BitDefender Review

Ease of Use:

Softwin has covered all of the bases with BitDefender. This comprehensive product has an attractive, easy–to–use design that is consistent throughout the software and the manufacturer’s website. Because it is simple to use and updates itself automatically, you can install it on your system, then practically forget it’s there—an ideal solution for any user.

BitDefender creates a small window called the “File Zone” on your desktop that indicates how many files the program has scanned in the past few minutes. You can also drag and drop files into the File Zone for an immediate scan. The program prepares a report of each completed scan so you know exactly what your files do or do not contain and you can instruct BitDefender to disinfect or remove any infected files or messages.

You can also customize BitDefender’s security settings for features such as AntiVirus, Firewall, Antispam, Antispyware and Parental Control.

Effectiveness:

BitDefender’s customizable settings make the program effective for a variety of users. For example, if you receive legitimate commercial email, you can set BitDefender’s spam filters to allow specific or all emails.

Virus Bulletin rated BitDefender a VB100%, the highest honor for anti–virus software.

The VB 100% logo is awarded to anti–virus products that detect all current “in the wild” viruses during both on–demand and on–access scanning in Virus Bulletin’s comparative tests.

Additionally, BitDefender passed the ICSA 2007—a similar test that certifies the software can detect viruses, prevent virus replication, and doesn’t generate false positives.

Updates:

The live update feature checks for product and virus definition updates at either a user–defined interval, manually or default (every hour). When you do a manual check for updates, you can decide which updates to install. When the software automatically checks for updates, it can update the files immediately or at a specified time that you can determine during setup.

Feature Set:

BitDefender uses the ICSA Labs certified scanning engines, so you can feel secure about their virus protection.

The program creates a summary log of events that shows the last definitions updates, details on any virus the software encounters, the last time you ran a scan, definitions number and more. And new in 2008, Bitdefender has added a Gamer Feature so it won't tax your memory during intense gaming.

BitDefender’s startup guard will tell you if a program is trying to load itself upon start up so you can choose to allow it or not. This software suite also comes with adware and spyware detectors. Though we recommend using an antispyware scanner, as they are designed specifically for this purpose, it is nice to have two programs working towards a common goal, to keep your computer clean.

Ease of Installation:

This product is easy to download from their website.

Help/Support:

When you purchase BitDefender you also receive one year of virus signature and scan engine updates. The manufacturer offers qualified technical support live via the Internet and telephone.

There is also an online database with answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and they have an email address–they answered our email within 6 hours. An online forum is located at http://forum.bitdefender.com/.

Summary:

BitDefender is easy to use, simple to install, has a great feature set and at $24.95, it won’t break your bank account. Anyone who spends time on the Internet knows the importance of anti–virus software; BitDefender will keep your computer virus–free and running smoothly.

DVD Cloner Review

Feature Set:

DVD Cloner 5 makes quality DVD copies quickly and gives you the option to copy bonus footage, subtitles, audio, language and menus. In addition, unlike most products, this cloner incorporates the ability to decrypt CSS encryption without requiring an additional download. With DVD Cloner 5’s decryption tools, virtually any DVD or CD can be copied. One new feature to Cloner 5 is the ability to make multiple copies of the same movie in one sitting. You simply choose the number of copies you would like and the software will prompt you every time a new blank disk needs to be inserted into the burner.

DVD Cloner 5 makes excellent, high-quality copies even if you are shrinking an entire full-length DVD (DVD-9) with all its bonus footage to a 4.5 GB DVD-R (DVD-5). It also supports copying to dual-layer DVD-Rs (DVD-9) so you don't need to compress anything. Note: You must have a dual-layer compatible DVD burner to take advantage of this feature.

If your burner is not capable of burning to a dual-layer DVD-9 disc, this software offers two good options. One, an excellent copy can be made by choosing “Movie Only,” this option cuts out additional bonus footage and menus, therefore requiring less compression. Additionally, you can split the entire DVD onto two DVD-5 discs with no quality loss.

New to DVD Cloner 5 is the ability to rip HD and Blu-ray disks directly to your hard drive with the use of a free plug-in. However, you can only utilize this feature if you have a HD or Blu-ray player already installed on your computer.

Bundled with DVD Cloner 5 is the ability to convert your DVDs to multiple formats using DVD to AVI, DVD to MPEG and DVD to SVCD. Typically this would require expensive additional software, but with version 5 it's already included.

This software also has the ability to copy to your hard drive, which is a useful, energy saving feature for laptops.

One of DVD Cloner’s best features is the ability to recover damaged DVDs. Integrated into the "full copy" selection, DVD Cloner will recover the damaged data like scratches or bad sectors, and restore the original data to your burned copy. Making a copy better than the original.

DVD Cloner 5 is extremely compatible with multiple languages including, English, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Greek, Hungarian and many more. It also supports PAL, NTSC, DVD+-R/RW, all home stand-alone DVD players and most DVD burners.

Ease of Use:

This product is exceptionally easy to use - even for non-techies, no matter which format you are copying to. The screens are well designed and intuitive. Version 5 includes an “Express Mode” and “Expert Mode.” With “Express Mode” copying DVDs is literally a “one–click” process.

In “Expert Mode,” the software guides you through the process of customizing and creating professional copies. You choose which chapters, language, audio tracks and bonus features to keep.

The help section is easily accessible and provides useful information; however, the product is so easy to use, we found that we didn’t have to consult it often.
Ease of Installation:

DVD Cloner 5 installs quickly and effortlessly. It does not require any additional downloads for standard copying, since it includes the latest decryption codes including the ability to copy Sony and Disney films.

