Optimisers $ Diagnostics.
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From Boincstats Forum: (http://boincstats.com/forum/forum_thread.php?id=4238#54660)
Advanced Micro Devices added new Phenom II desktop models on Monday, including triple-core processors, as it tries to outdo Intel desktop price-performance.
The Phenom II "Dragon" line of desktop processors uses AMD's new 45-nanometer technology and comprises both quad-core (X4) and triple-core (X3) parts.
The triple-core Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor is priced at $145, which AMD compares to Intel's Core 2 Duo (dual-core) E8400 processor, priced at $163. The quad-core X4 810 processor (2.6GHz) is priced at $175 versus the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor (2.33GHz), priced at $163. (Prises in US Dollars.)
The Phenom II processors fit in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets and support DDR2 or next generation DDR3 memory technology.
Models include:
* AMD Phenom II X4 910 - (2.6GHz)
* AMD Phenom II X4 810 - (2.6GHz)
* AMD Phenom II X4 805 - (2.5GHz)
* AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - (2.8GHz)
* AMD Phenom II X3 710 - (2.6GHz)
The processors are available immediately, AMD said.
Yeah.. I thought about going that direction myself for a moment.
But if you have a read of this (http://www.techspot.com/review/137-amd-phenom2-x4-940-920/) article.... I personally think that their comparisons to particular intel CPU's need to be changed... even a few of the dual core CPU's outperform these new AMD units....
I am glad I went the i7 route.... even with the extra cost.
Funny that. A year and a half ago I started with two AMD Machines, both dual core. Now, I havn't got any, but I do have an Intel I720, a xeon 3350, and 10 Q6600's. No AMD in site. biggrin
From WiredCom: (http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/spacestuff.html)
Gene Roddenberry's ashes
A portion of the ashes of Gene Roddenberry, creator of the Star Trek series, were delivered to space in 1992 by the space shuttle Columbia on its STS-52 mission. The lipstick-sized capsule containing his ashes orbited the Earth before eventually disintegrating in the atmosphere. The rest of Roddenberry's ashes, along with those of his wife Majel who died in December 2008, will be shipped into space along with digitized fan letters in 2010.
Given what he's done to motivate the USoA in space exploration, you'd reckon NASA could have coughed up enough money to pay for all the ashes to go into space and a very high orbit at that.
From Atomic Maximum Power Computing: (http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/News/135351,chip-cooling-breakthrough.aspx)
Boffins from Arizona State University have demonstrated a microrefrigerator which effectively cools a PC system by targeting specific chip hot spots.
Until now, copper plates, fans and liquid cooling systems have been the traditional chip coolers, but now Intel-sponsored researchers have integrated thermoelectric material directly into chip packaging.
The idea of thermoelectric coolers isn't new, but its application is. Researchers use nanostructured thin-film superlattice as their material of choice. While superlattice does conduct electricity, it doesn't much like conducting heat, making it useful as an integrated thermoelectric system.
Engineers integrated the cooler onto a tiny square of copper, similar to that already used as a heat disperser in contemporary chip packaging. In this case, however, they stuck a 0.4mm squared bit of cooler in between the chip and the copper, so that when the microrefrigerator was turned on, it cooled a specific part of the chip by 15°C.
The researchers say they'll soon be able to stick three or four microrefrigerators on each chip.
So far the cooling method is still a tad expensive to be in any way realistic, but the time for dispensing with clunky, noisy fans may soon be nigh.
Cant wait for the micro-fridges!! :)
Micro-fridges?
Wouldn't that mean very small beer cans?
This passes for progress nowadays?
Yeah but the brag stories will sound more epic !!
'i remember the time when i drank 192,899 micro-beers and still drove home'
hhahaah
.. or " gaaawd, it'll take 45,325 beers to make HER look good !" (no offence intended to our female members.. BTW.. where IS .. the photographer girl...???)
There is a link to full immersion cooling on that page too. Not all that exciting when it will cost $US4 to $US5K a PC. :shock
Quote from: veebee on February 21, 2009, 05:49:11 PM
where IS .. the photographer girl...???
She has not logged in to the new forum as yet. Perhaps she has not found it. I'll send her a PM now.
Quote from: veebee on February 21, 2009, 05:49:11 PM
.. or " gaaawd, it'll take 45,325 beers to make HER look good !" (no offence intended to our female members.. BTW.. where IS .. the photographer girl...???)
Simone if I recall correctly .....
...with bikes
Quote from: ONYX on February 21, 2009, 08:27:36 PM
Simone if I recall correctly .....
That's it .... Simone...
I sent her a PM on the weekend - no reply as yet.
Intel has added to its stable of Xeon processors and shaved the price on an Atom chip.From Boincstats Forum: (http://boincstats.com/forum/forum_thread.php?id=4285)
On Sunday, Intel introduced two low-power Xeon processor models rated as low as 45 watts and a higher-end processor.
The L3110 (3.00GHz) integrates 6MB of level-2 (L2) cache memory and is rated at 45 watts, one of Intel's lowest TDP (Thermal Design Power) ratings for a Xeon processor. This is priced at $224.
The Xeon L3360 (2.83GHz) comes with 12MB of L2 cache and is rated at 65 watts. This is listed at $369.
A higher-end X3380 Xeon (3.16GHz) has 12MB L2 cache, is rated at 95 watts, and lists for $530.
The chipmaker also cut the price of the Z530 Atom processor (512k cache, 1.60 GHz) 7 percent, from to $65 from $70.
Feb. 24, 2009
Marvell Semiconductor is shipping a hardware/software development kit suitable for always-on home automation devices and service gateways. Resembling a "wall-wart" power adapter, the SheevaPlug draws 5 Watts, comes with Linux, and boasts completely open hardware and software designs, Marvell says.
In typical use, the SheevaPlug draws about as much power as a night-light. Yet, with 512MB each of RAM and Flash, and a 1.2GHz CPU, the unobtrusive device approaches the computing power found in the servers of only a decade ago.
Furthermore, the platform is available in single quantities, and is priced within reach of students, hobbyists, and tinkerers. Its hardware design is completely open -- everything from schematics to Gerber files will be available on a website, Marvell said. For those that do wish to build products on the platform, volume pricing could fall to $50, Marvell expects.
On the software side, the company says ARM ports of several popular Linux distributions are already running, and included. More importantly, Marvell has committed to do everything it can to ensure the best Linux support for SheevaPlug going forward. Raja Mukhopadhyay, product marketing manager, commented, "Whatever the community needs to facilitate development, we will provide the critical resources needed to facilitate that."
