IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 9/16/2013

Sunday, September 15, 2013

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 9/16/2013

TweakTown

HTC America lays off 20% of its employees, continues its nose dive
Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has been in a downward spiral for quite a while now, with a little bit of help in the last couple of months coming from its latest flagship handset, the HTC One. But now there are reports that HTC has laid off 30 employees and contractors from its HTC America division.

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30 employees might not seem like a lot, but it amounts to 20% of HTC's employees in the US. A statement was given to The Verge, which said that these layoffs are strategic moves in order to help HTC "streamline and optimize our organization." We don't know which departments have seen employees packing their bags, but they might actually be helped by HTC. Jason Mackenzie, President of HTC America said in a letter to employees that those hit with the layoff news will be 'treated with respect' and the company will help them out with resources to continue their careers elsewhere.

Ask the Experts: Which phone should I choose? The Galaxy S4 mini or N
Our Ask the Experts section has a new question, where we have Ted from India who is having trouble choosing between the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini and Nexus 4 smartphones.

TweakTown's Ask the Experts

Q: Hello Tweakers,
i am planning to buy a smartphone but confused between Galaxy S4 mini and Google Nexus 4.
S4 mini is quite costly, if we look for features comparing both. But the Nexus 4 is not dual-SIM capable and it also doesn't supported micro SD expansion. The rest of the features are better than the Galaxy S4 mini... kindly suggest me which one I should buy.
Is there any other phone which has features like Nexus 4 and also having dual-SIM capabilities?
A: You can view the answer to Ted's question right here.

Oculus Rift VR Jam finalists have been announced
The finalists of VR Jam 2013 have been announced, which was a joint venture between Oculus VR and IndieCade. If you're lucky like me and own an Oculus Rift headset, you can download 14 of the 20 finalists' submissions, with two dragon simulators to try out.

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On September 19 the winning team will be announced, where they will receive a $10,000 grand prize as well as a trip to the Oculus HQ. The winning team will also win a trip to the IndieCade Festival which takes place between October 3-6, where they will have a showcase exhibition of their game. For the full list of finalists, we have:

Alone - Bryan Cohen
Chick Walk - Kevin Tsang
Ciess - Edward McNeill
Don't Let Go - Yorick van Vliet
Dragon - Morgan Jaffit
Dreadhalls - Sergio Hidalgo
Dumpy - Brian Schrank
Elevator Music - Julian Kantor
Epic Dragon - Aurelien Kerbeci
Komorebi - Fernando Ramallo
Lost Route - Sergey Brezhnev
Nostrum - Robert Yang
Private Eye - Jake Slack
Roleplayer - Joerg Pressel
Shiny - Janina Woods
Sight Line - Tomas Mariancik
Specter Seekers - Ryan Anderson
Stargazer - David Kalina
TimeRifters - Doug Wolanick
Virtual Internet Hacker - Lau Korsgaard

Battlefield 4 Open Beta unlocks on October 1 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
Even though I write news on the daily, it becomes an ocean of content that sometimes I forget that certain things are coming... like the Battlefield 4 Open Beta which opens up on October 1 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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Next-gen consoles will see the next-gen first-person shooter open its doors up on November 12 for the PS4 and November 19 for the Xbox One. EA has said that players participating in the beta will be able to "learn maps, unlock items and build stats" ahead of the October 29 release for Battlefield 4. Console gamers who use the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of BF4 can build their stats and then transfer them over to the PS4 or Xbox One when those consoles launch in November.
How do you get into the Battlefield 4 Open Beta? Well, you could do what I just did and pre-order Battlefield 4: Digital Deluxe through Origin, or if you've already purchased Medal of Honor: Warfighter in its Limited or Deluxe Editions, then you're ready to go.

Google dumps Oracle's MySQL database in favor of MariaDB
Today at the Extremely Large Database conference being held in Stanford California, Google announced that it will be migrating its MySQL systems over to MariaDB. Google has assigned one of its engineers to the MariaDB foundation to aid in the migration.

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"Were running primarily on [MySQL] 5.1 which is a little outdated, and so we're moving to MariaDB 10.0 at the moment," said Google senior systems engineer Jeremy Cole in a presentation he gave on the general state of the MySQL ecosystem.
Cole said that Google has been working with the MariaDB foundation since the beginning of the year in an effort to make the migration over to MariaDB as smooth as possible. He went on to say that the migration involves thousands of MySQL servers within the Google ecosystem and that Google's MySQL team is looking forward to working with the SkySQL MariaDB team to advance the reliability and feature set of MariaDB.
I see this move as nothing but a win-win situation for both Google and MariaDB. I personally know several of the people over at SkySQL / MariaDB and I can honestly say that I have never met a more friendly and helpful group of people. So I want to issue a personal congratulations to the whole MariaDB team and say that I cannot wait to see what comes out of this partnership.

OREE unveils a solid wood touchpad designed for Windows and Mac
I know what you are thinking just now; you are thinking about how nice it would be if you had a solid wood touchpad for your new Windows 8 PC. Okay, so maybe that was a little far-fetched, but if you actually have wanted a solid wood touchpad for your Windows or Mac machine, then OREE has just released something for you.

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Today, OREE released its new Touch Slab, a Windows and Mac compatible touchpad that is made from a solid block of either maple or walnut. Connectivity is handled over Bluetooth, allowing you to control your Windows 8, Windows 7, or Mac screen wirelessly. Additionally, the Touch Slab features a number pad to on top the device in the event you need to do some calculations.

TweakTown Weekly Podcast (Beta) Show #002 - iPhone 5S, 5C releases
We started our first TweakTown Weekly Podcast (Beta) with a bang last week, quite literally, with Jim Handy on the show talking to us about the Hynix factory fires. A lot has happened in the tech world since then, with Apple's biggest event of the year just a few days ago unveiling two new smartphones: the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

Between the hoopla of the new iPhone launches, the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2013 show has taken place, unveiling and teasing a bunch of new products. We get right into the news, continuing our talk with some gaming news - with GTA V seeing a budget of a whopping $265 million.

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RumorTT: HTC Harmony could be renamed to Windows Phone One
Rumors of the HTC Harmony have been popping up for a few weeks now, and it appears that they are just going to continue to flow in until we see an official release of the device. Today, a new leak has surfaced that has given us a clue on what hardware might be featured inside HTC's first Windows Phone.

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The report suggests that the Harmony will feature very similar hardware to the company's flagship HTC One Android-based smartphone. A 4.7-inch full HD 1080p screen will be featured alongside 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Imaging duties will be handled by a 4-megapixel HTC UltraPixel camera, and a 2,300mAh battery will keep things running.
Given HTC's recently found love for the "One" brand, it only makes sense that with these rumored specifications that we see the phone renamed to the HTC Windows Phone One. We can also expect HTC to keep the all aluminum unibody chassis, but it's widely expected not to look exactly like the HTC One.

SanDisk launches 256GB Extreme Pro CompactFlash card for 4K HD video
Anyone who has ever attempted to shoot HD video knows that anything above 720p requires massive amounts of storage for high frame rates and good quality. With 4K video quickly becoming the norm, SanDisk has responded to this need for high-capacity, high-speed storage for 4K compatible video recording.

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Today, SanDisk announced its new 256GB Extreme Pro CompactFlash card that has been designed with 4K videographers in mind. The card has write speeds of up to 65MB/s and fast shot speeds up to 140MB/s. SanDisk says that the card has been designed to support Cinema-quality 4K and full HD video capture.
Unfortunately, this is not a card you just walk down to Walmart and buy when you forget your other one at home. Retailing at $1810, this card is a little pricey for your everyday average shooter. As an ex-professional photographer, the price does strike me as being a little high, but I remember a time when I paid $100 each for 1GB CF cards from SanDisk.

Details of Apple's iPhone 5S and 5C release date confirmed
Today, Apple announced that it will be releasing its iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C to the public on September 20 for both online and in-store purchases. Online sales will be starting at 12:01 AM PDT (3:01 AM EDT), and those looking to purchase in-store will be able to do so at 8:00 AM local time.

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With people already lining up two weeks in advance, the chances of getting your hands on a new iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C will be quite slim. Rumors suggest that there's already a shortage on the iPhone 5S, and that Apple is expecting in-store and online stock levels to deplete quite early into the day. The moral of this story is that if you want a new iPhone 5C or 5S, you may want to go camp for the next week outside of your local Apple Store.
If you are already or plan to camp outside of an Apple store for the iPhone 5S or 5C, please send us a photo of you waiting in line and we will share it on our Facebook page!

RumorTT: Nudity appears to be confirmed in GTA V, screenshot inside
A recently leaked screenshot popped up on Reddit today that appears to confirm the question on everyone's mind. If the photo is real, then we will see not only nudity in Grand Theft Auto V, but you will be able to grope and fondle the strippers in the game.

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We have blurred out the image for obvious reasons, but I can assure you that the image above contains anatomically correct nudity. You can also see a prompt in the image that warns you to not get caught by a bouncer while fondling the stripper. After the major Hot Coffee controversy that surrounded GTA San Andreas, the decision to include nudity in GTA V is quite unexpected. How do you feel about nudity in GTA V? Let us know in the comments.

Intel's Haswell takes command in new updated NUC lineup
Earlier this week at the 2013 Intel Developer Forum, Intel announced the addition of two new products to its small form-factor NUC lineup, both of which feature the company's new Haswell processors. The D54250WYK sports a Core i5-4250U and the D34010WYK houses the i3-4010U.

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While both of these Haswell processors feature hyper-threading, only the Core i5 model supports TurboBoost, which can boost the processor's clock speeds up to 2.6 GHz when temperatures are favorable. The Core i3 model is stuck at its 1.7GHz clock and features a slower integrated GPU than the HD Graphics 5000 IGP inside the i5.
Other than the processors, the two models are basically the same machine. Both feature 4K monitor support thanks to DisplayPort technology, and a mini HDMI connector also provides additional video out connectivity. Gigabit Ethernet is also supported via a port on the back of the box.
You will need to bring your own memory, storage, and Wi-Fi to the party, but with a pair of SO-DIMMS and full and half-height mini PCI-Express slots, there is plenty of room for an mSATA SSD and wireless card. The NUC chassis measures in at just 4.59 inches by 4.41 inches and enclosure is only 1.36-inches thick.

Super Talent launches Wi-Cap, a wireless device for file sharing
Super Talent Technology has just released their first Wi-Fi related product that is aimed at making file sharing between mobile devices much easier. The new Wi-Cap--short for wireless capsule--enables customers to easily share files, photos, music, and videos with nearby devices.

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The new Wi-Cap from Super Talent is compatible for use on laptops, tablets, smartphones, and desktop PCs that have a wireless connection. Compatibility with a wide variety of browser,s as well as support for Mac, Windows, and Linux, makes the Wi-Cap one of the most feature rich devices of its kind.
Using the Wi-Cap is as easy as clicking on menus that appear in a browser interface after a Wi-Fi connection has been established. The unit is password-protected, which prevents unwanted persons from accessing data stored on the device. The Wi-Cap comes in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities and also features an external microSD slot for additional storage.

Mushkin unveils its highly anticipated Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD
Today, Mushkin announced the launch of its highly anticipated Scorpion Deluxe PCIe solid state drive. Mushkin says that the new Scorpion Deluxe outpaces its competitors in both speed and performance thanks to quad SandForce SF-2281 controllers and unthrottled IOPS. The new drive clocks in at 2150 MB/s read and 1900MB/s write, making it an extreme performer in any system you throw it in.

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The new Scorpion Deluxe is available in 240GB, 480GB, 960GB, and 1920GB capacities, of which all boast just over 100,000 4K read and write IOPS and 1 million hours of MTBF. The PCIe SSD also includes a three-year warranty and is available now in the US at RAMExperts.com and will roll out worldwide on September 16 at select electronic retailers.
"The Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD is a result of the desire to create and produce revolutionary components that maximize performance. We are looking to enhance and accelerate the work process -- be it for creative production or database applications," said Nicolas Villalobos, the Director of Global Marketing for Mushkin, Inc. "We are pleased to be able to add the Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD to our existing line of now available innovative technologies."

Nokia launches it's flagship Lumia 1020 to the European markets
Nokia's Lumia 1020 41-megapixel smartphone has been available in the states since late July, but our friends across the pond have had to wait until today to get their hands on the uber-camera device. Today TweakTown's Johannes Knapp was on hand at Nokia's UK launch event and got a chance to sit down and go hands-on with the Lumia 1020.

The Lumia 1020 by Nokia features a dual-core QUALCOMM Snapdragon S4 processor clocked in at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM, and a 4.5-inch 1280x768 AMOLED HD+ display. A 41-megapixel PureView camera resides on the back that features a Carl Zeiss lens with an aperture of f/2.2. A real Xenon flash is also on-hand to take care of all of your low light issues.

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The phone runs Windows Phone 8 and is capable of recording 1080p video at 30 frames per second. The phone will retail for 699 euros in Europe for the 32GB model with Telefonica O2 having exclusive rights to the 64GB version, which will retail for 679 euros in Germany.

RumorTT: Gold HTC One spotted in newly leaked videos
Apple may not be the only smartphone manufacturer with gold fever, if newly leaked photos are real. Recently, photos were spotted on a Chinese website that showed off what appears to be
gold
champagne tinted HTC One speaker covers.

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While the images appear to be somewhat legit, this leak should still be taken with a grain of salt as the right lighting could make a silver HTC one appear gold quite easily. However, we do know that HTC likes coloring their anodized aluminum smartphone as we have seen a red and blue version released already.

Cortana lives on! Halo's AI character is Microsoft's new Siri
It looks like Microsoft is set to work on a mobile personal assistant, that will tie in with all of it's products. The voice assistant is going to be named after Cortana, who was the AI character in Halo.

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Nuggets of information have been popping up regarding Microsoft's voice assistant, with an app called 'zCortana' the biggest hint in an early version of the Windows Phone OS. Stefan Weitz, director of Being, commented on the fact that Microsoft was building a competitor to Apple's Siri and Google Now, but wanted it to be better. He said: "We are not shipping until we have something more revolutionary than evolutionary. There are teams working hot and heavy on this right now."
After the missteps that were Surface and Windows 8, I expect great things from Microsoft's voice assistant. Microsoft has yet another uphill battle before them, as its competitors' services continue to get better and better with each passing day.

Twitter rolls out 'verified' filter, helps celebrities with spam
Celebrities will enjoy Twitter's new feature which is hot off the press, with the social networking giant unleashing two new filters for the Connect tab. Filtered, tries to cut down on spam while Verified only shows interactions with other verified profiles.

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You can see the new feature in action in the shot above, with it mainly being implemented for celebrities. Twitter needs to keep celebrities happy, with some celebrities enjoying millions of followers on Twitter.

Burberry partners with Apple, will shoot a runway show with iPhone 5S
Apple and Burberry are teaming up to see the iPhone 5S used to capture Burberry's Spring/Summer 2014 runway show. The show takes place on September 16 and will take use of the improved camera functionality of the iPhone 5S.

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Apple and Burberry today announced that iPhone 5s is being used to capture and share beautiful photos and video before, during and after the Burberry runway show in London on Monday, September 16.
Using the all-new iSight camera on iPhone 5s, Burberry is shooting high quality photos and video for runway and beauty looks, product details, and backstage moments. The collaboration is reimagining how Burberry engages consumers, paving the way for significant changes in how they capture and share their content.

RumorTT: Samsung to use its Tizen OS on its TVs next year
According to CNET, the open-source OS known as Tizen, would be featured on Samsung's range of TVs in 2014. Co-CEO of Samsung, Boo-Keun Yoon, has confirmed that the open-source OS will work with mobile devices, TVs and appliances, too.

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Rewinding back to 2011, where Intel and Samsung joined forces to work on Tizen, with the first release arriving in January of 2012. Intel is working away on its own Tizen-powered devices, but Samsung has been hush-hush about any Tizen devices. I would say this is because of its tight relationship and massive reliance on Google's mobile OS, Android.
The current Samsung Smart TVs, one of which I own, are bloated and slow. Tizen could change all of this, in the hopes of a faster, and smarter TV for Samsung and its consumers in 2014.

Microsoft wants your iPad, will give you $200 for it
If you've got an older iPad, you could consider trading it in, with Microsoft offering gift cards starting from $200 for your used iPad. The Redmond-based giant is offering this deal at participating company stores, that will let you trade in a "gently used iPad 2, 3, or 4."

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So don't even think about trading in that cracked, dented iPad, because Microsoft wants your 'gently used' slate. In order to take advantage of this deal, you'll have to complete the trade-in in person at a Microsoft store. The promotion started on September 5 and runs through October 27. Considering Microsoft is launching the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro on September 23, you might want to wait a few days and see what the reveal is like, and consider switching to the dark (?) side.

A preview of some Windows 8.1 tablets ahead of Microsoft's event
We should expect Microsoft to unveil its Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro at its event on September 23, but ahead of that, Paul Thurrott from WinSuperSite has scooped up some information from his various sources to provide the world with a preview of Windows 8.1 tablets.

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There's quite a few to expect, including the serious Nokia Sirius tablet, which is shown above. We should also expect the Acer W3-810, ASUS Transformer Book Trio T100TA, Dell Venue, an unnamed Dell tablet, Lenovo Miix 8, Lenovo Miix 2, and Toshiba Encore. Every single one of these slates will be running Windows 8.1 and Intel's new Bay Trail processor.
Thurrott does tease us, stating that Microsoft is planning a "Surface mini" that will arrive as an 8-inch slate and ship later this year once Microsoft is done with the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro

100GB, 4K-capable Blu-ray discs? Yes please, Singulus!
In its current form, Blu-ray only holds 25GB and 50GB, for single- and dual-layer discs, respectively. But the Blu-ray Disc Association has teased the world with a 4K-capable disc format.

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German-based Singulus has revealed more than the Blu-ray Disc Association, announcing that it has finished production tests of Blu-ray discs that hold 100GB on three layers, which makes it "ideal" for 4K movies. Singulus haven't revealed many details on the new discs, so we don't know if it has BDA support just yet.

Our first look at the upcoming Nexus 5 from Google and LG
According to the pictures below, this is our first look at the upcoming Google Nexus 5 that is manufactured by LG once again. LG was the company who manufactured the still-great Nexus 4 smartphone.

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In the shot above, we can see the bigger, improved camera with its LED flash, but the horizontal "Nexus" logo is gone from our previous news when Android 4.4 KitKat was announced. Something that is quite strange, is the window at the top center of the Nexus 5s back... who knows what that is, what's your guess? Let's not hope it's a fingerprint scanner.

Twitter is going public, files for IPO
This day was always coming for Twitter, but for me at least, it kind of struck me by surprise. The social network has said that as of Thursday afternoon, it has confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO.

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At the moment, Twitter is valued at around $11 billion, and is able to file confidentially thanks to the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act. The JOBS Act allows companies to go public without public scrutiny, and is for companies that have has than $1 billion in revenues.

Iron Man 3 (2013) Blu-ray Review

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One year after Marvel and Disney took their greatest gamble yet, putting their biggest franchise stars Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk and Thor together in The Avengers, now transition their franchises back to standalone features. Iron Man 3 just like the original Iron Man kicks things off with the next venture dubbed 'dubbed phase II'.
Following on from the events of The Avengers, the fearless Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is suffering flashbacks to the events in New York and unable to sleep. Mindful of protecting his partner and Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark has been working around the clock, utilizing his talents to construct multiple experimental Iron Man armors. His fears are soon realized when an explosive terrorist calling himself the 'Mandarin' surfaces, adept at hijacking airwaves to broadcast his pirate signal and detonating bombs across the city.
When one attack injures Stark's personal bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Stark issues an ill-advised threat, which results in the destruction of his home and lab. Now he'll have to go up against an adversary, who behind the smoke and mirrors may prove his toughest adversary yet.

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Iron Man 3 marks the departure of director and writer Jon Favreau who launched the entire Marvel cinematic stable in 2008. In some ways, the Iron Man franchise is now in uncharted territory, but under the watch of director and co-writer Shane Black, who directed Downer Jr. in 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it would seem that Marvel's hero is in safe hands indeed.
Of course Iron Man 3 isn't perfect, but to be far, neither were either of the first two entries. Plotting seems somewhat lopsided, with the most exciting sequences placed at the front end of the film, joined by some poor connecting tissue. Far from fan service, the film nevertheless provides fans with all the beats they have come to expect, along with generous doses of action and some great sequences, including the Mandarin attack on Stark's Malibu mansion.
With three main villains, the film is a bit top heavy in the threat department, stretching the sense of urgency a little thin. Arguably the most imposing villain, Eric Savin (James Badge Dale) is given the least screen time and should be a thrilling and threatening force, but I don't feel this was properly conveyed. Ben Kingsley plays a great villain with a twist of his own, although some fans may be disappointed that it deviates significantly from the comics and perhaps could have been better utilized in a more accurate depiction in a future entry - if indeed that is Marvel's intention.
At this point, fans have a good grasp of Downey Jr's portrayal of Stark and he's certainly in fine form here. With significant stretches of armor-less Stark, Iron Man 3 allows the character to evolve a little more than previous entries, padding the character with slightly more depth than the fast quips and self-assured one liners have previously allowed. Gwyneth Paltrow isn't given much to do this time around, featuring much less screen time than Iron Man 2, although she's finally given an overdue hero moment of her own.
Overall, Marvel and Disney have done a great job in transitioning Iron Man back to a standalone adventure and rather than simply climaxing with The Avengers. I'm now even more excited for where an increasingly confident Marvel will take their crisscrossing characters next.
Video
Iron Man 3 is presented in the original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression. Note that the cover erroneously lists a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.
Finished in a 4K digital intermediate, it's no surprise that this 2K down convert is no slouch - in fact, it's one of the finest transfers to grace a Blu-ray this year.
Despite a change in cinematographers, with John Toll replacing Matthew Libatique, Iron Man 3 features solid visual continuity with its predecessors. As such, bright and bold colors are the order of the day, although much of the films climax is played out in darkness. Throughout this, there was no problem with black crush or shadow detail, which brim with fine textures.
Filmed predominantly with the digital Arri Alexa camera system, the digital transfer has never touched celluloid, making the issue of film to video artifacts a moot point, as well as video artifacts due to a consistently high bitrate and careful encoding. Overall, there's little that I can point to as being problematic, indeed there is much to be pleased about.

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Audio
Iron Man 3 is presented in DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 at 24 bits.
Iron Man 3 hits Blu-ray with the same level of bombast that I can recall from the theatrical showing this year, which I've no doubt will be a prime example of demo-worthy audio in times to come. Standout sequences include the helicopter attack on the Stark mansion and the climactic waterfront fight out, which brim with exceptional surround directionality, along with strong resonating bass performance. But even when the pace takes a breather, a 360 degree sound field is always in play.
For such a large budgeted picture, the original sound design hasn't had much in the way of shortcuts, so the lack of audio sync issues or dialogue intelligibility is a positive. The Blu-ray encode doesn't introduce any nasties into the process.

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Extras
I can smell a re-release in the wings! Similar to the light collection assembled for what has become the third highest grossing motion picture of all time, The Avengers, Marvel and Disney have released a rather disappointingly light collection of supplements, which whilst are flashy and appealingly created, do little to delve into the films production on any level. Regardless, let's take a look at what is here.
First up is the Audio Commentary by director Shane Black and writer Drew Pearce, the former of which offers numerous trivia tidbits throughout, whilst the latter provides the comic riffs. The camaraderie and short hand between the two is readily apparent.
The Marvel One-Shot short films have fast become fan favorites, and the latest; Agent Carter, will be no different. Set one year after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, actress Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Agent Carter, who finds herself an active participant in the 1940's pre-cursor to S.H.I.E.L.D, which I understand will dovetail nicely with the forthcoming Captain America sequel The Winter Soldier. Props to Disney for finishing the short in theatrical quality 1080p and 5.1 sound.
Next is the 10 minute long Iron Man 3 Unmasked Featurette which breathlessly provides brief behind the scenes snippets alongside interview segments for most of the key sequences throughout. It's certainly flashy and well-edited, but I yearned for a much more detailed piece, which we simply don't get. The Deconstructing the Scene: Attack on Air Force One Featurette utilizes animatic footage and background plates, coupled with on-set footage to illustrate the creation of the thrilling set piece.
Next up are a number of short Deleted Scenes which were probably wisely excised, along with a four minute long, and crushingly un-funny Gag Reel.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Marvel Blu-ray without some form of advertisement for the next feature film release and they haven't passed up the opportunity. The Exclusive Look Behind the Scenes of Thor: The Dark World Featurette is slightly misleading, consisting of little more than select scenes from the already released trailer, along with talking head footage of how great it will be. Still, I'm excited - so I guess, 'mission accomplished'.

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White House Down (2013) Cinema Review

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Coming just a few months after the release of the nearly identical Olympus Has Fallen, Roland Emmerich's explosion fest White House Down comes busting out of the gate with a noticeable increase in not only production values, star power in Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, and visual effects quality, but also a net increase in entertainment value to boot.

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Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) is facing an uphill battle to earn the respect of his political enthusiast young daughter (Joey King), but when Cale pulls some strings to obtain a job interview with Secret Service head Carol Finnerty (Maggie Gyllenhall) and tickets to visit the White House, Cale is granted a momentary reprieve from her lack of interest.
While turned down for the job due to his dearth of qualifications, Cale takes the opportunity of a White House tour, which soon takes a turn for the worse when the nearby Capitol building is destroyed and the White House put into lock down. When the building is attacked by mercenaries, assisted by a devious insider, soon the only man that may be able to assist the leader of the free world (Jamie Foxx) is the one that just got turned down...

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Despite its similarities, what differentiates White House Down from Olympus Has Fallen is the unique change in tone, which results in two very different movies. While Olympus strives for a hard-action thriller in the vein of Die Hard (at least, when they were good), Down is a much lighter and enjoyable roller coaster ride which never takes itself too seriously, with numerous jokes punctuating moments of tenseness.
Director Roland Emmerich is either loved or reviled and never in between. Whilst I concede that his best work is made in conjunction with his previous producing partner Dean Devlin (Independence Day and StarGate), I always enjoy his keen visual sense and penchant for explosive, over the top action. In this regard, White House Down proves no different to other entries in his filmography.

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Whilst I don't necessarily 'get' the appeal of heart throb Channing Tatum, he puts reasonable effort into both run and shooting, whilst concurrently spouting affable sarcasm. One the other hand, Jamie Foxx runs on autopilot, with precious little of his subtle talents on show. Whilst I hesitate to claim that he's necessarily wasted in the role, admittedly anyone could have played it. The real stand out is child actor Joey King whom at the tender age of 14 already has a string of blockbusters such as The Dark Knight Rises, Oz: The Great and Powerful and Battle Los Angeles to her name.

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Overall White House Down proves to be a fun, post-blockbuster season entry, which is as subtle as any of Roland Emmerich's pictures. That's to say, not at all.

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Seagate Desktop 2TB SSHD (ST2000DX001) Review

Introduction

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A few months back, Seagate announced the launch of its third generation SSHD. While most of the fame went towards the Laptop Thin SSHD, with several tech sites, including TweakTown getting the opportunity to review the drive, at the same time a desktop variant was announced.
Now that most of the initial hype around the Laptop Thin SSHD has passed, I thought it was only right to bring our readers the first official review of the Seagate Desktop SSHD in the 2TB capacity.
The desktop variant of the SSHD combines the best features of both the Laptop SSHD and Desktop HDD, where we have the same 8GB of NAND flash found in the SSHDs of today, together with the full 7200RPM spindle speed of the Desktop HDD.
Initial capacities of the Desktop SSHD start at 1TB with an additional 2TB capacity available, but I wouldn't put it past Seagate to launch a 4TB monster in the near future.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability

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Specifications of the Seagate Desktop SSHD lists the drive in both 1TB and 2TB capacities. Each of these drives offer 8GB of NAND flash and 64MB of DRAM cache. Additionally, these drives support all three generations of the SATA protocol.
Average data rate is listed at 158 MB/s from the platters and 190 MB/s from the cache with a 4/2 head to platter ratio for the 2TB model and 2/1 head to platter ratio for the 1TB model. Typical operating power is listed at 6.7 watts with an idle power consumption of 3.3 watts.
Pricing of the 2TB Seagate Desktop SSHD is set at $139.99, while the 1TB model is available for $99.99. Each drive is covered by Seagate's three-year warranty.
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Micron P420m 1.4TB PCIe Enterprise SSD Review

Introduction

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Micron's release of the P420m introduces a product that cuts through the cost barriers of PCIe SSD adoption. The advantages of flash, and primarily PCIe SSDs, are finally becoming crystal clear for the majority of users. The primary barrier remains the high acquisition cost of PCIe solutions, even when considering the massive long-term TCO advantage. The original PCIe SSD from Micron, the P320h, redefined the performance envelope for PCIe flash solutions. However, the use of high-cost SLC, though tremendously resilient to heavy workloads, relegates the P320h to upper-tier applications.
While the high-performance segment addressed by the P320h is large, the mainstream market is exponentially larger. Many might even argue that the P320h was the right solution for the market at the time, when many mainstream users were still wary of flash solutions. With its extreme endurance and high tolerance for heavy workloads, the P320h proved that bulletproof solutions for flash acceleration could gain significant penetration into the datacenter.
The flash market has matured considerably since then. The rate of adoption is staggering and at times the fabs cannot even produce NAND fast enough to satiate demand. If ever there were a time for a low cost solution that can deliver tremendous performance in a wide variety of use cases, the time is now.
The P420m looks to provide this low-cost MLC solution with higher capacities, yet also provide tremendous performance for the mainstream market. The common use-cases for the P420m run the gamut of mainstream applications from caching and OLTP to media streaming and web acceleration.
Micron leverages their vertical integration by utilizing their own 25nm NAND, DRAM, and Micron-developed application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The card comes in two form factors, the typical PCIe Gen2 x8 half-height half-length (HHHL), and a 2.5" form factor.
The slim profile of the HHHL P420m is designed for use in rackmount servers and is available in capacities of 700GB and 1.4TB. Both capacity points provide up to 3 GB/s of sequential read and up to 750,000 random read IOPS. The trade-off in the move to MLC is in write performance; the 700GB P420m offers 50,000 random write IOPS and 600 MB/s in sequential write. The 1.4TB unit provides 95,000 random write IOPS and 630 MB/s of sequential write speed.
The 2.5" P420m is the world's first PCIe Gen2 x8 MLC NAND PCIe SSD available in a SFF. These SSDs are hot pluggable and designed for utilization in the front bay of a server, thus reducing downtime and providing easy accessibility. The 2.5" comes in capacities of 350GB and 700GB, with sequential read performance up to 1.8 GB/s and random read performance topping out at 430,000 IOPS.
Endurance is always a concern in the datacenter, and is especially relevant with MLC solutions. To provide increased endurance, Micron implanted their XPERT (eXtended Performance and Enhanced Reliability Technologies) suite into a PCIe card for the first time with the P420m. This mix of technologies increases SSD performance and reliability, most notably through a RAID 5-like redundancy scheme (RAIN). We will cover this in detail in the following pages.
The XPERT suite provides an endurance of 5PB for the 700GB and 10PB for the 1.4TB, in stark contrast to the 50PB with the P320h. The lower endurance is enough for four drive fills per day for five years. The P420m also brings the inclusion of power hold-up capacitors as an additional layer of data protection in the event of power fail, a feature that was noticeably absent on the P320h.
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WD Re (WD4000FYYZ) 4TB Enterprise HDD Review

Introduction

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The WD Re (WD4000FYYZ) comes in both 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SATA and SAS flavors in a 7,200 RPM 3.5" form factor. The Re is geared for heavy workload environments in the datacenter, including RAID arrays, external storage arrays, data warehousing and data mining operations. The WD Re comes in a multitude of capacities, including 250GB, 500GB and the larger capacities, which weigh in from 1TB to 4TB's.
The RE fits in the middle of the WD datacenter product stack, with the Xe and Se bookends delivering different levels of service. The Xe provides the ultimate in performance with a SAS interface and 10,000 RPM's on tap. The Se is a 7,200 RPM HDD for less demanding workloads, delivering the incrementally lower performance via a SATA connection. The Re, or RAID Edition, HDD features higher resilience and performance than the Se in spite of the utilizing the same 7,200 RPM spindle speed.
HDD failures are a constant reality in the datacenter, and with some datacenters supporting tens of thousands of servers per location, and some housing far more, this constant stream of failures requires intense micromanagement. Workers spend countless man-hours replacing failed drives, and RAID rebuild periods strangle server performance and bring the threat of downtime. Once removed, failed drives are typically physically destroyed to protect customer or company data, adding yet another layer of expenditure to an already expensive process.
The Re brings a mix of different features that combine to deliver the higher speed and durability required in datacenter applications with heavy write workloads. The Re is designed to handle up to 550TB per year. The inclusion of a SAS interface also widens the spectrum of capabilities for the Re series. The SAS interface provides HA (High Availability) full duplex features, such as failover and multipath, and the robust SAS feature set.
The higher reliability of the Re, which features an MTBF of 1.2 million hours, helps to reduce the never-ending drive replacement cycle. While high-capacity drives from the competition also offer impressive MTBF specifications, the Re really distances itself from the competition with an industry leading 10E16 non-recoverable read errors per bits read. This is a 100x improvement over other drives with a 10E15 rating.
The Re also features a dual-core processor, with twice the processing power to boost performance. The SATA version features a healthy 64MB of cache, while the SAS version utilizes 32MB of cache. This combination combines to deliver up to 171 MB/s of sequential throughput for SATA, and 182 MB/s for the SAS version.
RAID-specific time-limited error recovery (TLER) prevents the drive from dropping in a RAID array due to an extended hard drive error-recovery. Dual actuator technology provides precise placement of the head over data tracks, while StableTrac secures both ends of the motor shaft to reduce vibration in multi-drive deployments. The WD Re series also has SED offerings with AES 256-bit encryption and Crypto Erase functionality for users with more stringent security demands. The SED drives support the T13 Sanitize command and the ATA Password support of Secure Erase Unit (SEU).
Reliability is key, and WD subjects their enterprise drives to at least five million hours of functional testing, and over 20 million hours of interoperability testing. Each individual drive also experiences an extended burn-in with thermal cycling to ensure reliability. The intense qualification and testing leads to a five-year warranty for the Re series of drives.
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Cooler Master N600 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Introduction

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Not too long ago, I took a look at the first chassis to release from the N series. Then we were given the N200, which was a short and squatty mini-tower chassis that was packed quite full of features, even in its limited space. The idea there was to deliver a sleek looking chassis that offered both great ventilation options, but also was able to keep enough room for the longest PSUs and video cards, while giving Micro-ATX systems a snug new home.
That same sense of chassis design has been enlarged into a mid-tower design, but keeps the same styling of the N200 on the outside. This means room for larger components, more expansion slots, and this time you get a large tinted window on the side of the chassis for your viewing pleasure.
There is another idea that Cooler Master was going for in this newer version. They have the idea that this chassis needed to be designed for water cooling as well. Therefore, this design incorporates three locations to add in radiators, two of which can be dual 120 radiators. On top of that they have obviously increased the size of the chassis, so now the ATX board owners can enjoy the N series as well.
Between the two designs of the N200 and the N600 we are about to see, there is also a mid-range version of these designs that you will find in the N400. The N600 is the top of the line in this series of cases, and from what I saw with the N200, random things like bumped out door panels and hard drive storage have been addressed and improved.
In almost every way, the N600 is superior to both the N400 and N200, but let's get right down to it and see if the N600 from Cooler Master is worthy of your money over all the other mid-tower offerings on the market.
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PNY Prevail 240GB SSD Review

Introduction

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The last time we tested a PNY SSD it was the Prevail Elite, a unique low cost enterprise SSD with 10K P/E cycle MLC flash. Today we're testing the lower cost prosumer model advertised with 3K P/E cycle flash. Advertised doesn't always mean delivered - walk onto any used car lot for proof. PNY though chose to go the other way, at least on the Prevail drives from the lot our sample came from. Our PNY Prevail 240GB review sample arrived with the same Intel 25nm synchronous flash that Intel used on the 520 Series and that Kingston used on the original Hyper X SSD - that is, 5K P/E cycle flash.
Intel discontinued 25nm flash months ago so any drive with 25nm flash from a retail site is special. There are a few examples out there, but the known 5K P/E cycle flash drives are getting harder to find and very expensive when you track them down. Intel's 520 Series 240GB is a good example. At one point the drive sold for as low as $199.99 on sale, but the price is now $259.99 at Newegg.
That's over $1 per GB and many would feel that's unacceptable given the prices of Samsung's 840, Crucial's M500 and other low priced SSDs. If you follow TweakTown's SSD reviews, then you know that 25nm IMFT flash is golden compared to new 20nm flash coming out of the Intel / Micron fabs.
We suspect all of the 3K P/E cycle 25nm flash is long gone and the only 25nm left in warehouses is 5K and 10K P/E cycle flash. Since the flash is now discontinued, a SSD manufacturer wouldn't create a new product SKU since the production run would be quite limited. What manufacturers will do is upgrade products with 3K P/E cycle flash to 5K P/E cycle and continue their production of existing SKUs until the 25nm well runs dry.
That's what we think PNY has done with the Prevail and we have the drive to prove it.
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Cougar PowerX 550-Watt 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Review

Introduction

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Cougar is a name that is really starting to grow on us here at TweakTown. They have presented us with some products that are excellent in terms of design and performance, but also rather easy on the wallet, considering what you get. The only power supply that we have looked at has been their higher-end offering, the http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4923/cougar_gx800_800_watt_80_plus_gold_power_supply_review/index.html' target='_blank'>GX800 V2.
Today we are looking at the PowerX 550W. The PowerX series are budget units for those who simply have tight monetary constraints when building computers. Nowhere in the specifications will you find anything that will define this power supply as an industry leader, a game changer, or anything revolutionary.
What you will find is that the power supplies are a solid platform that will perform well, look good, and save some money.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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The Cougar PowerX 500W power supply features dual 12V rails. 12V1 is rated for 28A, while 12V2 is rated for 22A with the two 12V rails rated for a combined 516W or 43A. The 3.3V rail is rated for 24A, while the 5V rail is rated for 15A. The minor rails are rated for a combined output of 120W. Finally, the 5VSB rail is rated for 3A or 15W. Maximum output for the power supply is 550W.

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Protections are usually the first thing to be cut in a budget unit, but Cougar doesn't like that. The PowerX 550W features a full set of protections including SCP, OVP, OCP, OPP and OTP. The power supply is rated for 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency. All cables are natively wired and fully sleeved. Finally, the unit is not rated for 100% continuous output at 50C, but Cougar does rate the unit for it at 40C instead.
Cougar's PowerX 550W has an MSRP of $69.99. That's pretty cheap and chances are we will see it cheaper once it finally hits market as it isn't available yet. The higher wattage 700W model is available though and with a price of only $75.99 from Newegg. Cougar backs the PowerX series with a three year warranty.
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Western Digital Completes Acquisition Of sTec, Inc.
Western Digital Corp. announced today that it has completed the acquisition of sTec, Inc., an early innovator in enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs). sTec will be integrated into HGST, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Digital. The acquisition augments HGST's existing solid-state storage capabilities, accelerating its ability to expand its participation in the rapidly growing area of enterprise SSDs.

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Completion of the sTec acquisition follows HGST's recent purchase of VeloBit, an advanced SSD caching software company, and the proposed acquisition of Virident, an innovative provider of server-side flash storage solutions. Collectively these building blocks expand HGST's presence in the enterprise SSD space, which IDC predicts will grow from $2.5B in revenue in 2012 to $7B in revenue by 2017.
"We are excited to welcome the sTec team to HGST, where they will play a key role in our ongoing growth," said Mike Cordano, president, HGST. "sTec has a strong technology capability and foundational intellectual property that will support our initiative to deliver intelligent storage devices tailored to meet the evolving needs of today's datacenter customer."

Panasonic Announces New Headphones For Fall
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company today announced the introduction of six new headphone models for fall 2013. The new headphones offer users unique designs, ultimate comfort and superior audio quality. The new additions to Panasonic's extensive lineup of existing headphones include the RP-HT480C, RP-HT470C, RP-HX450C, RP-HX250M, which are monitor-style headphones, and the RP-TCM190 and RP-TCM125 earbud style models.

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"At Panasonic, we are constantly innovating our headphone technology and designs to provide consumers with stylish new models that fit with their lifestyle and still produce excellent sound," said Tom Hantson, Product Manager, Headphones, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "This year, we have taken the functionality of our headphones a step further, equipping all of our fall 2013 headphone models with microphones and remotes, so users can use them as an extension to their smartphone device."

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The Panasonic RP-HT480C Headphones are monitor-style headphones that feature a rounded-rectangular ear-cup. Soft padding on the ear-cup and throughout the entire wide headband ensures the ultimate comfort during wear, even in the longest music listening sessions. Crafted to provide excellent audio quality, the Panasonic RP-HT480C Headphones offer users a crisp, clear listening experience coupled with strong bass that is reproduced with large, 50 mm driver units. A remote and mic made for iPhone, iPad and iPod offers users flexibility when switching to an incoming phone call. For easy portability, the RP-HT480C headphones have a fold flat design and come with a carrying pouch. The Panasonic RP-HT480C Headphones are available in three color options for an SRP of $149.99: Glossy Black, Glossy White and Matte Dark Silver with Brown Headband.
Like the Panasonic RP-HT480C Headphones, the RP-HT470C Headphones offer the same rounded-rectangular ear-cup design and soft padding on the ear-cup and the headpad for enhanced comfort. Excellent sound quality with tuned bass is reproduced with large diameter 40 mm driver units. A remote and mic made for iPhone, iPad and iPod offers users flexibility when switching to an incoming phone call. The RP-HT470C Headphones are available in matte finished violet, blue and dark silver for an SRP of $99.99.
The new Panasonic RP-HX450C Headphones have an elongated round ear-cup style that is enhanced, for a stylish appeal, with a translucent finish. Powerful bass reproduction is created using 36mm driver units and neodymium magnets. The ear-cups' soft cushioning help create noise isolation and a comfortable headpad ensures hours of comfort. A flat-fold design allows for easy carrying. A remote and mic made for iPhone, iPad and iPod offers users flexibility when switching to an incoming phone call. The Panasonic RP-HX450C headphones are available in blue, black, white and purple for an SRP of $69.99.
The Panasonic RP-HX250M headphones offer a similar design scheme as the RP-HX450C, with round ear-cups, wide headpad and soft padding on the ear-cups, which help provide noise isolation. The RP-HX250M headphones feature a microphone and single button remote compatible with iPhone, Blackberry and Android so a user can answer and end calls quickly and easily. The Panasonic RP-HX250M will have an SRP of $39.99. Color options include black and white and purple and blue, which are included as a transparent ring on the ear-cups of the black base unit.
Panasonic is also offering two new earbud models for fall 2013, which build off previous popular models and add upgraded audio and communication functionalities. The Panasonic RP-TCM190 headphones in-ear headphones produce deep bass sound quality due to Neodymium magnet and an extended long sound support port. An ErgoFit design provides ultimate comfort and fit for hours of wear. The Panasonic RP-TCM190 headphones will be available in a metallic finish in purple, blue, black and silver for an SRP of $34.99. The RP-TCM125 Headphones feature an ErgoFit design for ultimate comfort and fit and are available in black, white, red, purple and blue for an SRP of $19.99. Both the RP-TCM190 and RP-TCM125 Headphones are equipped with a microphone and a single button remote that is compatible with iPhone, Palm and Blackberry.
Panasonic's RP-HT480C, RP-HT470C, RP-TCM190 and RP-TCM125 Headphones are available now at http://www.Panasonic.com. The Panasonic RP-HX450C and RP-HX250M will be available online in October.

TP-LINK Releases 300 Mbps Universal WiFi Range Extender
TP-LINK, a global provider of networking products, today announced a new solution to resolve wireless dead zones in your home or office. The TL-WA850RE 300 Mbps Universal Wireless N Range Extender expands the WiFi coverage of your existing network by up to 40 percent.

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The device's miniature size and AC plug wall-mounted design makes it easy to deploy around your home or office. Placing the Universal Range Extender between your main router and the area where additional WiFi coverage is needed will yield the best results.

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Setup is facilitated by the built-in range extender button, quickly pairing the Range Extender with your main router after simultaneously pressing its WPS button. Login credentials are retained internally after setup, allowing users to relocate as needed to generate ideal coverage.
The TL-WA850RE is currently the only wall-mounted Universal Range Extender with a five-tier LED signal strength indicator. This feature makes it easy to find the best possible location for deployment.
Users can position the Range Extender to concurrently extend their coverage while functioning as a WiFi adapter through the built-in Ethernet port, providing network access to TVs, game consoles, Blu-ray players, and other Ethernet-enabled devices. No configuration, beyond the initial setup process, is needed to take advantage of this function.
300 Mbps Universal WiFi Range Extender TL-WA850RE Highlights:

Boosts wireless signal to previously unreachable or hard-to-wire areas
Miniature size and wall-mounted design make it easy to deploy
Easily expand wireless coverage at a push of Range Extender button
Compatible with all 802.11 b/g/n wireless devices.
Compatible with the latest Windows 8 operating system
Added value: Concurrent Range Extension and WiFi Adapter functionality

The TL-WA850RE Range Extender has a MSRP of $39.99 and is available from various retail and online locations.

Dell Stockholders Approve Merger Transaction
Dell today announced that, based on a preliminary vote tally from the special meeting of stockholders, Dell stockholders have approved the proposal in which Michael Dell, Dell's Founder, Chairman and CEO, will acquire Dell in partnership with global technology investment firm Silver Lake Partners.

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In connection with the transaction, Dell stockholders will receive $13.75 in cash for each share of Dell common stock they hold, plus payment of a special cash dividend of $0.13 per share to stockholders of record as of a date prior to the effective time of the merger, for total consideration of $13.88 per share in cash. The agreement also guarantees the regular quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share for the fiscal third quarter would be paid to holders of record as of a date prior to closing. The total transaction is valued at approximately $24.9 billion.
The preliminary vote tally shows that the transaction was approved by the holders of a majority of Dell's outstanding shares, as required by Delaware law. In addition, the tally shows that the transaction was approved by the holders of a majority of Dell's shares voting for or against the matter, excluding shares held by Mr. Dell, certain of his related family trusts, Dell's Board of Directors and certain members of its management, as separately required under the merger agreement.
"I am pleased with this outcome and am energized to continue building Dell into the industry's leading provider of scalable, end-to-end technology solutions," said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell. "As a private enterprise, with a strong private-equity partner, we'll serve our customers with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will help them achieve their goals."
Mr. Dell continued, "I would like to thank our 110,000 team members around the world who, throughout this process, have remained focused on serving our customers with unity, purpose and pride. As our company continues to expand its enterprise solutions and services business, our team members will be Dell's most valuable asset and the key to our future success."
"Over the course of more than a year, the Special Committee and its advisors conducted a disciplined and independent process to ensure the best outcome for Dell stockholders," said Alex Mandl, chairman of the Special Committee formed to evaluate the transaction and other strategic alternatives. "By voting in favor of the transaction, the stockholders have chosen the best option to maximize the value of their shares. I want to thank my fellow Committee members and the entire Board for their diligent and tireless efforts on behalf of Dell stockholders, and the stockholders themselves for the careful consideration they gave to this important matter."
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the third quarter of Dell's FY2014, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Dell will continue to be headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.

RAID Storage Goes Portable with OWC's Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini
Other World Computing (OWC) http://www.macsales.com, the world's leading destination for cutting-edge and easy-to-install Mac and PC upgrades and accessories, has expanded its Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini portable hardware-RAID storage product line with two new 3.0 TB models, available as 3.0 TB RAID-1 (for robust data protection) or 3.0 TB RAID-0 (for maximum performance).

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What it does: This bus-powered (no AC adapter is required) unit stores a tremendous amount of data safely using RAID technology, or even more data with super-fast access. Featuring hardware RAID-1 (mirrored) redundancy for data protection or RAID-0 (striped) for maximum throughput, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini contains two 2.5" hard drives or OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSDs for up to 3.0 TB of capacity. A "quad interface" of FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA connections delivers data transfer speeds of up to 300 MB/s with Mac and PC computers.

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Why it's cool: It's the ultimate portable storage solution for professional users. Lightweight, bus-powered, and impact-resistant, in a 5.6 in (D) x 6.1 in (W) x 1.1 in (H) brushed aluminum enclosure with near silent, fanless operation, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini fits easily into laptop, photography, and other gear bags because of its side-by-side drive orientation. Fast, hardware-RAID technology is ideal for demanding data storage and backup needs, and can be configured with either high-performance hard disks or SSDs.
What it costs: The new 3.0 TB Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini models are priced at $359.99, and join a great line-up that includes hard disk options with speeds of up to 7200 RPM and SSDs with eSATA bus-saturating speeds. Pricing starts at $191.99 for a 640 GB 7200 RPM unit, with 32 MB buffer.

AMD-Adobe Collaboration Unlocks Outstanding Creative Workflows for Video Pros
AMD today announced that its collaboration with Adobe has reached a new milestone in the drive to deliver faster and more sophisticated professional video workflows. The two companies' leadership in OpenCL acceleration means that video and film professionals, as well as enthusiasts, can take full advantage of the massively parallel compute power of AMD APUs, Radeon graphics, and AMD FirePro professional graphics in their everyday and more compute-intense workloads.

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New breakthrough features and efficient workflows announced by Adobe for Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe SpeedGrade CC, and Adobe Media Encoder CC exploit AMD App Acceleration via OpenCL and deliver streamlined, leading edge support for Blackmagic Design and Vision Research Phantom cameras.
"AMD and Adobe are answering the call of creative professionals working in a wide range of workflows and environments," said Steve Belt, corporate vice president, Strategic Alliances & Platform Enablement, AMD. "By working together using open standards, we are tapping AMD's impressive multi-core and parallel processing capacity to provide the accelerated performance needed to bring a new class of breakthrough software tools to Adobe Creative Cloud users. This makes it possible for pros to confidently tackle projects at every level, whether the final destination is a smartphone, 4K projection, or anything in between."
Today's announcement builds on developments that were revealed by AMD and Adobe at NAB 2013 and received enthusiastically by users in June 2013. At that time the companies delivered enhanced OpenCL support through the Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, which enables professionals to optimize their Adobe Premiere Pro CC workflows by providing the acceleration needed for real-time effects, color grading, multi-format and compositing support.
"We are in the business of empowering all creative professionals, whether the project is the next global blockbuster or the passion of a lone independent producer," said Simon Williams, director of Strategic Relations at Adobe. "The team at AMD shares that vision with Adobe and it is reflected in the workflows they have helped make available to Adobe Creative Cloud users. The highly productive collaboration between Adobe and AMD continues to deliver tremendous benefits to the creative community at a remarkable pace."
Attendees at IBC 2013 will see further demonstrations highlighting Adobe innovations that use OpenCL acceleration to benefit from the power provided by AMD graphics processors, including

Advanced features in Adobe Premiere Pro CC: OpenCL-enabled acceleration yields a smoother, more fluid experience when using the new professional features in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. OpenCL makes it possible to balance the tasks between CPUs and GPUs for optimal performance.
Streamlined workflow with Adobe SpeedGrade CC: The new Direct Link Color Pipeline in SpeedGrade enables users to open Adobe Premiere Pro CC projects directly in SpeedGrade to do color grading and then go directly back to Adobe Premiere Pro CC for additional edits. With the ability to also playback and execute enhancements on all OpenCL-accelerated edits and effects, this streamlined workflow eliminates time-consuming intermediary steps of rendering out the Adobe Premiere Pro project and then importing the flattened file. The new Lumetri deep color engine is now optimized using OpenCL acceleration to support real-time performance within SpeedGrade.
Expanded Adobe Media Encoder CC functionality: Now Adobe Media Encoder CC can provide users with a more streamlined workflow by directly opening Premiere Pro projects. OpenCL enables Adobe Media Encoder CC users to now leverage the Mercury Playback Engine, independent of Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and take advantage of AMD GPU acceleration to reduce CPU demand and enable faster transcoding for all of their media conversion needs. This is further enhanced by the ability to apply effects, including color grading, from within Adobe Media Encoder CC rather than having to go to Adobe Premiere Pro.

Both AMD (Stand 7.H35) and Adobe (Stand 7.G27) will showcase the complete range of OpenCL accelerated and enhanced video workflows at the IBC 2013 Exhibition, September 13-17 at the RAI Amsterdam. Visitors will be able to see demonstrations and experience first-hand the performance available across a broad range of workstations available for any budget.

EUROCOM Unveils Panther 5SE Mobile Server with Lesser Weight
Intel has published a case study on the EUROCOM Panther 5SE Mobile Server as part of winning the "Form Factor Solution Innovation Award", titled "Super Computer Sheds Weight, gains mobility, Becomes "Server-on-the-Go". As an Intel Platinum Reseller, Eurocom works very closely with Intel to offer innovative and cutting edge technology to professionals who demand powerful computing solutions wherever they may be. At the 2013 Intel Solution Summit, Eurocom was awarded the Form Factor Solution Innovation Award for delivering the most innovative mobile solution based on Intel Technology to meet our customers' demands for mobility.

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More specifically the EUROCOM Panther 5SE was awarded this distinction by conquering the challenge of creating a portable server for application developers, emergrency responders, on site trainers and others who need powerful server capability on the go. As Intel Explains "Eurocom corporation successfully conquered this challenge by outfitting a desktop replacement chassis with the highest quality components, including the Intel Xeon processor E5 series and Intel S3700 solid state drives - chosen for their ability to support both workstation and server-class operations."

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In celebration of the award, Intel created a short document outlining the Panther 5SE Mobile Server and it's many benefits to professionals of all kinds. The article, titled: "Super Computer Sheds Weight, gains mobility, Becomes "Server-on-the-Go" can be found here.
Supporting multiple server class operating systems such as RedHat Enterprise Server Edition 6.4, Microsoft Server 2012 & 2008R2 and VMware ESXi, while supporting up to 32GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM via four 8GB SODIMM 204 pin modules, Intel Xeon processor E5 series and up to four Intel S3700 solid state drives in RAID 0/1/5/10 gives the EUROCOM Panther 5SE the performance capabilities of a datacenter server in a portable form factor, complete with workstation tools such as keyboard and monitor.

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