IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Legit Reviews) 23/12/2009

Thermalright Announces Venomous-X CPU Cooler

Thermalright released the Ultra-120 Extreme CPU cooler in 2007 and it was quickly adopted by the public as being one of the best air coolers that money could buy. Over the past few years Thermalright went back to the drawing board and focused on three characteristics: installation, thermal performance, and outlook. After years of working on a successor to the U120E the guys at Thermalright have released the Venomous-X CPU cooler. Thermalright claims that the Venomous-X is the best performing CPU cooler that they have produced to date, so keep an eye out for it when it hits stores shelves later this week! Online e-tailers like AcousticPC have the cooler priced at $69.95 without cooling fans.

The Venomous-X is compatible with sockets 775, 1156, and 1366. Thus, the Venomous-X will conquer the heat produced by any Intel core i5 and i7 processors. However, the Venomous-X was designed with the future in mind. Six Cores processors have already been accounted for. This is possible because, our installation hardware allows the end-user to adjust pressure via the "Pressure Vault Bracket." Adjustments can be made from 40-70 lbs of pressure to fit any CPU IHS for the best possible CPU contact. The Venomous-X inherited our 6mm sintered heat pipe design, with soldered contact points with the fins and heatsink base to ensure effective heat transfer to our fin array. Thermalright engineers also increased the fin gap distance by 20% to 1.9mm. This modified fin array incorporating our arrowed bent winglet design, allows air to rapidly pass through the heatsink with minimal resistance. Consequently, low or high RPM fans will exhibit excellent performance.

Acer to launch 8-10 smartphones in 2010

Acer plans to launch 8-10 new smartphones in 2010 with Android-powered models likely to be slightly more than Windows Mobile-based ones, according to sources at Taiwan handset industry.

Acer will outsource the production of three Android-based smartphones to Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), using ST-Ericsson PNX6719 3G chipset solutions for the entry-level segment, the sources said. On the other hand, Inventec Appliances will roll out entry-level Windows Mobile-based smartphones for Acer. Acer will continue to develop in-house smartphone models for the mid-range to high-end segments using Qualcomm Snapdragon solutions, while sub-contracting the production of those models to Compal Communications on an EMS basis, the sources noted.

CNET: 2009 Rollercoaster Year For Video Games

The year started off with a bit of a bang but that didn't last as the poor economy lingered and eventually led to price drops in several consoles. Musical instrument oriented games also helped buoy game sales but have tailed off as of late leaving many wondering what's in store for 2010?

Up and down. Down and up. That was the story in 2009 for the video game industry, a year in which sales of Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and Sony's PlayStation 3, and software for them, roared long after the recession battered consumers' wallets, and then came crashing down.

Firefox Mobile Launch: 'Days Away'

The Firefox browser, now one of the most used browsers in the world, is making it's way to Nokia's N900 mobile and others in the near future.

The first mobile phone version of the popular web browser Firefox is "days away" from launch, the head of the project has told the BBC. The browser, codenamed Fennec, will initially be available for Nokia's N900 phone, followed by other handsets. It is currently going through final testing and could be released before the end of the year, said Jay Sullivan at Mozilla, the group behind Firefox. The open-source browser will be able to synchronise with the desktop version.

Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Declined $29 Billion

The semiconductor industry will post a revenue decline for just the sixth time in the last 25 years, with worldwide revenue totaling $226 billion in 2009, an 11.4 percent decline from 2008, according to preliminary estimates by Gartner, Inc. However, 2009 still goes on record as one of the worst years for the semiconductor industry since the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2001 and the first year the semiconductor industry posted declines two years in a row. Worldwide semiconductor revenues declined 5.4 percent in 2008, a consequence of the worldwide economic recession, which began in the fourth quarter.

Only three of the top 10 semiconductor vendors saw revenue growth in 2009; two of them were memory manufacturers, Samsung and Hynix, whose revenue grew primarily because of the long-awaited firming of memory prices. Qualcomm grew slightly by capturing market share among cellular baseband processors. Outside of the top 10, but within the top 25, Taiwan's MediaTek grew 21.4 percent, due its strong position among off-brand Chinese cell phone makers. It was the only company within the top 25 to show double-digit growth.

ECS TIGT-I motherboard Announced - Intel Atom D510 Processor

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has launched a brand new small and powerful motherboard, ECS TIGT-I, embedding the latest Intel dual core Atom processor D510 processor with an integrated memory controller and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150. This new processor delivers up to 20% better performance than the previous generation processor according to ECS.

The ECS TIGT-I motherboard is based on NM 10 Express chipsets and has a 1.66 GHz Intel dual core Atom 45nm processor directly mounted on the motherboard. With the brand new 2-chip solution, the ECS TIGT-I motherboard saves 50% power but increases up to 20% performance than previous generation motherboard, besides, this motherboard is capable to keep the system quiet and stable even without any cooling fans. The low-power architecture of the processor is targeting at portable battery-operated applications such as mobile internet devices (MID), low-cost laptop PCs. In spite of the tiny dimension of the board, Mini_ITX 170x170mm, the ECS TIGT-I motherboard is well equipped Fast Ethernet port, high definition audio, 2 x SATA3.0 Gb/s, 1 x PATA, 4 x USB 2.0, 2 x DDR2 800, 1 x PCIe x1 expansion slot.

NZXT Debuts $89 Hades Gaming PC Chassis

NZXT today unveiled Hades, a chassis that provides an array of advanced features for the most demanding PC enthusiast. Airflow is optimized with 5 fans(dual 200mm intake, 200 mm front fan, dual top 140mm fans, side 200mm fan, and rear 120mm exhaust). NZXT includes all the fans with the exception of the top 140mm and also provides a dual fan 8W per channel controller giving enthusiasts freedom to manage intake and exhaust airflow. A three temperature display on the front panel allows the user to see the temperature inside the chassis even when the door is closed. Additionally, the meshed 5.25 bays, door, and bottom panel allows for air to naturally flow into the system with ease. Hades is available now at an MSRP of $89.99( 69.99).

Enthusiasts and gamers have a lot to be excited about with the advanced airflow and control options that Hades brings to the table said Johnny Hou, Chief Designer at NZXT. With an array of options for limitless upgradeability, Hades has the performance and longevity that gamers desire.

Sales of music video games plummet in 2009

The music-game category raked in $1.4 billion in revenue last year, according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, driven largely by sales of "Rock Band 2" and "Guitar Hero World Tour." By the time 2009 comes to a close, Pachter expects the category to make half that -- $700 million -- despite such high-profile releases this fall as "The Beatles: Rock Band," "Guitar Hero 5," "DJ Hero" and "Band Hero," not to mention "Guitar Hero: Van Halen," which is due Tuesday (December 22).

According to data from market analyst NPD Group, sales of these games haven't met expectations. The Beatles game, while selling a respectable 800,000 units of its various versions so far, missed the 1 million mark analysts expected in just the first month after its September 9 debut. "Guitar Hero 5" sold 500,000 units in its first month, compared with the 1.4 million "Guitar Hero III" moved two years ago in its first month. "DJ Hero," the game that was meant to expand the category into the hip-hop genre, moved 123,000 units in the first few days after its late-October release, and analysts at Cowen & Co. slashed their sales forecast for the game from 1.6 million this year to 600,000.

Corsair releases firmware with TRIM support for its Performance Series SSDs

Corsair today announced that it has released firmware with TRIM support and a firmware update tool for its award-winning Performance Series P64, P128 and P256 solid-state drives. The firmware (revisionVBM19C1Q) and update tool were both developed by Samsung, and have been rigorously qualified by both Samsung and Corsair using a large number of test platforms, in conjunction with a controlled end-user BETA test of the new firmware. Corsair also pokes fun at other companies for rushing out firmware updates with disastrous consequences. Anyone want to take a guess at who they are talking about? Corsair last talked about their TRIM firmware with Legit Reviews back in October, so this is a long time coming.

"This new firmware release for Corsair's Performance Series SSDs adds support for the TRIM performance-maintenance command in Microsoft Windows 7, further enhancing what are already some of the fastest and most respected SSDs on the market," said Jim Carlton, VP of Marketing for Corsair. "While other SSD manufacturers have rushed out bug-ridden firmware and update tools, sometimes with disastrous consequences for end-users, Corsair refused to jump on the bandwagon. We took the time to rigorously test and quality our tools, ensuring that our users will have the best experience possible."

NORAD Santa tracking

For what started as a wrong number call to the infamous red phone at NORAD back in 1955 has now grown to over 1200 volunteers to aid kids around the world track Santa on Christmas Eve. In 2007 Google got on board with special maps for both Google Maps and Google Earth. Through the Offical NORAD Santa Tracker site you can find all the different ways they track the big guy on his rounds.

These days, of course, a single red phone isn't enough to handle the demand for the information. In fact, said Joyce Frankovis, the public affairs specialist who runs the Santa tracking program for NORAD these days, there were fully 1,275 people involved in the project in 2008, and there would have been more had there been more room for them.

AXLE GeForce GT 240 Video Card Review

The AXLE GeForce GT 240 is a more than capable card given it is in the $100 budget range. This card brings all the latest and greatest technology from NVIDIA to the table such as full support for HDMI 1.3a, CUDA, PhysX, Direct Compute, 3D Vision and Open CL with great overclocking potential to enhance performance even further. Read on to see how it does!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

IT News HeadLines (Legit Reviews) 23/12/2009

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