Industrial Desktops

MacBook Air battery shown to persist two hours more time after browsing the legal online sans Flash

2010-11-04T23:48:00.001-07:00

Let's be honest, Apple's claim which it neglected to preload Flash though to the recent MacBook Airs therefore that users themselves may gain download plus install the freshest (and safest) version was once a little little touch from a red herring. During the dust that skinny veil of corporate courtesy, we're currently seeing a lovely potent cause for Apple's dumping of Adobe's wares. Ars Technica's review of the 11-inch Air found out therefore the machine could crank its approach through six hours of internet browsing once Flash was nowhere close to it, less than solely four hours allowing for Flash installed and offering it "the full web experience." The principal culprit was Adobe's penchant for employing CPU cycles to display animated ads, which were typically replaced by static imagery in the absence of the requisite software. So yeah, it isn't a surprise that a "richer" web would call for added resources, but it does no longer speak neatly for Flash's efficiency to locate a laptop loses a third of its longevity when running it.

iPhone Four liberate as to the market currently (update: video!)

2010-08-04T03:11:00.001-07:00

It could be the instant which several up of you suffer from were given been waiting for: the Dev-Team's ultrasn0w carrier free up for iPhone 4 is out. You will notice version 1.0-1 of ultrasn0w in Cydia on jailbroken devices. If no longer, simply total the repo666.ultrasn0w.com repository. It works for iPhone 4 baseband 01.59 plus 3G/3GS basebands 04.Twenty-six.08, 05.11.07, 05.Twelve.01 and 05.13.04. If none of the current brands sense then you've got no explanation why unlocking your device during the initial place, buddy. Update: No-nonsense video embeded after the break showing the way to jailbreak and unlock. Straightforward peasy.
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Intel boosts netbooks allowing for dual-core Atom, slims 'em down with 'Canoe Lake'

2010-06-01T11:24:00.001-07:00

You tend to be really coming back full circle at about which year's Computex, are no longer ya, Intel? It absolutely used to be at the legal Taipei display two years ago that Chipzilla introduced the first Atom netbooks, plus though it possesses taken awhile, the corporate could be at last proclaiming dual-core Atom processors for the category (not to mention slightly converting its celebration line on the facility up of the sub-laptops).
Whereas the primary points on the speeds and feeds of the latest Pine Trail N series CPUs are ending up though kept under wraps for currently, we've got been told that they is enough to support DDR3 RAM and supply comparable performance to the dual-core desktop Atom processors, nonetheless continue to maintain equivalent battery life to current netbooks. Intel still plans to keep these Atom chips in 10-inch systems, and told united states that users will be told the speed benefits in multitasking and browsing, rather in comparison to in HD playback and gaming.
But netbooks aren't purely concerning to become faster, they are definitely also traveling to head on a serious diet. Intel also unveiled its new "Canoe Lake" innovation platform for netbooks, and is the reason what is in the dust that 14mm thick machine pictured higher than. The platform can support single- and dual-core Atom processors, less than provides important cooling to permit for fifty p.c thinner systems. Nevertheless, "Canoe Lake" is barely a reference guideline for different manufacturers to apply, thus readily available is no telling what the machines that make use of this can gain realize yourself searching prefer. The dual-core Atom for netbooks is going back to production next week and ought to be shipping in netbooks prior to the vacation season. And as for that super skinny portable you're inevitably still peering at? Intel expects its partners to use the platform and feature products out by the finish of the present year. We tend to carry out not be acquainted allowing for about you, but the photographs underneath may keep us salivating until then.
Intel "Canoe Lake" netbook

Show full PR text Computex: Intel Outlines Formidable Atom Processor Plans, Products NEWS HIGHLIGHTS: - Highlights new product plans for Atom™ processor family: "Pine Trail" mobile dual-core processors and "Oak Trail" processors optimized for tablets and swish netbook shape factors. - Discloses razor-thin "Canoe Lake" innovation platform - a futuristic dual-core netbook measuring in at Fourteen millimeters - the world?s thinnest netbook - Demonstrates cross-device experiences based mostly on Intel?s distinctive "port of choice? software strategy which included Windows*, MeeGo* and Google operating systems. - Outlines expansion: Intel® Atom™ processors scaling to deliver PC-like computing platforms for automobiles, smartphones, smart Television devices, tablets, on decision of software.. COMPUTEX, Taipei, June 1, 2010 - At Computex nowadays, Intel Corporation unveiled new products and features based on its low-power Intel® Atom™ processor own family, including plans to further differentiate the well-liked netbook category, and expand into several new market segments beyond its growing, Portable, laptop and server businesses. Throughout the past Forty-five days, Intel and its Atom processor has entered a diversity of markets beyond the added than only Fifty 1000000 Intel-based netbooks sold during the past two years. Intel announced a processor and MeeGo* software win with Chinese carmaker HawTai Vehicle for a long run in-vehicle-infotainment platform; a greater than 50-times platform idle with Intel?s next generation Atom processor platform for hand-held devices including smartphones; and a accommodate Google, Sony and Logitech around Intel-based "Smart TVs" running Google Android*. The Intel Atom processor also powers the Intel® Reader, and the overall corporate has received more than three thousand non-PC artwork inquiries - a good amount of new-to-Intel potential consumers - starting up of fish finders to golf carts. Intel also recently unveiled the long run System on Chip (SoC) Atom-based "Tunnel Creek" that, for the first previous point, will permit other companies to attach his or her or him own custom silicon to Intel?s SoC product. During his keynote at Computex, David (Dadi) Perlmutter, government vice president and co-general manager, Intel Architecture Cluster, touched on these and other Intel efforts, which included showing off the world?s thinnest netbook running on the approaching mobile dual-core Intel/Page 2 "Pine Trail." At simply 14mm, the razor-thin "Canoe Lake" innovation platform runs cooler and is 50 percent thinner than every one or any other netbook customers can find on the market today. "Intel believes the strength of the Atom franchise can facilitate consumers realize the matters potential for a widespread experience to enable the compute continuum," said Perlmutter. "With platforms ranging from compact and transportable netbooks, to smart TV devices and leading edge tablets designs, Intel Architecture is driving cutting edge products based on a different "port of choice? software strategy." Keynote Highlights Citing 1,000,000 PCs sold a day1, Perlmutter also highlighted the momentum around the all new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family, including Intel® Wireless Display, and an overview of next-generation Intel® Core™ processors employing the Intel microarchitecture codenamed "Sandy Bridge," targeted to be in production past due 2010. Renee James, senior vice president and general manager of the Software and Services Group at Intel, joined Perlmutter onstage to talk about the way software - and software choice - will help drive Intel?s vision for Atom and a cross-device experience. This provides consumers consistency and accessibility to their content on a choice of computers and PC-like devices. James also announced Asus are definitely going to be the first OEM to ship a pre-installed, personalised AppUp consumer referred to as "asus app store" on netbooks this fall, beginning with Windows and following with MeeGo-based systems. New Atom Processors on Faucet In production next week and on shelves before vacation, mobile dual-core Atom will deliver a noticeably snappier, more responsive consumer experience in the identical compact form factors, and with the same great battery life. Intel Atom processors N455 and N475 with DDR3 support for netbooks are out there today and D525 and D425 for entry-level desktop PCs will be available on June Twenty-first. Available to customers early 2011, "Oak Trail" is optimized for sleek tablet and netbook designs, and will deliver up to a 50 percent reduction in average power consumption with full HD-video playback and concentrated on software choice including MeeGo*, Windows* 7 and Google operating systems. Intel is the worldwide leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the a must-have technologies that serve because the foundation for the world?s computing devices. Further
information about Intel is out there at www.intel.com/pressroom and
blogs.intel.com.
- Thirty -
Intel, Intel Atom and the Intel emblem are trademarks of Intel
Corporation in the u. s. and other countries.
* Other names and makes could also be claimed as the valuables of
others.
1TAM projection, 369Mu, pertaining to MS&F Feb Twenty-sixth forecast

Xbox 360 3-d gaming the legal reality allowing for LG partnership

2010-05-11T03:20:00.001-07:00

The apple iphone Video files Video files is a pleasant film encoder that helps changing AVI recordsdata to apple iphone. The avi-to-iphone.com
can also put Dvd, Video, Video, MPG, Realmedia (RM, RMVB), AVI (Dvd, XviD), ASF, Mpeg on your iPhone. The picture though to top up of could be unmistakeable: 3D gaming on an Xbox 360 allowing for the aid of an LG 3D television.
It is the small print which we're sorting out from LG's Korean press unleash. From the appearance of it, LG plus Microsoft suffer from entered back to a memorandum of understanding to jointly market LG's new 3D telvisions together aspect 3D-capable Xbox 360 games in South Korea, then later expanding throughout the Asia Pacific region. If we're reading about that correctly then it appears determined to start out by bundling Xbox 360 3D games with LG 55/47LX9500 LED televisions sometime at the finish of June. In different words, we tend to aren't seeing something categorical claiming new Xbox 360 hardware, similar to we have seen on the PS3.

Leica V-Lux Twenty compact allowing for 12x superzoom could be pure whole extortion

2010-04-20T18:25:00.001-07:00

The apple iphone Movies Video converter is a nice movie encoder which helps changing AVI recordsdata to apple iphone. The avi to iphone
may also put 3gp, 3gp, Mp3, MPG, Realmedia (RM, RMVB), AVI (Mp3, XviD), ASF, Mp4 in your apple iphone. It has out -- the V-LUX 20 -- what used to be rumor could be currently official courtesy from a Leica press unharness. The Twelve.1 megapixel superzoom allowing for 25-300mm Leica DC-VARIO-ELMAR 4.1-49.2mm f/3.3-4.Nine ASPH lens plus integrated GPS is slated to ship to the united kingdom in Can for a suggested retail price of ?495 (about $757, doubtless a little touch fewer after priced Stateside). The matte-black finished compact sports a Half of.33-inch CCD sensor, 720p/60fps Motion JPEG video recording, a 460,000 pixel 3-inch LCD, 11-point AF, SD/SDHC/SDXC storage, and dozens of features to drop back into manual mode once you desire a little added management of the action.
Great huh? Simply don't forget which the V-Lux 20 is the close to actual reproduction (same lens, sensor, LCD, and GPS) of the DMC-ZS7 which lists for just $399, is smaller, and shoots HD video during the more sophisticated AVCHD Lite format. Yeah, we tend to each one be familiar with.

Leica V-Lux 20 compact with 12x superzoom is a whole name
extortion

GE's LED lightweight bulbs appear cool, go on forever, cost the legal lot

2010-04-13T10:03:00.001-07:00

The iPhone Movies Video converter is a nice movie encoder that helps changing AVI recordsdata to apple iphone. The avi to iphone
may also put Mp4, Divx, Divx, MPG, Realmedia (RM, RMVB), AVI (Vob, XviD), ASF, Mp3 in your apple iphone. Electorate up of the legal world, you have a tendency to be searching at the lightbulb of the long term. During the arriving years plus decades our resides could be enough to no longer be illuminated by simple spheres or coils of white. Oh no; long run bulbs will be afflicted by cool fins and flares which create them appear almost well price the $40 to $50 we'll spend for the situations. That is what GE plans to request its Energy Smart LED bulb after it ships sometime in the following Twelve months, and whereas that may be much in comparison to the exiting features, have a look at the benefits: GE's bulbs will go back as to a whopping Seventeen years when utilized four hours an afternoon, and that they offer off light-weight in each one instructions -- not concentrated in one spot prefer previous designs. Less than, the majority of significantly, they are definitely awfully economical, employing nine watts to present off the comparable quantity of sunshine of a Forty watt incandescent bulb. That is 10 percent fewer compared to a 40 watt equivalent CFL, and readily available is no mercury or different poisonous goop concerned these either. It is the future, folks. Begin saving.
GE
Energy Smart LED bulb

iPad's trailing costs: just prefer the legal iPod touch, solely bigger?

2010-03-30T23:04:00.001-07:00

Whether or no longer or not you suspect the iPad could be in plus from itself a worthy purchase, let's not forget the investment does not finish at the retail counter or on-line shopping cart. Two little newsbits be afflicted by popped up to serve though a helpful reminder to merely which effect. The initial projects approach of verbiage up of the iPad end-user licensing agreement dug up by MacRumors; in a very nutshell, it means that whereas iPad OS Four.x updates have a tendency to be going to be provided gratis, subsequent releases (5.x, Six.x, and that on) may gain be accessible at a premium, a los angeles the simplest way iPod touch handles firmware. About that is still much from a confirmation, less than it has got smartly inside Apple's right to carry out therefore. The 2nd one touch is derived by The Consumerist by way a supposed leaked app store video. Comparing the prices of iPad-optimized software allowing for the iPhone equivalents showed kind of a hefty uptick in consumer cost -- e.g., $4.Ninety-nine Flight Management HD as opposed to.
$0.99 Flight Control. The pool of eight apps seen during the video would cost $53 in each one to install, while the identical determined for the iPhone is $27. That screen genuine estate carry out not come back affordable, y'know -- that could be, ought to the prices seen prove legit. At this purpose we have a tendency to is sufficient to not determine, and added compared to only probably, we will not be acquainted with for certain until the eleventh hour.

VS750 confirms LG's really like for WinMo Classic, starts torrid new affair allowing for Verizon

2010-03-22T20:48:00.001-07:00

Certain, each one the legal controversy in recent years could be concerning Windows Phone 7 Series plus every one the situations it can and can not carry out. Less than, during the months between currently and its unharness, companies continue to need to form money, and that LG possesses turned to Windows Mobile Classic Six.5 to drive its VS750. We have a tendency to first heard wind up of the present Verizon-bound machine keep in December, and now it has been spied by Mr. Blurrycam over at PhoneArena, apparently due for a mid-April release. The QWERTY slider is intended though a global phone, and its listing of wireless support certainly sounds comprehensive: CDMA 1x/EVDO Rev A. 800/1900MHz, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/190MHz and UMTS/HSDPA. Why, it will additionally come with plug adapters for Europe, Asia, and Australia right of the the box. It has fronted by a three.2-inch 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen, subsidized by a 3.2 megapixel camera, sports WiFi and Bluetooth, a microSDHC slot and, if our eyes do not deceive u. s., its case has added in comparison to just a passing resemblance to the prototype unveiled as to The Engadget Display a couple weeks back.

