Category Archives: Byte

Technology as a way of life

8
Apr

Neverwinter Nights Diamond

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Last Friday, I saw Neverwinter Nights:Diamond at Datablitz in SM Megamall. The edition includes the original game, the expansion packs Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark, Kingmaker, Bioware’s easy module creation tool Aurora Toolset, all in one DVD.

I bought one at Php 695, which I think is a good buy, since this is US$ 18.99 at Amazon, not including shipping. The price translates to Php 779 at exchange rate of US$1 to Php 41.

The game’s system requirements are low by today’s standards:

Operating System: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
CPU: Pentium III 800 Mhz (Pentium 4 1.3GHz or higher recommended)
RAM: 128 MB (256 MB recommended) 256 MB for Windows XP (512 MB recommended)
Disc Drive: 8X DVD ROM Drive
Hard Drive: 3.85 GB free hard disk space
Video Card: 32 MB with Hardware T&L Support (64 MB recommended)
Sound Card: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible sound card
Input Devices: Mouse, keyboard

Have you played this game? Did you like it?

8
Apr

HP’s eee competitor HP 2133 Mini-Note now out

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HP has released today its competing product to Asus eee PC. Called the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, it weighs 5.3 pounds, screen size of 8.9 inch, full QWERTY keyboard, touch pad with unusual mouse button layout (left and right of the touchpad), and in a casing and style that looks better than eee, I think. I just don’t like the price.

Amazon lists the following specs:

* Procesor: VIA C7-M, 1.2GHz
* Memory: 1024 MB (1GB) 667MHZ DDR2
* Video: VIA Chrome 9 UMA
* Hard disk: 1205 GB 5400 RPM
* WiFi: Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g
* Ethernet LAN
* SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

A 4GB flash drive-version is also listed at Amazon.

HP Press release here.

(Image from PC Magazine.)

1
Apr

GMail Custom Time!

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When I opened my GMail today, I saw this at the top of the page:

With curiousity piqued, I clicked on the link, and I was directed to this page:

Now, your replies will never be late! To set custom time, click “Set custom time” from the Compose view. If you manage to find it, that is.

Useful or not?

25
Mar

Shopping for a laptop, 4

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If you are shopping for a cheap laptop but does not like the Asus eee PC’s form factor, now is about the right time.

Strolling around Cyberzone at SM Megamall, I noticed that prices of Celeron-powered laptops have dropped considerably. So I looked at the Web sites of PC Corner, PC Express, and Asianic, and saw the following:

* Neo Q-Note Endura 320SU, priced at Php 19999 (contrary to the image shown at the page)
* Neo Q-Note Endura 540SL2c, priced at Php 19999 (not yet shown on Web site, but can be found on the downloadable price list of PC Corner and PC Express)

Both machines are Celeron-powered. Note that both units are available while supply lasts. Most prices have dropped due to the coming of second quarter, and Intel will release dual-core Celerons soon.

You might also want to check out the following:

* Acer Aspire 4715Z-1A0508MI, a Pentium Dual Core at Php 28,999 (PC Corner)
* MSI MegaBook VR330, an AMD Athlon 64 X2 at Php 24999 (PC Corner)

And with the 2nd-generation Asus eee PC priced at estimated Php 30,+++ at PC Corner, I suggest you wait for the eee competiting products from Acer, ECS, and MSI.

—

Previously:

Shopping for a laptop, 3 (or how getting one can screw you up)
Shopping for a laptop, 2
Shopping for a laptop

13
Mar

Acer unveils Gemstone Blue

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Acer has just announced its Gemstone Blue, an upgrade to its Gemstone laptop series. It got the appelation blue due to the the distinctive shade of the shell, and the fact that it sports Blu-Ray drives.

The display comes in 16″ and 18″, full 16:9 widescreen, and maximum resolution of 1920×1080, with video delivered by INVIDIA GeForce GS processor. It also carries 5 integrated speakers for true 5.1 sound delivered by Dolby Home Theater, Tuba CineBass booster and True5.1 CineSurround.

At the core of the series is the processor, of course. These machines are driven by Intel Centrino processors, Penryn, of course, with up to maximum of 4GB RAM.

The CineDash is the Star Trek-like interface found at the left side of the keyboard. CineDash is just a specialized interface for controlling media apps. Unfortunately, there is no right-side version.

Two models have been announced: Aspire 6920G and 8920G, and both are due next month. Not sure about a Philippine release date. Of course, they won’t come in cheap. The cheapest is priced around US$900 (that’s Php 36900 at US$1=Php41 conversion rate).

Prices of Gemstone laptops should drop by the time these Aspires hit retailers’ shelves.

Technical specifications below:

Aspire 6920G Aspire 8920G
Processor and Chipset Intel Centrino
Intel Core2 Duo
Mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Memory DDR2 667 MHz, up to 4GB using 2 soDIMM modules (dual channel)
Hard disk 1 or 2 HDD, up to 320GB each
Optical drive 1X Blu-Ray Disc Super Multi double layer or 8x DVD Super Multi double layer 2X Blu-Ray Disc Super Multi double layer or 8x DVD Super Multi double layer
Video NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS, up to 12808 MB Turbo Cache (512MB dedicated, up to768MB shared) NVIDIA GeForce 9650 GS or NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS, up to 12808 MB Turbo Cache (512MB dedicated, up to768MB shared)
Display 16″ Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
16″ 1366×768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio		 18.4″ Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
Sound Dolby Home Theater, Acer CineSurround with 5 integrated speakers, Tuba CineBass
Ports ExpressCard, 4 USB ports, HDMI, infrared, VGA, RF-in, headphone/speaker/line-out with S/PDIF, mic-in, line-in
Connectivity WiFi A/B/G/N
1GB LAN
56K modem
Weight 3.5KG with 8-cell battery 4.1KG with 8-cell battery
Operating System Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium
11
Mar

gOS/Ubuntu laptops heat up considerably?

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One major observation that I can share about gOS/Ubuntu over MSI VR320 K2 is that the laptop generates more heat as compared over the same machine running Windows XP. Sure, under WinXP, it heats up, too, but for laidback use like Web browsing and music, the heat is minimal. It only heats up that much when playing WarCraft III.

However, whenever I use gOS/Ubuntu for Web browsing and music, the heat is more considerable. I am using gOS’ Enlightenment desktop as a matter of preference, so it should not be using the advanced graphics effects of Ubuntu (though I am not sure).

Has anyone experienced the same on Ubuntu-powered portables?

4
Mar

MBR rootkit ups the ante

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The battle against malware has just become a bit harder. Welcome the MBR rootkit!

This new Windows MBR rootkit launches itself very early during the Windows startup process without requiring any registry or file modifications. In fact, it is quite surprising that it’s possible to write to the MBR from within Windows to begin with.

The MBR rootkit — known as “Mebroot” — is very advanced and probably the stealthiest malware we have seen so far. It keeps the amount of system modifications to a minimum and is very challenging to detect from within the infected system.

A rootkit allows a program to be hidden from the user – it is used as a stealth mechanism, to hide from old antivirus applications and plain computer users (like me). But most AV products nowadays can detect rootkits, so rootkits’ usefulness ebbed somewhat. An MBR rootkit changes the game.

A master boot record contains the first code loaded during the computer’s startup process. That means an infected MBR will load the suspect code even before your operating system is loaded. That means your AV product, if not updated, will not be able to find it. That means the rootkit is loaded every time the system is started.

Always update your security software, and be careful in downloading files from the Internet. Also, do not open email attachments, specially coming from untrusted sources.

28
Feb

RAM retains data even when turned off?

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Now, if this report is true, it changes our elementary computing concepts:

Typically we think of the hardware of our computers in a specific way. One of those is that the contents of RAM is gone as soon as you turn off the power. Makers of software such as ssh-agent, PGP software and hard disk encryption software rely on encryption keys in RAM that get erased when the system is turned off.

Newly published research goes a long way to show the hardware isn’t behaving like most of us think it is and that memory modules, even removed from the motherboard can retain data for seconds to minutes allowing retrieval of the cryptographic keys.

This scenario adds a new dimension to data security. As most laptops issued to employees by most companies involved data encryption of some form, losing a laptop becomes more unbearable than ever.

You may get the PDF report here.

19
Feb

RIP, HD-DVD (2006-2008)

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What was rumours a week ago is now official: HD-DVD is dead.

Toshiba announces that it is ending production of HD-DVD players and recorders. Blu-ray wins the format war, and at what cost? This is the Betamax vs. VHS of this decade. Gizmodo liked the HD DVD format more than Blu-ray.

It is rather ironic that the pull out of Warner Brothers – one of the proponents of the HD-DVD – from HD-DVD triggered HD-DVD’s death. Yeah, Toshiba could almost have said “You traitor.”

(Note: While HD-DVD was first conceptualized in 2003, the very first player was released 2006, hence the year in the title of this post.)

18
Feb

The Twitter Challenge

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This is a note to self:

Twitter Challenge is simple: answering a question within a single twit (140 characters). The challenge is inherent in (1) the question for the day and (2) the 140-character limit. These constraints force a Twitterer to condense his answer. It is also a good mental exercise.

Of course, the challenge is open to all Twitterers. And the Twitterer can expand his/her reply through a blog post. Then, someone (possibly the one who issued the question) can collate the twit and/or blog post URLs and post them somewhere.

The main idea is not original (think blog carnivals). This challenge is just a variation – a twist, if you will.

Question can be posted via Twitter and/or a blog post.

Hosting the Twitter Challenge can be rotated.

Once a week or once a month?