ECS A890GXM-AU Video Overview

The folks at ECS have sent us a video link introducing their A890GXM-AU mainboard for AMD CPUs. Like some of the mainboards we reportedon earlier, the A890GXM-AU comes under the "Black Series" enthusiast lineup.
The promotional video below:

You can find the actual product pagehere.

iRobot's PackBot on the front lines

Almost three years into the Iraq conflict and four into the Afghanistan war, the phrase "improvised explosive devices" has become one that is met with hesitation. This is a new style of combat that's still being studied, and in the mean time, a good scouting technology that can effectively scout a given area and not place troops at risk has yet to be developed.

Enter the PackBot, a 44-pound unit being developed by iRobot (makers of the popular Scooba and Roomba robotic floor cleaning devices) which may help save lives as these conflicts continue. The PackBot, which retails at approximately $100,000 per unit, is a squat, rectangular robot, complete with heavy treaded wheels on its right and left sides. These treads are complimented by movable "flipper" appendages that can be individually moved to provide additional traction.

Despite its somewhat bulky appearance, the unit can grip the edges of a staircase it may be climbing or descending. An internal gyroscopic system reading pitch and roll coordinates shifts the unit's weight where it needs to be.

Controlled by a console stored in a rugged 30-pound metal case, operators swing open the case, screw in two antennas and begin to control the camera and sensor-laden PackBot via a radio or fiber optic connection. The software, powered by a BlueCat linux operating system, allows users access to the PackBot's sensor and tool arrays, which include systems for measuring voltages, currents, internal temperatures, GPS locations and overall positioning. The unit can also include an extendable arm, tactile claw to pick up and handle objects, up to eight cameras and chemical sensors that help to locate improvised explosive devices.

"They're fearless," said Joseph Dyer, executive vice president and general manager of iRobot's Government and Industrial Robotics division. Dyer then cited the idea of tactical speed with the PackBot. While the unit may not win the speed race at five to six miles per hour, it can easily enter into locations soldiers would approach with caution.

In circumstances where it would be dangerous to blindly enter a building, a PackBot can be thrown through a window, unfold itself and be deployed as a remotely controlled scout. The PackBot, which can constrict into a 24" space, has been sent into operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with over 300 units in action and a current contract extending to provide 1,200 units more of the model. The unit was first put into use as a search tool after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and became widely utilized as a search tool during the Afghanistan cave hunts for Taliban fighters.

"These guys realize, 'hey, why am I going down there?' This robot can go down there and take that initial challenge, so now it's a case where these guys won't go out on their own without their robots," said Tom Ryden, director of sales and marketing for iRobot's Government and Industrial Robotics division. "Now these teams are deployed with robots, they use robots all the time."

With hundreds of PackBot units currently deployed into Iraq, the robot has gained something of a following among its users. Although several PackBots have been lost to improvised explosive devices, EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) personnel have made routine use of the units and crafted nicknames and personalities for them. A unit, nicknamed "Scooby Doo," earned a check mark on its camera head for each explosive device it succeeded in disarming. When destroyed, its operator had formed a personal attachment to the unit and returned it to the repair shop, cradling it in his arms as if it were a wounded child and asking if it could be fixed.

Given certain situations, the presence of a robotic unit seemed more comforting than anything a human could offer. In one case with a despondent person holding himself hostage, the PackBot, which is also equipped with a Voice over Internet Protocol communication system that can both transmit and receive audio messages, became something the person felt comfortable speaking with. After a period of time, the person asked for the robot to bring him a telephone and later a cup of coffee, which had been drugged and rendered the subject unconscious to end the situation.

Training for the PackBot currently entails about 1.5 days worth of training before basic proficiency is reached. Within a few weeks, operators have typically figured out settings and maneuvers that work best with what they're trying to accomplish.

"The video game generation learns very quickly," said Dyer.

In addition to bomb disposal and remote work, the PackBot can also be used as a scout unit. A PackBot, or several, can be sent into a hostile environment, such as a building that might be used as a refuge for insurgency forces. The PackBot, using a laser scanner or other device, can create a three dimensional map of the building for later use. Multiple units, if sent traveling through sections, can divide the workload amongst themselves for a faster scan. Current on-board artificial intelligence allows the robot to build its own maps and mission templates while choosing optimal paths and procedures to follow.

The PackBot, which is being developed by iRobot in conjunction with the military's DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) program, is part of a $50 million Future Combat System contract to develop a robot under 30 pounds for deployment. The program is currently creating training programs with both the Army and the Navy with most EOD training being performed in Indian Head, Maryland.

Dyer notes of the PackBot that the ultimate mission of these machines is to save lives.

Shares of Burlington, Mass-based iRobot closed at $27.40 Thursday, slightly up for the day, but well off the 52-week high of $37.90.

The stock took a 21 percent drop to $26.10 on Feb. 15, a day after the company released fourth quarter earnings and held a conference call during which iRobot officials said the company would markedly increase R&D and selling and marketing budgets for 2006, (thus cutting into earnings.)

Several industry analyst, however, have noted that this may be the right move at the right time for a company trying to build brand equity in such a nascent industry.

"iRobot generated significant year-over-year growth in 2005, as our products achieved substantial gains in military and consumer markets," said Colin Angle, iRobot's co-founder and chief executive officer, in the company's 4Q press release. "We are confident that iRobot's intelligent, practical and easy-to-use robot technology will enable us to expand our existing market leadership, as well as to target new markets such as law enforcement, homeland security, commercial cleaning and elder care."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Dell first with AMD's E-450 and C-60 APUs

Look at that, Dell has updated its Inspiron M102z notebook with AMDs yet to be announced E-450 and C-60 APUs which comes with a small performance bump compared to the E-350 and C-50 APUs. These are of course AMDs entry level APUs, but this time around it seems like AMD has paid more attention to the mobility aspect with a Turbo mode for the C-60 processor core and variable graphics clock for both models.

The E-450 has received a 50MHz CPU core clock boost over the E-350 from 1.6 to 1.65GHz by a simple half multiplier increase. The biggest change is the graphics core which is now known as the Radeon HD 6320 and although it remains the same low shader count, the clock speed has increased to a minim clock of 508MHz, although this can be dynamically overclocked to 600MHz. Another new feature is native support for DDR3 1333MHz memory which should further help improve the graphics performance. The TDP remains the same at 18W.

The C-60 is actually the more interesting part of the two as although it remains at the same 1GHz core clock speed as the C-50, it now features a turbo mode which will take it to 1.33GHz when needed. It too has received a bump in graphics performance and AMD decided to go with Radeon HD 6290 in this case. Although the base graphics clock is once again anything but news, were looking at a dynamic overclocking setup here too so although the base clock is a mere 276MHz, it will go all the way to 400MHz when needed.

Dells C-60 version of the Inspiron M102z comes with a single 2GB DIMM, a 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive and Dells own 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi solution with Bluetooth 3.0+HS as standard. The E-450 version comes with a single 4GB DIMM and a 500GB hard drive on top of that. Both models have an 11.6-inch screen with 1366x768 resolution and a 56Whr 6-cell battery pack. Dell Singapore wants S$629 for the C-60 model and S$699 for the E-450 model and the only hardware customization options include four different colours on the lid and a larger 90Whr 9-cell battery option.

Source: Dell Singapore

Motorized shoes ready to roll into stores

Enlarge

Tired of walking? An American inventor has designed a pair of motorized shoes.

The battery powered high-tech footware called "spnKiX" resemble a cross between a ski boot and a roller skate with oversized wheels and are among the

"I was going to lunch one day and couldn't find a place to park," he said. "So I thought 'Why don't I make something that could get me from home to someplace really close by?'

"It's just turned into this fun kind of product."

Treadway said each shoe has a battery and a motor and they are synchronized to work together as "sort of mirrors of each other."

Enlarge

Not everyone finds the shoes easy to use at first, however. Training wheels are provided to take the pain out of the learning process.

"To achieve some proficiency could take you anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours," Treadway said, depending on the individual.

Some of the money for the spnKiX was raised on Kickstarter, a website which collects donations for creative projects.

"We didn't know what we were getting into there," Treadway said. "We're past triple the amount that we asked for. Our funding goal was $25,000. We're now above $80,000.

"People are psyched," he said.

Treadway said the shoes, made by his Los Angeles-based company, Acton Inc., will begin shipping in March and will sell for $649 a pair.

Treadway holds degrees in industrial design, including one from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, but he said his interest in fashion contributed to the development of the motorized shoes.

"I also have a little bit of a fashion background," he said. "Which is kind of the reason why these ended up being wearable.

"I see kind of the way that a shoe designer would see a pair of shoes."

Les trois premières images de Prince of Persia Les Sables Oubliés

Agrandir l'imageAnnoncé en décembre dernier et accompagné d'un trailer décevant il y a peu, Prince of Persia : Les Sables Oubliés revient sur le devant de la scène avec trois nouvelles images. On y voit notre inébranlable prince batailler contre une armée de squelettes, rebondir contre les murs et affronter une énorme créature démoniaque. On espère en tout cas en apprendre un peu plus avant la sortie du jeu, prévue pour mai prochain, en même temps que la sortie du film éponyme.

· Voir les trois premières images de Prince of Persia : Les Sables Oubliés
· Forum Prince of Persia : Les Sables Oubliés

Enermax Debuts New Aeolus Premium Cooling Pad

Enermax has expanded its Aeolus series of cooling pads for notebooks/ netbooks with the introduction of the Aeolus Premium notebook coolers (CP003-B/ G).









Measuring 350 x 335 x 45mm and weighing 1.3kg, the aluminum cooler boasts a full-size wrist rest, anti-slip rubber feet, two USB 2.0 connectors, and an adjustable 250mm blue LED fan that operates at 650 ~ 850RPM. The Aeolus Premium, available in black/ titanium grey colors, is expected to hit store shelves come mid-February at a MSRP of £36.90.

News via [Enermax]

Eurocom breaks 3TB storage barrier in its notebooks with Seagate Momentus 7200rpm drives

Eurocom Press Release

Eurocom has been able to crack the 3TB 7200rpm barrier in its Mobile Servers and Mobile Workstations thanks to Seagate hard drives that have reduced in size from 12.5 mm to 9.5 mm. Now Eurocom has been able to cram up to 4 hard drives into such models as the EUROCOM D900F Panther, EUROCOM X8100 Leopard and the soon to be released EUROCOM X7200 Panther 2.0. This new piece of technology will increase the already very high processing power, speed and storage space of the Eurocom products.

Eurocom notebooks can be used for a wide range of uses due to their 3TB storage, extremely fast Intel i7-980X Extreme or Xeon 5500/5600 with up to 6 cores and 19 inch displays and superfast NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M, Quadro FX 3800M, ATi Radeon Mobility HD5870 in single or dual VGA operation (SLI or CrossfireX).

With Eurocom's ability to fit up to four physical hard drives in their high performance mobile workstations in combination with the large storage capacity of the Momentus 3Gb/s 750GB Hard Drive the total storage capacity in the mobile workstation can get up to 3 Terabyte. The multiple hard drives also allow the usage of RAID 0/1/5/10 which provides both data redundancy and increased disk performance. Amazingly enough no other notebook manufacturer offers mobile products with 3TB of hard drive storage.

Eurocom mobile servers and workstations are designed to replace traditional desktop computers by offering high performance computing in a portable and mobile platform with maximum upgradeability, expandability, and reliability.

Eurocom now gives users the ability to use these massive 3TB hard drives for a large array of practical uses such as a Virtualization, workstation-class applications, cloud computing and any other applications that require high end computing power combined with high storage capacity demands and RAID 0/1/5/10 capabilities.

3TB of storage is supported in the following models:

1) EUROCOM D900F Panther Workstation
with Intel i7-980X Extreme processor and NVIDIA GTX 480M or Quadro FX 3800M
http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=202

2) EUROCOM D900F Panther Mobile Server
based on Intel XEON 5600 series and RAID 0/1/5/10
http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=207

3) EUROCOM X8100 Leopard
18.4" model with ATi Crossfire support and NVIDIA GTX 480M or Quadro FX3800
http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=212

4) EUROCOM X7200 Panther 2.0
World's first notebook with Crossfire and SLI support, with NVIDIA GTX 480M and Quadro FX 3800M and Intel i7-980X Extreme or Xeon 5600 series
http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=214

Eurocom also offers performance desktop replacement notebooks with 2.25 TB such as the W870CU Cheetah and W880CU Cheetah 2.0. Eurocom offers 1.5TB notebook solutions with the more price sensitive consumer in mind starting with their line of Lightweight Notebooks, which offer long battery life and expansioncapabilities.

eGear MiVeo Media Player plays your movies on TV without a PC

Singapore, August 31, 2009 – It is increasingly a trend for customers to have lots of multimedia files stored in their computer and to seek ways to bring them to their TVs without the hassle of hooking up the PCs. In order to satisfy customers’ demand, eGear brings in their newest product – MiVeo Media Player.

MiVeo is a great home entertainment partner of outstanding design with which you can enjoy movies and music, view photos and read E-books. This is a new Media Player entering the market which supports many video and audio media format in high quality playback. MiVeo supports movie formats like TS, MKV, RM/RMVB HD, etc. in Full HD format at 1920x1080P.

Simply plug your USB flash drive or External Hard Disk into MiVeo, link it up to your Plasma or LCD TV using Component or HDMI Cable, and you can enjoy your favourite entertainment at excellent quality (equivalent to “Blu-Ray” video quality) playback from your HD Ready or Full HD Plasma or LCD TV. Audio and visuals remain crisp and clear.

Price and Availability
SRP: S$189, available at selected authorized IT and CE resellers.

Specifications

Model No:

eGear MiVeo MP380

Output Resolution:

1920×1080 720P, 1080I, 1080P

Media interface

Support HDD ENCLOSURE up to 1TB

Video

Support H.264, MPEG1/2/4, DIVX, XVI format full HD movie playback.
Support RM/RMVB 720P HD movie playback
Support RM8/RM9/RM10
Support TS, MKV, RM/RMVB, TP, AVI, VOB, DAT, MPG, MPEG, MOV, etc.

Audio

Support MP3, WMA
Support BTSC/A2/EIA-J decode
Support MPEG-1, MPEG-2(Layer I/II), AAC, HE-AAC

Picture

JPEG, BMP, PNG

Other

Text/picture playback with background music.

Multi-language

English, Germany, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Netherland, Swedish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese

Subtitle

Support Multi-subtitle, Track switch

Delkin Releases High Performance CompactFlash

Delkin high performance extended temperature CompactFlash features single level cell (SLC) NAND flash, read speed of up to 105MB/s, write speed of 95MB/s and a stated operating temperature of -40 to 85 degrees Celsius. It comes with a seven years warranty and will be available in 32GB and 64GB capacities. The 32GB model is reported to retail at US$550 (S$670).

