BenQ V2400W: World's thinnest 24-incher

People are stupid sometimes. They'll spend crazy money on PCs that are way faster than they need, and buy a rubbish display. If you're one of those losers, peering at this Web site on an old 19-inch TFT, it's time to upgrade.

Have a butcher's--if your strained eyes can manage--at the BenQ V2400W LCD monitor. It is 62mm at its fattest point, which, according to BenQ, makes it the world's thinnest 24-inch monitor. More significantly, perhaps, it has an odd, off-center stand, touch-sensitive control buttons and a rear end that looks like it was inspired by a B-2 Stealth Bomber.

It's not your typical skinny-but-attractive-harbinger-of-airborne-death, though. The panel pushes 1,920 x 1,200 pixels--well over 1080p. It has a low 2ms grey-to-grey response time, a 1,000:1--or 4,000:1 dynamic--contrast ratio, and it has HDMI, D-Sub and DVI video inputs.

There's no height adjustment or pivoting, which is a shame given the £330 (US$651) price tag. But on the whole, the image quality is very, very good.

Via CNET Crave UK

Intel and Nvidia headed for licensing standoff

This started out as a rumor May 30, but Intel has since more-or-less confirmed that licensing discussions between Intel and Nvidia for Intel's next-generation processors are not going well and the resulting conflict could have implications for high-end gaming PCs.

The story is that Intel and Nvidia are currently negotiating technology licenses for Nehalem, Intel's next-generation desktop CPU due out at the end of this year. As we were told from multiple desktop vendors who wish to remain nameless, Intel wants to license SLI from Nvidia for its Nehalem chipsets, and if Nvidia won't, Intel will withhold the license that would enable Nvidia to support Nehalem's memory controller, and thus Nehalem, on its own chipsets.

We have no official confirmation from Nvidia on this, and Intel's statement from PR manager Dan Snyder is vague, but it lends credence to the story:

"There is a disagreement between Intel and Nvidia as to the scope of Nvidia's license from Intel to make chipsets compatible with Intel microprocessors. Intel is trying to resolve the disagreement privately with Nvidia and therefore we will not provide additional details. It is our hope that this dispute will be resolved amicably and that it will not impact other areas of our companies' working relationship."
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24-inch LCD ready to do battle

A Canadian company that goes by the apt name of Stealth Computer is determined to bring military-grade specs to consumer gear. A few months back it came out with its TuffTouch monitor, a 17-inch touchscreen LCD encased in aluminum alloy for harsh conditions, and now it has a big brother.

The latest model in Stealth's SV-2400 "Industrial Grade" line is a full 24 inches of ruggedized goodness, fortified in steel casing. The steroidal screen has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels and 160-degree viewing angles.

Most important to the survivalist set, it can withstand "water, dust and dirt intrusion and performs well beyond ordinary commercially available monitors", according to the company, and is ideal for "human machine interface" applications. Which could be a good thing when your robot is having a bad day and taking it out on the equipment.

Via CNET Crave

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.5.3

Apple has released the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard, just weeks before its annual developers' conference.

Mac OS X 10.5.3 is now available for downloading from Apple's site or through the Software Update process. Dozens of bugs are fixed with the new release for products like iCal, Mail, Time Machine, and others.

Apple is getting set to host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco the week of June 9, where we might learn more about the yet-unnamed Mac OS X 10.6, assuming Apple isn't skipping ahead to Mac OS XI, or Mac OS 11, or whatever naming convention gets chosen.

Via Crave CNET

What we just learned about Windows 7

So what exactly did Steven Sinofsky reveal about Windows 7? I'd boil it down to three things:

1. Timing
Despite what Bill Gates said in Miami, Windows 7 is timed to come out by the end of January 2010, not "in the next year or so". Here's what Sinofsky, Windows engineering head, had to say on the matter.

"The timing of it depends a lot on what we wanted to achieve, and you've certainly heard us, and we've been very clear, and will continue to say that the next release of Windows, Windows 7, is about three years after the general availability of Windows Vista, and we're committed to that, and we've signed up publicly to do that," he said in our interview.

2. Kernel
Windows 7 is an evolutionary improvement to the kernel in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, not a wholly new MinWin kernel that has been under development.

"We're very clear that drivers and software that work on Windows Vista are going to work really well on Windows 7; in fact, they'll work the same," Sinofsky said. "We're going to not introduce additional compatibilities, particularly in the driver model. Windows Vista was about improving those things. We are going to build on the success and the strength of the Windows Server 2008 kernel, and that has all of this work that you've been talking about. The key there is that the kernel in Windows Server '08 is an evolution of the kernel in Windows Vista, and then Windows 7 will be a further evolution of that kernel as well."
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