Dear Reader,

Welcome to another edition of the Prompt Communications newsletter. This week we see Nvidia announcing a 'desk-side supercomputer' capable of eight teraflops with an expected price of under $8000. This kind of price performance ratio is astounding, and we're fascinated to see where this world of low-cost supercomputing is going to lead.

For any feedback on our newsletter, or to discuss how we can help you with your technology PR, marketing, social media and blogging consultancy, copywriting or surveys, please email me at hbutters@prompt-communications.com. We are always delighted to hear from you.

Best regards,

Hazel Butters
Prompt Communications

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Enterprise Technology Update

By Lance Concannon

Nvidia brings supercomputing to the desktop

Anybody who's done much PC gaming over the past decade will know Nvidia as the company behind the popular GeForce range of 3D graphics cards that enable game designers to make space-zombies explode in such a pleasingly splattery fashion. The company is now capitalising on its technical expertise to expand into the field of high-performance computing, launching a range of banzai-fast processors under the brand name Tesla.

The Tesla line will feature in what Nvidia is calling a 'desk-side supercomputer' capable of delivering a whopping eight teraflops of processing power for under $8000. This will enable scientists to achieve far higher levels of nerdliness on limited budgets, freeing up vital research funding to spend on Battlestar Galactica DVD box-sets.

Microsoft spikes Office 2003

According to the Register, Microsoft has told PC vendors that it will no longer ship copies of Office 2003 and is switching to Office 2007 as its default office suite for OEMs. Customers are traditionally slow to move to new versions of Office, because after all, a word processor is a word processor is a word processor, and MS has had trouble convincing users of the benefits of upgrading. Frankly, after the whole Clippy thing a few years back, nobody wants to take any chances. Office 2003 is still widely popular, and this attempt to wean customers onto the newer edition of the suite is likely to be met with derision from many quarters.

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Consumer Technology Update

By Sean McManus and Lance Concannon

UK censors ban new Manhunt computer game

The spokesmen from Rockstar would have probably struggled to keep a straight face talking to journalists this week. They love controversy, and now that the BBFC, the UK censorship panel, has denied a licence for their game 'Manhunt 2', they're splashed all over the press, including getting the front-page story on Metro. The BBFC banned the game in the UK, because of its 'unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying'. In a written statement, Rockstar said: "Manhunt 2 is an entertainment experience for fans of psychological thrillers and horror. The subject matter of this game is in line with other mainstream entertainment choices for adult consumers."

The first Manhunt game was cleared by the BBFC for over-18s only in 2003 and has been slammed by the parents of a murdered 14-old as being an instruction manual for his 17-year-old killer. Rockstar's previous games include Canis Canem Edit, which was accused of glorifying school bullying, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which shipped with code for a sexual intercourse mini-game which hackers unlocked with the 'hot coffee' mod.

Blockbuster taking sides in high definition format war

High street movie rental chain Blockbuster this week announced that it was dropping HD-DVD rentals from its 1500 stores in the US, focusing its efforts entirely on Blu-Ray. Reports that Sony executives were seen openly weeping with joy in the streets as the Blu-Ray equipped PlayStation 3 clawed its way out of an early grave shortly after the announcement remain unconfirmed.

Those in the HD-DVD corner were quick to shrug off the move as being entirely unimportant, and since their gang includes the likes of Microsoft, Universal Pictures and Toshiba, many people might well be inclined to agree.

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Marketing Update

By Elissa Fry and Lisa Facinelli

Politics reach Second Life

The increasingly popular online virtual world, Second Life, has broadened its appeal further by broadcasting a political debate on the new online carbon footprint calculator. NMA online reports that political heavy-weight David Miliband was interviewed by Sky News anchorman Adam Boulton, who recently purchased a virtual island on Second Life.

According to Miliband the new calculator is a "real innovation" set to calculate CO2 emissions in the real world and in Second Life. It appears that someone forgot to tell Miliband that global warming doesn't take place inside a virtual animation. However, Second Life has once again demonstrated its marketing potential to the masses.

HD interactive billboards

Clear Channel Outdoors plans to launch one of the first high definition billboards, says BrandWeek. This new digital advertising board will be placed in Times Square and promises the highest resolution possible in addition to Bluetooth and SMS messaging. One goal is to get consumers interacting with the advertising messages which can be done through downloading audio and video files, playing games or text messaging. Another appeal to advertisers is the ability to change their message content much quicker to target, for example, the time of day.

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US Media Report

By Tarryn Morley

Frustrated by the slow progress of recent takeover talks, the board of Dow Jones, which owns The Wall Street Journal, took over negotiations with News Corporation this week. Up until this point, Rupert Murdoch's $ 5 billion bid for Dow Jones has been negotiated by the Bancroft family. Further developments in the possible sale of Dow Jones this week include a possible deal between Pearson, publisher of the Financial Times, and General Electric, parent company of NBC and CNBC, buy Dow Jones.

Both The Wall Street Journal and USA Today are developing glossy magazines. The WSJ's development process hasn't reached the point of official presentations or proposals, but the basic idea currently being fleshed out. USA Today is planning an October debut for its monthly magazine, which will focus on active lifestyles.

Business 2.0 editor, Owen Thomas, will be joining Valleywag, a tech gossip site published by Gawker media, in July as the new managing editor.

Anna Badkhen will be joining the Boston Globe. Badkhen previously worked as a foreign and national correspondent at the San Francisco chronicle. During her five years there, she covered wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

UK Media Report

By Tarryn Morley

Julie Burchill, one of Britain's best-known newspaper columnists, has announced her retirement from journalism. Burchill, who has been on an extended sabbatical since last year, says she will concentrate on writing books and TV scripts and finally undertake a theology degree.

Richard Preston has been appointed as assistant editor, Comment section, of the Daily Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk. Preston will be responsible for the comment pages, Telegraph blogs and online debates.

YouTube announced a major international expansion this week. The Google-owned site will be launching local services for nine countries including the UK and Ireland. Local-language versions will be launched in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Brazil and Japan. Each new site will have country specific ratings, comments, categories, and channel and community sections.

Silicon.com, a U.K. website for senior IT and business managers, will be losing editor Will Sturgeon on July 11th. Sturgeon is leaving to join Lewis PR.

Y Byd, a new national newspaper for Wales, was announced this week. Y Byd will launch on March 3, 2008. It will be the first national daily newspaper published in Welsh and will cover local, national and international news, as well as sport, leisure, business and politics.