AMD's 'Bobcat' Platform

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

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With Intel positioning its Atom and Via competing with it with the Nano, the public is wondering what AMD is planning for serving the UMPC and low-power segments. I only recently learned of 'Bobcat', AMD's platform designed from the ground up for ultra-mobile PCs, devices and consumer electronics. Basically, its a re-designed x86 processor optimized for low-power devices with a TDP of 1 to 10 watts. It's being developed in parallel with Bulldozer, a seperate processor platform aimed at low-power desktops. In contrast, Bulldozer will have a TDP of 10 to 100 watts and a CPU-integrated GPU core that's squeezed right into the processor piece. Both are projected to launch in 2009, but by the way things are going, AMD should launch them earlier if they want to catch up.

Register Hardware ran a story on this last year. A more exhaustive article on Anandtech discusses the platform as a whole, with information interspersed with details from interviews they conducted. Another article from Tech Report discussed the technical merits of the platform when it was first revealed.

Astone's UltraMobilePC Surf

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

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Looking at Astone's latest ads in PC Buyer's Guide, I notice they're building public interest on their own version of the Via Openbook MiniNote (I blogged about Via opening up the reference design for manufacturers).

As announced in the ad, the Astone unit will be powered by a C-7M processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, pumped with 2GB of RAM and have 60GB of storage. It will have an 8.9 " LCD screen, similar to the HP Mini-Note's. Connectivity options include the now standard 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11 b/g WiFi and Bluetooth. The unit will also have a built-in card reader, 3 USB ports and a VGA out connector for outputting to a larger monitor.

Aside from a slight difference in specs, it's very much like the reference design opened up by Via. In case you've forgotten, here are images of that reference design:







JungleDisk 2.0 Launched

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

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Jungle Disk has announced the release of the final version of it's popular backup software. Jungle Disk 2.0 includes many performance enhancement that make backing up important data easier than ever.

Jungle Disk 2.0's new features include :
  • An Improved User Interface - with a better and easier setup wizard makes, a new backup preview dialog and a new backup selection dialog for easier to set up automatic backups.
  • Support for new Jungle Disk 2.0 buckets - allows users to instantly rename files and directories, encrypt file & directory names, change encryption key (bucket password) instantly and support for unlimited number of buckets.
  • Support for European S3 buckets.
  • Support for connecting to multiple buckets at the same time.
  • Support for multiple backup jobs with independent scheduling.
  • Expanded bandwidth limiting - flexible choices to control network drive and automatic backup traffic, set limits on both upload and download rates, on the fly changing of limits and setting schedules for limits.
  • New command line options that tightly integrate task schedulers and batch jobs.
  • Optimized performance improvements for larger directories and larger cache sizes.

Unlocked Palm Centro Now Available

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Palm, Inc. announced today the availability of an unlocked version of its popular Palm Centro smartphone for the US market. Now offered unlocked for use on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless (three of the US's largest carriers), Centro gives U.S. customers the ability to choose the mobile phone service that fits their needs. Palm concurrently announced the availability of the Google(TM) Maps service for mobiles with My Location builtin on the unit itself, giving users faster access to local maps and driving directions.

The unlocked Centro will be available in a slightly updated white color with grey accents. Available in 25 countries worldwide, the Centro offers customers flexible ways to keep in touch with friends, family and co-workers through voice, SMS text messaging, email or the web. The Centro is Palm's smallest and lightest smartphone to date. The Centro is now available from the official Palm Store (online) for $299.

Jungle Disk Releases 2.0 Release Candidate

Saturday, June 21, 2008

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Jungle Disk has announced the availability of Release Candidate (RC) of version 2.0. This is going to be the last build for final testing. This is expected to be the final version unless any major bugs are found. As posted by Jungle Disk on their official site, the RC is considered very stable so users still running version 1.50 and the older betas are encourage to try use this updated build.

The release candidate can be downloaded from Jungle Disk's beta download page. You can find out more information about the improvements to this version by looking up the release notes here.

Deliveries

Thursday, June 19, 2008

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I went to the local 2Go branch earlier to pick up my uMobile SIM card. The delivery guy came by 12:00 PM yesterday but I couldn't accept the delivery because I didn't have a photocopy of any of my ID's. He showed me the instructions from uMobile stating no to deliver the SIM unless the recipient provided photocopies of proof of identity. I told him I'd drop by their office after work the next day.

