Wednesday, October 3, 2012

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 04/10/2012

TweakTown


Google offer 24/7 phone support for Chrome to Google Apps users
Google have just announced they're looking after Google Apps for Business, Education and Government customers, where those customers can feel safe with the option to call, or e-mail Google with questions about Chrome.

google_offer_24_7_phone_support_for_chrome_to_google_apps_users

Google haven't been the most friendliest company when it comes to offering support, but wer'e seeing the Mountain View-based company slowly change their ways. Starting today, Google Apps customers can call, or e-mail Google for Support with "Chrome installation, functionality, security, browser policy settings and Google Apps interoperability for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux."
24/7 phone support is a big deal, especially for business customers - these customers don't have the time to fault find themselves, where they can now just pick up a phone and call Google for some answers. Google has promised to respond to "P1 priority support requests" within an hour - this is defined as a "Service Unusable in Production" case. Other requests will be answered within a business day, or less.


Read More ...



Galaxy Note II's 'Smart rotation', is smart, with rotation
Samsung's Galaxy Note II is looking like a mighty fine device, for those who want a large 5.5-inch smartphone, but it does have a trick up its sleeve when it comes to rotating your screen. Normally when you're reading something on your smartphone and turn the device, and have "Auto rotation" enabled, it will rotate it when the phone detects physical rotation.

galaxy_note_ii_s_smart_rotation_is_smart_with_rotation

Samsung have gone down a different route with the Note II, adding "Smart rotation". Smart rotation has debuted with the Note II, and is a little different to the Galaxy S III's Smart stay. Smart roation will use the front-facing camera to detect what orientation your face is at, and then match the rotation of the screen with it. So if you rotate your phone into landscape to watch a video clip, but keep your face at the same angle, it won't adjust.
But, if you were laying down and looking at your phone sideways, it would detect this and adjust accordingly. Very cool, and something worth bragging about on the Note II. These little things are what make the phones stand out, and while this is not a killer app by any means, it is building Samsung toward something greater - something magical.
Smart rotation is not enabled by default on the Galaxy Note II, but can be enabled by going into Settings, Display - and ticking it to enable.


Read More ...



Android and iOS continue to dominate US smartphone market
We know that Android and iOS dominate the market right now, but just how much of the US smartphone market have they consumed in the last three months? Well, since May, Android has gone from 50.1% marketshare, to 52.6%, enjoying over half of the US smartphone market.

android_and_ios_continue_to_dominate_us_smartphone_market

iOS has also done well, going from 31.9% in May to 34.3% in August. Apple's numbers are interesting, as this was all pre-iPhone 5, meaning that we should see somewhat of a jump for the iOS numbers in another couple of months.
Microsoft, Research in Motion (RIM) and Symbian are all bleeding out right now, losing customers everywhere. Microsoft dropped from 4.0% to 3.6% of the US smartphone share, RIM went from 11.4% to 8.3%, representing a huge drop in users, and Symbian, the little engine that could, dropped from 1.1% to just 0.7%.


Read More ...



Apple Maps has a positive side - uses up to 80% less data than Google Maps on iOS
We all know that iOS 6's Maps app is pretty craptacular (crAPPtacular?) but there is a benefit to the company's vector graphics-based app. Maps is up to 80% more efficient on data usage than Google's iOS Maps app, which is a raster graphics-based app.

apple_maps_has_a_positive_side_uses_up_to_80_less_data_than_google_maps_on_ios

This is all according to a new analysis from Onavo. Because Apple's Maps uses vector graphics, the application doesn't need to re-download map images every time a user adjust the view, which in the end, consumes much less data. Onavo's results are definitely interesting:

On Google Maps, the average data loaded from the cellular network for each step was 1.3MB. Apple Maps came in at 271KB - that's approximately 80% less data! On some actions, such as zooming in to see a particular intersection, Apple Maps' efficiency advantage edged close to 7X.



Read More ...



