IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 9/12/2013

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 9/12/2013

TweakTown

DisplayLink shows off 4K streaming over USB 3.0... and USB 2.0
IDF 2013 - If there was a company who could make 4K streaming over USB 2.0, it would be DisplayLink. Back at Computex 2013 in June, we gave DisplayLink our Best of Technology award for its USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Dual Video Adapter by DisplayLink and Targus.

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At IDF this year, DisplayLink were showing off a new adapter that was capable of sending 4K video through a tiny USB adapter. In an ideal situation, the system would shoot video over USB 3.0, while giving users full connectivity options for any compatible DisplayLink device. This still works over USB 2.0, with the dynamically compensating data compression might skip a beat here and there.
DisplayLink's Director of Marketing, Andy Davis, talked about the new feature with Engadget, saying that the 4K capability was shown in a chip design back at CES in January. Davis said that the DisplayLink tech has no issue driving multiple displays, even at Ultra HD resolutions, the issue will come down to graphics drivers and video decoding capabilities of the PC it is connected to.
The new architecture has something else exciting inside, where it is capable of wirelessly streaming 4K content over 802.11ad and can stream 1080p content through 802.11ac (4K over 802.11ac is coming soon).

Square Enix thinks 3 of its latest games are 'commercial failures'
Some of the biggest hits of the year for gamers are Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs and Hitman: Absolution, but during its 2013 annual report, Square Enix said that these three games are considered "commercial failures."

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Square Enix has said before that these games failed to meet their sales targets, and have been labeled as failures. Considering Tomb Raider sold over 4 million units in the first 6 months of release, this should come as a surprise to most. Square Enix does have someone to blame for these issues, and that's the home console market. The report states:

In the HD games category, we delivered three major titles in the fiscal year under review, primarily in Europe and North America. These titles-Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution, and Tomb Raider-failed to reach their respective targets, and resulted in financially unsatisfactory consequences, whereas the HD business in Japan remained strong through sales of the Nintendo 3DS version of Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi (Warriors of Eden) and others.

The company does state that these games were a success in terms of game development, they just didn't sell as many copies as they had wished.

Intel CEO tells us to expect tablets 'at price points below $100'
IDF 2013 - During a speech at IDF 2013, freshly suited Intel CEO Bryan Kraznich told the audience to expect Intel-powered tablets available "at price points below $100" this holiday season.

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The new CEO has previously said that touch-screen laptop prices should drop to below $200, and that tablets could reach $150 or less. At under $100, tablets would reach into that impulse buy region, but how good would the quality be? Would it make Intel seem like a cheap brand if it was to have its logo on tablets for under $100 on supermarket shelves?
The tablets should arrive with Android and not Windows, especially for that under $100 price point.

RumorTT: Intel working on overclockable SSD
IDF 2013 - Intel showed off how to overclock an SSD today at IDF 2013 in San Francisco. While this certainly doesn't prove that they are working on releasing an overclockable SSD to the public, it certainly shows that they've been toying with the idea. The general idea is that there are several knobs inside the SSD that can be adjusted, resulting in gains of up to 25%.

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When pushed, Intel Product Manager James Slattery would only say that, "Intel is not announcing an overclockable SSD product at this time." As we all know, this phrase all but confirms that Intel is working on an overclockable SSD product to be released later. While not confirmed, we'd put more than a grain of salt towards this rumor.
Despite further pushing, I was unable to get any further information about a possible product, though I expect we might start seeing K-edition SSDs that will feature unlocked "knobs" for overclockers to play around with. It's important to note that you will not want to put important data on an overclocked SSD as reliability and validity of data is not guaranteed.

OC Main Event sponsored by ASUS, Intel and Corsair caught on film
Trace Hagan, our COD dog loving man on the ground at the Intel Developer Forum has been running around like a mad man today capturing as much content as he could, with one of the bigger events not associated with, but close to IDF is the OC Main Event sponsored by Intel, ASUS and Corsair.

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The first video we have is of Charles Worth, a blogger/overclocker from XtremeSystems. Worth overclocked his Core i7 4960X on ASUS' X79-based Rampage IV Black Edition. He has it running at 5.75GHz running Cinebench with a world record overclock. Some nice work there, using LN2 as always.

