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Archive for July 12, 2010
Is The Celeron Done?
Jul 12th
Is the Celeron brand coming to an end? It depends on who you ask. The talk from major notebook players is that they’ve been informed by Intel of its plans to gradually reduce the production of Celeron chips and replace them with Pentium and dual-core Atom N series processors. Following that, Intel will completely phase-out the Celeron line in 2011, Digitimes reports.
Sounds plausible, and it’s doubtful too many folk would really miss the Celeron brand, which many have come to equate with poor performance, even though that’s not always the case. Nevertheless, Intel is denying the rumors, but saying little else.
We’ll have to just wait and see what happens. What we do know, however, is that Intel will launch its dual-core Atom N processor line in the third quarter of this year, and presumably at similar price points to existing Celeron chips. It would make sense, then, to at least consider pulling the rug from the Celeron brand to avoid confusion.
At least in the short term, Celeron will remain in the market. Come September, Intel will launch a handful of new Celeron chips, including the Celeron P4600, T3500, and U3400. After that, it could be curtains for Celeron.
Google Adds Rich Text Signatures
Jul 12th
Google has rolled out rich text signature support to Gmail so you can have a fancy signaturewithout any Greasemonkey scripts or Macgyver-like cobbling together of Google Labs features.
If you hop into the Settings page of your Gmail account you’ll see a new signature section with some familiar rich-text editing buttons and options. You can tweak your text size and color, insert images and links, and otherwise format your text as you can within a rich-text Gmail message. In addition to rich text signatures for your primary address, you can also create a custom signature for each custom From: addresses you have set up in your account
Blizzard backs Down On Using Real Names In Forums
Jul 12th
“Earlier this week, Blizzard announced that they were going to be implementing changes in their official forums (for StarCraft II when it launched, and for WoW prior to Cataclysm) that would require users to post under their real names, as part of the Real ID system. After perusing nearly 14,000 European and 50,000 US forum posts, the majority of which decried this move with various levels of vehemence, it looks like Blizzard has given in to the pressure. From the official statement: ‘We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.’ Not that this doesn’t leave room for them to re-implement this at a later date, but that’s a pretty definite ‘no.’ It was clear they were going to take criticism, but the size of the backlash was impressive. It seems likely Blizzard simply wasn’t expecting that level of antipathy toward their new policy.
Audi Cam Lets You See Your Mechanic via Video Stream
Jul 12th
Handing your pride and joy over to a service tech is a nerve fraying experience. While the vast majority ofservice personnel out there are well trained, courteous and quick about their work, there are bad apples in every bushel, and you never know exactly who’s getting their hands on your keys. Audi is looking to put some of that worry aside with a new program that the company is calling – brace yourself – Audi Cam.
Think of it as lifecasting for your mechanic. When you bring your vehicle in to the shop for repairs, you’re connected to a technician via a two-way radio and a headset video camera. If there’s any sort of problem, the tech can contact you over the radio and vice-versa. Even better, owners get to sit in the comfy waiting room and watch the action from screens there. The company is hoping that the move will give owners some added peace of mind by giving them a peek into the inner workings of the dealership shop.
For now, it appears that Audi Cam will only be available in Europe. But who knows? It might just make the jump across The Pond and into a dealership near you soon.
