IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (HotHardware) 23/10/2009

Seagate FreeAgent DockStar NAS Device Review
Network-attached storage (NAS) devices come in all shapes and sizes; some even come without hard drives--with the intention that the users will add the drives themselves. There is even a relatively new category of NAS devices that don't have any internal drives at all, and instead use USB-attached drives as their storage source. These NAS devices are typically inexpensive and super-easy to setup and use. We've even looked at a couple of them: the Addonics NAS Adapter ($49) and CloudEngines' Pogoplug ($99). Now
Read More ...

ARM Launches New Cortex-A5 As A Bulkward Against Future Atom processors
Historically, ARM isn't a company we talk about much. The company's processor designs power a huge number of devices worldwide, but its architectures have focused on the embedded, ultra-low power, ultra-low cost markets where high-end performance simply wasn't a requirement. ARM's target market hasn't changed all that much in the past 18 months, but the fact that Intel intends to push future iterations of its Atom architecture into the MID/high-end smartphone market changes the entire competitive landscape.
Read More ...

Canada Okays Data Throttling In "Last Resort" Cases - Is America Next?
Oh, Canada. What are you teaching those American regulators? While most consumer-oriented Americans (as in, the consumers themselves) are doing everything they can to resist the evil known as "data throttling," Canada's main telecommunication agency has just okayed the process. We're hoping this doesn't set some sort of precedence, but honestly, who knows how this will affect other nations (including America). The CRTC, which has also been a recent pain for companies look to light up new high-def channels, has
Read More ...

Psystar To Sell Its Mac OS X Enabling Software
Psystar, obviously not satisfied with the hot water is already in with Apple, has announced it will begin selling the software it itself uses to install the Mac OS X operating system on generic Intel hardware. According to company, the software, called the "Rebel EFI suite," allows users to easily install any OS on a computer. Psystar has already been sued by Apple over selling Mac clones, with Mac OS X pre-installed on the computers. Apple says that doing so violates the EULA for Mac OS X, which says: "You
Read More ...

Harry Potter Bows Down To Windows 7 Pre-Orders
Man, we knew Windows 7 would be a hit, but we definitely didn't see this coming. The proverbial giant has been toppled, as Microsoft's newest OS--which launched today, by the way--has beaten the mighty Harry on Amazon UK's pre-order charts. What Harry, you ask? Harry Potter, of course! As of yesterday, Windows 7 was the outfit's best-selling pre-ordered item of all time, though specific numbers weren't disclosed. Those pre-orders began on July 15th, and they even sold out (albeit for only a short period of time)
Read More ...

MSI Ships GT640, GT740 and CR610 With Windows 7
Hey, it's Windows 7 day! And do you know what that means? Lots and lots (and lots!) of new Windows 7 machines, including a trifecta from the crew at MSI. Today, alongside Microsoft's release of its newest OS, the company is issuing its GT640, GT740 and CR610 machines with Win7. Of course, the company's entire range of machines has received Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) Windows 7 X86 and X64 certification, but it's the new gear we're focused on today. The G-Series GT640 and GT740 machines can both be ordered
Read More ...

CyberPower Adds To Lineup With Windows 7 & DirectX 11 Systems
CyberPower is rolling out its latest Windows 7 machines today. The new series of gaming rigs feature Intelâ€™s Core i5/i7 processors and DirectX 11-ready graphics. Thanks to Windows 7, gamers will enjoy new features and performance enhancements, including faster boot up times and improved multi-threaded performance. CyberPower is now offering a number of configurable systems with Windows 7 starting at $749 with an Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz processor. CyberPower Rolls Out New Intel Core i5/i7 Gaming Rigs Primed
Read More ...

Employees Plan To Spend Two Days Shopping Online From Work This Holiday Season
Those who plan to sneak in a couple hours here, a couple hours there to do some holiday shopping while at work can, perhaps, take comfort in the fact that they're not alone.Not even close.Apparently, employees, on average, plan (plan!) to spend nearly two full working days â€” 14.4 hours â€” shopping online while at work. One in 10, in fact, plans to spend a whopping 30-pus hours shopping online from work.ISACA, an association of IT professionals, conducted two surveys, one of 1,210 U.S. consumers and the other
Read More ...

Acer Aspire 5738DG Turns 2D & 3D Content Into 3D Entertainment Experience
Acer announced its new Aspire 5738DG notebook with the unique TriDef 3D solution. This solution includes a 3D screen, software, and glasses to enable 3D visuals. It can also take 2D content and replicate a 3D experience. The notebook has a 15.6-inch Acer CineCrystal HD display coated with a special 3D film. The 3D polarizer glasses filter 2D images to 3D. The TriDef Ignition tool enables 2D to 3D conversion for games and applications supporting DirectX 9 and above. The Aspire 5738DG features an Intel Core 2
Read More ...

