News Bits: AMD Socket AM2, OS X Cracked, Windows Vista and Aero Glass, Flash Memory, Halo 2

AMD Socket AM2 Launch Scheduled for June 6

On Tuesday, June 6<SUP>th</SUP>, AMD is officially launching its new line of processors using the (now official) Socket AM2. The AM2 socket platform will incorporate dual-chanel DDR2 memory, which will bring much improved memory bandwidth and a substantial performance increase. To everyone's suprise, AM2 will support up to DDR2-800 in desktops, most likely we'll see DDR2-533/667 make it to notebooks.

The transition from DDR to DDR2 comes as a good time according to some memory manufacturers, as the price is virtually the same. Socket AM2 is slated to fully replace the current socket 754 and 939 CPU's.

By the end of the month, all dual-core, mainstream, and extreme gaming AM2 CPU's will sample. Production is scheduled for April 30<SUP>th</SUP>, and orders beginning on May 15<SUP>th</SUP>.

Read More . . .

Windows Vista Aero Glass on Integrated Graphics?

Ars Technica is running an excellent article discussing the graphical user interface of Windows vista, the so-called "Aero Glass" experience. A question that haunts many notebook users and buyers alike is "Will I be able to run Windows Vista with Integrated graphics?"

Answer? Yes, you certainly can. From the article:

Microsoft is planning at least two but probably three tiers of "experience" in the user interface, meant to take advantage of varying levels of graphical power. At least in terms of basic support, machines that can run Windows XP can expect to run Windows Vista's graphical component in a "classic mode" without too much trouble

While users with most integrated graphics won't be able to run with the full graphical interface, they will still be able to run Windows Vista. For the full graphical experience, a DirectX 9-level graphics card with 64MB of dedicated memory should not have any trouble with Aero Glass. Remember, nothing has been officially confirmed yet.

Until a release candidate sits before us, predicting the future remains a risky business. However, Microsoft has been clear that Vista would be designed to deliver a visual experience that is appropriate to the level of graphical power in any given machine.

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Windows Vista: New Uses for Flash Memory

Samsung claims that the NAND flash memory market will be boosted when Windows Vista ships, due to a new technology being implimented into the Operating System - using USB flash drives to expand the memory of a PC, as well as support for flash memory caches built right onto the hard drive itself.

The EMD (External Memory Drive) technology will be the first to boost the demand, with the USB Flash drives being used as system memory. Windows Vista will be able to copy over data it thinks the user will need and thus be able to read it into memory much faster than if it had to be read in from the hard drive.

The next step in flash memory implimentation would include building flash memory caches into hard drives, allowing the Operating System to use it in order to decrease boot and application loading times.

This is a very promising new technology; let's hope that it works as good as it sounds.

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Mac OS X 10.4.4 Cracked for PC

On Monday, February 13<SUP>th</SUP>, the latest version of Mac OS X, 10.4.4 was reportedly cracked, and made to run on a PC.

Although 10.4.4 was supposed to be a serious step forward in terms of security, the version that shipped with the first Mactels was "easy to hack" according to OSx86 Project's website:

What this means is that Apple's best attempts to secure their OS have, ultimately, failed. For its best efforts, the company is unable to lock OS X to their hardware. Without doubt, this will have profound impacts on the company's future as running OSx86 on a PC becomes less a hacker's trick and more mainstream. When all it requires is the downloading of a DVD, that's certainly the future we're looking at.

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Halo 2 for PC will run on Windows Vista Only

Just as Microsoft used Bungie's Halo to market the Xbox video game console, it appears that they are going to do the same with Halo 2. As a Windows Vista exclusive, Microsoft is hoping to speed up the transition to Vista - at least for gamers. Although Bungie denies that this is the point of making it exclusive, it begs the question - "If it runs on a Pentium III-based PC, why not XP?"

According to Bungie: "Windows Vista will help bring clarity to our customers and help them get more out of their personal computing experience, allowing them to focus on what matters most to them,"

Beyond this, not much more has been said, although expect more as we get closer to Vista's launch date. It is clear that the PC version will not have xBox live. And PC users can't play with XBox users in multiplayer - it won't be cross-platform. So, what do you need to run it? Good luck getting an answer.

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ThinkPad notebooks Required at Indiana State University

Going to Indiana State University? You'll be needing a ThinkPad - Indiana State is the first public University in the state to require all students starting with the freshmen in fall '07 to have notebook computers.

Indiana State's vice president for adademic affairs, C. Jack Maynard states, "When we announced the Notebook Initiative last September, we pledged that our students would receive high quality, business grade laptops worthy of the investment they and their parents are making in an ISU education,"

Reasons for choosing a ThinkPad include superior service and support, the quality of the notebooks, and the wireless capabilities. Network connectivity is simplified, thanks to the ThinkVantage Access Connections, which aids users in switching from one network to the next.

Students can acquire a ThinkPad in a number of ways, either through scholarships, freshmen who have completed an Indiana Core 40 Diploma, and have a high school grade point average of 3.0 or higher (out of 4.0). Other students will be able to purchase the notebooks at signifigantly reduced prices.

Read More . . .

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I've said it before, we saw several machines running Aero Glass on integrated graphics at the CES, though as noted, the build is not final yet.

 

that's the same day as the start of a computer show in Taipei, Computex, I'm hoping to be there for this release! Last year AMD was really strong at that show (link to some pics from last year http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2381)

That's ploy marketing for having Halo 2 available only on Vista -- but they're going to have to release that on XBox 360 eventually you'd think. Besides, anyone that's really into gaming and Halo 2 will probably upgrade to Vista anyway -- although being forced to isn't exactly appreciated.

Steve Jobs and Apple might be grumpy about Mac OSX making it onto PCs eventually -- and then their strapped with spending more $ to make it more secure on the next OS X release to prevent hacking. It's a treadmill.

 

This strikes me as a reasonable interpretation. For a lack of better words, it's morally crappy. While I most likely wouldn't play the game anyway (not big on FPS's), it's a really cheap move, and Microsoft should be ashamed.

 

Here in the Netherlands, the Eindhoven University of Technology was the first to start a notebookprogram. The difference is that new students are not required to apply and are able to buy a notebook themselves.
It is very widely used in education (calculations, simulations), and is also used for taking exams. And I see the ISU is going to use it in somewhat the same way...

 

Chazman, pardon the dumb newbie question, but does this new socket and use of dual channel memory portend anything at all for the release date of laptop dual core CPUs? I know they already have the Athlon x 2 for desktops, but will this development be related to or speed up the production of dual core mobile CPUs?

 

Cool news, Chaz. I would sure like to try OSX on my PC...

 

Halo 2
I'm glad I never liked Halo or Halo 2. I always thought they spent way too much on the marketing and image of the game than what they should have on actually making the game. Neither game was anything special when I played them. Halo 2 was nice, but felt like it lacked polish and storyline. That's ok when your graphics are as stunning as Doom 3's, but Halo 2's graphics were nothing to boast about even on an HDTV. Making the title Vista-only just makes me hate Microsoft more. If they're expecting me to upgrade to Vista they're in for a rude awakening. They expected everyone to upgrade to XP. So everyone has computers, but I'm not letting Microsoft tell me what to do with mine.

I will not be purchasing Halo 2 (for any platform) and their decision to make it Vista-only further enhances my decision. Hell, I wouldn't even use Windows XP had it not come with my computer. Microsoft is overstepping its bounds and acting monopolistic and like Intel in this regard. This will ultimately backfire against them.

Mac Hacking
This is really good news. I want to see more information about moving OSX over to PC's. So Apple doesn't support it, but hopefully a lot of people will jump on this and move to OSX so Apple wakes up and decides to start taking on Microsoft. They could make so much more money doing this, although they would be treated like AMD in their war against Intel right now. Progress would be slow, but it would come in time. It's time for Micro$oft to have a serious competitor that knows what they're doing. Apple is just that company.

Steve Jobs, wake up! You're asleep at the wheel just like AMD was last year!

ISU Notebooks
If they're requiring people to buy only Thinkpads I'd be upset. Thinkpads are always really expensive, and while they're nice I really like the higher-end gaming systems that have some graphical horsepower under the keyboard. I hope they still offer students the option to purchase other systems from other companies like Sager and others. My college tried to do something like this with Dell with those boring grey latitude notebooks, but ultimately backed out since not enough departments would benefit.

 

Well, I don't have any firm information of whether or not the new laptop CPU's will be released on June 6th, but a company called SiS - they make chipsets for motherboards - already has chipsets for the AM2 platform - two of them are for laptops.

That's as much as I know right now.

Your last question is a bit confusing . . but basically, the AM2 socket is the future AMD platform, it will replace the current Socket 754 and 939 chips fully.