| Date | Details of updates |
|---|---|
| 22Dec
’99 |
New millennium changes:
The site is honoured to become an affiliate of the Maximum PC Network, operated by Future Publishing Ltd; New Download option introduced and price of CD version reduced; |
| 14Dec
’99 |
Motherboards: Addition sections on PCI-X – a 133MHz extension to the PCI bus – and on Intel’s much delayed 820 chipset – the first chipset to provide support for Direct Rambus DRAM memory technology;
Processors: Update Roadmap of future Intel processor developments; Hard Disks: Section on Ultra DMA updated to include the latest Ultra ATA/66 variant of the standard; Graphics Cards: Section on 3D acceleration extended to cover nVidia’s groundbreaking Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as embodied in it’s GeForce 256 graphics chip; Removable Storage: Section on Fluorescent disc technology , outlining the revolutionary new technique that uses a multilayer disc containing fluorescent materials as the active optical storage medium, promising CD-sized discs with a storage capacity of 140GB; Many people are unaware that a durable materials review can be beneficial. For example, construction material or building materials such as drywall, paint and carpets often need to be replaced over again due to wear and tear, especially if they have been used heavily and not properly maintained. It is essential to take the time to research what types of materials are available on the market and what reviews other professionals in the field have written about them to ensure you get the best quality materials for your home. Find below some durable materials review advice that you can use, along with the advice of others who know their work well. Search Page: Incorporation of a PC Webopedia search box. |
| 28Nov
’99 |
Site Reviews: The kudos of being featured as the PC PRO Reader site of the week in the January 2000 issue of the magazine finally prompted me to hide my blushes and add a page featuring some of the favourable reviews the site has been fortunate enough to have received since its launch in April 1998;
Product Reviews: Extensive overhaul of many product category review pages including the addition of a page for Slot A Motherboards. |
| 17Nov
’99 |
Motherboards: General update of PCI chipsets information, including the addition of a PCI Bus explanatory graphic and explanation of the so-called Northbridge/Southbridge chipset architecture in the section on the Triton 430TX;
Processors: Section on Pentium III updated to include details of Intel’s recently launched CPUs built using 0.18-micron process technology and inclusion of a section on Itanium section – Intel’s first IA-64 processor (previously codenamed Merced) scheduled for release in the second half of year 2000; Non-Intel CPUs: Section on Sledgehammer added, outlining AMD’s alternative to IA-64 for the transitioning to 64-bit code and memory addressing support; Mobile Computing: Section added for the recently launched Mobile Pentium III which represents a significant step up in performance over previous Intel mobile CPU designs; Product Reviews: Addition of page for CD-Recordable Drives. |
| 16Oct
’99 |
Processors: Identification of the launch date and other summary information for the various versions of Intel processors, dating from the 1993 Pentium through to the current Pentium III CPUs;
Mobile Computing: Updated to reflect the latest mobile processors, including Intel’s first CPU manufactured using 0.18-micron technology and the fastest notebook CPU to have come to market to date – the 475MHz AMD Mobile K6-2 P; CRT Monitors: Section on Digital CRTs added in light of the Digital Display Working Group’s recent approval of a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) specification; Panel Displays: Section on Digital panels updated to reflect the aforementioned DVI Specification’s ramifications on flat panel display technologies; CD-R/CD-RW: Section on UDF updated to explain the reduction in capacity of UDF-formatted CD-RW media; Removable Storage: Inclusion of a section on OSD Technology, which developer Maxoptix hopes will form the basis of the next generation of removable storage devices; Inkjet Printers: Section on Print Quality updated to include mention of HP’s PhotoREt colour layering technology; Serial Comms: Section on USB 2.0 updated to reflect the greatly increased estimates of performance improvement now expected over the current USB 1.1 implementation. |
| 8Sep
’99 |
Removable Storage: Section on Removable hard drives updated to cover Castlewood Systems’ revolutionary 2.2GB ORB drive;
Scanners: General update and expansion, including addition of separate sections on each of the scanner sensor technologies – PMT, CCD and CIS – and on Colour calibration; Product Reviews: Implementation continued with addition of page Socket 370 Motherboards. |
| 26Aug
’99 |
Non-Intel CPUs and Graphics Cards::Updates to the introduction of each of these sections to reflect the recent important consolidation in the CPU and graphics chip sectors of the PC industry;
Product Reviews: Implementation continued with addition of pages for the following product categories: EIDE Hard Disk Drives, SCSI Hard Disk Drives, External V.90 Modems, Internal V.90 Modems. |
| 12Aug
’99 |
Processors: Historical Perspective section updated to include all relevant processors up to and including the AMD Athlon CPU;
Non-Intel CPUs: Addition of section on the AMD Athlon – the world’s first seventh-generation processor CPU; DVD: General update, including addition of a table showing the read compatibility of the various DVD drives in the Compatibility issues section; Product Reviews: Implementation continued with the addition of pages for the following product categories: CD-Rewritable Drives and Colour Laser Printers. |
| 31Jul
’99 |
Motherboards: Addition of section on the 810 AGPset, Intel’s highly integrated chipset designed to enable the company to better compete in the Value PC market;
Processors: Further update to Roadmap of future Intel processor developments in light of the recently announced delays to the Coppermine processor family; Tape Backup: DAT Standards section updated to include details of the DDS-4 format; Product Reviews: Implementation continued with the addition of pages for the following product categories: Flatbed Scanners, Personal Laser Printers, Digital Cameras. |
| 24Jul
’99 |
Processors: Update to Roadmap of confirmed future Intel processor developments;
Hard Disks: Update to sections on Construction and Operation and addition of PLEDM section outlining a potential future solid-state alternative to the hard disk; CD-ROM: Update to sections on The disc and Operation; Panel Displays: Addition of section on Polysilicon displays – outlining the low-temperature polysilicon technology that is emerging as the basis for the next generation of notebook LCD panel; Product Reviews: First stage in the incorporation of a series of pages designed to provide easy access to multiple reviews for a given product item. Pages added for the following product categories: Slot 1 Motherboards, Socket 7 Motherboards, DVD-ROM Drives, DVD Rewritable Drives, Graphics Cards, 19in Monitors, 21in Monitors, Panel Displays, Sound Cards and Inkjet Printers. |
| 7Jul
’99 |
Hard Disks: Addition of section on the world’s smallest hard disk drive – IBM’s revolutionary 1in, 16g Microdrive device;
DVD: General update, including the addition of several new explanatory graphics and a section on the now defunct DIVX format; Sound Cards: Addition of sections on MP3 – one of the phenomenons of the first half of 1999 – and on the SDMI proposals for a secure digital format for the distribution of music over the Internet. |
| 21Jun
’99 |
Mobile Computing: Update to section on Battery technology and addition of Displays section – and associated image – providing a brief outline of the construction of an LCD screen;
System Memory: Addition of section on Evolution, charting the various options for the route to the next generation of memory architecture; CRT Monitors: Addition of sections identifying how developments of the Electron beam itself can improve image quality and on Ergonomics; Sound Cards: Update to section on MIDI. |
| 25May
’99 |
Non-Intel CPUs: Update to the Roadmap of future offerings from Intel’s principal competition;
CD-ROM: Addition of section on Zen Research’s innovative TrueX technology; Graphics Cards: Expansion of coverage of 3D information, including addition of separate sections on the major stages of 3D processing – Geometry and Rendering – the latter outlining the various techniques employed in the rendering of moving 3D images; Serial Comms: Relocation of expanded sections on USB and IEEE 1394 from Motherboards and Digital Video pages respectively and addition of section on USB V2.0. |
| 10May
’99 |
Graphics Cards: General update, including addition of a table of popular memory types used in graphics subsystems in Video memory section;
Removable Storage: Inclusion of information on Iomega’s Zip 250 drive; Tape Backup: Addition of sections covering the new tape backup formats: ADR technology, Super DLT, Linear Open Tape and AIT-2 format; Digital Cameras: General update, including significant expansion of the section on Features and the addition of section on Digital vs film. |
| 23Apr
’99 |
Mobile Computing: Scope of the previous Mobile CPUs page extended to cover other aspects of mobile computing such as expansion/connectivity devices and battery technology;
Digital Cameras: Inclusion of Floppy disk section outlining Sony’s innovative integrated floppy disk drive technology. |
| 14Apr
’99 |
Implementation of a site wide SEARCH facility, accessible via a link at the foot of guide or glossary pages;
Hard Disks: Addition of section on Holographic hard drives. |
| 4Apr
’99 |
First anniversary of the site!
