HP Firebird with VoodooDNA Review on CNET

We just received word that CNET gave Firebird an "excellent" score. We're glad to see they recognized the overall package. HP Voodoo created the worlds first and only Hybrid High Performance PC - and the results are in.

Also while you're at it check out the unboxing by Engadget.

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Nvidia should Merge with AMD

I wrote this article for the latest edition of CPU Magazine. It has been something that I have been talking about for months - and finally I decided to write about it.

In early 2008 Intel implied that Nvidia’s chips are becoming obsolete, which rattled investors and infuriated Huang. When an analyst raised the issue with Huang at a meeting in the spring of 2008, asking if it was OK to open up that can of worms, Huang shot back, “Sure, let’s open up a can of whoop-ass” – and then continued with a spirited rebuttal.

Well, it didn't take long for that statement to come back and bite Nvidia in the backside. Nvidia, like AMD, faced many challenges in 2008 and the economy is just going to make things worse for both companies. While Intel can probably afford a few rough quarters, AMD most certainly can't - and Nvidia doesn't want to. So for now, Nvidia has to put that "can of whoop-ass" away and contemplate their future.

AMD is hurting, badly.

I hate to say it, because I have friends working at AMD—good friends that go way back—as well as many who have left the company for one reason or another. The current economic situation isn’t helping, of course, but I have seen quite a few good people there get laid off due to factors that many of us could have predicted months ago, with or without the recession.

The company is hemorrhaging cash; last quarter alone it lost more than $600 million, and no matter what AMD’s management does it can’t seem to right the ship. Some would say that part of the problem is AMD’s insistence on sailing in the same waters, and that perhaps it’s time for a totally different mode of travel.

Does AMD need a new leader? I’m not suggesting that Dirk Meyer is an incapable CEO, but do you agree that it’s reasonable to conclude that AMD needs to find an entirely new direction? If you do, then follow my thinking; I believe the only way a company can go on a completely new path is if it hires someone from the outside. AMD requires a leader who can bring in some fresh thinking and, more importantly, who can bring the factions of ATI and AMD together with a believable long-term vision.

Is it wrong of me to assume that things are broken inside of AMD based on its recent execution? The company has lost some incredible people along the way and continues to trim, and morale is low. Believe it or not, hope still exists, but it’s time for some profound, lasting change.

Jen-Hsun Huang is a strong leader, by every measure. Sure, Nvidia has screwed up a couple of times along the way, but somehow the company always scraps its way back to the top. Up until the beginning of 2008, Nvidia was a darling of Wall Street, and history should certainly repeat itself. Usually time heals all wounds, and on Wall Street good numbers can heal anything.

Jen-Hsun is aggressive, incredibly intelligent, and he wears his passion for Nvidia on his sleeve. Like Steve Jobs, he takes his brand very personally. Jen-Hsun’s totalitarian-style leadership works because he has longstanding credibility and can inspire the masses when he’s excited about something—his passion is definitely contagious.

Both AMD and Nvidia face huge challenges in the coming months and years. Intel is only getting stronger, leaner, and angrier. Mark my words: Intel’s push into graphics will be anything but mediocre. The company is going all in, and has no plans to launch a crappy video card. Intel simply wants to control their ecosystem and increase their margins. Nvidia is doing a great job of pushing Visual Computing to the forefront, but it’s really a technology that any graphics supplier will be able to support at some time.

Here’s my thinking. The fab-free side of AMD and Nvidia need to merge. I don’t think there will be any anti-trust issues here because Intel still owns the majority market share of the graphics market thanks to their integrated graphics in their chipsets. Jen-Hsun needs to run the show - tear through the entire company and lean it out. They need to promote all of the top engineers and producers and optimize middle management.

The new company should fall under one brand. Consolidate everything under Nvidia – and start to build out the most insane, most aggressive, most comprehensive strategy. They need to control their entire ecosystem and if they do it right they will be more than competitive with Intel. In this case one plus one should equal five.

This, my friends, is likely the best way for AMD and Nvidia to survive and prosper in the long run. It will also create competition with Intel, and push innovation to new levels. This is the Art of War.

Yeah, I might be asking for trouble – but I’m really tired of watching companies who constantly beat their heads against the same wall, over and over again hoping something will break.

Let’s just hope the higher ups are listening --- and if you have any comments for them please feel free to share them on my blog.

**BTW if not AMD, then Nvidia should likely do something with Via. I've written about this before, read some of the older articles via the search function on the top right hand corner of this blog.

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It really is unbelievable: Rep. Gary Ackerman on the SEC

If you followed the Bernie Madeoff Ponzi scheme then you'll probably appreciate this video.

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HP Firebird with VoodooDNA finds a new Perch...

In stores and ready for purchase, the HP Firebird with Voodoo DNA has made its retail debut. In select stores across North America, the HP Firebird has hit the shelves with great anticipation. 

Gamers, photographers, videographers and other power users can’t wait to get the HP Firebird into their hands and I can’t wait to hear about what they’re going to do with it.

I encourage you to check it out in person.

Let me know what you think when you do.

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@rahulsood Twitter Giveaways: Tech Toys Part 2

Here are some images of the custom 2 Gig Blackbird USB Key that I'm giving away. These things are beautiful...

A couple of days ago I started this contest on Twitter. The response has been great, and I wanted to take a moment to update the rules.

1) I will be giving away random swag on Twitter at random times, watch for my tweets by following me.

2) If you Retweet the contest the moment I announce it you will automatically get one minute removed from your time (which is huge!). The more people that participate the better.

3) When I ask a question make sure you answer the ENTIRE question and watch your spelling on the actual answers. It's extremely important!

4) Right now I'm only allowed to ship to the U.S. It's kind of a drag, I know, but hey look at it this way - if you win something you can gift it to someone in the U.S. as a nice gesture.

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Looking for the Best Jobs? Careful what you do Online...

this picture is all over the internet, but this person has nothing to do with the story

I recently wrote an article on the importance (or not?) of a University education when it comes to finding the best jobs. I highly recommend you read it after reading this.

Did you ever imagine 15 years ago that so much of your life would be shared online, without barriers, to anyone in the world? It's amazing how far we've come, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging have really changed the way we interact with one another. 

Is there any point of going to the high school reunion anymore? Probably not :) Especially if you're a pathological liar, it's not hard to find out who you really are just by searching your name in Google. Try it sometime... It's pretty amazing - somewhat shocking to some.

Well high school reunions aside, there is a much darker side to this - and perhaps a side that most people never came to expect. I was chatting with a friend from one of the largest video game publisher in the world. He was trying to hire a new PR manager for a very popular title - a lucrative highly desirable position no doubt.

They interviewed six candidates after sifting through 500 or so resumes. The person who landed at the top was a girl from Texas who by all accounts was an incredible candidate. We'll call her Jane for now. 

Jane is fun, smart, aggressive, charismatic, and well researched. Her resume is a bit weak because she had just come out of school - but she really knew what to say to impress the team. Jane came into the room with guns blazing and presented a proposal right off the bat - which is pretty cool, and probably the right thing to do in order to differentiate yourself from the crowd.  You would never guess that she had just graduated from PR school, she looked like a pro.

When Jane left the interview she left with a shoe in the door.

Over the weekend I went to dinner with my friend - he asked me for my personal recommendation for anyone else I might know of just to be sure. I of course named some names of some of the best PR people I know - but then we got to talking about the girl he interviewed - and based on her thin resume I recommended that he do some searches online first.

Well, low and behold he found a Myspace page with this girl's picture all over it. He also found her blog, which is quite a shocking read if you ask me. Her Facebook profile is wide open for anyone to read - lots of friends too, somewhere around 800. 

Not only does Jane like coming up with great media proposals and doing well in job interviews - but she also likes drinking, smoking stuff, and partying, a lot. 

She has many pictures "lips puckered" which are cute, but then it gets interesting. She wears white cotton underwear and she loves to show it off.  Apparently when she drinks too much she winds up falling asleep in random places and waking up not knowing where she is.  A few weeks prior to the interview Jane woke up in a bathtub covered in vomit. Charming.  

Her favorite quotes have four letter words in them, and oh, and did I mention there's a picture of her passed out with a moustache drawn on her once pretty face while her boy friends are behind her wagging their tongues and flashing the rock on sign? 

Poor Jane... Unfortunately for her, employers have to be extra careful who they hire these days. ..and even though the odd celebration may be perfectly acceptable, such red flags for someone who would be in the public eye could turn any employer off.  You could just see the HR nightmare about to ensue and no one wants to get caught in that.

It turns out that there are more pictures that paint Jane in a positive light - but as everyone knows, if you get tagged your pictures that other people take are also shared. It's unfortunate, really, because she really had a chance at this job - and fresh out of PR school she would have landed a highly sought after position. 

Anyways, the morale of this article is careful what you do online - and more importantly don't be an idiot. ...because no matter what there's no way to avoid who you actually are on the Internet. If you want a real career the good jobs are already gone. You have to differentiate yourself and act responsibly.

Good luck, and do share your thoughts and stories please. By the way, if you want to freak yourself out check out pipl.com (thanks @anitaloomba).

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@rahulsood Twitter Giveaways: Tech Toys

I'm starting to play with Twitter a bit more. ...and I'm shameless - so...

I'm about to hold a series of giveaways, starting with some Voodoo Razer Keyboards, maybe some custom Blackbird USB 2 Gigabyte USB Keys. This prize will include free shipping to anywhere in the U.S. - and it will be shipped to the first person who answers a skill testing question correctly on Twitter.

It is important that you re-tweet and share this note as the more people that get involved the more likely I will continue doing it!  After surpassing 1000 followers I will continue to run contests at various milestones.

Don't worry I will let everyone know when the giveaways will happen - I'll announce a few hours prior to Twittering out the question. Our first giveaway was at 5:00 EST on February 3rd, and they will continue from there.

So, follow me on Twitter now, and you'll see a series of giveaways in the coming days.

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Porsche to Offer Live Exhaust Note Tuning...

I think this is really cool. Porsche is one of the strongest auto companies since their incredible hedging on VW - and even in this tough economy where sales are down across the board they continue to design some of the coolest cars on the market.  

Porsche tends to develop cars in a series and they make meaningful modifications to the same chassis - they do this to leverage technologies across their portfolio.  In other words, you might see a 911 Turbo that looks somewhat similar to a 911 GT3, but they're anything but similar.  In fact they drive so different that some people own both.  The same goes for their Cayenne, Porsche makes multiple Cayenne models starting at a fairly low price and going all the way up past $100,000 depending on the features. 

Porsche recently took this Exhaust Note Tuning technology from the GT3, and moved it over to other vehicles.  

As any car enthusiast will tell you, there's nothing like getting in a super car, firing it up, followed by listening for that deep, rumbling exhaust note that always sends a shiver up your spine. By pressing a button the sound deepens to a throatier growl. 

Yes, for buyers of such sports cars, these things apparently matter. Autoblog comments, "Premium sportscar buyers expect their exotic machinery to sound as good as it looks and goes. Few automakers recognize this as well as Porsche." So the German automaker has developed a new system for its high-end sports cars that allows the driver to alter the exhaust note from inside the car, with the push of a button.

Edmunds Inside Line explains, "The stainless steel system uses an electronic control activated from the dashboard to tune the exhaust note for a more aggressive and sporty sound. Activating the sport mode opens flaps in the exhaust silencers to shift the note."

Automobile Magazine says the exhaust "can go from a more sedate sound when cruising around town to a more emotional and sporting tone when the driver wants a truly dynamic style of motoring."

The cost of such a luxury? Just $2,500 as an option on a new 911 Carrera or Targa, available in April of this year. If you own an older 911 and have exhaust envy, Porsche will offer the system as a dealer-installed option that can be retrofitted to older versions of the car.

Other companies can learn from this leverage model. No matter how bad the economy gets, there are always those who will pay a premium for something more personal -- not to mention the economy will eventually come back so now is a great time to invest in R&D.

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