IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 13/04/2009

Alleged Microsoft Zune HD picture hits the web
Even though it still hasn't reached Europe, we have to note that a pictured of what is said to be Microsoft's upcoming Zune HD has come about, together with a number of less than revealing marketing campaign images. Seen below, the portable media player boasts a large screen, possibly a touchscreen and features a much sleeker casing than current Zunes. The specifications of the Zune HD (and its existence) are yet unconfirmed so we'll just have to wait for more leaks to know for sure.

Picture courtesy of Engadget.

Asus' VH Series LCDs receive EPEAT Gold eco-label
Proud as a peacock, Asus has sent out word that five of its VH Series widescreen LCD monitors got the EPEAT Gold rating for 'greeness'. More to the point, the displays were found to excel in each of the eight Environmental Performance Categories defined by the IEEE 1680 standard which EPEAT is based on:

- Reduction or Elimination of Environmentally Sensitive Materials
- Materials Selection
- Design for End of Life
- Product Longevity/Life Cycle Extension
- Energy Conservation
- End of Life Management
- Corporate Performance
- Packaging

Going from 20- to 24-inches, the EPEAT Gold medalists are the VH202T-P, VH222H-P, VH232H-P, VH236H-P and VH242H-P, which feature resolutions of up to 1920 x 1080 pixels, a response time of 5/2 (G2G) ms, a maximum brightness of 300 cd/m2 and a 'smart' contrast ratio between 10000:1 and 20000:1.

Skype founders looking to buy Skype back from eBay
Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype are said to be planning to buy back the popular Internet communication company. Zennstrom and Friis set up Skype in 2003 and sold it to auction expert eBay two years later for $2.6 billion and even though the company and its service only got bigger since the acquisition, its current selling price would be lower, with reports claiming the 'bid' would start at $1.7 billion.

Skype's founders are now talking to various private equity firms hoping to raise $1 billion for the buy back offer. With eBay at least willing to listen to acquisition propositions, Skype may very well get back into the loving arms of Zennstrom and Friis in the more or less near future. And even if not, this should make for some interesting news and rumors.

Wine gets another update
The little thing every Tux should have in its briefcase, Wine, has been updated with a new development release. Wine 1.1.19 features:

- Support for Visual C++ project files in winemaker.
- Improvements to the Esound driver.
- Many Direct3D code cleanups.
- Fixes to OLE clipboard handling.
- OpenBSD compilation fixed.
- Various bug fixes.

... and can be downloaded via this link.

Techconnect Review Round-up 11/4/09
Graphics cards

- XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 XXX Edition @ Club OC

Enclosures & PSUs

- Cooler Master Storm Scout Mid-Tower Case @ TheTechLounge

Cooling and modding

- OCZ Gladiator Max CPU cooler @ t-break
- Zalman CNPS 9900LED CPU cooler @ Bjorn3d

Peripherals

- Razer Mamba mouse @ bit-tech

Photo and video cameras

- Olympus mju 9000 @ TrustedReviews

Other

- Flip Video Mino HD @ TrustedReviews

PhysX 9.09.0408 software ready for download
The Green Team from Santa Clara has recently rolled out a new version of its PhysX system software. The 9.09.0408 release supports GeForce 8, 9, and 200 series graphics cards with at least 256MB of memory as well as AGEIA PhysX cards and features:

- Updated runtime to improved operation of Cryostasis Game.
- Includes the latest PhysX runtimes used in the latest game titles.
- Includes the latest PhysX runtimes used in the latest game titles.
- Supports NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on GeForce via CUDA 2.0 for SDK versions 2.7.3, 2.7.2, 2.7.5, 2.8.0 and 2.8.1 (requires graphics driver v177.81 or later).
- Runtime upgrade only for AGEIA PhysX processors users. (New installations should install older PhysX system software such as version 8.09.04 أ¢آ€آ“ prior to installing this update).

The PhysX v9.09.0408 system software can be downloaded from good ol' 2Manydownloads (39.2MB package).

EVGA intros GeForce GTX 275 FTW Edition
After unveiling a couple of stock models and one Superclocked version, EVGA has taken the GeForce GTX 275 to new heights with the FTW (for teh win) Edition. Seen below, the card is based on the reference design so it features a dual-slot cooler, a 448-bit memory interface and 896MB of GDDR3 memory, 3-way SLI support, 240 Processing Cores, CUDA, PhysX, two 6-pin PCIe power connectors and two DVI outputs.

While all those above may not seem impressive then the factory overclocked should as it sees the GPU, shader and memory frequencies set to 713, 1512 and 2520 MHz respectively, a nice plus over the stock clocks - 633, 1404 and 2268 MHz. The catch here is obviously the price as the GeForce GTX 275 FTW Edition costs $300, a full $50 mode than the EVGA-made stock card.

New EVGA SLI patch released
EVGA has just delivered a fresh SLI Enhancement Patch for everyone with an Nvidia-flavored multi-GPU setup to enjoy. This is the ninth release made by EVGA, it is based on the GeForce 185.68 beta driver and includes SLI profiles for Watchmen, MLB 2K9, Rise of the Argonauts, Serious Sam III, Manhunt 2, FIFA 2009, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, Lightsmark 2008, Inteference, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Unigine: Tropics Demo, Tropico 3, Demigod, Streetfighter IV, Champions Online, Star Tales Benchmark - all of these being part of the already mentioned driver, as well as for Merchants of Brooklyn.

The 04.11.09 SLI patch is available for Windows XP 32bit and Windows Vista 32/64bit and can be downloaded from this page (EVGA membership required).

Net Info version 6.8 software update
NetInfo is a collection of 15 different state-of-the-art network tools on a single, easy-to-use interface. Designed from first-hand experience, NetInfo allows businesses to more effectively combat network downtime by allowing network administrators, Webmasters, and Internet service providers to more accurately isolate faults, simplify processing of diagnostic data and increase internal network security.

Changes include:

- Vastly improved multithreaded engine.
- Windows 7 compatibility.
- Various other updates and enhancements.

Website: Net Info
Download: Net Info 6.8 (Shareware)

Apple's stock orders semi-confirm iPhone speculation
Multiple technology sites are currently reporting that Apple's chip shopping lists show a sizeable flash memory order, further fueling speculation that at least one new iPhone model is on the way to the stores this summer.

An article in Digitimes says that manufacturers in Asia have received orders of NAND flash memory, totaling up to as many as 100 million units. Late June is iPhone blooming season for Apple, and this year's harvest should see some interesting changes in the mobile device series. With the release of the iPhone 3.0 software already promised, as well as the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in June, it's just a matter of time before more concrete evidence of new iPhone models arises.

So with the stage already set this summer for the Palm Pre handset and the Toshiba TG-01, the iPhone would be up against some strong competition. Lets just see how it holds out with its new features and gizmos.

Monday, April 13, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 13/04/2009

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