New iMacs having graphics pains

AppleInsider has reported that more than a few owners of the new shiny iMacs are experiencing unexpected interface freezes.

Just like turning frigid, the system will look and behave like it's running, but is totally unresponsive to any touching of the controls. Some suspect foul play by the new ATI Radeon HD graphics card, as most instances occur when playing games or running any video-intensive tasks. So far Apple is aware of the problem but has yet to release a permanent fix for it. Desperate users have tried to re-install older Mac drivers with mixed results. For now, the best you can hope for is to reset the system when this occurs.

Is Apple losing touch with its "Just works" motto? If this is going to be a trend, then we should all wait for a Service Pack for the upcoming Mac OS X Leopard before making the upgrade.

Reports suggest late-October Leopard release

Apple said the next Mac OS X version will arrive in October, and two reports out say the company's going to use as many days of this month as it can before letting Leopard loose.

Both AppleInsider and ThinkSecret reported Thursday that Leopard is tracking for a October 26 release, which will be the last Friday of the month. In April, Apple delayed the release of Leopard from June to October, citing the need to get the iPhone out on time.

When Apple released Tiger in 2005, it also chose the last Friday of the month to start selling the new operating system. About 200 people lined up outside downtown San Francisco's Apple store to get their hands on the new operating system that day, and a similar crowd will probably be back this time around.

Leopard, formally known as Mac OS X 10.5, will come with a new set of updates to the look and feel of the Mac desktop screen, as well as new features like Time Machine and a production version of Boot Camp. It's currently available for preorder at Amazon.com for US$129 for a single license or US$199 for a family license.

This post originally appeared in CNET Crave.

New gaming gear: Razer's Lycosa keyboard and Piranha headset

Razer just announced two new gaming products at the World Cyber Games 2007 grand final in Seattle. The gaming peripherals maker revealed the Lycosa, a new gaming keyboard, and the Piranha, a new gaming headset. Once again, Razer keeps its theme of naming its mice after snakes, its keyboards after spiders, and its audio equipment after fish.

The Lycosa keyboard takes characteristics from both the Razer Tarantula and the Microsoft Reclusa (built with Razer technology) and combines them. Like the Tarantula, the Lycosa features Razer's claimed Ultrapolling 1ms response time and, like the Reclusa, the Lycosa's keys light up. You can reprogram, remap, and macro the keyboard, and store up to 10 customizable profiles for quick switching between games. It also comes with a USB port and headphone/microphone jacks, so you can easily plug in your headset or USB key without reaching for your hub or the back of your computer.

Razer's Piranha presents the company's second gaming headset. Unlike Razer's first headset offering, the Barracuda, the Piranha loses the noise-canceling ear cups in favor of a sleeker design. The headset includes an in-line remote control so you can crank up or mute the noise quickly, and Razer claims the headphones offer a range of 18 to 22,000Hz. It sports a boom microphone and is compatible with VoIP software like Skype and TeamSpeak.

The Razer Piranha ships worldwide later this month, and the Lycosa in November. Both devices will retail for about US$80.

This post originally appeared in CNET Crave.

New PC supervirus running rampant

According to a tipoff by one of our readers, there is a new bad boy in town and the sheriffs are doing nothing about it. It seems the U.Z.A. O/S virus has been infecting computers at will while keeping under the radar of most antivirus programs (we have contacted Symantec and McAfee regarding this claim and are awaiting a response).

So how deadly is it? We did a Google and found surprisingly little. A few blogs reported that the virus locks users out of administrative features on their PCs, while replacing the wallpaper and time/date system tray entry with U.Z.A. O/S characters. Its primary method of transmission seems to be via USB flash drives (which makes a great argument for the need to protect your ports).

Though antivirus applications seem impotent against this threat, fortunately there is a downloadable utility which works against the U.Z.A. O/S threat. So remember, boys and girls. Besides not taking sweets or drinks from strangers, don't poke questionable drives into your PC ports as well.

Dell says no to carbon

When we think of carbon, our minds wander to the delightful taste of a well-barbequed chicken wing with small black flakes. But while this element is found in useful stuff like pencil leads and lubricants, in its gaseous form carbon dioxide it is responsible for the ills of global warming effects.

While any industrial activity produces carbon dioxide, a company can "redeem" itself by promoting carbon-reducing activities like tree planting. This is what Dell plans to do. According to a report by PC World journalist Grant Gross, Michael Dell has announced that the PC maker will be carbon neutral by 2008. In order to reach this target, it will reduce carbon emissions in its manufacturing process as well as insist that the suppliers do the same or face penalties. Another initiative is the Plant a Tree for Me program which allows customers, at point of purchase, to donate a small sum to the planting of new trees.

Anything to help save the environment gets a thumbs up from us. After all, its a little hard to touch type while floating in a sea of melted polar ice caps.

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