AMD Phenom pricing

The pricing for the AMD phenoms has arrived, but as to whether this is the final pricing for the latest offering from AMD, nobody ain't sure of it yet. But sources say it should be close or rather correct. So folks, get set for an AMD christmas!!!

Phenom is the latest offering from AMD which is quad-core competing with Intel's quad-core.

Sneak Peek: AMD's Phenom Quad-Cores, Spider Graphics Platform

Advanced Micro Devices is getting set to launch its first quad-core desktop processor and accompanying Spider platform for high-performance desktop systems. The specific details are under lock and key until the release date, but Spider is coming sooner than earlier reports indicated, and it's the first desktop platform from AMD that was built from the ground up in concert with the chipmaker's graphics division, ATI.

The Spider release will coincide with AMD's launch of its Phenom quad-core desktop processor. That's no accident, as the platform was built to integrate Phenom with a new series of GPUs and chipsets from ATI that will be released alongside the new CPU. AMD acquired the maker of graphic processors, chipsets and video display cards last October.

Oh, and one quick note, in case you missed it -- Phenom isn't a codename. It's the name of the new brand AMD is launching with these quad-core chips.

Phenom's specs are impressive. It will come as no surprise that the chip's "native" quad-core design bears desktop fruit similar to what AMD's recently-launched quad-core Opteron processor does for servers. We're talking energy efficiency, high floating points for memory-intensive applications and easy switch-a-roos from dual-core Athlons to the new quad-cores. Though it's a bit apples-and-oranges, it's also worth noting that the first Phenoms to hit the market will have higher clock speeds than the initial shipments of quad-core Opterons.

All very tasty, though AMD's stress on performance-per-watt for Phenom did strike as a bit odd. It's one thing to highlight Opteron's energy efficiency for the data centers, but don't those crazy gamers actually get a kick out of burning through more fuel than necessary? AMD's response: True, gamers aren't the most power-stingy customers around, let alone the Greenest. But better energy efficiency is still a good sell, because it means fewer fans, which means more headroom in gaming shells for system builders to drop in more gear.

So there.

While Phenom will be available as a processor-in-a-box, and ATI's new products don't require a quad-core processor, by combining all that good stuff on an optimized platform, AMD banks on hitting the enthusiast and high-end home theater markets hard ahead of the holidays.

The new ATI gear fills a hole in AMD's DirectX 10-compatible Radeon line, in the $200 neighborhood. It will also support DirectX 10.1, when that multimedia/gaming interface update ships with the first Windows Vista Service Pack in January. Also look for boosts in ATI's PCI Express, CrossFire and AVIVO HD technology, as well as a brand new chipset family for Phenom called the AMD 700 series.

And overclockers have something to look forward to as well, thanks to a little surprise AMD has built into Spider.

Spider is already in the hands of some partners in AMD's system builder channel. When you get a chance to see it demoed, it's tough to wipe the silly grin off your face as the platform roars into action. Spider is geared towards gaming, and the way it handles lighting, angles and texture is all very impressive.

So everyone stay tuned for AMD latest punch at Intel. Doesn't it looks good already?

The Firewall In The Mac OSX Leopard Is Mostly Useless, Say Experts

"Best firewall – no firewall" has been a common joke in the IT world for some time. However, it seems that Apple has taken it for serious, and their latest released OS goes to prove it.

As Heise Security's report points out, the firewall included in the Leopard OS managed to fail every security test performed by the firm. - Now that's a bummer

Jurgen Schmidt writes:

“The most important task for any firewall is to keep out uninvited guests. In particular, this means sealing off local services to prevent access from potentially hostile networks, such as the Internet or wireless networks.

But a quick look at the firewall configuration in the Mac OS X Leopard shows that it is unable to do this. By default it is set to "Allow all incoming connections," i.e. it is deactivated. Worse still, a user who, for security purposes, has previously activated the firewall on his or her Mac will find that, after upgrading to Leopard, the system restarts with the firewall deactivated.”

Also, it seems that the firewall is also unable to to make the difference between trusted networks and networks that present a certain risk; Leopard will treat them all the same, at least initially.

Of course, there's always the possibility of blocking all incoming connections, but this time the option won't be much help either. The report points out that potential attackers will still be able to communicate with at least two system services, the time server and the NetBIOS name server.

The report notes that the “problems and peculiarities described here are not security vulnerabilities in the sense that they can be exploited to break into a Mac”. However, it suggests that Apple users would do better not to rely on the firewall for the time being.

PS: all OS have their vulnerabilities, whether you choose to accept it or not.

iPhone will cost a minimum of €1601 in Germany !

As you may have known, in Germany iPhone sales will start on November 9th.

The cheapest subscription will cost €49 per month, for a minimum of 24 months.
And the iPhone and its activation will cost €425 ( 400+25)

so the minimum a iPhone will cost is €1601 in Germany

The cheapest subscription includes, unlimited data transfer, 100 calling minutes and 40 SMS.

While the other two subscription ( €65 & €85 per month ) the iPhone will cost €2081 and €2561

Its certainly a different way to calculate the cost of a iPhone. But it gives a rough guide of how the whole iPhone package costs.