Mukhopadhyay calls the SheevaPlug an "ideal platform for in-home service delivery," and adds that he is looking forward to seeing what kinds of products and services are built on top of the device. He said, "We believe that for the consumer and the service provider in the home, it's the right time for some disruptive application delivery. We believe that having a completely open hardware platform will be key in letting people productize it however they want."
Several products based on Marvell's SheevaPlug Plug Computer design have already been announced. See more here: (http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9634061300.html)
Hope they run BOINC, I could buy heaps and lots of power boards to run them with. biggrin
BOINC runs on Linux, doesn't it?? :jester:
From CNet News: (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10169584-64.html?tag=mncol;posts)
Intel has added to its stable of Xeon processors and shaved the price on an Atom chip.
On Sunday, Intel introduced two low-power Xeon processor models rated as low as 45 watts and a higher-end processor.
The L3110 (3.00GHz) integrates 6MB of level-2 (L2) cache memory and is rated at 45 watts, one of Intel's lowest TDP (Thermal Design Power) ratings for a Xeon processor. This is priced at $224.
The Xeon L3360 (2.83GHz) comes with 12MB of L2 cache and is rated at 65 watts. This is listed at $369.
A higher-end X3380 Xeon (3.16GHz) has 12MB L2 cache, is rated at 95 watts, and lists for $530.
The chipmaker also cut the price of the Z530 Atom processor (512k cache, 1.60 GHz) 7 percent, from to $65 from $70.
Prises in USD.
From ABC News (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/27/2502977.htm):
NSW set for mandatory power reduction
New South Wales electricity retailers will have to reduce consumption by four per cent within five years under mandatory targets announced today.
The energy efficiency scheme begins on July 1 with a modest target of 0.4 per cent of efficiency savings, before requiring four per cent savings by 2014.
...
"Our modelling indicates that the average household electricity bill will be reduced by about $40 to $50 each year between now and 2020," he said.
What does this mean NSW BOINCers?!
Might be the time to invest in wind power... or solar power..... now where is that old solar powered watch and calculator??
Or ....you could install this (http://www.utilitywarehouse.com/info2/10MW-stg-images.htm)
Or may be time to invest in a wood heater and some candles.
Perhaps the announcement is code for: "We are going to increase the price of electricity to blazes and we will use greenscam arguments to justify it." Or alternatively: "We will do our very best to ensure there are rolling blackouts, then use this to justify privatising supply."
Lots of funny money to be made privatising power, just the thought of it drives them to a feeding frenzy and they will use every possible means to get a share of the plunder.
Wonder roughly how long till the i7 drops in price. I really need a new comp, hoping to get something with that processor (base one) for less than 1.5k with a good graphics card (no software - i have all that I need)... still be about 6-7 times more powerful than my current computer
Quote from: den160593 on February 28, 2009, 01:10:40 PM
Wonder roughly how long till the i7 drops in price.
I have no idea how long it will be, but I'd think it will happen sooner or later :D
Still, it should be possible to build one for less than 1.5k at the moment, as long as you are happy to get "budget" priced components and depending on whether you want a new case and power supply.
Going by prices from my regular suppliers' prices, I could build one for about $900 to $950
That's for a motherboard, i7-920 CPU and 3GB DDR3-1333 (3x1GB).
What sort of graphics card is in that though?
Quote from: den160593 on February 28, 2009, 03:36:43 PM
What sort of graphics card is in that though?
The $900 to $950 is just for the motherboard, CPU and RAM. If you want a complete system, add the appropriate parts (where you dont have existing parts you can reuse):
* Case and Power Supply
* Graphics Card
* Hard disk
* DVD writer
If you're thinking $1500 including a monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers as well, you would certainly need to wait for prices to drop, or go for a Core 2 Quad. But if you're just replacing the "box", it is doable, possibly with an NVidia 9800GT graphics card.
Quote from: den160593 on February 28, 2009, 01:10:40 PM
Wonder roughly how long till the i7 drops in price.
The problem with waiting for the price to drop is that a new CPU will be released that's better, faster and cheaper to run. Which ius why they drop the price of the original CPU in the first place. Bashhead
And at the moment, the price of the i7 seems to be going up. I have been watching it waiting for it to drop, and in that time it has gone from a little over $400 to now nearly $500 or more just about everywhere. :hbang:
Must be caused mostly by the AU$ dropping against the US$ over the past few months... It's less than two thirds of a US$ now.
Still, I just "priced" a complete i7 920 system (with 9800GT graphics card, 160GB HDD, DVD writer, Case + PSU, 20" LCD Monitor, MS keyboard and mouse) and could get the parts for $1,520.00 from a single supplier. Could get it below $1,500 by getting some parts (e,g, the graphics card) elsewhere.
Note however that's using the cheapest (Intel) mobo, a "generic brand" case and power supply and minimal RAM
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Yes the CPUs have been going up but at least the price of DDR3 memory has come down a bit.
Apparently the Kingston KVR1333D3N9K3/6G which starts at $168 performs quite well for budget ram if you can find ones with Elpida chips. Might be a big if, depending on whether there is still a large supply in Australia with Nanya or other chips. The good thing is if you can find a walk in shop that carries stock it is easy to check because Kingston puts the code on the outside of the kit package, ELP=Elpida.
from eva2000's DDR3 Triple Channel Memory Kits Short List (http://i4memory.com/f83/eva2000s-ddr3-triple-channel-memory-kits-short-list-14047/) and here (http://i4memory.com/f80/dfi-ut-x58-t3eh8-first-timer-questions-14991/index2.html#post107180).
Paying almost $500 for the lowest speed i7 is not good, but you can console yourself with the idea that it is capable of 8 threads. However the X58 motherboards are ridiculous. All of them except a few base models are over $400 and if you want one with better voltage regulation then they are $500 and up.
Hmm, well I don't need a monitor, as I have 2 perfectly functioning ones..
I will have to wait for an I7. It was get a new I7 or visit Australia and my children and Grandchildren. I have been keeping an eye on the CPU price as it fluctuates here as wekk compared to the US$. It is about $350 CAD (http://www.shopbot.ca/pp-intel-core-i7-920-intel-price-133147.html) at the moment but should drop a fair way in the coming months.
I thought I mention this as it is interesting to note that whilst the rest of the world are talking gloom, sacking people and talking negative overall, here is one company that is taking advantage of the situation...CP.
Fujitsu to acquire Kaz Group Pty Ltd from Telstra Corporation Limited
WEBWIRE – Monday, March 02, 2009
Sydney, Australia - Fujitsu, a leading provider of business, information technology and communications solutions, has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of shares in KAZ Group Pty Ltd from Telstra Corporation Limited for A$200 million, subject to regulatory approval.
This investment confirms Fujitsu's commitment to invest in and grow its Australian business as well as boost Fujitsu's position in the Australian market. This acquisition will make Fujitsu the third largest IT company, by revenue, with a team of nearly 5,000 across the country.
The strength of KAZ's existing business and the synergies it brings to Fujitsu will deliver new and exciting commercial opportunities.
Fujitsu's expanded customer base and enhanced end-to-end capabilities also bring a new level of competition to the Australian market creating better value for existing and future customers.
The deal also creates a strategic alliance between Fujitsu and Telstra Enterprise & Government that builds on the existing working relationship and provides new opportunities in the Australian market.
With a strong track-record working with Australian governments, particularly at the state level, the acquisition of KAZ gives Fujitsu enhanced service capabilities for Federal public sector opportunities and a strong physical presence in Canberra.
"The acquisition is in line with Fujitsu's long-term objectives to grow its Australian business" said Mr. Richard Christou, Fujitsu's Corporate First Senior Vice President and President of Global Business Group.
"The deal brings together two strong businesses and creates an IT services and technology leader that will deliver a broader range of consulting, application and infrastructure services to our Australian customers, as well as the local subsidiaries of our Global clients" Mr. Christou said.
A differentiating feature of the Fujitsu business in Australia has been the local leadership team headed by Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand CEO, Mr. Rod Vawdrey. Uniquely, Fujitsu has engaged home grown talent with global expertise to deliver essential IT services to Australian State and Federal agencies as well as leading corporate clients.
Telstra Enterprise & Government Group Managing Director, Mr. David Thodey said Telstra was selling KAZ because it no longer considered ownership of an IT services business as a core part of its strategy.
"Telstra will continue to deliver centralised network services to our customers through our Network Enterprise Services business"
"However, we will also continue to look for opportunities to work with Fujitsu in the delivery of IT Services"
Mr. Thodey said Telstra would work with KAZ's clients in the days and weeks ahead to ensure a smooth transition to KAZ's new owner.
"This acquisition is all about growth and job security for a strengthened Fujitsu / KAZ business. We are financially strong and we continue to grow" said Mr. Vawdrey.
"It will ensure the retention of local expertise and will enhance our ability to present a strong local footprint in the Australian market"
"Our most important priority moving forward is to assure our team and our valued customers that it is business as usual with a continued focus on delivering service excellence" said Mr Vawdrey.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 160,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.3 trillion yen (US$53 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008.
For more information, please see: Fujitsu website
About Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand
Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand is a leading service provider of business, information technology and communications solutions. Throughout Australia and New Zealand we partner with our customers to consult, design, build, operate and support business solutions. From strategic consulting to application and infrastructure solutions and services, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand have earned a reputation as the single supplier of choice for leading corporate and government organisations. Fujitsu Australia Limited and Fujitsu New Zealand Limited are wholly owned subsidiaries of Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702).
For more information about Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand partners or other solutions and offerings please visit: www.fujitsu.com/au or www.fujitsu.com/nz
About Telstra
Telstra is Australia's leading telecommunications and information services company, with one of the best known brands in the country. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets throughout Australia, providing more than 9.2 million Australian fixed line and 9.7 million mobile services, including 5.2 million 3G services. We provide integrated telecommunications services across our vast geographical coverage through both our fixed and mobile network infrastructure.
From PC World: (http://www.pcworld.com/article/159712/article.html?tk=nl_sbxhow)
4 Green Technology Tips That Will Save You Money
Save money on batteries and find a new use for your old PC with these tips.
Save energy. Save the environment. Save money. Sounds good, huh? Savvy use of technology can help you do all three.
Stop overcharging your laptop battery: These days it's not uncommon for laptops to serve desktop duty. But here's the rub: If you leave the battery inside the system 24/7, it'll keep drawing power, even when fully charged. That's not only a waste of energy and money, but also bad news for the battery: Constant charging will reduce its capacity to hold a charge and its overall longevity.
Fortunately, there's a fast and simple solution: Pull the battery out. Most notebooks can run off AC power when there's no battery present, so take the latter out of the equation. It'll stay in pristine condition and save you a kilowatt or two. Estimated savings: A few dollars on your monthly electric bill and $120 on premature battery replacement.
Revive old PCs: PCs and landfills go together like oil and water--or, more accurately, like mercury (which can leak out of computer circuitry) and groundwater. Unfortunately, more and more unwanted computers and monitors end up in landfills every year, and the environmental impact is considerable.
Before you consign your unwanted system to the dump, consider giving it new life. One option: Wipe the hard drive and install a Linux-based operating system like gOS, which has such modest system requirements, it makes even a six-year-old Pentium 4 feel like a modern Core 2 Duo. With that done, the system could go to a student, a tech-challenged senior, or anyone with basic computing needs.
Alternately, an aged PC plugged into a router can double as a fine file and/or print server for your home network (see "Get More Out of Your PC"). If you're willing to spring for a TV tuner, you can install free media-center software like Media Portal and turn the old girl into a DVR--no monthly TiVo fees required. Estimated savings: $120 on a network-attached storage device.
Pay your bills online: Bills that arrive via snail mail represent a massive waste of resources (paper, printing, hauling, postage) on both the biller's part and yours, if you're still mailing back written checks. Maybe security concerns kept you from switching to electronic bill-pay services early on, but financial institutions have had plenty of time to work out the kinks, so there's no excuse for continued use of paper checks, envelopes, and postage.
Banks do charge for online bill-pay service, but some will give it to you for free if you do enough business with them. If not, take a look at MyCheckFree, which lets you pay many major billers free of charge. Alternatively, set up automated bill pay with the many utilities and banks that will happily collect their monthly fees, credit card, and mortgage payments via direct withdrawal from your bank account. Estimated savings: $40 a year if you can avoid electronic-payment fees.
Switch to rechargeable batteries: Game controllers, kids' toys, digital cameras, and other electronics chew through batteries faster than beavers chew through balsa wood. Consequently, they chew through your wallet as well: A four-pack of Duracell AA batteries sells for around $6. Buy just one pack per month and you're out $72 a year.
Or you could invest about $25 on an Energizer four-slot battery charger (which comes with a pair of rechargeable AAs) and a four-pack of extra rechargeables. Sure, you'll pay for the electricity to recharge them, but compared with disposable batteries, outlet electricity costs pennies on the dollar--and new disposables, remember, are destined for landfills. Estimated savings: $50 a year and perhaps the very earth we live on.
Microsoft Releases Vista SP2 RC to Public
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Mar 6, 2009 2:21 am
Microsoft Corp. Tuesday quietly launched the release candidate of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) to the general public, making good on a promise from last week.
Vista SP2 Release Candidate (RC) can be downloaded today from Microsoft's Web site in versions for both 32- and 64-bit systems.
As first reported by Neowin.net , while Microsoft has made Vista SP2 RC available to the public, it has yet to change the download pages' titles to reflect that the files are the release candidate and not Beta 2. The file name of the disk image, however, reveals that it is, in fact, the RC: 6002.16670.090130-1715_iso_update_sp_wave0-RCSP2.0_DVD.iso .
"This build is the same build sent out to select testers last week," Neowin said.
A week ago today, Microsoft announced it had wrapped up Vista SP2 RC , and had posted it to TechNet and MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network), the subscription-based services that cater to IT professionals and developers. At the time, a company spokeswoman said that the release candidate would be offered to everyone else this week.
Microsoft has not nailed down a ship date for SP2, and in the past has only said it plans to deliver final code during the second quarter of 2009.
Others, however, have pegged the release sooner rather than later. The Malaysian Web site TechARP.com, which has accurately predicted past Windows delivery dates, has said Vista SP2 is on track to launch no later than mid-May .
Users can download Vista SP2 RC as a standalone fresh installation disk image , as an update for the 32-bit version of Vista or as an update for the 64-bit version from Microsoft's site.
Although Microsoft will offer Vista SP2 SC through its Windows Update service -- as it did when it rolled out SP2 Beta 2 late last year -- it has not yet turned on that switch. Most people will use Windows Update to get SP2 RC, if only because downloads through the service will be significantly smaller, between 41MB and 90MB, as opposed to the 302-508MB of the files available now.
Machines must be running Vista SP1 to download and install the SP2 release candidate.
Telstra unveils super-fast cable broadband - Melbourne first to be upgraded
Telstra today announced that its hybrid fibre coaxial cable broadband network in Melbourne will be upgraded to 100Mbps - more than triple the current peak speed - by Christmas.
Using new technology already successfully deployed in several cable networks overseas, Telstra will immediately begin work to turbo-charge its five-city cable network.
Melbourne is stage one of Telstra's deployment of next generation super-fast broadband technologies into its cable network, which already passes 2.5 million homes in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Cable, along with Telstra's other fixed-line infrastructure, will be a key driver of next generation broadband in Australia, as it is around the world. This cable upgrade will position Telstra to deliver on its vision of a world-class fixed-line infrastructure that complements our world-leading Next G" mobile broadband network in delivering services that meet our customers' needs.
Work will start immediately with the installation of DOCSIS 3.0 software and related infrastructure in the Melbourne cable network. Telstra will invest about $300 million in the cable upgrade this calendar year.
This upgrade will increase the peak download speeds in Melbourne homes to 100Mbps, with further upgrades potentially to speeds of up to 200Mbps.
It will build on the recent BigPond Cable Extreme upgrade, which already provides download speeds on the cable network of up to 30Mbps to 1.8 million homes, with another 700,000 homes having speeds up to 17Mbps.
Telstra estimates that nearly one million Melbourne homes stand to benefit from the experience of super-fast broadband once the upgrade to provide speeds of up to 100Mbps is completed.
Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo said the cable upgrade continues Telstra's strategy of bringing high-speed broadband to Australians, as the company has done with the Next G" network. Next G" covers 99 per cent of the population and is engineered to peak network download speeds of 21Mbps[1].
"BigPond Cable Extreme transformed the cable network into a high-speed broadband network," Mr Trujillo said. "Now we are going to the next level: super-fast broadband with download speeds among the highest in the world.
"Late last year, Telstra foreshadowed that we would continue our investment in our cable network and, with the DOCSIS 3.0 software now well-established internationally, we have the ability to dramatically increase speeds into Australian homes.
"Melbourne will be the first city to benefit from the cable network's super-fast broadband speeds. This broadband upgrade will bring the next generation of the internet to Melburnians, enabling new work-from-home, learning, security, entertainment, health care and energy-saving choices at home. It will help spawn an innovative, video-based, applications and content services sector in Australia.
"It will enable households to do the things that they want to do, but can't do at today's broadband speeds.
"Families will be able to choose a high-definition movie from an online catalogue and download it in a little over a minute to watch on the family's big-screen TV. At the same time, they could watch their favourite sport on FOXTEL in high-definition, with instant match statistics at their fingertips and, in the near future, control of camera angles. Simultaneously, they could share a video file in a high-resolution video conference with friends and family, as well as review test results with their doctor, without leaving home."
Mr Trujillo continued: "As well as super-fast broadband, it is important that this upgrade will turn the cable network into a two-way, fully interactive platform paving the way to an array of existing and next generation services for customers.
"As Telstra has done with Next G" and Next IP" in wireless and business broadband, we intend to leverage our cable network to lead the market in providing world leading services to meet our customers' individual needs."
And this announcement is Trujillo's parting gift ....
"to the Australian telecommunications sector [and] has been [designed] to lob an incendiary grenade into the midst of the federal government's National Broadband Network tender process. While not unexpected, Telstra's announcement of an upgrade to its hybrid fibre coaxial network to create an ultra-high-speed broadband network will further undermine an already struggling process.
The move is diabolically timed and ... is a pre-emptive strike on the NBN [and will] insulate Telstra against any attempt to prevent it from competing with the NBN.
The move is, to use one of Trujillo's favourite expressions, a "game-changing" decision.
Trujillo, scheduled to leave Telstra by June 30, has ensured that Telstra is still firmly in the fixed line broadband game. In the process Telstra, by making an announcement the government will see as highly provocative, has made it clear that the post-Trujillo regime is going to be just as aggressive and protective of its dominance in future as it has been over the past four years.
The stock market did not like this announcement and Telstra shares ended the day's trading down 4.26 per cent to a new all-time low of $3.14.
From PC World: (http://www.pcworld.com/article/161469/google_boosts_chromes_speed_in_new_beta.html?tk=rss_main/)
Google has upped the ante in the browser speed wars and added a handful of features with a new 2.0 beta version of its Chrome Web browser. Though Chrome version 1.0 emerged from beta in December, Google decided to move it back into beta testing and tinker. For those who aren't interested in playing with a beta edition, Google still offers the stable version for everyday Chrome users, as well as a developer version.
