IT industry and Personal Computer (PC) news from
Electronic Desktop Solutions. August '05
Blu-ray and High Definition DVD Well, we've been hearing about it for years, but it looks like it will
finally happen. 2006 will see Verbatim release Blu-ray and HD-DVD recordable
and rewritable disks. The Blu-ray disks will be available in single-layer
and double-layer formats, 25GB and 50GB capacity respectively. The HD-DVD
disk will be able to story 15GB.
Plantronics release Bluetooth headset The Pulsar 590 headset can connect to a normal phone, a mobile phone
and an iPod. The plan for the future of this wearable computer piece is
that it will be able to add other devices in the future, all communicating
to it via wireless.
Interestingly, science fiction writers have been writing about these things
for decades, and now they're finally here, like 3G video phones. Which
will probably mean seeing more and more people on the street with headsets
that don't look like standard headphones. Oh, and yes, there is an antennae!
Microsoft's authenticity check is now live Yes, if you've got a hard loaded copy without a license, or a counterfeit
copy, your system will no longer be able to download updates from the microsoft
site. While this might not have been a huge hassle for many people in the
90s, in the 21st century having the latest updates to fight adware, spyware,
viruses, trojans, hackers, worms and other nasties is crucial to your continuing
use of your machine. So, if you've haven't got a legitimate copy of Windows
XP, what does it mean for you? Well, its time to upgrade!
Lenovo/IBM Lenovo, the Chinese company that bought IBM, have finalised their takeover
and are ready to return to the retail market. By the end of 2005 expect
to see new Lenovo products hitting the shelves in the USA, Australia, Britain,
and definitely China. With Lenovo moving some of its production to China,
parts will probably be cheaper, computers will definitely be value for
money, and the rest of the computer industry will need to change its service
structure to compete as, everyone knows, Chinese companies always compete
on price first.
AMD releases 'Green' chip As of July 2005 AMD have complied with the EU's Restriction of Hazardous
Substances Laws and created a chip with no more than 0.001 percent lead
in the solder, as well as featuring a reduction in other hazardous materials.
The laws don't come into effect until July 2006. I wonder how Intel's getting
on?
Windows Vista Beta release Lots of crashes in the Beta release so its difficult for the public
to really test it. But the interface looks good, the idea of virtual folders
may not appeal to many who like things to be organised, but Internet Explorer
7 is a definite improvement. The main downside is that you're going to
need at least a Gig of RAM and a 4Ghz processor to really enjoy it.
