AMD has now put on the market a new revision of its flagship, the Phenom X4 II 965. With the new stepping C3, the technical specifications of this processor remains unchanged throughout, except for its thermal envelope (TDP) which rose from 140 W to 125 W, portending a reduced power consumption and d 'greater tolerance for overclocking.
The four-heart 45nm is also clocked at 3.4 GHz. There is also 2 MB cache second level (512 KB per heart) and 6 MB of cache third level (1.5 MB per heart).
Some fixes have finally been made and the memory controller of the new Phenom X4 965 II now supports four bars to 1 333 MHz, unlike his predecessor. The waking C1E is also managed, enabling it to move rapidly to rest.
The new model, which differs from the former than the reference product (HDZ965FBK4DGM instead of HDZ965FBK4DGI), is marketed at the same price or $ 195 at wholesale prices. It is found today from 160 euros to compare our prices.
The race for web portals and seems pretty well be revived. Following AOL and Yahoo, it's the turn of Microsoft to unveil today a new version of its MSN.com home page, this is a major update, the first in 10 years .
For some time, Microsoft is trying to really distinguish the two brands MSN.com and Live.com reconsidering the strategy first. After closing MSN Encarta, MSN Money Plus and MSN Soapbox, Erik Jorgensen, vice president of MSN, explained in June that the portal hosted 37% of regular Internet users. "This is not for everyone but for much of the market, this is an essential experience of the Internet," he said. The team plans to expand and the magazine section of MSN.com, including sites: MSN News, Sports, Finance, Lifestyle and Entertainment.
Available by default for certain and accessible from preview.msn.com, the new home completely broke with the traditional model in which users have become accustomed over the years. It must be said that the site was often criticized for its bulky appearance. Mr. Jorgenson explained that these changes are designed specifically to simplify the page by responding to user requests, "now it is time to clean this mess on the web - people need (one page) clearer and easier to find what they need, "says he.
In the U.S., Microsoft also offers a localized version of its page with the latest news from his hometown, the local weather report, map and links pre-configured for quick access to a list of restaurants or schedules cinemas. The team should also unveil a version of this page using the Silverlight technology, it will be announced later. Mr. Jorgenson stated that 50% of visitors to MSN have already installed the plugin in question.
Note however that unlike the new versions of its competitors Yahoo.com or AOL.com, the new page does not allow customization of content, such as reading email on GMail or management of community networks such as Facebook . So if Yahoo! can customize the page with small applications, Mr. Jorgenson believes that "a large majority of users are not willing to waste time in personalization. Moreover, this new version, Microsoft no longer offers access to the My MSN page.
Here's some news that will not make everyone happy, especially among PC owners waiting impatiently unfeigned some Dragon Age: Origins Electronic Arts. Indeed, because of delays due to manufacturing problems, this version will acknowledge 14 days late and not come out next November 5 as planned but November 19, at the same time as the Playstation 3 version. The lucky owners of an Xbox 360, meanwhile, may from November 5 to rush from their favorite retailer to get their copies.
But all is not black as happily as November 5, the PC version can still be obtained by direct download at this address on the awning of Electronic Arts. Similarly, this condition does not affect the PC version collector.
Update: Following a press release from Electronic Arts that we received, we learn at last that the PC version of Dragon Age: Origins happen eventually November 12 and not 19, when reserved for the Playstation 3 version.
Mandriva will not miss the autumn period which usually bloom the new Linux distributions. The editor has indeed posted in the night variants of its new flagship product, Mandriva Linux 2010. Always declined in several editions ranging from 100% open source edition PowerPack for professionals, distribution workstation Mandriva opens this 2010 version to various news, from the latest desktop environments in Moblin date, through a promising device, dubbed "Smart Office".
If default, Mandriva Linux KDE adopted here in version 4.3.2, it is also possible to opt for Gnome (2.2.28) or LXDE for older machines. Upon installation, the 2010 is also responsible for analyzing the configuration of your machine for you by default choose the appropriate level of performance you have. "Today, approximately 45% of machines with Mandriva are using Gnome, against 55% for KDE. Plus it's going, and we believe that we must preserve this diversity, "said Anne Nicolas-Velu, Mandriva VP of Engineering.
In addition, Mandriva 2010 will open this year in packets from the Moblin project (co-developed by Intel), which aims to provide a lightweight user interface adapted to small screens such as those netbooks. The hardware side this time, the publisher was pleased to be among the first to have integrated the drivers needed to run the platform Poulsbo, more often associated with Atom processors from Intel.
Also optional: the Sugar environment, from the OLPC program and for children in discovery phase of the computing universe. Note also the appearance of a systematic account "guest", ideal to leave a few minutes surfing friend from his computer, without compromising its own session, nor their privacy because the data generated are stored in a folder and TMP cleaned each closure. Technically, Mandriva 2010 Plymouth opens for a more lively start with Splashy and a new partitioning tool, more visual. Note also the integration of media center MooVida, and new tools dedicated to virtualization (VirtualBox 3 in particular).
Among other news, Red Hat puts particular emphasis on a new feature, "Smart Office" or smart desktop. Deriving from research project Nepomuk, it assumes that all too often in computer files and information are sorted according to the application that stores or has generated, while the user eventually needs a classification focused on tasks and projects. Using the software associated with this smart desktop, you can then connect its mails, documents and folders to a current task. Thereafter, a semantic analysis engine, relatively simple for now, take care to suggest new content for each product received or the association to a project. A manager, Desktop Task groups these different data and allows them to administer.
Microsoft dusts off the global version of the MSN portal and provides a better integration of search engine Bing, the appearance of articles on Facebook, Twitter.
For Microsoft, the MSN.com portal will benefit from the biggest change ever took place for ten years. This new release concerned the global version of the portal, then understand this Homepage extensively reworked to be put in place the day the United States. However, nothing prevents a user non-American to attend. For now, the new portal can be tested via a preview.
For MSN.com, changing the order of its many aesthetic, beginning with the abandonment of the blue and the adoption of a white background. More clarity is also measured with a better layout of proposed topics. Certainly, this new version is more refined with a bar menu prepared by top to access the news, Leisure, Sports and others. The entry displayed directly on the portal are available in the form of blocks, the main block displaying a slideshow of the five news yet.
MSN.com also aims to increase the market share of search engine Bing that the United States is final. According to Microsoft, and Bing was more deeply integrated with MSN.com search areas particularly highlighted as the search for local information based on IP address, the motor aspect of decision Bing for procurement, travel.
As it is impossible to ignore the mode of social networks, MSN.com is not only the pride of Windows Live, but in a column to the right of the page, the user can also access its updates statutes on Facebook, Twitter. With the Facebook tab, the user can for example refer directly to the MSN page list of recent updates to his friends and update its status.
If we speak more often of Flash Player that is present on virtually all Internet-connected computers around the world, another Adobe product is also widely distributed. Although to a lesser extent, but Shockwave Player that can play some multimedia applications, interest still 450 million systems connected to the Net.
Like its counterpart Flash Player with whom he is sometimes confused, Shockwave Player, which equips the browsers on Windows and Mac OS X is also affected by security vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities it is fashionable to correct them are critical.
French expert analysis of vulnerabilities, VUPEN Security alerts us to the discovery of four critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Shockwave Player. The U.S. publisher has been advised of these findings several weeks ago, and yesterday issued a security bulletin in function to promote the download version 11.5.2.602 Shockwave Player.
VUPEN Security recommends immediate implementation of the update to address vulnerabilities whose exploitation could lead to remote attackers to run malicious code on a vulnerable system. This exploitation takes place through Web pages specially designed with Shockwave content.