Google chrome browser. according to the official Google Chrome blog, the new beta version processes Javascript 25 percent faster on its V8 (the engine on which Chrome is built) benchmark, 35 percent faster on the Sunspider benchmark, and twice as fast as its original beta. Chrome beta also includes features such as form autofill; a full-page zoom that captures not only text but images; autoscroll when you click your mouse's scroll button; and dragging tabs -- a neat feature that puts your tabs in side-by-side symmetrically-sized windows when you drag a tab outside of the original browser window.
I played with the Chrome beta and found that its speed boost and add-ons made the browser function like a quicker, cleaner version of Firefox. Downloaders should beware, though: Some reports caution that Chrome 2.0 beta is buggy and users have experienced problems with password management.
Last month Apple introduced a souped-up version of its Safari browser, claiming it was faster than its competitors Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. If Google's claim that this latest beta version of its browser is twice as fast as the original, I'd be interested to see where this leaves Apple and Google in the faster-is-better browser wars.
From PC World (http://www.pcworld.com/article/161533/internet_explorer_8_what_you_need_to_know.html?tk=rss_main)
Internet Explorer 8 is moving out of beta: The final version will be available today at noon ET. The new browser is packed with new features and improved security features, and early reviews and impressions have been largely positive.
I am sure many of you will want to get your hands on the new browser and maybe some of you are hoping to switch over to IE8 as your browser of choice. Whatever your motivations, here are 5 things you need to know about IE8's release today.
Manual Download Only: You can only get IE8 by going to www.microsoft.com/ie8 or Microsoft's Download Center. Microsoft has not specified when they will push IE8 through the Windows Update service, although IE8 beta users will see an IE8 Windows Update before the general public does.
No Windows 7 version yet: If you're using the Windows 7 Beta you'll have to stick with IE8 Release Candidate 1 for now. Microsoft won't confirm when the final version of IE8 will be available for Windows 7, but it's expected to show up in the next public release for Windows 7.
Security Questions: Microsoft says they have the most secure browser ever, something we've heard from them before, but is that really the case? Yesterday, at CanSecWest's PWN2OWN contest-where hackers show off how quickly they can crack into a browser using previously unknown flaws-Internet Explorer 8 was one of the first browser's to go down after Apple's Safari. Some experts also say that Microsoft's clickjacking protection may give IE8 users a false sense of security. I'm not saying that IE8 isn't secure--just don't believe the hype. The most basic rules for safe and secure browsing still apply.
Speed not necessarily as advertised: Microsoft says "Internet Explorer 8 is one of the fastest browsers on the market today, beating other top browsers in page load time on almost 50 percent of the 25 top comScore Web sites." According to early reviews, IE8 blows IE7 speeds out of the water; however, most reviewers haven't seen a noticeable difference between IE8 and Firefox, Internet Explorer's closest competitor.
Compatibility View: Many Web pages out there are optimized for IE7 at the moment, and some reviewers have had problems rendering pages in IE8. That's where IE8's compatibility view comes in. IE8 will automatically tell Web pages that you're using IE7 if the site won't render properly in IE8. The browser will also remember every page it needs to use compatibility view. You can also switch on compatibility view manually or turn it off completely.
Internet Explorer 8 is expected to reshape the browser wars, and--according to early reviews, at least--this is the best version of IE in a long time. If you want a more detailed look at IE8, check out Computerworld's review of IE8.
From Willy - Boincstats Admin: (http://boincstats.com/forum/forum_thread.php?id=4319#57518)
25 Mar 09:
As most of you know cross project credit parity (for the combined stats) is a bit out of sync lately, with new projects popping up which grant generous amounts of credits or rogue optimized apps that do nothing more than inflate credit. Some people care, some don't, some are all for it, and all groups fight over it. In my opinion it makes the combined stats kind of meaningless, so a solution is needed.
Another problem is that new users or teams almost have no chance to get top ranked. With the solution I came up with, they can be number one.
I came up with a new way to calculate credit and generate combined stats in addition to the existing combined stats.
The current way of doing combined stats will not disappear!
I call the new credits "points" and BOINCstats will use the points in the BOINCstats World Cup.
How the World Cup works:
1: The total credit generated by a project in the current month is calculated.
2: For every team and user the credit for the current month within that project is calculated
3: The contribution to the total credit is calculated as a percentage
4: This percentage is multiplied by the number of active teams or users of that project
5: And then we have World Cup points
Example:
Project output this month: 1000000 credits
Team XyZ contributed 15000 credits, which is 1.5%
There are 132 active teams, so 1.5*132 = 198 points
Ranking is based on the points.
By using this kind of calculations I hope to increase cross project parity while also taking into account the size of a project.
For combined stats, the points of the projects are summed.
Every month will be a cup on its own. This means, every month another race to the top!
Every year the points of all months are summed resulting in the final ranking for that year.
Now I know this is quite a step away from the original stats. It will need some tinkering with the calculations to make it completely fair. The current World Cup shows the usual suspects in top ranking positions which should be OK.
Note that the World Cup is far from complete. Detailed stats pages have to be updated, compare graphs need to be added, and much much more, but I wanted to release now so you can offer your input and feedback. I'm sure the World Cup can be improved and you can help just doing that.
So here's your chance. Speak now and influence how the World Cup works or remain silent forever.
The World Cup stats can be found by opening a project menu on the left.
From PC World: (http://www.pcworld.com/article/161941/nasty_new_worm_targets_home_routers_cable_modems.html?tk=rss_main)
Nasty New Worm Targets Home Routers, Cable Modems
Ian Paul
Mar 26, 2009 1:30 am
worm psyb0t bluepill
Graphic: Diego Aguirre
A computer worm has been discovered that can infect 55 different home-based routers and DSL/cable modems including common brands like Linksys and Netgear.
Believed to have originated in Australia and known as "psyb0t" or Bluepill, this is the first worm known to be able to infect residential routers and modems.
Psyb0t is armed with 6000 common usernames and 13,000 popular passwords that it tries in various combinations to gain entry to your home network. Most home-based routers will give you unlimited attempts to get the username and password correct, making these devices an ideal target for infection. Also, unlike your PC, your router and modem are running 24 hours a day meaning psyb0t has a relatively unlimited amount of time to try and gain access.
network security wormIf that wasn't frightening enough, psyb0t is reportedly very hard to detect and most home users will be unaware that they're infected. Like other worms, psyb0t is designed to infect systems and then carry out commands given by its author, creating what is known as a botnet. There may not be much cause for alarm, though, as APC Magazine is reporting that the botnet capabilities for this worm are no longer active. At its height, psyb0t was suspected of controlling 80,000 tio 100,000 systems.
