The Feed

It’s no big secret that NVIDIA’s potent Tegra chip...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:02:21 -0400

It’s no big secret that NVIDIA’s potent Tegra chip will be powering Microsoft’s forthcoming Zune HD, but up until now, the former company had been rather quiet about its involvement in the project. Just a few days after the OLED-equipped portable media player went up for pre-order around the web, NVIDIA has stepped in to affirm that its own Tegra processor will be “providing the multimedia muscle in Zune HD.” We’re told that no fewer than eight independent processors make up Tegra’s collective whole, with each one engineered for a specific class of tasks; among them are an HD video processor, an audio processor, a graphics processor and two ARM cores. Each of the chips can work together or independently to minimize power consumption, and the built-in nPower technology is said to optimize system power use and enable extended HD video / MP3 playback time. Sounds good in print, but we’ve got just under a month to find out how it performs for real.

OCZ/Indilinx Garbage Collection SSD Firmware - NAND Memory used...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:57:10 -0400

OCZ/Indilinx Garbage Collection SSD Firmware - NAND Memory used in most SSD’s write 4KB pages that are arranged into blocks of 512KB, the problem is that when data is deleted it’s staying on block, and you can only write to a empty block. Even a block with only one page of data must be rewritten to write new information. After a while, many blocks hold these orphaned or “garbage” pages, and in turn every write command must rewrite the entire block, rather than just fill in the blank pages. This in turn kills performance. OCZ and Indilinx are now working on a new firmware for their Vertex-series SSD’s that cleans up the garbage pages from partially filled blocks when the drive is on idle. This means the drives won’t get any slower over time! -HotHardware

Last viral video of the day..

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:54:47 -0400

Last viral video of the day..

How Not To Deploy A Flashbang in Room Clearing - Haha, this...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:46:11 -0400

How Not To Deploy A Flashbang in Room Clearing - Haha, this reminds me of Counter Strike and Call of duty 4, when someone would flash bang their entire team…Hysterical

Top Gear has gone so over the top this season. Every single...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:43:00 -0400

Top Gear has gone so over the top this season. Every single episode seems to one up the prior, not in car footage or content, but in grandness, this time around Captin Slow takes a ride to the border of space. You could never tell that their absurd budget was cut by the BBC last year. How the hell do arrange for someone to ride in a U2 spyplane? If you know how contact me, seriously..

It appears that even while covering Saleen, Inc’s...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:30:37 -0400

It appears that even while covering Saleen, Inc’s warranties and protecting the brand image of his name, Steve Saleen has still found the time to build cars. After launching the 570 Challenger back in January and the 570X Challenger at the New York Auto Show, SMS has released additional renderings and information on its upcoming 460 and 460X Mustang. According to SMS, the car is in its final prototype testing changes and will hit the market some time later this year.

From the look of the CAD illustrations, designer Phil Frank stuck to much of the styling cues that made the original S197 Saleen Mustangs so popular. The front end gets a blacked-out grille with horizontal bars and the SMS logo, a more aggressive front fascia, and a dual-vented hood. Side skirts lead into the diffuser-style rear fascia, and like the Saleen S281, the rear end is elongated and the taillights are recessed, complimented to a spoiler that follows the lines of the car.

Performance upgrades sound like Saleen Mustangs of past as well. The supercharged 4.6-liter V8 produces either 470 or 655 horsepower, and each car gets upgraded brakes and suspension system including a Watts-linkage to help plant the solid rear axle. SMS claims the 460 Mustang will hit 60 mph in 4.5 seconds while the 460X should do the deed in four seconds flat. You can view all the details in the press release after the jump, and we’ve included the two new renderings in the gallery below.

Source: Mustangblog,com

Porsche Supersport: Carrera 4S-Based Super 911 Coming Next...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:10:19 -0400

Porsche Supersport: Carrera 4S-Based Super 911 Coming Next Year?

This rumor, may be loosely confirmed by a second source — if I count a TeamSpeed forum post stating the same bits of information. While not as hardcore as the GT3 or GT3 RS, the Carrera Supersport will retain the same C4S-based widebody, but will be considered a grand touring car rather more so than the aforementioned brightly colored track rats. I currently know that it will feature Fuchs-style wheels, a double bubble roof, a ducktail spoiler and will feature a primer gray colored paint job. The interior will feature a retro throwback brown leather interior.

No power numbers have been given at this point, but we all can expect the very limited edition Supersport will empty your wallet by about $222,223 USD. As for that, I’m lazy fixing my plumbing problems, so expect more information as it leaks out over the next couple months.

Italy, the land of speeding red sports cars and equally fast...

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:37:43 -0400

Italy, the land of speeding red sports cars and equally fast women, found an interesting mix of the two last week when a 56-year-old nun was ticketed for 112 MPH in her holier-than-thou Ford Fiesta.

While traffic police are used to all kinds of colorful excuses explaining the need for speed, this particular traffic stop proved to be a very, if not most, interesting one. Her excuse for the mad 112 MPH scramble was that she, and two other nuns, were on their way to see Pope Benedict after an announcement that he would hold a blessing on Sunday following his arm-breaking fall in Aosta, Italy during his summer vacation.

The police chose not to side with the Lord and instead ticketed the nun with a $533 (USD) fine and a one month license suspension. Not one to just lay down and take it, the nun in question has decided to fight the ticket with recently famous religious lawyer Anna Orecchioni. I wish the nun all the luck in the world fighting her case, but at 30 MPH over the speed limit, I think she might need more than a prayer.

The 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is in the books....

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:27:00 -0400

The 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is in the books. Reigning king of the hill Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima again took top honors in the unlimited class but failed to break his own record with the new Suzuki SX4 hill-climb special. In fact, he fell 14 seconds shy of his record 2007 run with a 10:15.368. He did manage to beat Marcus Gronholm and Timo Alanne in one of Ford’s Rallycross Fiestas, which only managed an 11:28.963 as it crossed the line with its right rear tire in flames.

One of two categories that did see records broken was the 2WD Time Attack for production-based cars. Here, Rhys Millen found that the confidence he gained from his practice runs earlier in the week was not misplaced. In his 17th run at Pikes Peak, Millen covered the 12.4 mile course to the 14,110-foot summit in 12 minutes, 9.397 seconds. His Hyundai Genesis Coupe crossed the line with its rear tires worn down to the steel belts, but at least they weren’t burning.

The other record set was in the Motorcycle quad 450 class, where Michael Coburn covered the course on his Honda 450 in 12 minutes, 18.858 seconds.

Division: Unlimited
Driver Name Number Vehicle Glen Cove Sixteen Mile Finish Line
Nobuhiro Tajima 1 2009 Suzuki SX4 04:34.100 07:08.458 10:15.368
Marcus Gronholm/ Timo Alanne 3 2009 Ford Fiesta 04:50.397 07:34.078 11:28.963
Mark Rennison 200 1984 Ford RS 200 05:26.302 08:25.241 12:11.561

A IPod playing Break Stuff by Limp bizkit attached to the...

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:27:53 -0400

A IPod playing Break Stuff by Limp bizkit attached to the tactical vest of a U.S. soldier of 3rd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division as he drives to the site of a roadside bomb explosion in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 11, 2009.

Post worthy.

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:42:00 -0400

Post worthy.

Ever wondered what could possibly lie underneath an Aston Martin...

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:29:00 -0400

Ever wondered what could possibly lie underneath an Aston Martin DB9’s voluptuous bodywork capable of justifying the $186,450 price? Here’s a few shots showing you the answer to your burning question.

The 87th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is set for...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:17:00 -0400

The 87th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is set for this weekend, and race teams from around the country have traveled to Colorado Springs for the legendary race to the clouds. One of those teams is from Ford Racing, which has unveiled its duo of contenders for this year’s event, a pair of Fiesta Rally Cars driven by two-time WRC champion Marcus Grönholm and four-time Swedish rally champ Andreas Eriksson. While the two drivers have a wealth of experience racing on dirt and gravel, it will be their inaugural trip up the famous mountain.

Both drivers and cars were unveiled to at Phil Long Ford in Colorado Springs yesterday, and have already completed a couple practice sessions with the 800 horsepower rally cars. You can check out dozens of photos from those sessions in the high-res gallery below, and watch the entertaining unveiling of the cars in the video on Youtube

What on Earth? Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:04:00 -0400

What on Earth? Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has made a Youtube of himself unboxing the absolutely epic “prestige edition” of Modern Warfare 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. When I say “epic,” I’m talking “it includes working night vision goggles” epic. Also in the box is a voucher code for downloading the origional Call of Duty game.

The Build Continues

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:46:51 -0400

The Build Continues