Compact Flash 5.0 Promises Petabytes

March 1, 2010 by Jason  
Filed under Tech

That’s 144 Petabytes to be precise, and if you want that in good old Gigabytes, that’s around 150994944 of them. Data transfer speeds are said to be in the order of 32Mb per second, but before you get too excited, no such card or storage chip exists, yet… The newly announced spec from the Compact Flash Association is basically a re-vamp of the way data on a memory card can be accessed, using a faster and more efficient 48-bit address, which opens the way for the theoretical 144Pb storage capacity. It’s sounds impressive but it’s worth remembering that 64-bit systems can theoretically address up to 16-Exabytes of data, which is 16384 petabytes, or 16777216 terabytes in old money. It sounds terrifying, but I only have to think back to the late 1970s and my first home-built computer, which had an impressive1 kilobyte of memory A few years later and my first hard disc drive had a massive 10 megabytes of capacity; I remember thinking at the time that it would take years to fill it up


How to get the holy grail of Windows Vista and Windows 7

August 20, 2009 by Jason  
Filed under How to, Microsoft

1. ACCURATE SCORE

Make sure you have an accurate WEI score. Follow our advice to optimise your PC, then close down all open applications and run the test again.

2. PERFORMANCE TWEAKS

If your CPU score is over 5 then overclocking, while risky, might help you reach the maximum. Check your BIOS setup program and documentation for advice.

3. FIND A REPLACEMENT

Upgrading your CPU may deliver the best results. Check your motherboard manufacturer’s web site to see which CPUs it supports, then comparison-shop at uk.shopping.com.

4. CHECK SPEEDS

Can this processor really deliver a 5.9? Visit shareyourscore.com/ ComponentScores.aspx to see how it performs on other people’s systems.
Read more

Google Has a Need for Speed

June 24, 2009 by Jason  
Filed under Google, internet

Everyone knows faster Internet is better, but Google is actually doing something about it. The company wants to make the web faster with a variety of different measures detailed on the newly launched site code.google.com/speed, aimed at web developers and full of tips, tutorials and tools, all focused on speed.

“We are excited to discuss what we’ve learned about web performance with the Internet community. However, to optimize the speed of web applications and make browsing the web as fast as turning the pages of a magazine, we need to work together as a community, to tackle some larger challenges that keep the web slow and prevent it from delivering its full potential,” the official Google blog reads. Read more

Sonic Rush Unlockables

June 20, 2009 by Jason  
Filed under Games

The gaming industry has quite a few figure heads in terms of video game characters, which have pushed the whole genre forward through the adventures that they have been on. One such famous character is Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, which made history during the early years of gaming.

Sadly, in recent years, things haven’t been so good for the blue hedgehog, as Sega’s resident Sonic Team hasn’t made the best titles for it. But, fortunately for the speedy animal, the developers collaborated with Dimps and delivered Sonic Rush, one of the first Sonic titles for Nintendo’s hugely successful DS handheld platform.

The game was released on November 15, in North America, while the PAL region received it on November 18, and Japanese fans got a taste of Sonic on November 23, all in 2005. Even though the blue hedgehog wasn’t popular those days, the top-notch gameplay and graphics of the title made it a best-seller and prompted some big critical acclaim from reviewers. Read more

Firefox 3.5 RC Just Around the Corner

May 27, 2009 by Jason  
Filed under Computer, internet

The first Release Candidate of Firefox 3.5, codenamed Shiretoko, is just around the corner. The RC development milestone means that Mozilla is extremely close to wrapping up the successor of Firefox 3.0, released back in mid-June 2008, almost a year ago. While there are voices claiming that Firefox 3.5 RC1 will be made available for download as early as tomorrow, fact is that Mozilla has a test day planned for the upcoming build of its open-source browser this Friday, May 29.

“MozQA is holding a Testday for the rollout of Firefox 3.5 RC 1 which is as close to a release as possible! I don’t need to remind everyone of how important this phase is, so we’re going to need your awesome testing skills to make sure it’s as polished as possible,” revealed a member of the Mozilla Q&A team. Read more

How to Speed Up Your Acrobat Reader

April 7, 2009 by Jason  
Filed under How to

adobe acrobat reader 150x150 How to Speed Up Your Acrobat ReaderThe vast majority of computer users and e-book readers use Acrobat Reader from Adobe to read PDF files. We also know that Acrobat Reader loads like a snail. To end this annoyances I’ll give you a simple trick to make your Adobe Acrobat Reader run and perform just like it was a notepad.

Before doing the steps below make sure that your Acrobat Reader is not running or else it will lock the files and will not allow you to move any files.

1. Open your My Computer and go to the installation folder of your Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is usually found on C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat x.x Read more

2009 new Need For Speed 3 is coming!

February 1, 2009 by Jason  
Filed under Games

ea 150x150 2009 new Need For Speed 3 is coming!In the past year, Need For Speed: Underground’u managed to achieve the targeted revenue figure was not related to many speculations. Estimates because of the failure of the racing game Need For EA’nin popular Speed’i a while “will rest” it was. But was not expected and EA decided to go over questions. And the more insistent.

Company official in 2009 as it plans to issue three new NFS’yi announced. The first NFS: Shift the name will be removed and will target the more serious racers. PSP, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 will be ready for the Shift except NFS: Nitro, EA’in Montreal studio will be prepared and only the Wii and DS will be released for. Read more

Hybrid DVD/Blu-Ray Disc Trialled

December 22, 2008 by Jason  
Filed under Tech

hybrid 150x135 Hybrid DVD/Blu Ray Disc TrialledIn an effort to help speed the up-take of HD video Pony Canyon in Japan is set to release what is believed to be the first commercial hybrid DVD and Blu-Ray disc. And before you say it has been done before, with DVD/Blu-Ray ‘flippers’ (i.e. DVD on one side and Blu-Ray on the other, this one is different. This disc uses a technology developed by JVC a couple of years ago, it’s s single-sided multi-layer construction, with the Blu-Ray layer on the top, and one or two DVD layers underneath. The clever bit is a semi-reflective layer separating the Blu-Ray and DVD layers, this reflects blue laser light, but the red laser, used to read DVD passes through to the layers beneath.

White Space gets Go-Ahead

November 6, 2008 by Jason  
Filed under Tech

whitespace 150x150 White Space gets Go AheadYou may recall that back in March we ran a story about messrs Microsoft, Google, HP, Intel and others campaigning to use the so-called ‘white space’ or gaps between broadcast television channels for high-speed broadband. Well, the White Space Coalition, as it’s known has just received the thumbs-up from the US Federal Communications Committee (FCC). The new spectrum will be unlicensed and it promises much greater range than current Wi-Fi systems, opening up the possibility of taking broadband to remote areas not served by existing cable or phone systems. The FCC says that the technology will be closely regulated and strictly policed; to avoid interference with TV broadcasts but coalition members have worked hard to prove that the system works and their efforts have been rewarded. Read more

Kodak OLEDing the Way Again

September 21, 2008 by Jason  
Filed under Tech

kodak 150x150 Kodak OLEDing the Way AgainKodak, once the leading light in the photography biz were famously caught by surprise by the speed at which digital photography took. Despite launching some useful digicams, it has never really come close to regaining its former status. Now, however, they’re leading the way once again, this time with the world’s first consumer photo frame using OLED or Organic Light Emitting Diode technology.

OLEDs, in case you didn’t know, are super thin, and unlike LCDs, do not rely on a backlight. They also offer superior contrast ratios and although not a factor in this application, can be made to be flexible. The display used in this frame is 7.6 inches (measured diagonally); it’s a widescreen format with 800 x 480 pixel resolution and it boasts a contrast ratio of 30,000:1. The viewing angle – another OLED advantage – is 180 degrees. Read more