Gossip in the channel makes us believe that NVIDIA placed an order at Samsung for no less than 10.000 120Hz displays. NVIDIA is pretty keen on pushing forward their GeForce 3D technology (3D goggles which we will review asap). And to spice the bundle up a little, they want to offer a kit including the glasses and Samsung monitor.

120Hz is the optimal refresh rate for this technology to really enjoy it. I've played around with it a couple of times already adn it is quite the experience. The Samsung screens are 22" and have a native screen resolution of 1680x1050. There's no word on definitive pricing just yet though.

But one thing this kit is .. is exciting.

AMD today announced the availibility of it's mainstream 760G chipset. The 760G chipset is AM2/AM2+ compatible, but as it's limited to DDR2, it looks like AMD won't enable it to work with AM3 processor, at least not for now. The 760G will be paired up with the SB710 which is a simplified version of the SB750 and gone are features such as RAID 5 and AAC.

The 760G platform is designed to be mated with the Athlon X2 7000 and is pitched as one of the least expensive chipsets to be capable of DirectX 10 and full OpenGL 2 graphics. It comes with a Radeon HD 3000-era core that the chipmaker claims is much faster than Intel's own GMA 4500 architecture: an AMD run through of World of Warcraft has it running at 31 frames per second even at 1280x1024 with high detail, or about 63 percent faster than Intel's 19 frames per second.

The hardware primarily scales back from the more advanced 780 and 790 chipsets by using the same reduced 350MHz clock speed as the 780V and by dropping HD video acceleration, though AMD still includes hardware acceleration of DVD video playback and 2D acceleration for scaling in Acrobat, Powerpoint and other visual apps that depend on scaling. The chipset optionally supports both DisplayPort and HDMI video out as well as Hybrid CrossFire, which lets the system switch from a dedicated Radeon card to integrated video to save energy outside of games or HD video.

Mainboards based around the 760G technology should start shipping almost immediately and should be priced at about $79 in models from ASUS, GigaByte, MSI and others; the companion 2.7GHz Athlon X2 processor costs the same amount.

There are many chassis out there claiming to be silent, yet the minute it's fans spin up, your neck hair starts growing inwards back into the skin out of frustration. So we figured we'd look and test the Arctic Cooling Silentium T3.

Recently AC announced the Silentium series chassis. It comes with integrated powered supply and since they have a reputation to uphold .. the chassis been made silent all the way. So we'll take you through a photo-shoot, then install a system based around a Q6600... and grab the good old dBa meter to see how silent the chassis really is.

You can read this Guru3D review right here.

Microsoft has received a Statement of Objection from the European Commission that finds the software developer has violated European competition law by tying Internet Explorer to Windows. Though preliminary, the message tells Microsoft that the forced bundling is unfairly excluding competitors from Windows PCs. It adds that the changes made to open competition as the result of a US antitrust ruling in 2002, such as letting PC vendors bundle non-IE browsers and change defaults, aren't enough to avoid violating European law.

The American firm doesn't outline its point of view in its response but says it will remain in "full compliance" with European law. Microsoft has the option of responding within two months and of asking for a hearing afterwards to discuss the finding before arriving at a conclusion.

Microsoft has repeatedly conflicted with the Commission over its software practices and most recently was subjected to a $1.4 billion fine for allegedly failing to reveal code that would let competitors' productivity and server software work as well as its own. The Windows developer has protested the fine but has had little success in overturning past rulings, having been forced to offer Windows without Windows Media Player.

I reside in the EU, but this is getting annoying isn't it ?

Stealth in a low-key move has unveiled a new flagship for its compact PCs that fills a performance gap. The LPC-650 is only slightly larger than a desktop DVD drive but fits in high-end notebook parts, including as much as a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. Stealth pictures the new entry as a home theater PC and gives it both an HDMI port for HD, two analog video outs for regular sets, and built-in Wi-Fi with an external antenna for better reception.

In stock form, the headless PC costs $1,595 for a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB of memory, a DVD combo drive and an 80GB hard disk. Stealth opts not to preinstall an operating system for those who prefer Linux or alternatives but can preload Windows XP, Vista or Server 2008; home theaters and other custom installs can get mounting kits. Orders are already underway.

The Future of Things talks about the advances in the optical storage technology industry, the site claims we may see the first laser-hard drive hybrids within about five years. The first laser hard drives could reach speeds of 1Tbits/s while future femtosecond based laser drives may reach 100Tbits/s and beyond.

Although both major challenges have been solved, Stanciu still believes that it will take the industry approximately 5 more years before we can actually see commercial laser-hard drive hybrids. Even with the cheap picosecond lasers existing today, a laser hard drive could reach a phenomenal speed of about 1 TBits/s. In comparison, a top of the line hard drive today can reach a data transfer rate of about 1GBits/s, and advanced solid state flash drives can reach about 2-3 times that speed. In the more distant future femtosecond based laser drives could potentially reach unimaginable speeds of up to 100TBits/s and beyond.

Check it out

The malicious program, known as Conficker, Downadup, or Kido was first discovered in October 2008. Although Microsoft released a patch, it has gone on to infect 3.5m machines. Experts warn this figure could be far higher and say users should have up-to-date anti-virus software and install Microsoft's MS08-067 patch. According to Microsoft, the worm works by searching for a Windows executable file called "services.exe" and then becomes part of that code. It then copies itself into the Windows system folder as a random file of a type known as a "dll". It gives itself a 5-8 character name, such as piftoc.dll, and then modifies the Registry, which lists key Windows settings, to run the infected dll file as a service. Once the worm is up and running, it creates an HTTP server, resets a machine's System Restore point (making it far harder to recover the infected system) and then downloads files from the hacker's web site.

Most malware uses one of a handful of sites to download files from, making them fairly easy to locate, target, and shut down. But Conficker does things differently. Anti-virus firm F-Secure says that the worm uses a complicated algorithm to generate hundreds of different domain names every day, such as mphtfrxs.net, imctaef.cc, and hcweu.org. Only one of these will actually be the site used to download the hackers' files. On the face of it, tracing this one site is almost impossible.

Please patch yourself up.

Circuit City became the largest retailer to fall victim to the expanding financial crisis Friday, announcing it will shut down its remaining 567 U.S. stores at the cost of 34,000 more jobs after failing to sell the business.

The closure of the nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer spells more trouble for the nations malls, and is the latest casualty of an unprecedented pullback in consumer spending that has claimed KB Toys, Mervyns LLC and Linens 'N Things.

Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the hobbled credit market and consumer worries proved insurmountable. Negotiations for an acquisition extended past midnight Thursday before finally falling through, Circuit City lawyer Gregg Galardi said.

Two potential buyers

Intel is likely to  delay the formal launch of its mainstream, desktop Core i7 processors by at least a month, say claims from mainboard producers.

Chips based on the quad-core Lynnfield design, which are expected to bring Core i7 below its current high-end focus, are reportedly now being pushed back from late July to at least late August along with the P55 mainboard chipset meant to run it. Poor economic conditions are said to have created significant overstock problems that will require mainboard firms to continue selling existing hardware for longer.

The delay could get longer if the situation worsens, the supposed insiders add.

A similar effect is said to be happening for the company's dual-core Havendale design, which is intended for budget desktops. Although samples are due for the chip as early as next month, mass production won't start until September or October with an actual launch postponed until January, when enough of the current Core 2-based processors will have cleared out of stock.

If corroborated by additional sources, it's unknown whether or not these oversupply issues will affect Auburndale, a relative of Havendale intended for mobile processors and due to ship in roughly the same timeframe as Lynnfield.

In a third round of recent cutbacks and job cuts, computer chipmaker AMD will cut 9 percent of its global workforce, amounting to about 1,100 jobs, and lower the pay of existing employees, according to a Friday report. The company announced today 900 workers will be cut, while the remaining 200 or so are a result of attrition and the sale of AMD's business unit. Existing employees will suffer what are called temporary pay cuts, with CEO Dirk Meyer and executive chairman Hector Ruiz getting 20 percent lopped off their salary, while vice presidents and other top management get 15 percent reductions. Salaried workers will make 10 percent less, with hourly workers getting a 5 percent wage cut.

Late last year, AMD cut 600 jobs, in addition to letting go of 1,600 workers earlier in the year. The Intel competitor is struggling from product delays and debt from its purchase of graphics chipmaker ATI technologies in an increasingly touch business climate. Late last year, the company also lowered its outlook for the fourth financial quarter. The company is due to report its calendar fourth quarter results on Thursday.

TG Daily reports a 13-year old American girl send a total of 14,528 text messages last month. Her dad was surprised when he received a 440-page bill from AT&T, but fortunately his daughter was on an unlimited texting plan that costs only $30 a month.

The dad, age 45, said "First I laughed. I thought '. That's insane. That's impossible.' And I immediate whipped out the calculator to see if it was humanly possible." He found out that it was, but just barely.

Reina, his 13-yr old daughter, would've had to send text message at the rate of 484 per day, or one every two minutes of every waking hour. When the father asked "Who are you texting anyway? Your entire school?" She replied, "A lot of my friends have unlimited texting. I just text them pretty much all the time."

According to the report, she routinely messages a core group of "four obsessive texters," all girls between 12 and 13 years old on her LG phone. Reina managed to text one of her friends who was sitting right next to her at a karaoke party.

The fine people over at NPD released their top 20 best selling PC games in the US for 2008 (sans online sales, of course).

According to NPD PC game sales in the US were just $701 million in 2008, down 14 percent from 2007. But, as most of you know, the NPD Group's numbers for PC game sales only cover the revenue it monitors from US retail stores. The number doesn't cover the growing amount of revenue generated via games bought via direct download. Nor does that number cover things like microtransactions and subscription sales for MMO game.

1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2. Spore 
3. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest 
4. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures 
5. Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning 
6. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 
7. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe 
8. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Ed 
9. Fallout 3
10. World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade 
11. Call Of Duty: World At War 
12. The Sims 2 FreeTime 
13. World Of Warcraft 
14. Sins Of A Solar Empire 
15. Warcraft III Battle Chest 
16. The Sims 2 Apartment Life 
17. Crysis 
18. Left 4 Dead 
19. Diablo Battle Chest 
20. The Orange Box