Source: TCMagazine

ATi Profits Triples

ATI posted record sales and a third-quarter profit that more than tripled onThursday, as new graphics chips for cell phones and digital televisions helpedboost demand. New products will continue to drive sales growth as it issued arevenue forecast sharply higher than analyst expectations. ATI said itsthird-quarter net income rose to $ 48.6 million, or 19 cents per share, in thequarter ending May 31, a substantial jump from year-earlier profit of $ 15million, or 6 cents. Revenue rose to $ 491.5 million during the quarter, up from$ 355.7 million for the same period a year earlier.

Strong sales for desktop chips coupled with consumer products, which neared 10percent of sales, boosted revenue. Consumer products will make up 10 to 15percent of sales in the next quarter. Lifted by high-profit sales for consumerproducts and royalty payments from Nintendo's GameCube game console, ATIformally increased its gross margin forecast to a range between 34 and 38percent. ATi has announced a number of design wins for its PCI Express chips, anew high-speed computer connection standard. It expects fourth-quarter revenuein the range of $ 510 million to $ 550 million.

ASUS unveils AMD powered U82U 14-inch Ultra Thin Laptop

ASUS is preparing a new "Ultra Thin" notebook for market which would have otherwise been referred to as an ultrabook if not for the AMD powered internals. The upcoming U82U uses AMDs E-450 APU comprising two Bobcat cores running at 1.65GHz and Radeon HD 6320 graphics.

The notebook has a 14-inch sized display, while internally it comes equipped with 2GB of RAM out of the box (with support for up to 8GB), a 500GB mechanical HDD, a couple USB 3.0 ports. HDMI output and an 8-cell battery.

Without doubt this slim AMD alternative to the ultrabook realm will be a cheaper route to take, but at this stage we are yet to hear of a release date or exact price point.

Source: Netbooknews

ATi amp; NVIDIA PCIe GPU War In Q4

A battle for the PCIe GPU channel market between ATI and NVIDIA looms in the fourth quarter, despite an ATI claim that it has delivered over one million native PCIe GPUs to the market. However, channel sales of ATI PCIe chips have not gone well. This has allowed rival Nvidia, which recently launched a native PCIe-enabled GPU, the GeForce 6600, a chance to compete effectively with ATI in the channel. In the fourth quarter, Nvidia plans to launch its NV44-series of native PCIe-enabled chips, which will target the US$ 79-99 graphics card segment and should give a boost to the sales of Nvidia’s PCIe chips.

Pas de Tortues Ninjas pour Rocksteady

Nous avions eu vent, il y a quelques semaines, d'un bruit de couloir selon lequel Rocksteady Studios serait actuellement au travail sur un nouveau jeu dérivé de la franchise Tortues Ninja. Un nom pour le titre avait d'ailleurs même été avancé, celui de Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Manhattan Crisis. Malheureusement, il n'en est rien.

Le développeur de Batman Arkham Asylum et de Batman Arkham City (qui a d'ailleurs rencontré un vif succès avec plus de six millions d'exemplaires écoulés depuis sa sortie en octobre) vient en effet de démentir avec véhémence cette rumeur. A moins qu'il ne s'agisse que de faire durer le suspense en attendant une annonce officielle, par exemple à l'E3, on peut donc tirer un trait sur une éventuelle adaptation des tortues accros aux pizzas et aux arts martiaux qui reprendrait le moteur classieux des Batman Arkham. En attendant, on peut se consoler en revoyant le film d'il y a vingt ans mettant en scène les tortues guerrières... quoique...

Apple's new version of Safari for Windows fixes several vulnerabilities

Are you currently using Apples Safari as your web browser of choice in your Windows-powered PC? If so, you might want to start firing up the Apple Software Update tool that may already be present on your system, or head down directly to the Safari home page on Apples web site and download for yourself a copy of the latest version of the Safari web browser that is currently available for Windows, which is that of Safari 5.1.

And why, you may ask. Well, word has it that the new version of Safari has been designed to fix certain security vulnerabilities that were present in the both the older version oftheweb browser and its open-source WebKit rendering engine. Furthermore, Apple has reportedly claimed that the vulnerabilities could potentially result in "drive-by download attacks, full system compromise, denial-of-service conditions of cross-site scripting attacks" if left unfixed on a Windows-powered PC.

We will not go into too much detail about the vulnerabilities that Apple is planning to patch with the release of Safari 5.1, although ZDNet has claimed in its own report thatmany of the flawsthat were present in the previousrelease of Safari could result in arbitrary code execution on a compromised PC. The report also goes on to list several aspects of the Safari web browser which has been flagged as being some of the more serious vulnerabilities, which runs the gamut from the browsers ColourSync profile to its CoreFoundation framework and XML library, among many others.

Last but definitely not least, ZDNet has also claimed that the new Safari 5.1 web browser will fix a vulnerability in the open-source WebKit rendering engine which that "expose users to denial-service conditions or arbitrary code execution". So, if you are still on an older version of Safari, it would seem that a much-needed upgrade to your web browser is in order.

Source: ZDNet

ATi 2007 GPU Roadmap; RV670 Appears

ATi Mobility Radeon X1700, X1450 amp; X1350

ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX:ATY)(NASDAQ:ATYT) has developed a family ofnotebook graphics to meet the complete needs of mobile professionals-fromcreating vivid presentations, to watching high definition videos to playingtheir favorite video game on their flight home. ATI's Mobility Radeon X1700®,Mobility Radeon® X1450 and Mobility Radeon® X1350 Balance performance withlonger battery life to transform notebook PCs into high-powered mobileentertainment systems and Windows Vista-ready workstations.

ASUS will be the first to market with the Mobility Radeon X1700 graphicsprocessor, with its newly launched high-performance notebooks, including theMobile TV, Mobility, Multimedia and Entertainment notebook series.

"Today's mobile notebook users demand desktop-class processing performance withexceptional digital multimedia capability," said Tony Chen, general manager ofASUS Notebook Business. "ATI's Mobility Radeon X1700, with its powerful 3D,video, and power saving technologies, is an ideal solution for our Vista capablenotebooks to deliver a true-to-life digital entertainment experience."

"With the imminent arrival of Vista and consumers buzzing about high-definitionvideo, the demands on the graphics processor are enormous and no lightweightcard can handle it," said Jon Peddie, president, Jon Peddie Research. "ATI's newMobility Radeon graphics processors are Windows Vista-ready and up to the taskof handling today's power-intensive HD and multimedia applications."

The Mobility Radeon X1K family optimizes performance for the mobile world,providing advanced functionality for running graphics-intensive businessapplications, high-definition multimedia content and digital entertainment.Features include:

Longer Battery Life - Long flights and marathon offsite meetings just got moreproductive. The Mobility Radeon X1K family balances productivity with strongperformance. Built to include ATI's Powerplay™6.0 power management technology,the Mobility Radeon X1K family of graphics processors automatically adjusts thebalance between performance and power consumption based on the workload. Througha combination of hardware and software, Powerplay optimizes the clock speed andvoltage of the Mobility Radeon graphics core depending on the user'srequirements.

Experience High-Definition Content Like Never Before - High-definition contentis fast becoming the new reality for digital entertainment. The Mobility RadeonX1K family is ideal for media-intensive tasks such as digital content viewing,editing and creation. Advanced video processing and acceleration makes HD DVDplayback smooth, and the powerful graphics core easily handles the latest 3Dgames. ATI's Mobility Radeon X1K family also includes Avivo™ video and displaytechnology and HD-DVD/H.264 and Blu-ray video playback to deliver crispgraphics, smooth video and dazzling color fidelity through the notebook LCDdisplay.

Ready for Windows Vista™ - With Microsoft Windows Vista on its way, the MobilityRadeon X1K family delivers the premium Vista experience, including thesophisticated Windows Aero™ user interface, Windows Flip 3D and flawlesshigh-definition content playback. Not only does this ensure that notebookmanufacturers and users get the most from their mobile computing investments,but it also allows users to take advantage of the best that Windows Vista has tooffer.

"With the Mobility Radeon X1K family, ATI continues its commitment to offeringmobile users unrivaled dedicated graphics performance without sacrificing longbattery life," said Phil Eisler, senior vice president and general manager,Integrated and Mobile Business Unit, ATI Technologies, Inc. "As we enter the eraof high-definition content, ATI is at the forefront; driving innovation thatallows notebook manufacturers and consumers to realize the true potential ofHD."

ASUS showcases class-leading motherboard and notebook designs at CES 2011

ASUS'new motherboards feature Dual Intelligent Processors 2 technology, which consists of twin embedded co-processors that ensure optimized energy consumption and enhanced performance controls not available in other motherboards. Additional ASUS exclusives include the mouse-controlled EFI BIOS interface, BT GO! Bluetooth management and the AI Suite II application center that is the pinnacle of user functionality and control.

In addition to the P8P67 Series, ASUS has developed a complete array of new motherboards based on the P67 chipset that include the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Maximus IV Extreme, the heavy-duty TUF Series SABERTOOTH P67 and the P8P67 WS Revolution workstation motherboard. Truly innovative from the ground up, the new ASUS P67 series of motherboards is the first and only choice for performance, stability and reliability.

Setting a new standard: ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 2 with DIGI+ VRM

Consisting of the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) and TurboV Processing Unit (TPU), this unique technology delivers a potent combination of streamlined system-wide energy consumption and enhanced PC performance. Second-generation Dual Intelligent Processors 2 technology adds the innovative DIGI+ VRM design to set a new standard in digital power management. DIGI+ VRM replaces analog voltage regulator module (VRM) controllers with a digital programmable microprocessor that fully integrates Intel's VRD 12 CPU power delivery system to eliminate digital-analog conversion. Since it works at such a fundamental level, DIGI+ VRM improves PC performance from the ground up, improving overclocking capabilities while increasing power efficiency, system stability and reliability.

Putting power control in the user's hands

DIGI+ VRM includes a user-friendly interface that makes digital power control immediately accessible. Five fine-tuning modes offer increased precision for loadline, CPU current, VRM frequency, power-phase and duty control settings. Enhanced digital controls allow users to make extremely precise adjustments for increased efficiency and overclocking potential. By enabling VRM frequency mode spread spectrum, DIGI+ VRM lowers CPU power and cuts EMI radiation by half for enhanced system stability.

The degree of flexibility and reliability offered by the exclusive DIGI+ VRM design gives users access to a new standard of digital power control and delivery. Combined with the Dual Intelligent Processors 2 architecture, it ensures ASUS P8P67 series motherboards are the ideal platform for the second generation Intel® Core™ processors and P67 chipset.

All-new Intuitive Controls

All P8P67 and P8H67 series motherboards include ASUS exclusive EFI, giving users' access to a BIOS that features intuitive mouse control and an extremely user friendly graphical interface. Unlike the old text-based interfaces of traditional BIOS versions, EFI BIOS makes it easy to manage a PC's resources and offers support for future technologies that traditional BIOS' are unable to provide.

Based on extensive ASUS research and user feedback, the most frequently-accessed functions of the BIOS have been integrated into the EFI BIOS EZ Mode, which enables expedited system supervision, performance settings and even drag-and-drop boot priority management.

Full range of added features

ASUS innovation and forward thinking extend to every aspect of crafting a new motherboard, and so the P8P67 Series includes the exclusive BT GO! Bluetooth manager. This enables fast and easy connectivity with Bluetooth devices and offers users seven functions- folder sync, BT Transfer, personal manager, shoot and send, BT to Net, music player and the unique BT Turbo Remote. The latter is especially unique, as it turns synced Bluetooth devices into a remote control for PC-based media player software. With BT Turbo Remote, users can even reset and shutdown their systems via Bluetooth device without having to be near the PC itself.

AI Suite II, another ASUS exclusive, offers one-stop access to a whole host of system management, monitoring and enhancement utilities, giving users a convenient and logical way of making the most of their PC experience.

Users also benefit from the inclusion of super-fast USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s and hardware-accelerated Intel Gigabit LAN, resulting in motherboards that offer the latest technological innovation for a truly spectacular computing experience.

ASUS Upcoming Notebooks For Singapore

W5Fe – World 's First SideShow Notebook

The compact 12" wide notebook with cutting-edge SideShow, external auxiliarydisplay on the LCD cover, offers high mobility with quick and easy data accessconvenience. Known for its strong engineering strength, ASUS once again takesthe lead into the new Vista era.

RSP: S$ 3,298 (GST Included)

Availability: End April


S6Fm – Limited Edition White leather notebook

Winner of three major design awards, including RedDot, iF China and G-Mark,the S6 Limited White Edition is the perfect gift for those who demand powerfulcomputing with sensational luxury. The compact design still offers rich featuresthat satisfy digital entertainment needs as well as processing capabilities withhigh mobility and style.

RSP: S$ 3,888 (GST Included)

Availability: End May


U1F – Slim & lightweight with exterior piano painted LCD cover

The compact 11.1" widescreen U1F is tailor made for metropolitanprofessionals to stay on the move with style. From the exterior piano paintedLCD cover, stainless contour and carbon fiber alloy housing to genuine leatherbound palm rest, the U1 exudes luxury with unique sophistication.

RSP: S$ 3,988

Availability: TBA

ASUS Sues Gigabyte Green War Turns Into Legal War

ASUS and Gigabyte have entered into a legal tussle officially and below isthe statement issued by ASUS :

ASUS condemns the defamatory and false accusations raised by ourcompetitor, Gigabyte. Gigabyte, without a full understanding of ASUS´engineering design and methods, has made false accusations against ASUSmotherboards´ EPU features and the quality of ASUS´ motherboards´ components.Also, in a press briefing presentation, Gigabyte used a photograph with blown-up(exploded) capacitors and led the audience to believe it was an ASUS product, tosupport its false allegations that ASUS uses questionable quality components.However, the image was found to be taken from a photograph of a VGA cardmanufactured by another vendor. The action of misrepresenting a third partyproduct to be an ASUS product is truly defamatory and clearly outside the realmof decent competition.

ASUS takes pride in its innovations, which are measured against the higheststandards in the industry at all stages of operation - from project development,engineering, manufacturing to service. Through a combination of the bestquality-controlled components and processes, ASUS delivers state-of-the arttechnology breakthroughs to meet customers´ needs. Every breakthrough is theresult of huge R&D engineering efforts. Hence, while it is common to havecompetition among companies, the use of the above mentioned methods aredefamatory and condemnable. ASUS deeply resents Gigabyte´s action. Yesterday(May 22nd 2008), ASUS has reported such acts to the Fair Trade Commission ofTaiwan. Today (May 23rd 2008), ASUS has officially filed a lawsuit againstGigabyte for those defamatory acts.

ASRock's Z77 Extreme9 gets official, priced

The first of the super-premium Z77 motherboards has arrived, ASRocks Z77 Extreme9 and it comes with a price to match. As loaded with features as this motherboard is, it looks like ASRock missed out on one must have feature for this segment – or at least so it appears – namely Thunderbolt.