The DroneBl blog -- a real-time tracker that looks for botnets -- says the threat psyb0t poses or could have posed is overstated. DroneBL believes this is not an "end of the world, all routers are vulnerable" thing. But the appearance of psyb0t is troubling because it is so hard to detect and could be used to steal "personally identifying information," the blog adds.
While the threat posed by psyb0t may not be high, it is still extremely important to take precautionary measures against this kind of attack. The best way to protect yourself is to make sure you are not using the default password and username that came with your equipment. Consult the materials that came with your device or the manufacturer's website for instructions on how to change your username and password. If you're worried you have been infected, a simple factory reset of your device will kill the worm.
From APC: (http://apcmag.com/tomtom-gets-friends-in-patent-spat-with-microsoft.htm)
Samantha Rose Hunt25 March 2009, 11:00 PM (1 day 17 hours ago.)
When Microsoft sued TomTom for patent violations in its Linux-based navigators, it probably didn't figure what would happen next.
Microsoft sued TomTom earlier this month for patent violations around TomTom's use of the FAT32 file system in its Linux-based navigators. Although TomTom is one of the world's leading brands of navigator, it's still a minnow-sized company compared to Microsoft, and the tech community speculated that it probably lacked the resources to fight.
That is until now. TomTom has joined the OIN (Open Invitation Network), which is an intellectual property company which was formed to promote the various open-source Linux platforms by creating a collaborative ecosystem and community amongst members. Among the members of the group are Novell, IBM, Sony and Red Hat.
With OIN on its side, it automatically has the support of Linux Defenders, a group sponsored by various Linux organisations which pulls out all the stops to stop frivolous patent-warfare lawsuits against Linux. The organisation is backed by the SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center) and the Linux Foundation, as well as OIN.
TomTom has also taken the fight right back to Microsoft, and has issued a countersuit against Microsoft for the violation of four of its patents in the Microsoft Streets and Trips program. (Honestly, why does 'big-tech' always sue over patents like this ... the outcome is so predictable. A whole lot of money gets spent on lawyers, and they end up writing a cross-licencing deal.)
One thing about open source is that it works to promote open development, and after years of fighting governments over monopolistic bully tactics, Microsoft is quite possibly treading on some very thin ice around antitrust issues if it continues to attack companies that use Linux in its attempt to shut down its open-source competitor.
Put simply: it's Microsoft prerogative to continue this, but although Linux may look like the weakling of the class financially, there's a hell of a lot of money riding on its ongoing freedom and success -- just look what happened to SCO.
From CNETNews: (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10206814-64.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5)
Intel's Nehalem-architecture chips will now try to make their mark in servers, after their debut in desktops last November.
On Monday, Intel is rolling out new Nehalem-based Xeon processors targeted at servers using up to two processors. Nehalem offers some important firsts for Intel, including an integrated memory controller for better performance, hyper-threading for up to 16 virtual cores (which improves multitasking), and Turbo Boost Technology, which dynamically increases the processor's frequency (speed), as needed.
The announcement will be anticlimactic to some extent. Apple has already announced a new Mac Pro using the Nehalem Xeon 3500 and 5500 processors and last month Intel discussed how Nehalem will be used in new "Willowbrook" servers in mega data centers.
But fresh announcements are due on Monday from the largest server suppliers in the world, including IBM. "If you thoroughly maximize the capabilities of Nehalem, generation to generation you can get something like two times the performance capability," said Alex Yost, vice president IBM BladeCenter. "We did install a bunch of early systems at key clients on Wall Street and I am very encouraged," he said. IBM is the largest server supplier in the world based on revenue, holding about a 33 percent share of the market, according to Gartner.
Dreamworks has also been a high-profile early adopter of Nehalem. Prior to Nehalem, Dreamworks had to wait overnight to get a animation rendering project completed but this can be done almost in real time with the new processor, according to Intel and Dreamworks.
Analysts don't expect Nehalem to cause seismic shifts in chip market share because Intel processors already claim a disproportionate chunk of the server market. "We expect only an incremental upside on a unit basis," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at investment bank Collins Stewart. More importantly, Kumar is closely watching Cisco's entry into the server market. "If the Cisco relationship opens up new market opportunities, that's where the upside will be."
The new servers coming from IBM include deliver lower wattage requirements that can slash energy costs up to 50 percent, according to a company statement. The IBM servers also support more memory, storage, and I/IO (input-output) for cloud-computing customers.
The new IBM systems using the Xeon 5500 Series are the IBM System x3650 M2 and x3550 M2--which offer computing speeds up to 6.4 giga transfers per second--the IBM BladeCenter HS22, and the IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M2.
IBM is also announcing Systems Director 6.1 for managing both physical and virtual resources based on a web-based interface with integrated wizards and tutorials. Big Blue also said it is offering the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, a next-generation BIOS (basic input-output system) that provides a consistent BIOS across IBM's server portfolio and allows for more detailed remote-configuration option
From PC World: (http://www.pcworld.com/article/162816/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws)
A jury in Rhode Island found Microsoft guilty of patent infringement, ordering it to pay US$38 million to Uniloc, the patent holder.
Initially filed in 2003 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the suit alleges that Microsoft's product activation system infringes on a patent held by Uniloc.
The jury decided that the patent is valid and that Microsoft willfully infringes it.
The software giant still thinks otherwise and intends to appeal the decision. "We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported. We will ask the court to overturn the verdict," the company said in a statement.
Microsoft's product activation process aims to reduce piracy by requiring people to activate their software, tying it to a particular machine in the process. Users can then reinstall the software repeatedly on that machine, but can't share the software with other people and PCs.
Uniloc sells technology that software developers use to offer flexible licensing terms, such as trial periods
Microsoft infringe a patent. Shock horror who would think that fine upstanding Microsoft the champions of patent rights worldwide would do such a tthing :rofl:
From PC World: (http://www.pcworld.com/article/163075/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws)
A federal judge late Friday refused to restore class-action status to the Vista Capable lawsuit, handing Microsoft Corp. its second major victory in the case in the last two months.
U.S. District Court Judge Marsh Pechman denied a motion by the plaintiffs to recertify a smaller group of consumers in the suit that has accused Microsoft of misleading PC buyers in 2006-07 by letting computer makers slap the "Vista Capable" sticker on machines that could run only Home Basic.
Her order was the second since Feb. 18 denying class-action status to the lawsuit, and limits the plaintiffs' options to appealing her decision or moving forward with a trial of the half-dozen individual claims.
