Posted 11/07/08 at 12:40:45 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Core 2 Quad? That's so early 2008. Intel officially launched its Core i7 CPU on Monday, and this speedy new chip is the hot topic of discussion this week. The podcast gang grills Gordon about his benchmarking experience with three Core i7 CPUs, and we have a lively debate about the usefulness of CNN's hologram interview technology. The release of the Left4Dead demo excites everyone, and we also welcome a new member to the Maximum PC team. As always, we also answer a load of listener questions!

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? A secret to share? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are standing by.

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news, No BS Podcast, doctor, Hologram, cnn, left4dead, election, corei7

Posted 11/04/08 at 02:30:11 PM by Paul Lilly

While the presidential election might only come around every four years, the monotonous coverage has become all too predictable. Tuning in to your favorite news station will inevitably net pundits from both the Republican and Democratic parties giving a play-by-play analysis of how the voting has gone aided by a blue and red color coded map of the United States. Rinse and repeat in four years.

But this year the process looks to get a bit more interesting from a technological standpoint. Instead of remote interviews showing the candidates on a split screen or a floating window, CNN will look to up its geek cred with the use of holograms. 

"Everyone is doing something virtual this election year," says CNN senior VP David Bohrman, the guy who pushed the technology. "Virtual elements in a real set look so much better than a real person in a virtual set."

To make it happen, CNN will use 44 cameras and 20 computers in each remote location to capture 360-degree imaging data of the person being interviewed. The images will then be processed and beamed by computers and cameras located in New York. The end result, if all goes to plan, is that those being interviewed, whether a spokesperson from the Obama or McCain camp, will appear as though he or she is in CNN's television studio.

Will holographic interviews make you more likely to tune into CNN? Hit the jump and post your thoughts.

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technology, Hologram, cnn, politics, election

Posted 11/03/08 at 01:00:00 PM by David Murphy

The best kinds of system applications are the ones that make your life easier without you having to lift a finger. While the freeware applications we're profiling in this weekly roundup still require you to input a few settings, they're great tools to help automate some of the critical parts of your daily computer life.  From hotkey creation utilities to applications that help you conserve power by turning off your PC at specified intervals, these freeware tools are must-have additions to your computing repertoire!

Click the jump to check out this week's batch of free, awesome apps!

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Software, open-source, applications, election, hotkeyz, startup delayer, amp winoff, tracker

Posted 09/24/08 at 05:00:00 PM by Quinn Norton

With a presidential election around the corner, let’s look at how people pervert copyright law to squelch speech. Copyright takedown notices were never meant to stifle whistle-blowers or detractors, yet that’s become a popular use for them. Individual critics are likely to go broke even if they win a case, so people and ISPs tend to back down at lawyer point.

It's a cruel and efficient tactic, of which more after the jump.

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copyright, Diebold, eff, columns, quinn norton, byte rights, election, ninjas, michael savage, electronic freedom foundation, nonsense