Johan released version 4.3 of Nibitor, the NVIDIA BIOS Editor. The application is a BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards. Doing so users gain some extra performance, enable certain hidden features, tweak memory latencies, provide extensive information, adapt bootup settings, change fan speed options and/or get extra stability on the NVIDIA based graphics accelerators.

Click here to download.

Part of the EU Telecommunications Package, agreed by MEPs on Monday, could be interpreted to endorse cutting off P2P users after a written warning or two, even though the author claims that was not the intention.

The disputed text, which some are claiming is deliberately concealed within impenetrable legalese, states that national regulators - such as the UK's Ofcom - must promote "cooperation" between access providers and those "interested in the protection and promotion of lawful content".

This would seem to be beyond the provision of basic information, and could be interpreted to mean regulators have a responsibility to turn ISPs into law enforcement bodies policing the internet for copyright holders.

Arguments about the technical feasibility of such an action are irrelevant. It's not the law-maker's job to know how a law can be enforced, it would be up to the ISPs and copyright holders to work out who to accuse and what action to take, and up to the courts to decide if action was taken inappropriately.

More fundamentally, the question is if ISPs should take responsibility for the traffic they carry.

But one of the MEPs responsible for the text, Malcolm Harbour, was quick to explain that this is not the intended meaning at all:

"The interpretation ... is alarmist and scare-mongering and deflects from the intention which was to improve consumers' rights," he told the BBC. Harbour also found time to debate the text on Radio 5 (mp3 - first item), where he reiterated that the legislation has more innocent intentions, and promised to amend the text before the final vote in September if enough people found it misleading.

Microsoft is to release a 60GB Xbox 360 this month, if an allegedly leaked email from the software giant is to be believed.

According to a report by Xboxfamily.com, an email was supposedly sent by Microsoft

Scythe announced Ninja 2, the improved version of its Ninja fanless CPU Cooler.

According to the press release, the novelty offers 5% performance increase during fanless operation (65W TDP at 25

it should probably read 'lower' cost SDDs but even so.

Samsung tonight said it has started mass production of 128GB solid-state drives based on multi-level cell (MLC) technology that should dramatically reduce the cost of switching to flash storage in notebooks. By using a new implementation of the format, the Korean firm says it has managed to provide inexpensive storage without hurting the relative speed that would otherwise need a faster but expensive single-level cell drive: any of the new drives can read at 90MB per second and write at 70MB per second, making them faster than most any notebook-class rotating hard drive and faster than earlier SSDs.

While the new drives use typically less reliable MLC, the storage is also more reliable, Samsung argues. A typical example of the new drive should last 80 to 100 years on average compared to just four or five years for most spinning drives, which often die from accidental shock or from physical wear on top of the magnetic storage itself. These SSDs also consume little power at just 0.5W in active use.

The full 128GB is available in both a 1.8-inch Serial ATA II format for ultraportable notebooks and handheld devices, and a larger 2.5-inch format for more common notebooks. A 64GB drive is also available for less expensive systems, while Samsung's promised 256GB model is due towards the end of this year.

Ironically the company hasn't named customers or prices but is a regular supplier of SSDs for several high-profile notebook producers, including Apple for its MacBook Air, Lenovo and its ThinkPad X300, as well as multiple performance systems from Dell and its Alienware label. Samsung also regularly sells its SSDs as stand-alone upgrades through some dealers.

Seriously, say you only Internet on your PC, use a little Word and spreadsheets, watch a movie .. then this might be a win to purchase. Acer introduced three new AMD Athlon X2 powered Aspire X1200 mini PCs. The cheapest model costs $449.99 and features a Athlon X2 4850e processor from AMD, NVIDIA GeForce 8200 IGP graphics, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, DVD burner, Windows Vista Premium SP1 and a 14-in-1 memory card reader.

ACER - Offering powerful desktop components and expansion capabilities in a small box, the Acer Aspire X1200 desktop enables users to enjoy high-definition movies, games and theater-like sound while maximizing space in the home. Featuring AMD dual-core processors, NVIDIA GeForce 8200 on-board graphics and PCI Express 2.0, it

We dealt with it a lot, especially in the forums yet by itself this is an interesting fact. The latest version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary includes a couple of new geeky words like webinar, malware, netroots, pretexting and ... fanboy:

Webinar is "one more example of the significant ongoing trend for electronic technologies to add words to the language," Merriam-Webster publisher John Morse said in a Monday press release about the 100 or so new words in the 2008 edition of the influential reference guide.

That's in line with Merriam-Webster's choice of the term "wOOt"--with its roots in video game culture--as the word of the year for 2007.

The 100 or so new words in M-W's latest dictionary reflect societal trends beyond technology. For example, some stem from culinary arts, such as prosecco (a sparkling Italian wine), soju (a Korean vodka distilled from rice), edamame (immature green soybeans), and pescatarian (a vegetarian whose diet includes fish).

But my favorite new entry, by far, is mondegreen, defined as "a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung." According to M-W, the term was first coined by author Sylvia Wright in 1954, when Wright wrote an article for The Atlantic magazine confessing to a childhood misinterpretation of the Scottish ballad "The Bonny Earl of Moray." "When she first heard the lyric, 'they had slain the Earl of Moray and had laid him on the green,' she felt terribly sorry for the 'poor Lady Mondegreen,'" according to the press release.

EVGA has released its latest FTW-branded (For the Win) product, the nForce 780i SLI motherboard.

EVGA improved the PCB with a 8 phase power distribution (up from the previous 6), all-solid capacitors, VDroop control, support for 1066 MHz DDR2 memory (was limited at 800 MHz), a more overclocking friendly BIOS and on-board Clear CMOS, Power and Reset buttons.

EVGA nForce 780i SLI FTW:

• Reach extreme overclocking speeds supporting 1333MHz FSB and beyond.
• 8 phase power design for superb stability and performance.
• Solid state capacitors and ferrite core chokes allow for better overclocking and stability.
• Convenient layout with on-board Clear CMOS, Power, and Reset buttons.
• Friendly system BIOS features with easy to use overclock and voltage settings.
• Extreme DDR2 speeds of 1066MHz and beyond.
• NVIDIA SLI certified
• Intel socket 775
• 45nm CPU ready (Yorkfield & Wolfdale)
• 8 Phase power design
• PCI Express 2.0 support
• 2-Way and 3-Way SLI support
• 6 SATA-2 ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, JBOD
• On-board buttons for CMOS/Power/Reset
• HD Audio - 7.1 Channel

Lian-Li has introduced quite a lot of new products recently and today they add two new HTPC cases: the $159 MUSE PC-C37 and $219 MUSE PC-C36. Both models have a slim 435mm x 94mm x 378mm (W x H x D) form factor with enough room for two 3.5" HDDs and a 5.25" optical drive.
The PC-C37 will support a micro-ATX motherboard, as well as a standard ATX PS/2 power supply and can only use low profile cards. However, the PC-C36 supports the Micro-ATX form factor and will be shipped with a 300W TFX power supply as standard. The TFX power supply which has an 8cm internal fan as well as the usual exhaust fan has been aligned to assist in venting the hot air trapped inside the case. In addition, because of the slim line TFX PSU, the PC-C36 has the extra room internally to cater for two different back panels, which can fit between either 4 low profile cards, or two full size PCI/PCI-e cards via the riser card.

For both Chassis, the solid structure is all aluminum, offering significant cooling functions over standard steel cases, while giving a sleek and superior aspect of elegance. In addition the front mounted I/O ports, including 2x USB 2.0, 1x Firewire 1394 and microphone and headset speaker jacks give the chassis more complete options.

Lian Li attention to detail is paramount, and special anti-vibration spring clips prevent the panels from rattling, while special rubber rings support the HDD

We haven't done this little bit in a while. With all the crazy stuff going on in the graphics arena I figured now's a good time to check some of the best prices:

ATI:

• Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 Video Card - $184.99 / 

If you have a DX10 class graphics adapter from ATI and just for the sake of it would like to run NVIDIA's latest Medusa technology demo, launched alongside their GeForce GTX 200 series parts, now you can, thanks to a little patch provided by ToMMTi Systems.

You'll need the 239MB Medusa demo executable itself, which can be found on NVIDIA's nZone site. Indeed, this demo is well worth a look for NVIDIA graphics board owners too.

You can then find the tiny update available to 'unlock' the demo on Radeon HD 2/3/4000 series hardware available for download. All of the instructions regarding how to patch and use the Medusa demo on AMD hardware is included within the archive.

• Download medusa demo
• Download patch

Watcher

ECS X48T-A mainboard (Intel X48)

Typically an X48 chipset based mainboard will start at roughly 250 USD. The two chips the mainboard manufacturer has to purchase from Intel total up towards 90 USD alone. Pretty high-end gear for sure as Intel's X48 chipset brings support for the all new 1600 MHz FSB processors, two 16x PCI-E 2.0 slots, which you can use for ATI CrossFire, two ATI graphics cards and heaps of nice features.

I'll spill the beans already for today, you can pickup this product for 199 USD. And it even looks superb. But is it really any good ?

You can read the review here:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ecs-x48ta-review-mainboard/