CyberPower Adds To Lineup With Windows 7 & DirectX 11 Systems

CyberPower is rolling out its latest Windows 7 machines today. The new series of gaming rigs feature Intelâ€™s Core i5/i7 processors and DirectX 11-ready graphics. Thanks to Windows 7, gamers will enjoy new features and performance enhancements, including faster boot up times and improved multi-threaded performance. CyberPower is now offering a number of configurable systems with Windows 7 starting at $749 with an Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz processor.

CyberPower Rolls Out New Intel Core i5/i7 Gaming Rigs

Primed for Windows 7 with Direct X 11-Enhanced Graphics

BALDWIN PARK, CA (October 22, 2009) -- CyberPower Inc. www.cyberpowerpc.com, a manufacturer of custom gaming machines, is celebrating the arrival of Microsoftâ€™s Windows 7 Operating System with a series of gaming rigs that feature Intelâ€™s highly overclockable Core i5/i7 processors and DirectX 11-ready graphics.

Users can have the latest hardware and incorporate it with the new features of Windows 7 to take home a screaming fast gaming system.

Gamers will benefit from the new features and performance enhancements that Windows 7 delivers. Along with faster boot up times, users will also notice improved multi-threaded performance compared to the last generation operating system from Microsoft. Gamers will appreciate the refinement DX11 brings to games, and with CyberPowerâ€™s gaming rigs, they will be sure to enjoy all of these features.

CyberPower customers can configure and order a Windows 7 PC today. You can choose from the latest Intel processors and chipsets, which offer a huge boost when combined with Windows 7. DirectX 11 video cards will also be readily available for gamers looking to immersive themselves into the DX11 gaming experience.

CyberPower Windows 7 ready gaming rigs start as low as $749 and are powered by the latest Intelآ® Coreâ„¢ i5-750 2.66 GHz 8M L2 Cache processors. All CyberPower computer systems can be custom configured with numerous component, hardware, software and service options at the CyberPower web site. All systems come with a 3-year warranty and toll-free tech support.

Acer Aspire 5738DG Turns 2D & 3D Content Into 3D Entertainment Experience

Acer announced its new Aspire 5738DG notebook with the unique TriDef 3D solution. This solution includes a 3D screen, software, and glasses to enable 3D visuals. It can also take 2D content and replicate a 3D experience.

The notebook has a 15.6-inch Acer CineCrystal HD display coated with a special 3D film. The 3D polarizer glasses filter 2D images to 3D. The TriDef Ignition tool enables 2D to 3D conversion for games and applications supporting DirectX 9 and above.

The Aspire 5738DG features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 Graphics with 512 Dedicated DDR3 VRAM, Dolby surround sound, built-in stereo speakers, and 5.1-channel surround sound output. The notebook runs on Windows 7 Home Premium.

Other features include a 320GB hard drive, multi-in-one media reader, HDMI port, four USB 2.0 ports, 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N wireless, Gigabit Ethernet, and an Acer Crystal Eye webcam. The Aspire 5738DG also has a Multi-Gesture Touchpad which lets users pinch, flick, and swirl fingers on the touchpad.

The new Acer Aspire 5738DG 3D notebook will be available this week at select retailers. Pricing begins at $779.99.

Acer Aspire 5738DG-6165 3D Notebook PC Specifications

Intelآ® Coreâ„¢ 2 Duo processor T6600 (2 MB L2 cache, 2.2GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Windowsآ® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
15.6" HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (220-nit) Acer CineCrystalâ„¢ LED-backlit TFT LCD with integrated TriDefآ® 3D screen
Mobile Intelآ® PM45 Express Chipset
ATI Mobility Radeonâ„¢ HD 4570 with up to 2304MB of HyperMemoryâ„¢ (512 MB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM, up to 1792 MB of shared system memory)
4GB of DDR2 1066 MHz memory
320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive1
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
Acer InviLinkâ„¢ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDآ®
8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
Integrated Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
Dolbyآ®-optimized surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers
Multi-Gesture Touchpad
4 - USB 2.0 Ports
6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh)
6.16 lbs. (system unit only)
15.1 x 9.9 x 1.03/1.5 inches
Gemstone design
MSRP: $779.99

Employees Plan To Spend Two Days Shopping Online From Work This Holiday Season

Those who plan to sneak in a couple hours here, a couple hours there to do some holiday shopping while at work can, perhaps, take comfort in the fact that they're not alone.

Not even close.

Apparently,employees, on average, plan (plan!) to spend nearly two full workingdays â€” 14.4 hours â€” shopping online while at work. One in 10, in fact,plans to spend a whopping 30-pus hours shopping online from work.

ISACA,an association of IT professionals, conducted two surveys, one of 1,210U.S. consumers and the other of 1,513 IT professionals in ninecountries. There was a huge disconnect between what the employeesplanned and the IT folks predicted - fully 48 percent of the latterwere estimating employees would spend fewer than nine hours on averageshopping from work computers. Of course, the fact that the ITprofessionals came from several nations could mean the disconnect isn'tas large as it seems at first glance, as U.S. consumers may be morelikely to shop online from work and were the only ones in the consumersurvey.

Convenience(34 percent of those surveyed) and boredom (23 percent) were thebiggest reasons given for shopping while at work. While only half theemployees who were surveyed planned to shop online, those workers alsowere more likely to "engage in other high-risk behaviors" even outsidethe holiday season. They bank online (51 percent), click on e-maillinks to shopping sites (40 percent) and from social networking sites(15 percent), but one in five of those who conduct all these onlinefinancial transactions doesn't think about the affect it might have onthe company's security infrastructure.

TheISACA seems to have a realistic view of the situation, however, andisn't encouraging employers to try to ban their employees from shoppingwhile at work. Said Robert Stroud, international vice president ofISACA:

"Companies should educate employees about the risks and remind them of security policies. This is especially important now, when the convenience of shopping online is appealing to employees whose workloads may have doubled because of downsizing."

(Except, perhaps, those employees who are shopping out of boredom?)

Courtesy ISACA

The IT professionals surveyed estimated that their companies would loseabout $15,000 (U.S.) in employee productivity due to the holidayshopping. But the surveys also pointed out that many employees areusing their own mobile devices to conduct business from, whether viae-mail or phone calls, as well as using work-issued mobile devices toconduct personal business. Both can raise issues about the security ofthe company's IT infrastructure.

The ISACA offers these tips for online to keep things more secure:

Use your desktop PC, not your mobile device, to shop, because your desktop browser is likely to be more secure.
Protect sensitive information, like credit card numbers, by password-protecting both your mobile device and its memory card.
Make sure you update your anti-virus and anti-malware programs continually.
Treatsocial networking sites with the same caution as other web sitesâ€”socialsites are a growing target for fraudsters and virus writers.
Becautious of special offers. If it looks too good to be true, itprobably is. Fake online offers and coupons may lead to harmful sites,so be suspicious.

And these tips for IT professionals at the companies where employees are shopping online:

Educate employees. Blocking sites can do more harm than good,causing employees to seek out less secure ways to get around yourblockade. Education works better.
Get employees on board with learning by teaching them how to protect both their work computers and their home computers.
Reinforce what you teach by having employees sign an acceptable-use policy every year.
Offer a â€œsafe zoneâ€‌ for holiday shoppingâ€”create an online sandbox that can be taken down after the holidays.
Donâ€™t wait until Cyber Monday to step up security. Think of â€œCyberSeasonâ€‌ as the time from September to January and be extra-diligentthroughout that time.

More information about the survey can be found here.

Canada Okays Data Throttling In "Last Resort" Cases - Is America Next?

Oh, Canada. What are you teaching those American regulators? While mostconsumer-oriented Americans (as in, the consumers themselves) are doingeverything they can to resist the evil known as "data throttling,"Canada's main telecommunication agency has just okayed the process.We're hoping this doesn't set some sort of precedence, but honestly,who knows how this will affect other nations (including America).

The CRTC, which has also been a recent pain for companies look to lightup new high-def channels, has just passed regulations that will enableInternet providers to "throttle" traffic of its users. Of course, thisrule only allows throttling--which involves the general slowing ofthroughput in order to increase the service level for most at theexpense of a few heavy users--in rare, "last resort" scenarios, butit's going to be extremely hard to regulate this. How will the CRTCknow when an ISP throttles? How will they know if it was a "lastresort?" And who's the judge of what fits into the "last resort"category? Needless to say, there seems to be a lot of vagueness here,and it's all slanted toward to ISP and not the consumer.

The rule stipulates that ISPs are to use "economic measures" in orderto better balance throughput before resorting to throttling, whichcould involve charging users more depending on how much bandwidth theyuse. The CRTC stated exactly: Technical means to manage traffic, suchas trafficshaping, should only be employed as a last resort." The agency alsoclaimed that there are "growing concerns about congestion," but we haveto wonder if this isn't some knee-jerk reaction to a minor problemthat's being talked up by loud-mouth ISPs who are scared are peopleactually taking advantage of the unlimited service that's beingadvertised and sold.

So, what's your take on all of this? Are you scared that such adecision could encourage something similar to happen in your country?Are we really getting to the point where video streaming and heavy useof the Internet service we're paying for is forcing ISPs to pay more orlobby for extra regulations?

MSI Ships GT640, GT740 and CR610 With Windows 7

Hey, it's Windows 7 day! And do you know what that means? Lots and lots(and lots!) of new Windows 7 machines, including a trifecta from thecrew at MSI. Today, alongside Microsoft's release of its newest OS, thecompany is issuing its GT640, GT740 and CR610 machines with Win7. Ofcourse, the company's entire range of machines has received WindowsHardware Quality Labs (WHQL) Windows 7 X86 and X64 certification, butit's the new gear we're focused on today.

The G-Series GT640 and GT740 machines can both be ordered with an Intelquad-core Core i7 processor, while specs remain elusive on the CR610.The rest of MSI's announcement can be seen below:

MSI is the first to release pre-installed Windows 7 in itsnew models. With newly evolved hardware and software, consumers have achance to be the first to appreciate the advantages of the Windows 7operating system.

Not only do the GT740, GT640 and the Classic Series model CR610 comepre-installed with Windows 7, MSI has preemptively had its entire rangeof notebook computers undergo WHQL testing in order to receive Windows7 X86 and X64 compatibility certification. These certificationsguarantee 100% stability and ensure consumers can safely upgrade to thenewest Window's OS.آ

MSI's WHQL Windows 7 certified notebooksinclude many red-hot features, including the ultra-light, beautifullycurved-arch designed X-Slim series and the brilliant Wind12 U Series12" models. Both rely on an ultra-thin, power-saving hardware platformarchitecture, teamed with the new Windows 7 user interface, to createan entirely new user experience. Additionally, the MSI Classic Seriesnotebooks, with comprehensive I/O ports and outfitted with highperformance software, offer the highest performance/price ratiocurrently on the market.آ

MSI also supports the Microsoft Windows 7upgrade program and has established a dedicated Windows 7 section onits official web site to assist Vista users with operating systemupgrades. Detailed information can be found by at: http://www.msi.com/html/popup/win7/home.html.

Harry Potter Bows Down To Windows 7 Pre-Orders

Man, we knew Windows 7 would be a hit, but we definitely didn't seethis coming. The proverbial giant has been toppled, as Microsoft'snewest OS--which launched today, by the way--has beaten the mightyHarry on Amazon UK's pre-order charts. What Harry, you ask? HarryPotter, of course!

As of yesterday, Windows 7 was the outfit's best-selling pre-ordereditem of all time, though specific numbers weren't disclosed. Thosepre-orders began on July 15th, and they even sold out (albeit for onlya short period of time) that very same day. What's wild is that Win7'spre-order rate beat out Vista in a bad, bad way. The amount of Win7pre-orders within the first eight hours beat the amount of Vistapre-orders during the latter's entire pre-order period.

Of course, Microsoft's tasty upgrade pricing and the generalunhappiness with Vista probably helped matters, but to put Mr. Potterto shame (in Rowling's homeland, no less) is still a mighty feat. Goodgoing Microsoft--if you can keep this up, we'd say you'll be enjoying alovely Q4.

Psystar To Sell Its Mac OS X Enabling Software

Psystar, obviously not satisfied with the hot water is already in with Apple, has announced it will begin selling the software it itself uses to install the Mac OS X operating system on generic Intel hardware. According to company, the software, called the "Rebel EFI suite," allows users to easily install any OS on a computer.

Psystar has already been sued by Apple over selling Mac clones, with Mac OS X pre-installed on the computers. Apple says that doing so violates the EULA for Mac OS X, which says:

"You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so."

which is a pretty straight-forward and simple statement. Still, to this point, Psystar has remained defiant. A trial date has been set for January 11, 2010.

According to the company, the software is compatible with the following CPUs: Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i7 or Xeon Nehalem. Sorry, AMD.

Psystar has a demo version of the software available for download. Users can install Mac OS X, but with "limited hardware functionality as compared with the full version." The full version of the Rebel EFI suite, removing any hardware limitations, costs $49.99, which would be pretty reasonable, if it works.

Psystar says that its software, through the use of the Darwin Universal Boot Loader, which available in the full version of the Rebel EFI Suite, will allow installing and running multiple operating systems, including Windows 7 as well as XP, Vista, various Linux flavors and OS X Snow Leopard.

There's reason to assume that it does work, considering that Psystar says this is the very software it uses itself to install Mac OS X on its Intel-based hardware. Of course, one difference between Macs and PCs is the wide variety of hardware available on PCs. That's what makes Windows impressive, despite its criticisms; while Mac OS X is great, it only has to support a limited amout of hardware, and that's far easier than what Microsoft has to do.

Given that, Psystar also announced the Psystar Labs approval program.

Users who are having difficulties getting a specific device to work correctly on their machines would send in their component to have it certified. The most common hardware set-ups are compatible, and through PsyLabs we will continue to work toward the Rebel EFI supporting an ever-broader range of hardware profiles.

One has to wonder how long past January 2010, given the trial date, these Labs will be running.

Friday, October 23, 2009

IT News HeadLines (HotHardware) 23/10/2009

No comments: