Today we release an updated Beta revision of Afterburner, this application successfully secured the leading position on graphics card utilities. We're happy to see MSI Afterburner is leading the overclock applications. MSI Afterburner 2.2.0 Beta 8 is ready.

There's quite an extensive change list too, including things like faster startup and unlocking of additional hidden video capture formats. Go get it here.

The 1UP article is short and sweet, so I'll quote it in full, after the jump. Essentially, Steam activation codes have gone out to invited beta testers. This is a private beta, so testers cannot discuss their experiences with the public unfortunately and it all goes live on October 5. Specs seem quite reasonable too, so the game should play quite smoothly on midrange hardware. This looks like a cool game worth waiting for, so check out the video.

Just hours after NVIDIA released its Battlefield 3 optimised GeForce driver suite, AMD is ready with a similar piece of software of its own, the AMD Catalyst 11.10 Preview. Preview drivers are essentially BETA hotfix drivers. The new Catalyst software suite makes your ATI/AMD Radeon graphics card (that meets minimum/recommended requirements) optimized for Battlefield3. Its changelog follows:

• Improves performance in Battlefield 3 Open Beta release for both non-Anti-Aliasing, and application enabled Anti-Aliasing cases on the AMD Radeon HD 6000 and AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series for single GPU configurations
• Enables support for Eyefinity 5x1 display (portrait and landscape) configurations using the AMD Radeon HD 6000 and AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series
• Vision Engine Control Center: User Interface enhancements have been implemented for the CrossfireX, GPU Overdrive, and Information Center pages.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.10 Preview Driver Suite

NVIDIA today released a new BETA version of its GeForce driver suite. What makes the new GeForce 285.38 BETA important is its timing, and what it brings to the table. Recently, EA/DICE released an open-beta of the highly anticipated AAA title, Battlefield 3, and gamers are already sharpening their skills ahead of its market release.

The new GeForce BETA drivers are said to increase performance of Battlefield 3 beta by up to 38%, add SLI profiles for the game, and add several stability fixes and image-quality improvements for the game. In essence, Battlefield 3 beta is at the center of GeForce 285.38 BETA. Apart from Battlefield 3, the drivers add SLI profiles for Dead Island, Diablo III, Dragon Age 2, Need for Speed: The Run, and Saints Row: The Third; and fix a stability issue with Crysis 2 (DirectX 9).

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 285.38 BETA

NVIDIA today released version 270.51 BETA GeForce software suite. The application installs the latest recommended drivers for NVIDIA GeForce GPUs (6-series and above), CUDA, PhysX, and 3DVision software, NVIDIA HDMI audio drivers, and related software. With this release, NVIDIA also introduced an automatic driver update feature. To begin with, GeForce 270.51 WHQL introduced performance improvements in a wide range of games, including SLI performance for the games covered.

Performance improvements are tabled below. Apart from optimizing pure performance NVIDIA also packed a large number of 3D Vision and SLI performance profiles that are game-specific, and step up multi-display 3D Vision Surround gaming performance. While these drivers aren't WHQL-signed, NVIDIA doubts it will hurt to try them out.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 270.51 BETA

NVIDIA seems to have a big update for its GeForce driver suite underway, with the bump in version number from the 186 series to 190. The first release in the series carries the unsupported beta tag. Version 190.38 beta introduces a series of changes as indicated in the release notes documents (for Windows 7, Vista, and XP), though the list of supported NVIDIA products remains largely unchanged from its previous release. Important changes are as follows:

• Adds support for OpenGL 3.1
• Adds support for CUDA 2.3 for improved performance in GPU Computing applications. See CUDA Zone for more details
• Adds a new user-controlled power management setting for GeForce 9-series and later graphics cards. This option allows users to set a performance level for each DirectX or OpenGL application
• Includes several new control panel features and numerous bug fixes. More information can be found in the release documentation

The supported products list includes the newly introduced GeForce GT 100 series, GeForce G 210, and ION LE (which is a lite version of the ION mGPU).

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 190.38 BETA for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit

Microsoft reminds you all that as of today systems running the Beta release of its Windows 7 operating system - launched back in January this year - will begin to automatically shut down every two hours. This is a precaution used by Microsoft to remind testers that their beta copy of Windows 7 will expire on August 1st, so they need to switch to an alternative ligitimate operating system as soon as possible. Users may upgrade to the newer Windows 7 Release Candidate, but this will temporarily stop the bi-hour shut downs. Windows 7 RC will also eventually expire. RC users will face bi-hourly shutdowns beginning on March 1st 2010, and will be prompted to install the already officially released by that time version of Windows 7. Following that, the RC will expire on June 1st, 2010.

