What is Bing all about: To assert its presence in the internet search space, Microsoft has come up with ‘Bing’- a new search service that promises to help customers make better decisions. The software giant’s latest foray into internet search arena comes after many attempts to challenge the dominance of Google. Bing would go live on June 3, Microsoft said in a statement. Terming it as a ‘Decision Engine‘, the firm noted the new search service would help customers to make better decisions. Bing would initially focus on four key areas: “making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business”. The software major is yet to make Read further »

Gizmodo posted this hands on video of the upcoming Zune HD which is positioned to compete directly against the Apple iPod Touch. According to the gadget site, the Zune HD is “tighter and more physically beautiful than the iPod Touch and it’s got a better UI”. Engadget also had some hands on time with the unit and found it has “a nice, solid feel, with good heft to it and a surprisingly thin profile.” The OLED screen was described as “stunning”. The existence of the Zune HD was confirmed yesterday and is due for launch Read further »

Despite being a devotee of all things Google, I’ve been incredibly excited about Wolfram Alpha. I’ve been using it quite a bit and have its quirks and limitations pretty much down. Those limitations mean that it won’t be a Google killer, but it will be especially useful to students and teachers. Given that, I was more excited about Microsoft’s “decision engine,” Bing, than I have been about a Microsoft product in a while. Could it combine the focused precision of Alpha with the richness of Google? During a break tonight between working on scheduling and making some website updates (and trying to block out the tweeting of our baby chicks (a story unto itself; I’ll stick with Bing for now), I pulled up bing.com. Although it isn’t live yet, the Read further »

Next week at E3, Nintendo will be showing off some new features for the Wii Remote, including the new Wii MotionPlus attachment. In order to help you sound less stodgy around your children and grandchildren, here are some Wii FAQs: Which is the correct term — Wii Remote or Wiimote? According to Denise Kaigler, vice president for corporate affairs for Nintendo, the official term is “Wii Remote” and it connects to the “Nunchuk.” According to a Google search results, “Wiimote” is a popular Read further »

It hardly seems like five years have passed since Cisco rolled out the CRS-1 core router. The system was unveiled as a multiterabit, multichassis-capable routing matrix, an alternative to Juniper’s T series systems and TX interconnect. From all indications, the CRS-1 is enjoying a growing childhood. Cisco claims it has now shipped more than 3,200 units to about 300 customers, and that 250 or more of the routers are multichassis configurations, deployed at more than 25 service providers. It took three years for the platform to generate its first $1 billion in revenue, but its latest $1 billion came in just a year, according to this report from IDG News Service’s Stephen Lawson. But Cisco’s “rolling four quarter” market share declined 3% in Read further »

Wave is Google’s new collaboration and communications software that combines aspects of e-mail, instant messaging, document sharing, blogging and wikis in a single application. A demonstration of an early version of Wave reportedly drew a standing ovation at Google’s I/O developer conference in San Francisco Thursday. While the software isn’t expected to be generally available to the public until later this year, Google is reaching out to developers to help the company fine-tune the software and suggest ways it can be used and improved. Wave will pose a competitive challenge to SharePoint, Microsoft’s collaboration and communication Read further »

The idea of Steve Jobs returning to Apple and delivering Christmas in July made of shiny new iPhones and iPods gained strength Wednesday, based on the “other” Steve’s assessment that Jobs’ sounds “healthy” and “energetic.” Steve Wozniak’s health report, given to the Wall Street Journal, is the first outside assessment of Job’s condition since the Apple CEO went into seclusion in mid-January after saying a hormonal imbalance would require more intensive therapy that previously expected. Jobs promised to return from his voluntary leave-of-absence at the “end of June,” but concern that his pancreatic cancer might have returned has kept Jobs’ health in the spotlight. Read further »

Yesterday Intel revealed details of next-generation server processor, code-named Nehalem-EX, and it’s pretty cool! As you might have guessed, the Nehalem-EX is based on the Nehalem microarchitecture, which Intel debuted with the Xeon 5500 and Core i7 series of processors. While the Xeon 5500 and Core i7 processors feature 4 cores and 8 threads (thanks to Hyper-Threading), the Nehalem-EX series is kitted out with up to 8 cores and support for up to sixteen threads. To support the cores the Nehalem-EX has 24MB of cache. Intel Nehalem Architecture built on Intel’s unique 45nm high-k metal gate technology process Up to 8 cores per processor Up to 16 threads per processor with Intel Hyper-threading Scalability up to eight sockets via Quick Path Interconnects and greater with third-party node controllers QuickPath Architecture with four high-bandwidth links 24MB of shared Read further »

The publication this morning of a finalized specification for SATA 3.0 could eliminate a key data transfer bottleneck, possibly more-than-doubling throughput. The solid-state disk drive is supposed to be fast. After all, it’s mostly made of memory — and last we checked, flash RAM was fast. In practice, however, some applications with SSDs can be slower than with HDDs, the reason being the way data is cached as it’s collected and moved through I/O channels into system RAM. The transfer interface is the bottleneck, and the engineers that contribute to the Serial ATA (SATA) transfer specification admit that fact openly. Just a few years ago, you might never have thought that 3 gigabits per second (Gbps) would end up causing problems; Read further »

Like a dazed fighter who just nodded “Yes, I’m OK,” to a referee, Microsoft stumbled back into the center of the MP3-player ring: With the Zune HD and Xbox 360 integration as its weapons, the company started slugging. Its primary opponent, Apple, isn’t necessarily going toe to toe with Microsoft, but no doubt Apple is just as startled as I am that Microsoft is still in the fight. We should make note that this isn’t a full list of specs either, but rather what Microsoft was willing to let out for the moment. Take a look: 3.6 inchish OLED full touch screen NVIDIA Tegra powered 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 120GB versions HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV HD Radio Web Browser WiFi compatible, with wireless marketplace Released early Read further »