New AMD and Intel Battle

It seems that some battles will never end. The war between AMD and Intel is still alive and strong today. Both companies have announced the release of their new line of processors. Intel with their 2nd generation of Core-i series, and AMD with their new Fusion line. To get the skinny on these, head over to cNet and read all about them. Need help choosing the right processor for your next computer? Drop me a line and I will be more than happy to assist you.

cNet Article

School is back in session

Now that most of us are getting back to the swing of things when it comes to a new school year, it is time to keep thinking about your computer's health. With the kids back in school and relying on the use of a computer more than ever, it is pertinent to keep you PC running in tip top shape. Down time can result in late work and poor grades for school bound child. Remember to always keep all of your software up to date. This doesn't just mean the annoying pop-ups that Microsoft sends you to update Windows, but also keep in mind that you will need to keep other programs up-to-date as well. This could include but are not limited to: Microsoft Office, Quiktime (iTunes), Adobe Reader and Flash player, and much more. Remember that hackers and virus writers are always infecting machines that do not have all the updates for all of their software. If you are ever in doubt about the health state of your system, remember that you can call us anytime day or night at Antrim Computers. You can reach us @ 603-588-3247.

What's clock speed got to do with it?

My CPU's clock speed is faster than yours. This is what I hear all the time it seems. People are always judging a machine by how many GHz their CPU runs at. This is far from the correct way of viewing speed when it comes to computers. If this was the case then a Pentium 4 with hyperthreading that ran at 3.0 GHz must be better than an i5 that runs at 2.66GHz, right? WRONG! When it comes to speed there are so many other factors to take into account. First you have your Front Side Bus (FSB). Basically this is the path that information takes along the motherboard on its way to its next destination, whether that be from the CPU to the RAM, or the RAM to the Hard Drive. The CPU can calculate so much information (clock speed) at a given rate. This information is useless if can't get to its final destination very quickly. You could have a fast CPU but a slow FSB and slower memory. What would be the point? Take a look back in time. Do you ever recall seeing a 5 GHz computer on the market? Well if you did it was probably an extremely over inflated number, or just plain ole false advertising.

Just take a look at a couple of newer CPUs that have hit the market. You have the Intel Core i5-650 that runs at 3.2GHz and the Intel Core i5-750 that runs at 2.66GHz. Which one do you think is faster? Yes the i5-650 has a faster clock speed rating, but in benchmark tests the i5-750 is able to run faster. This could be due to the amount of L2 and L3 cache on the chip itself, along with the actual architecture of the CPU.

In short, there are just so many other factors to determine how fast your computer is other than how fast the clock speed of your CPU is. Just think of this, there are plenty of 4 cylinder cars out there that can beat an 8 cylinder car in a race.

check out the benchmark scores:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5+650+%40+3.20GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5+750+%40+2.67GHz

iPhone coming for Verizon Wireless???

The rumors of the iPhone becoming available to Verizon Wireless customers have been flying around for quite some time now. According to a post from onlinefounders.com there have been trusted reports stating that the new 4G iPhone for Verizon will be available. The time frame however, is a bit skewed. The same reports say that it may be available as soon as this summer, where others are saying the official release will not be until 2012. I think come June 7 at the WWDC conference, Jobs, will either release the official statement about who will be getting the next iPhone and when. If he doesn't, he will at least give some more teasers like he is so well known for. This in turn should stir up the speculations. So lets wait and see what WWDC brings us....Stay Tuned.

Source: http://onlinefounders.com/360/verizon-iphone-4g-release-date-new-iphone-hd-in-2010-or-2012/

Adobes new Photoshop CS5

So I finally got around to trying out the new version of Photoshop (CS5). All I can say is wow. The last version I had been working from was CS3, so even the look of the software was a big change for me and I must say I nice change. I decided to make the switch because of some of the new features that I heard about. One particular one was the new Content-Aware Fill. This is a great fill tool and should have been added ages ago. There is a great video and article about here.

Another cool feature is the Puppet Warp feature. I have not had a chance to play with this as of yet but am looking forward to doing so very soon. Check out a sneak peak of it here.

For even more info on the new Photoshop release, check out Rob Galbraith's in-depth look at the new software.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-10050-10615

iPad sales = One Million

Apple reported today that it has sold one million iPads already. The iPad was released 28 days ago. During the iPhone's release, it took Apple 74 days to sell one million units. It seems that for some reason, the iPad is more favorable among gadget goers.

Source: ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/techbytes-million-ipads/story?id=10548843

Gizmodo staff in legal trouble

It looks like that the editor of Gizmodo may be facing felony charges. According to Daily Tech: On Monday Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's California residence was raided by Silicon Valley's computer crime force. They executed a search warrant.

Read the full story here: http://www.dailytech.com/Gizmodo+Staff+May+Face+Felony+Charges+EFF+Contends+Raid+Was+Illegal/article18219.htm