Coming soon: hard drives with 1GB+ DDR RAM cache

I may be giving myself a bit too much credit, but I think I predicted this on the show a while back. (I say that in confidence someone will set me straight if I'm wrong.)

Anyway; here's a decent hard drive with a GIG of RAM for cache. Not just memory, either, but DDR2. It's bound to fly. The article is detailed enough to whet your appetite. It sure did mine. Welcome to the new age of storage.

Jack

Packard Bell releases mini UMPC

Details are as yet very sparse, but this looks like a huge move by Packard Bell, whom many of us had long ago written off (I know I had) and at the same time VIA moves one step closer to "the big time" , where they belong.

No pricing as yet, but it looks as if it could be very affordable and, frankly, I want one. I wonder if I can con someone out of one to test?

Jack

How Not to Catch on Fire

You know you are having a bad day when the computer you are testing for review catches on fire.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 09-02-07

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-02-07. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.

A bug and a hardware virus on MacBooks?!?!?!

Catastrophic MagSafe Failure on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

A real Mac bug [h/t John Gruber], and I was reminded of this post [no idea how I saw this one, though I tried!] about a hardware virus on a mac at google. Enjoy!
Oh yeah, Woot has a $99 20GB iPod (4th Gen) from HP (refurb). Just in case anybody was interested, though there's a big announcement from Apple on the 5th which probably includes new iPods.

--MissM

Links from the Gregg Zone!

1) Okay, here we go to start things off this week a disclaimer is in order, when I started this blog, and show interview, at Joe’s request I agreed to try to keep my “stuff” under some control. At least in regards to politics, religion, and other material which some listeners might have difficulty with, however some of these things comprise my main interests. So please, if you find these subjects disturbing just ignore this weeks posting. Someone died recently, most but not all of you probably have never ever heard of this man, Aaron Russo he was very much like Michael Moore, in that he made very controversial films. The one linked here has evidentially been put up and pulled more than once according to the email I have received, so if you are inclined you should probably watch it soon, it was up as of this writing, Saturday September 1, 2007 around 11:30 P.M. The metaphors that come to mind are, where there is smoke there may be fire, ignorance is bliss, and you have no one to blame but yourself. Please be aware that if you are comfortable, think everything is okay, and the bogeyman does not exist, do not watch this. http://video.google.com/

2) Now if you did watch the Aaron Russo film, and are looking for a place to hide I have the perfect site for you. This is the best I have found for the survivalist type real estate searcher. Want to buy a home that is not only hurricane, and tornado proof, but will sustain a nuclear blast ten times the one at Hiroshima, worried about crazy neighbors, well, you just close the ten-ton blast doors and your worries are over. Even with their best cutting torches, and a few sticks of dynamite they will not get in. You will be safe with your ten thousand gallon stainless steel drinking water tank, wells going directly into the aquifer, and a sewage system set up to handle over one hundred people. Surprisingly affordable, one even comes with its own aircraft runway; yes, you can own your own personal government missile silo. Just think a home built for 18 million dollars, that is 1958 dollars, or a zillion of today’s dollars for just a few hundred thousand bucks you can own one, check it out. http://www.missilebases.com/

3) Okay you found all that stuff a little heavy, and you say “hey he has not done anything Art Bell related in a while”, okay here you go how about Art doing a commercial for aluminum foil on youtube, short, but you must admit it fits this post http://www.youtube.com

4) Now back to doom and gloom, this time I an going to just link the google search page, you can pick and choose on your own ending of the world as we know it, I have to admit every time I watch the news lately this seems to be in my face. http://www.google.com Sorry if there seems to be a trend here this week, you can blame it on Tony, I bought the beer, but he added the catalyst, it is late, and I’m moody, best I can do for an apology at the moment.

5) Well it's morning now and I feel much better, ran across this site I was going to put up but forgot about. This is a contest for kids grades k-12, and college students. They can win a Mac. or an ipod by creating a short video 2 min. or less on internet reliability. The contest is offered by World Book, and is aimed at how people doing research on the net can judge and evaluate the information they find at a site on the internet. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com

Windows Home Server release issues | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

When last we left Microsoft's Windows Home Server software, it was off to manufacturing and we expected to see WHS-equipped hardware show up at our doorstep shortly thereafter. After a post on Microsoft's official Home Server blog, we get the company line as to why we haven't seen HP's MediaSmart Server yet.

