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Google Buzz: The First Wave?

Google has announced that it is rolling out Google Buzz to everyone's GMail accounts over the next few days. At first glance, Google Buzz seems to be the first step by Google to introduce some if its Google Wave features into GMail. Other media outlets are also noting that Google Buzz is also Google's first step into the Facebook and Twitter realm of real-time status updates. Check out this video for a quick demo:

Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch — it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don't have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you're sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 02:54 PM

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Broadcom Announces Bluetooth + GPS + FM combination chip

Broadcom Corporation today announced a new Bluetooth + GPS + FM combination ('combo') chip solution that integrates advanced media processing, providing a power-efficient connected audio subsystem for multimedia smartphones and other handset devices. This new single-chip solution delivers high performance Bluetooth connectivity while enabling a range of media playback and recording functions that would otherwise have to be performed by the phone's host processor.

The new Broadcom InConcert BCM20751 combo chip is a powerful communications and media subsystem that enables key smartphone connectivity (including Bluetooth, GPS and FM radio) while also providing sophisticated audio processing. It offloads media and other processing from the phone's baseband processor to achieve significant power savings, increasing playback time by as much as 100 percent in multimedia handsets. The BCM20751 is based on the Broadcom BCM2075 Broadcom InConcert combo chip, and includes the technologies that enable the total phone system to consume less power. The processor includes additional memory buffering (up to 90 Kb) and integrated MP3 and ACC+ decoders, as well as an on-chip 5-band audio equalizer that enables the BCM20751 to perform high quality playback of popular music file formats while the baseband sleeps.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 01:54 PM

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Apple Introduces Aperture 3

Apple has released it's much anticipated photo-editing software update with Aperture 3. Added are a slew of new features with the inclusion of the Faces and Places component which has been a big hit with users. The cost is $199 for new users and upgrades are $99 although there is a 30 day trial for those interested in trying before buying. Available at the Apple store now.

Apple® today introduced Aperture™ 3, the next major release of its powerful photo editing and management software, with over 200 new features including Faces, Places and Brushes. Building on the innovative Faces and Places features introduced in iPhoto® '09, Aperture 3 makes it even easier and faster to organize large photo libraries.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 01:19 PM

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ASUS Launches N Series Notebooks with NVIDIA Optimus Technology

ASUS is excited to be the initial launch partner of NVIDIA with the introduction of NVIDIA’s Optimus technology in its latest range of notebooks shipping this month. The first Optimus based notebooks will include the multimedia enhanced N Series to be followed by the sleek new U30Jc/UL50Vf products. The ever versatile mainstream K Series will include models with Optimus technology in the near future.

Featuring cutting-edge NVIDIA Optimus technology and powered by the new Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, the new ASUS N Series is designed for users who desire multimedia entertainment in a energy efficient package. The ASUS N Series is equipped with USB 3.0 connectivity capable of multimedia transfer rates of up to 5GB per second—up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0’s 480MB per second rate. Another highlight of the new ASUS N Series is SonicMaster audio technology that fine-tunes noise balance, volume and dynamic sound ranges, while minimizing environmental interference which provides greatly improved audio quality in a mobile platform. Finally, the ASUS N Series features Video Magic software which boosts the resolution of conventional DVDs up to full high definition 1080p from the standard 480p, as well as naturalizing the color and brightness of the images displayed.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 09:35 AM

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AMD Discusses Fusion 'Llano' Processors at ISSCC

Yesterday afternoon at ISSCC in San Francisco, AMD presented details on the forthcoming 32nm Fusion APU slated for 2011, codenamed “Llano.” AMD Senior Fellow, Samuel Naffziger, walked attendees through several power management innovations to the x86 core, which he has also detailed in this blog post. The blog post confirms that the Fusion processor will feature four CPU cores, DDR3 memory and a DirectX 11 capable SIMD engine integrated on-die. The Fusion processor will be the first AMD CPU to use 32nm SOI processor technology when it launches in 2011. This accelerated processing unit (APU )is expected to first appear within the forthcoming “Sabine” platform for mainstream notebooks. And just to show how real it all is, the picture below shows the core’s more than 35 million transistors that fit within 9.69mm2 (not counting the 1MB of L2 cache shown on the right):