To use the bonus software or HD/Blu-ray feature, you do need to make additional downloads; however, we found the process simple and easy to understand.

Quality of Copy:

This product makes outstanding 1:1 DVD copies—we were able to copy movies like “Transformers” and many other major new releases. Even the compressed DVD-9 to DVD-5 copies appeared to have little quality loss.

Program Stability:

We didn't encounter any problems or errors while using this product. It proved to be compatible with our other software, burners and the copies played on all of our DVD players.

Summary:

DVD Cloner 5, with its included CSS decryptor, trumps the competition. With this product, you can copy almost any DVD, CD or HD disk to create quality back-up copies, quickly.

Now you can archive your expensive originals and use your portable inexpensive copies without worrying about damage or theft. If something happens to your copy, just make another, it’s that simple.

You also get FREE DVD-TO-AVI, DVD-TO-MPEG, and DVD-TO-SVCD with a registered copy of DVD Cloner 5.

• DVD-TO-AVI is an ideal choice to backup DVD copy speedily with fine audio and video effect.
• DVD-TO-MPEG is powerful, convenient, and high-efficient software to convert DVD to MPEG.
• DVD-TO-SVCD is a powerful and easy DVD ripper application for converting DVDs to VCD and SVCD with excellent output quality.

MPEG-4 Technology

MP4 Technology

MPEG-4 is a standard used primarily to compress audio and visual (AV) digital data. Introduced in late 1998, it is the designation for a group of audio and video coding standards and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) under the formal standard ISO/IEC 14496. The uses for the MPEG-4 standard are web (streaming media) and CD distribution, conversation (videophone), and broadcast television, all of which benefit from compressing the AV stream.

MPEG-4 absorbs many of the features of MPEG-1 an

d MPEG-2 and other related standards, adding new features such as (extended) VRML support for 3D rendering, object-oriented composite files (including audio, video and VRML objects), support for externally-specified Digital Rights Management and various types of interactivity. AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) was standardized as an adjunct to MPEG-2 (as Part 7) before MPEG-4 was issued.

MPEG-4 is still a developing standard and is divided into a number of parts. Unfortunately the companies promoting MPEG-4 compatibility do not always clearly state which "part" level compatibility. The key parts to be aware of are MPEG-4 part 2 (MPEG-4 SP/ASP, used by codecs such as DivX, Xvid, Nero Digital and 3ivx and by Quicktime 6) and MPEG-4 part 10 (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, used by the x264 codec, by Nero Digital AVC, by Quicktime 7, and by next-gen DVD formats like HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc).

Most of the features included in MPEG-4 are left to individual developers to decide whether to implement them. This means that there are probably n

o complete implementations of the entire MPEG-4 set of standards. To deal with this, the standard includes the concept of "profiles" and "levels", allowing a specific set of capabilities to be defined in a manner appropriate for a subset of applications.

MPEG-4 provides a series of technologies for developers, for various service-providers and for end users.

• MPEG-4 enables different developers to create objects possessing better abilities of adaptability and flexibility to improve the qualit y of such services and technologies as digital television, animation graphics, World Wide Web and their extensions. This standard enables developers to control their content better and to fight more effectively against copyright violations.

• Various network providers can use MPEG-4 for data transparency. With the help of standard procedures such data can be interpreted and transformed into various signals compatible with any available network.

• The MPEG-4 format provides the end users with a wide range of interaction with various animated objects.

• Standardized Digital Rights Management signaling, otherwise known in the MPEG community as Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP).

The MPEG-4 format can perform various functions, among which might be the following:

• Multiplexes and synchronizes data, associated with media objects, in such a way that they could be transported further via network channels.

• Interaction with the audio-visual scene, which is formed on the side of the receiver.

MPEG-4 parts

MPEG-4 consists of several standards—termed "parts"—including the following:

• Part 1 (ISO/IEC 14496-1): Systems: Describes synchronization and multiplexing of video and audio. For example Transport stream.
• Part 2 (ISO/IEC 14496-2): Visual: A compression codec for visual data (video, still textures, synthetic images, etc.). One of the many "profiles" in Part 2 is the Advanced Simple Profile (ASP).
• Part 3 (ISO/IEC 14496-3): Audio: A set of compression codecs for perceptual coding of audio signals, including some variations of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) as well as other audio/speech coding tools.
• Part 4 (ISO/IEC 14496-4): Conformance: Describes procedures for testing conformance to other parts of the standard.
• Part 5 (ISO/IEC 14496-5): Reference Software: Provides software for demonstrating and clarifying the other parts of the standard.
• Part 6 (ISO/IEC 14496-6): Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF).
• Part 7 (ISO/IEC 14496-7): Optimized Reference Software: Provides examples of how to make improved implementations (e.g., in relation to Part 5).
• Part 8 (ISO/IEC 14496-8): Carriage on IP networks: Specifies a method to carry MPEG-4 content on IP networks.
• Part 9 (ISO/IEC 14496-9): Reference Hardware: Provides hardware designs for demonstrating how to implement the other parts of the standard.
• Part 10 (ISO/IEC 14496-10): Advanced Video Coding (AVC): A codec for video signals which is technically identical to the ITU-T H.264 standard.
• Part 11 (ISO/IEC 14496-11): Scene description and Application engine, also called BIFS; can be used for rich, interactive content with multiple profiles, including 2D and 3D versions.
• Part 12 (ISO/IEC 14496-12): ISO Base Media File Format: A file format for storing media content.
• Part 13 (ISO/IEC 14496-13): Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP) Extensions.
• Part 14 (ISO/IEC 14496-14): MPEG-4 File Format: The designated container file format for MPEG-4 content, which is based on Part 12.
• Part 15 (ISO/IEC 14496-15): AVC File Format: For storage of Part 10 video based on Part 12.
• Part 16 (ISO/IEC 14496-16): Animation Framework eXtension (AFX).
• Part 17 (ISO/IEC 14496-17): Timed Text subtitle format.
• Part 18 (ISO/IEC 14496-18): Font Compression and Streaming (for OpenType fonts).
• Part 19 (ISO/IEC 14496-19): Synthesized Texture Stream.
• Part 20 (ISO/IEC 14496-20): Lightweight Scene Representation (LASeR).
• Part 21 (ISO/IEC 14496-21): MPEG-J Graphical Framework eXtension (GFX) (not yet finished - at "FCD" stage in July 2005, FDIS January 2006).
• Part 22 (ISO/IEC 14496-22): Open Font Format Specification (OFFS) based on OpenType (not yet finished - reached "CD" stage in July 2005)
• Part 23 (ISO/IEC 14496-23): Symbolic Music Representation (SMR) (not yet finished - reached "FCD" stage in October 2006)

Profiles are also defined within the individual "parts", so an implementation of a part is ordinarily not an implementation of an entire part.

MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-7 and MPEG-21 are other suites of MPEG standards.

HyperTransport Technology

TRANSFER SPEED VERY FAST UP TO 8Gb/s

HyperTransport (HT), formerly known as Lightning Data Transport (LDT), is a bidirectional serial/parallel high-bandwidth, low-latency point-to-point link that was introduced on April 2, 2001.^[1] The HyperTransport Consortium is in charge of promoting and developing HyperTransport technology. The technology is used by AMD and Transmeta in x86 processors, PMC-Sierra, Broadcom, and Raza Microelectronics in MIPS microprocessors, AMD, NVIDIA, VIA and SiS in PC chipsets, HP, Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Flextronics in servers, Cray, Newisys, QLogic, and XtremeData, Inc. in high performance computing, and Cisco Systems in routers.

HyperTransport comes in three versions — 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 — which run from 200 MHz to 2.6 GHz (compared to PCI at either 33 or 66 MHz). It is also a DDR or "Double Data Rate" connection, meaning it sends data on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal. This allows for a maximum data rate of 5200 MTransfers/s when running at 2.6 GHz; this frequency is auto-negotiated.

HyperTransport supports an auto-negotiated bit width, based on two 2-bit lines to 32-bit lines. The full-sized, full-speed, 32-bit interconnect in each direction has a transfer rate of 20.8 GByte/s (2.6 GHz * (32 bits / 8)), aggregating 41.6 GB/s bandwidth in two directions, making it much faster than many existing standards. Links of various widths can be mixed together into a single application (for example, 2x8 instead of 1x16), which allows for higher speed interconnects between main memory and the CPU, and lower speed interconnects among peripherals as appropriate. The technology also has much lower latency than other solutions.

HyperTransport is packet-based, with each packet always consisting of a set of 32-bit words, regardless of the physical width of the connection. The first word in a packet is always a command word. If a packet contains an address, then the last 8 bits of the command word are chained with the next 32-bit word in order to make a 40-bit address. An additional 32-bit control packet is allowed to be prepended when 64-bit addressing is required. The remaining 32-bit words in a packet are the data payload. Transfers are always padded to a multiple of 32 bits, regardless of their actual length.

HyperTransport packets enter the interconnect in segments known as bit times. The number of bit times that it necessitates depends on the width of the interconnect. HyperTransport can be used for generating system management messages, signaling interrupts, issuing probes to adjacent devices or processors, and general I/O and data transactions. There are usually two different kinds of write commands that can be used - posted and non-posted. Posted writes are ones that do not require a response from the target. This is usually used for high bandwidth devices such as Uniform Memory Access traffic or Direct memory access transfers. Non-posted writes require a response from the receiver in the form of a "target done". Reads also cause the receiver to generate a read response.

HyperTransport also facilitates power management as it is compliant with the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface specification. This means that changes in processor sleep states (C states) can signal changes in device states (D states), e.g. powering off disks when the CPU goes to sleep.

Electrically, HyperTransport is similar to Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) operating at 2.5V.

There has been marketing confusion between the use of HT referring to HyperTransport and the use of HT to refer to Intel's Hyper-Threading feature of some Pentium 4 based microprocessors. Hyper-Threading is officially known as Hyper-Threading Technology (HTT) or HT-Technology. Because of this potential for confusion, the HyperTransport Consortium always uses the written out form: "HyperTransport".

Applications for HyperTransport

Front-Side Bus Replacement

The primary use for HyperTransport is to replace the front-side bus, which is currently different for every type of machine. For instance, a Pentium cannot be plugged into a PCI bus. In order to expand the system, the front-side bus must connect through adaptors for the various standard buses, like AGP or PCI. These are typically included in the respective controller functions, namely the northbridge and southbridge.

In theory, a similar computer implemented with HyperTransport is faster and more flexible. A single PCI↔HyperTransport adaptor chip will work with any HyperTransport enabled microprocessor and allow the use of PCI cards with these processors. For example, the NVIDIA nForce chipset uses HyperTransport to connect its north and south bridges.

Multiprocessor interconnect

Another use for HyperTransport is as an interconnect for NUMA multiprocessor computers. AMD uses HyperTransport with a proprietary cache coherency extension as part of their Direct Connect Architecture in their Opteron and Athlon 64 FX (Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture) line of processors. The HORUS interconnect from Newisys extends this concept to larger clusters.

Router or Switch Bus Replacement

HyperTransport can also be used as a bus in routers and switches. Routers and switches have multiple network interfaces and data has to be forwarded between these ports as fast as possible e.g. a four port 100 MBit/s Ethernet router needs a maximum 800 MBit/s of internal bandwidth (100 MBit/s * 4 ports * 2 directions). HyperTransport greatly exceeds the bandwidth needed for this application. However, HyperTransport has largely fallen out of favour with the networking community, in favour of SPI 4.2 and PCI Express.

HTX and Co-processor interconnect

The issue of bandwidth between CPUs and co-processors has usually been the major stumbling block to their practical implementation. After years without an officially recognized one, a connector designed for such expansion using a HyperTransport interface was introduced and is known as HyperTransport eXpansion (HTX). Using the same mechanical connector as a 16-lane PCI-Express slot (plus an x1 connector for power pins), HTX allows plug-in cards to be developed which support direct access to a CPU and DMA access to the system RAM. The initial card for this slot was the QLogic InfiniPath InfiniBand HCA. Recently, co-processors such as FPGAs have appeared which can access the HyperTransport bus and become first-class citizens on the motherboard. Current generation FPGAs from both of the main manufacturers (Altera and Xilinx) can directly support the HyperTransport interface and have IP Cores available. Companies such as XtremeData, Inc. take these FPGAs (Altera in this example) and create a module that allows FPGAs to be plugged directly into the Opteron socket.

The current HTX standard is limited to 16 bits and 800 MHz, making it slower than the PCI-E standard from which it borrows its connector. An earlier Samtec test connector, however, achieved full 32-bit, 2.8GHz operation.

AMD has announced an initiative named Torrenza in September 21, 2006 to further promote the usage of HyperTransport for plug-in cards and coprocessors.

AMD Chipset 2008

AMD 700 Chipset

The AMD 700 chipset series (also called as AMD 7-Series Chipsets) is a set of upcoming chipsets designed by ATI to be sold under the AMD brand and is scheduled to launch between the end of 2007 to the first half of 2008.

The existence of the chipsets was proved on October 2006 through two hardware websites in Chile and Spain which posted the leaked slides of an ATI internal event, "ATI chipset update". In the slides, ATI have shown a series of RD700 series chipset logics. Codenamed RD790, RX790, RS790 and RS740 respectively. A codenamed SB700 southbridge was also mentioned in the event. The 790X (codenamed RD780) chipset was spotted on Computex 2007, exhibited by ASUS, while the SB750 southbridge was reported by VR-Zone .

Availability

The 790FX, 790X and 770 chipsets were launched on November 19, 2007 as part of the Spider desktop performance platform, While the others will be released on the first half of 2008, including M740G, M780G and M780T chipsets.

Lineup

790FX

• Codenamed RD790, final name revealed to be "AMD 790FX chipset"
• Dual-socket (Quad FX, Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture) or single AMD processor configuration
• Maximum four physical PCI-E x16 slots and discrete PCI-E x4 slot , the chipset provides a total of 42 lanes solely in the Northbridge
• HyperTransport 3.0 with support for HTX slots and PCI Express 2.0
• ATI CrossFire X
• AutoXpress
• Extreme overclocking, reported to have achieved about 420 MHz bus for overclocking an Athlon 64 FX-62 processor , from originally 200 MHz.
• Discrete chipset cache memory of at least 16 KB to reduce the latencies and increase the bandwidth
• Supports Dual Gigabit Ethernet, and teaming option
• Reference board codenamed "Wahoo" for dual-processor system reference design board with three physical PCI-E x16 slots, and "HammerHead" for single-socket system reference design board with four physical PCI-E x16 slots, also notable was the reference boards includes two ATA ports and only four SATA 3.0 Gbit/s ports (as being paired with SB600 southbridge), but the final product with SB700 or SB750 southbridge should support up to six SATA ports
• Energy efficient Northbridge design
• Enthusiast discrete multi-graphics segment

790X

• Codenamed RD780, final name revealed to be "AMD 790X chipset" ^[9]
• Single AMD processor configuration
• Two physical PCI-E x16 slots
• HyperTransport 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0
• ATI CrossFire
• AutoXpress
• Energy efficient Northbridge design
• Performance discrete multi-graphics segment

780G/780V

• Codenamed RS780, value version codenamed RS780C
• Single AMD processor configuration
• Integrated graphics
• For 780G chipset, the implementation of side-port memory as local frame buffer was retained, as implemented in the M690T chipset , supporting DDR2 and GDDR3 modules.
• One physical PCI-E x16 slot
• HyperTransport 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0
• "Remote IT" (temporary name)
• Pin-to-Pin compatible to RS690
• Reference board design codenamed "Seahorse"
• Mobile version (M780G, codenamed RS780M) demonstrated in May 2007 , and will be available during second or third quarter (Q2-Q3) 2008 , with the implementation of PowerXpress technology, providing one PCI-E slot for AXIOM/MXM modules and HyperFlash ^[16][17] support for the Puma platform
• Energy efficient Northbridge design
• Mainstream DirectX 10 IGP segment (780G), value DirectX 10 IGP segment (780V)

770

• Codenamed RX780 , final product name revealed by ECS
• Single AMD processor configuration
• One physical PCI-E x16 slot
• HyperTransport 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0
• AutoXpress
• Pin-to-Pin compatible to RX690
• Mobile version (M780T), supports discrete graphics, and support for "add-on" graphics solution, via external PCI-E cabling
• Energy efficient Northbridge design
• Mainstream discrete single-graphics segment

740G/740V

• Codenamed RS740, value version codenamed RS740C
• Single AMD processor configuration
• Integrated graphics
• For 740G chipset, the implementation of side-port memory as local frame buffer was retained, as implemented in the M690T chipset, supporting DDR2 and GDDR3 modules.
• One physical PCI-E x16 slot and one PCI-E x4 slot
• HyperTransport 1.0 and PCI Express 1.0a
• Pin-to-Pin compatible to RS690C, to be release in late 2007
• Mobile version (M740G, codenamed RS740M) available
• Energy efficient Northbridge design
• Value DirectX 9.0 IGP segment

740

• Codenamed RX740
• Single AMD processor configuration
• One physical PCI-E x16 slot
• HyperTransport 1.0 and PCI Express 1.0a
• Energy efficient Northbridge design
• Value discrete single-graphics segment

ATI Radeon R300

Radeon R300 the third generation of Radeon graphics Chips

The Radeon R300 (introduced August 2002) is the third generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The line features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 9.0 and OpenGL 2.x, a major improvement in features and performance compared to the preceding Radeon R200 design. R300 was the world's first fully Direct3D 9-capable consumer graphics chip. The processors also include 2D GUI acceleration, video acceleration, and multiple display outputs. "R300" refers to the development codename of the initially released GPU of the generation. R300 and its derivatives would form the basis for ATI's consumer and professional product lines for over 3 years.

The integrated graphics processor based upon R300 is called Xpress 200.

Performance

Radeon 9700's advanced architecture was very efficient and, of course, more powerful compared to its older peers of 2002. Under normal conditions it beat the GeForce4 Ti 4600, the previous top-end card, by 15-20%. However, when anti-aliasing (AA) and/or anisotropic filtering (AF) were enabled it would beat the Ti 4600 by anywhere from 40-100%. At the time, this was quite astonishing, and resulted in the widespread acceptance of AA and AF as critical, truly usable features.

Besides advanced architecture, reviewers also took note of ATI's change in strategy. The 9700 would be the second of ATI's chips (after the 8500) to be shipped to third-party manufacturers instead of ATI producing all of its graphics cards (ATI would still produce cards off of its highest-end chips). This freed up engineering resources that were channelled towards driver improvements, and the 9700 performed phenomenally well at launch because of this.

The performance and quality increases offered by the R300 GPU is considered to be one of the greatest in the history of 3D graphics, alongside the achievements GeForce 256 and Voodoo Graphics. Furthermore, NVIDIA’s response in the form of the GeForce FX 5800 was both late to market and somewhat unimpressive, especially when pixel shading was used. R300 would become one of the GPUs with the longest useful lifetime in history, allowing playable performance in new games at least 3 years after its launch.

New interface

A few months later, the 9500 and 9500 PRO were launched. The 9500 PRO had half the memory bus width of the 9700 PRO, and the 9500 "non pro" was also missing (disabled) half the pixel processing units and the hierarchical Z-buffer optimization unit (part of HyperZ III). With its full 8 pipelines and efficient architecture, the 9500 PRO outperformed all of NVIDIA’s products (save the Ti 4600). Meanwhile, the 9500 also became popular because it could in some cases be modified into the much more powerful 9700 non-PRO (np). ATI only intended for the 9500 series to be a temporary solution to fill the gap for the 2002 Christmas season, prior to the release of the 9600. Since all of the "R300" chips were based on the same physical die, ATI's margins on 9500 products were low. Radeon 9500 was one of the shortest-lived product of ATI, later replaced by the Radeon 9600 series. The logo and box package of the 9500 was "resurrected" in 2004 to market the unrelated and slower Radeon 9550 (which is a derivative of the 9600).

Also in 2004, ATI released the Radeon X300 and X600 boards. These were based on the "RV370" and "RV380" GPU respectively. They were nearly identical to the chips used in Radeon 9550 and 9600, only differing in that they were native PCI Express offerings. These were very popular for Dell and other OEM companies to sell in various configurations; connectors: DVI vs. DMS-59, card height: full-height vs. half-height.

info : wikipedia

Ultra-Mobile PC

UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC)

The Ultra-Mobile PC (abbreviated UMPC), previously known by its codename Project Origami, is a specification for a small form factor tablet PC. It was developed as a joint development exercise by Microsoft, Intel, and Samsung, among others. Current UMPCs feature the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, or Linux operating system and low-voltage Intel Pentium or VIA C7-M processors in the 1 GHz range.

Ultra-Mobile PCs have a 20 cm (7-inch) or smaller touch sensitive screen at a minimum resolution of 800 × 480. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is used with slight tweaks to the interface to make it more suited for the small form factor. In addition, a software suite known as the Touch Pack Interface is included to make the interface more suitable for use of stylus as well as hand.

The Ultra-Mobile PC is just a platform for which manufacturers can design any model they want, provided they meet or exceed the baseline specifications laid down by Intel and Microsoft. However, the UMPC will be capable of running a full version of most PC operating systems. When the UMPC was disclosed at CeBIT 2006, Samsung, ASUS and Founder had near-complete devices on display.

UMPCs with Windows XP installed will be able to run any software that has been written for the Windows XP platform, though the small form factor will mandate some changes to the interface. The standard Windows XP interface is the default, though a choice of having an interface more suited for the small form factor is available with the Touch Pack Interface. Due to the small size, most UMPCs do not feature a physical keyboard, but a virtual keyboard, known as DialKeys, is provided in the Touch Pack Interface. Also, since the device has standard USB 2.0 connectivity, external keyboards and mice can be attached.

