IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 07/10/2009

Lexar adds new memory cards, DDR2 modules to its offer
Micron-owned Lexar Media has now expanded its product portfolio with some fresh memory and storage solutions for netbooks, notebooks, mobiles phones, digital cameras and other more or less portable devices. To get right to it, Lexar has released some High-Speed Mobile microSDHC cards, microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards, Kodak-branded microSDHC cards, DDR2 So-DIMMs and a Mobile USB card reader.

"With mobile device technologies continuing to converge, consumers are using their mobile phones and netbooks to download, store, and transfer more multimedia content such as music, video, and photos than ever before. A high-performance, reliable memory solution is therefore essential if users are to make the most of their mobile devices," said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing, Lexar Media. "The Lexar mobile lifestyle solution line is designed with consumersأ¢آ€آ™ needs in mind to ensure more storage, faster performance, and content management capabilities; in whole, a much enhanced mobile experience."

The speedy Class 6 (6 MBps transfer speed) microSDHCs come in 8 and 16GB capacities, the 'regular' microSDHCs go from 4 to 16GB, just like the M2 cards, while the Kodak cards reach 4 and 8GB. The USB card reader supports microSD, microSDHC, and M2 memory cards, while the DDR2 So-DIMMs comes in 1 and 2GB flavors. All these products are already shipping.

Zotac details the MAG 'everywhere PC'
Zotac is today officially entering the nettop market with the announcement of its MAG series 'everywhere PC' which is a ION-based mini PC. Pictured below, the MAG measures 186 (L) x 189 (W) x 38 (H) mm, has a glossy black chassis and features a 1.6 GHz Atom 230 (single-core) or 330 (dual-core) processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.

The new nettop also includes a 4-in-1 card reader, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, 7.1 channel audio, an eSATA port, and D-Sub and HDMI outputs. Zotac has not provided the MAG systems' pricing or release date but we should see it in stores soon enough.

Corsair releases the TX950W power supply
Corsair has now expanded its power supply offer with a new TX series unit, the TX950W. This non-modular PSU provides 950W of continuous power and is ATX12V 2.3 and EPS12V 2.91 compliant, has 80Plus Bronze certification thanks to its 85% efficiency, 105أ‚آ°C solid-state capacitors, a MTBF (mean time before failure) of 100,000 hours, and a single 12V rail delivering 78A (936W).

"Corsair's TX650W, TX750W, and TX850W PSUs have dominated the market by offering superior performance and quality at affordable prices," said Jim Carlton, Vice President of Marketing at Corsair. "The TX950W raises the bar even higher, thanks to 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency, low noise, and output thatأ¢آ€آ™s capable of reliably powering even the most demanding Dream PCs."

The TX950W comes equipped with a 140mm fan, is backed by a five-year warranty and can be found on pre-order at about أ‚آ£115 / 124 Euro / $183.

MySpace get a new CFO - social site making no progress
MySpace has announced that a former MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) consultant is coming onboard as its CFO. Mark Rosenbaum was a financial consultant to the media giant, and has worked for News Corporation for many years, previously as an executive of Gemstar-TV Guide.

Rosembaum was also the CEO of SmartJog SA, an Internet startup backed by French venture capitalists, and an executive at U.S. Networks, Twentieth Century Fox, and Walt Disney - so the guy has plenty of experience under his belt (not that a new CFO is going to tip the balance of power in the social networking market). Rosenbaum will report to MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta.

Earlier this year, MySpace said it planned to cut about 60% of its global workforce, 30% of which would consist of U.S. staff. News Corp removed then-CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe and installed its own management, which to this day has had no obvious impact on the site's popularity ratings.

Western Digital releases new My Book and My Passport drives
Western Digital has now updated its line of external storage solutions with new My Passport Elite, My Book Elite and My Book Studio external hard drives. Coming in three capacities - 320, 500, 640GB and three colors - Metallic Red, Metallic Blue, Charcoal Metallic, the My Passport Elite models measure 15 (H) x 110 (L) x 83 (W) mm, weight 160 grams, are bundled with a USB dock and the WD SmartWare software, and have USB 2.0 connectivity and an illuminated capacity gauge.

The fresh Passport also includes 256-bit hardware-based encryption, a planet-friendly packaging and a three-year warranty period.

The My Book Elite measures 165 (H) x 125 (L) x 48 (W), goes from 1TB to 2TB, provides automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare and 256-bit hardware-based encryption, and features a USB 2.0 connection interface, plus an e-paper 'label' that will show how much storage space is available, even when the drive is unplugged. The My Book Elite is backed by a three-year warranty.

The Mac-loving My Book Studio is the same size as the My Book Elite, has the same specs as its sibling, and, in addition includes a FireWire 800 connection and support for the TimeMachine feature.