So I went to their Balibago office at 7:30, waited till 8 AM, eventually signed forms, and left with my new uMobile SIM. When I got home, I was barely out of my socks when an AIR21 delivery guy parked in front of the house. He was delivering the memory I won a few days ago. Schweet!

I've plugged in the SIM in my trusty Treo650 and let it sit for a while. I'm currently testing the RAM using Memtest86+. Memtest86+ will take a few hours to finish. Hopefully nothing is terribly wrong with the memory.

FTW - Won My First Auction!

Monday, June 16, 2008

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I got an email an won a bid for a 256MB SDRAM module. And I got it cheap too. It cost me Php 350, including the shipping. I am currently texting the seller. Paid for the item through Smart Money. Amazing how convenient these electronic payments are! Transaction was smooth to say the least. The seller was easy to deal with and I had no problems with him. He was actually very flexible. When I suggested sending the money through Smart Money, he obliged and created his own Smart Money account. All I need to do now is wait for it to arrive.

Via Nano Running Crysis

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

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Found a video of the demo Via Nano unit I blogged about 2 days ago. The video is posted along with first-hand accounts of the event and it's posted on TweakTown. I must say I'm impressed. This platform might prove its worth and become Via's chance to really make an impact in mainstream PC market.



Via And NVidia Launch Mini-ITX 2.0

Sunday, June 8, 2008

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As was previously announced, Via and Nvidia officially came out and formally presented their partnership to produce the most affordable Vista-capaable platform. PC Perspective ran a story with in-depth information on the expected performance of the upcoming platform. They even posted a picture of a sample board, with an 8600GT strapped on to the PCI Express slot. Digitimes also ran a story on the announcement, highlighting the two's support of Mini-ITX 2.0. Intel's entry to the Mini-ITX niche has been observed as "limiting", having a very basic graphics subsystem and no provisions for upgrades. Seeting up an official spec for Mini-ITX 2.0 is seen by analysts as Via's play to keep its dominance over it's Mini-ITX turf while attracting more of the mainstream market.

Mini-ITX 2.0 seeks to up the ante by allowing consumers more mainstream expansion choices while maintaining the 17 x 17 cm form factor. In more detail, 2.0 will require the following feature set on boards:
When compared to the current Mini-ITX offerings of Intel, these specifications are a boon for anyone seeking a low-cost solution for multimedia and gaming on the Vista platform. Clearly this strategy can open up a niche for Via in the mainstream market, opposite Intel's pushing the Atom platform (and their other Mini-ITX offerings) in the low-power niche that Via traditionally dominated. Now, only the market will say who's strategy will eventually pay off. Who gains more is will eventually be dictated by the consumers. I'm hedging my bets on Via gaining a bit on the mainstream market.

Browser For Kids With Autism

Friday, June 6, 2008

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One of the things that has always amazed me about the open source development circles is the astounding number of user-developed apps. Programmers and developers often write new apps when they find apps already available don't do enough or don't behave the way they want them to. It's common to find out that apps are written because programmers and code hackers want more out of the apps they use. They then in turn release them as open source so others can use these apps, help debug them or improve them. Communities are often grown from these roots.

It's refreshing to see though that open source initiatives aren't the only source of good software. Individuals who want to create something for their loved ones or for causes often have the same drive as developers I mentioned, albeit for a different cause. One such piece of software would be the Zac Browser. It was created by a grandfather who wanted to help a grandchild with autism browse the web safely and independently. Assistive technology has always been expensive, and though the communities that support autism cause have grown over the years, that hasn't brought down the cost dramatically. This grandfather has made a great contribution to the cause of children with autism by making his browser free to the public.

The Zac Browser helps autistic kids focus their attention by using a simplified interface. It protects them as well by limiting their exposure to inappropriate content, filtering out any violent of otherwise disturbing content. The sites have been pre-selected by the developer and is updated regularly. The best part of it is that it is free to anyone who would want to try it.

I discovered this little gem while browsing for news about autism. AP featured it in a news article. I posted a video featuring the Zac Browser below:





The Zac Browser can be downloaded as an installer package or a "just run" no-install package. It works with Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME and Windows 98. No word yet if this will be ported to Linux, but I'm hopeful it will be.

