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Super Talent thumb drives work with Vista's ReadyBoost
One of the many benefits touted in Windows Vista is ReadyBoost, a new feature that allows the OS to use flash drives as pseudo-RAM in order to increase performance. However, in order for this to work, you have to use certain types of high-speed thumb drives. Today, Super Talent announced some of the first drives compatible with ReadyBoost: the $30 RBST-1GB and $60 RBST-2GB. The company says in a press release that the flash drives will begin shipping early this month -- which should be, like, any day now.
Is Gears of War as good as it gets?
"We pushed the 360 to the limits," Gears of War QA manager Preston Thorne told Siliconera at last night's Hollywood launch party. While obviously an inflammatory remark, there could be some truth to the statement. After all, it was Epic that allegedly convinced Microsoft to bump up Xbox 360's RAM to 512 MB -- and Epic still maintains that 256 MB would not be enough to run Gears in its current state.So does that mean PlayStation 3 couldn't handle the game? When asked, Preston skillfully dodged the question, but implied the answer was "no."All console hardware has limits. Has Epic hit Xbox 360's? Does it matter? With the boundaries of the playing field defined, won't developers focus less time searching for the lines and more time experimenting with what's inbounds?
Philips self-destructing MRAM on the way
Joining the ranks of quintessential kit that any spy (or CuteCircuit-equipped individual) should have on hand is Philips' self-destructing MRAM (magnetoresistive RAM). While securing data typically deals with some sort of password protection or biometrics, Philips' creation takes a page from the Mission: Impossible book by relying on magnetic loops remaining in flux to keep data accessible. Its MRAM chips are wrapped in two layers of soft, metallic foil -- one which is magnetized, and one that acts as a "keeper" by gathering flux from a permanent magnet and maintaining a closed loop surrounding the precious bytes. If a crazed data thief manages to crack open the enclosure and rip into the first layer of foil, all flux breaks loose and magnetic forces immediately raze any top secret files you may have been toting. If you just can't afford to spill those oh-so-privatized digital beans (or you simply enjoy that double agent lifestyle), keep an eye out for the presumably hush-hush release -- assuming, that is, this invention makes it from the patent stage into actual hardware.[Via New Scientist Tech]
Wiimote used to store profile?
After giving us an excellent look at the DS Opera browser, (dot)Ed started looking at Nintendo's other console, namely the recent controller documentation that hit our fine inter wubs. His keen eye focused on the Wiimote's 6kb of Flash RAM, he let the floodgates of thought be opened and damned his sleep schedule. "What could it be used for?" he asked his karate-kicking, last-cop-on-Earth friend the Karate Cop. It was then that it dawned on them both and they looked each other in the eyes and whispered "profiles."See, he suggests that the memory will be used to house a profile that will be associated with that user as well as the possibility that it could even hold pertinent data that would be used to input said user's own avatar (custom or not) into games. What do we think? Well, 6kb is an awfully small amount of memory, but we doubt, nay, refuse to rule out the possibility. Instead, we will do the courteous thing and leave the final conclusion of both the site's opinion and humanity's safety itself up to you fine readers. We think you're properly equipped for it.
Freescale first to market with MRAM chips
Remember those new MRAM (magnetoresistive RAM) chips the industry's been working on for the last decade or so? Well Freescale stepped away from all that UWB bidness long enough to develop what they're calling the world's first commercially available MRAM chips to combine RAM's endurance with the hard disk's ability to keep data while powered down. What about Flash memory you ask? Kicked to the curb son, since MRAM (or universal memory) is faster than flash and doesn't degrade over time. Only don't expect these new chips to hit your price sensitive consumer electonics just yet. The first markets for MRAM will most likely be automotive or industrial settings where durability is critical. So hold tight and let the invisible hand work some magic, mkay?
iStat nano updated with support for Intel Mac CPU temp
iStat nano, a handy system monitoring Dashboard widget, has been updated to version 1.51b with support for CPU temps on Intel Macs. The one catch is that you'll have to install SpeedIt, a System Preference pane and kernel extension that allows this kind of functionality (and much more). We've heard nothing but good things about SpeedIt and the features it provides (such as controlling CPU whine by regulating voltage), but we'd understand if the thought of installing kernel extensions has already made you skip this post in your newsreader.If you're still reading this, however, it seems both iStat nano and the SpeedIt kernel extension are provided free, so have at it.[thanks Aaron]
Widget Watch: iStat pro and nano updated
Two of my favorite system monitor widgets have been updated: iStat pro 2.3 and iStat nano 1.5. The main new additions are drive filtering, as in: CDs, DVDs and .DMGs will no longer appear in the drive list, and support has been included for MacBook Pro batteries. Unfortunately, it looks like the temp and fan monitors don't support the MacBook Pros just yet.Both of these widgets are available from iSlayer.net, apparently for free, as I can't even find a donation link. Also: their download links do point to these new versions, so don't pay any attention to the versions listed on their site, as it seems they haven't updated it to reflect these new additions just yet.
Macworld goes inside the MacBook
Macworld does what most of us won't: they void their MacBook's warranty by opening up the battery compartment and removing the RAM and hard drive. And as a special treat for us all, they posted the video on YouTube. Thanks guys! Wow, easily removable drives on an iBook MacBook? Wow, how many Dell engineers did they have to hire to pull that one off? Personally, I'm just happy the battery on the MacBooks will no longer have those ugly seams around the battery visible while the machine sits on my desk. The iBook looks great, but I never understood why the seam had to extend up the side of the machine... Apparently Ive didn't see why either.And for the record, the mere act of doing what Macworld did won't automatically void your Apple warranty. But, according to the terms, if anything goes wrong (like, in the future even), they can always negate your claim because you did the swap. So those of you looking to save some bucks by ordering a lower-capacity model and upgrading should consider the warranty and its restrictions first.
End users can replace a MacBook hard drive
Those of you who have had the pleasure of replacing an iBook or Powerbook hard drive know what fun it is: drag out the teeny, tiny tools and (basically) take your entire machine apart. AppleInsider reports that the process is quite different with the MacBook. All you need to do is remove the battery plus a single protective shield and presto, you've found the hard drive. Incidentally, the RAM slots are also located underneath the battery. No word on how doing this yourself will affect your warranty, but at least it's easy enough.We don't have one in TUAW headquarters yet, so we've got to take AppleInsider's word on this one. Does anyone feel like removing the battery from their day-old machine and telling us what is found in there?Thanks, Eric!
Breakthrough in ferroelectric materials could enable million-GB thumbdrives
While we have to agree with certain Engadget readers who feel that 640KB of RAM is plenty for most computing tasks, those darn scientists just keep looking for ways to stuff more and more data into smaller spaces. The latest breakthrough on the storage tip comes courtesy of researchers from Drexel and Penn, who have found a way to stabilize the simple physical property of ferroelectricity at the nano scale, making possible such obviously unnecessary densities as 12,800,000GB per cubic centimeter. Ferroelectric materials are usable as memory because they possess the ability to switch electric charges in so-called dipole moments, but before Drexel's Dr. Jonathan Spanier and colleagues decided to embed the materials in water, it had previously been impossible to screen those dipole moments at scales small enough to be useful. Don't expect to be able to buy a zillion gig, water-filled iPod anytime soon, though, as the research team still faces significant hurdles in actually assembling the nanowires that would make up such a drive with the proper density as well as developing a method of efficiently reading and writing data.
On the MacBook Pro and GPU overclocking
Oh those enterprising hackers, whatever are we going to do with them? First they're blazing their own trail by getting Windows XP on a Mac, and now they're overclocking their GPUs. Hardmac.com posted about one forum member's discovery (in French) that, when compared to similar PC notebook hardware specs, his MacBook Pro's GPU seemed to be a bit underclocked - by over 100 MHz. However, these specs are on paper, and I haven't seen reports as to whether this is a practice exhibited by other manufacturers. So what's a hacker to do? Why, use ATI's tools to get some overclocking action on! ATI offers a set of video card tools that unfortunately are Windows only, but if you come to the same results and just gotta have some more MHz, using Boot Camp to run these tools under Windows XP ought to do the trick for you. Just don't blame us if your MacBook Pro suddenly morphs into liquid metal form.[via Engadget]
Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player goes topless
Although not the complete screw-by-screw disassembly that we're accustomed to, here's your first chance to get a glimpse inside Toshiba's new HD-A1 HD-DVD player and check out the magic circuitry delivering all that 1080p goodness. As we learned yesterday, a few retailers (we're looking at you, Best Buy) jumped the gun on Tuesday's scheduled rollout and began selling some of their stock early, much to the delight/frustration of early adopters who got the latest tech but no HD content to play on them. Luckily for us, one of those foolish trailblazing souls was kind enough to remove the lid from his unit's case (gently, we hope) and snap some photos of the guts for all Internetland to peep. Nothing really exciting here -- like the VCRs and DVD players before it, most of the content is air -- but there is a nice closeup of the rather imposing heat sink, along with the obligatory CPU and RAM shots. Click on for another pic, or hit the "Read" link for the entire set...[Via HD Beat, thanks Dave Z.]
Intel iMac: Easiest RAM install ever
So you purchased a new Intel-based iMac and now you want to upgrade its RAM? Well don't worry about it. According to Gear Live, it's easier than it has ever been on a Mac. The process amounts to no more than flipping the iMac over, opening a very small panel and inserting the chip. Now installing RAM on an eMac is pretty easy, but this looks even simpler. And to think of all the time I actually drew my own blood on a 7100.Thanks, Andru!
