Posted 09/29/09 at 04:34:18 PM by Mark Edward Soper

With Windows 7 coming down the pike in less than a month, it's time for Microsoft to update its Windows Home Server product to support new features in Windows 7, such as Libraries and image-based backup. Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 (announced in July and now available in beta via Microsoft Connect) provides the Windows 7 support Windows Home Server needs, but that's not all that's new.

Windows 7 and Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 are designed to play nicely together, thanks to updates that support Windows 7 libraries and WHS backup that's Action Center aware (so Action Center will no longer nag a Windows 7 user that backups aren't happening when WHS does its backup thing). To find out what else is new in Windows Home Server, and for the latest on when "beta" comes off the title, join us after the break.

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Posted 04/02/09 at 09:17:56 AM by Paul Lilly

Nvidia today announced  the GeForce GTX 275 GPU, which the company claims is the highest performing GPU in the $230 to $250 price tier. As the name suggests, the GTX 275 nestles in between the GTX 260 and GTX 285, fleshing out the company's mid-range graphics line.

Build around the GT200 architecture, the GTX 275 sports 240 processor cores racing along at 1,404MHz, 80 texture processing units, and 895MB of GDDR3 video memory clocked at 1,134MHz on a 448-bit bus. The reference design calls for the GPU to run 634MHz. The end result is a videocard that, according to Nvidia, will best ATI's HD 4890 by 10 to 20 percent.

Nvidia also announced its new GeForce Power Pack #3. Included with the new Power Pack are three new PhysX-accelerated apps and two new CUDA-accelerated programs.

The GeForce GTX 275 will be available globally on or before April 14 in both standard and overclocked versions from the usual suspects (Asus, BFG, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, XFX, and more).

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Posted 10/31/08 at 01:05:37 PM by Paul Lilly

In what's sure to show up on several holiday geek gift guides, Ardica has come up with a gadget every traveling technophile will want to tote around, assuming those travels include chilly locales. Ardica describes it as "the world's first fully functional, lightweight, portable personal power and heating system," which is essentially a power pack meant to be worn.

Once suited up, a proprietary lithium-ion pack with 39-watt hours of stored energy provides up to 100F degrees of heat for 3 hours when set to high, or just shy of 9 hours on low. And if keeping your bosom toasty while stranded on a snow covered mountain weren't enough, the portable power source is also good for 11 cell phone charges to call all your loved ones for that final goodbye, 20 iPod charges for the longest loop of Taps ever, or power a GPS, PDA, or any other gadget you may have on hand before going into full McGyver mode and constructing a life saving teleportation device.

PC enthusiasts used to selecting the right combination of computer components will feel right at home, as you'll need to pick out an Ardica enabled garment to ensure compatibility, with Mountain Hardware, Sitka, Redwing, and a handful of others already on board. Ardica says garments made to be compatible will add $35 to $50 onto the retail price. The personal power component will sell separately through Ardica's website for $145.

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