Intel brings DirectX 10 to integrated graphics, NVIDIA says not so fast

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/284914410/

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Intel has been boasting of DirectX 10 support for its various integrated graphics options for some time now, but it's only just recently gotten around to actually releasing a Vista driver that brings its GM965 and G35 Express chipsets up to speed. Of course, NVIDIA just couldn't help itself from getting a few (more) digs in at Intel's expense, and it's now kindly provided a few benchmarks to show just how badly Intel's integrated DirectX 10 solution stacks up against the bleeding-edge DirectX 10-ready games it now ostensibly supports. They couldn't find a single game that was able to crank out more than 5 fps, even at a lowly 1280 x 1024 resolution and with the usual graphics intensive settings turned off. Then again, 4.4 fps in Crysis is pretty much par for the course.

Read - Crave, "Intel updates graphics with multimedia capabilities"
Read - Hardware Secrets, "Are Intel chipsets really capable of running DirectX 10 games?"

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Legal Snafu Makes Thousands of Patent Rulings Since 2000 Invalid [Oops]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/284783443/legal-snafu-makes-thousands-of-patent-rulings-since-2000-invalid

Oops! According to a law professor at George Washington University, all patent judges appointed after the year 2000 have been done so unconstitutionally, making thousands of patent rulings made by said judges null and void. This will have ramifications on patents worth billions and billions of dollars, and it's not clear exactly what's going to happen.

But the Justice Department has already all but conceded that Professor Duffy is right. Given the opportunity to dispute him in a December appeals court filing, government lawyers said only that they were at work on a legislative solution.

They did warn that the impact of Professor Duffy's discovery could be cataclysmic for the patent world, casting "a cloud over many thousands of board decisions" and "unsettling the expectations of patent holders and licensees across the nation." But they did not say Professor Duffy was wrong.

If it was a legislative mistake, it may turn out to be a big one. The patent court hears appeals from people and companies whose patent applications were turned down by patent examiners, and it decides disputes over who invented something first. There is often a lot of money involved.

The problem Professor Duffy identified at least arguably invalidates every decision of the patent court decided by a three-judge panel that included at least one judge appointed after March 2000.

Yikes! The Supreme Court will probably take this issue on in the not too distant future, but before that, lemme just put this in writing now: I came up with the idea for the iPod and iPhone way before Apple, and I deserve all of the revenue from both of those products. See you in court, Jobs. [NY Times via Boing Boing]

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EVGA intros sub-$100 UV12 and UV16 USB graphics adapters

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/284239215/

Filed under: Peripherals

We've heard your cries for USB-to-DVI adapters that don't cost two arms and a good portion of your left leg, and apparently so has EVGA. Announced today with DisplayLink, the company is serving up two new USB graphics adapters (UGAs) in the UV Plus+ family of wares, both of which are hitting resellers as we speak for "well under $100." Both peripherals are designed to play nice in Windows XP and Vista, and while the UV12 supports resolutions up to 1,280 x 1,024 (1,440 x 900 widescreen), the UV16 goes all the way up to 1,600 x 1,200 (1,680 x 1,050 widescreen). Kudos for lowering the bar EVGA, now it's time for everyone else to follow suit.

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HTC unveils new HTC Touch Diamond, "not too big, not too small"

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/284574061/

Filed under: Announcements, Cellphones

Here we are in London at the Soho Hotel with HTC, and we are among the first to see their new Diamond handset. While we thought we may see three new products in three different form factors, HTC Prez and CEO Peter Chou led-off the event by mentioning that they would be launching just one product today. He peppered his intro by talking about the Touch, so we were prepared to see an update on that product utilizing their TouchFLO tech.

The device has some pretty nice interface tech that they're calling TouchFLO 3D that heavily emphasizes one-touch browsing and single-finger dialing. They emphasized web accessibility, zoom-in navigation with "just one hand" and not too many fingers. As expected, the device is loaded with Windows Mobile 6.1, a VGA screen and HSDPA 7.2, among other nice specs.

Updates, specs, and pics after the break!

Continue reading HTC unveils new HTC Touch Diamond, "not too big, not too small"

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Continental Airlines expands paperless boarding in US

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/284005343/

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Handset addicts traveling domestically through Houston's Intercontinental Airport have likely utilized the paperless boarding option if hopping on a Continental flight, and apparently the initiative is going over so well that the aforesaid airline and the TSA are expanding it to three more venues. As of now, passengers traveling within the US can enjoy the same luxury at Boston's Logan International Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C; later this month, the program should slide into Newark International Airport in New Jersey. As expected, only folks traveling alone can take advantage, as the airline feels that pulling up passes for an entire group would actually slow the flow of boarding. There's been no word given on future expansion plans, but at this rate, we wouldn't be shocked to see it hit even more airports in the not-too-distant future.

[Via WBZTV]

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