News
December 5, 2002
Soltek Golden Flame Granite Bay
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 5, 2002 at 3:39:52 PM
Check this out!
For more info.
Quote
Soltek Computer Inc. today officially launches the world wide first Granite Bay mainboard with golden PCB. This Shiny Golden Mainboard is named "Golden Flame", and it will be available only with limited edition! (We will offer SL-85FR 500pcs, and SL85FR-R 200pcs only.)
SL-85FR / 85FR-R adopt Intel E7205(Granite Bay) + ICH4 chipsets, and support latest Intel Pentium 4 processors including Intel Pentium 3.06G+ processor (Hyper Threading Technology). SL-85FR / 85FR-R also feature the most advanced technologies of FSB 533Mhz, Dual Channel DDR 266 SDRAM up to 4GB, AGP 8X supported, Ultra ATA 100/133(SL-85FR-R only) , 6-Channel AC'97 Audio, USB 2.0, and Serial ATA Raid Function (SL-85FR-R only).
Being power users' favorites as always, SL-85FR / 85FR-R once again satisfy power users with its overclocking capability and easy BIOS adjustments of FSB Setting, Vcore Setting, AGP Voltage, DIMM Voltage, and Multiplier Setting.
For more info.
Wed stuff
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 5, 2002 at 4:35:19 AM
SOON!!! By the way, I still need a top image for ASEville. GET CRACKING!!!
Crappy 2Ghz celeron at OCA.
The die size of the Celeron is the same of the Northwood. The 1.7GHZ and 1.GHz Celerons have 0.18µ die size while the new 2GHz Celeron is 0.13µ. Generally speaking, the smaller the die size the cooler the CPU. It'll require less voltage to run and also give better overclocking results. Thus, the new Celeron should definitely overclock better than the older Celerons. It still sucks.
IOGEAR HomePlug ethernet and USB adapter thingy at Monkeyreview.
All in all, I came away from IOGEARs products impressed. This product is marketed at the home user/soho environment, and for that function, it performed admirably, never being more difficult to use than plugging in a wall plug. The transfer rate seemed lower than advertised, but this could be due to bad wiring in my house, or the distance from the power main being responsible for the balance. The adapters are well made and overall is a generally well executed product!
Hexus and the Epox nForce 2. They get good stuff...
EPoX have made a name for themselves with motherboards generally aimed towards the enthusiast sector. Extremely adjustable BIOSes, relatively cheap prices, and performance that matches the best the industry have to offer, has meant that EPoX's star is on the rise. Let's see how their first attempt at an nForce2-based motherboard fares as we look at the 8RDA+.
Lian Li PC6089A at Reviewnation.
Where to begin is the question I've been asking myself over and over when I think about writing this review. I decided just a random start will do. First off let me thank Lian-Li for this AWESOME case. It just amazes me that they make cases that only get better as time goes on. Every little detail is thought of. There are no sharp edges, no screw holes that are just that little bit too far away to connect your motherboard right. Everything is perfect in this case. I'll start with the first thing that caught my eye...
Techseekers has an Asus nForce 2 board.
Today We are going to look at the A7N8X Deluxe from ASUS. It is based on the nVIDIA nForce2 SPP Socket A chipset for AMD Athlon processors. As with most high-end motherboards nowadays, they are packed full of extra goodies. The A7N8X Deluxe is no different. With 8X AGP, DDR400 support, SATA Raid, Firewire, USB2.0, Dolby Digital Sound, and 2x onboard LAN ports, the A7N8X has to be one of the most feature rich boards for Socket A at present.<
Crappy 2Ghz celeron at OCA.
The die size of the Celeron is the same of the Northwood. The 1.7GHZ and 1.GHz Celerons have 0.18µ die size while the new 2GHz Celeron is 0.13µ. Generally speaking, the smaller the die size the cooler the CPU. It'll require less voltage to run and also give better overclocking results. Thus, the new Celeron should definitely overclock better than the older Celerons. It still sucks.
IOGEAR HomePlug ethernet and USB adapter thingy at Monkeyreview.
All in all, I came away from IOGEARs products impressed. This product is marketed at the home user/soho environment, and for that function, it performed admirably, never being more difficult to use than plugging in a wall plug. The transfer rate seemed lower than advertised, but this could be due to bad wiring in my house, or the distance from the power main being responsible for the balance. The adapters are well made and overall is a generally well executed product!
Hexus and the Epox nForce 2. They get good stuff...
EPoX have made a name for themselves with motherboards generally aimed towards the enthusiast sector. Extremely adjustable BIOSes, relatively cheap prices, and performance that matches the best the industry have to offer, has meant that EPoX's star is on the rise. Let's see how their first attempt at an nForce2-based motherboard fares as we look at the 8RDA+.
Lian Li PC6089A at Reviewnation.
Where to begin is the question I've been asking myself over and over when I think about writing this review. I decided just a random start will do. First off let me thank Lian-Li for this AWESOME case. It just amazes me that they make cases that only get better as time goes on. Every little detail is thought of. There are no sharp edges, no screw holes that are just that little bit too far away to connect your motherboard right. Everything is perfect in this case. I'll start with the first thing that caught my eye...
Techseekers has an Asus nForce 2 board.
Today We are going to look at the A7N8X Deluxe from ASUS. It is based on the nVIDIA nForce2 SPP Socket A chipset for AMD Athlon processors. As with most high-end motherboards nowadays, they are packed full of extra goodies. The A7N8X Deluxe is no different. With 8X AGP, DDR400 support, SATA Raid, Firewire, USB2.0, Dolby Digital Sound, and 2x onboard LAN ports, the A7N8X has to be one of the most feature rich boards for Socket A at present.<
Linux a threat if it goes on the desktop
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 5, 2002 at 2:44:18 AM
Excuse my bluntness, but no shit! And it is Microsoft saying it also!
Quote
Unlike proprietary software such as Microsoft's Windows operating system and its Office productivity application, the Linux language can be copied and modified freely.
The low up-front costs associated with Linux have fueled the software's adoption among businesses for advanced computing tasks, but Linux has yet to gain significant ground on the desktop, which is Microsoft's home field with an estimated 600 million personal computers in use.
December 4, 2002
New theory on the origin of life on Earth
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 4, 2002 at 8:36:04 PM
We came from nonorganic cells, that became organic. I think.
Quote
Professor Martin and Dr Russell have long had problems with the existing hypotheses of cell evolution and their theory turns traditional views upside down. They claim that cells came first. The first cells were not living cells but inorganic ones made of iron sulphide and were formed not at the earth's surface but in total darkness at the bottom of the oceans. Life, they say, is a chemical consequence of convection currents through the earth's crust and in principle, this could happen on any wet, rocky planet.
The perfect shoe lacing
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 4, 2002 at 8:29:14 PM
What more do we need to study than this stuff? At least we got it right the first time.
Quote
There are many millions of different possibilities but, reassuringly, the proof shows that centuries of human trial and error has already selected out the strongest lacing patterns. However, the pattern using the least amount of lace possible, the decorative "bowtie" lacing, is usually only seen in shoe shop displays.
Thanksgiving and Hanukka Sales spikes
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 4, 2002 at 8:26:25 PM
The PC makers had a great spike of business this week and last. We'll see how the trend continues though.
Quote
Computer manufacturers on Wednesday said that holiday sales of PCs got off to a relatively good start this year, thanks to aggressive promotions, with unit sales matching or exceeding expectations for the Thanksgiving weekend. But executives and analysts still cautioned that the end-of-year shopping spree as a whole may not be anything to rave about.
For the top two retail PC sellers in the United States, Hewlett-Packard and Emachines, unit sales over the holiday weekend were favorable. HP matched its expectations, while Emachines saw fourfold increases in some areas, representatives from the companies said.
Tuesday reviews
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 4, 2002 at 3:42:36 AM
Well, well... Soon school will be over and winter break will be here!
Active Hardware and the IT7 Max2.
Like the IT7 Max that preceeded it, the Abit IT7 Max2 is a step ahead of the rank-and-file, simply by virtue of its incredible arsenal of features and refinements. With integrated Firewire, Ethernet, four-channel RAID 0+1, as well as six-channel sound-out, the IT7 Max2 is hard to beat.
Tweaknews has the Samsung Spinpoint SP4002H 40GB Hard Drive. I don't know.
An often overlooked and mandatory component of your everyday computer, the hard drive is the slowest of your computer memory bringing up the rear behind the CPU cache and your ram. But, when calculating overall performance, most people think that they have to upgrade their CPU or ram when all they had to do is install a faster hard drive.
Leadtek nForce2 action at Tech-PC.
NVIDIA nForce2 platform processors deliver the fastest, most feature-rich desktop PCs available. Both first- and second-generation NVIDIA nForce platform processors bring new levels of performance and built-in functionality to the AMD-based desktop PC market.
More Ti4200 8x action at AMD3d.
If you read the many reviews on the net many people have chosen the GeForce 4 Ti 4200 as their card as with a little over-clocking and additional cooling it can yield scores close to the Ti 4600. The GF4 Asus have presented boasts a 600Mhz DDR core as Default also noted is the corespeed is set to 275Mhz.
Legion has the same 8x AGP card.
At this point in time the addition of AGP 8X wont make games run noticeably faster, however it will help the cards overall performance slightly nonetheless. If you are in the market for a brand new graphics card and have an AGP 8X complaint motherboard or plan to purchase one in the near future then there is no reason not to get an AGP 8X supporting graphics card.
CPU fan comparison at MHW.
Vantec Aeroflow action at PC Abusers.
Active Hardware and the IT7 Max2.
Like the IT7 Max that preceeded it, the Abit IT7 Max2 is a step ahead of the rank-and-file, simply by virtue of its incredible arsenal of features and refinements. With integrated Firewire, Ethernet, four-channel RAID 0+1, as well as six-channel sound-out, the IT7 Max2 is hard to beat.
Tweaknews has the Samsung Spinpoint SP4002H 40GB Hard Drive. I don't know.
An often overlooked and mandatory component of your everyday computer, the hard drive is the slowest of your computer memory bringing up the rear behind the CPU cache and your ram. But, when calculating overall performance, most people think that they have to upgrade their CPU or ram when all they had to do is install a faster hard drive.
Leadtek nForce2 action at Tech-PC.
NVIDIA nForce2 platform processors deliver the fastest, most feature-rich desktop PCs available. Both first- and second-generation NVIDIA nForce platform processors bring new levels of performance and built-in functionality to the AMD-based desktop PC market.
More Ti4200 8x action at AMD3d.
If you read the many reviews on the net many people have chosen the GeForce 4 Ti 4200 as their card as with a little over-clocking and additional cooling it can yield scores close to the Ti 4600. The GF4 Asus have presented boasts a 600Mhz DDR core as Default also noted is the corespeed is set to 275Mhz.
Legion has the same 8x AGP card.
At this point in time the addition of AGP 8X wont make games run noticeably faster, however it will help the cards overall performance slightly nonetheless. If you are in the market for a brand new graphics card and have an AGP 8X complaint motherboard or plan to purchase one in the near future then there is no reason not to get an AGP 8X supporting graphics card.
CPU fan comparison at MHW.
Vantec Aeroflow action at PC Abusers.
December 3, 2002
Higher price AOL on the horizon?
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 3, 2002 at 9:56:42 PM
We are cancelling our AOL service. Before you start emailing me saying that I'm a dickhead and I shouldn't have it and stuff, I used cable. My Mom still uses AOL at her store for dialup. This may tip us over the edge though.
Quote
Commenting at an analyst meeting, the recently appointed head of AOL Time Warner's online division hinted at subscription charge changes in coming months--including a possible price increase for its flagship Net access service. The company currently charges $23.90 a month for unlimited dial-up access and $54.95 for its high-speed product, both among the priciest in the business.
Study finds Win2k cheaper than Linux
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 3, 2002 at 3:57:12 PM
A study funded by Microsoft. Who is biased?
Win2k hasn't been out for 5 years.
Quote
A Microsoft-sponsored white paper from research group IDC, which compares the total cost of ownership of Microsoft's Windows 2000 and Linux server environments across five enterprise computing workload situations at 104 companies, found that the Windows 2000 server offered a lower five-year total cost in four of the five selected workloads.
Win2k hasn't been out for 5 years.
West Virginia against Microsoft
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 3, 2002 at 3:42:36 PM
The West Virginians have joined the new fight against Microsoft. How many more will there be?
Quote
In a statement, McGraw said the state will join the appeal because the settlement, negotiated between Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department last year, does not go far enough to end all of Microsoft's illegal practices.
"No reputable government should plead poverty and allow an adjudicated lawbreaker to retain their ill-gotten gains," McGraw said.
Need top image for ASEville!
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 3, 2002 at 4:07:11 AM
I'm enlisting the help of everyone that is good at making images. If you could make one for ASEville that goes along with the reddish theme, like ASE Labs, that'd be awesome. Please limit the height to under 70px.
Send them to me.
Send them to me.
Direct Printing
Poster: doily
Posted on December 3, 2002 at 2:06:08 AM
Camera companies are now thinking of making a cord that would plug right from digital cameras into the printer for ease of use. No more pesky software!
Quote
"Prior to the announcement, each vendor had its own unique solution for direct printing. The practice meant that consumers who wanted to print their pictures without PC intervention had to buy a printer from their camera maker."
Monday reviews
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 3, 2002 at 2:05:12 AM
Where are your rigs at?
Hexus and the KT400 Dragon from Soyo.
SOYO have shown that they know how to present and market a motherboard. Even compared to some of its immediate competition, the KT400 DRAGON Ultra is the one that will most appeal to fans of aesthetics. Apart from the immaculate presentation, the layout of the motherboard is pretty good in its own right too.
One huge AMD cooler at PCA.
I thought I have seen humongous heatsinks before and I have, but this heatsink redefines the word "HUGE"! It's basically 80mm x 80mm with an 80mm fan on top. Best way to visualize it's size is figure an 80mm fan on top, and this heatsink is just about the exact same size all the way down to the cpu. This way you can see if it'll fit your motherboard or not. Basically just over 3 inches tall(with fan) and 3 1/8 x 3 1/8 inches.
FIC AN19E Stealth2 video at 3DGM.
