You might’ve heard that crazy rumor making the rounds that Microsoft leaked the Windows 7 beta on purpose to build some positive buzz, and while there’s no real evidence (or likelihood) of that of any sort, the seemingly-magical build 7000 is certainly doing well for itself. Following up on wide praise for the fledgling OS, ZDNet‘s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes pitted the beta up against XP and Vista in some informal “real-word” tasks like boot up, shut down, file maneuvers, installations and other common tasks. On both test systems, an AMD Phenom 9700 setup and an Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2200 number (with ATI and NVIDIA graphics, respectively), the Windows 7 install soundly bested XP and Vista task by task, with few exceptions. Performance testing is never an exact science, but it’s clear that Microsoft is taking performance very seriously this time around — we can’t wait for the next conveniently-leaked beta to bolster this rep even further. Next on the benchmarking agenda? Real World: Brooklyn tasks.

[Via Ars Technica]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Windows 7 build 7000 already outperforming Vista and XP in “real-world” tasks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari, Renault, Rumormill

Fernando Alonso, who some believe is the best driver in F1, has seen his name in the news a lot these last few days. First, reports popped up that the Spanish racer has signed a (still unsubstantiated) secret deal that would put him in the seat of a Ferrari Formula 1 car beginning when his contract with Renault expires after the 2010 season. According to the latest set of rumors, Ferrari actually wanted Alonso to break his contract with Renault for the upcoming season, but the driver chose to honor his current deal out of loyalty. If true, Alonso would have taken Kimi Raikkonen’s seat at Ferrari, racing alongside Felipe Massa. The starting grid for Formula 1 has always been a bit of a roundtable affair, and these most recent rumors would appear to keep the ongoing soap opera going for the next few years, at least.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Rumormill: Alonso could have switched to Ferrari immediately originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Meta BD, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Left 4 Dead, World of Warcraft

Big Download has only been officially online for a little more than eight months but we still managed to post up a number of major news stories for you guys to read back in 2008. With 2009 now firmly in place, we still wanted to go back to our charts to see what news stories got the most traffic during our first year. These are news stories only; not feature articles nor posts about our hosted downloads.

The top 10 list includes three World of Warcraft posts and two posts about the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV. But the story that got the most traffic was when we reported that there would be no demo for EA’s Need For Speed Undercover. Clearly the fact that there would be no demo for this racing game caught a lot of interest from our readers and emphasizes the fact that having a demo for a PC game is a good marketing idea. Not having one could hurt a game’s chance for success.

1. No Need For Speed Undercover demo planned
2. Download Mercenaries 2 “Oh No You Didn’t” song for free
3. Blizzard’s next MMO won’t be a World of Warcraft sequel
4. C&C: Red Alert 3 CD Copy not complete for all copies
5. Grand Theft Auto IV PC system requirements revealed?
6. GTA IV PC patch update
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 officially announced
8. 15 year old collapses after marathon Lich King play session
9. Left 4 Dead patch adds optional server browser
10. World of Warcraft 2.4.3. patch notes now up

Big Download’s top 10 stories of 2008 originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Rhythm

We usually save our statements of incredulity for the end of our rumor posts, but we think this story warrants one up front — we’d have an easier time believing that Lego Halo is in development, and we know that one’s not true. Videogaming247 reports that one of their sources is “100 percent” certain that Traveller’s Tales is working on a Lego-fied version of Rock Band for Electronic Arts.

Now, we know that Traveller’s Tales is currently working on further Lego titles, but when last we heard, these unannounced games are being based off of Warner Bros. IPs — it’s a lot more likely that a Harry Potter game or follow-up to Lego Indiana Jones is in the works. As it stands now, we’re fairly certain that VG247′s source is either extremely confused, or they’re jumping the April Fools’ gun by a few months.

Rumor: Traveller’s Tales working on Lego Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d already gotten a solid word from Acer Taiwan president Scott Lin that there would indeed be a 10-inch Aspire One in early 2009, and now we’ve got some purported pictures and informations to chew on. According to the Aspire One fan-blog macles*, the upcoming revision will come in white, black and red flavors, with a 10.1-inch screen (at the same 1024 x 600 resolution of the existing model) and options for 3G and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Perhaps most exciting — to us non-mutants, anyways — is the removal of those pesky trackpad-flanking mouse buttons, with a regular-looking button below the trackpad instead doing the honors. Less exciting, however, is the purported lack of Linux and SSD SKUs. The laptop also dropped its Storage Expansion slot in lieu of a good old-fashioned multi-card reader. All-in-all, it sounds like some very mainstream tweaks to an already ultra-popular netbook, and we can’t fault Acer for that. Word is the new Aspire One will be landing in February, no mention of price just yet.

[Via jkkmobile]

Filed under: Laptops

More 10-inch Acer Aspire One rumors trickle out originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Green, Earnings/Financials, Lifestyle

A gas tax is about more than putting liquid into your tank and subtracting a higher amount from your bank account. A gas tax is — just like CAFE and hybrids and $25 billion set aside to finance fuel efficient technologies — about reworking and redefining our entire system of private transportation. And since that system is most certainly going to redefined, it is no surprise that the National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing has recommended a jump in the federal fuel tax.

Congress created the commission to examine the federal taxes on fuel — currently 18.4 cents for gas and 24 cents for diesel — and the commission came back with the same results as everyone else: people are driving less, and driving more fuel efficient cars, and that has killed revenue for transportation infrastructure. One member of the commission said, “I’m not excited about a gas tax increase, but the reality is our current gas tax doesn’t pay for upkeep of the system we have now. We can either let the roads go to hell or we can pay more.” If the roads go to hell, though, guess what? We’re going to pay more, but that money will go to service departments and auto parts stores.

The proposed solution is to make the gasoline fuel tax 24.4 cents, and the diesel tax between 36 and 39 cents. That would begin to make up for the $105 billion difference between actual revenues and the money needed to upkeep our roads and highways. It is conceivable that a higher gas tax could also encourage people to buy those high-mileage vehicles the government keeps commanding Detroit to make. But before that happens, it will probably just make a lot of people anguished and angry.

[Source: CNBC]

Road commission calls for gas tax hike originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hacks, Portable, Retro

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to modder Michael “Bibin” Moffitt — for years now, our eyes have undergone irreversible damage due to being frequently strained in order to play our Game Boy Pockets in ill-lighted environments. Using only an LED, some perspex and a diffusive layer, Bibin managed to add a backlight to his beloved Pocket, leading to illuminated rounds of Dr. Mario with little effect on the system’s battery life. Good going, Bibin!

(Okay, seriously, nobody tell this guy about the Game Boy Light or GBA SP. It sounds like he worked really hard on this, and we don’t want to … ) Oh, hey, Bibin! You’re still here! Sure, we’d love to play some Mario’s Picross! What’s that? Your mom made Rice Krispie Treats? Awesome.

Modder finally illuminates the Game Boy Pocket originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Interviews, FPS

Christmas Day is usually a quiet time for game news but newly formed game developer Game Mechanic Studios used that day to reveal the first small details on their debut title, a shooter named Art of War. Our sister site Joystiq earlier this week was the first web site to post up an interview with Game Mechanic Studios about their plans.

Naturally there’s not a lot to talk about since the game is still early in development but co-founder Jason Alejandre states, “We make shooters and we are going to start with what we do best which is exactly that. We are going to introduce players to a brand new world.” He adds, “The game is different yet the same. When thinking out of the box it is very easy to get caught up in the moment. Then you find yourself somewhere in left field. We plan on straddling the line of familiar yet different.” There’s no word yet on a release date.

New interview reveals more on Art of War developer originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re American, don’t even pretend you care about this. ‘Cause you don’t care about mobile TV at all, and we’ve got the facts to prove it. For those parked in Japan, though, you have every right to get jazzed. Softbank’s 1seg TV tuner / battery charger has finally been loosed on the carrier’s home turf, and the lucky cats over at DVICE were able to acquire one and give it a whirl. Setup was said to be a breeze, the 1seg pickup was crystal clear and the device itself was satisfactorily lightweight. As for downsides, the entire app is in Japanese, and even with the extra juice, watching TV on the go zapped the life out in around an hour with brightness maxed. Check the full writeup and unboxing gallery in the read link below.

[Via OhGizmo]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Softbank’s iPhone 1seg tuner / battery charger gets unboxed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gadgets, Motorsports, Lifestyle

Among the most iconic racing events held around the world, few American races have the clout to rival the 12 Hours of Sebring. Names like Andretti, Fangio and Moss have made it famous, and the annual “once around the clock” event continues as a mainstay of the American Le Mans Series calendar. But if you’re going to count down the hours until the finish line, you’re going to need the right equipment. At least, that’s what the event’s promoters figured when they teamed up with Swiss watchmaker Alpina Genève to offer an official timepiece of the race: the Alpina Extreme 12 Hours of Sebring.

The watch’s case is made of black steel, with a matte black dial said to be reminiscent of the track surface with the requisite bit of carbon fiber at the center. The branding for a 12-hour race and a 12-hour watch practically creates itself, but we’re impressed that the folks at Alpina resisted the urge to go all chrome and lacquer, opting for a decidedly subdued look instead. Only 257 examples will be offered, to commemorate the 57th running of the race this coming March 18-21, 2009.

[Source: TimeZone]

Race Around the Clock: Alpina times the 12 Hours of Sebring originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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