Maximum PC - News

Microsoft: Windows 7 Family Pack Available Again Soon (While Supplies Last)

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:31:44 +0000

Microsoft will once again begin selling Windows 7 Family Packs, which ship with three upgrade licenses for Windows 7 Home Premium for $150.

This is the same promotion Microsoft ran when Windows 7 launched in October of last year and it didn't take long for copies to sell out. Like before, Microsoft is only allocating so many Family Packs, though the sultan of software didn't say exactly how many it will make available.

"So, don't delay," Microsoft said in a blog post. "The Windows 7 Family Pack will be available soon while supplies last."

U.S. residents will be able to purchase the Family Pack starting October 3rd at the Microsoft Store. Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Australia, "and many other markets" will have access starting October 22nd.

Target to Dabble in Facebook Gift Cards

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:28:59 +0000

The social networking superstar known as Facebook is taking its business offline and into brick and mortar stores by selling gift cards at Target locations, Reuters reports.

These will come in increments of $15, $25, and $50 and can be used to purchase virtual products for games hosted on the site, which pretty much ensures Zynga will be around for a long, long time.

This could also mean more scams in the making. Beware of upcoming gift card offers that aren't directly affiliated with Facebook or Target.  Back in April, The Consumerist reported a fake IKEA gift card scam that was able to attract over 37,000 Facebook users.

Microsoft Receives Patent for OS Shutdown

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:19:41 +0000

Quick, someone go grab a patent for starting up a computer, because believe it or not, the intellectual property for shutting down is now taken, and it belongs to Microsoft.

"A user interface and scheme is provided for facilitating shutting down and operating system," the patent abstract reads. "Aspects include the operating system receiving a command to initiate shut down, and automatically terminating graphical user interface (GUI) applications that delay shut down which do not have top level windows. Also, aspects provide a user, through a graphical user interface, the ability to automatically terminate all running applications in response to determining that a running GUI application has a top level windows."

The above patent was awarded to Microsoft on August 31, 2010, but apparently it wasn't an easy decision. Microsoft first filed for the patent back in August 2005.

3... 2... 1, Surprise! Valve Has “Three Big Surprises” Planned for Next 12 Months

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:37:23 +0000

Valve's track record with “surprises” is a bit dodgy – for every one Alien Swarm, there's a Portal 2 on PS3 – but it's still hard not to get a little giddy when Valve's Gabe Newell starts throwing around the S-word.

"I can guarantee you people are going to be surprised at stuff we do. That isn't going to stop any time soon. I'm just laughing because... people will be shocked again," Valve boss Gabe Newell told PC Gamer.

"We have three pretty big surprises in the next 12 months at least."

Shocked, sure, but will we also be awed, or will we roll our eyes and let out an exasperated “awww”? Knowing Valve, we're expecting the former. We've also got our fingers crossed for the most shocking Half-Life 2: Episode 3-related surprise announcement possible: “It's coming out eventually.”

Commodore USA to Sell Amiga All-in-One PCs, Hyperion Thinks Not

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:09:13 +0000

Commodore USA, the same company who recently announced plans to start shipping an Atom-powered replica of the original C64, claims to have just acquired the rights to the Amiga name and will also be launching a full line of new Amiga branded all-in-one keyboard computers.

"We are ecstatic to be partnering with Amiga Inc. in this new, exciting product launch," Barry Altman, President and CEO of Commodore USA, said in a statement. "The legacy of the Commodore and Amiga trademark brand, reunited once again after so many years, and our reintroduction of the legendary All-In-One computer keyboard form factor, combined with the twenty-five year anniversary of the introduction of the first Amiga computer by Commodore International, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Commodore USA has now taken a major role in not just supporting the future Amiga market with our many new products, but also in providing a new beginning for the enormous existing Amiga community."

Decidedly less excited about the announcement is Hyperion, the Belgium company behind the AmigaOS, who also holds rights to the Amiga brand.

"Our American lawyers will take action against this," Hyperion said in a forum post. "This is [a] blatant violation of the rights Hyperion Entertainment secured in the settlement agreement with Amiga Inc., Itec, and Amino."

Image Credit: Commodore USA

Twitter to Start Logging URL Mouse Clicks

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:45:30 +0000

Twitter sent out an email on Wednesday announcing a couple of upcoming updates, one of which includes automatic t.co link wrapping. In the coming weeks, Twitter's link wrapping service will intercept all URLs posted on the microblogging service and convert them into shorter, easier to read URLs. So what exactly has privacy mavens up in arms? This little tidbit:

"When you click on a wrapped link, your request will pass through the Twitter service to check if the destination site is known to contain malware, and we will then forward you on to the destination URL ... When you click on these links from Twitter.com or a Twitter application, Twitter will log that click. We hope to use this data to provide better and more relevant content to you over time," the microblogging site said.

Before you reach for the pitchforks and lighter fluid, keep in mind Twitter isn't the only one harvesting your click activity. As CNET points out, Yahoo tracks user searches, Bing and Facebook both appear to use JavaScript to keep track of where users click through to, and even Google sometimes uses redirects. And don't forget that everything you tweet ends up at the Library of Congress.

Even so, this will come as little consolation to privacy advocates who view this move as a "disgusting data landgrab."

New Cans from Creative Play with Positional 3D Audio

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:09:57 +0000

Creative wants you to know that they've just launched the world's first truly 3D audio headsets, unlike those other 3D sets you may have read about, which apparently aren't the real deal. So how exactly can Creative make that claim?

"Creative gaming headsets are the only headsets in the world to deliver a true 3D immersive experience -- with sound coming from around you, above you, and from below. As games have evolved and 3D video has become the norm, Creative headsets with THX TruStudio Pro are the perfect complement, providing gamers with a completely immersive, mind-blowing 3D audio and video experience," said Steve Erickson, VP and GM for audio and video at Creative.

THX purportedly had a hand in helping develop the new Sound Blaster 3D Tactic Alpha and 3D Sigma headsets, which use proprietary advanced algorithms to blast audio at your eardrums from above, below, and all around. From a hardware standpoint, the 3D Alpha comes with 40mm Neodymium drivers, a detachable noise-canceling mic, and a dual-mode USB 2.0 adapter that allows the headset to be used in analog mode.

The 3D Sigma boasts the same feature-set, except the drivers are 50mm and it comes with a steel core headband. These are also the first headsets to come with customizable profiles.

Look for the 3D Alpha and 3D Sigma to ship later this month for $60 and $90, respectively.

Rumor: Nvidia Working on Chipset to Bypass Sandy Bridge Architecture

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:05:24 +0000

Those ever talkative "sources from motherboard makers" are again flapping their gums to Digitimes, this time involving Nvidia. As the latest rumor goes, Nvidia's engineers are busy developing a chipset that combines the function of both a southbridge and GPU.

The funky dual-purpose chipset is Nvidia's way of sidestepping Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture and avoiding a potential messy legal battle. Intel filed suit against Nvidia back in 2009 claiming the license agreement between the two parties only covered processors that don't contain an integrated memory controller, which is the reason why you haven't seen any Nvidia-based chipsets for Nehalem.

Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture combines a CPU and northbridge into one, and as the story goes, Nvidia is hoping motherboard makers will opt to purchase Sandy Bridge without the southbridge (Cougar Point). That would save them about $15, which could then be used towards the purchase of Nvidia's combo chipset.

IBM Announces World's Fastest Clocked Processor

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:02:51 +0000

IBM on Wednesday lifted the curtain on what Big Blue claims is the world's fastest computer chip, the new zEnterprise 196 (z196) processor. Minus 10 million geek points to the first person who asks, "Yes, but can it run Crysis," or any variant.

What it can do is race along at 5.2GHz, the fastest stock clockspeed ever in the world of microprocessors. This server speed demon comes with 1.4 billion transistors packed onto a 512-square millimeter surface and was designed right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. (Poughkeepsie, New York) using IBM's 45nm SOI processor technology. It's a four-core part with embedded DRAM technology, which IBM says allows for dense DRAM caches, or components, on the same chips as high-speed microprocessors.

"This world record-breaking speed is necessary for businesses managing huge workloads, such as banks, retailers, especially as the world becomes increasingly more interconnected, data has grown beyond the world's storage capacity, and business transactions continue to skyrocket," IBM said.

IBM has poured $1.5 billion in research and development and over three years of collaboration with top clients around the world coming up with its zEnterprise technology.

Image Credit: IBM

GlobalFoundries Kicks Out First 28nm ARM Processor

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:46:40 +0000

During this week's Global Technology Conference, GlobalFoundries unveiled the world's first 28nm ARM Cortex-A9 processor platform with High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) technology.

"This is a significant milestone on the road to high-volume 28nm manufacturing and technology leadership for next-generation products ranging from smart mobile devices to high-performance wired applications," said Mojy Chian, senior vice president of design enablement at GlobalFoundries. "By working closely with ARM in the early stages of technology qualification, we will enable our customers to rapidly bring their ARM Cortex-A9 designs with ARM physical IP to production by setting a new standard for performance and power-efficiency."

GlobalFoundries says its new production capabilities will "enable smooth ramp-up and faster time to market" for its customers, and will enable a 40 percent increase in computer performance, a 30 percent power savings, and a 100 percent increase in standby battery life compared to 40nm technology.

Looking ahead, GlobalFoundries has set a goal to deliver 20nm technology to customers by 2013.

Image Credit: GlobalFoundries