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Tid-bits
11/12 - Rahul Sood of Voodoo Computers suggests that Microsoft Vista will primarily be a 64-bit OS. He recommends CPUs with 64-bit extension technology so that the system will be "Microsoft Vista ready".
The motherboards of high performance PCs will run you around $200.
Like Western Digital's 10000 RPM Raptor or Maxtor's 133 ATA interface, notebook hard drives that spin at 7200 RPM have had few similar products to follow. That has changed with the introduction of new notebook hard drives from Hitachi and Seagate. The Seagate drive, not untypically, lags in performance but incorporates top of the line technology. When Seagate first came out with a SATA hard drive several years ago, it stood out from other competitors in that it used true SATA technology, whereas other competitors used a bridge chip. The other hard drives tended to outperform the Seagate, however. Today the data transfer rate of the Hitachi drive is better. However, the Seagate drive excels at I/O performance making it "ideal for server use".
To help improve its MSN Shopping, Microsoft is collaborating with comparison shopping tools, "including PriceGrabber.com and Shopping.com".
There seems to be a battle brewing. First Intel and Microsoft took the rare step, back in September, of stepping into the CE fray and declaring support for HD DVD over Blu-ray Disc, saying that certain features in Blue-Ray were anti-consumer, yet all the while making it clear that their bone to pick was with these anti-competitive features and not the technology itself and that if these objectionable features were remedied they would glady embrace the technology, too. However, Sony and company do not appear to be backing down. Hardly a day goes by without someone siding with Blu-ray, MGM being the latest. Now Microsoft is concerned about new DRM (digital rights management) technology found on some of Sony's CDs. Computer security software detects it, and at least one company classifies it as "a 'rootkit'".