PC Games
The award-winning Battlefield franchise invades the high tech frontlines of modern warfare in the new sequel, Battlefield 2™. The game brings the intensity and excitement of Battlefield 1942™ into the modern era with enhanced team play and the latest, most technologically advanced vehicles and weapons systems available to man.
In Battlefield 2, players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, the Chinese, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition. Armed with the latest modern weaponry, players can take control of any of the game’s 30+ vehicles to engage in major conflicts with over 64 players in some of the largest online battles on the PC. Additionally, persistent character growth allows players to rise through the ranks and attain the ultimate rank of General.
An all-new game engine and physics system brings the modern battlefield to life like never before. The new material penetration feature measures weapons’ ability to fire through barriers based on their composition and players will need to know the difference between concealment and cover in order to survive.
Battlefield 2 features immense, richly detailed, destructible environments, from city streets to remote forests, in some of the most notorious hot spots around the world. Each map in Battlefield 2 adjusts in scale to support the number of players in the world, providing the ideal vehicle- to-player ratio and an optimized gameplay experience.
Enhanced team play features allow players to enter the action on the front lines as part of a formal squad, or work behind the scenes in Commander Mode to direct the strategic assaults of their teammates.
Soldier kits now affect vehicles that players utilize on the battlefield. For instance, the medic kit can transform a vehicle into a mobile aid station and the support kit can make helicopters into flying ammo dumps
-Online multiplayer action with up to 64 players on the PC.
-All-new gameplay engine brings the immense locations to life complete with realistic physics and dynamic lighting.
-Maps scale to the number of players engaging in battle for a unique and intense experience every time.
-Take control of over 30 land, sea, and air vehicles, including tanks, helicopters, hovercraft, fast attack vehicles, and fighter jets.
-Choose to battle as U.S., Chinese, or Middle East Coalition troops, each with their -own unique arsenals.
-A variety of soldier classes including Assault, Sniper, Special Ops, Combat Engineer, Medic, Heavy Weapons, and Anti-Tank units.
-New state-of-the-art weapon systems, including wire-guided missiles and laser designated bombs.
-Material penetration feature makes sure players know the difference between cover and concealment.
-Character Persistence and Growth. With in-game success, players increase their rank from recruit all the way to General and unlock new weapons, medals, and more.
-Join a squad or select the new Commander Mode to assume the strategic role of a battlefield commander directing his forces.
-Voice over IP supported with headset.
-Windows XP (32-bit) with Admin rights
-1.7 GHz Intel Celeron D / Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP/ Sempron or greater
-512 MB of RAM or more
-8x or faster CD/DVD drive
-2.3 GB free hard drive space or more
-DirectX 9.0c compatible (see video)
-DirectX 9.0c compatible
Video card must have 128 MB or more memory and one of the following chipsets:
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 or greater
TI Radeon 8500 or greater
Multiplayer requires 1 set of discs per PC and a broadband (Cable, DSL, or a faster) connection.Internet or Network (2-64 players).
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Saturday, December 10, 2005
PC GAMES!!!
The story begins as an unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound. The government responds by sending in Special Forces, but loses contact as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been literally torn apart. As part of a classified strike team created to deal with threats no one else can handle, your mission is simple:
Determine the origin of the signal.
F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is an intense combat experience with rich atmosphere and a deeply intense paranormal storyline presented entirely in first person. Be the hero in your own spine-tingling epic of action, tension, and terror and discover the true meaning of fear.
An unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound, taking hostages but issuing no demands. A Special Forces team is sent in by the government to contain the situation, but contact is severed as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been obliterated.
Live footage of the massacre shows an inexplicable wave of destruction tearing the soldiers apart before they can even react. In light of the desperate situation the F.E.A.R. team is assembled.
US version of Windows 2000/XP with latest service pack installed / DirectX 9.0c or higher / PC with Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz or equivalent / 512MB RAM / 64MB DirectX 9.0 compliant video card with pixel shader support.
Gripping supernatural storyline for spine-tingling intensity of play
Advanced graphics and physics for visceral movie-like experience
Determine the origin of the signal.
F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is an intense combat experience with rich atmosphere and a deeply intense paranormal storyline presented entirely in first person. Be the hero in your own spine-tingling epic of action, tension, and terror and discover the true meaning of fear.
An unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound, taking hostages but issuing no demands. A Special Forces team is sent in by the government to contain the situation, but contact is severed as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been obliterated.
Live footage of the massacre shows an inexplicable wave of destruction tearing the soldiers apart before they can even react. In light of the desperate situation the F.E.A.R. team is assembled.
US version of Windows 2000/XP with latest service pack installed / DirectX 9.0c or higher / PC with Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz or equivalent / 512MB RAM / 64MB DirectX 9.0 compliant video card with pixel shader support.
Gripping supernatural storyline for spine-tingling intensity of play
Advanced graphics and physics for visceral movie-like experience
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., better known by its Panasonic brand name, is moving up expansion plans for plasma display panel (PDP) production in response to high demand.
The company is planning to start second phase production at a state-of-the-art factory in Amagasaki, west Japan, in July 2006, four months ahead of the original plan. The factory, which Panasonic says is the largest PDP plant in the world, began operating in September this year two months ahead of schedule. When the expansion work in Amagasaki is complete the factory will be capable of producing 250,000 panels per month to take Panasonic's total output to a maximum of 425,000 panels per month. Panasonic said it expects global demand to reach 10 million units in 2006 and 25 million units in 2010.
Google talks up future additions to Talk
Google has set up a blog to talk about future additions to its Google Talk VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) application, promising that "exciting things" are in the pipeline. In an inaugural post on the Google Talkabout blog, Mike Jazayeri, a product manager, said the company plans to formally document the its voice signalling extensions to XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), while noting that several "clever developers" outside the company had already documented them. Jazayeri also noted that developers outside Google had found a way to make RPC calls using Google Talk and praised the Web site Customize Talk for offering tips and links to Google Talk add-ons.
Intel gets in tune with Chinese Internet users
Intel has teamed up with Internet content provider Tom Online to open a chain of Internet cafes that allow users to record and share songs over the Internet. Intel opened the first Intel i-Cafe Music Studio in Zhengzhou, the capital of China's Henan province. The Internet cafe allows users to record their own music and then upload the songs to Tom's Wanleba song-sharing site, where they can be streamed to listeners over the Internet. The songs can also be downloaded as ringing tones for mobile phones. Intel plans to open 13 of the i-Cafe Music Studios around China.
Netease appoints founder to take over as CEO
Chinese Internet company Netease.com has appointed its founder, William Ding, to take over as the chief executive officer of the company, replacing Ted Sun, who passed away in September. Ding, who is also Netease's largest shareholder and one of China's richest men, will take over as CEO immediately, the company said in a statement Monday. Previously, Ding served on Netease's board of directors. Ding replaces Sun, who died in September at the age of 38. Following Sun's death, Michael Tong, the company's chief operating officer, and Denny Lee, the company's chief financial officer, assumed his responsibilities pending the appointment of a successor.
Taiwan 's Elitegroup buys rival's PC division
Taiwanese contract electronics maker Elitegroup Computer Systems has finalized the purchase of Tatung's desktop computer division, which will bulk up its own existing business. Elitegroup is one of the world's largest makers of computer motherboards, but it also produces notebook and desktop PCs on behalf of major companies, such as Hewlett-Packard. The addition of Tatung's PC division into its fold increases the size of Elitegroup's contract PC manufacturing business, which will help the company reduce costs. The company offered Tatung 314 million of its shares for the PC business. Elitegroup valued the transaction at NT$6.7 billion (US$200 million).
Software AG ships Tamino with WebDAV support
Software AG announced the availability of Tamino XML Server 4.4, which implements WebDAV support directly in the kernel. The WebDAV integration provides data management facilities such as extended search functions, authorization and security, and data integrity to unstructured data residing in local file systems. Users can store, share, search, and retrieve XML documents through drag and drop, as well as using XQuery. Version 4.4 also provides support for high-availability cluster processing, replication mechanisms, and enhanced scalability and security. Tamino 4.4 is available for the Windows Server and XP, Sun Solaris, HP (Profile, Products, Articles)-UX (64-bit), and Linux (Overview, Articles, Company) for Intel platforms. Additional platforms including AIX, HP-UX, and z/Linux are scheduled for December.
Samsung to make chips under contract for Qualcomm
Qualcomm has tapped Samsung Electronics to manufacture wireless chip sets on a contract basis. Samsung will produce CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and W-CDMA (Wideband CDMA) wireless chip sets for Qualcomm. The chip sets, which are used in cell phones, will be produced using 90-nanometer process technology, with more advanced processes being employed in the future. When describing process technology, the number refers to the size of the smallest feature that can be created on a chip. More advanced production processes allow designers to shrink the size of their chips, which generally results in lower power consumption and lower manufacturing costs. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Monday, November 21, 2005
ToShiBa pLaNs
fLaSh mEmOrY
Toshiba plans to double the read/write speed of its NAND flash chips in the next year
Toshiba is planning to double the read/write speed of its NAND flash memory chips in the next year, the company said Monday.
NAND flash memory is used as the basic storage in devices such as digital cameras, music players and memory cards and faster chips could mean faster data transfers between computers and the devices.
At present, Toshiba's flash chips can read and write data at 6MBps but this will be doubled to 12MBps sometime next year when the company begins producing chips on a new manufacturing line, said Hiroko Mochida, a Toshiba spokeswoman.
The company currently makes most of its NAND flash chips on a 90-nanometer production line but plans to start up a state-of-the-art 52-nanometer line in 2006 on which the chips will be made.
The nanometer measurement refers to the size of the smallest feature on the chip and is a standard gauge of the manufacturing line. Smaller numbers mean a more advanced line and these are typically capable of producing physically smaller chips that are both cheaper and use less energy.
Initial chips will have a capacity of 16Gb (2GB), said Mochida.
Toshiba's new chips are coming as competition in the flash memory chip market is increasing. Apple Computer's (Profile, Products, Articles) launch of the iPod nano, which uses NAND flash memory, has increased demand for the chips and also expanded the potential market size so chip makers are battling each other to increase their sales.
"Hynix [Semiconductor] increased capacity from the second quarter of this year," said Hiroyuki Shimizu, an analyst at Gartner in Tokyo. "Their production went up sharply to close to Toshiba's so Toshiba had to increase their production [to maintain market share]. Maybe at the end of this year Hynix will be the number three in the market."
Toshiba was the second ranked company in the flash memory by revenue last year, according to Gartner estimates. Samsung Electronics led the market and Toshiba was followed by SanDisk, Renesas Technology, and then Hynix.
The competition is good news for consumers as prices are falling, said Shimizu. But some worry that demand will outstrip supply leading to a shortage.
At this moment NAND flash [price] is still going down but if there is a shortage of NAND flash memory [the manufacturers] will be trying to raise prices. Now they are trying to get [a larger] market share so they still have to reduce prices.
fLaSh mEmOrY
Toshiba plans to double the read/write speed of its NAND flash chips in the next year
Toshiba is planning to double the read/write speed of its NAND flash memory chips in the next year, the company said Monday.
NAND flash memory is used as the basic storage in devices such as digital cameras, music players and memory cards and faster chips could mean faster data transfers between computers and the devices.
At present, Toshiba's flash chips can read and write data at 6MBps but this will be doubled to 12MBps sometime next year when the company begins producing chips on a new manufacturing line, said Hiroko Mochida, a Toshiba spokeswoman.
The company currently makes most of its NAND flash chips on a 90-nanometer production line but plans to start up a state-of-the-art 52-nanometer line in 2006 on which the chips will be made.
The nanometer measurement refers to the size of the smallest feature on the chip and is a standard gauge of the manufacturing line. Smaller numbers mean a more advanced line and these are typically capable of producing physically smaller chips that are both cheaper and use less energy.
Initial chips will have a capacity of 16Gb (2GB), said Mochida.
Toshiba's new chips are coming as competition in the flash memory chip market is increasing. Apple Computer's (Profile, Products, Articles) launch of the iPod nano, which uses NAND flash memory, has increased demand for the chips and also expanded the potential market size so chip makers are battling each other to increase their sales.
"Hynix [Semiconductor] increased capacity from the second quarter of this year," said Hiroyuki Shimizu, an analyst at Gartner in Tokyo. "Their production went up sharply to close to Toshiba's so Toshiba had to increase their production [to maintain market share]. Maybe at the end of this year Hynix will be the number three in the market."
Toshiba was the second ranked company in the flash memory by revenue last year, according to Gartner estimates. Samsung Electronics led the market and Toshiba was followed by SanDisk, Renesas Technology, and then Hynix.
The competition is good news for consumers as prices are falling, said Shimizu. But some worry that demand will outstrip supply leading to a shortage.
At this moment NAND flash [price] is still going down but if there is a shortage of NAND flash memory [the manufacturers] will be trying to raise prices. Now they are trying to get [a larger] market share so they still have to reduce prices.
There's no magic bullet, but "master data" solutions of the type IBM formally introduced last week can go a long way toward enabling enterprises to create a single version of the truth without driving IT insane.
Three years in the making, WebSphere Product Center, Customer Center Version 6, and Integration Center together offer a complete "information service" solution, said Dan Druker, IBM's director of enterprise master data solutions. The new offerings are primarily a consolidation of products acquired in an IBM shopping spree that included the purchase of Trigo Technologies (product information middleware); DWL (customer data integration software); Ascential Software (enterprise information integration); and SRD (identity resolution software). Druker said IBM has been working with these products in the field for some time -- with 500 customers using them in various combinations -- and has drawn on that experience to evolve the products to their latest release versions.
IBM's Druker said a number of key drivers point toward the master-data approach. The first is simply cost savings through elimination of redundancy -- what he calls the "once and done" method of updating. Next in line is compliance because it's hard for companies to meet regulatory demands if there are multiple versions of the truth running around. Accurate, up-to-date credit and collections information is another motivation, as is the new wave of M&A activity, which has resulted in huge data consolidation problems.
Druker also noted that IBM's master data suite fits in nicely with today's overarching IT trend, SOA, which demands that a full range of applications distributed across the enterprise have access to a consolidated set of services. And rigorously consistent data information services -- whether data for products, customers, suppliers, or employees -- are arguably the most important services of all.
Three years in the making, WebSphere Product Center, Customer Center Version 6, and Integration Center together offer a complete "information service" solution, said Dan Druker, IBM's director of enterprise master data solutions. The new offerings are primarily a consolidation of products acquired in an IBM shopping spree that included the purchase of Trigo Technologies (product information middleware); DWL (customer data integration software); Ascential Software (enterprise information integration); and SRD (identity resolution software). Druker said IBM has been working with these products in the field for some time -- with 500 customers using them in various combinations -- and has drawn on that experience to evolve the products to their latest release versions.
IBM's Druker said a number of key drivers point toward the master-data approach. The first is simply cost savings through elimination of redundancy -- what he calls the "once and done" method of updating. Next in line is compliance because it's hard for companies to meet regulatory demands if there are multiple versions of the truth running around. Accurate, up-to-date credit and collections information is another motivation, as is the new wave of M&A activity, which has resulted in huge data consolidation problems.
Druker also noted that IBM's master data suite fits in nicely with today's overarching IT trend, SOA, which demands that a full range of applications distributed across the enterprise have access to a consolidated set of services. And rigorously consistent data information services -- whether data for products, customers, suppliers, or employees -- are arguably the most important services of all.
Monday, November 14, 2005
The newest installment of Microsoft’s software for mobile devices, will power an entirely new generation of phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and media players. Based on feedback from partners and end users alike, Microsoft ® Windows Mobile 5.0 delivers new productivity enhancements, offers an increasingly rich multimedia experience, provides mobile operators and device-maker partners with more opportunities to develop differentiated devices, and allows end users to better customize devices to fit their needs.
