As you may know if you’ve been reading this site for a while, the U.S. Copyright Office is holding its triennial hearings on exemptions to the DMCA. One of the exemptions being sought would broaden one granted film and media professors in 2006 to rip DVDs (so they could use the clips in teaching) to other teachers as well. Naturally, there’s no way to directly record a DVD using a VCR; that particular loophole was closed when DVDs first came out. So ripping to use clips would seem the only solution, right? No,

Finding the right chassis for a system build is like setting up the foundation before building out the design of your computer and working your craftsmanship into the intricate details of component selection and configuration. Start with a good foundation that caters to your build requirements and you’re bound to have a better overall end result when you hit the power switch to boot up for the first time. And though the average enthusiast might choose a larger full tower case with real estate to spare, for many

Samsung Electronics announced the release of its 70 Series Monitors. The three new monitors (models P2070, P2370, and P2370HD) offer a dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1 for deep, rich colors. To minimize blurring during fast-action game play, the monitors feature a 2ms (GTG) video response time. The P2070 and P2370 have slim screen depths of 30 mm (1.18 inches). The P2370HD is slightly thicker at 65.5mm (2.58 inches). For a clean look, Samsung has integrated the On Screen Display (OSD) buttons into the bezel.

We’ve always heard that solid state drives really were better for the environment (and your power bill), but evidently we’ve grossly underestimated just how much less power these things consume compared to traditional HDDs. Or either this report is just glorifying the numbers, one. According to new research from iSuppli, the use of SSDs could allow “the world’s data centers to reduce their cumulative electricity consumption by 166,643 Megawatt Hours (MWH) from 2008 to 2013.” Image courtesy:  iSuppli CorpSo,

For the thousands of Microsoft employees that were just handed pink slips this week, we’re certain they’re none too pleased to hear that their now-former employer is already thinking of spending cash. Of course, Intel has also pulled a similar trick lately, scaling back in some areas while devoting around $7 billion in R&D to other aspects of the business.According to a new report from Reuters, Microsoft is putting an increasing focus on its research efforts in areas well beyond its traditional desktop and

While The Pirate Bay is perhaps the best known of all the BitTorrent tracking sites, Mininova, based in The Netherlands, is the biggest. And like The Pirate Bay, it’s facing litigation. Now just a few days before their court appearance (May 20th), Mininova has started to filter content. The site is using a third party content recognition system that will detect and remove torrent files that link to copyright infringing files, as well as prevent them from being re-uploaded later. This is precisely the type of

While The Pirate Bay is perhaps the best known of all the BitTorrent tracking sites, Mininova, based in The Netherlands, is the biggest. And like The Pirate Bay, it’s facing litigation. Now just a few days before their court appearance (May 20th), Mininova has started to filter content. The site is using a third party content recognition system that will detect and remove torrent files that link to copyright infringing files, as well as prevent them from being re-uploaded later. This is precisely the type of

Video:Diamond HD 4770 Review @ OCCASUS Radeon EAH4870X2 Tri-Fan Graphics Card @ TweaktownSparkle Calibre P980 @ NeoseekerDell S2409W 24-inch LCD @ PhoronixSamsung SyncMaster P2370 23-Inch LCD Monitor Review @ FuturelooksASUS ENGTX260 Matrix GeForce GTX 260 896MB Video Card Review @ ThinkComputers.orgSapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB and CrossFire performance review @ Elite BastardsMotherboards and Chipsets:Jetway NF94-270-LF Motherboard at Modders-IncGigabyte EX58-UD4P @ NeoseekerFoxconn BloodRAGE: LGA1366 Mainboard

Pinnacle PCTV HD mini Stick is an ultra-compact, USB-powered TV tuner that’s the perfect match for super-slim laptops. The integrated signal booster improves reception sensitivity even if the signal isn’t strong. This deal ends Friday at 12:00pm ET.

CyberPower announced its latest Intel Core i7 system today. The new LAN Party Commander features a the CM Storm Scout case which comes with a 140mm front intake fan as well as 140mm top and 120mm rear exhaust fans. The Scout also has a reinforced carrying handle to make it easy to tote this system to your next LAN party. The base CyberPower LAN Party Commander is configured with Intel’s Core i7-920 2.66 GHz CPU and the Intel X58 Chipset. You’ll find an ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-E 16X 1GB DDR5 graphics card and