Hanvon's multitouch tablet previewed, surfaces in China March Twenty-fifth allowing for 1080p playback

2010-03-15T19:49:00.001-07:00

Though affordable Android craptablets were a commodity item at CeBIT 2010, which does not mean we tend to did not notice the occasional diamond during the rough. Specifically, the Hanvon Touchpad BC10C, a swish, multitouch Windows 7 device allowing for specs firmly entrenched in high-end netbook territory. Thank you to our loved one jkkmobile, we currently be familiar with precisely what could be powering about that factor -- a comparatively juice-gulping 1.3GHz Celeron M ULV 743 CPU plus GMA4500 graphics -- and that once it projects to the u. s. and Europe, it is enough to cost a little touch added in comparison to only we consideration, hovering around $877. Mind you, that price bump would possibly be worthwhile after you think about simply the way smoothly the 10-inch tablet performs (peep 1080p video and Microsoft Surface Globe demos after the break) less than additionally know your YouTube surfing sessions are going to be restricted by a simply unhappy 3.Five hours up of battery life. For after "mobile" isn't always an important word within your vocabulary... the BC10C launches in China March Twenty-fifth.
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Olympus Pen E-PL1 spins up the review cycle

2010-03-08T19:02:00.001-08:00

Olympus' E-PL1 could be the legal camera as to a mission -- it now not purely shrinks the entry-level value tag for Micro Four Thirds cameras to $600, it retains the identical Twelve.3 megapixel sensor, symbol processor, autofocus plus metering systems from its elder, the E-P1, whereas introducing its own benefits which also the pricier E-P2 does not supply (hello, integrated flash!). Along allowing for a 720p movie mode, a 14-42mm kit lens, and access to the growing catalog of Micro Four Thirds glass, it really appearance sort of a guaranteed win for the corporate, less than it has necessarily brilliant to steer it through a couple tests to be certain. While it sports a body rather richer in plastic compared to its senior siblings, we're told the E-PL1 continue to feels robust during the hand, and its management scheme is recommended for ending up though obtainable to novices and which included a dedicated video recording button. Image quality is ranked, as was once to be expected, right on par with the added expensive models with only the more professionally vulnerable ISO 3200 and 1/2000th shutter speed proving restricting. Get reading for fuller
impressions in addition to a bunch of sample video shot with the E-PL1.
Read
- Photography Blog

Read - Pocket-lint
Read -
dpreviewhref="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10444530-1.html">
Read - CNET
Read
- Imaging Resource

Palm's webOS [*fr1].Four update currently out there for Sprint, O2 plus Movistar phones

2010-02-27T10:40:00.001-08:00

No leaks or unharness date rumors about which duration, an insignificant 39mb download could be all that separates your Sprint, O2 or Movistar connected Pre up up of video recording, Flash, enhanced message notifications plus much-desired performance and battery life enhancements. Verizon, Bell and Telcel consumers tend to be unfortunately continue to waiting for his or him or her 24-hour interval during the sun, solely specified by the official Palm blog as "soon." Check out Palm's trailer for the recent features and the overall whole webOS 1.4 changelog once the break, after queueing up the download after all.
Display full PR text Feature adjustments to existing applications Amazon MP3 * After you download a song, the application displays the estimated download previous point. * If you are thus going to buy an album containing two or added identically named songs, Amazon MP3 currently downloads all of the songs correctly. App Catalog * An application developer can feature a video in App Catalog by offering a YouTube URL for the developer's application. The URL appears as a link on the app largest points screen. Tapping the relationship opens the video in the phone's YouTube application. Bluetooth * If you create a conference call from two outgoing decisions, you may now finish the conference call from a headset, if the headset model supports this feature. Calendar * You can customise calendar notification sounds in Personal tastes & Accounts. The features come back allowing for Mute, System Sound, Ringtone, and Vibrate. The Ringtone decision contains new notification sounds to supply you more customization selections. * With this release, long term occurrences of repeating Calendar events consistently appear correctly. * If you create an event and enters a phone number because the development brand name, location, or description, you can faucet the phone number on the event details screen to dial it. * A hot Choose All application menu item is on the market once the cursor is in an editable text field. * A new Sync Now application menu item offers you a moment thanks to manually synchronize your calendar accounts (in addition to the Sync Now button in Preferences & Accounts). * This release improves Calendar synchronization performance in poor network coverage spaces to optimize battery life. It also is sufficient to building up the default interval for synchronizing with on-line calendar accounts aside from Exchange accounts. * Editing a Google calendar event on the phone now now not sets an email reminder in Google on the net. * This release comprises improvements to the visual calendar display, which included a clearer indicator of AM and PM and improved current time display. Camera * You can record video whenever and wherever inspiration strikes with the new camcorder feature in Camera. After recording a video, you can edit the clip in Videos, upload the video whereas not delay to YouTube or Facebook, or send the video by email or multimedia message. Contacts * Global Address Lookup now appears as a contacts search option when you carry out a universal search. * If you import a Mac Address Book contact, all contact fields display correctly in the Contacts application. * If you decide on the Select All application menu item, text in all contact entry fields is selected. * This release improves Contacts synchronization performance in poor network coverage areas to optimize battery life. It also increases the default interval for synchronizing with online contacts accounts alternative compared to Exchange accounts. * Email addresses for Yahoo! contacts now suffer from descriptive labels
such as Home and Work. * Phone numbers labeled Other for Yahoo! contacts now appear with
the second label in the Contacts application. Device Info * You currently have two partial erase options: Erase Apps & Information, which erases all installed applications and associated data, and Erase USB Drive, which erases files stored on the USB drive. * This release encompasses a new Secure Full Erase option. A secure full erase takes considerably more time than a customary full erase. Email * You can customize calendar notification sounds in Preferences & Accounts. The options include Mute, System Sound, Ringtone, and Vibrate. The Ringtone option includes new notification sounds to offer you more customization choices. * A new Sort application menu item enables you to sort the message listing in all or any email folder. The kind options are By Date, By Sender, and By Subject. Tapping the currently selected sort option changes the sort from ascending to descending or descending to ascending.
Tapping a more in-depth sort option sorts by that option in ascending order. * When you receive a message with one or more connected files, the first file to be fully downloaded opens automatically. * You can tap a phone number in the subject line of an email message to dial it, or tap a URL in the subject line to open the online browser to that page. * If the message body encompasses a phone number and you tap and hold the amount, a menu appears displaying options to call, Text, or Add To Contacts (if the number is simply not already saved in a very contact). * If the message body contains an email address and you tap and hold the address, a menu appears displaying options to Email or Add To Contacts (if the e-mail address is not already saved in a contact). * You can sign in to an email account along with a domain of up to six letters (such as .museum or .travel). * For POP email accounts, a new preference allows you to make a decision to delete a message on the phone when it looks deleted on the server. The default is that messages deleted on the server are not deleted on the phone. * If you forward a message that contains attachments, and the attachments are not downloaded, the Email app first downloads the attachments and then forwards the message with the files attached. * In an Exchange account, if you delete one or more attachments to a received message and then forward the message, the Email app no longer includes the deleted attachments with the forwarded message. * You can successfully move a message from the Trash folder to the Inbox in a Yahoo! account.
* If you send a message with an attachment from a Hotmail account to a different Hotmail account, the message is distributed correctly with the attachment. * If you send an email that contains periods from an SMTP account, the periods display correctly in the recipient's email application. * If you respond to an email message with a couple of recipients, the reply screen opens scrolled to the message body so you can begin typing the reply text right away. * If you search a worldwide Address List for a contact in the Email app, the app returns the identical decided of search results as though you were shopping in Contacts. * Special characters display correctly in the subject line of a received message. * If you are functioning in one application and operate an action that opens the Email application-for example, by tapping an email address in Contacts to compose an email message-when you whole the action, the Email application presentations full-screen (not as a card). * This release offers improved account setup for Yahoo and Gmail hosted domains. * You can select and edit text from a message that you just are forwarding. * This release includes multiple performance improvements in Email, including improved handling of message replies and forwarded messages and quicker response times to gestures. Location Services * If you switch off the utilization GPS and employ Google Services options beneath the Discover Me Employing application menu item, the Locate Me Using menu item is still available. Memos * If a memo contains a phone number and you tap and hold the number, a menu appears displaying options to Call, Text, or Add To Contacts (if the number is not already saved in a contact). * If a memo contains an email address and you tap and hold the address, a menu appears displaying options to Email or Add To Contacts (if the email address is not already saved in a contact). Messaging * You can dial a phone number directly from a conversation by tapping Text or the IM account name displayed in the upper-right corner and tapping the phone icon next to the number you need to dial. Phone numbers include the sort of number: home, mobile, and therefore on. * You can attach a video to an outgoing multimedia message. * You can forward a text or multimedia message via email by tapping and holding the message and tapping Forward Via Email in the menu that appears. The Email application opens in compose read with the message text as the body of the new email message. If the message was once a multimedia message, the multimedia message appears in the Subject field of the email, and any attachments from the multimedia message appear as attachments in the email. * If a message contains a phone number and you tap and hold the number, a menu appears displaying options to Call, Text, or Add To Contacts (if the number is not already saved in a contact). * If a message contains an email address and you tap and hold the address, a menu appears displaying options to Email or Add To Contacts (if the email address is not already saved in a contact). * In a conversation, incoming and outgoing messages are labeled with the phone number or IM account employed. Phone * Multiple sequential calls to and from the same person are now grouped as a single entry within your call history. * You can tap the contact photo or icon in a decision history entry to display options for that entry, including dialing an alternative number, sending a text message, opening a contact, or adding the number as a contact. The expanded display also includes call details such as call duration and contact number type. * If you create a conference call from two outgoing calls, you can now end the conference call from a Bluetooth headset, if the headset model supports this feature. * If you access the list of nations from the international Dialing preference, you can search the list by returning into the first couple of letters of a country name. * If you are on a call with a contact, tapping the contact photo on the active call screen no longer opens the contact entry. Footage * Photos you replica onto the phone now appear correctly rotated in Photos, regardless of his or her initial rotation. Screen & Lock * New blink notifications (a blinking light-weight in the gesture area) alert you when email, text message, or other notifications arrive.
You transparent the blink notification by turning the screen off and on or unlocking the screen. The blink notification preference is on by default; you can flip it off in Screen & Lock > Blink Notifications. * Screen lock now supports any timeout interval assigned by a corporate Exchange system administrator. Sounds & Ringtones * This release adds new user-selectable notification sounds under Ringtone. Sprint Television * If you are watching Sprint TV through a stressed out headset and unplug the headset, audio playback continues through the phone's speaker and video playback continues without pausing. System * This release offers better overall performance, including faster loading time for apps and increased battery life across a much broader number of user eventualities. * A startup card appears when you tap an icon to open an application. * Global Address Lookup now appears as a contacts search option when you perform a universal search. * If you tap an open contact record in universal search results, the record closes and does not scroll off the screen. * If you are enjoying a game and a phone or calendar notification arrives, the sport pauses while the notification is coming up. * You can briefly unencumber the screen by dragging up from the gesture space across the onscreen lock icon. * This release improves the speed of downloading applications and files. Updates * If an update becomes available when you are on a call, the update notification displays only after you finish the call. Videos * You can upload a recorded video to YouTube or Facebook on the internet. * Videos you record appear in the Video roll folder. * You can edit recorded video. You can also delete recorded video, video copied from a p. c., or video received as an attachment to an email message. * You can attach a video to an outgoing multimedia message. * If you tap the option to percentage an uploaded video, you have the option to send the link via email, text message, or Facebook. Web * If an online page contains a phone number and you tap and hold the number, a menu appears displaying options to Call, Text, or Add To Contacts (if the number is not already saved in a contact). * If a web page contains an email address and you tap and hold the address, a menu appears displaying options to Email or Add To Contacts (if the email address is not already saved in a contact). * This release includes support for the Adobe Flash 10.1 Beta plugin. Note therefore the plugin is the legal standalone app that would be available in App Catalog. Wi-Fi * A new Sleep Settings application menu item allows you to modify a surroundings so that if Wi-Fi is on and the phone screen turns off, the Wi-Fi feature turns off. By default, if Wi-Fi is on and the screen turns off, the Wi-Fi feature stays on. Security This release implements a security fix to the developer portal. It now uses HTTPS to shelter all sensitive data. We tend to would prefer to thank
Andrew King and Michael Siroskey for reporting this problem.
Individuals inquisitive about contacting Palm to report suspected
security problems can notice additional information at palm.com/security
.

Buffalo Kokuyo reveals 4-port USB Three.Zero hub, leaves you little option less than to upgrade

2010-02-17T18:58:00.001-08:00

Oh c'mon, which
80-port USB 2.0 hub served you neatly, plus frankly, it owes you
nada. Allowing for USB
Three.0 upon us, it could be purely a matter from your previous point prior to each and every persist
external HDD, scanner and printer you own is cruising together the legal
SuperSpeed highway, and whereas that could be manifestly a gross
exaggeration, we've got necessarily been one for proactiveness. If you are
anxious concerning having the bandwidth to carry out something about the following generation of
USB, Japan's own Buffalo Kokuyo has got simply the thing: a 4-port USB
3.0 hub. The BSH4A03U3 supports Windows and Mac platforms and
guarantees to handle speeds up to 5Gbps, though the ?8,000 ($89)
asking value does feel a wee touch steep.

OreObject SPHEREtouch mouse could be the $155 ball up of touch-enabled steel

2010-02-07T21:30:00.001-08:00

Dare we tend to have a tendency to be saying which circular-shaped mice are literally changing into a
trend? Swooping in sort from a ball though to Newton's Cradle could be the legal legal OreObject
SPHEREtouch mouse to knock the
Jelfin mouse on its head. Though about that period we've were given got to admit
the pricey SPHEREtouch possesses united states rather intrigued. No longer solely is the
hand-crafted mouse on the market within your decision of steel, titanium plus
platinum, less than OreObject has shaken situations up along allowing for a giant
horizontal scroll wheel and two touch-sensitive buttons. Mac and Laptop
compatible, it each one sounds attention-grabbing and appears terribly lovely until
you realize therefore the steel version starts at $155 and that the
platinum one is enough to decided you keep $225. For that sort of money, we might
a minimum of be expecting them to chop the twine for a few Bluetooth. But hey,
if you've got necessarily wanted at least one indestructible ball of steel
that source link has your brand name all over it.

Display full PR text

Emeryville, CA - February 1, 2010 - OreObject, a
newly-launched manufacturer of upscale ergonomic and approach to life
peripherals, these days introduced the revolutionary SPHEREtouch
handcrafted mouse. The SPHEREtouch represents the flagship product
in OreObject's premier line of personal computing peripherals and
features cutting edge, touch-sensitive buttons that are significantly
fewer strenuous on a user's fingers compared to the conventional
mouse.

The innovative touch-sensitive buttons and the overall vertical button
placement are engineered to permit fingers to 'dangle' freely after no
button actuation is required. Whereas the conventional mouse
specifies force exertion by the finger both and every previous point the mouse button
is clicked, a slight tapping motion is all that is required for the
SPHEREtouch mouse to accomplish the identical task. Base on an internal
learn about conducted in 2009, an average mouse user clicks smartly over 800
times regarding mean solar day. "You can imagine what kind of exertion that is applied
to a single finger which additionally does scrolling," said Charles Tseng,
founder & chief designer at OreObject.

OreObject's artwork offers creativity, innovation and comfort that
suffer from never prior to been seen in an exceedingly p. c. mouse. OreObject has long past
through an extensive material selection process to make certain that the
SPHEREtouch possess both advanced functionality and timeless
durability. Constructed of the a medical- grade stainless steel
enclosure, the forged feel of the mouse in conjunction with the high
quality ceramic feet provides the user with a feeling of
weightlessness on smooth/non-abrasive surfaces.

The utilization of multiple high-precision bearings and a large horizontal
scroll wheel permits the users to smoothly scroll through long
documents or zoom in and out of applications such as Google Earth
very a lot kind of favor a DJ spins the turntable. "It's very
intuitive and artistic approach of scrolling. You'll be ready to never go back back to
scrolling along with your index finger once more," said Charles Tseng,
founder & chief designer at OreObject.

Pricing & Availability

SPHEREtouch is currently available for pre-order through OreObject's
on-line boutique (www.OreObject.com). Expected ship date in early
March. Three precious metal trims are going to be obtainable at the launch -
STEEL with satin stainless steel finish for $155, TITANIUM with
polished titanium coating for $175, and the PLATINUM with polished
platinum finish for $225. Each SPHEREtouch projects with a nylon-mesh
tangle-free USB cord, duo- mode buttons, laser-engraved trademarks, and
a microfiber travel pouch. It looks compatible with Windows XP,
Windows Vista, Windows Seven, and Mac OS X Leopard version 10.Four or
later. SPHEREtouch is designed for left or right-handed
users.

OreObject is pioneering a hot line of upscale, personal computing
peripherals. OreObject is committed to offering the the majority of
innovative designs in addition to the the majority of intuitive, functional
experiences for its finish users. Founded in 2009, every OreObject
product is assembled by hand at its own assembly facility.

For further product information: www.OreObject.com

Microsoft CFO says 'we'll be afflicted by rather added to say' concerning WinMo seven in February

2010-01-30T22:59:00.001-08:00

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CyberPower intros Atom-powered Windows Home Server 100

2009-02-22T11:58:00.001-08:00

The Windows Home Server parade has slowed to a crawl, but we figure we speak for each and every streaming media lover out there when we invite more companies to give this whole thing a go. CyberPower, a firm that generally sticks to gaming towers, has apparently done just that with its Windows Home Server 100, a plainly styled SFF machine that automatically backs up local PCs and provides networked access to all sorts of files. But for those who look closely, you'll realize that the model name here is just coincidental, as it's "Windows 2003 Server OEM version" running the show. If you're still interested, the rig boasts a 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor, a mini-ITX motherboard, GMA 950 graphics, gigabit Ethernet, a 500GB SATA II hard drive and 2GB of DDR2 memory. Shame on you for getting our hopes up, CyberPower.

Fujitsu and Toshiba reach agreement on hard drive business deal

IBM's Sequoia: 20x faster than the world's fastest supercomputer

2009-02-17T07:57:00.005-08:00

Roadrunner? Pfff, your chart-topping 1.105 petaflops are laughable. IBM just announced its 20-freaking-petaflop Sequoia supercomputer due for delivery by 2012. While supercomputer speeds have steadily increased year-over-year, a 20x jump in calculations per second since the last world ranking is unheard of, even if the system has yet to come on-line. Slated to spend its life simulating nuclear explosions, Sequoia will use 45-nm (PowerPC, presumably) processors with 16 cores per chip for as many as 4,096 processors per rack. That's a total of 1.6 million cores assisted by 1.6 petabytes of memory. Perhaps all this processing power might help IBM understand the futility of its Lotus Notes strategy.

Shuttle ships liquid-cooled SDXi Carbon SFF gaming PC

2009-02-17T07:57:00.003-08:00

Got a hankering for an all new gaming rig, preferably one that could fit in your over-sized backpack should the need arise? Ready to spend boatloads of cash to make it happen? If you're eagerly nodding your head up and down, have a look at Shuttle's liquid-cooled SDXi Carbon, a fancily painted machine that checks in at 7.3- x 7.9- x 12.2-inches and gets powered by a 3GHz core 2 Duo E8400 CPU. Other specs include 2/4/8GB of RAM, between 250GB and 2TB of hard drive space, an optional Blu-ray writer, your choice of NVIDIA GPU, gigabit Ethernet and optional WiFi. The starting price on this bugger is an amazing $2,599, and if you plan on customizing the base configuration whatsoever, you should probably plan on taking out yet another line of credit on what's left of your home.

QNAP busts out Core 2 Duo-equipped TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS

Archos announces new Moorestown-based netbook, 9-inch tablet

2009-02-17T07:57:00.001-08:00

We saw the rough'n'ready Archos 10 get reviewed mere days ago, and now the company's back with the Atom-powered Archos 10s, a new 20mm thin netbook with 3.5G functionality, 1GB memory, Windows XP Home and up to 160GB storage. Additionally, the company has designs on a 17mm-thin, 9-inch tablet based on Intel's Moorestown MID platform, to see the light of day sometime this year. This guy will include the Intel System Controller Hub chipset, up to 160GB storage, VOD and hi-def video playback, and digital TV reception. The Archos 10s should be available sometime in April, at a price to be announced.

IBuyPower dishes Dragon-based gaming desktops under $1,500

2009-02-13T07:39:00.001-08:00

Yet again, IBuyPower is stepping out with a few new gaming rigs for the bargain-minded among us. The most recent duo to be outed by the company is the Gamer HAF 91B and the Gamer Fire, both of which are based on AMD's latest Dragon platform and Phenom II CPU. The former gets going at just $999 and includes the Phenom II X4 920 processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 500GB SATA II hard drive, a dual-layer DVD writer, ATI's 512MB Radeon HD 4850 graphics card, a CoolerMaster HAS 932 case and a 550-watt power supply. The more fiery sibling ups the ante with a Phenom II X4 940 CPU, a 750GB HDD, LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray drive and an NZXT Guardian 921 chassis. 'Course, you'll be paying $1,439 for that one, but either way you'll be keeping things below the evidently magical $1.5k mark. Order away, should you be so inclined. Full release is after the jump.
iBUYPOWER Launches Two New Dragon Based Systems – Gamer HAF 91B and Gamer Fire
Both systems Feature the AMD Phenom II, and ATI Radeon 4000 Series Graphics Card for under $1,500
El Monte, CA – February 12, 2009 – iBUYPOWER, known for its innovative and powerful gaming PCs, is excited to announce two new systems based on AMD's Dragon Platform both under $1,500. The Gamer HAF 91B and Gamer Fire are priced at just $999 and $1,439 respectively and both feature the new AMD Phenom II processors AMD 790GX Crossfire™ chipset, and ATI Radeon 4000 series graphics cards. The new Phenom II processors provide improved performance and power consumption characteristics over older AMD Quad-cores, with value unsurpassed in the consumer CPU market.
"We felt it was time offer the Dragon Platform technology to casual gamers looking to purchase a high-end system without the high-end price tag," said Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER. "With the Gamer HAF 91B and Fire we can offer powerful systems that deliver high definition graphics and smooth game play at a great value."
Housed in the highly accessible Gamer HAF enclosure, the iBUYPOWER Gamer HAF 91B ships with AMD Phenom™ II X4 920 Processor, 4GB DDR2-800 Memory, and an ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 512MB Video. The iBUYPOWER Gamer HAF 91B was designed for the entry-level PC gamer looking for powerful, yet affordable gaming system.
For a more comprehensive gaming and media solution, iBUYPOWER offers the Gamer Fire system in the NZXT Guardian 921 Case. Customers who upgrade to the Gamer Fire can take advantage of the speedy AMD Phenom™ II X4 940 Processor, a CPU liquid cooling system, LG GGC-H20L BLU-RAY Reader Drive for HD playback and an 800W power supply for just $440 more. iBUYPOWER also included the dominating ATI Radeon™ HD 4870X2 2GB Video Card in the Gamer Fire to provide a significant boost in gaming performance.
The iBUYPOWER Gamer HAF 91B and Gamer Fire are available at www.iBUYPOWER.com.

IBM Tivoli comes to the cloud

2009-02-10T10:36:00.003-08:00

The new world of computing has not been particularly kind thus far to the historical management vendors. It's not that virtulization and cloud computing in their various--and often ambiguous guises--have made past styles of computing irrelevant. COBOL programs still underlay lots of important business processes, after all. (Credit: IBM) But newer approaches to computing--often characterized by ground-up and tactical solutions to IT concerns--have tended to trump the sort of big, architected, expensive paths to nirvana that the likes of enterprise management have tended to take. The fact is that the likes of CA Unicenter, HP OpenView, and IBM Tivoli may not have been a part of computing over the past five years or so--but they haven't exactly been on top of the exciting new action, either. This is a context that makes IBM's Dynamic Infrastructure news, coming out of its Pulse conference in Las Vegas, worthy of more than passing mention. Tivoli is, broadly, IBM's management software assets within its broader software group. IBM breaks Tivoli software into a variety of categories such as asset management; business application management; security management; server, network, and device management; service management; service provider solutions; and solutions for growing medium businesses. The announcements IBM made at Pulse touch on a variety of areas--including storage. However, what I find most strategically notable are those related to service management. These include:

IBM service management software and services from IBM Global Business Services, IBM Global Technology Services, and specialized IBM Business Partner capabilities. Together, they enable organizations to design and implement IT systems that centrally manage and monitor an entire industry infrastructure, enabling greater performance of both traditional assets, such as manufacturing robotic equipment, as well as emerging technologies like "smart meters" and RFID (radio frequency identification).
A new governance-consulting practice. Through the practice, IBM works with clients to design governance systems to help mitigate risks related to business changes, changing market conditions, and regulatory requirements.
New Tivoli Service Automation Manager software, which automates the design, deployment, and management of services such as middleware, applications, hardware, and networks, tasks that today are largely done manually and thus are subject to error, time constraints, and other human limitations.
New Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager software, which helps organizations simplify the life cycle of encryption keys by enabling them to centralize, automate, and strengthen security through key management processes, with an increasing number of IT infrastructure elements having built in encryption to protect them.

What most struck me about these announcements is the way that they intersect with other discussions that I've had with IBM of late related to System Z (i.e., IBM mainframes) and cloud computing. On the System Z front, IBM's Karl Freund and Joe Castano recently walked me through a road map discussion that was fundamentally concerned with issues such as how to deal with "composite" applications that run across multiple platforms (including, but not limited to, System Z) and how to simplify hybrid transactions in such an environment. From my perspective, this sounds a lot like past System Z initiatives related to being the "hub" of the digital enterprise. But this has a much more explicit management--which is to say Tivoli--focus. More broadly, I also had the opportunity last week to hear Erich Clementi and Chris O'Connor walk me though IBM's new cloud-computing organization. Clementi and O'Connor presented what my colleague Jonathan Eunice described as a "very heavyweight, enterprisey view of cloud." Put another way, my take was that this was really about how IBM will help the enterprise implement a version 2.0 of SOA (service-oriented architecture): lots of IBM Global Services (IGS) and lots of Tivoli management goodness. There is nothing wrong with any of this. But it's a view of the cloud through the top-down lens of an enterprise-architected Tivoli and IGS approach, rather than the bottom-up, tactical, always-in-beta methodology that's been most associated with the consumer cloud.

AMD's new Phenom II chips take on Intel

2009-02-10T10:36:00.001-08:00

Advanced Micro Devices added new Phenom II desktop models on Monday, including triple-core processors, as it tries to outdo Intel desktop price-performance. The Phenom II "Dragon" line of desktop processors uses AMD's new 45-nanometer technology and comprises both quad-core (X4) and triple-core (X3) parts. The triple-core Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor is priced at $145, which AMD compares to Intel's Core 2 Duo (dual-core) E8400 processor, priced at $163. The quad-core x4 810 processor (2.6GHz) is priced at $175 versus the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor (2.33GHz), priced at $163. The Phenom II processors fit in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets and support DDR2 or next generation DDR3 memory technology. Models include:

AMD Phenom II X4 910 - (2.6GHz)
AMD Phenom II X4 810 - (2.6GHz)
AMD Phenom II X4 805 - (2.5GHz)
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - (2.8GHz)
AMD Phenom II X3 710 - (2.6GHz)

The processors are available immediately, AMD said.

Engadget's recession antidote: win a Razer Lycosa Mirror!

IBM Tivoli comes to the cloud

2009-02-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

IBM service management software and services from IBM Global Business Services, IBM Global Technology Services, and specialized IBM Business Partner capabilities. Together, they enable organizations to design and implement IT systems that centrally manage and monitor an entire industry infrastructure, enabling greater performance of both traditional assets, such as manufacturing robotic equipment, as well as emerging technologies like "smart meters" and RFID (radio frequency identification).
A new governance-consulting practice. Through the practice, IBM works with clients to design governance systems to help mitigate risks related to business changes, changing market conditions, and regulatory requirements.
New Tivoli Service Automation Manager software, which automates the design, deployment, and management of services such as middleware, applications, hardware, and networks, tasks that today are largely done manually and thus are subject to error, time constraints, and other human limitations.
New Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager software, which helps organizations simplify the life cycle of encryption keys by enabling them to centralize, automate, and strengthen security through key management processes, with an increasing number of IT infrastructure elements having built in encryption to protect them.

AMD's new Phenom II chips take on Intel

2009-02-10T09:03:00.001-08:00

Advanced Micro Devices added new Phenom II desktop models on Monday, including triple-core processors, as it tries to outdo Intel desktop price-performance. The Phenom II "Dragon" line of desktop processors uses AMD's new 45-nanometer technology and comprises both quad-core (X4) and triple-core (X3) parts. The triple-core Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor is priced at $145, which AMD compares to Intel's Core 2 Duo (dual-core) E8400 processor, priced at $163. The quad-core X4 810 processor (2.6GHz) is priced at $175 versus the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor (2.33GHz), priced at $163. The Phenom II processors fit in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets and support DDR2 or next generation DDR3 memory technology. Models include:

AMD Phenom II X4 910 - (2.6GHz)
AMD Phenom II X4 810 - (2.6GHz)
AMD Phenom II X4 805 - (2.5GHz)
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - (2.8GHz)
AMD Phenom II X3 710 - (2.6GHz)

The processors are available immediately, AMD said.

Engadget's recession antidote: win a Razer Lycosa Mirror!

German Mac clone company thinks Germany doesn't have laws

2009-02-08T06:16:00.001-08:00

We're never going to get tired of the insane legal theories would-be Mac clone companies trot out to try and circumvent incredibly basic copyright and contract law concepts -- like Psystar claiming Apple has a monopoly on its own products -- and today we've got German cloners HyperMeganet, who'll sell you a 3.2GHz Core i7 Blu-ray-equipped PearC tower with Mac os X preinstalled for €2,408 ($3,111). According to the wonderfully-named Hypermeganet, German law requires EULAs to be available for review before purchase, so Apple can't enforce its license restrictions since the Mac OS X EULA isn't printed on the outside of the box. Leaving aside the fact that the OS X installer displays the EULA on-screen and that you have to click "Agree" before installing, we'd just like to point out that all of Apple's license agreements are available for your leisurely perusal before purchase right here -- including the German OS X license, which we're damn sure Apple's foreign counsel has made sure is valid and applicable in that country. Oops. We'll see how long Hypermeganet can keep itself out of trouble -- seriously, when will these companies learn that all they're doing is hurting the homebrew OS X hacking scene by tempting Apple into locking down their systems even harder?

IDrive Portable HDD backs your files up locally and online

S1Digital intros P500 Media Center, updates ProLine Series of HTPCs

2009-02-05T08:41:00.001-08:00

It's been a hot minute since S1Digital tickled our attention with a new media center, but the outfit is hitting back this year with a new machine along with updates to a number of its ProLine Series rigs. The new kid on the block is the P500 Media Center, which is available with up to four CableCARD tuners (plus a QAM / ATSC tuner), support for internal RAID5 storage, HDMI / DVI, 7.1-channel audio output and Intel's latest Core 2 Duo processors. As for the refreshed bunch, you can catch the S800 and P600 with Blu-ray drives as standard, quad CableCARD tuners and support for home automation integration with Crestron, AMX, RTI, HAI and PC based-touchscreens over IP or RS-232. Every machine mentioned here can be ordered up now, with the new P500 starting at a staggering $5,999 sans tuners.

OpenFrame and O2 caught canoodling in the wild

S1Digital intros P500 Media Center, updates ProLine Series of HTPCs

2009-02-05T08:40:00.001-08:00

OpenFrame and O2 caught canoodling in the wild

Intel: use our CPU (not their GPU) for game coding

2009-02-02T06:03:00.001-08:00

Intel is back, pitching its processors for gaming graphics. The chipmaker will attempt to promote its silicon for sophisticated game effects at the upcoming Game Developer's Conference in March, as it strives to make a case for quad-core processors in lieu of graphics chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. The pitch goes like this: "Learn how to easily add real-time 3D smoke, fog and other fluid simulations to your game without using up the GPU." That's according to an Intel Web page entitled Intel at Game Developer Conference. (The CPU is the central processing unit, or main brains of a computer; GPU stands for graphics processing unit.) The session abstract goes on to say that the "source code to a fluid simulator optimized for multi-core CPUs...can easily be integrated by game developers into their engines to produce unique 3D effects." Intel's argument begs the question, how should the CPU and GPU divvy up their tasks? In games, the CPU can handle things like physics and AI (artificial intelligence), and certain older games actually run some graphics on the CP. Generally, however, the GPU is much more efficient (that is, faster) at handling most of the high-end effects that the gamer sees on the screen. But there are exceptions. "Not all algorithms and processes map well to a GPU," said Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. "You have to have a problem that is naturally parallel, and except for the rendering of, say, a water surface and subsurface and reflections, the wave motion equations will run just fine on a CPU," Peddie said. Intel may also be seeking ways to make better use of its quad-core processors, according to Tom R. Halfhill, an analyst at the Microprocessor Report. But, he added: "I need to be convinced that a CPU can do those 3D effects better than a GPU can." Then, there's also the Larrabee factor. Larrabee is an upcoming high-end graphics processor due late this year. "I'm sure some of it may also relate to Larrabee, which will include x86 cores, if or when it comes to market," said Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat. (This Mythbusters demonstration at an Nvidia conference is oversimplified and self-serving but it crystallizes the difference between CPUs and GPUs.) In another GDC session, Intel is also pushing the CPU for physics and AI: "How can your game have more accurate physics, smarter AI, more particles, and/or a faster frame-rate? By threading your game's engine to take advantage of multi-core processors. Intel has built a threaded game engine and demo called 'Smoke' that shows one way of achieving this goal," the abstract states. It continues: "This presentation examines the Smoke architecture and how it is designed to take advantage of all CPU cores available within a system. It does this by executing different functional and data blocks in parallel to utilize all available cores." Intel won't stop there. It will also focus on the bane of many PC game developers: gaming on Intel integrated graphics silicon--a relatively low-performance platform that prohibits game titles from being displayed in all their glory at higher resolutions. The session will focus on "programming for scalable graphics applications" and cover "performance considerations when programming for integrated graphics in general with specific tips for Intel Integrated graphics."

Netbook in a suitcase: all the shortcomings of a subnote in a large, inconvenient package

2009-02-01T18:31:00.001-08:00

This is true art, friend. The amazing "brotato" (rhymes with potato, in a perfect world) has hacked together netbook components, an ancient keyboard and a 14.2-inch LCD into this classy case, dubbing the project "The Poor Man's Netbook." The box is running Windows XP, but he tested it out with Windows 7 and Mac OS X and it performed beautifully, except for the Bluetooth 2.1 module. The box is based on a Mini-ITX Intel D945GCLF2 Dual Core 1.6Ghz Atom motherboard, with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD and 802.11n WiFi -- though you'll have to hunt down an outlet, there's no battery power here. The best news is that he's selling the whole conglomeration on eBay, perfect for completing that piece of horrible cyberpunk fiction you've been slaving over on your boringtop.