Eee Box - Asus' Eee PC Comes to Desktops

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I read about the Eee Box from three articles several days ago. CNET, ZDNet and HotHardware all had articles pointing to emerging details about the Eee Box. Even Gizmodo had a few words to say about it. I must say it reminds me of the HP Blackbird, but that is altogether a different kind of machine.

Anandtech had a much more exhaustive feature on it. They benchmarked a demo unit. The article established the price point and corresponding configurations. The Anandtech article mentioned that all three units will b powered by an Intel Atom processor clocked at 1.6GHz. There will be a $269 base unit that will come with 1GB of RAM, an 80GB 2.5" laptop hard drive and Linux pre-installed. A Windows XP unit with the same spec will retail for $299. A third variant with Linux pre-installed will have the same $299 price tag as the XP unit but will have double the RAM and hard disk space. Goes to show how much you're really saving when you go for Linux ;-)

No fresh news is forthcoming, though. But I'll be watching.

Via Lines Up Its Nano (Isaiah) Processors

Saturday, May 31, 2008

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Via made the headlines as it announced its line up of Nano processors. These were codenamed 'Isaiah' during its development. The web is awash with news from different sources, all chiming in their perspective of the future of the Nano processor. Infoworld, PC Pro, PC Perspective, PC Magazine, IT Pro and Trusted Reviews and CRN.com all did stories on it.

The Nano line will include two sets, the L-series on the high-power end and the U-series for low-power segment. The L-series will still have a lower power consumption than mainstream Intel and AMD chips, churning at 25 watts. The following variants are planned for the Nano:
  • L2100 (Clock Speed: 1.8 GHz, TDP: 25 watts)
  • L2200 (Clock Speed: 1.6 GHz, TDP: 17 watts)
  • U2400 (Clock Speed: 1.3-plus" GHz, TDP: 8 watts)
  • U2500 (Clock Speed: 1.2 GHz, TDP: 6.8 watts)
  • U2300 (Clock Speed: 1.0 GHz, TDP: 5 watts)
As previously mentioned, Via is eyeing to market the chips to the UMPC and notebook crowd. Recent pronouncements that NVidia is working with Via for a chipset solution that will work natively with Via's Nano strengthens Via's claims that it will produce a platform that will be the cheapest Vista-capable solution in the market. A desktop version is not far off it seems. Via and NVidia are expected to announce the details of their venture by next week.

Jungle Disk Beta 4 Launches

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Jungle Disk announced Beta 4 of version 2.0. This round of updates changes the way Jungle Disk supports WebDAV to remedy errors that Mac users get when trying to upload files. Other minor fixes are also included in this update. Dave Wright further wrote, "The software itself is getting very near to release quality, so any users who have been interested in checking it out but concerned about the beta status may want to give this version a try."

You can download the latest beta here: http://www.jungledisk.com/betadownload.shtml

Linux Journal Swag at 40% Off

Thursday, May 29, 2008

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Linux Journal announced a 40% sale on store items. The sale last until June 1, Sunday. The announcement was posted here: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/40-sale-linux-journal-store. You can go directly to the store: http://www.linuxjournalshop.com/

Via Introduces OpenBook Mini-Note

Monday, May 26, 2008

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Via introduced the latest iteration of it's OpenBook series of ultra-mobile PCs, the OpenBook Mini-note. The reference design has an uncanny resemblance to the form factor of the HP 2133 Mini-Note, with the exception of the faster processor. Both designs share the 8.9" LCD screen configuration, with the Mini-note upping the ante by having provisions for built-in broadband connectivity to WiMAX, EV-DO, W-CDMA, or HSDPA services in addition to the now standard WiFi through a factory-configurable device module.

The Mini-note will be powered by a 1.6 GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor and will accommodate up to 2GBs of RAM. This is an offshoot perhaps of the decision to make it capable of supporting Windows Vista. Though the VIA VX800 Digital Media IGP chipset it has for video isn't the most powerful in the mobile computing space, it will certainly be enough to support DirectX 9.0 3D graphics up to a resolution of 1024x600. That being said, I would opine that it would comfortably work with MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, VCI and DiVX for the multi-media entertainment needs of prospective owners.

It would be exciting to see what final product OEM's and ODM's could produce from the reference design.

