Latest Software News

Mozilla's second alpha of Firefox 3.1 is upping the ante in the next-generation browser battle. So how do the main contenders stack up so far now? One thing's for sure, the Firefox team has taken note of Google's recent Chrome release and worked hard to make sure its offering can hold its own.

Mozilla had already claimed its 3.1 version could outperform Chrome when it comes to speed (and most independent tests show it at least tying). Now, the engineers have incorporated Chrome-initiated options such as the ability to drag and drop tabs in and out of browser windows. The second alpha release also adds support for the HTML 5 video tag , which gives Web developers expanded options for embedding video within a page. Don't forget, too, that Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 -- released at the end of August and quickly eclipsed by Chrome's introduction -- is also vying for a piece of the pie.

AMD has released a software download called the “AMD Fusion for gaming utility” as part of its wider campaign to promote the best possible PC gaming experience. While it’s name is no help at all and the interface pretty much a gimmick, it is exactly what many Windows gamers have been asking for for years - a “gaming mode” that disables non-critical background services and optimizes the system for the best gaming performance. A good idea in theory but less applicable in practice.

The all new Radeon Catalyst update for September. Obviously including the new X2, Radeon HD 4600 support and a lot of new features and updates.

Catalyst Control Center:  New Display mode support

• This release of Catalyst™ introduces 1080p @ 50Hz custom mode support for HDTVs for the ATI Radeon HD 4000 Series, ATI Radeon HD 3000 Series, ATI Radeon HD 2000 Series, and ATI Radeon X1000 Series of products.  Users can configure their own custom 1080p @ 50Hz modes to best fit their display.

Overdrive support for QUAD CrossFireX configurations

• This release of Catalyst™ introduces Overdrive support for QUAD CrossFireX configurations.  Users can now over-clock each graphics accelerator’s engine or memory speed when running in QUAD CrossFire configurations using manual controls or the automated auto-tuning utility.

OpenGL™ 3.0 support – Phase 1

This release of Catalyst™ introduces OpenGL™ 3.0 extension support.   Future Catalyst™ releases will continue to expand support for OpenGL 3.0 extensions. The following is a list of supported extensions in Catalyst 8.9:

Picasa is a powerful, yet easy to use and attractive tools suite to manage and organize your digital images and photos. It offers one simple place to organize, enjoy, and share your pictures. After installing, the software can automatically scan your drive(s) for images and intelligently sort them into photo albums, ready for you to customize and organize.

Download: Picasa v3.0.57.22 Beta
Homepage: Google