have always kept my eyes open for new episodes at Nickolodeon channel and Avatar: The Legend of Ang has always offered me fun and entertainment after a grueling work, or tasks from the office. It offers me a brief moment of solace and isolation from the world around me, as I engulf myself in the world of Avatar. I have come to like all the characters, and have always been looking forward for the next episode. So it's not a surprise that when a movie was planned, made, and shown, I am also one of the faithful that flock the cinema. I will now share my mini-review and my feelings after watching the movie.

I. Background
The background of the movie is familiar to all fans of the series. However, if you're new to the series, then here's a short background. In the world of Avatar, there are four nations, which falls under four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Strictly speaking, each nation can control the element and only that element i.e. Water Element can control Water, and those who can can control the element are called "bender". They use to live peacefully, until 100years ago, Fire Nation decided they are too good to share the world to everyone else (not really accurate, but I can't spill too much spoiler) and so war sparked. Fast forward to 100yrs later, that is, the current day of Aang, the last Airbender surfaced. It so happen that this last Airbender is also the fated Avatar. And again, in the world of Avatar, only this Avatar can learn bending all elements and is looked at as the hand of justice and the only one that can bring

II. Storyline
Again, trying not to bring out too many spoilers, suffice it to say that the storyline is quite streamlined. There's a war against Fire Nation, (yeah all three nations vs Fire nation) and Fire Nation is gaining the upper hand and gaining momentum in controlling the land. Aang has just been liberated from the frozen ice he got himself stucked stupidly and found out later that he's a 100yrs late going home along with his pet Appa (flying bison).
Aang found out the story about Fire Nation, and got convinced that he's the one to restore the balance. But in order to do that, he needs to learn Water, Earth, and of course, Fire Bending since he only knows Air Bending. And in this movie, it's Book I: Water so it's about Aang learning Water Bending.

III. Characters
This is one movie where I am not familiar with most of the casts except Fire Lord Ozai and Zuko. It's already a tell-tale of what to expect, knowing that I'm mostly familiar with most Hollywood movies it only means that I'm also mostly familiar with the casts. So watching a movie filled with casts that I don't know, then it's a gamble...

I hate Aang in this movie. I don't hate the actor, but I hate the fact that Aang isn't even Asian. It's probably a personal thing, but if not for that, I hate the way he portrays Aang. I can't blame the kid, he's young and has pretty good moves. But the way he delivers his line is so.....bland. There's. just. no. feelings. He is not, in any way, Aang! As soon as I heard him speak a few lines and after a few more scenes, he doesn't have the antics and the character that I was looking for. He's just not "it"

Katara, the child actress looks good, but how could she be caucasian? The director probably would like to mimic the Eskimos, but really, this is an imaginary world. The animated series Katara is brown, or dark-skinned and has such mesmerizing voice and calm deliverance of line. I also don't like the way Katara portrayed as weak, she's very capable even when she isn't the best Water Bender. In this series, she's just not as good a fighter.

Sokka, whatever happens to my favorite character? Where's the "meat", where's the "sarcasm", what happened to the cheesy lines, corny jokes, invented stupid words. His romance with Yue hasn't even been developed, the movie just "narrates" his shortlived lovelife. It's just wrong!

Then there's also Iroh, and Zuko and I just can't bear to spew more blasphemies against these characters. Zuko's scar? I hardly notice it. What about Uncle Iroh's fetish for tea? Zhiao loses his evil resonance, he's just a normal villain. And Firelord Ozai, I already know his face and it's just Book I:Water.

IV. Costumes, Effects(FX), and Battle Scenes
The costumes are ok, they look rather cheap but passable. However, the battle scenes are pathetic. I mean, how could Aang took 5mins to cast his spell? And what's more mind boggling, in this moment of casting, his enemies seems to be just waiting till Aang has finished casting it. This is stupid!

Thankfully, the effects are acceptable. I will not say "great" effects, but it's decent. However, the "3D" is just awful. I spent most of my time viewing the movie without the glasses.

V. Verdict and Conclusion
I have only seen the movie once, and I quickly wrote this Blog while the vivid images and storyline is still fresh from my memory. The calm, but roaring, whispering sound still lingers in my ears long after I left the movie house. I know I'd watch it again if have the time to spare. I'll definitely be grabbing a DVD for me to enjoy it in its full glory with subtitles, extras, and other freebies. So my verdict? Go watch it!

Source:
The Official The Last Airbender Movie Site

Trailer:

Tech Link (Industry): "TRON:Legacy" movie brings video game world to life

2010-07-25T19:50:00.003+08:00

Wow, I am so excited to learn about this cool stuff. I have been an avid fan of the original TRON movie, it was so cool back in the days. The great about this movie is that, well, we're now well matured in digital animation and movie technology and many people are now more aware of "computers". I mean, back then, when you speak computer, I remember my parents asked me, "what's that?".

(Reuters) - Back in 1982, first-time director Steven Lisberger brought mainstream audiences into the world of videogames with the sci-fi thriller "TRON", using early computer-generated imagery that paved the way for today's 3D movie blockbusters.

Source:Reuters

Tech Link (Industry):The Gamer’s Guide to Comic-Con 2010

2010-07-23T15:44:00.001+08:00

Stumbled upon this nifty info since I was hunting for cute cosplayers. Apparently, if you live in San Diego, USA then you're a lot luckier than me and I'm definitely jealous because Comic-Con 2010 is happening there right now (or probbaly happened already). But to be sure, check it out...

Comic book superheroes and videogame characters will collide at Comic-Con International, the annual convention that gears up this week in San Diego.

The big game will undoubtedly be Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, the long-awaited return of one of the greatest crossovers in gaming. Set to be released next spring, it’s a coke-fueled fighter that makes Street Fighter seem as sedate as a leisurely Sunday game of checkers. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a nonstop explosion of supermoves and ultra combos that pits the likes of Wolverine and Iron Man against characters from Resident Evil and Devil May Cry

Source:Wired

Tech Link (Industry): Andre Yang found doing "malpractice" of overclocking

2010-07-22T23:15:00.001+08:00

Apparently, the famous Andre Yang, is banned for doing "malpractice" with the recently concluded MOA LOO contest. Well, he's banned at XtremeSystems.Org and HwBot also issued a 1-year ban on Andre and all those involved: Hiwa, eXtremetweaker.de, KJ and Skinnee.

It is a sad day to see such. When overclocking become mainstream, and even commercialized, such malpractice is becoming more often and more severe. In the past, overclockers, a "small community" of enthusiasts, delights with "friendly competition" without regards for prize, but more about recognition from the community and to show off their skills.

I do hope that this is not a signal of how bad things are going to be, but let this be a lesson to all to always play fair and within the boundaries of the rules.

Source:XtremeSystems

Tech Link (Industry): SetFSB is still alive and kicking!

2010-07-21T19:52:00.006+08:00

A looooooong time ago (ok, not too long), I was obsessed with the dark arts of overclocking. I scour each and every nook of the interweb forum and wreak havoc among the naysayers, blasphemers, unbelievers, those who lack faith and just outright spawn of the devils (I am actually refering to AMDroids if you're still lost). I would pin down all those rascals, the nasty claims against the God of Processors. I would battle them from graphics relevance, to power consumption; from price to performance; from socket changes to chipset differences; and even against those who claim no difference at all!

I operate beyond the shadows, beneath the cover of my pen name, and slay all those who would go against my belief. I am venageance, the mere mention of my name brings forth flames and sorrows against my enemies, for I am death_metal, the harbinger of doom, the right-hand of justice, the ultimate FanBoy!

Ok, what I'm trying to say is that my good ol' friend Abo is still alive and kicking and spewing out many versions of SetFSB, the great OC software. I never knew that he came back and started developing by June of this year again. Anyway, go visit his website, he's got a lot of cool new updates and who knows, your product might be supported.

Ah oh, if your product is not supported, let him know and he'll give you instructions and how it can be supported. He's a cool Japanese dood, and he helped me developed several Intel-branded board OC software back in the days.

Updating information 7/21/2010[Wednesday]

7/21/2010 - Updated SetFSB : Version 2.3.149.115 (This version is a shareware!)
Added ICS9LPRS476HKLF(HP Compaq 615, Acer Ferrari One 200). - SetFSB has a problem that WiFi and LAN shut down.
Fixed ICS9LPR363DGLF(ASUS A7Sv).
Included Acer Aspire 7740("ASUS N61JQ").
Included HP Pavilion P6335FR(CV193DPAG).

7/17/2010 - Updated SetFSB : Version 2.3.148.114 (This version is a shareware!)
Added ICS9248AF-165(ASUS CUV4X).
Fixed CV179CNLG(Samsung N120).
Fixed ICS951462AGLF(MSI GX610).
Included ASUS P5VD2-VM(ICS953008BFLF).
Included ASUS G75JH("ASUS G73JH").
Included LG E200-A.CPPPV(ICS951461BGLF).
Included Clevo M570RU(ICS9LPR363DGLF).
Included DELL Alienware M15x("ASUS N61JQ") - The no working exists.
Supported VIA Apollo Pro133Z/PM133 Chipset.

7/7/2010 - Updated SetFSB : Version 2.3.147.113 (This version is a shareware!)
Fixed ICS9LR3362CGLF(ASUS UL30VT).
Included ASUS G60VX,Intel D945GSEJT(ICS9LPR363DGLF).

Source: SetFSB

Tech Link: CPU-Z 1.55 is released

2010-07-10T19:45:00.000+08:00

If you're like me, you'd have the latest and greatest CPU-Z version. Why? Because it's sexy! Go ahead and make your wet dreams more misty and juicy, grab the latest version, nom!

- VIA VX900/VX900M and VN1000/VN1000M chipsets.
- Intel Core i5-760, Core i7-875K and Core i5-655K processors.
- Intel Core i7-940XM, 840QM, 740QM mobile processors.
- Intel Core i5-450M, 540UM, 430UM, Core i3-370M mobile processors.
- Intel Pentium P6000 processor.
- New parameter in cpuz.ini : UseDisplayAPI.

Source:CPUZ

Tech Link (Industry): Two Flagship Gigabyte Mainboards: GA-P55A-UD6 and GA-P55A-UD7

2010-06-16T15:25:00.000+08:00

I have long lost interest with XbitLab's articles as I find them to be going the way of the dodo whenever they post articles. But, the same can be said to most tech sites I visit nowadays, so I guess it's probably me that's going the way of the dodo. Anyway, this post is ain't about me so if yer interested to see and pondering of getting a new board, this article might help you make up your mind.

Lately, we have been testing mainboards in batches. Once Intel X58 Express and the corresponding CPUs came out, we tested mainboards based on that chipset one after another. When we found we had covered basic models from all brands and satiated our interest, a new platform was already announced and we began to test mainboards based on Intel P55 Express. This research method has both pros and cons, so we are going to try another one soon. We are going to take a few mainboards and compare them all in a single large roundup. But as we haven’t yet accumulated enough products for such a comprehensive roundup, we want to return to the already discussed group of mainboards and check out new models that have appeared after our original series of articles.

Source:XBitLabs

Tech Link (Industry): A Tour Of The Kingston Memory Factory In Taiwan

2010-06-05T17:20:00.001+08:00

THG have a "photo" story up and running about their trip to Kingston. I think they are pretty good and interesting, go check 'em out if it's yer thing...

Source:THG

Brag: And I just paid my Pre-Order Fee

2010-05-28T18:39:00.004+08:00

I got a call from DataBlitz earlier, informing me that I finally got my "Pre-Order" approved for Starcraft 2: Collector's Edition. However, they won't accept full payment even after I insisted. They accepted 3k, and gave me a receipt and a "pre-order" form but I still can't say it's 100% sure.

I do hope I will get the CE, I have called them and reserved the game as soon as the game release date was announced. That was like, 2months ago? I am thankful with their sales staff though, the first time I called for follow up, they can't even find my name in the list of those who reserved. Later on, they found their "older" notebook and found my name listed, as the very first who reserved a "pre-order" willing to pay the full amount upfront.

Oh geeze, I can't lay my doubt to rest, till I get my hands on the CE!

Brag: And the winnaaaaaar is....

2010-05-21T19:44:00.008+08:00

I got a call from my good friend a few minutes ago. He is teh best, best of the best, the uber, the supreme. Non other than bartman! Wow, just last week I was hoping he'd pull it off, and he did!!!

Congrats man, am so proud of you, GOOC 2010 King of the Hill! I appreciate the fact that I am the first person you called with teh best news of the week, probably, best news of the month for PH OCers =).

Misc: Shoutout to my friend bartman of OCXPH

2010-05-13T06:33:00.004+08:00

I just want to wish my friend bartman of OCXPH goodluck and more power. I lend him a few of my golden babies, and last time we chat, he had a good run =). Here's hoping you get to show them OCers who's the bad ass of OCXPH, good luck with Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championship 2010 competition!

Article: My experience overclocking with Intel® Desktop Board DH55TC and Intel® Pentium G6950

2010-05-12T09:54:00.017+08:00

It's been quite some time since I last posted an "Article" kind of blog post. I can't really recall the last time I did it since most I post are mostly Brag, Rant, and Misc as well as a few Tech Links. Of course, you can blame the fact that I have also stopped the site for a long time.

But excuses aside, let me welcome you with this short article, sharing my experience when overclocking an processor with this board. Yes, this board has an overclocking feature (Host Clock Frequency Change). I won't go to the details of how to overclock or about the many benchmarks but I'll just share a few benchmarks that I used to show that the board DOES overclock. Be forewarned, I never took many pictures of the actual product nor went into the details of the board. For that kind of article, let me guide you over to several articles at
XBitLabs, Motherboard Reviews, and a YouTube one with Motherboards.Org.

So how does this article differ? Well, read on...

Well, for starters, it differs because the review came from a FanBoy. As if you haven't been warned enough of the site name itself, I have already said the keyword: I am an Intel FanBoy! I will also use archaic benchmarks known to man such as 3DMark01 (yes, not even 06 so don't expect the "Vantage" type), PCMark02 (yeah, oooooolllllldddd), Aquamark 3 (lol) and SiSoft Sandra (I think I downloaded the "latest" one).

Ok, so why did I even make an article based on old benchmarks? Simply because it's the first time I've seen Intel board got an overclocking feature on their non-extreme board. And the fact that Intel isn't even touting it nor advertising it adds to the excitement (of a fanboy level).

System Specs:
So first, the System Specs: Intel DH55TC board, Intel Pentium G6950 processor (no, I'm not going to test more processors), and OCZ PC3 12800 Obsidian Series RAM. The power supply, optical drive and hard drive will remain anonymous. And yes, I'm using the on-board graphics (so that explains the lack of high end 3d benchmark).

The Oberklokxz:
As you can see, I manage to overclock the CPU upto 180Mhz! According to XbitLabs, they are only able to overclock upto 146Mhz! Sure, they used a different CPU than what I used and the author's point is somewhat valid (that their CPU OC to 152Mhz, with err, 6Mhz gap) but still, it gives the board a very bad outlook by showing that it can only do up to 146Mhz! Clearly, my VALIDATED CPUZ isn't a lie! At 180Mhz, I am only limited by my ability to push the vCore (ok, probably other tweaks). I can do 185Mhz but that's a suicide run and not even stable.

The way of the benchmarks:
So how does it fare? Oh, the board stood strong against the barage of benchmarks I throw at it. The scores I gathered came from this testing methodology:
a) Five(5) runs of each bechmark. Remove the bottom two low scores, and top two high score, and select the median score
b) Run 3DMark01 for 24hrs stable

In case of any failure, i.e. I failed once benchmark out of 5, the overclock is considered unstable and will be moved to the next stable clock frequency and the benchmark restarts.

And the scores!
Here are a few benchmarks to compare and ponder upon:
Aquamark3-Stock

Aquamark3-Overclock

3DMark01-Stock

3DMark01-Overclock

PCMark02-Stock

PCMark02-Overclock

SiSoft Sandra CPU Arithmetic-Stock

SiSoft Sandra CPU Arithmetic-Overclock

{Biased}Conclusion:
This board is rock solid in all it's untouted oveclocking capability. It is a decent board and carries a decent price tag. However, what other reviewers might have failed to tell you is that, most Intel boards carries 3yr limited warranty. By getting Intel boards, it also means you can get technical support via a live person or thru email and even thru chat. Now, tell me what other product carries such huge extras. And did I mention that if your board fails and that your point of purchase refuses to help you, that Intel will assist you and replace your defective product (assuming it is within warranty period).

So yeah, the verdict: GO GET IT BOYZ!

