VideoGamer.com has published an excerpt from an upcoming interview with Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 producer David Silverman who also works as a presenter for C&C TV. He said that "In all honesty piracy is a huge concern. Luckily people haven't figured out an easy way to pirate on consoles, otherwise you'd be telling me, 'oh, the console market's dying!'. It's a big problem and it's hard because you've got people like Greg (Black, lead balance designer) and a lot of guys on the development team who have been spending countless hours and someone just goes to download on a torrent site and they get the game. It's an unfortunate likelihood and it's one of the penalties that broadband came out. But unlike the music industry which went about it in an interesting way, we're trying some new things and I think we'll be productive in the years to come."

Silverman, however, believes that the PC gaming industry can tackle the problem of piracy by taking a different approach. He said: "Things like digital distribution, things like doing micro-transactions, things like that really find a way to get people involved and then also keep them interested. It's also a challenging thing on our end to make the game more engaging to people. If you give people a reason to buy the game they'll buy it. It's what happens. I use the music analogy again. If I'm an artist and I have an album with 14 songs and only two of them are good, then my album is probably getting stolen, but if every one of the 14 songs is awesome and you keep releasing maybe a new song or what not for people who bought it, I guarantee people will be buying my album. So it's just a different approach and a different way in how we have to look at it in the future."

While the PC version of RTS Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 was released on last Friday, the Xbox 360 version won't be out until November 14. A PS3 version is currently in the works but without a release date.

Advanced Micro Devices, which has been struggling to regain its financial standings for nearly two years, announced that it would cut another 500 jobs as its looks to

It seems like earlier plans for NVIDIA and VIA to team up on a netbook project have since fallen by the wayside, though the two companies will continue to work on desktop technologies.

NVIDIA and VIA signed a deal in April, that tied the two corporations to developing a netbook platform that would combine NVIDIA GeForce 9400M chipsets with the VIA C7 and Nano CPUs. This would have made for a very speedy netbook and even mobile Internet devices.

And even though this is somewhat of a letdown, many will be pleased to here all is still set to go for the pair

Okay, so ... the Weston Boege Glide Keyboard, it

Gefen has released its latest product for A/V installations, the GefenTV HDMI v1.3 Repeater. The device can transmit a 1080p 60Hz HD signal across 100 feet of standard HDMI cable. The repeater overcomes the limitation of cable-only connections that are limited to 50 feet before signal loss is experienced. Both HDMI 1.2 and HDMI 1.3 features are supported, including 12-bit Deep Color, 225MHz, Lip-Sync, Color Space Conversion, and CEC. Users can connect 8-channel digital audio components as well.

A 50 foot copper HDMI cable is connected from the source to the input jack on the repeater, while a second 50 foot cable runs from the device to the HDTV display or audio receiver. Several repeaters can be positioned in a daisy chain configuration, allowing expansion to 360 feet. Each unit is powered by an included A/C adapter. The GefenTV HDMI v1.3 Repeater is available from the company for $200.

Clever, very clever really. Sharkoon is showing off a the Flexi-Drive S2S. This gadget is an SSD adapter that allows you to build your own 2.5" SSD. Up to six SDHC memory cards can be inserted into the Flexi-Drive S2S, allowing for a maximum storage capacity of 192GB.

The SSD adapter uses RAID 0 and Sharkoon claims a read speed of 140MB/s and write speed of 115MB/s can be achieved with six 8GB SDHC memory cards. The performance sounds pretty good the use of RAID 0 means that if just one of the six memory cards fails, all your data will be lost.

The Sharkoon Flexi-Drive S2S has a MSRP of 79EUR.

"Solid State Disks (SSDs) are all the rage these days. The robust flash based hard drives offer many advantages to typical magnetic storage solutions. Silent operation, minimal electricity requirements, almost no heat build-up and fast read/write rates. Because of their high resistance to shock and impact damage, SSDs are especially suited for mobile computers. Disadvantages include their high price and relatively low capacity--at this time capacities greater than 128GB are hard to find.

Sharkoon is now introducing an alternative that allows users to build a Notebook SSD themselves. The Sharkoon Flexi-Drive S2S is an SSD adaptor with the size and connections of a 2.5 inch SATA hard drive. The necessary flash memory is provided by the up to six SDHC cards that can be installed in the enclosure. Users can select the manufacturer, number, chip type (SLC or MLC) and capacity of the memory cards according to their needs. As the installed memory cards use Raid-0, the performance and capacity of all installed cards should be the same. At this time the maximum available SDHC capacity is 32GB, allowing for a maximum of 192GB to be installed in the Flexi-Drive S2S. Testing with HD-Tune, six 8GB SDHC memory cards with Class 6 speed ratings had a read speed of 140 MB/s and a write speed of 115 MB/s. "

Interesting. Palit Microsystems announces the world

Intel DX58SO motherboard test. This review is going to cover the basics of Intel's X58 mainboard chipset. The key features of course bringing support to QPI, triple-channel memory and Socket 1366 thus Core i7 processors. the mainboard used is Intel's reference Extreme DX58SO motherboard.

Though this is the Intel reference motherboard that shows off some really impressive performance and features, it's also a motherboard full of compromises in design. Today we take a look at it and in the coming week or two, we'll look at the X58 chipset.

You can read the full review here.

The Asus Vento TA-F Series chassis incorporates space-saving design, user-friendliness and maximized airflow system catered for daily computing. The foldable chassis is easy to carry and transport, providing both experienced users and beginners of the DIY scene with a tools-free design for quick and easy installation. The Asus TA-F Series chassis offers two options for users to choose from, with the TA-F11 in sophisticated black and the TA-F21 in stylish silver.

One of the unique features of the Asus TA-F Series is its foldable design. With a fully folded dimension of 434 x 87 x 434 mm, vendors and dealers can potentially save storage and transportation costs by more than 30% with its space-saving design. This also allows DIY enthusiasts to carry the chassis back home or to the office without having to contend with the conventional bulk of a normal chassis.

The Alienware M17 is the world

So far Microsoft has been doing an excellent job getting public awareness don't they ? They are already softening up our brains on what the expect and most of all .. get used to and familiarize the new OS, clever.

A new NPD chart has arrived, and what takes the #1 spot ? Hurray .. Far Cry 2.

1.Far Cry 2 / Ubisoft Montreal / $49 
2.Spore / EA Maxis / $49 
3.Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy / Her Interactive / $20 
4.World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 
5.The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $26 
6.Dead Space / EA Redwood Shores / $39 
7.The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $26 
8.Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning / EA Mythic / $49 
9.World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 
10. Civilization IV: Colonization / Firaxis / $30

Intel today launches their Core i7 products and x58 motherboard chipset, Core i7 as in their 7th architectural generation. A name that will catch on quickly and you'll get used to it just as quickly as well. No less then three processors are announced today in a good variety of pricing and Guru3D.com will take a look at two of them.

That in combo with triple channel memory and a scrumptious X58 mainboard chipset. We'll have several articles based on Core i7 products this week and oh man .. do these processors rock. It's definitely a very good step forward for that big company we all know as Intel.

Check out our full Guru3D.com review right here.

AOpen XC mini MP45-BDR mini PC features the IntelGM45+ICH9M (Montevina) chipset and the new generation Blu-ray disc reader/DVD writer (Blu-ray Combo drive). It supports new Intel Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processor and provides external frequency up to 800/1066MHz. AOpen XC mini MP45-BDR also supports up to 4GB dual channel SO-DIMM DDR-II 667/800MHz. Its built-in GMAX4500MHD graphics engine offers full support for Microsoft DirectX 10. In addition, a total of six USB 2.0 ports eliminates the scalability limitation of min PCs and ensures greater flexibility and space. The XC mini MP45-BDR can also function as a digital home audio/video center. It support HDCP Full HD 1080P playback with 5.1 channel surround sound output. 

Available in limited quantity only, the XC mini featured the high-end Blu-ray disc reader/DVD writer (Blu-ray Combo drive) aims to meet the world needs in high-quality video playback. The AOpen XC mini MP45-BDR also fulfills the concept of environmental protection. In addition to set an example in carrying out power and space saving, it actually complies with EU RoHS directive, delivering safe, worry-free operations.

This Core i7 related article will cover Multi-GPU gaming, both ATI CrossfireX and NVIDIA SLI in combination for the all new Core i7 processors. We are not talking two GeForce 9600 GT's in SLI or a set of Radeon HD 4850 cards in Crossfire, no sir... we start in the high-end performance segment. Some examples of the cards we'll put in Crossfire or SLI are:

• Radeon HD 4870 CrossfireX
• Radeon HD 4870 X2
• Radeon HD 4870 X2 Crossfire X (QuadFire)
• GeForce 9800 GX2 SLI
• GeForce GTX 260 SLI
• GeForce GTX 280 SLI
• GeForce GTX 280 3-way SLI.

That's 2-way, 3-way, heck even 4-way GPU performance compared using Intel's fastest processor on the globe. Definitely check out this article folks. And be amazed.

Read this full Guru3D.com article right here.

** Update: page 19 added Intel Core 2 Quad Q9770 Extreme performance result on 3-way SLI as requested by readers.

Integrated hardware and software for total graphics card control Accurate adjustments of the GPU and memory voltages Complete monitoring of the GPU/memory/Power IC/ambient temperatures Complete monitoring of the GPU/memory/board power consumption Automatic control of fan speeds according to advanced GPU loading detection Power savings that surpasses generic boards Customizable functions to add a new level of control for gamers

Not exactly a field where you expect them to be, lloks snazzy though. Gigabyte unveiled a new 4000 dpi laser mouse for gamers, the GM-M8000.

GIGABYTE GM-M8000 is a super powerful mouse designed specially for gaming users. It is equipped with the highest performance laser engine in the world: with the most accurate precision, no tracking lag, and highest resolution up to 4000dpi. Another powerful feature of this weapon is to its extra gaming buttons which give gamers the best short-cut to upgrade to the highest rank. Having it, you will be much more pleasure and easily to win every game competition you face.

In addition to hardware design, we also provide the best unique gaming software, GIGABYTE GHOST Engine, for gamers to record, to read, and to edit the desired scripts which include complicated keyboard and mouse commands. Gamers just simply press the gaming button, to allow the mouse starts the function in according to recorded macros. GM-M8000 helps gamers get rid of repeated practice, reducing burdens, and having more funs.

Features:

• High-performance AVAGO 6090 Laser sensor
• Adjustable sensitivity up to 4000 dpi
• Support 15 customizable onboard settings with macro editing
• 8KB GHOST Engine onboard memory
• Scroll wheel with 24 individual click position
• 16-bit ultra-wide data path
• 5 independently programmable gaming button
• Easy "Up-down" DPI adjustment button
• Sweat-Proof Ergonomic streamline shape
• Ultra-Durable slick Teflon feet
• Gaming-grade USB cable with gold-plated USB connector
• Professional GHOSTTM Engine mouse software suite included
• Weight tuning up to 38 grams of metal weights

Oh man -- I've been playing the game all weekend. The official official EA Red Alert 3 website FTP Server now offers patches to update the various language editions of Red Alert 3 to version 1.02. Word is: "This patch for Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 corrected aggressive patch checks that could result in main menu sluggishnes [sic]." Interestingly, this EA FTP directory already contains patch 1.03.

There's no word (yet) what's changed though.