Google reportedly planning to open retail stores by year's end
It looks as though we may soon be able to go to our local Google store to check out the company's latest technology offerings. While it will likely be structured a bit like the Microsoft stores in that they feature other companies' hardware, the stores will allow Google the chance to offer hands-on experiences of their own devices, such as the Nexus 4.
The report comes from 9to5Google who cites "an extremely reliable source." They say that Google is planning to have the first of its retail stores open by year's end in major metropolitan areas. These stores will be a bit different than the current Chrome store-within-a-store that Google currently has in Best Buys.
The idea for Google retail stores is said to have come out of plans to take Project Glass to the public. Google felt it would be hard to sell a device that will retail for $500-$1000 without offering a try-before-you-buy opportunity. The retail stores will also give Google a chance to demonstrate other products, such as Chromebooks and driverless cars.
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Posterous officially shutting down as of April 30, lets users download data until then
Posterous, a popular blogging platform that was acquired by Twitter last year, has announced that it will be shutting down as of April 30. The site says that they are shutting down in order to focus on Twitter and there will be no more viewing or editing content past the shutdown date.
Because of this, Posterous is offering users the ability to download their data. WordPress and Squarespace are alternatives and both feature importers for Posterous data. A "backup" option is also provided and it will provide you with a zip file containing your data. You can request a backup by heading to the
Posterous site.
"
We'd like to thank the millions of Posterous users who have supported us on our incredible journey. We hope to provide you with as easy a transition as possible, and look forward to seeing you on Twitter."
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You can now download a free and legal copy of the source code for Photoshop version 1.0
For the interested software developer, or for those who want to experience a bit of nostalgia, Adobe has released a free and legal copy of the source code of Photoshop version 1.0. The code has been released in conjunction with the
Computer History Museum who has detailed the software on their website.
The source code consists of about 128,000 lines and is mostly undocumented. Version 1.0 of the software was created by one sole engineer, Thomas Knoll. Version 2 had just two engineers. Around 75 percent of the code is written in Pascal and about 15 percent is in 68000 assembler language.
The code is free for non-commercial use and can be downloaded from the
Computer History Museum. Nearly everything is included, save for the MacApp applications library that was licensed from Apple.
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ReportTT: Nokia will not be launching a Lumia tablet at Mobile World Congress
A report has surfaced saying that Nokia will not be launching a tablet at Mobile World Congress this year. Previously, a rumor had claimed that Nokia would be launching a tablet that ran a Microsoft operating system at this years Mobile World Congress. The report refuting this rumor cites "extensive channel checks" and comes from a credible source.
Strategy Analytics, a research company, reports that after "extensive channel checks," they have concluded that Nokia will not be releasing a tablet at MWC this year. They expect Nokia to focus on its Lumia line of smartphones that make use of Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8 operating system.
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Nintendo running 3DS eShop sale for next 6 weeks in North America, Europe
Nintendo has announced that they are running a 3DS eShop promotion for the next six weeks. Six eShop games will be discounted, one at a time for a week at a time. The first sale runs until February 21 and will see users being able to buy BIT.TRIP.SAGA for just $9.99.
The full list of sales is as follows:
- BIT.TRIP.SAGA - $9.99 until 21st February
- Crashmo - $5.99 from 21st February to 28th February
- Fractured Soul - $7.99 from 28th February until 7th March
- Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword - $4.99 from 7th March to 14th March
- Ketzal's Corridors - $4.99 from 14th March to 21st March
- Mutant Mudds - $5.99 from 21st March to 28th March
In Europe, retail games will also be put on sale with the first game being The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D being available for just 19.99 pounds or 29.99 euros until February 21.
The discounts aren't huge, but they may be enough to tempt users into perusing the eShop and possibly picking up some games. Nintendo's digital distribution efforts are still in their infancy and this may be the result of Nintendo trying to grow their digital distribution efforts.
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Zynga and EA settle dispute, drop lawsuits against each other
For our happy Friday story, we can report that Zynga and EA have agreed to drop their lawsuits against each other. In a document filed today, both companies agreed to drop their lawsuits with prejudice, which means they are unable to file new lawsuits with the same causes of action.
EA's lawsuit accused Zynga of copying one of their games. Zynga fired back with a lawsuit that accused EA of unfair hiring practices. It's likely that the companies didn't want to air dirty laundry and decided to drop it. Both companies are paying for their own legal fees and there has been no mention of a settlement.
Zynga confirmed the dismissal: "
EA and Zynga have resolved their respective claims and have reached a settlement of their litigation in the Northern District of California."
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Apple looking for engineering manager to work on 'high-priority' next-gen Apple TV features
While job postings can sometimes be used to predict future products and directions that companies will take, the latest job posting by Apple doesn't reveal much other than the fact they are looking for an "experienced engineering manager to help deliver the next generation features for Apple TV."
The job posting doesn't offer up any details what those features might be, though rumors have popped up suggesting that Apple is planning an event this fall to unveil a new Apple TV SDK.
One of the more interesting components of the job listing is that the project is listed as a "high-priority" project. Previously, Apple has referred to the Apple TV as a hobby. While this could be indicative of the rumored TV analysts say they are working on, it could just be that Apple TV uptake has increased and it has started to become a main venture.
The job listing can be found on
Apple's website.
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Avast! antivirus pushes out beta of version 8, looking towards end of February release
For users interested in testing out the latest antivirus software, avast! has just pushed out the third beta of version 8 of their popular free software. Version 8 of the antivirus software brings with it a new GUI interface, a new product tier that has new features, and a version of avast! for Windows Home Server.
You can find out more about the beta from
this post on the avast! forums. The final version of the software is expected to be released towards the end of February, so hang on for a bit longer if you aren't interested in testing out the beta version.
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Facebook victim of Java zero-day exploit, admits they were hacked, no evidence user data compromised
Social media giant Facebook has said that they were hacked via a Java zero-day exploit after employees visited an infected mobile developer website back in January. Facebook has said that it does not appear that any user data was compromised and that they are working on moving away from Java.
"
They gained limited visibility into our systems," Fred Wolens, a spokesperson for Facebook told VentureBeat. "
We've accelerated our program to disable Java in our environment."
A patch for the bug used to compromise the fully patched laptops was issued by Oracle on February 1 after Facebook alerted them to the bug that allowed the hackers to bypass the sandbox protections. This is the latest in a string of high-profile hackings and exploits found in Java.
Many people have called for Java to be uninstalled from systems due to the frequency in which major security holes are found. The Department of Homeland Security has reiterated this recommendation.
Facebook is working with law enforcement to identify the hackers and the details. Facebook was quick to post about the hack so that other companies can protect themselves. They say that they were "not alone in this attack," though it's not clear who else has been affected by the compromise.
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ReportTT: iOS 6.1.2 update will be pushed out 'early next week'
Apple has several problems on-hand with the latest iOS 6.1 operating system. At least one of the most pressing issues was fixed with an iOS 6.1.1 update that was pushed out to iPhone 4S devices earlier this week. However, more problems remain and some new ones have popped up, some more pressing than others.
The major issue that has been discovered is the ability to bypass the lock screen's passcode easily and without any special tools. A bug like this could prove problematic for a company who usually prides itself on security. Security issues also result in enterprise customers being more wary of a product.
German blog iFun, who accurately predicted the release of iOS 6.1.1, is predicting that iOS 6.1.2 will be pushed out "early next week." This means users should only have to wait a few more days before security is returned to the device. The update will also hopefully bring with it a fix to the Exchange problems that are present in iOS 6.1.
One unknown is whether or not the update will patch the Evasi0n jailbreak tool. It's possible that Apple has been too busy fixing bugs to focus on patching the jailbreaking tool. However, Apple doesn't like jailbreaking and has probably devoted quite a few resources to patching the bugs the Evasi0n tool makes use of.
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RumorTT: Harrison Ford to return as Han Solo in latest Star Wars movie
Reports are surfacing that the elderly Harrison Ford will be returning as Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars film. El Mayimbe of Latino Review says that his return is a sure-thing: "
His deal is done, it's just a formality right now, they haven't really announced it yet."
We're still not sure that this is the case as the movie is still in its infancy, though there have been numerous other rumors that proved true. For instance, the rumor that J.J. Abrams would be the director proved true, so it is certainly possible this one will work out as well.
The source has been correct in other movie scoops before, as well, which lends some credence to this rumor. If the decision has already been made and a deal done, the announcement shouldn't be too far in the future. Worst case is we will know for sure when the movie comes out.
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'Weak passwords' blamed for the fake zombie EAS message that went out Monday
Proving that everyone is susceptible to weak passwords, the hoax zombie alert that went out across multiple stations' emergency alert system is being blamed upon the stations not changing the default password to the system. This allowed the still-unnamed prankster to hack into the system and send out the fake alert.
Most people weren't too concerned with the fake alert. In fact, it seems that the stations are more concerned with the fact that the system was able to be compromised. According to Cynthia Thompson, station manager for Michigan's ABC 10 affiliate, "
the nature of the message Monday night was not necessarily dangerous, but the fact that the system was vulnerable to outside intrusion IS a danger."
If the prankster had wanted to cause more panic, a fake terrorist attack message or natural disaster message would have likely proved more effective. This is where the real concern comes into play as someone wanting to cause real issues could display a message such as that. Reportedly two products from one of the main EAS vendors is susceptible to compromise even after the default password has been changed.
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Ubuntu Mobile OS developer preview to be released on February 21, will be compatible with Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4
Ubuntu Mobile OS will be made available for developers to install on their Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 devices on February 21. The new mobile operating system by the creators of the Ubuntu Linux distribution will be compatible with those two devices and Canonical will be at Mobile World Congress flashing compatible devices for users who want to check it out.
The new operating system is sleek. This is partly due to the fact that the OS will be launching without an app store, something that seems like it would make the operating system dead on arrival. However, Canonical says they are looking at going after users who want to use a core set of applications.
Come February 21, we should start seeing more information about the operating system including more hands-on time and thoughts regarding how it works.
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SpaceTT: Asteroid 2012 DA14 to make closest pass to Earth today at 2:24 PM US EST - hope it doesn't screw with us
Asteroid 2012 DA14, a chunk of space rock roughly the size of a football field, will make the closest pass to Earth ever recorded of a previously known object. At around 2:24 PM US EST today (not long from now!) the asteroid will pass Earth within 17,200 miles of our atmosphere.
This close pass comes hot on the heels of an unrelated massive meteorite exploding over Russia yesterday. The meteorite passed over a remote part of Russia and exploded over the town of Chelyabinsk, and injured 500 people when its shock wave shattered the glass in surrounding buildings. You can hear the massive explosion in the video below.
NASA scientists say that the two events are most likely unrelated, and there is zero chance of Asteroid 2012 DA14 hitting Earth. Those interested will be able to observe tonight's flyby by watching a series of webcasts being held by NASA and broadcast on Space.com (Source #2). Personally I will be outside with my 10" Schmidt Newtonian telescope trying to get a fleeting glimpse of the object.
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GameStick Android-powered gaming console pre-orders available now
The highly anticipated Android powered GameStick is now available for pre-order through GameStick's online store for $79 today. The base price will land you the USB drive sized GameStick as well as a single Bluetooth controller.
The online store which appears to be powered by Amazon.com is also offering up a multi-functional docking station which is used to wirelessly charge the controller and also serves as an additional external storage device for the GameStick. The dock can be had for a mere $24.99 and includes an Ethernet port, HDMI port and three USB ports.
PlayJam, the creators of the GameStick, already finished up a very successful Kickstarter campaign to the tune of $647,658 back in the beginning of this month. The company says that they are working with more than 250 developers to bring you a wealth of games configured just for the device.
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Microsoft to force all Windows Live / MSN Messenger users over to Skype starting April 8th
We have been hearing rumors of Microsoft's plans to transition users of its MSN / Live Messenger service over to Skype for a while now, and today it appears that we have an official date. The transition will begin taking place on April 8th of this year.
The upgrade will target English users first and then trickle down to the rest of the world, over the rest of the month. This news comes shortly after a confusing email which alluded to all Live Messenger services shutting down on April 15th, which is not true.
"
The upgrade process itself has been going really well, we've had millions of customers move over", said Skype's Parri Munsell. The transition process begins when existing Live Messenger users are greeted with an upgrade notification. The upgrade will prevent users from signing in to the messaging service using the existing Live Messenger application. Microsoft is pre-caching existing machines with the Skype installer so that the upgrade will appear seamless.
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Limited Edition Sega-branded notebooks hit the shelves in Japan
Ex-console manufacturer Sega has teamed up with Japanese retailer Enterbrain to release some nostalgic Sega branded notebooks that will be sold for a limited time in Japan. The laptops feature removable lids that mimic classic Sega gaming consoles.
The lids showcase design elements as well as logos from Sega's popular Saturn, Dreamcast, Mega Drive, with a fourth sporting the Sega logo and a bright blue paint job. Before you get your hopes up, the laptops will not come loaded with classic Sega games, but will include exclusive wallpapers and custom sounds. The themed lids can also be purchased separately, so you can change out your retro experience at will.
The laptops come in four flavors of hardware specifications: Light, Standard, High-Spec and Premium. The Light version sports a 2.5GHz Intel Processor and 4GB of RAM, while the Premium version includes a 2.4GHz i7, 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA 650M. All four levels include Windows 8, 15.6" HD screen and USB 3.0.
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Artists point fingers at CBS and CNET for rise in BitTorrent popularity and Piracy
Billionaire FilmOn founder Alki David, along with a number of film and music artists, are accusing CBS and CNET for the rise in piracy through BitTorrent programs. The accusations are based on the fact that Download.com provides BitTorrent programs for download as well as giving each program a review.
In the past year, David and his unnamed group of artists have achieved several minor victories in court with one judge stating that Download.com can be held liable as they distribute and promote torrent clients through review ratings. He said that the review, if favorable, was encouraging the use of said software.
CNET's counter claims that BitTorrent is also used to distribute unique content that is approved by the creator. According to the artists, this is irrelevant. The plaintiffs go on to state:
"The fact that other entities such as the torrent publisher or a torrent website like the Pirate Bay might be jointly and severally liable for this infringement does not affect CBSI's inducement."
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LeakedTT: HTC One (formerly M7) smartphone photo leaked, much clearer than previously released video
A few days ago I wrote about
the latest video from HTC that showcased some nice lens flairs along with a few fuzzy shots of the upcoming HTC M7 smartphone, now known as the HTC One. We really didn't get much from the video other than a blurry metallic looking edge shot and some indication of a white case.
The website UnwiredViews has just posted a full picture of the upcoming flagship smartphone device from HTC. The model leaked in the photo shows a black case instead of white, and it is hard to tell if the metallic edging is still there. Nonetheless, the new HTC One looks sexy.
An impressive list of hardware backs up those good looks as well. The HTC One will feature a 4.7-inch screen with a pixel density of 468 pixels per inch, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon CPU and a 13Mp rear camera. Sources have confirmed that the HTC One will launch on ATT, Sprint and T-Mobile on March 22nd with Verizon getting theirs later. MSRP is $199 with a two-year contract.
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Facebook wins case over Real Names policy in Germany, body set to appeal stating privacy concerns
Last year
I reported on the German Data Protection Body, Unabhaengiges Landeszentrum fuer Datenschutz ULD, ruling that Facebook's Real Name policy violated German data protection laws. This was a major blow to Facebook's long standing policy of users only being able to create profiles with their real name.
Today a German court ruled that the data protection laws aren't applicable as Facebook has its European headquarters in Ireland. The court said that only Irish data protection laws could apply. Not one to back down, the ULD says that it is planning an appeal, and still believes that the method of forcing users to use their real name breaks privacy laws.
The head of the ULD, Thilo Weichert, said that the ruling was "more than amazing," and "contradictory". Personally I have no issues with Facebook requiring me to use my real name. If I do not want my real name used, I do not have to use the social network. How do our German readers feel about Facebook's Real Name policy? Let us know in the comments.
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Rhino Shield acts like a power up for Gorilla Glass, makes it up to five times stronger
If you thought Corning's Gorilla Glass was strong, it can still lead to cracked displays, which means there's always room for someone to make improvements here and there. This is exactly what two students from Cambridge University have done.
The students' product supposedly boosts the impact resistance of Gorilla Glass by up to five times, their product is called Rhino Shield, and is a new screen protector you install on top of your smartphone's display. Rhino Shield features a specific blend of patent-pending polymer, which gives your device more protection from shock, scratches and fingerprints.
There are countless other screen protectors on the market, but the developers assert that Rhino Shield is unique thanks to its impart dispersion and dampening layers that help diffuse blows against the device.
Rhino Shield is a little thicker than your standard screen protector, which is an average of between 0.015 to 0.020cm thick, measuring in at 0.028cm. This extra thickness would end being beneficial if its going to keep your device safer. The developers say that Rhino Shield is just three times thicker than a sheet of paper, and is highly transparent.
The developers, under Evolutive Labs, have
pushed into Kickstarter for funding and at the time of writing had 294 backers with 4,693 pounds raised so far. Evolutive Labs need 50,000 pounds total to meet their goal, and they've said that they're ready to go into mass production if they need their funding. If the target is met, they would be shipping Rhino Shield in April.
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RumorTT: Samsung is ready to compete in the wearable computing market with a Galaxy Watch
I'm sure you've read that
Apple are working on some 'watch computer', which I think will materialize into the iWatch, but now it looks like Apple's direct competitor and court room buddy Samsung are joining in.
Reports are suggesting that the South Korean electronics giant are working on the Galaxy Watch, which could be released in a matter of months. Screenshots of the Galaxy Watch's interface have popped up, giving some credit to the rumors of the wearable device. The images appeared on a Korean message board, where they refer to the device as codename "Galaxy Altius".
We have used the RumorTT stamp on this post though, as a
writer over at SamMobile has said that the images' possible authenticity is questioned because of the "Altius" name is thought to be the codename for the upcoming Galaxy S IV, as well as the fact that Samsung have never put a codename on a splash screen before. Enjoy the images for what they're worth.
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Running Windows 7 without SP1? You'll soon lose support, so upgrade now
I don't know why someone would be running Windows 7 without Service Pack 1, but if you're one of those users, you might want to upgrade soon. Why? Because the end-of-support date for Windows 7 without Service Pack 1 installed is getting close.
On April 9, Windows 7 RTM (release to manufacturing), without Service Pack 1 installed, will no longer be supported. The news is coming from a post on the Microsoft Springboard Series blog. Support for specific Windows releases ends 24 months after the release of a Service Pack - and you guessed it - Windows 7 SP1 was released in February 2011, two years ago now.
Windows 7 SP1 mainstream (free) support continues until January 13, 2015 and extended (paid) support continues all the way up until January 14, 2020 for Windows 7 SP1. The Springboard blog includes the above chart which explains the differences between Mainstream and Extended support.
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Ask the Experts: I want to buy a new monitor, but would I need a new GPU if I bought a 120Hz monitor?
Our
Ask the Experts section has a new question, with Drugsh wanting to know if he should buy a 120Hz-capable monitor of no.
Q: I am looking for good 27-inch monitor for gaming and movies... since I'm using Sapphire's Radeon HD 7870 XT GPU, I am very confused between 60Hz or 120Hz monitors... but my real question is, can the HD 7870 XT provide 120 frames per second?
I can't afford a better GPU, so it really worth a 120H monitor upgrade? Which monitor should I go for in both segments?
A: You can view the answer to Drugsh's question right
here.
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The New York Times' review of the latest Tesla Model S has Tesla ripping their review apart
New York Times reviewer John Broder is in some serious hot water after his review of Tesla'a latest electric car review, the Model S, has been found with a bunch of holes. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has come out, saying that Broder was prejudiced against electric cars right form the start, and did everything in his power to make the Model S electric car look bad for the road.
The onboard logs showing what charge the Model S had during the reviewers journey, as well as his recharge habits, point toward Broder taking the car off the power connection earlier than he stated in his review. Musk says:
The final leg of his trip was 61 miles and yet he disconnected the charge cable when the range display stated 32 miles. He did so expressly against the advice of Tesla personnel and in obvious violation of common sense.
Broder, in his review of the Model S, claimed he tried to minimize power consumption, but this was challenged by Musk, too. The Tesla CEO points out that typical driving speed are around 65-85 mph, the average cabin temperature of 72F for the duration of the review test, and that Broder had turned the heating up when the charge was getting low - all things that would in fact not reduce power consumption, but increase it.
It doesn't stop there, either, with Broder being accused to trying to artificially run down the Model S' battery quicker than typical driving would, where he drove "in circles for over half a mile in a tiny, 100-space parking lot" in front of one of Tesla's Supercharger power stations. The Tesla CEO says that this was in an attempt to fully drain the car. Musk also points out that there are plenty of recharging stations - both owned by Tesla and run by other companies - along the length of Broder's drive.
Broder wrote a follow-up piece, before Musk released his break down of the numbers, where he challenged some of Tesla's defenses around the performance of the Model S. Broder says that the Model S is susceptible to cold weather, with an effect on reducing range, and claims that no one from Tesla gave the power-saving advice that Musk was referring to.
Tesla now state they will not be referring to the test drive from here on out, believing that their run-down of the data "speaks for itself". It'll be interesting to see what Broder does from here, and whether The New York Times keep him on after a stunt like this.
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Sony Xperia Tablet S Review
Introduction and Specifications, Pricing and Availability
To be brutally honest, I haven't touched a single Sony smart device until the Xperia Tablet S. The last Sony phone I even used was an old Sony Ericsson flip phone from many moons ago. In a world completely dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung, Sony can get lost in the white noise.
Over the few years, Sony has lost their edge in the smartphone market, especially after they had a huge run with Ericsson - but between then and now, not so much. Sony have enjoyed decades as the undisputed Japanese electronics leader, but that shine has slowly been fading over the years.
The Xperia Tablet S actually launched nearly six months ago now, but was pulled from retail shelves after a manufacturing fault was discovered. This didn't fare well for Sony, as the competition fired multiple rounds, launching the Nexus 10, fourth-generation iPad, iPad mini and many more slates.
Can the Xperia Tablet S change things around for the tablet line at least? Let's take a look at the XPERIA Tablet S' specifications.
Luckily the XPERIA Tablet S sports some decent specs, which we're greeted by with NVIDIA's Tegra 3 quad-core processor, cranking along at 1.3GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 9.4-inch display with a 1280x800-pixel screen - this gives us 161 pixels per inch. On the software side of things, we have Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich - not Jelly Bean like most of the other tablet splashing down right now, but it's not terribly disappointing, either.
The Tablet S comes in three sizes, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB but features expandable storage by an SD card slot - and this isn't any normal microSD card slot, but a full-sized SD card slot. A strange addition in this microSD card slot world.
As for pricing, Newegg sell the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB Xperia Tablet S for $399, $499 and $599 respectively. This isn't too bad, but when you consider it against the Nexus 10 and fourth-generation iPad, it's not that great. The fourth-gen iPad is $100 more at every size point, and the iPad mini is $329. If we take a look on the Android side of things, the Nexus 10 is $399 for the 16GB version, and $499 for the 32GB Nexus 10.
So, Sony is sitting in the middle here - offering their tablet with older software than the Nexus 10 features, but with expandable storage. Availability wise, you should be able to get the Tablet S at most electronics stores, with Newegg offering free shipping on the above prices.
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Read the rest in your browser!
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SanDisk Extreme 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review
Back in November our resident storage editor Chris Ramseyer had the chance to take a look at the SanDisk Extreme SSD, a drive that to this day is one of the highest performing on the market. So, it is only right that we at TweakTown would bring you the next evolution of "Extreme" from SanDisk, albeit much smaller, but still
Extreme.
Last spring SanDisk made its grand entrance into the USB 3.0 flash drive market with the drive we are testing today, the SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive. Sporting capacities from 16GB to 64GB, the Extreme comes out of the box dawning a clean, compact design with sequential read and write speeds of 190MB/s and 170MB/s respectively.
For those of you that wish to have a more secure environment when transferring sacred data to and from PCs, SanDisk has outfitted the Extreme with 128-bit AES encryption via their Secure Access software. Compatibility of this product is Extreme as well with Windows XP/Vista/7 support along with Mac OSX 10.5+, although you will need a quick download for Secure Access on Mac OSX.
First impressions of the SanDisk Extreme are of its sleek yet simple exterior. Furthering this sleek approach SanDisk has opted for a compact design as well, by adding the slide feature that safely tucks away the USB 3.0 connection inside the case.
The back of the drive shows the model of the flash drive along with information such as the serial and model numbers. You will also find the capacity of the drive listed here - ours is the 64GB model.
Sliding out the USB male connection extends the drive to a full three inches, seen above, and the blue coloring of the port indicates its USB 3.0 compatibility.
As I would not like any of you to destroy your flash drives and waste you're hard earned money, please refrain from attempting this yourself. Disassembling the Extreme was rather easy yet meticulous, but alas I did manage to get it apart and have for your enjoyment images of the internals. Seen above we have the foundation of a blue PCB, the USB 3.0 controller mounted to the left and flash controller to the right.
The backside of the PCB houses a single 64GB NAND flash module. Being SanDisk labelled, we know its toggle mode NAND.
Looking closer at the components on this Extreme's PCB, the flash controller is labelled 20-82-00270-1 and may look familiar to some since it was used in the ReadyCache SSD from SanDisk. The USB 3.0 controller sitting to the right is manufactured by Fujitsu and integrates USB3.0 to SATA bridge and PHY's along with a 32-bit RISC processor to respond to requests from USB host.
The NAND flash package is labelled 07097 064G. I was unable to find out any further information on it as of this writing.
Initial setup of the SecureAccess software if you choose to use it is pretty straight forward. Using alphanumeric characters enter a password that fits your needs - something you won't forget would be preferable.
You will then be greeted with a splash screen, giving you options for transferring files. The easiest method, by far, is the drag and drop.
After securely transferring your data to the drive, upon removal, and reinserting the drive, you will be greeted by a password protected login that will give you access to all your files.
One of the lesser known features of running Microsoft's new operating system Windows 8 is the native capability of USB Attached SCSI or UASP. To start my benchmarking procedure I secure erased the SanDisk Extreme, as I will all drives I test in the future.
ATTO is commonly used for marketing performance of hard drives and solid state drives alike, above you can see that the SanDisk Extreme was a very capable drive. We managed to squeeze out 269MB/s read and just over 206MB/s write, a far cry from the 190/170 numbers that are advertised on the package.
CrystalDiskMark's default testing uses a set of random data or incompressible data, there is also an option for 0xfill or compressible data. We will use the standard data set for our purposes. Again we see strong performance with the SanDisk Extreme, sequential reads were consistent at 268MB/s, while sequential writes stayed fast at 212MB/s. 4K numbers were equally impressive - for a flash drive.
Disk Bench is a rather simple program that benchmarks real-world file transfers between drives. For this test I made up three data sets, one consisting of 1000 pictures totalling 1.5GB, the second consisting of four MP4 movies with a total file size of 8.65GB. The last data set consists of Microsoft Windows 7 x64 install w/ SP1.
The SanDisk Extreme is certainly an impressive drive, with the first of our real-world testing showing us it capabilities as a daily driver. At 94.94MB/s I don't think you'll be pulling your hair out waiting for those pictures to transfer - at least not like the days of USB 2.0.
Copying our movies over proved to be even quicker, with the SanDisk pulling it off in just over 44 seconds.
Transferring our set of Windows install files happened to complete even quicker - 21 seconds for the full 4GB install.
To start, there is certainly something to be said about using this drive with particular USB 3.0 controllers. I had a number of issues getting this drive to show up on my P67 based motherboard, where I found myself with a non-functioning device when USB 3.0 turbo mode was enabled in the BIOS. After searching the web for answers, I found that there does appear to be an issue using the Renesas u720200 USB 3.0 host controller with "Turbo". Our Z77 test system, however, had no such issues.
Being that this was my only issue, we can focus on some of the great features that encompass this entry into the USB 3.0 flash drive market for SanDisk - one being the SecureAccess drive encryption that works very well. Quick drag and drops of your important data leave it secured on the flash drive should you misplace it, although I feel there should be some sort of limit to the number of access attempts made on the drive.
Performance of the Extreme was much better than advertised, coming in at 270MB/s and 206MB/s rather than the advertised 190MB/s and 170MB/s with UASP enabled. Again the key here is the UASP - that comes natively on Windows 8.
SanDisk has also priced this drive very well, at $69.99 for the 64GB version you are paying just over $1 per GB. While there are other USB 3.0 enabled flash drives on the market at a lower initial cost, there aren't many manufactures that offer a lifetime warranty, and this alone should give you reason to take a good look at the Extreme from SanDisk.
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NZXT Phantom 630 High Performance Modular Full-Tower Chassis Review
Introduction
It really doesn't seem that long ago when the first generation Phantom chassis arrived from NZXT. Back then, the aesthetics were something never seen in the case market, and it took just a little bit of time, and a lot of potential buyers fell in love with the design. Then along came a mid-tower design, which pretty much put the Phantom in the dryer on high heat, and left us with the Phantom 410. Moving onward, with the huge success of the Switch 810, NZXT thought, why not dress it in the Phantom exterior, and offered us the Phantom 820. Due to a flood in my basement, I lost that chassis and it is the only one of the series I did not have the chance to look at in depth.
In every new release of chassis in the Crafted Series to hold the Phantom name, there were some pretty major changes to the interiors. On the outside much has changed besides the addition of USB 3.0 as it became popular and slight tweaks to the buttons or the type of fan controllers that are used. Inside the original Phantom, NZXT was trying their hands at wire management with grommets, removable hard drive cages, and potential to add water cooling. Inside the 410 things were much closer, but you still got all the offerings of the full sized Phantom, just less a few wiring holes and bays. We did look at the Switch 810 which is the same as the Phantom 820, and there was a whole new go at the interior, and introduced the adjustable fans on the hard drive bays, a new way to remove the bays, and a much better motherboard tray layout. Just when you think they had a lock on the design, NZXT decides to try another version of the Phantom.
This is where the Phantom 630 High Performance Modular Ultra-Tower chassis comes in today. NZXT decided that maybe the 820 wasn't what people were wanting, and went about trying to make things even better this time around. There are some pretty slick additions like an eight fan hub behind the motherboard tray, SSD mounts behind the tray, and even a new shape and layout of the tray itself. There are a few more chances that were made for this latest rendition, but if I tell you about all of it now, what will keep you reading?
On that note, get comfortable, as there is a lot to cover with a chassis such as the new Phantom 630 from NZXT.
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Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD Review
Introduction
The top performance tier of any market is a fascinating place. Performance in just about any task provides a clear point of reference to judge a product. The very best products tend to cost more than those further down the list and because of that, the very best products are not the most consumed.
Determining what products is the fastest is just one way to measure SSDs. Price and performance tend to get most of our attention here at TweakTown, but other factors, such as reliability and availability do factor in when we write a review.
In 2012, three products stood out as delivering the highest performance possible for the SATA III interface. SuperSSpeed's S301 SLC SSD has dropped off that list for today's review because the architecture doesn't support capacity sizes over 128GB. The price would also be an issue if it did as well. OCZ's Vector and Samsung's 840 Pro on the other hand are left and both products scale to 512GB.
We've reviewed the OCZ Vector SSD in all three capacity sizes, the only review site that I know of to do so. Samsung has been a tough nut for us to crack and I'm sure there are a few reasons why. One that comes to mind is our reluctance to recommend Samsung's lower capacity products. We didn't like the 830 128GB nor the 840 Pro 128GB. Samsung's architecture produces strange latency results in the lower capacity sizes in some of our tests, and you can feel the latency under real-world use.
Just because Samsung doesn't seed us with their products, it doesn't mean we're not going to review them. That said, we acquired our own 840 Pro 256GB drive and shall beat it to a pulp today just like any other SSD. 840 Pro is a product most of our readers want to see because our readers tend to purchase higher end SSDs.
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EKWB Officially Releases EK-FC7990 Full-Coverage Water Block
EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium water cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to officially release the EK-FC7990 incl. Backplate, a Full-Cover water block for undisputedly hottest gaming graphics card in the world - Radeon HD 7990 - bundled with aluminum backplate.
EK-FC7990 is a high performance full-cover water block engineered specifically for PowerColor/VTX3D/Club3D Radeon HD 7990 series graphics cards. This water block directly cools both GPUs, RAM as well as both VRMs (voltage regulation module) as water flows directly over these critical areas thus allowing the graphics card and it's VRM to remain stable under high overclocks. EK-FC7990 water block also features a high flow design therefore it can be easily used in liquid cooling systems using weaker water pumps.
EK also encloses the EK-FC7990 Backplate made of high precision CNC milled aluminium with black anodized finish. This backplate directly cools the memory IC on the backside of the circuit board as well as serves as an aesthetic add-on. Two-slot I/O bracket which replaces the original three-slot, in order to make installation of mutliple graphics cards easier, is also enclosed.
Up to four EK-FC7990 water blocks can be interconnected using EK-FC Terminal system or other methods of interconnectivity.
Included in the package:
- EK-FC7990 series water block
- EK-FC7990 Backplate
- EK-FC7990 2-slot I/O bracket
- Mounting mechanism
- Thermal pads
- Installation manual
EK-FC7990 is available only in Nickel Acetal version meaning base is made of nickel plated electrolytic copper while the top is made of quality POM acetal material. EK-FC7990 - Acetal+Nickel incl. Backplate comes with Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of 169.95€ (incl. VAT) and is readily available for purchase through EK Webshop and Partner Reseller Network.
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NVIDIA Reports Financial Results For Annual and Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2013
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported revenue for fiscal 2013 ended Jan. 27, 2013, of a record $4.28 billion, up 7.1 percent from $4.00 billion in fiscal 2012. GAAP earnings per share for the year were $0.90 per diluted share, a decrease of 4.3 percent from $0.94 in fiscal 2012. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.17, down 1.7 percent from $1.19 in fiscal 2012.
During the quarter, NVIDIA repurchased $100.0 million of stock and paid a dividend of $0.075 per share, equivalent to $46.9 million. "This year we did the best work in our company's history," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "We achieved record revenues, margins and cash, despite significant market headwinds.
"We grew our GPU and Tegra Processor businesses. We are sampling production silicon of the Tegra 4 platform which includes our 4G LTE modem. And we created new pillars for long term growth with Project SHIELD and NVIDIA GRID -- first-of-their-kind devices that will extend our leadership in visual computing into mobile and the cloud."
Our outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 is as follows:
- Revenue is expected to be $940 million, plus or minus two percent.
- GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be flat relative to the prior quarter, at 52.9 percent and 53.2 percent, respectively.
- GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $430 million; non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $395 million.
- GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates for the first quarter and annual fiscal 2014 are both expected to be 16 percent, plus or minus one percentage point. This estimate excludes any discrete tax events that may occur during a quarter which, if realized, may increase or decrease our actual effective tax rates in such quarter.
We estimate depreciation and amortization for the first quarter to be approximately $59 million to $61 million. Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $55 million to $65 million.
Diluted shares for the first quarter are expected to be approximately 619 million.
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2013 Highlights:
- NVIDIA's customers brought three Windows RT devices to market -- Asus VivoTab RT, IdeaPad Yoga 11 from Lenovo, and Microsoft Surface RT
- NVIDIA announced Project SHIELD, a unique Android gaming device that will ship in the second quarter of fiscal 2014
- NVIDIA launched Tegra 4, the world's fastest mobile SOC and the first quad-core A15 SOC
- NVIDIA continued to drive the streaming of gaming from the cloud by signing deals with six middleware providers that will supply GRID gaming technology to service operators worldwide
- NVIDIA officially launched the Tesla K20 family of GPU accelerators, making the technology behind the world's fastest supercomputer, Titan, available to all
Dividend
NVIDIA will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 cents per share on March 21, 2013 to all stockholders of record on February 28, 2013.
Reporting Segments
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, NVIDIA began reporting two primary financial reporting segments -- GPU and Tegra Processor. This change reflects the way NVIDIA is now managing its businesses internally. More information on this change is in NVIDIA's CFO Commentary.
CFO Commentary and Earnings Presentation
Commentary on the quarter by Karen Burns, NVIDIA interim chief financial officer, and a presentation, are available at
http://www.nvidia.com/ir.
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