IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 1/14/2015

Spotify streaming music service tops 60M subscribers, 15M paid users
The Spotify music streaming service reached 60 million subscribers, with 15 million paid users, the company said in a blog post. A paid subscription costs $9.99 per month per account, and Spotify hopes more of its listeners transition into paying subscribers.

"We had an amazing 2014 at Spotify and owe it all to you, the music fans who listen, discover, share and celebrate music and artists with us every day of the year," Spotify said in a blog post. It would appear Spotify's pre-Christmas offering of three months of subscription service for just $0.99 per month instead of the $9.99 normal price tag.

More than half of Spotify listeners use their smartphones and tablets to access the service, Spotify recently noted.


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Forza Motorsport 6 will launch with Xbox One exclusivity
Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios have announced Forza Motorsport 6 will launch exclusively for the Microsoft Xbox One game console later this year.

The Ford GT, Shelby GT350 Mustang and F-150 Raptor will also make appearances in the video game, and 2015 is the 10th anniversary of the game franchise.

"Just as Ford has pushed the boundaries of car technology in GT, 'Forza Motorsport 6' will embrace that spirit of innovation as our most technically advanced racing simulation to date - offering a fun and realistic automotive experience for both car lovers and gamers," said Dan Greenawalt, creative director at Turn 10 Studios. "We're excited to unveil gameplay at E3 in June."

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Cherry announces their MX Board 6.0
Considered the 'king of keys' when it comes to mechanical offerings, Cherry have just announced the release of their new MX Board 6.0, featuring their latest and most refined switches - self-named as RealKey Technology.

Including 100% N-key rollover, this RealKey Technology utilizes high bandwidth USB 3.0 connections to reduce keyboard latency, making key presses register quicker - don't be fooled however, this will not make you better at any computer game.

This keyboard is aimed at professional typists, software developers and gamers alike, providing a standard 102-keyset, macros and a red backlight. The MX Board 6.0 features a metal frame and a magnetically-attached wrist-rest.

Being released this Spring coupled with a 3-year warranty, expect the keyboard to set you back $219 on launch.


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Report: Autonomous vehicle market to reach $42 billion by 2025
Autonomous vehicles could begin to see wider rollout on American roads and highways by 2017, with an estimated market valued at $42 billion by 2025, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

It's possible an automaker will introduce a self-driving model in the next five years, according to Ford CEO Mark Fields at the CES 2015 last week.

"Many people don't realize how far along some of these technologies are," said Savier Mosquet, from the Boston Consulting Group. "Even more surprising, consumer interest and the production costs will make autonomous vehicles highly attractive to both carmakers and their customers."

Automakers are receiving a hardware and software boost from the computer industry - helping provide next-generation offerings to help make autonomous vehicles safer.


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Razer reverses CES Appreciation Sale codes
CES 2015 - Min-Liang Tan, Razer's CEO has spoken up. According to him "we fucked up. I fucked up. The codes we sent out for the CES Appreciation Sale were reversed - i.e. the Blade codes were for peripherals and the Peripherals codes were for the Blades."

If you're still wanting to purchase an in-stock item for yourself, the big wig recommends that you "flip the codes (if you had noted them down before the sale started" and go for your life. However many end users aren't satisfied, commenting on Razer's share of Tan's post - "[I] Waited 3 days resulting with lack of sleep. Both insider and store crashed, stock run out of within minutes, mixed up codes, page did not load, server's wasn't able to handle load of customers. In short, big blunder... It's nice to acknowledge the mistake hopefully the remedial will make it up to the disappointed fans and customers. Hopefully this don't happen with the remedial, I don't wanna wait for 3 days again with minimal sleep and ended up with nothing. Or else it might be time to consider switching products. Sadly but true and I'm sure I'm not the only person with this mindset right now. I still have faith in Razer I hope you guys will be able to make it up to the fans."

It's obvious that fans aren't happy with the result, citing lack of sleep due to long waiting periods and server issues amongst the myriad of problems experienced. Razer is well-known globally for being one of the biggest and best peripheral brands out there and are often seen flexing their marketing might, however this time it seems they've made some major blunders.

