Nintendo and Sony prepare the field for next-gen console launches

The ongoing console jostle has taken a couple of new twists: Nintendo has announced launch dates and prices for its unique Dual-Screen model, and Sony announces a slimmed-down version of the PlayStation 2. First unveiled at the E3 games show back in May, the dual-screen, wireless network-supporting Nintendo DS will make its worldwide debut in the States, 21 November at a price of $149.99 (?82). ...more

Enthusiasts create eight-core Mac Pro

A computer hardware site has created an eight-core Mac Pro by replacing the Apple machine's two dual core Xeon processors with Intel's yet-to-be released, quad-core Clovertown chips. Anandtech was able to swap the chips because Intel has ensured that Clovertown - the second generation version of the Xeon - supports the same LGA-771 socket. Using a pair of 2. ...more

Skype founders turn to TV

The founders of Kazaa and Skype are about to embark on a new venture. Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have begun work to develop software for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the Web The new venture is called 'The Venice Project' and, according to Business Week which uncovered the story, the pair already have development teams developing the software in a number of cities around the world including London, New York and Venice. There are no details of what Project Venice is likely to yield or how it might differ from the other IPTV software technologies currently available beyond the hope that all TV broadcasters would standardise on the Venice platform. ...more

TV over Internet set for massive growth

Digital television delivered over the Internet is set to see massive growth over the next few years, according to a new report. Screen Digest reports that there will be some 8.7 million viewers of IPTV in 2009 from the current figure of around 658,000. ...more

SGI allies with Intel for Linux-based NASA supercomputer

NASA has turned to Silicon Graphics and Intel to build what is described as one of the world's largest Linux-based supercomputers. Built on a total of 10,240 Intel Itanium 2 processors, the Space Exploration Simulator will consist of 20 512-processor SGI Altix systems. And there will be 500-terabytes of data storage. ...more