Despite this little miss on ASRocks behalf, the Z77 Extreme9 is loaded to the brim with features and it defiantly one ups MSIs recently announced Z77A-GD80 and Intels DZ77RE-75K, at least as long as you dont need/want Thunderbolt connectivity. That said, were still waiting for Asus P8Z77-V Premium and whatever Gigabyte is working on thatll slot in above the Z77X-UD5H.

However, were not here to talk about the competition right now, as its time to take a closer look at the Z77 Extreme9. For starters, the board has no less than five x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots with the second slot being the main slot when a single card is being used. Thanks to a PCI Express bridge chip of some kind, the Z77 Extreme9 will also work in dual x6 or four x8 modes using slot one, three, five and seven, where one and three are used for dual x16 mode. The sixth x16 slot operates at PCI Express 2.0 speeds and offer four lanes of bandwidth. Theres also a single x1 PCI Express 2.0 slot and a mini PCI Express slot that houses a dual-band combo 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 card.

The board also has the standard four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps ports via the chipset, but ASRock has added another four SATA 6Gbps ports via a pair of ASMedia ASM1061 controllers. The board also has headers for four front USB 3.0 ports via an Etron EJ188 host controller, six USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port and a serial port of all things. You also get features like a POST80 debug LED and a power and rest button.

Around the back of the board we have a PS/2 port, no less than eight USB 3.0 ports of which four are via a second Etron EJ188 host controller, two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, a FireWire port, a pair if Gigabit Ethernet ports courtesy of a couple of Broadcom controllers, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out, an HDMI port and a clear CMOS button.

An interesting addition is the bundled front USB 3.0 port drive bay module or Wi-SB Box as ASRock calls it. Not only is it home to two USB 3.0 ports, but it also houses the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas and a pair of LEDs to indicate that its transmitting data. Theres also space for a 2.5-inch drive to be mounted in the module.

On a whole, not a bad board, but the pricing is a bit off-putting, albeit not much more than other super-premium motherboards. In Europe the board is retailing for around €320 (US$410/S$520), or about €20 more than a Core i7-3770K. That said, Asus P8Z77-V Premium has also found its way online and should retail for around €400 (US$515/S$650), or about as much as a cheap computer these days.

Source: ASRock

Asus MeMic for the Eee Pad MeMO revealed

With tablets being all the rage these days, one of the biggest problems is not connectivity, but rather making voice calls. No-one wants to hold a 7-inch+tablet to the side of their face, as it simply just makes you look stupid. Asus has come up with what looks like a very reasonable solution to the problem with its MeMic which is a Bluetooth “handset” that connects to its Eee Pad MeMO tablet and handles voice calls.

The MeMic is about the size of a traditional candy bar phone, albeit without a keypad and with a translucent display, much like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness. The display is for caller ID information and most likely also for things like navigating contact lists etc, although its not quite clear how it all works at the moment, as the units on display at CeBIT didnt actually work.

The MeMic can also work like a more traditional Bluetooth headset if you attach a wired headset to it, as it has a 3.5mm jack in the bottom. Its charged via a micro USB port and theres a little hole for a lanyard at the bottom so you can hang it around your neck if you so wish. On the front it has a call and end call/power button, a back button and what appears to be a four-way navigation pad with a select button in the middle. In addition to handling calls, the MeMic will also allow you to stream music over Bluetooth and control media playback functionality of the tablet.

The MeMic is said to be bundled with Asus 7-inch Eee Pad MeMO when it arrives sometime in June this year and wed expect it to launch at Computex, since this is Asus home show. Its not clear if the MeMic will be bundled with all models of the MeMO, nor has Asus said if itll sell the MeMic on its own or if itll be possible to use it with other Android devices, but were sure more details will trickle out this week at CeBIT.

Source: Engadget

ASUS ROG iDirect Overclock from your iPhone or iPad

Still overclocking your PC in old-fashioned way? Let ROG iDirect bring you the whole new tweaking experience on your iPhone / iPad! Thanks to the Bluetooth card that's coming with selected ASUS Republic of Gamers motherboards, you'll be able to monitor your PC, tweak parameters such as voltages and frequencies in real time wirelessly from your iPhone / iPad!

Features

Overclocking: Allows to overclock your PC on-the-fly using the Apple iPhone /iPad.Enthusiasts haveaccess to all tuning and tweaking options required for overclocking.
Hardware Monitor: Monitor system information, component temperatures, voltages, frequencies, and fan speeds, all in real-time.
Remote Control: Remote access to restart and shut down your PC

--> Click here to download the application directly from the App Store.

More screenshots

Apple Mac App Store officially opens

Applehas announcedtheir Mac App Store is now open for business with more than 1,000 free and paid apps.It brings the App Store experience to the Mac users such that they cansearch fornew apps, buy them usingtheir iTunes account, download and install them in just one step. The Mac App Store is available for Snow Leopard users through software update as part of Mac OS X v10.6.6.

Apps are sorted in various categories includingEducation, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity andUtilities. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews.

Entirely new apps, as well as current Mac favorites, are available from developers such as Autodesk, Ancestry.com and Boinx. iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand apps from Apple’s popular iLife ‘11 suite are available individually in the Mac App Store for US$14.99 each, and Pages, Keynote and Numbers apps from iWork are available for US$19.99 each. Aperture 3, Apple’s powerful photo editing and management software, is available for US$79.99.

Popular games like Angry Birds (US$4.99) and Peggle (US$9.99) are also available on the Mac App Store.

Update: According to Apple Insider, just hours of the official launch of the Mac App store, software pirates have found a way to illegally install and run paid apps. It seems that by replacing the receipt and signature files in some of the paid app packages, with the receipt from a free app, lets the app to run normally in some cases. However, that doesn't apply to every app, but those that don't follow Apple's App validation advice.

Source: Apple Insider

ASUS announces availability of new O!Play Mini Plus set-top box in Singapore

ASUS has announced the availability of its new set-top box for home theatre systems, the ASUS O!Play Mini Plus, in Singapore. According to ASUS, the new O!Play Mini Plus is designed to designed to offer access to a multitude of online services for endless entertainment from both video and social media websites, along with many other media-related features.

In an official announcement made by the company yesterday, ASUS claimed that the new O!Play Mini Plus set-top box will feature built-in support for various online media streaming and social networking services, such as “Mediafly, Dailymotion, Facebook, YouTube, Picasa, Flickr (and) thousands of internet TV and radio stations. ASUS has also touted the new O!Play Mini Plus set-top box as being the worlds first device to support Acetrax, the most popular online video on demand service in Europe.

On the specifications side, it would appear that the new O!Play Mini Plus set-top box has got just about everything an average user will need to get the system working right out-of-the-box. According to ASUS, the device will feature built-in support for gigabit Ethernet and WiFi N connectivity, while utility tools such as O!Direct and O!MediaShare enable users to stream media files from a variety of devices straight to an HDTV without complicated setups, as well as stream content from a desktop PC or notebook to the TV.

Full specifications for the new O!Play Mini Plus set-top box are as follow:

No details about the O!Play Mini Plus set-top boxs pricing has been announced by ASUS at this point.

Apple 64GB iPhone 4 prototype spotted

While Apple has yet to announce the new iPhone (which may be called iPhone 5), it seems that a prototype ofa 64GBiPhone 4 has been spotted at a Foxconn manufacturing plant. According to a Hong Kong-based website, youwould notice that the phone (above picture) has its storage capacity and model number marked with "X"s.

The prototype phone claims to be running iOS 4.1, and not the latest version 4.3. Regardless, itis unlikely thatApple will go mass market with a 64GBiPhone 4 as it is probably too expensive, and that the new iPhone 5 could be announced soon. Thecurrent Apple iPhone 4 comesin 16GB and 32GB configurations.

Source: Apple Insider

2012-12-21-494

Adobe holds CS5 workshop, demonstrates various new additions to its software suite

Barely a week since the launch of Adobe's latest Creative Suite 5 (CS5) Master Collection software set, the folks at Adobe have organised a workshop to demonstrate some of its new and handy features.

Heading the workshop was Adobe consultant, Nelson John, who demonstrated various new features that can be found in CS5. In this article, we will be focusing mainly on Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Flash.

Photoshop:

'Content Awareness' was one of the key feature which Nelson talked about in his demonstration with Photoshop, whereby the program will automatically make intelligent decisions on how to modify an image with minimal user input.

An example of the new 'Content Awareness' feature can be found in the images below, where Nelson recreates a complete landscape from a badly edited image file:

In addition, Nelson also introduced the Mixer Brush, which allows for artistic blending of various colours in an image file, as shown below.

2012-12-21-309

9 out of 10 people have not read Google's new privacy policy

Nine out of ten people have not read Googles new privacy policy, a study by Big Brother Watch and YouGov has revealed.

Despite Google plastering links and notices to its new privacy policy all over its numerous websites and services, only 12 percent of Google users have read the changes.Even more worryingly, a whopping 47 percent of British adults did not know that a new privacy policy is coming into effect on 1 March, despite 92 percent of online British users employing Google on a regular basis.Only 40 percent of users think Google should implement the policy change this week. This is likely because they want more time to read it, or are simply content with how things are run now.The policy change will take Googles roughly 60 separate privacy policies and replace them with a single unified policy that contains more detail, a move which the company claims will make it simpler and easier to understand Googles stance on privacy.“The impact of Google’s new policy cannot be understated, but the public are in the dark about what the changes actually mean,” said Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch. “Companies should not be allowed to bury in legal jargon and vague statements how they may monitor what we do online, where we use our phones and even listen to what we say in calls. This change isn’t about Google collecting more data, it’s about letting the company combine what’s in your emails with the videos you watch and the things you search for.”Big Brother Watch has contacted the UKs Information Commissioner to ask for an investigation of Googles privacy policy change and whether or not it breaks UK data protection law. The Article 29 Working Party has filed a similar request with the data protection authorities of other European Union member states.“If people don’t understand what is happening to their personal information, how can they make an informed choice about using a service?” added Pickles. “Google is putting advertiser’s interests before user privacy and should not be rushing ahead before the public understand what the changes will mean.”You can read the new privacy policy here.