AMD’s release of Llano signaled a new level of graphical performance for the entry-level and mainstream computing market.
Computers built around AMD’s latest Fusion chips all come with decent GPU functionality that’s integrated right into the same CPU package. No longer would system builders need to factor in an additional entry-level video card for some World of Warcraft action, which is a win-win situation for both the vendor and consumer.
Of course, AMD also makes video cards, and this new processor package innovation could mean that demand for its more modest discrete entries will fall as a result of the more capable Fusion chips.
For that reason, AMD is considering the removal of its low-end discrete graphics products.
Speaking about its low-end offerings, interim chief executive Thomam Seifert told analysts and investors that “parts of this business will be cannibalised and the low-end discrete GPUs will be replaced with Fusion-type products,” according to Tech Radar.
Schmitz, who was known as Kimble during his hacking times and recently changed his last name to Dotcom, has been convicted for multiple crimes such as racketeering and insider trading in the early years of the past decade. He is now in the news again as the possible owner of Megaupload. The file sharing service has been targeted by Perfect 10, which has filed multiple and not very successful copyright infringements against sites which have been used to share its copyrighted erotic images.
However, it appears that Kim Dotcom, who seems to be the mind behind Megaupload as well as other “mega” sites, may actually be guilty of direct copyright infringement, according to a report and court filing Techdirt has published. The court found that Perfect 10 “has adequately alleged Megaupload has engaged in volitional conduct sufficient to hold it liable for direct infringement.” The document states that Megaupload not only provides a network designed to encourage copyright infringements, but its operators are being paid to upload popular and copyrighted data to Megaupload’s servers.
Kim Schmitz virtually disappeared after his conviction in Germany in 2003, and even closed his website kimble.org, which he used to advertise his business ideas, as well as his lifestyle with expensive cars and yachts. Schmitz recently surfaced as Dotcom in New Zealand where he apparently was welcomed as dropped money to sponsor local fireworks and as a resident who intends to buy a $10 million home. The 37-year-old Dotcom described himself as one of the ten wealthiest people in New Zealand and said that he intends to build a five-star resort that is attached to a 12-mile motor sport racetrack.
In yet another stunning discovery made by NASA on Mars, there is indication that there may be flowing water during the warmest months on the red planet.
The organization has found “dark, finger-like” features that extend down on Martian slopes that appear during spring and summer months, but fade in winter months. NASA said that those structures have been observed over the seasons in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
“The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water,” said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson, in a prepared statement. Scientists believe that possible salt water on Mars similar to that on Earth could drop its freezing point enough to remain liquid and cause the finger-like structures. Pure water would remain frozen at the observed temperatures, NASA said.
Interestingly enough, the researchers believe that the lines indicate that any possible water could be running dry quickly, or may not even be cause by surface water, but shallow subsurface flows. “The flows are not dark because of being wet,” McEwen said. “They are dark for some other reason.”
“It’s a mystery now, but I think it’s a solvable mystery with further observations and laboratory experiments,” McEwen said.
According to an article published by the Wall Street Journal, an unfiltered news stream that could generate greater revenue for Facebook and its partners, especially those pesky messages prompted by Facebook games such as Cityville and Farmville, could be part of your daily news updates in the not too distant future.
A Facebook spokesperson told the wall Street Journal that the new feature is already being prepared, but is only running in limited test mode at this time. The results of the test may be use for improvements. Facebook also indicated that it may publish the results to the public. An interesting side note is also that Facebook is working on ways to make the Like button much more effective – and gain more knowledge which products and services users buy and where they buy.
More information in their news stream may be one of the least wanted features of Facebook users. If the unfiltered news stream will, in fact, become a reality, there may only be one way to escape those Farmville chicken messages – you may have to use that unfriend button and trim your list of friends.
Ken Brown, a spokesman for Nvidia, told X-bit Labs that Kepler silicon will be available this year, but now it seems production of graphic cards will not happen until 2012. So far, we have been under the impression that Kepler cards could be arriving just in time for Christmas, even if Nvidia already had said at the International Supercomputing Conference in June that the new cards may be delayed by a month or two.
Kepler will be succeeding the Fermi architecture and use a 28 nm production process. There have been rumors that Nvidia is struggling with the 28 nm production and that manufacturing is causing the delay. Of course, Nvidia isn’t commenting on the delay and no chip manufacturer would ever give a statement on yield issues anyway. However, Nvidia is under pressure of getting Kepler out on time and especially get to Kepler right. (The current Fermi architecture was delayed several times and had a less than perfect launch.)
According to information released by Nvidia so far, Kepler cards will triple the dual-precision floating point performance of Fermi and hit up to 6 dp GFlops, while its successor Maxwell (scheduled for a 2013 release) is expected to with almost 16 dp GFlops. These are big promises and Nvidia wouldn’t want to miss them.
The Maryland-based game developer finally gave the public a glimpse during a special QuakeCon presentation earlier today. From dual-wielding swords and axes to hurling fireballs and lightning bolts, Skyrim looks absolutely stunning, even when running on the Xbox 360. Slaying dragons and absorbing their souls is an integral component of Skyrim, along with completing various quests and engaging various townsfolk.
The big Skyrim announcement was really the unveiling of the Collector’s Edition (CE) for all three platforms, which will retail for $149.99 USD when the game comes out on November 11th. The CE will include the game, ‘The Making of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ on DVD, an official 200-page ‘The Art of Skyrim’ art book (great for the coffee table!), and – last but not least – a 12-inch Alduin statue, created by Bethesda and the IP Factory using high quality PVC modeled from actual in-game 3D digital files. The CE will be available in extremely limited quantities, so all of the The Elder Scrolls fanboys should pre-order sooner rather than later!
The man responsible for millions of spam e-mails back in the 1990s and for spamming Facebook users between 2008 and 2009 now faces up to 40 years in prison and a hefty fine.
43-year-old Sanford “Spam King” Wallace was reportedly indicted by a federal grand jury in San Jose, California for hacking into 500,000 Facebook accounts and sending around 27 million messages between November 2008 and March 2009. The charges were originally made back on July 6, but weren’t made public until he surrendered himself to FBI agents in Las Vegas on Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Wallace used a phishing attack to steal the usernames and passwords from Facebook users, and then used that information to post spam on victims’ walls. He supposedly made money by driving traffic to affiliate marketing companies who typically pay members for every click-through.
Friday Tokyo-based analyst at Ace Securities Co. Hideki Yasuda said that gamers are increasingly anticipating Sony to lower the price of the upcoming PlayStation Vita, especially once Nintendo slashes the price of its 3DS handheld later this month. Sony is reportedly “under major pressure” to cut the price or risk a major failure.
But as reported on Thursday, Sony doesn’t see any need to cut the price despite Nintendo’s drastic move to regain lost revenue.
“We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable,” Sony Corp. Executive Vice President Kazuo Hirai told reporters at Sony’s Tokyo headquarters. “There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price.”
Sony will probably never lower the Vita price until long after it’s on the market. Take a look at Apple’s iPod Touch as an example. Without knowing what the next-gen version will (officially) bring to the table come September, the current 8 GB model retails for $229 USD. It doesn’t sport any buttons or analog sticks, nor does it have the supposed graphical prowess of the PlayStation Vita.
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