Intel Atom on the Desktop

Friday, May 23, 2008

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Word spread of the desktop implementation of the Atom platform when Engadget broke the news about the D945GCLF. It was followed by a post on Ars Technica and a blog post about the board being available in the UK. This will be the first desktop motherboard to support the Intel Atom. As I had posted a few months back, I knew that an Atom-based solution for desktops was very possible. Intel positioned itself well in the ultra-low power PC segment with it's introduction of the Intel D201GLY late last year and the Intel 201GLY2A earlier this year. It was only natural that it would tout its initial success with another low-power solution based off its newer technology.

The D945GCLF is already available for sale from TranquilPC for US$82. Complete systems based on the board can also be purchased from Tranquil PC and range from the US$358 T7 to the US$558 T2e.

Below are 3 videos that'll get you acquainted with the D945GCLF :









Update: The boards are starting to show up for sale online. Saw a listing on eBay for one. This one is being sold for $79.95

MSI Wind Pricing Pits it Against HP Mini-Note

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

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It may seem a little late to link to this post on Laptop Mag about the MSI Wind. But hey, I happen to think that this is an exciting product that deserves a place on this blog. Laptop Mag shares details of its interview with Andy Tung, MSI’s Director of US Sales. Tung shares some of his insight on how the Wind will compete in a market currently dominated by the Asus Eee PC.

I think they actually recognize the lead that Asus has, impacting MSI's decision to launch only the 10-inch version of the Wind in the US. I'm also of the opinion that it doesn't compete with the ASUS Eee PC 20G (8.9" Screen, 900 MHz Intel Mobile CPU, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB Solid State Drive) directly, but rather with pricier HP Mini-Note. The specs tell the story, and Laptop Mag supplies the MSI Winds specs on this page.

The Wind has a zippier 1.6 GHz Atom processor than the ASUS Eee PC's 900 MHz Celeron. It also supplies an 80GB hard drive that's plenty when compared to the ASUS' 20GB. So it really does aim to shoot at the HP Mini-Note. Versus the HP Mini-Note, the Wind trades you a faster Intel processor for less storage (the HP Mini-Note has a 120GB drive). MSI also knocked a few dollars off by bundling Suse Linux' enterprise version with the unit.

In the Philippines, the MSI Wind lists for price of Php 21,999.00 on one local shop's online pricelist. I'm actully waiting for an unboxing event from @adelgabot any day now.

Via PX5000EG and The Naked Pico

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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While we're talking about Via, watch this video feature about their latest Pico-ITX board. The PX5000EG uses an ultra-low voltage VIA Eden processor running off 1 watt of power. There's an announcement towards the end of the video about how to enter a contest to win your own Via Artigo Builder Kit.

Isaiah, Where Art Thou?

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A lot of news recently about Via's other products(most recently, its latest Pico-ITX board), but nary one about Isaiah-based products. Most of articles about the Isaiah have to do with conjecture at this point. No product announcements of any sort. That's opposed to Intel's Atom, with a few final products already announced and waiting to be launched. One of them, MSI's Wind was already launched in some countries, AFAIK. No announcements have been made of any Isaiah-powered product that will launch in the next few weeks.

When will they launch an updated Zonbu Mini Desktop with Isaiah in it? Any products that will compete with say the likes of the MSI Wind? Or at least a Via Artigo powered by the Isaiah chip? I'm waiting, still.

Jungle Disk Beta 3 Announced

Thursday, May 15, 2008

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Jungle Disk announced (rather quickly) it's 3rd beta release for Jungle Disk 2.0. (version 1.99c). This newest iteration already includes command-line capability that was for pushed back during the release of 1.99b. since it is still in beta, users are advised to still configure settings through Jungle Disk's GUI (Graphic User Interface).

Jungle Disk 2.0 will feature the following improvements over its predecessor:
  • Native support for Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • Extensive caching system for files and directories
  • Background upload, delete, copy, and move support
  • Desktop application for upload and download progress
  • Complete encryption for all data
  • Automatic restart of background operations in case of shutdown or crash
  • Support for automatic backup on a timed or manual basis
  • Automatic archival of old versions and deleted files
  • Support for multiple types of Amazon S3 buckets
You can download Jungle Disk Beta 3 here. The announcement can be read here.

MSI Titan 700 SFF Solution

Monday, May 12, 2008

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Not to be outdone in the small form factor (SFF) side of things, MSI has released its own entry into the low-power "green machine" market. Compared directly to the Zonbu Desktop Mini, the Titan 700 ups the ante by including a DVI output, a DVD Dual-RW drive, a 120GB 2.5" hard drive and 1GB of RAM. This is (in my opinion) as close to having a full desktop in a small form factor that still saves on power consumption. It's a bit pricey though, as to be expected. That may change as similar machines come to market. As it stands, this machine is definitely worth the money.

