Saturday, July 10, 2010

IT News HeadLines (HotHardware) 10/07/2010


HotHardware
Samsung Plans To Captivate AT&T Users On July 18
AT&T's first high-end Android-powered smartphone, the Samsung Captivate, is coming on July 18. That's right, in just over a week you'll be able to get your hands on AT&T's version of the Super AMOLED Galaxy S smartphone. This feature-filled phone has a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen and 16GB of internal storage. The Captivate was announced in late June and is part of Samsung's Galaxy S line. Although the phone had been previously announced, AT&T just recently revealed
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Dell Teams with T-Shirt Designer to Dress Up Laptops
Dell's Studio line has always been about both form and function, and now an even greater emphasis is being placed on the aesthetic design. In a joint collaboration with Threadless, Dell is sprucing up its Studio laptop line with "11 inspired designs," each one created and submitted by members of the Threadless community. "The Threadless community creates unique, critically-acclaimed original designs. By teaming with Threadless and offering exclusive designs through Design Studio, we enable students and families
Read More ...


Multitouch Making Its Way to OLPC Laptops
Chris Ball, the Lead Software Engineer for the OLPC project, made a series of announcements this week about the direction the low-cost laptop is taking, not the least of which is the addition of a multitouch display. That's right folks, the next iteration of the XO laptop -- XO-1.75 -- will sport a touchscreen display, and so will upcoming XO tablets. "We've begun working on modifications to Sugar to enable touchscreen and multitouch use (the XO-1.75 will have a touchscreen, as will future OLPC tables based
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Android Phone Loaded With Porn Sold to Michigan Woman
Apple probably needs a laugh about now, and this might be giving them one.  After all, Apple CEO Steve Jobs once famously said that "Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone." This Ann Arbor, Michigan woman didn't buy an Android phone for porn, but got it anyway, and preloaded to boot. The reason that Rhonda Lee ended up with porn on her phone is that the HTC EVO 4G she bought wan't new. She bought it from a third-party (read: not corporate) Sprint store, and they said it was new, but that was
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MSI Debuts GT660 Gaming Laptop With Core i7 CPU
MSI's notebook line seems to grow larger by the day, and today's no different. This time, the company is adding another option for multi-media lovers and gamers, as the GT660 is ready to handle the latest 3D titles as well as 1080p HD content. The company is using Intel's powerful Core i7 as the CPU, and Dynaudio has been chosen for the sound system. It's also wrapped in one of the more interesting looking enclosures, with loads of black and red to really spice things up. Outside of the Core i7 processor, there's
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Bluetooth 4.0 Now Ready For Development; Products Coming This Year
Are you ready to learn about yet another protocol? Believe it or not, it's time. Bluetooth SIG, the entity behind all of the Bluetooth releases that we know and love (or don't know) has just revealed that version 4.0 is ready to be adopted. What's crazy is that version 3.0 was in this same position early last year, yet to date only a handful of devices (like the Samsung Wave smartphone) have shipped with Bluetooth 3.0 support. It's hard to say why the Bluetooth SIG is moving on so quickly. Bluetooth 2.0 garnered
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AT&T Claims Alcatel-Lucent Software Bug To Blame For Sluggish Uploads
If you have been paying attention to the mobile news flow this week, you're probably aware that AT&T has been dealt another beating. Yes, another one. The company already takes a lot of flack for reportedly dropping calls in congested cities and the like, and now consumers are claiming that AT&T is throttling their 3G upload speeds, particularly noticeable on the iPhone 4 which has a SpeedTest app to prove it. The numbers started out small, generally in New York City. Most people assumed that it was
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ThinkFlood RedEye Mini Makes Your iPhone A Universal Remote
Apple's iPhone has become a lot more than a phone. The original iPhone set a new bar for all smartphones to meet, and companies have been striving to live up to that ever since. In more recent history, however, mobile operating systems like WebOS and Android 2.2 have really begun to push iOS 4 in terms of providing real competition, but there's one thing Apple has that the other companies have yet to grasp: the love of the peripheral market. Without question, there are simply more iPhone, iPad and iPod accessories
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Clearwire 4G/Wi-Fi Personal Mobile Hot Spots Now Available
Are you looking for a way to deliver 4G connectivity to your laptop, netbook, smartphone, or other connected device? The new CLEAR Spot 4G and CLEAR Spot 4G+ mobile hot spots are now available from Clearwire. The CLEAR Spot 4G lets you connect up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to the CLEAR network for high-speed Internet access. The CLEAR Spot 4G+ gives you greater connectivity, letting you connect to CLEAR's 4G network or Sprint's 3G nationwide network outside of the 4G coverage area. The CLEAR Spot 4G+ supports
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Asus ARES Dual Radeon HD 5870 4GB Review
Back in April, we first gave you a glimpse of the extreme Asus ARES dual-Radeon HD 5870 GPU powered graphics card, complete with some preliminary benchmarks. At the time, the specifications weren't quite finalized and there was little word about availability in the U.S., but the card's impressive configuration immediately piqued our interest. The ARES was, after all, a "true dual-Radeon HD 5870" CrossFire setup on a single PCB. The Radeon HD 5970 was / is the fastest single graphics card on the market, and the
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Onkyo Offers Tidy 3D Home Theater in a Box, Just Add Electricity
Half the fun in putting together your ultimate home theater setup is piecing together parts you hand selected after auditioning each one (you don't just buy audio components based on paper specs and price, do you?). It's similar to rolling your own rig, but if you're just not into that sort of thing, or don't have the time, there are packaged home theaters out there other than the ones you'll find at Walmart, and ones that presumably don't suck. Enter Onkyo, a name any audio enthusiast is familiar with. Addressing
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T-Mobile to "Charm" Customers with BlackBerry Lookalike
Just because it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck doesn't mean it's a duck at all. And by that same token, Motorola's newest smartphone sure looks like a BlackBerry and has a physical keyboard like a BlackBerry, but this ain't not BlackBerry, folks. It's Motorola's Charm, and it's headed to T-Mobile's network. And while the outside looks like something RIM would put out, the inside is completely different, starting with the OS. Motorola's Charm comes built around Google's Android 2.1 platform and is the
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Asus ARES Dual Radeon HD 5870 4GB Review
Back in April, we first gave you a glimpse of the extreme Asus ARES dual-Radeon HD 5870 GPU powered graphics card, complete with some preliminary benchmarks. At the time, the specifications weren't quite finalized and there was little word about availability in the U.S., but the card's impressive configuration immediately piqued our interest. The ARES was, after all, a "true dual-Radeon HD 5870" CrossFire setup on a single PCB. The Radeon HD 5970 was / is the fastest single graphics card on the market, and the
Read More ...


Desktop replacement: dual or quad core?
I am planning to buy a new laptop this weekend, and I want a desktop replacement - just tired of small screens and low performance, and, unfortunately, I simply do not have a desk to put a high-end desktop. If I was to buy a desktop, it would certainly be equipped with a Core i7-860 2.8 GHz processor. While I cannot replicate such power in a notebook, I am trapped in a dilemma of choosing between four cores or a high clock speed. In a desktop, it seems to me that such dilemma does not exist, since the processors can use more power and have higher clock speeds: it would be worth more to have a 2.66 GHz or a 2.8 GHz four-core than a 3.2 GHz or a 3.33 GHz dual-core. But in laptops, it's a completely different story.

The contenders are basically the Core i7-620m and the Core i7-720QM (or the i7-740QM), and the runner-up is the Core i7-820QM (and i7-840QM), if it is really worth it.

I have done extensive research on the Internet. The sources are not many, but it led to to some conclusions.

The Core i7-720QM 1.6 GHz has 4 cores and 8 threads, but a low clock speed (1.6 GHz) that can be increased up to 1.73 GHz with all cores operating. It can go as high as 2.4 GHz with only two cores. The Core i7-620M, on the other hand, has a clock speed of 2.66 GHz, which can be increased up to 3.06 GHz with Turbo Boost using all cores.

Theoretically, the i7-720QM would be a superior processor. Intel has put a higher number to identify it (7 instead of 6... duh...). Four cores operating at 1.6 GHz equals to 6.4 GHz (in the case of i7-720QM), while two cores operating at 2.66 GHz equals to only 5.33 GHz (in the case of 620M); with Turbo Boost, the i7-720QM would sum it up to 6.92 GHz and the i7-620M to 6.12 GHz - still a big gap in performance. In addition, the i7-720QM has 6 MB L3 cache while the i7-620M has 4 MB. But that's just theory. In real life, things are a little bit different.

I do have a Core 2 Duo right now and I see Windows making extensive use of the two cores. However, I suspect that even the most advanced software are not 100% optimized for multi-core and multi-threading processing. A clock speed of 1.6 GHz could be a disadvantage in this scenario, especially comparing to the much higher clock speed of the i7-620M. The i7-620M has a clock speed which may be 1.33 GHz higher than the Core i7-720QM, and that seems to me a big difference.

I've read that the i7-620M would be better for single-threaded or lightly multi-threaded applications, due to its higher clock speed. Some sources say that the i7-720QM would be the better choice for heavily multi-threaded apps, while others say that, due to the huge difference in clock speed, the i7-620M would be the winner even in those cases.

There are other factors which must be taken into consideration, of course. The i7-720QM has 6 MB of L3 cache, while the i7-620M has only 4 MB, and that makes a difference - however, I do not know whether this additional 2 MB make it up for the huge gap in clock speed. The i7-720QM also supports 1333 MHz memory, while the i7-620M supports only 1066 MHz memory, and I do not know how this will affect the performance - some sources even say this is irrelevant.

The i7-620M is a 32nm, 35W, processor, and consumes less power than the 45nm, 45W, i7-720QM. It means less heat and more battery life, of course. But, in terms of performance, less heat and less power consumption could mean that the i7-620M could achieve its top Turbo Boost performance more easily than the i7-720QM. As a result, it would be more likely for the less-power hungry i7-620M to achieve the 3.06 GHz Turbo Boost performance than the i7-720QM to achieve the 1.73 GHz.

I've seem some benchmarks on the Internet. In Passmark Software's website, the Core i7-720QM scores higher than the i7-620M, but I am afraid these numbers reflect a theoretical performance that nobody will ever get to achieve in day-to-day situations. Notebookcheck has done some comparison too and it ranks the i7-620M in a higher position than the i7-720QM. The i7-720QM scored higher than the i7-620M in most tests, but Notebookcheck thought the i7-620M would be a superior processor - perhaps it thought the i7-620M would be faster in real-life situations.

I have not yet come to a conclusion. I am leaning towards the i7-620M, as it would be a faster processor than the i7-720QM in most situations. I suspect I do not use very multi-threaded applications; however, I do extensive use of multi-tasking. It is very often to me to keep Microsoft Office applications, a web browser, a multimedia player, Adobe Reader and other applications opened simultaneosly. And I like them all to run very fast all the time...

Now that I have done this research and that I still can't reach a conclusion, I would like some help. Are the conclusions I came up with (above) correct? Which of these processors would be faster and which one would be the better choice? And how these processors would compare to mine (a Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4 GHz)? Thank you for the help!

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Dell Teams with T-Shirt Designer to Dress Up Laptops
Dell's Studio line has always been about both form and function, and now an even greater emphasis is being placed on the aesthetic design. In a joint collaboration with Threadless, Dell is sprucing up its Studio laptop line with "11 inspired designs," each one created and submitted by members of the Threadless community.

"The Threadless community creates unique, critically-acclaimed original designs. By teaming with Threadless and offering exclusive designs through Design Studio, we enable students and families an exciting way to differentiate their Dell Mini or Studio laptop PCs," said Rachna Bhasin, general manager, strategic partnerships and personalization. “We are also excited to enable passionate artists to share their inspiration.


Unlike vinyl skins, Dell's Design Studio images, including the Threadless line, come permanently imprinted into the laptop lid.

Dell and Graphics T-Shirt Powerhouse Threadless Team up to Deliver “Nude No More” Laptops


Studio Laptops and Inspiron Mini Netbooks Customized with Popular Crowd-Sourced Artwork Only Available on dell.com

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blending technology, art and fashion, Dell and Threadless have teamed up to offer students and budding artists a unique way to make an eye-catching statement with their personal technology. Available immediately in the Dell Design Studio, people can choose from a diverse collection of original graphic creations from the popular community-based design website Threadless to customize the look of their laptop.

“As we move into our second decade, this is an amazing opportunity for Threadless artists to expose their designs to a broader audience while giving Dell customers the ability to personalize their Dell laptops in a cool way.”

The Threadless Collection adds 11 inspired designs, each uniquely crafted by individual members of the Threadless community to the more than 200 lid choices from Dell’s Design Studio. Art titles include, Daisy by Bryan Ische, Stone Jungle by André da Silva Cruz, and Grandma’s Hot Air Balloon by featured student artist Brent Schoepf. The Design Studio will regularly refresh its Threadless Collection with the best and newest selections from the Threadless community.

Celebrating its 10th year, Threadless has an ongoing open-call for t-shirt design submissions from its worldwide community of more than 80,000 amazing artists and designers. More than 1 million Threadless community members vote regularly on their favorite design submissions with the best and coolest designs selected for printing and sale by the Threadless online retail store.

“The Threadless community creates unique, critically-acclaimed original designs. By teaming with Threadless and offering exclusive designs through Design Studio, we enable students and families an exciting way to differentiate their Dell Mini or Studio laptop PCs,” said Rachna Bhasin, general manager, strategic partnerships and personalization. “We are also excited to enable passionate artists to share their inspiration.”

“We’re very excited to team with Dell in giving Threadless designers a new canvas to showcase their art: the laptop cover,” said Jake Nickell, founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Threadless. “As we move into our second decade, this is an amazing opportunity for Threadless artists to expose their designs to a broader audience while giving Dell customers the ability to personalize their Dell laptops in a cool way.”

Dell Design Studio is an immersive online shopping experience similar to touring an art gallery. Customers can interactively view and select from hundreds of designs, artists, colors and patterns that can turn a Dell Mini or Dell Studio laptop PC into a personalized fashion accessory. Images are permanently imprinted into the laptop lid, making the design extremely durable.

Dell is also joining the Threadless Everywhere Tour as a sponsor. The tour, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of Threadless, runs from July 2 - Oct. 9 with stops nationwide at art shows, socials, music festivals, comic conventions and other events.

The Dell Design Studio currently offers more than 200 graphically unique, original designs and colors from independent artists and partners. Individual who want to personalize their laptop can choose from categories that include unique, cutting edge colors from OPI, dazzling Major League Baseball team designs, Illuminations, patriotic country designs, classics and special (PRODUCT) RED ™ signature artwork.

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Bluetooth 4.0 Now Ready For Development; Products Coming This Year
Are you ready to learn about yet another protocol? Believe it or not, it's time. Bluetooth SIG, the entity behind all of the Bluetooth releases that we know and love (or don't know) has just revealed that version 4.0 is ready to be adopted. What's crazy is that version 3.0 was in this same position early last year, yet to date only a handful of devices (like the Samsung Wave smartphone) have shipped with Bluetooth 3.0 support.


It's hard to say why the Bluetooth SIG is moving on so quickly. Bluetooth 2.0 garnered an incredible amount of support. Nearly every major and minor portable electronics product shipping today has a BT 2.0 module (or BT 2.1), but despite the promise of power gains and increased speed with Bluetooth 3.0, the protocol never really seemed to take off. Usually benefits like that are easy to sell, but for whatever reason, most of the industry felt that Bluetooth 2.0 was simply good enough.


Now, the Bluetooth SIG is hoping to move on with Bluetooth 4.0, and unlike 3.0, this new protocol is specifically designed to fit into even smaller devices. So we're guessing that it won't be long before keyfobs, pocket watches and RFID metro cards have Bluetooth in them as well. Now, we could seriously see this taking off. Giving Bluetooth to products that couldn't use it before due to size issues opens up an entirely new market for the standard, and the "low energy technology" also means that it will be less draining for any device using BT. Early reports are suggesting that the first Bluetooth 4.0 products could ship as early as Q4 2010, or just in time for the holiday rush.

BLUETOOTH SIG OPENS QUALIFICATION PROGRAM FOR BLUETOOTH CORE SPECIFICATION VERSION 4.0

Kirkland, WA, USA

Hallmark Low Energy Feature Opens Doors to New Applications in Health Care, Fitness, Security and Home Entertainment

Kirkland, WA, July 6, 2010 - The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) today announced the formal adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0, with the hallmark feature, low energy technology. This final step in the adoption process signals to Bluetooth SIG members that the Bluetooth SIG Qualification Program is now open for qualification of all Bluetooth product types to the Version 4.0 Specification.

"The finalization of Bluetooth low energy wireless technology within the Core Specification is a monumental achievement," said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director, Bluetooth SIG. "Bluetooth wireless technology can now, with the hard work of our members and our world-class qualification program, really do it all."

Members may visit Bluetooth.org to download specification details from the Adopted Specifications web page. Test documentation, including requirements and tools to support member qualification efforts, is available on the member site as well.
Market Opportunity
In a report out last week from West Technology Research Solutions, the opportunity for Bluetooth low energy technology, the hallmark feature of Version 4.0, was found to be considerable. Said Kirsten West, principal analyst with WTRS: "Bluetooth low energy will be a significant contributor to the overall Wireless Sensor Network market, representing nearly half of all shipments in 2015. The advantage to this new protocol is that it is totally optimized for low power battery operation."

The hallmark feature enhancement to the Specification, Bluetooth low energy technology opens entirely new markets for devices requiring low cost and low power wireless connectivity, creating an evolution in Bluetooth wireless technology that will enable a plethora of new applications – some not even possible or imagined today. Many markets such as health care, sports and fitness, security, and home entertainment will be enhanced with the availability of small coin-cell battery powered wireless products and sensors now enabled by Bluetooth wireless technology.

Bluetooth low energy wireless technology, the hallmark feature of the v4.0 Bluetooth Core Specification, features:

• Ultra-low peak, average and idle mode power consumption
• Ability to run for years on standard coin-cell batteries
• Low cost
• Multi-vendor interoperability
• Enhanced range

Interoperability Testing and Qualification
Bluetooth SIG members may perform interoperability testing utilizing this adopted Bluetooth Core Specification at the SIG's 37th testing event, UnPlugFest (UPF) 37. This UPF is scheduled for 04-08 October, 2010, in Barcelona, Spain. Members are encouraged to use this opportunity to test their devices against the new Bluetooth v4.0 implementations as well as against current Bluetooth devices from the organization's device library.

For intensive, hands-on testing and qualification training, Bluetooth SIG members can take part in ATLAS, the Advanced Training Lab and Services program offered by the Bluetooth SIG. The one-week training program at the Bluetooth SIG labs in Kirkland, WA, leaves participants with the knowledge to develop their own Bluetooth testing and qualification expertise and ultimately build better Bluetooth products at lower qualification costs.

About Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
Bluetooth wireless technology is the global short-range wireless standard for personal connectivity of a broad range of electronic devices. The technology continues to evolve, building on its inherent strengths – small-form factor radio, low power, low cost, built-in security, robustness, ease-of-use, and ad hoc networking abilities. This evolution now provides manufacturers and consumers with three options for connecting wirelessly – Classic Bluetooth technology for use in a wide range of consumer electronics; Bluetooth high speed technology for the transfer of video, music and photos between phones, cameras, camcorders, PCs and TVs; and Bluetooth low energy technology for low power sensor devices and new web services within the healthcare, fitness, security, home entertainment, automotive and automation industries. More than eight new Bluetooth enabled products are qualified every working day and more than 19 million Bluetooth units are shipping per week. There are nearly three billion Bluetooth devices in the marketplace and that number climbs daily, making it the only proven wireless choice for developers, product manufacturers, and consumers worldwide.

About Bluetooth low energy Wireless Technology
Bluetooth low energy technology is a new low energy enhancement to the Bluetooth wireless technology Core Specification that paves the way to a vast new market for watches, remote controls, and healthcare and sports sensors. It has the potential to communicate with the hundreds of millions of Bluetooth enabled mobile phones, PCs and PDAs that are shipped each year. Consuming minimal power, it offers long-lasting connectivity, dramatically extending the range of potential applications and opening the door to brand new web services. Bluetooth low energy features ultra-low peak, average and idle mode power consumption; ultra-low cost plus small size for accessories and human interface devices (HIDs); minimal cost and size addition to handsets and PCs; global, intuitive and secure multi-vendor interoperability.

About the Bluetooth SIG
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), comprised of leaders in the telecommunications, computing, consumer electronics, automotive and network industries, is driving development of Bluetooth wireless technology and bringing it to market. The Bluetooth SIG includes Promoter member companies Ericsson, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba, along with over 13,000 Associate and Adopter member companies. The Bluetooth SIG, Inc. headquarters are located in Kirkland, Washington, U.S.A. For more information please visit www.bluetooth.com.

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Multitouch Making Its Way to OLPC Laptops
Chris Ball, the Lead Software Engineer for the OLPC project, made a series of announcements this week about the direction the low-cost laptop is taking, not the least of which is the addition of a multitouch display. That's right folks, the next iteration of the XO laptop -- XO-1.75 -- will sport a touchscreen display, and so will upcoming XO tablets.

"We've begun working on modifications to Sugar to enable touchscreen and multitouch use (the XO-1.75 will have a touchscreen, as will future OLPC tables based on its design), and we'll continue to do so," Ball said. "The first outcome from this work is Sayamindu Dasgupta's port of the Meego Virtual Keyboard to Sugar -- you can see a screencast of it in action here."


In addition, Bell indicated that Fedora will continue to serve as the base distribution for XO-1.75 as the platform transitions from x86 hardware to ARM. Since ARM is not a release architecture in Fedora, Bell said the OLPC project is hard at work helping out with a port.

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Asus ARES Dual Radeon HD 5870 4GB Review
Asus ARES Dual Radeon HD 5870 4GB ReviewBack in April, we first gave you a glimpse of the extreme Asus ARES dual-Radeon HD 5870 GPU powered graphics card, complete with some preliminary benchmarks. At the time, the specifications weren't quite finalized and there was little word about availability in the U.S., but the card's impressive configuration immediately piqued our interest. The ARES was, after all, a "true dual-Radeon HD 5870" CrossFire setup on a single PCB. The Radeon HD 5970 was / is the fastest single graphics card on the market, and the Asus ARES would clearly offer more performance due to its increased number of stream processor cores and potentially higher clocks.

Over the long holiday weekend, we received word that Asus had decided to introduce the ARES in the U.S. market. And much to our satisfaction one of the cards was en route to the HotHardware labs. We have only had a short time with the card, but it is exactly the type of product we know the hardest of the hardcore among you are dying to check out. So, we immediately ripped the box open and plugged it into one of our test rigs to see just what it could do. Here's a hint--this baby is freakin' Fast, with a capital F...

Asus ARES Dual Radeon HD 5870 4GB Review

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Kenny G: The Internet Is Not Dead
Earlier this week, we told you about Prince's comments indicating he thinks the Internet is a fad. We obviously disagree. And while it's not surprising, we're certainly not alone in believing the Internet is here to stay. Other artists believe the Internet can help them promote their music as well.
In a recent internet, saxophonist Kenny G candidly joked about Prince's comments. As Kenny G put it, if the Internet is dead "then I must be dead, too, 'cause I use it all the time." With a laugh, he added "Maybe I've got a sixth sense, and I only see dead people. I don't know."
Although the 54-year-old's audience may not be as Internet or download savvy as fans of Justin Beiber or Lady Gaga's fans, he realizes he must use the Internet to promote his music. To that end, Kenny G says he will do what it takes to stay connected. With any luck, this strategy will pay off with his latest album, the R&B-flavored "Heart & Soul."

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Samsung Plans To Captivate AT&T Users On July 18
AT&T's first high-end Android-powered smartphone, the Samsung Captivate, is coming on July 18. That's right, in just over a week you'll be able to get your hands on AT&T's version of the Super AMOLED Galaxy S smartphone.
This feature-filled phone has a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen and 16GB of internal storage. The Captivate was announced in late June and is part of Samsung's Galaxy S line. Although the phone had been previously announced, AT&T just recently revealed the smartphone will be available starting July 18.
As is typical of high-end smartphones, the Captivate will run $200 with a two-year contract and qualifying plan. In a move that's not quite as common, AT&T is offering this phone without the need to send in a mail-in rebate.
The Captivate runs on Android 2.1 and features a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor. In addition to the typical Android pre-loaded software such as Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Talk, the Captivate will come with Samsung's Social Hub which integrates email, instant messaging, social network updates, and SMS messages into a single location. The Captivate will also come with AT&T Address Book and AT&T Navigate.
In terms of connectivity, the Captivate supports AT&T's 7.2 Mbps 3G network, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. The Captivate has a 5 megapixel camera and the ability to record 720p HD video. Other features include a microSD expansion slot, GPS receiver, six-axis sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope.
Samsung recently announced plans to launch four smartphones with Galaxy S specs in the US market. Each of the phones will be on a different network - the Captivate for AT&T, Fascinate for Verizon, Epic 4G for Sprint, and Vibrant for T-Mobile. The Vibrant comes out on July 21, though some sites have reported that T-Mobile may push up the release date to July 15 in an effort to better compete with smartphones such as the Droid X. It will also cost $199.99. Verizon and Sprint have yet to announce release dates or pricing for their respective Galaxy S devices, the Samsung Fascinate and the Samsung Epic 4G.

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Clearwire 4G/Wi-Fi Personal Mobile Hot Spots Now Available
Are you looking for a way to deliver 4G connectivity to your laptop, netbook, smartphone, or other connected device? The new CLEAR Spot 4G and CLEAR Spot 4G+ mobile hot spots are now available from Clearwire. The CLEAR Spot 4G lets you connect up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to the CLEAR network for high-speed Internet access. The CLEAR Spot 4G+ gives you greater connectivity, letting you connect to CLEAR's 4G network or Sprint's 3G nationwide network outside of the 4G coverage area. The CLEAR Spot 4G+ supports up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously.
Clearwire Announces Nationwide Availability of 4G/Wi-Fi Personal Mobile Hot Spots
CLEAR Spots Now Available in CLEAR Retail Stores, from CLEAR Authorized Dealers and at CLEAR.com
KIRKLAND, Wash.--Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), a leading provider of wireless broadband services, today announced the in-store and online availability of the CLEAR Spot 4G and CLEAR Spot 4G+ mobile hot spots. The company also announced that it has begun filling pre-orders for both devices.
The CLEAR Spot 4G and CLEAR Spot 4G+ bring super fast speeds and 4G connectivity to Wi-Fi enabled laptops, netbooks, smartphones, portable gaming and other connected devices – without the worries or hassles of tiered or capped data usage plans.
CLEAR Spot 4G
The CLEAR Spot 4G is a personal mobile hotspot allowing users to easily and securely share unlimited super fast Internet access anywhere CLEAR has coverage simultaneously with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The CLEAR Spot 4G costs $99.99 or can be leased for $4.99 a month. Monthly CLEAR service plans start at $40 per month.
CLEAR Spot 4G+
The CLEAR Spot 4G+ allows power users and road warriors to stay connected across the U.S. by automatically switching from 4G and connecting to Sprint’s 3G nationwide network outside the 4G coverage area. The CLEAR Spot 4G+ enables users to securely share the connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices at the same time. The CLEAR Spot 4G+ costs $224.99 or can be leased for $5.99 a month. Monthly CLEAR service plans start at $55 per month.
Both devices can be ordered online at www.clear.com/spot or purchased nationwide at CLEAR retail stores and authorized dealers beginning today.
For more information about CLEAR, visit www.clear.com. Company information about Clearwire is available at www.clearwire.com. For press and broadcast: product images, video footage and company logos can be downloaded from the Clearwire Newsroom. To subscribe to Clearwire's RSS news feed, click here.

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MSI Debuts GT660 Gaming Laptop With Core i7 CPU
MSI's notebook line seems to grow larger by the day, and today's no different. This time, the company is adding another option for multi-media lovers and gamers, as the GT660 is ready to handle the latest 3D titles as well as 1080p HD content. The company is using Intel's powerful Core i7 as the CPU, and Dynaudio has been chosen for the sound system. It's also wrapped in one of the more interesting looking enclosures, with loads of black and red to really spice things up.


Outside of the Core i7 processor, there's an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M with 1GB of GDDR3 VRAM, three DDR3 RAM slots, a 16" HD LED-backlit display, a pair (yes, two!) 500GB SATA HDDs, a 4-in-1 multi-card reader, HDMI/VGA output, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, audio in/out, a 9-cell battery and an HD webcam. There's also 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and a Cooler Boost technology to keep things from boiling over with all of that power underneath.

For those needing a little more power, MSI's TDE+ technology (Turbo Drive Engine+) can be used to throttle up processor and display chip performance instantly. There's no posted price and ship date just yet, but both of those should be made available soon.


The Sound of Speed - MSI’s GT660
The Ultimate in Multimedia Entertainment

Anybody who has ever been behind the wheel of a snazzy sports car knows that to really enjoy the ride, you have to crank up the tunes on your onboard surround-sound stereo as you cruise at high speeds. With the Intel Core i7 processor under the hood, MSI’s GT660 gaming notebook not only hums like a well-tuned sports car, its body is graced with cool lines that leave other laptops eating its dust. It’s the racecar of notebooks and it’s the only NB on the market to come equipped with high-fidelity surround sound from world-class sound system designer Dynaudio. At the touch of a finger, you can enjoy the ultimate in sound and speed.

The speed of sound, the sound of speed

MSI’s design team received Germany’s iF Product Design Award for 2010—the design world’s equivalent of an Oscar, thereby, underscoring its innovation capabilities. In designing the GT660, our team merged the ultimate in art with the height of technology to offer you a combination heretofore found only in supercars.

Forged 3D supercar exterior: MSI’s glowing white logo is set in the center of the GT660’s cover which itself resembles a sports car hood with raised a black diamond trident above a glowing red slash. Around the ebony exterior are other strategically placed ruby red LED lights that smolder to the sounds emitted by the laptop. Furthermore, MSI’s exclusive hip color film print coating accentuates the GT660’s riveting sports car exterior. Design details, like the rhombic pattern on the wrist rest areas and high tech brush finish on the touchpad, add class and texture and underscore the GT660’s awesome presence.

A match made in sound heaven

The GT660 is stealing the spotlight and the hearts of gamers everywhere. Part of the reason stems from the fact that MSI worked in coordination with world-renowned sound system technology Dynaudio to produce the GT660’s high-fidelity, surround-sound design.

Ultimate Dynaudio sound: Dynaudio is not only the apex of the sound system world, it’s the preferred choice for handmade supercars around the world and its work frequently graces Hollywood blockbusters. In another world first, MSI has now integrated Dynaudio’s surround-sound technology into the GT660 for unprecedented pristine sound.

Superior sound system: The MSI/Dynaudio R&D team performed meticulous studies to determine the ideal locations for the GT660’s speakers. Structural details were tweaked to optimize sound and the sound system field to obtain obstruction-free sound transmission. More than 10,000 precision calculations went into determining the ideal location between NB and user and then to redesign the sound card circuitry to maximize the relationship between the speakers and system. Each frequency was tested thoroughly to obtain ideal tone and balance to ensure balanced tone and to produce a high quality driver with next to no coloration. So no matter what kind of music you listen to, you’ll get clean, crisp, high-fidelity sound at all frequency levels.

Powerful hardware

In addition to the cool body and amazing surround sound, the GT660 also boasts the ultimate in hardware under the hood, giving it horsepower and blazing speed.

The world’s most advanced Intel Core i7 quad core processor: Specialized laboratory testing shows that the Intel Core i7 processor boasts superior multimedia performance, so it can retrieve data from Blu-ray disks, produce photo projection macros, or update online photo albums twice as fast as conventional duo core notebooks. The Intel Core i7 processor also comes with Turbo Boost dynamic performance adjustment technology which flexibly adjusts processing performance in accordance with application load requirements. This function can further boost processing performance by 30%, so you won’t be plagued with choppy graphics when you’re trying to enjoy a multimedia experience.

Advanced nVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card: The MSI GT660 comes equipped with nVIDIA’s most advanced GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card with a 128 stream processor and 1GB GDDR3 of display memory. As a result, not only does the GT660 boast high performance graphics capabilities, the NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology totally unleashes the graphics core power, enabling the GT660 to handle high load tasks, such as video file conversion, quickly and smoothly. Furthermore, the GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card supports NVIDIA® PhysX™ technology to take gamers into an all-new world of extreme interactive gaming, using super dynamic and realistic graphics.

Three DDR3 memory slots: To provide gamers with powerful gaming capabilities, the GT660 comes with three DDR3 memory slots to expand memory up to 12GB to double performance, giving this laptop the computing power of a server.

TDE+ offers instantaneous performance boost

The GT660 gamebook boasts the best core hardware in the world as well as MSI’s own ultimate weapon—TDE+ technology, which kicks in dual overclocking for both processor and graphics card.

TDE+ overclocking technology: The MSI GT660 is the world’s first NB to come with dual overclocking for processor and display performance. Just a touch of the luminescent turbo hotkey situated above the keyboard kicks in MSI’s exclusive TDE+ technology (Turbo Drive Engine+ technology) to throttle up processor and display chip performance instantly, so that your NB stays highly responsive when you’re using high load applications and can be your secret weapon when you’re slashing orcs or cruising the cosmos.

Cooler Boost technology: In addition to MSI’s TDE technology, MSI incorporated its exclusive Cooler Boost technology into the powerful GT660. Just one touch of the hotkey switches on the GT660’s impressive cooling capabilities to keep the GT660 operating at low temperatures even when working for long periods of time under hot conditions.

An age of high definition and high fidelity

The MSI GT660 features the most advanced high definition hardware and high fidelity multimedia technology.

Accelerated dual hard disk architecture: Two hard drives are better than one. The dual hard disk architecture design gives the GT660’s twice the memory and accelerates read-write speed. The GT660 also comes equipped with USB3.0 slots which can transfer data at 5GB a second—more than ten times faster than the conventional USB2.0, and which provides 80% more power to recharge handheld devices. Now data transfer and battery recharging is, oh, so much faster.

Multiple HD hardware: The MSI GT660 is equipped with a wide cinema-class 16:9 ratio LED display. Not only are colors rich and crisp, you don’t have those pesky black bars at the top and bottom or your screen when viewing HD films. Images are true-to-life, the Blu-ray drive comes optional, and the HD720p webcam allows you to enjoy fast, smooth, bright, and high fidelity web calls with friends and family. If you want more than a high definition computer screen to view films, the MSI GT660 also comes with an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port, so any high-fidelity, high-definition videos can be played on your NB, but viewed via a cable on a large-screen LCD television screen.

Beat it! World champion gamer challenge

MSI’s meticulously crafted MSI GT660 has challenged the high tech industry by setting the bar for gamebooks. Now, you also have the opportunity to challenge world gaming champions.

Beat it! World Champion Challenge: From now until 20 August 2010, you can organize a team to challenge world gaming champions. Regardless of age, gender, nationality, or where you are in the world, you can discuss gaming strategies and tactics and go toe-to-toe with electronic gaming champions Fnatic.MSI from Europe and the Evil Geniuses from the US. Not only will you have a chance to beat the reigning world champions and win great prizes, you will also have the opportunity to take part in the MSI Beat it! Finals to be held in Beijing, China in early September. For rules and details for signing up, please go to www.beatit.msi.com.

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Android Phone Loaded With Porn Sold to Michigan Woman
Apple probably needs a laugh about now, and this might be giving them one.  After all, Apple CEO Steve Jobs once famously said that "Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone." This Ann Arbor, Michigan woman didn't buy an Android phone for porn, but got it anyway, and preloaded to boot.

The reason that Rhonda Lee ended up with porn on her phone is that the HTC EVO 4G she bought wan't new. She bought it from a third-party (read: not corporate) Sprint store, and they said it was new, but that was obviously not the case.

There were five video clips on the phone, some as long as 12 minutes. Worse, Lee ended up discovering the clips when she was showing the device, which has been sold out for a great deal of its "lifespan," to co-workers.



Lee tried to return it to the third party store, but employees first denied that the phone had been used. Later, they 'fessed up and said it had been returned by another customer. Meanwhile, Lee is still looking for an apology from Sprint (realistically, it's unclear why as this is obviously not a corporate store), the Sprint corporate offices told her she could get a replacement phone at one of their stores.

This isn't the first such case we've heard of, about some electronic device being passed off as new, and coming loaded with some sort of dross from the prior owner (not necessarily porn, by the way). Not only is this a cautionary tale for buyers, it's one for people who might sell or donate their used electronics: make sure you wipe them of any data before you do so.

Of course, this isn't the type of porn Steve Jobs was referring to. The Apple CEO was speaking about complaints about the draconian App Store approval policies, which he said prevent porn and other such content from reaching the iPhone or other iDevice.

However, that totally ignores the fact that just as with the HTC EVO 4G, an enterprising person can easily load porn movies on it. Let's also not forget that the iPhone can readily surf to porn sites, if necessary. Heck, the porn industry will even support HTML5 soon, which is ideal for the iPad or iPhone since they don't support Adobe's flash, and never will.

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AT&T Claims Alcatel-Lucent Software Bug To Blame For Sluggish Uploads
If you have been paying attention to the mobile news flow this week, you're probably aware that AT&T has been dealt another beating. Yes, another one. The company already takes a lot of flack for reportedly dropping calls in congested cities and the like, and now consumers are claiming that AT&T is throttling their 3G upload speeds, particularly noticeable on the iPhone 4 which has a SpeedTest app to prove it.

The numbers started out small, generally in New York City. Most people assumed that it was just a typical "clogged NYC" problem that would fix itself in time. But then more and more users from more and more cities began to chime in, and it looked like AT&T had yet another real issue on their hands. Turns out, the whiny consumers weren't wrong in this particular case, but they may be wrong in their assumptions.


Many assumed that AT&T was intentionally throttling the rates in order to deal with the influx of new iPhone 4 users. According to AT&T, that's just not the case. In fact, it's more of a typical error than many may have originally thought. AT&T relies on a few different equipment makers in order to provide service to end-users, and the carrier has now come forward saying that they, along with partner Alcatel-Lucent, have identified a software defect that is causing the issue in some areas.

Naturally, the statement is about as vague as it gets, but it's good to hear that AT&T isn't happy about it and will be working hard to restore upload speeds as soon as possible. The full quote is below, and if you're still struggling to upload, just hang tight. As tough as that may be.

"AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent jointly identified a software defect -- triggered under certain conditions – that impacted uplink performance for Laptop Connect and smartphone customers using 3G HSUPA-capable wireless devices in markets with Alcatel-Lucent equipment. This impacts less than two percent of our wireless customer base. While Alcatel-Lucent develops the appropriate software fix, we are providing normal 3G uplink speeds and consistent performance for affected customers with HSUPA-capable devices."

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Microsoft 0-Days
Looks like MS shouldn't have cast Tavis Ormany in such a negative light when he pointed out that 17-year old flaw that lets you own all 32-bit Windows boxes.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Upset-Security-Researchers-Start-Releasing-Microsoft-0Days-146251.shtml


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ThinkFlood RedEye Mini Makes Your iPhone A Universal Remote
Apple's iPhone has become a lot more than a phone. The original iPhone set a new bar for all smartphones to meet, and companies have been striving to live up to that ever since. In more recent history, however, mobile operating systems like WebOS and Android 2.2 have really begun to push iOS 4 in terms of providing real competition, but there's one thing Apple has that the other companies have yet to grasp: the love of the peripheral market.

Without question, there are simply more iPhone, iPad and iPod accessories to choose from than on any other smartphone or handheld device. Every accessory maker looks to hit the iPhone market first, and everyone else, later. Let's look at ThinkFloor as an example. This small company designs portable IR emitters, a very important kind of device for anyone in the home entertainment category of consumers. Nearly every major component, such as Blu-ray player, cable box, etc., uses IR to transfer commands back and forth to a remote. If you have an IR emitter adapter, you're then able to transform nearly any device into a fully functional home entertainment controller.


The new RedEye Mini is exactly that kind of device with exactly that kind of power, but it will be available solely for iPod touch, iPad and iPhone. This dongle is made to plug right into the headphone jack of either of those devices, and when used with an accompanying application, your iProduct can then be used a as home entertainment remote. Imagine using your iProduct to turn off/on your home stereo, DVD player, game console, TV, etc., and you get the idea. It's a pretty powerful tool, and it may provide that universal remote functionality you have been wanting. The device is scheduled to ship later this summer for $49, and a video of how it works is just below.


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Kiristo's Rig
My specs are on my website, here: http://kiristo.com/Documents/System.html.  Too lazy to take pics, but she's pretty, I had to remove the top case fan to fit the PSU in, so the PSU's blue LED shines through the top and the front of the case also has some blue LEDs.  I'm also using a G15 (revision 2) keyboard and dual-screening with my old 19" LCD.  I should get another 24" Widescreen, they are beautiful, but my desk wouldn't fit it anyway.  I love the Zero case.  Windows on the side of a case look stupid to me.  I'd rather a nice polished case than see the inerds (plus I don't really do cable management).  The NZXT Zero features 4 120mm fans on the side instead of a window.  She runs surprisingly quiet with all those fans, and keeps cool.  I am still running stock heatsink/fan for my CPU/GPU aside from some Arctic Silver compound.  The CPU is OC'd to 3.2GHz.  I haven't bothered to OC the GPU yet.  I will probably just wait a while and then step-up the card anyway.
Oh, and ignore the rest of my site.  I haven't updated it in awhile and I never loaded all the pages -several are just copies of the main page- either despite finishing more than are live (yes I am that lazy- taking advantage of the MS Office Live website, so I don't pay anything for it, though my page URLs are not what I would like them to be).  It was blank for over a year for lack of content and then even I got bored of what I started to put on there... Maybe someday I'll finish it or put something interesting on there.  Maybe.  The fact I can no longer get to my own website from work is discouraging though.  Plus I don't play WoW much at the moment and am taking a break for awhile when my current subscription runs out.

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