September 11th, 2009

Hardware 2.0 - Open mic session

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 4:32 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: Microphone, Hardware, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

I’ve decided that once a month I should hand over the mic to the amazing crowd that makes up the Hardware 2.0 readership.

Here’s your chance to talk about pretty much anything tech related. Feel free to make post suggestions, discuss tech topics, vent about something bothering you, ask me (and other readers) a question, talk about something that you’ve recently bought or want to buy … if it’s tech related, them feel free to post!

I’ll be scoping out the TalkBack section of this post throughout the day, so if you ask me a question, I’ll try to get around to it soon!

Have fun, and have a good weekend!

March 9th, 2009

What should Apple do - Scale down Mac OS X or scale up iPhone OS?

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 8:00 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Macintosh, Operating System, Apple Inc., Apple Mac OS X, Netbook, DigiTimes, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Apple Mac OS, Hardware

DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwan-based Wintek will start supplying Apple with touch-sensitive panels during Q3 of this year for a new product - but what sort of product will that be?

Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new products, but it said it does not know what applications the new products are for. Wintek added that no shipment schedule has been worked out yet, but shipments are likely to begin in the second half of the year.

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The way I see it is that Apple has two ways it could go. The mainstream thinking is that Apple will go for a netbook of some sorts in order to take advantage of the current Read the rest of this entry »

February 18th, 2009

Psystar ... can this little company hope to defeat Apple?

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 11:37 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: Apple Macintosh, EULA, DMCA, Apple Inc., Psystar, Flipside, Desktops, Digital Media, Hardware, Consumer Electronics

Does Psystar have a chance against Apple? A few months ago I would have said no, but now I’m not too sure.

Back in April of last year a small company based in Florida called Psystar attracted a lot of attention to itself by selling PCs with the Mac OS installed on them. Now, ten months later, Psystar continues to sell these Mac clones and has filed an amended counterclaim with the California Northern District Court.

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This amendment to the original counterclaim alleges that Apple is misusing the DMCA and that the EULA that Apple uses is unenforceable. And these claims have far Read the rest of this entry »

October 24th, 2008

Intel: We love you, iPhone!

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 9:56 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: Apple iPhone, Intel Corp., Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ARM, Apple Inc., Smart Phones

Earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei, Intel’s Shane Wall and Pankaj Kedia slammed the iPhone and the ARM processor. Now Intel is going all out to fix relations with Apple.

Here’s the offending comment:

“The shortcomings of the iPhone are not because of Apple,” Intel’s director of ecosystems for its ultra-mobility group Pankaj Kedia said at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei, Taiwan. “The shortcomings of the iPhone have come from ARM.”

The comment followed statements from Shane Wall, Intel’s VP, mobility group and director strategic planning, platform architecture and software, ultra-mobility group, on the device’s lack of oomph. “Any sort of application that requires any horse power at all and the iPhone struggles,” he said.

Kedia didn’t just stop at the iPhone, claiming ARM was a malaise afflicting smartphones in general. “The smartphone of today is not very smart,” he said. “The problem they have today is they use ARM.”

The discussion came after Wall’s keynote. “If you want to run full internet, you’re going to have to run an Intel-based architecture,” he had said, claiming that Intel processors achieved two to three times the performance of ARM equivalents.

Well, it seems that this isn’t Intel’s view, and that Shane and Kedia might have spoken out of turn. This is what was posted yesterday on Intel’s PR Chip Shots message board:

Anand Chandrasekher issued a correction on comments made by members of his team yesterday at Intel’s Developer Forum in Taiwan. As general manager of the Group responsible for Intel’s ultra-mobility products, he acknowledged that Intel’s low-power Atom processor does not yet match the battery life characteristics of the ARM processor in a phone form factor; and, that while Intel does have plans on the books to get us to be competitive in the ultra low power domain - we are not there as yet. Secondly, Apple’s iPhone offering is an extremely innovative product that enables new and exciting market opportunities. The statements made in Taiwan were inappropriate, and Intel representatives should not have been commenting on specific customer designs.

Don’t you get the feeling that Intel needs Apple more than Apple needs Intel? Maybe Apple’s purchase of P.A. Semi earlier this year has made Intel a little worried.

October 10th, 2008

Defective NVIDIA GPUs present in MacBook Pro

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 10:18 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: NVidia Corp., Apple MacBook, Apple Inc., Apple MacBook Pro, GPU, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Apple has now joined the ranks of Dell and HP and admitted that some of its MacBook Pro notebooks have been shipped with defective NVIDIA GPUs.

Here’s the announcement.

In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.

Note how Apple is blaming NVIDIA for supplying it with incorrect information. This statement alone will add weight to the lawsuit that NVIDIA is facing from shareholders who are claiming that the company breached US securities laws by concealing for at least eight months the fact that its GPUs were affected by a serious thermal defect.

I pointed out in July that NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT was used in the MacBook Pro and that it was possible that one of Apple’s flagship products could be affected by this issue.

Here’s what you look for:

• Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
• No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

Affected devices:

• MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
• MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
• MacBook Pro (Early 2008)

I’m getting the overwhelming feeling that the $200 million that NVIDIA has put aside to clean up this mess isn’t going to be anywhere near enough.

NVIDIA stock (NVDA) currently stands at $6.55.

[UPDATE: NVIDIA responds:

NVIDIA has worked diligently with Apple, as  we have done with all of  our customers and partners, to analyze their notebooks and determine if there are potential problems. 

Modern notebooks are complex, and every system is different.
The OEM is ultimately best able to assess the reliability of their own systems.  Apple, like other OEMs, decides on their own how to handle their warranty and repair programs.

Regardless, we stand by our products, thus the reason why we set aside such a large reserve, and we have and will continue to work closely with Apple and their customers.]

September 2nd, 2008

First look at Google Chrome

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 12:41 pm

Categories: Admin

Tags: Google Inc., Web Browser, Web Browsers, Internet, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Yesterday Google inadvertently disclosed that it was planning to release a browser called Chrome when the Google Blogoscoped blog was sent (and it seems received a couple of days early) a comic book outlining some of the browsers new features. Today we get to see the browser first-hand.

UPDATE: How does Google Chrome stack up against Firefox 3.0 and IE when it comes to the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark?

Full Google Chrome gallery here

Installation

Installation of Google Chrome was a snap. The setup application was under half a megabyte and that then downloaded the rest of the applications - measuring in at some 7MB.

Installation took a few seconds and after importing data from your current default browser Google Chrome is ready to go!

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Tab Page

Here’s the Tab Page, which is the default page for Google Chrome. The more you use Chrome, the more this page is populated with sites you visit most often.

Browsing

If you’re used to browsing the web with IE or Firefox then you’ll notice that some pages look a little different to what you expect them to (you’ll also notice how much faster they load in Chrome). Safari users will find that Read the rest of this entry »

August 29th, 2008

Psystar files answer to Apple complaint - "M" word used enthusiastically

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 8:53 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: Complaint, Apple Inc., Thought, Desktops, Hardware, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Mac clone maker Psystar has filed answers to Apple’s complaint.

PDF available here.

Thoughts:

On paper, Psystar’s case against Apple sounds comprehensive, logical and thorough.

Psystar’s lawyers have dug deep to paint a picture that it’s not Psystar that’s in the wrong but Apple, and that it’s Psystar that’s been harmed by Apple, not the other way around. Additionally, the lawyers eager to stress that it’s not only Psystar that’s been harmed, but Apple’s own customers (due to high pricing and a lack of choice) and the wider tech industry (in that OEMs have been locked out on the Mac OS ecosystem).

Like I said, on paper the case sounds good (disclaimer: I am not a lawyer) and my admiration for Psystar has gone up several notches.

Highlights from the filing:

Note: All bold emphasis added by me.

On page 2 we see Psystar take a jab at Apple:

PSYSTAR admits that PLAINTIFF launched the Macintosh line of computers in 1984 but otherwise denies the allegation that PLAINTIFF is “[a] pioneer of the personal computer revolution.”  On information and belief, PSYSTAR admits that the Macintosh (or “Mac”) utilized a mouse, computer icons, and graphical user interface but lacks information or knowledge as to whether said components and functionality were novel and on that basis denies the remainder of the allegation.

Page 5:

PSYSTAR admits that for a period of several hours on one day that PSYSTAR colloquially referred to certain computers by the name of ‘OpenMac’ but denies that it currently sells any computer referred to by that name; PSYSTAR denies that it sells any computer under any name that runs a modified, unauthorized version of the Leopard operating system.

Page 5 again:

PSYSTAR denies the allegations in the final sentence of paragraph 12 of the Complaint, specifically: that PSYSTAR makes copies of the Leopard software; that PSYSTAR offers downloads of ‘updates’ to the Leopard software from the website www.psystar.com; that PSYSTAR copies any “updates” generated by the PLAINTIFF; and/or that PSYSTAR generates unauthorized, modified versions of software updates from the PLAINTIFF.

Page 5/6 … “Oh no, we didn’t damage your image”: Read the rest of this entry »

August 21st, 2008

"Windows 7 Client" drivers appear on Microsoft’s Update Catalog

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 8:27 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Update, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

An eagle-eyed enthusiast over on the Neowin forum has noticed that “Windows 7 Client” drivers have made an appearance in Microsoft’s Update Catalog.

Take a quick look through the catalog and you’ll see big hitters such as NVIDIA and ATI present alongside Hauppauge, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Razer and many others. Many of the drivers listed date back to 2007.

I don’t think that I’m going to place much significance on this find. It might indicate that a beta could be forthcoming shortly or it might be that Microsoft is using this as a way to show those paying attention that hardware that runs under Vista will run under Windows 7.

A few of points worth making …

1. I wouldn’t take the presence or absence of any piece of hardware as an indication of final compatibility (for example, just because I can find a Windows 7 Client driver for the ATI Radeon 9550 I’m not going to assume that this card will deliver a good Windows 7 experience, or even that this card will meet the final system requirement specs). I’ll start believing in what works and what doesn’t when I start seeing betas.
2. So far I’ve not come across a single driver listed as “Windows 7 Client” only.

(Hat tip to Long Zheng.)

August 13th, 2008

How hot should my NVIDIA GPU be?

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 10:42 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: NVidia Corp., GPU, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Following coverage of the thermal issues that are affecting an unknown cross-section of NVIDIA GPUs (latest here), several readers have been asking me what temperature their GPUs should be in order for them to be safe from any potential problems. Unfortunately, it’s hard to give a definitive answer.

It’s pretty easy to find out the temperature of your GPU, for example you can use nTune to keep an eye on your GPUs temperature. As well as monitoring and logging, it’ll also give you an idea if things are getting too hot, and allow you to take steps to cool things down a little by adjusting the fan.

But … GPU temperature measurements are spot readings and as such it is possible that you’re not getting the full picture. It’s still possible for hot spots to develop within the GPU unnoticed. Remember, it only takes a tiny hot spot in the right place to kill a piece of silicon. These hot spots can form for a number of reasons - poor application of thermal grease, inadequate application of thermal pads, other problem with the cooling system, etc, etc etc - and can form very quickly.

Another problem here is that it is unclear why the NVIDIA GPUs are failing, although it seems clear that it is related somehow to heat. It is possible that the GPUs are failing while still operating within (or close to) operating parameters. The fact that the BIOS updates from Dell and HP seem to turn the cooling fan on permanently seems to suggest that there’s no safe operating temperature.

So, how cool should your GPU be? Well, the best answer I can give is that it should be as cool as possible without driving yourself nuts with fans roaring away flat out all the time. Normally systems do a good job of controlling the temperature automatically but if you’re gaming then there’s nothing wrong with kicking the fan up a few notches to help keep the GPU cool. At the same time make sure that the system has adequate airflow and that intakes/exhausts aren’t obstructed by anything (clothing, dust …). That’s the best that you can do.

Personally, I’d use the notebook normally, let if fail in the warranty period and get it fixed properly (if outside the warranty period then I’d probably offload it on eBay and upgrade). My personal feeling is that the older mobile G84s and G86s are ticking timebombs and that the same might be true for the G92, and that makes them a liability I can do without.

June 11th, 2008

Snow Leopard to leave PowerPC users out in the cold?

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 11:55 am

Categories: Admin

Tags: IBM PowerPC, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

LogicielMac (via MacRumors) has a screenshot that could spell the end of the line for PowerPC users.

Now, does this apply specifically to the Developer Preview of Snow Leopard, or is this a sign that Apple is making the move to being Intel-only?

Does this drop come too soon (after all, Apple only stopped selling PowerPC systems a couple of years ago), or is it time to draw a line under the PowerPC?

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Thoughts?