(PR) Pioneer Subsidiary Technical Audio Devices Demonstrates New High-Res Audio Format
To the excitement of audiophiles and music enthusiasts worldwide, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is hosting world famous recording legends Bill Schnee and Doug Sax at its Technical Audio Devices (TAD) suite in the Venetian Sands during the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 8 ' 11, 2009. Longtime collaborators, Schnee and Sax are showcasing their new high resolution recordings to be issued on a music-only format utilizing Blu-ray Disc technology, giving consumers an unprecedented opportunity to experience digital music that rivals 2-channel analog sound. With this unique partnership, Pioneer demonstrates its commitment to consistently offer consumers high performance entertainment that replicates the true intentions of creative professionals.
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Cooler Master Readying V10 for Gala CES Launch
Cooler Master has a new flagship CPU air-cooler in the making: the V10. This V8 successor with its peculiar design and size is sure to catch some attention. With the way in which the V8 was designed, it became clear than Cooler Master has a new direction with its product design, and that they looked to give their CPU coolers a somewhat industrial look. Measuring 236.5 x 129 x 161.3mm, this definitely is a large cooler and could have problems fitting in all cases.
Its peculiarity lies in its aluminum fin arrays, three in number. While two of them propagate vertically, the third one propagates horizontally, along the plane of the motherboard. A 120mm fan pushes air through two of those arrays, while a second 120mm fan blows air onto the third array. Ideally, this third array should hang above the memory modules to provide active cooling, that is, if the modules aren't tall enough. A total of four heat-pipes convey heat to the fins. The two PWM-controlled fans spin at speeds between 800 and 2400 rpm, while the noise levels are maintained around 17 dBA. The V10 will be announced during the ongoing CES event, and will be priced around 100~150آ€ according to French website Case&Cooling.
Source: Case&Cooling.fr
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(PR) Buffalo Launches New LinkStation Pro NAS, Gives iPhone Users More Access to Content
Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today announced the new, fully redesigned LinkStation Pro. As the answer to all your storage and sharing needs, this high performance NAS device allows iPhone owners to access their photos, videos, files, etc., via Buffalo's unique Web Access 2.0 feature. Web Access allows users to access data via a web browser from any computer.
As the latest addition to the award-winning LinkStation line of consumer NAS devices, the new LinkStation Pro comes equipped with a new, stylish chassis and faster processor for quick and easy file transfers and backups. With Web Access 2.0, iPhone users can conveniently download content stored on their home or office LinkStation Pro right to their iPhone, anytime, anywhere.
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(PR) Buffalo Technology Unveils the Stylish New MiniStation Cobalt
Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today unveiled a chic new design for the MiniStation Cobalt. Offering a feature-rich storage solution in a stylish, lightweight package, the MiniStation Cobalt is designed for mobility. With a simple, easy-to-use user interface, storing, protecting and transporting digital images, music and other files becomes a snap! Offered in three distinct colors, Blue Onyx, Pearl White and Ruby Red, the MiniStation Cobalt safeguards your digital assets and provides the peace of mind that only Buffalo's years of engineering excellence can provide.
Designed for the active professional, Buffalo's new portable storage solutions for PC and Macs includes easy-to-use backup and sync software, a robust shock resistant design as well as Buffalo's SecureLockMobile software to prevent unauthorized access in the event the drive is lost or stolen.
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Samsung SyncMaster 2243QW Becomes the Next DisplayLink Enabled LCD Monitor
DisplayLink unviled today that Samsung's new 22-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2243QW monitor is the third model to feature the company's proprietary technology. The new monitor makes it possible for busy office workers and business professionals to use a simple USB cable to extend their desktop and visual workspace, boosting usability and flexibility. Up to six displays can be easily connected and powered off of one PC. There's no need for additional graphics cards or complex software installation. The Samsung 2243QW has a 1680x1050 16:10 resolution, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 5-millisecond response time. In addition to the built-in USB hub used for DisplayLink-enabled connections, the 2243QW features traditional VGA (15-pin D-sub) and DVI-D inputs. The monitor is compatible with both Mac and Windows systems, and comes with a pivot function that allows it to operate in either portrait or landscape mode. The Samsung SyncMaster 2243QW is available now through Samsung's official resellers and distribution channels for $399.99 USD.
Source: DisplayLink, Engadget
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AMD Adds Low-Power Athlons to Retail
AMD added two new low-power Athlons introduced primarily to gain leverage with the nettop segment Intel has been dominating in. The two models, Athlon 2650e and dual-core Athlon 3250e are derived from the K8 micro-architecture which still holds certain technological advantages over competitive platforms from Intel in that segment.
The Athlon 2650e is comes with a clock-speed of 1.60 GHz, 512KB of cache and a rated TDP of 15W, while the dual-core Athlon 3250e ends up with better power efficincy being clocked at 1.50 GHz, with a TDP of 22W. Both processors use the AM2 socket and support DDR2 memory. They are expected to be priced under $50.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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(PR) LaCie 2big Quadra: Two Bays for Custom Performance and Protection
Today LaCie unveils the 2big Quadra, a new two-bay RAID solution with up to 3TB of capacity for high speed-demanding applications, as well as for backup and storage use. With four RAID modes including RAID 0 and RAID 1, and a convenient hot-swap feature, it offers optimal performance and data protection. Developed for maximum speed, the 2big's native RAID controller preserves computer resources and provides professional workstations with lightning-fast data transfers, which reach up to 165MB/s through eSATA 3Gbits/s in RAID 0. It also integrates perfectly with most applications that demand high speed, such as photo and pre-press processing or audio/video projects, including HDV post-production.
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ASUS Loads Up Notebook with Massive 512 GB SSD
ASUS is preparing the industry's first notebook with a 512 GB solid-state drive (SSD). The ASUS S121 comes in an ultrathin form-factor while carrying hardware that puts it in the grey-area between netbooks and UMPCs.
The S121 comes with a 12-inch LCD screen with a compact yet rugged chassis. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor running at 1.33 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. Its storage is care of a rather massive 512 GB SSD. Its availability and price isn't known at this point, though we suspect that with the exclusiveness built around this product coupled with ASUS categorizing it outside its ULPC/netbook lineup, it will carry a rather high price tag.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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The Foundry Company Gets Nod from CFIUS
The Foundry Company (TFC), AMD's manufacturing division spun-off along with investment from the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) had to go through a series of negotiations to acquire clearence from the investors and the governments under whom AMD operates, to get the new company operational. It is a complicated process since it involes a lot of foreign investment.
A major milestone for TFC is the clearence it got from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a US Government body that studies the possible implications of foreign investment on national security. TFC will control all of AMD's manufacturing assets including upcoming facilities in the US. AMD officially becomes fab-less though TFC will have commitments towards serving AMD as its foundry partner. AMD will hold a 34.2% stake in TFC while 65.8% of it will be held by ATIC.
