Fusion
Latest
Fusion 4.1 support for pre-Lion, non-server OS X is a mistake, says VMware
Late on Friday, Macworld's Jason Snell discovered that the new 4.1 version of virtualization tool VMware Fusion had a special talent. Up until 4.1, Fusion would refuse to install non-server versions of Snow Leopard and Leopard into a virtual machine, since Apple's licensing for those OS builds did not include a virtualization option. Only the server versions of 10.5 and 10.6 were legit for VM use; for 10.7, Apple moved to allow virtualization of either client or server. In the new Fusion build, however, client versions of 10.6 and 10.5 are OK for installation in a new VM; the install tool just prompts you to make sure you're license-compliant. While a Lion virtual machine is pretty useful, a Snow Leopard VM has something Lion doesn't have: the Rosetta PPC compatibility option, letting users run older applications that rely on PowerPC code. For some apps (Quicken Deluxe being the primary example), that's a workable way to keep them compatible for the time being. It wasn't clear from the Fusion 4.1 release notes whether VMware had sought Apple's permission to make this adjustment to the install process, and I asked the Fusion team for comment. Earlier this evening, in a blog post, the company announced that the licensing check for Leopard Server and Snow Leopard Server (the only legitimately virtualizable versions of 10.5 or 10.6) was left out of the 4.1 build of Fusion. A subsequent update is likely to restore the checking routines that prevent the installation of non-server 10.5 and 10.6 OS versions. In the meantime, Fusion 4.1 remains a downloadable update for the virtualization app, which normally retails for $79.99 but is currently on sale for $49.99. A 30-day demo download is also available.
ASUS U32U with Fusion innards surfaces online, likely coming to the US for $449 and up
No, it's not a Zenbook, but for those of you not in the mood to spend $1,000-plus on your next laptop, it looks like ASUS will soon be selling something at a more... palatable price point. The U32U's been popping up on the interwebs lately, and it would seem the outfit's been cooking up a 13.3-incher powered by AMD's E-4 Fusion APU. Other specs include ATI's Radeon HD 6320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, three USB ports (two of the 3.0 variety) and an 8-cell, 5,600mAh battery promising up to 12 hours of runtime. Unlike the ASUS U24e, the U32U seems likely to make it to the U.S. given the poster, which lists the price in US dollars: $509 for the Windows 7 Home Basic model, and $449 for the DOS version. More details at the source link, though we suspect you'll want to bide your time until next week's Black Friday scramble anyway.
ThinkPad X130e spotted again, toughs it out with strengthened body and three CPU options
Lenovo may have prematurely revealed its forthcoming ThinkPad refreshes, the X1 Hybrid and the X130e, but venture over to PCHome and you'll spot a few extra tidbits on the product pages there. Specifically, the toughened sequel to the X120e is purportedly packing a rough-and-tumble keyboard, strengthened hinges and a thicker plastic bezel. Behind its protective credentials, Lenovo is apparently promising eight-hour battery life, an 11.6-inch screen, AMD Radeon HD graphics plus HDMI and USB ports. The online store lists three different processor options, including an Intel Core i3-2367M and two AMD Fusion APUs -- the E-300 and E-450. No whispers just yet on HDD or RAM specs, but ThinkPad fans jonesing for something small shouldn't have to wait long -- it looks set to land by the end of the year.
HP's 3115m is the Pavilion dm1z rebadged for the business set, starts at $429
You've seen that laptop before. You know you have. Stumped? Okay, here it is. HP just announced the 11.6-inch 3115m for the business market and it is, for all intents and purposes, a rebadged Pavilion dm1z being marketed to a more buttoned-up kind of customer. For starters, it looks just like the newly redesigned dm1, flush trackpad and all. A dual-core AMD E-450 APU, 1366 x 768 display, Beats Audio and battery rated for 11.5 hours come standard. At the entry level, you'll also get a modest 2GB of RAM and 320GB 5,400RPM HDD. Oddly, 5,400RPM drives are as good as it gets here, whereas with the dm1 7,200RPM disks are the gold standard and you can even upgrade to an SSD. IT guys might prefer the this one, though, because it comes with HP's Keyed Cable lock and a Computrace Pro module for tracking and remotely wiping lost or stolen laptops (you'll need to activate this feature yourself). It'll go on sale in the Americas on November 11th with a starting price of $430 -- a thirty-dollar premium over the dm1z. Glossy press shots below -- you know, in case you need a refresher on what this thing looks like. %Gallery-137819%
Fusion Micro mod weds PSP and GameCube hardware, but battery won't last the honeymoon
It may not be the first console we've seen modded and squeezed into portable clothing, but we've got to admire the sheer pluck of cramming all the GameCube's goodnesss into PSP hardware. Modder Ashen, also responsible for the stockier GameCube Fusion, has managed just that, with some heavy-duty adjustments and modifications. The Fusion Micro is a fair bit chunkier than the original PSP, mainly due to the fan and heat sink behind all that busy hardware. Other modifications include an extra analog stick on the right to mimic the GameCube controller and two card slots for games and emulation. Despite this impressive engineering, however, it won't stand up to extensive plays; this unholy union of Nintendo and Sony can only squeeze out about two hours of gaming from its 5000mAh battery. Click on after the break to see Zelda in action, alongside a full break-down of the controls and modifications. [Thanks Ashen.]
AMD Fusion tablets running Windows 8 at Build 2011: hands-on with video
You've already seen our in-depth hands-on with Samsung's Series 7 Slate, boasting an Intel processor and running Windows 8, and now it's time to give the other guys a little love. We got a chance to sit down with the folks at AMD, masters of the Fusion APU, before the Expo doors opened here at Build, and it would be an understatement to say that they're excited about getting their x86 chipsets running on Windows 8 machines. As with Samsung's Slate, AMD was showing off a pair of slates we've seen before, specifically the Acer Iconia Tab W500, running on the company's C-50 APU, and MSI's WinPad 110W, sporting the Z-01 APU. This is the first the company's seen of the Metro UI running on its chipsets, and like them, we're impressed with its performance. You'll get the same speedy boot-up here, as well as fast and fluid touch navigation. Unfortunately, they aren't giving up details on future devices, but we should see Brazos powering Windows 8 tablets, desktops , and notebooks in due time. For a look at AMD powering Windows 8, check out our video after break. %Gallery-133736%
VMware Fusion 4 levels up for Lion virtualization
Winter turns to spring, night to dawn... and the two 800 lb. gorillas of the Mac virtualization market trade updates once again. A fortnight ago it was Parallels 7 hitting with a new release, and today we note the debut of VMware Fusion 4. The new version of the virtual PC tool from the enterprise experts in virtualization looks to offer better performance, easier virtual disk resizing, a reboot-free drag and drop install, more graceful migration for PC to Mac switchers, and a no-compromises story on Lion compatibility both for the host and the virtual machine. Since Apple has changed the licensing rules on virtualizing Mac OS X with Lion, any Mac user is permitted to run up to two virtual Macs on their hardware. For developers and IT folk, the ability to test apps and configurations in a snapshot-enabled, break-it-and-revert-it virtual machine is a genuinely beautiful thing. Fusion 4 makes it terribly easy to create Lion VMs by dragging the "Install OS X Lion" Mac App Store app right into a starter virtual machine; there is no step 3. Lion's Mac-side features get a full workout with Fusion 4, as Windows apps can appear in Mission Control just as Mac apps do. You can launch Windows apps from Launchpad, Spotlight or the Applications folder -- but only the ones you actually want to see and use on a regular basis, so Notepad and Minesweeper don't need to show up. (Well, Notepad, anyway.) Keeping the launcher clutter to a minimum will help you keep your sanity. Lion's full screen app support is respected, too; you can take Windows apps full screen and swipe between individual apps in their own Spaces, just as you do with full screen Mac apps. The new version includes Virtual Bluetooth technology, allowing your Windows VMs to work with wirelessly tethered mobile phones. A new snapshot manager gives you more control over your virtual machine backups. You can even encrypt your VM storage and require a password to launch a virtual machine. Fusion works with VMware's migration technology to allow physical or virtual PCs to be cloned into a VM; that means PC users can have a replica of their old friend sitting just a click away. They won't be hurting for performance, either, as the new 64-bit Cocoa build of Fusion will offer faster 3D (2.5x) and everyday app performance versus the previous 3.1 version. New licenses of Fusion 4 are available at a discounted US$49.99 through the end of 2011, with a normal suggested retail price of $79.99. Those who bought Fusion 3 on/after July 20 are due a free upgrade. You won't need to find a DVD drive to install the app on your MacBook Air, either; it ships on a handy USB drive. Check out our gallery of virtualization pics, and if you're looking to give it a try, scoot over to VMware's site to download a free trial of Fusion 4. %Gallery-133568% Show full PR text VMware launches VMware Fusion® 4 – The Best Way to Run Windows on a Mac Just Got Better PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 14, 2011 - VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced VMware Fusion® 4 – the best way to run Windows on a Mac. Available now at VMware.com for a promotional price of $49.99, VMware Fusion 4 makes it easier than ever for users to run Windows applications with Mac simplicity. "Enhancements to VMware Fusion® 4 make it a breeze to run Windows and Mac Applications side by side on a Mac," said Pat Lee, director, client product management, VMware. "Offering full integration into Apple OS X Lion, VMware Fusion 4 builds on our proven, award winning platform to provide an easy, fast and reliable way to run Windows applications on a Mac." With more than 90 new features and now optimized for today's multi-core Macs and OS X Lion, key features in VMware Fusion 4 include: · Built for OS X Lion – VMware Fusion 4 is designed to provide the best Windows experience on OS X Lion. Add Windows programs to Launchpad, experience them in Mission Control, view them in full screen or switch between them using Mac gestures. · Better Performance and Faster Graphics – VMware Fusion 4 has been engineered to run Windows and Mac applications side-by-side with incredible speed and reliability. As a 64-bit Cocoa application, it is optimized for today's multi-core Macs and delivers 3D graphics up to 2.5-times faster. · Even More "Mac-like" Experience – VMware Fusion 4 enhances the way Windows programs run on a Mac. From the brand new settings menu to the redesigned virtual machine library and snapshot menu, users have even more Mac-like experiences when running Windows programs. · Lion Squared – VMware Fusion 4 now supports OS X Lion in a virtual machine, allowing users to get more from their Mac by running OS X Lion, OS X Lion Server, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server and Mac OS X Leopard Server in virtual machines. Switching Made Easy VMware Fusion's migration assistant for Windows makes it easier than ever for users to transfer their entire PC to a Mac, allowing them to make the most of their existing Windows software investment. With VMware Fusion 4 users can get the best of both worlds and have access to Windows programs and files from their PC directly on their Mac, whenever they need them. Availability and Pricing VMware Fusion® 4 is available until the end of the year for a promotional price of only $49.99. The suggested retail price for VMware Fusion 4 is $79.99. Customers who have purchased VMware Fusion 3 on or after the July 20, 2011 are eligible for an electronic upgrade to VMware Fusion 4 at no additional cost. Volume pricing for corporate users is available from select resellers and www.vmware.com/fusion. VMware Fusion 4 is available immediately for download and purchase from vmware.com. VMware Fusion box products will be available at key resellers including Apple, Apple.com, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Fry's Electronics and many other stores in the coming days. VMware Fusion is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese. Additional Resources Learn more about VMware Fusion on the VMware Fusion Blog About VMware VMware (NYSE: VMW) delivers virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable IT organizations to energize businesses of all sizes. With the industry leading virtualization platform – VMware vSphere® – customers rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, improve agility, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2010 revenues of $2.9 billion, more than 250,000 customers and 25,000 partners, VMware is the leader in virtualization, which consistently ranks as a top priority among CIOs. VMware is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com. # # #
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me run Windows on Mac
Dear Aunt TUAW, I am new to the Mac community, and there are some programs that are unsupported on the Mac and I know there are a few options to run Windows on a Mac. When I search online for the best options and answers to my questions (what is the best option, do I need a Windows license/disc, difference between emulators/virtual machines, Parallels vs Boot Camp vs VMware Fusion etc), most of the info is pretty old and outdated. Can you help me navigate jumping out of the Windows into the Apple Orchard? Lovingly with One Foot on Both Platforms, James Dear James, For any full Windows install, you definitely need a Windows license. A disc will certainly help you install, whether you go with Boot Camp (dual-boot) or Parallels/VMware Fusion/VirtualBox (run inside an virtualized PC). Auntie knows there are pluses and minuses to both these approaches which our noble commenters will surely dive into with both feet, but here's the abbreviated version. Boot Camp offers the fastest, fullest Windows-on-Apple hardware experience. You basically get a complete Windows install, but on a shiny Apple computer. For gaming, hardware-dependent apps and maximum available performance, it's the no-compromises option, but you do need to reboot to switch between Windows and OS X, so it may slow you down in that regard. The other main option is virtualization, creating a 'PC in a box' that runs in software under OS X. Both market leaders Parallels and VMware Fusion have some compromises in speed and peripheral integration, but they do so while running at the same time as OS X, with easy file access and other shared elements. The open-source and free VirtualBox may have a few more rough edges but it does do the job for intermittent use. Another solution is Crossover. Allowing you to run Windows apps inside OS X, it does not require a license or a Windows disc... but as Uncle Mike puts it, "60% of the time, it works every time." Not all Windows applications play nicely in Crossover's W32 API compatibility environment (based on the open-source Wine project), and those that do launch may be limited in their functionality. It pays to try out Crossover first, however, if your application is on the supported list -- it might be perfect for you. In the end, it all comes down to how integrated you need your Windows experience to be. If you don't do a lot of switching back and forth, dual-booting through Boot Camp may be your best solution. If you do, then virtual Windows helps integrate your apps better. Auntie's not a big Windows user, so she invites her more Win-ny nieces and nephews to jump in with suggestions. Hugs, Auntie T.
HP refreshes the Pavilion dm1 with a new design, optional Intel ULV Core i3 CPU (video)
Eight months is dog years in the world of consumer electronics and yet, we still have a soft spot for the HP Pavilion dm1, a dirt-cheap 11.6-inch ultraportable that ushered in AMD's long-awaited Fusion chips. HP just announced the second-gen model, a refresh that includes some spec bumps, as well as a new design and some software add-ons (because we loved the bloatware load so much in the original!). Getting the performance boost out of the way, it'll now be offered with an ultra-low voltage Core i3 processor, while the Fusion options now include the E-300 and E-450 chips (until now, it's been sold with the E-350). The AMD versions will start at $399 with the Core i3 model fetching $599 and up. For some reason even HP doesn't seem able to explain, the Intel version will come with an external optical drive, but the AMD models won't. At least you know you'll be getting more than Intel's brand name for those extra two hundred bucks. The version with the black, non-reflecting lid will go on sale October 30, with a glossier charcoal number available September 21. Until then have a gander at our hands-on shots and walk-through video. %Gallery-131824% %Gallery-130799%
AMD refreshes E and C-Series Fusion APUs, adds DDR3-1333 support, better battery life
Looks like AMD is finally ready to spill the (official) beans on that 1.65GHz E-450 Fusion APU we heard about at Computex, today announcing refreshed chips for its Fusion E and C-series APUs. The updated "Zacate" and "Ontario" APUs sport DDR3-1333 and HDMI 1.4a support, snaring bragging rights to faster memory and 3D output for 3D-enabled televisions. The new chips also promise an increased resting battery life -- up to 10.5 hours for the E-Series, and a staggering 12 hours on the C-Series. Although it didn't name any specific manufacturers, AMD says that machines rocking the new APUs are available starting today. Hit the break for the full PR.
AMD's market share tiptoes higher, Intel still ruler of the roost
Intel may still be king of the microprocessing hill, but from the looks of IDC's latest market report, scrappy underdog AMD is starting to claim more of the $9.5 billion dollar pie. The semiconductor stalwarts faced off in four separate market categories with runner-up AMD seeing gains in all, save for servers where its paltry 5.5 percent share dropped 0.6 percent versus Intel's commanding 94.5 percent lead. The Q2 2011 report pegged Intel's overall worldwide share at 79.3 percent, a 1.5 percent decrease from the previous quarter, while AMD saw a 1.5 percent increase to 20.4 percent. For the mobile PC realm, Intel once again saw a decline as its 84.4 percent share took a 1.9 percent quarter to quarter tumble, with AMD again seeing a nearly 2 percent gain in its 15.2 percent stake. In the desktop PC segment, AMD grabbed an additional 1.5 percent, bringing its stake to 28.9 percent, with Intel's 70.9 percent share dropping 1.5 percent versus Q1 2011. Wondering where the second place chip maker got its second quarter stride? According to the research firm, its new Fusion platform, along with Intel's Sandy Bridge, now accounts for "more than 60% of total PC processor unit volume in 2Q11." You paying attention, Sandy? It's time to sleep with one eye open. [Image credit via Vault Networks]
Ripple updates its Look nettop with Fusion E-Series chip, leaves its handsome design alone
We don't cover nettops a whole lot around these parts, but we were powerless not to gawk when Ripple Korea unveiled the Look, a shapely nettop with a slick paintjob to match. At the time, it packed a dual-core Atom processor and integrated Intel graphics, in keeping with nettops' reputation for not being the most powerful PCs on the shelf. The next generation might be a bit more capable, though -- Ripple just refreshed it with an AMD Fusion E-350 ("Zacate") chip, which means you can almost certainly expect a bump in graphics performance this go 'round. Other than that, the specs haven't changed much: like the previous generation, it comes with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. No word on pricing, though if the Fusion version is like its Atom-powered predecessor, you'll have your best chances of nabbing one if you make the pilgrimage to Seoul.
Lion to allow two virtualized instances of Mac OS X per machine
The virtualization story for Mac OS X is about to change dramatically, and for the better, as Lion's licensing changes the rules for virtual machines. For some enterprise deployments, virtual Mac OS X environments are the Holy Grail: giving access to Mac-only applications on demand without having to supply Mac hardware on a one-to-one basis. While the vanilla version of Mac OS X has been theoretically virtualizable since the Intel transition (and in fact can be run on a virtual machine now under the right circumstances), the licensing agreement for Mac users up until Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard didn't allow virtual Macs, full stop. Starting with Leopard, Apple began to permit limited virtualization of Mac OS X, with two major caveats: you could only run VMs on Mac hardware (no blade server racks full of HP gear serving out Mac desktops), and you needed a Mac OS X Server license, with a steep price. Under these conditions, virtual Macs were a luxury few took advantage of. Now Lion's new EULA is set to change all that, as reported by MacRumors. 10.7 users will be permitted to run one or two virtual Mac instances on each physical Mac, presumably using existing virtualization tools like VMware Fusion, Parallels, VirtualBox or others. This is bound to be a big help for developers, IT managers and others who need to keep a known-good test environment or try out new apps in a controlled fashion. Note that virtualized Macs aren't the same thing as virtual desktops, which Lion is also slated to support; that second feature means that you can remotely connect to your user account and your desktop 'underneath' a user who is currently logged in to the machine. A similar capability was baked into Snow Leopard, but it required some hairy workarounds to use effectively; You can get a similar capability from the $79 iRAPP utility or the free Vine Server, but the Lion version will be single-click friendly.
AMD Llano desktop APU gets reviewed: the best integrated graphics in town
AMD is due to release a batch of new Llano APUs next month that are specifically tailored to desktops rather than laptops. The most powerful among them will be the 2.9GHz A8-3850, which has already caused a stir on the review circuit for one simple reason: it pulls off a brutal "one shot one kill" on Intel's HD 3000 integrated graphics. AnandTech raised an impressed eyebrow at the fact that all its benchmarking games were playable on the $135 AMD chip, which roughly doubled frame rates in titles like Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2 and World of Warcraft compared to the more expensive Sandy Bridge i5 2500K. TechSpot declared the APU its "new budget king," with graphical performance "on another level" compared even to an i7. However, the superlatives quickly evaporated once reviewers shifted their focus to the CPU. TechReport spotted that pure CPU performance per dollar was actually lower than what you'd get from a lowly i3. Moreover, it reckoned you'd only have to spend an extra $70 to buy a much more powerful CPU and a separate graphics card -- an option that comes "awfully close to making the A8-3850 seem irrelevant." Ouch. Nevertheless, if an affordable processor with integrated graphics is what you're after, then it's fair to say this one sets the standard. Click the source links below for full reviews.
Gigabyte intros Llano-compatible A75 motherboards for the DIY set (video)
Llano-based PCs are still trickling their way into the market, but if you're the enterprising type you can just up and build your own. Gigabyte just announced a family of seven A75 series of motherboards, all of which are compatible with AMD's spankin' new Fusion A6 and A8 chips and A75 chipsets. To recap, the Fusion A-Series combines a discrete-class Radeon HD GPU and either a dual- or quad-core CPU on the same die, though all of the A6 and A8 models are quad-core. These 35- and 45-watt chips are also stereoscopic 3D-capable and support USB 3.0, DirectX11, OpenCL / OpenGL, and both 1600MHz DDR3 memory and lower-power 1333MHz DDR3L memory. As for the motherboards, they allow for 108dB audio with 7.1 surround sound, and you can use Gigabyte's Easy Tune 6 utility to realize Fusion's promise of overclocking. They also use the company's DualBIOS technology to prevent failure due to BIOS corruption, while each USB port has its own fuse to prevent port failure. Hit the source link for information on where to buy, and mosy on past the break for the full PR and a short demo video.
HP upgrades 11 Pavilion and ProBook laptops to AMD Llano APUs
Llano laptops are like buses. You wait two years for just one to arrive and then eleven come out at once. Yep, AMD's long-awaited hybrid CPU / GPU has finally gone official today and HP is wasting no time in introducing laptops harnessing its Accelerated Processing powers. On the consumer side, the Pavilion dv (dv4, dv6, dv7) and g (g4, g6, g7) series are both getting in on the action, with the dv models touting fancier additions like Beats Audio and CoolSense as justifications for their dearer pricing. For the more demure or business-oriented AMD fans, ProBook laptops of both b (6465b, 6465b) and s (4535s, 4435s, 4436s) varieties are also getting A-series processor options. Pricing starts out at $600 on the dv line and $450 for the g series, with both expected to ship in July, whereas the ProBook models will be a bit more punctual and arrive on June 27th, provided you have at least $519 to splash out. Ful PR after the break.
MSI X370 to be upgraded to AMD E-450 Fusion APU, we go hands-on
AMD is presently detailing a rather extensive overhaul of its Fusion APU line here at Computex, including the promise of Llano-based computers becoming available in the next few weeks. One of the devices that's set to get the upgrade treatment is MSI's skinny X370 laptop, a 13-incher with 1366 x 768 resolution and the current-gen 1.6GHz E-350 Zacate processor inside. The intel about its future upgrade to a 1.65GHz E-450 chip came from Notebook Italia and was confirmed for us by folks at both AMD and MSI's booths here at the show. We don't yet have the full details on what the next E-450 processor will be like exactly, but we gathered together a gallery of pictures of the X370, which recently started shipping for $579. We were told to expect the refreshed model in either the third or fourth quarter of this year. If your interest has been piqued, jump past the break for some hands-on impressions. %Gallery-124947%
MSI WindPad 100A, 110W, and 120W hands-on (video)
What's this? It looks like the MSI WindPad 100A that we discovered at CES and the WindPad 110W that we first saw at CeBit decided to make an appearance on the show floor here at Computex 2011. Only this time around they brought a new friend along to the party -- namely the MSI WindPad 120W. To refresh your memory, the WindPad 100A is a 10-inch NVIDIA Tegra 2-equipped tablet running Android (Gingerbread here in Taipei, but potentially Honeycomb in the future) while the 110W uses AMD's Brazos platform paired with Windows 7. The Windpad 120W shares the same exact 10-inch chassis as the 110W but swaps AMD's Fusion APU for an Intel Cedar Trail-based chipset together with a tasty serving of WiDi and HSPA wireless. We still have no information about availability or pricing, but for now we invite you to check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on videos. %Gallery-124832%
Linus Torvalds releases Linux kernel version 3 to celebrate 20 years of penguin-powered computing
It's been nearly twenty years since Linus Torvalds let loose Linux on an unsuspecting world, and yesterday he finally updated the open source OS kernel to version 3.0. This third iteration, currently named 3.0.0-rc1, comes 15 years after 2.0 first hit the web and brings driver support for Microsoft Kinect -- a move that should have visions of sugar plum fairies (or maybe just Android avatars) dancing in hackers' heads. Also included is code optimized for AMD's Fusion and Intel's Ivy and Sandy Bridge silicon, and some updated graphics drivers, too. Despite these tasty new treats, Torvalds is quick to point out that this new release is an evolutionary change and unleashing the big three-oh was all about moving into a third decade of distribution, not about overhauling the OS. There's still work to be done, as it is a release candidate in need of refinement, but curious coders can grab the latest Linux at the Kernel.org source link below.
Microsoft trademarks three 'Fusion' titles
"Fusion: Genesis" was among the mysterious Xbox games rated in Australia and Brazil, the latter country specifying it as an XBLA title. A series of US trademarks found by Zunited reveals that whatever Fusion: Genesis is, it's probably part of a series. In addition to trademarking "Fusion Genesis" (serial number 85277651, searchable here), Microsoft has filed trademarks for "Fusion Vault" (number 85277645) and "Fusion Sentient" (number 85277650), all specified as " Entertainment services, namely, providing an on-line computer game." The three trademarks point either to some new "Fusion" series of XBLA games, or a single "Fusion" game with three potential titles that Microsoft had yet to decide on.
