bios

Featured Freeware: BIOS Agent

This is an efficient, easy-to-use tool to help you figure out the details that make your computer tick. BIOS Agent is a lightweight freeware application with a clean and well-designed interface that lets you get the information you need with only a few button presses.

The program can retrieve information on the type of BIOS your computer runs and chipset type, as well as information on CPU, ROM, and RAM. Once you've gathered the details you need, you can save the report in TXT format or print it. There's no installation required for BIOS Agent, and it should … Read more

LucasArts, BioWare unveil new 'Star Wars' game

Updated at 4:13 p.m. PDT: This story now includes more information from the press event announcing 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' at LucasArts Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO--At a press event at LucasArts' headquarters in the Presidio here Tuesday afternoon, LucasArts and BioWare unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, a new massively multiplayer online game.

The game is set about 350 years after the popular Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games and about 3,500 years before the Star Wars movies.

The companies did not divulge a release date and it appears that they will not show any … Read more

Lawsuit alleges Nvidia hid chip defects

A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges Nvidia lost more than $3 billion in market value because it concealed defects in its graphics chips.

The complaint filed by New York-based Shalov Stone Bonner & Rocco alleges that Nvidia committed "securities fraud" due to "a series of misrepresentations and omissions that actively concealed and failed to disclose the unusually high failure rates of Nvidia's mobile video adapters."

The suit ties the alleged misrepresentations to Nvidia's loss of market capitalization since July when the company "belatedly" revealed the information about problems and "promptly" lost $… Read more

Boot your computer from a CD

Booting from CD is one of those computer functions that everyone seems to assume you know how to do. Watch this video, then read this quick tip, and you too will know.

You may be able to just boot from CD without doing anything. Put a bootable CD in the drive, restart the computer, and see. If it doesn't work for you, here's what to try next:

The BIOS is the part of a PC that boots up first and figures out where the operating system is. You can usually access it by pressing a function key during … Read more

Lotus Omnivore runs on a variety of fuels

Lotus Engineering, the automotive consultancy division of Lotus, is back in the news again, this time with a new engine concept called the Omnivore. Lotus announced that it would be collaborating with Queen's University Belfast and Jaguar Cars to develop the engine, which is said to maximize fuel efficiency when running on renewable fuels. Essentially, the Omnivore is an engine that can run on almost anything, from gasoline to alcohol.

This engine design is expected to significantly increase fuel efficiency for sustainable bio alcohol fuels (such as ethanol or methanol) by using a combination of direct injection and variable … Read more

Dell issues update for Nvidia graphics chip glitch

Update on July 27 at 10:00 a.m. with additional information

Dell has issued a system update for a well-publicized problem with Nvidia chips.

The company said Friday it has posted BIOS updates for an Nvidia graphics chip glitch affecting laptop computers. Citing Nvidia information, Dell said the "affected GPUs (graphics processing units) are experiencing higher than expected failure rates causing video problems."

"The issue is a weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations. If your GPU fails, you may see intermittent symptoms," the Dell blog said.

Dell said the … Read more

Auctions could fetch big bucks for cloned dogs

When Lou Hawthorne met Mira, the clone of his dog Missy, he couldn't have been happier. The puppy was just like Missy--and in some ways better because she mirrored Missy in her younger, more playful days.

So BioArts International, Hawthorne's biotech start-up that focuses on animal and human genomics, decided to spread the love.

Starting July 5, the highest bidders in five separate online auctions will win the opportunity to clone their own dogs.

Hawthorne, the company's CEO, said the event is the first step in making his Mill Valley, Calif.-based company's technology available to … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week's games all originate from Japan and are now playable on your Nintendo Wii console. Virtual Console

Dig Dug (1985, NES, 600 Wii points): Dig Dug is the classic digging game where you must destroy underground monsters all while making sure not to get caught by them. Originally released in 1982 as an arcade game, the NES version of Dig Dug can now be enjoyed on your Nintendo Wii. Bio-Miracle Bokutte Upa (1993, NES, 600 Wii points): Bio-Miracle Bokutte Upa is a Japanese import that was originally made to run on the Famicon Disk System. In the game, … Read more

Biotech pros press algae into biodiesel production

Algae, it seems, is the new darling of the biofuels world. Aurora BioFuels on Tuesday announced that it has raised $20 million to build open-pond algae farms to make bio-oil.

It's one of several funding announcements from start-ups looking to make algae a commercially viable alternative to soy, canola, or fry grease to make fuel for diesel vehicles.

Aurora BioFuels, started by University of California at Berkeley students, has a process that it says can create biodiesel at yields that are 125 times higher and have 50 percent lower costs than today's production methods.

The company intends to … Read more