Source: TFC New Global Foundry
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(PR) MSI Unveils EX625 Performance Notebook
MSI today unveiled the EX625 performance notebook. MSI EX625 features Cinema Pro Technology, which offers consumers the finest movie viewing experience. With a simple touch of the exclusive Cinema Pro button; you may immediately switch to Movie Mode. The quality on screen will be more detailed, the richness in sound and the subwoofer as well as Dolby sound will be activated, providing the finest sensory of the theaters. Furthermore, the embedded high performance subwoofer design can create shocking effects.
Combing Color Film Print Technology with ocean wave patterns in design, the EX625 has been injected with a brand new texture to personal notebook computers. The most advanced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphics card with GDDR3 512MB VRAM, for a more fluid, more detailed, more realistic 3D high-definition viewing experience. In the other hand, EX625 selects the brand new ECO Engine Technology, the outstanding and unique power saving function by MSI Notebook, as the power management function to extend the battery running time while performing different tasks.
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ASUS Reveals Eee Keyboard Concept PC
Even though the EeePC is selling like hot cakes, nothing is stopping ASUS from developing more and more Eee-branded products. Their latest creation is called Eee Keyboard - a full-sized keyboard with built-in computer that includes wireless and Ethernet network, single speaker, built-in mic, and a 5-inch touchscreen display. The whole system weighs in less than 2 pounds and can connect to an external display. ASUS Eee Keyboard is still only a prototype, but who knows.
Source: Engadget
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Samsung Prepares 100GB آ“Greenآ” SSD for Enterprise Market
Samsung Electronics announced today at the Storage Visions 2009 Conference that it has developed a 100GB single-level cell (SLC) solid state drive for use in servers for applications such as video on demand, streaming media content delivery, internet data centers, virtualization and on-line transaction processing. As an alternative to traditional 15K rpm hard disk drives (HDDs), the new performance-optimized 100GB Enterprise SSD can process IOPS (input/output per second) more than 10 times faster than the fastest 15K rpm SAS HDD available. Designed to remove the system performance bottleneck in enterprise storage applications, the high-performance 2.5-inch enterprise drive reads data sequentially at 230 megabytes per second and writes sequentially at 180 MB/s. The 100GB SSD's advanced performance is attributed to a sophisticated 8-channel controller, improved NAND flash and special drive firmware, all developed by Samsung. The drive also consumes only 1.9 watts of power in seek mode and 0.6 watts in idle mode, reducing power and heat loads to minimum. Samsung intends to start mass producing the 100GB SS805 drive in the first quarter of 2009.
Source: Network World
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(PR) BFG Technologies Unveils Phobos - The Ultimate Gaming System
BFG Technologies, known as a leading supplier of premium power supplies and 3D graphics cards, is excited to announce its first line of complete gaming and multimedia PCs, called Phobos. These sleek hand-built, high performance machines were designed with the "Graduated Gamer" in mind. This audience is looking for all the performance associated with a high-end gaming system, but none of the hassle related to building and servicing such a system. As a result, Phobos is sold with complementary Concierge Service which includes expert in-home installation and a six month follow up maintenance visit.
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Apple Releases iLife '09
Apple today unveiled iLife '09, which includes major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand and an updated version of iWeb. iPhoto '09 introduces Faces and Places, breakthrough ways to easily organize and manage photos based on who appears in them and where they were taken. In iMovie '09, you'll find powerful, yet easy-to-use new features that let you create a movie quickly or add refinements and special effects if you have more time. And GarageBand '09 now offers a fun new way to learn to play piano and guitar with Basic Lessons, which teach fundamentals, and Artist Lessons (sold separately), in which original artists teach you how to play the songs they made famous. At last, iWeb '09 lets you design a website to share your photos, movies, and music just by dragging and dropping. Add new dynamic widgets and publish and share with a single click. Find out more about iLife '09 here.
Source: Apple
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Lian-Li Innovates PC-888 System Case
The first shape that comes to your mind when you think of a system case probarbly is a cuboidal tower with a little decoration thrown in, with essentially the same internal locations for installing your parts to build a PC. Lian-Li sought to break the mould with the introduction of the PC-888 at the 2009 CES event. The PC-888 sports a whacky design, that is inspired quite seriously by the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, just that the pearl white decked with glass makes way for ocean-blue. Bit-Tech published the first pictures of this rather interesting looking "case".
Given its shape, the interiors have been compartmentalised accordingly to distinct areas holding the system board, hard drives, power supply and space for even a water cooling system to creep in. There is a generous amount of ventilation and cable management features provided. For more pictures, head over to Bit-Tech here.
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Imation Introduces M-Class and S-Class Solid State Drives
Joining the string of product launches that coincide with the 2009 CES event, is Imation's solid state drive (SSD) offerings under two distinct product classes: M-Class and S-Class. Both these product lines are available in the 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors and use the standard SATA interfaces. While the M-Class SSDs use SATA-150, the S-Class use SATA-300 interface. They come in unformatted capacities of 32, 64 and 128 GB.
These drives have company-rated data transfer speeds of around 150 MB/s (read) and 90 MB/s (write) for the M-Class, and 130 MB/s (read) and 120 MB/s (write) for the S-Class. Apart from these drives, Imation also announced "upgrade kits" that include necessary tools to migrate an image of the older hard drive to these newer ones, saving the task of reinstalling software. The M-Class SSDs hit the stores in February with prices of $179.99 and above, while the S-Class series are slated for March.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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(PR) Imation Unveils Apollo Series External Hard Drives
Imation Corp. today announced the availability of two new products in its Apollo family of external hard drives (EHD). For laptop users, the 2.5-inch Apollo Expert UX is a pocket-sized, portable hard drive sheathed in a protective skin with up to 500GB of capacity, and for desktop users, the Apollo Pro UX is a 3.5-inch hard drive that will offer up to 1.5 TB of capacity. Each stylish drive features an integrated patent-pending stand and unique benefits for backup and storage of data, video, music and photos.
"We designed the Apollo external hard drives to be functional and sleek, with distinctive features and benefits for both discerning mobile and desktop users," said Subodh Kulkarni, vice president, Global Commercial Business, Imation. "These drives push the envelope with capacities that are among the highest available while still embodying great design. Our Apollo Expert UX drive delivers iconic portability with the pure data storage performance that on-the-go users need, while the Apollo Pro UX drive is a perfect match for heavy data users, as well as digital pack rats and video junkies."
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Macworld 2009: Apple's 17-inch Unibody MacBook Pro Officially Unveiled
Not long after the start of Macworld 2009, Apple officially unveiled the new MacBook Pro, that was confirmed by AppleInsider on Monday. During the demonstration Apple uncovered that the 17-inch display of the unibody MacBook Pro will feature LED backlight, 1920x1200 fullHD resolution, 700:1 contrast ratio and will come with gloss or mate surface (the mate option will cost additional $50). The remaining specs pretty much match the specs of the older 15-inch MacBook Pro model. Apple also said that the addition of non-removable battery will lead to bigger battery installed and longer battery life, which is now claimed to be up to 8 hours.
Source: Engadget
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Acer Ships 22-inch DisplayLink Enabled P224W LCD Monitor
DisplayLink Corp. and Acer have collaborated to introduce the 22-inch DisplayLink enabled Acer P224 monitor. What this means is that you can add Acer P224 as an external monitor to any USB-equipped desktop PC or laptop, using only a single USB 2.0 port without the need to install discrete graphics cards.
"Acer's integrated monitor-and-dock design is a smart solution for laptop owners who want a cool, all-in-one upgrade," said Dennis Crespo, executive vice president of marketing and business development for DisplayLink. "And DisplayLink technology ensures that video and graphics applications will play smoothly on any additional monitors linked up to the PC via USB."
The Acer P224W widescreen display features a contrast ratio of up to 10,000:1, a resolution of 1680x1050 pixels, and a response time of 5 milliseconds. The Acer P224W is also equipped with an analog VGA input. The Acer P224W is currently shipping in the United States and Europe. More information can be found on the Acer's website here.
Source: Acer
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(PR) Scythe Unveils Mugen 2 CPU Cooler
After more than one year of development time the Japanese cooling specialist Scythe Co., Ltd. releases the new Scythe Mugen 2 CPU cooler. The name Mugen comes from the Japanese for "infiniteness" and stands already for the highest cooling capacity at low noise level. To fulfill this image, a great value was laid on improving the already established features of the former Scythe Mugen Cooler.
The successful concept of Mugen CPU cooler was further developed for Scythe Mugen 2 in a very consistent way. For this, the experience of Scythe engineers was a great influence as well as improvement suggestions from users of the former Scythe Mugen. Compared with the old Mugen, the number of cooling fins has been increased and at the same time, the weight was decreased by 50 g. To ensure optimal fitting of the cooler on the mainboard, Scythe Mugen 2 uses a novel Back Plate/Screws solution with the name Flip Mount Super Back-Plate (F.M.S.B.). This mounting system is compatible with all current sockets including the new Intel LGA1366.
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Blizzard Issues New Starcraft II Teaser Screens
RTS giant Blizzard let loose a few new teaser screens of its much anticipated title, Starcraft II, sourced by SK Gaming. The screens include stills of ongoing campaigns demonstrating the visuals and graphic design of the game. One of those hype building measures from a company that has so far stood and delivered to all its hype. Starcraft II is on course for launch later this year. Enjoy the screens. A larger archive of Starcraft II images sourced from Blizzard so far can be found here.
Source: SK Gaming
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(PR) WD Extends its line of MAC Compatible External Hard Drives
Broadening its storage solutions for Mac, WD today introduced two new external hard drives - the My Passport for Mac portable drive and the My Book Mac Edition external hard drive. Pre-formatted for Mac and offering a simple USB interface, these drives offer the ever-growing Mac community reliable, easy-to-use storage. WD's latest Mac-ready drives work seamlessly with Apple Time Machine or other popular Mac backup software to provide protection for consumers' valuable digital photos and media.
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D-Link Debuts All-in-One 802.11n Router With Built-In Photo Frame
D-Link, the end-to-end network solutions provider for consumers and business, today unveiled an all-in-one home network router with all the features of a fast, far-reaching 802.11n Wi-Fi router combined with network attached storage (NAS), SharePort technology for sharing printers and scanners, along with a bright 3.2-inch LCD monitor on the face for displaying photos, desktop applications and network performance.
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G.Skill Titan SSDs Ship in 128GB and 256GB Capacities
G.Skill has also expanded its solid-state offerings, by introducing the new Titan SSDs. Available in 128GB and 256GB models, the 2.5-inch Titan drives make use of MLC (multi-level cell) NAND flash chips, have a second generation SATA 3.0 interface and a MTBF (mean time between failure) of 1.5 million hours. The drives also have built-in EDC/ECC data protection. The manufacturer claims sequential read and write speeds of up to 218MB/s and 162MB/s respectively. The G.Skill SSDs are covered in a strong metal alloy housing and ship with a 2 year warranty.
Source: VR-Zone
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NEC Display Solutions Launches New 30-Inch MultiSync LCD3090W-BK-SV Display
NEC Display Solutions of America today introduced LCD3090W-BK-SV - the big brother of the freshly released 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690WUXiآ² that we covered yesterday here. The 30-inch MultiSync LCD3090W-BK-SV is a wide-gamut display designed for users in the graphic design, digital animation, photography, print production, image analysis and CAD/CAM industries, as well as soft-copy clinical viewing in the medical field. It benefits from the company's ColorComp technology, which reduces LCD uniformity errors, in-plane switching (IPS) matrix and advanced backlight technology that enable the monitor to cover 107% of AdobeRGB color gamut. In addition, this display comes with a SpectraViewII color calibration sensor and software for precise calibration. The 30-inch MultiSync 3090 has a native resolution of 2560x1600 pixels, a G-T-G response time of 6ms (12ms typical), a brightness of 350 cd/m2, and 1000:1 contrast ratio. Input connection include single DVI-D (HDCP), and a DVI-I (digital/analog). The LCD3090W-BK-SV, which is backed by a 4-year parts and labor warranty, will be available this month with estimated street prices of $2,449. The new display can also be seen at the 2009 Macworld Conference and Expo that started today. For more detailed information, please click here.
Source: NEC
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SanDisk Intros Second Generation pSSD Solid State Drives for Netbooks
SanDisk Corporation today unveiled its next-generation of flash memory-based solid-state drives for adoption in various netbooks. Dubbed SanDisk pSSD-P2 and SanDisk pSSD-S2, the new flash drives feature SATA interface and come in capacities of 8, 16, 32 and 64-gigabytes. They are made using SanDisk's reliable 43-nanometer Multi-Level Cell (MLC) flash memory. SanDisk also claims that its new pSSDs are going to be very cheap when released, but unfortunately there's no exact information to confirm their words.
"Netbooks represent the fastest growing PC segment in 2009 and 2010 yet widespread adoption of SSDs in netbooks has been limited by speed, capacity and cost constraints," said Rich Heye, senior vice president and general manager, Solid-State Drives (SSD), SanDisk. "With the significant improvements in performance, capacity and low pricing, these SSDs are a perfect fit for the exploding netbook market."
SanDisk's second generation pSSD drives are slated to be available in February 2009.
Source: SanDisk
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(PR) Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3 Modules Now Available in Three Brilliant Colors
Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the immediate availability of Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600) memory modules in three vibrant new colors - green, blue and red. Performance memory enthusiasts and system modders can choose from a variety of Crucial Ballistix Tracer module colors to match their case color scheme or to suit their individual style. The new color modules are available in 3GB and 6GB kits through select resellers worldwide and directly from Crucial's website here.
