N
vidia’s new GeForce 8800 Ultra sounds pretty
underwhelming: While it is faster than a stock
8800 GTX—core clock speed of 612MHz, shader
clocks of 1.5GHz, and 1.08GHz memory—it has the
same number of stream processors (128) and the same
384-bit memory interface. The 768MB frame buffer is
the same, too. And they expect $830 for this?A KiNder, GeNTler MPAA?
Apparently, the Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA) is ready to explore an alterna-
tive to the strong-arm
tactics it’s tradition-
ally used to prevent
content piracy. At a recent
LexisNexis conference
on DRM, MPAA leader
Dan Glickman said the
organization is committed
to developing interoper-
able DRM schemes that will allow consumers
to play their legitimately purchased content on
any device, even if it means ripping said con-
tent from a DVD.
The organization called on other industry
players to join its efforts in devising an actual
plan—meanwhile the MPAA continues its fight
against existing ripping programs, such as
RipIt4Me and the recent HD DVD crack.dell’s solid sTATe oF A FFAirs
In what’s sure to become a
trend, Dell is offering a solid-
state drive (SSD) upgrade to
buyers of its ultra-portable
Latitude D420 and semi-rugged
D620. For $550, a consumer
can opt to swap a notebook’s
mechanical drive for a 32GB
SanDisk SSD. An SSD is more
stable (as it lacks moving
parts), requires less power, and generates less
noise and heat than a platter-based drive, mak-
ing it ideal for portable computing.ForBiddeN FrUiT No More
If you crave a BlackBerry’s unique functionality
(or require it for your work) but resent being
tied to a BlackBerry handset, a solution is on
the horizon. RIM (the maker of the BlackBerry)
plans to release a “virtual BlackBerry” cli-
ent later this year for select devices running
Windows Mobile 6. The BlackBerry Application
Suite will be accessible via an icon in
Windows Mobile and will load with the famil-
iar BlackBerry interface—a user can toggle
between the two environments.funsizeNeWs
VonageScrambles
under
the Legal
Guillotine
The ongoing litigation between
Verizon and Vonage is a lot
like that scene in Return of the
Jedi when Yoda dies—it just
keeps going and going, and
right when you think it’s done,
blammo, another twist.
A federal appeals court
is currently keeping the VoIP
provider alive, which should
come as a brief sigh of relief
for the embattled Vonage.
The company was facing
slow death—an injunction
preventing it from signing
on new customers—after it
was found guilty of violating
three of Verizon’s VoIP-themed
patents earlier this year. While
Verizon requested $197 million
in damages, a federal court
ordered Vonage to pay $
million and a 5.5 percent roy-
alty per customer.
The outcome of the case
will have a lasting effect on
more than just Vonage. If
Verizon ultimately proves
successful in its patent chal-
lenge, the company could very
well cast its legal net over a
larger array of VoIP providers.
In essence, Verizon could use
the court system to give itself
a monopoly in the VoIP sector
until a company is successful
in creating a work-around to
Verizon’s holdings.
Vonage is currently
appealing the decision in
the United States District
Court for the Eastern District
of Virginia, and the process
is expected to proceed
unnaturally quickly for a pat-
ent case. That doesn’t give
Vonage much time to develop
a technological work-around
for Verizon’s patent claims,
provided it can even do
so—according to earlier court
documents, Vonage is in for
quite an uphill climb.Nvidia Ups the Ante, Again
DisplayPort to Pack a Punch!
A revolutionary new feature could help the up-and-
coming digital interface make up for lost timeN
ow that DisplayPort 1.1 has been ratified for use in con-
sumer electronics products, you’re probably wondering
how the next-gen interface will coexist with HDMI. After all,
HDMI, which can already be found in many CE devices,
has been positioning itself to replace DVI in PC products
by offering the bandwidth (and HDCP support, of course)
necessary to carry high-def audio and video signals across a
single petite connector—the very thing DisplayPort offers.
But DisplayPort’s trump card could be fiber optics; at
least that’s the goal of a company called Luxtera, which
is working to
incorporate
its CMOS
Photonics
technology into
DisplayPort,
thereby
establishing a
replacement
for today’s
copper cables.despite being new silicon, the GeForce Ultra
lacks the second-gen PureVideo Hd engine
Nvidia packs into the far-cheaper 8600 GTs.Fiber optics are better able to carry high-speed,
high-bandwidth data than copper cables because the
latter’s impedance can lead to signal loss.12 MAXIMUMPC july 2007
quick start The beginning of The magazine, where arTicles are