Binary Inspirations is a blog devoted to the latest and greatest tech items in the form of computers, gadgets, and hacks. Also featured are miscellaneous programs I've written, tips, informal hardware/software reviews, rants, tutorials, and more.
BINARY INSPIRATIONS is maintained purely out of my spare time. If you found something particularly helpful, or would just like to see more interesting content and programs, please kindly consider donating an amount of your choosing (minimum $1 requested).
Microsoft has released Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista (and Server 2008), so grab it now either off of Windows Update, as a standalone installer, or an ISO:
SP2 for x86 32-bit
SP2 for x64 64-bit
SP2 ISO Image
For more info, check out the release notes.
Pardon the title, it sounds like an obnoxious ad. Memorial Day is just around the corner, and you know what that means – deals, deals, deals! It’s now possible to get a very nicely equipped computer build for less than $300 shipped, thanks to Newegg’s free shipping deals on many cases, which saves some serious $$$ for those on a budget.
Prices are current as of 5/19/2009.
| Part | Price |
| AMD Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition, 2.7GHz | $59.99 |
| Rosewill R804BK ATX Mid-Tower Case (includes 350W PSU) | $39.99 |
| ASRock A780GMH/128M Micro-ATX motherboard | $71.99 |
| Patriot Viper 2x2GB DDR2-800 RAM (use promo code EMCLSMX34) | $26.99 (after $25 MIR) |
| Western Digital SE16 WD500AAKS 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive | $59.99 |
| Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24X SATA DVD Burner | $25.99 |
| SHIPPING | $10.21 |
| TOTAL BEFORE REBATES | $317.53 |
| FINAL COST | $292.53 |
Needless to say, this thing is going to kick some serious ass compared to any store-bought computer in the same price range. I’ll be picking up more or less the same build this weekend – considering the amazing performance/$ ratio of the 7750BE CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 500 gig hard drive, this is quite possibly the best $300 you can spend on a computer.
Also worthy of note is the ASRock 780G motherboard, which is a second-generation design featuring the improved SB710 southbridge and a slew of ports, including HDMI and SPDIF audio. (Hint hint: this thing would be a great media center/HTPC machine.) In terms of software, this thing has more than enough brunt to take Vista and Windows 7 head-on.
Grab the goods while they’re still hot!
ScienceHD (http://sciencehd.net) is now open for signups. Get yours quick – the current max user limit is at 5,000 and more than 4,400 users have already been enabled. Upon first glance, I am very impressed with this Gazelle-based BitTorrent tracker. The layout is clean and tasteful, and the current selection holds a lot of variety: National Geographic, Penn and Teller, History Channel, etc. I’m sure ScienceHD will prove to be a big hit for those who love learning. I’ve already got my eye on a Discovery Channel special on Chernobyl.
Undoubtedly, the site has a lot of potential and is off to a strong start. I enthusiastically encourage all those interested to sign up now!
The second service pack for Office 2007 has been released. Highlights include ODF document support and the usual slew of stability/performance enhancements. Get your 290MB copy either from Microsoft Update or from the official download page:
Nvidia Releases OpenCL Driver, SDK | Maximum PC
General-purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) technology has the potential to revolutionize compute-intensive tasks such as video encoding, large-scale simulations, and molecular/protein research (Folding@Home!). However, it’s been hindered by the lack of a standardized, open API to unify compatibility among various GPU manufacturers, first and foremost ATI and nVidia. It looks as if nVidia will be the first to overcome this hurdle with today’s release of their OpenCL implementation. Compare this to CUDA, nVidia’s first (but closed-source) attempt to enter the GPGPU market. Though it’s in pre-beta stage, the new toolkit just might usher in a new era of computing.
