drivers

Yesterday Apple released a software update to address problems where some of the MacBook Pro systems from mid 2010 were displaying black screens when waking from sleep or performing some graphics manipulation tasks. While this update has appeared to fix the problem for some users, for others the issue is still occurring.

Intial reports on the issue and observation of the problem happening under multiple operating systems pointed in the direction of a hardware problem being the root cause, but Apple's update was a software approach that updated the graphics drivers and aspects of the OpenCL framework.

Overall the … Read more

The keys to the family car are a teen's passport to freedom, but a new tracking device could help parents curb the wanderlust in young drivers.

The iTeen365 is the GPS equivalent of a toddler leash for cars.

Parents can purchase the iTeen365 device online, have it professionally installed in their vehicle, set up a geofence online, and sit back and relax. The tracking system takes care of the rest.

GPS technology embedded in the device tracks the vehicle location, which is visible online at the iTeen365 Web site with a user account. The online reporting tool also stores … Read more

Intel has released a graphics driver update for its Sandy Bridge processors that boosts performance up to 37 percent for games on Windows 7 and Vista.

"This major graphics driver update for 2nd generation Intel Core processors with Intel HD graphics improves game performance by up to 37% on ULV platforms," Intel said in a statement.

ULV--or Ultra Low Voltage--processors are Intel's most power efficient and are typically used in thin and/or compact laptops such as Hewlett-Packard's updated Pavilion dm1 and Samsung Series 9.

ULV-based systems will see the biggest performance improvement, Intel said. "It is where some of the biggest gains are seen on the driver," Intel spokesman Dave Salvator said. But the driver update applies to all systems with Sandy Bridge processors sporting HD graphics. … Read more

Apple has released a couple of updates that are relevant to people running Boot Camp on their Macs, and for iMac systems. The Boot Camp update brings the version of the drivers to 3.0, and according to the Boot Camp updater Web page, it addresses some critical problems with the version 3.2 driver set. Therefore if you are running Boot Camp, then Apple recommends you install this latest update.

The firmware update for iMac systems will flash their Radeon graphics cards to a new version that will address a problem where the systems were hanging when performing some … Read more

Apple could be on a quest to eliminate our dependency on printer drivers, according to two recently published patent applications.

Filed on September 14, 2010, the two patent applications were published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office late last week.

As described by tech news site ConceivablyTech, the first patent application suggests a number of ways to cut out traditional printer drivers as the middleman. One method would use a "driverless printing technique" that would grab the necessary information from the printer itself. Another method would send the printer data to the cloud, where servers would … Read more

Apple has released driver updates to supply additional support for printer and scanner devices from HP, Samsung, and Brother. These updates are for OS X 10.6 and include all the printer drivers supported on OS X from the respective companies. Apple uses its Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) in OS X, that uses generic driver sets that are enhanced to support specific features and functions of individual printer models, so as new models come out Apple can more easily tweak drivers to work with them. The latest printer drivers can be found at the following locations:

HP Printer Drivers v.2.7 for Mac OS X v10.6… Read more

Apple has released an update for its printer driver software for Canon printers and scanners. The update includes the latest drivers for Canon's devices, so if you have a printer from Canon, you might consider updating the driver, especially if you are having printing problems.

Keep in mind that while these driver updates may fix problems with working printers or provide support for new or previously unsupported printers, it will likely not fix the latest printer bugs found in Apple's OS X 10.6.8 update, which is more of a problem with the print subsystem than with … Read more

Apple has released updated drivers for Epson and Lexmark printers. These updates are available through Software Update but can also be downloaded from the Apple Support Downloads page. However, while it may be tempting to install, unless your printers are not working properly, then you likely do not need to apply these updates.

Apple's printing system, the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS), uses a bunch of generic drivers that are then enhanced upon to add functionality for a specific printer's features. As new printers are developed, drivers are morphed to include their features rather than developed from scratch … Read more

Over the past few years we've seen laptops transition from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7. Inevitable, of course, is a move to Windows 8, the new operating system officially unveiled by Microsoft this week.

Much of the Windows 8 hype so far has been about its new features for touch-screen tablets, and from the small snippets we've seen, it looks like Microsoft is finally taking that challenge seriously, as opposed to the unfulfilled tablet promises of Vista and Win7. But, Windows tablets remain a niche market, held back by both hardware and software issues (see … Read more