Microsoft Pulls “Bulldozer” Hotfix

Claiming that the patch was incomplete and released by mistake, Microsoft has pulled a hotfix for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 designed to improve performance on AMD’s “Bulldozer” platform. This hotfix was supposed to offer a performance increase of 10 to 15 percent by addressing performance issues with simultaneous multithreading. However, according to HardOCP, because of incomplete code found in the patch, performance for some users was actually lowered.

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Hard Drive Manufacturers Cut Warranty Periods

Citing a need to “align to current Industry standards”, Seagate has announced it intends to reduce warranty periods on its hard drives, matching a move done by competitor Western Digital.
According to The Register, which first broke the story, Seagate’s warranties will be reduced as of December 31, while Western Digital will follow suit on January 2. All drives shipped prior to those respective dates will still carry the same warranty as before.
Seagate’s new warranty policy applies to hard drives shipped in desktops and consumer electronics devices. Seagate says there will be no change in warranty policy on “mission critical enterprise drives.”
Western Digital will continue to maintain their policy of a five-year warranty on its “premium desktop/notebook products, including the WD Caviar Black, WD Scorpio Black and WD VelociRaptor products,” according to a company spokesperson.
Both companies deny that this change in warranty policy is related to floods in Thailand which have caused a shortage in drives.
“By aligning to current industry standards, Seagate can continue to focus its investments on technology innovation and unique product features that drive value for our customers,” the company claims.
In an email to customers announcing the change in policy, Western Digital said: “In the near future we will be unveiling an extended warranty offering with special pricing.”

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