Lenovo to build PC manufacturing plant in North Carolina
Lenovo, who is a Chinese computer-maker, are set to start manufacturing PCs in the US next year. The company will build a production line in Whitsett, North Carolina, that will allow the the company to be more responsive to US corporate clients' demand for flexible supplies and product customization.

lenovo_to_build_pc_manufacturing_plant_in_north_carolina

With the production of PCs in the US, the cost will be higher, but it will improve the image of Lenovo in the US. At the moment, they're fourth in market share in regards to shipment numbers. Lenovo's North American President, David Schmook, has said:

Us having a [production] facility here in a home country is a differentiator that people will value. Being green is not necessarily the lowest-cost option for a lot of companies, but you do it because your customers and partners value you being green.

Lenovo will start by investing just a couple of million dollars, and hiring around 100 or so people, but this is just the beginning. Lenovo sitting at number four, will have something to brag about when comparing themselves against the top three, who are made up of HP, Dell and Apple. All three of these companies don't make PCs in the US. Lenovo are quick to state that the production line also isn't just a quick publicity stunt to throw them into the headlines, with Schmook adding:

I believe this is the first of many steps to increase our production capability. I'm very, very bullish about what I can get out of this facility.

I think it's great that we're seeing a big player start production in the US and I'm sure there are many US residents who will pay a little bit more to have something that is "Made in America", I know that I would.


Read More ...



Corsair Dominator Platinum PC3-21300 16GB Memory Kit Review

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review


Z77 RAM really got off to a bit of a slow start, but over the last few weeks we've got a bunch of RAM come in from companies and we'll be checking them out to see just what's going on. Today we're looking at what is probably one of the hottest looking RAM kits we've seen to date.
Corsair's Dominator series has always been the cream of the crop when it comes to Corsair RAM, but the series has recently been expanded with the new Dominator Platinum series. We were lucky enough to actually get not only a look at the new kit at the TweakTown Computex Party, but also give away a 16GB kit there as well.
Ever since then we had been bugging Corsair for the kit and today we've finally got a chance to look at it and looking below you can see just how great it looks. We love the sexy chrome top and black heatsink design with fins.

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

I'm a huge fan of the new chrome bit that goes across the top. I've always had a pet hate when it came to the Dominator series. When installing them the fins were always such a pain and really hurt your fingers when pushing them in. With the new cover on top, installing them is so much easier, which is fantastic.

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

As we move in a bit closer we take a look at each side of the modules while also just getting an overall better look at the heatsink. Both sides have the Corsair logo and the new Dominator Platinum logo. One side shows the speed which in this case you can see is 2666MHz DDR. The other side has a sticker that gives us a run down on all the main information.
As we move in closer to one of the modules we get a better idea of what exactly we're dealing with. Across the top we've got the model number and the barcode. As we look at the bottom half you can see we're dealing with a 16GB kit in the form of four 4GB modules. Next to that you can also see it's a 2666MHz DDR kit which we determined just earlier and you can see 1.65v is needed.

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

Between that you can also see the timings of the kit. This particular one is a CL10 kit and as you can see above our timings come in at 10-12-12-31-2T. This is a little relaxed, but considering not only the speed, but the fact we're dealing with a kit that consists of four modules verses two, we feel they're pretty reasonable. Moving along we can see a bit more information that doesn't mean a whole lot to us except the Made in Taiwan bit.
With our kit installed and ready to go we jumped into the BIOS of our new ASRock Z77 OC Formula and loaded up the XMP profile of the kit. We hit F10, saved and exited the BIOS and our machine booted up straight into Windows in where we could test the performance of the kit.

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

Under AIDA64 we ended up with Read / Write numbers of 23,588 MB/s / 20,907 MB/s, Copy speed of 25,774 MB/s and latency of 29.2ns. This is strong performance as you'd expect considering the default speed of the kit. As always, though, the next thing we do is head into the BIOS and see if we can get any more out of the kit.

On the RAM divider option our next choice was 2800MHz DDR which we didn't expect to work. Not so much because we didn't think the RAM couldn't do it, but we know that our CPUs IMC just isn't strong enough to run 2800MHz DDR as we had a 2800MHz DDR kit in the past that wouldn't run.
So the only option we have is to leave the kit at the 2666MHz DDR divider and then move along our BCLK which would bump our CPU speed up alongside the RAM speed. We slowly moved the BCLK up starting with 101 and then push it up normally by .5. In the end we got to a solid 103 BCLK and as you can see above that brought the RAM in at a very impressive 2745MHz DDR with the same default 10-12-12-31-2T timings.

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

Alongside pushing our RAM speed up this also pushed our CPU speed up which will of course assist in the overall memory performance. In the end our CPU comes in running at 4015.2MHz which isn't hugely higher than the 3.9GHz that we get when running at stock due to Intel's Turbo Boost technology.
With that all done and us finding ourselves back in Windows it was time to see what kind of performance boost we could get out of the kit. Under AIDA64 we ended up with Read / Write numbers of 24,323 MB/s / 21,533 MB/s, Copy speed of 26,589 MB/s and latency of 30.4ns. Looking above you can see our latency takes the slightest hit, but across the board we see some really nice gains across the board with extra MB/s being seen in every test.
With the max OC on the RAM found we always head back into the BIOS and see what we can do with our CPU speed increased. Normally what we'd do is increase our CPU Multiplier and leave the BCLK at where ever it is. Unfortunately it didn't want to play that nice.
So what we had to do was push the multiplier up, but drop the BCLK slightly down, which meant that our RAM speed would drop slightly from the 2745MHz DDR we achieved. Looking below you can see exactly how we went.
Looking above you can see our CPU Multiplier has been pushed to 46x and our BCLK slightly down to 102 which resulted in our RAM coming in at 2720MHz DDR. Overall, though, you can see a nice boost in performance as Under AIDA64 we ended up with Read / Write numbers of 26,026 MB/s / 24,761 MB/s, Copy speed of 29,930 MB/s and latency of 29.2ns.
The new Corsair Dominator Platinum PC3-21300 16GB Kit wins in so many ways. For starters performance is awesome and you can see we've got clear overclocking headroom. As always, though, when it comes to these high performance kits, we must warn you that you're going to need a CPU that has a strong IMC (Internal Memory Controller) to be able to hit these high speeds.

corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

We don't have much to complain about when it comes to this kit of ram. If we had to pick something it would probably be the $504.99 price tag. Saying that, though, it's an easy price tag to justify for multiple reasons. First the speed is fantastic and we're of course dealing with a 16GB kit. Alongside that the quality of the heatsink is awesome and each end has a white LED which looks great when the kit is up and running. Unfortunately it's hard to take a photo of it and give you the full effect of it, but you can take our word for it that it looks awesome.
This is a kit that is no doubt targeted at a specific kind of user - those who want both a large amount of RAM and at a decent speed. You're going to have to pay for it, but with the quality of the kit Corsair has put together here, we can't really complain much.

What do TweakTown awards and ratings mean? Click!


corsair_dominator_platinum_pc3_21300_16gb_memory_kit_review

... Read the rest in your browser!



Read More ...



FIFA 13 PlayStation 3 Review

fifa_13_playstation_3_review

Last year's FIFA was close to perfection. Dan Rutter and his team at EA Sports had almost created the ultimate football game, however there was a few niggles to keep it from being called perfect. With this in mind the yearly war between Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA begins again in earnest. Could Pro Evo come closer to the juggernaut that is FIFA, or would FIFA pull away and lead into the next generation as the leader? It hasn't been an easy road for FIFA this year. Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 is no doubt the most impressive version for a number of years and Konami went on the offensive, releasing the game before FIFA for the first time, but Dan Rutter and his team have corrected the niggles from last year's game and now FIFA is without equal. It is the greatest football game of this generation.
FIFA 13 makes some interesting changes to the game modes on offer. A regular exhibition match is now termed Match Day and can either be played in an online or offline format. Playing online does introduce limitations such as you can't have custom squads, but on the other hand it introduces some social networking elements to the game. As you win matches with your team in Match Day, the results are uploaded to the EA servers and your club either gets a boost from a win, or a drop from a loss. It's like a crowd sourced table of football teams.
There has also been an interesting change to the main career mode. Let's start with the puzzling decision to remove the combination Be a Pro/Manager mode. In FIFA 13 you cannot be a manager and also play as an individual pro player, the game now forces a decision upon you. In many ways this doesn't make sense. In the real-world, football player managers are very much part of the framework of modern football, and to take away a feature which is loved in the series, was always going to be a risk.

fifa_13_playstation_3_review

However, aside from this, the career mode has had some major improvements and these changes add even more challenge to the game. There is now zero doubt that FIFA is after Football Managers crown as a fully featured management simulation, and whilst they are miles away from SI's legendary sim, they are very much heading down that path. In FIFA 13 players will complain about wages midway through the season, head off to international duty (something 'borrowed' from the PES series of games) and in general give you more headaches. In the past it's been manage injuries, manage contracts and win matches. Now it's keep players happy 24/7 and the challenges are better than ever.
The transfer system has had somewhat of an overhaul as well. You will no longer be able to sign megastars into your team without guaranteeing first team football and they can see through your lies. Numerous times I had offered first team football to a player I wanted to sign and got the feedback 'I know you cannot offer me that, I am not signing'. This human element adds a level of realism to a FIFA game not seen yet and makes career mode all the more difficult to dominate. If you want a realistic football manager sim where you actually play the matches, FIFA 13 is your game.
Aside from this a lot of the changes are engine based and cosmetic. In the FIFA 12 review we gushed about the brand new impact engine even though it had a few niggles here and there. We can happily report that those niggles have been removed.
The impact engine in FIFA 13 is nothing short of sublime. Players move in a realistic fashion and when crunching tackles come in no longer go flying all over the place, but instead fall in a heap in a realistic fashion. Sometimes they even take a while to get up and rub their legs, or other times actually incur an injury. This is the kind of comments we used to make about PES during the PS2 days and it's clear as day that EA has finally perfected what Konami had done right in 2005. It's just a shame PES has somewhat gone off the rails since then.
Aside from this the actual movement of the ball and players has changed as well. No longer can you turn on a dime and burst past a player. Receiving a fast ball, the player will need to control the ball before even trying to move and just like in real life without control, the AI can easily scoop the ball away. There is a noticeable delay in players reacting to sharp movements and whilst delayed movement in games can be criticised, it just seems right in this game given the way real-world professional footballers react on the pitch.
One area which has not been given any love is the creation center where you can make custom teams and players. Thankfully EA has decided it was necessarily to allow FIFA 12 content to be compatible with 13 so any teams and players you made last year can be imported into the FIFA 13 game easily. EA is also not cutting access from FIFA 12 off. Instead as soon as you make a change to a pre-existing team or player, it is updated to the 13 format forcing you to upgrade.
You are rewarded for playing the game however with tokens now added as you complete tasks and these tokens allow you to unlock items such as old jerseys or boots for various famous teams. Also, whilst the game loads you can play some mini games to pass the time. Most of the time the game loads well before you finish these skill games which is one of the best additions to the game this year - teaching you how to play, whilst keeping you interested during load screens.

fifa_13_playstation_3_review

It goes without saying that with the improved game engine comes improved graphics and animations. Players no longer morph into each other during challenges and during slow motion replays you can tell a lot of work has been put into this area. Player's ankles and legs react accordingly to tackles and also the days of players flying up in the air in a comical fashion are over. As per usual the big names within the game are easily identified just by looking at the character on the ball, whilst those who have not had the superstar treatment still look good.
Commentary is again provided by Martin Tyler, but there is also updates from other matches within the same league delivered during the commentary giving an even better broadcast style experience. And yet again the people who concoct the soundtrack have smashed it out of the park. Each year not only is the game anticipated by many, but the soundtrack has become just as much a cultural phenomenon as the game itself.
If FIFA 13 is to be the last FIFA game released during this generation before the next consoles are announced (expected to be late next year), then it is a fitting send off to the longest generation ever. In many ways FIFA as a series shows that a longer generation may not be such a bad thing. EA have had many years to perfect their engine and gameplay on the current systems and it shows. FIFA 13 is hands down the best football game of this generation, and quite possibly of the last decade. If you are a football fan you simply must buy FIFA 13.

What do TweakTown awards and ratings mean? Click!

... Read the rest in your browser!



Read More ...



SAPPHIRE Launches PURE PLATINUM A85XT mainboard
SAPPHIRE Technology, a leading manufacturer and global supplier of graphics, mainboard and multimedia solutions has just announced a new mainboard developed to support the latest Trinity family of APUs from AMD.
The SAPPHIRE Pure Platinum A85XT is a full ATX sized board that supports the latest generation AMD APU A10/A8/A6/A4 series Trinity processors using socket FM2. It includes full implementation of the A85X chipset features, including USB 3.0, SATA 6G, PCI-Express expansion and extensive I/O support.

sapphire_launches_pure_platinum_a85xt_mainboard

"SAPPHIRE is very excited about the launch of the Trinity platform and the new architecture it introduces," said Adrian Thompson, SAPPHIRE VP of Marketing. "We will shortly be adding a new product to our Edge mini-PC range to take advantage of the new performances levels Trinity brings."
AMD's Trinity APU family supports up to four independent high resolution DirectX 11 displays with its integrated Southern Islands graphics. Outputs provided on the SAPPHIRE Pure Platinum A85XT back panel are DisplayPort, Dual Link DVI-D, HDMI and VGA. Triple view is supported with VGA, DVI and either HDMI or DisplayPort.
The SAPPHIRE Pure Platinum A85XT mainboard has seven SATA III 6Gb/s ports, featuring AHCI and RAID support and including one eSATA connection. Four dual channel memory sockets are provided, supporting up to 32GB of DDR3 memory. There are four USB 3.0 ports (two at the rear and two on a header supported by a high quality front panel kit) as well as eight USB 2.0 ports (4 on the rear panel). Connectivity is provided by one Gigabit Ethernet LAN port and integrated Bluetooth. The rear panel carries optical SPDIF output as well as the standard I/O configuration for the on board 8-channel HD 7.1 Audio.
Extensive expansion support is provided by multiple PCI-Express slots. There are two PCI-Express Gen 2.0 X16 slots, which support AMD CrossFire or AMD Dual Graphics together with the APU. In addition there is one PCI-Express 2.0 x4 slot, two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots, two PCI Slots, and one Mini PCI-E x1 (or mSATA) connector.
Many user friendly features have been incorporated in the SAPPHIRE Pure Platinum A85XT, such as seven-segment digital debug display and a push button reset for the BIOS, as well as start and system reset buttons. These are especially useful for enthusiasts interested in performance tuning or overclocking. The provision of a Dual BIOS allows for experimentation and updates. This board features the SAPPHIRE QBIOS, an easy to use UEFI BIOS with many overclocking features, and includes S_BIOS which allows the user to update and back up the BIOS from within the BIOS - there is no need to boot from an external disk.
The build quality of the SAPPHIRE Pure Platinum A85XT is high. It has a black multilayer PCB, and uses high quality gold plated connectors for USB 3.0 and LAN. It incorporates many of the high end features associated with the SAPPHIRE brand, such as the use of high reliability solid capacitors throughout. The multi-phase PWM voltage regulation circuitry for both the APU and memory modules incorporate the SAPPHIRE Diamond Black chokes with coolers that have featured on SAPPHIRE's high end graphics cards. The chipset has a totally passive cooling solution and low profile coolers on the PWM section give users a wide choice of APU cooler without risk of obstruction.
Hardware monitoring tools and the SAPPHIRE proprietary Mainboard TriXX software allow users to review and adjust a range of system parameters while optimizing performance of the APU.


Read More ...



SP/Silicon Power Presents Diamond D03 USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive
SP/Silicon Power, the world's leading provider of memory storage solutions announced today a newest addition of its Diamond series portable hard drive, the Diamond D03. The all new Diamond D03 is ultra lightweight and features super speed USB 3.0 transfer mode in an attractive slender and urban fashion design.

sp_silicon_power_presents_diamond_d03_usb_3_0_portable_hard_drive

Following the modern and sophistication design of the Diamond series, the new D03 expresses urban fashion with geometric design and is lined with an urban checkered pattern. The Diamond D03 is covered in a solid aluminum metal structure providing better durability and heat dissipation than the standard plastic case. The surface is specially treated to resist scratches and fingerprint marks to reduce the occurrence of dents and other damages from daily usage. Weighing only 147g, D03 is 30% lighter than the standard hard drive and its slender and sleek design makes it your ideal personal digital storage device.

In terms of performance, the Diamond D03 is equipped with the high-speed USB 3.0 connection interface. With transfer rate reaching up to 5Gb/s, the D03 can transfer a 25GB blu-ray DVD in merely 70 seconds. The D03 features built-in LED status indicator allowing users to instantly identify power supply and activity status and is equipped with a hibernation mode for power saving.

The Diamond D03 is available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB and is backed by a three year warranty. For more information, please visit the SP/Silicon Power website: http://www.silicon-power.com
Product Features

  • SuperSpeed USB 3.0 compliant and backwards compatible with USB 2.0

  • High transferring rate up to 5Gb/sec

  • Solid aluminum metal structure and scratch resistant surface

  • Power saving sleep mode

  • LED indicates power on and data transfer activity

  • New version of SP Widget free download software, providing 7 major back-up and security functions (256-bit AES file & folder encryption)


Product Specification

  • Dimensions:75.5 x 117.55 x 14 mm

  • Weight:147g

  • Standard Compliance:USB 3.0 / 2.0

  • Data Transfer Rates:Max. 5 Gb/s (USB 3.0 Mode)

  • Max. 480 Mb/s (USB 2.0 Mode)

  • Power Supply:DC 5V (Power supplied through USB)

  • Operating Temperature:5℃~ 55℃

  • Storage Temperature:-40℃~ 70℃

  • Supported Operating Systems:Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Linux 2.6.31 or later, MacOS 10.5 or later (only USB 2.0 currently supported)

  • Color:Black

  • Three-year warranty



Read More ...



Many Ashampoo applications already Windows 8 certified
German software manufacturer Ashampoo has done their homework and already tested and certified various software applications for Windows 8 compatibility weeks before the official Windows 8 release. This makes Ashampoo one of the first companies to ensure full compatibility with the next version of Windows for the majority of applications.

many_ashampoo_applications_already_windows_8_certified

"Being a gold-certified Microsoft partner, we wanted to waste no time readying our software for the coming generation of Windows. It is of utmost importance to us, to take this step now to provide a seamless migration experience to Windows 8 for our customers." says Sebastian Schwarz, CEO of Ashampoo.
The following applications have already been Windows 8 certified:

  • Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 (Version 11.0.4)

  • Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 (Version 9.04.31)

  • Ashampoo Photo Commander 10 (Version 10.1.3)

  • Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 5 (Version 5.1.2)

  • Ashampoo GetBack Photo (Version 1.0.1)

  • Ashampoo Music Studio 4 (Version 4.0.1)

  • Ashampoo UnInstaller 4 (Version 4.3.0)

  • Ashampoo Video Styler (Version 1.0.1)

  • Ashampoo HDD Control 2 (Version 2.1.0)

  • Ashampoo Photo Converter 2 (Version 2.0.0)

  • Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD 2 (Version 2.0.5)

  • Ashampoo Snap 5 (Version 5.1.5)

  • Up to speed with every development stage of Windows 8

As a participant of the Windows 8 pre-release program that grants partners insights into the development process, Ashampoo was in constant touch with Microsoft and briefed about every aspect of Windows development. Even at an early stage, Ashampoo pioneered Windows 8 development by providing Ashampoo ImageFX, an image effects tool that relies on the new UI toolkit. This application was one of the first third-party Windows 8 programs during the Windows 8 beta phase. Also, with Ashampoo Burning Studio 11, Ashampoo has already claimed its' spot in the Windows 8 store.
Heavy discounts at the release of Windows 8
The software company will offer huge discounts for all above-listed Windows 8 certified applications to make the transition to the next generation of Windows as lucrative as possible. With 80% discounts, machines may be equipped for all major computing tasks at little expense. You will find further details here.


Read More ...



ORIGIN PC IS NOW TAKING WINDOWS 8 ORDERS
ORIGIN PC is now taking orders for Microsoft's highly anticipated, Windows 8 operating system. Starting today, customers can now select Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro to be installed on any new ORIGIN Desktop or EON Laptop orders and be one of the first to ship on the official launch date of October 26th. The wait is over and ORIGIN PC will begin building your system now! Avoid the rush and backlog of waiting for October 26th. Order your next ORIGIN PC with Windows 8 today!

origin_pc_is_now_taking_windows_8_orders

Windows 8 Features:



  • Windows 7 foundation: Windows 8 is designed and built off the rock-solid foundation you've come to expect from Windows 7 offering great performance on an ORIGIN PC.


  • New Start Menu: The new Start Menu contains all of the information and applications you care about in one place, such as your contacts, the weather, internet or even your favorite PC games in customizable tiles for your convenience.


  • Cloud Connected: Windows 8 can store your settings, files and information to the cloud using your Microsoft account and allows you to log in into any other Windows 8 enabled device to sync your start page, themes, language preferences, browsing history, and browser favorites.


  • Faster Boot Up Times: With a better allocation of system applications and resources, Windows 8 offers a significantly faster boot up time over its predecessors.


  • Free Lifetime 24/7 Support: Every ORIGIN PC comes with industry leading Lifetime 24/7 Support based in the United States ready to help answer any Windows 8 related questions.

  • Quote from ORIGIN PC
    "Big launches are typically structured in a way where consumers have to wait for a specific date and then suffer through hassles including long lines, delays, and/or backlogs." said Kevin Wasielewski ORIGIN PC CEO and co-founder. "ORIGIN PC is offering this fantastic opportunity for our customers to avoid these hassles by placing custom PC orders with Windows 8 today and being one of the first to start shipping on October 26th."


    Read More ...



    ViewSonic releases frameless HD monitors
    ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, today announced its brand new VX70Smh-LED Series, with several size options including the 27" VX2770Smh-LED, 23" VX2370Smh-LED and 22" VX2270Smh-LED.

    viewsonic_releases_frameless_hd_monitors

    The VX70Smh-LED Series features a professional grade widescreen SuperClear IPS panel with a frameless bezel for displays that look as good as they perform. The Full HD 1920x1080 screen resolution with an impressive 30,000,000:1 MEGA Dynamic Contrast Ratio and wide 178-degree viewing angles deliver an extraordinary level of visual clarity. Base mounted speakers with SRS Premium Sound® and an external power supply allows for an ultra slim design. Paired with several video inputs including HDMI® and DVI with HDCP (High Definition Content Protection), this Series is an excellent choice for entertainment and gaming.
    This environmentally friendly, mercury-free Series delivers an energy savings of up to 40% against comparatively sized displays. ViewSonic's Eco-mode feature furthers these savings by helping extend display life. Teamed with a standard 3-year limited warranty and the industry's best pixel performance policy, even the most discerning display user can feel confident in their investment.
    "Our new VX70Smh-LED Series offers the best combination of performance and features in the industry, and we've sweetened the deal by packaging it up in a beautiful frameless bezel design," said Erik Willey, LCD monitor and PC product marketing director at ViewSonic. "Available in a range of sizes, these displays are ideal for consumers, gamers and multimedia enthusiasts alike."
    The 27" VX2770Smh-LED and 23" VX2370Smh-LED are now available ill be available in early October for respective ESPs of $319 and $189. A 22" version within this Series (VX2270Smh-LED) is expected to be available in early December for an ESP of $159.


    Read More ...





    Available Tags:Google , Chrome , Google , Galaxy , Android , iOS , smartphone , Apple , Lenovo , SAPPHIRE , USB 3.0 , USB , Windows 8 , Windows , Windows 8 , ViewSonic ,

    No comments: