Intel’s six-core, twelve-threaded Core i7-980X Extreme Edition has turned the hardcore gaming community on its head, and just about everyone is scrounging around in a (mostly futile) attempt to locate $999. For those in dire need of an entire system replacement, it seems that today’s the day to start looking. Shortly after we heard that this 32nm Gulftown chip would be landing with Alienware and Origin PC rigs, a veritable plethora of other outfits have shown up to make similar announcements. Digital Storm has popped an overclocked (4.4GHz) version into its Black|OPS machine (which conveniently starts at $5,642, while CyberPower is now offering the silicon in its Black Mamba, Black Pearl and Gamer Xtreme 3D machines. Maingear’s also sliding said CPU into its world-beating Shift “supercomputer,” and anyone shopping a high-end Velocity Micro system will also see the option. We suspect most every other PC maker in existence will be following suit soon, so if your prefab PC builder hasn’t yet jumped on the bandwagon, just hold tight. Real tight.
Intel’s Core i7-980X Extreme Edition hits a slew of new gaming desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Maingear, Digital Storm, CyberPower, Velocity Micro | Email this | Comments
By Darren Murph
admin General
Microsoft is having a good old time at MIX10, showing off all sorts of new things. New things like… Internet Explorer 9, which has just been previewed at the developer event, and here’s what we’ve gleaned about it so far. First off, as expected it will support HTML5 video, boast a new Microsoft JavaScript engine which is codenamed “Chakra,” and it’ll support new-fangled web technologies like CSS3 and SVG2. Microsoft says one of its main goals with IE9 is to provide a faster browsing experience — always good news — though they don’t have things cranked quite as high as the competition just yet (remember, this is still early). Preliminary ACID3 tests on the preview show the IE9 scores a 55/100, up from IE8’s dismal 20/100 — a huge leap forward no doubt, but still a far cry from Chrome and Safari’s scores of nearly 100. In both PCMag’s and ZDNet’s SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark test, the preview performed competitively as well. Microsoft has also confirmed that IE9 will not support Windows XP, but the preview Microsoft is showing off plays nice with Vista SP2 and higher, meaning the shipping version will probably do the same. No shockers there, really. Microsoft’s also made the first developer preview of Internet Explorer 9 available for download today — hit the source link to check that out.
Microsoft shows off Internet Explorer 9: says ‘yes’ to HTML5, ‘no’ to Windows XP originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | IE9 Developer preview download, PC Mag | Email this | Comments
By Laura June
admin General
var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/Verizon_posts_Android_2_1_upgrade_details_for_Droid’; Chatter over the Milestone’s impending Android 2.1 update has reached a rolling boil in recent days, but it’s actually the Milestone’s American cousin that’s getting the official coverage today. That’s right: Verizon’s just posted details on the Droid’s upgrade to Google’s latest and greatest cut, and you’ve got the expected host of goodies including the new 3D Gallery app, voice-to-text, news and weather widgets, pinch-to-zoom support, “improved” pattern lock, and — get this — live wallpapers, something we’d originally thought Motorola might leave out. It appears to lack the Nexus One’s 3D app launcher (which we’d expected), but it’s still pure gold for owners. Let us know when you’ve gotten it, eh?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon posts Android 2.1 upgrade details for Droid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Verizon | Email this | Comments
By Chris Ziegler
admin General
We’ve always had a soft spot for Commodore computers. Compact, economical, and robust for their day, they were ubiquitous throughout the 1980s. Unfortunately, the machine’s glory days are long behind it, with little more than some
gaming rigs and the tireless work of
Ben Heck to keep the flag flying. But all that could change if Barry Altman has his way. As President and CEO of the newly minted Commodore USA, he’s spent the better part of a year crawling through the arcane red tape necessary to get the rights to the Commodore name. And now? With any luck, later this year the company’s monumental advertising campaign will have had its effect (”something like you’ve never seen in your life,” as Altman described it to us on the phone this afternoon) and you’ll be able to have your very own
keyboard computer with the Commodore logo slapped on for good measure. Presumably based on the
Cybernet ZPC-GX31, the exact configurations and pricing will all be spelled out soon enough. In the meantime, hit the source link to see for yourself. And please, guys — make us a beige one, will ya?
The Commodore name licensed again for a line of keyboard PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Commodore USA | Email this | Comments
By Joseph L. Flatley
admin General
It’s a bit later than the originally promised February release date, but iLuv has just announced that its
iMM190 App Station iPhone / iPod touch dock is now available for $89.99. As we saw
first-hand at CES, this one stands out from pack of iPhone / iPod docks somewhat by employing a custom iLuv app, which the company says will be frequently updated with new features. Of course, you can also use any other app you like (in both portrait or landscape mode), and the device will charge your iPhone or iPod touch just like any other dock, as well as accommodate other audio devices via its line-in jack — no
bed shaking with this one, though.
iLuv’s iMM190 App Station dock rolls into availability originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Max Borges Agency | Email this | Comments
By Donald Melanson
admin General
var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/microsoft/Windows_Phone_7_Series_won_t_have_copy_and_paste’; Ready for another long, drawn-out copy and paste controversy to overtake your every waking moment for a year or two? Good: Microsoft just mentioned in a Q&A session here at MIX10 in no uncertain terms that clipboard operations won’t be supported on Windows Phone 7 Series… so that’s that. Kind of ironic considering that the WinMo of old has been enjoying the functionality since time immemorial, isn’t it? Of course, anything is possible going forward — they’ve said on several occasions in different talks and sessions this week that they’re already looking at a number of enhancements that were scoped out of the initial release of the platform — but for the phones you buy this holiday season, don’t expect to be copying anything between apps.
Windows Phone 7 Series won’t have copy and paste originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
By Chris Ziegler
admin General
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Throughout the histories of Windows Mobile and Android, many handset developers have talked the talk of supporting these mobile operating systems, dribbling out a couple of handsets per year as they focused on other priorities. But not HTC. The company has created more Windows Mobile and Android handsets than companies many times its size, and in fact developed the very first Android handset. Microsoft cited HTC at Mobile World Congress 2009 for being an exceptional partner, while Google’s Nexus One is an HTC-built handset sold exclusively by the search giant.
HTC has done more than simply create a lot of phones for these operating systems. It has attracted attention for its designs that include some of the largest displays and best QWERTY keyboards, as well as clever touches like the Touch Pro2’s speakerphone, which activates simply by placing the handset face down on a table during a call. But most distinctively, HTC has invested heavily in developing engaging user interfaces on top of both mobile OS foundations, with development teams focused on delivering skins like TouchFLO and Sense to both Windows Mobile and Android. But now that Microsoft is radically changing Windows Phone 7 Series, HTC will have to change course, and in the process lose the distinction of having its custom user experiences live across both Windows Mobile and Android.
Continue reading Switched On: Halting Total Customization
Switched On: Halting Total Customization originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
By Ross Rubin
admin General
Motorola already said that its new
CLIQ XT Android phone would be available sometime this month when it let us get our hands on the phone
last week, but it unfortunately didn’t get very specific about an actual date or a price. If this seemingly authentic slide obtained by
TmoToday is any indication, however, it looks like the Blur-skinned handset will hit retail on March 17th (tomorrow), and run $99 on a two-year contract (or $199 for a year). That places it right in line with the current pricing of the original CLIQ, which would seem to be prime for a price drop if it’s sticking around.
Leaked slide points to March 17th launch, $99 price for Motorola CLIQ XT originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
AndroidGuys | TmoToday | Email this | Comments
By Donald Melanson
admin General
Yesterday, the FCC submitted its National Broadband Plan to Congress, essentially requesting that six goals be met over the next decade, including sizzlers like access for “every American” to “robust broadband services,”which apparently equals a minimum of 100 million US homes with “affordable” access to at least 100MBps down / 50Mbps up speeds. Pretty heady stuff, we know. We thought we’d contact a few of your friendly ISPs for comment, and we’ve got Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon going on record here — all in all, they’re rather predictable ‘rah rahs’ for the plan, especially considering that whole “affordable” bit. We also threw in part of Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s response. The statements are after the break, and hit the source links for the fuller, long-winded versions.
Continue reading FCC National Broadband Plan: some of your favorite ISPs respond
FCC National Broadband Plan: some of your favorite ISPs respond originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Google’s full statement, Verizon’s full statement | Email this | Comments
By Laura June
admin General
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/general_sciences/Researchers_teach_liquid_to_flow_uphill_to_cool_future_CPUs’; Another day, another experimental CPU cooling method that may or may not come to pass. We’ve seen “
thermal paste” from IBM and
polyethylene from MIT, and now researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a method for coaxing water along nanometer-scale grooves carved into silicon. So hydrophilic are the patterns that water will even flow against gravity (and we’ve got the video to prove it). Not only are the structures so precise and nondestructive that the surface feels smooth to the touch, but they also trap photons, according to
The New York Times, “so the grooved silicon appears pitch-black.” And who knows? Maybe your next PC will be cooled by streams of water flowing freely inside the case. It’s a nice image, anyways. Peep the video after the break to see it in action for yourself.
Continue reading Researchers teach liquid to flow uphill, hope to cool future CPUs (video)
Researchers teach liquid to flow uphill, hope to cool future CPUs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink New York Times | University of Rochester | Email this | Comments
By Joseph L. Flatley
admin General