It was also the second time in as many months that Pechman's ruling went Microsoft's way. By rejecting class action status, Pechman again narrowed the pool of potential plaintiffs from thousands to the six now involved. That, in turn, would dramatically slash Microsoft's financial exposure -- which had been estimated as high as $8.5 billion -- if it eventually loses the case.
On Friday, she dismissed plaintiffs' arguments to grant class-action status to two new groups: people who had purchased PCs during Microsoft's Express Upgrade program and those who bought Vista Capable machines that wouldn't run the new operating system's Aero graphical user interface.
"Plaintiffs proposed Express Upgrade class suffers from the same flaws as its original deception-theory based Vista Capable class," Pechman wrote in her order, referring to the upgrade program Microsoft ran with its OEM partners from October 2006 to March 2007 to give PC buyers free or discounted copies of Vista. "As before, Plaintiffs underlying claim is that they were deceived by the Vista marketing campaign. Because evidence relating to each Plaintiffs' consumer choice is not amenable to class-wide analysis, an Express Upgrade class is inappropriate."
She also rejected the plaintiffs' move to create a new class out of consumers who bought Windows XP systems that later would be able to run only the lowest-priced version of Vista, Home Basic. For much of the two-year-old case, lawyers for the plaintiffs have argued that because Home Basic lacked many of the flashy features Microsoft had promoted in Vista -- most importantly, the Aero interface -- it was not really Vista.
"[Plaintiffs' claims] all center on the claim that computers lacking WDDM compatibility cannot achieve full Vista Basic functionality," said Pechman. "This is only potentially deceptive in the contest of Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' label. Without the label there is nothing deceptive or unfair about selling non-WDDM compatible computers. Because the fulcrum of Plaintiffs' claim is the label and because the label is most accurately characterized as an affirmative representation, Plaintiffs case does not 'primarily' allege omissions."
WDDM, or Windows Display Driver Model, is the display driver standard Microsoft introduced in Vista. The new standard has played a prominent part in the case; Internal Microsoft e-mails released by the court revealed arguments within the company before it decided to ditch WDDM as a requirement for Vista Capable PCs. Other insider e-mails showed that Microsoft seemed to relent on the WDDM requirement because of pressure from Intel Corp., which during 2006 was still selling large numbers of graphics chip sets that could not handle Vista drivers, though they could run Windows XP's.
The plaintiffs have claimed that Microsoft kept the decision to ditch WDDM a secret from consumers, who then could not know that some of the PCs with Vista Capable labels would not be able to run the new operating system's full feature set. Microsoft has countered that it made clear to potential buyers that Home Basic would omit some features that would be included in the more expensive editions.
Microsoft declined to comment Saturday on Pechman's order.
Previously, attorneys for the plaintiffs have said that they would appeal Pechman's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit if it went against their clients. They were not available for comment today.
In her order, Pechman told lawyers for both parties to decide whether they wanted to reset a trial date for the six individual claims, or if they wanted to wait until an appeal is made and resolved.
From APC Magazine:
David Flynn23 April 2009, 7:09 PM (1 hour 46 minutes ago.)
AMD's ambitious roadmap stretches from the six-core 'Istanbul' due for a June launch to a 12-core superslab for servers and workstations by next year.
Here's yet another sign that we've swapped the megahertz wars for the core wars. AMD wants to double its already ambitious core count from six to 12 on server and workstation processors within the next 12 months.
During this week's earnings announcement the company revealed that it had not only brought forward the release of its six-core Istanbul processor to June, but wanted to ship eight-core and 12-core processors by early next year.
However this 12-core beast, known by the oddball codename of "Magny-Cours", will be built by strapping together a pair of six-core Instanbul chips. The following year AMD expects to shift from a 45nm to 32nm process.
On the mobile side of the fence, AMD recommitted to its strategy to chase the potentially explosive market for 'thin and light' consumer notebooks.
CEO Dirk Meyer said that the company's Yukon 'ultrathin notebook' platform – which aims to partner budget-priced silicon with ATI graphics sufficient for 1080p HD video and low-impact 'casual gaming' – would move to dual-core by the middle of this year.
The double-barrel chip, dubbed Congo, would be offered to notebook manufacturers alongside the single-core Neo.
This sets AMD on a collision course against Intel's release of its 'Ultra' processor, which has the exact same market in its sights. The processor, and several 'thin and light' Ultra-class notebooks from leading brands including Asus and HP are tipped for the spotlight at Taiwan's Computex trade show in the first week of June.
A web tool that "could be as important as Google", according to some experts, has been shown off to the public.
Wolfram Alpha is the brainchild of British-born physicist Stephen Wolfram.
The free program aims to answer questions directly, rather than display web pages in response to a query like a search engine.
The "computational knowledge engine", as the technology is known, will be available to the public from the middle of May this year. More from Here... (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8026331.stm)
Now that sounds interesting. I'm sure Google hates me.
edit: The above link refers to a similar system called Start (http://start.csail.mit.edu/). So I posed a few test questions to Start to see what it "thought". I like the lack of committal:
===> Is Tibet a Chinese province?
Unfortunately, I don't know whether or not Tibet is a Chinese province. :rofl:
I don't think computer scientists deal at all well with philosophical questions.
From UTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtdE662eY_M&eurl=http://boincstats.com/forum/forum_thread.php%3Fid%3D3370&feature=player_embedded)
In view of one of our project dealing with LHC (large Hedron Collider) I thought that you might be interested in the theory surrounding this subject. Please click on the above to view it on UTube.
Ramsey@home board set up and post moved here (http://forum.boinc-australia.net/index.php?topic=372.msg6411)
From Wired.com:
(http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/ffdJO32UfUI/gallery_flight_1549)
On Jan. 15, 2009, a few Canadian geese with bad timing became snarge, a steely pilot became a hero, and the world became fascinated with images of a jet splashing into the Hudson River and then floating calmly as passengers crowded its wings.
But until now, few people have seen the equally surprising pictures of the second half of this story: when a salvage team used the biggest floating crane on the East Coast to pluck the ill-fated Airbus A320 from the frigid water.
Just finished watching a "PBS Frontline" documentary on Bernard Madoff. Great watching for anyone who has been following.