At AMD, we live by the mantra that the Future is Fusion and our global engineering teams are working aggressively to deliver the industry’s first accelerated processing unit (APU) in support of it. That said, the consumer trends that led AMD to embark toward developing APUs began years ago; the idea wasn’t born in either a CPU or a GPU, but was born in how consumers began using their PCs. Things like: streaming video, immersive gaming, 3D user interfaces, enhanced multimedia and other compute intensive tasks became the norm rather than the exception. As an engineer, my job is to help figure out how the nuts and bolts can best fit together to help improve the user’s experience; our team is presenting today at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco some of the results of those efforts.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 09:26 AM

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Gigabyte Launches Two Radeon HD 5450 Graphics Cards

GIGABYTE has announced two new additions to its selection of value graphics cards this week. The GIGABYTE GV-R545SC-1GI and GV-R545OC-512I are built on the highly anticipated ATI Radeon HD 5450 GPU ­­­­­­­─ respectively utilizing DDR3 memory architecture and are able to deliver best-in-class performance with new clock speeds and provide break-through power efficiency management for tomorrow’s demanding applications. The GIGABYTE GV-R545SC-1GI and GV-R545OC-512I are designed to give user stunning high definition entertainment from the PC, whether Blu-ray/ HD DVD discs or other HD sources. You can read our review on the ATI Radeon HD 5450 reference video card here if you'd like to see how this series performs.

The GIGABYTE GV-R545SC-1GI and GV-R545OC-512I offers optimal performance and break-through efficiency, the GIGABYTE GV-R545SC-1GI and GV-R545OC-512I consume less than 20 watts under full load, making it the ideal choice for implementation across a large diverse install base of desktop PCs. In addition to supporting a wide range of the latest graphics technologies including dual mode software CrossFireX, ATI Stream technology, Microsoft DirectX 11, PCI Express 2.1 and UVD 2, the GIGABYTE GV-R5000 series are also equipped with the industry-leading GIGABYTE unique features including Ultra Durable 2 technology, and native HDMI port for HD gaming and Blu-ray movie playback.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 09:17 AM

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NVIDIA Optimus Technology Aims To Improve Battery Life on Notebooks

With NVIDIA's just announced Optimus technology, notebook users can now experience the full performance benefits of a discrete GPU with the battery life of an integrated graphics solution. NVIDIA Optimus automatically, instantaneously, and seamlessly optimizes the notebook to offer the best performance or best battery life depending on the application.

When I first heard about the new technology from NVIDIA called OPTIMUS my thoughts went directly to the Transformers. Unfortunately this new technology won't transform your laptop into a something that it's not. What it does do however, is still a great feat. A few years ago NVIDIA released Hybrid SLI which allowed you to manually switch graphics engines. You had the choice to run either integrated graphic or a discrete graphics card. Problem was you had to manually switch, either people didn't realize that or they didn't know how to switch. It is estimated that only 1% of the computers that had the option, ever switched.

Legit Reviews Article

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 08:15 AM

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Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 1GB CrossFire Video Card Review

It has only been five days since ATI released the ATI Radeon HD 5450 video card, but they are back at it today with the announcement of the Radeon HD 5570 video card. This card was designed to be an energy efficient, low-profile DirectX 11 card for small form factor PCs. It also happens to pack a pretty mean punch as it has a Compute Performance rating of 520 GFlops for a price tag of just $79.

The ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card that was launched last week brought full DirectX 11 support, ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology and ATI Stream technology support for ~$49. That is a hard combination to beat for the price, but the Radeon HD 5450 graphics card wasn't that great in gaming and some have said that it is too weak in compute performance. The ATI Radeon HD 5570 that was introduced today has four times the compute performance on paper and we were able to see nearly a two times difference in actual games. Not a bad increase for just an extra $30, but gamers will be hard pressed to go with anything less than a Radeon HD 5670 as it does much better across the board when it comes to gaming...

Legit Reviews Article

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 08:08 AM

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Handheld Introduces The New Algiz 7 Rugged Tablet PC

Handheld introduced today the new Algiz 7 rugged tablet computer. The Algiz 7 is an ultra rugged mobile 7-inch widescreen tablet that runs Microsoft Windows 7 Professional operating system and features an Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor with 64 GB Solid State hard drive and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM. Weighing in at a mere 2.4 lbs, this compact tablet is one of the lightest 7" tablets on the market today.

