Qtrax claims to have deals with major labels, pants on fire

So, everyone's favourite vapourware music search engine has come up trumps (not) by announcing that it has made deals with EMI Publishing, Sony / ATV Music Publishing, and TVT Records, but actually only TVT will have music available on qtrax search. According to engadget, TVT's artists include Lil Jon, Ambulance LTD, Dude 'N Em, The Polyphonic Spree, and The Cinematics, (I haven't heard of any of them either), And while this shows qtrax is (sorta) getting its act together, we shall have to wait and see what comes of the other supposed deals.

UPDATE: It seems that the TVT deal is going to be a dud, as TVT has just filed for bankruptcy (link).

Bypassing Passwords? Try Firewire!

Well, its possible to bypass the passwords on Windows and Mac OS X with only a Linux laptop and a Firewire port on both computers. Kind of makes me glad that my computer lacks a Firewire port. What happens is that the Firewire connection has full access to the RAM and can overwrite the password protection code.

[Engadget]

The new mobile platform: Puma from AMD

AMD is releasing a new processor chipset that will be using the new 780 Series motherboard GPU. During CeBIT, AMD today announced the Puma mobile platform. These are based on the Griffin CPU and the RS780M chipsets. To be a Puma branded laptop, the processor must be a Griffin core (named Turion Ultra), have the RS780M chipsey and a WiFi adapter. Laptops will be shipping in Q2 2008 and will range from 700 to 2500 intially.

[Engadget]

The worlds largest commerical WiMAX network is being rolled out by Tata in India

Tata Communications is giving BSNL the one up by teaming up with Telsima to roll out a large network. There are over 5,000 people aready connected in 10 cities. The plan is to place a get nearly 250,000 people in retail use alone during the 2009 fiscal year. The services will be stretched to 110 cities for enterprise use and 15 for retail use. Not bad if I do say so myself!

[Engadget]

Do you have a HD DVD player and live in Switzerland?

If you do, looks like you are in luck. Sony is offering a exchange program that is only in Switzerland right now and No idea when it will come state side. Interested? You need to have purchased the player before February 29, 2008 and have the proof of purchase and receipt. You will get a discount of 200 Swiss Francs or about 190 USD. You also get the Spider Man and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogies. The Xbox 360 and all computer HD DVD drives are excluded.

[Engadget]

AMD releases drivers for Catalyst 8.3 with CrossFireX enabled

Well, looks like you better yet ready to download some drivers. AMD will be releasing the drivers for RV670- and R680-based products, and that includes the Radeon HD 3850, Radeon HD 3870 and Radeon HD 3870 X2, in order to triple and quad-GPU performance using Windows Vista.

[Engadget]

Happy 4th Birthday to Engadget

Sure you may piss us off with your constant love of everything and anything Apple related. Sure you may post tons and tons and tons of Apple stuff that could take up 1 post instead of a few. We link to your stories because you post a lot of stuff. Sure you may be biased towards Apple... Happy Birthday Engadget.

Asus announces 9" Eee, fans rejoice

Bad news, Eee PC owners. There's a new kid on the Asus block. The Eee "New Generation" PC has an 8.9" screen, though the resolution is currently a mystery. Engadget has no mention, while other sources say that a higher res is on the cards. Other new features include: up to 12GB SSD storage, 1GB RAM, and the new model purportedly has up to 3 hours battery life. The 9" version looks very similar to its 7" counterpart, albeit with a lot less plastic surrounding the screen, and an ever-so-slightly larger footprint. The guys over at engadget weren't allowed to turn the unit on, supposedly because Asus wants to 'surprise' us with XP install out-of-the-box. The official announcement is due tomorrow, and according to Asus, the new model will be available 'mid 2008' for €399 (£300).

Helio continues to bleed money, now $560 million in the red

Raise your hand if you have a Helio cell phone? Yeah, I thought so. Helio is going down the tubes now. They are one the few remaining MVNO cell phone providers in the United States. Well, Helio is now 560 million dollars in the hole. Good luck Helio...

Read the post from Engadget

Xbox repair causes loss of artwork, faith in MS employees

If you had a personalised Xbox 360, signed by the Xbox 360 team and the guys at Bungie, with original artwork by Luke McKay of Rooster Teeth Comics, and it broke, what would you do?

Well, a gamer known only as Nathaniel decided to send it to Microsoft, as it was under warranty. Microsoft serviced it, and returned it to him. But unfortunately they took it upon themselves to clean the unit, removing all but a trace of the artwork and signatures that made this particular Xbox unique.

Now, Nat did write a letter to Microsoft prior to sending the unit in, but according to engadget's post, Microsoft has not taken any action to remedy the situation.

Alcatel-Lucent sends data 1600 miles at 16.4Tbps

How fast would you like to send data? Would 16.4 TB in one second over a 1600 mile distance be good enough for you? Well, Alcatel-Lucent broke there old record of 25.6 TB over 50 miles. Does this mean we will be seeing an upgrade to gigabyte Ethernet any time soon?


Read the post from Engadget.