Incidentally, I found out about this product after reading a post on Net Traveller (you can read the article here). There also posts on the GameRoom Blog, Slash Gear and Engadget about it, mostly based on MSI's announcements.

Back to the Titan 700. If your into the nitty-gritty, the specs are listed in detail below:


MB Specification
PCB Size . Mini-ITX form factor, 170mmx170mm
CPU . VIA C7D (V4 Bus) NanoBGA2 , 2.0GHz
Chipset . North Bridge: VIA CN700
. South Bridge: VIA VT 8237R+
Memory

. DDR-2 400/533 SDRAM (1GB Max)
. 1 DIMMs DDRII memory slot

LAN . Realtek RTL-8110SC LAN 1Gb
Audio . AC97 CODEC by VIA VT1618, 5.1 channel audio output
IDE . Support Ultra DMA 66/100/133 mode
SATA . Support two SATAII 150MB/sec device
DVI . VIA , VT 1632AG
TV-Out . S-Video output by VIA VT1622AG
Barebone Specification
Front I/O . AC97 Mic-in x 1, Headphone-out x 1 , USB2.0 x 2
Rear I/O . PS2 x 2 (1 for Keyboard,1 for Mouse), Serial Port x 2, D-Sub15 VGA x 1, Mic-in x 1/ Line-in x 1 /Line-out x 1(5.1 channel), RJ45 LAN x1, USB2.0 x 2, TV Out x1, DVI x 1
Power Supply 60Watt Adapter, Active PFC
Driver Bay Support NB Slim ODD x1 and 2.5" HDD (Hidden )
Dimension 70mm(H) x 185mm(W) x 240mm(D) (with Bezel) ; Volume ,3.1 Liter
System Configuration
ODD . slim type, SATA Supermulti DVD Dual RW
HDD . 2.5", SATA HDD 120GB
DDR2 . 1GB DDR2, 533 MHz

Jungle Disk Release 2.0 Beta to Public

Friday, May 9, 2008

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Jungle Disk just announced the beta release of its version 2.0 . Right now it's version number is unofficially 1.99b, so it's almost there :-)

Jungle Disk is backup software that lets you create backups of your files using Amazon.com's S3 Storage Service to store your data securely. All your data is encrypted before it travels up to the clouds and it's multi-platform so you can use it on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The backups can be scheduled or automatic. You can install the software in as many machines as you want, but you have to pay a one-time $20 fee. The basic idea is you pay for the software one time and you get a lifetime of updates to it. The storage fees are billed from Amazon.com S3 and depend on the actual storage you consume. The storage fees are calculated at $0.15 per gigabyte-month of storage used. That's cheap storage and comes from a reliable service. What more can you ask for, eh?

Read about the full announcement from: Jungle Disk 2.0 Beta 2 (1.99b) Released

Install Ubuntu Within Windows Using Wubi

Thursday, May 8, 2008

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Shawn Powers just posted another video on how to install Linux within Windows without ever mucking around the hard drive partitions. Here's the video, enjoy:



OpenOffice.Org 3.0 Beta Released

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

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Great news! OpenOffice.Org 3.0 Beta was released today. The most notable (at least for me) are support for OpenDocument Format (ODF) version 1.2 and opening files created with MS-Office 2007 (or MS-Office 2008 if you're using the Mac OS X). There are tons of other improvements under the hood and you can you can check out the exhaustive list of new features from this page: http://marketing.openoffice.org/3.0/featurelistbeta.html.

They're inviting everyone to help test the beta. You can download it from this site: http://download.openoffice.org/3.0beta.

Now Open to Experimenting

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

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Now that I am selling my computer and preparing to use older donated hardware that would otherwise not find useful life in the hands of another geek (that was a mouthful, bear with me), I'm now open to experimenting with something more optimized for older hardware. The prime candidate would be any of the Slackware-based distros.

Slackware is recognized as the world's oldest surviving Linux distribution. It's also reputed to be the leanest of them all, owing to the fact that they have maintained a heritage of not customizing packages to a point that weighs down a distro a certain way. It's a preferred development distro in that respect because Slackware developers build and install packages using tar.gz (instead of custom packages like RPM's or Deb's). Tar packages can be installed and used by most *nix systems without modifications, sans custom interfaces.