Addition of a CD Version page through which visitors can place a credit card order for the CD-based version of the site or for the Site Licence option. |
| 26Mar
’99 |
Implementation of a design change to split a number of information pages which had become overly large into a series of smaller pages, and corresponding changes to the set of navigation level pages and to the Site Map page. |
| 18Mar
’99 |
Processors: Expansion of the coverage of the Pentium II CPU, with the information on the processor’s SEC and DIB features moved to separate sections and addition of a section on the Pentium III Xeon;
Mobile CPUs: Addition of section on Cyrix MediaGXi; System Memory: Information on Main memory expanded to include a separate section on DRAM and the addition of new sections on PC133 SDRAM and DDR DRAM; Hard Disks: Addition of paragraph on Hitachi’s groundbreaking 12,000rpm drive in the section on Performance and creation of separate sections on Latency and Transfer rates. |
| 4Mar
’99 |
Processors: Addition of sections on the competing CISC and RISC PC architectures;
Non-Intel CPUs: Expansion of 3DNow! into a separate section with associated image and addition of a section on AMD’s latest K6-III processor; Mobile CPUs: Transfer of information relating to Intel’s mobile CPUs to a separate page and expansion to cover the Intel’s new Dixon Pentium II CPU and future Geyserville technology as well as AMD’s Mobile K6-2 processor; Graphics Cards: Expansion of information on 3D APIs including the addition of new sections on Direct3D and Fahrenheit; Tape Backup: Update to the Travan standards section to cover the new Travan NS (network series) format. |
| 23Feb
’99 |
Processors: Addition of sections identifying the underlying Principles of computer processors and outlining Intel’s latest Pentium III offering;
Non-Intel CPUs: Addition of information relating to AMD’s and Cyrix’s early efforts at cloning Intel’s 486 range of processors; Digital Video: Addition of section on Video editing; Serial Comms: Expansion of section on ISDN to reflect BT’s recently announced Highway services; Scanners: General update – in particular to information on Scan resolution and OCR – and addition of new sections on Scan modes and TWAIN driver; Digital Cameras: Expansion of information of the rival CompactFlash and SmartMedia storage media formats; Links: Addition of Acknowledgements section. |
| 25Jan
’99 |
Site relocated to root domain URL – PATH_FOR_LINKS. CD version of the site launched via Direct Connection Special Promotion. |
| 16Jan
’99 |
Motherboards: Addition of a section on motherboard Evolution – including an image of a modern-day Slot 1/ATX style motherboard – outlining the history of motherboard development over recent years;
Processors: Update to information relating to the current range of Intel processors; Graphics Cards: Update to Digital cards section; Panel Displays: Wide-ranging update and addition of a couple of new images. ALiS and PALCD are new sections relating to new plasma technologies and the sections on Digital panels, ThinCRTs and Light Emitting Polymers have been extensively updated. |
| 5Jan
’99 |
System Memory: Expansion and separation of information on error detection and correction into Parity memory and ECC memory sections;
Hard Disks: Addition of section on Fibre Channel, including comparison with established storage technologies; Removable Storage: Updates to the information on magneto-optical technology – including details on the construction of an MO disk in the recently added MO media section and addition – and to the Floppy replacements section – including information on Sony’s recently launched HiFD drive; CRT Monitors: Update of information on the various tube designs including the addition of an Enhanced Dot Pitch image, addition of a separate TCO standards section and expansion of information on the latest TCO99 standard; Scanners: Addition of File formats section. |