Blog - June, 2009 - Page 2

When is a browser bigger than the platform it runs on?

Posted on 15th Jun 2009 at 11:52 by Tim Smalley with 16 comments

Whether or not Microsoft's decision to ship Windows 7 without a browser goes ahead, there are still other ways that it could, in theory, attempt to control the browser market with potentially underhand tactics. That, if anything, is what the EU should be looking at in its latest antitrust case against the software giant.

For instance, I've heard suggestions that Microsoft could tie OEM's Windows marketing money to Internet Explorer bundling in Europe - that's wrong if it happens and Microsoft should be punished if found guilty of such business practices.

Computing is moving into the cloud - we're moving to a model where your data will be available on any device with an Internet connection and a web browser. If you look at things in that way, the operating system is becoming less important and the browser is now more important than ever. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Opera is fighting so hard to have the EU intervene regarding Internet Explorer.

Thank you EU Regulators, you have broken Windows 7

Posted on 12th Jun 2009 at 13:49 by Tim Smalley with 102 comments

It looks like the European Commission and Opera have got their way and Windows 7 will now ship without a browser installed in Europe.

It's fair to say that Windows 7 is now broken - Microsoft has said that its decision to ship Windows 7 without a browser installed means that it's no longer possible to upgrade from a previous version of Windows while keeping all of your settings, including your browser of choice. Instead, the European version (even the upgrade version) will require a clean install.

It's like a bad joke. It just isn't funny and is actually offensive. That the Commission think this is a good idea shows how far out of touch it is with reality in this instance.

Things I've learned from The Stolen Throne

Posted on 12th Jun 2009 at 12:41 by Clive Webster with 3 comments

I'm ploughing through the Dragon Age: Origins prequel novel The Stolen Throne at the moment, and it's made me wonder exactly how much of the book will translate into the final game. Here are a few of the things I've found so far that I think might (or at least would be cool if if they do).

Two weeks with MSI's X-Slim X340

Posted on 11th Jun 2009 at 10:42 by Richard Swinburne with 0 comments

After our review of MSI's X-Slim X340 in May, I nabbed the machine off Tim's desk just before I left for Taiwan.

It's an 'extended test' I told him (and MSI), but really I wanted to try the X-Slim for myself, because having played with it at CeBIT I wanted one. Now, after a couple of weeks use, I'm not so sure.

The iPhone 3GS - You can't beat them, so join them, but you can still hate them...

Posted on 10th Jun 2009 at 07:56 by Antony Leather with 48 comments

So the iPhone 3GS is here. And with it, a host of new features that promise to make it even better and faster than the iPhone 3G.

Combined with the latest version of the OS (which will also add quite a few features to the existing iPhone 3G), it's without doubt a force to be reckoned with. Naturally, within a team with four iPhone owners, there's been a bit of a debate about whether it's worth an upgrade. And even I'm feeling tempted.

Now, I hate Apple - so I never thought I'd see myself checking the Apple Store for news on prices and contracts minutes after reading the closing snippets of information from the keynote at WWDC 2009.

I don't own an iPhone, or an iPhone 3G for the simple reason that when it launched, I already had a fairly capable smartphone that played music and videos, could surf the net and unlike the iPhone 3G, could also run any one of many true turn-by-turn sat nav apps such as Tom Tom - something I use quite regularly despite having a BSc degree in navigation. I also hate the hype surrounding Apple products, so if I do buy an iPhone 3GS it will be the first Apple product I've ever owned.

AMD could move all ATI GPUs to SOI at 32nm - here's why

Posted on 9th Jun 2009 at 10:58 by Tim Smalley with 7 comments

One of the most interesting discussions we had last week was with silicon manufacturing firm Global Foundries, and it talked about its future following its separation from AMD.

Naturally, we talked about process technology and where the industry is heading, and bit-tech came away with a good idea of how Global Foundries hopes to succeed where AMD couldn’t, becoming a leader in silicon manufacturing technology.

Ever since AMD acquired ATI, the new combined company has talked at length about its plans to integrate the GPU onto the CPU die. This decision has been greeted with polarised reactions; Nvidia argues that the integrated GPUs will be ‘outdated’ while AMD and Intel, which later announced its intention to do the same, say it’s the natural progression of technology as CPUs becomes more parallel and GPUs become more general purpose.

Summer’s coming - have you water-cooled your PC?

Posted on 3rd Jun 2009 at 10:53 by Antony Leather with 9 comments

It was a hot summer six years ago that resulted in me doing the crazy thing of mixing water with some expensive electronic components in my PC. I’d overclocked my AMD Athlon CPU and it had a massive effect on my system, boosting frame rates considerably. Unfortunately, the hefty vcore meant my system started overheating in the 30 degree+ temperatures of my room and I had to downclock.

Clearly that sucked, so I looked into more exotic forms of cooling and two months later I had water-cooled my PC and I had my CPU overclocked even further. Parts were pretty scarce back then but these days there are shops popping up all the time. Which brings me on to two exciting bits of news for those of us in the UK.

Would you like to play The Last Express with me?

Posted on 1st Jun 2009 at 11:37 by Joe Martin with 8 comments

The Last Express is an old game, an interesting game and one I’ve been meaning to play for a number of years. I was finally spurred into action by the guys at Idle Thumbs, who rightly asserted that The Last Express is a perfect example of an evolutionary path in video games that just never panned out, mainly for financial reasons.

The Last Express is an adventure game by Jordan Mechner, who also made all of the good Prince of Persia games. The storyline for the game is set over three days and it’s all set right on the very eve of the first world war, with all the action and adventure taking place on a train that is travelling from Paris to Constantinople. The train is the famous Orient Express and as the journey begins there is a murder on board. Admittedly I know a lot of this only from what I’ve heard – I’m still playing the game for the first time at the moment.

So far then, The Last Express is just a normal game, but here’s the kicker – it’s all set in real-time. It's also a game I want to invite you to play with me.

bit-tech.net

When is a browser bigger than the platform it runs on?

Thank you EU Regulators, you have broken Windows 7

Things I've learned from The Stolen Throne

Two weeks with MSI's X-Slim X340

The iPhone 3GS - You can't beat them, so join them, but you can still hate them...

AMD could move all ATI GPUs to SOI at 32nm - here's why

Summer’s coming - have you water-cooled your PC?

Would you like to play The Last Express with me?

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