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Intel just announced an interesting use for its aging Itanium line: throw four dual core Itanium chips on a PCI Express card and enable an API for certain types of multimedia or scientific applications to take advantage of them. By simply adding the card (and we are sure a significant power supply and cooling system as well) to a box you gain an extra 45 Gigaflops of processing power. While software would need to be specifically written to take advantage of the card, certain types of applications would certainly benefit from them. I can see scientific research being the primary one (SETI@home or Folding@Home), but I can see next generation games getting ported to a system like this if they can make it cheap enough for a true gaming fan to afford it.
Read More 
| RealTechNews
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The new EP-480 headphones are the latest release from Creative. Like many other of Creative’s offerings, they’re available in different colors: purple, navy, gray, light blue, lime, orange, red, pink, white, and black to be exact. They’ll only be available in Europe for now, but I’m sure they’ll hit the U.S. soon enough. Perfect for those of you who’ve been wanting your headphones to match your Zen Micro, or those who just like to add a little color here or there.
Specifications:
- Driver Units: 15mm rare earth magnet transducer
- Frequency Response: 20Hz ~ 20kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Sensitivity: 112dB
- Cord Length: 1.2m
- Input Plug: 3.5mm stereo miniplug
- Net Weight: 15g (without packaging)
Read More | engadget
Car Stereo With USB, SD Card Interface Cuts Out Need For Adapters
Posted by Devin Categories: Misc. Tech, Music,
We’ve reported on many gadgets that allow you to play your MP3’s through your car stereo, but now there’s a car stereo that allows you to plug in either a USB memory stick or SD card directly into the stereo itself, cutting out the need for any adapters. The stereo will also play CD’s and CD-R’s, meaning pretty much all your musical media will be accommodated. It’s only available in the U.K. right now, retailing for about £150 (approx. $260 USD), but I’d expect to see other companies follow in these steps sometime soon.
Read More | Dr. Gadget
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Microsoft To Start Beta Testing Longhorn Soon
Posted by Devin Categories: Corporate News, PC / Laptop, Software,
Microsoft has been sending out invatiations to all their beta testers and WinHEC participants. What’s the occasion you ask? It’s the Windows Code Name Longhorn beta program, and Microsoft has even rolled out a new beta client to replace WindowsBeta and BetaPlace. The new OS isn’t avaliable for anyone to download though…apparently the preliminary invitation codes will be unique per user. If you’re anxious to get your hands on the latest platform from Windows don’t worry, Microsoft should be allowing the public to apply for the beta program later on this summer, and Longhorn will also be apart of the Community Technology Preview program.
Read More | Slashdot
I can’t tell you how many times I have been in the midst of a quick blog entry or post on a forum, only to discover that my session had timed out. For me, I can honestly say this is one of the most frustrating occurrences that can happen on the Internet. Enter Scribe. This is an excellent Firefox extension which ads quick save functions to web forms. This means you can save any web form text you are currently filling out – including blog entries and forum posts. It even supports the CTRL – S command keys so you don’t have to take your hands off that keyboard. Go ahead and give it a download and ponder how you ever managed without it.
Read More | Scribe Homepage
Crazy J - The Guitar Playing Machine
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: Misc. Tech, Mods / Hacks, Music,
This is a pretty awesome project involving some electronics and a musical instrument. The guitar player is composed of two mechanical systems that interact to play a range of 29 musical notes. A plucking mechanism with six independently controlled picks is mounted over the body of the guitar and a fingering mechanism with an array of 23 fingertips is mounted over the first four frets of the fingerboard.
Read More | Crazy J Guitar Playing Machine
One of the most popular features of Apple’s latest OS release, Tiger, is Dashboard. Basically it runs JavaScript on a separate and dedicated desktop, and it turns out you can even run games on it. What better game to experience this than one of the greatest games ever to hit the arcades? Someone has actually created a Pac-Man dashboard widget. Unfortunately, Namco has told the creator to stop the production and distribution of the file, but we have your hook up courtesy of MacUpdate.com. Get it while you can as this download link might not stay alive much longer.
Read More | Pacman For Dashboard
Some day our kids will look back on the Internet as something primitive. Heck, if something has a museum dedicated to it, then it’s no longer cutting edge, right? In 1996, a group of people in San Francisco decide to start the most extensive Internet library. Internet Archive is just that: an Internet archive that continuously records website information. What’s the purpose? Well, future generations will be able to benefit from sites that are long gone through their archives - a lot like how we can read books that are far out of print. While this is a fantastic humanitarian effort on its own, you must try their “Wayback Machine.” Indeed, it takes you way back. Be careful, it’s highly addictive.
Read More | Internet Archive
Read More | Gear Live - through the Wayback Machine
If you’re interested in the Xbox 360 (and if you’re not, you’re on the wrong frickin’ site), be sure to get yourself over to the Windows SuperSite, where Microsoft journalist Paul Thurrot has been compiling some very in-depth information on the Xbox 360, including a two-part interview with Microsoft’s Jeff Henshaw where the veil is pulled back in just about every possible way. Specifically, you’ll get a detailed look at the Xbox 360 dashboard, the way the “blades” work when you’re playing a game, the media features and more. It’s the most thorough look at the Xbox 360 yet.
Read More | SuperSite for Windows
Could your next cell phone be an iPod? Probably, it’s no secret now that Apple has been working with Motorola to make a phone that works with iTunes. But what if your next cell phone service came from Apple as well? According to Forbes, that’s precisely Apple’s plan, or at least, they think it is. Still, Forbes is missing the big picture here. Apple is about branding. There are few brands larger than the iPod right now, and their dabbling with Motorola leaves a lot of unanswered questions. First, do you really think Motorola will call their iTunes-enabled phone the “iPod Phone?” It’s doubtful, but that’s what it’s called in iTunes. Could Apple be working on an iPod with phone capabilities to go along with their new cell phone service? It would make sense, explaining quite neatly why Apple has upgraded all the iPods to color screens ... heck, those screens are better than what you find on most cell phones. The form factor is pretty close, and they already have a calendar and other features. It’s not that big a leap, and it’s one that would likely reinvigorate the brand that is already facing some backlash.
Read More | Forbes
