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Old Site Updates - May 1998

May 31, 1998, 4:00 pm EST:

• Read All About It: Amongst hardware site readers, I am known as "that guy who doesn't like overclocking". Which is mostly true (although it oversimplifies my position considerably.) Given this, it may be surprising to hear that I was asked to write a couple of magazine articles on overclocking, but perhaps it was the editors' desire for a balanced approach to the subject that made them think I'd be a good choice. They probably could have done better. :^) At any rate, if you are interested, my articles appear in the June and July 1998 editions of Smart Computing magazine. The first articles deals with the pros and cons of overclocking, while the second is an introductory guide on how to do it. Both are based somewhat on my own Overclocking pages on this site.
• Oh, The Irony! I revisited my own Overclocking index page and discovered the following in the first paragraph: "Once the domain of only a few daring hardware hackers, overclocking has gone quite mainstream. Oh, you'll probably never see articles in PC Magazine telling you how to overclock, because the hardware companies that support these magazines don't want you to do this." Well, I got the magazine wrong, but I guess overclocking is becoming more mainstream than ever. I am somewhat hoist by my own petard, so to speak, since not only are articles coming out in print, I am writing some of them! :^) So much for predicting the future. I took all of this as a cue to revise my Overclocking pages this week.
• The New K6-2: AMD released their newest CPU, dubbed the K6-2, this past week. It is an enhanced version of AMD's popular K6 chip that includes a new set of instructions specifically designed for improving 3D performance, called 3DNow! Early reports on this chip are that it is the real McCoy and quite capable of giving Intel's Pentium II a run for its money. Check out this great review of the K6-2, written by Shiloh Jennings of Hardware.PairNET.com.
• New Hardware Site Link: I added a link to Alternative x86 Central, a relatively new site focusing specifically on alternative (non-Intel) PC hardware information.
• Hardware Site Index Link: I added a link to the Network Design and Research Center. This is a site that is dedicated to providing information on networking terms and concepts. It contains numerous links to both its own definitions and those of other sites.
• Another New Hardware Site Link: I added a link to Computer Heaven. This is an interesting hardware site that is in many ways a collection of smaller sites and pages put together. Worth checking out.
• Hardware Site Index Link: I added a link to Index @ Materiel. This is not an independent hardware site in its own right, but rather an index to hardware reviews on many of the other popular independent sites. This is the English version of this French web site, but there's still a fair bit of French to be found on these pages. C'est la vie! :^)
• Hard Disk Info Clarifications: I fixed some boo-boos, particularly in the Reference Guide pages discussing Hard Disk Drives. Thanks to those who provide feedback on typos and unclear writing, it is most helpful.

May 26, 1998, 8:00 pm EST:

• Good Holiday?: Hope all of you in the U.S. had a good Memorial Day. I got caught up on a few things around the house and so wasn't able to update the site, but I will have hopefully have some new material and several new links up this coming weekend.

May 17, 1998, 11:00 pm EST:

• CRT Degaussing Warning: I added a warning to the CRT Characteristics page about the dangers that degaussing equipment poses to magnetic media. This change was based on feedback from a reader; thanks!
• More Video Reference Updates: I went through several more pages in the Video Card section of the Reference Guide. Primary changes were to update information on video memory and AGP.
• Minor Updates: I made a few small changes, including some minor updates in the Hard Disk reference area.

May 3, 1998, 4:30 pm EST:

• Updated Winfiles Link: I updated the link that formerly went to www.windows95.com to now point to www.winfiles.com. The new site covers not only Windows 95 but also Windows 98 and Windows NT, providing a lot of files and other information.
• Memory Reference Overhaul: I went through most of the Reference Guide pages on System Memory and updated them, making many corrections and several additions. In particular, I added more information on SDRAM and the PC100 specification for SDRAM use on 100 MHz motherboards.
• Video Reference Updates: I began updating some of the Reference Guide pages on Video Cards.
• Tips of the Day? Some of you may have noticed that my tips of the day have been becoming rather infrequent. I apologize for this; I will be updating the tips more frequently from now on, hopefully at least one every two days.

Next: Old Site Updates - April 1998

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