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Thread ID: 18273	2002-04-22 00:00:00	your early lunch news :)	Guest (0)	Press F1

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44996	2002-04-22 00:00:00	Wired News has been running some tests in response to complaints from readers about the performance of the new iMac's when surfing the web and they have confirmed that a 800 MHz iMac takes an average of twice as long to render Web pages as a comparable or cheaper PC running Windows XP. This not only affects dial-up, but also extends to broadband networks. They have found that the iMac's default Internet Explorer browser took an average of 10 seconds per page to render several popular sites, including CNN.com and the Apple Store homepage. Their diagnosis is that the problem is not a bandwidth issue caused by fat HTML, but an annoying delay in actually drawing the page onscreen after its components have been downloaded. Read more here <www.wired.com Sharp has announced that they are finalising development on a new optical IC chipset (codename: GA100T8R6MZ) that is capable of 60x CD-R, 60x CD-ROM and 16x DVD-ROM (reading) speeds. The new IC chip is expected to be released at the end of June at the price of 220 Yen and associated recorders could be out before the end of the year. Read more here <www.cdrinfo.com Intel has released the final specifications for version 1.0 USB 2.0 EHCI (Enhanced Host Controller Interface). The biggest change in the new spec is the full backward compatibility of USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. For the complete info and compatibility tests go here <developer.intel.com Dan's Data <www.dansdata.com> has put up a list of tools <http: that makes fiddling around with your PC easy. Here's a clip: Let's take it as read that you already know about screwdrivers and pliers. Even hammer technology is not beyond your ken. Here's some gear you might not have heard of, but without which your PC-fiddling toolbox is not complete. Microsoft has issued another Windows XP Patch that fixes a Direct3D-Based Screen Saver Hibernate/Standby Error. If the 3D Flowerbox, 3D Flying Objects, 3D Pipes, 3D Text, or another Direct3D-based screen saver is running in Windows XP, the computer may be unable to enter standby or hibernation by using the timer in Power Management properties. Here's more: Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) places the computer in standby only after the CPU has been idle for the specified period of time. When a 3D screen saver starts, the CPU is no longer idle, and the ACPI timer for standby is reset. After applying the hotfix, the system will stop the 3D screen saver when monitor turns off. By doing so, the CPU of the system will be considered as idle so that the system can enter standby afterwards. This hotfix will upgrade parts of DirectX 8.1 namely D3d8.dll [to v5.1.2600.29] and Ddraw.dll [to v5.1.2600.29] as well as all bundled Windows XP screensavers. For More Information - <support.microsoft.com Download here <download.microsoft.com MSI have released some new drivers for their motherboards. Have a look at the list below for info and download links: Chipset Driver Intel INF driver Supports Intel ICH4 and 845E/845G/845GL/E7500 version: 4.00.1009 Date 04 / 17 / 2002 / Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP <www.msi.com.tw All MSI SiS 650/740 based chipset mainboard version: WinXP 6.13.10.2060 / Win2K 5.13.01.2060 Win9X 4.13.01.2060 Date 04 / 17 / 2002 Windows 9x <www.msi.com.tw / Windows 2000/XP <www.msi.com.tw SiS AGP Driver Version 109F for MS-6547, MS-6559, MS-6533, MS-6524 Date 04 / 17 / 2002 Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP <www.msi.com.tw VGA Driver MSI VIA KM266 bsed motherboards Graphics driver version: Win2K-XP: 6.13.10.1041 / Win9X: 4.13.01.3029 Date 04 / 17 / 2002 / Win 9x&ME <www.msi.com.tw Win 2000 <www.msi.com.tw / Win XP <www.msi.com.tw Audio Driver KT3 Ultra-ARU (MS-6380E), KT3 Ultra (MS-6380E) Sound Driver Date 04 / 17 / 2002 Windows 9x/ME/2000/NT/XP <www.msi.com.tw Avance ALC201A/ALC650 AC'97 Audio Drivers version: WDM 5.10.00.3840 / Win9x 4.05.00.3015 / WinNT 4.03.00.3026 Date 04 / 17 / 2001 Win98SE/Me/2000/XP/NT <www.msi.com.tw IDE Driver Promise FastTrak133 RAID Driver For Promise PDC20276 ATA133 RAID version: 2.00 Build 21 Date 04 / 17 / 2001 Win9X/ME/2000/NT/XP <www.msi.com.tw Intel Application Accelerator version: 2.10 Date 04 / 17 / 2002 Win9X/ME/2000/NT/XP <www.msi.com.tw Still with MSI here are some new bios files from MSI and Epox: MSI 845 Ultra-C (MS-6566 v1.0) 1.1 <www.msi-technology.de MSI 860D Pro-LS (MS-6508 v1.0) 1.1 <www.msi-technology.de MSI K7N420 Pro (MS-6373 v1.0) 2.4 <www.msi-technology.de MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU (MS-6380E v1.0) 5.3 <www.msi-technology.de MSI MS-6378 (MS-6378 v3.0) 1.8 <www.msi-technology.de Epox 8KEM 4.4 <ftp://ftp.epox.com/support/motherboard/bios/8kem2404.exe> WinRAR 3.00 Beta 6 is out with no changelog yet, so you will just have to download it here <www.majorgeeks.com to find out what's new Abit has announced their second KT333 based motherboard named the KX7-333. Here's a list of what is included on the board: Support AMD Athlon XP 1500+ ~ 2200+ or future Socket A Processors based on 200/266 MHz VIA KT333 / VIA VT8233A Supports Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 IDE protocol Supports200/266/333 MHz (100/133/166 MHz Double Data Rate) Memory Bus Settings Asus has released version 28.80 Detonator Drivers for their range of video cards. Grab em from the links below: Windows 9x/ME <ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/vga/agp/v8440/2880w9x.zip> Windows 2000/XP <ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/vga/agp/v8440/2880w2p.zip> Windows NT4 <ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/vga/agp/v8440/2880nt4.zip> These are alternative ASUS links if you have problems with the ones above: Windows NT4 <cgi.asus.com.tw Windows 2000/XP <cgi.asus.com.tw Windows 9x/ME <cgi.asus.com.tw Guru3d the makers of RivaTuner have released a new nVidia tweak tool called nVHardPage. Here's the dirt on the new program: Do you seek an easy way to en/disable overclocking options or vsync option in your detonator drivers without the burden of importing registry entries or the need to go in that registry yourself ? Basically CoolBits and more within your fingertips. This program serves on enabling/disabling hidden features in nVidia control panel and tweaking nVidia Direct3D & OpenGL settings. Supported OS: WinXP, Win2k, Win9x/Me - only CoolBits & Display orientation at the moment. Supported Drivers: Detonators 21.81 and higher. What's New? Added User mipmaps and 24/32b z-buffer options (Direct3D) Added Textures color depth and Texture sharpening options (OpenGL) Added refresh rate fix (WinXP/2k) Added Function for rename graphic card (Win9x) Fixed Fast linear mipmap bug (WinXP/2k) Fixed bug in loading presets Grab a copy here <www.guru3d.com The Japanese have taken over as holders of the worlds fastest supercomputer. The computer is the NEC Earth Simulator and it processes data five times faster than its closest competitor. It works at a speed of 35,600 gigaflops compared to its closest rival, IBM's ASCI White, which runs at a speed of 7,226 gigaflops. A gigaflop equals a billion mathematical operations per second. Here's a bit more on the nitty gritty: The NEC Earth Simulator is as large as four tennis courts and creates a 'virtual planet Earth' to predict climate patterns. Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer science professor, leads the group of researchers that tracks the world's 500 speediest computers. 'This machine is more powerful than the 20 fastest computers in the US,' Mr Dongarra said. 'It's more powerful than all of the Department of Energy and Department of Defence computers together.' Today's most popular supercomputers use a massively parallel processing system, in which thousands of mass-produced microprocessors are linked to solve complex problems. NEC calls the Earth Simulator a 'vector parallel' computer, which combines parallel processing with vector processing. The TOP500 list is compiled by researchers at the University of Mannheim in Germany and the University of Tennessee. The list ranks computers by their performance on Dongarra's Linpack Benchmark, a standardised measure of a computer's speed at solving a 'dense system of equations Semico Research <www.semico.com has stated that the wait for fast PC boot-ups is not too far away with the development of non-volatile memory technology. This technology will enable PCs to bypass boot-up by returning users to where they left off (Similar to hibernation mode except with a full shutdown). Currently the slow boot is caused by the waiting for software to load into RAM memory, which forgets everything when the power is shut off. With non-volatile memory the software will be stored forever. If your interested in this new technology, you can read more here <www.wired.com Mirabilis has released ICQ version 2002a Beta Build #3727 with the following new additions: Bug fixes Interface changes Download it here <dyn.icq.com 2FICQ%5FWin95%5F98%5FNT4%2FICQ2002a%2Ficq2002a%2Ee xe&id=1352>.	Guest (0)
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