Hasta La Gadget!

It’s a scene right out of Tron: right upon the release of the final version of Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 8, it’s leaked to the web. Is it a sign of the times that an illegal download of one of the most widely anticipated operating systems in recent memory is available almost as quickly as someone could have accessed and uploaded it? Or should we be dismayed that in an age where information security is as much a hot topic as sharing is that we’ve got an immediate break?

You’ll find both real and fake versions of the final version of Windows 8 out on torrent and other sharing sites this evening. What you wont find is any certification or assurance from Microsoft that what you’re grabbing from the web is anything that’s not going to contain a virus. You’re certainly not going to find a download out there that Microsoft wants you to have right this moment as they’ve only pushed the software to hardware manufacturers right this minute.

Microsoft will not be comment on this situation as there’s really nothing to say. There’s always the warning that bootleg copies of their hero software are not the most fabulous things to be dealing with, of course. But what explanation can Microsoft give for this sort of incident? Maybe something like, “those responsible for the leak have been found, and will certainly be sacked.”

But here’s what we’ve got to take home from this situation: the actual final release of the software is coming on October 26th for the general public – that’s you. You can wait for that date, or you can grab yourself a new machine packed full of Windows 8 when OEMs ship out their new line of machines inside the next few months.

Have a peek at the timeline below for additional bits on how Windows 8 will be coming to your fingertips soon as well. And make the right decision: don’t steal it.

Windows 8 final build leaks instantly: should we have simply expected it? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week it’s the Apple product users working with a Mac, an iPad, and an iPhone that will profit most from the desktop operating system upgrade OS X Mountain Lion. A large cross-section of features included in the operating system made exclusively for Mac computers makes this the most well-integrated system that Apple’s ever made, connecting the desktop environment with the mobile in several ways that’ll have users of non-Apple hardware wishing they’d thought twice about picking up their Android, Windows Phone, or BlackBerry. With this move Apple has once again stuck the question in people’s minds: should I buy an iPad and/or an iPhone? What am I waiting for?

Apple made it clear yesterday during their earnings call for their financial third quarter of 2012 that part of their sales were hurt due to the massive amount of rumors floating around the web speaking on future versions of their hardware. When we speak about the iPhone 5, the iPad mini, and so forth, we put the question into yours and our own minds: “Should I buy a device now, or should I wait until the next generation?” Any hardware company would have you pick up their current model if they had the choice – no question about it.

So what does OS X Mountain Lion (see our full review here) do to make it clear that Apple means business when it comes to picking up any one of their devices, not just their future releases? They set up a collection of connections between their iProducts and their Mac computers that work on the current generation as well as future generations alike.

In Mac OS X Mountain Lion you’ll be able to use iCloud for more media than ever, with desktop integration working to keep all of your files – such as documents, for example – part of the same collection no matter what device you’re on. Apple’s Messages app now exists on the desktop as well as the iPad and iPhone, the same being true of Reminders and Notes. Those of you used to working with notifications in your mobile OS will be glad to see Notification Center working with OS X Mountain Lion.

Then there’s Game Center – a social media connection between gamers on the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and now Mac as well. Dictation now works on your Mac with Mountain Lion with the same icon you see in Siri on both your iPhone and iPad, and AirPlay Mirroring makes you want an Apple TV with its lovely simple functionality.

Apple is not about to let up on the idea that their current AND future product sets are connected so well that it’s always your first option to purchase them all for the ease of it. Stay tuned as the web tightens!

Mountain Lion renews Apple’s vertical integration commitment is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve seen some ambitious Blinkenwalls in our time. Nearly all of the attention is unsurprisingly focused on the wall, however, and not on the often clever hardware and software behind it. Vienna’s Metalab wants to shift the limelight by kicking it old school. Instead of the thoroughly modern Arduino and Fonera hotspot that normally light up Metalab’s 45-block glass wall, the team’s Blinken64 project swaps in a Commodore 64 with a cassette drive and the unusual Final Cartridge III feature extender. Getting lights to strobe requires dusting off more than just hardware — all the animations have to be written in assembly-level MOS Technology 6510 code that even our nerdy parents might forget. The result you’ll see in the video after the break is a far cry from the relatively easy, web-accessible hardware that normally powers such blinkenlight creations, but it’s also a testament to how relevant classic technology can remain when it’s in the right hands.

Continue reading Metalab wires its Blinkenwall to run from Commodore 64, gives no word on the obligatory Tetris port (video)

Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets

Metalab wires its Blinkenwall to run from Commodore 64, gives no word on the obligatory Tetris port (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Hack A Day  | Email this | Comments

Here you are new AIO or All In One computer from LG with the V720. This new 27” wonder comes with the usual IPS full HD screen but also includes LG Cinema 3D (on the i5 Version Only) Support and a Dual Digital TV Tuner with basic PIP (Picture in Picture).
The V720 will be available in Korea in two flavors with the:
V720-U.AE30K running on a Core i3-2370M at 2.4GHz with 4GB of RAM, 750GB of HDD and a GeForce GT640M with 1GB of VRAM but no 3D
V720-U.AE50K running on a Core i5-3210M at 2.5GHz, …

If you think Intel took awhile to roll out the Xeon E5, imagine the mindset of Itanium server operators — they haven’t had any kind of update to the IA-64 chip design since February 2010, and they’re still waiting. Much to their relief, Intel just dropped a big hint that the next-generation, Poulson-based Itanium is getting close. Both a reference manual and a Product Change Notification have signaled that the new, 32-nanometer part will get the Itanium 9500 name as well as a heap of extra improvements that haven’t been detailed until now. We knew of the eight processing cores, but the inadvertent revelation also confirms about a 50 percent hike in the interconnect speed and a matching increase in the cache size to 32MB. Clock speeds also start where current Tukwila-running Itaniums stop, with four processors between 1.73GHz and 2.53GHz giving the line a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Few of us end users will ever directly benefit when Poulson ships to company server farms later this year; after these increases, though, don’t be shocked when the database at work is suddenly much quicker on its toes.

Filed under: Desktops

Intel slips details of Poulson-based Itanium 9500 in advance, teases a big boost to 64-bit servers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Register  |  Intel (ZIP), CPU World  | Email this | Comments