A Free Program called Ultimate Windows Tweeker (UWT) gives control over more than 130 Vista Settings. You might care to read more about UWT and or Download the Program here (http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,74990/description.html?tk=nl_ddx_h_dlfeat)
If you wish to buy a Netbook but do not like the OS that is installed on the coomputer, now you have a choice. Read all about it here (http://apcmag.com/dell-launches-700-ubuntu-linux-netbook-onto-australian-market.htm)
Certainly no powerhouse (just a single core Atom N270) and IMHO overpriced, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
From apcmag.com (http://apcmag.com/microsoft-to-launch-new-aussie-search-engine-at-bingcomau.htm)
David Flynn27 May 2009, 7:30 AM (5 hours 3 minutes ago.)
Microsoft's all-new 'Kumo' search engine, which replaces Live Search, will be branded as Bing and launched in Australia this week at bing.com.au
Microsoft's latest attempt to regain traction in search, and thus search-related advertising, is expected to debut this week under the banner of Bing.
Previously known by the internal testing codename of Kumo, Bing will replace the current Live Search engine. And to ensure Bing becomes a global brand, Microsoft has snapped up almost every conceivable country-based domain.
In addition to the all-dominating bing.com, a WhoIs search revealed that Microsoft Australia is holding down bing.com.au while other Microsoft subs have snapped up bing.co.nz, bing.co.uk, bing.ca, bing.sg, bing.hk, bing.de and bing.fr. (The company also took out a trademark on 'Bing' earlier this year).
From the Boinc_projects emails. There was a smammer atacking a bunch of projects today creating bogus accounts. This came up in one of the posts as to why gmail is used a lot by spammers which is something I did not know about gmail.
Quote
The trick is Gmail ignores dots in email addresses. elst.93 at gmail will
still deliver email to you, and so will els.t9.3 at gmail. So the spammer
only needs one email account, and he can create tons of accounts on websites
with it, by using random permutations of the dots.
This is something interesting that I picked up from the web. The Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php) lets you put in a URL and you can see what it was like in the past. I had a look at my web page and it has changed quite a bit.
That is certainly a cool link - thanks :congrats
wayback machine
oh. my. god.
Went to a few favourite websites - what a blast from the past, reading through some now non existant archives ....
I can tell you I made extensive use of the Wayback Machine when rebuilding this forum. I managed to retrieve quite a bit of useful information from it, from all except the members area. biggrin
From APC Magazine:
David Flynn01 June 2009, 11:00 AM (9 hours 34 minutes ago.)
At this week's Computex techfest Intel will showcase a V8 version of its Nehalem server chip runs sixteen threads backed by 24MB of cache, plus two top-end Core i7 superslabs.
While the rumoured Core i5 looks set to be nudged back a few months, Intel is full steam ahead on its more muscle bound Nehalem-class processors.
For sheer bragging rights the chip colossus can point to Nehalem-EX, its next-generation Xeon server processor. The current Xeon 5500-series 'Gainestown' server processors top out at four cores per CPU, and thus a maximum of eight threads, but the EX 'Beckton' powerplant doubles down that to eight cores and sixteen threads. It also sports a whopping 24MB of cache, three times that of the beefiest 5500.
If you want one more Big Number to toss around, try a count of 2.3 billion transistors – or one for every three people living on this plant.
Meanwhile, back on the desktop, two new Core i7 flagships are set to sail.
The Core i7-950 replaces the original Core i7-940 with which Intel launched the series in November last year – six months is a long time at the bleeding edge of technology. The specs are identical bar the clock speed, which bumps from 2.93GHz to 3.06GHz; the price tag also heads north, from the 940's US$562 to US$649.
The i7-965 Extreme Edition, also part of the i7's coming-out party, becomes wallflower as the i7-965 takes to the floor. Once again all the specs remain the same but for the clock speed, which the overclocker-friendly CPU boosts to 3.33GHz with an unlocked 25X bus multiplier and partners with a US$1,100 sticker.
There's no news yet on the fate of the entry-level i7-920, final member of the original i7 trio.
Yeah, I've used the Wayback machine from time to time when recreating a lost website :)
As for the 8 core Xeon, apparently they'll run with up to 8 of them in one machine. That's 64 cores, 128 threads. Would make a nice cruncher (but a prohibitively expensive exercise!)
Quote from: Cruncher Pete on June 01, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
If you want one more Big Number to toss around, try a count of 2.3 billion transistors – or one for every three people living on this planet.
I remember my electronics class in early high school years, which was run at the local YMCA, and I think was paid by mum out of wages from her part time work. It was a time when a transistor was something I could marvel at in one hand while holding a valve in the other, yet I could still buy either (for a similar price) and connect either into a circuit I had built. I built my own transistor radio which was a novelty at that time. Our last class of the course used an integrated circuit that I think had about 100 transistors in it. By that stage large-scale integration (LSI) production was coming along and microcomputers could have a processor with 10,000 transistors, and cost five times that in dollars :)
The technological advances that allow people to design and build a single chip that holds and utilises 2.3 billion transistors are almost beyond my comprehension. It's less than 30 years since those classes - just what is this world going to be like when I retire in another 30?
I consider myself privileged to have lived through these advances - I also consider myself a bit old now :wink
I console myself with the knowledge that people do still buy valves and transistors.
Then I look at videos like these: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/05/earthobservatoryvideos/ :cry2:
Quote from: Webmaster Yoda on June 01, 2009, 09:12:23 PM
......As for the 8 core Xeon, apparently they'll run with up to 8 of them in one machine. That's 64 cores, 128 threads......
Haha, imagine if you were running Windows and decided to have a look at CPU Usage History in Task Manager, there would be 128 cores showing. :)
The 6 core Gulftown would make a good cruncher if it works with X58 motherboards, probably be too expensive at first though. I wonder if going to 32nm will allow an increase in L2 cache, that would really help with some projects.
Actually, that's a good point, about L2 cache.
Besides CPDN, what other projects require a decent amount of L2 to run..... shall we say.... at optimum?
(Maybe something to be added to FAQ?)
The PrimeGrid subprojects Proth Prime Search Sieve and the manual PPS Extended Sieving (both 64-bit) go extremely well with Yorkfield quads with their 12MB of L2 cache. Because of this the credit is generous.
The smaller L2 cache of Nehalem CPUs means that they do not perform nearly as well per thread on these 2 PrimeGrid subprojects. However because of hyperthreading Nehalems have 8 threads versus 4 for Yorkfields. This means that according to reported results a Nehalem will still process about 10% more manual PPS Extended Sieving work than a Yorkfield at the same clockspeed.
(K)Ubuntu's grandfather (great grandfather ?) turns 40 this month.
Unix was knocked up in one month 40 years ago:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Operating+Systems&articleId=9133570&taxonomyId=89
:hapbirth: