Winning the Honda Challenge Cup
Last Saturday, we took the Honda Challenge Cup — a friendly competition on driving a Honda car to get the most fuel-efficient ride. I missed the earlier event a couple months back intended for the media people so I got slated for this last one.
The objective was to drive any of the Honda cars — Civic, Jazz, Accord and CRV — and use the least amount of gas along the way. Of course, there were tips given to us on how to achieve this.
Each team has two members, a driver and a navigator (my teammate was Randy of the Daily Contributor). I took the driver’s seat with the Honda CRV 2.0 MT. There were two legs of the race — one is city driving (The Fort to Makati to Petron NLEX) and the other is highway driving (Petron NLEX to Angeles City and back). Each stop is measured with the distance traveled as well as amount of gas consumed.
For the city drive, we logged 10 kilometers per liter while for the highway driving, we bumped it up to 14km/liter. Our overall average was 13km/liter. We won in our category by 1km/liter and also manage to land 3rd place over-all (the two Honda Civics won the 1st and 2nd overall).
Good thing the Honda CRV has a digital meter that shows you a rough average of your fuel consumption. I merely adjusted my driving speed based on the meter (which gave me an average 17.8km/liter).
The biggest lesson — driving at 60km/hour on a highway gets you the best results in fuel efficiency (others claim it’s supposed to be 80kmph). To make sure the highway patrol doesn’t flag me for driving below minimum speed, I always tail the slowest 10-wheeler truck in the rightmost lane.
AMD Responds to Lucid Hydra Claims
We received a response from AMD with regards to our recent story, “Lucid Hydra 200: Multi-GPU Made Simple?”, about Lucid’s new Hydra 200 chip, which may allow PC owners to obtain multiple-GPU performance with graphics cards that use different GPUs, or even that blend Nvidia and ATI technologies.
AMD and Nvidia have expressed skepticism about Lucid’s claims, and AMD Public Relations Manager Jay Marsden contacted us to issue the following statement:
AMD’s goal with CrossFireX is to is to deliver the best graphics performance possible and give gamers the ultimate upgrade path. We have added countless software and hardware innovations to CrossFireX technology over the years to ensure that we deliver performance in spades. To say CrossFireX is old is plain wrong, it would be like calling Radeon old.
Multi-GPU technology is a key focus for AMD.
We are on the cutting edge with our solutions today and we continue to invest R&D in this area to ensure that we deliver the best solutions in the long run.
We are in favor of solutions that improve the user experience and we have not seen that from Lucid. It’s up to them to show the world that their technology works as they say it does.
We’re excited to see for ourselves whether the Lucid Hydra 200 delivers what it promises—we’ll post the results here as soon as we have them.
Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:39:40.
CinemaTube HD Media Player Review
While there are a lot of HD media players out there, I think there’s still room for more. So when I got a review unit of the BriteView-CinemaTube HD Media Player, I thought WD TV has some pretty nifty competition up ahead.
The CinemaTube does not have an internal storage so you need to hook it up with an external HDD. While this is a cheaper configuration, you still need to buy your own HDD with an enclosure. That means you’ll also need two power cables to hook both the player and the external drive.
The media player’s enclosure is made of up of plastic. Nothing really wrong with since it feels very light but it also gives an impression of a cheap construction (even the painted logo of BriteView-CinemaTube is a little off).
It’s compatible with all hard disk format windows(NTFS), Linux (EXT2/3), and MAC (HFS). The player supports a large number of video formats — MPEG1/2/4 (M1V, M2V, M4V), MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG), AVI, ASF, WMV, MKV, H.264.
CinemaTube supports multiple audio output formats, including MPEG I Layer 1,2,3(2-CH), MPEG II Layer 1,2 (Multi-Channel), LPCM, ADPCM, FLAC, AAC, WAV, WMA and OGG, RA, Dolby Digital AC3 and DTS. DTS (downmix) is supported by CinemaTube so you do not need additional DTS receivers to enjoy HD videos with DTS tracks.
Unlike the DW TV, the CinemaTube is also a torrent downloader (the built-in torrent engine does all the downloading without the need of a PC). The LAN port at the back is the primary connection to hook it up to the internet but I think you can also use a WiFi dongle on one of the USB ports to get it on wireless. The only approved and dedicated WiFi adapter is the WL-6200C which is sold separately.
At the back panel, you get a conservative number of ports — 1 HDMI, 2 SUB 2.0, Ethernet, AV and SPDIF. The UI and navigation of the CinemaTube is pretty simple, straightforward and easy to understand.
Most useful is the preview panel/screen that allows you to view a short clip of video you are browsing before playing them (no need to guess what the video file is).
Although I have not tried it, the device can also do UPnP Streaming so you can watch CNN, ESPN, CBS and Hulu via 3rd-party applications like PlayOn and TVersity.
The CinemaTube will retail for Php6,350 when it comes out in November. You can check out www.digilivingph.com for more info abut the product.
EVGA Releases SLI Enhancement Patch v18 (10.22.09)
Staying ahead of NVIDIA and its own series of similar software, EVGA released the 18th edition of its SLI Enhancement Patch. The SLI Enhancement Patch is a piece of software that adds SLI profiles of usually new games to the NVIDIA GeForce driver. SLI profiles optimize help applications take advantage multiple NVIDIA GPUs installed in an SLI setup. Version 18 of the software is based on NVIDIA GeForce 191.07 drivers. It adds or enhances SLI support for the following games. Registered EVGA users (registration is free) can download the software from here.
- Enables SLI support for Borderlands
- Enables SLI support for Painkiller: Resurrection
- Enables SLI support for Wolfenstein Demo
- Enables SLI support for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
- Enables SLI support for G-Force
- Enables SLI support for FIFA Soccer 2010
- Enables SLI support for League of Legends: Clash of Fates
- Enables SLI support for NHL 2009
- Enables SLI support for Order of War
- Enables SLI support for Race On
- Enables SLI support for Star Trek: D-A-C
Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:39:34.
ATI Catalyst 9.10 WHQL Released
AMD released the latest version of its ATI Catalyst software suite. Version 9.10 WHQL brings with it official support for the company’s newest ATI Radeon HD 5800 series graphics processors, adds features that enhance usability under Windows 7, along with the usual list of bug fixes. The driver also adds support for Super Sample Anti-Aliasing, for Radeon HD 5800 GPUs. A complete list of changes can be read in the release notes document. The most important of them are listed below:
- ATI Catalyst 9.10 now includes full GPU support for the award winning ATI HD Radeon 5800 series GPUs.
- Provides support for a new Anti-Aliasing method on the ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series. Users can now experience the high level of anti-aliasing image quality using Super Sampling anti-aliasing while maintaining good performance levels
- Adds GPU acceleration for the Windows 7 Drag and Drop video converting application
DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 9.10 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit
Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:39:34.
Nook eReader: Barne’s & Noble Kindle-Killer
The Kindle has a brand new rival — Barne’s and Noble introduced the Nook e-Reader to compete with Amazon. At $259, it’s priced competitively too.
The Nook comes pre-installed with Google Android OS and will comes with a 3G SIM from AT&T.
Aside from that, there’s also a built-in WiFi. Internal storage is just 2GB but that can be bumped to 16GB via microSD card. Display is also 6″ just like the Kindle.
Amazon quickly responded and gave back $20 in rebates to all those who ordered the International version of the Kindle. It’s now just $259 too. Let’s not forget Sony has its own line of eReaders too.
Blackberry Bold 9700 announced
The Blackberry Bold gets a nice upgrade with the newer Bold 9700 model which is expected to be released by next month. If last month’s Blackberry Curve 8520 isn’t too equipped for your needs, the Blackberry Bold 9700 has it.
No indication what processing power is inside but it could be the same as the BB Bold 9000 at 624 MHz.
2.6-inch display @ 480×360 pixel resolution
Full QWERTY keyboard
Touch-sensitive optical trackpad
3.5 mm audio jack
1GB storage, 256MB ROM
up to 16GB via microSD
3G/HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g
Bluetooth 2.1
3.15 MP autofocus, IS, LED flash (2048×1536 pixels)
GPS with aGPS support
Included is a document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) and a really nice battery pack (Li-Ion 1500 mAh).
The main difference between this one and the older version is that RIM has replaced the problematic trackball navigation with an optical trackpad.
7 Reasons to Get Windows 7 Today (and 6 Reasons Not to)
Following a year of hype mostly centered on the fact that it’s not its predecessor (Vista), Windows 7 has finally been released to the world today, to mostly positive notices. Of course, it’s been available in various forms since about the beginning of the year, but today is the first day you can officially buy it.
I’ve been using Windows 7 for a couple of months now, and although I like a lot of its new features, it’s hardly changed my life. In fact, the overall experience for me has been almost exactly like using Vista—well, after all its compatibility issues were fixed. Depending on how you use your computer, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.
So is moving to Windows 7 immediately worth the trouble—and, more importantly, your money? Here are seven reasons you may want to consider running to your nearest electronics store and slapping down your credit card right away, as well as another six reasons you should stay inside, barricade all the entrances, and hope the lunacy ends before trick-or-treaters start pounding on your doors demanding either your soul or Snickers bars.
Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:39:40.
(PR) Microsoft Simplifies the PC With Windows 7
Today Microsoft Corp. announced the worldwide availability of its new Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 delivers on a simple premise: make it easier for people to do the things they want on a PC. The new operating system offers a streamlined user interface and significant new features that make everyday tasks easier and allow people to get the most out of computers of all styles and sizes.
“With Windows 7, there’s never been a better time to be a PC,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Together with our partners, we’re bringing more choice, flexibility and value to the market than ever before. With Windows 7, you’re sure to find a PC that fits your life.”
Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:39:34.
12 Must-Know Windows 7 Shortcuts
If you’ve been using computers a long time, you can remember the days when you needed the keyboard for everything. Some of us have never given up the habit, and still use keyboard shortcuts in Windows with great regularity. Depending on what you’re doing, they can really speed you up. So if you’ve either bought a new system using Windows 7, or if you’ve bought the OS and installed it yourself on a computer you already have, you may be wondering what new keyboard and mouse shortcuts on it can make your life easier. Here’s a look at 12 of them.
Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:39:40.