Tribalwar

Samsung to Mass-produce Next Generation PRAM Memory in June

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 08:15 AM | Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | (url: http://www.cdrinf...)

Samsung Electronics will start mass-producing PRAM (Phase change RAM) in June, in an effort to in order to maintain its leadership in the memory market.

PRAM, known as perfect RAM, is the next generation memory chip which features the advantages of NAND and NOR flash memories.

The S. Korean company, unveiled its plans to relase samples of 512MB PRAM chips and begin the mass production in its 200mm manufacturing line in June.

Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM) uses a material that turns crystalline when heated. The clrystalline bits represent the logical "1" in the binary system of computers, while amorphous areas (bits) represent logical "0"

Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) Free Download

Submitted by: XTasy @ 12:57 AM | Tuesday, May 5, 2009 | (url: http://windowstea...)

Microsoft is offering a free download of Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC). Use Internet Explorer to download it.

This RC will expire on June 1, 2010, but starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.

Blackberry Curve overtakes iPhone sales

Submitted by: XTasy @ 06:24 PM | Monday, May 4, 2009 | (url: http://tech.yahoo...)

Research In Motion Ltd. is throwing Apple Inc. a curveball in the smart phone game: The BlackBerry Curve outsold Apple's iPhone in the first quarter, according to market researchers at The NPD Group.

For one stretch last year, Apple said it sold more iPhones than RIM, the longtime market leader, sold BlackBerrys.

But in the first three months of this year, the Curve benefited from its widespread availability, since it is sold by all four major U.S. wireless carriers, while the iPhone is available only through AT&T Inc. A buy-one-get-one-free promotion by Verizon Wireless also helped the Curve, NPD analyst Ross Rubin said.

The iPhone slipped to No. 2, while RIM's touch-screen BlackBerry Storm also available through Verizon Wireless came in third.

Firefox 3.5: Browser on track for Q2 launch

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 02:29 PM | Wednesday, April 29, 2009 | (url: http://www.tgdail...)

Chicago (IL) Beta 4 is the final beta version released for the next-generation Firefox browser, Mozilla told TG Daily. The browser mature enough to be entering the release candidate phase and Mozillas Mike Beltzner told us that the browser is well on track to be launched in the second quarter. 900,000 users are already using the new browser in its Beta 1-3 versions.

Beltzner said that Mozilla has completed all remaining beta issues in Firefox 3.5 and while there is always a chance that the actual beta testing in the current beta 4 will unveil additional challenges, the next pre-release of Firefox 3.5 will be a release candidate (RC).

SexPistol Wins WCG Ultimate Gamer Competition

Submitted by: trepanation @ 10:24 AM | Wednesday, April 29, 2009 | (url: http://www.tribal...)

Mark, aka Applesauce, aka SexPistol wins the WCG Ultimate Gamer competition. Check the forum thread for hulu links and inside info.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 division loses $31 million

Submitted by: XTasy @ 11:42 AM | Friday, April 24, 2009 | (url: http://www.gamesp...)

For the three months ended March 31, 2009, the software giant announced that company-wide revenues dipped 6 percent year-over-year to $13.65 billion, while operating income was actually up 3 percent to $4.44 billion.

The news was similarly scattered for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, which includes the Xbox 360 business. Total revenues for the gaming segment were down less than 2 percent to $1.57 billion, and where the division posted an operating profit of $106 million during last year's second quarter, this year it ran a $31 million loss.

Preview: Youtube Realtime

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 10:25 AM | Thursday, April 23, 2009 | (url: http://www.techcr...)

RealTime appears as a toolbar at the bottom of every YouTube page with three main items. The most prominent button is an indicator showing when you have Realtime sharing turned on, obviously to ensure that you dont accidentally share some videos you arent too proud of watching. The Online Friends tab shows which videos your friends are currently watching (if any) and their recent history. It also allows you to send an invitation to come watch the video youre watching, which will pop up on their screen (you can turn notifications off). This is where the real power of the new product lies, as it allows friends to instantly share videos with each other.

Yahoo to cut nearly 700 jobs after 1Q results fall

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 12:43 PM | Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | (url: http://finance.ya...)

Yahoo Inc. will lay off nearly 700 workers after getting off to a bumpy start under a tough-talking new boss who has promised to engineer a long-awaited turnaround at one of the Internet's best-known franchises.

Neither the lackluster first-quarter results nor the job cuts announced Tuesday came as a surprise.

Analysts had already predicted Yahoo's three-year slump would worsen during the first three months of the year, and hints about the payroll purge were leaked to the media last week.

Adobe Pushing Flash to TVs

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 09:42 AM | Monday, April 20, 2009 | (url: httphttp://news.b...)

Adobe has secured a deal to put its Flash software into many of the chips that go inside TVs and set-top boxes.

It will enable developers and content providers to create applications to deliver web-based content such as news, weather and share prices to TV screens.

Flash will be included on most chips -those made by Broadcom, Intel, NXP and STMicroelectronics - but the deal does not cover TVs made by Sony and Samsung.

The first applications using Flash are expected to hit TV sets early in 2010.

Sony and Samsung already have a number of connected TVs on the market, but they are using Yahoo's rich media platform of widgets instead of Flash.

Shadowbane Farewell

Submitted by: Senty @ 03:18 PM | Sunday, April 19, 2009 | (url: http://chronicle....)

As of May 1, 2009 the book will officially close on the Chronicles of Strife.

http://chronicle.ubi.com/newspost.php?id=18535

We come to you now with regret and sadness, but also happiness and pride. Regret and sadness that it has finally come to this and as of May 1, 2009 the Shadowbane servers will be powered down once and for all. Yet happiness that it lasted so very long, and pride to be able to stand before such a passionate community to thank you for your undying support and unwavering loyalty to Shadowbane.

Blu-ray Sales Up Sharply in Q1

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 09:17 PM | Friday, April 17, 2009 | (url: http://www.homeme...)

Unit sales of Blu-ray Discs in the first three months of 2009 nearly doubled, compared to the same period last year, according to Adams Media Research.

Monterey, Calif.-based Adams said the high-definition format tallied about 9 million units through March, compared to 4.8 million units in 2008. There are about 10.5 million BD-enabled households, including about 7 million to 8 million dedicated BD players.

At least twice as many homes have a BD player, so it is very expectable that it would double or more, Adams said.

Despite Blu-rays strong start, Adams said the Blu-ray sales do not offset declines in DVD revenue.

He also said that due to the recession, the format is rolling out slower than DVD, although faster than VHS.

iBotnet: Researchers find signs of zombie Macs

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 09:03 PM | Thursday, April 16, 2009 | (url: http://blogs.zdne...)

Malware hunters at Symantec have discovered a direct link between a malicious file embedded in pirated copies of Apples iWork 09 software and what appears to be the first Mac OS X botnet launching denial-of-service attacks.

Writing in the current issue of Virus Bulletin (subscription required), researchers Mario Ballano Barcena and Alfredo Pesoli found two malware variants OSX.Iservice and OSX.Iservice.B using different techniques to obtain the users password and take control of the infected Mac machine.

They're gone! After outcry, Time Warner uncaps the tubes

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 07:44 PM | Thursday, April 16, 2009 | (url: http://arstechnic...)

After a public outcry and the attention of several members of Congress, Time Warner Cable has stopped its trial of Internet data caps, but not before making "metered billing" a tough sell for all other American ISPs.

Time Warner Cable said repeatedly that it wanted to hear from the public as it expanded its Internet data caps, and the public has roared back its response: metered billing should exist in some non-obscene ratio to cost and to competitors' pricing. In response, TWC will shelve the trials "while the customer education process continues."

Microsoft owns up to "E74" 360 errors, expands warranty

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 03:26 PM | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | (url: http://arstechnic...)

A popular gaming blog tracked a new kind of Xbox 360 error, the E74, and Microsoft has finally owned up and added the issue to the three-year "Red Ring of Death" warranty. This is a win for consumers, but it's yet another black eye for Microsoft's hardware.

While Xbox 360 systems may be known more for the dreaded "red ring of death" than any other hardware failure, one gaming blog has been tracking the rise of the "E74" error, an issue that causes the console to crash and show a multi-language kill screen. You'll also get a single red section on your system's power button. Microsoft is aware of the problem, and has since amended it's three-year warranty to cover the error.

Google Losing up to $1.65M a Day on YouTube

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 12:51 PM | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | (url: http://www.intern...)

Google is spending more than $2 million a day on YouTube -- and it is nowhere near seeing a return on that investment. Indeed, it may be losing up to $1.65 million daily on the video site.

According to financial firm Credit Suisse and Internet measurement provider comScore Inc. , YouTube Inc. is on track to serve 75 billion video streams to 375 million unique visitors in 2009.

That's the good news. The bad? To support those visitors, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) will spend more than $2 million dollars daily -- to be exact, up to $2,064,054 a day, or $753 million annualized, according to Internet Evolution calculations of YouTube's costs derived from a range of sources, including Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. , comScore, Credit Suisse, and Google itself.