The Algiz 7 comes standard with Bluetooth, WLAN and GPS as well as a built-in 2-megapixel camera with LED light. Optional 3G cellular capabilities provide high-speed GSM/UMTS/EVDO data transmission. The Algiz 7 is ready for Gobi(TM) 2000 technology and has built in antennas, which means that you'll be able to work on your choice of wireless frequency anywhere in the world. The Algiz 7 is rated IP65 and meets stringent MIL-STD-810G military standards for withstanding humidity, vibration, drops and extreme temperatures.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 07:41 AM

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Kingston Technology Revenues Steady in 2009 at $4.1 Billion

Kingston Technology Corporation has announced that its global revenues in 2009 reached $4.1 billion (U.S.), a $100 million increase over 2008. Kingston's modest increase was attributed to a rise in average selling price, healthier demand from corporate end customers and consumers, and the company's entry into the solid-state drive (SSD) market. The rise in revenue marks a change from the previous year when an oversupply in chips and a weakened global economy led to a downturn in the memory industry.

The memory market saw some financial recovery last year like many other industries and Kingston was able to benefit from the general rise in DRAM and Flash pricing," said John Tu, co-founder, Kingston. "We also expanded our product line when we entered the SSD market at the beginning of 2009 and within 12 months, have gained a strong foothold in this burgeoning area." "A year ago at this time, we were bracing for a bad year. Our company was lucky to catch some good breaks along the way that worked in our favor," said David Sun, co-founder, Kingston. "Together, with the support of employees, partners, vendors and customers, we were able to get through some tough times and see better days ahead. We are very happy to be where we are."

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 07:37 AM

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NVIDIA Names University Of Maryland A CUDA Center Of Excellence

NVIDIA announced that it has recognized the University of Maryland as a CUDA Center of Excellence, placing it in an elite grouping of 9 other universities and research organizations worldwide. The university was selected for its pioneering use of GPU computing and the CUDA programming model across research and teaching efforts within multiple science and engineering departments. Other CUDA Centers of Excellence in the U.S. and abroad include Cambridge University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harvard University, National Taiwan University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Tennessee and University of Utah.

“Maryland was one of the first universities to start integrating the use of GPUs and the CUDA architecture into our courses and research,” said Amitabh Varshney, Professor of Computer Science at University of Maryland. “The CUDA programming model is an extremely effective educational tool for students learning parallel programming and no other technology available today provides as powerful and affordable platform for our research as the GPU.”

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 07:27 AM

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ATI Announces Radeon HD 5570 Graphics Card For $79

AMD today introduced the ATI Radeon HD 5570 graphics card, perfect for end-users seeking an energy efficient, low-profile DirectX 11 card for small form factor PCs. The ATI Radeon HD 5570 graphics card joins the award-winning line of AMD graphics that fully support DirectX 11, as well as ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology1 and ATI Stream capabilities.2 This latest offering completes a full DirectX 11 refresh of AMD discrete graphics products, bringing customers a choice of cutting-edge graphics cards to match every budget and form factor.

“AMD recognizes that small form factor PCs are becoming more popular and low profile graphics upgrade options have been limited to date,” said Matt Skynner, vice president and general manager, AMD Graphics Division. “Customers purchasing small form factor PCs are looking for improved performance while gaming, watching HD video or working with the latest productivity applications. The ATI Radeon HD 5570 graphics card delivers all of this at a price that won’t break the bank.”

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, Feb 09, 2010 - 12:32 AM

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Ferrari Races Into Need For Speed Shift

Electronic Arts announced today that after a seven year hiatus, the elite racing brand Ferrari is returning to the Need for Speed franchise. On February 16th, players of Need for Speed SHIFT will be able to download a content pack that delivers 10 extraordinary Ferrari cars including the 430 Scuderia and the ultra-rare FXX and F50 GT.

The Ferrari Racing pack is the latest downloadable content for Need for Speed SHIFT and will be available worldwide today exclusively on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system for $10.00 or 800 Microsoft Points (Need for Speed SHIFT and Xbox LIVE® account required). In addition to 10 new cars, the Ferrari Racing Series will also extend SHIFT’s career mode with 46 new Ferrari specific challenges designed for the Ferrari cars to participate in including hot laps, eliminators, endurance races and a world tour.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 10:40 PM

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INDILINX JetStream SATA 6Gbps SSD Controller Update

Many of our readers have heard about INDILINX Barefoot and Amigos SSD controllers, but how is INDILINX coming along with the next generation SATA 6Gbps SSD controller called Jetstream? Legit Reviews contacted INDILINX to see how JetStream was coming along and got a response that they are positing their SATA 6Gbps products with corresponding 6Gbps device availability in the market. It looks like we will have to wait a little longer, but JetStream is coming!

"As far as our JetStream product, which is based on 6Gbps interface, we can say that it is on schedule. However, there has been some changes to the schedule not due to the internal resources but due to the market condition and the SATA 6Gbps availability. We are not rushing but carefully going under the development process for Jetstream to match with the availability of host side SATA 6Gbps from major chipset manufacturers. We believe the quality is the number one priority." - Hyun Mun In, VP & General Manager Marketing & Business Development of Indilinx

Legit Forums

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 11:21 AM

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Aliens vs. Predator - New "Marine" Trailer

Sega has released a new Aliens vs. Predator Trailer this time featuring gameplay from the Marines. The multiplayer demo is out now and the full version hits shelves on February 19:

As the Marine, you'll experience a claustrophobic and terrifying experience where light is your friend, but there's never enough. However, the United States Marine Corps are humanitys last line of defence, and as such they are armed to the teeth with the very latest in high explosive and automatic weaponry.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 11:13 AM

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Micron and Nanya Develop a 2Gb DDR3 Memory Device Using 42nm DRAM

Micron Technology and Nanya Technology today announced that they have jointly developed a 2-gigabit (Gb) DDR3 memory device using their new copper-based 42-nanometer (nm) DRAM process technology. The move to smaller process geometries is fundamentally important for maintaining manufacturing cost efficiencies while also providing benefits for customers including lower power, higher performance, greater density, and smaller die sizes. The new 42nm process now makes 1.35-volts the standard, mainstream voltage requirement, compared to 1.5-volt with previous generations. The 1.35 voltage can provide a savings of up to 30-percent in some scenarios!

The new 42nm DRAM process technology uses the more efficient and reliable copper metallization technology, allowing Micron and Nanya to stay on the leading-edge of process scaling. Micron has long recognized the benefits of copper in aiding DRAM scale, and has continued to leverage and refine the technology for nearly a decade. When compared to other metallization techniques, such as aluminum, copper is recognized as the more extendible, reliable and cost-effective approach for advancing process geometries and enhancing product performance. As Micron and Nanya continue to scale, moving to their next-generation 3Xnm process technology, the companies are building on their strong copper foundation to deliver high-quality and highly reliable products.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 11:10 AM

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Intel "Lunch Room" 2010 Super Bowl XLIV Commercial Ad

In case you didn't watch the Super Bowl last night here is one of the Intel ads that was shown to the world. Intel was promoting their recently announced 2010 Intel Core processor series in the commercials. Intel was also the title sponsor of the Super Bowl XLIV post-game show. TNS Media Intelligence said that 30-second commercials during the Super Bowl on CBS are selling for between $2.5 million and $2.8 million per 30 second spot. That is about $83,300 a second! I wonder what the feedback on the ads will be and to see if Intel is happy with the results. If they aren't then they should contact Legit Reviews as we have more than 6 million readers a year that love reading our in-depth PC hardware reviews and news! Heck, we might even cut you a better deal thatn ~$83,000 a second while we are at it! You can read our review on an Intel Core 2010 processor based notebook here.

Intel will debut two new commercials over three purchased 30-second spots, the first airing during the fourth quarter of the big game on Feb. 7. Each commercial employs a sense of "geek humor" and will center on the 2010 Intel Core Processor family, which announced earlier this month at the International Consumer Electronics Show, delivers unprecedented integration and smart performance, including Intel Turbo Boost Technology1 for laptops, desktops and embedded devices.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 09:37 AM

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Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader to hit stores

Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc said on Monday that its Nook electronic reader would be available in most of its physical stores as of Wednesday, ahead of Valentine's Day, ending weeks of delays. The Nook's in store debut, originally expected in December, was delayed after Barnes & Noble sold out of the device before the holidays and was unable to get production sufficiently ramped up.

The Nook e-reader, which Barnes & Noble launched in October and competes with devices such as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, had previously only been available for order on the retailer's website or at in-store kiosks as the No. 1 U.S. bookstore chain struggled to meet what it said in late 2009 was strong demand for the e-reader.

Reuters Technology News

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 09:15 AM

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China: Hacker training site shut down

Police in China shut down what officials think was the largest training Web site for computer hackers, local media said. The Black Hawk Safety Net offered lessons on cyber attacks and sold Trojan software, which allows outside access to a computer when remotely installed, media reports said.

Police arrested three people who ran the Web site and charged 100 to 200 yuan ($14 to $29) for lessons, the China Daily newspaper said. Established in 2005, the site had recruited more than 12,000 paid and 170,000 free members and collected more than 7 million yuan ($1.02 million) in membership fees, the reports said.