I have a few choices. There's Slackware itself which just released version 12.1. PuppyLinux is another one, the choice of people wanting to run a fairly recent version of Linux on older hardware. PuppyLinux just released 4.0, by the way. VectorLinux is something I've used recently and I think I might go that way. They released 5.9 a few months back. A mini-review of mine was even featured in their reviews page. I haven't tried Zenwalk in a while and it'd be interesting to see what they've done in the intervening years from the last time I tried it. Zenwalk 5.0 is fairly new, having been released last January. An updated version of their live CD, Zenwalk Live 5.0.1, was recently posted as well.

With these choices, who would say with confidence that running older hardware is passe?

Intel and AMD, Price War Anew?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

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Sunday's announcement by Intel came as a surprise to me. I first read about it in a Twitter update to my mobile phone. I immediately went online to check the details. The highest cuts were on the higher-end CPU's and some of the prices were brought down by as much as 50%. The lower-end chips, the segment I have particular interest in, were brought down by about 10%. This is really aggressive pricing by Intel. With prices like these, it's now actually possible to build a budget quad-core machine. The most notable price drops were in specific models, probably to target similarly spec'd CPU's from AMD's line-up. Some of them were: Xeon 3230, from $530 to $266 (50% drop); Core 2 Quad Q6700, from $530 to $266 (51% drop); Core 2 Duo E6850, from $266 to $183 (31% drop); Pentium Dual-Core E2200 from $84 to $74 (12% drop); and the Pentium Dual-Core E2180 from $74 to $64 (14% drop). You can go to this link to view the whole list: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/10/101302/April_20_08_pricelist.pdf

Today's announcement by AMD pales in comparison. They announced a refreshed line-up for their triple-core Phenom chips. You can view the press announcement here: http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543_15434~125200,00.html. The price cuts by Intel in a way threaten the brilliant marketing move by AMD to segment the multi-core market. Initially, it seemed like a great idea. Create a sub-segment for people moving from dual-core but can't afford a quad-core processor, or otherwise think x4 is priced too high. It's rather unfortunate that something so brilliant could be usurped by something as simple as a price cut.

Did you hear about the hunger crisis?

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Hi,

The world hunger crisis is all over the news this week. In just three years, the price of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice has almost doubled. If we don't do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into extreme poverty.

I just took action with the ONE Campaign and you can too, here:

http://www.one.org/hungercrisis?rc=hctaf

Thinking of Overclocking?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

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Here are three helpful videos from ExtremeTech.com to aid you in your quest:

1. Overclocking101, Part 1 (Choosing the Right Components) -
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2280739,00.asp

2. Overclocking101, Part 2 (Cooling Solutions) -
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2282532,00.asp

3. Overclocking101,
Part 3 (Overclocking via BIOS) -
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2285306,00.asp

$300-ish Budget PC

Sunday, April 20, 2008

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Hot on the heels of my post on building a relatively cheap dual-core system that can double as a multimedia machine, I've decided to post what I'm recommending to a friend looking to build a budget system. Considerations for this build were the common tasks this machine was going to be used for. He would use it to play DVD's, internet browsing and office work. His wife would use it for her Adobe Photoshop projects and printing.

I recommend this set-up because of the low-power draw from this AMD AM2 ATHLON 64 LE-1620. Another side benefit of choosing this particular processor is its ability to overclock, should the need arise that is. These processors actually overclock quite a bit, as proved by this post in XtremeSystems.org. The memory requirement for this is build is kept to a single 1GB DDR2 module from Geil because he'll be using Windows XP . Together with the software he will be using, a Gig is comfortable enough. Storage is relative conservative as well, owing to the fact that he won't be storing multimedia content. He'll be playing DVD's and storing family pictures. That's it. Before he uses up the space on that 160GB Seagate drive, prices for the 500 GB SATA drive would have dropped and an upgrade would be relatively cheap. The LG GSA-H55N will allow him to back-up his data and movie downloads. Playback on a living room DVD set-top unit is also a consideration so DVD±RW burner would be ideal.

