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BFG Tech Goes the Way of Diamond and Best Data

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:09:00 CDT - If you do a Whois search this morning on the BFGTech.com domain, you will see that it is now owned by Best Data, it is not longer property of BFG Technologies Inc. If you think you might have heard the Best Data name before, you likely have. Best Data is the company that purchased "Diamond Multi Media" branding a few years ago and started churning out AMD GPU graphics cards. Now really the only thing that is the same is the name. Since we are seeing Best Data purchase the BFG branding, is it likely that we will see BFG Tech ATI after all? This goes a long ways to explaining the recently sighted BFG ATI card boxes. Discussion

Snoop Dogg Joins the War on Cybercrime

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:09:00 CDT - Cyber-criminals, your days are numbered…Snoop Dogg is on the case. No, really. I'm not kidding, why are you laughing? This is not a joke. See for yourself: Comments

[H]ardware Round-Up

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:09:00 CDT - Cases & Modding Lian Li Pitstop PC-T60 Open Air Test Bench @ Legit Reviews Thermaltake Armor A60 @ Overclockers Club Cooling Thermaltake Massive23 LX Laptop Cooler @ Pro-Clockers ETC. Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse @ HardwareHeaven Motherboards OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD @ Phoronix

Bug Found With Automator and iTunes 10

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:09:00 CDT - MacWorld has discovered a problem with Automater and iTunes 10. Definitely something you should consider if you were planning on upgrading to the latest version of iTunes. An unexpected change is that iTunes Automator actions no longer load. This affects both existing workflows created for an earlier version of iTunes as well as any workflows you create with iTunes 10 installed. Those existing workflows simply won't execute. And if you attempt to create new workflows that include iTunes actions, you'll discover that the iTunes actions don't appear in the actions library if you've installed iTunes 10. Comments

Facebook Blocked API Access to Ping

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:09:00 CDT - Kara over at All Things Digital has posted a little info on that fallout between Apple and Facebook yesterday. According to sources familiar with Facebook's platform, the social networking giant essentially denied Apple's Ping access to application programming interfaces that would allow it to search for an iTunes user's friends on Facebook who also had signed up for Ping. Comments

Driving a Message Home with an Optical Illusion

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:09:00 CDT - Let's take a vote, is this optical illusion thing a good idea or a surefire way to make someone crash when they jerk the wheel to avoid the "kid" in the road? I'll take door number 2. Motorists travelling on 22nd Street in West Vancouver will be confronted with a 3D image of a little girl chasing a ball in the street starting next Tuesday. The girl will be an optical illusion, but the scenario is very real, according to David Dunne of the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation. Comments

Skype 5.0 Beta is Out

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:09:00 CDT - The new Skype 5.0 beta is out now. The latest version has an updated user interface, better stability and allows for group calls with up to ten people. Today we've released an update to Skype for Windows. The second beta of Skype 5.0 brings a number of changes both outside and in – most importantly, you can now make group video calls with up to 10 people. It also welcomes in a fresh new look, as well as increased stability and better quality when making group video calls. Comments

Chrome Turns 2, New Version Available

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:09:00 CDT - Google's Chrome just turned two and the company has released a new version to celebrate. Looking back today on Chrome's second anniversary, it's amazing to see how much has changed in just a short time. In August 2008, JavaScript was 10 times slower, HTML5 support wasn't yet an essential feature in modern browsers, and the idea of a sandboxed, multi-process browser was only a research project. All browsers have come a long way in the last two years and the web has become much more fun and useful. Comments

Dubai Police Chief Calls BlackBerry a Spy Tool

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:09:00 CDT - According to the Associated Press, the police chief of Dubai called the BlackBerry a spy tool. Rumor has it that RIM said "what a coincidence, we think police chief is a tool too." The comments by Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim — posted Friday on the Al-Khaleej newspaper website — raise new doubts about a possible deal with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. before an Oct. 11 deadline. Comments

Intel Releases Parallel Studio 2011 Software

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:09:00 CDT - Today, Intel introduced Intel® Parallel Studio 2011, an updated development tool suite that makes it easier for software developers to improve the performance and reliability of serial and parallel applications by leveraging the advantages of the latest multicore processors. This release adds Intel® Parallel Building Blocks, a new set of parallel models that offer new ways to exploit parallelism. Intel® Parallel Advisor, a powerful threading assistant, helps developers transition from code from serial to parallel and numerous other enhancements including full support for the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 development environment. Comments

The Most Dangerous Jobs in Technology

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:09:00 CDT - The most dangerous jobs in technology? Moderators top the list…ummm, infrastructure work in war zones…not so much. Think of the most disgusting things you've stumbled across online. Now imagine viewing the stuff that nightmares are made of--hate crimes, torture, child abuse--in living color, from 9 to 5 every day. That's the work of Internet content moderators, who get paid to filter out that kind of material so you don't have to see it pop up on a social network or photo-sharing site. Comments

PC Perspective Podcast #120

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:09:00 CDT - For those of you that like your news on the go, in audio format or you are just too damn lazy to read, I recommend you try out PC Perspective's weekly podcast. This week the crew talk about various topics from video cards to new processors from both AMD and Intel. Hit the link and check it out. This week we talk about the Palit GTX 460 Sonic Platinum, Maingear F131 System, AMD Llano and Orochi, a new Sandforce Roundup, Our Hardware/Software picks of the week and more!

GameStop Pulls 'Medal Of Honor' From Stores On Base

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:09:00 CDT - According to this news item, GameStop is pulling the latest Medal of Honor game from store shelves on military bases because you can play as the Taliban in portions of the game. "Out of respect to those we serve, we will not be stocking this game," said the Army & Air Force Exchange Service's Commander Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella. "We regret any inconvenience this may cause authorized shoppers, but are optimistic that they will understand the sensitivity to the life and death scenarios this product presents as entertainment. As a military command with a retail mission, we serve a very unique customer base that has, or possibly will, witness combat in real life." Comments

Fold With The [H] = Win a Complete i7 920 System

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:09:00 CDT - Ever thought about becoming part of the #1 folding team on the planet? Well, here's a little incentive, you could win a complete Core i7 920 system that was donated by members of our awesome folding team. Click the link for the complete specs and a link to the official sign up thread! If you were to buy this system at Newegg, with equal parts, it would cost over $1,300 plus shipping. The motherboard and CPU were donated by tjmagneto! Kendrak was also a big help!! When all the parts are here I will fire it up and see what the PpD will be and post it!! You can also win a GeForce GTX 460 768MB video card too. Hit the link for all the details!

Botnet Takedown May Yield Valuable Data

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:09:00 CDT - Researchers believe they can mine valuable information from the loads of data retrieved after taking down the 5th largest bot-net in the world. Wouldn't cash rewards for the people behind the botnets get better results? Just sayin'. Researchers are hoping to get a better insight on botnets after taking down part of Pushdo, one of the top five networks of hacked computers responsible for most of the world's spam. Thorsten Holz, an assistant professor of computer science at Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany, said his group is working on an academic paper focused on methods to figure out what type of malicious spamming software is on a computer that sent a particular spam e-mail. Comments

SilverStone Strider ST1500 1500W Power Supply Review

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:09:00 CDT - SilverStone raises its flagship Strider PSU to what is the near-limit of wattage you can pull out a normal North American wall plug. At 1500 watts continuous and 1600 watts peak this power supply will hopefully get the job done for you. Let's see how it holds up under full load.

ASUS EAH5870 V2 STALKER Edition Video Card Review

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - ASUS is back making another play for your hard-earned upgrade money. This time, ASUS have brought out the EAH5870 V2 STALKER Edition, a Radeon HD 5870 with an improved cooling device. Does a bundled game and improved cooling device make up for its $100 price premium?

Thermalright HR-02 Passive Processor Heatsink Review

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Looking to cool a 130 watt processor with a passive heatsink? I am not sure many of us are, but if you are looking to silence a powerhouse enthusiast system, passive cooling is now a way you can go. We have a look at Thermalright's passive HR-02. And yes, you can put a "silent" fan on it as well if you wish.

