Computex 2000 Coverage Day 2: Motherboards

FIC

A new set of features FIC was boasting at this year's Computex was something they call NOVUS which is basically a collection of utilities FIC will be bundling with their motherboards. Among the utilities included is a Win32 overclocking utility called Clockometer which we took a quick look at below:

Quite a few motherboard manufacturers are actually providing users with products such as Clockometer, but one of the more unique features of NOVUS is its AudioAlert feature which is basically an extension of the diagnostic LEDs that are on some motherboards today (i.e. MSI). AudioAlert is basically a voice that tells you what's wrong with the system instead of simply flashing lights. Unfortunately we weren't able to see it in action on the floor.

Genesis 2000 is FIC's attempt to get into the IA market, it is basically a sealed box running the IA version of BeOS. As you can see, FIC is definitely trying to broaden their horizons.

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FIC also had a Bluetooth demonstration using the two above computers to transfer data, the leftmost computer being the server and the one on the right being the client connecting to it. Unfortunately because of the interference caused by everything around the two systems sustaining a connection wasn't as quick as it would be in a normal operating environment.

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A couple of months ago Transmeta was definitely a hot topic around the web, and while some of the hype has slowed down because of a lack of Transmeta based devices in the public eye FIC was attempting to change that somewhat by showing not only the reference design Crusoe web pad but also a mockup of their upcoming Crusoe based solution called Aqua which can be seen below: