Personal Computing
Corsair ups capacity of durable USB drives to 32GB
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January 14, 2008 USB drives are usually treated pretty roughly whether in the bottom of a bag or attached to a set of keys. Designed to cope with these knocks and bumps that come hand-in-hand with portability, Corsair's ruggedized all-rubber Flash Voyager and aluminum-encased water-proof Flash Survivor line of USB drives have now been expanded to 32GB capacity. Read More
NVIDIA's hybrid technology balances PC performance and power consumption
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January 12, 2008 NVIDIA has announced the industry’s first hybrid technology for PC platforms that increases graphics performance and reduces power consumption. NVIDIA Hybrid SLI technology is based on the Company’s GeForce graphics processor units (GPUs) and SLI multi-GPU technology and enables NVIDIA motherboard GPUs (mGPUs) to work cooperatively with discrete NVIDIA GPUs (dGPUs) when paired in the same PC platform. Hybrid SLI provides two new technologies - GeForce Boost and HybridPower - that allow the PC to deliver graphics performance for today’s applications and games when 3D graphics horsepower is required, or transition to a lower-powered operating state when not. For lower energy consumption and quieter PC operation, HybridPower allows the PC to switch processing from a single GPU or multiple GPUs in SLI configuration to the onboard motherboard GPU. Read More
Westinghouse’s US$10,000 47-inch 2560 x 1440 LCD Monitor
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January 10, 2008 There’s no doubt that more screen real estate offers more productivity, which led to the success of the 30-inch monitor market offerings from Dell, HP, Gateway, Samsung and Apple, and to a lesser extent, the HD 46- and 47-inch marketplace. Westinghouse looks set to take a step beyond its $2500 1080p line, 47-inch LVM-47w1 as its stand at CES this week includes QuadHD 47-inch and 56-inch displays. The US$50,000 56-inch display runs 3840 x 2160 Quad Full HD resolution (8.3 million pixels) while the US$10,000 47-inch runs at 2560 x 1440 Quad HD (3.7 million pixels). Both will see showroom floors in "March or April", and you can bet that the marketplace will respond, so all those big-screen-guys and –gals out there can look forward to a big year. Via Engadget
Lenovo's new IdeaPad line of notebooks
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January 10, 2007 Lenovo has launched a consumer-oriented line of PCs that encompasses three IdeaPad notebooks - the Y510, Y710 and U110 - that incorporate unique design features such as a frameless screen hinging back from the keyboard, touch sensitive controls and GameZone keys along with VeriFace face recognition, which uses embedded camera and facial recognition software in lieu of password protection. Read More
Samsung 2.5” 500GB HD drive among new storage solutions on show at CES
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January 8, 2008 With the need for a fast, easy way to store, backup, share and transport data and multimedia files fueling explosive growth in the worldwide storage industry it is not surprising that companies are rolling out drives to fill this need at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to be held in Las Vegas from January 7-10. Among them is Samsung's new Spinpoint M6 500GB, the world’s first 500GB 2.5” hard drive that fits in the industry’s standard 9.5mm height dimension. Read More
SentrySafe launches FIRE-SAFE/Waterproof Hard Drive at CES 2008
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January 7, 2008 Among the deluge of new product announcements emerging from the International CES which gets underway today in Las Vegas, residential and small office security-storage container manufacturer SentrySafe has launched a range of data and document security products including the world’s first FIRE-SAFE/Waterproof Hard Drive that protects data from fire and water disasters, as well as computer crashes and theft. The new line-up also includes a multipurpose Data Storage Chest that provides protection for data storage devices, CDs and DVDs, plus the world’s first multipurpose USB connected FIRE-SAFE/Water-Resistant Safe and a CD/DVD File to protect and organize up to 100 CDs or DVDs. Read More
Hitachi hard drive gives ASUS M70 notebook 1TB of storage capacity
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January 6, 2007 ASUS has integrated Hitachi's Travelstar 5K500 hard drive into its new M50 and M70 notebook PCs. This will make the M70 capable of delivering one terabyte of storage capacity – equal to 1000 hours of video - in a two-drive configuration. Read More
Dell introduce Crystal 22-inch widescreen flat panel monitor
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January 4, 2007 News of bleeding-edge product offerings continues to roll in ahead of next week's International CES in Las Vegas with Dell to launch its elegantly styled Crystal 22-inch widescreen flat panel monitor. Constructed using 4mm thin ultra-clear tempered glass, this exceptional piece of eye-candy features WSXGA+ 1680x1050 image resolution, in-built speakers and a 2.0 megapixel miniature web camera with microphone. Read More
SanDisk announces USB flash drive with automatic online backup
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January 4, 2008 While the development of Flash based USB drives have enabled people to store increasing amounts of data on ever smaller devices, they have also increased the risk of misplacing data in the event that these diminutive drives disappear. Recognizing this SanDisk has announced the Cruzer Titanium Plus, a 4GB capacity USB flash drive that offers automatic online backup for every file copied to the drive. In the event that the drive is lost, stolen or if users simply forget to bring the drive with them, quick access is provided to their backed-up files through a personal password-protected online account on any computer connected to the Internet. Read More
Axiotron ships Modbook Mac tablet computer
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January 2, 2008 Following its unveiling at last year's Macworld Conference & Expo, Californian based hardware manufacturer Axiotron has announced that the much anticipated Mobdbook™ tablet Mac solution is now available to consumers. Recently designated as an Apple-authorized product, the ModBook is the only Mac-based tablet computer on the market and comes pre-installed with Mac OS X Leopard™ and Inkwell® handwriting recognition software. Featuring a durable aircraft quality magnesium alloy structure, the 13.3" widescreen tablet incorporates Wacom® digitized pen-sensitive hardware with 512 levels of pressure sensitivity for responsive, intuitive onscreen writing and drawing, plus an in-built iSight® camera, a 2.0 GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, integrated 24x DVD Combo drive or 8x DVD SuperDrive and Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality. Read More
Next-gen acoustic modeling: developing the keyboards of the future
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December 20, 2007 It's fair to say the computer keyboard has done a pretty sensational job over the last 20+ years as the primary input device we've been using – but that doesn't mean nobody's searching for the next big thing. Voice recognition and speech-to-text software is developing to the point where it's now a genuine option – and a group of European scientists are working on some very interesting technology that uses acoustic wave reading to turn ANY surface into a primary input device that can read handwriting or be used in any number of different and configurable ways. The technology can take a wall, table, or floor and turn it into a musical instrument, a touchpad, a keyboard or a tablet-style interface. And it's even being trialled on three-dimensional objects. Read More
Dell Latitude XT tablet PC
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December 13, 2007 In a move they believe will help facilitate the tablet PC product category to go mainstream Dell has announced the Latitude XT – a 12.1-inch convertible tablet with pen and capacitive touch capability that weighs in at under four pounds and is just an inch thick. Capacitive technology, popularized recently thanks to Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, senses the touch of a finger with no pressure required for the system to recognize input. It is also the forerunner to emerging multi-touch capabilities that allow the use of more than one finger for tasks such as zoom and repositioning a picture. Read More
No strings attached: DisplayLink’s wireless USB monitors
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December 12, 2007 It's no secret that hooking up multiple monitors to a computer provides a clear productivity improvement and DisplayLink is aiming to make the setup even more efficient by incorporating Wireless USB technology into their designs. Alereon and DisplayLink have announced the availability of a reference design for a Wireless USB display adapter, which Alereon will display at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008. The reference design will enable PC accessory Original Equipment Manufacturers to develop wireless display connectivity adapters and related products. Read More
Microsoft's Mobile Memory Mouse 8000
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December 7, 2007 Microsoft’s new USB rechargeable Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 frees up extra USB ports by incorporating 1GB of Flash memory into the transceiver and features magnetic connectors that allow you to continue your work while your mouse is charging. Read More
MSI unveil PR200 Crystal Laptop Collection
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December 4, 2007 Looking for an aesthetic edge in the portable computer fashion stakes? MSI Computer Corporation has launched a crystal-studded laptop finished in pearl white that just might fit the bill. Underneath the 120 crystal studs that adorn the lid, the PR200 Crystal Collection features an Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor, 12.1" TFT WXGA display, 160GB SATA HDD, plus a fingerprint reader, a 4-in-1 card reader and built-in 1.3 mega pixel webcam. Equally chic accessories are offered with the PR200 including two leather carrying cases in different sizes; a specially designed pearl white mouse and a 1GB crystal-studded flash drive. Read More
DeskUNPDF converts PDF files into a range of editable formats
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December 3, 2007 The venerable PDF document format has been around for about 14 years now – longer than most people have been using the Internet – and despite a few foibles it's proven itself as a highly effective means of distributing formatted content. But for the end receiver, the format leaves very little flexibility to get information out and re-use it, which is where Docudesk's DeskUNPDF software comes in handy. The software allows you to quickly and easily convert entire PDF documents (or selected bits of them) into a broad range of formats including Word and Excel files, HTML files and JPG images. Read More
New research highlights the environmental benefits of e-paper
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December 3, 2007 Computer screens aren’t really conducive to reading pages and pages of text so with the proliferation of online content has come new ways to view words electronically. E-paper is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper - even its flexibility - and according to new research, reading the news on e-paper is more environmentally friendly than viewing via PC. Interestingly, the study by the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm also showed that 30 minutes of reading an Internet newspaper has about the same environmental effect as reading a hard copy version. Read More
CDSoft-R Cryptex: self-recorable media with automatic encryption
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November 30, 2007 Soft-R Research LLC has released an “all-in-one” self-recordable CD with the added bonus of a in-built encryption technology. The CDSoft-R Cryptex "digital safe box" integrates a simple recording wizard with the ability to automatically encrypt and secure your data, removing any trace of your files on the computer used by destroying all Temp files when the CD is removed. Read More
Dell adds M1530 laptop to XPS range
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November 29, 2007 Following hot on the heels of the recently released XPS One, Dell has announced another addition to their ‘Xtreme Performance System’ (XPS) line of PC’s with the release of the XPS M1530. According to Dell, the XPS series aims to offer the latest PC technologies available at competitive prices and with distinctive styling and judging by the specs, the XPS M1530 goes a long way towards delivering: the 15.4-inch laptop features a built in 2 megapixel webcam, biometric finger-print reader for added security and fewer passwords to remember, and design accents such as polished chrome detailing, touch-sensitive multi-media buttons, brushed aluminum accents and a choice of colors. Read More
LaCie Hub plugs into style
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November 26, 2007 There are plenty of products out there that solve the problem of not having enough direct USB or FireWire ports on your computer, but few do it as effectively and with as much style as this Hub from LaCie. Read More
New industrial strength touch screen from Tangent
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November 23, 2007 Tangent Inc. has announced the release of a group of ultra slim, industrial strength touch screen PCs called the VITA K Series. The all-in-one PCs feature dust-free, water-proof front bezels, VESA wall-mount brackets, and 15, 17 or 19 inch LCD displays with NEMA 3/IP55 dust and water proofing. The metal enclosures not only look smart, they are also energy efficient and industrial strength for use in healthcare, industrial automation, digital signage, information kiosk and self-service check-outs roles, and other applications exposed to hostile environments. Read More
“Beautiful” XPS One is the Dell of the Ball
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November 21, 2007 Dell has placed an emphasis on aesthetics for their latest all-in-one desktop system – but the sleek XPS One is more than just a pretty screen. The computer includes a webcam with dual-array microphone, a 20 inch, widescreen, edge-to-edge tempered glass monitor that displays HD media, side mounted speakers, built in Wi-Fi, internal Bluetooth 2.0 peripherals, and a built in TV tuner and optional Blu-ray disc drive for U.S. models. Preinstalled copies of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, Premiere Elements 4 and Adobe Soundbooth CS3 for U.S. models cap off the multimedia friendly system. Read More
Samsung’s new TruDirect optical disc drive create DVDs without the need for a hard disk
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November 21, 2007 Korean Electronics giant Samsung has introduced a new optical disc drive - the TruDirect SE-S204S - which allows users to “directly” create DVDs and burn digital content through a PC without the need for a hard drive, providing easy and fast real-time recording from nearly any digital device. Read More
Swift40e downloads an entire HD DVD in 10 seconds
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November 19, 2007 In more news to emerge from Supercomputing 2007, the Pentum Group Inc. (PGI), has announced the Swift40e, the world’s fastest single-stream wide area network (WAN) interface card. Capable of downloading an entire HD DVD or Blu-ray DVD in just 10 seconds, the new Swift40e interface is designed to stream content across a WAN at a blistering rate of 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps). Read More
Panasonic’s new “business-rugged” Toughbook notebooks
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November 15, 2007 Panasonic has added three "business-rugged" notebook computers their Toughbook suite. The new trio is drop-and spill-resistant with strong magnesium alloy cases and chassis, shock-mounted hard drives and LCDs, and internal flexible connectors for additional protection. Read More
NEC Powermate P5010 all-in-one hybrid PC
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November 15, 2007 The miniaturization of PC components has paved the way for all-in-one designs such as Apple’s iMac which do away with the traditional bulky PC beige box and make way for space-saving, minimalist units. Embracing and expanding on this trend is NEC’s Powermate P5010, an all-in-one hybrid PC designed to combine the advantages of both laptops and desktops. Featuring an AMD Turion 64 X2 dual core processor, 2GB DDR2 Memory, 200GB SATA HDD and a slot-loading DVD Super Multi drive, the P5010's slim white chassis makes optimum use of space by incorporating a wireless keyboard and mouse, a clever gadget-pocket and a one-cable set-up that keeps the desktop footprint small, whilst its light-weight and the inclusion of an in-built carry bar enables easy portability.
SanDisk Vaulter Disk: flash-based accelerator to enhance PC performance
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November 14, 2007 In what could be seen as a stepping stone on the road to the replacement of traditional platter based hard drives with flash based drives, SanDisk has unveiled a solid-state storage solution that works in conjunction with a PC's hard drive to store and launch the computer's operating system and software applications. Presently the cost and size limitations of flash storage prohibit the complete replacement of traditional hard drives in PCs, but the new SanDisk Vaulter Disk offers the performance advantages of flash memory by tag-teaming with a PC’s existing hard drive. Both Vaulter and the hard drive are integrated into the PC and operate simultaneously, while maintaining a low cost per gigabyte. Read More
Intel release eco-friendly, high-performance 45nm processors
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November 13, 2007 Intel has unveiled sixteen new chips incorporating 45nm Hafnium-based high-k metal gate transistors that are smaller, faster and more eco-friendly than previous generations. Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel, has labeled the breakthrough as the biggest transistor advancement in 40 years with the improvement expected to further extend Moore’s Law, which he originally described in 1965. Read More
GETAC V100 ruggedized notebook-tablet
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November 7, 2007 GETAC's water-proof, shock-proof and drop-proof V100 features a 10.4-inch XGA LCD screen that rotates by 180-degrees, transforming the ruggedized notebook into a Tablet PC designed to withstand harsh use in industrial and field environments. Read More
New open standard for monitoring PC peripherals
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November 7, 2007 More than 15 leading PC OEMs, motherboard, and peripheral manufacturers have joined together to endorse Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA), a new, open and royalty-free standard for the monitoring and controlling of PC power supplies, chassis, and water-cooling systems. Backed by PC industry names including NVIDIA, Dell, HP, Alienware, CoolerMaster and Thermaltake, ESA specifies an information protocol that system components can use to communicate with each other to adjust operating parameters, and relay important system information back to the user. Read More
Sony's wall-mountable VAIO series panel PC notebook
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November 2, 2007 Aiming to merge the PC with a home entertainment center, Sony has added to their VAIO notebook lineup with the release of the LM series notebooks. The LM series features an eye-catching panel PC design reminiscent of Sony’s BRAVIA LCD TV’s with its’ 19 inch screen framed by a transparent bezel to blend into the surrounding environment. For ultimate integration, the VAIO LM series can be wall-mounted and features wireless keyboard, mouse and remote control. Read More
LapWorks Futura Laptop Desk
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October 22, 2007 Laptops can get extremely hot and become uncomfortable on your lap. One solution is to use a pillow or something similar between your lap and the laptop but this is a poor strategy - it might keep you cool, but a pillow conforms to the bottom of the laptop and prevents the escape of hot air resulting in parts overheating and in turn reducing the lifespan of the device. LapWorks Inc., the market leader in ergonomic and heat reducing laptop desks, has recently released their Futura model and Techwarelabs has been testing the device - read their review. Read More
Hitachi introduces simple data storage solution for small and medium sized businesses
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October 17, 2007 Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) Corporation has introduced the Hitachi Simple Modular Storage 100, a solution aimed at small and medium sized businesses which offers enterprise-class storage features scaleable up to 9TB along with complete data protection. Simple Modular Storage 100 (SMS 100) is intended for businesses looking for storage systems that are easy to manage, easy to grow, and easy to integrate with applications such as Microsoft® Windows and others common to the SMB marketplace. Read More
EDGE Tech Corp releases 32GB DiskGO Flash Drive
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October 17, 2007 The storage stakes just keep getting higher. Insatiable consumer demand for small form factor, high-capacity, affordable storage devices is being met by the market, with the latest example to cross our desk being EDGE Tech Corp’s new US$399.99, 32GB DiskGO™ Flash Drive. Read More
Hitachi flag 4TB Desktop PCs in 2011
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October 16, 2007 The exponential growth of digital storage capacity continues unabated with news that Hitachi has developed recording heads up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair – a nanotechnology breakthrough that is expected to quadruple current storage capacity limits to four terabytes (TB) on a desktop hard drive and one TB on a notebook hard drive. Read More
