Tribalwar

Vista 64bit vs Windows 7 64bit Running FarCry 2

Submitted by: jamesjimmy @ 09:25 AM | Monday, January 12, 2009 | (url: http://bittnews.c...)

A very quick benchmark run comparing Windows 7 64bit and Vista 64bit running FarCry 2. More results will be added as they become available.

NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Gaming Kit

Submitted by: Das Capitolin @ 12:05 PM | Thursday, January 8, 2009 | (url: http://benchmarkr...)

It was exactly one year ago that I shared my first experiences with stereoscopic gaming in the 2008 CES Technology Highlights article. Although the wireless active-shutter glasses felt ready for prime-time back then, the full-retail product would have to wait for an official launch. Making a debut at the 2009 CES, the NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision gaming kit offers a visual experience like no other 3D product before it. While only first-hand experience can best describe the product, Benchmark Reviews hints at how the out-of-screen effects generated by GeForce 3D Vision will change games forever.

Ziff Davis Kills EGM, Sells 1Up

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 11:15 PM | Tuesday, January 6, 2009 | (url: http://www.gamasu...)

Following repeated rumors to the effect, Gamasutra has learned that Ziff Davis has sold its 1UP division to Hearst's UGO Entertainment, and is shutting long-running print magazine EGM in the process.

According to a statement received by Gamasutra, Ziff Davis Media has now officially announced the sale of the 1UP Digital Network to Hearst's UGO Entertainment division.

The sale includes 1UP.com, Mycheats.com, Gametab.com, and GameVideos.com, and specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In association with this, Ziff Davis Media's EGM Magazine, a consumer game print mainstay since 1989, will be discontinued. The January 2009 issue will be the final printed issue.

Apple Stops Use of Anticopy Measure on iTunes

Submitted by: Stilgar @ 02:46 PM | Tuesday, January 6, 2009 | (url: http://www.nytime...)

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple said it would begin selling song downloads from all four major music companies without the anticopying measures that have been part of its iTunes store since it opened in 2003. It will also move away from its insistence on pricing songs at 99 cents.
As the recording industry has sought for years, the price of many older and less popular songs in the store will drop to 69 cents beginning in April, while the biggest new hits will go for $1.29. Others that are in more moderate demand will remain at 99 cents.

Best CPU Cooler Performance - Q4 2008

Submitted by: Das Capitolin @ 01:37 PM | Tuesday, January 6, 2009 | (url: http://benchmarkr...)

From my experience, 2008 has been a very good year for CPU coolers. We've tested the OCZ Vendetta 2 to perform as well or better than coolers twice its price, and we've discovered that the Thermaltake V14 Pro can deliver top cooling performance while looking good. But heading into 2009 we must bid farewell to the LGA775 platform, which has been the home to many of our most popular products, and welcome in the new LGA1366 socket for the Intel Core i7 CPU & X58 platform. This Best CPU Cooler Performance - Q4 2008 article will be the last foreseeable socket T series round-up from Benchmark Reviews, unless something really big changes the landscape.

Nielsen: PlayStation 2 Most-Played Console In 2008

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 05:33 PM | Monday, January 5, 2009 | (url: http://www.gamasu...)

In 2008, gamers collectively spent more time with their PlayStation 2 than any other console. That's according to media research company Nielsen, whose "Top Tens" of 2008 calculated video game console usage, as well as the top PC games.

The company's methodology, also famously used in the TV industry, is to use data from households that it monitors for media usage, and then extrapolate across the entire United States.

Nielsen's data, which actually covers the period from January through October, found that PS2 users accounted for 31.7 percent of the total time played from all nationwide gamers. The Xbox 360 was the year's second-most popular console, with 17.2 percent of the time, followed by Wii at 13.4 percent.

Windows 7 surprise: DivX built in

Submitted by: Beren @ 08:35 PM | Saturday, January 3, 2009 | (url: http://apcmag.com...)

DivX, XviD and H.264 will be built into the new version of Windows. While probably not impacting "nerds" too much as we already install it. I am looking forward to non-nerds from having it from the get go so that if I shoot them a copy of a tv show they missed they can play it without having to install anything.

Tribes 2 Back Online

Submitted by: EEK n IKE @ 05:49 AM | Saturday, January 3, 2009 | (url: http://www.tribes...)

On November 3rd, 2008 Vivendi shut down the official Tribes 2 listing and authentication servers. Now, the Tribes Next team has created its own authentication server that's free and easy to use, even if you didn't have an account (or CD key) before. If you or your friends have been looking to play Tribes 2 again, or for the first time, but didn't know where to begin, check out the Tribes Next patch and start playing right away.

Internet Explorers Market Share Drops Below 70%

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 07:08 PM | Thursday, January 1, 2009 | (url: http://www.tgdail...)

Last month, Microsofts market share in the browser dropped below 70% for the first time in eight years, while Mozilla broke the 20% barrier for the first time in its history. Initial data sets provided by Net Applications suggest that the Internet Explorer will drop once again significantly in December to below 69% and Mozilla will climb above 21%. IE8 is just around the corner, but current market share data suggests that Microsoft has no effective tool to stop the bleeding at this time - and Mozilla can pick up two out of every three users Microsoft surrenders.

Year In Review: 2008 Computer Hardware Industry Failure

Submitted by: Das Capitolin @ 02:55 PM | Thursday, January 1, 2009 | (url: http://benchmarkr...)

Every technology starts with a motivation, and throughout the past year Benchmark Reviews has watched the computer hardware industry follow trends that seem all too familiar of yesteryear. In this article by Executive Editor Olin Coles, the past 2008 calendar year is summarized for it's accomplishments, but the real focus is on the coming year ahead. Will 2009 be the year that component computer hardware becomes important again, or will it be relegated to a niche hobby for enthusiast?

Microsoft outlines vision of pay-as-you-go computing

Submitted by: Stilgar @ 12:06 PM | Monday, December 29, 2008 | (url: http://www.cnn.co...)

Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing.

Under a Microsoft proposal, consumers would receive heavily discounted PCs, then pay fees for usage.

U.S. patent application number 20080319910, published on Christmas Day, details Microsoft's vision of a situation where a "standard model" of PC is given away or heavily subsidized by someone in the supply chain.

Microsoft notes in the application that the end user could end up paying more for the computer, compared with the one-off cost entailed in the existing PC business model, but argues the user would benefit by having a PC with an extended "useful life."

RIAA axes file-sharing lawsuits

Submitted by: Stilgar @ 12:26 PM | Wednesday, December 24, 2008 | (url: http://scitech.bl...)

Those of you who regularly share music over the Internet, legally or illegally, have by now heard the news that the Recording Industry Association of America is shelving the practice of filing lawsuits against most individuals it suspects are pirating copyrighted music online.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the RIAA will send a letter to an ISP when it thinks one of its customers is illegally sharing copyrighted music. The ISP will either forward the letter to the alleged offender or ask him to stop.

If the file-sharer ignores the warning, he risks having his Internet service terminated or his bandwidth squeezed to the point where it takes watching the entire “Lord of the Rings� trilogy before all 10 tracks of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida� are illegally in his possession. Ouch.

ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP 512MB Video Card

Submitted by: Das Capitolin @ 10:45 AM | Tuesday, December 23, 2008 | (url: http://benchmarkr...)

Benchmark Reviews is no stranger to the Radeon HD 4870 and today we add one more to the ranks: the ASUS EAH4870 Dark Knight Top. This 'DK TOP' model comes equipped with ASUS' famed Dark Knight cooler and claims of a 9% performance lead over stock 4870's thanks to an impressive factory overclock. In today's review, we'll put this claim to the test and find out what kind of performance the EAH4870 DK Top brings to the table.

Australia To Block BitTorrent

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 10:24 AM | Monday, December 22, 2008 | (url: http://www.news.c...)

"Censorship Minister Stephen Conroy announced today that the Australian Internet Filters will be extended to block peer-to-peer traffic, saying, 'Technology that filters peer-to-peer and BitTorrent traffic does exist and it is anticipated that the effectiveness of this will be tested in the live pilot trial.' This dashes hopes that Conroy's Labor party had realised filtering could be politically costly at the next election and were about to back down.

Worlds First hybrid Blu-ray and DVD Disc Combo

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 08:06 PM | Sunday, December 21, 2008 | (url: http://antondrive...)

Great news for those who have both Blu-ray and DVDs in the house; Infinity Storage Media has released the first hybrid Blu-ray and DVD disc in Japan.

The new media has a total storage capacity of 33.5GB and is compatible with existing DVD and Blu-ray players. The biggest advantage of the new media is backward compatibility - you can play it on your DVD or Blu-ray player.