Looking past the troubled economy, 2009 was actually a good year for the tech industry -- and in particular for PC enthusiasts. It marked the arrival of much-anticipated standards like USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps, a deluge of faster, larger and more reliable solid-state drives, the first DirectX 11-capable graphics cards and Microsoft's successful launch of Windows 7 after a troubled run with Windows Vista.
Intel remained unchallenged in the high-end processor segment with its Bloomfield Core i7 lineup and further cemented its position by launching the mainstream Core i5/i7 Lynnfield parts. Motherboard makers had a serious range of quality and reasonably priced products on offer, DDR3 memory prices came down a bit and, well, you get the picture. Things don't seem to be slowing down in 2010, either, now that Intel has launched its 32nm Clarkdale processors featuring built-in graphics and Nvidia looks ready to finally go against AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 5000 series with Fermi.
There won’t be any shortage of games to throw at these cards, that's for sure. With all these great advances, at some point many of you will consider updating your rig to keep up with the latest technologies.Perhaps a new graphics card to play games in their full visual glory? An SSD to speed up your OS? Or maybe build an entire system based on a new platform for good measure?
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London hospital opens to Web-addicted "screenagers"
A hospital in London has initiated Britain's first dedicated technology addiction clinic, aimed at teens that can't break away from the Web, video games, or their phones. The service is open to children as young as 12, but is mostly aimed at 15 to 17-year-olds who find it difficult to shut off their computers and video games.
Richard Graham, a lead consultant for the facility, said some kids play online games for the social contact, and it "gives them a sense of connection so they end up playing all the time." "I've been contacted by parents who see their children going into a rage when they're told to turn off their computer," said Graham. "Some end up having to call the police."
The hospital hopes to transform "screenagers" back to "teenagers" by yanking them away from WoW and encouraging them to interact with people face-to-face. Similar operations have opened stateside in recent years, such as the reSTART Internet addiction clinic, conveniently positioned 13 miles away from Microsoft's Redmond headquarters.
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