Developed for the PC by the Company's world-renowned development studio Firaxis Games, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword will be the second expansion pack for Civilization IV - the 2005 PC Game of the Year and a major commercial success, selling over 1.5 million units worldwide since its October 2005 release. The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder and will deliver 12 challenging and decidedly different scenarios created by the development team at Firaxis Games, as well as members of the Civilization Fan Community. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword will also include ten new civilizations, 16 new leaders, five new wonders, and a variety of new units that will offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's power as they strive for world domination. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword will be available in July 2007.

AMD/ATI has released this month's version of its display driver for the Radeon 9500 series and higher cards, taking the version number to 7.3. The driver is available for both Windows XP and Windows Vista, on 32-bit and 64-bit systems, with each requiring a different download. New features include OpenGL CrossFire support for Windows Vista, as well as other crossfire enhancements for Windows Vista which could see X1000 series cards gain performance improvements of up to 60%. There are obviously a number of other small issues that have been resolved in Vista and XP, but nothing too major.

Download links:

• Windows XP 32-bit
• Windows XP 64-bit
• Windows Vista 32-bit
• Windows Vista 64-bit

This is the first patch released for the long awaited S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl fixing a list of more than 68 different game issues. There are different versions of the patch for the different SKU's released worldwide and for the Digital Distribution version. Be carefull which one you use. Please note that Saved games from previous versions will NOT work with the patch. Please click here, read the patch description and download it if you want.

New version 3.3 of the NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software, has just been released. NiBiTor is the original and definitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards. This version has added support for the 8800 series as well as some minor bug fixes.

Download: NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) v3.3

The March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update is a package of software updates that address common application compatibility issues in Windows Vista. When you try to install and run certain legacy games or applications in Windows Vista, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms: The game, the application, or the firmware may not be installed correctly, may cause system instability, or may not work correctly.

Download: Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update March 2007

Mozilla has issued another minor update to its Firefox 2.0 web browser. New for Firefox 2.0.0.3 is a single security fix that patches up a hole in the browser's FTP PASV functionality. Also new in 2.0.0.3 are fixes to improve Web site compatibility. Firefox users can download the 2.0.0.3 updater from Mozilla's homepage or use the auto update function within the browser.

Linux/Unix (*nix) users have probably heard all about Gnome by now. Gnome is a window manager for the X Window system. Window managers allow *nix users that would otherwise be looking at command line or the rather bland X Windows system to use something much more elegant, which may even surpass Windows or Macintosh's various window managers in functionality, efficiency, and beauty. Back to Gnome. The makers of Gnome have ensured that they would stay on a timetable for releases, and 2.18 rolled out just in time. Gnome 2.18 adds a laptop power manager for mobile users, improves window managing between two windows, and vastly improves security. If you're really interested in all the changes from the previous version of Gnome, you can read the full release notes here.

Those of you using *nix (such as the techPowerUp! FreeBSD club) who enjoy the clean Gnome environment can download the latest version here.

After a day spent in preflashing my new Sony PSP, it seems appropiate for me to inform you that an upcoming system update of the PlayStation 3 firmware to version 1.6 will give users the ability to download files from the PlayStation Network in the background. Currently, PlayStation 3 owners must halt all activity and remain focused on the download progress bar. Any attempt at another operation on the console will cancel the download, which is non-resumable. Another recently announced feature to be included in the 1.60 update is the introduction of Folding@home functionality, giving owners of a PS3 the opportunity to use their new game system to help find real-life cures to diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis and many cancers. Version 1.60 will also improve the Web browsing ability of the PS3. The update will bring zooming and new resolution settings for easier surfing, plus a full-sized keyboard on-screen for more convenient text entry. The release date of the new firmware is March 22 2007.

Anyone who's really been paying attention to the recent things coming through Windows Update knows that an update to the Windows Media Player 11 runtime recently has been released (say, wasn't patch Tuesday a few days ago?). Anyone who's been wondering what this update does need not look much further. There was apparently a problem with the way Windows Media Player "metered" the times a song bought over subscription services was put on a digital device. This led to all sorts of issues, such as entire music stores not working (it's not fun, trust me), and sometimes outright failures of Windows Media Player library to MP3 player transfers. You can read the full details from Microsoft as to how exactly they fixed this problem here. Or, you could just be glad that if you go through the trouble of paying for your music, you can rest assured you'll actually be allowed to listen to it.

Microsoft quietly rolled out SP2 for Windows Server 2003 today as part of its critical updates list. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a cumulative service pack that includes the latest updates and provides enhancements to security and stability. In addition, it adds new features and updates to existing Windows Server 2003 features and utilities. The SP2 update can be applied to all Windows Server 2003/Windows XP Professional x64 Edition products.

One of Sony's most promoted features in the PS3 is it's backwards compatibility. Unfortunately, when the PS3 was first released, it hardly could boast this. Classic PS2 and PS1 games would be presented as garbled lines of text instead of something playable. In a firmware release that brings the console to version 1.5, Sony has fixed almost all compatibility issues, with exception to a very small amount of isolated cases. Any older game you run on the PS3 will be presented with a higher clarity than on the PS1 or PS2.

The first details about EA's next expansion to the Battlefield series are beginning to leak, with the booster pack expected to be named Battlefield 2142 - Northern Strike. The most notable changes are three new European maps, two new vehicles, ten new rewards, ten new unlocks, the new Epic Titan mode for two maps and improved use of pods. The new content is generally intended to focus on infantry battles instead of using vehicles for extreme force, with the new maps tweaked to create choke-points. There isn't any word on pricing yet, although rumours that the in-game advertising could lead to free add-on packs haven't been mentioned by EA.