The Phenom X4 9850 is AMD’s latest quad-core chip. It’s free of the performance-sapping bug that plagued the first batch of Phenoms, and AMD hopes it’ll claw back some ground from Intel. Maximum PC stacked it up against two quad-cores from Intel—the mid-rangeish Penryn Core 2 Quad Q9300, as well as an older Core 2 Q6600. Ouchies for AMD, the Intel pair blew past it.
APC has a speculative piece on the future of the Windows 7 interface (Windows 7 is the successor to Vista, which should appear some time in 2010). According to the article, the Windows 7 interface will incorporate a “markup-based UI” built on XML, potentially similar to the ribbon and jewel interface of Microsoft Office 2007. The article infers this from a job advertisment posted by Microsoft, which is looking for a new UI developer.
Not everybody, of course, is a huge fan of the Office ribbon. Let’s hope that if Microsoft does incorporate elements of the ribbon into the core Windows UI, that they do some work to clean it up. And please, give those of us who like our drop-down menus the option to keep them. [apcmag.com]
Adobe’s Photoshop Express, its free, online version of Photoshop is live right now. Targeted at everyday consumers, it’s Photoshop stripped down to a pretty slick Flash 9-powered web app we got a demo of earlier today. It’s super easy to crop, adjust saturation or exposure, or perform several other simple, but solid photo tweaks, like pop colour (pictured). You won’t be doing any heavy lifting with it, since you can’t work with layers, add text or do anything really awesome, like amazing Giz-style comic bubbles, but your mum will be able to make her pictures look better than ever. galleryPost('psexpress', 3, '');
It’s clearly a day for futurist pieces. Computerworld is running a great feature on futuristic notebook designs, with plenty of art to accompany it. There are flat, tablet, sliding, screenless and solar-powered models on display. Check it out. [Computerworld]
If you have no idea what Document Freedom Day is, then you’re probably not alone. According to the official Web site, it’s “a global day for document liberation. It will be a day of grassroots effort to educate the public about the importance of Free Document Formats and Open Standards in general.”Now we were initially inclined to write this whole thing off as the invention of a cabal of open source fanatics, but apparently it actually has some heavy hitters behind it, including Google, which is hosting an event in Sydney tonight featuring senator Kate Lundy (the former shadow comms minister) and David Vaile (head of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre).Now I’m not sure how the rest of us are supposed to celebrate DFD, but I guess we could make an effort to install Open Office on as many PCs as possible, or send a letter to Microsoft asking it to support the Open Document Format. [DocumentFreedomDay via Ars Technica]
The gadget: The i-Mate Ultimate 8502, the company’s new entry-level workhorse touchscreen and keyboard smartphone which is making its local debut on Telstra’s Next G network.The price: $999The verdict: It’s a nice enough phone and the network is speedy, but the BlackBerry gang don’t need to get too worried just yet.
I can only imagine the kinds of despicable things one could do with a shirt that allows the wearer to write or draw on a chest display. Plus, everything you write will automatically activate a backlight that can be changed from a gentle glow all the way up to a pulsing strobe. The product page suggests putting your phone number on it to lure in the ladies—but what kind of tool would do that? Probably the same kind of tool that would consider buying this thing. Coming soon in the UK for £29.99. [Gadgets.co.uk and Thumbsup.uk via GeekAlerts]
The specs for HP’s 2133 have surfaced and it appears the flagship model for the 8.9″ subnotebook will feature a 1.6 GHz Via C7-M processor, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB 7200 RPM HDD, Bluetooth and Windows Vista Business Edition. The cheaper model features a 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, no Bluetooth and your choice of Vista Home basic or SuSE Linux. Prices will range from US$549-$749. [Engadget]
By now you have probably heard about or experienced the issue Microsoft has with its broken Xbox Live DRM. Basically, gamers who purchased content on Live found that the downloads ceased to function properly after their original console bit the dust. If a tip from a Consumerist reader is correct, Microsoft may be in the process of fixing this issue.
No, it’s not just a microscope. It’s a man barometer. And real men? They have plasma sperm. Lots of them. Besides, have you ever seen your own sperm swimming? Please don’t tell me, that’s just what it asks on the box. No really, Chen, I don’t wanna know. [Tokyo Times]
