Show notes

Three years, nine months and five days from the release of episode one of the TR Podcast, we have arrived at episode 100! We kick off this momentous show with a look back at our first episode published in February of 2008. We also read commentary and thoughts contributed by our loyal listeners. As we round out the rest of 2011, you can expect a few other milestone celebration extras, but for now, we’re very happy to be at the big 1-0-0. We’re also excited to include a giveaway with this episode: five copies of Skyrim will go to randomly selected commenters courtesy of our sponsor, Nvidia.

Moving into the rest of the show, we start with an updated discussion of Battlefield 3, prompted by our latest reader poll. Then, it’s a sobering report from the recent layoffs at AMD that have hugely impacted the company’s PR staff. AMD isn’t the only firm cutting back; Adobe is also getting rid of Flash for mobile, and we can’t say that we’re entirely upset by this decision. In a break of agenda, Jordan brings up the new Steve Jobs biography, and we spend a few minutes commenting on the detailed vision author Walter Issacson gives us of the brilliant yet troubled former Apple CEO.

In other news, the PC hardware world has been hugely affected by the flooding in Thailand, and Geoff breaks down what the supply chain problems mean for HDD prices. We then look at Cyril’s analysis of mid-range GPUs in Battlefield 3, which utilizes our new frame-time measurement technique, after which Scott and Geoff dissectSandy Bridge-E and its accompanying X79 chipset. Finally, Cyril gives us the scoop on Asus’ first ultrabook.

Send in listener mail, and we’ll answer on the podcast. – jdrake@techreport.com

Follow us on Twitter – Scott – Jordan – Geoff – Cyril – The Tech Report

Tech discussion:

That’s all, folks! We’ll see you on the next episode.

Skyrim giveaway rules and regulations:

NOTE: Submissions for this giveaway are now closed – look for the winners announcement in the TR Podcast blog. This contest is open to anyone with a copy of Steam.

To enter, simply leave a comment below. Only one comment allowed per person, household, or e-mail address. Multiple entries per person, household or address are not permitted. Please don’t try to game the system by entering your girlfriend, wife, kids or pets. We’ll probably disqualify you if you do.

We will be accepting giveaway entries between the time the podcast goes up (on November 14) and November 21 at noon CST. We’ll then choose five winners in a random drawing from among all eligible entries. The winners will be announced in a TR podcast blog. Each winner must claim his prize by the end of the day on Friday, November 25, 2011, or he will forfeit his prize and we will draw a new winner.

The staff of The Tech Report and their immediate families may not enter the giveaway and are not eligible to win.

No purchase is necessary. This giveaway is void where prohibited by law. Neither TR nor Nvidia is responsible for any taxes on the prize, damage in shipping, damage caused by using the prize with other products, or health issues such as RSI, eye strain, or chemical addictions that may result from prolonged use of the prize. We may answer questions and offer clarifications of the rules in this comments thread.