In terms of prices we have:

- My Passport Elite - 320GB ($119.99) | 500GB ($159.99) | 640GB ($169.99)
- My Book Elite - 1TB ($169.99) | 1.5TB ($199.99) | 2TB ($279.99)
- My Book Studio - 500GB ($149.99) | 1TB ($189.99) | 1.5TB (N/A) | 2TB ($299.99)

D-Link DIR 685 Xtreme N router/NAS combo announced
D-Link has slumped somewhat from the peak of consumer networking hardware in the last few years, but looks to make a comeback with a new line of router and storage systems geared toward home office and small business users.

Their all new DIR 685 Xtreme N line of routers combine Ethernet and Wi-Fi router technologies, and interestingly, network-attached storage (NAS) hardware. Additional features include USB device sharing, and a built-in LCD photo display screen! Not bad.

The storage at this time is just a single SATA 3.5" drive, allowing up to 1TB of space. The device can also act as a limited web server, with FTP access both locally and online via the routing hardware.

D-Link hopes that the new line of routers will appeal to people who make heavy use of file-transfer and peer-to-peer services, rather than solely to archive media libraries.

No word on pricing or availability yet, more to come soon.

Apple resigns from U.S. Chambers of Commerce
Apple is now the latest in a long line of companies to leave the United States' Chambers of Commerce, and the reason for this is the issues Apple has with the group's policies on climate change.

"We would prefer that the chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis," Catherine Novelli, a vice president of government affairs at Apple, wrote in a letter dated Monday to the business group.

According to Reuters, Novelli wrote that Apple resigned its membership in the business group "effective immediately."

Apple follows the US' three largest energy providers, Exelon, PG&E, and PNM Resources, who also told the business organisation that they were resigning due to their poor stance on climate issues.

The Chamber is truly being hammered right now, not least of all in pushing for hearings that challenge the scientific evidence of manmade climate change. Companies that are still part of the group say that the chamber's views well and truly fail to reflect the broad views of its members on climate.

After Exelon announced its departure last month, the chamber said in a statement it favors "mainstream, common sense views" on climate change but opposed a climate bill that the House of Representatives narrowly passed in June.

Creative Sound Blaster Easy Record helps digitize your music collection
Creative has today revealed the Sound Blaster Easy Record, a little device that will enable people to quickly and easily digitize the music they have on older media like cassettes, record and CDs (BEd: CDs are so 1999). Seen below, Creative's creation has can hook up to a PC via USB port and to a player/boombox through the included stereo RCA and 3.5mm Line-In connectors (a headphone out is also included).

The Sound Blaster Easy Record is paired up with the Smart Recorder software which will take care of the digitizing tasks and even import tunes to iTunes. The device can also double up as an audio card and provide better sound quality than most integrated solutions.

Creative is set to start selling the Sound Blaster Easy Record around mid-month in Singapore for $35 / 24 Euro.

ARM teams up with GlobalFoundries to bring 28nm SoC products
Low-power chip designer ARM has just inked a deal with GlobalFoundries that will enable the introduction of a next-generation of SoC (System-on-a-Chip) products to customers around the world. The first fruits of this partnership will be SoC parts based on the ARM Cortex-A9 processor manufactured on GlobalFoundries' 28nm "Gate First" HKMG technology which is, or better yet, will be optimized for high-performance processing with minimal leakage.

"This announcement reflects our business value and strategy of providing best-in-class processor implementation by marrying our own processor and physical IP with world class manufacturing semiconductor technology," said Warren East, chief executive officer, ARM. "This collaboration with GlobalFoundries and their commitment to delivering leading-edge technology makes them an ideal partner to accelerate the adoption of ARM processor-based technology at 28nm."

According to its latest roadmap, GlobalFoundries will start risk production of 28nm low power chips in Q1 2011.

IBM intros the LotusLive iNotes email service
As expected, IBM has kicked off the week by launching LotusLive iNotes, an email service that aims to offer top reliability, privacy and security to business users. Targeted at small- and medium-sized businesses, the cloud-based LotusLive iNotes starts at $3 per user, per month, supports both Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange, is simple to deploy and enables users to:

- Send and receive emails in a secure environment anytime from a Web browser
- Work off-line at any time
- Automatically receive new mail on mobile devices
- Use a personal calendar to organize their professional and personal lives, all in one convenient place in the cloud
- Distribute a company calendar to all employees to keep everyone up-to-date on company events and meetings
- Keep track of personal contacts and access the corporate directory and distribution lists
- Safeguard their inboxes with powerful anti-spam and virus protection that can be individually customized

For more info about LotusLive iNotes, which has already been embraced by Nokia, see the service's website.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 07/10/2009

No comments: