DirectX 10.1 in Windows Vista SP1.

As Windows Vista brought to the table the exclusive DirectX 10, the first service pack for the operating system will evolve Microsoft's graphics technology to version 10.1.




DirectX 10.1 is already available to over 12,000 testers via the first beta of Vista Service Pack 1, concomitantly with the official release of Build 6001.16659. Although the testing milestones of Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows XP SP3 Beta, are officially limited in terms of access, a hack is available designed to permit the download of Windows Vista SP1 Beta Build 6001.16659 straight from Microsoft, and simultaneously test drive DirectX 10.1.

However, Vista users have to understand that DirectX 10.1, as well as DirectX 10 is a technology intimately connected with the underlying graphics card, such as the upcoming ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series. According to an AMD whitepaper focused on the implementation of DirectX 10.1 in the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series, the latest application programming interface from Microsoft, manages to "unlock the state of the art in GPU technology."

"DirectX 10.1 maintains the overall structure and programming model of DirectX 10, while providing numerous enhancements. The vertex, geometry, and pixel shader instruction sets have been updated to Shader Model 4.1. The new features of DirectX 10.1 can be divided into three general categories: new shading and texturing capabilities, anti-aliasing improvements, and tighter specifications. The following table highlights some of the key features in each of these categories, as well as some of the benefits they provide," states an excerpt of the ATI whitepaper on DirectX 10.1, via TeamATI.

There is little doubt over at AMD on the evolution represented by the move from DirectX 10 to DirectX 10.1. The fact of the matter is that, Vista SP1 in combination with DirectX 10.1 will bring to the table the next generation of interactive 3D graphics. Vista SP1 is currently planned for availability in the first quarter of 2008, following the launch of Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn. Still, one relevant aspect of DirectX 10.1 is the fact that, in order to enjoy the enhanced shader model, anti-aliasing support, and the increased flexibility of data access, Vista users will not only have to deploy SP1 but also upgrade to DirectX 10.1 ready graphics cards, even though they have moved for less than a year to DirectX 10 compatible hardware.

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AdSense: advertising in games will be worth 1 billion by 2010

From sports games to irreverent parodies on platformers, the world of in-game advertising has pretty much grown since video games have been on the rise the past few years. Bernie Stolar, Google's "Dean of Games", talks about the role of advertising in today's gaming industry and how AdSense for Games - an ad serving program run by Google - is planning to take on the in-game advertising scene.

When Google procured AdSense for Games in March 2007, it paved the way for the Internet search giant to gain its own advertising niche in the video game market. Ever since the industry started in the 70's, the demographics have slowly changed. From 15 year old kids playing on the Atari 2600, the median player of a PlayStation 3 console would be around 29 years-old now.

This is what AdSense is taking into consideration, especially with how the market has grown over the years. Stolar relates how his first coin-operated game, Shark Attack, cost him US$ 25,000, while his latest game from Sega cost US$ 25 million. He said it wasn't even possible to make a top-selling PS3 game for under US$ 20 million.

This was the reason why he believes there's a huge potential for the in-game advertising to blossom into a billion dollar industry by 2010 - by talking with major publishers into generating more income through advertising, the possibility for growth was staggering.

He also mentioned that the biggest advantage that AdSense for Games had over its competitors was the fact that, aside from its powerful backing from Google, they had a direct line while working with game producers and developers. He further explained it by saying:

The industry is going online. The whole thing of putting boxes on shelves is changing. There are close to 10 million people on Xbox Live. As soon as Sony straightens out their [online gaming] act, they're going to get to the same place. As a matter of fact, they've already said that all the games they want to do are online games. Yes, we can put games on the shelf that have advertising, but those are going to wind up being static [ads]. The whole thing is going to come to dynamic.

However, the most important thing Stolar has learned after going through so many major gaming companies is that, as a client, you have to be sensitive to the consumer and make sure that the consumer has fun. Take it from him, he says. He's already 60 years old and still enjoys gaming.

The quality of the advertising and how it will affect the consumer is their primary concern so far. This is the reason why they even have a whole review system to ensure nobody gets turned off by any inappropriate advertising in a product.

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Get 500 MS Points for free - XBOX Live

Microsoft is personally thanking everyone after all the birthday wishes sent in by gamers for the fifth anniversary of Xbox Live. Aside from releasing Carcassonne for free, it is also giving away 500 Microsoft Points to every member who's been with them since 2002.

You can avail of these precious Microsoft Points by signing up at Microsoft's Xbox 360 website using your Windows Live ID associated to your Gamertag. The latest you can sign up, however, is until midnight (PST) of November 29.

You'll then have to wait for an e-mail from them with the 25-digit code to activate your Microsoft Points through your Xbox 360 console. Don't expect that e-mail to arrive instantly, though, since the deadline for the e-mail is December 21 of this year. After you get your MS Points, you have until June 30, 2008 to spend it, but if you're anything like us here at QJ.NET, those Microsoft Points will be long gone before then.

So go ahead and check out the website we've provided through the via link below and get to spending those Points.

Check it out!

Unreal Tournament 3 to use Gamespy technology for PC and PS3

GameSpy will be incorporating its multiplayer tech into Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and PS3.

The big question sitting in gamers' minds is whether or not the deal will mean cross-platform console-to-PC fragging for UT3.

GameSpy's technology does allow for cross-platform gameplay between the two platforms, but Epic has said UT3 will not be shipping with such a feature. There is still a possibility of an update down the line that incorporates cross-platform play. GameSpy's features include multiplayer matchmaking, in-game and out-of-game messaging, player statistics, voice-over IP and a leaderboard and ranking system.

GameSpy recently became part of Epic's Integrated Partners Program, which means GameSpy's multiplayer tech would be integrated into Epic's popular Unreal Engine 3. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty from Codemasters and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway from Ubisoft are a few games that will feature PS3-to-PC cross platform play, thanks to the agreement.

UT3 ships on PC in November, while its PS3 counterpart is expected to be pushed back into Q1 2008. An Xbox 360 version is coming next year at an unannounced date, and will instead use Xbox Live for multiplayer.

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40Gb PS3 SKU using 65nm afterall :)

Well well, even though it was reported that Sony was using the 90nm (nano metre) Cell processor in the new 40Gb Playstation 3 console units, Sony boss Kaz Hirai confirmed it in fact uses a 65nm processor.

Today, Sony Computer Entertainment boss addressed the issue directly. In an interview posted at Japan's Impress Watch, Kaz Hirai confirmed that the new model uses a 65nm process for the Cell chip.

The system's RSX graphics chip, on the other hand, still uses a 90nm process. However, the shrinkage of the CPU alone was enough to cut the power usage of the system considerably.

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What makes this noteworthy is the fact that a smaller die size Cell processor (from 90nm to 65nm) means it generally costs Sony less money to produce these processors, less power consumption (less on power bills overall) whilst bringing down the price retail.

Explains why the ventilation holes on the newer 40Gb SKU is less whilst remaining cooler whilst being quieter at the same time. :)

New iPhone Firmware 1.1.2 Hacked Before Release

When Apple announced the release of the iPhone for the UK, it also announced that iPhone and iPod touch firmware version 1.1.2 would be released at the same time. Released today, firmware 1.1.2 closes the TIFF vulnerability in mobile Safari that was used to jailbreak firmware 1.1.1.

Confirmed by DailyTech, the TIFF vulnerability no longer works. However, despite Apple's effort to lockdown the iPhone and iPod touch, firmware 1.1.2 has already been jailbroken.

Credit go to the people behind AppSnap, the same utility used to jailbreak 1.1.1 devices. According to TUAW, testing of the new jailbreak began several nights ago, when the new 1.1.2 firmware was made available for download not through iTunes, but through Apple's website.

In its current stage, the new jailbreak requires several steps in order to complete, and is by no means release ready and user friendly. AppSnap and jailbreakme.com still remains open for 1.1.1 only, but the new jailbreak is being prepared for the same single tap installation.

According to TUAW's report, firmware 1.1.1 is required in order for the jailbreak to work with 1.1.2, although it is unclear at this point whether or not this will still be a requirement once AppSnap is officially updated.

Those with hacked 1.1.1 devices may wish to hold off from upgrading to 1.1.2 since it does not appear to provide any significant upgrade. The only noticeable change is the inclusion of several international language packs.

Jailbreaking may become a thing of the past if Apple keeps its promise. Apple announced in early October that come February 2008, developers will have an official iPhone SDK. The announcement was well received by the developer community. Currently, third-party applications for the iPhone are done via web applications and are mostly cumbersome to use and slow in nature.

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Download Free Windows Vista Enterprise

Microsoft is offering Windows Vista Enterprise as a free download in combination with the Office 2007 Professional System.




While all editions of the Windows Vista operating system can be test driven from anywhere from a month to 120 days, this copy of Vista Enterprise is limited to only 30 days. This coincides with the Initial Grace period of the latest operating system from Microsoft.

The limitation is associated with the whole Vista Enterprise and Office 2007 professional bundle. The marriage of Microsoft's flagship products comes in the church of virtualization. The download Microsoft is providing is in fact nothing more than a pre-configured Virtual Hard disk. The Microsoft Office 2007 Professional VHD is essentially an installation of Windows Vista Enterprise with Office 2007 Professional deployed on top of the platform.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has made the bundle available for download, but the VHD was updated on November 5. "This VHD contains both the 30 day edition of Windows Vista Enterprise Edition and an evaluation of Office 2007 Professional which includes Publisher, Excel, Outlook, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, and Word. See how with these new platforms can simplify how people work together, find information and improve business insight, help protect and manage content, and reduce IT costs and improve security. Test drive today to experience how Windows Vista and Office 2007 work better together", Microsoft informed.

All other SKUs of Windows Vista can have their Initial Grace period prolonged up two 120 days via the slmgr -rearm command. The same is not valid for the Enterprise edition of the operating system, which comes to the table with an entirely different activation mechanism. The various editions of the Office 2007 System are also available as stand-alone downloads 60 days trial versions.

Microsoft Office 2007 Professional VHD weighs in at a maximum of 2678.9 MB, coming with no less than 12 archives (238.4 MB each with one exception) and is available for download via this link.