ENHANCED BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY
Windows Mobile 5.0 offers updates that make device users even more productive when working away from the desktop:
For Windows Mobile 5.0-based Pocket PCs, Word Mobile now supports tables, lists and embedded images, giving workers greater flexibility to create, edit or review documents. Excel Mobile allows users to view and create charts and graphs, and PowerPoint ® Mobile allows users to view and rehearse presentations while on the go. The back seat of a taxi or an airplane now can be a mobile office.
Persistent storage.
Persistent storage has been added to Windows Mobile 5.0-based Pocket PCs, which will help ensure that users don’t lose important data when devices run out of battery power. In addition, overall device efficiency has been improved, yielding as much as 30 percent more battery life.
Faster access to e-mail.
Windows Mobile 5.0 users will have faster access to e-mail and information and an improved experience with MSN ® Messenger. MSN Messenger now offers seamless instant messaging (IM) access for friends and colleagues; and faster, one-key access to Hotmail ® and MSN inboxes within Outlook ®.
ActiveSync ® 4.0 support.
Windows Mobile 5.0 offers users new features such as the ability to sync pictures in contacts and wirelessly sync over Bluetooth ®, as well as an improved partnership wizard and an improved overall synchronization experience.
Security.
Windows Mobile 5.0 is compliant with the FIPS 140-2 standard.
SUPERIOR MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE
Windows Mobile 5.0 now includes Windows Media ® Player 10 Mobile, adds support for technologies such as hard drives and Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, and enables improved media content organization, making it an amazing platform for multimedia devices:
Easy synchronization.
Users can easily sync media files, playlists and song ratings right from Windows Media Player 10 Mobile on their desktop PC, and listen to them on their mobile device.
New formats and content.
Windows Media Player 10 Mobile supports a variety of file formats including Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Video and MP3; Customers can now access more than 1 million protected digital songs and videos from online services such as Napster, CinemaNow, MusicNow, Movielink and MSN Music.
Hard drive and USB 2.0 support.
Windows Mobile 5.0 adds support for integrated hard drives, allowing users to carry several gigabytes of music or information right on their phone or PDA, and provides added support for USB 2.0, which will greatly increase file transfer speeds and synchronization of information between PCs and Windows Mobile-based devices.
ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE
Windows Mobile 5.0 includes numerous enhancements that allow device manufacturers, developers and end users to customize the Windows Mobile user experience, add new functionalities to specific devices, and develop new applications:
Windows Mobile 5.0 includes numerous enhancements that allow device manufacturers, developers and end users to customize the Windows Mobile user experience, add new functionalities to specific devices, and develop new applications:
For end users.
End users now can take a picture from their phone and easily assign it to a contact for display not only in the Contacts application, but also in the caller ID window and e-mail message header when that contact calls or sends e-mail. Pictures also can be assigned on a PC in Outlook and synchronized to a user’s device.
For operators and device-makers.
With Windows Mobile 5.0, device-makers can take advantage of wireless technologies including 3G and Wi-Fi. Windows Mobile 5.0 enables partners to build devices for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) networks and supports simultaneous voice and data transfer. Windows Mobile 5.0 also adds support for Wi-Fi in Smartphones, which will allow for a new generation of small, connected devices.In addition, device-makers and mobile operators now have greater flexibility to customize branded device experiences and can take advantage of extensible menus and new soft keys to build new features, such as push-to-talk (PTT), right into the phone dialer.
For developers.
Developers can take advantage of a host of new managed code and APIs in addition to a new ARM-based emulator, which enables them to build applications more quickly and add new functionality to applications. The new APIs include Camera Capture, which can integrate camera functionality with third-party applications; State and Notification Broker; Contact Picker; enhanced messaging and Pocket Outlook Object Model (POOM); as well as powerful new graphics APIs for Direct3D ®, DirectDraw ® and DirectShow ®.
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