This next video is a tease of the amount of liquid nitrogen (LN2) that the overclockers at the OC Main Event are going through. The tanks are just gigantic, and if you put them all together it would probably be enough to stop the T-1000 for a few minutes. Hasta La Vista, baby.

The next video in our onslaught of OC Main Event coverage sees four Corsair AX1200 power supplies powering four NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan GPUs, going for that precious world record. You can see the muscle man himself, 8Pack, gently pouring in that glorious liquid nitrogen to help OC the system in question. Some crazy stuff on going on in this system alone, folks!

ASUS unveils the X79 ROG Rampage IV Black Edition Motherboard
While in town for IDF 2013, Intel, Corsair, and ASUS teamed up to put on the OC Main Event nearby. At this event, ASUS unveiled its latest X79 motherboard to complement the newly released Ivy Bridge-E line of processors. While the details are slim, ASUS did mention that they put in 5 times the amount of work on DRAM traces and various other aspects of the board, meaning this should be one heck of a performer.

ASUS has combined the Formula and Extreme versions of their ROG line of motherboards into this beautiful motherboard, which should provide some incredible performance. As soon as we get a full spec list from ASUS, we'll be sure to tell you about it.

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Vin Diesel says Butcher Bay team 'reassembled' for new Riddick game
Starbreeze Studios' The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was a great game, but we never saw a sequel from the same developer unfortunately. It changed developer, but for the third Riddick game, the team is being 'reassembled' according to Riddick himself, Vin Diesel.

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Diesel told Screen Crush during a recent interview: "We just, over the past couple of months - just this year - reassembled that team from Starbreeze that brought Escape from Butcher Bay to create the third game." This should give gamers some confidence on the third Riddick game, that's for sure.

Nokia trolls Apple over its iPhone 5C color options
We covered the Apple event today, where the Cupertino-based giant unleashed the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S smartphones. The iPhone 5C is being made available in five colors, but Nokia was quick off the bat to troll Apple, and rightly so.

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The Finnish, struggling giant posted a picture on its Facebook page of its range of brightly colored Lumia range, with a logo at the top saying "imitation is the best form of flattery." If you look at the iPhone 5C range of smartphones and the Nokia Lumia range, you can see that Apple did pretty much just unleash a bunch of similar looking smartphones.

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Too bad Apple don't own the patents on those colors, eh?

LSI demos new NVM Express Solution for next-gen SandForce Controllers
IDF 2013 - Today LSI announced that they will be demonstrating their NVM Express Solution for Next-Generation SandForce Flash Controllers at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum. LSI says that NVMe "is an optimized, high-performance, scalable host controller interface with a streamlined register interface and command set designed for enterprise and client systems using PCI Express (PCIe(R))-based flash devices"

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"Personal computing platforms, big data applications and hyperscale web and cloud datacenters are driving IT adoption of PCIe flash devices to optimize the user experience and contend with faster and more efficient access to massive amounts of data," said Thad Omura, vice president of marketing, Flash Components Division, LSI. "LSI's host NVMe driver expertise and flash controller leadership is the ideal combination to enable industry-wide, volume adoption of PCIe flash storage."
"Flash controllers are the intelligence that manages flash memory in SSDs and are critical to delivering the performance, quality and reliability required to dramatically improve user experience for client and server applications," said Jim Pappas, Director of Technology Initiatives, Intel Corporation. "LSI has been a key contributor to the development of the NVMe specification and standard drivers that will help to unleash the full potential of PCIe SSDs and pave the way for broader industry adoption."
The LSI solution being demoed consistent standard drivers, target silicon and full implementation of the protocol. The demo is a test program to show a host device sending NVMe commands across a PCIe bus to LSI Target Silicon. LSI says that this demo is a major milestone in achieving NVMe host driver and target controller optimization and validation.

Adaptec shows off their 12Gb/s Series 8 RAID Adapters at IDF 2013
IDF 2013 - Our own Trace Hagan had the opportunity to stop by the Adaptec booth today at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum being held in San Francisco California. While at the booth, a company representative walked us through their Series 8 of RAID adapters.

Adaptec said that the Series 8 RAID cards features five different models that all feature high-port connectivity and that the 7 Series is the only cards in the industry to feature up to 16 ports on a low profile form factor card. Series 8 also features MaxCaching Plus technology.

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We check out PLX's ExpressFabric proof of concept at IDF 2013
IDF 2013 - Today at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum we got a chance to stop by the PLX booth and talk with Larry Chisvin about the companies new ExpressFabric technology. Larry was kind enough to walk us through their new "Top of Rack" switch that allows up to 32 servers to be connected without individual NIC cards.

Larry says that the system shown in the video is just a proof of concept and that they will be releasing products based on this technology in the future. The Device will also allow for the removal of Infiniband HCAs.

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GIGABYTE introduces us to their refreshed motherboards at IDF 2013
IDF 2013 - Today at IDF 2013, GIGABYTE invited us over to their booth to talk about some of their new high-end motherboards that they are unveiling at the show. Up first is a new Z87 motherboard that features two Thunderbolt ports and a red and black color scheme.

GIGABYTE Marketing Director Colin Brix went on to show us another Z87 motherboard featuring Intel's Thunderbolt technology. Finally we were given a preview of a Sniper motherboard that will support Ivy Bridge E.

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HTC One arrives in Blue as a Best Buy exclusive
A few months ago we first heard rumors that HTC was working on releasing an anodized blue version of its flagship smartphone, the HTC One, but the rumors quickly died down and appeared that a blue HTC One would never materialize . That is until today!

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It's finally arrived, the Sapphire Blue HTC One has made his debut, and has been announced as an exclusive to the electronics retail giant Best Buy. Unfortunately this new blue model will only be available on a Verizon contract through Best Buy. It will retail for $199 with a two-year contract extension and features all the same hardware and specifications as the original silver and black colored HTC One.

Addonics launches Sapphire Snap-In Disk Array with eSATA and USB 3.0
Today Addonics Technology unveiled its new Sapphire Snap-In Disk , an external storage device that is aimed at the high-performance segment and features easy expandability and RAID capabilities. Addonics says that the new Sapphire is a great portable solution for applications that demand high-performance and large storage quantities.

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The new Sapphire Snap-In Disk comes equipped with different interfaces for fast external storage performance including an eSATA port, USB 3.0 and even a mini SAS connection. The allows users to hot-swap up to four 2.5-inch storage drives for quick and easy changes. Before drives can be configured as for individual drives, a single large volume or high-performance RAID grouping with redundancy for reliability.

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Users are able to configure the RAID settings by using the bundled RAID utility software or by flipping DIP switches on the back of the device. Software for monitoring the device on Windows, Mac and Linux is also available. Addonics says the new Sapphire Snap-In Disk will retail at an MSRP of $245.

ASUSTOR brings new live demo site online for ADM 2.0
Today ASUSTOR announced the launch of a new live demo site that will allow its customers to test its newest version of the ASUSTOR Data Master, ADM 2.0. ASUSTOR says that the new demo will allow users to experience the company's specialized software firsthand without the need to make a purchase first.

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ADM 2.0 is the next-generation of the company's proprietary NAS operating system, and features a heavily optimized user interface that is both powerful and easy to use. The company says that newly added features will now allow users to upload their own desktop wallpaper, choose between 16 different languages, and even pin frequently used applications to the ADM menu bar. ADM 2.0 also features a new APP Central store where users download over 100 apps that can be ran on their NAS running ADM 2.0.

Lenovo gives us a walkthrough of its new 1T ThinkServer TS440
IDF 2013 - During our stop at the Lenovo booth at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum, Lenovo's Michael Kendall took us on a walkthrough of the company's new ThinkServer TS440, a 1T server with massive storage options. The TS440 is one of Lenovo's most popular small server models. It features a new processor and more I/O than its predecessor the TS430.

Kendall went on to show off the hot swappable drive bays and notes that they are labeled with Lenovos signature red stripe which signifies that the drives are hot swappable. The front door of the 1T case features a lock that enables HDDs with sensitive data remain secure. Kendall says that the TS440 is labeled as the quietest 1T server on the market today and that it retails between $600 and $1500 when fully loaded.

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Lenovo shows off the new ThinkServer TS140 at IDF 2013
IDF 2013 - This morning our own Trace Hagan took a few minutes to stop by the Lenovo booth at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum, and got a chance to look at Lenovo's new ThinkServer TS140. Michael Kendall, a spokesperson for Lenovo was on hand to clue us in on the new ThinkServer's key highlights.

The ThinkServer TS140 is designed to be small, quiet and still pack a punch strong enough to handle all your server needs. Kendall says that the ability to run Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows Server, make it an ideal solution for environments that do not justify a full rack mount unit. The TS140 was also designed to be much quiter than its already quite predecessors.

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Intel's CEO talks about the future of Intel and the PC at IDF 2013
IDF 2013 - This morning during the keynote at Intel's Developer Forum 2013, CEO Brian Krzanich took some time to discuss the future of Intel as well as the future of the PC. He noted that the forward-looking landscape of the PC is a drastically different one than we've seen in the past and that manufacturers are focusing more on form factor to attract new customers.

He went on to introduce the world's first 14nm architecture-based pc running a Broadwell SoC. No other information was given about the PC, and we never got a really good look at his exterior, but Krzanich did say that we would see Broadwell chips shipping by the end of the year. Additionally he announced that we will see new tablets sporting Intel's silicon being sold for less than $100 this holiday season.

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ADATA announces launch of next-gen DDR4 DRAM modules at IDF 2013
Today ADATA announced the launch of the company's new-generation DDR4 SDRAM modules and says that they will be on display at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum being held this week in San Francisco, California. ADATA says that the new DDR4 SDRAM is targeted at server and render farm applications and that the release of this new-generation of SDRAM shows that ADATA is once again the leader of the pack in producing high-performance solutions to the enterprise market.

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DDR4 SDRAM features faster clock frequencies and data transfer rates compared to the previous generation of DDR3, and features a much lower power consumption rate. The modules run it just 1.2 V and are widely expected to achieve transfer rates of 3.2Gb/s while clocked at frequencies of 2133MH all.
ADATA says that it will be showcasing the modules along with the company's other premium memory solutions at booth number 554 at IDF 2013. We have to TweakTown staffers on the ground at IDF 2013, and will be bringing you all of the latest coverage as the event progresses.

Micron debuts Serial NOR Flash interface for Ultrathin Devices
Today micron unveiled its new Serial NOR Flash Interface with Replay-Protected Monotonic Counter designed for use in Ultrathin Devices. This new NOR Flash Interface has already been validated for use in future Intel Ultrabook platforms. Micron says that with this announcement, it is well-positioned to support the growth of Ultrathin applications with its large portfolio of DRAM, NAND, NOR and SSD solutions.

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"This first-to-market RPMC feature, developed by Micron for our SPI NOR device, is an additional demonstration of our commitment to continuously meet application requirements and customer needs," said Jeff Bader, vice president of Micron's Embedded Solutions Marketing. "Our NOR Flash excellence, coupled with the leadership and expertise of Intel, make this device the best-in-class solution for the Intel Ultrabook and other future Intel-based platforms."
Micron says that it's 64Mb density is the sweet spot solution currently available for immediate platform-enablement activities, and that its 64Mb RPMC-enabled SPI NOR device supports nonvolatile storage and authentication needs that are critical to the chipset security implementation for future Intel Ultrabook platforms and is compliant with Intel's Serial Flash Hardening Product External Architecture Specification.
"I appreciate Micron's expertise in the SPI Flash device technology space and their support of the replay-protected monotonic counter feature for the Intel platform prototype validation," said Nitin Sarangdhar, Sr. Principal Engineer at Intel.

Apple introduces the iPhone 5S, its new flagship smartphone
Today is the day, where Apple has just unveiled its latest iPhone 5S smartphone which features A7 processor and Touch ID fingerprint scanner. The iPhone 5S is available in three colors: silver, gold and a "new space gray." They are all made from high-grade aluminum and chamfered edges.

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We have the much-talked about A7 processor, which is a 64-bit processor - a first for smartphones. iOS 7 also runs in 64-bit, which is something we should have expected maybe. We have over 1 billion transistors working inside of the A7 processor, with the new chip and iOS 7 capable of running 32- and 64-bit apps, with all built-in apps being re-engineered to take support of the new 64-bit architecture.

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Apple says the iPhone 5S is much faster when it comes to CPU performance, showing a chart stating it's 'up to 56x faster'. It also runs OpenGL|ES 3.0, like the refreshed Nexus 7 does.

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Apple has also talked about the M7, its motion co-processor that works alongside the A7 proecssor. It is capable of continuously measuring motion data, enabling a "new generation of health and fitness apps" - hello, Samsung! The M7 chip makes the iPhone 5S capable of knowing if you're driving, walking or sitting stationary. Nike is taking advantage of this with its new Nike+ Move app.

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Is the battery life on the iPhone 5S going to be any better? We have 10 hours of 3G talk time, 8 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of LTE browsing matched with Wi-Fi browsing times, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and up to 250 hours of standby.

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The iPhone 5S features a new camera, which Apple says can be "take better pictures you became a better photographer." It features a new five-element, Apple-designed lens with an f2.2 aperture. The camera app will actually take multiple photos, and chooses the best one. The new flash has two LEDs, one being cool and the other one is warm and amber.

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Unfortunately, we have no 4K video shooting abilities, which is something we're seeing flow fast, and quick in the Android world. The camera is capable of "Slow-Mo" with even the Wachowski Bros. pleased - capable of shooting 120FPS.

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The panorama abilities of the new camera on the iPhone 5S is quite good, with a 28-megapixel panorama shown off. Apple says the new iPhone adjusts exposure levels automatically as you pan.

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Next up we have security, which is something that Apple is putting lots of effort into: Touch ID. Touch ID "uses a key with you have everywhere you go." Fingerprint sensor: confirmed. The fingerprint sensor is just 170 microns thin, has a 500 ppi resolution, scans sub-epidermal skin layers and most likely reports it all back to NSA's PRISM system - what's that, Edward Snowden?

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We get to take a look at that ring around the home button, glorious! The ring is a "detection ring" which turns on the Touch ID sensor. Touch ID is capable of handling multiple fingerprints, which is a nice edition. It would allow for more than one person to use your smartphone.
Apple says that "all fingerprints are encrypted, and secured inside a secure enclave." But, that's what we thought before the NSA PRISM scandal had its roof blown off. Apple also says that "it's never available to other software" and that it's never uploaded to Apple servers or backed up to iCloud.

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We have pricing of $199, $299 and $399 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models, respectively. Apple says that the iPhone 5S is its "most forward-thinking phone yet."

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The iPhone 5S will be available for pre-order on September 13, this Friday. It will be made available on September 20 in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
It looks like that's all, folks - personally, it's another disappointing iPhone from Apple. I truly expected more after we've seen unbelievable leaps and bounds in both hardware and software on Android devices. We have no 4K video shooting ability, no increase in screen size or resolution, nothing revolutionary or magical. Apple, what are you doing?

Apple unveils the iPhone 5C, a cheaper iPhone available in 5 colors
The emerging markets have so far not been able to push the iPhone, but this is all set to change thanks to Apple's announcement today of the iPhone 5C smartphone. The iPhone 5C is a plastic-built smartphone, which takes a walk down the same lane as the Galaxy range of smartphones from Samsung. Apple says "it's made with all the incredible technology of the iPhone 5, more fun, more colorful."

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The iPhone 5C arrives in five colors - green, white, blue, pink and yellow. The entire back of the iPhone 5C is made from a single part, as you can see in the shot above. The iPhone 5C features the same 4-inch Retina display, the same A6 processor that is found in the iPhone 5 and "console-level graphics."

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On the back, we have an 8-megapixel iSight camera with backside illumination, and on the front we have a new FaceTime HD camera. We have the iPhone 5C supporting more LTE bands with "up to 100 Mbps download" and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n support. On a two-year contract the new iPhone 5C will cost you $99 for the 16GB model and $199 for the 32GB model.

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The iPhone 5C may be the cheaper iPhone but that doesn't mean Apple made it from sticks and stones. There are multiple finishing processes at play, which include a lacquer hard coat.

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The company is also pushing the new plastic cases available for the iPhone 5C, which have circular cut-outs on the back that let you see the color of the iPhone 5C underneath. Nice, but nothing magical or revolutionary here, folks. These cases are being available for $29.

Apple unleashes iOS 7, arrives on September 18 for most iOS devices
By the end of this month, Apple will have passed the 700 million iOS devices shipped milestone, but before then we should expect the release of iOS 7, the company's next-generation mobile OS.

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iOS 7 looks gorgeous when compared to iOS 6, and finally brings it up to the multi-tasking, gorgeous UI that we've come to expect from the various Android 4.x iterations of Jelly Bean (4.1, 4.2, 4.3). It looks great, and has some new features, such as Siri being able to search Tweets, as well as Siri being capable of searching Wikipedia, inline web search and photo search.

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We have textured ringtones, and improvements made to system sound alerts. Apple has made it easier to share on iOS 7, with a new "Share Sheet" which lets you push out to Twitter or e-mail, as well as the ability to use AirDrop to share with people close to you over "P2P Wi-Fi". iOS 7 also has iTunes Radio, which Apple describes as "the best way to experience new music."

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Apple says "there are over 200 features" in iOS 7, something I think we all expected. The company also said that "iOS 7 takes great advantage of the expanded iPad canvas." It comes out on September 18 for the iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch.

Lenovo unleashes new ThinkServer Tower Servers
When you think servers, you might want to think about Lenovo's just-announced ThinkServer Tower Series of PCs - I enjoyed the play on words, did you? The company has just announced two new tower servers, the ThinkServer TS140 and ThinkServer TS440.

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Both of these new server PCs feature Intel Xeon E3 processors and Intel AMT 9.0 for remote manageability. Lenovo says that thanks to the Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3 processors, the two new server PCs can offer 15% faster performance than previous generations. Lenovo has also done the world some good, with the TS140 using 65% post-consumer recycled plastic, making it a green-friendly choice for retail stores and offices.
The Lenovo ThinkServer TS440 kicks it up a notch, featuring the ability to have up to 32GB of RAM installed, advanced hardware RAID and chassis intrusion alert. The TS440 is also environmentally friendly, with optional 92% efficiency PSUs. The TS440 also uses 65% post-consumer recycled plastic. The best bit is that these systems won't set you back thousands to start with, as the ThinkServer TS140 starts from $421 and the ThinkServer TS440 starts from just $679.

Intel announces Quark X1000 at IDF 2013
IDF 2013 - Intel has just pulled the veil off of its new Quark X1000 SoC. This new chip is quite a bit smaller and more power efficient than Intel's existing Atom processor. Intel has already built reference designs that are ready to be put to work in the field. The new Quark X1000 SoC is fully synthesizable, meaning other companies can put their own intellectual property onto the die.

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Thermaltake Allways Control Notebook Cooler Review

Introduction

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Just when you think you have seen every notebook cooler design conceivable short of using Dyson to manufacture them, there is always someone who will come along and prove to you that there are still some tricks in that magic bag to help improve on something that has been burning laps around the globe for quite a few years. I mean, we have seen large fan versions, versions with fans that could be placed anywhere you needed them, ones with fancy lights, and even a sad attempt from one company to add audio to a model to try to gain some of that market share of people who are seeking better active cooling for their notebook PCs.
One thing I have yet to see from any company is a way to address the air flow after it leaves the fan. Now I could get into a whole discussion of how most fans that are sold today work, but let me compare things simply for you. Think about it like this - most fans sold will put out a good amount of air flow, but without direction, it sort of makes a mushroom cloud of that air flow once it leaves the fan. This means that most of the air provided, even in a limited space, will waste most of that air as it escapes around what you are intending to cool. There are special fans being made now to help direct that air flow, but those usually come with a pretty hefty cost, and no one wants to spend more than $30 to $40 for a notebook cooler, since most of them don't perform so well anyways.
So, without breaking the bank to put in some high dollar version of fans, what other way could this have been addressed? Well, Thermaltake has delivered the Allways Control notebook cooler that offers a unique, but painfully obvious solution to addressing the air flow out of a normal fan, and to do so they are incorporating louvers. Indeed, something that simple and obvious is one way of addressing this issue, and I am really shocked it took this long for someone to try it out.
Now that isn't all Thermaltake brings to the table is directional air flow, but to learn about the rest of what the Always Control notebook cooler has to offer, you will just have to continue reading to find out the added features.
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ADATA DashDrive HV620 2TB External Hard Drive Review

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It has been a few month since we had the chance to take a look at the latest from ADATA, more specifically the DashDrive line-up. So after talking to ADATA, I was able to snatch up a sample of the latest HV620 in the massive 2TB capacity.
Initially launching the HV620 in up to 1TB capacities, it seems as if ADATA went back to the drawing board to offer something no one to this point has been able to, a 2.5" external drive with tremendous 2TB capacity. Some of the features of the HV620 include a scratch prevention design offering a raised lip on the outside of the enclosure and of course, access to ADATAs line-up of software including HDDtoGo and OStoGo - Norton Internet Security is also included.
The ADATA DashDrive HV620 maintains compatibility with current Windows operating systems next to Linux Kernel 2.6+ and Mac OS X 10.6+ and is backed with a three year warranty.

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Included with the DashDrive HV620 you will find the USB 3.0 cable, allowing for plug and play capability. Additionally, a quick start guide is included.

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The front of the drive carries a high gloss appearance, and does tend to attract fingerprints.

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At the bottom of the drive you will find the USB 3.0 connection.

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Here you can see the raised edge of the HV620. This allows the edge to contact the surface of the table or desk before the glossy portion of the drive, enabling scratch prevention.

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Internally, the HV620 utilizes the Toshiba MQ01ABB200 2TB drive.

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The controller for the HV620 is manufactured by VLI and is labelled VL701-T4.
Benchmarking external hard drives will consist of three pieces of software. The first is ATTO for marketing performance followed up by CrystalDiskMark to test NCQ at QD32 keeping in mind that for an external storage device to support NCQ it must also have UASP support. The last is DiskBench for the real-world aspect of things.

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The ADATA HV620 is factory formatted with the FAT32 file system, giving us 1.81TB of useable storage.

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ATTO results were quite impressive, with the HV620 peaking at 119 MB/s read and 117 MB/s write.

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CDM results were again similar to ATTO, where we found the HV620 reaching 119 MB/s read and 117 MB/s write.

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Comparing the ADATA HV620 to many of the drive in our chart, you will quickly find its one of the top performers at 112 MB/s in real-world testing.
The ADATA HV620 is the true next generation of 2.5" external storage, coming in with a tremendous 2TB peak capacity. Additionally, the drive does carry a bit of aesthetic appeal, and though it does seemingly attract every finger print within a 10 ft. radius, by leveraging what ADATA calls scratch prevention with the raised lip at the outer most edge, you can rest assured your drive won't get nicked up by setting it down on your desk.
Performance of the unit was great and is something I can truly respect with chart leading performance in our real-world testing and touching close to 120 MB/s in both ATTO and CDM.
Pricing of this drive is a bit shocking, in a good way - I was able to find this drive in the 2TB capacity for a very comforting $139.99 at several online retailers.

What do TweakTown awards and ratings mean? Click for details!

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ADATA Launches New Generation DDR4 DRAM Modules
ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, announced today that the company's new generation DDR4 SDRAM modules will be on display at the Intel Developer Forum 2013 (IDF13), held this year in San Francisco. Targeting server and render farm applications, the new DDR4 modules show that ADATA is once again at the front of the pack in providing new high-performance solutions to the enterprise market.

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DDR4 SDRAM stands for double data rate fourth generation synchronous dynamic random-access memory, and its most notable features are faster clock frequencies and data transfer rates as compared to DDR3, as well as low power consumption. Running at just 1.2 volts, these new modules are expected to achieve transfer rates of 3.2Gbps, at frequencies as high as 2133MHz, far outstripping the capabilities of previous generations of DRAM. In large scale server applications, the advantages of DDR4 will lead to lower costs and greatly improved overall system performance. The new DDR4 SDRAM modules will be showcased along with the company's other premium memory solutions at booth number 554 at IDF13.

Lenovo Powers Small and Medium Businesses with New ThinkServer Tower Servers
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - September 10, 2013: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced, at the Intel Developer Forum, two new tower servers, the ThinkServer TS140 and ThinkServer TS440. Armed with the latest Intel Xeon E3 processors and Intel AMT™ 9.0 for remote manageability, these affordable, whisper-quiet tower servers are designed for powerful performance and expansive scalability, ideal for small-to-medium-sized businesses and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) that require rich features and functionality at an attractive price point.

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Equipped with the latest Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3 processors, the ThinkServer TS140 and TS440 tower servers offer 15 percent faster performance than previous generations. The TS140 and TS440 also feature Intel AMT™ 9.0 to provide outstanding remote manageability tools for easy and efficient server maintenance. Intel's AMT technology is certified with popular MSP ecosystem management consoles like N-Able, Level Platforms and Kasaya, enabling MSPs to manage end-user networks remotely and more cost effectively.

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ThinkServer TS140: Powerful, Reliable and Unmatched Value
Powerful yet affordable, the ThinkServer TS140 offers unmatched value. Built for first server use cases and where a quiet system is needed, the TS140 is significantly quieter, has twice the I/O expansion, and offers more RAID options and storage capacity than its predecessor. It uses the latest Intel Xeon E3 processors and has up to 4 disk bays supporting up to four 4TB disks. The TS140 provides outstanding remote manageability with Intel AMT 9.0, KVM diagnostics and repair. Businesses who prefer environmentally friendly and efficient technology will like the optional 92 percent efficiency Power Supply Unit and that the TS140 uses 65 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. Coupled with its compact, quiet chassis design, the ThinkServer TS140 is ideal for retail deployments or use in front offices.

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ThinkServer TS440: A Highly Affordable, Feature-Rich Server
Combining server reliability and expansive scalability, the TS440 delivers powerful, enterprise-grade performance for SMBs requiring a server that grows with their business over time. The TS440 is a highly affordable, feature-rich server that offers industry-leading performance, strong data protection and whisper quiet operation. The TS440 offers the reliability needed for business with optional redundant power supplies, up to 32TB of storage, advanced hardware RAID and chassis intrusion alert. The TS440 is environmentally friendly with optional 92% efficiency Power Supply Units. The systems are easily managed with industry standard Intel AMT 9.0 with hardware monitor and remote control capability. Like the TS140, the TS440 also uses 65 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.

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Preview: New ThinkServers with Intel Ivy Bridge Technology
Also at Intel Developer Forum, Lenovo previewed its next generation ThinkServer rack servers, powered with Intel Ivy Bridge technology. These 2P mainstream servers provide organizations the compute-intensive performance required for virtualization, web or database server workloads. These new servers also feature Lenovo Smart Grid, which uses the latest Intel Node Manager Technology and allows IT administrators to reduce datacenter costs with policy-based power management for networks up to 1,000 nodes. The Ivy Bridge-enabled ThinkServer rack servers are expected to announce in the fall of 2013.
Quotes:
"Lenovo is very focused on SMB customers and we recognize their unique IT challenges. They require enterprise-grade server capabilities in a form factor and cost bracket that works for them," said Roy Guillen, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Product Group, Lenovo. "The ThinkServer TS140 and TS440 provide outstanding performance, exceptional remote manageability and powerful data protection in an environmentally friendly package ideal for SMBs and MSPs."
"Lenovo's ThinkServer TS140 and TS440 benefits from our latest Intel technologies for MSPs and SMBs who need enterprise-grade tower servers that are powerful, easy to manage and highly scalable," said Shannon Poulin, vice president and general manager, Intel Datacenter Marketing Group. "Working with Lenovo, we believe our latest Intel Xeon E3 processors and Intel AMT 9.0 solution delivers a compelling combination of performance and remote manageability for small businesses and distributed office environments."
"Our customers are delighted with the performance and reliability of Lenovo ThinkServer tower servers," said Jeff Doggendorf, vice president, Engineering Services, Technology Associates. "In addition, Intel Active Management Technology started paying off for us on day one, right in our existing management console. The new KVM functionality is a huge win for us."
Pricing and Availability
The ThinkServer TS140 is available beginning in September starting at $421.
The ThinkServer TS440 is available beginning in September starting at $679.

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