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Help Nvidia help you

We've already reported this week on Nvidia's issues with its GeForce 8800 cards and their lack of fully cooked Windows Vista driver software. Yup, it's a bummer. The good news is, you can help. Last night, Nvidia introduced a Vista Quality Assurance Page, which lets you, the GeForce-owning, Windows-Vista-running public, report your bugs directly to Nvidia. The page asks for reports on issues with Vista and any GeForce card, so just because you don't have a newer Nvidia card doesn't mean you're off the hook. But let's keep this on topic, folks. If … Read more

Nvidia responds to Vista driver dust-up

If you've followed PC-related Vista transition news, you'll know that Nvidia still doesn't have a fully functional graphics driver for its GeForce 8000-series graphics cards. The best you can do under Windows Vista is run a single GeForce 8800 with only half of its typical option settings available. Running two 8800's in SLI mode in Vista is out entirely. I find it irritating that Nvidia made a bunch of grand Vista-related promises with these next-gen cards when they were released in November, and hasn't delivered yet. My irritation is mild, though, compared to the folks … Read more

Extra, extra! Vista Ultimate extras go live

If you've been playing around with a prerelease version of Windows Vista Ultimate (millions of people have been testing different versions of the new OS for months), you might have been wondering about all the extra features promised in the highest-end Ultimate edition.

Instead of the usual "no extras are currently available" message, users can now download two new features. The first is Hold 'Em Poker, a basic single-player poker simulator. The second is a series of enhancements that make it easier to use the BitLocker hard drive encryption system.

It may not be the most awe-inspiring … Read more

Apple joins the 802.11n revolution

We saw this news over on Crunchgear this morning, and sure enough, the Apple Store has a download enabling 802.11n wireless networking on the majority of its current desktops and laptops. It'll cost you $1.99 (nickel and dime much, Apple?) but for that affordable price you can upgrade an Airport Extreme-equipped Mac Pro and every Core 2 Duo-based MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac (minus the 17-inch, 1.83GHz model). We're disappointed the MacMini didn't make the cut, but then it still uses Core Duo (note the missing "2"). Perhaps when/if the little … Read more

Why would you want a folding PC?

Because it costs less, that's why. If you're the type of rugged individualist who builds computers from scratch (well, almost), then you know that shipping can be the difference between a bargain and a waste of time. So Aopen Asia is making tower cases that fold up and save space, resulting in lower packing and shipping costs, according to OhGizmo. This way, the company says it can fit twice as many cases in a standard shipping container. There are no guarantees, of course, that the savings will be passed along to the consumer. (We can be so cynical … Read more

Intel's next-gen chips finalized, ramping up for 2008

Intel already has a significant advantage over AMD in CPU efficiency. As expected, today Intel announced that starting in 2008, that gap could become even wider. The specs for its new processors, code-named Penryn, have been finalized, and new desktop, laptop, and server CPUs should go into production in the latter half of 2007, with a street date planned in the first half of 2008. The Penryn chips will use a 45-nanometer manufacturing process, which should let Intel dial up clock speeds while maintaining relatively stable levels of power consumption.

In chipspeak, the fewer the nanometers the better. Intel uses … Read more

When projects hang over your head, literally

We appreciated the "Easy Desk Aluminum" laptop stand because it suited our hopelessly slothful lifestyle, but we're not so sure about the "Ergopod 500" by Office Organix that's featured on Neatorama. It's not that we doubt its usefulness--as the company indicates, the setup can be used by bedridden individuals or others who can't use computers in any other position. What would concern us is the precarious-looking configuration of the equipment, as shown in this accompanying picture with the large monitor hanging over the guy's head. We wouldn't want to be … Read more