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HandBrake is a free application for converting all types of videos into MPEG-4 files. You might be overwhelmed by the busy interface and numerous options, but once you get started, you'll find that HandBrake offers features that will help any user get up to speed quickly.

HandBrake's interface holds all the tools you need but the wide variety of options can confuse users -- especially beginners. We quickly found that the program's preset options were the quickest and easiest way to convert files. In fact, the moment you find the Presets tab, you'll find the best … Read more

Multi-threading reviewed

I've been getting a fair number of questions about multi-threading the past couple of weeks. The reason is that Intel has been previewing its "Nehalem EX" Xeon processor in advance of Advanced Micro Device's six-core "Istanbul" CPU launch. Intel's Nehalem generation has simultaneous multi-threading (SMT)--which Intel calls Hyper-Threading (HT)--while Istanbul does not.

I wrote about this topic in depth a couple of years back in "Gradations of Threading," but it's worth reviewing in the context of these new server processors.

First, a little terminology.

A thread is a … Read more