Foundry Company gets green light from US foreign investment committee
Announced in October and tweaked in December, the creation of The Foundry Company, a chip manufacturing joint venture between AMD and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), has now been given clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Once formed, The Foundry Company will have control over all of AMD's current manufacturing facilities, with a new fab set to be constructed in the Luther Forest Technology Campus, New York, US. AMD will have a 34.2% stake in the company while the ATIC will own 65.8%.
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Asus Eee Keyboard looking good, expensive
Going all-out to expand the Eee family, Asus has just unveiled the Eee Keyboard, a touchscreen-equipped home theater PC cleverly disguised as a shiny, seci keyboard. Weighting in less than 1kg, the device has a QWERTY layout with a 5-inch touchscreen on its right side, wireless HDMI connectivity, USB, audio, Ethernet and D-sub ports but yet unknown specs.
Currently a prototype, the Eee Keyboard is planned for production but Asus hasn't said when we'll be able to take one home with us. Or how much it will cost.
Pictures courtesy of Gizmodo.
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Asus shows off Eee PC touchscreen convertible tablets
As promised in October, Asus took the stage just before CES and presented the first touchscreen-equipped Eee PCs. Seen below, the Eee PC T91 and T101H are convertible tablets that feature a 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch LED-backlit touchscreen respectively, 1.33 GHz Atom Z520 CPUs, plus integrated TV-tuner and GPS.
Loaded with Windows XP and a Asus-made touch interface, the tablets will be available in black and white. No price tags or release dates were provided yet.
Photos courtesy of DailyTech.
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WowWee not just toys anymore!
As announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), WowWee intends to expand their product line, with a new handheld projector powered by Texas Instrument (TI)'s DLP projection technology being showcased at their booth.
The projectors, dubbed Cinemin, a name hybrid of Cinema and "mini", are intended to be used with handheld media devices such as the iPod and iPhone. The hardware line of projectors will include three models.
The Cinemin Swivel, a pico projector, lightweight, and affordable projector about the size of a candy bar with a 3 hour battery life and 90 degree hinge for ceiling mounts.
The Cinemin Stick, again, a pico projector, not much larger than the Swivel with about the same battery life and an SD card slot for storing and playing alternate medias and web videos.
The Cinemin Station, yet again, a pico projector, but this time an alarm clock sized iPod docking station that will allow media play directly from the iPod to a projection screen.
These devices are amongst plenty of others that WowWee has announced including "The Spyball" a simple digital media recorder, and Rovio, a wireless enabled web cam.
I've personally been noticing a lot of hardware updates revolving around small or mobile products, Netbooks, iPod and iPhone based hardware, etc. I guess this year is not so much the year of the Gadget, but the year of the Gadgette (similar but smaller cousin to Gadget!).
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Free Windows 7?
This seems almost unheard of considering anyone that has ever heard about anything Microsoft has ever done marketing wise, offering it's new operating system, currently dubbed Windows 7, for free. However, ComputerWorld says that this as true. According to the report it seems likely that Microsoft will be allowing OEMs to purchase upgrades for their users after July 1, 2009 until an undisclosed date. This allows manufacturers to provide upgrades from PCs sold after such time which are capable of running the new OS for either a price or free of charge.
Though it seems unlikely for manufacturers or even Microsoft to provide free copies of Windows 7, but, this campaign seems eerily similar to the "Vista Capable" campaign which was launched before Vista's release while OEMs were still selling Windows XP based PCs.
On a personal note, I got a hold of the Windows 7 Beta, and, while it was nice, and slightly cleaner than that of Vista, what has been marketed (or what I have been told) is utterly false. There have been claims of "no redundant processes" after changing a few settings in the process list and my control panel in it I did not find this to be the case, I still saw 4 or 5 svchost.exe processes running (which is redundant).
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Pandora 2.0 released for the iPhone
Pandora, a unique web site built around finding music similar to the interests of the users based on their input when looking for music, has released an update to it's iPhone app, now at version 2.0.
The Pandora app was the #1 free App for the iPhone in 2008, and not long into the new year they released their update. The fresh version of the software contains a few new features as well as some updates to its database.
One new feature is the ability to purchase songs found through Pandora via iTunes. Which, now that iTunes purchasing is possible over 3G networks, should result in more sales over the service in the next year.
Another feature sees the album cover related to the song played by the Pandora app being shown on the user's screen as well as why that song is being played, generally with Pandora is has to do with relevance to the first referenced artist or song.
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New Robosapien on the way
Toy manufacturer, WowWee, has announced a new addition to it's "robosapien" series, dubbed "Joebot".
Updates to the product include faster and smoother movement of the "robot". It can dance, and "beatbox". It also includes tilt sensors to let it know when or if it is falling.
The toy will also work with existing old Robosapien remote and will even challenge you to games involving any household remote that uses infrared.
To be honest, while the Robosapien series of toys is cool, does this mean that all we'll see of bipedal robots in our time is as entertainment devices for children? We all have seen the Asimo videos from Honda, but at what point will we have a servant-bot in every home and when will they be affordable? Because I want a servant bot, that way I can be sure to be one of the first to go when the AI uprising occurs.
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MSI readies the EX625 16-inch laptop
MSI has today revealed a new Entertainment series laptop, the EX625. Seen below, the machine measures 374 x 246 x 26.8-35m, has a 16-inch LCD screen with a WSXGA (1680 x 1050 pixels) resolution, features the ECO Engine power management system and an "aerodynamic" touch sensor. The laptop is powered by a Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, a Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphics card with 512MB of dedicated memory, a SATA hard drive with up to 320GB of storage space and either a DVD writer or a Blu-Ray drive.
The EX625 also boasts Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and optional Bluetooth 2.0, a 4-in-1 card reader, D-Sub, HDMI and eSATA connectors, and either a 6 or 9 cell battery. MSI hasn't provided a release date or price tag for the EX625. Yet.
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Techconnect Review Round-up 6/1/09
CPU & Motherboard
- EVGA X58 3X SLI Motherboard @ [H] Enthusiast
- ECS P45T-AD3 @ t-break
Memory
- G.Skill DDR3 PC3-10666 CL7 6GB kit @ Legion Hardware
- Kingston Triple Channel 1333MHz 6GB Memory Kit @ TweakTown
Storage
- ATP ProMax II 4gb SD/SDHC Card @ Test Freaks
Graphics cards
- EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 55nm Superclocked Edition Video Card @ Hardware Canucks
- Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 1GB video card @ Elite Bastards
- Sapphire Toxic HD4870 1GB DDR5 @ OC Online
Enclosures & PSUs
- Hiper Type R II 680W PSU @ bit-tech
- AeroCool Horsepower 650w PSU @ PureOC
- Cooler Master Stacker 832 SE case @ Bjorn3d
- Raidmax Wind Storm chassis @ Overclockers Club
- XClio 1000 Enclosure @ Virtual-Hideout
- NZXT Whisper case @ techPowerUp
- NZTX Tempest Gamer Case @ OCModShop
- ToPower PowerTrain 1200w PSU @ Hi-Tech Reviews
Displays
- Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ800 42in Plasma TV @ TrustedReviews
Cooling and modding
- Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm CPU Cooler @ TweakTown
- Thermaltake MaxOrb EX CPU Cooler @ Modders-Inc
- Coolink GFXChilla VGA Heatsink @ OCModShop
- ThermoLab Baram CPU Cooler @ BigBruin
- Cooler Master Hyper Z600 Black Label Heatsink @ FrostyTech
Sound
- Razer Moray Noise Isolating Earbud Headphones @ Tweaknews
Other
- 2GB MP3 player head-to-head test @ RegHardware
- Griffin Reflect Case for iPhone 3G @ TheTechLounge
- HP Photosmart C6380 All-In-One Inkjet @ TrustedReviews
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Apple unveils iLife '09
Snow Leopard maker Apple has now announced the 09 version of the iLife multimedia software suite which brings updates for everything from the iPhoto and iMovie, to the GarageBand and iWeb apps. iPhoto '09 for example adds the ability to automatically organize images by when they were shot (Events), who appears in them (Faces) and where they were taken (Places). As for iMovie '09, it makes it even easier to create new movies thanks to things like the Precision Editor, video stabilization, advanced drag and drop, and animated travel maps.
GarageBand '09 will help you learn to play the guitar or piano via 18 basic lessons and optional lessons from artists such as Sara Bareilles, John Fogerty, Norah Jones and Sting, while iWeb '09 will provide you with new iWeb Widgets like iSight video and photos, a countdown timer, YouTube video and RSS feeds.
Bundled with every newly-purchased Mac, iLife '09 will be available to existing users later this month for $79.
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Leadtek releases new WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+
Introduced in October, the WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ has made a comeback as Leadtek has re-released it together with a new packing design. Also boasting a new bundle, - Overlord (the image below has not been updated enough) as opposed to Neverwinter Nights 2, the 'new' card may just feature a 55nm GPU although Leadtek does not mention it and only states that it has swapped the old robot-themed packaging with one featuring fast cars - a Bugatti Veyron in this case. Cardboard aside, the card is comes with a factory overclocked core - a 602 MHz (576 MHz stock), while the 896 MB of GDDR3 memory is @ 1998 MHz.