Mobiado presented the continuation line of mobile phones Professional 105GMT in two models, called Stealth and Antique. Like previous models, this line of phones are Swiss watches. The phone body is made using aluminum, stainless steel, rose gold, wood and sapphire glass. The devices support the work in GSM and WCDMA, are endowed with 2-inch display with a resolution of QVGA, displays 16 million colors, module, Bluetooth, music player, 2 megapixel camera and 1 GB of internal memory.
On the cost Mobiado Professional 105GMT Stealth and Mobiado Professional 105GMT Antique There is no information.
A year and a half after the release of the HTC Touch first name, the Taiwanese manufacturer decides to give a second youth to his favorite Smartphone. At the time, the dean of the line of "Touch" distinguished himself by incorporating a menu Cube 3D, "which allow instant access to the main functions of the phone. This time, the Touch 2 intends to seduce its audience by offering natively (Windows Mobile 6.5) and a leading version of TouchFLO. This was achieved? This is what we will see in dissecting the new Smartphone from HTC.
The HTC Touch 2 is the first Smartphone brand natively integrate Windows Mobile 6.5, the latest mobile operating system from Microsoft. As we said during our test, it is clearly not a major overhaul. Finally, at little importance since HTC did not expect Microsoft to enter the ground floor (or almost) in the era of all touch. In effect, an overlay optimized to be handled without stylus called TouchFLO is integrated on all devices of the mark for over a year. Small surprise, more or less fortunate are not lacking, see more closely what the device holds.
The lines of the device are rather successful, the mobile is small and does not spoil, its lightness is such that we can consider without problems casually drop it into the pocket of his shirt. Furthermore, with the Touch 2 HTC proves that the reduced form factor does not necessarily resonate with the poor battery life. As you can see the end of the article, the Touch 2 is sufficiently durable.
The Touch 2: clean lines associated with a particularly low form factor.
On the slices: (too?) Little touches which, moreover, does not always work ...
USB standard keyed HTC and 3.5 mm headphone jack: the Taiwanese embraces standards, which is a good thing.
Kit wired stereo with excellent bill affects stall / entrails of the beast with a soft reset button behind the hull.
The HTC Touch 2 is equipped with a digital camera with 3.2 Mega pixels devoid of flash. Worse yet, when we thought that now, the presence of an autofocus was acquired on models of entry-level Touch 2 disappointed by the stalemate on this basic feature yet, but decisive. Ultimately, the accumulation of weak (low resolution, no autofocus, average target) gives us snapshots passable. Finally, the Touch 2 can troubleshoot to make "pictures memo" outdoors, but we should not ask him more. Indoors, the result is simply devastating. Unsurprisingly, the result of the videos is just as bad.
The software layer that manages the photo part is just like the rest. While usual, HTC spoils us by integrating a small module photo editor offering fancy frames, the Touch 2 is limited to a minimum. After completion of shooting, the program proposes to send the photo by mail or MMS, throwing the shot, or browse the photo directory. However, the photo manager is also practical as well designed. Not only the viewer is optimized to be controlled using the index, but in addition it benefits from the touch zoom bar is located on the bottom of the screen.
Surf the Internet with the Touch 2
Windows Mobile 6.5 requires, the Touch 2 is the first Smartphone brand natively integrate Internet Explorer 6.5. For those who have not gone through the test we have spent the last nomadic system from Microsoft, remember that this browser has been optimized for touch, it is now the Flash support, a full screen mode is part ... but the performance is still far from the rendezvous. On the other hand, on the Flash, he must curb his enthusiasm. While compatibility is quite good, it will not be expected to make the same actions on a computer classic. This technology is particularly resource-intensive, it is logical that it is not very comfortable on mobile environments.
Multimedia (audio and video)
The musical part of Touch 2 contains several positive points and others are not. Start with the strengths of the device. Firstly, users need not fenced with disastrous usability of Windows Media Player Mobile. Indeed, the Touch's TouchFLO interface 2 includes a small reading program that gives complete satisfaction. The grip is very good touch, the main file formats are supported and the sound quality is simply excellent. Better yet, if the tone curve was not appropriate, users would still be able to finely adjust the different frequencies using the program aptly named "audio amplifier. To avoid spoiling anything, the small intra ear headphones supplied by HTC offers made very correct. Note that this time, HTC has not made the mistake of forgetting the jack standard 3.5 mm. It is therefore possible to replace the original helmet using any other wired headphones (not an old wired headset HTC USB format, the latter not recognized). On the other hand, if necessary, it is always possible to replace this device by a wireless Bluetooth headphones (the device supports A2DP and AVRCP).
No remote is supplied remote, but that figure is almost fully in light of major bug which severely handicaps the party. Indeed, the key volume setting proved ineffective for much of our use ... To better understand the audio portion of Touch 2, try to imagine an excellent audio player which you pull the volume knob. On the video, the Taiwanese manufacturer has not made specific efforts (outside of the integration of YouTube Mobile). The device is not compatible with the Divx format, it will always pass through the excellent tandem TCPMP / PocketDivXEncoder to transform the device into a cinema pocket.
The office
The new version of Windows Mobile that comes with the Touch 2 contains no new significant for the Office suite. Despite this, Microsoft remains a leader in office programs pocket. As with all Windows Phone, found pleasure with mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Compatibility is certainly relative, but in most cases, the files smaller or medium sized open without difficulty. In addition, HTC has had the good idea to preload the official version of the Adobe PDF reader. All these programs will be valued at fair value through advanced users (which is when most Bluetooth keyboard is available).
HTC Touch 2: TouchFLO interface bonus
HTC did not expect Microsoft to dust off the aging interface system through optimization for all touch. Given the limited progress of Windows Mobile 6.5, it would seem that the Taiwanese manufacturer was right to take lead. Unsurprisingly, the HTC Touch 2 is again accompanied by the famous TouchFLO interface that was introduced with the first Touch Diamond. At the time, touch the menu was not really convincing, but he has finally matured. When the module has been launched (after a boot or a soft reset) shows that the flow is perfect, and perfectly follows the ring index.
HTC Touch 2: Performance
Even if the HTC Touch 2 is not a lightning war, we must admit that his power is sufficient to run most applications without problems. That being said, to locate the mobile device relative to competitors, we conducted a series of technical tests. To begin, we tested the main processor. Recall that the Touch 2 is equipped with a Qualcomm MSM7225 chip running at 528 MHz. In the second part, we situate the autonomy of Touch 2 by comparing the results we obtained with other Windows Mobile Smartphones. Finally, we will see if the speed measurement of the GPS chip is up to the expectation of users of location-based applications.
The speed of the GPS sensor is important. Good news on this (at least), the HTC Touch works wonders (it's the least we can say). In the first test, we left the circuit GSM enabled. Result: in GPS positioning is simply instantaneous. The performance is excellent, but one would think it results from a pre-positioning imprecise location based on GSM. The GSM layer has been disabled for the second test.
Conclusion
With our test model, we found a number of bugs more or less troublesome. Information taken from the manufacturer, we have many of the ROM that will power mobile market. For example, sometimes the preview screen keyboard does not work properly (missing characters). Worse still, sometimes, with the compact QWERTY keyboard, pressing 'a' valid a "q" (francization part, when you hold us)! The worries do not stop there unfortunately. Even after a soft reset, we often found that the only physical buttons side management did not work its just not! To top it off, it is not possible to access the volume management through the tray, HTC has slightly changed interface. Clearly, when the volume keys are inoperative, it is impossible to change the volume with ease. These problems may disappear with the arrival of any update (which is absolutely guaranteed by). In the meantime, we preferred to go back this information.
Touch 2 is not a monster of technology. Is it necessarily sulk? After a brief period of use, one is tempted to answer this question in the negative. The final evaluation also depends on prices in this area, we can say that the Touch 2 defends himself quite well. For a little over 300 euros free subscription (at the time of this writing), the HTC phone offers an excellent price / features. Only problem, when the investigation grows, it becomes clear that the appliance is accompanied by a series of bugs that we would be well spent. All this is unfortunate: although some technologies are missing (accelerometer and high resolution screen), the phone was not too ashamed of the competition. All wireless interfaces of last generation are well represented (with the exception of Wi-Fi n which is almost never used on Smartphone) and GPS applications will benefit from additional 's excellent chip integrated geolocation. On the other hand, compared to the behemoths of mobility, small size is a factor for some users. Like its predecessor, the Touch is part 2 of the smallest Smartphones on the market. Finally, even if Windows Mobile 6.5 does not convince the overlay HTC Touch (TouchFLO) has proven long ago. In conclusion, given the bugs, pending a possible update of the manufacturer, it is strongly recommended to move on.
A first beta version of Google Chrome in the 4.0 branch is available for download for Windows users.
After the series of test releases distributed via the channel for developers, Google Chrome 4.0 is proposed as a first beta. This means that the last trial was judged sufficiently stable to be tested by ordinary users, but curiosity whetted.
This beta version of Google Chrome 4.0 is intended for Windows users only. Trial versions of Google Chrome 4.0 do exist in Mac OS X and Linux, and if they are already well advanced they do not yet time for the beta status.
In addition to correcting a number of bugs this beta milling has several improvements in execution speed and to indicate Google:
"As web applications we use every day have become increasingly dynamic, browsers like Google Chrome should be able to build and change elements on web pages as quickly as possible. On testing Dromeao Mozilla DOM Core We have improved our performance scores of 30% since last stable version of Google Chrome, and 400% since our first stable release. "
This beta also represents an opportunity to activate the default functionality for synchronizing bookmarks that Google has in the video below. For this feature available in the wrench menu, the user must connect to the Google account so that all bookmarks are sent to this account. On another computer, you must request this feature, enter their usernames and decide whether or not the bookmarks should be merged. Google stresses that the changes are almost instantaneous (synchronization) through the same mail servers based on the XMPP protocol that is used by Google Talk.
A small disappointment for the first beta of Google Chrome 4.0, support for extensions is not activated by cons. Recall also that milling will integrate technology Native Client (no longer a plugin) which aims to allow execution of native x86 code (like C or C + +) in Web applications to make them faster.
Google claims its browser for 30 million active users and reward the development team.
While Firefox will celebrate next Monday's five years and nearly 300 million users put forward, Google Chrome boasts ten times less. This browser that shares with its counterpart affection for the open source model, however, is much younger with a first beta unveiled to the public in September 2008.
In any case one of the few times where Google is mixed with war figures, showing that its browser is not just a fad to mark its presence in all areas of the Web. And as if to mark the occasion, these 30 million active users were mentioned as the Chrome team was awarded the highest honor that an employee is entitled Google: Google Founders' Award.
With this award, which distributes millions of dollars in stock options to employees deserving Google, the Google Chrome team joined the team behind the creation of Gmail, Google Maps and AdSense. So it is with nothing!
According to the latest figures Net Applications, the share of Internet Explorer is 64.64%. It is 24.07% for the runner up Firefox. Safari complete the podium with 4.42%. Behind Google Chrome is set to Opera with 3.58% against 2.17%. In Europe, AT Internet Institute recently reported that Google Chrome is Opera also passed.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was asked about what the CEO of Microsoft. According to Steve Ballmer, the growth of Google Chrome terms of market share (as well as Safari), is a "rounding error" and only real competitor to Firefox. Eric Schmidt has preferred to avoid the issue, claiming not to want to answer questions from Steve Ballmer. Beforehand, he had stated that "the adoption rate of Chrome is strong" and that efforts would be undertaken to ensure that this message gets better .
