IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 03/10/2009

Xigmatek Bifrost VGA cooler comes out to play
Serving up for something for our trusty ol' GPUs, Xigmatek has today let loose the Bifrost VD1065 VGA cooler. Seen below, the new release measures 234 (W) x 112.5 (H) x 51.5 (D) mm, is Nickel plated and includes five 6mm copper heatpipes (Heat-pipe Direct Touch technology is present), an aluminum fin array, plus two 100mm ball bearing fans that work at 2000 RPM and have a sound output of under 20 dBA.

The Bifrost is compatible with (reference):

- AMD Radeon HD 2600, HD 2400, HD 3850, HD 3870, HD 4850 and HD 4870 cards
- Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra, 7800 GT/GTX, 7900 GTX, 8800 GT/GTS/GX2, 9600 GT, 9800 GT, GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280 and GTX 285 cards

... and is hitting stores with a price tag of 36.90 Euro.

Apacer reveals 16 new Lynnfield-ready memory kits
In addition to the Giant II trios, Apacer has also expanded its offer with some fresh Golden and Aeolus series dual channel DDR3 kits. These memory kits target P55-based machines and boast Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) support, a lifetime warranty, and some nice cooling solutions - golden heatspreaders for the... Golden pairs and fan-equipped dual-layer heatspreaders for the Aeolus kits. Overall, the full Lynnfield line released by Apacer includes:

Golden Series

- 2/4GB PC3-12800 | 1600 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V
- 2/4GB PC3-14400 | 1800 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V

Aeolus series

- 2/4GB PC3-12800 | 1600 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V
- 2/4GB PC3-14400 | 1800 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V
- 2/4GB PC3-15000 | 1866 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V
- 2/4GB PC3-16000 | 2000 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V
- 2/4GB PC3-17000 | 2133 MHz | 10-10-10-30 | 1.65V
- 2/4GB PC3-17600 | 2200 MHz | 10-10-10-30 | 1.65V

Xigmatek delivers the Balder CPU cooler
Taiwanese manufacturer Xigmatek has now let loose the Balder SD1283 CPU cooler, a tweaked and more flashy version of the Dark Knight model. Like its older sibling Balder measures 120 (W) x 50 (D) x 159 (H) mm and features HDT (Heat-pipes Direct Touch) technology which means that its three 8mm heatpipes make contact with the processor.

The new cooler also has a base with a mirror finish for better performance, one 120mm fan working at 1000 to 2200 RPM (rotations per minute) boasting a maximum sound output of 28 dBA, and includes support for AMD Socket AM2(+), AM3 and Intel LGA 775, 1156, 1366 CPUs.

The Xigmatek Balder SD1283 is shipping with a price tag of 32.90 Euro.

Chip sales up 5% in August
More good news comes from the chip market which has continued to report growth, with August revenues topping $19.1 billion, up 5% compared to $18.2 billion recorded in July. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), August sales were still down 16.1% on-year but the rate of decline has slowed from the first six months of 2009 during which revenue was down by 25% year-on-year.

"Continuing recovery of consumer spending led the sixth-consecutive month of sequential growth in semiconductor sales," said SIA President George Scalise. "Various incentive programs for energy-efficient products, ranging from automobiles to home appliances, have bolstered demand for semiconductors, which deliver critical enabling technology for reducing energy consumption."

Compared to July, the American chip market has recorded the highest growth - 5.4%, with the Asia Pacific region being close behind its a 5.3% increase. As for Europe and Japan, the semiconductor sales here went up 3.9% and 4.4%, respectively.

Akasa rolls out the LGA 1156-compatible X4 CPU cooler
Akasa has now expanded its product offer by releasing a new CPU cooling solution that goes by the name X4 and is codenamed AK-968. Seen below, the cooler measures 135 (H) x 109 (W) x 90 (D) mm, weights 458 grams and features a copper base, three U-shaped heatpipes, an aluminum heatsink, and a 92mm fan. The sleeve bearing spinner works at 600 to 2500 RPM and has a maximum sound output of 29.5 dB(A).

The Akasa X4 is compatible with AMD Socket 939, AM2, AM3 and Intel LGA 775, 1156, 1366 processors, and is now available at أ‚آ£19.99 / 21.8 Euro / $31.7.

Apacer intros the Giant II series triple channel DDR3 kits
Apacer has this week unveiled no less than eight new triple channel DDR3 memory kits for gamers and enthusiasts with LGA 1366-based systems. Part of the Giant II family, the overclocking-friendly kits make use of Elpida (probably Hyper) 1Gbit DRAMs, golden heatspreaders with 'air-fall' vents for efficient cooling, Intel XMP support, and are backed by a lifetime warranty. As for specs we have:

- 3/6GB PC3-12800 | 1600 MHz | 8-8-8-24 | 1.65V
- 3/6GB PC3-15000 | 1866 MHz | 8-8-8-24 | 1.65V
- 3/6GB PC3-16000 | 2000 MHz | 9-9-9-27 | 1.65V
- 3/6GB PC3-17000 | 2133 MHz | 10-10-10-30 | 1.65V

Mitsubishi preps new 23-inch Full HD monitor
Mitsubishi has today announced the latest addition to its Diamondcrysta line of LCD monitors, the 23-inch RDT231WLM-S. Seen below, the widescreen features a TN panel with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 5ms response time, a brightness of 300 cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 (5,000:1 DCR), and a power consumption of just 0.5W during when in standby.

Mitsubishi's monitor also includes two 1W speakers, has D-Sub, DVI and HDMI connectors, a 3.5mm audio jack and is scheduled to start shipping on October 16. The LCD's price has not been confirmed though.

Ubuntu 9.10 beta released
The Ubuntu team has now delivered the beta version of Karmic Koala aka, the Ubuntu 9.10 operating system. Coming after six alphas, the beta build is based on the 2.6.31-11.36 kernel, it includes the GNOME 2.28 desktop environment and features improved startup times, the Ubuntu Software Center, the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (in the server edition), the Ubuntu One file sharing service, GRUB 2 as the default boot loader, an improved iSCSI installation process and lots more.

You can download the Ubuntu 9.10 beta (in all its flavors) from this page or have patience and wait until October 29 for the full release.

Bing's US search market share slips in September
According to the data gathered by web analytics firm StatCounter, Microsoft's decision engine, Bing, has seen its US search market share decline for the first time in September. Launched in June, Bing has gained market share in the summer months and topped 9.64% in August but as autumn rolled in, in September, it lost more than 1% and settled at 8.51%.

"The trend has been downwards for Bing since mid August," said Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. "The wheels haven't fallen off but the underlying trend must be a little worrying for Microsoft."

Also down from August was Yahoo Search, which settle at 9.40%, while the all-mighty Google gained over 2% and went from 77.83% in August, to a nice and almost round 80.08% last month. Other search engines accounted for just 2%.

McAfee offers unlimited capacity online backup
PC security suite supplier McAfee has now rolled out a service providing secure online backup for 'regular' consumers. Powered by Decho's Mozy service, McAfee Online Backup is completely automated, easy to set up, secure and provides users with unlimited storage so they can backup not only important documents, mails and such but also multimedia files like photos, video and music.

"The McAfee Online Backup service addresses many of consumers' concerns about safely and easily storing their important files with unlimited storage capacity. It completely eliminates the hassle of backup: set-up takes just a few easy steps, and then the service securely backs up files automatically at regular intervals," said Brent Remai, vice president of consumer marketing at McAfee. "It's the perfect solution for anyone with a PC, but specifically the member of the family who manages the family's digital photos, videos, music and other files. They no longer need to worry about disk failure, file corruption or other disasters such as home theft or fires."

McAfee Online Backup is currently available in the US for $59.99 per year and is expected to be provided in Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and South Korea, by the end of the year.

For more info about McAfee's service see this page.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 03/10/2009

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