Napster team up with BMG - the big breakthrough?

In what could be just the breakthrough that Napster has been looking for, German music giants BMG broke ranks with the big five companies that have been pursuing Napster through the US Courts.  This has shattered the alliance of Sony, Warner, EMI, Universal and BMG - indeed BMG have stated they will not only be dropping their lawsuit, they've also asked the other record companies to join them in working with Napster instead of trying to shut it down:

Read the full story  Go on then, download Napster now - what are you waiting for?!?

Win yourself a VooDoo 5 5500 64MB AGP

Coremeltdown are giving one of these away.  All you have to do is go here and enter the contest.  Oh, and then win the contest of course...

How to sort out your BP6

Abit have posted a new FAQ on the dual Celeron BP6.  It's quite brief but worth a look if you're running one of these (great) boards.  Just go here for the facts.

AMD 760 chipset review

There's a new article on the DDR supporting chipset that's making AMD fans sit up and take notice.  As you'd expect from AnandTech no stone is left un-turned.  Before you go and plunge headfirst into all the details have a taster:

"The AMD 760 chipset helps to alleviate this problem by introducing the first ever support for Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM on an Athlon platform.  By transferring twice as much data per clock (once on the rising edge and once on the falling edge), DDR SDRAM effectively offers twice as much memory bandwidth as an “equivalently clocked” Single Data Rate SDRAM solution."

Unstable system?  Not any more

Overclocked your PC?  Getting freezes, lock-ups and crashes?  Think you may have overcooked things a touch?  You haven't read the RipNet overclocking page have you!  But to get even more details on how to stability test your PC you could do a lot worse than visit Speedy3D and check out their article  Here's a snip:

"While there are many programs, and methods for testing stability, these listed programs have been proven effective. Stability is one of the most important aspects of a computer, after all if the fastest computer is unable to run programs for an extended period of time, what real use does it have?"

You have to admit, he's got a point there.  More tomorrow, bye for now.

Plenty of news today, and a few more adjustments to how the site looks.  The theme continues to evolve, or perhaps I should say mutate?  Here's some news from around the Net...

3D on a shoestring - GeForce2 MX anyone?

Chick's Hardware have gathered a bunch of the latest GeForce MX cards and given them a good thrashing for you.  The prices are good but what about the performance?  Check them out here  And then you can spend what you've saved on some more RAM - you know there's never enough.  Talking of which...

DRAM prices plummet

Try saying that after a couple of beers... The Register reported that prices for 64MB of RAM on the Asian market hit an all-time low of $4 today.  Somebody is still making a hefty profit though when you look at the UK prices.  Get the full story from The Register

AMD announce DDR chipsets

Staying with the RAM theme, AMD will be unveiling a new chipset tomorrow, which will enable their Athlon processors to work with Double Data Rate (DDR) RAM, as well as common or garden RAM.  With the 760MP due out in the new year this brings in the exciting prospect of a dual 1.2Gig machine (although the Athlon will probably be running at considerably higher speeds by then) with fast DDR RAM, at a fair price.  Maybe time to trade in my Celerons, I wonder how many other Intel devotees are thinking the same thing?  CNet News have more details.

The future is coming - and it's fast.  Stand by for  USB 2.0

The current USB standard (1.1) has been with us for a few years now, and people are developing new ways of making the most of it's 12Mb/second transfer speed.  To such a degree that the powers that be decided to give us something a tad faster - how does 480Mb/second grab you?  Thought so.  However it's not quite as simple as that.....

"Although USB 2.0 promises a great deal, what with its greater transfer rate, the need for it is little to none at this point. Although there are some (few) uses for such a fast transfer rate for peripheral devices, at this point you can easily accomplish that by spending your money on getting a firewire device in the first place. Perhaps in 2001 when USB 2.0 is officially released there will be more devices that would need this, though I doubt it would be anything firewire couldn't handle. If you have a need for the technology, find a cost effective solution, but otherwise just wait until you buy or build a new computer. By that time the motherboard should just come standard with the support."

Read the full article here at PCMechanic.

I've done a few more minor page adjustments, but have spent most of today working on the dual CPUs page, which I've finally got uploaded.  Well worth a look, even if I say so myself.

