IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TweakTown) 27/10/2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

IT News HeadLines (TweakTown) 27/10/2010

Deal of the Day: Belkin N150 Enhanced Wireless Router for $33.24 with FREE Shipping
Our Deal of the Day today is the Buy.com - Belkin N150 Enhanced Wireless Router for $33.24 with FREE Shipping! .
Offer: This 802.11b/g/n router includes four 10/100 ports, and a 1 year warranty.

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Check our TweakTown Daily Deals page for more tech bargains!

ViewSonic ViewPad7 tablet video hands-on from Taipei launch event
We just got down with our summary and photos from the new ViewSonic ViewPad7 which was officially released in Taipei today. You can read that here if you missed it.
Now we present you with our video hands-on with the ViewPad7. The below five minute video gives us a pretty good close up look at the device and what it can do.

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We'll try and get our hands on one for a full review in the following weeks!

Hands-on with the ViewSonic ViewPad7 from Taipei launch event
We just got back from the Taipei launch event of the ViewSonic ViewPad7 at the second largest building in the world, 101.
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There ViewSonic took the chance to officially announce its new 7-inch tablet computer appropriately called the ViewPad7. It comes installed with Google Android 2.2 and initially from our first look today it seems to be a capable little device.

It is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 processor and comes with 512MB of RAM. Sadly there is only 512MB of onboard NAND flash for your storage needs, but the device does support a single Micro SD slot for additional capacity up to 32GB - at an additional cost, of course. Moving on the 7-inch display is based on TFT WVGA technology and supports a capable resolution of 800 x 480. The screen has nothing on the iPhone 4, but it still works pretty well. It also comes with 802.11 b/g wireless as well as 3.5G (quad band). You can make calls from this thing, but you'd probably look a little silly holding it up to your ear. Rounding things out the device also comes with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, front and back camera, GPS (and AGPS) support and it seems to work rather well using Google Maps.

Battery life is one of the areas where the ViewPad7 excels. Being a little thicker than the iPad, you would expect good battery performance and according to ViewSonic, you get up to 48 hours of audio playback and 7 hours of video playback at 480p. Not bad at all! It weighs in at a comfortable 375 grams and it will go on sale in Taiwan next month for $14,900 NTD (or about $485 USD at the current exchange rate). We have no details on pricing and availability outside of Taiwan at this stage.

For now take a look at our hands-on with the ViewPad7 in the gallery below and next up we'll have a video of the device. Stay tuned!

Firesheep extension shows just how vulnerable open wifi networks are
Firesheep is something that has been popping up around the place for a few days - I thought I'd share it here for the uninformed, or at least, if you didn't know - pass the news on to someone you know who uses unsecure Wi-Fi.
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The above picture shows what it would look like - allowing you to login as another person on the open wifi network.

A Seattle based programmer, Eric Butler has released an extension for Firefox which shows you a graphical list of the online accounts of everyone sharing an open wifi network with you - with a simple single click, you're instantly logged in as them.

This vulnerability is NOT new - it is a problem that has existed for years now, but is being bought into the public eye now. A quick explanation of how it works: Most major websites transmit keys to your account - your login HTTP "cookies" - without any encryption at all. This problem doesn't really register when you're on a secure wifi network - for example when WPA is enabled, but of course, nothing is 100% safe.

Sites that are vulnerable are: Amazon, Dropbox, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Google, nytimes.com, Tumblr, Twitter, WordPress, Yahoo and Yelp.

Butler released the program, supposedly to encourage these types of sites to increase their security... he goes on to say "Websites have a responsibility to protect the people who depend on their services. TheyÂ’ve been ignoring this responsibility for too long, and itÂ’s time for everyone to demand a more secure web."

Mobile App of the Day: YouTube for Android
Our Mobile App of the Day today is YouTube for Android.
The folks at Google and Android have made a pretty significant change when it comes to the mobile YouTube experience. Most people with Android phones got a pre-installed YouTube app that only updates when the OS does. Google and YouTube agreed with most of you that think that stinks, and have now released a standalone app.

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For those with Android 2.2, youÂ’ll notice YouTube is now gone from the root OS and is a separate app. This allows the app to be updated separately, and the first iteration has given some significant updates. Search is smoother, vids can be viewed in portrait of landscape mode, social integration with Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz are improved, and video can be shot and uploaded within the app itself. IF the update hasnÂ’t already been done automatically to your phone, search the Android Market for YouTube or use the QR code after the break.

Flash 10.1 coming to multiple mobile platforms
Those with Android phones have had the Flash 10.1 love for a while now, but the big dogs at Adobe let us know that theyÂ’ve got their eyes on a few more platforms at the MAX conference as well. And no, itÂ’s not coming to the iPhone or iPad anytime soon.
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Not only did Adobe make Flash 10.1 official for Windows Phone 7 today, but they also announced that it will be coming to WebOS 2.0, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, MeeGo, and the LiMo platform. Basically, everyone BUT Apple is juping on the Flash train. ThereÂ’s no official word on dates, only that they are Â“expected to support Flash Player 10.1Â” in future versions.

New MacBook Air gets it's insides prodded
As with other Apple devices of late, the new MacBook Air has been taken down a dark alley, bashed across the head and taken advantage of - but, in a good way.
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We knew this before, but with it being opened it's now confirmed - the new MacBook Air is next to impossible to do self-service on, as it uses mostly propriety components. The interior is secured using five-sided Torx T5 screws - where as the rest of the components are so customised that it would be near impossible to find them in a parts store.

Interestingly, the SSD is what most people (as well as myself) want to see, instead of the standard 2.5" SATA SSD drive - they use a unique Toshiba SSD, looks purdy!

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It uses a Toshiba T6UG1XBG SSD controller - which is found in many other SSD drives.

Space-saving techniques used were the usual Apple way, of installing the components like Tetris pieces - without the cool nostalgic music in the backround. The largest component is the battery cells - which have been split into more than one to spread out for maximum balance and heat dispersion. The batteries consist of total 35 watt-hours, the power consumption sitting at 7W when idle and 50 milliwatts when sleeping - what helps this is the LED backlighting, low-voltage processor and SSD storage.

Microsoft "doubling down" on PC gamers
It looks like Microsoft is still going full steam ahead with it's plan for PC game retail domination... not only do they have Games for Windows Marketplace, but it's part of a larger picture for PC gamers that mean a lot to Microsoft.
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I'm very vocal about this myself, Microsoft push DX11 and Windows 7 yet nearly all games produced are made on consoles first, then ported to PC with "DX11" - yet the game was created with DX9-esque hardware in mind (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3) - where the PC has all this horse power and untapped ability - yet, is not really pushed.

But, is this about to change? Group Product Manager, Peter Orullian has said that PC games "is a place where we are doubling down." What that meant exactly, no one knows, but there is only hope. Peter added "healthy list of features we're going to start bringing out once the store launches" - which was in response to a question about integrating PC and Xbox 360 gaming.

Samsung set to unveil new Android device November 8th
SamsungÂ’s raising quite a bit of fanfare about the newest device to hit their lineup. TheyÂ’ve pegged November 8th as the unveiling date for their newest device with this ad and the murmurs have already started about what it will be.
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The stock ticker looking numbers in the ad is making most people point towards the official unveiling of the Samsung Continuum, a device that had its original leak via Engadget back on September 30th. The Android powered device features a second LED screen called the Â“Ticker,Â” which makes conclusions easy to draw. Others are hoping for the first device to feature GoogleÂ’s new Â“GingerbreadÂ” OS which has been a hot topic since Google put up a Gingerbread man on their campus.

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New SSD manufacturing plant opened by OCZ in Taiwan
OCZ has given their solid state drive (SSD) availability a huge shot in the arm with the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Taipei today. The new facility is expected to ramp up OCZÂ’s SSD production from 50,000 to 140,000 units a month.
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After over tripling their monthly unit sales between Q1 and August this year, OCZ is looking to keep up with that demand. According to Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group, "Our new 20,000 square foot facility was set up in response to increased demand from OEMs for our Enterprise Solid State Drive products and significantly increases our monthly SSD capacity." Offering a wide variety of interface choices including SATA, SAS, Fibre Channel, PCI-Express, USB 3.0, and the proprietary High-Speed Data Link (HSDL), OCZ is making a major play in the SSD industry and with the new facility they can only hope to keep the expansion going.

The iPhone gets some VLC lovin'
Been wanting to watch a tonne of videos on your iPhone without having to tediously convert them to a format that your iPhone is able to play them back with?
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Now's your chance - you can ride off into the sunset using VLC on the iPhone as it's now universal - it has gotten a speed boost too, and it's learnt a new ability, like Sylar did on Heroes - it can delete videos directly from your iPad or iPhone.

Borders announces e-reader price cuts galore
You know the holiday season is approaching when companies are stumbling over each other to announce price cuts on electronic devices. With the Kindle having so much success and a new Nook just around the corner from Barnes and Noble, Borders is turning to price cuts and free goodies to keep their devices on shopperÂ’s wishlists.
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For the next week, ordering an eReader from Borders will come with free shipping. The $299 Velocity Micro Cruz tablet comes with a $25 gift card, $30 has been cut from the Micro Cruz Reader (now $169.99) and the Kobo (now $129.99), and purchasing any Sony eReader will score you a free Sony Reader cover with built in light. Borders is also offering 20% off all accessories with any new e-reader purchase. Our guess is this is only the beginning of the price slashing wars, so keep your eyes peeled for more deals to come.

Wifi Direct certifications starts, device-to-device transmission also starting soon
Bluetooth has some competition - Wi-Fi Direct is touted to everything Bluetooth does, but with far less issues and annoyances all while using a protocol that is far more widespread and easier to setup.
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Starting today - Wi-Fi Direct devices will enter the certification process - the actual products to use this tech are unknown at this point, but there should be some hardware on the shelves before Santa arrives in 2 more months.

Functionality wise, the claims stand out instantly - for someone to make a device-to-device connection over Wi-Fi just ONE of the devices needs to be Wi-Fi Direct certified. This will help create a user base out of the box, which is a great step towards instant sales.

"Most" products certified will also support "one-to-many" Wi-Fi connections, such as enabling a Wi-Fi Direct laptop to then connect wirelessly to your printer, HDTV and a tablet or phone simultaneously - the best thing? No router in-between would be required! Also, 802.11b users may be left out in the dark, with 802.11a/g/n being supported over 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

Wi-Fi Direct will require no new hardware - so in theory, any existing Wi-Fi chipset could be upgraded via firmware to support Wi-Fi Direct.

Patriot launches Torqx TRB line of SSDs
Patriot has been peddling RAM to gamers and Enthusiasts for a long time and like many other memory companies, Patriot has expanded into SSDs as well. Patriot has unveiled a new line of SSDs today called the Torqx TRB line that offer nice features and performance. The new 64GB SSD uses the latest controller from JMicron called the JMF616.
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The controller allows the SSD to operate at up to 260MB/s read speed and 115MB/s write speed for the 64GB version. A 32GB SSD is also offered using the JMicron JM612 controller allowing the SSD to operate at up to 245MB/s read speed and up to 60MB/s write. Both of the SSDs have a 3-year warranty and are designed to support TRIM in Windows 7.

The SSDs consume 0.5W in standby and 5.3W when operating. Both also have a 64MB cache. Patriot is mum on pricing and availability at his time. Â“As solid-state drive technology advances, we are able to develop SSD solutions that provide the performance users want while reaching the affordable price points they demand. PatriotÂ’s objective is to offer the latest technology while providing the best performance and price optionsÂ”, states Les Henry, Vice President of Engineering at Patriot. Â“Our Torqx TRB family of SSDs meet these goals. Users upgrading with a Torqx TRB SSD will benefit from improved transfer rates, quicker boot times and the reliability of solid-state storage in their boot drive option. Including a Torqx SSD in your desktop or notebook upgrade plans provides one of the best bang-for-the buck improvements you can make to your system.Â”

PSP Go price cut confirmed by Sony Japan
When it comes to mobile gaming I stick to my iPhone or iPad. I have a couple PSPs here in the house along with a couple Nintendo DSi systems that my kids play. We haven't used the PSPs in over a year now so the PSP format altogether isn't very appealing around my house. When I first heard of the PSP Go I thought it sounded cool enough until I realized that the games you have for your old PSPs were useless on the new Go. Many people felt that way and many retailers were mad that they could not sell software for the Go making it a bag of fail.
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Sony Japan has confirmed a price cut that has been rumored for the Go. In Japan the Go will see it's price chopped to 16,800 yen with taxes included. That works out to about $208 here in the US. The rumors that have been swirling claiming a new price of $199 are incoming for the Go for the States. With the Japanese price so close to the rumored price here at home, I would say the rumors are probably accurate.

The Go is unchanged from the version that launched last year with its new price. The device will be offered in Japan at the discounted price starting tomorrow. That is about a $50 reduction in the cost of the Go here in the US. I still don't think that $50 off will be enough to coax most gamers into buying the Go since the core issue was software for most of us.

Asus Eee 1015PW gets bright colors and nice hardware
I'm not really the sort of geek to buy flashy colored computers or hardware. I prefer more of a stealth look for my gear. Some people like to have nice specs and some flash on the outside when it comes to buying a machine. Women often want a netbook that has lots of style and works well and Asus has a new netbook that comes in some colors that will appeal to the style conscious women out there shopping for a new netbook. I know my wife would like the colors of this new Eee netbook.
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The new machine is called the Asus Eee 1015PW and the machine is a hardware clone of the existing Asus 1015PEM. That's not a bad thing at all considering as far as netbook hardware goes, the rigs are great on the inside. They have dual core Atom N550 processor, the LED backlit screen has 1024 x 600 resolution, and the battery is good for up to ten hours of use per charge. The netbook comes in some crazy colors with names like Purple Rain, Gold Dust, and Angel Skin.

Other hardware features include up to 320GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, WiFi, and Bluetooth 3.0. Asus also offers the 500GB of online storage for those wanting to take advantage and the netbook has the ExpressGate fast booting tech inside. Pricing is unannounced at this point, but it should be in line with other netbooks. The lid of the 1015PW also gets a new design called wave.

Xigmatek debuts cool Pantheon computer chassis
I was just talking about the new all black Kingston HyperX memory cooler that would look good inside one of the all black computer cases that are on the market today. If you need an all black case to go with that new Kingston fan a new case from Xigmatek has launched today called the Pantheon. The case is all black inside and out ad has all sorts of features.
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The chassis has tool free 5.25-inch drive bays, six hot swappable HDD cages, USB 3.0 port, and dual fan controllers. It also has seven PCI slots and can have up to four 120mm fans on the side of the case for ventilation on the drives. The cooling system also supports a top fan up to 200mm and a bottom fan. In addition, the case has space for a 240/280mm radiator on the top of the chassis.

Other features include a large opening behind the CPU to allow access to the CPU cooler without removing the mainboard. There are also ports on the rear of the case for water cooling hoses and ports for routing wires inside the case. The chassis will be offered globally at an undisclosed price.

Kingston offers gamers and enthusiasts all black HyperX fan
When it comes time to build up a new gaming PC most of us want something that performs really well. We also tend to want the machine to look good and with many of the cool computer cases on the market today have clear side windows the way the hardware inside the machine looks is as important as how the case looks on the outside.
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Kingston has been selling a fan specifically made for its HyperX RAM for a long time now with the same blue color that the HyperX RAM sports. That blue fan might not go well if you are into the stealth look and are using one of the many cases that are black on the inside and out. If the blue color puts you off the fan, Kingston has announced a new black colored fan that cools just as well as the blue one.

The black fan is a standalone product that sells for $23 and is part number KHX-FAN-B. The fan has a pair of 60mm fans that help to cool memory allowing you to overclock to higher speeds before the RAM gets unstable. The fans also have eight blue LEDs that glow when the fans are on. Noise output is minimal with 25dBA when operating.

Sentey Arvina GS-6400B Full Tower Chassis
With the plan for the Sentey name to go global, the GS-6400 Arvina is a great start to that goal.

Quick Review: Prodigi PD-100N Media Player
ProdigiÂ’s PD-100N boasts NAS and 1080p support in their flagship media player. Is this the all-in-one device weÂ’ve been looking for?

Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card Overclocked
We try and see what tricks we can pull with SapphireÂ’s TRIXX OC software on the Sapphire HD 6870.

Eurocom Announces the First Server-Class Notebook with 6-core Intel Xeon Processors
Eurocom Announces the First Server-Class Notebook with 6-core Intel Xeon Processors
Eurocom Corporation, the world's leading developer of highly personalized, high-performance notebook PCs and energy efficient All-in-One PCs, is now supporting the groundbreaking Intel Xeon X5690 Processor in its ine of Mobile Server and Mobile Workstation notebooks. The EUROCOM Mobile Server Technology significantly reduces the time and cost of deploying short-term LAN based solutions and of extending usage of existing business applications to users wherever is required.

EurocomÂ’s Panther line of high performance Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers will be bolstered by the introduction of the Intel XEON X5690 Processor. Eurocom Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers are ideal for the professional who frequently travels yet needs access to high performance computing. All Eurocom systems are designed to be fully configured with many optional components to choose from to allow each customer the opportunity to customize a system to fit their needs exactly.

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EUROCOM Panther series provides server-calibre capabilities with 3.25Terabyte of storage with four physical SATA-300 or SATA-600 hard drives and RAID 0/1/5/10, super-powerful Intel XEON 6-core X5690 processor running at 3.46GHz with 12MB of L2 cache, built in UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply), Gigabit Ethernet port on-board, and with an integrated 17Â” LCD display and keyboard. The Intel Xeon X5690 isn't just for servers and workstations; it's also an awesome overclocker. It's a LGA1366 processor based on the 32 nm Westmere-EP silicon. It carries a nominal clock-speed of 3.46 GHz, with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.60 GHz. It features a QuickPath Interconnect speed of 6.4 GT/s, and supports triple-channel registered DDR3 memory with an integrated memory controller. Cache levels include 256 KB L2 cache per core, and 12 MB L3 cache.

The Xeon X5690 is ideally suited for a wide range of infrastructure, cloud, high-density and high performance mobile computing applications. Software and/or database developers, training centers, military personnel, emergency relief organizations and service organizations who must frequently travel, yet need access to powerful computing, are the core target for Mobile Servers.

The entire line of Intel Xeon 5600 series regulates power consumption and server performance according to demand from running applications. This maximizes both performance and energy consumption. Built-in hardware-assisted virtualization technology with Intel Flex Migration gives customers the power and flexibility to virtualize different generations of Intel Xeon based servers within the same pool.

Intel Xeon X5690 Processor is supported in the following EUROCOM models:

EUROCOM Panther 2.0

Key Specifications:

Â• Memory: Up to 24 GB DDR3 Triple Channel Memory
Â• Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M, GTX 470M, GTX 460M, Quadro FX 3800M and FX 5000M. Supports both Single and SLI configurations.
Â• Processor: 6-cores; Workstation-class Intel i7-980X Extreme or Server-class Xeon 5600 series;
Â• Storage: up to 3.25GB with 4 physical drives (hard, solid or hybrid) and RAID 0/1/5/10 support
Â• Display: 17.3-inch Full HD; 1920-by-1080 pixels; LED Backlit display

EUROCOM D900F Panther

Key Specifications:

Â• Memory: Up to 24 GB of combined triple channel memory.
Â• Upgradeable MXM 3.0 VGA Technology; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M, GTX 460M, GTX 470M, Quadro FX 3800M or FX 5000M and ATI Radeon Mobility HD5870
Â• Processor: 4 or 6-cores; Workstation-class Intel Core i7, i7 Extreme or Server-Class Xeon 5600 series.
Â• Storage: 4 physical drives. RAID 0/1/5/10, up to 3.25 TB.
Â• Display: 17.1 Inch WUXGA 1920 x 1200.

WD's New HD Media Center Streams Popular Movies and the Broadest Range of Personal Content
WD's New HD Media Center Streams Popular Movies and the Broadest Range of Personal Content
WD TV(R) Live Hub(TM) Media Center With 1 TB Storage Allows Users to Centralize Video, Music and Photos and Play Full-HD 1080p Video on HDTVs Throughout the Home

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Oct 26, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Western Digital(R) (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions and maker of the popular WD TV media player family, today introduced the WD TV(R) Live Hub(TM) media center (photo), a Full-HD 1080p media player with a 1 terabyte (TB) built-in network hard drive that gives users the freedom to play all their personal media on any screen in the home. The WD TV Live Hub media center brings new experiences to the WD TV family, including instantly renting or purchasing the newest releases through the Blockbuster On Demand(R) service, the same day as DVD/Blu-ray release, as well as interacting with personal Facebook(R) communities. In the U.S., the WD TV Live Hub media center is initially available exclusively at Best Buy online and at all 1,093 Best Buy stores nationwide.

The WD TV Live Hub media center plays a wide variety of media file types, including popular Full-HD 1080p video formats such as .mkv, .mp4 and .mov. The integrated, compact and quiet 1 TB hard drive enables users to centralize their digital media from multiple sources for smooth, glitch-free playback of even the highest resolution videos. Digital media can be easily transferred to the internal drive from shared folders on PCs and Mac(R)s on the network or directly from external hard drives, thumb drives, camcorders or cameras connected via one of the two USB ports. Users also can stream videos from home network drives with a DLNA/UPnP(TM) server such as the recently announced My Book(R) Live(TM) home network drive.

The WD TV Live Hub media center also is a media server: HD video, music and photos can be streamed from the onboard hard drive to any DLNA/UPnP-compatible TV or multimedia device, anywhere in the connected home, including the WD TV Live Plus HD media player, connected TVs, Blu-ray Disc(TM) players, Xbox 360(R), and PlayStation(R) 3 game consoles. Users also can stream content from their WD TV Live Hub media center to iPads(TM), iPhones(R) or Android(TM) smartphones using third-party applications.

The WD TV Live Hub media center offers unique Facebook integration, which lets users upload photos and videos, share their status, view their wall and get the latest newsfeed from their network of friends - all on the big screen TV. In addition, the WD TV Live Hub media center provides viewing of Netflix(R) for movie streaming, YouTube(TM) for user-generated videos and Flickr(R) for photo sharing, as well as listening to Pandora(R), a personalized Internet radio service. Additional content includes local and international weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com(R), and MediaFly(R) daily video podcasts from CNN(R), NBC(R), MTV(R) and ESPN(R).

The customizable WD TV Live Hub media center's user interface enables personalization of screen backgrounds and user interface themes, as well as setting of favorites and content ratings. Standard wired or wireless USB keyboards can be used for simpler text input for activities such as searches of local content and YouTube and Facebook interaction.

"The WD TV Live Hub media center lets users create a personalized media jukebox that brings your entire personal content collection and the best of Internet content to the biggest screen in the house," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "With the WD TV Live Hub media center, consumers can take their home entertainment experience to the next level, streaming personal content to multiple rooms at the same time, so they can play a Netflix video on their HDTV screen in the family room, while sharing vacation slideshows on the computer in their home office."

"People are looking for a versatile, easy-to-use media player that gives them a smooth streaming experience regardless of where they are in the home and whether they're viewing Internet content or personal media content. That's exactly what the WD TV Live Hub media center delivers," said Frank Bedo, merchandise director in computing at Best Buy(R). "We are excited to collaborate with WD on this innovative entertainment product."

"Connected media players are an exciting new category that is helping to redefine home entertainment," said Wendy Fritz, senior vice president, computing, at Best Buy. "The WD TV media player series' broad ability with personal content has made it a leading seller. Add to that the premium content services, and the new WD TV Live Hub media center is bringing a whole new dimension to home entertainment."

Other key features of the WD TV Live Hub media center include:

Â• Compatibility with virtually all TV sets thanks to an HDMI 1.4, composite video and component video output;
Â• Automatic sync of shared digital media folders from PCs and Macs on the network with the internal hard drive to provide easy playback of new content;
Â• Customizable user interface and programmable remote;
Â• Ultra-compact design that easily fits into almost any entertainment center;
Â• Two USB ports that allow seamless media playback from USB drives, camcorders and digital cameras;
Â• WiFi-readiness (with adapter); and,
Â• A 1-year limited warranty in PanAm.

The full set of features and list of file compatibility is available on WD's website.

Capacity and Compatibility

The WD TV Live Hub media center is available in 1 TB storage capacity and supports a large variety of the most popular file formats, including HD camcorder video formats. It is also compatible with Windows(R) 7, including the Windows 7 Play To feature, and any DLNA/UPnP-enabled device.

Price and Availability

The WD TV Live Hub media center is available worldwide (Netflix, Blockbuster and Pandora services are available only in the U.S.) and can be purchased in the U.S. exclusively at Best Buy and online at wdstore.com. MSRP for the WD TV Live Hub media center is $199.99 USD.

About WD

WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and media products.

OCZ Technology Supercharges Dynamite Data, LLC With Deployment of High-Performance Solid State Drives as a Cache Solution Into Servers
OCZ Technology Supercharges Dynamite Data, LLC With Deployment of High-Performance Solid State Drives as a Cache Solution Into Servers
OCZ's Enterprise-Proven SSD Solutions Optimize Storage Arrays With Increased Throughput for Real Time Data Generation

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, announces partnership with privately held Dynamite Data, LLC to supply OCZ's leading-edge solid state drives (SSD) for their primary server array. To improve overall performance of their next-generation search engine, Dynamite Data chose OCZ Solid State Drives to optimize their servers, which not only improved performance, but also reduced overall physical space and lowered power consumption.

Dynamite Data monitors and compiles pricing and shopping data for leading e-commerce customers and manufacturers to better manage their channel. In order to provide this vast amount of data in real-time, quickly and accurately, the company's sophisticated search engine identifies products and their street prices organically using advanced pattern-matching techniques. While very precise, their system relies on a database that stores indexes in memory, with the remaining information residing on traditional hard drives. When disk-based data are selected from this database, the high latency of conventional hard drives penalizes the entire system.

Dynamite Data extracts more than 10,000 web pages or "caches" per minute -- equivalent to downloading the content from 17 million web pages per day -- causing considerable disk strain with the continuous demand for data.

Before switching to OCZ Solid State Drives, a high number of writes to the cluster database would create an overload and cause the snapshot caches to lag behind the cluster server by minutes, or even by hours, on the conventional hard disks. To address this bottleneck, these caches were converted to OCZ SSDs, and as a result, are now able to consistently keep pace delivering data processing in real-time without any lag.

"Disk I/O is the fundamental bottleneck of any data heavy business,"
declared Kristopher Kubicki, Chief Architect at Dynamite Data. "We could not scale without reductions in storage latency, and the best way to get that today is with OCZ SSDs."

"With a complete range of solid state solutions specifically customized for enterprise applications, OCZ SSDs are designed to optimize entire businesses and improve data processing and storage," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. "We are pleased with the outcome of the recent study with Dynamite Data and that they are able to realize performance benefits that translate into a superior experience for customers utilizing their innovative shopping data tool."

The enterprise deployment of OCZ SSDs is a prime example of how solid-state drive technologies, even when coupled with secondary hard drive storage, achieve dramatically lowered energy and operational costs by optimizing the existing infrastructure of a cloud computing provider.

About OCZ Technology Group, Inc.

Founded in 2002, San Jose, CA-based OCZ Technology Group, Inc. ("OCZ"), is a leader in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of high performance and reliable Solid State Drives (SSDs) and premium computer components. OCZ has built on its expertise in high-speed memory to become a leader in the SSD market, a technology that competes with traditional rotating magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs). SSDs are faster, more reliable, generate less heat and use significantly less power than the HDDs used in the majority of computers today. In addition to SSD technology, OCZ also offers high performance components for computing devices and systems, including enterprise-class power management products as well as leading-edge computer gaming solutions. For more information, please visit: www.ocztechnology.com.

ADATA Announces Release of HM Series Power Supply
ADATA Announces Release of HM Series Power Supply
Advance in Energy Efficient Consumer Electronics

Taipei, Taiwan Â— October 26th, 2010 Â— ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in high performance memory and flash products, has announced the launch of the HM Series power supply for personal computers. The HM Series has a PF (Power Factor) of 0.9 up and energy efficiency up to 82%, and is designed for the gamer, high-performance, and overclocker markets.

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Available in a range of wattages (550, 650, 750, 850 and 1,200 watts), the HM Series delivers reliability and protection for all types of hardware configurations. In particular, the units are equipped with an intelligent dual ball bearing LED fan with a tri-color output power display. The power consumption status is indicated by the color of the display (green for low load; blue for normal load; red for full load). The HM Series is constructed with all Japan-made capacitors for voltage regulation, filtering, and buffering functions, resulting in long-term power output stability, with MTBF (Mean time between failures) of over 100,000 hours. The high ratio of output to input power has earned the HM Series the 80 Plus Bronze certification for energy efficiency.

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The HM Series power supplies feature a smart modularized cable management system that allows adjustment of cables according to the number of devices in use, reducing cable clutter and improving internal airflow and heat dissipation. To meet the high demands of the gaming community, the HM Series is NVIDIAÂ® SLIÂ®-ready certified, and complies with ATX 12V v2.2 and v2.3 and EPS 12V v2.92.

Features and specifications of HM Series 1200W PSU

- Intelligent LED fan (Dual ball-bearing fan) with 3 color to display output power (green for low load; blue for normal load; red for full load)
- 80 Plus Bronze Â– Ensure 82% power efficiency
- NVIDIAÂ® SLIÂ®-ready certified
- Modularized cable management Â– Reduce unused cable clutter and improve internal airflow
- True continuous power Â– Perform sustained power output
- Support ATX 12V v2.2, v2.3,v2.92 standard
- Support up to 4 VGA card
- PCI-E 8pin x 6, PCI-E 6pin x 4
- Dual rail +12V
- MTBF - 100K hrs (minimum)
- 100% Japanese capacitors
- Three-year limited warranty

Features and specifications of HM Series 550W/650W/750W/850W PSU

- Intelligent LED fan (Dual ball-bearing fan) with 3 color to display output power (green for low load; blue for normal load; red for full load)
- 80 Plus Bronze Â– Ensure 82% power efficiency
- NVIDIAÂ® SLIÂ®-ready certified
- Modularized cable management Â– Reduce unused cable clutter and improve internal airflow
- True continuous power Â– Perform sustained power output
- Support ATX 12V v2.2, v2.3,v2.92 standard
- Single rail +12V
- MTBF - 100K hrs (minimum)
- 100% Japanese capacitors
- Three-year limited warranty

PhotoFast GM2 SFV1 Air - Upgrade Kit for the new MacBook Air
PhotoFast GM2 SFV1 Air - Upgrade Kit for the new MacBook Air
Taipei, Taiwan. Oct. 26th 2010 - PhotoFast Global Inc. a pioneer in creative, high quality and extreme performance flash-based storage manufacturer, today revealed its new line of SSD for Mac upgrades. Relied the solid partner in SSD solutions, PhotoFast demand to bring a combination of performance and capacity for the lightest MacBook Air ever.

Apple Fans deserve better things. The new MacBook Air has already been a successful product. It's ultra portable, good performance and gorgeous industrial design. But we have decided to offer even more. An alternative SSD choice from PhotoFast where users would benefit more from its great performance and large capacity. Now the 11.6" MacBook Air with 256GB SSD comes to your option list.

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SandForce is well-known for one of the best SSD controller manufacturer who we have solid partnership with. "Creating a whole new form factor SSD in the very limited time was quite a challenge. Thanks to support from SandForce, we finally made it" said chief engineer Eddie Wang.

There's one more thing, the SSD to USB 3.0 adapter. Considering system switch or clone to new drive, we added this handy adapter with a housing which makes upgrade even easier. And making your spare SSD a portable storage device.

Estimated launch date: End of Nov
For more information, please visit: http://www.photofast.tw/products/GM2_SFV1_Air.html

Features

- Above 30% performance increase from original
- USB 3.0 adapter for system clone, and for spare SSD to act as portable storage device.
- 256GB SSD option for 11.6" MBA

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Allion Certified as Wi-Fi DirectÂ™ Authorized Test Lab
Allion Certified as Wi-Fi DirectÂ™ Authorized Test Lab
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Allion (Allion Test Labs, Inc) is pleased to announce its new role as the authorized test lab for Wi-Fi DirectÂ™, a brand-new Wi-Fi technical standard set by Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA). As a long-term partner of WFA, Allion has full experience in providing certification testing services for IEEE 802.11 standards along with other WFA standard series. With the official authorization from WFA, manufacturers can now apply the Wi-Fi DirectÂ™ Certification Program through Allion at its Taiwan lab.

Other than traditional IEEE 802.11 structure, this compelling standard conducts Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer technology and allows devices to connect and accomplish tasks such as synch, share, transfer, display and print even without a hotspot or other Wi-Fi network. As to the compatibility, Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices can work with most legacy Wi-Fi products. Plus, the Wi-Fi Protected SetupÂ™ mechanism makes the device connection easy and safe under WPA2 security protection.

As a committing Wi-Fi standards verification and consulting center, Allion is determined to develop the most effective test programs for both industry standards and individual IT products. Â“Allion is capable of verifying all Wi-Fi standards such as Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and the latest Wi-Fi Direct, our goal is make the program simple for our customers and to accelerate time to marketÂ”, said James Ou, director of AllionÂ’s engineering service division. For further information or any technical / certification inquiries, please visit AllionÂ’s webpage at http://www.allion.com/wi_fi.html.

About Allion Test Labs, Inc

Allion is a global IT testing and verification consulting firm conducting standard certification, interoperability, performance and compatibility testing services for companies all over the world. Established in 1991, Allion has been in the forefront of technology standards and sophisticated test methodology development. Aiming at each stage throughout new product development, Allion is able to generate highly efficient, fully customizable test plans and automation solutions with exceptional technical expertise. For more information about Allion, please visit us at http://www.allion.com

BIG breakthrough in Team OC DRAMs - Brand new Xtreem LV DDR3 1866/2000 8GB dual-channel kits launched
"BIG" breakthrough in Team OC DRAMs
Brand new Xtreem LV DDR3 1866/2000 8GB dual-channel kits launched

The Xtreem DRAMs from Team Group Inc have always been the first choice of PC gamers. Tailored specifically for power users, the Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 with high capacity 8GB dual-channel kit officially launched this month will be sensational! The next-generation Xtreem LV series is equipped with high-speed 256x8 chips manufactured through new process. These low-voltage (LV) modules work only at 1.65V and deliver a low latency at 9-11-9-27. Moreover, the compatibility with dual-channel platforms using next-generation chipsets helps bring power users the ultimate smooth OC experience.

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- 4GB and 8GB kits for ultimate smooth multimedia processing

Demand for high-capacity memory continues to rise as multimedia software and games become more sophisticated and realistic. Team thus launches the next-generation Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 modules in the 4GB Kit (2GB x 2) and 8GB Kit (4GB x 2) to meet consumer demand. These super capacity kits not only can fulfill consumerÂ’s demand, furthermore its powerful performance will significantly enhance efficiency for games, art and multimedia editing.

- Low voltage and low latency: OC operationsÂ’ Perfect Partners

The CPU, motherboard and memory are the three basic elements of OC operations. The Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 high-performance dual-channel kits from Team are equipped with specific select genuine chips. Every module has undergone long-term burn-in testing prior to shipping. The ultimate stability and compatibility of these modules have won the faith of many power users. Additionally, the low voltage and low latency design have significantly reduced system lag to enhance system performance and save energy. The low voltage and low latency designs of the Xtreem LV series can let the power user fully enjoy its DIY PC with extreme image and performance quality.

- Excellent C/P value

In addition to select genuine chips and strict OQC tests, Team values power userÂ’s budget concern. The prices of flagship-grade OC memory modules on the market are typically steep, finding top-quality OC memory imposes a heavy financial burden on OC users. Team thus launches the Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 at a mainstream market price to accentuate its Â“top quality with affordable priceÂ” philosophy, while continuing to support the joy of OC through a life-time warranty. Team guarantees the user to have the Extreme experience in lifetime.

As a leading provider of memory storage products to the consumer market, Team Group is committed to providing the best storage, multimedia and data sharing solutions. All Team memory module products come with a lifetime warranty, repair and replacement services. For more information, please visit the Team website at www.teamgroup.com.tw.

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About Team Group

Team Group Inc. is a manufacturer of computer products and consumer electronics, established in Taipei, Taiwan in 1994. We manufacture and distribute high quality Memory modules, Memory cards, USB dick, SSD and Portable Hard Drives. Team Group is recognized as one of the leading memory products and consumer electronic manufacturers in the industry. We cover most business regions in the world. Team provides the highest quality products to customers in volume with competitive prices and the best possible after services. Through many years of the close and direct relationships with the leading manufacturers and OEMs, we are able to provide various products even during the shortage and allocation periods. As we continue to grow, we are committed to supporting our customers with superior products, first class service and excellent business growth.

Patriot Launches Torqx TRB Solid-State Drives
Patriot Launches Torqx TRB Solid-State Drives
New family of SSDs offers performance, value pricing, to consumer upgrade market

Fremont, California, USA, October 25, 2010 - Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today announced the immediate availability of the Torqx TRB series of solid-state-drives (SSDs). The Torqx TRB series of SSD offer improved system responsiveness with quicker boot times and shorter application loading times over traditional hard disk drive storage solutions.

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PatriotÂ’s Torqx TRB series, available in 32GB and 64GB capacities, is designed around the latest generation controller from JMicron: JMF616. With a controller level cache of 64MB DDR2, the Torqx TRB series provide stutter-free performance and offer speeds of up to 260MB/s Read and up to 115MB/s Write. To maintain performance integrity over the life of the drive, the Torqx TRB series SSDs include native support for the TRIM command in Microsoft WindowsÂ® 7.

Â“As solid-state drive technology advances, we are able to develop SSD solutions that provide the performance users want while reaching the affordable price points they demand. PatriotÂ’s objective is to offer the latest technology while providing the best performance and price optionsÂ”, states Les Henry, Vice President of Engineering at Patriot. Â“Our Torqx TRB family of SSDs meet these goals. Users upgrading with a Torqx TRB SSD will benefit from improved transfer rates, quicker boot times and the reliability of solid-state storage in their boot drive option. Including a Torqx SSD in your desktop or notebook upgrade plans provides one of the best bang-for-the buck improvements you can make to your system.Â”

The Torqx TRB family of SSDs are durable and reliable, with an aluminum housing to minimize typical wear and tear. With NAND memory at their core, there are no moving parts to fail, or be damaged from daily use in portable computing solutions and system boot times are drastically reduced. Additionally, the Torqx TRB family of SSDs provide incredible performance, silent low-power operation and a 3-year warranty.

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For more information on the Patriot Torqx TRB series of SSDs please visit the product page here.

For the product image embedded above, please visit the following link herehere.

About Patriot Memory:

Patriot Memory designs, manufactures and markets high performance, enthusiast memory modules, flash products, and computing technologies. Patriot products have become world renown for their extreme performance, reliability and innovation. Patriot Memory sells its products through original equipment manufacturers, retailers, e-tailers and distributors. It has operations in North America, Asia and Europe. Patriot MemoryÂ’s parent company, PDP Systems, Inc., was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Fremont, California, USA.

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