RumorTT: NVIDIA could launch the GTX 670 alongside its dual-GPU GTX 690

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 26, 2012 11:42 PM CDT

Ah, RumorTT, it's my favorite part of the day. Recent rumbles are pointing toward NVIDIA launching its GEFORCE GTX 670 alongside their dual-Kepler-based GTX 690 graphics card. This comes from Fudzilla, who notes their sources are talking of a May 10 launch date for both GPUs.

We're just hours away from the official announcement of some sort at the GeForce LAN/NVIDIA Gaming Festival (NGF) in Shanghai, China, on the April 28. This is where we should see NVIDIA's dual GK104 GPU, the GTX 690. Fudzilla's sources are saying that the official release date is the 10th of May, and that the GTX 690 should see a partner in its launch in the form of the GTX 670.

Availability, that's always an important question with GPU launches. GTX 690 availability is said to be not great at all, with some partners receiving cards next week. We should have more information as this happens. More news as it happens.

Continue reading: RumorTT: NVIDIA could launch the GTX 670 alongside its dual-GPU GTX 690 (full post)

HTC admits defeat to the iPhone, says they can't beat Apple in the US

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 26, 2012 8:27 PM CDT

Apple had an amazing, record-breaking quarter and tech sites across the world were grinning whilst posting this news. It was amazing, and huge. HTC also announced its own figures, but didn't get anywhere near the same press.

HTC reported a massive 70-percent drop in profits, taking in just $151.5 million during the quarter. The blame? HTC says its the iPhone 4S. HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou has specifically singled out the iPhone 4S for HTC's crappy financial results during an analyst call two days ago. Chou remained confident that HTC had better times ahead of them, but he was also razor sharp when saying that there's no chance HTC will see a return to the times when they took 50-percent of their revenue from the US. Chou adds:

A major challenge we faced last year was the big drop in sales in the U.S. because of competition from the iPhone 4S.

Continue reading: HTC admits defeat to the iPhone, says they can't beat Apple in the US (full post)

Samsung confirms next GALAXY smartphone will sport Exynos 4 Quad processor

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Apr 26, 2012 7:58 PM CDT

Well, well, Samsung have made today quite interesting by announcing the Exynos 4 Quad processor which will be baked into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone. Samsung have actually come out and revealed this, by saying:

Already in production the Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May.

Samsung's new Exynos 4 Quad processor is built on a 32nm process, and hits 1.4GHz and sports over twice the processing power of it's predecessor which is thanks to its High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power technology. We should expect power savings of around 20-percent. Samsung's Senior VP of Product Strategy Team, Hankil Yoon, says:

Continue reading: Samsung confirms next GALAXY smartphone will sport Exynos 4 Quad processor (full post)

CISPA passes the House of Representatives with a 248 to 168 vote

Trace Hagan | BREAKING STORY | Apr 26, 2012 6:15 PM CDT

CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, has just passed the House by a vote of 248 to 168. This is not good news, at least in my opinion. The vote ran largely along partisan lines, with the occasional switch. The bill has passed with several amendments that it collected along its way to the vote today.

The future of the bill isn't certain law, at least not yet. First the bill has to make it through the Senate, which is controlled by the opposite party of the House. Next, the bill would go before President Obama who yesterday made a veto threat of the Act, due to unhappiness with its potential lack of privacy controls.

Many citizens are concerned about the broad language contained within the bill which would allow the government to use the mandates and powers contained within in ways that would be antithetical to privacy and could be too intrusive. As a US citizen, I join with the people who fear the bill and I will be watching the progress closely. Stay tuned for more.

Continue reading: CISPA passes the House of Representatives with a 248 to 168 vote (full post)

Verizon's leaked summer / fall smartphone roadmap gives vague insight into upcoming phones

Trace Hagan | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Apr 26, 2012 5:36 PM CDT

Most of the mobile news around here has been focusing on the upcoming Galaxy III release. And while that phone should be incredible, it's important to note that their are other options available. A new leaked roadmap for upcoming Verizon phones attests to the fact that their still are other phones out there.

BGR is reporting that they have learned most, if not all, of Verizon's upcoming smartphone launches for summer and fall 2012. If the report is true, it's a good day to be a Verizon subscriber. First off, it is true that Verizon will be carrying the Galaxy S III phone that we have been reporting about for weeks.

In addition to that Android phone, there will be "multiple" Motorola RAZR models that will be coming to Verizon over the next months. One will likely feature a larger, clearer screen and be called something along the lines of RAZR HD.

Continue reading: Verizon's leaked summer / fall smartphone roadmap gives vague insight into upcoming phones (full post)

Former Sun CEO says Google didn't need license for Java APIs

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 26, 2012 4:34 PM CDT

Time for another update in the oh so fun battle that is Oracle vs Google. Today former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz took the stand as a witness for the defense and proceeded to dispute Oracle's claim and support Google's. He testified that Google did not need a license to use the Java APIs. Oracle contends that Google violated some of its patents around Java and its APIs when producing Android.

When questioned by the defense about whether Java APIs were considered proprietary code of Sun, he said "No. These are open APIs, and we wanted to bring in more people...we wanted to build the biggest tent and invite as many people as possible." His answers corroborated Eric Schmidt's in that what Google did was and is legal.

"My understanding is that what we were doing was permissible because of the sum of my experiences and interactions I had," Schmidt said. He added that he was "very comfortable that what we were doing was both legally correct and consistent" with the policies of Google and Sun.

Continue reading: Former Sun CEO says Google didn't need license for Java APIs (full post)

New 3D printer is under $500, creator is former MakerBot exec

Trace Hagan | Cameras, Printers & Scanners | Apr 26, 2012 3:32 PM CDT

I'm a bit of a fan of the maker community and I have a real interest in 3D printing and prototyping. I've been chasing a 3D printer for a while now, but the cost has always kept me from buying or building one. A former MakerBot exec has now created a 3D printer that is ready to print and it costs less than $500!

Solidoodle is the company that produces this latest printer. It is led by Samuel Cervantes, who is MakerBot's former COO. The new printer can print objects up to 6"x6"x6" and is strong enough that "a 200-pound man can literally stand on top of the machine while it's printing." Not quite sure why you need that, but there it is.

The video above gives a quick explanation of how the printer works and shows some examples. Some of the stuff, such as Yoda, is really cool! It's incredible what you can now make in your house. A quick design on the computer and it can be printed in almost zero time. This is perfect for case modders like myself.

Continue reading: New 3D printer is under $500, creator is former MakerBot exec (full post)

Apple planning to build off-campus restaurant to stop competitors from overhearing staff conversations

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 26, 2012 2:33 PM CDT

In another attempt to further separate Apple from the rest of the world, Apple has just had a planning request approved to build a new off-campus cafeteria for employees. The idea behind this is to prevent competitors from overhearing those common conversations that often take place during lunch. This way employees can discuss secret projects without the fear of the idea being stolen.

The new facility will be 21,468 square feet and will be a short walk from Apple's headquarters. The cafeteria will provide cafes, meeting rooms, lounge areas and courtyard facilities. Apple's director of real estate spells out why the new building will be beneficial:

We like to provide a level of security so that people and employees can feel comfortable talking about their business, their research and whatever project they're engineering without fear of competition sort of overhearing their conversations. That is a real issue today in Cupertino because we've got other companies here in our same business.

Continue reading: Apple planning to build off-campus restaurant to stop competitors from overhearing staff conversations (full post)

Pay with cash while shopping WalMart.com

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | Apr 26, 2012 1:31 PM CDT

If you are one of the growing number of consumers who doesn't have a credit or debit card to use while shopping online, WalMart has a new program designed just for you. According to WalMart, many of its customers shop paycheck to paycheck so they need more ways to purchase items online. This is where WalMart's "Pay with Cash" program comes in.

Obviously, most people's computers don't have any sort of cash terminal sitting there, so the program had to come up with a solution. How it works is you shop online and place your order. You receive an email receipt which you then take in to your local WalMart. Head to any register with the receipt and pay cash.

If you still have to go to the store, what's the point of shopping online? Well, WalMart.com offers a much wider selection of goods than the store counterparts do. Additionally, you can have the products shipped straight to your door, rather than having to walk around the store and pick them up.

Continue reading: Pay with cash while shopping WalMart.com (full post)

What causes Ivy Bridge's high temperatures? It could be that Intel used TIM instead of solder for the IHS

Trace Hagan | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Apr 26, 2012 12:28 PM CDT

Nearly every review of Ivy Bridge, including those that were done with engineering samples, has noted that Ivy Bridge runs up to 20*C hotter when overclocked than Sandy Bridge did. People were quick to jump to conclusions on why this was the case, and often these people had nothing to base the conclusions on.

No, these conclusions that people were parroting across the web were wrong. The true answer resides in the fact that, apparently, Intel did not use fluxless solder to attach the IHS (that metal cover over the silicon die) to the Ivy Bridge die. Instead, they have gone back to an older way of doing things and used regular thermal interface material (TIM).

TIM has some major disadvantages to fluxless solder. The biggest, and root cause of this issue is the fact that it doesn't transfer heat nearly as well as fluxless solder. However, it does come with some advantages. You are able to remove the IHS without much risk of damaging the die itself. Could it be that Intel kept extreme overclockers in mind when making this decision? The issue is discussed in more detail at the source below.

Continue reading: What causes Ivy Bridge's high temperatures? It could be that Intel used TIM instead of solder for the IHS (full post)