IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 17/12/2009

Asus P7H55-M Pro board pictured and priced
And we're back from the commercial break with another H55-powered motherboard ready and willing to expose its PCB. This segment's object of focus is Asus' P7H55-M Pro, a micro ATX board boasting support for 45nm and 32nm LGA 1156 processors and featuring 4+2 phase power backed by an EPU (Energy Processing Unit), the ExpressGate instant-on OS and TurboV overclocking technology.

The new board packs four DDR3-2133 memory slots and one PCI-Express (2.0) x16 slot, six SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1 channel audio, plus D-Sub, DVI and HDMI outputs. While not yet available, the P7H55-M Pro can be found on pre-order priced at 112 Euro.

Picture courtesy of OCWorkbench.

Microsoft off the hook in EU browser investigation
Believe it or not the European Commission is actually ending its probe into Microsoft's browser moves without slapping the Redmond giant with a hefty fine, or even a small fine. The EC has today announced that it is not taking any action against Microsoft in regards to the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows operating systems, but only because the software company has committed to providing European consumers with a real choice when it comes to web browsers.

"Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use," said Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. "Such choice will not only serve to improve people's experience of the internet now but also act as an incentive for web browser companies to innovate and offer people better browsers in the future."

The agreement reached between the EC and Microsoft states that for the next five years the latter will make available to Windows XP, Vista and 7 users a 'Choice Screen' which enables them to choose between several (five) browsers. Delivered via Windows Update, the ballot screen will include IE but also competing browsers so people can pick what software they want to install and surf the web with. In addition, manufacturers will be able to install competing web browsers, set those as default and turn Internet Explorer off.

Microsoft will have to report regularly to the Commission about the implementation of the solution found and will even have to make modifications to the Choice Screen if the EC requests such a thing. If it breaks its 'promise', MS can be hit with a fine of up to 10% of its total annual turnover.

I-O Data preps new external HDDs with hardware encryption
I-O Data has today revealed the HDJ-HSU series of external hard drives which aim to keep your data safe by using hardware AES 256bit encryption. The upcoming drives are enclosed in a 46 (W) x 223 (D) x 155 (H) mm shell, have low noise active cooling, a USB 2.0 interface and are backed by a three-year warranty.

Expected to ship late this month in Japan, the 500GB, 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB HDJ-HSU HDDs will cost about $139, $187, $246 and $496, respectively.

MSI working on Radeon HD 5870 Lightning edition
Tier 1 board maker MSI is cooking up a special Cypress-based treat for next year in the form of the R5870 Lightning, a custom Radeon HD 5870. The upcoming graphics card will feature a proprietary cooler (probably a 2-fan solution), a custom PCB that's taller than the one of stock models, and will make use of two 8-pin PCIe power connectors (dual 6-pin on reference HD 5870s), for overclocking reasons.

The R5870 Lightning will likely be factory overclocked and will boast the 'usual' - 1600 Stream Processors, a 256-bit memory interface, GDDR5 memory, DirectX 11 support, CrossFireX and Eyefinity, as well as DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. More will about the card will probably come about at CES next month so now we wait. Or not.

Adobe confirms 0-day vulnerability in Reader and Acrobat
Adobe Systems has issued a security advisory acknowledging a critical vulnerability affecting Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.2 and earlier versions. The bug, which is already being exploited, can cause application crashes and enable malicious individuals to take control of affected systems.

Adobe is working on a fix which is planned for a January 12 release so for now people can use the JavaScript Blacklist Framework to keep their PC safe. If the JavaScript Blacklist solution isn't an option then you could disable JavaScript in Reader and Acrobat by doing the following:

- Run Acrobat or Adobe Reader
- Select Edit > Preferences
- Select the JavaScript Category
- Uncheck the 'Enable Acrobat JavaScript' option
- Click OK

Sharkoon rolls out the Rush Power M series PSUs
Sharkoon has now introduced the Rush Power M family of modular power supplies which includes 400W, 500W and 600W models. The fresh units are ATX 12V V2.3 compliant, have an efficiency of up to 85%, boast active power factor correction (PFC), dual 12V rails and are cooled off by a 135mm fan.

The 400W, 500W and 600W Rush Power M series PSUs are now shipping and have recommended price tags of 51.90 Euro, 59.90 Euro and 69.90 Euro, respectively.

YouTube thinking of subscription models
While YouTube's immense popularity cannot be denied, its ability to generate good revenue for its owner and partners is debatable, at least with the current ad-based model. The bulk of content provided by YouTube is user-generated and while Google's site wants to keep people creating and uploading clips, it also wants more professional videos like full length movies and TV shows so as to attract even more visitors. Unfortunately, most content makers won't supply such things if they will just be paid with ad money so other solutions are being considered.

According to YouTube co-founder David Eun, one possibility is the introduction of a subscription model that will enable those paying a monthly fee to access movies and TV shows. A renting option is also looking into and this might actually be the most appealing to studios and networks. Whatever the option chosen, it's likely that 2010 will see YouTube providing paid content. Don't worry tough, we'll still be getting free videos of animals doing funny things.

LaCie intros the Rikiki 2.5-inch external HDD
Eye-catching hardware supplier LaCie has returned to the spotlight to unveil Rikiki, an external 2.5-inch hard drives which is claimed to be the most compact in the world. Seen below, the new drive measures 109.7 x 75 x 13.4 mm and weights 158 grams, has a brushed aluminum enclosure, a USB 2.0 interface and is backed by a two-year warranty.

"We are part of a generation that wants more from our electronics, but in the smallest form factor possible, and with a competitive price," said Anne-Sophie Marchand, Consumer Product Manager. "With the LaCie Rikiki, we have done just that by fitting high-performance and high-capacity in the palm of your hand, for under $100."

Speaking of prices, the 250GB, 500GB and 640GB Rikiki drives cost $74.99, $109.99 and $149.99, respectively.

Gigabyte adds USB 3.0 to H57 motherboard
Yesterday we got to see three of Gigabyte's upcoming H55 motherboards and now it's time to raise the stakes and get a glimpse of a more feature-rich and likely more expensive product, the H57-based GA-H57M-USB3. This blue new micro ATX board comes with support for LGA 1156 processors, has four DDR3 memory slots and two PCI-Express x16 slots for CrossFireX setups, and features a 2oz copper PCB.

As it says in the title, Gigabyte's H57 offer also boasts two USB 3.0 ports and comes with one eSATA and seven SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, Gigabit Ethernet, DualBIOS, 7.1 channel audio, plus D-Sub, DVI and HDMI outputs. The GA-H57M-USB3's pricing and release date are not yet confirmed but you should be able to see this model in stores late this month or in early January.

Broadcom announces two feature-rich Blu-Ray SoCs
Broadcom is upping the ante when it comes to Blu-Ray player solutions by bringing to the table the first 'true' single die BD chips - BCM7630 and BCM7632. Both new SoC (System-on-Chip) offer top notch optical front-end and back-end decoding, support Internet streaming via WiFi, include Bluetooth, and can handle BD-Live, Netflix 2.0, Pandora Internet Radio, Vudu and CinemaNow. The BCM7632 also comes with a nice extra in the form of 3D Blu-Ray support.

The BCM7630 chip is currently in production while the BCM7632 silicon is sampling.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 17/12/2009

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