CNN

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 09:15 AM

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IBM Launches Power7 Chip and Servers

IBM is launching its long-anticipated Power7 processor and systems based on the chip on Monday. The processor is a huge and risky step for IBM, integrating eight processing cores in one chip package, with each core capable of executing four "threads" helping to turn this individual chip into a virtual 32-core processor. In comparison, Intel's high-end Xeon processors typically have two threads per processing core.

The IBM announcement comes amid a flurry of activity in chips aimed at servers. On Monday, for example, Intel Corp. is expected to introduce a long-delayed version of its high-end Itanium product family, a separate product family from the x86 chips used in most personal computers and lower-priced servers.

Wall Street Journal

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 02:04 AM

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Samsung Introduces 500GB HDD Pre-Loaded with 'Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT'

Samsung has announced the Samsung S2 Portable, a fully transportable external hard drive, pre-loaded with the movie ‘Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT’. The launch will coincide with the movie’s DVD and Blu-ray release on Feb 22.

Timed with the DVD and Blu-ray Disc(TM) release of ‘Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT’, the pre-loaded external HDD will be available at major European retailers from February 22, 2010. "We are excited to present this movie starring Michael Jackson, the greatest entertainer of all time, pre-loaded on the Samsung S2 Portable," said H.S. Lee, Vice President, Storage Marketing, Samsung Electronics.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Mon, Feb 08, 2010 - 01:03 AM

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Corsair Announces Nova and Reactor SSDs

Corsair has recently announced two new 2.5-inch form factor SSDS that use the SATA II interface that are worth a closer look! Based on the Indilinx Barefoot controller, a Corsair Nova Series SSD will help your system start-up faster, applications and games load quicker and improve overall system responsiveness. The Nova SSD series used an Indilinx Barefoot controller allows for up to 215MB/s read speeds and 130MB/s write speeds on the 64GB drive. The 128MB drive has better write performance since it uses more NAND and has a write speed of up to 195MB/s. The 64GB version is priced about $230 and the 128GB around $430. Corsair didn't mention which controller was inside the Reactor SSD series, but informed is that the 120GB Reactor SSD series has a read performance rating of up to 250MB/s and a write performance rating of up to 170MB/s. The 60GB has slightly slower write speeds as it is rated up to just 110MB/s. Pricing appears to be around $215 for the 60GB and $420 for the 120GB. Both Reactor and Nova SSDs drives come 2.5” to 3.5” drive adapter brackets for desktop systems and are backed by a two year warranty.

Based on the Indilinx Barefoot controller, a Corsair Nova Series SSD will help your system start-up faster, applications and games load quicker and improve overall system responsiveness. Built using no moving parts, the Nova Series provide quiet and cooler operation for your notebook or desktop systems. Boost your PC’s performance and increase your system’s reliability today with a Nova Series 128GB SSD Corsair Nova Series 64GB SSD. A Corsair Nova Series 64GB SSD is the perfect balance of performance and value for your storage needs

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 05:54 PM

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SilverStone HDDBoost - Use an SSD To Improve Your HDD Performance

SilverStone has silently launched a new product called the HDDBOOST that caught our attention this week. The device itself is just a simple 3.5-inch chassis that fits in your desktops drive bay that allows you to lets you plug in any SDD drive your heat desires and then to any standard SATA hard drive. Once these have been linked together you connect the HDDBoost to your motherboard with a second SATA cable and you have a daisy chain storage drive that has better performance than your typical hard drive. SilverStone says that the HDDBoost can improve performance by as much as 70% and that you don't even have to re-install the OS. Not bad for those that want to improve system performance and don't want to mess with re-installing the OS. Rumor has it that these will be available in Europe later this month for around $45.

HDDBOOST is a unique product that combines the best qualities of traditional hard drive and solid state disk (SSD) into one virtual super storage solution. Depending on the speed of the SSD added, the HDDBOOST can increase the performance of an existing host hard drive up to 70%! This speed increase is very noticeable and significant for any PC users that have not experienced using SSD drives before. For those who are not ready to compromise on storage capacity and reliability for speed, HDDBOOST will enable SSD speed on its host hard drive and reduce the write times to SSD’s more fragile flash-based storage system, thus extending its effective lifetime.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 03:26 PM

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Arsenal of Democracy Goes Gold!

