Crave

(Credit: PacsWorld/Flickr)

Wilson is "out sick" today, but we're lucky to have Ms. Natali Del Conte nearby to replace him on the show. She was working out of the office last week, so we take this opportunity to update ourselves on all things NDC and you'll be surprised to hear of the changes coming to Loaded. We're so proud of her. Congrats, Natali!

We officially kick off this Monday episode by defining the Web's trendiest new buzzphrase, "augmented reality." We're not sure who came up with it, but it's all the rage in the world of iPhone apps. For example, Yelp built an Easter egg into its app that uses the smartphone's GPS to superimpose digital data onto the world through the camera, making it easy to view restaurants, taxis, bathrooms, and subway information around you. We think it's pretty cool, but Gawker has its own application ideas, like an app called ClubLech, which uses facial recognition and user-inputted data to identify all the singles in a room. Sounds creepy and, like a lot of technology, it takes the fun out of getting to know someone in person. Plus, who wants a digital sign superimposed over their head pointing out their depressingly single relationship status?

Are you having a hard time saying goodbye to "Reading Rainbow?" We are, too. The show has been on the air for 26 years and just recently celebrated its final episode on August 28. We're sad to see a relic of our childhood go the way of the dodo, but it makes perfect sense, since we're pretty sure kids are just illiterate now, so why have a show to promote books? But don't take our word for it; just ask a kid to define the word "Scholastic."

If you want to get your voice mail heard on the air, just give us a call at 1-855-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Could be something about one of our shows, maybe one of the hosts, or just something random that popped into your head. We'll take them all!

Bad news folks, TWITTER IS DOWN! Today, we report on the subsequent worldwide meltdown in addition to stories about Wal-Mart BlackBerries, the fall of gaming magazines, and more submissions for the "Choose Justin's new glasses" competition!

When Motherboard is away, LASERJET will play!

(Credit: Hayato Shimizu)

All hell has broken loose in the tech world with this morning's Twitter crash. The popular microblogging Web site suffered a denial-of-service attack earlier this morning around 6 a.m. PT, but has yet to give out details or an in-depth status update. The last update said it is "defending" itself from an ongoing attack, so good luck to all the frontline GIs fighting the good fight in the trenches so that Ashton Kutcher can continue telling us facts about technology that we already know.

Earth will continue to rotate on its axis despite Twitter soiling the bed, so we bring you more stories from the Internet, including the awful news that Wal-Mart is now selling the new BlackBerry Curve for $48. So now, in addition to supporting an evil dictatorship conglomerate and taking food from the mouths of independent business owners for a 50-cent discount on a box of Tide, consumers can now pick up a cheap mobile phone so that the Walton children can put one more Benz in the garage. Cool! /rant

Be sure to tune into the second half of the show to hear more rants from The 404, but we also lament the death of classic gaming magazines like GamePro, PSM, EGM, etc. While many of them are still available for print subscription, we can't help but reminisce about the old days when you had to subscribe to them in order to get the latest tips and tricks.

So, all that, PLUS we discover the true identity of Motherboard's wily sidekick, LaserJet (thanks Hayato!) and reveal some serious (and some not-so-serious) submissions to the "Choose Justin's new glasses" competition!

With Justin's return from his sojourn into the great outdoors, The 404 crew is complete again to bring you another awesome show, replete with "GI Joe" and "District 9" reviews, optical gaming, and a surprise appearance by Motherboard!

Street Fighter style!

(Credit: Justin Yu/The 404)

After getting mauled by a bear in Yosemite (where's the app for THAT?), I'm back, and much to Jeff, Wilson, and everyone else's dismay SO ARE THE GLASSES! That's right suckers, a little Krazy Glue goes a long way, but I'm not sure how long these things will last, so please continue to e-mail us submissions for the contest to choose my next frames. I'm not gonna lie, I've missed the show dearly and it's great to be back!

The first half of today's show has a lot of movie talk, starting with us talking all sorts of garbage on the new "G.I. Joe" movie. The movie won't be prescreened to critics, and we suspect it has something to do with the trailer receiving so much backlash from justifiably angry fans of the original television series. Jeff also gives us his take on the trailer for "District 9", the new science fiction movie based on the short film Alive in Joburg. Go check that out and let "G.I. Joe" go the way of the buffalo!

The second half just gets nuts, that's all I'll say. OK, well, without giving too much away, it all starts with the Get It Guy, a fake Australian accent, and a very steamy call from SadaCori in the chatroom (a must listen!), but then we get a surprise knock from Motherboard herself, who has something very special to show us...something that NOBODY HAS SEEN BEFORE, so be sure to check out the video for all the details. After that, we dredge up a claim about racism in Resident Evil 5 and it all devolves from there. Trust us, it's the last time you'll hear about it!

As always, feel free to leave us a voicemail at 1-866-404-CNET or get in touch with us on Twitter or at the404[at]cnet[dot]com!

(Credit: Mark Brooks/Natali Del Conte)

Today we're graced by the presence of an actual superhero. Yes, Natali Del Conte has been transformed into the marginally intimidating geek hero "Motherboard." Neither a mother nor a board, Motherboard was sent to this planet to fight crime with her magic gadgets. Too bad she must recharge every night on her magnetic induction bed. Find out the etymology behind our new superfriend and her trusty sidekick Green Show Boy, aka Mark Licea, by listening in!

Also on the show, we discuss the fallout from the Horizon Realty escapade and why the Wii has stopped selling so well.

Finally, we talk about Peter Jackson's latest complaint: the fact that Hollywood has run out of original stories. OK Mr. Jackson, we'll give you District 9, but we're pretty sure both King Kong and The Lord of the Rings may have been other people's ideas.

EPISODE 393

Via's all-new EPIA N700 motherboard.

(Credit: Via)

Via Technologies, a known PC chipset and chipmaker, announced on Thursday its Via EPIA N700 Nano-ITX motherboard. The new board is the first to offer Via's latest VX800 chipset and is compatible with its 1.5GHz C7 and 500MHz Via processors. The new motherboard supports up to 2GB of DDR2 667Mhz system memory. Via claims that this combination of chipset, processor, and ultracompact design allows for a unprecedented balance between extreme miniaturization and uncompromising functionality.

Though tiny, measuring merely 4.7 inches by 4.7 inches, the Via EPIA N700 still manages to offer a variety of onboard ports including two S-ATA ports, a gigabit LAN port, a COM port, two USB 2.0 ports, and a VGA port.

Additional COM, LVDS and IDE support is also available through onboard pin-headers. As VX800 chipset offers an integrated DX9 graphics core with relatively high-quality hardware accelerated video playback, this new motherboard seems a very good solution for ultracompact, low-heat, power-efficient computers.

The Via EPIA N700 board is compatible with Windows XP, Linux, Win CE, and XPe operating systems. It's only available for developers at the moment but will be available for purchase by mid-September. Currently, it's unclear how much the board will be.

Appropriately, a tiny Intel system board has debuted to match the tiny Atom processor. This could yield more portable desktop PC designs like the Eee Box.

The ultra-compact VoomPC rugged car PC enclosure can take a Mini-ITX board with Atom processor.

(Credit: Voom)

The Intel-made motherboard is based on the Mini-ITX standard, which was originally developed by Via Technologies.

Diminutive desktops based on these motherboards can get as small as a typical notebook PC--a design small enough and light enough to be portable.

Intel is calling this category of desktops that sport an Atom 230 or N270 processor Nettops.

Nettops are designed for basic computing tasks like browsing the Web and sending e-mail and are generally cheap, usually less than $300. They typically offer more expansion options, more ports, and greater flexibility than Atom-based Netbooks, which are essentially small notebook PCs.

(Watch an Intel Nettop motherboard video here.)

Intel Nettops contain tiny desktop motherboards.

(Credit: Intel)

Mini-ITX designs are synonymous with low power and low cost. Intel is adopting the design because of its relative popularity in low-cost markets.

The Intel D945GCLF board includes the 1.6GHz Atom 230 processor, an Intel 945GC Express chipset with GMA 950 graphics, and Serial ATA (SATA) and USB 2.0 connectors for about $80.

Instead of building a box, there are, of course, pre-built systems coming like the Eee Box. It packs an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz), 1GB of memory, an 80GB hard disk drive, and Windows XP for $299.

Forget Intel and AMD for a minute. The two largest PC circuit board makers, Asus and Gigabyte, are at it.

The Asus motherboard at the center of the feud

(Credit: Asus)

PC motherboard maker spats have typically taken place below the radar. But a recent round of particularly sharp recriminations have become very visible because they go to the core of a new trend in marketing: How green is your motherboard?

This is what happened: Gigabyte, according to reports, said in Taipei earlier this month that Asus' EPU (energy processing unit)-based motherboards do not achieve the power savings that Asus claims.

In short, Asus claims power savings of just over 80 percent, while Gigabyte claims it is closer to 59 percent.

Gigabyte's attack on Asus alleged that the EPU is purely a marketing term and that Asus did not change the design, firmware, or packaging of the motherboards. Asus returned fire saying its claims were legitimate and threatened legal action, concluding its statement with: "Asus reserves the right to take legal action against any individual, organization or corporation which creates or spreads such rumors."

Seemingly pretty tame stuff by Intel-AMD warfare standards but an issue that has serious implications in the green computing age. Motherboard energy efficiency "is a huge marketing issue as of now," said Wolfgang Gruener of TG Daily that reported on the issue along with Tom's Hardware.

But it does cry out for perspective, according to Dean McCarron, principal at market researcher Mercury Research. Some of the interest in this issue emanates from Web sites that cater to enthusiasts that build their own systems. "The build-your-own crowd...that's a tiny, tiny part of the market...on the order of 1 to 2 percent of all motherboards," McCarron said.

"When you ask how important it is, you have to ask--how important is it to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and systems integrators? There it's becoming of increasing importance," he said. "Dell or HP or Lenovo...You'll see them now offering low-power (models). None of those classifications existed five years ago. So, it's becoming an item of increasing importance over time."

This is true. Dell, for example, says on its business desktop page: "Thanks to Energy Smart technologies, the OptiPlex 755...can save you up to 78 percent on power."

The feud may also have some parallels with Intel-AMD wrangling. As Asus grows in size, McCarron sees other motherboard vendors picking on Asus, the way smaller processor suppliers target (rightly or wrongly) Intel. Asus had sales of $6.9 billion in 2007 and, in addition to motherboards, makes laptops, desktops, servers, graphics cards, mobile telephones, pocket PCs, and a host of computer accessories.

Inexpensive circuit boards can work reliably with the fastest AMD quad-core Phenom processors when modifications are made, according to a report. This comes in the wake of mismatch issues between Phenom chips and select motherboards, as reported by Asia-based vendors.

Gigabyte AMD 780G-based motherboard

(Credit: Gigabyte)

The mismatch between high-end Phenom processors and lower-end motherboards became an issue when some Asia-based manufacturers attempted to plug in 9750 and 9850 Phenom processors into boards based on AMD's 780G chipset. The chipset is attractive to board makers because of its relatively high-performance integrated graphics. (A motherboard is the main circuit board in a PC.)

On Monday, AMD spokesman Jake Whitman said this to CNET's nanotech: the circuit's blog: "What people have done, mistakenly, is paired a 780G (chipset-based) motherboard with the higher frequency Phenom--the 125-watt Phenom."

AMD recommends using a higher-end 790 chipset-based motherboard.

Because of the higher thermal envelope of 125-watt Phenom chips, heat can cause stability issues on less-expensive motherboards, according to a report at tech Web site AnandTech. One of the problems is that some of the less-expensive boards claim support for 125-watt chips.

Against this backdrop, AnandTech demonstrated that motherboards with the 780G chipset will work reliably--with some modifications.

Boards were tested from Gigabyte, Jetway (PDF), ASRock, and Biostar. The tested boards from all four companies support the 125W processors.

"Each and every manufacturer, along with AMD, agreed that cooling the MOSFETS properly was critical to the successful operation of the board at stock or overclocked speeds with the 9850BE--and to some degree, the 6400+ X2," AnandTech said.

(A MOSFET, or metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, handles voltage regulation on the motherboard.)

"This is based on the board manufacturer utilizing a properly developed power delivery system that is designed to handle the 125W TDP processors and in the future, the upcoming 140W TDP Phenoms."

AnandTech said it got around the problem by installing a second fan or a modified heatsink. "We installed a secondary 120mm fan that provided enough airflow over the board to ensure stable operation under our load scenarios."

Upcoming design from Dell (top), existing Hush Technologies ultrasmall desktop (bottom)

(Credit: Dell, Hush Technologies)

Update: Ultrasmall desktops aren't new, but an Intel design unearthed in Asia means there may be a lot more on the way.

Ultracompact desktop PC design is tapping into two powerful forces: Low cost and eco friendliness. Tiny Dell desktops (photo) and Atom-powered Nettops are hints of things to come. And Intel motherboards disclosed in Asia may fuel this trend. Hardware site HKEPC has posted photos of two new Intel Mini-ITX-based motherboards, "Eklo" and "Fly Creek."

(Correction: the motherboard is called Eklo not "Elko" as previously reported.)

The original Mini-ITX board design was introduced in 2001 by Via Technologies and has been used in millions of computers sporting Via processors, according to Dean McCarron, founder and principal of Mercury Research. Mini-ITX designs are synonymous with low power and low cost. Intel is adopting the design because of its relative popularity in low-cost markets.

Both Eklo and Fly Creek are targeted at the sub-$200 entry-level PC market.

"The easiest way to think about (Mini-ITX) is that it's not quite a laptop," said McCarron. "But it has much more in common with a laptop than a desktop."

Intel's Fly Creek board is designed for compact consumer desktops that can use more powerful Intel GMA X3500 graphics technology and faster processors than those found in typical Mini-ITX designs to date.

But Via will punch up graphics and processor performance, too. The x86 processor supplier is joining forces with graphics chip giant Nvidia for small, low-cost designs. Nvidia offered a glimpse of a low-cost board design the two companies are working on earlier this month. And Via is coming out with a faster CPU design this summer called Isaiah.

Moreover, Via, on its own, already has a longstanding presence in the Mini-ITX market, shipping hundreds of thousands of boards per quarter, according to McCarron. And Via's C7 has been the processor of choice for low-cost, space-saving designs.

The series of Mini-ITX boards coming from Intel may cover a wider range of performance options, however--a breadth of offerings Via will have trouble matching. Intel's Mini-ITX will accommodate very-low-cost, low-performance Atom systems as well as higher-performance systems based on Celeron or even Core 2 Duo processors.