Boasting 216 Processing Cores, the WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ has a 448-bit memory interface, triple SLI support, DirectX 10, CUDA and PhysX capabilities and CUDA, plus dual-DVI connectivity. Expect this newly-packaged card to have the same price tag as the initial release - around 230 Euro.
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G-Techconlogy launches SSD-equipped external drives for Macs
Although this year's MacWorld Expo is Jobs-less, G-Technology has been more than happy to attend it and present its newest external storage solutions for Macs, the G-DRIVE mini SSD and RAID 0/1 G-RAID mini SSD. Both packing 2.5-inch solid state drives, the devices feature some secsi silver aluminum casings, and have USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and 800 connectivity, with the RAID 0/1 G-RAID mini SSD also offering the eSATA option.
Coming in 120 and 250GB capacities, the G-DRIVE mini SSD can reach read and write speeds of 75 MB/s and 65 MB/s respectively (on FireWire 800), while the 250 and 500GB G-RAID mini SSD will top 195 MB/s, on eSATA.
"These are not your daddy's drives - unless he requires the most durable, bleeding-edge storage technology on the market," said Roger Mabon, vice president of Fabrik's G-Technology product group. "These products target a very niche market segment that understands the cost benefits of using a superior quality, yet simple, SSD-based external storage solution. Nothing comes close to their quality, performance and reliability."
All backed by a three-year warranty and set to become available later this month, the 120 and 250GB G-DRIVEs will cost $599 and $1,299 respectively, while the 250 and 500GB G-RAID minis will go for $999 and $2,199.
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XFX releases almost full line-up of Radeon cards
As promised last year when it decided to drop Nvidia exclusivity, XFX has now officially introduced its line-up of Radeon HD 4000 series graphics cards. Consisting of Radeon HD 4350, HD 4650, HD 4830, HD 4850 and HD 4870 models XFX's Radeon offer aims to turn a few heads through the use of black PCBs, custom cooling solution and red DVI connectors but it also includes almost nothing but stock clocked cards. Tee exceptions are the 512MB and 1GB XXX Edition Radeon HD 4870s, which have GPUs set to 775 MHz (750 MHz stock) and a memory frequency of 3800 MHz (3600 MHz).
Four of the eight XFX Radeons have already started to hit stores, with the Radeon HD 4350 going for just under 39 Euro and the 1GB stock Radeon HD 4870 for 259 Euro.
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Acer and Asus predict netbook sales boom for 2009
The top two netbook manufacturers, Acer and Asus, have ended 2008 quite nicely, with sales of their Atom-powered portable PCs, being higher than previously predicted. As a result, fresh reports say that both have increased their netbook shipment expectations for 2009.
Delivering some 6 million Eee PCs in 2008, Asus is now expecting to sell 7.1 to 7.3 million netbooks in 2009 while Acer, which has surpassed Asus with its Aspire One in Q3, is hoping for sales of 12 to 13 million units. According to Acer's president, the netbook market in 2009 could reach 30 to 35 million units this year.
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Netflix plans to bypass the box
While Netflix Video on Demand/Digital Distribution services are available to anyone who owns a Netflix Roku Media Player, the US based company has announced plans for direct streaming to a new line of LG TVs.
Netflix streaming media is nothing new to the technological world, and those with an affinity to media devices, the Xbox 360 already provides Netflix streaming and download capabilities, as does the Roku Media Player, and a number of other devices, though this is the first announcement regarding HDTVs planned to be built specifically for the service provided by Netflix.
Sony already streams some Feature Films and Television shows to it's line of Bravia HDTVs.
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Amazon Digital Distribution straight to your TV
Amazon announced recently they have plans for releasing their Video on Demand service via the Roku Netflix Player.
Roku is a simple box that users plug into their internet connection and television to allow them to download movies from their Netflix account as opposed to waiting for Netflix to mail them the DVD or Blu-Ray they have in the queue.
Amazon's Video on Demand service will be the first non-Netflix based "channel" on the system which is implied by a recent firmware update to the device to be planned for early 2009.
Amazon also intends to provide their Video on Demand service for Sony Bravia TVs, and TiVO DVRs.
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Techconnect Review Round-up 5/1/09
CPU & Motherboard
- Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58 motherboard @ TechSpot
- DFI LanParty DK 790GX-M2RS Motherboard @ Madshrimps
- Gigabyte EX58-UD5 X58 Motherboard @ OC3D
Memory
- Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 6GB Triple-Channel Memory Kit @ Legit Reviews
Storage
- OCZ Throttle 16GB eSATA Flash Drive @ Xtreme CPU
- PromoLocker Custom VH USB Drive @ Virtual-Hideout
- Thecus N4100 Pro NAS @ OC Online
- Cavalry Pelican 2.5 in 32GB Solid State Drive @ Overclockers Club
Graphics cards
- HIS Radeon 4870 ICEQ4+ TURBO @ Guru3D
- MSI Radeon HD 4830 512MB OC Edition Graphics Card @ TweakTown
- WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Leadtek Limited @ OCIA
Enclosures & PSUs
- Thermaltake Spedo Advanced Chassis @ AnandTech
- Xigmatek NRP-PC501 500W @ JonnyGURU
- OCZ Fatal1ty Series 700W Power Supply @ ThinkComputers
Displays
- Viewsonic VX2260WM - 22" Full HD monitor @ bit-tech
Cooling and modding
- CoolIT Domino A.L.C. @ ProClockers
- NorthQ Siberian Tiger II Water Cooler @ DriverHeaven
- Koolance VID-487 GPU Water Block @ Bjorn3d
PCs
- Lenovo ThinkPad SL300 @ InsideHW
- Samsung NC10 Netbook @ Phoronix
- MSI Wind U100 Netbook @ HotHardware
- HP HDX16-1005EA 16in Blu-ray Notebook @ TrustedReviews
- ASUS Eee PC 1002HA @ Hardware Secrets
Photo and video cameras
- Nikon D90 digital SLR @ RegHardware
Sound
- Motorola H780 Bluetooth Headset @ TrustedReviews
Other
- Nova Killer 2 Mousepad @ OCModShop
- Hawking HWRN1A Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Router @ Rbmods
- Epson EH-DM2 LCD Projector @ TrustedReviews
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MSI unveils the thin 13-inch X-Slim 320 notebook
Going for uber-portability, MSI has now presented the world its latest creation, the X-Slim 320 notebook. Weighting in just 1.3 kg and featuring a thickness of 1.98 cm, the new laptop has a 13.4-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and a rather friendly-ish and attractive design.
Spec wise, the X320 will come with an 1.6 GHz-clocked Atom Atom Z530 processor, up to 2GB of RAM, and include WiFi, Bluetooth and a 3.5G card, either a 4 or 8 cell battery, a multi-card reader and a price tag of about $800. The X-Slim 320 is being showcased at CES but is expected to hit the streets in the second quarter of this year.
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Dell introduces the Inspiron 15 laptop
While still keeping Adamo under wraps, Dell has decided on updating its Inspiron laptop line-up with a new model, the Inspiron 15. Boasting a 15.6-inch LCD screen, the laptop features a clean and sleek design and can be equipped with a Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, a maximum of 320GB in storage space, a Blu-Ray drive, plus a built-in webcam and face recognition software.
"Building on the Inspiron platform of mainstream solutions, Inspiron 15 expands laptop personalization through attractive design, an array of optional features and an affordable price," said Glen Robson, general manager of consumer notebooks. "By listening to customers we've created an ideal multi-purpose system with a range of choices that help them create a custom match for their specific needs and deeds."
Now available, in various configurations at Best Buy stores in the US, and PC World and Curry's in the UK, Dell's Inspiron 15 has a starting price tag of $600. The portable machine will go up on Dell.com later this month.
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Samsung TVs to get their widget on with Internet@TV
Number one LCD TV maker, Samsung, and stock tumbling Yahoo has now announced Internet@TV, a web-based service that will be supported by the former's HDTVs and enable people to interact and use TV widgets. Made possible thanks to the Yahoo! Widget Engine, Internet@TV will enhance the users' TV viewing experience with the addition of widgets that provide content, information and community features available on the interweb. Already including Flickr, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! Finance and YouTube widgets, the line-up TV widgets that will be available for Samsung TVs will be easy to expand as developers will be able to build new apps by using the open-platform Widget Development Kit.
"As a leader in developing innovative technology platforms to provide indispensable Internet services to millions of users, Yahoo! is excited to be working with Samsung to enhance consumers' television viewing experience by bringing the best of the Web to their televisions," said Patrick Barry, vice president of Connected TV at Yahoo! "Through this partnership, we can combine the Internet benefits of user choice and personalization with Samsungأ¢آ€آ™s leading product innovation and global reach to deliver a new experience to users around the world."
On display at CES 2009, Internet@TV-enabled Samsung flat-panel HDTVs will start to become available this spring, with 13 countries - US, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, set to get them this year.
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1 comment:
it was good to start with, but now that the microphone does not work people can not hear me when i call them or when they call me but i can hear them perfectly fine.
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