Microsoft Unveils New Line-Up of Affordable BlueTrack Mice

Introduced into the market in 2008, Microsoft’s BlueTrack Technology was designed to work on variety of terrains - minus clear glasses and mirrored surfaces - and has since been equipped into many of the company’s high-grade mice such as Sidewinder X8 Gaming Mouse and the Arc Touch Mouse. Come this April, this technology will be more accessible than ever as Microsoft is launching a series of affordable BlueTrack mice.

The first of this new line-up of inexpensive Microsoft’s Blue Track-equipped mice will be the unique and colourful Express Mouse. According to Microsoft, it is designed for comfort and style with its off-centre cable and also, vibrant colours. For starters, two colours – Flint Grey and Hibiscus Red - will be released in April while four more colours will be available later in July. In addition to that, two more wired BlueTrack mice – Comfort Mouse 3000 and Comfort Mouse 6000 – will be accompanying the Express Mouse’s release in April.

The new Microsoft Express Mouse is priced at RM 49 while the Comfort Mouse 3000 and 6000 are priced at RM 59 and RM 99 respectively. For further information, checkout Microsoft Hardware’s official website at www.microsoft.com/hardware/. 

Article From: Lowyat

3M launches new MP180 pico projector, leaves out kitchen sink

There used to be a time when pico projectors were the hottest thing since sliced bread. These days however, it seems that having a pico projector that only projects just isn't wont cut it.

Say hello to the 3M MP180, a WinCE powered LED pico projector that comes with 4GB of on-board storage, a touch screen, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, an integrated MP3 player, a micro SD card slot and a pair of .75W speakers. Capable of projecting images from 10 - 80 inches in size, the MP180 runs natively on SVGA resolution an has enough juice in its battery pack for two hours of continuous video playback.

Able to function as a traditional projector, the MP180 can also project videos, pictures, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets off its on-board storage thanks to the addition of WinCE. It also comes with a Flash-compatible mobile browser, that when connected to the internet over WiFi, is able to project content directly off the web.

Bluetooth on the MP180 allows file transfers from your computer or mobile phone to the devices storage, and we're also told, will allow pairing with a Bluetooth keyboard. This is probably good news if your fingers are stubby since the virtual keyboard on the touchscreen is rather tiny.

Retailing for RM1999, the 3M MP180 is now available at all Harvey Norman outlets and major retail outlets nationwide. For more information on the MP180, hit up www.3mpocketprojector.com.my. 

Article From: Lowyat

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 Now Available In Ferrari Edition

One of the perks of being a sponsor to a Formula One team is that one is able to come out with products bearing the team’s name. There are a lot of such products in the market such as clothing, laptops, watches and many others but I believe that this is the first time ever a computer security product is themed after a Formula One team.

Unveiled at the last weekend’s Formula One season opener in Melbourne, Australia; the new Kaspersky Internet Security Special Ferrari Edition is basically a Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 draped in green and red coloured interface together with motorsport-themed Windows desktop gadget to reflect the collaboration between the two well-known entities. In addition to that, the new special edition pack also comes with Ferrari’s official racing simulator, the Ferrari Virtual Academy 2010.

LG Mobile Introduces Revolutionary Wireless Charging Solution

Bid your farewell to messy phone charger wires that ends up collecting dusts and loose hairs next to the power adapter while your phone sits next to it because the wire is too short, LG is here to introduce its Wireless Charging Pad – the WCP 700. Alright, so the Wireless Charging Pad will still need wire for its power source, but you no longer have to get your hands dirty and messy picking up the wires; you no longer have to search for the respective wire for the device you wish to charge.

LG has recently announced the LG Wireless Charging Pad that features a sharp and sleek design that is poised to revolutionize wireless charging as we know it. Made with inductive coils built into the battery doors and internal contacts, advanced wireless charging technology allows for a cord-free power source – alleviating the need for external connections that limit the phone’s usability.

How do you know if your device is charging? The Wireless Charging Pad provides audible and tacile feedback when it’s connected to the phone and the multi-colored LED lights will also be turned on to indicate its charging status. Additionally, the Wireless Charging Pad features a slim size that makes it portable so you can carry it wherever you go.

HP Supports Customers Despite Oracle's Anti-customer Actions

Good news to enterprise and government are using Itanuim-based Integrity server platforms and are afraid because Oracle announced that it will discontinue all software development on the Intel Itanium microprocessor. HP has reiterated that it will continue the development and innovation of Itanium-based Integrity server platforms with its HP-UX operating system using a roadmap that extends more than 10 years. Additionally, HP also said that the company will also continue to support customers running existing versions of Oracle software in both existing and future platforms within the same timeframe.

Acer Launches 3 New Products At A Roadshow In Low Yat Plaza

Today, Acer unveiled 3 new additions to their product lineup in conjunction with a consumer roadshow at Low Yat Plaza. The triple product launch features the brand new Acer ICONIA 484G64 Dual Touch Screen Tablet, the ICONIA Tab W500 Tablet and the Aspire TimelineX 4830GT.

Enabling SSD TRIM Support On Mac OS X With A Push Of A Button

 

We all know slapping an SSD drive into your laptop gives you a heck of a speed boost over your piddly little 7200RPM drive. Applications load quicker, you boot faster and you gain that much more geek credibility. If you have an Apple notebook, the problem is that even if you install an aftermarket SSD, you may not be getting the full speed you paid for.

The problem lies in the TRIM command. The TRIM command is one that tells the SSD when files are no longer in use and can be wiped. This command is not supported by Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard so those who are on said operating system are probably not getting their money's worth. Apple has said 10.7 Lion will come with TRIM support, but in true geek fashion, we want it NOW!

To subvert this inconvenience, Oskar Groth has written a program which enables TRIM support on OS X 10.6.7 and it's easy as pushing a button. There is also a means to backup your system file so that if things should go Pete Tong, then there is always that safety net.

(Source: Lifehacker & Groths.org)

Article From: Lowyat

Microsoft Launches I’m Inspired, In Collaboration With Acer

In an effort to promote technology education and community outreach efforts among students, Microsoft and Acer together with the help of Selangor Education Department have recently launched a program called “I’m Inspired”. The three months program will be taking place at SMK Taman Klang Utama and will see students from the school going through various activities that are aimed to allow them to engage with the community and spark their creativity through technology.

ASUS UNLEASHES THREE GEFORCE GTX 550 TI MODELS, ADDS GTX 590 WHILE AT IT

If you somehow didn’t get the memo, NVIDIA has recently announced two new graphic cards under their GeForce 500 series – the easy on the pocket GTX 550 Ti and the monstrous dual core GTX 590. Now that both of them are already official, it is time for their partners to come out with their take on both new cards to the market and ASUSare bringing out quite a number of offerings for consumers everywhere to get their hands on.

ACER PREVIEWS THE NEW ANDROID 3.0 POWERED ICONIA A500 TABLET

Earlier today, Acer held a small media briefing in downtown KL and offered us a sneak preview at the upcomingAcer Iconia A500 tablet. Powered by a nVidia Tegra 2 processor, we were told that the 10.1-inch tablet will available for purchase be very soon from between RM1599 and RM1999 depending on specifications.

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 590 Is Now Official

NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com) sure does take their own sweet time to come out with this release but yes, the wait is now over. Rumoured to have been in work for quite some time, NVIDIA has finally take their leash off their new dual-core graphic card, the GeForce GTX 590.

The new card is essentially a combination of two GeForce GTX 580 running in SLI mode on the same circuit board and offers a total of 1024 CUDA cores that are paired together with 3GB worth of GDDR5 memory. Despite that badassery, the core inside GTX 590 actually runs slightly slower than the one in GTX 580 as GTX 590 core's base speed is rated at 607MHz (graphics clock) and 1215MHz (processor clock) in addition to the memory clock speed of 1707MHz. Nevertheless, that is still quite a significant amount of firepower for users to utilize.

The card is already on its way to retailer’s shelves worldwide with a price tag that starts at RM 2,117 (USD 699); the same base price as the other dual-core card in the hood, the AMD Radeon 6990. Check out a short video demo of the card by the people at NVIDIA right after the jump. 

So, does anybody out there are daring enough to run two GTX590 together? Quad SLI mode, anyone?

Lenovo Equips University with 10,000 ThinkPad X100e

Recently, Lenovo just completed its largest PC transaction of its kind in the Malaysia private education sector. Not too long ago, the company signed an agreement with Masterskill University College of Health and Sciences (MUCH) to deliver 10,000 units of the ThinkPad X100e ultraportable notebooks.

This is part of the university’s “One Student, One Netbook Project” aimed at providing its students with the right learning tool in quest for knowledge information. Lenovo has already delivered half the units of X100e notebooks as of March 2011 while the rest of the units are expected to be delivered before the end of this year.

Even though current generation of computer hardware are relatively quieter - judging from a number of our recent hardware reviews – some users just can’t stand any noises coming from their computer. Well, if you are one of them, the California-based NZXT might have something for you.

Designed to prevent users from being disturbed by the noises coming from their rig, the new NZXT H2 Classic Silent Midtower Chassis is layered with premium noise dampening foam which is said to be able to stop hardware noise from being heard outside of the chassis. Not enough with that, the chassis also comes with a magnetic cover over its top 140mm fan which can be removed for better air flow.

Toshiba New Intel Sandy Bridge-Based Notebooks: Coming In April

Now that the second generation of Core processors have received the official nod from Intel in Malaysia, more and more system based on the new processors have begun to appear on the market. Toshiba is no exception to the trend as well since they have recently unveiled three new Sandy Bridge-based laptops that are going to make their way into our market sometime next month.

The New Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9, Slimmer and Better

It’s no longer a surprise that after Apple launched its thinner and lighter iPad 2, Samsung feels slightly threatened and even announced that they’re reconsidering the price for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, so what happened yesterday at the Samsung CTIA Wireless 2011 press conference? Announcement of the pricing of course, and Samsung did not only announce and officially unveil the Galaxy 8.9 they’ve been teasing consumers over the past few weeks, they also announced a totally revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1

LG To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 14 Million Tons in 2011

Everybody is talking about going green so how can you contribute to being friendly to the environment besides the obvious like reuse, reduce and recycle? By using green products from companies like LG of course as the company announce that it is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by almost 14 million tons this year; that is up from its previous record of 12.9 million tons held last year.

With this revised forecast, the company is aiming to achieve its goal of 200 million tons of cumulative reductions from 2009 through 2020. The journey towards LG’s dream so far is achieved not only by improving manufacturing processes, but also by using better logistics and energy-efficient products that brings significant reductions in CO2 at the end-use stage.

BlackBerry Playbook Coming To The US On April 19th - Costs $499

Looks like the highly anticipated tablet from RIM is yea upon us! Come April 19th, the BlackBerry Playbook will be made available to the lucky buggers over in the US and Canada via a Pre-Order. The 7inch, next-generation tablet will live up to it's promise of costing under US$500, coming in one penny shy at US$499.99 (RM1515) for the 16GB WiFi model, US$600 (RM1817) for the 32GB WiFi Model and US$700 (RM2120) for the 64GB WiFi Model. These prices of course are fresh off the release and localised prices may vary.

 

No word yet on availability on our shores, but one thing is for sure, the iPad 2 is not the only tablet that people will be lusting for this April.

 

(Source: Engadget)

Article From: Lowyat

New Sandy Bridge Apple Macbook Pro's Freezing Under Load

Apple's new Sandy Bridge laptops sure are some amazing bits of kit, I know I want one. The combination of Intel's speedy new processors and AMD's latest graphics solutions for laptops is a match made in heaven. Or is it? According to a huge thread on Apple's support forum, a huge bunch of users are finding that their brand spanking new 2011 Macbook Pros are freezing up under heavy load. Users are complaining that when heavily making use of the new AMD graphics card over the integrated Intel ones to perform intensive tasks, the Macbook Pros are either displaying a strange banding across the screen or freezing up, rendering the machine useless until reboot.

The strange thing is, reading accounts across the net, one user managed to access the machine remotely via SSH, and it seemed that it was still running albeit with a frozen screen which leads me to believe its AMD's infamous substandard graphics drivers causing the problems. So if you have a 2011 Macbook Pro, switch to the integrated graphics for now and lets all hope that they fix the problem sharpish. Anyone with the same problems? Let us know how you fixed it in the comments!

(Source: Engadget, Apple)

Article From: Lowyat

HP & Microsoft help organizations simplify delivery of business services

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that data is exploding, not just for end users thanks to the growth of social media and availability of high-speed internet, affordable cameras and such, but data is also exploding for organizations big and small. With such a massive number of information, IT process tends to get harder while productivity among employees and decision making tends to deteriorate. HP and Microsoft Corp recently announced four new converged application appliances that fuse applications, infrastructure and productivity tools into a single system to help organizations optimize employee productivity and decision making, simplify the delivery of applications for IT, allow for faster time to market, and reduce TCO and risk.

Review: The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 Notebook

Way back in January, we wrote about Lenovo's first two laptop releases of the year; The V470 and the Y560P which were announced all the way back at CES in January. So we've finally got the first Lenovo laptop to feature the next-generation Intel Processors (Sandy Bridge) in our grubby mitts and it's not a bad effort from them at all.

As with all laptops, the Lenovo IdeaPad V470 has a myriad of customisation options, going up to the face-melting Intel Core i7-2630QM which is code for "stupidly fast laptop" as well as other things like 8GB RAM and a 1TB hard drive. The unit we got was armed with an Intel Core i5-2540M @ 2.6Ghz, 4GB RAM, 300GB Hard Drive and NVIDIA GT525M + Intel HD 3000 graphics; It's not going to be a gaming laptop by a longshot, but it will be just fine for the run-of-the-mill user.

Intel Malaysia Officially Launches The Sandy Bridge Core Processors

You’ve heard of them. Heck, you might have even seen them at stores. Nevertheless, Intel has finally launched the second generation Intel Core processors - also fondly known as Sandy Bridge - here in Malaysia. Originally unveiled at CES’11 earlier this year, it is a huge release from the company as the new line-up involved more than 20 new processors together with 10 chipsets and 4 wireless adapters.

The second generation Intel Core family of processors are equipped with a mixture of improved features from the previous generation of Core processors, and a number of new technologies that work hand in hand to give users what Intel dubbed as “visibly smarter performance”. These features include the next-generation Intel HD Graphics built-in GPU, upgraded Turbo Boost capabilities, Intel Wireless Display 2.0, Intel Quick Sync Video accelerator and many more.

Acer and Yes join Hands in Offering the Biggest Bundling Deal

So, you’ve heard of all the benefits of mobile internet from providers like the YES 4G, but what good is getting the first converged mobile internet service in Malaysia when you do not have a device to fully utilize what the company has to offer? Not too long ago, Acer and Yes announced the biggest bundling deals in Malaysia, offering the best value in mobile computing and communications.

Malaysians purchasing selected Acer Aspire notebooks will come bundled with free Yes 4G. In the bundling deal Acer notebooks which offers the best value, performance and quality now comes with the fastest mobile internet with voice including 150 minutes of free calls to all networks, 150 free SMS to al networks and a 018 mobile number. This means that with a single YES ID, users can make calls, send SMS and browse the internet not only with their mobile phones, but also right from the convenience of their Acer notebooks.

News Forums Links Contact Us Search Advertising Guides Reviews Demographics Administrator Lowyat Pricelists nokia sony Advertisements HP Coupons lace wigs Ken Fisher Complaints on Forecasting HTC Launches New Training Hub and Incredible S

 

Last Friday, HTC Corporation further strengthened it's already stellar lineup with the brand new HTC Incredible S. Combining a reinvigorated contoured design with the HTC sense UI that we've all come to know. The HTC Incredible S boasts a 1 GHz processor with a decent 768MB of RAM. Where the HTC Incredible S shines (Besides the price) is the beautiful screen. The 4-inch WVGA Super LCD display is no Super AMOLED but it holds it's own pretty damn well when playing media. The 8MP camera also records HD video at 720p and the front facing camera enabled you to chat face-to-face with your friends with ease.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Hits The Market

After releasing three GPUs under the GeForce GTX 500 series for the past few months, NVIDIA have recently revealed yet another addition to the family - the GeForce GTX 550 Ti. Even though it is labelled as an enthusiast-level GTX GPU, its base price is rather easy on the wallet at RM 455 (USD 149) which is just a little bit higher the original base price of GeForce GTS 450.

It also features the same amount of CUDA cores that GTS 450 has at 192 but the GTX 550 Ti performs at higher graphics and processor speed at 900MHz and 1800MHz respectively. The GTX 550 Ti comes with bigger 192-bit memory interface and 1024MB 4100MHz GDDR5 memory as well.

The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is already available in the market right now – in both standard and overclocked version that goes up to 1000MHz in terms of graphics speed - so check it out with your favourite retailers for further information. Alternatively, you can also learn more about the new card at www.nvidia.com. 

Article From: Lowyat

Samsung Forum 2011 SEA, Oceania & Taiwan

How smart can your home get? Well, thanks to Samsung’s “Smarter Life”, your home can now be equipped with the company’s smart products ranging from smart TVs, 3D Blu-ray players, total 3D solutions, monitors, and home entertainment systems, but how smart can these electronic appliances get? Equipped with apps, Samsung’s flagship LED and Plasma TVs now comes with Samsung’s Smart Hub which offers an easily accessible gateway to favorite music, games, movies, TV shows, pictures and virtually any content online or on a network connected storage device. Furthermore, with the company’s Smart Connection, all these Samsung devices can automatically connect to each other for sharing of content, giving a better user experience to consumers.

“The ‘Smarter Life’ is about giving consumers access to a truly robust and awe-inspiring entertainment experience in the home. In this new era, only Samsung’s smart TVs offer a truly comprehensive ecosystem of content and services, integrated across the devices people use most in their daily lives.” – Stanley Goh, Director of Trade Marketing, Samsung Asia.

Trend Micro threat alert: Phoney video site links hit Facebook

Hands up if you love how Facebook lets you share your favorite Youtube videos with your friends. Now hands up if you click on every other video link on your stream.

Well you really ought to start filtering stuff out, especially if the video link is titled "This guy took a picture of his face every day for 8 years", "Look what happens when father and daughter meet on chat roulette", "I can't believe a girl did this because of Justin Bieber" and "Sick! I lost all respect for Miley Cyrus when I watched this video".

First of all, one of those links is about Justin Bieber, and we really shouldn't have to explain why you ought to avoid that. Secondly, Trend Micro's latest threat alert tells us that these four links are actually bogus links that will bring you to a fake Youtube landing page (as pictured above), and will subsequently lead to a KOOBFACE like worm being planted on your computer. The worm then steals your Facebook login credentials and uses them to post up more discriminating links to dupe your unsuspecting friends.

Facebook was named the most dangerous social networking site in 2010, so these probably aren't the only video links that you should be weary of. If you don't already have an anti virus suite on your PC, then we recommend a strong dose of precaution and common sense when opening up weblinks, even if they look like they're from a friend.

(Source: Trend Micro blog) 

Article From: Lowyat

AVIRA 2010 ANTIVIRUS 1U - RM55
AVIRA 2010 ANTIVIRUS 3U - RM85

AVIRA 2010 INTERNET SECU 1U - RM75
AVIRA 2010 INTERNET SECU 3U - RM115

 

KASPERSKY ANTIVIRUS 2011 1U - RM60
KASPERSKY ANTIVIRUS 2011 3U - RM95
KASPERSKY INT. SECURITY 2011 1U - RM80
KASPERSKY INT. SECURITY 2011 3U - RM114

Windows 7 License

Windows 7 Home Premium OEM RM290

Windows 7 Home Premium Retail RM365

Windows 7 Professional OEM RM420

Windows 7 Professional Retail RM 580

Windows 7 Ultimate OEM RM610

Windows 7 Ultimate Retail RM630

Steve Jobs labeled 2011 as “the year of the copycats” in reference to the slew of upcoming tablets from Samsung, HP, Motorola and Blackberry but as Simple Mobile Review recently pointed out, the “innovative” magnet powered iPad Smart Covers are far from the revolutionary next-best-thing-since-sliced-bread that Jobs was intensely marketing them to be.

The cover for the new iPad uses magnets to sleep and wake the iPad when covered and opened respectively. As long as I can recall BlackBerry devices had the ability to sleep when properly holstered. I can recall this feature when I carried a BlackBerry before they became smartphones. Fast forward 11 years and some people have called this innovative, which it was 11 years ago. Steve Jobs was correct, 2011 is the year of the copycat. – Smart Mobile Review

Well, I guess when Steve Jobs said, "We've always been shameless about stealing great ideas", he really meant it. What’s next? Oh, doesn’t that revolutionary foldable cover that doubles up as a stand look remarkably similar to how this jacket from InCase works? Hmm…

[Source: Simple Mobile Review and Engadget]

Article From: Lowyat

Dell Vostro 460 Gives Power for Today and Scalability for Tomorrow

Who says only hardcore PC users and gamers require a high end PC to cope with their demands? Even business users require something to help them get all the tasks done at not only a quick speed, but also simultaneously. Understanding this, Dell has just introduced their latest Vostro 460 desktop designed specifically for small businesses. Thanks to the new Intel Sandy Bridge Quad Core processors and coupled with Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, the Vostro 460 desktop can will be able to give its utmost performance when needed while making multitasking as easy as a breeze.

On top of all the features, like all Dell products, customers can choose extra features should they need something even better or something that is better suited for their work environment. With up to 3TB of storage space, a large 350W power supply and up to 150W of graphics-card power, the choices are up to the customers. At the end of a tiring working day, the Vostro 460 also comes with options of Blu-ray Disc drive and 7.1HD sound.

Furthermore, understanding how critical businesses can be and how they cannot afford down time, the Vostro 460 comes with 24x7 IT support with an optional Dell ProSupport service. Dell Support Center comes pre-loaded in the Vostro 460 and data security is also a breeze, with protection services that are simple to use and require little or no maintance.

Hit the break for more information.

Seagate’s New 3TB Barracuda XT Provides Solution To 2.1TB Barrier

It is common to own terabytes of storage space these days but it is not something that computing pioneers back in 1980s have managed to foreseen. Hence, legacy PC BIOS and operating systems such as Windows XP are not able to support hard drive with capacity that goes beyond 2.1TB due to the limit of logical block address range.

Usually, one would require extra hardware or software to overcome that limitation but not with the new Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB hard drive. The new hard drive utilizes Seagate’s own DiscWizard software which enables the OS to detect the hard drive actual storage capacity for users to access. On top of that, the Seagate Barracuda XT is also a high performance SATA 3.0 hard drive boasting a 64MB cache and 7200RPM spin speed.

As Seagate have begun to ship the new hard drive to stores worldwide, expect it to arrive at your favourite retailers very soon. The new Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB hard drive is expected to be priced at around RM 850. For further information, head on to www.seagate.com. 

Article From: Lowyat

You Could Win US$25,000 For Developing A PayPal Android App Today!

Calling all app developers! Paypal is holding their third PayPal X Developers Challenge and this time, the theme is apps for Google's Android platform. It's no secret that the Google Android OS app ecosystem has come leaps and bounds from where it was at launch into one of the powerhouse mobile OS' of today. After the success of the past 2 PayPal developers challenges, it was only logical for them to narrow down the scope to support the rapid expansion of the Android Ecosystem.