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(PR) QNAP to Unveil Next-Gen Intel-based iSCSI NAS Series in 2009 CES
QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced a series of next generation iSCSI network-attached storage (NAS) products based on Intel architecture to deliver the performance and enterprise-grade features that customers are looking for in 2009.
The new Turbo NAS family consists of 4-bay, 5-bay, 6-bay, and 8-bay (with redundant power supply) models which are well suited for small and midsize businesses (SMB) and enterprises. The powerful all-in-one feature is designed for businesses that require storage solutions of performance, features, capacity, and manageability.
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GELID Offers LGA 1366 Mounting Kit for Silent Spirit
GELID today announced the availability of an optional mounting kit for its flagship Silent Spirit CPU cooler. The mounting kit provides compatibility for Intel's new LGA 1366 socket for the Core i7 series processors. The kit consists of two retention brackets with push-pins. The brackets are attached to the cooler in the same way in which the LGA 775 brackets are. While upcoming stocks of the Silent Spirit could optionally bundle these brackets, existing users could purchase these brackets if they wish to retain the cooler when upgrading to the newer socket. The GELID LGA 1366 mounting kit is priced at US $4.99 or آ€3.99.
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New Logitech G-series Peripherals Unveiled
The G-series line of gaming peripherals from Logitech gives gamers what they want: complete control. Today, Logitech unveiled an extension of its award-winning G-series by introducing three new products that deliver precision, high performance and customization: the Logitech G19 keyboard for gaming, the Logitech G35 surround sound headset and the Logitech G9x laser mouse. Delivering everything gamers need for a competitive edge – from programmable buttons to 7.1-channel surround sound and 5000 dpi laser sensors to backlit keys – Logitech’s best-in-class gaming peripherals are engineered to deliver everything you have always wanted.
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(PR) SanDisk Showcases New Line-up of Backup USB Flash Drives
SanDisk Corporation today introduced an innovative new family of SanDisk USB flash drives, including the world's first backup USB flash drive with simple backup software activation at the touch of a button. The SanDisk Ultra Backup USB portable flash drive is the first offering of the company's new SanDisk Ultra USB product line. With capacities up to 64 gigabytes(GB), the SanDisk Ultra Backup USB flash drive is designed to protect computer users' photos, music, videos, personal and business documents, and other types of digital files, with the simple touch of a button. No software installation is needed. The drive protects onboard digital content with a dual layer of security, including password-protected access control and ultra-secure AES hardware-based encryption.
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(PR) New LaCie FireWire and USB 2.0 External DVDآ±RW Drive with LightScribe Launched
Today LaCie announced its new LaCie d2 DVDآ±RW 22x with LightScribe and Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and/or FireWire disc burners. The new products let customers backup large multimedia files on strikingly original-looking DVDs or CDs. With the LightScribe labeling tools available from LaCie on the 22x rewritable DVD drive, users can customize their content easily and quickly for professional and personal use. And it works with the three major personal computer operating systems.
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HP Launches Firebird with Voodoo DNA Desktop System
In addition to the several new notebooks, HP today released the successor of the award-winning HP Blackbird 002, called HP Firebird. Designed for photo and video editing, music creation, gaming and other demanding tasks, the HP Firebird comes in an extremely sleek and original chassis, but that's not all. Inside this beautiful shell HP has integrated a complete watercooling system that cools the CPU, the two graphics cores and the motherboard's chipset. Speaking of CPUs and VGAs, the Firebird is partly customizable. It supports the latest Core 2 Quad processors (Q9400 - 2.66GHz or Q9550 - 2.83GHz), up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, and comes with dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S small form factor graphics cards in SLI configuration and two hot-swappable 320GB hard drives. Also, the Firebird ships with a 350W external power supply, to help keeping the system as cool as possible. The HP Firebird with Voodoo DNA will be available online at VoodooPC.com on January 9th starting at $1,799. Customers also can purchase the product in select retail stores nationwide starting on February 1st. Find more information here.
Source: HP
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(PR) AMD Delivers Groundbreaking Platform for Ultrathin Notebooks
AMD today announced the availability of the AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks, enabling exceedingly thin and light OEM designs with rich entertainment capabilities at an affordable price. Previously codenamed "Yukon," the platform is based on the new AMD Athlon Neo processor, ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics and optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete graphics and brings true HD entertainment1 to a new category of stylish notebook PCs. The AMD platform debuts within the HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC ultrathin notebook, which measures less than one-inch thick and weighs less than four pounds. The HP Pavilion dv2 also comes equipped with a 12.1-inch diagonal LED BrightView display, nearly full-size keyboard, and optional external optical disc drive with Blu-ray capability.
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(PR) Logitech Withdraws Fiscal Year 2009 Targets, Plans Restructuring too
Logitech International today announced that it has withdrawn its Fiscal Year 2009 growth targets for sales and operating income due to the deepening global recession. The Company did not provide revised targets and plans to update investors on business conditions and performance during its briefing on third-quarter results on Jan. 20, 2009.
"During the December quarter, the retail environment deteriorated significantly," said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer. "We experienced varying degrees of weakness across all geographies and channels as our customers reduced inventory levels in the face of weaker consumer demand. Moreover, we expect the economic environment to worsen in the coming months and we are therefore taking significant actions to align our cost structure with what is likely to be an extended downturn."
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(PR) Lian Li launches the all new PC-B70 & PC-B71 Tower Chassis
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the PC-B70 and PC-B71 full tower chassis. Both cases are made from aluminum sheet metal, and have plenty of room for large numbers of hard drives (HDD) while still incorporating the classic brushed aluminum style and functional design for ease of use and stunning good looks. The PC-B70 has a left side access HDD cage that can accept seven (7) full 3.5 inch hard disk drives. The Hard drives are secured by means of a removable HDD bracket with patented vibration reduction system. While the five Optical bays are an added bonus (the last ODD can be used as 3.5”disk reader). Both towers stand at 220 x 595 x 590mm (W,H,D). The PC-B71 is different via the lower part of the front bezel which has an integrated HDD Hot swappable SATA cage with a front facing securely lockable door. The HDD Cage is cooled via two (2) 140mm blue lit LED fans. The fans are filtered with removable, washable nylon filters. The easy access to the hot swap Raid HDD backplate via the front lockable door makes the PC-B71 convenient while still retaining the good looks found in every Lian Li chassis.
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GeForce GTX 280 in For Landslide Price-Cuts?
The GeForce GTX 280 served as NVIDIA's flagship graphics accelerator for long enough. While it may not have retained the performance crown for too long, it certainly did offer a great product for its price and thermal characteristics post R700. With two new avant-grade accelerators in the form of GeForce GTX 295 and GeForce GTX 285, NVIDIA seems to have sensed that it needs to let the market digest current inventories of the GeForce GTX 280 to create favourable shelf-space for the new products.
It has been noted on Newegg.com, a leading online retailer, that price-cuts have been injected across brands for the GeForce GTX 280. The card is now available for as low as US $314.99 for the MSI N280GTX-T2D1G OC (a factory overclocked card) with prices of reference-design cards staying below $360 for most of the available products. Leading vendors such as BFGTech, EVGA, and Zotac have placed their base models around the $320 range with factory overclocked models ranging around the $350 mark. The GeForce GTX 280 will be suceeded by the GeForce GTX 285 that is expected to launch on 15th January, which sports a refreshed G200b graphics processor built on the 55nm manufacturing process and running at higher clock speeds. NVIDIA has resorted to similar price-cuts for its GeForce GTX 260 graphics accelerator to serve two purposes: making the product attractive during the crucial Christmas shopping season, and to digest inventories for the 55nm GeForce GTX 260 launch.
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(PR) Leadtek Launches New WinFast GTX260 55nm EXTREME+
LEADTEK Research Inc., world acclaimed for its extremevisual graphics leading brand technology, proudly announces its latest WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ with a new graphics card packaging design. Based on the Best-in-class NVIDIA GTX 260 chipsets, this thoroughbred graphics card delivers advanced performance with the best cooling silent fansink. Its overclocking capability is sure to bring users a fantasy visual effect. Together with the launch of the graphics card, Leadtek debuts a new packaging design. The latter replaces the former robots with a series of top speed cars as the key visual. This original concept aims to vaunt Leadtek's corporate spirit of “high quality & speedy performance” that gives users an altogether new visual impression.
WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ is powered up with 2nd Generation NVIDIA Unified Architecture and enables the rendering of multiple, true-to-life characters in complex and dynamic virtual worlds. In addition, the latest parallel computing architecture with massive independent processing cores enables GTX 260 EXTREME+ to execute the most intricate non-gaming applications via CUDA language. This includes acceleration of the art design application - science simulation application or transcoding of video to a personal video player up to 7X faster than the CPU.
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HP Unveils First AMD Neo-based Notebook
In a surprise move, HP announced the industry's first notebook based on AMD's upcoming Neo series processor. This is the first product to be based on the AMD Yukon mobile platform. It features an AMD Neo processor clocked at 1.60, which is a single-core CPU code-named Huron. HP seems to have tried hard to push this into the full-fledged notebook segment, keeping it away from the ULPC tag, to serve as a proper "launch vehicle" for the Yukon platform.
Talking about the notebook itself, called HP Pavilion dV2, it features a 12-inch LCD screen with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 px with LED backlit illumination. Apart from the AMD Neo, it features up to 4 GB of RAM, AMD discrete graphics and storage space of up to 500 GB (depending on the variant). Other features include gigabit Ethernet and WiFi connectivity, an external BluRay drive (optional) and an ExpressCard slot. All this enclosed in a durable magnesium-alloy based chassis. The Pavilion dV2 Neo will reach shelves only later this year in April, and will be priced at US $699.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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(PR) LaCie Announces Hard Disk MAX, 2TB Storage in a Stylish Enclosure
Today LaCie announced its Hard Disk MAX high capacity storage system for users who want advanced RAID features with consumer-level ease of use and style. Designed exclusively for LaCie by award-winning industrial designer Neil Poulton, the Hard Disk MAX delivers 2 TB (terabytes) of ultra-reliable storage capacity in a stunning package that will satisfy high-performance requirements for the discriminating user.
The Hard Disk Max includes two large-capacity disk drives that can be set in either a RAID 0 or RAID 1 configuration with the simple flick of a switch on the back panel. RAID 0 stripes data across both disks for the fastest data retrieval response time, while RAID 1 mirrors data exactly on both disks for maximum data reliability.
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HP Introduces Mini 2140 Netbook
HP continued with its "blue-shift" of incorporating Intel Atom processors across its ULPC lineup, this time with its Mini 2140 netbook, siblings of whom are based on VIA processors. The Mini 2140 comes with a 10.1-inch LCD with LED-backlit illumination. The screen provides a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768 px. The chassis holds an almost complete QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3 MP webcam and a track-pad. Under the hood is an Atom CPU clocked at 1.60 GHz, up to 160 GB of hard-drive storage, with connectivity options including ethernet, WiFi, an ExpressCard slot and some USB 2.0 ports. Operating system options include Windows XP, Windows Vista, OpenSuSE Linux or FreeDOS. This notebook is equipped with hard-drive fall damage protection that senses a fall and quickly parks the hard-drive to try and minimise the damage. The unit tips the scales at 1.17 kg (around 2.58 lbs). It will start selling later this month at a price of US $499.
Source: Gizmondo
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(PR) G-Technology Launches Industry's First Family Of External SSDs
G-Technology, a Fabrik company and manufacturer of premium storage solutions for the Apple Mac community, today announced a new family of external drives based on 2.5" solid state drive (SSD) technology آ– the G-DRIVE mini SSD (120GB and 250GB) and the RAID 0/1 G-RAID mini SSD (250GB and 500GB).
Known for delivering performance, style and reliability, G-Technology has married its premium design with state-of-the-art solid state drives, making the new G-DRIVE mini SSD and G-RAID mini SSD the most rugged and durable external drives in the market. As high-performance, plug-and-play storage devices, they are ideal for extreme users who capture, offload and edit digital content in challenging remote environments. Because the drives have no moving parts, each drive can withstand extreme shock up to 1500Gs and can endure higher altitudes, vibration and temperatures when compared to traditional hard drive-based solutions. Leveraging inherent benefits of SSDs, the new G-DRIVE mini SSD and G-RAID mini SSD also provide higher data transfer rates, lower seek times and use less power, all while delivering a cooler, quieter operation.
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(PR) XFX Releases First Radeon HD-Powered 4000 Series Graphics Cards
XFX, following its recently announced collaboration with AMD, today introduced its first Radeon HD-powered 4000 series cards, the XFX Radeon HD 4870, 4850, 4830, 4650 and 4350.
All five models feature exceptional memory bandwidth, board power and compute power as well as a number of industry-firsts. For example, the XFX Radeon HD 4870 is the first graphics card with GDDR5 memory.
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(PR) Dell Hits the Sweet Spot of Function and Affordability with New Inspiron 15 Laptop
Dell today announced the Inspiron 15 laptop, the latest addition to the Inspiron line of systems offering solid performance and smart style at a great value. The Inspiron 15 is now available in select configurations at Best Buy stores in the United States, and PC World and Curry's in the United Kingdom, with online availability through Dell.com planned for later in January. Systems start at $600.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 and GeForce GTX 295 Launch Dates Announced
It's time for some new information, provided by our colleagues over at OCWorkBench. As reported by them NVIDIA is preparing to launch its new GeForce GTX 285 card on January 15th, while the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 295 is planned to debute on January 8th, during the first day of CES 2009. These two video cards will be NVIDIA's future top performing products. We're already familiar with the specs of GeForce GTX 285. It will be based on a 55nm production node with 183W TDP, and will have reference clock speeds of 648MHz for the core, 1476MHz for the shaders, and 1100MHz (x2) for the memory. On the other side, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 is a dual PCB, dual GPU card, that will beat the mighty ATI Radeon 4870 X2. Some of the facts that we already know include: 2x GPUs with a total of 480 shader processors, 1792MB memory (896MB per GPU), 576MHz core frequency, 1242MHz shader frequency, 999MHz DDR3 memory frequency, and Quad-SLI support. That's all folks, put aside some $ for next week.
