Hot Sauce: http://global.msi.com.tw/html/popup/MB/45nm/en/index.html

Microsoft is preparing new service packs for Windows Vista and its server counterpart, Windows Server 2008.  The pair of service packs, according to sources, will likely land before the release of Windows 7 which is set to debut in late 2009 or early 2010.  Microsoft confirmed that the project was in the works, with a Vista spokesman saying, “Microsoft is working on a second Windows Vista service pack (Windows Vista SP2) and will share more details in the coming months.”

Daily Tech (Click Me!)

Some new features of SP2:

* Windows Vista SP2 adds Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches.
* Windows Vista SP2 contains the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology.
* Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista.
* Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration.
* Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

source:
http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21415

The new Tropics Demo 1.1, which is based on the latest Unigine technologies, is released on October, 30 and available for download now.

Key changes

Support of DirectX 10.1 multisampling features
Performance boost
Procedural grass
Multisampled deferred buffer, which allows combination of light scattering with anti-aliasing
Pixel Shader Model 3.0 support is required now, so minimal supported hardware is ATI Radeon X1xxx / NVIDIA GeForce 6xxx
Additional AMD CrossFire optimizations
Correct detection of NVIDIA GTX series
See information about the previous version.

Improved image quality
There is a great enhancement of anti-aliasing on alpha-test surfaces, e.g. foliage (the following images have 2x zoom):

No AA

4xAA on DirectX 10.0

4xAA on DirectX 10.1

http://unigine.com/download/files/Unigine_Tropics-1.1.msi

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=347076

Anyone with DX 10.1 cards should try

Teaser of a TEASER! What INFeRNO said lol :
http://fallout.bethsoft.com/
http://files.filefront.com/Fallout3+Teaser…;/fileinfo.html
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/12045

Source from  NMA

nuffnang_bid = “6fbe940f3caefcdddf2485f56c54c6b5″;

More trouble for Nvidia

It has come to our attention that Nvidia has ended up in more product trouble, although this time it’s with regards to Nvidia’s chipset division and it’s not related to a manufacturing issue, but rather a law suit from OPTi Inc.

As the story goes, Nvidia has infringed a patent regarding to PCI prefetch that OPTi holds and although OPTi no longer makes PC chips, they now license intellectual property. The problem in this case is that Nvidia didn’t come out on agreeable terms with OPTi and has to remove the PCI prefetch feature from its chipsets.

The problem with this is twofold. Firstly, it means that just about every single Nvidia chipset from the nForce 500-series and onwards is affected and as such, PCI prefetch has to be removed from all retail boards and every single BIOS upgrade that contains the PCI prefetch code has to be removed from the web. This also means that all Nvidia partners have to release BIOS updates for every single Nvidia motherboard from the nForce 500-series and onwards.

For the consumers, this means that they’ll get very poor PCI performance, so if you’re using any PCI cards in your Nvidia based motherboard, don’t upgrade to the latest BIOS, as it will reduce the performance of the PCI bus. This isn’t going to be popular with a lot of users out that that have already upgraded their BIOS, as this “feature” has already been implemented by some motherboard manufacturers going back a couple of months.

Furthermore, Nvidia will be asking for written confirmations from all its partners that older BIOS versions have been removed from their websites and that no BIOS versions with PCI prefetch will ever see the light of day outside of the companies again. All boards currently on sale must also have the BIOS changed, although this only seems to apply to the US market as of right now.

Talk about a mess and one has to wonder why Nvidia couldn’t just pay up to OPTi and get it all over with, without causing all this hassle to its partners and reducing the performance of the PCI bus on its motherboards which will ultimately cause them to lose customers.

source:  http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=c…10222&Itemid=37

to nvidia mobo user…do not update ur bios to the latest one

the conclusion : in summary, nvidia didnt pay a certain group for using their technology and now that group is unhappy, wanting nvida to remove it from future and previous products… (thanks to Jcsy)

for end user POV : If you update latest BIOS,your PCI peformance will be dropped. (thks to AMDAthlon)

p/s: only PCI is affected, not PCI-e

link:lowyat.net

nuffnang_bid = “6fbe940f3caefcdddf2485f56c54c6b5″;

VR-Zone checked out the new Sapphire HD 4850X2 card and done some quick tests on it using the Core i7 / X58 platform. The cooler casing looks pretty nice and heatsinks beneath looks much like the Intel reference cooler. The air is drawn in by the dual fans and exhaust out from the top of the card (there is a hole at the top side of the cooler). This card is clocked at 625MHz for the core, 1000MHz for the memories and has 800×2 stream processors.

comes with 2GB DDR3 / 1GB DDR3 for each core

Price : Unknown

Review

3D Marks Vantage Performance

3D Marks Vantage EXTREME

Crysis Warhead 1600 X 1200 ( Enthusiast settings )

FarCry 2 1600 X 1200 ( Ultra High settings )

Source: http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/sapphire-h…ested/6157.html

http://www.ubuntu.com/

nuffnang_bid = “6fbe940f3caefcdddf2485f56c54c6b5″;

——————–

Source : http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/countdown

Help spread the word about Ubuntu

Adding the Ubuntu countdown timer to your website is easy! Just copy and paste the following lines into your webpage and each day the image will update showing the days remaining before the release.

<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://www.ubuntu.com/files/countdown/display.js”></script>

I have this new look from hotmail when accessing my email today.

Anyone have any idea when this started?

if have please comment it..
Attached screenshot here

nuffnang_bid = “6fbe940f3caefcdddf2485f56c54c6b5″;

It looks nice. But after if i switch my account, this appearance is gone. Any idea on how to set it permanently?

Please advice.

Thanks

Pagerank Doesn’t Affect Search Engine Ranking

Pagerank doesn’t really affect our search engine ranking, my pagerank was slapped by Google few months ago, my optimized keyword is still stay in page 3 or 4 in Google Search Result, I get into Top 10 of keyword of “Make Money Blogging” few days ago and I realized that Pagerank doesn’t really affect our search engine ranking.

If you realize, when you search for something else (i.e. Food), sometimes you will see the lowest or without PR’s site will appear in the Top 10 search result while those blog with high PR will sit at the back. Yea, perhaps Pagerank will affect search engine ranking, but it takes a very small portion. Perhaps Pagerank takes the large portion, but fresh and unique content takes the biggest portion right now, it’s the big factor that affect our search engine ranking.