My Techview
My Techview publish the latest & future information, communication technology related news, plus My Tips: a little tips based on the review.
Please visit again for further updates! Thank You!
My Techview
USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0 will create a backward-compatible standard with the same ease-of-use and plug and play capabilities of previous USB technologies. Targeting over 10x performance increase, the technology will draw from the same architecture of wired USB. In addition, the USB 3.0 specification will be optimized for low power and improved protocol efficiency. USB 3.0 ports and cabling will be designed to enable backward compatibility as well as future-proofing for optical capabilities.
The new standard for USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB, has released the specifications for its next major upgrade. USB 3.0 is meant to surpass its current predecessor USB 2.0, which supports up to 480 Mbps data transfer. The USB 3.0 will support speeds up to 4.8 Gbps, roughly 10 times faster than USB 2.0.
The new standard is expected to be more power-efficient over its predecessor. Your old devices will not be garbage just yet, since USB 3.0 will be fully backwards compatible with your old devices, supporting USB 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0.
The switch over from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 on your hardware will hopefully take place late in 2009, where media devices will be the first to see the upgrade in things such as, external hard drives, flash drives, digital cameras, and personal media players.
The anticipated Bluetooth 3.0 is gearing up to be launched this month, on the 21st, according to Wi-Fi Net News. Currently, there is no official list of chip-makers who have partnered up to make this all possible, but it's expected to be released along with the specification later this month.
So, what does this mean for us? Well, first and foremost, dramatically improved Bluetooth speeds. Bluetooth 3.0 will make transferring files a lot faster, because it uses 802.11 technology, and can switch between the faster standard and the slower, previous standard. When the new chip finds another chip or computer that uses the faster 802.11 standard, they both switch to that option and transfer the files needed. Upon doing so, they shift back to the slower standard, to save battery life. This option works without any need to connect to a wireless network to help speed things up, also.
It won't take long for devices to start showing up with the new standard, after the formal announcement, so a better way to wirelessly transfer files isn't far off, folks. Once the official announcement is made, apparently the group behind the standard, the Bluetooth SIG, will have a bunch of products ready to sample.
Intel Corporation announced that desktop processors based on the company's upcoming new microarchitecture (codenamed "Nehalem") will be formally branded "Intel® Core™ processor." The first products in this new family of processors, including an "Extreme Edition" version, will carry an "i7" identifier and will be formally branded as "Intel® Core™ i7 processor." This is the first of several new identifiers to come as different products launch over the next year.
Products based on the new microarchitecture will deliver high performance and energy efficiency. This "best of both worlds" approach is expected to extend Intel's processor leadership in future mobile, desktop and server market segments.
The Intel Core processor brand name has gained broad awareness, preference, and market momentum over the past several years. The Intel Core name remains the logical choice for Intel's latest family of processors. The Intel Core i7 processor brand logo will be available for high-performance desktop PCs with a separate black logo for Intel's highest-end "Extreme Edition." Intel will include processor model numbers to differentiate each chip.
Initial products based on this microarchitecture are expected to be in production in the fourth quarter of this year. These processors will feature Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, also known as simultaneous multi-threading, and are capable of handling eight software "threads" on four processor cores.
As shown at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), the industry's first working chips built using 32 nanometer (nm) technology, with transistors so small that more than 4 million of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. Intel's 32nm process technology is on track to begin production in 2009 used in Westmere, the next processor generation after Nehalem. Intel's 32nm test chips incorporate logic and memory (static random access memory --SRAM) to house more than 1.9 billion transistors. The 32nm process uses the company's second-generation high-k and metal gate transistor technology.
Intel also demonstrated for the first time the next-generation chip architecture codenamed Nehalem which uses the element Hafnium instead of silicon in some of the parts transistors inside the processor die, due out next year. The Nehalem architecture will extend Intel's leadership in performance and performance-per-watt benchmarks, and will be the first Intel processor to use the QuickPath Interconnect system architecture. Quickpath will include integrated memory controller technology and improved communication links between system components to significantly improve overall system performance. A new bus and memory controller means a new socket design. Existing motherboards are not compatible with Nehalem-based processors. The new desktop socket, labeled LGA1366, will completely replace the existing LGA775 interconnect. Nehalem is an entirely new architecture that leverages Intel's Core Microarchitecture, bringing leading-edge performance advantages, power efficiency and important new server features to market just a year after Intel leads the industry to 45nm technology.
Intel desktop iteration of 45nm quad-core Nehalem, Bloomfield processors will feature eight cores with two threads each on a single die, support three DDR3 channels. Bloomfield will feature less cache than Intel's high-end 45nm Penryn offerings slated for release between now and Q4 2008. However, unlike the 12MB L2 cache featured on Penryn, the 8MB L3 cache on all Nehalem offerings can be shared between all four on-die cores. Hyper-Threading will make its long awaited return with Nehalem. Nehalem will allow the operating system to dynamically power down threads -- so while an eight-core Nehalem processor will appear as 16 logical cores to the operating system, these threads can be powered down on-demand. Like AMD's Barcelona architecture, Nehalem will allow the operating system to dynamically power and sleep other components of the processor including individual cores and cache components.
Intel plans to launch three Nehalem-based quad-core processors (Bloomfield) at the end of the fourth quarter this year targeting the company's new LGA1366 socket, according to sources at motherboard makers. Although official model names have not yet been set, the CPUs are currently identified by the codenames XE, P1 and MS3 with core frequencies of 3.2GHz, 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz, respectively. All three have a TDP of 130W, 8MB L3 cache and will support simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) technology, the sources detailed. The company will also launch the X58 and ICH10 chipset combination in the fourth quarter to support these processors. The new platform is expected to increase performance by 15-30% compared to current generation products. The X58 chipset will adopt Intel's latest QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) architecture replacing its longstanding FSB design. The new platform will also feature four PCI Express 8x slots and support AMD's Quad CrossFireX technology, however it is still unknown whether Intel will be able to license Nvidia's SLI technology too.
The next version of Intel's vPro enterprise desktop platform codenamed McGreary. The platform is scheduled to ship in the second half of 2008. McGreary offers better management and security for business users in an effort to cut back on the number of costly site visits by IT support staff. The current Weybridge version of the platform supports only dual-core processors, but McGreary will expand this to dual-core and quad-core processors. The platform will also introduce version 5.0 of Intel's Active Management Technology, and a new chipset codenamed Eaglelake. Eaglelake features an integrated Trusted Platform Module, and is currently a separate component in vPro systems.
Intel also planning to launch a new desktop processor for its upcoming Skulltrail motherboard, a high-end enthusiast and gaming platform, according to sources at motherboard makers.
The quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX9775 has frequency of 3.2GHz, supports 1600MHz FSB, and uses the server-based socket 771, according to the sources. The new CPU is based on an Intel Xeon server processor and Intel will use SMP technology enable to Skulltrail to support up to two quad-core CPUs for enthusiast players in the desktop market, according to the sources.
However, with the cost of a Skulltrail platform and two supporting CPUs reaching several thousand US$, the sources expect Skulltrail to break benchmark records, rather than sales ones, although the platform may be popular in the workstation market. For mobile platform, Centrino2 & Centrino2 Pro with penryn processor model start with QX(Quad-Core Extreme Segment), X(Extreme Segment), T(Mobile Highly Performance Segment), L(Mobile Highly Energy Efficient Segment), U(Mobile Ultra High Energy Efficient Segment).
Penryn, along with the Atom (code-name Silverthorne) family of 45nm processors will have the small feature size, low-power requirements and high-performance capabilities to meet a wide variety of computing needs from handheld Internet computers to high-end servers. a version of a Penryn dual-core processor operating at 25 watts will be available on the Centrino Atom (code-name Montevina) platform, which will include Intel's mobile WiMAX silicon. For Centrino2 & Centrino2 Pro (Montevina), penryn processor model will start with new code: P(Power Optimized Energy Efficient Higher Performance Segment), SP(Small Package Power Optimized Energy Efficient Higher Performance Segment), SL(Small Package Highly Energy Efficient Segment) and SU(Small Package Ultra High Energy Efficient Segment). Several equipment manufacturers are already planning to introduce Montevina-based notebook PCs when the platform is introduced. Overall, WiMAX is expected to reach more than 1 billion people worldwide by 2012.
In other news, Intel has updated its processor schedule in will begin to phase out its Core 2 Extreme QX6850 and 6800 after July this year, the sources revealed. Additionally, the performance-level quad-core Q9550 and Q9650 will both phase out in the first quarter of 2009. Intel will leave its quad-core Yorkfield processors for the mainstream market and their life cycle will not end until the end of fourth quarter 2009. Finally, Intel was originally planning to mass produce its dual-core Atom 330 processor in July, however, due to shortages of the single-core Atom 230, the company has postponed the launch to at least September this year, will release further planning in August, the sources said.
If you are planning to buy a new cpu for long terms (3-5 years), go for high performance, power-optimized Intel 45nm Core microarchitecture Core 2 Duo E7x00/E8xx0-series, Core 2 Quad Q9xx0-series & Core 2 Extreme QX9xxx-series processors lineup.
All these processors work best & support new operating system - Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7, Apple Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard & Open Source Linux new kernel 2.6.32, all added advantage for both 32 & 64-bit platform and virtualization technology.
Intel® as a leader in integrated graphics release a number of chipsets while AMD also release some:
DirectX 10.1 - At SIGGRAPH 2007 conference Microsoft announced the details of the new DirectX updates version 10.1. They pointed out that to ensure full support of DirectX 10.1 you need not only to install Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, but you may also need to replace a graphics card. Contemporary graphics accelerators from Nvidia GeForce 8800 and AMD/ATI Radeon 2900 may not support all the new features added to Direct3D 10.1 but DirectX 10.1 will be fully compatible with all graphics cards supporting DirectX 10. In addition, the new graphic chips that support DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.1 and PCI Express 2.0 will available in January 2008. Vista users have to understand that DirectX 10.1, as well as DirectX 10 is a technology intimately connected with the underlying graphics card, such as the upcoming ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series. According to an AMD whitepaper focused on the implementation of DirectX 10.1 in the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series, the latest application programming interface from Microsoft, manages to "unlock the state of the art in GPU technology.
If you are planning to buy a new graphics accelerator for long terms (3-5 years), go for AMD® (ATI) Radeon™ HD 4000/3000-series lineup which support new PCI Express® 2.0 DirectX® 10.1 & Shader Model 4.1 in Microsoft Windows Vista SP1. With at least 512MB of DDR2 ram, real 3D gaming experience and playing HD contents is in your control.
Several industry sources have confirmed that a very early version of Windows 7, previously code-named Blackcomb Vienna, already has been shipped to “key partners” as a Build 6936 code drop for validation purposes. A roadmap indicates that the new operating system will be introduced in the second half of 2009.
While it has generally been believed that Windows 7 was scheduled for a 2010 debut, Microsoft has revised the roadmap and apparently moved up the release date by a few months: A recently distributed roadmap of the OS lists a release to manufacturing in H2 2009. Microsoft declined to comment on this date.
If Microsoft will be able to keep the H2 2009 RTM (and most likely) release date in place, the company will have two busy. The M2 code drop is currently scheduled for April/May 2008, M3 will follow in the third quarter. The dates for the first Beta and the release candidate are still listed as “To be determined” but it doesn’t take much to see that the first beta versions could become available a year from now.
We will have more clarity on when we could see Windows 7 going into production will when Microsoft announces Windows Logo Program Changes for Windows 7. According to the policy of the firm, these changes will be announced 18 months prior to the scheduled RTM.
There are very few pieces of information about Windows 7 and the features it will bring available at this time. So far, we have heard only about new touchscreen features as well as – and probably most interesting – MinWin, a much smaller kernel of the operating system that takes up only 40 MB of memory.
The GUI is very much like Vista. The system is very responsive, using barely 480MB of memory after boot. Gadgets are now integrated into explorer. You can right click on desktop and select “Add Gadget” or “Hide Gadget”. There is a new gadget called “Windows Media Center” that displays now playing information from the WMC. On the same menu, “Display” is added above “Personalization” which gives you direct access to display DPI settings. The page is much more polished than the one in Vista.
The start menu features a pin besides each item. Clicking on it toggles pinning/unpinning the item. Search in explorer is now states where you search within (usually being within the folder, as in Vista). You can now, however, adjust the size of the search box. XAML fonts, called the “Composite Fonts” are now added to the font folder. Perhaps WPF will be much more prominent in this release. A new application is added, dubbed the “XPS Viewer”, no surprises, either.
Then finally, something interesting came up: the feedback tool. The feedback tool lists the “pillars” of Win 7. You can see that Microsoft is aiming to fine tune this release as the case in XP rather than technological advancement as in 2K. highlights include”network aware”, with improved connection tools and detections. It will have the ability to detect which network you’re in and switch your settings and devices accordingly; With Live account, you can carry your IE settings and favorites with you; Gadget data caching; New Calculator, Paint, and Wordpad using WPF; install to desktop in 10 mins with only 1 reboot; instant streaming; better battery mileage, etc. All descriptions are scenario-based, so what will actually turn up is still yet to know.
A new boot screen does show up, finally. A full screen Vista-logon screen like boot screen with a beam scrolling across the whole screen near the bottom. Looks nice but reminds me of Win9x (well since XP we’ve been in the “dark”, so surprised to see such a bright boot screen)!
Here are some end-user features you can expect to see in Internet Explorer 8:
Activities
Activities are contextual services to quickly access a service from any webpage. Users typically copy and paste from one webpage to another. Internet Explorer 8 Activities make this common pattern easier to do. Activities typically involve two types of scenarios: "look up" information within a webpage or "send" web content to a web application. For example, a user is interested in a restaurant and wants to see the location of it. This is the form of a "look up" Activity where the user selects the address and views an in-place view of the map using his favorite map service. An example of a "send" Activity is a user reads an interesting article and wants to blog about a portion of the article. The user can select a portion of the article and uses the blog Activity. This navigates to the user’s blog site with the selection already available in the edit field. Activities are services that the user can install and manage. Users can install them from the Internet Explorer 8 Service Guide or through any website that advertises Activities.
WebSlices
WebSlices is a new feature for websites to connect to their users by subscribing to content directly within a webpage. WebSlices behave just like feeds where clients can subscribe to get updates and notify the user of changes. Internet Explorer 8 Users can discover WebSlices within a webpage and add them to the Favorites bar, a dedicated row below the Address bar for easy access to links. Internet Explorer 8 subscribes to the webpage, detects changes in the WebSlice, and notifies the user of updates. Users can preview these updates directly from the Favorites bar and click-through to the website to get more information.
Favorites Bar
In Internet Explorer 7, the Links bar provided users with one-click access to their favorite sites. The Links bar has undergone a complete makeover for Internet Explorer 8. It has been renamed the Favorites bar to enable users to associate this bar as a place to put and easily access all their favorite web content such as links, feeds, WebSlices and even Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. A user can easily add a link to the Favorites bar by using the Add to Favorites button and selecting the Add to Favorites Bar option.
Automatic Crash Recovery
Automatic Crash Recovery (ACR) is a feature of Windows®Internet Explorer® 8 that can help to prevent the loss of work and productivity in the unlikely event of the browser crashing or hanging. The ACR feature takes advantage of the Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer feature to provide new crash recovery capabilities, such as tab recovery, which will minimize interruptions to users’ browsing sessions.
Improved Phishing Filter
Internet Explorer 7 introduced the Phishing Filter, a feature which helps warn users when they visit a Phishing site. Phishing sites spoof a trusted legitimate site, with the goal of stealing the user’s personal or financial information. For Internet Explorer 8, we are building on the success of the Phishing Filter with a more comprehensive feature called the "Safety Filter." The Safety Filter continues to block known Phishing sites and now blocks sites known to contain malicious software that could harm users’ computer or steal their information. Beyond this improved protection, the Safety Filter operates more quickly than ever before to ensure that users can browse both safely and quickly. For IT administrators, new Group Policy options are available to remove the user-override option and fully block access to known unsafe sites.
Internet Explorer 8 can be installed on Microsoft Windows Vista® Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Vista, Windows XP® Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Server® 2008 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).
Microsoft Windows Vista is the successor of Windows XP, the much delay operating system is the latest release and break through since Windows 95 & XP. Let us take a look at all the "Wow". The brand new Windows Aero user interface with a glass-like theme & Flip 3D visual effect thanks to Avalon & Indigo graphics engine plus DirectX 10. Windows Photo Gallery make it easy to view, organize, edit, share, and print digital pictures. Windows
Vista is more responsive with SuperFetch technology by preloading programs into memory. ReadyBoost & ReadyDrive use flash-based memory
as temporary storage which much faster than retrieve data stored in hard disk let you boot-up windows and startup program services faster.
Newly added search capability search files and folders anytime you want. Vista also organize files & folders more effective. Apart of
that, the improved security features such as Windows Defender, User Account Control & BitLocker Drive Encryption also make it more
secure than any other version of windows. It combine mobile, tablet and media center PC features for user convenient. Better sync, sharing,
networking, backup and restore, able to make DVD movies plus home entertainment are important for nowadays daily lifestyle. It also
included new Internet Explorer 7 & Windows Media Player 11. Microsoft Windows Vista included Windows Experience Index (WEI) to rate the
system overall performance by the lowest subscore as base score of each system. Overall, Vista is the best operating system with rich features.
SP2 for Windows Vista represents Microsoft’s continuing commitment to quality. While most updates contained in SP2 are available as individual downloads, the roll-up convenience of SP2 is a major benefit for administrators. This functionality coupled with new advanced deployment features, such as the single installer and the pre-installation analyzer, means SP2 continues to provide ongoing improvements that our customers have grown to expect from Microsoft
Windows Vista® Service Pack 2 include all the previously released updates for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. Many of these updates are available to the public on the Microsoft® Download Center and Windows® Update, while others are only available to specific customers or partners. It is a standard practice to include all of these updates in a service pack, and they are included in Windows Vista Service Pack 2.
Windows Vista introduces a breakthrough user experience and is designed to help you feel confident in your ability to view, find, and organize information and to control your computing experience. The visual sophistication of Windows Vista helps streamline your computing experience by refining common window elements so you can better focus on the content on the screen rather than on how to access it. The desktop experience is more informative, intuitive, and helpful. And new tools bring better clarity to the information on your computer, so you can see what your files contain without opening them, find applications and files instantly, navigate efficiently among open windows, and use wizards and dialog boxes more confidently.
The Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is now available to the public. In addition to previously released updates, SP2 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several new technologies. SP2 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges.
Microsoft continuously improves the Windows Vista Operating System by providing ongoing updates while working with software and hardware vendors to help them to deliver improved compatibility, reliability and performance. Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) is another vehicle that Microsoft will use to deliver operating system improvements to customers. Windows Vista SP2 is an update to Windows Vista that, along with improvements delivered to users via these other channels, addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP2 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista.
As we have mentioned before, here are some of the key benefits of Windows Vista SP2:
The Premium Ready (able to run Windows Aero user interface) system requirements for Windows Vista SP2 :
If you are planning to buy or just bought a computer or laptop, make sure it comes with a genuine Microsoft Windows Vista with holograms licence attached. If not, Windows Vista will remind you to buy genuine and activate your windows by changing your wallpaper to black and pop-up a reminder hourly. To avoid these and get update service and support from microsoft, please buy a retail version of it.
Microsoft seems to be preparing to release an unusual "Plus! Pack" for Windows Vista on February 15th. Based on the provided box art, the Plus! Pack appears to be a collection of four casual games that are "Enhanced for Windows Vista". The listing for the software was found on Future Shop's online catalog. Details below:
Releases on 15 February 08. User-friendly software combines the features of Vista Home Basic with even more impressive and user-friendly capabilities. Features Windows Aero, an efficient and visually stunning interface that makes it easier to accomplish multiple tasks at once by providing a three-dimensional, real-time, animated view of all of your open applications and documents.
Features:
SuperSpeed USB 3.0
USB Implementers Forum
USB 3.0 Contributors
Bluetooth 3.0 Standard Launches This Month
Bluetooth Special Interest Group
The official website for the Bluetooth
Multi-core Core i7
My Tips:
DirectX 10 & 10.1 HD Graphics
The new generation of graphics card that support DirectX® 10 and High Definition (HD) is now available from both Nvidia and AMD. DirectX® 10 is exclusive built-in for Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ and 10.1 only available in Service Pack 1 (SP1) of Windows® Vista™ in 2008. Note that Windows XP Service Pack 3 will release in 2008, but DirectX® 9.0c will not update to DirectX® 10 or 10.1.
Nvidia® offer the latest graphics engine GeForce® GTX 200/ GeForce® 9/9M GeForce® 8/8M series:
AMD® (ATI) just release Radeon™ HD 4000/3000/2000/ Mobility Radeon™ HD 3000/2000 series:
These cards enhance the stunning Windows Aero™ user interface with a powerful performance upgrade from integrated graphics. All of the cards come with at least 128MB of dedicated DDR2 RAM require by Windows Vista.
Intel® Fast Memory Access & Intel® Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0(DVMT) allows for up to 384MB shared memory being allocated to the graphics engine. This provides more memory for intensive applications for maximum system performance.
My Tips:
nVIDIA Geforce 8/ 9/ GTX 200 Series
AMD ATI Redeon HD 2000/ HD 3000/ HD 4000 Series
Intel Graphics Chipsets
AMD Integrated Chipsets
Build 7137
Windows 7 RC Build 7100
Windows 7 Build 7137 Screenshots
Windows 7 Retail Box Screenshots
Windows 7 wallpaper
Windows 7 Team Blog
Internet Explorer 8
Introducing Compatibility View
Internet Explorer 8 Home
Internet Explorer 8 Download
Windows Vista SP2
My Tips:
Windows Vista
Windows Vista: The Facts
Windows Vista Team Blog
Vista SP2 release notes
Downloads @ My Se7en
Windows Vista Plus! Pack
Note that the price of $39.99 is in Canadian dollars since Future Shop is a Canadian home electronics store.
|
*All sources/products linked on this site are/may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies in the United States and/or other countries and/or protected by US and/or International laws. Some sources/products are alpha, beta, demo, trial, preview release, release candidate that not supported by their respective companies and this site, use on your own risk! **Best view with Internet Explorer 7.0 and above with 1024 X 768 screen resolution, compatible with Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above, Safari 3.0 and above, Opera 9.0 and above & Google Chrome 1.0 and above.
|