Tan himself stated that there will be "more details on Insider when it's up," here's hoping that Razer can pull something cool out of their bag of tricks to win back some adoring fans.

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The new EVGA GTX 980 HydroCopper is here
EVGA have recently changed the way that their HydroCopper branding works. In the past HydroCopper refereed to models which included a factory-overclocked reference PCB and a factory-fitted, full-cover water blocks, allowing users to add this to their liquid-cooling loop as they saw fit. However EVGA's new direction for HydroCopper is to include its own closed-loop cooling system, seeing a similar design to AMD's reference Radeon R9 295X2.

This included cooler features a metal base-plate, drawing heat from the memory and VRM, connected to the central pump-block and an aluminum fin stack. Cooling these two parts is a common lateral-flow blower and all of this is ventilated by a single 120mm fan.

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NASA drops robot into volcano to help study fissure
The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has started testing its VolcanoBot 1 robot in Hawaii, sending it into inactive fissures located inside the active Kilauea volcano. The small two-wheeled robot is less than seven inches tall and around one foot long, with the ability to help researchers create 3D fissure maps.

"We don't know exactly how volcanoes erupt. We have models but they are all very, very simplified. This project aims to help make those models more realistic," said Carolyn Parcheta, JPL postdoctoral fellow.

NASA hopes to refine the VolcanoBot 1's abilities, which could be rolled out for future missions on planets and moons besides Earth. There is specific interest in exploring craters on the moon and Mars, with Earth-based experiments helping perfect hardware before sending them into space.


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GGF LANs CoolerMaster build is a monster
The model of the RAM sums this whole system up - beast. This promotional build completed by Stuart Tonks at GGF LAN contains Cooler Master's HAF Stacker 935 + 915 cases, complete with all the goodies you could hope for when it comes to a complete PC build - unless you want to go to a LAN party, that is.

Featuring two ASUS GTX780 Poseidons in SLI, an Intel i5 4670K and complete with full CM Storm gaming peripherals, the main feature is this crazy case - the Cooler Master HAF Stacker, in which Tonks has crammed nine HDDs and two SSDs.

Complete with a cool red and black color scheme, this is another great looking PC build to throw into the wide variety that Tonks now has under his belt.

Interested in the full information? The build list is as follows:

• CPU - Intel i5 - 4670K
• Motherboard - ASUS Maximus VI Formula
• Memory - Kingston Beast 8GB 2133MHZ Dual Channel
• GPU - 2x ASUS GTX780 Poseidons SLI
• SSD - 2x Kingston Hyper X 3k 120GB
• Monitor - ASUS ROG Swift
• Case - Cooler Master HAF Stacker (935+915)
• Cooler - Cooler Master Nepton 140XL
• PSU - Cooler Master V1200 Platinum
• Keyboard - CM Storm Mech
• Mouse - CM Storm Reaper
• Headset - ASUS ROG Vulcan ANC

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CNN and FAA sign drone research agreement, bringing unique news angles
The CNN news organization and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have agreed to create a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) to see how drones can be used for news gathering and reporting.

CNN previously had an agreement with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), with CNN, GTRI and FAA working together - and could help create a roadmap for wider drone use in news reporting.

"Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups," said David Vigilante, CNN Senior Vice President, in a statement. "Our hope is that these efforts contribute to the development of a vibrant ecosystem where operators of various types and sizes can safely operate in the US airspace."


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Sony needs rejuvenation, as company looks beyond slumping TV, mobile
Sony Pictures grabbed all of the headlines during late 2014 due to its data breach, but Sony as a whole is in significant need of a company-wide revival. Company CEO Kazuo Hirai took over in April 2012 and every option is on the table, according to financial investors, including business unit spinoffs and joint ventures.

Since Hirai took over, the company has cut 15,000 jobs and has endured six forecast earnings cuts - with an estimated $1.9 billion net loss for its fiscal year which ends in March.

"Electronics in general, along with entertainment and finance, will continue to be an important business," Hirai told journalists at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week. "But within that there are some operations that will need to be run with caution - and that might be TV or mobile, for example."

Sony could explore possible joint ventures or corporate partnerships, as its mobile and TV businesses both need significant work. The company's bright spot, however, is its PlayStation unit, which has received continued success with the PlayStation 4 game console.


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G.SKILL DDR4 hits 4255MHz, sets a new world record for DDR4 OC
G.SKILL is always-on the forefront of pushing their DDR memory to the limit, with their latest achievement setting a new memory record for DDR4 at a huge 4255MHz CL18-18-18.

This was done on the ASUS Rampage V Extreme motherboard, using the Intel Core i7-5960X using LN2. You can see on the screenshot above that using a single DIMM, they were able to hit the huge 4255MHz, which is truly insane. It would be great to see this using quad-channel DDR4, but RAM overclocking doesn't allow for those frequencies, with the records being set on single channel most of the time. But still, an amazing achievement for G.SKILL.


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Apple Watch Edition gold 42mm 32GB with no band will cost around $2499
In what should come as a total lack of surprise, the larger Watch from Apple will be more expensive than the smaller Watch. Apple has said that the Watch pricing will start at around $349, but what about the larger versions of its wearable? BGR is reporting that the two variants, the 38mm and 42mm, will come with differing pricing, but they are guestimating the following prices:

• Apple Watch Sport 38mm 8GB with one fluoroelastomer band: $349
• Apple Watch Sport 42mm 8GB with one fluoroelastomer band: $449
• Apple Watch stainless 38mm 16GB with no band: $549
• Apple Watch stainless 42mm 16GB with no band: $649
• Apple Watch Edition gold 38mm 32GB with no band: $2299
• Apple Watch Edition gold 42mm 32GB with no band: $2499

I think we will see a small change between the prices and sizes too, but that gold edition is hitting scary territory. 99% of consumers will not spend that much money, but for those who are sitting in the 1% category, $2499 isn't too much to dump down on the first-generation Watch from Apple, right?


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The rumors of iOS 9 begin, which is currently in testing
Google may be pumping out Android 5.0 Lollipop, but Apple has been working on iOS 9 for a while now, and it looks like we could see Apple's next mobile OS unveiled at its WWDC 2015 event.

It looks like Czech language online site letemsvetemapplem says it has proof that iOS 9 is out in the wild, as they've seen Apple's new OS in its analytics. The screenshot above shows that iOS 9-powered devices have accessed the site at least three times since January 1, 2015. These would be very early builds of the operating system, since WWDC 2015 doesn't kick off until the middle of the year.


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Hooray! Minecraft: Pocket Edition tops 30 million downloads
Minecraft: Pocket Edition has topped 30 million downloads, as the paid premium game reaches an impressive milestone. The mobile version of the game is available on Google Android, Apple iOS, Microsoft Windows Phone and Amazon Kindle Fire for $7.

To help celebrate the milestone, Minecraft fans are welcome to visit this reddit thread and submit questions, which will be answered during a live question and answer session later this week.

Also, more than one million desktop gamers played Minecraft simultaneously, Mojang noted, with the milestone reached at a non-peak time.

Microsoft's decision to purchase Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion in September has proven to be a great idea - and initial concern of how Microsoft would control the franchise have clearly subsided.


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iPhone demand in December helped TSMC, Foxconn report record revenue
It looks like Apple may have sold up to as many as 69 million new iPhones over the holidays, but when you compare this to the same period of last year, it is up 18 million - a nice spike.

TSMC has announced revenues of around $2.17 billion for December alone, while Foxconn has made $16.24 billion in the same period - both of which, are impressive, record-breaking numbers for the two companies. The sudden spike in revenues is mostly thanks to the massive surge in iPhone demand, which is seeing both companies manufacturer various technologies, pieces and parts of the new iPhones.

We should see official numbers from Apple on January 27 when it will kick off its quarterly results conference call.


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Arctic S113BT Bluetooth NFC Portable Speaker Review

Introduction

Why do I even need a portable speaker? I asked to myself as my friend dragged out his old Jawbone JAMBOX in 2013. He connected it via Bluetooth to his iPhone 4 and blasted some tunes away while we lazed in the spa, and thus my love for this style of sound was born.

I have been travelling a bit for various different jobs over the past few years, business trips and exhibitions have left me exhausted and in need of some musical stress relief. As someone who listens to music almost 24/7 while at home, working, at the gym or driving, having a unit I can take with me is extremely important - especially when your friends are around and you want to share some beats.

In this review, I'll go over this portable speaker I have been sent by Arctic, my impressions on the build design, specifications, price and availability. As with most sound based objects, I can only give you my opinion and thoughts on the product and it's up to you to decide if you like the overall package enough to either hear it in-store, hear a professional recording of the sound output, or buy one online if you trust me enough.

Enough about myself, lets get cracking into the review.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability

Featuring extremely handy NFC connectivity and a power output (RMS) of 2x 3W, this Arctic unit also offers the basic capabilities for you to call your friends using the speaker in replacement for the 'loudspeaker' on your phone. This functionality comes through a built-in microphone boasting a sensitivity of -44 ±3dB. A 2-year limited warranty is supplied with the S113 BT, which also boasts an interesting inclusion of 2x 1.5" full range drivers and 2x 1.5" Bass Radiators, set to improve your sounds depth, volume and punch. As a handy little consideration, this device gives you the ability to connect to all iOS and Android phones.

Sitting at 290g and with eight hours of claimed playback through the included 1200 mAh battery, this small unit provides enough punch for a small gathering of friends or a solo jam session in your lounge room.

On top of all of these features, the Arctic S113 BT comes in a variety of color options including: black, blue, pink, yellow, orange and white. We think the black looks the best, and as such requested this exact color for review purposes.

A Closer Look and what's in the box

Shipped as a rather basic unit, the Arctic S113BT comes with a simple package of - the device itself, a charging cable, a basic user manual, a 3.5mm AUX male-to-male cable and a handy travel pouch. Often you'll see other products being shipped with accessories things such as special leather carry pouches, portable battery packs and other goodies, however it seems Arctic has kept this one simple as to keep not only the package small, but the costs down.

Rather than a boring picture by picture - we've utilized our new 1080p Logitech webcam as seen on the TweakTown tech podcasts to show you exactly what's involved.

PRICING: You can find the ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker retails for $44.66 at Amazon.

Canada: The ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker retails for CDN$49.99 at Amazon Canada.
... Read the rest in your browser!



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RAIDON Announces Stardom Thunderbolt2 ST4-TB Thunderbolt Dock
The fastest, most versatile I/O in any desktop of any size, Up To 25x Faster than firewire800, Thunderbolt 2 technology in ST4-TB is phenomenally fast. The two Thunderbolt 2 ports on ST4-TB features dual 20-Gbps channels for data transfer and that's up to four times faster than USB 3. But beyond speed, Thunderbolt gives you unprecedented expansion capabilities. You can daisy-chain as many as six Thunderbolt devices to a single port. And since Thunderbolt is based on Display Port technology, Mini Display Port devices like Apple LED Cinema Display can plugs right in, too.

For field editing applications, the ST4-TB can be made portable as it comes with a grip handle, which you can choose to install for making creative contents mobile convenient and less bulky. With two optional storage modes, user can choose between RAID 0 and independent mode. In RAID 0 mode, the enclosed four drives will be striped and combined into one large volume for storage to enhance the data transfer speed performance. Under the Independent mode, the enclosed drives are seen as four separate volumes instead of one single volume.

The new ST4-TB is equipped with RAID 0 storage mode, which enables user to attain up to 724MB/s read speed with ST4-TB's Thunderbolt transmission interface. Whether it is used for searching and editing photo galleries, or video editing and synthesis, it promises to deliver a smooth and easy operation.

Testing conducted by STARDOM in December 2014 using an Apple Mac Pro 3.7GHz Quad-core Intel Xeon E5 with 12GB RAM running Mac 0S X 10.10. Four drives ( HGST 8TB SATA III 7200 rpm ) and two SSD ( Adata 64G SATA III ) were used as the test volume when AJA tests were performed.

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Mushkin Announces the STRIKER Line of Solid State Drives
Mushkin Enhanced MFG, an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance and mission-critical computer storage products, today announced at CES 2015 its new STRIKER series of solid state drives. Boasting top-tier performance specifications, the STRIKER 2.5" SSD is an important step forward for Mushkin to offer the most well-rounded SSD lineup - producing solutions for high value, performance, and capacity.

The STRIKER SSD provides sequential read and write throughput of up to 565 and 550MB/s respectively, with random performance of up to 90,000 4K IOPS. Launching in 240-960GB capacities, the new STRIKER SSD series will be available at retail channels in Q1 2015.

"Mushkin is committed to giving our customers the best performing and most reliable SSDs and our new STRIKER family of drives delivers," said Brian Flood, Director of Product Management at Mushkin. "With an ever-increasing demand for greater performance, the new STRIKER drives provides the ultimate combination of speed and reliability for today's demanding applications."

Features of the STRIKER line of SSDs include:

• Phison PS3110-S10 controller

o Quad-core, 8-channel

o 256-bit AES encryption support, Opal 2.0

o End-to-End data path protection, SmartECC, SmartRefresh, SmartFlush, GuaranteedFlush

• SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) interface (backwards compatible with SATA 3Gb/s and 1.5Gb/s)
• Top-tier performance specifications
• TRIM/SMART support (OS/driver support required)
• DEVSLP support for ultra-low power consumption
• 120 bit per 2KB ECC strength
• High-speed MLC NAND
• 2.5" 7mm form factor
• User-upgradeable firmware

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EVGA Announces the GeForce GTX 970 SSC Graphics Card
The new generation of EVGA GeForce GTX 970 has arrived with the SSC. This enhanced model offers improved cooling, double BIOS support, new display output configuration, and 6 power phases for robust overclocking support.

These new cards also feature EVGA ACX 2.0 cooling that features optimized swept fan blades, double ball bearings, and an extreme low power motor. The EVGA ACX 2.0 cooler offers more air flow, with less power, unlocking additional power for the GPU.

New Features:

• dBi - dB Noise Inverter turns fans off below 60C, generating 0dB of noise during idle!
• QSD BIOS - Quick Switch Dual BIOS allows you to switch to a secondary BIOS with the flick of a switch.
• MMCP - Memory MOSFET Cooling Plate reduces MOSFET temps by 47% and Memory by 14%
• OPT - Optimized Power Target offers 33% more power over reference
• SHP - Straight Heat Pipes reduce GPU temperature by almost 5C!

Learn more about the new EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC, here.


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Kingston Digital Offers Automatic Cloud Backup to Personal Secure USB Flash
Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the additional feature of cloud backup to the DataTraveler Locker+ G3 (DTLPG3) USB 3.0 Flash drive for personal security. DTLPG3 offers hardware encryption, password protection and fast USB 3.0 transfer speeds to keep one's personal data safe.

Consumers now have the option of automatically backing up a DataTraveler Locker+ G3 to their preferred cloud storage provider such as Google Drive, OneDrive (Microsoft), Amazon S3, Dropbox or Box via included ClevX USBtoCLOUD software. Kingston and ClevX first worked together in 2012 on an encrypted USB drive with a built-in anti-malware scan engine for enterprise customers. With the DTLPG3, consumers can rest assured that if the DTLPG3 is lost or misplaced, photos, personal documents and other files are still safely stored and accessible in the cloud.

"We are excited to offer cloud backup to our existing fast and secure consumer level USB Flash drive," said Ken Campbell, Flash Business Manager, Kingston. "The DataTraveler Locker+ G3 is easy to use, durable and ensures consumers' personal documents are safe and also always available to them."

DataTraveler Locker+ G3 is available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities and is backed by a five-year warranty, free live technical support and legendary Kingston reliability.

Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G3 Features and Specifications:

• Hardware encryption: the best in personal security to keep your data safe
• Superior password protection: user sets a password to prevent unauthorized access
• Easy to use: no application installation required
• Versatile: works interchangeably between Mac OS X and Windows systems
• Secure: drive locks down and reformats after 10 invalid login attempts
• Stylish: durable metal casing with built-in key loop
• Optional Cloud Backup: access data stored on DataTraveler Locker+ G3 from your personal cloud storage (see below for Cloud Services Supported)
• Co-Logo Program available1: customize DataTraveler Locker+ G3 by adding your logo and/or digital files and instantly increase your organization's brand recognition. The Customization Program offers unique packaging, custom profiles, color adjustments, content loading and more, all with easy and convenient ordering.
• Supports: Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP & Mac OS X
• Guaranteed: five-year warranty with free technical support
• Capacities2: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
• Speed: USB 3.0 speed: 8GB: 80MB/s read, 10MB/s write
• o 16GB: 135MB/s read, 20MB/s write
• o 32GB-64GB: 135MB/s read, 40MB/s write
• o USB 2.0 speed: 8GB: 30MB/s read, 10MB/s write
• o 16GB-64GB: 30MB/s read, 20MB/s write
• Cloud Services Supported: Google Drive, OneDrive (Microsoft), Amazon S3, Dropbox, Box
• Dimensions: 60.56mm x 18.6 mm x 9.75 mm
• Minimum System Requirements:
• USB 3.0 compliant and 2.0 compatible
• Two (2) free consecutive drive letters required for use4
• Operating Temperature: 32°F to 140°F (0°C to 60°C)
• Storage Temperature: -4°F to 185°F (-20°C to 85°C)

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Kingston Releases Ultra-High Speed microSD for 4K and HD Video Capture
Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the microSD UHS-I Speed Class 3 90MB/s read, 80MB/s write card (SDCA3). The card far exceeds the SD Association's latest specification release, UHS-1 U3 (Ultra High-Speed Bus, Speed Class 3) rated for 30MB/s read/write.

The 90-80MB/s read-write speeds allow sports/adventure enthusiasts and users alike to capture cinema-quality Full HD (1080p), Ultra HD (2160p), 3D and 4K2K videos on high performance small form factor devices such as smartphones and cameras used by adventure and thrill seekers. Additionally, video playback at all resolutions up to 4K2K can be played without stutter or interruption. Fast speeds also translate to faster file uploads for computer editing, especially when using USB 3.0 card readers such as the Kingston MobileLite G4 or USB 3.0 Media Reader.

With the emergence of tough and rugged performance cameras, users can rely on the SDCA3 card for its durability and reliability. It is the perfect companion card when capturing a downhill ski run, surfboarding and hang-gliding as the card is water-, shock/vibration-, X-ray- and temperature-proof.

"The growing adoption of high performance cameras and Android-based mobile devices has prompted Kingston to provide fast microSD cards to maximize device performance," said Jean Wong, Flash Business Manager. "We are confident that our new 90-80MB/s microSD card is built for extreme conditions and users will be able to capture all the memories they want on the card."

SDCA3 is available as a stand-alone card or with an SD card adapter in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. Kingston recommends its latest readers for best card transfer speeds to and from a computer. The SDCA3 is backed by a lifetime warranty, free technical support, and legendary Kingston reliability.

Kingston SDHC/SDXC UHS-I U3 Flash Card Features & Specifications:

• Fast/Performance: UHS-I Speed Class 3 :up to 90MB/s read and 80MB/s write for continuous shooting, video recording and fast file transfer
• Resistant: waterproof1 shock proof2, X-ray proof3 and temperature proof to perform even in harsh environments
• Compliant: with the SD Association specifications
• Compatible: with microSDHC & microSDXC host devices; not compatible with standard microSD-enabled devices/readers; microSDXC cards are not compatible with microSDHC-enabled devices/readers
• Flexible/Multi-functional: when combined with the SD adapter, can be used as a full-size SDHC/SDXC card to fit in DSL-R or DSL-M cameras, 4K camcorders and other devices
• Guaranteed: lifetime warranty, free technical support
• Capacities5: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
• Performance6: 90MB/s read and 80MB/s write, UHS-I Speed Class 3 (U3)
• microSDHC/SDXC Card Dimensions: 11mm x 15mm x 1mm
• SD Adapter Dimensions: 24mm x 32mm x 2.1mm
• Operating Temperature: -25°C to 85°C
• Storage Temperature: -40°C to 85°C
• Voltage: 3.3V

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TRENDnet Announces the AC750 Wireless Travel Router
TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces the AC750 Wireless Travel Router, model TEW-817DTR -- the first Wi-Fi AC travel router with interchangeable power plugs which ensures operability on every continent.

TRENDnet's AC750 Wireless Travel Router, model TEW-817DTR, is a powerful travel router with concurrent 433 Mbps Wi-Fi AC and 300 Mbps Wi-Fi N bands, for on the go professionals. Users quickly convert a single wired or wireless internet connection into a shared Wi-Fi network for all Wireless AC and Wireless N devices.

The compact TEW-817DTR plugs directly into a power outlet and is held off the ground by the outlet. Swappable North American, European, and United Kingdom power plugs ensure the travel router will work on every continent.

"With more and more professionals traveling with a mixture of both Wi-Fi N and newer Wi-Fi AC devices," said Sonny Su, technology director of TRENDnet. "The TEW-817DTR does a great job of keeping them all connected."

AC750 Wireless Travel Router

• Share a single Internet connection with multiple users
• Networks Wi-Fi AC and N devices while on the go
• AC750: concurrent 433 Mbps Wi-Fi AC + 300 Mbps Wi-Fi N bands
• Interchangeable power plugs: North America, Euro, and UK
• Supports Router, Wireless ISP (WISP), Access Point, and Repeater modes
• Pre-encrypted Wi-Fi for your convenience
• Ethernet port
• VPN passthrough support (IPSec, PPTP, and L2TP VPN)
• Energy savings GREENnet technology
• IPv6 network support
• TEW-817DTR Warranty: 3 year limited
• TEW-817DTR Availability: Available from retailers and other TRENDnet partners this May 2015
• TEW-817DTR MSRP: USD 89.99

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ASUSTOR Unveils Trendsetting NAS 4K Multimedia Solutions
ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, will be showcasing its innovative NAS products for four straight days starting from today, at CES 2015 at the Trump International Hotel. ASUSTOR will be exhibiting its cutting-edge 70, 51 and 50 series NAS devices and exclusive ADM 2.3 operating system featuring all new functionality including multimedia, surveillance, business management and data protection applications. ASUSTOR's 70 series devices come with powerful high performance processors combined with ASUSTOR's multimedia technology that make it the only NAS devices in the industry capable of outputting 4K ultra high definition videos directly from the NAS.

From inception, ASUSTOR's revolutionary design concepts, have allowed it to launch the ASUSTOR Data Master (ADM) NAS operating system. ADM is the first NAS OS designed around the use of Apps. It offers users an easy and intuitive experience along with the ability to expand functionality via add-on Apps. At their convenience users can browse through and download any Apps that peak their interest from App Central, exploring the unlimited potential of ASUSTOR NAS devices while creating a personalized NAS device for themselves.

ASUSTOR NAS Multimedia Applications

ASUSTOR NAS devices come equipped with HDMI output ports allowing users to easily create a multimedia entertainment center. The meticulously crafted ASUSTOR portal is a dedicated HDMI application that gives users access to the ADM management interface, XBMC 13 multimedia player app and Chrome web browser from the convenience of their TV. After installing ASUSTOR Portal, users will be able to directly play multimedia from the NAS on their TV and also experience a unique PC-less usage environment. ASUSTOR 70T series also supports 4K ultra high definition output while ASUSTOR 3 series have newly added transcoding functionality that allows conveniently perform transcoding tasks in the background.

Other multimedia applications include iTunes Server, UPnP Media Server, MiniDLNA, SoundsGood, Photo Gallery, Spotify, PPSSP, and the newest LooksGood App which allows users to directly play videos from their NAS and stream digital TV directly from a Web browser.

ASUSTOR Surveillance Center

ASUSTOR Surveillance Center was developed in-house by ASUSTOR and is available free of charge. Users can use Surveillance Center to turn their NAS into an NVR (Network Video Recorder), allowing them to keep an eye on their most critical assets. Surveillance Center also provides users with 4 free IP camera channels. When creating their surveillance system, users can also choose from over 500 different compatible camera models or use cameras that meet the ONVIF Profile S standard. Additionally, Surveillance Center exclusively supports local output functionality allowing users to output high definition surveillance feeds directly to HD ready TV and monitors.

Comprehensive cross-platform support is also provided, allowing both Windows and Mac users to use familiar web browsers to access their surveillance feeds. Furthermore, ASUSTOR also offers the free AiSecure mobile app that gives users access to all their surveillance feeds while on the go. The newly added interactive electronic maps provide a visual method for administrators to get an overall view of all IP cameras being deployed in large scale surveillance environments, allowing them to quickly get a handle on the current situation. When an event occurs, it will instantly appear on the map interface. Administrators can then decide on the type of action to take, effectively limiting the potential damage that could happen.

ASUSTOR will also be giving a preview of the following brand new functions:

• All new event action rules: Administrators can schedule or predefine event action rules to automatically complete a diverse range of tasks.
• Enhanced permissions management: Administrators can create and define different roles and then assign them to users accordingly, providing for flexible access rights management.

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Corsair Launches the HX1200i Power Supply
Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance PC hardware, today announced the Carbide Series 100R and Carbide Series 100R Silent mid-tower PC cases. Priced at $49 and $59 and offering features designed to make PC building incredibly quick and easy, the 100R cases make it possible for users to build a serious PC that looks as good it performs.

The Carbide Series 100R and Carbide Series 100R Silent are among Corsair's lowest-cost cases, yet avoids the look of many low-cost PC cases, instead offering an elegant aesthetic that will appeal to gamers, hobbyist PC builders, and system integrators. The cases include innovative, builder-friendly features that make Corsair cases popular with PC users, such as built-in SSD mounts, front-panel USB 3.0 ports, intelligent cable routing, and tool-free drive mounts. And with up to five fan mounting locations (two fans included), tool-free support for four 3.5" drives and four 2.5" SSDs, and support for long video cards, the cases easily support high-end GPUs, liquid coolers, massive storage, and PSUs.

The standard version of the Carbide Series 100R come with a side panel window and top cooling vents. The Carbide Series 100R Silent version is sound dampened with a solid top and non-window side panel to reduce noise. "The Carbide 100R shatters the stereotype that budget-friendly cases have to be gaudy and poorly designed," said George Makris, Product Manager for Cases and Cooling at Corsair. "Now gamers and PC enthusiasts have a subtle, functional, and affordable foundation for their next PC."

Specifications

• Tool-free mounting of hard drives and optical drives
• Dual USB 3.0 front panel ports
• Direct airflow path to top GPU
• Plenty of room for large video cards and power supplies
• Cable routing channel behind motherboard tray
• Up to five fan mounts
• Front: 2 x 140/120mm
• Top: 2 x 120mm
• Rear: 120mm (included)

o Two 5.25" drive bays

o Four 3.5"/2.5" drive bays with trays that support hard drives and SSDs

o Seven expansion slots

o Supports ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards and ATX power supplies

Pricing, Availability, and Warranty

The Carbide Series 100R and Carbide Series 100R Silent PC cases have a suggested price of $49.99 and $59.99 respectively.


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