LucidLogix demonstrated today for the first time at Intel Developer Forum 2011 (IDF) the injection of HyperFormance technology into its Virtu Universal GPU virtualization software for outstanding gaming responsiveness, visual quality and frame rates.

"Games are all about creating a suspension of disbelief and a more immersive overall lifelike experience," said Offir Remez, president and founder of Lucid. "HyperFormance technology provides a more responsive game interaction together with a clean visual image, making for a more pleasurable experience."

AMD today launched its 9-Series chipset line-up today, helping PC builders to develop next generation high performance desktop platforms. The company also unveiled its 2011 HD Tablet Platform, based on the AMD Z-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), enabling vivid media display and content creation capabilities for the fast-growing market of Microsoft Windows-based tablets. These new AMD products are designed to enable more immersive digital experiences for the PC and tablet markets.

"As consumer appetites for more compelling, lifelike visual experiences increase, there is greater need for high performance, smooth, vibrant graphics as well as unparalleled computing power," said John Taylor, product marketing director, AMD. "From tablets to desktops, AMD is making powerful computing accessible to everyone."

An exciting new approach to PC entertainment on show at CeBIT 2011. WAVI Xtion (pronounced "way-vee action") comprises two components- the WAVI wireless media streaming device, and the Xtion motion sensor. It streams high definition media wirelessly from a PC located in one room toa TV in another, while infrared gesture-based multimedia playback, games and applications introduce the first ever officially-supported motion-sensing PC interface.

WAVI Xtion integrates motion-sensing technology from PrimeSense with the exclusive ASUS Xtion Portal user interface to bring consumers closer to technology through intuitive interaction with applications. Connections to both PCs and TVs via wireless HDMI(WHDI technology) deliver smooth transfers of high definition content such as movies, games and photos in 5GHz with a range of up to 25 meters.

Intel announced the opening of the Intel Romania Software Development Center today. The Intel Romania Software Development Center represents a multi-million Euro investment for the Intel Software and Services Group. Software innovations from the center's R&D work will help enable new and exciting consumer usages. Some recent examples of this type of Intel software innovation include the Intel AppUp Center and Intel's leadership in the MeeGo project.

The Intel Romania Software Development Center will focus on software solutions needed to create the best possible user experiences on a variety of Intel architecture based smart devices including smart phones and other common devices like smart TVs or in-vehicle infotainment systems. The center will initially conduct R&D for the MeeGo open source platform which provides great flexibility for smart devices and software developers.

Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of storage and wireless networking solutions, today launched its Blu-ray USB 3.0 drive. Available from September, early USB 3.0 adopters who require fast speed back up to Blu-ray technology will benefit from improved playback and burning performance of Blu-ray discs, DVDs, or CDs. Additionally, the 12-speed drive is ideal for creating back-up videos, photos and music and to standard DVD and CD.

The Buffalo Blu-ray USB 3.0 drive delivers a simple and affordable ultra high-speed Blu-ray writer that can write up to 50GB, on a double layer disc. Additionally the drive allows users to easily convert regular movies to 3D and upscale DVDs and video files to HD quality.

MSI recently rolled out the CX413, the newest member of its Classic series of laptop computers. Under the hood, the 14-inch CX413 comes packed with AMD's all-new Vision (Danube) platform with AMD's most advanced Athlon II dual core processor which supports DDR3 system memory as well as the high performance ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 discrete graphics card (DDR3 512MB display memory) for multimedia for superior image capabilities and processing speeds. Your multimedia life was never so good.

MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern explains that the CX413 features MSI's own 45-degree beveled construction, a cinema-class 16:9 ratio, power-sipping LED display, and MSI's ECO engine power saving technology. This machine has it all-an aesthetically pleasing exterior, outstanding multimedia performance, and exceptionally long battery life. It's your best choice for reasonably priced mobile multimedia entertainment.

The guys from QNAP do not have too much new stuff, but are filling in the blanks so to speak. They are now offering a five bay TS-559 Pro NAS storage, which fits right in-between the four and six bay variants already available. On the software front we got a quick intro to their upcoming web interface for their TS-110 and 210 units. This interface allows you to stream movies, music and pictures over a web interface and even grant access to specific folders and content to users of your choice thanks to a built-in user management interface. This software update should be available by the end of the month. We also got a quick peek at their four and eight bay server products, which fit in a 1U or 2U rack and are intended to be used as embedded storage for VMWare environments. These are called TS-459U-RP and TS-859U-RP respectively.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of world class NAS servers today announced an impressive update to the NAS management software that powers its business-class Intel-based Turbo NAS servers. The NAS management software version 3.2, embedded as firmware, provides a segment-leading iSCSI target solution supporting SPC-3 persistent reservation, MPIO and MC/S allowing forward-thinking SMB and corporate customers the ability to deploy the NAS as a storage server in the virtualized and clustered infrastructure. Additionally, the newly updated management software also steps up its backup capabilities by adding Apple Time Machine support and even redundant backups to Amazon's S3 cloud storage platform.

In addition, for ease of management, IT administrators can also benefit from the DFS support (Share Folder Aggregation), import of user-list, and customizable Daylight Saving Time. Further, the next-generation Internet Protocol, IPv6, has also been incorporated for future networking evolution. QNAP's Web File Manager 2 features an entirely redesigned user interface and functionality for improved file sharing and management. WebDAV is also available for users to collaboratively share, access, and edit files over HTTP and HTTPs.

WD, the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its new My Book Elite desktop external drives featuring a customizable e-label that's always visible, even when the drive is unplugged, making it easy to know what's on the drive and how much space is left. The new My Book Elite also features automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare software and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Available now at select retailers and shopwd.com, the new My Book Elite drives are offered in capacities of 1 TB, 1.5 TB and 2 TB.

The e-label smart display on the spine of the My Book drives can be changed easily and as often as desired. It utilizes e-paper technology which reads like ink on paper. With the included WD SmartWare software, users can easily create a label to name their drive or remind themselves of its contents. The e-label also shows available capacity and whether the drive is locked via WD SmartWare software's powerful password protection and hardware-based encryption. Utilizing e-paper technology, the information on the display remains clearly visible, even when the drive is unplugged, and the customized label can be changed easily as often as desired.

A day into its announcement, Google's ambitious new venture, the Chrome operating system, is receiving support from some of the biggest players in the IT industry. The company also confirmed that Chrome OS will be a free of charge software, requiring no purchase of license to use it. To ensure the OS gets adequate momentum, Google is working with the likes of HP, Acer, Lenovo, ASUS, Toshiba, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm (some of the most relevant names in the netbook industry). The company also detailed about the developer support it plans to spread, with possible pre-release versions towards the end of the year. To the consumer, this means that major computer manufacturers could sell netbooks with Chrome OS preinstalled, with seamless support for their hardware. Early community software development will ensure a good selection of software for the netbook by the time the OS becomes release-grade, ready to be shipped with millions of netbooks.

Just over a week since we covered the release of the 182.05 BETA driver, NVIDIA have now released a WHQL with version number 182.06. The driver has been released for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Vista and is for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, and 200-series desktop GPUs.

New in Release 182.06:

• Recommended for the best experience in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
• Boosts performance in numerous 3D applications. The following are some examples of improvements measured with Release 182.06 WHQL drivers vs. Release 181.22 WHQL drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):
• Up to 8% performance increase in Fallout 3 at high resolution and AA.
• Up to 10% performance increase in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
• Up to 9% performance increase in Half-Life 2 at high resolution with AA.
• Up to 11% performance increase in Left 4 Dead at high resolution with AA.
• Up to 10% performance increase in Race Driver: GRID at high resolution and AA.
• Includes full support for OpenGL 3.0 on GeForce 8-series, 9-series, and 200-series GPUs.
• Automatically installs the new PhysX System Software version 9.09.0203.
• Additional information on specific bug fixes can be found in the release documentation notes.

