PC retailer Eurocom plans to ship Intel Core i7 laptops, which the chip maker has dubbed the "fastest processor on this planet".
The Eurocom D900F Phantom i7 will include Intel's Nehalem-based quad-core Core i7 chips, which are typically put in servers and high-end gaming desktops. The laptops will ship on May 1, according to the Canadian PC retailer's website.
The laptop's Core i7 920, 940 and 965 processors will run at speeds from 2.66GHz to 3.2GHz and include 8MB of L2 cache. Intel launched the Core i7 chips in November and since then the chip has been praised for its speedy performance.
Calling it the "world's first notebook with i7 processor", Eurocom is targeting the laptop workstation as a desktop workstation replacement. It will include the X58 chipset and an Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) to boost graphics performance.
It will have a 17in screen and support up to 1.5TB of storage, 8GB of DDR3 memory and 1GB of graphics memory. It will also include wireless 802.11a/b/g/n technology and a webcam. It will ship with either the Windows Vista or Linux OS.
The laptop will weigh a whopping 5.4kg and it will come with a 12-cell battery. Pricing was not immediately available, though users can expect to dig deep into their wallets considering the use of new technologies in the laptop.
If Eurocom indeed ships the laptop, it could be the fastest Intel-based x86 laptop on the planet. Core i7 chips are built on the Nehalem microarchitecture, which includes the QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology. QPI integrates a memory controller and provides a faster pipe for the CPU to communicate with system components like a graphics card and other chips.
Each core will be able to execute two software threads simultaneously, so a laptop with four processor cores could simultaneously run eight threads for quicker application performance.
Nehalem chips are a significant upgrade over Intel's Core 2 chips, which are currently used in desktops and laptops. The new chips cut bottlenecks of Intel's earlier Core microarchitecture to improve system speed and performance-per-watt.
Though Core i7 isn't targeted at laptops, Intel intends to scale down the Nehalem architecture for other chips that will go in mainstream desktops and laptops. Intel will also integrate graphics capabilities in the CPU down the line, which should bring more power-efficiency to laptops. However, gamers might need a separate graphics card for better graphics performance.
Intel has said it will release laptop-specific Nehalem chips in the second half of this year.
Many companies including Lenovo and Dell offer laptop workstations. Last month Lenovo launched the ThinkPad W700DS mobile workstation that has two LCD screens.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
First Intel Core i7 Laptops Set for Release
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Windows Vista SP2 release date slips
Microsoft has delayed Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) by at least a month, and will now ship it to manufacturing sometime in May or June, according to a website that has accurately predicted Windows release dates in the past.
TechARP.com, a Malaysian website that correctly predicted the release dates for Windows Vista SP1 and XP SP3 in 2008, said that Microsoft will deliver a release candidate - the final test version - of Vista SP2 in March, a month later than the site had predicted earlier. Also, Microsoft will send the service pack to OEMs and out for retail copy duplication at some point in the second quarter of 2009, not in April as originally thought.
Windows Vista SP2 will be released for download from the web at an undetermined date after Microsoft ships the service pack to OEMs. In the past, Microsoft has had both short and long lag times between the two dates.
Windows XP SP3, for example, was rel4eased to manufacturing on April 21 2008 , and offered for download on May 6, about two weeks later. With Vista SP1, however, it waited about six weeks after sending the update to manufacturing before it let the general public download the service pack.
Inserted into the Vista SP2 schedule, said TechARP, is something Microsoft's calling a "release candidate escrow build". According to the site, an escrow build is a version on which development has stopped, but is handed to developers and testers, who are asked to test the code one final time to make sure there are no major bugs.
Elsewhere, TechARP also said that computer makers will not be required to use Vista SP2 on new hardware, as is usually the case when the Microsoft releases a major update, such as a service pack. "OEMs will not be compelled to ship their systems with the new builds, which would have required extensive work [such as] tests, implementation and logistics," said TechARP. "They are also not required to send their customers the Service Pack 2 upgrades."
TechARP speculated that Microsoft will make Vista SP2 optional for OEMs because Windows 7, Vista's successor, may be hard on its heels. "Many OEMs are probably hesitant about spending more money and [putting more] effort into qualifying the new builds with their products, especially in light of the current economic situation," said the site. "So the onus will be on the consumer to update their Windows Vista via Windows Update."
Microsoft issued the first public beta of Windows 7 on January 10, but as of yet, has not set a timetable for the new operating system's release, other than to say it will hit the street by early next year.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to questions about Vista SP2's timetable.
Virgin Mobile Reveals New Free SMS Scheme
According to a press release, the new free SMS offer is available to all Virgin Mobile subscribers across the country without any extra monthly commitment/upfront payment or pack. The first 3 Local SMSs sent are charged at 50p each which is the base tariff, post which 100 SMSs are free daily. The first 3 National SMSs are charged at Rs. 1.50 each, post which 100 National SMSs are free daily.
In essence the consumer gets a total of 200 SMSs free daily. All new subscribers and existing subscribers who are already on the New 50 Paise STD Local tariff will get this SMS benefit by default from today onwards, while the customers who are on the Old 50 Paise Local tariff can avail this benefit by recharging their account by a Rs. 12/- recharge coupon. For any queries, Virgin Mobile can be reached at 600 166 66 from any number (prefixed with the city STD code) or at 125999 from a Virgin Mobile number.
Toshiba Announces 16in Multimedia Laptop
Toshiba has announced the Toshiba Satellite A350 - a laptop with a 16in, 1366x768 pixel, 16:9 widescreen. Running Windows Vista Home Premium, the Toshiba Satellite A350 will sport either an Intel Core 2 Duo or an AMD Turion CPU coupled with 4GB DDR2 RAM. Unusually, the Intel flavour will be the cheaper option: the A350 will range from £529(Rs. 35,800) to £749(Rs.50,500) inc VAT. Purchasers will be able to select up to 320GB storage in a hard disk drive. Connectivity includes both an HDMI port, three USB ports and 802.11n Wi-Fi. The 16:9 aspect ratio on Toshiba's largest ever laptop screen points to the multimedia capabilities of this system.The Toshiba Satellite A350 also boasts Harmon Kardon speakers and Dolby Sound Room technology. Gamers can choose either an Intel GMA4500MHD or an ATI Radeon HD3650 graphics chipset. There's also a standard-def DVD writer and a 1.3Mp webcam. |
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New Version of QuickTime Blocks Hackers
Apple has released a new version of its QuickTime media player adding critical security fixes as well as some new tweaks to improve the software's ease-of-use and compatibility with different file formats.
QuickTime 7.6 for Mac OS X and Windows, patches seven bugs, all of which could let hackers install unauthorised software on a victim's computer.
In recent years, hackers looking for ways to run their software on Windows PCs in particular have increasingly exploited flaws in add-on programs such as QuickTime. That's why security experts generally advise users to install this type of update as soon as possible.
The newly patched flaws do not appear to have been publicly known before QuickTime 7.6's release, according to Apple's security note on the update. Any attacks that exploited these flaws would involve tricking the victim into first visiting a malicious website or viewing a specially encoded media file, Apple said.
The 7.6 update also includes some performance-enhancements for H.2640-encoded and Motion JPEG media files, as well as some audio tweaks for AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) and MPEG video files. The update also "improves compatibility with iChat and Photo Booth," Apple said in a note on the update.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Microsoft's New Tool Lets Old Windows Apps Run on Vista
Microsoft has released the first public beta of a tool that solves one of the chief complaints businesses have with Windows Vista: that older Windows applications aren't compatible with the new OS.
The Microsoft's Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) lets people run legacy Windows applications, including those built for Windows 2000 and Windows XP, on Vista by using virtualization technology, according to a blog post on The Official MDOP Blog.
"Our primary goal was to deliver an enterprise virtualization solution for the compatibility challenges that IT teams have with some of their line-of-business applications, during the upgrade to new operating systems (like Windows Vista)," according to the post, attributed to Ran Oelgiesser, a MED-V senior product manager. "With MED-V 1.0, you can easily create, deliver and centrally manage virtual Windows XP or 2000 environments (based on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007), and help your users to run legacy applications on their Windows Vista desktops."
By using MED-V in this way, people don't have to test or migrate applications that before would have been incompatible with Vista before running them on the OS, saving companies money and time, he added.
To get the MED-V beta, people can sign up on the Microsoft Connect site
The final release of the software is expected later this year, according to the post. Microsoft acquired the MED-V technology when it closed its purchase of Kidaro last May. In fact, it is included in a larger software package called the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, which rolls up several Microsoft virtualization acquisitions. In addition to Kidaro, the pack is comprised of software from Microsoft's purchases of Softricity, AssetMetrix, Winternals Software and DesktopStandard
Microsoft is investing heavily in desktop- and application-virtualization technology as a way to alleviate compatibility issues that have especially hampered the adoption of Vista. Many businesses opted to skip Vista and continue to run Windows XP until Vista's follow-up release, Windows 7, is available, and application-compatibility was one of several factors affecting their decision.
Microsoft just released the first Windows 7 beta last week, and some expect the final release of the OS as early as August or September, although Microsoft has not given a firm date for when it will be finished.
Early reports from Windows 7 beta users are that the OS is more stable, runs faster and is more secure than Vista, and improves on some of the user-interface features Microsoft introduced in that OS. Some are even suggesting that Microsoft not charge a fee, or charge very little, for Windows 7, since Vista should have the same high quality in the first place.
One-Third of Windows PCs Susceptible to Worms
Based on scans of several hundred thousand customer-owned Windows PCs, Qualys concluded that about 30% of the machines have not yet been patched with the "out of cycle" fix Microsoft provided Oct. 23 as security update MS08-067.
"The unpatched numbers went down significantly around the 30-day mark," said Wolfgang Kandek , Qualys' chief technology officer, "when less than 50% were unpatched. After that, it went down a little slower. As of yesterday, 30% of the machines are unpatched."
With nearly a third of all Windows systems still vulnerable, it's no surprise that the "Downadup" worm has been able to score such a success, Kandek said. "These slow [corporate] patch cycles are simply not acceptable," he said. "They lead directly to these high infection rates."
The Downadup worm, called "Conficker" by some researchers, surged dramatically this week and has infected an estimated 3.5 million PCs so far, according to Finnish security company F-Secure Corp. The worm exploits a bug in the Windows Server service used in Windows 2000 , XP, Vista , Server 2003 and Server 2008.
Microsoft issued a patch in late October after confirming reports of in-the-wild attacks , most of them against machines in Asia.
On Tuesday, Microsoft laid at least some of the blame for the worm's success at the feet of Windows' users. "Either Security Update MS08-067 was not installed at all or was not installed on all the computers," said Cristian Craioveanu and Ziv Mador, researchers at Microsoft's Malware Protection Center, in a Tuesday blog post.
Kandek agreed with them. "This shows that a three-month patch cycle, which some companies use, is unacceptable," he said.
In related news, a researcher at McAfee Inc. today said that the author of Downadup/Conficker worm took a shortcut when crafting the malware by grabbing functional exploit code from Metasploit, the open-source penetration testing framework.
"By using the exploit from the Metasploit module as the code base, a virus/worm programmer only needs to implement functions for automatic downloading and spreading," said Xiao Chen, a McAfee security researcher, in an entry to the company's blog . "We believe that this can be accomplished by an average programmer who understands the basics of exploitation and has decent programming skills.
"It's obvious that worm writers are abusing open source tools to their advantage to make their work easier," Chen added.
Microsoft has recommended that Windows users install the October update, then run the January edition of the Malicious Software Removal Tool to clean up compromised computers.