Nortel quits the mobile WiMAX game

Maingear intros Remix workstation for the creative professional

2009-02-01T00:37:00.001-08:00

We tell ya, Maingear doesn't get a lot of play amongst the big timers like Dell and HP, but it sure knows how to crank out machines that are just different enough to be worth examining. Enter the Remix workstation, a desktop designed for creative professionals who dabble in graphic design, video production and pro audio. As expected, there's plenty of horsepower under the hood including a Core i7 CPU, Quadro FX / CX GPU options, up to 12GB of DDR3 RAM, RAID 0 HDD configurations, gobs of ports and an advanced liquid cooling system to keep the fans from making too much racket. The "handbuilt in America" machine starts at $1,999, though you can easily push that figure above the four grand mark with just a few tweaks. Full release is after the break.
MAINGEAR Launches Remix™ Creative Workstation PC
MAINGEAR Extends Lineup of Award-Winning PCs to Creative Professionals
Remix Features NVIDIA Quadro CX, M-Audio Interface Cards, and Liquid Cooling from CoolIT Systems
Union, New Jersey – January 29th, 2009 – MAINGEAR Computers, award-winning builders of high performance custom computers for PC Enthusiasts, announced the availability of the next generation of workstations in the market. MAINGEAR will be arming enthusiasts in photoshop, graphic design, video production, pro audio and other creative professions with the new high performance Remix Workstation.
"With Remix, we've leveraged years of experience in high performance computing in the PC Gaming and Enthusiast market and are extending that same level of performance, value and service to creative professionals everywhere with a workstation PC capable of handling even the most rigorous computing tasks" said Wallace Santos, CEO and Founder of MAINGEAR.
Optimized for Photo/Graphics/Video Enthusiasts – By integrating NVIDIA® Quadro CX®, MAINGEAR is offering the fastest creative workstation designed and optimized for Adobe® Creative Suite® 4. This will provide professionals with the tools, performance and reliability needed to maximize creativity. Harness the power of the Remix to encode H.264 video up to 4x faster with the NVIDIA CUDA™-enabled plug-in for Adobe® Premiere Pro CS4*. All this extra performance shaves hours off your encoding and rendering time, offering the power and flexibility needed to be creative during critical crunch times. This powerful system with NVIDIA's latest graphics technology maximizes a number of visually intensive functions, including:
* Bring unprecedented fluidity to image navigation. The Remix enables real-time image rotation, zooming, and panning, and makes changes to the view instantaneous and smooth. Also, on-screen compositing of both 2D and 3D content, ensuring smoothly anti-aliased results regardless of zoom level. Brush resizing and brushstroke preview, 3D movement, high-dynamic-range tone mapping, and color conversion are also accelerated.
* Accelerate a variety of creative effects, making it easier than ever to add graphics and visual effects to video, which allows the artist to quickly move from concept to final product and speeds up the workflow. Effects accelerated include depth of field, bilateral blur effects, turbulent noise such as flowing water or waving flags, and cartoon effects. The Remix with the Quadro CX takes advantages of these workflow enhancements.
* Accelerate high-quality video effects such as motion, opacity, color, and image distortion. The Remix also enables faster editing of multiple high-definition video streams and graphic overlays and provides a variety of video output choices for high-quality preview, including DisplayPort, component TV, or uncompressed 10-bit or 12-bit SDI.
"NVIDIA specifically designed and optimized the Quadro CX graphics card to significantly enhance the performance of Adobe CS4," says Tyler Worden, Market Development Manager, Professional Solutions, NVIDIA. "By offering the Remix systems equipped with Quadro CX, MAINGEAR is offering its creative professional customers a complete solution that will have a transformative impact on the quality, image manipulation and processing speed of all Adobe CS4 applications."
Enhanced for Audio Editing – MAINGEAR Remix's advanced sound insulation makes it the perfect workstation choice for audio editing in the studio. Remix offers an array of some of the best PCI Audio Interfaces in the industry from M-Audio that offer the fullest range of audio editing capabilities designed to handle the needs of the most demanding project and professional studios.
Reliable and Feature Rich - The MAINGEAR Remix is built to meet the most meticulous specifications and supported by the best team in the industry. The most cutting edge features enable the Remix to deliver performance when you need it.
* Studio quality sound insulation – Advanced insulation materials keeps the noise in and dense mesh air filters keep the dust out
* Powerful components - Latest technology from NVIDIA, Intel, M-Audio put Remix at the cusp of cutting-edge technology
* Skillfully hand-built in the USA - Backed by the best in-house support team in the country
* Advanced Liquid Cooling – MAINGEAR partnered with CoolIt Systems to equip the Remix with advanced Liquid Cooling for the quietest, most reliable work experience available to date in a workstation
"The computing demands for creative professionals rely heavily on their processor firing on all cylinders" said Geoff Lyon, CEO of CoolIT Systems. "By incorporating Domino Advanced Liquid Cooling technology from CoolIT, the Remix ensures that Intel Core i7 runs cool and achieves optimal performance so that no task is ever too tall for today's creative professional."
Creative Professionals can purchase the MAINGEAR Remix at MAINGEAR's website www.maingear.com or order by phone at (888-MAINGEAR). The base price for Remix is $1,999.99($3,999.99 with NVIDIA Quadro CX) and is available in Black, Silver, Electric Blue, Inferno Red, Alpine White, and Speed Yellow. The MAINGEAR Remix will also offer the option of custom branding.

Trusted Computing Group spec to be foundation of storage encryption

2009-01-30T10:45:00.003-08:00

Every day it seems like there is a new and significant data breach in the news. In fact, organizations like ChoicePoint, TJX, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or Heartland Payment Systems have become poster children for the sorry state of information assurance. Recognizing the risks to sensitive data, many companies have implemented full-disk encryption software from companies like PGP, PointSec, SafeBoot, and Utimaco. Still, this means purchasing, deploying, and managing add-on software on lots of PCs--a cumbersome operational task. For a number of years, I've been writing about a superior alternative, hard drive-based encryption. Fitted with self-encrypting drives, PC-based disks are encrypted from the get-go. What's more, disk-based encryption is more secure than add-on software with virtually no impact on system performance. So why haven't PCs with encrypting hard drives become a de facto standard? Users were afraid of proprietary hardware implementations and a lack of software management support. These were valid concerns--until now. This week, the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) announced the publication of three new standards for storage encryption. One is for PC hard drives (aka Opal), one is for enterprise hard drives (aka the Enterprise Security Subsystem Class Specification), and one is for secure interoperability with other storage standards like SCSI and ATA. All of the large hard drive vendors, including Fujitsu, Hitachi, Seagate, and Toshiba, will deliver hard drives that support these standards, and management software vendors like Secude, Wave Systems, and WinMagic are also on board. Others will surely follow. What do these new TCG standards mean?

Software encryption is all but dead. Soon, most business laptops will be offered with encrypting hard drives at a nominal premium over a standard system. Heck, Dell already has about 12 models available. In three to five years, every disk drive may be encryption-enabled as it rolls off the production line. Encryption software fades away--quickly.
CIOs and purchasing managers need to develop a plan. Many IT and security managers have no idea that TCG even exists, but this is no longer acceptable. Since laptops and desktop PCs will come with encryption "baked in," it is incumbent upon IT and endpoint management and security teams to create a plan for phasing in systems with self-encrypting drives and phase out encryption software over time.
Expect encrypting drives in enterprise arrays. This will take a bit more time, as demand for array-based encryption isn't nearly as high. Nevertheless, every storage system produced by EMC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, and IBM may eventually follow this path.
Federal endpoint security initiatives must shift direction. I'm thinking specifically about the Federal Desktop Core Configuration effort and the Data at Rest SmartBuy program. Each of these efforts should be updated to emphasize disk-based encryption over software. The National Institute of Standards, the National Security Agency, and the U.S. General Service Administration must lead the effort to qualify, certify, and build procurement tools for self encrypting drive technologies soon.

There is a common IT evolution where software replaces hardware in order to offload processing, enhance performance, and lower overall system costs. This cycle is exactly what is happening here, and there is no turning back. My suggestion is that IT and security decision-makers come to terms with this ASAP. Your long-term information assurance strategy may depend on this.

Samsung seems pretty proud of world's highest density DRAM chip

Charter launching 60Mbps broadband, asks "FiOS what?"

2009-01-30T10:45:00.001-08:00

Still waiting for Verizon's FiOS to come and light up your neighborhood with blistering download speeds? Now you have something even faster to wait for, with Charter Communications announcing it is launching a 60Mbps broadband service, utilizing DOCSIS 3.0 to fit more bits in the same pipes -- not quite the 160Mbps Comcast predicted, but we'll take it. What the company isn't announcing is when people will be able to tap into this or how much they'll pay for the privilege, but hopefully it'll be a little less than the $140 Verizon is charging.
Update: We found word of prices and, go figure, the service costs exactly the same as FiOS: $140 per month. But, you can save $10 if you bundle it with TV or phone service.

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green review roundup

Intel said to be prepping eight-core Xeon for launch next month

2009-01-30T10:28:00.001-08:00

Nothing's official just yet, but Macworld is reporting that Intel will be rolling out an eight-core Xeon processor at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco next month, marking the company's first foray into octa-core processors, and paving the way for 16-core systems using two of the chips. Unfortunately, there aren't many more details than that, with the only other word being that it'll be a 16-thread processor, and be manufactured using a 45-nanometer process. As Macworld notes, however, it does seem likely that the processor in question is the Nehalem-EP seen on the roadmap above, which is based on the Tylersburg platform -- the first product of Intel's throw-a-dart-at-a-map naming scheme.

SteelSeries World of Warcraft Mouse equipped for hands-on impressions, +14 agility

Atom-powered Stinger 553 SFF PC could likely withstand nuclear stresses

2009-01-23T09:10:00.001-08:00

For the man who proudly owns an Impenetrable Iron Drive comes this, the Atom-powered Stinger 553 from CodaOctopus Colmek. Hailed as a rugged tactical small form factor PC, the box you see pictured above measures just 5- x 5- x 3-inches and is built to MIL-STD-810F and MIL-STD-461E environmental standards and MIL-STD0704E power supply voltage standards. For the layperson, that means it can withstand an almost ungodly amount of vibration, dust, humidity and sandblasting. Packed within the aluminum alloy chassis is an unnamed Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, eight USB 2.0 ports and plenty of other goodies that'll handle mission critical applications. It seems as if you'll have to phone up the company in order to get a price, but considering that you could almost take this to war, we wouldn't bank on it being cheap.

Lian-Li's PC-888: if the Burj Al Arab were a PC chassis

2009-01-23T09:07:00.003-08:00

We're not sure what percentage of each PC-888 sale goes straight to the owners of Dubai's Burj Al Arab, but it better be a lot. Lian-Li's latest eye-popping PC chassis looks pretty much exactly like the aforesaid hotel, and it's constructed from a significant amount of blue anodized aluminum. As you can probably tell from just looking, you can fit practically anything you'd ever need (as far as PC internals go) in here, with the case measuring in at 11.6- x 29.1- x 18.1-inches. A price has yet to be publicly disclosed, but a quick search brings up figures in the high $400s. Yeah, ouch.

Kensington SlimBlade trackball for the smooth operator

HP issues software update for MediaSmart Server

2009-01-23T09:07:00.001-08:00

It's been forever and a day since HP issued a MediaSmart Server update, but now -- at long last -- owners can suck down some more new software in order to implement a few minor changes. The HPMSS-1.3-R1 update adds in a Rollback feature, improves image processing performance in HP Photo Webshare, corrects error messages displayed using SSL and TZO certifications and removes unnecessary temperature sensor displays. Give it a go and let us know how things turn out, will ya?

AMD earnings: more fear, uncertainty and doubt?

2009-01-21T09:28:00.001-08:00

These are not ordinary times. Not for Advanced Micro Devices, which reports earnings on Thursday. Nor for Intel.

For starters, AMD said last week that that it would slash its workforce by 9 percent and institute temporary salary cuts. This comes as the company enters the final stages of bifurcating into the AMD the product company, which designs chips, and The Foundry Company, which the manufactures them. A measure taken to stave off collapse. (There are still a few more steps that have to be taken before the split is sanctioned by all entities involved.) Even presuming the split is completed according to plan, AMD, like Intel, has to face a difficult first quarter and possibly troubled second quarter. These two quarters are historically weak to begin with. Add the unusually negative macroeconomic factors on top of that and "recovery isn't looking like a first half kind of thing" for AMD, according to an industry source who follows the company and expects AMD to paint a less than rosy picture. "This doesn't look like one of your normal semiconductor cycles, where you pop out of it very quickly and very aggressively, and overtake any dips," said the person. And speaking of dips, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the largest contract chip manufacturer and major industry bellwether, said on January 9 that December net sales on a consolidated basis were off 30.1 percent from November 2008 and off a whopping 51.9 percent (54.8 percent on an unconsolidated basis) from December 2007. TSMC reports fourth quarter results on Thursday too. The situation for Intel--which reported a 90 percent dive in year-to-year fourth-quarter profits last week--isn't that different. Bloomberg is reporting that chief executive officer Paul Otellini told employees last week in an internal memo that a first quarter loss is possible after 87 quarters of profit. But Intel said as much publicly in its earnings conference call last week, refusing to give official guidance for the first quarter due to heightened uncertainty and then bringing up a possible scenario in which things don't improve as expected. Chief financial officer Stacy Smith put it this way during the conference call: because of the dramatic drop-off in demand from customers (what Intel calls "the supply chain") in the fourth quarter, the chipmaker is "aggressively" reducing factory utilization in the first quarter. "The expectation is that we can start to reload the factories a bit in Q2 from where they are in Q1," he said. But he then addressed a "hypothetical" situation where conditions don't improve as expected. In this case, Smith said Intel would slow the introduction of next-generation 32-nanometer manufacturing process technology. (Currently Intel chips are based on 45-nanometer technology.) "Over time if our view of demand is wrong and this is much worse than we expect...We'd slow the ramp rate of 32-nanometer," he said.

The Jet Mouse Locks In On That Promotion [Peripherals]

Lenovo trots out new trifecta of unexciting desktops

2009-01-19T08:18:00.001-08:00

Forgive us, but we just can't get jazzed about a trio of Lenovo desktops that offer up nothing innovative whatsoever. Sure, the IdeaCentre K220 may pack a Core 2 Quad CPU, upwards of 4GB of DDR3 RAM and an optional Blu-ray drive, but that's nothing we couldn't slap together ourselves in a few minutes. The K230 ups the ante a bit with room for 8GB of memory and Windows Vista 64-bit, while the lower-end H200 (shown above) becomes Lenovo's first desktop with an Atom under the hood. All three machines will be available this month starting at $449, $499 and $399.99 (bundled with the ThinkVision L195 monitor), in order of mention.

Laser Hard drive boasts 1Tbits/s access time, doesn't exist yet

MSI announces Wind NetTop D130 -- the desktop with Nordic styling

2009-01-15T17:29:00.001-08:00

Every morning we struggle to stay awake while reading one copycat netbook announcement after another, and, now that low-end desktops seem to be finding the same popularity, we've ordered a fleet of coffee robots to keep eyes open at Engadget HQ. On the heels of unveiling its mildly interesting all-in-one Neton series, MSI has followed up with the rather more generic D130 NetTop, featuring something MSI calls "Nordic Simple Style" (which they previously just called barebones). Moving beyond appearances, the machine does seem like a decent package, sporting a mild but serviceable Atom 330 processor, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a Super-Multi DVD burner, 7.1 output, and a meager 35W power consumption when operating at "full speed." Granted, that full speed won't do much for your 3DMark scores, but an expected $240 price tag should make it a good fit for anyone in search of a simple machine for desk or home theater.

Lenovo All-in-One IdeaCentre A600 hands-on

2009-01-08T07:17:00.001-08:00

We just got a chance to check out Lenovo's All-in-One IdeaCentre A600, featuring the motion-based remote control that doubles as a VoIP handset. three minutes into the tennis game, we managed to toss the remote into an adjacent HDTV and pulled our shoulder out of alignment. We couldn't call for help -- the VoIP wasn't functional -- but we did manage to snap some screens with our good arm.

Netgear intros two new home routers, one 3G WWAN router

HP's TouchSmart all-in-one PC slips on its business socks

2009-01-08T05:12:00.001-08:00

Can you imagine if Dunder Mifflin landed a contract with HP, and every single PC in The Office was replaced with a TouchSmart all-in-one? Yeah, hilarity would undoubtedly ensue. Nevertheless, the company has decided to push its dx9000 into the corporate arena. The business-class device is pre-loaded with Windows Vista business 64, an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a 22-inch panel and a Virtual LAN driver. Outside of that, we can't really see any major differences between the suited version and the consumer edition, but it's all about marketing, anyway. Whip out the Pro Card next month, as each of these will set you back at least $1,399.

