Vista SP1 brings small UI tweaks, including refreshed “NO GUI” boot splash & volume sliders

It looks like our favorite camera-shy service pack is being hammered by the screen shot paparazzi as every die-hard enthusiast and his dog now has their paws on the Windows Vista SP1 beta which has been leaked left, right and center. I, for one, is not brave enough to pursue such a risky endeavor, so I’m glad someone else with an eagle-sight is scanning every pixel for user-interface changes as well.

From everything I’ve heard up to this point, there are no planned major user-interface enhancements, fixes or even polishes for Vista in Service Pack 1. And so far, that proves to be correct and my expectations remain very low as they should be. However, some of the more vigilant members at the JCXP community have spotted at least 2 interface tweaks worthy to note for the pixel-loving enthusiasts.

The newer Windows Vista alternate boot screen image in SP1. (Inset) Alternate boot image in RTM. Image credit: JCXP.

Most of you should be aware of the “/NOGUI” tweak for Windows Vista which enables the alternate “Aurora” boot-screen splash image. As spotted by “VistaReloaded“, it appears that in SP1, the aurora image has been changed to the same flair used in the “resume from hibernation” splash, with the text “Starting Windows Vista” also removed. This flair is far more consistent with the background image presented during log-in.

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Intel intros 3GHz quad core processor

Chip firm Intel said it has introduced two quad core server chips ahead of schedule and set pricing to drive the market. [Surely drive AMD mad? Ed.]The Xeon X5365 is a 3GHz quad core chip which runs at 120 watts, and has a front side bus speed of 1333MHz. The L5335 is a 2GHz chip which runs at 40 watts.

Intel claims that a Fujitsu Siemens Primergy RX300 S3 server using the 5365 scored 98.9 using the SPECint_rate-base 2006 benchmark.

The chips include Intel’s virtualisation tech and the firm said the chips have additional extensions for better interrupt handling using Windows 32-bit OSes.

The chip firm is pricing the X5365 at $1,172 and the L5335 at $380.

As the INQUIRER reported in June, chip rival AMD will introduce two “Barcelona” quad core chips on September 10th.

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Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition Shows Off In Japan

Recently we succeeded in explaining that elder processor family athlon 64 X2 with 6400+ rating and 3.2 GHz frequency will be released during September this year. In spite of the sufficiently high for 90 nm technical process frequency and status of elder processor in the family, it will obtain the completely moderate price : $240.

<!– google_ad_client = “pub-6621075760612267″; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; google_ad_format = “468×60_as”; google_ad_type = “text”; //2007-06-06: new

script google_ad_channel = “6987001014″; google_color_border = “191919″; google_color_bg = “191919″; google_color_link = “ff9900″; google_color_text = “8a8a8a”; google_color_url = “008000″; //–>In Japan, where the sales Of athlon 64 X2 6400+ (3.2 GHz) will begin in twenty days, this processor will be extended in the box with black color with the inscription black edition.

Apparently, AMD want to note the frequency 3.2 GHz using 90 nm technology. Let us note , that the TDP level for the processor athlon 64 X2 6400+ is equal to 125 W.

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Microsoft Disputes FCC’s Rejection of Web Devices That Use TV Airwaves

Today Microsoft plans to try to convince regulators that it can connect consumers to high-speed Internet over unused television airwaves without interfering with existing broadcasts.

In a document that it plans to file today with the Federal Communications Commission, Microsoft disputes the agency’s recent findings that prototype devices either interfered with TV signals or could not detect them to avoid interference. Microsoft’s first prototype was defective, but the firm said another model worked successfully in a demonstration it gave to the FCC last week.

The filing is Microsoft’s latest attempt to get FCC commissioners to approve a plan that would let a new generation of portable wireless devices connect to the Internet without relying on existing wireless carriers. The devices in question, which were designed and made by Microsoft, would use vacant TV airwaves, known as white space, to carry Internet service to homes and offices, including those in rural areas. The airwaves will be available when TV broadcasters move to digital signals in early 2009.

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Intel cans last Pentium 4s, Ds

Intel has marked more of its old, pre-Core desktop processors for the chop, including the remaining, 65nm Pentium 4s and the last Pentium Ds.

From 5 October, orders for tray-packed and single-CPU boxed Pentium 4 631, 641 and 661, and Pentium D 915, 925, 935 and 945 processors will not be allowed to be cancelled – a warning to customers that they really must be sure they want these chips after that date. After 7 December, Intel won’t be taking any orders for these CPUs at all.