Windows Home Server Updates will be automatically available throughout the lifecycle of the product, and the WHS team is working on an update that will be available in September. These updates will enhance the usability and improve the out-of-the-box experience of home server solutions.

This new Microsoft product just now becoming available and they have a Windows Updates planed for September 2007 already!

Microsoft's current plan is to make this update available as part of the monthly Windows Updates process in September.

I am looking forward to trying out this new Windows Home Server.

AlaskaJoe

MissM's shared links

Enjoy! I wish this showed up in my rss feed, oh well... An opportunity to check out the sidebar! :)




--MissM

Intel V8 versus AMD 4X4 Platform

While a "straight-up" comparison between the Intel and AMD platforms isn't really possible, this is as close as one can get, in my opinion. Motherboards.org does a really good job of it and has picked the parts with care so the benchmarks (under Windows) actually tell you somethings that can be considered factual. That's quite an accomplishment. Really!

If I could see a half-dozen of these done this well, I might begin to think I had a real basis for comparison.

Jack

Desktop supercomputer breaks $100 per Gflop

Twice Deep Blue's power? Well, that's what it says.

Just the thing to play your Randy Newman CDs while calculating the age of the Universe. I want one (of course). Really, this is the most remarkable bargain I have heard of in desktop machines.

Jack

HP launches RedHat Linux desktop PC

Australia only, for now. And only one model announced, though it is certain more are coming quickly. That one model is decently equipped, but definitely aimed toward the lower end of the market. Still, it's another mark that makers are listening to consumers requests for choice.

Jack

Four Must-Have Vista Updates

The link will take you to Extreme Tech. The article explains it all.

These really are important. They're hotfixes, rather than critical updates. You need to apply these manually. They do help with an incredible list of Vista problems. Get them as fast as you can. They will aid performance, even on some Vista machines that are not currently having problems.

Jack

Yahoo Messenger patches security flaw, again

This just keeps on happening, doesn't it?

I should probably feel good about them keeping at work on security matters, but this does seem like an endless stream of mandatory patching.

Jack

Microsoft shouts service pack plans

Here's the first notice on what the service packs for Vista and XP will consist of. There will be lots more detail in the coming weeks, but this is first notice.

Jack

Sony's USB Rootkit vs Sony's Music Rootkit

UPDATE!!

By all accounts this Sony "rootkit" incident is not as blatant or as bad as the music one of days past. It IS EXPLOITABLE, but not as easily or as dangerously as the "old" one. Besides; the user gives permission for this one to be installed, unlike the old hidden installation.

Here is F-Secure's take on it and I recommend everyone read it. It will tell you why this one is not so bad and why it is still exploitable.

Jack

Update to the update; McAfee's take in this gives much, much more detail, including explicit directions on how to use the *darned* thing in anger. See it here.

Mark Russinovich on the Vista Kernel

Mark Russinovich, long a recognized authority on Windows matters and a Microsoft employee for the last year or so, has written on the Vista kernel in some detail. I realize a lot of you aren't interested in this level of detail, but I am and I figured at least a few of you might be.

The link above will take you to part 1. Part 2 is here and part 3 is here.

Jack

Java Kernel plan proceeds

Well, I really missed a trick here. I completely missed that this was happening.

This is a new idea for Java, but Microsoft has moved somewhat closer to this with their .NET runtimes and there is a project to do something vaguely similar with Python, as well. It makes sense in functional terms (though that determination is at the limits of my knowledge) though there is the problem of this sort of thing extending download time on less capacious network connections.

If you have an interest in network applications or web development this is definitely one to watch. It is possible some aspects of this will appear late in next year.

Jack

Deja vu all over again: Sony uses rootkits, charges F-Secure

One would think that someone with authority in such a large corporation would have said "we can't keep doing this" out loud. I guess not.

Jack

Acer Acquiring Gateway for $710 Million

Yet another mega PC maker, the article tells about where this purchase will place Acer in the ranks of top PC makers.

Yet another eWeek article on the subject :
Acer to Buy Gateway

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 08-26-07

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-26-07. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.