Logitech axes 15% of salaried workforce as it restructures

AMD finally launches Phenom II and its Dragon desktop platform

2009-01-08T03:51:00.001-08:00

It was a struggle getting it "officially" out the door, and the reviews are already lackluster, but AMD's 45nm, quad-core Phenom II has finally arrived. It's available in two flavors, the 2.8GHz X4 920 and the 3.0GHz X4 940 Black Edition, going for $235 and $275, respectively. AMD's naturally touting the ostensible cost savings of the chips -- they're supposed to split the difference between Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core i7 processor -- but in reality they seems to trail Intel's offerings pretty soundly on the price / performance curve. The accompanying Dragon platform includes a Phenom II proc, 4800-series Radeon HD graphics and a 790-series motherboard, all of which should combine for low power consumption -- up to 40 percent compared to Phenom processors. Where the Phenom II definitely wins is the fact that some AMD folks will be able to drop in the chip to existing motherboards, but otherwise it looks like value hounds and performance junkies aren't being served by this new chip -- at least until unreasonable overclocking activities make all the pain go away.

Clickfree gone wild at CES: 1TB drive, Mac support and online backup

New Mac mini mentioned in third party press release

2009-01-06T01:06:00.001-08:00

It seems like the signs are pointing to a refresh of the Mac mini when this year's Macworld rolls around. According to a press release by SeeFile, their new (version 4.6) web server software can be purchased bundled with a Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage -- which is odd enough, since the largest internal drive that ships with the thing is 120GB. And how about the release itself, indiscreetly titled: "New Mac Mini Hardware to Be Supported by Revolutionary SeeFile Web Sharing DAM Software." Of course, this could all be mere speculation, rumors and innuendo. We'll find out soon enough, won't we?

USB Wireless Keypad is perfect for number-crunching on-the-go

HP officially launches Firebird with Voodoo DNA

2009-01-06T01:03:00.001-08:00

We figured it was destined for a CES release, and HP has confirmed that today's the day. The hotly anticipated Firebird with Voodoo DNA has been properly introduced to the world, and within it will come an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU, twin NVIDIA GeForce 9800S graphics cards in an SLI configuration, hot-swappable 320GB hard drives (two of 'em) and an advanced thermal management system to keep things cool, calm, collected and quiet. As we'd heard, the rig will be available starting on January 9th for as little as $1,799 directly from Voodoo, while those too frightened to hand over their credit card information online can hold tight 'til it hits select retailers (read: best Buy, most likely) on February 1st. Have a look at Rahul Sood and team gloating ad nauseum over this thing just after the break.

Iomega's Home media Network Hard Drive backs up files, streams content

Atomic Power in Supercomputing

2009-01-05T10:17:00.001-08:00

The entire industry took note when INTEL announced its Atom line of CPU's. Intel's ATOM is a new type of processor; it's tiny, consumes ultra low power. It delivers the full capabilities of an x86 desktop CPU. This implies that it can run windows and will work with a 945G chipset, DDR2 RAM. Atom is more basic than Core 2, being only a single core processor.The Atom line has been specifically designed for low power applications. But if you are thinking of buying it and fitting it into your desktop motherboard then there's some sad news for you b'coz these CPU's cannot fit onto usual desktop motherboard, it's available to the vendors so as to assemble them with a compatible motherboard, then the CPU is soldered on to motherboard.I can assure you that doing everyday work like, browsing, listening to music is easy, but when I opened word, excel, access, PowerPoint simultaneously it took 20 minutes for atom to open it, despite its Hyper Threading technology. Certainly, its performance is not going to set the world alight. When I ran a video playback test to test its Home Theater PC capabilities it ran smoothly, but the CPU usage was around 80 percent, so it was clear that it'll not support full HD.The specifications for the motherboard are reasonable - the integrated Intel GMA950 video chip can use up to 8MB of the main memory, the RAM and FSB speed is limited to 533 MHz, connectivity is via a 10/100 onboard LAN chip, ans the number of USB ports available is four.So it's clear that it's not a users' delight in performance. It is all about spending no more energy than required. Also it does not use fans instead relays on two heat sinks for cooling. With a 4W TDP it not only saves electricity bill, but increases backup time when running on a UPS. While the Atom 230 loses out on performance to any entry level desktop package, it certainly is unbeatable on the power consumption charts.

To read reviews for great products you can purchase online, visit Review Hub. You can post your own reviews as well, at the http://www.reviewhub.org website.

Programming Enhanced Keyboards

Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 All-in-One Desktop unleashed

2009-01-04T22:13:00.001-08:00

Lenovo's just announced their newest desktop - the IdeaCentre A600 - for all to wonder at. This puppy's got a 21.5-inch (1920x1080) HD panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and the PC packs a choice of Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, optional ATI Radeon graphics, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and an up to 1TB hard drive. Optional to the system is a remote control which can also be used as a game controller, a VOIP handset to make and receive calls, and as an air mouse -- that's a lot of functions! The A600 is expected to roll out in March with a starting price of $999. Check out the full press release after the break.
"Thin is In" for Consumer PC Design as Lenovo Debuts All-in-One Desktop and 16-inch Laptop
Marks One Year Anniversary with New Collection of Trend-Setting Entertainment-Focused PCs
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 5, 2009: Lenovo today announced the latest additions to its Idea brand of personal computers for consumers. The new PCs push the envelope in the pursuit of thinner and more stylish designs, and combine these attributes with unique features like facial recognition and high-definition entertainment technologies to give consumers a computing experience like no other. There are four new IdeaPad laptops – the IdeaPad Y650, the thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptop in its class1, the Y550 and Y430 laptops with a similar family design to the Y650, and the thinnest all-in-one desktop PC, the IdeaCentre A600. With the explosive growth of social networking, Lenovo also continues to enhance its IdeaPad S10 netbook with new instant on capability, facial recognition and easy access to Lenovo's social networking community.
"With the launch of our global consumer Idea brand a year ago, we've shown the world that PC technology can be powerful and beautiful," said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Consumer Business Group, Lenovo. "This year, we will keep pushing the limits of good design, balancing form and function, as you'll see exhibited in our super-thin, 16-inch laptop and all-in-one desktop. This unique blend of design and engineering sets us apart from competitors and gives consumers a new kind of entertainment and computing experience."
IdeaCentre A600 All-in-One Desktop
Lenovo brings consumers the next generation of desktop computing with the IdeaCentre A600 – Lenovo's first all-in-one desktop. The new, sleek IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one features a 21.5-inch frameless screen, and provides discerning space-conscious and style-conscious users a modern design that measures only one inch at its slimmest point, making it the slimmest all-in-one in the industry2.
For the entertainment enthusiast, the all-in-one offers a true Hi-Def experience featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio screen for cinema-like viewing and support for 1920x1080 full HD resolution delivering outstanding image quality. The integrated speaker system includes a bass sub-woofer and Dolby® Home Theatre™ audio certification, while the optional Blu-ray player completes the home cinema experience. Users can also take advantage of a digital TV tuner for watching and recording their favorite TV programs. Users can opt to include the Microsoft Vista Media Center for easy recording of TV programs and interactive navigation between videos, music and TV programs.
For gaming enthusiasts, Lenovo developed the first-of-its-kind 4-in-1 optional remote controller. It is the first to bring PC users the ability to play games using the remote control's 'motion drive' feature, which controls on-screen objects according to the movement of the remote.
Unlike competitor's remotes, the Lenovo 4-in-1 remote controller can also be used as a VOIP handset3 to make and receive phone calls over the Internet, similar to a typical cordless telephone. The remote also serves as a media center/TV remote, and with Microsoft Vista Media Center users can use the controller to operate DVDs, movies and TV. Additionally, the remote also functions as an "air mouse" so it can be used to operate the cursor on the screen, eliminating the inconvenience of using a wired mouse.
At the core of the all-in-one is a powerful desktop computer with choices of Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, optional ATI Radeon™ graphics card technology with DirectX10 support, up to 4GB of fast DDR3 memory for improved multitasking, and up to 1TB (1000GB) of hard drive space for storing hundreds of videos, music and other documents. Equipped with the latest high-performance mobile processor technology, the all-in-one runs whisper-quiet even when performing intensive tasks.
The IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one offers several connectivity options including high-speed WiFi, a 6-in-1 media card reader, side-mounted USB and FireWire ports with additional USB ports on the rear of the panel. The all-in-one also features VeriFace™ facial recognition technology which allows users to use his/her facial image as the logon password.
Pricing and Availability4
The new IdeaPad Y650, Y550, Y450 laptops and S10 netbook will be available beginning in March. Manufacturer suggested retail pricing (MSRP) for models starts at $1,199 for the IdeaPad Y650, $829 for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450, and $349 for the IdeaPad S10 netbook. The IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one desktop will be available beginning in April with MSRP for models starting at $999.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1Thinnest and lightest in the 16-inch laptop screen class, including offerings from Acer, Sony, HP and Lenovo.
2Compared with competitor existing all-in-ones from Apple, HP, Dell and Sony.
3VOIP functionality requires VOIP software which is freely available for download from a wide range of 3rd party vendors
4Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

DIY external iPhone keyboards get a tad more practical

Eazo's Z70 wooden PC looks uncommonly natural, expensive

2009-01-03T00:47:00.001-08:00

If Eazo's ultra-dark X70 was just too rich for your blood, we have all ideas the Z70 will really be out of reach. This luxurious tower -- coated in some sort of exotic rosewood and presumably sourced from the same jungle as Odeon's Sex Panther cologne -- includes a Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processor and lots of other components that we simply aren't privy too. The good news is that the internal water cooling system should prevent said CPU from lighting the wood on fire; the bad news is that a spill could eventually cause severe decomposition. You can't win for losin', can ya?

Sony teases the VAIO P's keyboard and tracking nub

Creative sheds some hype on Zii 'stem cell computing'

2009-01-02T23:24:00.001-08:00

Pretty big talk, Creative, for such a mysterious product. According to information gleaned from an email that's making the rounds, Zii is "revolutionary" -- in fact, it's about to change everything you know. Everything. The company says they've invested over 10 years, over one billion dollars, and 10,000 man-years (that's a lot of men! and years!) on "stem cell-like silicon that is able to grow and multiply into different solutions and ecosystems," which will "better lives beyond our imagination." Has your mind been blown yet? No? Just wait until you "discover incredible recession-friendly business opportunities that enable you to thrive and prosper." Just what we need in the midst of these turbulent times. Of course this begs us to ask the question: if life as we know it is over, couldn't they have spent a little time coming up with a name other than Zii? And might there be a better place to announce this epoch-making discovery than booth #30651 at CES?

A-DATA launches XPG Dual SSD RAID enclosure

Microsoft pay-as-you-go patent application rejected

2009-01-02T20:52:00.001-08:00

Sorry folks -- we know that you were looking forward to a future of "pay to play" computing, but it seems that Microsoft's application has been soundly dissed by the patent office. Reasons for the decision include the company's "occasional use of fuzzy terminology" and the fact that much of this stuff has already been patented. Of course, the decision can be appealed -- but for the time being, if you still want to pay monthly for a computer AT&T has a netbook for you.

Video: Shouting at disk drive causes high latency, low morale

Intel Atom coming to larger notebooks?

2009-01-02T11:24:00.001-08:00

Why does Intel have to be so darn stubborn? First it insists on only bundling the Atom processor with their own graphics (simultaneously breaking poor NVIDIA's heart), and then there's whole thing where it restricts the CPU to netbooks under 10.2-inches. But like all good things, this too might someday come to an end. According to Gadget Mix, HP is currently negotiating with the chipmaker with the intent of using the processor in notebooks 13-inches and larger. This isn't without precedent -- the Dell Mini 12 is Atom powered, after all, and there is certainly a market for folks who only need a notebook for web browsing and productivity apps -- but we'll see if people are willing to sacrifice performance without gaining portability.

Panasonic set to unveil powerline networking prototypes aplenty at CES

HP MediaSmart Server ex487 gets hands-on love and full-blown review

2008-12-29T09:19:00.001-08:00

HP's 1.5TB MediaSmart Server ex487 (and its smaller 750GB sibling, the ex485) were just announced hours ago, but that hasn't stopped a few lucky reviewers from putting their hands-on pictures and impressions online for the world to pore over. The biggest knocks that seemed to really grate the nerves of critics were that the single eSATA port was not port-multiplier aware, and despite the bump to 2GB of RAM, the TwonkyMedia and remote Media Streaming software were still deemed "quirky and in need of some polish." Those gripes aside, the newfangled unit was pretty well adored. In fact, WeGotServed flat-out called the device "stunning," praising HP for its tightly integrated applications that worked fairly well on top of Windows Home Server. For those eying a simple-to-use media server, it looks like HP finally produced one that can be purchased sans regret; the real question, however, is will the outfit push these delectable new features down to existing ex470 / ex475 owners?

WeeP5 makes other Wiimote gun mods cry home to their mamas

AMD's Phenom II CPU goes on sale online in a curious, quiet fashion

2008-12-26T08:50:00.001-08:00

Uh, AMD? We know most of your staffers are probably throwing back a glass of Egg Nog right about now, but you might want to get out something akin to a simple press release acknowledging the release of your dual-core Phenom II processor. For those keeping track, we've now seen the CPU announced via an outlet other than AMD, purchased by a normal citizen without access to AMD's labs and now, for sale on the world wide web. Word has it that the units will start shipping on December 27th, which will probably be prior to an actual confession of their existence in the retail channel by AMD. Not that we're complaining about the distinctly different than usual approach here, but our heads are certainly spinning.

TG Sambo releases well-equipped LLUON B2 all-in-one

2008-12-25T08:25:00.001-08:00

The LLUON B2 isn't TG Sambo's first LLUON all-in-one, but it's the first one we've seen that doesn't wear its iMac inspiration on its sleeve -- or rip off a variant of itself. This well-equipped AIO packs a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor, 320GB hdd, and an NVIDIA GeForce 9300 graphics card with 256MB of video memory. This sleek 26-inch monster is designed to look like a TV and rocks a slot-loading DVD burner and an eSATA port, as well as the usual assortment of ports and integrated webcam. It's currently available in Korea for ? 1,899,000 ($1,421) -- but look on the bright side, that's a whole lot of screen real estate.

HP Firebird 803 tower with VoodooDNA leaked!

2008-12-24T12:26:00.001-08:00

We always loved us that Voodoo-designed HP Blackbird 002, but it was certainly a behemoth. Now it looks like the duo are going for a more realistic size -- and hopefully pricepoint -- with the all-new HP Firebird PC 803 that just fell in our lap, a gaming tower which flips the disc drive and most other components on their sides to save on space. The resulting kit seems to have more in common with gaming consoles than desktop PCs in terms of design, with very little configurability or expansion available, but the leaked specs are still quite palatable to the modern PC gamer:

NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset
Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor
4GB of RAM
Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards
Two 320GB SATA drives
Blu-ray
5-in-1 card reader
6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVI dual-link
Bluetooth
802.11n WiFi

To save on space (and heat), the Firebird actually uses an external power supply, but we suppose the included wireless keyboard and mouse should help to make up for that clutter. As you've probably gleaned from the specs, those small form factor 9800S cards aren't going to be putting away the frame rates quite like the cutting edge cards from NVIDIA and AMD, and the seeming lack of expandability makes the (theoretical) up-front cost savings seem a bit less exciting, but for a certain type of gamer the Firebird could be a welcome respite from monstrous, unrealistic and just-as-quickly-outmoded performance towers.
P.S.: Rahul's dubious rant about the boutique gaming industry -- which Voodoo still serves -- makes a lot more sense in this light. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Gallery: HP Firebird 803 tower with VoodooDNA leaked!

Pogo Sketch stylus turns your touchpad into a tablet

Dell's XPS 730x H2C Core i7 gaming PC benchmarked and tested exhaustively

2008-12-24T12:21:00.001-08:00

If you thought the original XPS 730 H2C was boss, get a load of this. The incredibly diligent benchmarkers over at HotHardware have taken the Core i7-powered XPS 730x H2C under their wings for a fortnight of testing, and they've got a baker's dozen worth of review pages to display their findings. We can't even begin to cover the array of graphs, bar charts and triple-digit FPS numbers here, but we can tell you that critics were duly impressed with how well the Core i7 performance compared to older Core 2-based offerings. Gaming performance was predictably "fantastic," and even the single GeForce GTX 280 that it was packin' held its own under pressure. All in all, this fanciful machine was deemed "a worthy update to what [reviewers] thought was the best XPS 700 series system to date," and if you've got the coin, you'll probably be incredibly pleased with what it delivers. Dive deep (and we mean deep) in the read link below.

Folding VAX77 Keyboard Fits In Your Touring Trunk [Music]

Chiaroscuro case mod misinterprets phrase 'going green'

2008-12-21T10:08:00.001-08:00

Arboreal case modder Nick "Greensabbath" Falzone's latest creation is an Ebony and Maple Frankenstein inspired by the Beijing Digital Building. Dubbed Chiaroscuro -- meaning a contrast between light and dark, you dummy -- the tower sports an AMD Phenom X4 9350e quad core, 4GB or RAM and a Radeon HD 4850. Hit up the read link for a full breakdown of the creation, with pictures galore (not pictured: the requisite wooden mouse and keyboard). Your move, Suissa.

AMD posts hotfix to address Catalyst 8.12 issue

2008-12-21T10:04:00.001-08:00

A week and a half ago, AMD released the Catalyst 8.12 package for Radeon cards. For the most part the drivers worked as planned, but post-release AMD has discovered an issue with the package that has required them to issue a hotfix, with those using the Radeon HD 4850 card in CrossfireX mode apparently being plagued by a black screen.
The hotfix only addresses this bug and only applies specifically to systems running windows Vista with dual Radeon HD 4850s running in CrossfireX mode. If you happen to fall into that category, you can download the hotfix now and cure yourself of the issue. All other Radeon users do not have to worry about it.

New iMac, Mac mini looking more probable after minute discovery

2008-12-21T00:20:00.001-08:00

Rumors of a new Mac mini or iMac have been floated (and denied) for a while now, but one ferocious investigator's feasted his eyes on a few pieces of rather telling evidence recently. A poster on the InsanelyMac forums found some code in his new MacBook which referred to "iMac9,1 and Macmini3,1" which would seem to indicate that a newer version -- current iMacs and Mac minis are marked iMac8,1 and Macmini2,1 -- if both products are on the horizon. The new identifiers also list both as having "CFG_MCP7" chipsets -- the same NIVIDIA set used in the new Macbooks (current minis have Intel GMA 950 chipsets while iMacs have NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS GPUs). So... we'll see you at Macworld, then?

ASUS Eee Top ET1602 touchscreen all-in-one gets reviewed

2008-12-18T11:55:00.001-08:00

ASUS's touchscreen Eee Top ET1602 all-in-one was certainly adored in a pre-staged way by small children when it launched last month, but Slashgear's taken it for a spin and found that it actually deserves the love. The 15.6-inch resistive touchscreen wasn't on par with the capacitive screen in HP's TouchSmart or the active digitizer in newer tablet PCs, but it did the job, and ASUS's Windows XP "Easy Mode" launcher and bundled touch apps were intuitive and friendly, although certain apps would drop back into XP's mouse-oriented interface at times. Under the hood, the netbook-class 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM, and GMA950 graphics didn't rock anyone's world, but they managed general browsing and 720p video playback without issue. All in all, it seems like ASUS has built an interesting little AIO for the expected US price of $450 -- now if they'd just start shipping them here, we'd find out for ourselves. Hit the read link for the full review.

AMD intros Athlon X2 chips featuring Phenom design

2008-12-16T18:41:00.001-08:00

AMD has introduced new dual-core desktop processors aimed at the value end of the consumer market. Available now, the new Athlon X2 7000 series are the company’s first dual core chips based on its Phenom quad design, which means they have three levels of cache and support the faster HyperTransport 3.0 bus.

The new series comprises the 2.5GHz Athlon X2 7550, which will be available only to system builders, and the 2.7GHz Athlon X2 7750 'Black Edition' with an unlocked multiplier for improved overclocking priced at $79 – check out some benchmarks here. Both processors include 512KB of L2 cache per core and a shared L3 cache of 2 MB. The chips are part of AMD’s latest Cartwheel platform aimed at the budget market, which also includes the AMD 780G chipset and ATI Radeon 3200 integrated graphics.

Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower ATX case review @ TechSpot

2008-12-16T10:19:00.001-08:00

For the ultimate gaming machine the full tower ATX case has become the weapon of choice, though evidently not for its portability or value. Rather gamers with high-end systems are turning to the full tower ATX form factor simply so they can comfortably fit all their extreme hardware. With flagship GeForce and Radeon graphics cards now measuring over 9" long (23cm) typical mid-size cases are no longer sufficient.

The Cooler Master HAF 932 is a truly impressive looking gaming case without being over the top in anyway. The design is clean yet aggressive at the same time, which is not easy to accomplish. From the most recent full tower ATX cases we have seen this year - and we have pretty much seen them all - the HAF 932 is probably the coolest.

Priced at just $160 it could be said that the Cooler Master HAF 932 is an entry-level full tower ATX case, but when looking at the specifications it becomes hard to agree with that statement - in a good way.

AMD's Phenom goes on a budget with the Athlon X2 7000 series

2008-12-16T08:50:00.001-08:00

Hot on the heels of word that the 45nm Phenom II chip is up for grabs, AMD has announced that its 65nm predecessor has been relegated to budget duty. The new Phenom-based Athlon X2 7000 chips are now available, replacing the aged X2 6000 and delivering an affordable HyperTransport bus boost to 3.6GHz, 2MB of L3 cache, but still just 1MB on L2. It's a dual-core processor, unlike the higher-spec Phenoms, and consumes 95-watts. That's a handy drop from the X2 6000's 125-watt rating, but isn't exactly frugal compared to some of AMD's other Phenom offerings. The 2.7GHz X2 7750 black edition is available now in bulk for just under $80, and appears to be retailing for around $90. Meanwhile a paler, cheaper, 2.5GHz version is shipping just for OEMs -- but that shouldn't stop you home builders from finding one if you're really inclined.

Mac mini update rumors flare as Apple sales dip

2008-12-16T05:32:00.001-08:00

Although Apple just posted some ridiculous quarterly numbers, it doesn't seem like it's going to escape the current economic conditions in the US unscathed -- like pretty much everyone else, monthly sales are down in Cupertino, according to the NPD Group. The drop is only one percent total, but it's against a two percent rise in overall PC sales, which could indicate that Apple's premium pricing is hurting it as shoppers turn to netbooks and other bargain machines. That dovetails nicely with chatter we're hearing today about updated mac minis making a debut at Macworld -- although Steve famously proclaimed that Apple doesn't "know how to make a $500 machine that's not a piece of junk" during the last earnings call, it sure sounds like he's going to try, with a $499 2.0GHz mini in a new MacBook-esque unibody enclosure rumored to arrive onstage in January. If you believe Wired, it'll be accompanied by a $700 2.3GHz version with NVIDIA graphics, and both models will feature mini DisplayPorts -- nothing shocking there. We'll see when we see -- we've been waiting for the mini to be updated forever, and while Apple did just uncharacteristically slam rumors of a new model, times like these could lead to drastic measures.

OCZ unveils Throttle eSATA SSD flash drive
IEEE 1667 pledges secure portable storage for all
Cyber Sport's Orbita Mouse is a revolution
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 spec officia ll y released, first chipset demonstrated

MSI Encourages Hackintosh, Leaks OS X Wi-Fi Drivers for the Wind [Hackintosh]

2008-12-15T06:19:00.001-08:00

Seeing that the need for a warranty-voiding Wi-Fi module switch was the only thing keeping users from easily making convincing mini-MacBooks, MSI has semi-released OS X wireless drivers for the Wind. After pelting MSI with unlikely requests for OS X driver support, a number of users on the MSIWind.net forums have received responses from the company, written in the "Dear Sir/Madam" parlance of a Nigerian scammer but nevertheless containing an early version of working Wi-Fi drivers for the Wind's Realtek RTL8187SE Wi-Fi module. The driver doesn't allow the card to be used like a regular Airport adapter, but according to users connects just fine through Realtek client software. Forum-goers are floating copies on a couple of ephemeral hosting sites, so head over to the thread and give it a shot.

Proxim Orinoco AP-8000 Doubles wi -Fi Throughput With Two 802.11n Radios [Wi-Fi]
Oklahoma town provides real-time streaming from cop cars, free Wi fi to residents
Atheros lets open source devs in on the WiFi party
Buffalo's wireless injunction stayed, now free to sell WiFi products in US

Asus Nettop Eee B203 PC Getting a Faster, Cheaper CPU [Eee Box]

2008-12-14T18:42:00.001-08:00

We only just learned about the HDMI upgrade to the Asus Eee Box line with the B204 and B206 models, but there's another update coming in the B203: A Celeron instead of Atom. Liliputing is reporting via an Italian Eee pc site that the Intel C220 Celeron upgrade is pretty much the only difference between the B203 and the original Eee Box B202. The chip replaces the Intel Atom chip that currently dominates the line. The rest is pretty standard stuff. It runs Windows XP (Asus "recommends" Vista, cha-ching!), and comes with an 80, 120 or 160GB hard drive. There's also 4 USB ports, a flash card reader, DVI out, Ethernet port and wifi. Pricing wasn't available, but Liliputing expects it to check in slightly lower than the Atom version. Note: Image is of the original Eee Box.

Buffalo's LinkStation Mini external hard drive goes SSD
TDK trots out industrial CompactFlash cards / SSDs
VIA's ARTIGO A2000 wants to be your own private server
Kanguru's new e-Flash thumbdrive marries eSATA and USB

Asus unveils Celeron-based Eee Box B203

2008-12-14T18:32:00.001-08:00

It looks like all those crazy rumors are true -- we've just received word that the Celeron-based Eee Box B203 has popped up on Asus' website. Aside from the the intel C220 processor, very little has changed from the Atom-based Eee Box B202: it sports windows xp Home, ships with up to 2GB RAM and 160GB storage, and measures a diminutive 222 x 178 x 26.9 mm (roughly 8.7 x 7 x 1 inches). Of course, it still ain't the prettiest device we've ever seen -- but if it's cheaper, faster, and small enough to fit behind your monitor anyways, we'll gladly overlook the paint job.

EFiX to sell do-it-yourself Mac clones

2008-12-14T02:42:00.001-08:00

Back in September, efix finally began shipping their so-called usb dongle that lets many generic PCs run Mac os X. Now, even with Psystar struggling against Apple in courts for outright selling Mac clones, it looks like the company is taking things one step further and plans to offer customers a solution for creating their own OS X-running computers.

The EFiX Millennium 4 will reportedly be targeted at the performance crowd, sporting a Core 2 quad processor overclocked to at least 3.8GHz, 4GB of memory, a 10,000RPM hard drive and a GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card in an Antec P180 case. Priced at $1,899 (not including the additional cost of a $199 EFiX dongle), the system will reportedly offer up to 90 percent the performance of a top-end Mac Pro for less than half the price.

Unlike Psystar, the company hopes to avoid a legal response from Apple by leaving the installation of OS X up to the end user, which I’m not sure how good of a tactic it will be considering it’s illegal to sell a product expressly designed to allow customers to infringe copyrights – then again, it’s precisely the validity and scope of Apple’s EULA which has recently been brought into question. Stakes are high in the Apple vs. Psystar case and the outcome will certainly have an effect on EFiX latest efforts as well.

How would you change HP's TouchSmart 2 all-in-one PC?

2008-12-14T01:06:00.001-08:00

HP's TouchSmart 2 launched without a whole lot of fanfare, but what you get for $1,299 is pretty unique. The IQ504 / IQ506 all-in-one PCs are one of the first to actually encourage full-on touchscreen use in a PC, with HP urging users to touch their way to computational bliss. Of course, with an unorthodox design such as this, there will always be pundits who feel that this or that should have been done somewhat differently, and if that's you, you've found your sounding board. Are you a little let down by the internals? Yearn for more expandability? Is the screen as responsive as it should be? Get heard, won't you?

Logitech G18 gaming key board shows its not-so-ugly face

$249 CherryPal cloud PC taken for a listless spin

2008-12-12T11:58:00.001-08:00

Well what do you know, a real live CherryPal has finally made it into the wilds. TGDaily has the honors of having a first look at the $249 cloud computer. While impressed by the small size and fanless design, the build quality was "flimsy" making the device feel very much like pre-production product. The Xubuntu-based pc with Xfce desktop instantly recognized and connected to the reviewers WiFi network for quick login to the CherryPal cloud. Great, but things fell apart when loading Firefox onto the 400MHz Freescale processor -- the sluggish response experienced is a critical fail for a PC whose applications are stored in the cloud. Something that might be sorted out in future builds of Firefox... or not.

[ Via: Engadget ]

HP begins offering Linux on enterprise desktops

2008-12-11T19:14:00.001-08:00

HP just announced it will begin offering a desktop pre-loaded with a build of SUSE Linux. This joins the company's other non-Windows offering, the previously announced (but not yet available) Mini 1000 netbook, which is equipped with its Ubuntu-based MIE. The new model -- the Compaq dc5850 -- is unfortunately aimed at the enterprise and education markets, so while we're glad to see hp dipping its toes into open source waters, we'd be more enthused if the computer-maker followed in Dell's footsteps and offered a wider range of options. The PC will be available on December 15th for $519, though it doesn't appear that the average consumer will be able to buy it -- at least not yet.

[ Via: Computerworld ]

Dell's OptiPlex 160 'Tiny Desktop Computer' is appropriately named

2008-12-11T09:36:00.001-08:00

Dell just dropped the new tiny-tower OptiPlex 160 for businesses and educational markets looking to save space and "go green." This 1.85-inch thick machine packs the usual assortment of ports, and an integrated power supply (no brick!), but unfortunately forgoes the integrated disc drive. The $563 base model incorporates a single-core Intel atom processor, 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, integrated video, and Vista Home Basic SP1 -- most of which reminds us of the Eee Box, other than the extra two Benjamins Dell's asking for. You can also spring for a 64GB SSD and an external DVD-ROM drive, and there will be a dual-core Atom option in 2009. While folks over in Round Rock envision these in the workplace, we certainly wouldn't mind taking one home for a romantic weekend with Ubuntu.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Dell raises cost of Windows XP downgrade option to $150

2008-12-09T19:10:00.001-08:00

As you've no doubt noticed, the deadline for the Windows XP downgrade option keeps getting pushed back and back, and it looks like it's now also getting more and more expensive, as dell has now tripled the cost of the option on its consumer laptops and desktops to $150. As TG Daily notes, this latest move follows a similar increase to $99 on Dell's more business-minded Vostro laptops and desktops which, for the time being at least, seem to be remaining as is. Of course, you can always put that $150 towards a Windows XP-equipped netbook instead, which seems to be fast becoming the primary home for the venerable OS.

[ Via: Engadget ]

NVIDIA dishes about OpenCL

2008-12-09T18:59:00.001-08:00

We spent some time on the phone with NVIDIA today in the wake of last night's official release of the OpenCL GPU-processing spec, and we learned some interesting things. NVIDIA thinks OpenCL is going to bring a lot more attention to general-purpose gpu computing, and it's planning on stoking the flames -- not only is it accelerating the CUDA release schedule, it's planning on working with Microsoft on DirectX 11 Compute. Hit the break for some more highlights!

NVIDIA feels that the basic ideas behind CUDA are reinforced by OpenCL -- the basic model is the same, although OpenCL is a lower-level architecture that requires coders to do their own memory management, etc., while CUDA allows non-professional programmers like scientists and researchers to program GPGPU code.
In fact, in order to meet the needs of the 25,000 active CUDA devs, NVIDIA is bumping up the CUDA release schedule, with three releases scheduled for 2009, culminating in CUDA 3.0.
NVIDIA thinks the CPU still has a big role to play -- not every app is best run on a GPU, and every app has code that's best run on a traditional CPU. However, unlike Intel, which thinks the GPU is dead in water, NVIDIA thinks the value of traditional CPUs is rapidly diminishing, and that graphics and parallel-compute intensive apps are going to drive the market forward. (Yes, we've heard this before.)
That's not to say the two companies can't work together -- although Intel's been highly critical of NVIDIA and GPGPU in the past, it was an eager and willing participant in the OpenCL process -- a process that went from start to finish in basically six months flat after Apple submitted the spec. That's record time for a standard like this, something NVIDIA credits to broad industry participation and enthusiasm.
Of course, notably absent from all the OpenCL group is Microsoft, and while NVIDIA wouldn't confirm that it's working on a Windows implementation of OpenCL, we were told repeatedly that all the partner companies are interested in making it happen, and that no one will be surprised when it arrives. Ditto for Linux.
Microsoft is working on DirectX 11 Compute, however, and NVIDIA says it'll be there -- it's not going to stay out of any market, it'll go where the customers are. seems like marketing-speak, but they were really insistent about this on the phone, telling us NVIDIA refuses to "pick sides."
OpenCL will basically run on any card that can do CUDA, which is a lot of chips -- pretty much any 8-series GPU with 256MB of RAM or above. Here's a list.
They wouldn't talk about Apple's plans, of course, but they did say that NVIDIA has a strong relationship with the company, as evidenced by the new MacBook line, and that Apple "wouldn't pick a supplier without knowing how their strategy is going to play out." That's certainly interesting -- maybe those dual GPUs in the new MacBook Pros are bound for something special after all.
OpenCL isn't done yet -- 1.0 is still waiting on performance testing, and a 1.1 version with additional features the working group felt weren't an immediate priority is due later sometime in 2009.

