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Network Card for Gamers - Uses Linux to Reduce Lag

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the slave-to-the-ping-number dept.

Cujo writes "The folks at GDHardare have an interview with Bigfoot Networks discussing the pending release of their Killer Network Card which is said to greatly reduce in-game latency. According to the Interview, this card uses a Linux-based subsystem to do its magic."

23 of 410 comments (clear)

  1. Is it credible? by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · · Score: 4, Funny
    From TFA:

    All the founders met at the University of Texas while getting their MBAs.

    Oh - and it runs FNapps, so as well as being good for games, its suitable for FNapping.
    --
    There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
    1. Re:Is it credible? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

      You mean they went to the University of Texas to find Linux instead of God?! I guess that answers the root question then.

  2. Klingons on the starboard bow! by cannonfodda · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow the first network card with built in Bat'leth!

    --
    Hmmmmmm
  3. Oooo... Killer by snowgirl · · Score: 5, Funny

    OMG, they named it the "KillerNIC"? Like, does this kind of advertising actually work?

    "This NIC is so hardcore it KILLED SOMEONE!"

    I can just imagine their second version coming with a muzzle a la Silence of the Lambs.

    --
    WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
    1. Re:Oooo... Killer by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'd buy it if had a better name. Something like Xtreme NIC Ultra or something.

      And some VTEC stickers and a big-ass wing on it.

      Yeah, that'd be phat, yo!

      Pimp my NIC, bitches!

  4. Re:Huh? by MustardMan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Seems to me that, unless you're hosting a bunch of internet spyware [...], you're not going to be making much of a gain.

    Uh, this is for gamers, right? Don't most gamers run WINDOWS?

  5. MBA's, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    They got Masters degrees in Business Administration, and yet their typing and conversational skills are on the level of 14-year-olds.

    That's just sad.

    Well, that and the fact that their "product" is clearly incapable of giving anything near the boosts they claim it gives...

  6. It must be good !! by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Funny

    It must be good! Have you seen the size of the fan on that thing ;)

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
  7. Big laffs! by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 2, Funny
    The best lie is the boldest.

    Of all the things a spiffy network card could do, reducing latency is just about the least likely.

    They could have put 20mb of buffers on it.

    They could buy glow-in-the-dark pc board material.

    They could have put a handful of bright blinky led's on it.

    They could even put on a 12AX7 vacuum tube to do something useful.

    They could put built-in auto ping.

    But what do they do? Put another layer of OS glop in the way. Big laffs!!

  8. Re:Pricey by bcmm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes, because we thought we'd get a better FPS increase from lower network latency.

    --
    # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
    Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  9. Will game soundtracks sound warmer, too? by brainnolo · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's right! The card has high quality vacuum tubes and a special magnetic stone that will make the sound much warmer. Another great feature is that this NIC is so powerful only your packets will get to the server, so nobody can shoot at you! Seriously now, what were these guys trying to do? Probably the card was created for the FNA thing, then when they found it had no application at all, they tried to find a market for it.

  10. And at this point I would like to announce: by ettlz · · Score: 4, Funny

    Killer IO-APIC!

    • Dispatch those interrupts ten times faster than the enemy so you can pwn!
    • Be on the cutting edge so you can react level when those unexpected events hit!
    • Totally slam your on-line opponents with our 8259-bustin' l33tn355!

    Stay alert, kids, because we'll soon be announcing Killer Keyboard Controller with Bitchin' Gate A20 Technology!

    Pwn!

    w00t!

  11. Re:Yes. by D3viL · · Score: 2, Funny

    Unfortunatly in addition to packets not getting there (packet loss) you also get packets getting there out of order so what you'd get is:

    #1: Alice moving to (0,30)
    #2: Alice moving to (0,20)
    #3: Alice moving to (0,30)
    #4: Alice moving to (0,10)
    #5: Alice moving to (0,30) ...
    "Look Alice is haveing a seizure"

  12. Ted Stevens and I believe the card works by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, yes, I'd have to weigh in with everyone else, it's snakeoil. Basically, any product designed entirely by a marketting group is going to be snakeoil, and this definitely was.

    Everyone knows the internets is a series of tubes. Well, this card hurls your data through the tubes with such force that it can't possibly get stuck.

    Make sure not to point the jack at anyone. You'll shoot someone's eye out.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:Ted Stevens and I believe the card works by Schemat1c · · Score: 4, Funny

      Everyone knows the internets is a series of tubes.

      Okay that's it, I officially declare the 'internet is a series of tubes' reference not funny any more.

      Thank you.

      --

      "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better." - Unknown
    2. Re:Ted Stevens and I believe the card works by dr_d_19 · · Score: 3, Funny


      Okay that's it, I officially declare the 'internet is a series of tubes' reference not funny any more.

      Thank you.


      Sure Schemat1c, but not everyone reads Slashdot... could you send out an Internet to everyone about this ?

    3. Re:Ted Stevens and I believe the card works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Yeah, to be honest, of all the things said during that horrid speech, that was the most accurage. tubes/pipes, WTF is the difference?

      Q: How is a tube like a pipe?
      A: Neither of them has anything to do with the Internet.

      Clearly, the Internet is a series of retards.

  13. Since I can write code for it... by Xedium · · Score: 2, Funny

    Since it runs Linux and apparently I can write code for it,

    if (packet.sender = "World of Warcraft") {
    packet.contents('health') = "100%";
    }

    I'll never lose at WoW!

  14. Re:Pricey by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Ahh, ramen noodles. High in carbohydrates, low in fibre, minerals and vitamins. High in saturated and trans fats. High in MSG and sodium.

    The cornerstone of any nutritious diet.

  15. but does it run... by sjalex · · Score: 2, Funny

    uh... minix?

  16. Re:Yes. by Feyr · · Score: 3, Funny

    in other news, there is such a thing as a "gaming network stack". forget ipv6! we're going full on gaming network!

  17. Where is the Disadvantage???? by woolio · · Score: 3, Funny

    While the network card Might improve the network connectivity for that one person, it more than likely does it by hurting the performance of the the network as a whole...

    That sounds like killing two birds with one stone....
    1) Decrease my latency
    2) Increase the latency of everyone else, including the snipers in CS

    This could be a gamer's paradise... It will be infinite successful.

    OTOH if it doesn't work, then it makes a great gift for a `friend'.

  18. Re:So it's a QoS Network Card? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    No no. The volume knobs are REAL. The site even explains how they work!

           
    The point here is the micro vibrations created by the volume pots and knobs find their way into the delicate signal path and cause degradation (Bad vibrations equal bad sound).


    ROFL.


    Yeah they're made from old Stradivaris.