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SilentPC Review is tackling the topic of a AMD Turion 64 processor on the desktop. The Pentium M has had measured success on the desktop so why not the Turion 64 as well?

Another reason why more people haven’t turned to the Turion 64 is because not much is known about it. AMD has done a good job of selling the Turion 64 as a notebook processor, so people tend to assume that it is less powerful and less interesting than the top-of-the-line Athlon 64 and X2 processors. Sure, it may be efficient, but why trade performance for efficiency.

Review Link:  SilentPCReview

A new look for your desktop. Desktop Earth generates very high-resolution wallpapers based on NASA’s Blue Marble Next imagery. Both online and downloadable versions are available.

Link:  codefromthe70s.org

It was exclusively revealed last week the Windows Vista editions are finalised.

There will be two general categories of Windows Vista editions, which map closely to the two that exist today for XP (”Home,” which comprises Starter, Home, and Media Center Editions, Pro, which includes Professional, Professional x64, and Tablet PC Editions). In Windows Vista, the two categories are Home and Business.

Here are the final Editions:

Windows Starter 2007
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic N
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Business N
Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows Vista Enterprise

The news of the SKUs can be found on the beta pages of Windows Vista help.

Until Microsoft sends out a press release no specific details of each version but the N stands for the media player free versions of Vista which will be sold seperately in Europe.

Additional Info: Windows Vista Help

At last, SkyDSL finally upgraded my connection from 896 kpbs to 1.5 mbps. I had to request for a speed upgrade by sending a request letter unlike others who got theirs automatically. This was because I was still using a different type of connection wherein most new subscribers are now under a PPPoE connection.

Getting a speed upgrade has its downside though….. I had to give out my static IP and get a dynamic IP address from SkyDSL. Anyway, the upgrade includes their S.O.D. feature which makes my connection burst up to 2 mbps from 10PM to 10AM. Well, as of today I’m satisfied with it.

There is a file running around the internet claiming to be screenshots of the Leopard Mac OS X 10.5. Unfortunately it is a trojan and it sends itself to other users in your AIM / iChat buddy list.

The resultant file decompresses into what appears to be a standard JPEG icon in Mac OS X but is actually a compiled Unix executable in disguise. An initial disassembly (from original discussion thread) reveals evidence that the application is virus-like or was designed to give that impression.

Source: Macrumors

All this is not to say that Vista is a slam-dunk and everyone should be running out to buy it as soon as Microsoft takes the wraps off. Be sure to read the “Five Things That Will Give You Pause” at the end of the article as well.

Meet the old boss, same as the new boss: Microsoft has added lots of new stuff to Vista, but some features are just warmed-over fare. Windows Mail is nothing more than a rebranded Outlook Express, and Windows Defender is simply an updated version of Microsoft AntiSpyware.

So keep your eyes peeled for future previews of Vista. It may not be perfect (what software is?), but in a lot of ways, it’s a giant leap forward.

Source:  Yahoo News

AMD’s new CPU socket, AM2, will launch at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan this June. The first AM2 motherboards will be on display at the European CeBIT show this March.

Socket AM2’s initial “F” stepping will mark AMD’s leap to DDR2 and allow for higher clock frequencies over current Socket 939 processors. While it is a 940-pin configuration manufactured under a 90nm process, its pin layout is not compatible with current Opteron and FX 940-pin processors.

The two launch processors will be the dual core 5000+ and FX-62, running at 2.6GHz and 2.8GHz respectively. The new processors are equipped with 1MB L2 cache per core, much like current Toledo core dual-core processors. While Intel has chosen a new branding for its new processor lines AMD has chosen to retain the Athlon 64 X2 name despite the architectural changes.

A lot of technical information is available at X-bit labs, so head on over there to read more.

News Source:  XBitlabs