driver

It qualifies as one of the major annoyances of notebook-computer users: inadvertently moving the cursor by brushing against the touch pad while typing. One person I know actually taped a business card over his laptop's touch pad. Well, what the technique lacks in elegance it makes up for in simplicity.

But what if you want to disable your touch pad only when you have a mouse or other input device plugged in? That's my situation. When I'm using my laptop at a desk or other semipermanent location, I plug in a USB tablet to give me more … Read more

ATI graphics drivers will now be delivered in one tidy package for both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Advanced Micro Devices said Wednesday that it has released Catalyst 9.3, a set of new graphics drivers that constitute a "unified" driver installation package, with support for both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

One of the biggest changes for Windows 7 is support for the Windows Display Driver Model 1.1, an update from WDDM 1.0 used in Vista, according to Andrew Dodd, a software product manager at ATI. "(Catalyst 9.3) is one single binary and … Read more

With online video and audio becoming more popular every day, most have experienced the frustration of not getting a podcast or video to work because of codec issues. Fortunately, this little utility helps let you know what's installed on your machine.

InstalledCodec offers a basic functionality: It lists all the codec drivers and Direct Show filters currently installed on your system. The interface isn't flashy or ostentatiously designed, but simply a functional pane that lists items according to a variety of categories. These categories include the driver or filter's name, type, whether it's disabled, its install … Read more

Buried in the midst of Car and Driver magazine's report on the 2010 Ford Mustang GT ($28,845) I spotted a reference to the engineers newfound awareness of sound. Not in the sense of a new multichannel sound system or iPod dock, no, Ford "pipes-in" the sound of the GT's 315 horsepower V-8 engine to the cockpit.

The specially designed pipe, dubbed a "Sound Induction Tube," transmits the sensual sounds of the Mustang's throbbing American V-8 muscle. In fact, the tube is fitted with a "Tuned Membrane" to provide just the … Read more

Today's show features a new recurring guest segment featuring our two favorite ladies, codenamed Heavy and Flo! They'll join us once a month to bring a very refreshing female presence to this bromance. We're testing their ability to keep up with the dudes, and they pass with flying colors, discussing stories like Bill Murray's spot-on Bruce Wayne impression, Indiana's strict driver's license rules, Heavy's visit to the Playboy mansion, and Rock Band's foray into the Country music scene.

Last week, the dudes and I realized one glaring downfall to our show: all … Read more

File this one under "driver tech" instead of "car tech." The State of New York has started offering driver's licenses embedded with RFID chips, or enhanced driver's licenses (EDLs). The news comes on the heels of New York becoming the second state to offer identification that can be shown at the border in lieu of a U.S. passport (which is also RFID-embedded).

The radio frequency identification chip in the EDL will be able to be scanned by authorities to identify citizens entering the state from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean. Intercontinental travelers will … Read more

Not everyone is rocking to the new iTunes 8 released Tuesday. An informal poll on ZDNet suggests that a problem with the latest edition of the Apple media player is affecting some, but not all, users of the software on Microsoft's Windows Vista. (You can download iTunes 8 for Windows from CNET Download.com.)

Users on an Apple forum reported seeing the so-called blue screen of death (BSOD) on their desktops running Windows Vista with iTunes 8 installed. The BSOD problem occurs shortly after connecting their iPods and iPhones.

A second, more subtle effect is that their CD/DVD drives "disappear." … Read more

Following up on the success of their FireWire Speakers, LaCie has announced another collaboration with designer Neil Poulton. This model retains the same minimalist design aesthetic but draws power from USB instead of Firewire for plug-and-play compatibility with most PC and Mac computers.

Created with the "en vogue" consumer in mind, the USB Speakers let you forgo standard audio cables and replace them with a single USB cord. All the juice needed to power the set is drawn from the computer's bus, and a single wire connects the left and right speakers.

The speakers are shaped like … Read more

For the last couple of months, I have been trying to find the source of an intermittent glitch with my notebook PC's wireless connection. I would often lose Internet access when waking the system from sleep mode: the network icon in the system tray indicated "Local only."

Restarting the machine restored the wireless link, but then why use sleep mode at all? After a little trial-and-error (mostly the latter), I decided to check the age of the device driver for the notebook's wireless adapter. Not surprisingly, the driver was slightly older than the machine itself, which … Read more