These specs may seem sparse, but the main consideration is to keep the budget around the Php 10,000 mark. That's sub-$300 to you folks in the US. The following hits it right at the sweet-spot:

The prices are in Philippine pesos and quoted from Enigma Technologies, a local store in Angeles City, Pampanga. If you click on the links above, you'll see the prices for US online retailers. Couldn't find the EMAXX NF7050HD-PRO listed on any US online retailer. The ABIT AN-M2HD (Nvidia NF7050) board would be comparable, albeit pricier option. Also, Geil RAM isn't so popular in the US either. Kingston ValueRAM would be of a comparable quality and more widely available. Going by US prices, this build would cost around $340.00 and a few cups of coffee.

So there you go.

Ubuntu 8.04 Release Candidate is Out

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I've eagerly anticipating the release of Hardy Heron, counting down the days these past two weeks. I've accumulated so much gunk in my hard-drive that I've needed to reinstall for some time now. I keep putting it off because I want to reinstall with Hardy Heron's final release on the 24th. I'm fighting off the temptation to go on and download the RC. I know it's just a simple "sudo apt-get-update" to get the final release in 5 days, but I prefer installing from the final release. I still can get over a bad install a few years back. I did an upgrade after installing the RC a few days before the release. I somehow broke the system during the upgrade. Besides, I want to see what's new in the install for myself. I've turned into someone who does enjoy the install process :-)

Via Isaiah, Intel Atom Benchmarked

Saturday, April 19, 2008

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Engadget linked to a translated German site showing that the Via Isaiah edged out Intel's Atom in benchmarks they performed. Now, these results may seem slanted towards making Isaiah look good, but bear in mind that these tests performed were limited to ALU and FPU benchmarks. One CPU is bound to get an edge over the other depending on how the internal instructions of the chips handle math and so forth. I guess every geek out there who has staked an interest in these low-power processors is waiting for a more conclusive set of benchmarking, but that'll come in time. These chips aren't as widely available as we'd like, after all. Most of the samples (for both) have been sent to manufacturers, OEM's and ODM's. As the market churns out UMPCs, mobile phones and sub-notebooks using these 2 processors, more extensive benchmarks can be performed. I eagerly await for that to come.

Here's a screenshot of the result from the benchmarking they performed:

Palm Centro Give-away Contest

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I received an email from Palm announcing the Palm Centro. I was intrigued, needless to say. So I checked the Palm Philippines site and sure enough it was already there! the email even contained an invite for a contest, and up for grabs is a Palm Centro. Anyone can join. Catch is, you'll need to be sent an email invite by someone who was previously sent an invite. This must be a campaign by Palm to see if word-by-mouth marketing still produces the buzz they need when launching a new product. So post a comment here (with your email) and I'll send you an invite. Don't worry, my comments are moderated, so if you do not wish to have your comment published just say so.

Building an Energy-Efficient Dual-Core Box, Relatively Cheap

Thursday, April 17, 2008

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I've been remiss with my goal last year to post my recommended "monthly" build. So to tie it all up, I decided to make a wish list of sorts. This is how I would spec a compromise between an energy-efficient set-up and a comparably powerful machine. The considerations were an energy-efficient processor from AMD, a single hard-drive that had room for growth and a small enough footprint that would make it ideal for a regular-sized office desk.

The AMD Athlon BE line of processors have a TDP of 45 Watts, one of the lowest in today's bunch of mainstream processors. Adding a single large hard drive saves a few watts, compared to adding more hard drives later on. Using a SATA-300 drive will also make the set-up run faster. A small case is largely aesthetic, but it does make for a better office desk at home. Another consideration was a fairly recent motherboard (from a reputable manufacturer) that would make your set-up upgradeable for the foreseeable future. The board I chose also has onboard graphics (based on the latest AMD 780G chipset) that's powerful enough for casual gaming and hi-definition movie playback, so you save on having to buy a graphics card.

Now, on to my list:
That comes to a grand total of $507.05. The set-up is fairly powerful that you can live with it for at least the next 3 years. It will be capable enough that you can run virtualized environments and run different operating systems all at once. Cost was another consideration and I tried as much as possible to balance cost with fairly recent technology to make it as upgradeable as possible. So, tell me what you think?

Linux is "Sexy, Smart and Cheap"

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

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Shawn Powers just posted a funny article on Linux Journal about his love affair with Linux. You can read him outline the reasons why he thinks Linux is sexy, smart and cheap from this article. Granted that he's a bit biased, but for the most part he's actually right. The whole affair of playing around with Linux is like falling in love with something. You can never get enough of it and the experience enriches you to no end, frustrations and triumphs included. One can never really describe it and can only understand it once one experiences it for real. Aye, love indeed! Give it a read. :-)

165 Linux Apps Running Simultaneously

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First there was the video about 100 apps running on Vista:


Then a screenshot of 150 apps running on a Mac.