Paradox Interactive announced that development of BL-Logic’s sprawling World War II strategy game, Arsenal of Democracy, has been completed, and will be released on February 23 for $19.99. A new trailer describing the game and its features has also been released:

The game takes players to World War II with total economic, diplomatic and military control over the nation of their choosing, giving them the chance to rewrite history and change the course of history’s greatest global conflict. Arsenal of Democracy offers players unparalleled historical detail alongside the most in-depth and realistic representation of the multitude of challenges faced by the leaders of the time.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 12:08 PM

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ATI CATALYST 10.1 Hotfix Takes Care of Grey Screen Issues on Radeon HD 5800 Video Cards

I've heard a ton of buzz about grey screens and system hangs with the new ATI Radeon HD 5000 cards, but luckily we haven't experienced any issues here on our systems. I know many of our readers have Radeon 5000 series cards, so I am curious if any of you have seen it, so be sure to post in the forums if you are having issues. If are impacted by the intermittent grey screen and vertical line corruptions on ATI Radeon HD 5800 series graphics card this is your lucky day. The driver guys at ATI have released a hotfix that helps alleviates some of the corruptions that people are reporting.

Catalyst 10.1 hotfix Features: Alleviates some of the intermittent grey screen and vertical line corruptions that may randomly appear during normal usage when using an ATI Radeon HD 5800 series graphics card

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 11:49 AM

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Walton Chaintech launches Apogee SSD Convertor and 606X CompactFlash Memory

To cater to consumer demand for data transfer efficiency, renowned RAM and memory card manufacturer Walton Chaintech is officially launching its new CF card convertor – the Apogee SSD Convertor. Consumers may use the high speed, high capacity CF cards as SSD hard disks, using the Apogee SSD Convertor, to expand the capacity of hard disk while achieving blazingly fast data transfer speed of conventional SSD. The Apogee SSD Convertor offers both performance and upgrade versatility. When paired with Walton Chaintech’s latest CF 606X high speed memory card, users will achieve a perfect match in terms of product compatibility and performance and enjoy velvety-smooth storage and processing experience on their PCs.

The all-new Walton Chaintech Apogee SSD Convertor is built to a standard 2.5” hard disk form factor. It features the high speed SATA II transfer interface and can simultaneously support up to two CF cards on top of Raid 0 and Raid 1 disk array functions. Users can choose to combine the capacity of two CF cards or use them as mirror disks to achieve higher data security based on their own needs. The Apogee SSD Convertor is superior in function to the traditional SSD. The Apogee SSD Convertor is capable of reaching 55MB/sec in actual data read test, which is significantly faster than the 46MB/sec performance of current mainstream 5400-rpm hard disks in terms of transfer efficiency. By choosing high capacity CF cards, users will substantially increase storage capacity without having to replace the convertor, and this greatly boosts the product’s scalability.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 10:19 AM

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Sunbeamtech Launches SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ready Products

Sunbeamtech is releasing a series of USB3.0 products by the end of this February, 2010. The products to be introduced are: 2-Port SuperSpeed expansion card, HDDPAL and Airbox. The transmission speed of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is more than 10 times faster than USB 2.0. For actual big files transmission demand, USB3.0 products will be able to save users much time. Follow the link below to find out more about these new products.

Have you ever wished that your USB interface could transfer data faster? With a maximum transfer rate of 5Gbps, the USB3.0 Expansion Card was designed to add USB3.0 interface to your computer without your having to upgrade your motherboard.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 10:13 AM

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Kingston MobileLite G2 8GB USB Card Reader Review

The Kingston MobileLite G2 card reader is an ultra-portable and compact way to move data to and from a several media card types. Bundled with an 8GB SDHC media card, it makes a nice all-in-one package purchase. We take a look at performance and usability to see if it lives up to the Kingston brand name.

The Kingston MobileLite G2 card reader makes for a nice travel companion for those using one of the variety of cards it supports. If you are compact flash card user, you are out of luck here but that's hardly surprising given the reader is near the same size as a compact flash card. I don't have any real complaints about the reader or the accompanying SDHC card. There was the minor issue with the amount of play with the retractable cover on the card end of the device but this was minimal and at no point was I concerned that it may break or become stuck. For reassurance, Kingston offers a 2-year warranty on the G2 reader and a lifetime warranty on the SDHC card.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 09:24 AM

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Apple iPad in Trademark Disputes Nearly Everywhere

Between The Inquirer reporting that Ipad is trademarked in the European Union by a company called ST Microelectronics and Expert Reviews' coverage that Japan's Fujitsu has a pending trademark with the USPTO, it seems Apple is fighting on multiple fronts for the rights to the name of their latest tablet offering after it has already been announced! We shall see if Apple continues to pursue the rights to their new iPad, or if they decide to cut their losses and come up with a better name.

