computing

AMD today announced its first desktop processors manufactured on the 65-nanometer process, which arrive more than a year after Intel first started selling its 65nm chips. AMD new chips promise better energy efficiency rather than improved performance. The 65nm chips are dual core, feature 1MB of L2 cache, carry the same Athlon 64 X2 name as the company's existing 90nm chips, and will work current socket AM2 motherboards. AMD's new 65nm chips also introduce another first for the company: strained silicon, which stretches the atoms of the silicon in the chips so electrons can travel faster (more on … Read more

We fully admit to having precious little information about this item, but the photo alone is simply too good to resist. According to a blog called Big Marketing for Small Business, "A revolutionary new miniature computer is being worked on in Japan that comes in the shape of a pen that you can slip in to your pocket." It's especially interesting given that the whole concept of "pen computing" became something of a laughingstock years ago, at least until the PDA stylus came along.

This pen-sized device supposedly projects a virtual keyboard and screen, recogizing … Read more

Actress Denise Richards has apparently come up with a new use for computers--paparazzi protection.

Richards, 35, accidentally injured two elderly women yesterday after hurling two photographers' laptops off a hotel balcony in Canada, according to the Associated Press (and every celebrity gossip site on the Web). Richards was up north shooting the film Blonde and Blonder at the River Rock Casino Resort.

Richards, reportedly peeved that a couple of unauthorized photographers tried to snap her picture, pushed their laptops over a ledge onto two unlucky passersby below. Oops. Paramedics were called to the scene and said the injuries did not … Read more

Looks like the holidays have come early for cheap-laptop hunters: Today Gateway announced a 15.4-inch notebook that will cost just $699 through December 28. At that price, the NX570X comes stocked with a 1.6GHz Intel Core Duo T2050 processor; 512MB of swift 667MHz RAM; an 80GB, 5,400rpm hard drive; integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics; and a CD burner. That's not exactly a mind-blowing configuration, but it is quite respectable, considering most laptops in the sub-$800 range cheap out with generations-old components and missing features.

All the models in the NX570 series will include a 15.… Read more

Where the MacBook Pro goes, the MacBook is sure to follow. Like its big sibling, Apple's low-end laptop has ditched its Core Duo processor in favor of Core 2 Duo. The MacBook page at the Apple Store is currently in the midst of an update, but AppleInsider reports that pricing will remain at $1,099 for the baseline model. That price nets you a white MacBook with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 512MB of DDR2 memory, a 60GB hard drive, and Intel GMA 950 graphics--plus all the other Apple goodies you've come to expect, such as … Read more

If you don't have kids, this might seem like a waste of money. But many of us at Crave are the bearers of rug rats who, like most others of their ilk, would like nothing better than to watch TV or play video games until their eyeballs melt.

So we'll be giving serious consideration to purchasing the Bob, a time management device designed to help keep your offspring from contributing to the swelling ranks of childhood obesity. Many TV sets already have a sleep timer that will shut it off at a designated hour, but it's usually … Read more

Now that's what we call a mini-computer. The aptly named Gumstix, according to Gizmodo, is a Linux-based computer that measures a diminutive 1 by 5 inches that's designed primarly for network testing and diagnosis. It's not a supercomputer, but it has a 400-MHz Intel chip and 64MB of memory--not bad, considering it can fit in your shirt pocket. And the best part of all is its equally small price of $206.

(Photo: Gizmodo)

If nothing else, you've got to admire Miguel Carrasco for attempting the impossible feat of naming the "10 biggest computer flops of all time." (Impossible because everyone will have a different opinion of what should be on the list.)

Three of the 10 entries on the developer's Real World blog are Apple products--the Newton, the Apple 3 and the Lisa--a disproportionate ratio that would surely be flame bait for Mac fanatics. But some of the software entries are indisputable, such as Microsoft 's Bob, the newbie software that's been fodder for geekfest jokes for more … Read more

To go on a proper energy diet, first you'd have to measure the power consumed around the house, outlet by outlet. Just like counting calories, that would take all the fun out of gobbling up electricity. But if you're really geeked about saving money and greening your home, then you might follow the lead of one Silicon Valley engineer who crusaded around his apartment with the Kill-a-Watt energy meter, measuring the appetite of nearly every appliance.

Eric Boyd calculated that over a year, his refrigerator, desktop PC, and iMac used the most electricity. He estimated that his stove, … Read more