Now we have 165 apps running on Linux (180, if you count the doubled-up windows):



Linux "pwns" them, hands down :-)

NVIDIA-Via Join Forces to Fend Off Intel and AMD

Monday, April 14, 2008

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NVIDIA has released more details about the much-touted tie-up with Via in this article from CNET.com. The deal would pit a combo of NVIDIA's soon to be released IGP and Via's Isaiah with the existing discreet graphics products of AMD and Intel. This comes at a crucial time for NVIDIA. Analysts are starting to question the long-term viability of their products in the face of increasing consolidation on the part of AMD and Intel to include graphics into their individual product offerings.

To stress the cost benefits of this future platform, NVIDIA is drawing direct cost comparisons with Intel's existing IGP solutions for multimedia-enabled machines. They say their solution would perform better compared to a similarly-priced option from Intel. Here's a copy of the comparison they presented to analysts at a recent event:


This development is an interesting historical point in the evolution of the role IGP solutions will play in the ever-heightening green consciousness of consumers. It also emphasizes the need for cheaper but better hardware to deal with the demand of current household computing needs. To be more specific, today's computer must be able to play multimedia content and be cheap enough to be adopted in the home. NVIDIA and Via are in effect creating a product platform that will appeal to both green computing advocates and cost-conscious consumers. This post in Ubergizmo also opines that this increases NVIDIA's chances of fending off moves by Intel and AMD to consolidate graphics into their own platforms, thus ensuring they will still be relevant to the PC for the foreseeable future.

I think I'll put off upgrading until this is released. This is even better than I had hoped for. The low-power features of Via's Isaiah combined with NVIDIA chipset. Having both in a single board will surely perform well on the graphics end and still save on power consumption. This will turn out as the perfect solution for my needs. I'm thinking a Zonbu based off this platform would be even better.

Windows Games on Your Linux Box

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Here's a video feature from Linux Journal about playing Windows-only games on your Linux box. Enjoy!

D201GLY2A or Athlon LE-1620? Upgrade or Downgrade

Sunday, April 13, 2008

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I've been mulling over getting a modest upgrade for weeks now. Upgrade is a misnomer though, as I have been thinking about getting an Intel D201GLY2A. All this thinking about getting a low-power processor has got me wanting a processor that can cut my energy consumption to a lower rate. Certainly, at this point any other fairly modern processor would outperform my current Sempron 3000+ in terms of performance-per-watt. I have come across information online that may influence my decision to stick to the AMD platform. Undervolting seems to be a viable option for cutting power consumption. As far as I can tell, Powernow and Cool'n'Quiet aren't supported by my current processor, so undervolting my current rig might not be all that feasible.

The dilemma for me is picking a processor that will give me better performance-per-watt while keeping my PC relatively flexible. The Intel D201GLY2A saves on power, no doubt. But it does so at the cost of hobbling how flexible your system is when it comes to adding components. Memory is limited to 1 slot capable of taking only 1 Gig of RAM. There is only one PCI slot. No provisions for adding a video card, should I want to in the future. I'd still like to maintain a certain level of flexibility when building systems, so going for the D201GLY2A feels like a downgrade. I also doubt it would work with virtualization effectively. I've taken an interest on virtualization only recently and would like to experiment with it some more.

So right now, I am thinking of upgrading to an Athlon LE-1620. That processor gives me a lot of headroom, with a GHz performance jump from 1.6 to 2.4. Switching processors will also lower the TDP from 62 watts to 45 watts. Adding Cool'n'Quiet and the tickless kernel will increase the efficiency as well. The AMD Sempron LE-1150 is my second choice. It's TDP is also 45 watts, so I'm looking at the same kind of power savings coupled with a less dramatic jump in processing power. The downside of the AMD Sempron LE-1150 is that it does not support virtualization on-chip. I'd be stuck with VMWare Server. I'd been wanting to try KVM for a while now because it is much more efficient in handling system resources. Anyway, 20 watts is a lot when considering the long-term. Both AMD processors offer that benefit at least, while maintaining a comfortable level of felxibility. Overall, upgrading would be worth the extra money.

Care to share your view on the subject?
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