DOWNLOAD NVIDIA Forceware 182.06 WHQL for Windows XP 32-bit | Windows Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows Vista 64-bit

Today, Opera Software introduces the first look at Opera 10. An alpha version of Opera 10 is now available here. This release gives people a taste of Opera's new rendering engine, Opera Presto 2.2 - the foundation of all future Opera 10 products. Opera Presto 2.2 offers approximately a 30-percent-faster browsing experience as compared to Opera Presto 2.1, introduced in Opera 9.5 in June 2008. Opera has fine-tuned its standards support and, as a result, Opera 10 alpha achieves an Acid3 100/100 Test score. This version also provides Web developers with a whole range of new technologies for building better Web sites.

Software giant Microsoft might offer a free anti-virus software next year, the company said on Tuesday. Code-named "Morro," this streamlined solution will be available in the second half of 2009 and will provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs.
"Customers around the world have told us that they need comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, and we take that concern seriously," said Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft. "This new, no-cost offering will give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is outpaced only by the growth of malware."
When released, "Morro" will be available as a stand-alone download and offer malware protection for the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.
With the arrival of "Morro", Microsoft will also discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service.

A desktop-replacement laptop using the Centrino 2 Platform, Intel's highest dual-core mobile CPU, the Penryn-based Core 2 Extreme X9100 to be precise, was overclocked to 4.00 GHz with help from aggressive cooling made by CoolIT and Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility. Seen in the first picture is the laptop seated on an unreleased notebook component cooler made by CoolIT. The cooler uses external thermoelectric couple (TEC) and air cooling to draw heat away from the laptop. Despite using overclocked settings using this cooler, the CPU reaches a scorching 50° C.

The cooler releases in January 2008 and will be priced around US $120. This feat was also helped by Intel's new Extreme Tuning Utility (Iron City). Intel's Dan Ragland used the software to overclock the laptop's CPU to over 4GHz, stably. He commented that the notebook-cooler added around 500MHz over and above what's achievable by using the laptop's cooling alone.

Soon, among your usual utility bills of electricity, water, gas, telecom, could be a new addition, software. Microsoft has come up with a new subscription model, where instead of outright buying a license to use the software, consumers can subscribe to use it. A monthly or annual subscription charge has to be paid by the user (subscriber) to continue using the product.

This scheme for now covers products such as Microsoft Office and One Care security software. Analysts are already beginning to predict this will be Microsoft's next big business model which will fuel its growth in the years to come. There's much in store for both consumers and the company.

MVKTech took it upon himself to punt another great version of everyone's favorite NVIDIA BIOS editor, NiBiTor, out into the hungry world of hardware enthusiasts/modders/overclockers. Version 3.7a mainly fixes a bunch of support issues. Namely, it fixes issues with the GeForce 8800GS, 6800XE, and QuaddroFX540. NiBiTor 3.7a also adds support for all current cards on the market running off of the G92 core. The Auto Select Timing Set is also fixed.

If you'd like to download, install, and run the latest version of NiBiTor, please go here. We're not liable if you blow up your computer.

Somebody took the time and effort to write a fairly neutral list of reasons why people should switch from any Microsoft operating system to Mac OS X. The full list is available at the source link, but I think you might be interested in what made the top five.

• It seems that the future of Windows development is happening largely for corporate environments and customers.
• Excellent power management in OS X. When I close the lid to my MacBook Pro, it falls asleep. When I open the lid to my MacBook Pro, it wakes up. Imagine that!
• I'm ready to experience different frustrations. OS X isn't perfect, certainly - but I already see its noticeably more stable than Windows Vista has been. Kernel Panics at least look prettier than BSODs.
• There's more interesting, useful, beautiful, and affordable software being developed for OS X
• VMWare Fusion

Apple today introduced Aperture 2, the next major release of its groundbreaking photo editing and management software with over 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use and more powerful. With a streamlined user interface and entirely new image processing engine, Aperture 2 also introduces new imaging tools for highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting and RAW fine-tuning, and lets users directly post their portfolios on the .Mac Web Gallery for viewing on the web, iPhone, iPod touch and Apple TV. At a new low price of $199, anyone can easily organize, edit and publish photos like a pro.

People hoping to jump on the Windows Vista bandwagon without paying a cent of hard-earned cash jumped for joy when Microsoft offered free software in exchange for the occasional survey and three months of observation. As of December 11th, anyone who was signing up for the program got a nasty surprise: no more free software. Microsoft is of course welcoming more test subjects to be monitored. However, Microsoft will not be giving these subjects anything in return for their time and privacy, except a marginally better product in a few years.

Anyone who signed up after the cut-off date date and time under the idea they were getting a free piece of software worth $400USD or more MSRP will be sorely disappointed. There is no word as to whether or not Microsoft plans on honoring the people who signed up before the cut-off.

If you ignore the bad romance novel pun, the iYule really does put a fireplace in your pocket. You can install the iYule on various digital devices, including the iPod, iPod Touch, Zune, Apple TV, Xbox 360 and of course computers (as a screen-saver). When initiated, the clever 30-minute looping track is a full-screen video of a crackling log fire, complete with crackling, popping, and sizzling sounds from a fire recorded in HD. It also comes with an intriguing piano soundtrack, but you can choose to get a version that does not include the music. The iYule is priced at $5 for mobile versions, $7 for the PC/Xbox 360 version, $7 for all versions sans music, and $10 for every version available, with "bonus features". 10% of all proceeds from the iYule will go to charity. You can see a full flash sample here, to help you decide whether or not a digital fire is your kind of thing. If you'd like to buy your very own iYule, please go here.

The BBC is releasing a digital content player, called "iPlayer". However, the Open Source community got very upset when they found out iPlayer was only compatible with Windows XP. And so, after asking the BBC to remedy this (and threatening to go to the European Commission), the BBC has made the iPlayer compatible with multiple operating systems. All the owner of the operating system has to do is pay the BBC for a license, and the player will be made compatible with the operating system.

Microsoft just released the beta version of the new Windows Live OneCare 2.0, its anti-malware and general windows maintenance software kit.
The updated version adds support for monitoring the status of other PCs on a home/corporate network, as well as an updated firewall that has an Auto-Adjust settings mode depending on the network along with 64bit support.
Windows Live OneCare is offered as a subscription service for $49.95 USD per year.

Live OneCare Site

Guru3D - Driver Sweeper is a fast tool to remove driver leftovers from your system. It's very important to remove your drivers on a proper way, because driver leftovers can cause problems like stability and startup problems. You can use it if you want to update/remove drivers from your system.

The change log for this release is:

GIGABYTE today announced its new Odin line of power supply units will ship soon. Two versions will be available: Odin Pro and Odin GT, ranging from 550W to 800W - across each model. All PSUs are equipped with Active PFC, over-voltage, over-current, under-voltage and short - circuit protection. Odin GT, the flagship model covers the Intel 12V V2.2 specification and has four +12V rails (2x18A, 2x25A). One of the most special features of the Odin GT power supplies is their software control. In brief, it manages the following: output voltages and load on each rail, power fan speed tweak, localized or preset temperature monitors, power supply lighting control, proximity warning bells and even present user modes for performance, normal use or silent operation. Other features include +80% efficiency, a silent 140mm fan, high-quality Japanese capacitors, SLI ready and modular cable management.

Mozilla Thunderbird 2 is now available for download on Windows, Mac and Linux in over 35 languages. Thunderbird 2 offers easy ways to manage and organize your email with message tags, advanced folder views, message history navigation, find as you type, and improved new mail alert notifications. Thunderbird 2 also includes a refreshed user interface and support for Microsoft Vista. Download it from here.