Reg Hardware

8th February 2006 Archive

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  • Dell tools up with Google

    MSN loses a bundle

    Google could dole out up to $1bn over three years for the rights to have the Google Toolbar pre-installed on Dell PCs. The PC maker confirmed today that it is piloting sales of PCs pre-installed with Google software. It was smoked out by the Wall Street Journal, which today published a well-sourced article on the battle for PC …

    PCs 8 Feb 2006, 03:06

  • Intel activates VT for Xeon MP

    Virtualisation support enabled with BIOS update

    Intel has shipped a BIOS update for its Xeon MP 7000-based systems that will enable its Virtualisation Technology (VT) on servers with four or more CPUs. The feature has been built into the chips since they first shipped, in November 2005, but without BIOS support it hasn't been accessible. HP, Dell and IBM are also offering …

    Bits 'n' Chips 8 Feb 2006, 10:23

  • France rules in favour of P2P

    But only for personal use...

    The French courts have ruled that using peer-to-peer networks (P2P), providing you are doing so for personal rather than commercial reasons, is legal. The decision comes just as the French Parliament meets to discuss whether internet users should pay a voluntary tax or surcharge of €5 a month to use P2P networks. The decision …

    Networking and Wireless 8 Feb 2006, 10:32

  • 'Santa Rosa' Centrino systems due March 2007

    Release pushed back to give 'Napa' more room, sources claim

    Intel's fourth-generation Centrino platform, codenamed 'Santa Rosa', will ship in just over a year's time, Taiwanese notebook manufacturer moles have claimed. The March 2007 timeframe represents a more narrow launch window than the H1 2007 span mentioned in previous Santa Rosa reports. The platform will be based on Merom, the …

    PCs 8 Feb 2006, 10:40

  • CeBIT to demo AMD Socket M2-equipped mobos

    Show to host formal launch too?

    AMD's 940-pin, DDR 2 SDRAM-supporting Socket M2 (also known as Socket AM2) will be presented to the public at the CeBIT show next month. So claim unnamed industry sources cited by DigiTimes. The sources also suggest motherboard makers will receive sample socket by the end of this month, allowing them to demonstrate their wares …

    Bits 'n' Chips 8 Feb 2006, 10:54

  • Nvidia touts multi-monitor notebook graphics chip

    Calling all call centres

    Nvidia has launched what it claims is the first mobile graphics chip pitched specifically at business users in the hope of wooing more notebook manufacturers away from chipset-based integrated graphics solutions. The Quadro NVS 110M is derived from Nvidia's desktop-oriented Quadro NVS series. On the desktop, the chip's key …

    Bits 'n' Chips 8 Feb 2006, 11:17

  • iPod chip maker plans Wi-Fi, Bluetooth support

    PortalPlayer goes wireless

    The availability of wireless iPods came a step closer today after PortalPlayer, the chip maker behind the Apple music player's audio logic, will add Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support to its products, Reg Hardware has learned. The move comes courtesy of a tie-in with UK-based Bluetooth chip design pioneer CSR, aka Cambridge Silicon …

    Media players 8 Feb 2006, 11:55

  • Fujitsu Siemens 3G PDA phone 3GSM debut confirmed

    Launches the Pocket Loox C550 in the meantime

    Fujitsu Siemens' anticipated announcement next week of an all-singing, all-dancing pair of Pocket Loox T-series PDA phones has been confirmed, Reg Hardware can reveal. Separately, the company this week indicated the current Pocket Loox 700 may be for the chop, replaced by a new C-series model, the C550. Sources familiar with …

    Phones 8 Feb 2006, 12:50

  • Curry's 'latest AMD CPU' ad misled viewers

    £499 PC did not contain £595 processor

    UK high street retailer DSG, owner of the Dixons and Curry's store chains, has been slapped on the wrist by advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for claiming a £499 PC contained "the latest 64-bit AMD processor" when... er... it didn't. The offending ad was broadcast on TV in December 2005 to promote …

    PCs 8 Feb 2006, 13:13

  • Symbian slashes smart-phone OS fees

    Software could cost vendors just $2.50 a unit

    Symbian is to halve the cost of its mobile phone operating system in a bid to boost the take-up of its software and spread the OS' reach out of the high-end smart phone sector. The new model could see vendors pay as little as $2.50 a unit, the company said. Symbian currently charges handset manufacturers $7.25 for each of the …

    Phones 8 Feb 2006, 15:06

  • Motorola unveils 'thinnest' slider phone

    Still thicker than the SLVR

    Motorola today announced a slider phone that's a mere 14.8mm thick. Called simply the Z - for no other reason than it's the last letter of the alphabet, Moto bosses said - the handset sports a 2.2in display, a 1.3-megapixel digital camera, an MP3 player and the company's now standard cut-metal keypad - two of them in this case …

    Phones 8 Feb 2006, 15:19

  • Sony readies mainstream all-in-one media PC

    Viiv who?

    Sony this week took the wraps off its latest all-in-one entertainment PC, the Vaio VA1, follow-on to the consumer electronics giant's V3 machine. The star of the show is the integrated 20in 16:9 aspect ratio display with Sony's X-black colour-enhancing technology. The 2.8GHz dual-core Intel Pentium D 820 processor isn't quite …

    PCs 8 Feb 2006, 15:35

  • Panasonic DMC-FZ30

    Review Massive zoom range

    Panasonic's DMC-FZ30 is an eight-megapixel all-in-one 'bridge' camera with a powerful 12x optical zoom lens and SLR-like styling. Like other long-zoom bridge cameras, Panasonic's aiming the FZ30 at buyers of budget digital SLRs, with key advantages including LCD-based composition using a flip-out screen, movie mode and of course …

    Cameras 8 Feb 2006, 16:39