ATI CrossFireX Application Profile 10.8a Performance

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - CrossFireX gets a performance boost in two games thanks to a new CrossFireX Application Profile update. Performance in Aliens vs. Predators and Battlefield Bad Company 2 has been greatly improved, finally. CFX users will want to make sure to check this out. We will have the new CAP file hosted here locally for our readers.

GTX 480 SLI PCIe Bandwidth Perf. - x16/x16 vs. x4/x4

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Previously we tested real world gaming with x16/x16, x16/x8, x8/x8 dual video card configurations and compared results. Some of our readers were very surprised with the data. This time we have scaled down to x4/x4 to see if that negatively impacts performance at all in a single display configuration.

GTX 480 SLI PCIe Bandwidth Perf. - x16/x16 vs. x8/x8

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - In our continuing coverage of Multi-GPU configurations with varying PCIe Bandwidth, we put x16/x16 and x8/x8 PCIe to the test. Does having less PCIe bandwidth make difference in gaming? We know that a "lesser" motherboard can save you money. Using GeForce GTX 480 SLI we show you the real-world differences.

AMD’s Bulldozer and Bobcat Processors Preview

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - AMD is starting to talk about its new Bulldozer and Bobcat processors. Today we have some notes on the new processors that will interest you as well as give you a peek under the heatspreader. Not a full blown look, but just a glimpse of what is to come, hopefully.

Astro A40 Gaming Headset and MixAmp Review

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Astro Studios is famous among console gamers even if you don't know why. It designed the XBOX 360, but can a bunch of design gurus put together a team to build a gaming headset that is worth $250? We have learned that looking cool and sounding great are two different things in our past reviews. Can Astro pull it off?

Gigabyte X58A-UD9 Extreme Motherboard Review

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - The Gigabyte X58A-UD9 is not only massive, but its easily the most expensive board we've ever seen. In fact the cost of the X58A-UD9 exceeds the cost of most workstation motherboards and I find myself asking, the questions: Why? Who does Gigabyte intend to sell this board to? And...What can this board offer that a $450 board cannot?

GeForce GTX 460 SLI vs. Radeon HD 5870 CFX @ 5760

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Last week we showed you that GTX 460 1GB SLI was a better performer than the much more expensive Radeon HD 5870 CrossFireX at 2560x1200 resolution. This week we look at 5760x1200, a super widescreen gaming resolution using both company's multi-display technologies; NV Surround and ATI Eyefinity.

SLI & CFX PCIe Bandwidth Perf. - x16/x16 vs. x16/x8

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Have you wanted to space your SLI or CFX video cards farther apart on your motherboard to allow for better airflow? Do you have a motherboard that will not support a x16/x16 PCIe configuration? We put x16/x16 and x16/x8 PCIe SLI and CFX configurations head to head and show you what sacrifice there is to be made.

Intel Multi-Threaded Software Marketing Slides

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Have you spent a lot of money on an Intel multi-core processor computer system? Four cores with AMD or Intel is getting to be more and more of the norm now days, and we all know that multitasking on these systems is buttery smooth. But what software can really put your four or six core processor to work?

Seasonic X-Series: X-400FL Silent Power Supply Review

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - Seasonic, long known for making excellent power supply units has gone silent. Not just quiet, silent. It's new 400 watt unit comes to the consumer complete with no fan. Now let's see if the new silent Seasonic is worth your hard earned cash.

MSI Big Bang XPower Motherboard Review

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - The XPower is the newest member of the MSI Big Bang series of products, touting support for the latest generation of Intel processors as well as SATA 6G and USB 3.0 devices. With the amount of quality and features MSI poured in to this board, the XPower is almost assured to be a winner.

PC Power & Cooling Silencer MkII 950W PSU Review

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:08:00 CDT - We test one of the latest PC Power & Cooling computer power supplies on the market. Does it strike a balance between server and enthusiast needs? We at least know one thing just by looking at the box, this one might actually live up to the "Silencer" branding for a change since the 80mm cooling fan is now gone.