AMD’s Dual-GPU Radeon HD 6990 Is Now Official

Looks like AMD can’t be bothered to wait for NVIDIA anymore. After much teasing here and there, AMD’s new dual-GPU graphics monster – the Radeon HD 6990 – is finally ready to meet the market. Equipped with 4GB of GDDR5 memory that runs at 1250MHz, the card comes with two BIOS so that users can either run its processor at the standard clock speed of 830MHz or boost the speed up to 880MHz by just flicking a switch. According to the company, the card is able to churn out more than 11000 points in the 3DMark11 benchmark suite.

Fujitsu Comes Up With An (Infinity) App Store Of Their Own

Seems like everyone is getting on the desktop PC "app store" bandwagon these days. The first to be powered by the Intel AppUp centre, Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific have unveiled Infinity App, a storefront for easy access to thousands of free and paid software. The Infinity App works just like your Mac App Store, making it easy to browse, download and manage applications. Simply download the Infinity App software and you're ready to go! With up to 21 categories to choose from, there is something for everyone, they even have Angry Birds! Bye bye to productivity!

Intel Introduce New Dual-Core Atom Processor

Last week, Intel announced the arrival of the new dual-core N570 processor into their long running Atom family of processor for netbooks. Being the second dual-core Atom offering from Intel after the release of N550 in August 2010, the new N570 is relatively the same as its older sibling - four threads, 1MB of L2 cache, support for DDR3 667 memory and 8.5W TDP - except that it has a slightly higher clock speed at 1.66GHz.

Intel stated that systems based on the new core will heading to consumers starting from this month onwards and quite a number of such system were already on display at the recently concluded CeBIT 2011. So, expect them to be available in our market soon enough. 

[Source: Intel and Softpedia] 

Article From: Lowyat

Book Your SIA Flight With PayPal And You May Win The Cost Back!

One of the big hurdles when booking airline tickets online is the fact that you need a credit card, which not everyone has even in this day and age. Even if you do have one, it's a little bit of a hassle typing and retyping in your details when you want to check out. Singapore Airlines has teamed up with PayPal to make it easier for you to fly. Travelers can now pay for their tickets using their PayPal account and for a limited time (now until the 6th of April), one lucky winner will be selected to win back the price of their ticket (up to S$2000).

PRINTER PACKAGE FOR SALE!!!!

Opera Pops Up At Mac App Store, Comes With Age Restrictions

Just recently, Opera has made its way into Apple’s Mac App Store and became the first ever non-native internet browser to do so. There was one funny thing though: Apple actually rated the browser as an intense application that is meant mature audience and only allows users above 17 years old to download it. That doesn’t sound right for an Internet browser such as Opera.

Somehow, the people at Opera seem to take the news rather quite positively. In fact, Jan Standal, the VP of Desktop Products for Opera Software even commented on a press release that the download requirement should be higher at 18 years old because the browser is very fast and comes with a lot of features. By the way, you can actually obtain Opera’s internet browser outside of App Store by downloading it at www.opera.com. It is definitely open to users of all ages over there. 

Article From: Lowyat

Surprise Visit By Radeon HD 6990 At AMD Fusion Malaysia Event

So, we have been talking about the elusive monster that is AMD Radeon HD 6990 for a number of times since it first appeared at the AMD's Asia Pacific Fusion Tech Day. Guess what, this time we managed to see it ourselves at the AMD Fusion Malaysian launch event yesterday. Just check out what Ben Williams, AMD’s Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Asia Pacific region is holding; that’s a dual-core Radeon graphic card right there.

We were obviously more than eager to see what kind of power that the dual-core bad boy is able to offer but then, AMD didn’t bring along any demo rig to the event yesterday. Guess we have to wait till its official launch which is rumoured to be next month. 

Article From: Lowyat

AMD Fusion APUs Now Official In Malaysia

It has been two months since AMD first unveiled their brand new line of Fusion processors at CES’11 and they are finally here - officially - in this country. If you haven’t heard about them before, the Fusion processors are unlike any other processors that AMD have released before. For the first time ever, AMD combined a northbridge, multi-core central processing unit (CPU) and discrete-level graphics processing unit (GPU) into a single package that they called the accelerated processing unit (APU).

Yesterday’s launch event was almost like a refresher course to us since we already talked about the new APUs before but nevertheless, it was still an interesting encounter as it was also the first time that we managed to see the APUs up close and personal. So, without further ado, jump in to check out what AMD have brought on to the Fusion’s official Malaysian launch event. 

Google Body App Now Available on Android

Have you ever encountered a situation where your body is aching and you don’t know what that part of your body is called specifically so it’s hard for you to complain to a friend? Thanks to Google, you can now tell the name of every single thing on your body via the Google Body app from the skin to your internal organs, veins and even your bones. Finally there’s an easier way to understanding what on earth the doctors are saying after a body checkup. This is not a new product from Google though, in fact, it was introduced last year as an application to be opened by a web browser. Now, you can get that very application on the Android Market, if you have a Google Android Honeycomb device that is; the application will not work with any older versions of Android.

Hit the jump to see a demonstration of Google Body on a Motorola Xoom. With a powerful Tegra 2 processor, it can work flawlessly with no lag at all. Now, if only biology was this fun back in school, maybe more students would take up that subject and I might not even fail. I think all physicians should get one of this too to make their life easier.

(Source: Ubergizmo)

Article From: Lowyat 

AMD Flexes Llano APU’s Muscle Against The 2011 Intel Core i7

Taken during the official Malaysian launch of AMD Fusion APU that took place yesterday, AMD showed off the power of the upcoming AMD Llano APU through this interesting video demo. Presented by Bob Grim, the director of AMD's Client Product Marketing, it pitted the upcoming AMD A8-3510MX APU against the 2.0GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM through several tests which comprises of Final Fantasy benchmark, HD video playback, Excel spreadsheet calculations and an OpenGL benchmark.

At a glance, it seemed like a fair comparison but then, not much is known about the upcoming A8-3510MX APU apart from that it is quad-core processor as per the Intel Core i7 and it also has AMD Radeon HD 6620M GPU built into it. Hence, it is pity that the Llano APUs - also officially known as the A-Series -themselves were not around during the launch event yesterday or else, we would be able to verify the test right away.

Nevertheless, it still show how much power the upcoming AMD Llano APU packs and to some extent, the test results are much more clearer compared to the first Llano APU demo that took place back in October last year. The AMD Llano Fusion APU is expected to be available on market by the middle of this year. 

Article From: Lowyat

iOS 4.3 Dropping On March 11th. Hotspots & Airplay Galore

Apple have announced that there will be a new version of iOS dropping on the 11th of March. iOS 4.3 was probably overshadowed by the giant iPad 2 announcement during the event earlier, but that doesn't mean it's any less important. Who are we kidding, it's not really a groundbreaking update. My ears did perk up a bit when they first said that a new version of the OS was being released, but slowly I lost interest after the utterance of the word "Airplay".

So what does iOS have to offer iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch (3rd & 4th gen) users? Firstly, Safari has been improved by a new Nitro JavaScript engine. Next, iTunes home sharing allows users to share all their content across their WiFi network with a slew of Airplay enhancements. The biggest parts of the new OS have to be the inclusion of WiFi hotspot functionality for the iPhone 4 (which Android could do for a while now) and the return of the screen rotation lock to it's rightful place on the side of the iPad.

I know it's just a 0.1 increment and not a brand new OS, but I'm still hoping for an overhaul on the notifications and multitasking front. Perhaps iOS 4.4?

(Source: Engadget)

Article From: Lowyat

NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit 4.0 Coming Soon To Developers

NVIDIA today has announced that the release candidate of NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit 4.0 will be making its way to developers this month. According to the company, their latest edition of CUDA coder was designed to assist developers in getting the best out of GPU computing through three of its main features: NVIDIA GPUDirect 2.0 Technology, single merged-memory address space for both CPU and GPU through unified virtual addressing (UVA) and Thrust C++ template primitives library.

How these features are going to help developers tap the power out of GPUs for the benefit of their applications? NVIDIA stated that since GPUDirect 2.0 offers direct GPU-to-GPU communication compared to previous method that requires data from one GPU memory to be transferred to the system’s memory before it can be transported to the other GPU, it goes together with UVA for faster multi-GPU programming. The toolkit also focused on making parallel programming easier for developers with the help of Thrust's open source C++ library.

The NVIDIA CUDA Tookit 4.0 will be available free of charge to developers under CUDA Registered Developer Program starting from 4th March. You can further learn about the new coder at www.nvidia.com/cuda. 

Article From: Lowyat

Control Your Laptop With Your Eyes. Next Stop, MINDPOWER!

 

Step aside Microsoft Kinect with your motion sensor, console controlling ways and make way for this incredible prototype laptop from Lenovo and Swedish firm Tobii; Why flail around in hopes of controlling your computer, when you can just use your eyes to do so? Yup, tell me something like this 4 years ago and I would have thought you watched too much Stargate or something, but today, at CeBIT, a demonstration setup is a reality.

According to the guys over at engadget who have had some one-on-one time with one of the 20 prototype Windows 7 machines, it works pretty darn well! The laptop, with the aid of a sensor attached to the front of the laptop, could clearly detect where you were looking at and never needed that extra time to know what the user wanted to do. It wasn't even limited just to sweeping gestures, but also to smaller arrays of numbers like on calculator.

