28th March 2007 Archive

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Code surgeons transplant Apple TV OS

MacBook mutates into set-top box

Apple's set-top box, the Apple TV, runs a modified version of Mac OS X - this we've known for a while now. However, hackers have figured out how to transplant the operating system from the ultra-slim Mac - if the cap fits... - and run it on a MacBook laptop. Not that this is meant to happen - the hack requires a patched …

Media players 28 Mar 2007, 09:29
MS confirms black Xbox 360 Elite

Homage to wireframe space-trading game of yore?

It's official - Microsoft has announced the black Xbox 360. Dubbed the Elite, the machine does indeed feature the rumoured HDMI port, 120GB hard drive and $480 price tag. As expected, the unit will be offered alongside a stack of colour-coordinated accessories, most of which will work with existing 360s. Unlike Sony, …

Consoles 28 Mar 2007, 09:52
Sony to bring last year's Blu-ray Disc player to UK this year

Sony is to bring its lounge-friendly Blu-ray Disc player - no, not the PS3, the other one - to the UK this summer. But we're not talking the new, slimline machine Sony is promising US consumers, just the one that went on sale in the US last year. Over there, it was dubbed the BDP-S1. Here, it'll be the BDP-S1E. It's capable …

HD 28 Mar 2007, 10:50
Samsung shows self-adjusting phone display

Samsung will offer phone makers a 2.1in, 320 x 240 LCD panel capable of automatically adjusting its own brightness level by measuring ambient lighting, the South Korean giant has said. Samsung calls the technology Adaptive Brightness Control (ABC) but didn't quite go so far as to claim it will make handsets legible in bright …

Gadgets and Gizmos 28 Mar 2007, 11:12
Palm to bring HSDPA to 3G Treo 750

Windows Mobile 6 into the bargain

Palm will be bringing Windows Mobile 6 to its Vodafone-branded Treo 750v and its own version, the 750. As a bonus, upgraders will also gain HSPDA high-speed downloads, network permitting. Of course, Palm didn't say when the upgrade will be made available - it just noted the software will be ready to download "later this …

Phones 28 Mar 2007, 11:37
HANNspree HANNSlounge designer LCD TV

Review Style over substance?

Ever felt that boring old black and silver just wasn't you? When you go telly shopping are you uninspired by the me-too-ness of the models on offer? Want something in your lounge that makes a statement? Then Taiwanese manufacturer HANNspree could have just the model for you. The HANNSlounge is actually one of its more …

HD 28 Mar 2007, 11:39
Ricoh extends SLR-wannabe compact camera line

Compact digital cameras a silver, right? And digital SLRs are black, OK? What part of that simple fact doesn't Ricoh understand? Today it launched a compact model that looks, at first glance, like an SLR job. Say hello to the Caplio GX100, a ten-megapixel machine with a lens that's described in terms of f numbers - 5.1-15. …

Gadgets and Gizmos 28 Mar 2007, 12:11
DLO flips for dual-cover iPod case

iPod accessory maker DLO has brought a new twist to the iPod case - literally. Its Twister for iPod Nano has a turnaround front panel with a different hand-stitched material on either side. So on one side we have a "high-quality" black leather, and on the other a Burberry lookalike tartan. It's the perfect social mixer: …

Media players 28 Mar 2007, 12:52
Ten things Sony execs may regret saying about the PS3

'It's probably too cheap'. Apparently

Sony's management aren't generally known for their passive attitudes and humble outlook. We've got a small sample of their finest public moments below. Quotes collated by PS3 blog pspsps.tv. 10 "The first five million are going to buy it [the PS3], whatever it is, even [if] it didn't have games." Sony executive David Reeve …

Consoles 28 Mar 2007, 13:23
Games firm pursues 500 pinball 'pirates' through UK courts

Exclusive 18 ISPs served with court orders

Zuxxez, the German games software distributor, has hired lawyers to chase down about 500 British file sharers, launching the first in a series of swoops by computer forensic experts. Law firm Davenport Lyons will use this case, its first "volume" job to stalk file sharers, to launch a specialist practice. A partner at the …

PCs 28 Mar 2007, 16:05
Dell in Vista RAID debacle

Not very Dimensional

Frustrated Microsoft Windows Vista Home PC users are pointing the finger at Dell for continuing to sell machines that foul up when configured with the RAID facility. The apparent issue with certain Intel RAID controllers and Microsoft's latest operating system, Vista - which got its long-awaited retail release on 30 January …

PCs 28 Mar 2007, 16:24
Intel 45nm CPUs to clock above 3GHz

More 'Penryn' beans spilled

Intel will use its move to a 45nm chip production process primarily to increase performance rather than boost battery life or reduce energy consumption, the company admitted today. Upcoming Core 2 and Xeon processors based on Intel's 45nm 'Penryn' architecture are due to go into production later this year. The chip maker …

Bits 'n' Chips 28 Mar 2007, 19:02
Intel Hyper-threading to return with 45nm 'Nehalem'

Memory controller, GPU to be added too

Intel's next major processor architecture, the 45nm 'Nehalem', will see the re-introduction of the chip maker's Hyper-threading simultaneous multi-threading technology, the company confirmed today. Nehalem chips will also feature an integrated memory controller and a graphics core. Nehalem is due to go into initial production …

Bits 'n' Chips 28 Mar 2007, 19:02
Intel to complete AMD impression in 2008

'Nehalem' has 8 cores, 16 threads and CSI

Intel's long, strange journey toward mimicking AMD's processors will end in 2008 with a brand new chip architecture called "Nehalem," the company confirmed today. Intel's fresh chips will have up to eight cores and a number of other bits and pieces found today's in server, desktop and notebook chips from AMD. The "Nehalem" …

Bits 'n' Chips 28 Mar 2007, 19:28