UMPC devices will include a 900 MHz Intel Celeron M, Pentium M, Core Solo or VIA C7-M processor, 256 MB to 1 GB of RAM, and a 30 to 160 GB hard disk, depending on the manufacturer. Other ultra mobile devices have been found with AMD Geode CPUs (Raon Digital Vega) or Transmeta Crusoe CPUs (OQO Model 01). Ultra-Mobile PCs can also feature Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, webcams, fingerprint readers, stereo speakers, TV tuners, or memory card readers. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet are all supported as well.

UMPCs have enough processing power to support audio, video, and gaming, in addition to having rich support for browsing the internet as well as for other communication and networking applications. Windows Media Player will be included, with a special skin designed to provide a better experience on the small screen. The devices will also feature DirectX 9–class graphics, and all applications available for standard Tablet PCs are expected to be compatible.

It is hoped that the prices of UMPCs will come down to the US$500 range. Battery life is expected to increase from the initial 2½ hours to 8 hours. Most UMPCs are now available with Windows Vista although many new UMPCs come with the option to have Vista or XP Tablet PC Edition installed, one example of this is the Samsung Q1 Ultra which originally launched with only Vista versions, but has subsequently launched Windows XP versions.

While most UMPCs run Microsoft Windows, the Nokia N800 runs Linux Maemo because Microsoft does not have a version that support its non-x86 RISC-based dual-core CPU (ARM9-based general purpose CPU core and Texas Instruments DSP core). Currently it is the only UMPC shipping with Linux.

In September 2006, Raon Digital launched the Vega running a AMD Geode LX800, 256MB of RAM, and a 30GB hard drive. It has a 4.3" screen, a 500MHz processor, and a battery life of 5.5 hours. It runs Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and retails for 680,000 Korean won (U$700-750). However it does not have WiFi capability.

In early October 2006 Samsung quietly launched the Q1B, bringing the Ultra Mobile platform closer to the vision that Microsoft created. The Q1b features a VIA C7-M ULV processor running at 1GHz, a 30% brighter screen, up to 5 hours of battery life, and a lower price point than the Samsung Q1. It also has optional modules for HSDPA or WiBro for ubiquitous internet connectivity in major cities around the world. Also a new UMPC on the market is the T770 from AMtek. It's a Windows Vista powered device with a 1200MHz processor and 1024MB of RAM. It has a 40GB hard disk (or 60GB on another cheaper brand, and also the same device) and a 7" screen. It is available for 899€ (the cheaper brand is 849€).

Around the same date, CHIP.DE featured an article about the R2H from ASUS, which runs a Windows Tablet PC edition OS on its Intel Celeron system. It has a VGA-TV output, GPS, 3 USB ports, 60GB hard drive and 512MB RAM. It also offers wired/wireless network capabilities. In Germany, its current price is 939€ at Amazon.de.

In 2007, Bill Gates introduced the OQO model 02 in his keynote at CES 2007. The OQO model 02 is now shipping with a 5-inch/12.7-cm screen, EV-DO WWAN, Bluetooth, 802.11 a/b/g WiFi, running Microsoft Windows XP and Vista. OQO has won quite a few computer and design awards, including Guinness World Records recognition of OQO model 02 as the world's smallest fully functional computer.

In August, 2007, Raondigital launched their 2nd UMPC 'EVERUN' which has built in WiFi and HSDPA. It use AMD Geode LX900. EVERUN is introduced as the UMPC with the longest battery life—as much as 6-7 hours with its standard battery and 12 hours with a large battery. Unlike its previous model 'VEGA', Everun has a full qwerty key pad, aesthetically similar to a Smartphone, which appeals to the mobile commuter. The price starts from US$799 at dynamism.com or 799 € at moboutlet.it.

On September 17, 2007, OQO launched the model e2 for the European audience with a localized keyboard, 1.6 GHz VIA C7-M processor, 120GB hard drive or a 32GB SSD option.

info : wikipedia

NEWEST ASUS LAPTOP

Newegg, ZipZoomFly Get Onboard With $350 ASUS Eee PC 4G Surf

The Eee PC is a small ('ultra-portable') computer designed by Intel and ASUS. According to ASUS, the name Eee (pronounced as the letter e, IPA /iː/) derives from "the three Es", a contraction of their advertising slogan "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play"

The Eee PC uses a solid-state drive for storage (instead of a hard drive) which consumes less power, allows the device to boot quickly and makes it less susceptible to shock damage. The SSD disk is permanently soldered to the board, to save space by reducing the wiring needed. The RAM in the 4G and 8G Eee PC models are replaceable with one slot for a maximum of 2GB memory, however the upgrade would also effectively void the warranty. However, pursuant to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the warranty cannot be voided in the US in this manner.

Storage can be expanded by using the Secure Digital Card compliant memory card slot located on the right side. SD and SDHC memory cards mount virtually flush into the spring-loaded slot. Removal of the memory card is done by pushing in the card until it clicks and ejects.

Many retailers have been hovering in and out of stock of ASUS' highly popular Eee PC 4G Linux-powered notebook. The two-pound Eee PC 4G has garnered rave reviews from around the web and has sprouted a fan site which details every conceivable aspect of the device.

The first shipments of Eee PCs to hit the retail market were of the Eee PC 4G which features a 900MHz Celeron Processor (which happens to run at 630MHz on a 70MHz bus), 512MB of DDR2 memory (upgradeable), a 7" display, integrated webcam and a 4-cell 5200 mAh battery (3.5 hours). The notebook was first available in Pearl White; however, Galaxy Black was later introduced.

Now it appears that the second wave of Eee PCs is starting to appear online. Newegg and ZipZoomFly are both stocking the new Eee PC 4G Surf model (Galaxy Black only). The 4G Surf has 512MB of DDR2 memory soldered onto the motherboard -- it is not upgradeable like regular 4G. In addition, the 4G Surf lacks the webcam and features a 4-cell 4400 mAh battery (2.8 hours).

The reduced feature set also means that the 4G Surf comes with a lower price tag: $349.99 versus $399.99 for the 4G.

The lower price is welcome news to those that need the extra frills afforded by the webcam and the ability to upgrade the memory, but many may not be willing to cope with reduced battery life as well.

Rambus Chip

Rambus Aims for Terabyte-Per-Second Memory Bandwidth

Rambus Inc. plans to announce this Wednesday a new memory signaling technology initiative targeted at delivering a Terabyte-per-second of memory bandwidth, which the company touts as a solution for next-generation multi-core, game and graphics applications.

Rather than simply increasing the clock speed of memory to achieve higher output, Rambus looks to boost bandwidth with a 32X data rate. Just as DDR memory technologies doubles transfer on a single, full clock signal cycle, Rambus’ proposed technology is able to data at 32 times the reference clock frequency. With 32X technology, the memory company is targeting a bandwidth of 16Gbps per DQ link with memory running at 500MHz. In contrast, today’s DDR3 at 500MHz achieves a bandwidth of 1Gbps.

“We're really excited about the Terabyte Bandwidth Initiative and the technologies that we've developed,” said Steven Woo, a senior principle engineer at Rambus. “The work of a large team of our scientists and engineers is pushing memory signaling technology to new levels of performance.”

Of course, it requires a little explanation on how a technology that enables a DQ link 16Gbps of bandwidth could result in a Terabyte of throughput. Rambus’ aim for the technology is to grant Terabyte bandwidth to a system on a chip (SoC) architecture, and such may be achieved with 16 DRAMs operating at 16Gbps, 4-bytes wide per device.

Another innovation that Rambus plans to integrate into its Terabyte memory initiative is FlexLink C/A (command/address), which the company claims is the industry’s first full-speed, scalable, point-to-point C/A link – with the C/A running at full speed along with the DQ. FlexLink C/A also simplifies the interface between the memory controller and DRAM. For example, traditional legacy interfaces may require a 12 wire interface, FlexLink C/A can operate point-to-point with just two wires.

Furthermore, FlexLink C/A is named for its flexibility given to system designers, as now the overhead wires freed from the FlexLink C/A interfaces may be devoted to more data wires. Conversely, the model may offer greater bandwidth with the addition of more FlexLink C/A wires, making the technology more easily scalable.

Rambus’ Terabyte bandwidth initiative will use a fully differential memory architecture, which will employ differential signaling for both the C/A and DQ. While current DDR3 and GDDR5 memory use differential signaling for data and strobe, Rambus aims for full differential at the DQ and C/A. Advantages of going full differential include better signal integrity, especially due to its suitability for use in low-voltage electronics, such as memory.

While this Terabyte bandwidth memory method isn’t slated for market until 2011, Rambus has recently received early silicon capable of demonstrating its technology. The early test rig uses emulated DRAM chips, connected to a Rambus memory controller at a 32X data rate capable of 64Gbps. Rambus will show its silicon test vehicle this Wednesday at the Rambus Developer Forum in Tokyo, Japan.

Trojan Virus

TROJAN HORSE COMPUTER VIRUS

In the context of computing and software, a Trojan horse, or simply trojan, is a piece of software which appears to perform a certain action, but in fact, performs another. Contrary to popular belief, this action, usually encoded in a hidden payload, may or may not be acutely malicious, but Trojan horses are notorious today for their use in the installation of backdoor programs. Simply put, a Trojan horse is not a computer virus. Unlike such badware, it does not propagate by self-replication but relies heavily on the exploitation of an end-user (see Social engineering). It is instead a categorical attribute which can encompass many different forms of codes. Therefore, a computer worm or virus may be a Trojan horse. The term is derived from the classical myth of the Trojan Horse.

In the field of computer architecture, 'Trojan Horse' can also refer to security loopholes that allow kernel code to access anything for which it is not authorized.

A simple example of a Trojan horse would be a program named "waterfalls.scr" which claimed to be a free waterfall screensaver. When run, it would instead open computer ports and allow hackers to access the user's computer remotely.

Trojan horse payloads are almost always designed to do various harmful things, but can also be harmless. They are broken down in classification based on how they breach and damage systems. The nine main types of Trojan horse payloads are:

• Remote Access.
• Email Sending
• Data Destruction
• Downloader
• Proxy Trojan (disguising others as the infected computer)
• FTP Trojan (adding or copying data from the infected computer)
• Security software disabler
• Denial-of-service attack (DoS)
• Trojan.ByteVerify
• URL trojan (directing the infected computer to only connect to the internet via an expensive dial-up connection)

Some examples of damage are:

• erasing or overwriting data on a computer
• encrypting files in a cryptoviral extortion attack
• corrupting files in a subtle way
• upload and download files
• allowing remote access to the victim's computer. This is called a RAT (remote administration tool)
• spreading other malware, such as viruses: this type of Trojan horse is called a 'dropper' or 'vector'
• setting up networks of zombie computers in order to launch DDoS attacks or send spam.
• spying on the user of a computer and covertly reporting data like browsing habits to other people (see the article on spyware)
• making screenshots
• logging keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers
• phishing for bank or other account details, which can be used for criminal activities
• installing a backdoor on a computer system
• opening and closing CD-ROM tray
• harvesting e-mail addresses and using them for spam
• restarting the computer whenever the infected program is started
• deactivating or interfering with anti-virus and firewall programs
• deactivating or interfering with other competing forms of malware
• randomly shutting off your computer

methods of infection

The majority of Trojan horse infections occur because the user was tricked into running an infected program. This is why it is advised to not open unexpected attachments on emails -- the program is often a cute animation or an image, but behind the scenes it infects the computer with a Trojan or worm. The infected program doesn't have to arrive via email; it can be sent in an Instant Message, downloaded from a Web site or by FTP, or even delivered on a CD or floppy disk. (Physical delivery is uncommon, but if one were the specific target of an attack, it would be a fairly reliable way to infect a computer.) Furthermore, an infected program could come from someone who sits down at a computer and loads it manually. However, receiving a Trojan in this manner is very rare. It is usually received through a download.

Well-known trojan horses

• Downloader-EV
• Dropper-EV
• Pest Trap
• NetBus
• flooder
• Tagasaurus
• Prorat
• Turkojan
• Back Orifice
• TroJanizary
• Vundo trojan
• Gromozon Trojan
• Sub-7
• Cuteqq Cn.exe

WMP 11

Windows Media Player 11

Windows Media Player (WMP) is a digital media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices. Editions of Windows Media Player were also released for Mac OS, Mac OS X and Solaris, but have since been discontinued.

In addition to being a media player, Windows Media Player includes the ability to rip music from and copy music to compact discs, build Audio CDs in recordable discs and synchronize content with a digital audio player (MP3 player) or other mobile devices, and enables users to purchase or rent music from a number of online music stores.

Windows Media Player replaced an earlier piece of software simply called Media Player, adding features beyond simple video or audio playback.

The default file formats are Windows Media Video (WMV), Windows Media Audio (WMA), and Advanced Systems Format (ASF), and supports its own XML based playlist format called Windows Playlist (WPL). The Zune software which actually is a modified version of Windows Media Player, additionally supports AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) audio, MPEG-4 and H.264 video formats out-of-the-box.

The player is also able to utilize a DRM service in the form of Windows Media DRM.

Windows Media Player 11 is the most recent version of the player, which is available for Windows XP as well as Windows Vista. This new version features many changes. The Media Library no longer presents the media items (such as albums and artists) in a tree-based listing. Rather, on selecting the category in the left panel, the contents will appear on the right, in a graphical manner with thumbnails featuring album art or other art depicting the item—a departure from textual presentation of information. Missing album art can be added directly to the placeholders in the Library itself (though the program re-renders all album art imported this way into 1x1 pixel ratio, 200x200 resolution jpegs). Views for Music, Pictures, Video and Recorded TV are separate and can be chosen individually from the navigation bar. Entries for Pictures and Video show their thumbnails. Windows Media Player 11 also includes the Windows Media Format 11 runtime which adds low bitrate support (below 128 kbit/s for WMA Pro), support for ripping music to WMA Pro 10 and updates the original WMA to version 9.2.

Other features:

• Stacking - Stacking allows graphical representations of how many albums there are in a specific category or folder. The more items there are, the larger the pile or stack is.
• Word Wheel - Searches and displays results as characters are being entered, without waiting for Enter key to be hit. Results are refined based on further characters that are typed.
• CD Burning - CD Burning now shows a graphical bar showing how much space will be used on the disc.
• URGE - The new music store from Microsoft and MTV networks is integrated with the player.
• Global Status - Global status shows a broad overview of what the player is doing. The information presented includes status information regarding buffering, ripping, burning and synchronization.
• Improved synchronization features for loading content onto PlaysForSure-compatible portable players. WMP 11 supports reverse-synchronization, by which media present on the portable device can be replicated back to the PC.
• Support for ripping audio CDs to WAV format.
• Media Sharing (via Windows Media Connect) allows content (Music, Pictures, Video) to be streamed to and from Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) AV enabled devices such as the PS3, Xbox 360, and Roku SoundBridge. This includes DRM protected PlaysForSure content. WMP 11 on Windows Vista can also connect to remote media libraries using this feature; this is not available on the Windows XP version.
• Integrated web-browsing support to browse online music stores.
• Disc spanning splits a burn list onto multiple discs in case the content does not fit on one disc.

Microsoft released the first public beta of Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP (excluding Media Center editions before 2005) on May 17, 2006 and subsequently released the second public beta on August 31, 2006. Then on October 30, 2006, the final version of Windows Media Player was released to the public. Windows Media Player 11 was included in Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system when it was released in November 30, 2006 (for volume-licenses) and January 30, 2007 (for worldwide retail availability); the Vista version includes some features not found in the XP version. As a result of a European antitrust ruling, Microsoft will also be required to produce "Windows Vista N" editions which do not include Windows Media Player for the European Union market.

The License Management tool available in prior versions of Windows Media Player has been removed since version 11. This prevents users of music download services from directly using Windows Media Player to back up their licenses and restore them to another computer. The user now must directly use the store's license restoration services.

The Quick Access Menu, which enabled browsing the library via a pop-up menu, has been removed. As a result of this, the library cannot be browsed when the player is in toolbar mode, but files and playlist still can be dropped to play it.

info : wikipedia