Europe to investigate legality of RIP

Headline news at The Register  Fortunately it's not me they're talking about, but rather that Tony Blair's plans to monitor your e-mail are being closely looked at by the European Commission.  The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act would allow the Government to intercept e-mail traffic, and there are some serious worries about how this would be controlled.  Try putting a few keywords like "Semtex" into your messages and wait for men in black to come knocking (very noisily I'd imagine) on your door...

Agfa SnapScan 1212u USB scanner

It's blue, easy to set up, makes very nice scans and won't leave a gaping hole in your wallet.  The 1212u is a 1200x600 colour scanner and comes bundled with all the software you're likely to need.  Read the full review

Microsoft hacked

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.  Big news today was that Microsoft got hacked (or more correctly, cracked), although they maintain that nothing really valuable was broken into.  Riiiight ... but they've still called in the FBI to investigate.  Some reports are saying that this incident, being described as industrial espionage, has it's source in Russia.  Well I suppose there are a few precedents there.  Apparently Microsoft's security may have been breached up to 3 months ago, and they aren't sure about the integrity of anything produced since then.  This seems to have been a somewhat sophisticated attack rather than some loner showing how clever he is, which is giving MS even more cause for concern.  When was it that Win Me got released?  More details here at The Register.

Still upgrading to Windows ME?

Well if the thought of Mr. Putin's security services (as opposed to Mr. Blair's) reading all your e-mail hasn't put you off taking the plunge then you'd better read this article from MaximumPC  It covers some of the known installation problems with the new OS, and points you toward some drivers and patches.   Here's a taster:

"Driver compatibility and support is probably the biggest problem associated with Windows Me. In the past month several vendors have come up with drivers - for example, Creative has released Live!Ware 3.0 and drivers for users with a Sound Blaster sound card........but there are clearly plenty of people out there with hardware that wasn't supported from day one, and who still want to run Windows Me. So either the vendors screwed up by not using the two months they had before Windows Me hit the shelves, or Microsoft did not prepare the vendors enough."

Go here for the full story.

Annihilator 2 64MB GeForce2 Ultra

Remember when graphics used to come from a chip built into your motherboard?  Nowadays a 3D card will probably have as much, or more RAM than an entry level PC.  Anandtech put Creative's latest under the microscope.  It's got 64MB of RAM, which is also DDR (well of course).  Take a look and get your cheque book ready.  You're going to need a BIG monitor to do this card justice!

2cpu.com CD writer / DVD combo review

These chaps have got an AOpen DRW4624 on review.  Now you can back up all your CDs (ahem...) and watch the latest Hollywood releases, all on the same drive.  They gave this combo 4 out of 5;  I use a Trimaxx 200 in my PC, which runs at the same speeds as the AOpen drive.  Hope to post a review of the Trimaxx shortly, watch this space.  In the meantime drop in on 2cpu.com to find out all about the AOpen gizmo.

Apple G4 Cube

Okay I know it's not a PC but unless you've been living in a hole recently you can't fail to have seen pictures of this, possibly one of the most gorgeous pieces of hardware on the planet.  Well I think so anyway.  However the price does tend to take some of the shine off it;  in an attempt to boost poor sales Apple UK are offering anyone who buys a Cube with an Apple monitor £250 back - this is actually higher than the $300 rebate being offered in the US (and that must be something of a rarity).  But in the same interview Apple Chief Exec Steve Jobs stated that cheaper Cubes will arrive here next year.  Worth the wait maybe?  Full details are at The Register

Pentium 4 price cuts

The Register have also got hold of some leaked figures on planned release prices for Pentium 4s next year.  For example the 1.4GHz chip will market at $625, as against a projected price back in July of $895.  That's a hefty, and very welcome, price cut.  More on this story here

MSN Explorer launches

Mr. Gates today started the next phase of his assault on AOL's dominance of the Web.  MS Network Explorer bundles Hotmail, Internet access, instant messaging,  Windows Media Player, and links to shopping, personal finance and travel services (great....)  The package is also bundled with a $150 million advertising campaign, so expect those to start popping up everywhere.  Go here for the whole story.

 

24 October 2000

Lots of news today, hope there's something that tickles your fancy.  The overclocking page has also been updated if that's your thing...read on!   Windows Millennium - tweak to your heart's content! Got the Millennium bug?  If you've parted with some of your hard-earned for Microsoft's latest baby then head on over to TweakTown and the TechnoZone to uncover some useful tweaks and tips.  Please bear in mind that TweakTown talk about editing your computer's registry - if you aren't happy with this then I should leave it alone, as you can make a real mess playing around in there!  If you haven't made your mind up yet I heard that WinME upgrade prices are frozen in the UK until December.  Personally I'd still go for Windows 2000 though... 3DSpotlight have much the same, but with the added bonus of some Windows 98 tips thrown in as well.   CPU coolers review DansData take a look at a bunch of CPU coolers.  If you want to overclock your chip it's well worth investing some of the money you didn't give to Intel / AMD in some beefier cooling.  This guide gives you some pointers, here's a taster : "And then, there's overclocking. If you're one of the merry few that run your CPU faster than stock, a good-sized cooler is an essential accoutrement. Modern CPUs actually run cool enough that just scraping the cheapo thermal pad off a stock cooler and replacing it with a smear of heatsink grease is enough to deal with many processors' cooling needs. But when you're really increasing the heat output by goosing the CPU voltage to make it stable at an elevated core speed, another few bucks for a big cooler's a small price to pay for the performance of a processor five times as expensive as the one you bought".   Intel vs. AMD, seconds out, round four... The processor giants continue to slug it out.  AMD seem to have a distinct advantage at the moment, but what does the future hold?  (Wish I knew, I'd be off to buy a lottery ticket - not that it would change my life at all you understand).  Anyway back to the article.  Aces Hardware have an in depth look at the relative merits of Intel's Pentium 4 and AMD's new Mustang core for the Athlon.  The full story is here.  Not one for the techno-phobes....   Overclocking for beginners There's a very brief guide to overclocking your CPU at SavageZone - if only it was so simple!  For a bit more detail have a look at my overclocking page here

23 October 2000

Thanks again for all the e-mails; some dead links have been identified, and of course fixed!  For example the overclocking FAQ is now up and running.  Not much for you today as it's late and I have to work tomorrow - sadly RipNet hasn't made me a dotcom millionaire yet!  Maybe I should get myself a dotcom site...   RipNet's first on-line review Must send out a BIG thank you to Ty at Savage2000.com for posting this review on his site, the first one RipNet has had.  Okay I know it's kind of bragging but let me share it with you : "I'd like to point out a great new hardware site, RipNet. I know how it is starting up a site, and this one looks like its going places. I suggest you check it out." I think I may be blushing.  Thanks a lot Ty!   Get ready for a top source for overclockers' goodies Okay so you're smart enough to check out the various price index sites if you want to buy some new hardware.  But they're all based on one country aren't they, usually the States.  Pretty soon all that's going to change, when OCPrices.com becomes fully functional.  They plan to list global prices of hardware that'll make your mouth water, along with guidelines on importing and tax regulations.  It's a big project and they've asked me not to publish a link until the site is absolutely ready to roll, but rest assured you'll hear about it here first.

22 October 2000

The X-Files page is now uploaded to the 50megs server, although there's not much on it yet.  I've also added the Darwin Awards and some news to the News Of The Weird page.  And all September's articles have now been consigned to the archives Now I know there are quite a few dodgy links on the site as I change the look of things and add new pages.  I'm trying to clear them all as I go but if you spot any please let me know, I may have missed them - and thanks for all the e-mails I've received about how the site is going, they're very encouraging!   Release of the 1.13GHz Pentium III cancelled? The release (or I suppose re-release) date for this CPU has gone back, and there are now suggestions that by the time it's ready it will be so far behind the competition, and also the Pentium 4, that it may never see the light of day again.  Where do chips go when they die I wonder?  And what competition can they possibly mean?  Here's a subtle clue... More details here at The Register   FreeServe - more access problems Another story from The Register, this time about the continued failure of UK ISPs to look after their customers.  I was a LineOne user and enjoyed my free access, although I paid for it in a way since my telephone connection through Quip was bloody awful (it was a condition of the free Internet connection to use their telco for voice calls).  And then LineOne pulled the plug as too many people were using the service.  Call me stupid if you like but I'd have thought they could see that one coming. Well FreeServe are now doing a similar job on their customers.  They have stopped any more sign ups for unmetered access, blaming heavier than anticipated usage of the service for the suspension (which sounds strangely familiar), after existing customers were unable to dial in.  When will the ISPs learn?   Thanks to The Register for another story!   Get your cool case here There's a new supplier of modified cases on the Net, and surprisingly enough they're from the UK!  Cool Case Mods can supply you with modding kits to add windows to your case, so people can see all that expensive hardware you've crammed inside (in my case they could get a glimpse of my pair of Golden Orbs (!) - I think Frankie Howerd would have liked this article), neon lights to make your PC look like an extra from Close Encounters, or anything else your heart desires - well almost.  If you don't feel up to doing the work they will supply ready modified cases, as well as fans and so on.  Pay them a visit and support another UK business!   Overclocking the new Duron 800 AMDs Duron 800 may have only been on general release for a few days but people are already discovering it's potential for overclocking.  All this news of superfast AMD chips makes me feel a little sad as a Celeron user - well until I can persuade my wife that we really NEED a new PC running a pair of 1GHz + Athlons that is. In the meantime HardOCP have been playing with a Duron, here's a snippet : "As far as technical aspects, the 800MHz chips are being manufactured with a new core stepping, the Duron Model 3. What makes this model different from the previous Durons is the ability to house 128k of on-die L2 cache sometime in the future. The Duron is currently at 64k, should AMD make this next step, that would put the Duron right in there at the same level as a Celeron, with 128k total L2 cache. Now while we are comparing L2 Vs. L2 quantity, if we look at the performance aspect of this, it MIGHT be very feasible to think that the next logical progression of the Duron (if there is one) would put it on a performance level with the current PIII architecture." Follow this link for the full article. SharkyExtreme are in on the action as well.  This is what they have to say : "We'll show you that it's really quite easy to overclock any old Duron and/or Athlon "Thunderbird" and we're not forcing you to do it anyway. It's rare that you can get a little something extra for virtually nothing, thus we figured that the point of this exercise could be to show you just how easy it is if you're an AMD Duron/Athlon user not yet in the know. If you are an overclocker, a Kyle Bennett fan (lyrical gangster at HardOCP.com) and a general “goo-loving” (goo= silicone heat transfer compound) CPU-burner then read on…." Full story here folks.

21 October 2000

As you can see I'm still fiddling about with the way the site looks.  Still not sure if it's right yet, let me know what you think.  I've also done some work on the SETI and overclocking pages, and I'm hoping to add some Darwin Awards stuff to the News Of The Weird page.  In the meantime here's some interesting news for dual processor enthusiasts... Abit VP6 Preview HardOCP (they don't know what the OCP stands for either) have got hold of a pre-production version of this board, which is the Pentium compatible replacement for the dual-Celeron BP6 - which this page is being produced from actually.  Here's a snip of what they made of it: "So who really needs one of these anyways?  Well surely there are a big group of folks that run dually CPUs simply for the sake of doing it.  You must run a Linux or Win2K OS to even take advantage of SMP.  If you want to stick with Win9X or WinMil, SMP will do you absolutely NO GOOD.  3D Studio Max and Photoshop are a couple of programs that are written to take advantage of dual CPUs, and those programs can take advantage of the power of both processors at once.  Many users will find that the running of multiple applications at once will be greatly helped out by dually CPUs.  Of course, server applications can benefit from the dually CPUs too.  However, don't think that getting yourself a SMP rig is going to make your Quake 3 frame rates jump through the roof, because it simply is not going to happen.  Almost no games are optimized for dual CPUs, but hopefully that is something that will be changing one day down the road. (While Quake 3 does have the ability to take advantage of dual CPUs, it will not double your frame rates, but only bump them by about 10%.)" Take a look here for all the details and piccies.

20 October 2000

Still changing the look of the site as you can see.  Frames have now gone after a lot of people said they'd rather see the back of them!  Expect more changes as I'm still not completely happy with things yet - for example this is the only page I've had time to tweak so far... But I'd imagine you're really here for the news aren't you?  Here it is.   AMD continue skywards... The Register have picked up on a rumour that AMD are preparing to release a 1.33GHz Athlon in December.  Unsubstantiated so far, but maybe you can expect to see Intel execs leaping from tall buildings fairly soon.  The full story lives here.   Buyers' Guide You can rely on AnandTech for accurate and up to the minute information.  They have a new buyers guide out, check it before you buy!  Prices and availability are geared to the American market but these people know what they're talking about, and if they recommend a piece of kit you can be fairly sure it will be a good bet.  Get the latest info on the latest goodies here Not much today I know, but it takes a techno-phobe like me a long time to update the look of these pages... expect some updates to the SETI and overclocking pages over the weekend.

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