Gigabyte has a good example of the unbearable marketing trend that wants to take the smallest thing and turn it into a marketing argument. Even though the manufacturer built most of its reputation on graphic cards using passive and silent cooling systems, it now boasts a "3D active fan" as a major feature on of its graphic cards. What are the arguments? The fan is energy saver and a shield! In fact, itò€™s the opposite. Adding a fan will increase power consumption (in a relatively small manner, usually between 1 W to 3 W) and adds to the list of possible failures. To top it up, the fan is installed on a GeForce 8500 GT, an entry level card running modest performances and perfectly capable of using a humble heat sink (itò€™s the case with other manufacturers)!
Redmond (WA) - In an unorthodox effort to generate some revenue from a project whose construction remains in progress, Microsoft today is launching the first stage of its beta version of its Office Live hosting services. New customers will be able to take advantage of free Web hosting and five e-mail addresses, both during and after the completion of the beta cycle; while customers interested in testing collaboration and customer management tools can sign up for two classes of service, for which Microsoft will charge $29.95 per month once the cycle has concluded.