ATI XGP
As the COMPUTEX festival in Taipei progresses, new and exciting products are released. It appears to the public that one of the most anticipated ones was the external graphics processor, ATI XGP. As it is clearly said, this can be used in any type of computer, but was especially made for laptops since they lack powerful graphics cards. By having this external graphics processor, now laptop owners are able to view their favorite movies without problems or play games such as BioShock and Oblivion. People could now opt for small light weight laptops that own elegant designs. This is a great advance to the usability of computers and laptops.
It is now officially released by the Canadian company that the processor will boast multi GPU capabilities that will enable the device to run high end Crossfire X technologies. In order to improve performance, the GPU will possess the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 series processor. The Mobility Radeon 3800 series processor is one of the most powerful in ATI’s whole lineup of GPU’s, as it has a 2.25 GHz memory clock speed, 55nm building process, ATI’s reputable Powerplay, and at least one PCI 2.0 support. In 3DMark test scores, the ATI 3800 easily beat the older counterparts from ATI and the GPU’s from Nvidia. This graphics processor is also praised for its low energy consumption, reduced temperature levels, and its low noise level. Since these small areas in the processor are turning into an important factor for customers and gamers, it is important to note the excellence of this processor. By utilizing this, the external GPU hub will certainly succeed in its release. The easiness and the importance of this device was commented by ATI vice president of marketing Mark Skynner, “With ATI XGP Technology, notebooks can switch between everyday computing and hard-core gaming with a simple plug-in that’s also portable enough to bring powerful 3D performance on-the-go.”
The ATI XGP is planned to be connected to the main system through a PCle 2.0 graphics form with a specially designed cable from Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd. It is officially released that the transfer of speeds between the graphics unit and the computer will be of an incredible 4.0 GB per second, enabling a smooth graphics performance. It is clear that suppliers for this device are excited as shown through Mark Saubert, the marketing manager of Japan Electronics Aviation Industry that commented “ATI XGP Technology is cutting edge and we’re excited to participate in this revolutionary solution for notebooks. ATI XGP Technology redefines what mobile graphics is all about.”
Interestingly, this external GPU processor possesses its own set of USB 2.0 connections. Just imagine having a couple of few extra ports for your computer. People with ultraportable or small laptops that have only a few ports could opt for this system as a multimedia power source or simply as a USB hub. For this reason, it is clear that the ATI XGP could bring a new era for the user’s computer environment.
In the past few years, ATI was losing grounds on the laptop graphics card sector to Nvidia. As a result, this response from ATI was an excellent booster product. Currently, demands over powerful GPU’s are growing and laptop graphics card sales had boomed. It’s as if ATI was the perfect timer of products by releasing this device in this strategic time.
Information from:
http://www.i4u.com/article17809.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080604/20080603006591.html?.v=1
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
http://www.xataka.com/2008/06/04-ati-xgp-grafica-externa-para-portatiles
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/591/1/
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Filed under: computers tagged 3800 series, ATI, crossfire x, GPU, graphics, Japan, Japan Aviation industry, Nvidia, PCle, port, radeon, USB, XGP
When introduced, Windows Vista faced many criticisms about the intense system requirements. These were intense as it only supported computers with at least 1.0 GHz CPU clock speed, 512 megabytes of memory, and 40GB of hard drive space. On the other hand, Windows XP Professional only required 300 MHz of CPU speed, 128 MB of memory, and a 1.5 GB hard drive. Even with the required configurations, customers have complained that the OS requires too much graphic power and causes the computer to run extremely slow. It appears that computers certified as Windows Vista capable cannot even run some of the preinstalled Windows programs such as Windows Moviemaker. Mike Nash, a Microsoft vice president, bought a 2000 dollar system with windows Vista, but later he complained, “I personally got burned. I now have a $2,100 e-mail machine.” For these reasons, many XP users have not upgraded to the newer Vista operating system since they didn’t want to risk their computers. Many have heard unsatisfactory comments about Vista and the fact that the price is higher than usual affected many. This, in result, impacted Microsoft’s gains, causing the company to rank down. By considering this, Microsoft officials sped up and decided to develop a new operating system codenamed as Windows 7.
Many people still remember the intense format war between the VHS and the Betamax that occurred during the 1970’s and 1980’s where JVC’s VHS successfully won. Sony, with losing market share formally accepted the defeat by having a contradicting introduction of a Sony VHS system. Recently, there was the same kind of format fight, but this time around, it happened between high definition discs. This fight was occurring between Toshiba’s HD DVD and Sony’s Blue-Ray Disc. In the beginning, the HD DVD had an advantage over the Blue-ray disc, but this trend started to decline after the introduction of the Play Station 3 that includes a blue-ray disc player. This was further intensified in February 2008, when Toshiba announced to the public that the production of HD-DVD players under Toshiba would stop by March 2008. This was officially the end to the format war between the HD DVD and the blue-ray disc. There are many reasons to this decline in the HD DVD where the blue ray had many advantages. One of the major advantages of the blue-ray disc was the higher capacity of storing data. During the recent format war, both sides were fighting to increase the capacity of the discs, but for initial engineering reasons, the HD DVD was easily defeated by the other format. Most blue-ray discs at the time were capable of keeping 50 GB of memory while the HD DVD was only 30 GB. Many third party electric companies also started to invest on the research of the discs to increase the capacity. During this time period, Toshiba introduced a 51 GB HD DVD prototype to compete with the 50 GB capacity of the blue-ray. However, many reviewers believed that this disc format would not go into production for technical problems. After this, as stated before, the third party developers started to introduce blue-ray disc formats in higher capacities. One of the most prominent ones was the 200 GB prototype of TDK. By having this, people were able to view the extensive capabilities of this type of disc format. About a year after this, Hitachi also created a high capacity blue-ray disc, dubbed at 100GB. According to the company, this new prototype, unlike the 51 GB HD DVD, is nearer to production, requiring only a few updates over current blue-ray discs. At this point, it is clear that the HD DVD format had a significantly lower capacity compared to the blue-ray discs. As stated before, the direction of the blue-ray discs completely changed after the PS3. This happened since the Play Station 3 had a cheap, high quality blue-ray disc player already installed. By knowing this, it is easy to assume that PS3 owners would buy blue-ray over the HD. For this reason, blue-ray sales gradually increased surpassing the sales of HD DVD’s. This introduction of the gaming console, as a result, led to a turning point to Sony’s format, creating a huge advantage over the HD DVD. At the end, Sony’s blue-ray disc format clearly defeated the HD-DVD, ending the format war in a similar way as the Betamax vs. VHS.
Hyundai Motor Company, known widely as the cheap low-quality vehicle manufacturer, is planning to release its first rear wheel drive V-8 powered luxury vehicle. As many of the people know, Hyundai has been experiencing an impeccable growth due to its increasing reliability and the helpful warranty system it has. As a result, Hyundai executives decided to surprise the public’s eyes by revealing the striving all-new concept automobile known as the Hyundai Genesis. According to Automobile Magazine, this vehicle was planned to imitate the example and success of Toyota’s luxury segment Lexus and to revive the poor image of the company. This is, however, hard to predict since other Japanese manufacturers have not experienced huge successes by introducing luxury vehicles in the United States. Examples would be luxury name plates such as the Acura (Honda) and Infiniti (Nissan), where none of them were successful enough to be called competitors of the traditional luxury brands from the European counterparts. This will be a hard game for Hyundai since the revival of the company’s image is close to impossible. All of this is based on price, like other traditional Hyundai vehicles. However, according to the press release of the company, the Genesis was engineered to compete with the BMW 5-series and the E Class of Mercedes Benz. This is possible since the Genesis possesses features that directly compete with those of German manufacturers.
Controversial front styling 
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It may seem surprising to many people, but the all-in-one Apple computer is starting to be imitated from major PC manufacturers such as Dell and Gateway to compete with this loved company. To me, it seems quite late for these makers to realize the likes of the iMac and the extreme versatility of such desktop computers. By simply thinking this, I went to the wrong direction and thought that these were doing a not-so-good job. But recently, after browsing a bit, I was astonished from the grand results from these PC makers. Even with this, you may think that the usual PC makers are creating the traditional PC’s with nothing special. However, these usual PC makers contradicted the thoughts of many consumers by introducing stylish and eye catching computers with excellent performance. For example, Dell, with its recent successful launch of the well designed XPS M1330, surprised many when they revealed their impeccable one piece desktop named the Dell XPS One. It is the most common thought that nothing could surpass the family based, friendly looking iMac. However, this one is something that can get near to the standards of iMac. At first glance, the computer is unique in almost all aspects. It even has a Blue Ray player and burner in the computer, a keyboard with a touch pad, a discrete graphics card, and a glossy 20 inch screen. It creates more competition to the iMac by including the Adobe Elements Studio, which competes decently with Apple’s user-friendly iLife. Currently, the XPS One is the only computer in the market with such unique specifications. However, even with its splendid specifications, most people wouldn’t consider having a blue ray disc drive and the touch pad. This would lower the consumer range for buyers who want a one piece computer that includes a blue ray disc drive. This number is extremely low, creating less competition with Apple. However, the computer is still stealing away a portion of the iMac customers and also, by considering the growing popularity of the High Definition discs, the XPS One could become the next generation of these types of computers. This could be further supported if the Dell all-in-one bumps their screen size to 22 inch or above with the movie suited 1080p definition. Currently, the Dell only has a 1680 x 1050 definition, which is not sufficient enough to achieve the entering of the home theater media center desktop category. After looking at this, it is possible that the Apple faculty decides to introduce blue rays or other HD players in their computers, but it will be too late for them since Dell would have already dominated the sector. It is simply a matter of who develops and introduces the product first; that is why the iMac is currently babbling about their huge popularity. By introducing it before, the company would have all their time they desire to improve the product. But it is possible that their popularity will decline as the time goes on because if the XPS One reaches the reliability of Mac systems and gains excellent software, the Dell would acquire a huge number of customers.
As the successor of the legendary Skyline GTR, the Nissan GTR was able to create a strong anticipation before its official debut in a motor show. The Nissan Skyline GTR was a critically acclaimed vehicle that had a similar handling experience to the Ferrari Testarrosa and the Porsche 991, but with a significantly lower price tag. Even the protagonist of the Fast and Furious bought the Skyline GTR (in Japan) after driving it in the movie filming. However, in that time, the vehicle was only sold in Japan and other select places and not in the United States. This was the reason people couldn’t buy this incredible vehicle in the United States. But during the introduction of the vehicle in the 2006 Tokyo Motor Show, it was revealed that this time, the successor to the Skyline GTR would be sold in more places, including the United States. In this show, the people were able to view the power of this new car and understand its new specifications. These specifications of the vehicle are so amazing that most of the current vehicles cannot compete against it for its blend of performance and price. After many months, the vehicle was introduced to the general public in Japan at the end of 2007. It is said that the American version of the GTR is going to be introduced in June of 2008.
Everybody has heard of the luxury of BMW and other famous makers like Audi and Mercedes-Benz. But many of the cars in this luxury lineup have huge and powerful engines that destroy our environment. In this case, their problems will be further intensified from the higher oil prices and the low numbers of oil reserves in the future. It is said that there are only 40 years of oil production left (according to USA Today news paper in 2004) since the amount of this source is going down in a rapid pace. For this reason, car manufacturers with vehicles that consume high amounts of oil would fail in the future if the companies continue in the same way. In response, the reputable German auto maker BMW decided to introduce the technology of hydrogen energy in the 7 series, the flagship line of automobiles in the company.