The FIC AN19E Stealth2 Motherboard (Socket 462) has onboard RAID, LAN, 5.1 Audio, USB2 and Serial ATA. This motherboard has everything you need and is stable, performs well and is very affordable. Watch the Video to find out more...
Asus AGP 8x Ti4200 action at HardOCP.
Now don't think that AGP 8X won't have its place. Like every new graphics technology, it takes time for the games to catch up to it and take full advantage of it. There will be a time when having AGP 8X over AGP 4X shows a marked improvement and will be the connection speed of choice, but right now on the Ti 4200 it's just a feature that isn't needed quite yet for current games. There's no need to rush out there to purchase an 8X AGP capable motherboard and video card to run current games. Now, of course, there is no reason not to buy a card with AGP 8X, as it is not going to hinder you.
Getting wet cooling from Germany at HardOCP.
It is up to the end user's individual needs and tastes at this point. If price is not an issue, you dont mind doing a little work, and you have clearly laid out plans for your system that do not include a TEC, then the Innovatek system is a great choice. We see other options for folks out there that want to go "all out" with water cooling that will give better performance while not being as rough on the wallet. People that are more interested in a simple quality solution that cools quietly and has good overall performance certainly should consider an Innovatek water cooling kit.
We got Lost Circuits and the Asus nForce 2.
As we imagined, the Asus A7V8X reflects the many faces of the Asus line-up. In short, it comes with a plethora of features and options, and works well when Overclocked.
Madcatz PS2 controller at Ascully.
I'm done
Hexus and the KT400 Dragon from Soyo.
SOYO have shown that they know how to present and market a motherboard. Even compared to some of its immediate competition, the KT400 DRAGON Ultra is the one that will most appeal to fans of aesthetics. Apart from the immaculate presentation, the layout of the motherboard is pretty good in its own right too.
One huge AMD cooler at PCA.
I thought I have seen humongous heatsinks before and I have, but this heatsink redefines the word "HUGE"! It's basically 80mm x 80mm with an 80mm fan on top. Best way to visualize it's size is figure an 80mm fan on top, and this heatsink is just about the exact same size all the way down to the cpu. This way you can see if it'll fit your motherboard or not. Basically just over 3 inches tall(with fan) and 3 1/8 x 3 1/8 inches.
FIC AN19E Stealth2 video at 3DGM.
The FIC AN19E Stealth2 Motherboard (Socket 462) has onboard RAID, LAN, 5.1 Audio, USB2 and Serial ATA. This motherboard has everything you need and is stable, performs well and is very affordable. Watch the Video to find out more...
Asus AGP 8x Ti4200 action at HardOCP.
Now don't think that AGP 8X won't have its place. Like every new graphics technology, it takes time for the games to catch up to it and take full advantage of it. There will be a time when having AGP 8X over AGP 4X shows a marked improvement and will be the connection speed of choice, but right now on the Ti 4200 it's just a feature that isn't needed quite yet for current games. There's no need to rush out there to purchase an 8X AGP capable motherboard and video card to run current games. Now, of course, there is no reason not to buy a card with AGP 8X, as it is not going to hinder you.
Getting wet cooling from Germany at HardOCP.
It is up to the end user's individual needs and tastes at this point. If price is not an issue, you dont mind doing a little work, and you have clearly laid out plans for your system that do not include a TEC, then the Innovatek system is a great choice. We see other options for folks out there that want to go "all out" with water cooling that will give better performance while not being as rough on the wallet. People that are more interested in a simple quality solution that cools quietly and has good overall performance certainly should consider an Innovatek water cooling kit.
We got Lost Circuits and the Asus nForce 2.
As we imagined, the Asus A7V8X reflects the many faces of the Asus line-up. In short, it comes with a plethora of features and options, and works well when Overclocked.
Madcatz PS2 controller at Ascully.
I'm done
December 2, 2002
New Chernobyl virus variant
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 2, 2002 at 8:52:33 PM
Look out for the new strain of Chernobyl. It could wipe out your BIOS.
Quote
Encountering the Chernobyl virus is not a pleasant experience. Network Associates wrote an analysis of the original Chernobyl viruses in which the security firm describes the effect of the Chernobyl virus on the average system: "The viruses contain a very dangerous payload, whose trigger date depends on the variant. On this date, they attempt to overwrite the flash-BIOS. If the flash-BIOS is write-enabled (and this is the case in most modern computers with a flash-BIOS), this renders the machine unusable because it will no longer boot. At the same time, they also overwrite the hard disk with garbage."
All filesharing companies are under fire
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 2, 2002 at 4:09:19 PM
More and more fileswappers are coming under legal fire from the stupid people. Get a life, let us share. You still get gobs of money.
Quote
The hearing could be the most critical legal skirmish since the closure of Napster, focusing on the Morpheus and Grokster file-swapping networks, and potentially affecting the more popular Kazaa network as well.