Source: OCWorkBench
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(PR) Iomega Releases Home Media Hard Drive, Brings Cost-Effective Features to Your Home
Iomega, an EMC company and a global leader in data protection, today announced the debut of the Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive, a new standard in easy-to-use network storage for the digital home. With EMC's acclaimed LifeLine software, in three simple steps users can configure up to one terabyte of network storage for backing up all of their files as well as streaming music, photos, video and other multimedia files between computers, networked televisions, popular game consoles and other under-utilized digital home entertainment devices.
Iomega will be showing the new Home Media Network Hard Drive at the MacWorld tradeshow in San Francisco, January 6-9, 2009, and at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 8-11, 2009.
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(PR) Seagate Ships Desktop Hard Drive With World's Highest Areal Density - 500GB Per Disk
Seagate today announced first-to-market volume shipments of a mainstream desktop hard drive with the industry's highest areal density. Packing 1TB of capacity on just two disks, Seagate's Barracuda 7200.12 HD, a 3.5-inch 7200-RPM drive features an areal density of 329 Gigabits per square inch to deliver the best combination of capacity, performance and reliability for PCs, desktop RAID and personal external storage.
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Firefox Breaks 20% Market Share Mark
Firefox, Mozilla's most successful web browser based on the Gecko browser engine holds more than 20% of the web-browser market share, according to the latest figures by NetApplications placing it at 21.34%. Web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari have been on a roll in the past 24 months, at the expense of Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) which has been falling in market-share from the 90+ percent it once held.
Mozilla's CEO John Lilly calls this as a significant milestone for Mozilla, and gives credit to the global Mozilla community. NetApplications gets into the details of how Firefox gained a market share growth of 20%, by attributing it to the relatively high number of public holidays between November and December, when users accessed internet from home. This since the significant movers were noted to be home/domestic users rather than corporate users.
Source: NetApplications
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More XFX Radeon Series Graphics Cards Pictured
It does come as a surprise to us, that XFX is going to have a full-fledged non-reference design ATI Radeon lineup, barely a month into its official announcement of a tie-up with AMD. Pictured below are XFX Radeon HD 4350, Radeon HD 4650 and Radeon HD 4830. Ideally XFX will use a common design with its Radeon HD 4600 series cards. Both incorporate black-coloured PCBs, and the XFX colour scheme with the coolers.
The XFX Radeon HD 4350 (model: HD435X-YAH2) comes with a core clock speed of 600 MHz and 512 MB of DDR2 memory clocked at 1000 MHz. It is passively cooled and is low-profile friendly. The XFX Radeon HD 4650 / HD 4670 cards use reference AMD clock speeds. The Radeon HD 4850 card comes in two variants, HD465X-YAF2 (512 MB) and HD465X-ZAF2 (1 GB). Also pictured is the XFX Radeon HD 4830 512MB (model: HD483X-YDFC) that looks identical to the XFX Radeon HD 4850, pictured earlier.
Source: Alternate.de
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(PR) NEC Announces the 26'' MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 LCD Monitor with SWOP Certification
NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading stand-alone provider of commercial LCD displays and projectors, today announced the new 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690WUXiآ², a desktop display ideal for graphic arts, desktop publishing, photography and other color-critical environments. The LCD2690WUXiآ² can be seen at Macworld Conference and Expo 2009 (NEC Display Solutions Booth, No. 2510) on January 6-9 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif.
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Mushkin releases ''Radioactive'' memory kit
Mushkin Enhanced, one of the leading manufacturer for High Performance Computer Parts announces the availability of his first new memory kit in this year, the 4GB DDR2 kit called "996599r", which comes along in a noble aluminium case and eye-catching heatspreader.
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(PR) New Crucial Ballistix Three Channel DDR3 Memory Kits Available
Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the immediate availability of Ballistix DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600) and DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) three channel DDR3 memory kits. These new kits support the latest Intel chipset technology, based on the Core i7 processors. Ballistix three channel DDR3 memory kits are available in 3GB and 6GB kits through select resellers and directly from Crucial's website.
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(PR) MSI Debuts U-Force, Dual-Core Atom Nettops, Briefs CES Plans
In the CES 2009, to be held in Las Vegas from January 8, MSI will once again capture the world’s eyes with its prolific R&D and designs. In addition to introducing the whole new U-series models, MSI will launch the new All-In-One Wind NetOn models and MSI’s first dual-core Atom All-In-One models. G-series notebooks, the first series surmounting 10000 points on 3Dmark, will also be exhibited. With such a strong cast, MSI will successfully become the focus on the international stage once again.
Following the popular MSI Wind Netbooks, U100 and U90, MSI will introduce some more portable netbook in CES, including MSI U115 Hybrid, and will also announce that MSI U120 is “WiMAX Ready”. Moreover the first netbook capable of running SSD/HDD simultaneously, and MSI X-Slim Series X320, the 13” super portable notebook of just about 1.3 kg.
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(PR) Intel and Adobe to Extend Flash Platform to TVs
Adobe Systems Incorporated and Intel Corporation today announced plans to collaborate on the development to port and optimize Adobe Flash technology for the Intel Media Processor CE 3100. This effort is expected to provide consumers with richer and more seamless Web-based and video viewing experiences through advanced Intel-based cable set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, digital TVs and retail connected AV devices. The high-definition capabilities of the Adobe Flash Platform, together with the Intel Media Processor CE 3100, the first in a new family of purpose-built Intel System on Chips (SoCs) for CE devices, creates a powerful entertainment hub capable of delivering rich Web content and Adobe Flash based applications to an array of Internet-connected CE devices. Intel and Adobe are working together to optimize both the Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Flash Lite for the CE3100. Intel plans to ship the first CE3100 with support for an optimized implementation of Adobe Flash Lite before mid-2009.
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More GT212 Information Forthcoming
NVIDIA's G200b, its current flagship GPU will be suceeded later this year with the GT212, and as Hardware Infos discovers, NVIDIA seems to have given some interesting specifications to the GT212. To begin with, the GPU holds more than 1.8 billion transistors. It is built on TSMC's 40nm manufacturing node. The shader domain gets a boost with 384 shader units (a 60% increase over G200(b)). The GPU holds 96 texture memory units and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory bus with a clock speed of 1250 MHz (5000 MT/s).
