TechJunction

On the SunSpider JavaScript peformance test, the new Google Chrome beta edges closer to TraceMonkey-enhanced Firefox. But the cutting-edge ‘Minefield’ version of Firefox edges ahead, too. (Credit: CNET News)

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Earlier this year Vista’s first SP1 service pack arrived with a few hiccups that were smoothed out in the end, dramatically improving Vista. Now, SP2 is on the radar with the first beta due on the 29th of October and a final release before Windows 7 goes gold.

Windows Vista SP2 will be launched in beta form this Wednesday to Microsoft’s “Technology Adoption Program” (TAP) customers as part of the development and testing process, according to the Windows Vista Blog.

Microsoft’s Mike Nash shared the details and said that SP2 wouldn’t be released until Microsoft was assured of its “quality”, which will be tracked based on “customer and partner feedback”. 

SP2 beta will contain “previously released fixes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues” and is expected to “retain compatibility with applications that run on Windows Vista and Windows Vista SP1 and are written using public APIs” – which could mean software written using non-public APIs could come unstuck. 

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We’ve already seen a few apparent Windows 7 screenshots and videos turn up, and it looks like there could soon be plenty more where those came from, as Microsoft has now officially announced that it’ll be handing out “pre-beta” builds of the OS at both the Professional Developer Conference (PDC) in late October and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in early November. As we had heard previously, you can also expect to hear plenty of technical details about the OS straight from Microsoft at PDC and, who knows, we may even get word of an actual release date. [link]  [Read the rest of this entry...]

AppleInsider is suggesting that the long awaited iPhone 3G with 32GB of storage could soon be making an appearance, due to apparent shortages of the 8GB model – while in-home activation could well be making a re-appearance. 

Rumours here, rumours there, rumours popping up everywhere – and the latest from AppleInsider is that the iPhone 3G could soon be getting a 2 and a B to become an iPhone 32GB.

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AMD is planning to launch mid-range ATI Radeon HD 4000-series GPUs (the ATI Radeon HD 4600-series) this month and two 45nm quad-core CPU by the end of this year, according to sources at motherboard and graphics card makers.

AMD will launch the ATI Radeon HD 4650 graphics card, adopting its RV730 core with 512MB DDR2 memory, and the HD 4670 in two versions, one with 512MB GDDR3 memory and the other with 1GB DDR3 memory. The cards will be priced between US$69-89.

For the entry-level market, AMD will launch the ATI Radeon HD 4550 in late September. A version with 512MB DDR3 memory will be priced at US$45-55 and a version with 256MB DDR3 memory will cost US$39-49. In mid October, the company will launch the ATI Radeon HD 4350 with 256MB DDR2 memory priced below US$49.

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Two major features have been dropped from the APIs for version 1.0 of Google’s Android mobile phone platform: Bluetooth and GTalkService (Google Talk).

Is the mighty Google slipping or are delays to a potentially world-beating smartphone platform nothing to worry about?
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Creative is selling two versions of the Zen X-Fi: a Wi-Fi model in 16GB and 32GB version, and an 8GB version without the Wi-Fi. All of the models are extremely competitively priced, given all of the out-of-the-box features available. The 8GB sells for $149.99, while the 16GB and 32GB sell for $199 and $279, respectively. All of them are available in just one color option: black with silver trim.

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Apple has updated iTunes to version 7.7.1. The release comes hot on the heels of iTunes 7.7, which appeared alongside the iPhone 3G earlier this month.

iTunes 7.7.1 is available for Mac OS X and Windows. As usual, Apple is being coy about what the update delivers, saying only that it “includes fixes to improve stability and performance.”

Version 7.7 added support for the App Store and for the Remote application for the iPhone and iPod touch. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Quarter after quarter, Apple seems to roll out its strategy of under-promising and then ultimately over-delivering. In Tuesday’s edition of the Daily Debrief, CNET News reporters Kara Tsuboi and Tom Krazit discuss the Q2 earnings report and what product revisions Apple will release in the second half of 2008. Here’s a hint: hold off on buying that MacBook or iPod Touch.

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SAN FRANCISCO — The personal computer industry is poised to sell tens of millions of small, energy-efficient Internet-centric devices. Curiously, some of the biggest companies in the business consider this bad news.

In a tale of sales success breeding resentment, computer companies are wary of the new breed of computers because their low price could threaten PC makers’ already thin profit margins.

The new computers, often called netbooks, have scant onboard memory. They use energy-sipping computer chips. They are intended largely for surfing Web sites and checking e-mail. The price is small too, with some selling for as little as $300.

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