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Latest OCAU News |
New "Bourbon" Server
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Monday, 8-September-2008 15:49:29 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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I bought us some new (well, secondhand) server hardware recently, and it'll go into service in a couple of weeks. The new server is called bourbon and its first role will be to replace the current beer server. The new server is not particularly exciting in terms of hardware - it's almost identical to beer, both being Dell PowerEdge 1850 1RU machines, but bourbon has slightly faster CPUs, 3 times as much memory (12GB) and nearly 5 times as much disk space. This will let us take some of the webserver load off BBQ and let it focus on doing database work only. More disk space will allow us to consider things like forum image attachments. Beer will then give us some redundancy for Bourbon (I already have an entire spare chassis and other spares for BBQ) and also makes it easier for us to move to the latest version of PHP, MySQL and the SLES operating system without having to run the site on one server while the other is being upgraded. One possible future plan would be to have both Beer and Bourbon as "front-end" servers after BBQ is replaced by something else that takes up less rack space, but that's still some way off yet.
Anyway, here's the PCDB entry for the new server if you're interested:
Click for the PCDB entry! (9 pics)
For more pics of a basically identical chassis, see Beer's entry. And of course the database workhorse is BBQ.
Monday Afternoon
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Monday, 8-September-2008 13:25:43 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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OCAU member Andrew357 will be participating in the upcoming MS Sydney to the Gong Ride to raise money for MS sufferers. You can donate and support him here if you like. Unfortunately I can’t offer you a pretty lady in a Bikini or my awesome self in budgie smugglers or a mankini; but I’m asking the crew at OCAU to dig deep for what is a reasonable and worthy cause.
Mick spotted an interesting blog post about bittorrent use in Australia. For years Australia's copyright enforcers have privately admitted they have no intention of dragging local file-sharers through the courts US-style. The Australian arm of the copyright police - Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft - now publicly admits it has no interest in prosecuting file-sharers.
As mentioned earlier, Jerry Seinfeld is teaming up with Microsoft to promote Vista. The first ad is now on YouTube and has everyone pretty much scratching their heads. Still, it's part of a larger campaign so perhaps all will become clear later.
Speaking of YouTube, we have linked this before but Mindy reminded me of it. The Large Hadron Rap is a funny musical explanation of what the LHC hopes to achieve when it's turned on soon. It's become quite a YouTube hit. Apparently they're activating the LHC in only a few days, so keep on top of things in the giant thread. And keep an eye out for headcrabs.
HWZone went a Samsung party to launch some new LCD TVs, while TechWareLabs have some new Dell keyboard and mouse spy shots. A new Dell mouse seems to be a shot across the bow for Logitech. The text around the sensor reads "LaserStream Technology" which is a trademark used by Agilent Technologies, a company that sold laser technology to Logitech.
Phoronix looked at Intel Atom Disk Encryption performance. While the ASUS Eee PC 901 doesn't have its solid-state disk drives encrypted by default, if you are storing any potentially sensitive information on this netbook -- or any mobile device for that matter -- you really should encrypt the data.
Spore should be officially out any day now, but there are apparently leaked copies around. Bit-Tech, TrustedReviews and GamingHeaven have all published reviews. Maxis are responsible for many addictive PC games, Simcity and the Sims are the first that spring to mind. Spore, however is their most ambitious project so far as you take control of a lifeform as it evolves from a cellular organism to the end result of being capable of intergalactic space travel. Is the game a classic however or just a rather nice diversion?
From Junglist: Good Game won't be airing this Monday night on ABC2, nor the next week, due to the paralympics. We'll still air on Friday night, and our free download & stream will be up as normal on Monday. This week is an episode choc full of games, even moreso than usual, as we start gearing up for the holiday rush. Check it out on their site.
Monday Morning Reviews
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Monday, 8-September-2008 03:22:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Video Cards:
HIS Radeon HD4870x2 on OCrCafe.
Palit Radeon 4850 Sonic on Mikhailtech.
Asus HD 4870 X2 TOP on DriverHeaven.
ASUS ENGTX260 TOP GeForce GTX 260 on TechARP.
ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ ZONE Edition on Tweaktown.
Portable:
ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf on ThinkComputers.
HT Touch Pro smartphone on HWZone.
Asus U6V-2P001E 12.1in Centrino 2 Notebook on TrustedReviews.
Nokia 6210 Navigator smartphone on TrustedReviews.
HP iPAQ 912 Business Messenger smartphone on HWZone.
Cooling:
Xigmatek HDT-S1284EE Heatsink on Frostytech.
ASUS Lion Square HSF on TBreak.
XIGMATEK CPU Coolers on DriverHeaven.
Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler on Digit-Life.
Zalman CNPS9300 AT on XSReviews.
Zalman CNPS9300AT Heatsink on Frostytech.
Titan Cool Idol TTC-NK75TZ(RB) CPU Cooler on ThinkComputers.
Asus Lion Square CPU Cooler on HWLogic.
Power Supplies:
BFG Tech ES Series 800W on ThinkComputers.
Thermaltake ToughPower Power Express VGA 650W on TechWareLabs.
Cases:
Tuniq 3 on TechWareLabs.
Zalman GS1000 full-tower on Pro-Clockers.
Nexus Clodius on RBMods.
NZXT Sentry LX on OCOnline.
LanCool PC-K1 on 3DXtreme.
Memory:
Kingston HyperX 2GB DDR3-1800 Dual Channel Kit on BigBruin.
OCZ ReaperX PC2-6400 Low Latency 4GB Kit on HardCoreWare.
Crucial Ballistix DDR2 PC2-6400 on TechWareLabs.
Some recent photos from our Photography Gallery forum:
Thank you to all those who take the time to upload and share their photos on a regular basis :)
Password Trouble?
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Sunday, 7-September-2008 16:51:01 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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If you're having trouble logging into the forums today, it may be because your password was automatically reset by our forum software. As part of an upgrade last night, accounts with certain insecure passwords were reset, and an email was sent to the address in UserCP containing the new password. If you haven't been keeping your UserCP email up to date, you won't have received that email and hence won't know your new password. If you're having trouble logging in, drop me an email.
It's worth checking your email setting in UserCP regardless, to make sure you have a valid email. Otherwise if we receive a lot of bounced error messages due to an incorrect email we may have to limit your account until it's fixed. We receive literally thousands of bounced emails every day now, so please keep yours up to date. Thanks!
Valve's digital distribution network, Steam, has slashed nearly 50% off every id Software game on its network. This offer even applies to the id Super Pack, which includes everything from their earliest classics, to games like Doom 3 (22 Games in Total), for a measly $34.99. Quake 4 and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars are the only games i've noticed without any major price reduction.
Virus Bulletin this month released the results of a major comparative of the latest security products. The test covers a range of metrics, including detection rates over various types of malware including adware and spyware, false positive rates, scanning speed, proactive detection, and response times to outbreaks. So how does your anti-virus protection rate?
Bit-tech have published a review of Acer's G24 widescreen gaming monitor. The G24's glossy surface and orange skin may be fit into the love-it-or-hate-it category for features but there's no doubting the reflective screen does bring benefits in terms of the super sharp image quality and improved colour saturation compared with other matte TN panels. It's also pretty quick too, making the G24 an easy recommend for gamers looking for a 24-incher.
Tom's hardware compiles an article to help users find the best video card for their hard earned money. Detailed graphics card specifications and reviews are great—that is, if you have the time to do the research. But at the end of the day, what a gamer needs is the best graphics card within a certain budget.
VentureBeat has a lengthy story about the issues surrounding the Xbox 360's “Red Ring of Death.” This is the unauthorized tale of how Microsoft lost its chance to become the leader in the biggest market it has attacked beyond its twin monopolies in Office and Windows software.
AnandTech get hand's on with Nvidia's latest mainstream card, the Geforce 9500GT. So with so many similarities, why release this part? There won't be an endless supply of G84 hardware going forward. Thus the G96 comes along with nearly the same specs selling at the same price. The decreased die size of the 65nm G96 (as opposed to the 80nm G84) will also help to increase profits for NVIDIA and board partners on this hardware while they sell at the same price point.
Virtual-Hideout have published their coverage from this year's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). This past weekend, my work schedule changed and freed up some time. On a spur of the moment change, we pillaged the Penny Arcade Expo also known as PAX 2008 in Seattle, WA at the Convention Center. I must say that the event seemed to be well organized. With the exception of the CC staff, the PAX crew were on the ball.
Lavalys yesterday announced the general availability of version 4.60 of its EVEREST family of products. These include the widely used PC diagnostic and benchmarking tool EVEREST Ultimate Edition and the increasingly popular IT asset management and network monitoring solution EVEREST Corporate Edition. This release brings several improvements and bug fixes in direct response to customer feedback.
The Tech Report review Asus' Eee PC 901 netbook. If you hang around these parts at all, you're surely familiar by now with Asus' little Eee PC laptops. These miniature, low-priced laptops were initially inspired by the One Laptop Per Child effort aimed at providing laptops to kids in developing nations, but the Eee PC has become something of a minor phenomenon in more traditional PC markets.
Mozilla developers have made Firefox 3.1 Alpha 2 available to download, for those wanting the test out the latest revision.
Interesting Forum Threads
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Saturday, 6-September-2008 14:28:26 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Did you know Saturday is the quietest day of the week for our forums? :) So you have the servers all to yourself.. and about 500 other people.
Adding a PCI slot on mobo in Modding.
VMWare Workstation 6.5 Beta - Does linux finally have fast games support? in Other Operating Systems.
FarCry 2 coming 2008 in Games.
Flatout - Ultimate Carnage in Games.
Which operating system(s) do you use? in General Software.
Si "SteelVine" port multipliers in Storage & Backup.
Z5500D Warning in PC Audio.
New Metallica album out soon in Entertainment.
CP-Violation and baryon asymmetry in the universe in Science.
Large Hadron Collider in Science.
A Rant about Phenylethylamines in Science.
NASA's ARES 1 Going off the Rails in Science.
Is your browser colour-space aware? in Photography.
2008 Belgian Grand Prix in Motoring.
Study finds Maserati gets you laid, VW Polo does not in Motoring.
Burnout machine, lets get the ideas flowing in Motoring Technical.
Discouraging a wombat in Pets & Animals.
Hungry Jacks Stacker! Om nom nom nom in Geek Food.
Internet Vigilantes - mob mentality to the extreme in Current Events.
Boss GT-10 Review in Musicians.
Saturday Morning Reviews
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Saturday, 6-September-2008 04:18:09 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Storage:
Western Digital VelociRapter Hard Drive on TechWareLabs.
Vizo Mirrorbox Card Reader on TechPowerUp.
Mapower MAP-TB32 Dual SATA RAID Enclosure on BigBruin.
Eagle Consus I-Series SATA to USB enclosure on Guru3D.
Thermaltake Vi-On Actively Cooled SATA/USB2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure on Tweaknews.
A-DATA 16 GB 350x Turbo Compact Flash Card on TechPowerUp.
LiteOn DH-4B1S-08 Blu-ray Burne on TechWareLabs.
Video Cards:
Sapphire HD 4870 X2 on Hi-TechReviews.
Leadtek GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB Extreme on TheTechLounge.
BFG GeForce GTX 280 OCX on DriverHeaven.
ASUS ENGTX260 TOP GeForce GTX 260 on TechARP.
S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX 256 MB on TechPowerUp.
ASUS EAH3850 X2 1GB on Virtual-Hideout.
ZOTAC GeForce 9500 GT ZONE Edition on Tweaktown.
XFX 280 1GB on OCClub.
Power Supply:
Cooler Master Silent Pro M 500W on DriverHeaven.
Enermax Revolution 85+ on Bit-Tech.
Antec Signature Series 850W on ThinkComputers.
Input Etc:
Razer Goliathus Speed Edition Mouse Pad on Bjorn3D.
NZXT Avatar Crafted Series Gaming Mouse on OCClub.
NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse on Tweaktown.
WolfKing Timber Wolf Gaming Keyboard on BenchmarkReviews.
OCZ Dominatrix Gaming Mouse on TechPowerUp.
RAZER Lycosa Gaming Keyboard on OC3D.
Microsoft SideWinder X6 Gaming Keyboard on I4U.
Logitech V550 Nano on DigitalTrends.S
Friday Afternoon
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Friday, 5-September-2008 17:08:36 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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The world finals of Gigabyte's Overclocking Championship are being held later this month. You can vote on that page (for the Australian team naturally!) and win some prizes if they win. Discussion here.
XbitLabs looked at 400GB hard drives in RAID. In our today’s article we are going to talk about the ability of seven different 400GB 3.5" hard disk drives to work in RAID arrays of various types. We will test solutions from Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate and Western Digital.
Sony is recalling 440,000 VAIO laptops due to overheating issues. Sony Corp. (SNE) said Thursday that the recall involves 19 models in the Vaio TZ series manufactured between May 2007 and July 2008. Discussion here. Some sources say it's worldwide, but this one says it only affects USA purchases, thanks Slade. Anyway, worth checking if you've got one.
MoMan69 spotted this Intel press release (from IDF in August) about our robot future. Intel researchers are also investigating how millions of tiny micro-robots, called catoms, could build shape-shifting materials.
They're also gearing up to announce their 6-core processors soon. Intel on September 15 is expected to roll out the Intel Xeon 7400 series Dunnington processor targeted at the server market, the final member of the "Penryn" family of processors, according to sources at server vendors. Penryn will be followed by the Nehalem microarchitecture, due to appear initially as the Core i7 processor in the fourth quarter.
Canon Australia have a photography competition running, with $50,000 worth of Canon prizes to be won. Please note this year's Photo5 is open to both professional and amateur photographers so make sure you enter the correct category. Photo5 is only open to Australian residents and entry is limited, register by 30 September 2008. Discussion in the Photography forum here.
Dell have unveiled their Inspiron Mini 9, a tiny netbook which I assume competes with the EeePC and MSI Wind etc. More info here on PC World. But the sub-$500 Mini 9 carries a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a solid-state drive, making it a good starter machine for basic computing at a reasonable price.
A few people noted that the upcoming Life with PlayStation feature will be integrated with Folding@Home, presumably adding a truckload more processing power to Stanford's project. More PS3 folding info here.
PC Authority Awards
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Friday, 5-September-2008 16:23:26 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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It looks like PC Authority are running their Reliability and Service Awards Survey again. You can win some stuff by telling them what you think about online vendors and products in Australia. As usual I encourage you to remember your experiences (good and bad) with our sponsors and other companies over the last year.
The survey page is here.
Friday Morning
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Friday, 5-September-2008 04:07:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis is rolling out to the launch pad as I write this. This afternoon, Atlantis' crew members are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy for an equipment test Friday in preparation for their mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope has already rewritten the books on astronomy and will remain operational for at least another five years following the upgrades. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on mission STS-125.
DDsD spotted this funny unplug your friends page. It's an epidemic. It can strike anyone. It begins harmlessly enough... maybe with a cell phone, an online social network profile, or an IM. But before long, the electronic screens invade every corner of your life. I should probably send one of those messages to myself.
HotHardware rounded up four solid-state drives for comparison. On the following pages, we thought we'd level-set the features, performance and pricing landscape for you with respect to the current state of SSDs. Today, we have a look at four different SSD offerings, two from OCZ, one from Mtron and another from Super Talent. Is a Solid State Disk in your future? We'll try to help you answer that question in this full performance evaluation and showcase.
BMW have a demonstration car with a flexible skin. For instance, the headlights of the concept can be exposed or hidden by the car's skin just like blinking eyes, and the hood opens from the center as the fabric parts to expose the engine. This idea extends to the interior, where BMW designers have made visible only those instruments that are required at a certain time, while the rest of the time the same fabric interior "blinks" them out of view.
MadShrimps consider anti-aliasing scaling with XP and Vista using two high-end video cards. In this in-depth article we take a look at the performance of the NVIDIA Geforce GTX 280 and ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 when anti-aliasing is enabled. We test 8 different games at several different AA levels under Windows XP as well as under Windows Vista. How does performance scale when you go from XP to Vista, how much impact does enabling AA have?
Google's Chrome browser apparently has some security issues, thanks AB. Should users wish to be prompted before every file download, they should choose "Ask where to save each file before downloading" on the "Minor Tweaks" tab in the "Options" dialog, Lamb said. Techgage and HWZone have posted their thoughts on this new browser, and there's a big thread here in our forums.
HWZone have posted their full IFA 2008 coverage from Berlin, Germany. IFA is of course the Internationale Funkausstellung, apparently the world's largest Consumer Electronics trade fair.
Digit-Life keep examining the best video card and CPU combinations. After the previous analysis named "Graphics Cards + Processor: Gaming Combo", in which we had tested graphics cards with AMD GPUs, we are ready for a sequel to the fixed-budget research, now with graphics cards based on NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. We have updated the list of games and have run all tests at the 1680x1050 resolution.
TechSpot meanwhile consider gaming mice. Meet the cream of the crop: from Logitech, the G5 and G9 mice. Microsoft is represented by the Sidewinder and Habu mice, while Razer rounds out the group with the Lachesis gaming mouse.
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