That allows Intel to wind down production from 5 October quickly or slowly depending on how many fixed orders it has outstanding. Not too many for desktop PCs, we’d reckon given the availability of cheap Core-based dual-core CPUs under the Pentium brand.

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Unusual Windows Vista Build Surfaces

While surfing around on the internet, we (AeroXP) located something quite unusual. Buried within several technical videos (can someone say Ben Stein boring?) was a Windows Vista build of 6429.fbl_multimedia_media.070514-1730. We won’t bother speculating as to what this build represents, but word is spreading that this could be an early developmental build of Windows “7″ (or a dogfood SP2 build). A UAC prompt within the Local Training demo shows the build as being a WEX build.

The video itself deals with audio fidelity testing. It’s definitely worth a watch if you happen to have the necessary tools and want to test the sound coming from your computer (to prove that Creative makes terrible drivers, for example).

[ DTM-AudioFidelityTestingLocal_Training | DTM-AudioFidelityLogs_Training ]

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AMD Barcelona Pricing Revealed

AMD schedules to launch two 2-way Opteron (Barcelona) server processors on September 10 this year, according to sources at server makers. The Opteron 2348 and 2350 will have core frequencies of 1.9GHz and 2.0GHz and will be priced at US$320 and US$390 in 1000-unit tray quantities, respectively.

In October, AMD will launch the 2.2GHz Opteron 2354 with 95W TDP and a price of US$610 in 1000-unit tray quantities, however this processor should actually appear in the channel later this month, noted the sources.

The Opteron 2300 series will include Opteron 2340, 2350, 2352, 2354, 2356, 2358 and 2360. Models at frequencies higher than 2.0GHz are expected to launch in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier announcement by AMD.

AMD also has plans to introduce the 8-way Opteron 8300 series which will include Opteron 8348, 8350, 8352, 8354 and 8356 models, added the sources.

AMD declined the opportunity to respond to this report, saying it cannot comment on unannounced products.

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Microsoft’s legal costs fall

Legal payouts of $511 million in one year would be enough to sink many companies. But for Microsoft, it amounts to a small victory.

That’s what the Redmond company paid in legal settlements and related expenses in its fiscal year 2007, ended June 30. It was Microsoft’s lowest total in years — down from about $2.3 billion in payouts two years earlier.

But with cases still pending, most notably in Europe, it’s not clear if the trend will continue.

The $511 million total for the year included payments in antitrust and unfair-competition class actions, intellectual property claims and a payment to extend a patent agreement with Sun Microsystems, Microsoft said in an Aug. 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Novell CEO: Apps Are Job No. 1 for Linux

In order for Linux to grow into the computing mainstream, the open-source OS needs more applications and a standardized approach to software certification, Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian said in his keynote Wednesday at the LinuxWorld conference and trade show in San Francisco.”The No. 1 thing that we need on Linux is applications,” he said. “Whether we like it or not, the application is what drives the final customer decision,” he added.

He said that Linux will have trouble growing quickly enough as long as independent software vendors (ISVs) need to customize applications for all the distributions out there. “If you look at Windows, their application availability is far and away their biggest advantage,” he said. “ISVs go to Microsoft and they know there is one platform.”

Linux, by comparison, is distributed by many vendors in many flavors. “Our current process on certifying our ISVs is really an individual distribution by distribution.” Hovsepian called for the Linux community to address fragmentation by standardizing at the application programming interface (API) level and by standardizing ISV certification.

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ISPs warn BBC over new iPlayer service

Leading UK internet service providers are warning they may have to restrict customers’ access to the BBC’s new iPlayer service unless the corporation contributes to the cost of streaming videos over the internet.

Internet companies such as Tiscali, BT and Carphone Warehouse have raised concerns that the iPlayer, which allows viewers to watch TV shows over the internet, will put too much strain on their networks if it becomes popular among a mass audience.

Streaming TV shows takes up a lot of bandwidth and could clog up the network, severely slowing internet access speeds at peak times.

“The internet was not set up with a view to distributing video. We have been improving our capacity, but the bandwidth we have is not infinite,” said Mary Turner, chief executive of Tiscali UK. “If the iPlayer really takes off, consumers accessing the internet will get very slow service and will call their ISPs to complain.”

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