Overall, it sounds like OpenCL is going to be around for a long time, and we're totally ready for some supercomputer-caliber performance out of our machines -- can you hear us, video-encoding apps? You're due for a speedup.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Rumored intel roadmap names next Atom "Medfield"

AMD Phenom II processor gets outed, might even be released

2008-12-09T08:17:00.001-08:00

Apparently, AMD has officially announced the release of its Phenom II processor -- though if they did, they forgot to actually, you know, announce it. according to EE Times, the quad-core, 45nm chip is said to support DDR2 and DDR 3 memory (the latter up to 1333MHz) and is available at both 3GHz and 2.8GHz speeds (for $275 and $235, respectively). If that's not exciting enough, a 65nm (DDR2) version of the chip is also availabe. The article winds up by saying that the chips are expected to appear in systems on display at the upcoming CES. Sound good? Now all we need is an actual, official announcement. Like, from the chip maker itself. We're looking at you, AMD. Call us. You have the number.

[ Via: Register Hardware ]

Advent Eco PC gets photographed, tested

2008-12-07T18:36:00.001-08:00

After the latest green PC (that'd be the Advent Eco PC, pictured above) launched in late September, we don't suspect too many Britons rushed out to get one. Why? 'Cause the ?600 ($880) list price has already sunk to around ?440 ($646). If that figure is a little more in your budget, you might want to give the read link a look. The critics over at Techcast Network found the design to be fairly attractive, the keyboard to be a touch cramped (and unnecessarily wireless) and the performance to be "nothing to write home about." Comically enough, they also point out that an Atom CPU would've probably increased the "greenness," and quite frankly, this machine lacks the raw horsepower necessary to adequately handle Windows Vista. But hey, there's lots of pretty pictures to glance at below even if you've no interest in bringing one home.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Gateway's 16-inch MC7803u laptop reviewed : great rig for the price

OpeniMac offers cut-rate, aesthetically challenged Apple clones direct from Argentina

2008-12-04T19:03:00.001-08:00

After seeing how well Psystar did with its Open Computer, we think we'll just build our own Hackintosh rather than jump into this OpeniMac we've recently been hepped to. But who knows? Maybe you've been dying to send your hard earned money down to some shady Argentinean characters. In that case, this 2.53GHz machine should be right up your alley. Selling for $990 (or $1,330 with an LG 19-inch monitor), the base unit ships with 2GB memory, 320GB storage, and a 256MB ATI Radeon HD PRO. If you've got deep pockets, $1,710 will get you the OpeniMacPRO, a 3.0GHz machine with a 20-inch widescreen monitor and 4GB RAM. But seriously -- who knows where the money goes? And who knows whether you'll ever see the machine? One thing is for certain, however -- this case is as ugly as sin.

[ Via: Engadget ]

NextDimension RVE portable video editing machine packs an LCD on a tower

2008-12-04T07:00:00.001-08:00

Apparently that whole "slap an LCD on the side of a tower" thing is going alright for NextComputing. The NextDimension RVE is a bit more humble than the CinematographHD, though it should be able to handle even the most strenuous video editing tasks. Aside from the 17-inch 1,920 x 1,200 resolution panel plastered on the side, the "portable" tower houses single or dual 2.5GHz quad-core Intel processors, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 1.28TB of RAID storage, NVIDIA GeForce / Quadro FX graphics, a leather handle for portability and an extensive array of input / output sockets. The entire package measures in at 5.69- x 11.44- x 16.8-inches and weighs "just" 22-pounds -- too bad it'll take $6,380 to get one to your door.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Samsung's 16- inch R610 laptop reviewed: more mediocre than memorizing

Intel's Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 overclocked to 5.5GHz

2008-12-03T18:54:00.001-08:00

Right, so Intel's 3.73GHz Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 is fast enough for the vast majority of PC users across the globe, but not for Japanese overclocking enthusiast duck. Oh no -- duck decided to pair the chip up with ASUS' ROG Rampage II Extreme motherboard, which facilitates hardware-based OC'ing, in order to reach a top speed of 5510.09MHz. The point of the exercise? Just to say he could, not to mention set the bar for OC Team Italy to try and demolish.

[ Via: Engadget ]

intel VP says netbooks are "fine for an hour"

AMD Phenom II CPU roadmap foreshadows potent Spring

2008-12-02T18:33:00.001-08:00

Not that AMD's being overly secretive about its forthcoming Phenom II processor, but it hasn't exactly been forthcoming with model names / estimated ship dates, either. And that folks, is why we look to leaks. A recent writeup over on Chinese site HKEPC details the impending chip family by listing over a dozen new CPUs (including two Phenom II X3s and seven Phenom II X4s) that are destined to be announced between CES and June 2009. Not surprisingly, some of the model names aren't -- shall we way, completely original -- with the 3GHz Phenom II X4 940 and 2.8GHz Phenom II X4 920 sharing eerily similar naming schemes with Intel's fresh Core i7. Of course, we're not sticklers for silly things like that -- we just want to see a few slabs of silicon get out the door on time. Is that really too much to ask, AMD?

[ Via: CNET ]

Onkyo's HDC-1L straddles the fence between nettop and HTPC

2008-12-02T18:29:00.001-08:00

Now this -- this is an interesting character. Part nettop, part HTPC, the Sotec-branded HDC-1L series is a unique mixture of components that are traditionally found in either a diminutive desktop or a media center pc (but rarely both). First and foremost, this little bugger relies on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 CPU, and it only packs 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP, Ethernet, audio in / out, VGA, slot-loading DVD drive, a few USB ports and a remote input. Sadly, there's no integrated TV tuner to speak of, but with a starting price of just ?59,800 ($640), we suppose you could add one and still come in well under the cost of most pre-fab HTPCs. The box should be available in Japan as early as tomorrow, and it'll purportedly be sold with a number of upgrades and extras for those fond of the bundled approach.

[ Via: Impress ]

Windows Vista / Server 2008 SP2 Beta out now to MSDN and TechNet subscribers

2008-12-02T17:27:00.001-08:00

Windows Vista SP2 may not be hitting manufacturers 'til next April, but the beta is already scootin' about to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Yep, as of this very moment in time, the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta is in the wild, and microsoft is planning to making it publicly available via TechNet this Thursday. Check all the juicy details in the links below.

[ Via: Engadget ]

HP shows off Atom-powered mini-Q nettop in Taiwan

2008-11-25T18:28:00.001-08:00

It's no slate PC / digiframe hybrid, but it is a touch unorthodox. HP Compaq is reportedly preparing to launch a mini-Q nettop, though it could ship under a totally less exciting Presario 2030 / 2020 moniker. Packed within the diminutive box will be an Atom 330 / 230 CPU (respectively), Windows Vista / XP (also respectively), 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 160GB 7,200RPM hard drive, dual-layer DVD writer and a 6-in-1 card reader. No mention of a release date just yet, but pricing is expected at around NT$9,900 ($296) / NT$12,900 ($386).

[ Via: Electronista ]

Hello Kitty C1 netbook packs a lotta 'tude into a small package

ASUS 15.6-inch touchscreen Eee Tops launching tomorrow -- $499?

2008-11-24T04:53:00.001-08:00

Can you feel it? That dull sense of ennui isn't the result of the diminished hours of daylight, oh no, it's the sensation of the Eee Top's imminent launch in Taipei. ASUS has a news conference scheduled for Thursday to out the ET1602 and ET1603 XP PCs into the wonderfully erect world of all-in-ones. Something we've been expecting since January of this year when we first heard about ASUS' Eee branding promiscuity. We're still looking at 15.6-inches of touchscreen LCD, a 160GB hard disk, 802.11n WiFi, a pair of 4-watt speakers, and 1.3 megapixel webcam all propped up by a tepid 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor -- a CPU that ASUS knows a thing or two about. The ET1603 packs a better ATI HD3450 graphics card and battery for 4.4-kilograms (9.7-pounds) of luggable PC. We'll have to wait for the pricing and country details but we can speculate that it'll arrive in the US pronto after seeing its wireless (EK-C2) keyboard slip through the FCC yesterday. Could be a holiday winner if it hits for the $499 price rumored way back when.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Intel's convertible Classmate PC barely makes it to FCC class

Dell's Core i7-packin' Studio XPS hits the review bench

2008-11-22T21:52:00.001-08:00

Dell's Studio XPS had "winner" written all over it from the get-go. With practically every other Core i7 rig on the market catering specifically to gamers who were willing to pay a premium for an equally cutting edge GPU, this machine directed itself to everyone who just wanted to do everything but game (and do so quickly). The kids over at DesktopReview were able to take the sub-$1,000 box for a spin, and while they weren't too fond of the relatively plain chassis, it was pretty much thumbs-up everywhere else. Performance in everyday applications was stellar, gaming was better than average and the value was unbeatable. Overall, the Studio XPS is darn close to the perfect machine for folks who want to compute quickly and play a game or two on the side, but rather than taking our word for it, we'd suggest hitting the read link and having a look for yourself.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 and 12 get artist makeovers

HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now

2008-11-22T04:34:00.001-08:00

We caught a glimpse of the HP xw9400 quite a while back when it was first announced, but it's now available on HP's site and we've got the full details on the mammoth's innards. There are quite a few customizable options, including AMD's Dual-Core Shanghai Opteron CPUs (from 2.0GHz to 2.5GHz), up to 32GB MHz DDR SDRAM, NIVIDIA nForce Professional 3600 or 3050 chipsets, and available NVIDIA Quadro FX cards with up to 1GB of memory. There are also five internal and two external drive bays and eight USB 2.0 ports. The behemoth starts at $2,399 and runs as high as $6,299. Hit the read link for the widest array of specifications you can possibly ever imagine.

[ Via: Information Week ]

How would you change Apple's unibody MacBook / MacBook Pro?

ASUS summons Core i7 power in ROG CG6190 gaming desktop

2008-11-22T01:11:00.001-08:00

If you thought your ARES CG6155 was hot stuff during the sweltering summer, well, you were right. Sadly, your bragging days have come to an end, as a new era of cutting-edge buyers are fixing to one-up you with the purchase of ASUS' ROG CG6190. Timed to be released alongside Intel's potent Core i7 processor, this beast is built around the X58 chipset and includes an eye-catching chassis, 52% faster processing speed in 3D gaming applications (thanks, overclocked Core i7!), up to 12GB of DDR3 RAM and support for an NVIDIA triple-SLI GPU setup or an ATI CrossFireX rig. You'll also notice a biometric fingerprint scanner, a unique 2-kilowatt dual power system, customized liquid cooling modules and a SupremeFX X-Fi audio card. As ASUS loves to do, we're left in the dark on pricing, but we'd guess it'll launch somewhere between expensive and ludicrously pricey here soon.

[ Via: ComputerMonger ]

Upcoming dual-processor Nehalem EP machine benchmarked -- yeah, it's fast

2008-11-21T11:30:00.001-08:00

Intel's new Core i7 chip has been showing up in tons of silly-spec'd high-end gaming rigs for about three days now, so it's obviously time to get bored and move on -- and right on cue, TechRadar's got the first benchmarks we've seen of the upcoming dual-processor Nehalem EP platform. The secret test machine featured two 2.8GHz Nehalem EP chips (likely to hit retail in 2009 as the Xeon X5560) and 24GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 RAM controlled by the new Quick Path Interconnect and on-die memory controllers, which together cranked out a SPECfp base rate of 160 -- way above the 90 posted by current 3.4GHz Xeon setups, and higher than the 105 scored by a 2.7GHz dual-processor rig with AMD's new Shanghai chips. Yeah, that's silly fast, and it's bound to get even faster when these bad boys launch with a 3.2GHz part along for the ride. Now if Intel could just siphon some of that speed into these pokey Atoms we can actually afford, we'd be grins-a-plenty.

[ Via: Engadget ]

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA hands-on and video: looks a lot like the S101

2008-11-21T11:29:00.001-08:00

The folks over at Laptop have gotten some quality face time with a pre-production model of ASUS' 10-inch Eee PC 1002 HA, and they seem to like a lot of what they're seeing. It boasts stylings reminiscent of both the Eee PC S101 (trackpad) and the 1000H (keyboard), and as such is basically a hybridized version of the two, though the test model "wouldn't power on" so we can't got much further than that. We do however, know that it'll house a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, and that it'll have a two-cell battery which ASUS claims will give users five hours of juice (though that sounds pretty suspect to us). The Eee PC 1002 HA is expected to ready to roar on the first of December for $499, but if you simply can't wait until then to have a look at it, hit the read like for more photos and a really, really interesting video.

[ Via: Engadget ]

NVIDIA announces cost, energy-saving Tesla Personal Supercomputer

2008-11-19T11:34:00.001-08:00

AMD has already outlined its plans to harness the power of its GPUs for some added computing muscle, and it looks like NVIDIA is now taking things one step further by announcing its new GPU-based Tesla Personal Supercomputer, which promises to deliver the power of a traditional supercomputer cluster at 1/100th of the price. That "personal supercomputer" is actually a platform based on NVIDIA's new Tesla C1060 GPU Computing Processor, which itself is based on NVIDIA's CUDA parallel computing architecture. The supercomputers themselves will come from a whole host of manufacturers that have already partnered with NVIDIA, including ASUS, Dell, Lenovo, and a number of more specialized computer makers. While complete details on those systems are still a bit light at the moment, they'll apparently be "priced like a conventional PC workstation," and the first few out of the gate should be available starting today.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Gateway throws Core i7 CPUs into two new FX6800 gaming desktops

2008-11-17T09:30:00.003-08:00

Although we actually got to see just how potent the Core i7 was way back in September (at least, that's what was hinted at "off the record"), the chip had yet to go on sale until this week. Now that it's had its formal launch party, Gateway's joining the masses in offering up two new FX Series PCs with Intel's freshest silicon. For the gamer on a budget, the FX6800-01 gets going at just $1,249.99 and packs a Core i7-920 processor, 3GB of DDR3 RAM and an ATI Radeon HD4850 video card. For those with cheddar to burn, the $2,999.99 FX6800-05 steps it up with a Core i7-940, ATI Radeon HD4870 X2 graphics card and 6GB of DDR3 memory. The high-end beast also includes a 1TB hard drive plus an 80GB SSD, and both models can be outfitted with a Blu-ray drive should you choose. For the complete specs list, have a glance at the full release just after the break.
New processing technology breaks barriers with extreme performance for intense gaming and high impact entertainment
IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2008 -- Gateway today announced two new
models in its FX Series of desktop PCs featuring Intel's fastest
desktop platform technology to date, the Intel(R) Core(TM) i7
processors and the Intel(R) X58 Express chipset. The new Core i7
processors feature faster, intelligent multi-core technology that
automatically applies processing power where it's needed most,
delivering an incredible breakthrough in PC performance.
An unrivaled value at just $1,249.99, the Gateway(R) FX6800-01e means
the world of extreme gaming and turbo-charged fun isn't limited to
high-priced systems costing thousands of dollars. At its heart lies
an Intel Core i7-920 processor, providing gamers with the critical
horsepower to pwn even the most worthy opponents. Partnered with an
ATI Radeon HD4850 video card, 3GB of DDR3 triple channel memory and
high definition audio, it delivers the performance, graphics and audio
necessary for those who want to experience their digital entertainment
full throttle.
"The new Gateway FX6800-01 featuring the Intel Core i7-920 Processor
is another example of our commitment to bringing high-performance into
the mainstream price range," said Glenn Jystad, senior manager,
desktop products for Gateway. "The screaming performance this desktop
delivers is more than enough for most gamers, and leaves them with a
lot more money for games, as well as the ability to play them better
than ever before."
Hard-core gamers who crave white-knuckle rushes and heart-palpitating
action will find the Gateway(R) FX6800-05 delivers all that and more.
Aggressively priced at $2.999.99, it is fueled by the even more
powerful Intel Core i7-940 processor, making it the ultimate holiday
gift and game crusher. Realistic heart-stopping, jaw-dropping visuals
are provided by ATI Radeon HD4870 X2 graphics card and 6GB of DDR3
memory for spine-tingling fun.
And the excitement doesn't stop there. In addition to its massive 1TB
hard drive, Gateway takes it to the next level, adding a revolutionary
new high-speed drive -- an 80GB Intel High Performance Solid State
Drive. This industry-leading drive can't be beat for drive-intensive
applications with extreme performance needs. Devoid of moving parts,
it provides faster and more reliable data storage than traditional
hard drives, with less heat and noise.
"Solid state hard drive technology on a gaming PC will make a huge
difference in the fun factor," continued Jystad. "Currently used in
mission critical environments, users are seeing boot up times that are
two to three times as fast and they are running cooler and quieter,
and without data fragmentation, all of which are hugely valued by
gamers as well."
"Fueled by the best desktop processors on the planet -- with Intel
Hyper-Threading and Intel Turbo Boost Technology -- the new Gateway FX
Series desktops will transport gamers to a new level of performance
and PC enjoyment," said CJ Bruno, vice president, sales and marketing
group and president, Intel Americas, Inc. "Not only can the new Intel
Core i7 processor handle today's most complex and immersive games, but
it's also powerful enough to handle tomorrow's gaming advances,
ensuring these new systems will continue to meet customers' needs for
years to come."
In addition to their powerful engines, the FX Series desktops offer
numerous user friendly features that add convenience, flexibility and
value to their overall proposition.
Hidden pop-out doors keep ports tucked away, out-of-view and free from
dust and debris. A pop-up on the top of the system provides
convenient access to media ports and the Smart Copy button, which
simplifies the storing of digital photos. A hidden pop-out on the
front hides the i/o ports most often used for temporary items such as
a microphone, headphone, and 1394 cables.
Touch-sensitive media control buttons make it easy to control DVDs,
music play lists and TV functionality. Both the models can include
Blu-ray Disc(TM) optical drives.
The FX6800 PCs come standard with two internal hard drive bays.
Customers can also quickly and easily add a third and fourth hard
drive by simply sliding out a tray located on the front lower section
of the chassis. A completely tool-less process, users simply insert
the hard drive into the tray and Vista will immediately recognize and
configure it for use.
A backup button on the front of the system is tied to the backup
feature found in Vista. Using this button, consumers can quickly and
confidently copy their files to any storage location they choose.
Specifications, Pricing and Availability
Gateway(R) FX6800-01e: Available now at leading retailers for a MSRP
of $1,249.99.
1. Intel Core i7-920 Processor (2.66Gz Quad-Core w/ Intel
Hyper-Threading & Turbo Speed Technology, new 8-thread CPU
architecture with automatic acceleration up to 2.93GHz on a single
core)
2. Intel X58 Express Chipset
3. ATI Radeon HD4850 w/ 512MB Discrete Video Memory
4. 3GB (3072MB DDR3 1066MHz Three Channel Memory [3 x 1024MB])
5. 750GB SATA II hard drive (1) (7200RPM, 16MB cache)
6. 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring LabelFlash(TM) Technology(2)
7. 15-in-1 High Speed Digital Media Card Reader with Smart Copy Button
8. Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit with Service Pack 1
9. (8) USB 2.0 Ports, (2) PS/2, (2) IEEE 1394a, (2) eSATA, RJ-45,
RJ-11, (8) Audio Ports, (1) Serial Port
10. HDMI Connector v1.3 (via DVI-HDMI dongle)
11. 500W Power Supply
Gateway(R) FX6800-05: Available now at leading online retailers, with
an MSRP of $2,999.99.
1. Intel Core i7-940 Processor (2.93GHz Quad-Core w/ Intel
Hyper-Threading & Turbo Speed Technology, New 8-thread CPU
architecture with automatic acceleration up to 3.20GHz on a single
core)
2. Intel X58 Express Chipset
3. ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Graphics w/ 2048MB Discrete Video Memory
4. 6GB (6144MB DDR3 1066MHz Three Channel Memory [3 x 2GB DIMM])
5. 1000GB SATA II hard drive (1) (7200RPM, 16MB cache)
6. 80GB SSD (Solid State Drive)
7. 18X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring LabelFlash Technology(2)
8. 15-in-1 High Speed Digital Media Card Reader with Smart Copy Button
9. Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit with Service Pack 1
10. (8) USB 2.0 Ports, (2) PS/2, (2) IEEE 1394a, (2) eSATA, RJ-45, (8)
Audio Ports
11. HDMI Connector v1.3 (via DVI-HDMI dongle)
12. 1000 Watt Power Supply
Gateway Limited Warranty, Service and Support
The Gateway FX Series Desktops are backed by a one year limited
warranty(3). Gateway's commitment to quality and reliability is
evident in its award-winning line of PCs as well as in its exceptional
service and support programs(4). In addition to the company's
standard limited warranty options, its extensive online support center
helps customers maximize their PC investment; it gives them easy
access to customer support representatives and information on
important issues such as warranties, technical issues and upgrading.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Dell's Intel Core i7-packing XPS Studio and XPS 730x desktops on sale now

2008-11-17T09:30:00.001-08:00

OK, handsome -- we know you've been distracted lately. What's the matter? The economy? Post-election comedown? Do you feel that It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia just hasn't lived up to its potential? Or are you itchin' for one of those new Core i7 desktops? Well, the wait is over -- we've got the skinny here on new Dell systems, and if you feel so moved you can even go over to their website and order one up right this very minute. The XPS Studio desktop's base $949 model boasts 2GB memory, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics, and 500GB storage, while the top-end $1,499 configuration features a 512MB2 ATI Radeon HD 4850, 6GB memory, 750GB storage, and comes bundled with a 24-inch S2409W Flat Panel monitor. For you game-playing types, the XPS 730x updates the popular XPS 730 line with the new processor, up to 6GB DDR3 memory, updated thermal monitoring system and chassis and either ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX280 1024MB graphics -- starting at . As you'd expect, all systems ship with Vista Home Premium Edition. So, how do you feel? Better? We hoped you would.

[ Via: Engadget ]

IBM Roadrunner Tops Cray as the Official World's Fastest Supercomputer [Supercomputers]

2008-11-17T09:28:00.001-08:00

It's like a geek soap opera. Just last week, Cray bragged that their updated Jaguar XT supercomputer was the world's fastest. Now this week, IBM responds to the trash talk with a number one ranking of their Roadrunner system on the newly published Top500 supercomputing list. Both the IBM and Cray systems break the petaflop processing barrier according to Top500 measurements (1.45 petaflops vs 1.38 petaflops, respectively). Heck, even IBM admitted to us that the two computers "run neck and neck." But there's a huge difference between them. The Roadrunner uses roughly half the power of the Jaguar XT. It assembles 12,960 IBM PowerXCell 8i Cell Broadband Engine processors and an additional 6,948 AMD Opteron Dual-Core processors. The AMD equipment handles "basic" functions while the IBM chips handle the intense number crunching. (Read all about the Roadrunner here.) Seeing as the Cray XT5 uses 45,000 quad-core AMD Opteron processors to get the same job done, you've gotta be at least a little impressed.
[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]

Roadrunner beats Jaguar in TOP500 supercomputer rankings, cartoon antics strangely absent

2008-11-17T09:07:00.001-08:00

While titles like "world's fastest" and "world's largest" are fleeting at best, it's rare that we see such things taken down this quickly. Last week Cray delivered a big dish of braggadocio, talking up its 1.64 petaflop XT Jaguar supercomputer as the fastest (non-classified) machine in the world. Now, like some rocket skate-wearing coyote who's run out of thrust, it's been stymied by IBM's Roadrunner, deployed at Los Alamos. TOP500 is the authority on these matters and that list's latest rankings place Roadrunner in first place with a speed of 1.105 petaflops; Cray's Jag comes in second with a paltry 1.059. What about that 1.64 figure from last week? That was the hypothetical limit, and while it did deliver real-world performance of 1.3 petaflops for the folks at Oak Ridge, TOP500 relies on the Linpack benchmark for its ratings and apparently the Jag just couldn't deliver the goods there. Perhaps, Cray, it's time to make another call to ACME -- or AMD as it were.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Intel Core i7 CPUs reappear on NewEgg

2008-11-17T08:43:00.003-08:00

Remember those Core i7 processors that showed up -- ever so briefly -- on NewEgg a few days ago, only to promptly disappear, leaving us to ponder what we'd done wrong? Well, even though they're not slated to officially hit shelves until November 17th, we've heard from a slew of vigilant tipsters (hipsters?) that they're back. The prices are the same as we saw before, but you might want to check 'em out yourself right away, just in case they disappear again and you're forced to wait until tomorrow.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Smooth Creations' LAN Shark reviewed, well loved

2008-11-17T08:43:00.001-08:00

Tweak Town has given the new LAN Shark gaming PC by Smooth Creations a thorough once-over and they really seem to like what they see. The review machine (priced at $1,343.75) arrived kitted out with a 3.0 GHz Core 2 Quad processor, 4GB RAM, Diamond HD 4870 1GB graphics and Western Digital Raptor 150GB storage. The whole shebang is housed in an elegant acrylic case with a subtle, yet understated "flame" motif (as pictured above) and gently illuminated by a full compliment of LEDs and cold cathodes. In fact, the only real complaint they lodged about the case was that the fans were too loud. When it came time to roll out the benchmarks the reviewer remained pretty upbeat, citing "very good" processor calculation scores, "fairly smooth" game play at 1900 x 1200 and the machine's making short work of World in Conflict as among the reasons to give this machine some serious consideration. But don't take our word for it -- for the intense, 14-page review hit that read link.

[ Via: Engadget ]

Alienware stoops lower with $1,049 Area-51 750i gaming desktop

2008-11-14T03:56:00.001-08:00

Remember when the average Alienware was like four large? Ah, those were the days. As the used-to-be-boutique gaming PC company looks to attract a wider range of customers and fight off the effects of this economic quandary we're involved in, it has introduced the (relatively) affordable Area-51 750i. Predictably based on the NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI motherboard, this rig can be outfitted with a Core 2 Extreme QX9650, twin ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics cards (or dueling GeForce GTX 280s, if you prefer), 8GB of DDR2 RAM, Windows Vista 64-bit, more hard drive space than you'll ever have use for, an optional Blu-ray burner and the usual complement of ports. We needn't remind you that the $1,049 baseline rig doesn't have a specs list nearly that impressive, but if it's all about that glowing case, you can get in the game quite cheaply right now.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: 750i, Alienware, Area-51, Area-51 750i, Area-51750i, gaming PC, gaming rig, GamingPc, GamingRig, nForce 750i, Nforce750i, nvidia, sli ]

Atom 330 is benchmarked, fares slightly worse than expected

2008-11-13T07:45:00.001-08:00

PC Pro's given Intel's dual-core, 1.6GHz Atom 330 (coupled with a 7200 RPM SATA hard drive and 1GB of DDR2 RAM) the benchmark run-through, and they've got some conflicting details to pass on to you. Overall, the testers found the Atom to be, as expected, faster than the N270, but only by 16 percent. In specific tests, the 330 ran Office 2003 slower than both a 2GHz VIA C7-D and the single-core Atom; PC Pro actually performed the test several times just to be sure it wasn't a glitch... and it wasn't. The 330 performed better running 2D graphics, outpacing the N270 by 41 percent, and it also outperformed its competitors in encoding and multitasking. Not enough details for you? Hit the read link for the full-on benchmarking experience.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: 330, atom, atom 330, Atom330, benchmark, benchmarking, benchmarks, dual core, dual-core, DualCore, intel, intel atom, IntelAtom, n270 ]

Dell's XPS 430 tower makes a stealth entrance

2008-11-11T18:05:00.001-08:00

Dell made a lot of noise about its otherwise-ordinary Art House laptops today, but we didn't hear a peep about the XPS 430 desktops that slid online as well. The update to the XPS 420 ditches the SideShow display but now starts with 6GB of DDR3 RAM and features a newer slate of Intel Core 2 Quad processors running on a 1,333MHz bus with 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics -- the base $1,307 model has a 2.33GHz Q8200 while the higher-powered $1,767 configuration has a 2.5GHz Q9300 and comes bundled with a 22-inch SP2208WFP LCD. True to Dell form, you can go crazy on the BTO tip and order the 430 jacked with a 3.0GHz QX9650 Core 2 Extreme, 8GB of RAM, a 2TB RAID, and Blu-ray burner for $3,267, but we've got a feeling those less-insane stock configurations might sell just a hair better when orders start shipping in November.

[ Via: Electronista ]
[ Tag: dell, xps, xps 430, Xps430 ]

NEC launches PowerMate P4000 and P6000 all-in-ones

2008-11-11T09:59:00.001-08:00

We've noticed a pattern with NEC -- compact, minimalist computer designs with low-end to run-of-the-mill specs. There's nothing wrong with having a specialty, and NEC Asia Pacific is sticking with what it knows with the PowerMate P4000 and P6000 all-in-ones. The P4000 is a light worker (to put it perhaps too kindly), with a 1.9GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 250GB of hard disk space, an NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G integrated graphics chip, and a 16-inch display at 1366 x 768. We'd go instead for the P6000 (pictured above), which is actually competitive with similarly priced all-in-ones like the Gateway One. It's got a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, twice the storage and memory of its lesser sibling, integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9300, and a roomier 19-inch, 1440 x 900 display. Both systems are due for release in Asia next week, the P4000 at S$1,899 ($1,270) and the P6000 at S$2,499 ($1,675). The latter is clearly the better deal, but they're both expensive compared to bulkier alternatives -- desk space is at a premium these days. Pic of the P4000 after the break.

[ Via: PCLaunches ]
[ Tag: all-in-one, desktop, nec, nec powermate, necpowermate, powermate, powermate p4000, powermate p6000, powermatep4000, powermatep6000 ]

YoYotech Fi7epower MLK1610 PC is really, really fast

2008-11-04T18:39:00.003-08:00

YoYotech is making no bones about their Fi7epower MLK1610 PC: according to them, it's "the fastest PC in the world," and "officially," at that. Well then. The dubious value of such claims aside, the so-called "completely insane" MLK1610 houses an Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition CPU (overclocked to 3.73GHz) atop an X58 chipset, 9GB of DDR3 RAM, an 80GB Intel X25-M SSD, 1TB standard hard drive, a Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM, and it's all sitting on ASUS' P6T motherboard. P7etty sweet, right? It's probably worth the ?3,995.85 (about $6,337) you're going to have to spend to make it yours, too. Oh -- did we mention what a looker it is?

[ Via: Tech Digest ]
[ Tag: asus p6t, AsusP6t, core i7 965, core i7 965 extreme edition, CoreI7965, CoreI7965ExtremeEdition, fi7epower mlk1610, Fi7epowerMlk1610, intel, intel x25 ssd, IntelX25Ssd, mlk1610, radeon hd 4870x2, RadeonHd4870x2, x58, yoyotech ]

Intel Core i7 review roundup

2008-11-04T18:39:00.001-08:00

We've already seen a few benchmarks of Intel's new Core i7 processor, but if you're still craving some more details about Intel's latest and greatest you now have plenty more than that to chew on, with reviews, overviews, and yet more benchmarks pouring in left and right. As you might expect, most sites are describing the CPU as a very big deal for Intel, with the folks at Maximum PC even going so far as to call it the company's "most significant CPU launch in, well, ever." What's more, as those early benchmarks hinted at, it doesn't look like there's too many folks disappointed with the new processors, with even the "low end" Core i7 920 able to defeat the higher clock speed Core 2 Quad Q9650 "over and over" according to TechSpot, a feat due in large part to the CPU's on-die memory controller and Intel's new QPI technology. The first few systems shipping with the processor also look to have been fairly well received, with Slash Gear finding that Gateway's new Core i7 920-based FX6800-01e delivered a reasonable but not revolutionary upgrade over its Core 2 Quad-based predecessor, and Computer Shopper also finding plenty of things to like in new systems from Falcon Northwest and iBuypower, though the price of each of those systems is another matter. That, of course, is just skimming the surface, and if you've got a few hours to spare, you can find plenty more to keep you busy by diving into the links below.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: core i7, core i7 920, core i7 940, core i7 965, CoreI7, CoreI7920, CoreI7940, CoreI7965, i7, intel, intel core i7, IntelCoreI7 ]