IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 17/01/2009

Has the layoff wave finally caught up with Microsoft?
It appears as though the poor state of the world economy has finally caught up with even the biggest of technology super giants - Microsoft Corporation. According to the Wall Street Journal Microsoft is now considering a significant number of layoffs across a broad scope of its departments. The company has not yet begun taking such measures and is currently in the process of sourcing alternatives to control costs and keep their loyal employees on the payroll.

When asked, Microsoft's public relations managers refused to comment on the situation that the Wall Street Journal has cited from several employees aware of the contingency plans.

On a far more positive note, the rumours claiming that up to 15,000 positions were in danger seem to be greatly exaggerated, with the number of layoffs likely to be much lower. We'll probably find out more next week when Microsoft delivers its quarterly earnings report.
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Presenting the all new Mi-Obama phone
It seems as though the Chinese' bounds for ripping off copyright product likenesses, names and slogans has reached a new level this month, with the introduction of the fabulous Mi-Obama, sold exclusively at retailers across Kenya from the following retailers: Tuskys, Xpress, Nakumatt, Phonelink.

The phone is, of course, built from the hordes of faithful followers of Obama's cause, and his famous "change that we can believe in" campaign. The Nokia rip-off will come out at the super-affordable price of $30, and one help but wonder... Does Obama himself own one of these? Who needs a Blackberry, eh?

AMD cutting 1100 jobs this quarter
Likely to report yet another quarter with losses, AMD is set on cutting more costs in order to better cope with the global economic downrun and that will see it cut jobs and reduce exec salaries. Beginning with the worst news, the workforce reduction will lead to 1100 employees getting the pink slip by the end of the quarter. As for the pay cuts, they'll be of 10% to 20%, with AMD's CEO, Dirk Meyer agreeing to a temporary salary slash of 20%.

AMD will be detailing its Q4 2008 results next week on January 22nd.

Scythe comes with new, "high performance" thermal paste
Taking a break from making cooling hardware Scythe has now introduced the Thermal Elixer high performance thermal grease. Coming 3.5g tubes, the grease can be used for CPU and GPU cooling and it features a thermal resistance of 0.032أ‚آ°C / W and a thermal conductivity of 2.89 W/(mأ‚آ·K).

Already shipping, the Thermal Elixer paste is priced at 6.50 Euro without VAT.

Nvidia delivers new GeForce driver for Mirror's Edge
Coming straight from money-light Santa Clara is a fresh beta GeForce graphics drivers, the 181.22. Dated January 14, the GeForce 181.22 is bundled with the PhysX 9.09.0010 software, features support for the GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9 and GTX 200 series cards and is "recommended for the optimal GPU PhysX experience" in DICE/EA's latest PC game Mirror's Edge.

To get the new GeForce 181.22 beta drivers simply follow the links below:

- GeForce 181.22 beta (Windows XP 32bit)
- GeForce 181.22 beta (Windows XP 64bit)
- GeForce 181.22 beta (Windows Vista 32bit)
- GeForce 181.22 beta (Windows Vista 64bit)

Thermaltake intros three more Litepower series PSUs
Starting the release year 2009 on a 'lite' note, Thermaltake has now delivered three new, low-power Litepower PSUs. Coming in 350W, 450W and 500W flavors, the power supplies are ATX 12V 2.3 compliant, are 80 Plus certified which means they deliver an efficiency of over 80%, have Active Power Factor Correction and dual independent 12V rails and a MTBF (mean time before failure) of over 100,000 hours.

Cooled off by 120mm fans, the 350W, 450W and 500W Litepower PSUs can be found at 37.81, 50.92 and 56.04 Euro respectively.

Acer releases 23-inch and 27-inch B series monitors
Acer has now let loose a couple of new Business Series widescreen LCDs that target professionals, the 23-inch B233HU bmidhz and B273HU bmidhz. Featuring sleek dark grey bezels, and a black base, the two monitors have an ergonomic design that provides flexible height adjustment, tilt and swivel capabilities, and can brag with a native resolution of 2048 x 1152 pixels, a 5ms response time, a brightness of 300cd/m2 (B233HU) or 400 cd/m2 (B273HU) and a contrast ratio of 40000:1.

"With these new monitors, Acer is continuing to provide our business customers with products that offer advanced technology, assure dependability and offer a positive return-on-investment," said Chris White, Director of Product Marketing - Peripherals, Acer Group. "The flexible adjustment and ergonomic design of the monitors maximize productivity and increase overall user satisfaction."

The B233HU bmidhz and B273HU bmidhz also come with dual 1.5W speakers, D-Sub, DVI and HDMI connectors, and are priced at $289 and $409 respectively.

Lenovo introduces three new desktop PCs
PC builder Lenovo has this week added three more desktop to its products offer - the IdeaCentre K220, K230 and the H200. Coming pre-loaded with Windows Home Premium 64bit, the K220 can be equipped with either an Intel Pentium dual-core or Core 2 Quad CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, a maximum of 1TB in storage space, DirectX 10 graphics - Intel GMA 3100 or Nvidia GeForce 9300GE, a DVD writer or a Blu-Ray drive and features the VeriFace facial recognition technology.

Also powered by Windows Vista Home Premium, the K230 can have either a Core 2 Quad or Pentium CPU, up to 8GB of RAM, and roughly the same specs as its little brother, the K220. As for the H200, it boasts an Atom processor, has a fanless design and comes bundled with the ThinkVision L195 widescreen LCD.

Set to become available from January 20th, the K220, 230 and H200 have starting prices of $449, $499 and $399.99 respectively.

Leaked screenshots of Office 14 alpha build
Leaked screenshots of Office 14 have been floating around the web thanks to Russian technology website Wzor, which spread a couple of images taken from the software's alpha build that was handed out to select individuals for testing earlier this week.

It doesn't look as though Microsoft have stripped the top end again this time as with 2007, which upset many consumers and caused rather a lot of negative feedback. Nonetheless, Microsoft have not reverted their "ribbon" ideals either, and it looks as though they have stood by their new trend with Office 14 (which, based on the 2009 target release date, it could become Office 2009). Less talk, more contemplating.

Office Word 14 Main Window

About Office System 14

Office Word 14 Publications

Office Excel 14

Saturday, January 17, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 17/01/2009

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