Attorneys for movie studios and record labels are asking that their copyright lawsuit against the file-swapping companies be brought to a near-immediate close, and the companies found guilty of massive copyright infringement. The file-trading companies are asking that the case be dismissed and that they be allowed to distribute their software unmolested.
December 1, 2002
Weekend reviewage
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 1, 2002 at 11:17:04 PM
Have you put up your system rig yet?
Hexus and Abit nForce 2 action.
Sound activated cathodes at DVHardware.
Bright light strip at RipNet.
Vantec Fan Controller on display at 3DGM.
LIUtilities WinBackup at Monkey Review. We'll have a review of this soon.
More, less? Email me.
Hexus and Abit nForce 2 action.
Sound activated cathodes at DVHardware.
Bright light strip at RipNet.
Vantec Fan Controller on display at 3DGM.
LIUtilities WinBackup at Monkey Review. We'll have a review of this soon.
More, less? Email me.
New Radeon Linux drivers
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on December 1, 2002 at 2:59:45 PM
These work across the board with all ATI powered boards.
This will help during that two week span of not running Windows.
This will help during that two week span of not running Windows.
November 30, 2002
Happy Hanukka
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 30, 2002 at 4:30:35 PM
Today is the first day of Hanukka. Happy Hunukka to everyone who celebrates it! The first night was yesterday. For five bonus points, what is the story behind Hanukka?
Linux Kernel 2.4.20 is out
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 30, 2002 at 4:27:21 PM
Grab the latest Kernel. Kernel.org has them for download and just recompile it.
Any thoughts on the latest one?
Any thoughts on the latest one?
Massachusetts wants more from Microsoft
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 30, 2002 at 3:48:26 PM
It seems that one of the states will appeal and seek harsher punishment. This after Microsoft's original case was settled for minimal charges. Someone was paid off...
Quote
"Our colleagues from Massachusetts are appealing the decision, and we wish them well," Iowa’s Miller said. But he agreed with legal experts that "there are serious issues subject to appeal."
But Reilly maintained Massachusetts had no problem with going forward alone. "Microsoft is crushing…innovation," he said. "Without competition our economy has no future. Competition is the key to this case."
ASEville open for testing
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 30, 2002 at 5:38:26 AM
ASEville is now open for testing. I want you to BASH this site, find ALL errors. Try to break it totally! All of the rigs and mods and such will be erased when the beta testing phase is over! Do not worry about messing it up, just find all the bugs!
Thank you for your help, I know it wasn't what you were expecting, but I'm only one person
. It'll go gold in a little while.
Thank you for your help, I know it wasn't what you were expecting, but I'm only one person
. It'll go gold in a little while.Other sites
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 30, 2002 at 4:33:36 AM
There is a fight brewing between two/three of my favorite sites. Let me replicate what we have...
From Kyle at HardOCP.
Another Strog Whinefest:
We made some comments about *hris *om of *MDZone a few editions back because he has Intel advertisements on his site. See the way we would not spell out his name above? I do this because the editors at *MDZone will not spell out the name "Intel" even.
Still *MDZone gets paid to run the Intel ads through their ad network. *MDZone will beat down Intel every chance they get, the way I see it, but when Intel is ultimately putting money in their pockets, the ads stay. I find this to simply be funny. Also, I will treat the website and the owner the same way he treats the Intel brand name in hopes of showing just how childish and asinine it really is...and yes, it makes me smile inside.
Ed over at OCers.com has written a piece, that shows his ignorance once again, as he is defending *hris *om saying:
The websites essentially rent space (out). They don't deal with the advertisers nor get paid by them. They don't even know what ads will end up on their site.
I have personally played the network ad game, which I refuse to do anymore. If Ed thinks that *hris *om does not have the ability to control the ad content on his site, he is simply wrong. Many readers have told me that this is not the first time that *MDZone has run ads for Intel, and that being so, I would suggest that there is certainly ways from stopping it from happening again. If not, then the person managing the Zone either does not care, does not have the know-how (even after many years of advertising), or simply wants the money from Intel ads.
Ever notice that all Ed does anymore is bitch about what everyone else is doing and does little himself? Anyway, all this is my opinion, and I am sticking to it. I find is friggin funny that Intel is running ads at the *MDZone and I am sure there are more than a few of you that will share the laugh with me.
From Chris Tom of AMD Zone.
Well yeah, we have another Intel ad running. We had a tower for a while, and well that one probably cost more in bandwidth that it brought in. Anyway, so everyone knows I sell only a handful of ads myself, and the rest come in thru agencies. Now you can tell pretty easily since tom1.amdzone.com/ads is the url you see on the ones we get, like the Boxxtech and ECS ads. Now it seems like someone has finished staring, changing benchmarks, banning forum members, deleting posts, demanding ad money for continuing positive reviews, and has nothing better to do over the holidays. I have better things to do myself. The guys at Overclockers have a story on this news.
Ed of the Overclockers.
There are two kinds of ads run on computer websites, direct and indirect.
Direct ads are ads that manufacturer/resellers place directly with the website. The two negotiate terms, and the manufacturer/reseller directly pays the website.
A lot of people think that's the only kind of ad there is. Not so.
Many computer hardware websites (including this one) get at least some of their ads through an ad agency. Advertisers deal with and pay only the agency. The agency gets the ads and distributes the ads, keeps track of the ad exposure, collects the money, takes a part of it for their efforts, and then pays the websites.
The websites essentially rent space. They don't deal with the advertisers nor get paid by them. They don't even know what ads will end up on their site.
On occasion, this may look very strange. A website can tell you to kill yourself rather than buy Product X, and it's possible that an ad elsewhere on the website, or even in the article will claim that Product X is better than sex. We've had that happened a couple times in the past.
More recently, AMDZone had an agency ad that displayed an Intel ad for a while. This does not mean Intel is paying Chris Tom money. It does not mean Intel has any direct relationship or even contact with Chris Tom. It does not even mean Chris Tom approved or even knew about the Intel ad.
All that means is that his ad agency (which in this particular case was Doubleclick) took an ad from Intel and put it on all the sites that signed up for them, including his.
More often, you will see a positive review of the product, then see an ad. Many see that and automatically assume the website got the ad because of the positive review. That may or may not be the case when you have a direct ad, but if it's an ad from an agency, the website had no idea that particular ad was showing up.
It's very easy to see when that's the case. Right click on the ad and then click Properties. If you see that the ad is coming from a place like Doubleclick or Ad-Flow (or some other place that seems to have no connection to the site or advertiser), that's what it is. The website had no control over the placement of that ad.
If the source of the ad is the website itself or the manufacturer/reseller, then it is a direct advertising ad that the website got by itself, so if that ad comes from We'd Cheat Our Mothers If We Hadn't Already Killed Them For The $500 Insurance Policy Computer Company, that's something the website has control over.
Just to illustrate the difference:
You work in CompUSA. Somebody else in your store sells a member of al-Queda a computer, which he uses for some terrorist activity. If someone said to you afterwards, "You got paid by al-Queda!" would you shamefacedly nod your head, turn yourself in to the FBI and ask for the death penalty?
No, you'd probably call him stupid, malicious, or both. While a tiny part of your salary may have come from that al-Queda sale, you had no control over that transaction.
That's what an agency ad is like.
Let's say you were the person in CompUSA who actually sold the al-Queda guy the computer. The level of your culpability would rather depend on the transaction.
If the fellow came in wearing "I love Bin Laden" buttons and asked you for the best computer with which to detonate a nuclear bomb remotely, your level of culpability would be rather high. If the only possible reason the person gave you to suspect him was that his skin tone was a few shades darker than albino, it would be rather low.
That's what a direct ad is like.
It is wise to not jump to conclusions on these things when two mouse clicks is often all it takes to find out for sure.
I'd love to hear your take on this.
From Kyle at HardOCP.
Another Strog Whinefest:
We made some comments about *hris *om of *MDZone a few editions back because he has Intel advertisements on his site. See the way we would not spell out his name above? I do this because the editors at *MDZone will not spell out the name "Intel" even.
Still *MDZone gets paid to run the Intel ads through their ad network. *MDZone will beat down Intel every chance they get, the way I see it, but when Intel is ultimately putting money in their pockets, the ads stay. I find this to simply be funny. Also, I will treat the website and the owner the same way he treats the Intel brand name in hopes of showing just how childish and asinine it really is...and yes, it makes me smile inside.
Ed over at OCers.com has written a piece, that shows his ignorance once again, as he is defending *hris *om saying:
The websites essentially rent space (out). They don't deal with the advertisers nor get paid by them. They don't even know what ads will end up on their site.
I have personally played the network ad game, which I refuse to do anymore. If Ed thinks that *hris *om does not have the ability to control the ad content on his site, he is simply wrong. Many readers have told me that this is not the first time that *MDZone has run ads for Intel, and that being so, I would suggest that there is certainly ways from stopping it from happening again. If not, then the person managing the Zone either does not care, does not have the know-how (even after many years of advertising), or simply wants the money from Intel ads.
Ever notice that all Ed does anymore is bitch about what everyone else is doing and does little himself? Anyway, all this is my opinion, and I am sticking to it. I find is friggin funny that Intel is running ads at the *MDZone and I am sure there are more than a few of you that will share the laugh with me.
From Chris Tom of AMD Zone.
Well yeah, we have another Intel ad running. We had a tower for a while, and well that one probably cost more in bandwidth that it brought in. Anyway, so everyone knows I sell only a handful of ads myself, and the rest come in thru agencies. Now you can tell pretty easily since tom1.amdzone.com/ads is the url you see on the ones we get, like the Boxxtech and ECS ads. Now it seems like someone has finished staring, changing benchmarks, banning forum members, deleting posts, demanding ad money for continuing positive reviews, and has nothing better to do over the holidays. I have better things to do myself. The guys at Overclockers have a story on this news.
Ed of the Overclockers.
There are two kinds of ads run on computer websites, direct and indirect.
Direct ads are ads that manufacturer/resellers place directly with the website. The two negotiate terms, and the manufacturer/reseller directly pays the website.
A lot of people think that's the only kind of ad there is. Not so.
Many computer hardware websites (including this one) get at least some of their ads through an ad agency. Advertisers deal with and pay only the agency. The agency gets the ads and distributes the ads, keeps track of the ad exposure, collects the money, takes a part of it for their efforts, and then pays the websites.
The websites essentially rent space. They don't deal with the advertisers nor get paid by them. They don't even know what ads will end up on their site.
On occasion, this may look very strange. A website can tell you to kill yourself rather than buy Product X, and it's possible that an ad elsewhere on the website, or even in the article will claim that Product X is better than sex. We've had that happened a couple times in the past.
More recently, AMDZone had an agency ad that displayed an Intel ad for a while. This does not mean Intel is paying Chris Tom money. It does not mean Intel has any direct relationship or even contact with Chris Tom. It does not even mean Chris Tom approved or even knew about the Intel ad.
All that means is that his ad agency (which in this particular case was Doubleclick) took an ad from Intel and put it on all the sites that signed up for them, including his.
More often, you will see a positive review of the product, then see an ad. Many see that and automatically assume the website got the ad because of the positive review. That may or may not be the case when you have a direct ad, but if it's an ad from an agency, the website had no idea that particular ad was showing up.
It's very easy to see when that's the case. Right click on the ad and then click Properties. If you see that the ad is coming from a place like Doubleclick or Ad-Flow (or some other place that seems to have no connection to the site or advertiser), that's what it is. The website had no control over the placement of that ad.
If the source of the ad is the website itself or the manufacturer/reseller, then it is a direct advertising ad that the website got by itself, so if that ad comes from We'd Cheat Our Mothers If We Hadn't Already Killed Them For The $500 Insurance Policy Computer Company, that's something the website has control over.
Just to illustrate the difference:
You work in CompUSA. Somebody else in your store sells a member of al-Queda a computer, which he uses for some terrorist activity. If someone said to you afterwards, "You got paid by al-Queda!" would you shamefacedly nod your head, turn yourself in to the FBI and ask for the death penalty?
No, you'd probably call him stupid, malicious, or both. While a tiny part of your salary may have come from that al-Queda sale, you had no control over that transaction.
That's what an agency ad is like.
Let's say you were the person in CompUSA who actually sold the al-Queda guy the computer. The level of your culpability would rather depend on the transaction.
If the fellow came in wearing "I love Bin Laden" buttons and asked you for the best computer with which to detonate a nuclear bomb remotely, your level of culpability would be rather high. If the only possible reason the person gave you to suspect him was that his skin tone was a few shades darker than albino, it would be rather low.
That's what a direct ad is like.
It is wise to not jump to conclusions on these things when two mouse clicks is often all it takes to find out for sure.
I'd love to hear your take on this.
November 29, 2002
Reviewage
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 29, 2002 at 6:48:40 PM
Post Turkey Day reviewage...
Spam Counterstrike at ASE Labs. HERE! Yeah, that's right.
Hexus and the Asus A7V8X.
Also DFI granity bay action.
Dual-channel DDR, in the guise of Intel's 'Granite Bay' chipset, looks likely to be manufactured and marketed by the larger first-tier motherboard manufacturers only. That's why it's nice to see a relative minnow produce and market a strong and viable alternative. Inherently expensive, but rather quick, the DFI NB80-EA is a fine example of an emerging technology.
Ascully has some Microsoft keyboard and mouse action going.
Add wireless freedom, stylish looks, and one-touch features to your desktop. Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Pro provides customizable keys, optical mouse technology, and a comfortable, ergonomic design. Its everything you need in one package. Comfort and performance never looked so good.
All these Vantec Nexus Panel things at Monkey Review.
Right off the go I was impressed with this unit. Its looks, versatility and easy installation make it a good choice for anyone looking for the features it offers. Regrettably the unit also has a few shortcomings, I really wasnt impressed with the LCD display and they missed a few features for alarm control and not having the ability to display temps in Fahrenheit puzzled me. The construction is very well done, the install isnt as bad as it looks and really for what the unit does do well I am happy with it. With a little bit better LCD and software this unit could be the cream of the crop.
HardOCP and the AT7 Max2.
The AT7-MAX2 was very stable, offering no resistance to overclocking until we got beyond 173MHz FSB. At 173MHz FSB there were no glitches with drives or peripherals, and the machine ran smoothly for several hours at an ambient room temperature of ~80°F, with conventional forced-air cooling. The board was able to boot into WinXP and run SiSoft Sandra's memory bandwidth benchmark at 183MHz FSB (for a score of 2795MB/sec), but was not stable enough to run any accelerated applications. The board would not boot at anything above 183MHz FSB, without changing the DRAM timings. With the following DRAM timings changed from what was pictured, the board would run at 185MHz max FSB.
Underwaterable digicame @ 3DGM.
VLSystem L.I.S Blue Platinum Kit LCD @ MTB
Spam Counterstrike at ASE Labs. HERE! Yeah, that's right.
Hexus and the Asus A7V8X.
Also DFI granity bay action.
Dual-channel DDR, in the guise of Intel's 'Granite Bay' chipset, looks likely to be manufactured and marketed by the larger first-tier motherboard manufacturers only. That's why it's nice to see a relative minnow produce and market a strong and viable alternative. Inherently expensive, but rather quick, the DFI NB80-EA is a fine example of an emerging technology.
Ascully has some Microsoft keyboard and mouse action going.
Add wireless freedom, stylish looks, and one-touch features to your desktop. Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Pro provides customizable keys, optical mouse technology, and a comfortable, ergonomic design. Its everything you need in one package. Comfort and performance never looked so good.
All these Vantec Nexus Panel things at Monkey Review.
Right off the go I was impressed with this unit. Its looks, versatility and easy installation make it a good choice for anyone looking for the features it offers. Regrettably the unit also has a few shortcomings, I really wasnt impressed with the LCD display and they missed a few features for alarm control and not having the ability to display temps in Fahrenheit puzzled me. The construction is very well done, the install isnt as bad as it looks and really for what the unit does do well I am happy with it. With a little bit better LCD and software this unit could be the cream of the crop.
HardOCP and the AT7 Max2.
The AT7-MAX2 was very stable, offering no resistance to overclocking until we got beyond 173MHz FSB. At 173MHz FSB there were no glitches with drives or peripherals, and the machine ran smoothly for several hours at an ambient room temperature of ~80°F, with conventional forced-air cooling. The board was able to boot into WinXP and run SiSoft Sandra's memory bandwidth benchmark at 183MHz FSB (for a score of 2795MB/sec), but was not stable enough to run any accelerated applications. The board would not boot at anything above 183MHz FSB, without changing the DRAM timings. With the following DRAM timings changed from what was pictured, the board would run at 185MHz max FSB.
Underwaterable digicame @ 3DGM.
VLSystem L.I.S Blue Platinum Kit LCD @ MTB
The Open Web
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 29, 2002 at 2:47:58 PM
Google and Amazon as well as some others are allowing developers to bypass their homepages and make their own front ends. In effect, giving them control over the databases themselves. Webservices it is called.
Quote
Google is giving developers direct access to its search database, bypassing its Web site and allowing them to design their own ways to use the valuable technology. Amazon has allowed similar access to its inventory database, releasing free developer kits that have enabled others to produce faster searches of "light" versions of the company's catalog, as well as other experiments. Yahoo and eBay have also begun to give developers access to their services, though neither company has made the program available for general use.
New VIA UAYOR drivers 4.40
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 29, 2002 at 2:41:54 PM
UAYOR - Use at your own risk. They aren't on the front page of their site, this link has been floating around.
Backup if you feel that you have some important data.
Backup if you feel that you have some important data.
Rocket Guy!
Poster: Subjugation
Posted on November 29, 2002 at 1:45:14 AM
Instead of "Rocket Guy", I would've said "Mad-Man", 'til I read this article and he appeared to be more of a sane man with a death-wish. Maybe not. Space.com as details
Sometime in the spring of 2002, [rescheduled to sumer 2003] a man who has somehow become known to the world as "Rocket Guy" plans to launch himself 30 miles (48 kilometers) straight up in a rocket of his own making.
Sometime in the spring of 2002, [rescheduled to sumer 2003] a man who has somehow become known to the world as "Rocket Guy" plans to launch himself 30 miles (48 kilometers) straight up in a rocket of his own making.
November 28, 2002
Giving Thanks
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 28, 2002 at 4:28:15 PM
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. But what does this day really mean? Where does it come from?
Get the whole story.
Quote
The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires.
The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate.
Get the whole story.
Open source bashing
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on November 28, 2002 at 12:22:26 AM
The companies that bash open source are (wouldn't have guessed this, huh?) paid by the people that oppose them! One is from Initiative for Software Choice, the other from Aberdeen.
They said assailed.
Quote
This week, the Initiative for Software Choice counterattacked, telling the Defense Information Systems Agency that the Pentagon should not "openly promote the use" of open-source software, arguing that proprietary products are not inherently less secure.
The group also assailed the General Public License (GPL), which generally permits programmers to incorporate code released under the GPL as long as they make their own source code available.
They said assailed.