Tech Link (Game): STARCRAFT® II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™ IN STORES STARTING JULY 27, 2010

2010-05-04T09:28:00.003+08:00

Eeeew, so the June 2010 rumor is just that, a rumor. But hey, it's not so bad as it gives us FanBoys something to drool on. And what's more, there is now an official statement released today about the availability of the game.

STARCRAFT® II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™
IN STORES STARTING JULY 27, 2010

IRVINE, Calif. – May 3, 2010 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that its highly anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™, will arrive in stores throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau starting on July 27, 2010. Players will also be able to purchase StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty directly from Blizzard Entertainment shortly after the retail launch.

"We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we're excited that the time for that is almost here," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Thanks to our beta testers, we're making great progress on the final stages of development, and we'll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net® in just a few months."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. Sporting a vibrant 3D-graphics engine, StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying legions of veteran, upgraded, and new unit types. Unparalleled online play for StarCraft II will be available through a new version of Battle.net, Blizzard Entertainment's world-renowned gaming service. Battle.net has been redesigned from the ground up to be the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard gamers, with several enhancements and new features, such as voice communication, cloud file storage, leagues and ladders, achievements, stat-tracking, and more.

The solo campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War®. The story line chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign. Several challenge-mode mini-games will also be included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies.

For more information on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, visit the official website at www.starcraft2.com. Further details about the game, including the alternative pricing options previously mentioned for certain regions, will be announced in the coming weeks. With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available -- visit www.blizzard.com/jobs for more information and to learn how to apply.

Source:Blizzard

Tech Link (Game): SC2 on June 11?

2010-04-27T15:18:00.004+08:00

You know how it is for Fanboys, we get excited for anything and everything related to the things we love. So apparently, a German site found out something about the release date of Starcraft II. Of course, me being not included with CB (Close Beta) is really gearing up for this game. After all, the last Blizzard I played is Warcraft III (yeah, I played WoW but I never got past the free trial days). Expand to read on more...

One finding scared the hell out of me these days. I found this on some german mapping community (thanx to the great sc2 editor)

If you take a close look at a piece of artwork that shows a space marine, you can find some really exiting stuff. The helmet display of our lovely rine shows a bunch of figures that could be dates.

Source:Starcraft-blog.de

Misc: New Job, New Challenge

2010-04-23T14:29:00.002+08:00

So I just accepted my new role. Techie = gone, new function will have to take over....

Brag: Intel® Xeon® Processor X5660 is my poison!

2010-04-16T11:07:00.004+08:00

One lazy day (yesterday), I was forced to have longer time to stay in the office. Not that I like it, nor do I have an option but more so because I need to. Wifey's got to attend an event and I can choose to spend my time going with her but I rather let her enjoy her time with her friends since it's a company event. Then there's also an option for me to just go at to the movie theater while waiting for her. Or I could do some loitering around the malls. None of them really interest me, so I told wifey that I'll just stay in the office and play with the hardware.

So now I got some time. My friend have his server stuff laying here and there and he needs help "keeping them tidy" i.e. I can assemble them parts instead of having it scattered all over the lab.

I received two Intel® Xeon® Processor X5660, sporting 6cores each, and with HT, it means 12threads. And since these babies are tru-blu server cpu (DP part) that means I got 24threads of pure awesomeness in front of me waiting to be unleashed.

So after wiping off the drool, I quickly grab a chassis here and a motherboard there, and a RAM here and PSU there and a couple of hard drives. After having complete failure, mostly because I don't know much about server hardware, I manage to install Windows 7. Yeah, I know it's a server but I can't have my Win2k8 work on this machine since Win2k8 has been bugging me to have it activated because the license expired. Bah, at least Win7 allowed me to install even without any CD-KEY.

Anyway, I got it installed and Win7 looks crap with the integrated graphics. I settled for an nVidia 7600 because I can't add any good video card since the PCIe slot doesn't allow for high-end graphics card because of many tall components and how some VRM heatsinks are installed.

Another problem I ran into is that despite me having many RAM modules, it's waste since I can only install 32bit OS. And while I know there are ways to circumvent it, time is not on my side. I just need the darn thing running, and looking good, and at least, usable (i.e. browse internet and view some videos). Unfortunately, the server board does not come with audio chipset (makes sense) so I never got to play any media. But hey, it works and I can do Facebook games. I was not able to do any benchmark though.

All in all, before I went home yesterday, I manage to bring the baby up and running (which is quite a feat for me). I am not able to do anything beyond basic browsing and flash game, but I guess that would be schedule for the next time I got some free time on my hands....

Misc: Intel® Desktop Board DH55TC can overclock!

2010-04-14T15:09:00.003+08:00

I was doing some trivial testing with Windows 7 with a typical Intel board (Intel® Desktop Board DH55TC) and I decided to change something in the BIOS. Something caught my eye and decided to play around with it. That something is about changing Host Clock Frequency.

I thought it's probably because my board is an engineering sample, so I never really give it much thought. I know Intel is adding overclock options, but more on their so called "Extreme Series" board. So I did a quick BIOS update, since I'm using a Beta BIOS, just to check if that BIOS option will go away. But surprise, it stuck up. So the next thing to do is to see if it works!

And another surprise, it does work. It's rather limited, but the thing is, it works!!! I will try to play around with it more and see if I can run a few benchmarks too. It's probably be interesting for those who are looking for a decently price board from Intel but still longing for overclock.

Tech Link (Gaming): STARCRAFT®II: WINGS OF LIBERTY™ COLLECTOR'S EDITION ANNOUNCED Special edition of Blizzard Entertainment

2010-04-09T08:05:00.006+08:00

Awww, Blizzard fanboys should ready their wallet (I should)! SC2 Collector's edition is already announced, and as most of you know, Closed Beta (CB) has been running for quite some time already (unfortunately, despite my rigs awesome config, I am not selected). I can almost smell the game. Read more..

The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game

An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War® expansion set

A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director's commentary, and more

The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks

StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series

A World of Warcraft® mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account

Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit

Source:Blizzard

Tech Link (Mobile): Apple's iPad - The AnandTech Review

2010-04-08T17:47:00.003+08:00

Anandtech finally posted their very own detailed review of the iPad. In the earlier posting, you'll see a lot of fanboys complaining why iPad shouldn't be compared to a NetBook but even the top head honcho of Apple "disses" NetBook (see 1:30) and as such, I'm also convinced that iPad should be compared to NetBook since it's at the same market positioning.

Personally, NetBook can do more and perform more and be "modified" more (i.e. upgrade RAM or add more peripherals or increase HDD/SSD, etc). Of course, just like I am a FanBoy, the Apple FanBoy would flock to whatever new product is thrown at them and not because it's better but because it has "Apple" name tag in it. Now, my FanBoyism wanes in comparison to these fanatical flock of sheep.

Confidence is built upon credibility, something Apple really earned thanks to the first iPod. Apple gained the mainstream credibility to introduce a product, say it's going to be the best thing ever, and have customers give it the benefit of the doubt.

Source:AMDTech

Misc: Technical or Non-Technical, that is the question

2010-04-04T18:06:00.004+08:00

Confused! That's one word to describe the last few days and still now. I have a chance to further my technical position or completely take a detour and leave the technical part behind (and that means death of this Blog too)....

The thing is, for the past several years, I have been doing a lot of business process re-engineering, time and motion study, process improvement, projects, developing workforce, changing how the technical team works together, on top of my "usual" technical stuff (fiddling with processors, boards, operating system, etc).

I love the "perks" of being technical. I get to enjoy the new "toyz" before they are even released on the market. I have quarterly budget to buy the latest gadgets. I get to talk to the "go-to" people in the industry when it comes to technology and have access to secret information. However, these things "used" to be the main bulk of my job, but lately they are becoming less and less of what I actually do.

I get assigned to doing projects and those mind-boggling things I mentioned earlier. At first, I find my new assignment rather boring but I began to like it. After 2 or 3 years, I went from 75% techie/25% non-tech to 10% tech/90% non-tech. I would be lucky if I can get a day of the week to install an OS and play with it and know the ins-outs of the new hardware. While I will have the gadgets, I don't have the time to play with them.

Staying in my current one with better responsibility and higher expectation isn't so bad and I get to stay as an "engineer" but that's where the challenge comes in: engineer.

I mean, I don't have problems being an "engineer" person, but at my age and in the event I need to change company, a "manager" title is better sounding, not to mention they (often) command higher pay. I envy those techie manager at sales, they get to have cool title but still play around with hardware. I can only choose one, and the opportunity is rare...

More sleepless nights await me and the clock is ticking....

Tech Link (Mobile): Alienware M11x: World’s Smallest Gaming Laptop

2010-04-01T09:40:00.004+08:00

Anandtech has a new review up for a gaming laptop, dubbed as "World's Smallest Gaming" laptop. I guess it sounded like something that should go for Guinness Records only that it's less awesome-sounding. And oh, if you've been away of Anandtech for a while, don't be surprised with their new layout: gay!

The Alienware M11x first hit headlines in January at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. Even without testing the unit, we could see that there was some real potential in the component selections. ASUS already showed us with their UL series that overclocked CULV processors can easily cope with most modern games, provided they have a GPU that is up to the task. The UL series uses GeForce G210M graphics cards, and while they’re substantially faster than any current IGP solution, they still struggle with running many games at anything more than low/minimum detail settings. A faster GPU is necessary for higher quality settings, but where exactly does the bottleneck shift from the GPU back to the CPU when we’re dealing with overclocked CULV? The M11x looks to answer that question by going with a rather potent GeForce GT335M.

Source:AMDTech

Tech Link (Industry): RTFM-chip details reveiled! - MSI Goes Off The Deep End

2010-03-29T21:24:00.003+08:00

Eeew, I got this interesting news from Legit. Apparently, MSI is planning to release an "April Fool's Joke" email to its mailing list, but it seems it got out too early and the email is rather, umm, distasteful. Check it out...

Yesterday, I got a rather disturbing e-mail from MSI. In this e-mail it basically stated that MSI was fed-up with explaining things that can be answered by reading the manual that comes with their products and even said to RTFM!! It was a mass e-mail that looks like it went out to everyone on their mailing list for the MSI HQ User to User Forum. The MSI forum has 97,624 members and many of them include vendors, customers, enthusiasts and of course the press like us. MSI now claims that the whole ordeal is due to an Aprils Fools Day joke that started a week too soon. What do you guys think? Is this a cover up or did MSI really just blow up on their customers? Follow the link below for all the details and to read both of the full e-mails that MSI sent out.
The MSI-forum and MSI-support team are fed-up with explaining you what can be found in the manual. I mean, come on, how hard is it to read a manual? They are printed on paper so you see them. As we have been monitoring peoples behavior for some time and combined those with the RMA information from returned boards. At the same time monitoring questions on the forum and matched the IP's. We have made a discovery. A lot of RMA is unneeded and unwanted, many happens due to user mistakes, numbers show that 90% of the RMA is OC people killing boards and newbies connecting the wrong connectors or insert parts that should not be inserted. Or simply forget to remove standoffs or CPU-power.

Source:LegitReviews

Tech Link (Industry): Adobe's Content-Aware Fill Sneak Peek

2010-03-26T13:47:00.003+08:00

You have got to watch this Adobe feature about Content-aware thingamajig. I just found this out from one of the tech hardware site (which I forgot) so I quickly re-scanned my YouTube history and wolah, found it again.

Source:YouTube

Tech Link (Motherboard): First Look: MSI XPower X58 Big Bang Motherboard

2010-03-25T10:28:00.004+08:00

The folks at bit-tech had their paws and fangs wet with their first look with MSI's latest board MSI XPower X58. It looks cool, black and blue combo with heatpipe hogging the CPU VRMs. Forget about your "legacy" add-on card because this board won't take any old technology in its six 16x PCI-Express slots!!!!

Everyone seems to be in the midst of an X58 refresh right now; partly due to the arrival of SATA 6Gbps and USB 3, but mostly thanks to Intel's new 6-core Gulftown Core i7-980X Extreme Edition. We've seen Asus' latest Republic of Gamers motherboard and we got an early look at MSI's latest XPower board at the start of last month. The board has been refined since, so MSI dropped it off at the bit-tech lab in order for us to take it apart have another look.

Source:bit-tech

Tech Link (Cooler): Intel DBX-B CPU Cooler For Core i7-980X Processors

2010-03-21T21:10:00.005+08:00

I just want to share this YouTube how-to installation of the new Intel stock heatsink fan. Remember, you saw the stock cooler first here at FanBoy and it's just so awesomesauce. Check out the video by expanding this article, FanBoy out!

This is the new Intel DBX-B CPU Cooler that comes with retail boxed Core i7 980X processors. This video goes over how to install the new cooler!

Source:LegitReview via YouTube

Tech Link (Storage): Intel's X25-V & Kingston's 30GB SSDNow V Series: Battle of the $125 SSDs

2010-03-21T20:48:00.002+08:00

It seems the headmaster guru leader tophonch Anand has an inside info about the deal between Intel and Kingston, but hey I suggest skip that part of "unvalidated" information and instead, focus on the article benchmark results. Check out the latest value SSD (which is my latest craze) review from AMDTech.

The story goes like this: Intel let Kingston build a value version of its X25-M G2 drives. This became the 40GB Kingston V Series Boot Drive. When Intel added TRIM support to the G2 drives, Kingston was told to wait. Kingston would get TRIM support when Intel launched its own 40GB version of the G2. Here’s where things get hairy. Intel and Kingston couldn’t work out terms for the TRIM enabled firmware on the V Series Boot Drives. Intel wanted too much money and Kingston wanted to keep the drive price below $100. The outcome? Kingston V Series Boot Drive owners never got official TRIM support and the product was dropped altogether.

Source:AMDtech

Brag: Oooo, 4GHz easy on my Intel® Core™ i7- 980X Extreme Edition

2010-03-16T09:10:00.002+08:00

Yeah baby!!! I got 4GHz...well, not the best out there but hey, if you're as busy as me with my kids and what nots, you won't have enough time to tinker with these bad boys. I always want to play around and find the sweet spot of the QPI and the Multiplier combo but I guess gone are those days for me.

I mean, wow, so many hexa cores and a dozen of threads, I can only guess about the price. Yes, I think this would be "pricey" compared to what's out there right now, but considering how Intel price their EE (extreme edition process) and if it remains the same, then the price is very much "reasonable".

Case in point, the Intel® Core™ i7-975 Processor Extreme Edition and Intel® Core™ i7-965 Processor Extreme Edition both runs at estimated $999 bucks. And I'm pretty sure the older Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor used to cost as much.

Good luck and have fun, FanBoy out!

Tech Link (CPU): The Core i7 980X Review: Intel's First 6-Core Desktop CPU

2010-03-15T09:51:00.004+08:00

Anandtech has an article about Gulftown. They seem to like it though their overclocking is quite lacking. I'm pretty sure that despite the performance, there will always be fanboys that will hunger for more!

It’s rare that anything we review has the longevity that Intel’s Core i7 Bloomfield platform has enjoyed. If you were one of the fortunate few to buy a Core i7 920, 940 or 965 back in November 2008, you’d still have one of the fastest desktop CPUs today in March 2010.

Source:AnandTech

Tech Link (Industry): CeBIT 2010 Coverage

2010-03-11T19:37:00.003+08:00

The folks over at Madshrimps has a pretty cool CeBIT coverage. They have lots of images of new products, and dang, they got pretty hot girls in there!

It´s that time of year again at Hannover Messe. CeBIT 2010 gave us high expectations. New CPUs from Intel and AMD, Nvidia Fermi video cards and loads more motherboard releases. Since we had only 2 days to wander around, we made the choice to meet and greet first the partners we work closely with and that supply us with all the review hardware. Our schedule had to be quite closely adhered too. Day 1 was less hectic in total visitor numbers, day two was already pretty crowded and much harder to snap decent pictures and guided tours.

Source:MadShrimp

Tech Link (Graphics): NVIDIA Leaks GeForce GTX 480 Unigine Benchmarks, 3D Surround Vision Demo

2010-03-06T16:17:00.004+08:00

The folks at HotHardware has put up a report about the upcoming video card from nVidia. Apparently, nVidia has leaked out info of their own technology ahead of time. Go check it out...

Tom Peterson over at NVIDIA gets all the chicks. I mean with his technical know-how, witty banter and boyish good looks, it's easy to see why. Okay, maybe that's not why. Maybe it's because he gets daily hands-on time with the soon to be released but not yet, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480, otherwise known as GF100. Not only that, he also has the ability to defy and breach NVIDIA's very own NDA embargo launch times for the product, well ahead of us here in the lowly Tech Press community. I mean really Tom; do you have to steal all our thunder? Well, there is still plenty more to see in the weeks ahead, as we take our turn at the test bench with the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480, but in the mean time, take a look at what Tom has cooking in the NVIDIA lab. You can almost here the groupies up front chanting "Free Bird" and holding up lighters. Wait, that's just his florescent green test rig...

Source:HotHardware

Tech Link (Industry): Web Browser Grand Prix: The Top Five, Tested And Ranked

2010-03-04T18:38:00.005+08:00

THG has posted a web-browser speedfest. They pit the top 5 browsers known to mankind and put them to the test. Are you a fan of any browser? Well, I am. I am mostly a FireFox / Chrome guy (leaning more to FireFox). Check out whether your favorite browser wins some score or performs poorly like umm...just check it out!

"The fastest browser on Earth."

That's what the Opera homepage has said since Tuesday. After five release candidates and two betas, the boys from Oslo just recently launched the final build of Opera 10.50. That's a pretty heavy claim to make, though, especially with well-establish competition already in the field demonstrating impressive performance at an unbeatably-low price. Does it hold up?

And although you might have missed it due to iPad hysteria, both Mozilla and Google recently released new versions of their browsers as well. Opera isn't the only one making bold statements on performance, either. In the days leading up to the unveiling of Apple's impossibly over-hyped slate, Mozilla dropped Firefox 3.6 and claimed a whopping 20% speed gain over version 3.5. Three days later, Google quietly unveiled Chrome 4.0 stable, though the actual version number is 4.0.249.78.

Source:THG

Tech Link (Industry): Intel DH57JG “Jet Geyser” - Intel's First Mini-ITX H57

2010-03-02T11:03:00.003+08:00

Bah, I have this board and I never got around to testing it. Anandtech has gotten their mouth wet and the author seems to like the board *oops*. Before I spill out any more beans and spoil your fun, go check out the article and drool with me...

It’s been a few years since we’ve written a full review featuring an Intel motherboard. The reason for that is simple; we just didn’t see some of the Intel boards as being competitive in terms of features, performance and pricing when compared to products from third party vendors. Probably not a good decision on our part because appearances can be deceptive... Take a look at our H55/H57 coverage and you’ll see that sub-vendors often struggle to get the basics right.

Source:Anandtech

Rant: I r failzorz

2010-02-27T11:34:00.002+08:00

I totally forgot about my Blog, oh my, what a failzzzzzzzzzz. I got sucked up doing "real world" stuff, you know, it's called "work and responsibility". Bugger, I want to do stuff and share and brag and show off and do my hobby, and yet, those mundane and trivial tasks always take up my time.

Sorry to my readers, I can't promise I'll be better in posting, but I'll see what I can do. I'll target at least 2x post per week, but not zero. Of course, the more the merrier...

Gosh, I r sux

Brag: Intel® Xeon® Processor W3520 overclocked to 4GHz

2010-02-19T14:57:00.005+08:00

I am just too itchy to get myself rolling back to the picture again. You know, my Blog, I'm trying to make it active. And what's the best way to get your Blog active? Well, post your hobbies and things that you like.

And this time around, I pushed an Intel® Xeon® Processor to a blazing fast 4GHz processor! I love how this processor overclock so easily, considering my board isn't the best overclocking board out there. Well, I almost gave up when I can't even bring Host Frequency a wee bit pass 160Mhz but nevertheless, I found what's holding me back and zoom, 4GHz is achieved!

I'll probably try and post a benchmark as well as my OC experience, but don't hold your breath for that. The keyword here is "try" =). Fanboy out!

Misc: Breaking 4GHz with Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor

2010-02-19T09:41:00.002+08:00

I played around with this process for some time and overclocked it a bit. I had a lot of fun and interesting experience pushing this processor to 4GHz. I would have posted a review, but there are a lot of reviews about this processor already so I never made one. Besides, almost every enthusiasts, except those AMDroids, will be very familiar of how this processor performs.

If I got some time, I'll post some benchmark results and some settings I used to achieve this overclock. I did encounter a few hiccups along the way, but nothing mind boggling or out of the ordinary.

So how's your 920's overclock experience? If you have anything to share or ask, just hit the comments section!

Misc: Visitor Map Add-on

2010-02-18T20:51:00.003+08:00

Revolver Maps offered free site visitor mapping services and I find it pretty cool. You can see it as a map at the upper right with "pinging" circles. You can get one for your site too.

Let me know what you think of it. It is loading properly for you? Does it slow you down? Any error? You wanna get one too?

If ya have feedback, don't hesitate to hit the comments.

Brag: Gulftown Stock Fan is so awesomesauce!

2010-02-17T11:16:00.004+08:00

I forgot to post a picture of the stock fan that came with my "Gulfy". It's quite a looker I might say. It sports a copper core, heat pipes, and blu-lit fan.

It has manual speed control (hi, lo) and has a retention frame commonly found on after market coolers. The fan has an Intel logo on top, and the heat pipes are nicely "embossed" compared to other heatpipe cooler where heatpipe ends are just "protruding".

Brag: Intel Gulftown CPU-Z is up and validated

2010-02-16T07:22:00.008+08:00

As I used to say back in the "old days", the Dark Force is strong, alive, and kicking. Oh dear, I need to find where I stashed all my decent RAM. Oh yeah, the motherboard is a workstation board.

I'll tinker around and see if there's some tweaking options for this board. If there is, I'll probably overclock it a little. Hmmm, I need to "steal" someone else's video card too, probably a decent GTS 250. But sorry, I can't show any benchmark whatsoever. And oh, you can click on the image of CPU-Z to get to the validation thingie.

If you want to see Task Manager, temperature, voltage, and other CPU details, click this link (not a virus, I assure you)!

And oh, if you're saying how come its frequency is so low, well I uploaded another CPU-Z validation here!

Sorry for this incoherent mubling disguised as a post trying to pass it like a readable blog entry, till next, FanBoy out!

Brag: Intel Gulftown Processor sighted at...FanBoyReview!

2010-02-15T18:10:00.006+08:00

Ok, what's the cooooooooolest Valentines gift you have received yesterday (post it in the comments)? Ok, "physical" contact isn't included, I meant gift as in "tangible" thing. Mine is, umm, to say it modestly, is a CPU! Yeah, a CPU. It is, none other than, a six-core (yes six core), 3.33Ghz, 12MB L3 Cache! Read on to see more pix of processor on a Jollibee napkin, yeah, it's on a napkin! (Note, I know the markings is blurred, it's just so you check out the rest of brag and go read it more...)

Ok, first I will post the obligatory "Intel" processor box. Ok, it's not really obligatory and I just made that up, but I think it's kinda cool to say something like that, don't you agree? Anyway, if you're the type of person who always get processors before they are launched, you'd be pretty familiar of this kind of box. Of course, if you get more than one, you usually get a "tray" of CPUs...

And here's the shot of the processor in all its glory (I tend to say "All it's glory" because my vocabulary is limited, bleh). As is usual of me, I erased some of the CPU markings so as to, umm, let's just say, "cover my tracks". This is in case my cover is blown, and so I won't have any one nibbing at my heels trying to track me down. (I know, markings are still blurred, but wait till you get to the Jollibee part)!

Oh geeeeeez, it's the innards of the CPU. Well, you get the point, I got to show off the underside trying to make it sound cool!

And last but not the least, here's the "Jollibee" shot. Its marking says Q4EG so go Google it to check out teh interwebz for infoz...

p.s. I'll post CPU-Z screenshot and validation tomorrow. Fanboy out!

Brag: My very own Intel® X25-M SATA Solid-State Drive

2010-02-12T17:34:00.005+08:00

OH-EHM-GHEE! It's my very own Intel-branded ES-ES-DEE (SSD) aka Solid State Drive. I mean come on, I have always drooled on having this baby.

Performance freaks shouldn't settle for anything less. An SSD is just the uber awesome part of a PC that really needs a major uplift. Hey, you have smokin' processor, superb memory, jaw-droppin' motherboard and you have a SATA "Hard" Drive....oops, wait up, "Hard" Drive is the slowest part of those components actually...so the best ever complement for this system is none other than: AN SSD.

Ohh, the box....so, dull...

Opened, taking a peek (*hands shiverring*)

Oh look, it comes with a sticker and a manual!!!

So sexy *puppy eyes*

YOU ARE MINE, ALL MINE!

Misc: Site Clean Up

2010-02-11T20:23:00.003+08:00

I noticed that some of my scripts doesn't make sense anymore and mostly pointing to dead links which cause long load times. I finally got the time to clean up those that slows the site. Hopefully, it should speed up the whole Blog site.

Next is, thanks to those visits, seems like I still have some visitors out there, no matter how random *yay*. Those visitors make me post more and become more active. Bah, besides, Facebook is being a pain anyway, with all the long loading times and unable to login...

Guess that will be all for now, FanBoy out...

Misc: Going back to roots...

2010-02-05T23:38:00.004+08:00

Work has always been very heavy, stressful, and hectic the whole year of last year. I can barely take a break, whew. I feel like I need to take a rest every week, which shouldn't be the case.

I figure, I need to find a break, R&R. Going to mall and buying gadget crossed my mind, but then again, I don't have the luxury to just go out and get stuff which I like. Still, I told myself, even just a DVD movie would be good enough, but heck, can't find anything that pique my interest.

So since I practice "personal discretionary spending", I decided to just play with hardware like I always used to. Come to think of it, this is the very reason I took my course, and apply for work at my company: COMPUTER!!!!!!!! Goin' back to my "roots" is always fun!

I rummage thru the lab equipment, and found one that I always have been interested with, Intel® Desktop Board D201GLY. I know, it's pretty old (well, relatively old), and lo and behold, I find it cute that this board still sport legacy devices: IDE/PATA, serial port, PS/2 keyboard and mouse and other nifty stuff...

I install an OS, trusty old Windows XP, and had fun with it. I will share in my future post about my experience with this board. For now, FanBoy out, I need to pee and grab some snacks...(phew, I didn't expect this post to be a mouthful)

Misc: Bah a yearly update I guess...

2010-01-29T14:06:00.003+08:00

Oh dang, I guess this is a yearly post on my blog. It's been a long time since I last updated my Blog. Anyway, hello to all (I'm probably speaking to myself, but what the heck, I'll still post). I am not really sure if I will begin posting regularly again, but I will try.

The main reason is that, I really still feel like blogging. It's gone quite boring because of lack of competition, but other than that, the single most pressing reason I don't blog is: TIME! Working 5days a week, then trying to be good guy at home during the weekends takes a lot of toll on my Blogging capability.

But anyway, I'll see if I can post new stuff, hopefully not only interesting, but entertaining stuff for my visitors (if there is even any, "Hello, anyone out there?")

Source:

Misc: A great New Year 2009 To All

2009-01-07T09:53:00.005+08:00

Well, I guess I'd like to say and greet everyone a Happy New Year. If anyone else is wondering, yes I am still very much into IT and CPU and Chipset and the likes. As a matter of fact, if you look at the CPU-Z in the right image, you'll see my Nehalem CPU-Z submitted way before it was launched last year! But umm, I know I never posted it here because my Blog has ceased right?

Anyway, again I'd like to greet you all a great New Year. If anyone is thinking whether I'd moved away from this field, nope and I see myself staying in this field for quite a few more months, if not years, to come.

The technology is really exciting, and I'm actually interested to see how CUDA will grow and show its fangs against IA x86 architecture. It'll be an interesting battle to see in the near future.

So, till next and I wish you all again a great New Year!

Tech Link (Industry): Hell Freezes Over: NVIDIA Announces Native SLI Support for the Intel X58 Chipset

2008-08-28T19:19:00.004+08:00

I know, my Blog has long gone to "rest", but this news made me post again, talk about being a Fanboy *yikes*. Anyway on with the news, if there's anything Intel has been missing on for quite some time in the Chipset-GPU support arena, it is the lack of native support of SLI on Intel-branded-chipset. Since the first release of PCIe way back the i915 series (Grantsdale), it has always been clamored and requested by Intel users: fanboys or normal users alike.

There has been earlier attempts on i915P thru some "rare" products such as the Albatron Mars PX915SLI, but for some weird reason, after some time, SLI support has gone "poof". Also for those hardcore Intel fanboys, they will recall that first ever SLI was indeed supported on Intel E7525 (Tumwater???) platform even before the word SLI became a household name among the techies. Later on, a few "hacked" drivers were released to support the later series of chipsets but soon, these hacked drivers became unpopular specially when "FM Approved" drivers became the norm, diminishing the results obtained from hacked drivers.

But alas, all is not lost, Skulltrail platform has been introduced. However, like the earlier SLI support, the D5400XS is based on a pricey server chipset with dual CPU slot and so adoption isn't as "common".

Hmm, I guess it's a bit of a mouthful introduction. Anyway, there are a few articles now floating on the web and I happen to grab this one from AMDTech (oops, Anandtech I mean):

Of course NVIDIA would wait until I physically left NVISION 08 to actually make an interesting announcement, but there’s no bitterness, I swear :)

The big, no, huge news from today? NVIDIA is enabling native support for 2 and 3-way SLI on Intel X58 based motherboards...without the use of any nForce 200 chips

Source:AMDTech

-Fin-

2008-01-11T10:41:00.002+08:00

As much as I would like to add and put more wordings into my farewell, all I really wanted to say is "Thank You" for visiting the site and for making this part of your daily stop.

I decided to close my Blog, as I see no point. Intel has clearly won, and there's no stopping. The barage of new products to come is just too great, I doubt competition has anything in reserve, at least for now, to combat Intel in the performance arena. I thought A* will come back last October'07, but it was a major dissapointment not to see anything good came out from them after major delays, promises, and more delays.

Who knows, maybe I'll be back if I competition heats up again, but for now, it's boring, rather lonely, to be at the top of the heap.

I will still be a CPU enthusiasts, as always, a techie guy. I'll be up to date, on what's the latest and greatest. And so for now, I bid you all farewell, and thanks again for visiting the site.

Fin...

Brag: 8Core Penryn, Yorkfield FTW

2007-10-05T14:02:00.000+08:00

Yep, I just got back to posting my regular bragging blog. But hey, it's not like I'm not absent for like a month so sorry for that. Anyway, this CPU-Z has been taken quite a long time and I haven't posted it so just to celebrate my "comeback", I posted it for all to see.

If anyone is wondering, this is the server version of the processor I posted just below this post (yes, tha's like more than a month old). Check it out and join me with my drooling.

And yes, I'm back again in posting, but I can't be sure if I can post as regularly as possible. Things have gotten more interesting in my life and well, it takes a lot of my time. But that's good!! Till next bragging...

Brag: My Penryn and X38 Chipset

2007-08-02T20:11:00.000+08:00

Heya all, I'm still alive and very much in business. A lot of people I talk to in real life has been asking if I'm still on hardware thing, and I said, "most definitely". In fact, that is the sole reason why I can't update my Blog as much as I want to.

Anyway, if one has any doubts, just check out this new toy. I am not sure if many review sites have gotten their hand s on these babies already, I never really have time to check the hardware sites. Check out the image, it goes to the official CPUZ Validation site. Sorry, no benchmark...

Press Release: Intel Takes Popular Laptops to 'Extreme' with First-Ever Extreme Edition Mobile Processor; Adds New Desktop Chip

2007-07-17T11:18:00.000+08:00

It is now official folks, a new king for laptop has just been launched. Prepare for a slew of mobile gamers on the road, coffee shop, parks, or just about anywhere. This processor will redefine how people used to view laptop as mere corporate office type equipment. Not that there were no gaming laptops before, but the fact that this processor can be overclocked, now that's just a kicker! Read the full press release...

High-Performing Notebook and Desktop Processors Arrive Near First Anniversary of Award-Winning Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 16, 2007 – Addressing demand for even faster laptop computers for hardcore gamers, artists and media enthusiasts, Intel Corporation today introduced its first Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile dual-core processor -- the world's highest-performing mobile processor1 -- adopting the brand from the company's flagship desktop offerings. The company also introduced new desktop processors and said it expects to announce battery-friendly quad-core processors for laptop computers next year.

The new products come on the heels of the company's 1-year anniversary of introducing server, desktop and laptop processors based on the innovative Intel® Core™ microarchitecture.

"Laptops are the fastest-growing computing market segment, and there is increasing demand from those who crave the ultimate in video, gaming and design computing performance yet want the freedom and flexibility that a laptop brings," said Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager, Mobile Platforms Group. "Due to our innovative technology and design capabilities, we can offer world-class, power-smart performance for the most demanding mobile users, and are proud to offer it under our Intel Core 2 Extreme brand -- a name that has become synonymous with ultimate performance."

The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile dual-core processor, with both cores running at a brisk 2.6 GHz, also features mobile-specific power-saving features that help Intel's computer-maker customers deliver more energy-efficient and higher-performing designs. For example, the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor X7800 offers up to 28 percent more performance2 than our previous-generation mobile processor. In addition, for experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability, the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor bus ratio locks (overspeed protection) have been removed3. This offers added technical flexibility in customizing the system so OEMs can unleash even more performance.

Flagship Desktop Processor Introduced
For desktop PCs, Intel is announcing a robust set of new processors, including the flagship Intel® Core™2 Extreme QX6850 quad-core processor. Clocked at 3.0 GHz with a new, faster 1333 MHz system bus speed, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 will be welcomed by game developers looking to deliver new features and performance levels. Intel also announced new Intel® Core™2 Duo and Core™2 Quad processors.

"Thanks to the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad core processor, the PC version of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter* 2 raises gaming to new heights," said Bo Anderson, CEO, GRIN Development Studio*. "Developed by GRIN and published by Ubisoft*, the game draws upon the power of Intel's next-generation multi-threaded engine to provide amazingly realistic gameplay. Intel's quad-core processor uses one core for physics, one for rendering, one for game logic and one for miscellaneous tasks, which can provide consistently higher and more stable frame rates."

Intel Core Microarchitecture – One Year Later
A year ago this month the company began introducing these innovative and energy-efficient products, and in that year Intel Core microarchitecture and its processors have achieved a number of milestones, including:

Delivering the world's first x86 software-compatible quad-core processor line for servers and PCs, as well as storage and embedded systems. To date, Intel has introduced 14 quad-core processor versions.
Receiving more than 75 independent awards and other accolades from online publications and magazine editors around the world. The full list can be reviewed at www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/core2duo/awards.htm.
Securing nearly half (224) of the 500 top-ranked high-performance computers as measured by the recently announced Top 500 Supercomputers List (www.top500.org).
Doubling the performance of laptops with Intel Core 2 Duo processors while maintaining impressive battery life4.
Paving the way for the biggest change to transistor design in 40 years that will combine the company's 45-nanometer manufacturing process and the next-generation Intel® Core™2 and Intel® Xeon® processors.

New Processor Pricing and Availability
The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor, running at 2.6 GHz with 4 MB of L2 cache, is available to OEMs now at a cost of $851. Notebook systems will appear on the market within the next two weeks. The new Intel desktop processors are also shipping to OEMs now, with product available to end users within the next two weeks. Pricing and specifications for the new desktop processors are as follows:

Processor Number of Cores Frequency Front Side Bus (FSB) L2 Cache Price in 1,000-Unit Quantities
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 4 3.0 GHz 1333 MHz 8 MB $999
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 4 2.66 GHz 1066 MHz 8 MB $530
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 2 3.0 GHz 1333 MHz 4 MB $266
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2 2.66 GHz 1333 MHz 4 MB $183
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2 2.33 GHz 1333 MHz 4 MB $163

For more information and high-resolution images, visit the Intel Core™2 Extreme mobile processor press kit at www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/mobile/core2extreme

Source:Intel Takes Popular Laptops to 'Extreme' with First-Ever Extreme Edition Mobile Processor; Adds New Desktop Chip

Tech Link (Roadmap): Intel Pulls Yorkfield Extreme Edition Into 2007

2007-07-17T07:24:00.000+08:00

Looks like better days are coming for the true and faithful FanBoys. The newer products are going to launch earlier than originally sceheduled. It bodes well for those planning an upgrade, or just want to get their hands wet with the latest and greatest. Ready your wallet boys and girls (image from VR-Zone).

Intel has brought forward the launch of Yorkfield Extreme Edition from Q1 2008 to Q4 2007 bringing pressure to AMD Phenom FX slated for launch later this year. Intel has not determined the final clock speed of Yorkfield Extreme Edition but it will be at least 3.33GHz/1333FSB with 2 x 6MB shared L2 cache. Yorkfield and Wolfdale schedule remains unchanged at Q1 2008 and there are 2 SKUs for Yorkfield and 4 SKUs for Wolfdale.

Source:Intel Pulls Yorkfield Extreme Edition Into 2007

Tech Link (Processor): New Crysis Video: Game kicks a$$ on Intel's Penryn Quad Core

2007-07-13T09:02:00.000+08:00

Yeehaw, watch and see how smooth the game play is with the new Penryn-based quad core system. It's like you're watching a movie rather than playing a game, no stall, hiccups, or stutter whatsoever. This platform rocks. The specs is as follows:

System configuration:

Intel Penryn 45nm "Yorkfield"
quad core CPU @ 3.2GHz
Intel 975BX2 Motherboard
NVIDIA 8800GTX
2GB RAM, 250GB HDD
Windows XP

Source:New Crysis Video: Game kicks a$$ on Intel's Penryn Quad Core

Tech Link (Processor): First Penryn (wolfdale) Numbers

2007-07-12T13:55:00.000+08:00

metro.cl of xs managed to find a link containing numbers to early Penryn benchmarks. If you are wondering how the chip performs, then check it out. From those images in that forum link, I say it's looking good.

Ok got this link by MSN,

Here you can see a lot of screenshots, the ones without a CPU-Z by the side, specially Super Pi 1M, take it with a huge grain of salt.

Source:First Penryn (wolfdale) Numbers

Misc: I just got back!

2007-07-11T08:04:00.000+08:00

Wow, I feel like I left everything in the world for granted. But really, the past two weeks has been busy with me. Not anything related to my career or in technology, but more focused on my family. Anyway, now that the challenged has passed, I can now go back to my regular posting. So expect some news posting...

Source:

Tech Link (Industry): Too Terrible To Contemplate? . . .

2007-06-27T11:47:00.000+08:00

I decided to give overclockers.com to see what the usual doomsday predictor (for both A* and I*) have posted on their site. While I am amused with their article, I never really used them as a "factual" source, but hey, I am not saying they are claiming, it's just my "feelings".

Anyway, I read one of author's musings and somehow, this reflects how I feel with A*. There's not much news, and early benchmarks are just for early samples, not too many hard evidence to say how A* will respond. Expand to read more...

There's been a lot of bad news about AMD this year, but a lot of people don't want to hear it.

I'm not talking about fanboys, but those who essentially say, "My God, AMD's got to pull through, because if they don't, that would be bad for me!" (OK, they usually say "us" but it boils down to the same thing.)

Source:Too Terrible To Contemplate? . . .

Tech Link: Intel talks future chips, power, efficiency and mobility

2007-06-26T20:16:00.000+08:00

nordichardware has a scoop on Intel's future chips and other things on the roadmap. The article is not that comprehensive, but it's an interesting one as it gives bits and info on future products from chipzilla. Expand to read the article...

Last week Intel held a press event at its main quarter office in Santa Clara, California. Intel displayed its 1 Teraflops chip whose 80 core design has been discussed in earlier reports. Except from the mighty multithreading monster code-named "tera-scale silicon prototype", there was also a lot of talk about power consumption and efficiency. That the performance increase with every generation is a given, but how the power consumption and power efficiency evolves is not as predictable. Intel is continuously working on new technology to improve the efficiency of the circuits, thus lowering the power consumption and it revealed some of its newest progress at the event.

"A prototype of the technology was demonstrated in a PCI Express card with a chip that consumed one-tenth the power of a card with today's chip technology, or 2.7 milliwatts versus 20 to 30 milliwatts. Reducing power consumption is critical, given that using today's technology to power a PCI Express card with a bandwidth of a terabit per second would require 100 watts of energy, Casper said."

The basic idea is that Intel wants every chip to use precisely the amount of power necessary to perform a given task. Intel has been looking at wireless circuits and been able to reduce the power consumption by up to 50% to 70% by shutting off the Wi-Fi circuits when it's not needed.

Over at InformationWeek there is a longer report on Intel's press event where they also bring up the UMPC concept and other ventures.

Source:Intel talks future chips, power, efficiency and mobility

Tech Link (Processor): Core 2 Duo E6750 Review

2007-06-25T10:07:00.000+08:00

HardwareSecrets tested this amazing processor and well, they aren't too impressed about it. I guess they missed the fact that it does run on higher FSB on the same/similar TDP and clockspeed meaning these processors can now take a beating on memory intensive applications (and yeah, overclocking too). On the same/similar clock speed, there will be hardly any difference from applications that don't rely on fast memory access. Anyway, check it out...

Conclusions
On all our tests Core 2 Duo E6750 performance was identical to Core 2 Duo E6700, even though it uses a faster front side bus – and we simulated the use of several different types of application.

So what is the advantage of using a Core 2 Duo E6750 instead of a Core 2 Duo E6700? Based on the results from our tests, none.

Then why Intel is launching this new 1,333 MHz external bus? We have two answers for that.

First, on quad-core CPUs the higher external clock rate may increase the system performance. This happens because currently on Intel quad-core CPUs the cores are arranged into two pairs. The cores inside each pair can talk directly to each other, but if they need to talk to a core that belongs to the other pair they need to go to the front side bus and make this connection going thru outside the processor. Increasing the CPU external clock rate increases, at least in theory, the speed each core pair can talk to each other. For a detailed explanation about this subject please read our Intel Quad Core Overview and Roadmap article.

We will have to wait until we review a quad-core CPU based on this new FSB to see if this is really the case.

The second reason we can see is regarding DDR3-1333 memories, which will be supported by the Intel X38 chipset to be launched in July. Using DDR3-1333 memories with a Core 2 running externally at 1,333 MHz you will be able to match the FSB clock with the memory clock, allowing you to achieve the maximum performance with current technology.

In retrospect we must keep in mind that this is the first time in six years that Intel is launching a new front side bus speed with memories matching it. When the Pentium 4 was launched, for example, it used the then-new 400 MHz FSB and there were no 400 MHz memories at the time – this was PC-100 times and DDR-400 wasn’t available yet. The same thing happened when they launched the 533 MHz, the 800 MHz and even the 1,066 MHz external clock speeds. Even to this date Intel chipsets do not officially support DDR2-1066 (even though Intel P965 and P35 can access memories at 1,066 MHz just fine and P35 officially support DDR3-1066). DDR3-1333 availability may be an issue, but that is a totally different story.

Source:Core 2 Duo E6750 Review

Tech Link (Processor): New Member In Core 2 Duo Processor Family: Introducing CPUs with 1333MHz Bus

2007-06-24T08:00:00.000+08:00

xbitlabs has a pretty good info on the new breed of processors from Intel. They have put it thru the test and come out good even with a sound beating and torture from the crew. Check it out...

Conclusion
Well, let’s sum up a few things now. Intel’s decision to equip their Core 2 Duo processors with faster 1333MHz bus support is regarded as another move towards higher performance of this processor family. It is partially true. As we have seen today, higher bus speed will obviously boost the performance in most applications. However, unfortunately, this boost will not be as significant as we hoped: it hardly ever gets beyond 3%. But, the changes in the bus frequency are not the only thing that determined the advantage of the new CPUs over their predecessors: different clock frequencies are another reason. For example, the nominal frequency of the top Core 2 Duo E6850 model has now risen to 3.0GHz, while before today the maximum frequency of the existing Core 2 Duo processors used to be only 2.93GHz. This also affects the performance, and together with the faster bus it brings in more confident victory of the top Core 2 Duo CPUs. In other words, the launch of the Core 2 Duo CPUs with 1333MHz bus will become another part of the progress CPUs on Core micro-architecture are making. Although we all wish that they were moving at a little bit faster pace towards the promising Penryn family.

Higher bus frequency is not the only nice thing about the new processors. They are based on the new G0 stepping of the Conroe core that boasts better frequency potential. As a result, the FSB Wall has been pushed farther back and the overclocking results have improved significantly. For example, our overclocking experiments revealed that the new processors can work at 3.6-3.8GHz with traditional air-cooling onboard. Therefore, Core 2 Duo E6850, 6750 and 6550 should become very popular among overclockers, especially since Intel is going to price them very affordably. According to the preliminary data, Core 2 Duo E6850 will sell for $266, Core 2 Duo E6750 - for $183, and Core 2 Duo E6550 – for $163. This attractive price tag will certainly help Intel stimulate the transition to systems with 1333MHz bus.

Source:New Member In Core 2 Duo Processor Family: Introducing CPUs with 1333MHz Bus

Tech Link (Motherboard): Asus P5W DH Deluxe/WiFi In-Depth Overclocking Review

2007-06-23T07:47:00.000+08:00

madshrimps has posted a review of a "relatively" old board. After reading it, I felt that it wasn't about the baord itself but more on the overclocking side of things. I kinda agree with the author about the Dewar + LN2 thing, as this seems to be the most common way to proclaim leetness nowadays. Am I against it? Definitely not, but I am not as excited as before, when I really have to dig out all the crazy mods and stuff like that. Anyway, check it out and sorry for the rant..

Conclusive Thoughts:

The P5W DH Deluxe will most likely be retired with honors as an Asus classic. Unfortunately we cannot do much about the boot-strap issue except to try and work with it. With the price of DDR2 4GB kits such as GSkill 2x2GB DDR2-667 for $199 Newegg (CL4-4-4-12 @ 1.8 ~ 19V) this would make for a powerful Gaming system in Crossfire mode, or a great little Server with WiFi and the EZ-RAID back-up. Although reading through the Xtremesystems thread indicates some P5W DH owners have misdirected their dissatisfaction towards Asus, sadly they seem unaware Asus cannot re-design the 975X. Lest we forget this chipset was originally released in 2005 and if any company would find a work-around Asus would given the 865PE pseudo-PAT debacle. When I began this article I wasn't sure where it would lead me and I thought 400FSB was my limit on this board. To see 445FSB performance and then 460FSB + potential I can only hope those frustrated P5W DH owners will go back to the BIOS and try again.

As I stated earlier 8300MB/s is the highest I can recall overclocking any Intel system lately and while it’s not up there with the “Big Boys”, so what. Anyone can buy the most expensive hardware and then break records; I don’t recall the Art of Overclocking ever being about that. Overclocking used to be a community of DIY hobbyists whom aided one another to get more from less. What happened? I can pour LN2 over my head and proclaim to be COOL, all it costs is the price of a Dewar. Although the P5W DH is still fetching a premium price ( $199 at Newegg) the P5W DH still has much to offer and I hope this review has shown just how much. We ran our E6400 at 445FSB passing all benchmarks and this system has been running for 14-days straight at that speed Gaming, multitasking and running SETI BIONIC without incident.

Source:Asus P5W DH Deluxe/WiFi In-Depth Overclocking Review

Misc: I just remembered, I did watch Pirates of the Carribean

2007-06-22T07:39:00.000+08:00

Hmm, I don't know why but I forgot posting it here, wanting to ask for your feedback. But I guess the movie didn't struck me as strong as the previous two.

My personal favorite is the original movie, the first one. I never imagined that such movie would make a great hit in the box office, I mean, Pirates to the theme of Disney (I think)? But hey, it was great and that prompted me to watch the sequel, and I don't really recall why would there be a second part as the first one seems "complete" to me.

Anyway, the 2nd installment was decent, but it left a lot of things hanging and made me say "heck, that's it, it's going to be a forced trilogy or worst, more than three sequels that the future ones may suck big time". Hey, it's not like I am against sequels, but I believe this movie, in its original storyline, wasn't created in such expanded detail. This is what I am afraid of, if you are familiar with dragging TV soap operas, I feel that this movie would suffer the same fate.

But that didn't stopped me from watching the current sequel and 3rd installment, just so I'll know what happens next and hoped that the movie will finally come to conclusion, but no, there are gaping holes again. Bah!

So anyway, sorry for the rant. I don't mean to make this Blog post longer than two paragraphs, I don't have a review like I did to 300 the movie. Anyway, I know it's late, but hey, better late than, well, err....

Tech Link (Processor): Celeron 430 @ 3ghz vs FX-57 @ 3160mhz , the new Celeron rocks

2007-06-21T10:21:00.000+08:00

PcCI2iminal of XS has posted a head to head battle between a Celeron (which I posted so long ago already) and an FX-57. And guess who won? Well, it's a FanBoy site so you'll probably know it's the Cely :)...

How the title says:

Celeron 430 @ 3ghz vs FX-57 @ 3160mhz

Cinebench
Celeron 430 -> 473
FX-57 -> 435

Source:Celeron 430 @ 3ghz vs FX-57 @ 3160mhz , the new Celeron rocks