iPod touch now maxes out at 32GB

Quietly, Apple updated its online stores yesterday, adding one more iPod touch to its lineup, the 32GB version. This is an increase of 16GB over the previous maximum, and was released together with the 16GB iPhone.

Available immediately, the 32GB version costs S$848. It has exactly the same dimensions and weight as the 8GB and 16GB models. And if you were wondering if it will be plagued with the issue that many Asian owners of the iPod touch are currently facing, the short answer is: No. The absence of the five new applications is applicable only to those who bought a touch before the apps were announced. All new ones will come with them pre-installed.

Intel's eight-core Skulltrail platform ahead of game

Intel let a variety of tech enthusiast sites run wild with benchmarks today showing off its forthcoming eight-core desktop platform, codenamed Skulltrail. You can get eight-core computing already in the form of Apple's Mac Pro or a pair of Intel Xeon 5400 processors, but Skulltrail marks the first eight-core platform we've seen aimed at high-end workstation computing and PC gaming. The Skulltrail motherboard not only supports two CPUs, but it also supports both Nvidia's SLI and ATI's Crossfire multigraphics card standards. The problem is that for all of Skulltrail's power, PC gaming isn't quite ready for it. Also, a better eight-core solution could be right around the corner.

Like all current eight-core machines, Skulltrail relies on two quad-core CPUs plugged into the same motherboard to achieve eight-way computing. The actual Intel D5400XS motherboard and pair of 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 quad-core CPUs required to build a Skulltrail system aren't due to market until "later in Q1", and we have no specific prices or ship dates. Intel has acknowledged that the QX9775 CPU will be more expensive than its current highest-end chip, the US$1,100 Core 2 Extreme QX9650.

As a workstation platform, Skulltrail probably makes sense. Some applications will benefit from eight cores of processing power, which should entice production houses and designers that need brute CPU strength. For gamers, Skulltrail is massive overkill, for a few reasons.

The first is that only one game right now supports eight independent processing threads: Microsoft Flight Simulator X (A demo version of Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions supports eight threads as well, but it's only a demo, and not a full game). To be sure, the flight simulator crowd is passionate, but it's not a large enough niche to justify an entire new CPU platform. The hardcore shooter fans and other PC gamers that make up the bulk of the enthusiast market have no titles out now that will put all eight Skulltrail cores to work. You might see some games that will benefit from the 3.2GHz core CPU speed and Skulltrail's wide 1,600MHz memory bandwidth, but you'll find those same statistics on the quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX9770 chips and the single CPU X48 enthusiast motherboard, both due out from Intel later this quarter as well.
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ASUS P5E3 Premium motherboard: Surf without Windows

A few weeks ago we told you about Splashtop--a technology that lets you surf the Web within 10 seconds of hitting the power button on your laptop. We also told you this technology was available on desktop PCs, but only via motherboards such as the ASUS P5E3 Premium.

We've just taken receipt of said motherboard and it's made our lives just a tiny bit more bearable. Splashtop seems to have had a name changed to Express Gate en route to desktops, but it's essentially the same thing--a Linux-based front end that runs independently of Windows.

The benefit, as we've already explained, is that you can load it up in as little as 5 seconds. Express Gate lets you surf the Web, use Skype, instant messaging, Webmail, YouTube and more--and you can do all of this even if your operating system is completely borked.

The board is pretty hot in other areas, too. It'll accept socket 775 CPUs including the new 45nm Intel models, a 1,600MHz front-side bus, up to 8GB of DDR3 1,800 RAM (overclocked), and it even has 802.11n Draft wireless.

It doesn't come cheap, but considering it has an impressive feature list, it's a pretty good buy.

Via CNET UK Crave

Nvidia to acquire Ageia for the PhysX chip

Nvidia snapped up Ageia, with plans to add Ageia's PhysX technology to its GeForce graphics chips.

Ageia makes a chip called PhysX that makes killing and blowing stuff up with a PlayStation controller all that more lifelike, essential for satisfying a generation of video gamers who are apparently well-acquainted with what really happens when you hit a fuel truck with an RPG. In all seriousness, the processing power that's required to simulate events like explosions and smoke or fog is immense, so much so that a standalone chip for just that purpose was required to really drive the experience home.

The PhysX chip can be found in all three of the modern gaming consoles--PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii--as well as in add-in cards for PC gaming. Developers have to write their games with the processor in mind to unlock the performance, and over 140 titles are available for consoles and PCs that support the PhysX technology.

Ageia describes the role of the PhysX processor as part of the "Gaming Power Triangle" which consists of the CPU, a GPU from either Nvidia or AMD's ATI, and the PhysX "physics processing unit". "The third leg of the triangle..."moves and interacts" to take gaming to the next level with pervasive dynamic motion and interaction", according to Ageia's Web site.

Within the next couple of years, however, that triangle will collapse. Intel, AMD, and Nvidia are all working on chips that aim to marry the benefits of graphics processing--extremely fast processing of repetitive tasks--with the flexibility of general-purpose PC processors. Intel's Larrabee project, AMD's Fusion project, and Nvidia's CUDA development are early steps toward that goal.

And now Nvidia plans to integrate the PhysX technology into one of its GeForce graphics chips "as soon as possible", according to Derek Perez of Nvidia. This is a long-standing trend in chip design, where chips that used to occupy standalone roles for reasons of cost or complexity--like PhysX--wind up squeezing their way onto the main processor. You can thank Gordon Moore for that.

Via CNET Crave

Hotswapping notebook batteries

We are not sure what will happen to this technology when hydrogen fuel cells hit portables, but for now this is one fantastic concept which addresses a key issue of using multiple laptop cells.

It is troublesome enough keeping a few of our batteries charged. But when our power meters start flashing, changing the cells becomes an exercise in shutting down and powering up. Sure, Windows users have hibernation to tide them through this ordeal, but what about those poor sods on Linux or Mac?

We like this concept because it's KISS (keep it simple, stupid). Using an additional wire which connects to the power input on the laptop, hotswapping cells becomes a reality. No news when, or if, this product will come to market, but this is one development we will be keeping a close eye on.

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