Less than a week since they released the 185.66 BETA drivers (which in themselves superceeded the 182.50 WHQL and 185.65 BETA drivers in the space of 24 hours), NVIDIA has released yet another GeForce BETA Driver of version number 185.68. From these latest BETA releases, it seems NVIDIA has dropped support for the 8-Series graphics cards which as of now are only supported using the 182.50 WHQL driver. With the recent release of so many driver revisions from NVIDIA, it could be their answer to what EVGA were trying to do with their SLI Enhancement Patches, to keep up to date with the latest releases. This driver supports GeForce 9-series, 100-series, and 200-series desktop GPUs, the only documented change in this version over the 185.66 BETA drivers is:

• Optimized performance for the PC game The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

DOWNLOAD: GeForce 185.68 BETA for Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows Vista 32-bit | Windows Vista 64-bit

The day after releasing the GeForce 182.50 WHQL drivers, NVIDIA has also released a GeForce BETA driver with version 185.66, for both Windows Vista and XP.

New in Release 185.66:

• Adds support for the new GeForce GTX 275 GPU.
• Adds support for Ambient Occlusion - the newest NVIDIA Control Panel feature to offer enhanced 3D gaming realism exclusively to GeForce GPUs. (Vista Only)
• Adds support for CUDA 2.2 for improved performance in GPU Computing applications. See nvidia.com/cuda for more details.
• Accelerates performance in several 3D applications. The following are examples of improvements measured with Release 185 drivers vs. Release 182 drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):
  - Up to 11% performance increase in Call of Duty: World at War
  - Up to 5% performance increase Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
  - Up to 22% performance increase Crysis: Warhead with antialiasing enabled
  - Up to 11% performance increase in Fallout 3 with antialiasing enabled
  - Up to 14% performance increase in Far Cry 2
  - Up to 45% performance increase in Mirror's Edge with antialiasing enabled
• Supports GeForce Plus Power Pack #3. Download these FREE PhysX and CUDA applications now!
• Numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release documentation notes.

DOWNLOAD: GeForce 185.66 BETA for Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows Vista 32-bit | Windows Vista 64-bit

UPDATE: The day following the release of the 185.65 BETA drivers this article originally covered, NVIDIA removed the driver links and updated the BETA to 185.66, this article has therefore been updated accordingly.

AMD today announced the availability of GPU PerfStudio 2.0, a free, platform-agnostic, next-generation AMD graphics application development tool for game developers, obtainable through a closed beta program. GPU PerfStudio 2.0 has been designed from the ground up to easily integrate with existing projects, and help to identify and resolve performance issues early in the development cycle. With these tools, AMD is bringing its unparalleled understanding of 3D graphics technology and the leadership of its line of ATI Radeon graphics cards to bear on the development process.

"The GPU PerfStudio 2.0 suite of tools is extensive, customizable and, most importantly, based on open standards, which is critical for developers looking to integrate them into their existing workflows," said Neal Robison, director, Developer Relations, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "AMD is committed to arming developers with a full complement of hardware and development tools that help increase their development efficiency and improve 3D performance quality."

Exactly as predicted by TechARP, Microsoft today supplied all its beta testers with a Release Candidate version of the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. Microsoft did not mention when that version might be made publicly available, but if all predicitons turn out to be right, we can have the final second service pack for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 around April or May this year.
"We continuously engage with our partners and testers on the development of service packs and we will track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date for distribution," Microsoft said in a statement. "We will have more to share on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 soon and are targeting final delivery in (the second quarter of) 2009."
At the same time, Windows 7 is also gearing toward the release candidate stage. There's a rumour saying that the next iteration of Windows could reach RC stage at the end of this month, more specifically on February 27, 2008. This will be the only RC build of Windows 7 released, after that the manufacturer will be pushing the official and final product to the market.

A website has emerged campaigning for Microsoft to step up development of Windows 7 and launch it earlier than planned. The beta released in the last month has created much excitement across the tech world, and many people are eager for the release of Microsoft's new OS, currently slated for Q4 2009 to Q1 2010. Many websites are posting positive reviews of the public beta, a reason behind this movement. The founder of the site, Kelly Poe has said,

I'm a BIG Windows fan and have been loving what Microsoft has done with the recent Beta Release of Windows 7. There have been so many great reviews from people like Leo Laporte (twit.tv, TWIT Podcast) and Paul Thurrott (www.winsupersite.com, Windows Weekly podcast), needless to say I'm jones'n for the release of Windows 7.

So here we are...let's join together and get Microsoft to release Windows 7...enough with this Beta stuff...release it already!!! Let the beautiful little birdy (with the odd name) fly!!!

At the time of writing the site had a backing of 646 votes, which was constantly growing. You can find the website and join the campaign at releasewindows7.com

The Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II multiplayer beta is now open to all gamers via Steam. To join the beta and/or pre-purchase the full title, please visit steamgames.com

Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows 7, though in an unreleased beta stage, has been grabbing a lot of attention lately. After the beta went online last week, Microsoft's servers seem to have been bombarded with hits. At least this seems to have worked in building up hype around Windows 7. In the latest move, Microsoft scrapped the official limit it set to give away "only" 2.5 million keys to be able to install and use the OS.

Microsoft will give away as many copies of the OS as it can, till the 24th of January. Till the 24th, people will have access to the download as well as procurement of the legal Windows 7 Beta 1 key.

Just under an hour after the public release of the Windows 7 beta was expected to launch, there has been an update on the Windows 7 Blog, as to why the beta has not been made available yet:

Due to very heavy traffic we're seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I'll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!

So far as we know, the beta was scheduled to be released to the public at 12pm PST (Pacific Standard Time) on the official Windows 7 website. For now though, we wait.

The first official public beta of Windows 7 launches today (Build 7000), but already there is a serious bug which can corrupt your mp3 files. Although it will not render them unplayable, it has the potential to cut off the first 2 or 3 seconds of the mp3 recording. According to a poster on the Neowin.net forums:

The problem only happens when you edit metadata on a certain class of MP3 file (a file with a header larger than 16KB). When the new metadata is written, it corrupts the beginning of the file. This can happen either when you edit the metadata from inside WMP or Explorer, or it can happen if you have WMP set to automatically fill in missing metadata using the online service and add the MP3 to your library. This problem is only present in the recently leaked build (7000)

This same problem has been noted on Microsofts MSDN and TechNet websites when you click to download the beta:

To protect your MP3 files
1. Before you install this Beta release, back up all MP3 files that might be accessed by the computer, including those on removable media or network shares.
2. Install the Beta release of Windows 7; download and install the Update to Windows 7 Beta (KB961367) located on this page.

Although there is no official support page for KB961367 yet, Microsoft have the updates ready for download.

You can download the 32-bit (x86) version here and the 64-bit (x64) version here.

In the wake of the new year, NVIDIA's GeForce Forceware drivers have surfaced. While being in a beta stage the 185.20 Forceware provide support for NVIDIA's upcoming products namely the GeForce GTX 295 and GeForce GTX 285. It also introduces ambient occlusion as a standard feature-set to enhance lighting effects, and reflections impacting on the realism. All other GPUs GeForce 6 Series onward are supported as usual. The driver is dated for 12-26-2008. The package includes PhysX system software version 8.11.18. Drivers for both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows XP can be downloaded from the links below. Be cautioned the drivers are unsigned beta versions, the use of which isn't covered by any warranty.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA Forceware 185.20 beta for Windows XP (32bit) | Windows Vista (32bit) | Windows XP (64bit) | Windows Vista (64bit)

PlayStation.BLOG reminds today that PlayStation Home will enter into open beta, and will be available to everyone tomorrow. PlayStation Home is a 3D social gaming community available on PS3 that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences. Within PlayStation Home, users can create and customize their own unique avatars and explore virtual community in real time where they can communicate freely through text or voice chat. PlayStation Home users will not only be able to enjoy variety of entertainment content such as mini-games, videos and special events along with their friends, but will also be able to create their own community by starting clubs with other PlayStation Home users who share the same interests. Even purchasing customizable furniture and designer clothes will be possible with PlayStation Home. That's only a fraction of the features that will be available initially, not to mention that this is not a final version and there're still many updates to come. PlayStation Home, available as a free download starting December 11th, will launch directly from the PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB (XrossMediaBar) on PS3. After that date, SCE will vigorously promote the service and work with its partners to introduce new services. If you want to know more, hit the source link.

Right on time, Microsoft today released the public beta of Service Pack 2 for both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. Both Service Packs are available now here in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Initially the Service Packs are downloadable in five different languages: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Service Pack 1 for both operating systems is necessary in order to obtain the second Service Pack. Find more information here.

Tomorrow Microsoft will launch both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta for everyone, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management Mike Nash announced. Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta are major updates to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 respectively. They provide customer with all the fixes found untill the moment of their release and in addition SP2 will contain changes focused on addressing reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. For more information, please read the release notes for both service packs. Starting today, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the beta service packs. Beginning Thursday, Dececember 4, the beta will be available to everyone through a Customer Preview Program (CPP). To find more information about the CPP program, please click here. Mike Nash also added that Microsoft is tracking to ship the final version of Windows Vista SP2 in the first half of 2009.

Today at its Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC2008), Microsoft Corp. rallied software developers by sharing the first full public demo of Windows 7. Windows 7 extends developers' investments in Windows Vista and encourages the creation of new applications and services for the Windows platform. The company also delivered a pre-beta build of Windows 7 to PDC attendees and announced plans to release a full Windows 7 beta early next year.

Microsoft also demonstrated, for the first time, its new Web applications for Office, which are lightweight versions of Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote that are used from within standard Web browsers. The company showed how anyone can use all of the Web, phone, and PC versions of Office to edit the same rich document, switching among them seamlessly with lossless file compatibility.

Following the release of OpenGL 3.0 compliant drivers for Windows back in August, NVIDIA has released drivers for Linux/Free BSD, that provide support for the said graphics API. OpenGL functionality is something driver provider manage. Each compliant display driver carries with it, an ICD (installable client driver) for OpenGL.

The driver, 177.61.02 supports OpenGL 3.0, and OpenGL Shader Language (GL-SL) 1.30, with a broad range of compatible hardware already out by NVIDIA. All GeForce 8 Series or newer, Quadro FX 370/360M or newer graphics accelerators are supported. The release supports x86 and x86-64 variants of most Linux and Free-BSD derived operating systems. The driver can be downloaded from NVIDIA's FTP directory here. Please note, that the driver is in a beta stage as of now.

Windows Vista Team Blog posted today some good information on the next service pack, second in row, for Windows Vista.

We are committed to continually improving Windows, and we've been getting some questions about the timing of the next service pack for Windows Vista. Following the success of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 last spring, we have been working hard on Windows Vista Service Pack 2. As a part of the development and testing process, we're going to start by providing a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers with Windows Vista SP2 Beta for evaluation next Wednesday, October 29. The final release date for Windows Vista SP2 will be based on quality. So we'll track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date for the release.

Windows Vista SP2 Beta will contain previously released fixes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues.

The latest NVIDIA beta driver release 180.42, that was reported in the previous article, has just been uploaded on NVIDIA's home page. As promised this version works with GeForce 200-series, 9-series, and 8800-series desktop GPUs and also enables NVIDIA SLI technology on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards with the following GPUs: GeForce GTX 280, GeForce GTX 260, GeForce 9800 GX2, GeForce 9800 GTX+, and GeForce 9800 GTX. This release is compatible with all major Microsoft Windows operating systems, that includes both Windows XP 32/64-bit and Windows Vista 32/64-bit. Hit the link below.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce Release 180.42 Beta

Expreview has got its hands on the NVIDIA Forceware Beta Driver 180.32 and used it to setup and enable SLI with two Galaxy GTX260-216, on an Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard. The cards scored a 3DMark Vantage score of P21623, compared against a single card score of P10920 gives an approximate 98% increase. Currently it is only possible to enable SLI officially on NVIDIA based chipsets, only AMD's equivalent Crossfire system works on Intel chipsets. It is evident that the 180 series of Forceware drivers from NVIDIA (dubbed Big Bang II) not only brings multi-monitor SLI support, but also paves the way to enabling SLI on the Intel X58 Chipset. In another article, Expreview have also mentioned that the beta driver 180.42, will be officially released from NVIDIA later on today, with the final version set for November 17th this year, coinciding with the launch of Intel's Core i7 and X58.