Daily News Brief: NVIDIA Promises to Open Can of Whoop Ass!

Watch Out World, NVIDIA's on the Rampage!

Most companies don't typically elicit double-takes during their financial analyst meetings, and none that we know of have promised they're "going to open a can of whoop ass." Count NVIDIA as not not like most companies then, as that's exactly what CEO Jen-Hsun Huang promised analysts. Intel and NVIDIA have been going back and forth in the media, particularly over the integrated graphics market, but NVIDIA, or at least Huang, isn't intimidated over comments coming out of Santa Clara. Huang even referred to Intel's integrated offerings as "a joke." Read more of the candid back and forth banter here.

Sony PS3 to Entice Audiophiles

Riding high on the success of its Blu-ray player, Sony's Playstation 3 now looks to tackle the audio front. Playstation.Blog announced the next firmware update, version 2.30, will add DTS-HD Master audio output for Blu-ray videos. But wait, there's more! The update also adds DTS-HT High Resolution Audio. Not an audiophile? Get up to speed on both of these codecs here. Finally, v2.30 includes the revamped Playstation Store.

TwinMOS to Close Down Business

Enthusiasts sticking to a DDR2 foundation are cheering the rock bottom prices, but at what cost? TwinMOS, who many will remember as an overclocker's favorite at one point in time, will reportedly close shop come April 15. The module maker came to the decision after failing to attract an acquisition offer, and many of TwinMOS' employees have already jumped ship to NAND Flash module maker Silicon-Power. Meanwhile, DRAM makers who have weathered the low price storm are busy lobbying for a price hike.

Brazil Bans Bully

A Brazilian judge suspended sales of the game Bully after finding it too violent for young children and teenagers. Rio Grande do Sul state prosecutor Alcindo Bastos took particular issue with the game's locale, saying "The aggravating factor is that everything in the game takes place inside a school. That is not acceptable." JPF Maggazine, the main distributor of the Rockstar title in Brazil, said they haven't been notified of the judge's decision, but will contemplate an appeal when they are. Perhaps they'll summon Stephen King as a star witness.

Blockbuster Contemplates Streaming Rentals

Netflix already gives subscribers the ability to stream movies to their PC, but for less savvy viewers, transferring them over to the living room television can prove challenging. According to Reuters, Blockbuster plans to bridge this gap with a set-top box, with an official announcement expected sometime this month. Blockbuster would join a growing list of streaming services, many of which were featured and reviewed in this month's Maximum PC, including Blockbuster's own Movielink. Read more here.

This is a Test, er, Text of the Emergency Broadcast System...

The FCC on Wednesday approved a new nationwide alert system and will appoint a federal agency to create the messages that participating cell phone companies will receive. Text based alerts would warn subscribers to three types of events:

• A disaster that could jeopardize the health and safety of Americans (think terrorist attack)
• Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes
• Child abductions or Amber alerts

T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and AT&T all indicated they are likely to opt in.

Linux Overload

Ever wondered what 165 Linux apps running simultaneously looks like? Here you go...