As with most prototypes, the technology is far from ready to hit full on commercialisation, however, with the right partner, it is likely that we'll be seeing it come 2013. By then, we'd also have hovercars right?

For a demo video and more images, hit up the source link below

(Source: Engadget)

Article From:Lowyat 

World’s First Wireless Desktop Display

When I say wireless, I don’t mean having a Wi-Fi connection and things like that, I literally mean wireless as in the monitor here doesn’t have any wire connected to it at all. Developed by Fujitsu, this 22” monitor is definitely a product of the future we would love to have. So without a wire, not even one for the power, how does it work? The monitor you see above is able to draw its power from a magnetic induction transmitter that has been specifically built into a piece of furniture such as a desk or a conference table. Images will also be transmitted wirelessly via a wireless USB from a computer up to 32 feet away.

"We are planning to introduce the first models incorporating totally wireless power technology to our LED-backlit display range within the next year. This is another technology innovation from Fujitsu, following on from our 0-Watt PCs and displays. In operation, there's no difference in quality from the desktop image – except that we've consigned cables to the history books of display technology." -- Rajat Kakar from Fujitsu.

Now, here’s something that is truly wireless. If only there’s way for it to work with a device that is also wireless so we can say goodbye to wires forever as well as dust bunnies collected around wires and not to mention my pet’s furs.

(Source: Dvice, Gizmag)

Artcile From: Lowyat 

Microsoft Rolls Out The Windows Embedded Compact 7

Here is yet another news that is related to Microsoft Windows and the tablet form factor but this time, it is for present devices. Microsoft has just released the final version of Windows Embedded Compact 7 which is designed not only for slate or tablets but also for medical, industrial and retail systems; as well as phones. If you never heard of Windows Embedded operating systems before, it was formerly known as Windows CE; so, it is not a totally new family member of Windows.

Among features that come with the Windows Embedded Compact 7 are:

- Support for ARM v7.
- New developer and designer tools.
- New technology for creating user interfaces.
- New SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) support for x86 and ARM, MIPS.
- New multimedia player, with customizable UI.
- New version of Internet Explorer (based on IE 7 with some “performance updates” from IE 8)
- Flash 10.1 support (requires separate license from Adobe if OEMs who want to include this feature in their products).
- Silverlight for Embedded support.
- Improved connectivity to PCs and servers (NDIS 6.1 support).

For developers, OEMs and system builders out there, Microsoft have also released the 180-days evaluation version of Windows Embedded Compact 7 and is available for download right HERE. For further information about the operating system, check out www.windowsembedded.com/c7. 

[Source: ZDnet. Image: Brian Rogers] 

Article From: Lowyat

Digital Pen and Paper Review

Have you ever walked out of a classroom, meeting room, conference or the likes, and realize that you have high potential to be a doctor because your handwriting is so illegible, many would call it a “doctor’s handwriting”? Or have you ever read back on your notes that you’ve taken so briefly, you’ve forgotten what it’s all about already or you left it there for too long and can’t recall what you what on earth you wrote? Well, you’re not alone. Most of the time my notes are wasted, I would throw them away because I can’t decipher my own writing and all the writings just look like a bunch of worthless gibberish. What we have here today is a digital pen and paper from livescribe.

What is a digital pen and paper? Well, normal pen and paper except, they’re equipped with some rather fascinating (fascinating to me) technology inside. Don’t look down on the pen, it may be fat, bulky and heavy but inside this very normal looking writing tool are speakers, a mic, a tiny display, a 3.5mm headphone jack and most important of all, a camera. The paper on the other hand is not stained or made to look slightly greenish or grayish; it’s covered in thousands of tiny dots so that when used with the digital pen, it can recognize the exact location of everything you wrote.

Apple Launches iPad 2

Apple® today introduced iPad^TM 2, the next generation of its magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more. iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen.

Intel outs SSD 510 Series with 6Gbps SATA interface, 500MBps transfer speeds

We didn't think the previous generation of SSDs, topping out at around 280MBps read speeds, were in any way hampered by their celerity, but Intel's bringing the future to us whether we like it or not with its new 510 Series SSDs. These Marvell-controlled flash storage drives will zip data to your processing unit at a rate of 500MB per second and write anything you send back at a clip of 315MBps. That's mostly thanks to the 510 being one of a new breed of consumer SSDs with a 6Gbps SATA interface, which has effectively removed a bottleneck from the performance equation and uncorked the extra vroom now contained within. When bought in bulk, a 250GB SSD 510 will cost you $584, while the slightly slower (450MBps read, 210MBps write) 120GB model will set you back $284. Full press release after the break.