The transition to GDDR5 seemed inevitable, with there being a genuine incentive of cutting down the number of memory chips (due to the efficient memory bus), with NVIDIA having completely avoided GDDR4. With the die-size being expected to be around 300 sq. mm, these GPUs will be cheaper to manufacture. The GT212 is slated for Q2 2009.
Source: Hardware-Infos
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Rumor: Microsoft Plans 17% Workforce Reduction This Month
Year 2008 might be over, but the world economy crisis is still strong and demonstration for that is the latest rumor reported today by DailyTech. According to them Microsoft, the largest software maker and the most profitable company in the technology industry, may layoff 15,000 people from its 90,000 workforce, or nearly 17 percent of Microsoft's worldwide operations. The report continues to claim that Microsoft's MSN search unit and other struggling business units are the most threatened with extinction. Microsoft workers in the Xbox 360 and other profitable departments will be safe from these job cuts. CNET News quotes industry veteran Henry Blodget suggesting another reason that may hide behind this eventual workforce reduction:
"The only way we could see Microsoft laying off this many people is if the company decided to eliminate business units. And if Microsoft did decide to restructure its business, it would likely sell rather than shut down divisions, including MSN."
Continue reading the full story here.
Source: DailyTech
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Aspire One 10.1 Slated for February
Acer's flagship ULPC product, the Aspire One will get a 10-inch model refresh with the Aspire One 10.1, which is preparing for a February launch. The new model comes with a screen that is physically bigger at 10", though having the same resolution as its 8.9" counterparts: 1024 x 600 px.
Acer seems to have made a few cosmetic changes with a brushed-metal chassis near its keyboard area, an expansion slot with a multi-card reader (swappable), a larger track-pad and the standard features of Aspire One. On to the hardware front, it comes with an Intel Atom CPU at 1.60 GHz, 1 GB of DDR2 memory, with optional features that include pre-installed Windows XP Home, 3G HSDPA, and Bluetooth 2.0 support. It comes in three colours: red, black and white.
Source: Macles
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Unibody 17-inch Apple MacBook Pro and Revised Mac Mini Ready for Macworld 2009 ?
AppleInsider has allegedly confirmed previous rumours that a 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro is on its way to hit the stores very soon. Claiming own sources, AppleInsider has been able to confirm that tomorrow Apple will introduce a 17-inch MacBook Pro with a fixed internal battery and a new version of the Mac mini. Before going into detail, let me remind you that Macworld 2009 Conference & Expo starts today, so if true the two new Apples will make first appearance there. The new unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro will not share the same panel-covered battery layout as the 13- and 15-inch models. Instead, the notebook's battery will be fixed in place and not removable, similar to the MacBook Air notebooks. As for Mac mini, the new version will add a FireWire 800 port and a fifth USB port, in addition to the already presented Mini DisplayPort and Mini DVI connectors.
Source: AppleInsider
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Freescale Enters the Low-Cost Netbook Processor Business with i.MX515 ARM Processor
Even though almost all of the netbooks as we call them today are using Intel Atom processors as their main processor and if not they use VIA CPUs, Freescale, a third company, is moving in on this fastest-growing segment of the PC market. The company said on Monday it is planning on introducing a new chip for netbooks that are priced below $200. Freescale's i.MX515 processor will run on super low-cost netbooks only, that are created mainly to perform basic tasks such as accessing the Internet and running office applications, with no gaming or performance CAD involved. Moreover, the i.MX515 won't support any Microsoft Windows OS at all, which leaves the door open only for Linux. The main strength of i.MX515 based on the Cortex-A8 core from ARM is its low power usage, which suggests extra long battery life of the machines equipped with this CPU. According to the company, the chip would allow a netbook with an 8.9-inch display to receive eight hours of battery life. Again, expect more information at CES 2009. There Freescale will showcase a working i.MX515-based netbook prototype made by Pegatron (ASUS spin-off company).
Source: Reuters
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(PR) Transcend Launches Triple Channel DDR3-1333 Memory Kits
Transcend Information Inc., one of the world’s leading memory module manufacturers, is proud to release its DDR3-1333 triple channel memory kits for use with Intel Core i7 processors and Intel X58 Express Chipset motherboards. Core i7, Intel’s latest high-performance processor, features an integrated memory controller that introduces three channels of DDR3 memory that provide lower latency and higher memory bandwidth for amazing performance for data-intensive applications. Transcend’s triple channel kits are designed specifically for the new platform, and offer an optimized combination of low voltage (1.5V), generous speed, and enhanced latency (9-9-9-24) to deliver ideal performance and compatibility with next-generation PCs.
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PQI to Launch More Flash Based Storage Devices at CES 2009
Besides the USB 3.0 demonstration, visitors attending the 2009 CES at Las Vegas may also take a look at PQI's booth, where the company will have on display their full range of Solid State Drives, USB Flash Drives (UFD), Memory Modules and Flash Memory Cards. Among these will be four brand new and never seen before products - 1.8-inch microSATA SSD S518, Express Card SSD S520, 2.5-inch SATAⅡ SSD S525 and e-SATA Combo Card S530. The 32GB Express Card SSD S520 utilizes PCMCIA form factor that supports both USB2 and PCI Express connectivity. Users have the option of using it as a portable USB flash drive or to extend their PC / laptop storage capacity. The 64GB e-SATA Combo Card S530 has an e-SATA connection interface and reaches a maximum read speed of 90MB/Sec. Finally, both PQI's 1.8-inch microSATA SSD S518 and 2.5-inch SATAⅡ SSD S525 are available with a maximum capacity of 128GB. They are also suitable for installation into PCs, laptops or mobile workstations. Expect more information on each drive at CES 2009.
Source: PQI
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NVIDIA Mobile GPU Lineup for 2009 Charted
NVIDIA looks to have a complete lineup for mobile discrete graphics processors apart from their integrated graphics based chipsets that are gaining in popularity. VR-Zone compiled a list of GPUs slated for 2009. For some part, current-generation GPU architectures based on current manufacturing processes are noted, while the second half of 2009 will witness the introduction of GPUs based on the 40nm manufacturing processes, derived from the GT21x series GPUs.
Currently, NVIDIA mobile GPUs include derivatives from the 65nm G92, G94, G96 and G98 GPUs that make the lineup, top to bottom. In the first half of 2009, the same GPUs will be built on the newer 55nm manufacturing node and used in newer SKUs under N10E series for the enthusiast, N10P series for performance and N10M series for the mainstream segments. The GPU codenames will be simply suffixed with a "b" next to their company codenames and a "1" next to their product names (for example: GeForce 9800M GTX1). Desktop graphics cards are already being built on 55nm variants of the G9xb GPUs. In the second half of 2009, NVIDIA will use the GT212, GT215, GT216 and GT218 to build their mobile discrete graphics lineup. The GT212 is a high-end GPU, derivatives of which, will be used in the newer mobile GeForce GTX series in the enthusiast segment along with GT215 GPU, which will make it to the high-end GeForce GT, GeForce GS and GeForce GE series. The mid-range of the same series will be based on products derived from the GT216 series, in the performance segment. Finally, the GT218 GPU will go into making the value-mainstream products, the lower-end of the same GeForce GT, GS and GE series.
Source: VR-Zone
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(PR) Symwave and Seagate to Demonstrate World's First USB 3.0 Storage Solution at CES 2009
Symwave, a semiconductor supplier of high-performance analog/mixed-signal connectivity solutions for the PC, consumer and mobile devices, today announced collaboration with Seagate to demonstrate Symwave's USB 3.0 storage controller device designed to comply with the SuperSpeed (USB 3.0) specification revision 1.0. The technology demonstration is the world's first consumer product application of USB 3.0 and will take place at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8-11, 2009. The demonstration will showcase streaming data to and from a commercially available external storage device at speeds previously unattainable with legacy USB technology.
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(PR) Lenovo's First Dual Screen Mobile Workstation Now Official, Yours for $3663
Lenovo today is bringing users the highest levels of mobile workstation innovation and performance with the introduction of the ThinkPad W700ds mobile workstation. The ThinkPad W700ds gives users prime screen real-estate as the first mobile workstation in the industry with two screens. Lenovo combines a new balance of unique design with complex engineering and unparalleled performance to give users in the most demanding of fields such as digital content creation, oil and gas exploration, computer-aided design and photography, the ultimate mobile workstation.
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(PR) Lenovo Debuts Super-Slim All-in-One Desktop and 16-inch Laptop
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 آ– the IdeaPad Y650, one of the thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptops1, the Y550 and Y450 laptops with a similar family design to the Y650, and one of the thinnest all-in-one desktop PCs, the IdeaCentre A6002. 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.
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TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.3.1 Now Available
TechPowerUp announces the availability of GPU-Z version 0.3.1 for download. GPU-Z is our graphics sub-system information and monitoring utility that provides information on installed graphics hardware, their various specifications, provides real-time updates on their parameters such as clock-speeds, temperatures, fan-speeds, etc., all in a neat, tabbed user-interface, backed by our overclock validation system and an extensive video card BIOS database. Version 0.3.1 brings in a few important updates to the table, notably:
- Crash fix on systems without NVAPI (Win 2K, old NV drivers)
- Optimized AMD RV770 BIOS reading code (faster application startup)
- Added preliminary support for NVIDIA GT212, GT214, GT215, GT216, GT218
- Added support for NVIDIA Quadro FX 4700 X2, GTX 295, GTX 285
- Support for fan speed monitoring on ForceWare 180.xx and up
- Voltage monitoring for NVIDIA GT200
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Playstation 2 the Most Played Console of 2008
The Sony Playstation 2 is the most played game console in the US, according to a study of trends among Americans by Nielsen in its news release whitepaper (PDF). The Nielsen study gave out results in the form of top-10 rankings for several products and the consumers' usage patterns. Nielsen calculated the usage minutes of all consoles found in the home as a percentage. The Playstation 2 ranked top with a usage percentage of 31.7%, trailed by Microsoft Xbox 360 at 17.2%, Nintendo Wii at 13.4%, Microsoft Xbox at 9.7% and Sony Playstation 3 at 7.3%.
Please note that these figures are those of the usage minutes of these consoles and aren't exactly indicative of their market shares. Also taken into account should be the fact that the Playstation 2 is a much older console launched in 1999 while its competitive 6th generation console, the Xbox was launched two years later in 2001. The data was measured from January to October 2008. According to Nielsen "other" includes "any other console found in the home" and it appears portable hardware like the Nintendo DS or the Sony PSP were not included in the research. In related news, the same study suggests the most played PC game title. No guesses here: Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Refer to the whitepaper for more details.
Source: DailyTech
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AMD Readies Six Business-Class Desktop 45nm CPUs
AMD is heading towards kicking off its desktop CPU lineup built on the 45nm manufacturing process this 8th of January. The company also started off with selling certain "business-class" CPUs last year, CPUs that are rated for long MTBF, giving it a little incentive for business/office PC manufacturers for using the processors in their models. The company is looking to do the same with its 45nm desktop CPU lineup, with six business-class CPUs on the cards, sources tell DigiTimes.
The models planned are dual-core Athlon X2 B23 (2.9GHz, 2MB cache) and B21 (2.7GHz, 2MB cache), triple-core Phenom II X3 B73 (2.8GHz, 7.5MB cache) and B71 (2.6GHz, 7.5MB cache), and quad-core Phenom II X4 B93 (2.8GHz 8MB cache) and B91 (2.6GHz 8MB cache). These processors are slated for Q3 2009. Following the introduction of these, the company plans to phase-out its current business class CPUs by issuing last-order notices for them in Q4. These will be issued for Phenom II X4 9850B, 9750B, 9600B and Phenom II X3 8850B, 8750B, 8600B as well as Athlon X2 5600B, 5400B, 5200B, 5000B, 4850B, 4450B and Athlon 1640B.
Source: DigiTimes
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XFX Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 4870 Pictured
XFX seems to be ready with its initial lineup of graphics cards. Some European retailers have even begun listing their products and pricing. While there's nothing really interesting about the way XFX is pricing its cards, the way it's cards seem to be certainly interesting. Pictured below are its first two models based on the ATI Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 graphics processors.
Some surprises: Both use black coloured PCB, neither are 100% reference ATI design, and in fact, XFX designed its own cooler for the Radeon HD 4850 512 MB (model: XFX HD485X-YDFC). The Radeon HD 4870 in the picture is the 1 GB variant (model: HD487A-ZDFC). Both accelerators use AMD reference clock speeds. These cards will be released within the first two weeks of this month. More information as we come across.
Sources: DonanimHaber, TechNews
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Gigabyte Has a Crippled VGA Slot: MSI
Although presentations that are internal to companies never make it to the public scene, some of those presentations are interesting, to say the least. Computer hardware manufacturers spread around an area as saturated as Taiwan, China, Malaysia, etc., get so involved into aggressive competition that in more occassions than one they get carried away. Internal presentations are the ones manufacturers such as ASUSTek, MSI and Gigabyte share with their potential customers in channel vendors, OEMs, and the likes. One such presentation by MSI, a particular slide of which, has become an example of how far competition has taken the manufacturers.
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TechPowerUp! Wishes You a Happy New Year!
Well, another year has come and gone and I here in Austria just moved on to the year 2009. We, the entire staff of TechPowerUp!, would like to take this opportunity to thank you for stopping by on the website on a regular basis and wish all of you a happy new year. May it be the best one yet and we hope to be able to welcome you in our forums, our front page or as a user of our tools in the new year as well.
All the best,
W1zzard, DarkSaber & the entire staff at TechPowerUp!
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