Expensive gadget maker Apple is probably already regretting its daft name for its giant Ipod Touch, but it is looking like it will have a devil of a time using the Ipad name in the EU. ST Microelectronics owns the trademark on the name in the EU on chips sold to mobile phone makers. It stands for Integrated Passive and Active Devices... ST Microelectronics has had the name since September 14, 2001, and the trademark is set to expire on September 1 of this year.

The Inquirer

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 09:04 AM

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Microsoft to Pull Original XBox from XBox Live April 15th

Engadget is reporting that Microsoft has just announced that as of April 15th, original XBox titles will no longer work with the XBox Live service. Now that XBox Live users have a firm date for when the XBox v1 games will cease working with the service, rumors are already circulating around what Microsoft will announce in the coming days during their X10 event in San Francisco.

It's been no secret that original Xbox games have been the vestigial limb holding back much wanted features including raising the limit on our friends list to over 100 or mobile tie-ins, and on April 15 all that will come to an end. Even those Xbox Originals downloaded to the 360 or played via backwards compatibility will be cut off, so we'd suggest getting those last few rounds of Halo 2 in now or at least look into an alternative solution like XBConnect. Affected users should keep an eye on their inbox, Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten has promised "details and opportunities" to come for you as partners in this process -- we're figuring a coupon or two or an extended XBL subscription as the lights are turned out is the least they can do.

Engadget

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 08:11 AM

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February 5 News from Around the Web

AZZA Solano 1000R Full-Tower Computer Case @ Benchmark Reviews and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!

AZZA have taken a few steps away from what is considered conventional with the Solano 1000R (model: CSAZ-1000R) and gave it an extreme bright red interior. The AZZA Solano also boasts "maximum thermal management with fans installed everywhere" to keep your high end hardware cool. In sum, a total of two 230mm fans, two 140mm fans and one 120mm fan work in harmony to provide you maximum airflow. This full tower case supports E-ATX, ATX, and Micro ATX motherboards and the thumb screw design allows for easy installation of seven PCI expansion cards. A plethora of drive bays, including up to ten 5.25" and eight 3.5" bays, allow you to grow your system over time. All the bays have a thumb screw design for easy assembly as well. Are you looking for a new case? Join Benchmark Reviews as we examine the Solano 1000R ATX full-tower ATX case.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, Feb 05, 2010 - 07:34 AM

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Aliens Versus Predator Demo Available Now!

Sega & Rebellion have released the Demo version of the highly anticipated Aliens Versus Predator. You can now get your copy of the demo from Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace for your Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3, and Steam for your PC. The PC demo is running in DX 9 for those looking to exercise their new video cards. The official DX 11 AvP title will be released on February 16 in the US and February 19 in Europe. Which will you be? Hunter, Prey, or Survivor?

Bringing the legendary war between two of science-fiction's most popular characters to FPS fans, AvP delivers three outstanding single player campaigns and provides untold hours of unique 3-way multiplayer gaming. Experience distinctly new and thrilling first person gameplay as you survive, hunt and prey in the deadly jungles and swamps surrounding the damned colony of Freya's Prospect.

Steam

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 04:28 PM

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NZXT Unveils Line of Premium Cables and Performance Fans

NZXT just announced its new line of premium cables and performance fans for PC enthusiasts. The new lineup premium cables consists of VGA, PSU, and HDD cables that are individually sleeved in a black enclosure to provide a sleeker look that seamlessly integrates into the case’s interior. The additional benefit from incorporating these premium sleeved cables into your rig is enhanced cable management which is crucial for optimal airflow. NZXT’s line of high performance fans includes a 120mm, 140mm, and 200mm version. Each fan has rifle bearings and 9 blade fins. NZXT’s premium cables and performance fans will be available in February from $2.99 to $14.99.

“For the avid PC enthusiast, effective cable management is a significant, yet time consuming stage of the build” said Johnny Hou, Chief Designer at NZXT. “Our new line of premium cables eliminates the need to sleeve cables on your own and provides a simple solution that will enhance aesthetics, improve cable management and increase airflow so internal temps remain low . Additionally, our new high performance fans provide our enthusiast community additional options when choosing effective airflow for their rig.”

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 03:25 PM

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Google And The NSA Team Up For Cyberattacks - Defense Partnership

Te world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity. Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google -- and its users -- from future attack.

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users' searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

The Washington Post

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 10:05 AM

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ASUS Would Like To Ship 20 Million Notebooks in 2010

Asustek Computer is aiming for annual notebook shipments of 20 million units in 2010, surpassing Toshiba and Lenovo to become the fifth largest vendor worldwide, according to Shien-yueh Hsu, general manager of Asustek's notebook division.

Of the 20 million units, Asustek expects 12 million units will be traditional notebooks, with the other eight million units Eee PCs. Asustek recently launched a USB 3.0-ready notebook and expects related models to account for 30% of its total shipments. Asustek is currently using chips from NEC to provide USB 3.0 capability, but is planning to gradually turn to using chips from its subsidiary ASMedia Technology around May or June, Hsu noted.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 09:58 AM

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HIS Introduces HIS Radeon HD 5450 Series Video Cards

Today HIS unveils the HIS Radeon HD 5450 1GB/512MB DDR3 Series, offering the most features and functionality in their class. Loaded with complete DirectX 11 support, ATI Stream technology and ATI Eyefinity Multi-display technology (H545H1GDL - DisplayPort version only), the Radeon HD 5450 graphics card delivers a state-of-the-art HD multimedia and medium gaming experience at a value price. With the silent passive cooling heatsink implemented, HIS Radeon HD 5450 Series are your ultimate media center companion at a value price!

The HIS Radeon HD 5450 Series is designed to give you stunning high definition entertainment from your PC, whether Blu-ray/HD DVD discs or other HD sources. Gamers will get an uncompromising Microsoft Windows 7 experience, play the most popular games online and watch HD video with incredible realism. Besides, it consumes less than 20 watts under full load, eliminating the need for an external power connection and making installation snap.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 09:56 AM

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VIA Launches Pico-ITXe Platform for Fleet Vehicles

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced its latest technology platform for fleet management device designs. The VIA EPIA-P710-D is a Pico-ITXe expansion module that allows system integrators to easily create cutting-edge fleet management devices that incorporate a range of the latest communication and intelligent management technologies. The VIA EPIA P710-D works in tandem with the Pico-ITXe-based VIA EPIA-P710 board, adding an I/O feature set tailor-made for fleet management device design. These include three Mini PCI Express slots that can be used to employ a wide range of Wi-Fi, GSM, 3G/3.5G, GPS and GPRS modules depending on specific regional and application requirements. This platform can be seen in the picture below.

"The VIA EPIA-P710-D can be used to create a range of incredibly versatile and full featured in-vehicle devices that can communicate and increasingly make intelligent management decisions," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The Pico-ITXe standard also offers a uniquely modular approach to platform design, facilitating faster time-to-market and design cycles."

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 09:13 AM

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February 4 News from Around the Web

MSI Wind U135 Review - An Intel Pinetrail Netbook @ Madshrimps and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!

The new model from MSI is a special edition based on Intel´s latest Pinetrail platform to celebrate the sale of one million 10-inch U100 Wind netbooks.The special edition is available in either blue or red.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 08:08 AM

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3D Portion of HDMI Specification Version 1.4 Announced - HDMI 1.4a Coming Soon

HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification, today announced that it has made the 3D portion of the HDMI Specification Version 1.4 available for public download on the HDMI Web site at hdmi.org.

The HDMI Consortium recognizes the importance of standardized 3D formats for movies, gaming and broadcast content and the need for non-adopter companies and organizations to have access to that portion of the HDMI Specification,” says Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing, LLC. “As the mainstream adoption of 3D is gaining momentum and content providers define and expand their 3D roadmaps, HDMI is ready to support this major market development.”

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, Feb 04, 2010 - 05:58 AM

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ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics Card Brings DirectX 11 To All

AMD today announced the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card, the latest addition to the award-winning line-up of ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series graphics cards. The ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card delivers a state-of-the-art HD multimedia and game experience at a value price. Sharing the same leading edge features found in the critically-acclaimed ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series - support for DirectX 11, ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology and ATI Stream technology - the ATI Radeon HD 5450 provides an uncompromising Microsoft Windows 7 experience.

Cutting-edge technology for today’s software: The ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card offers great performance, allowing users to get the true Windows 7 experience2 with full DirectX 11 support, for less than USD $60 for a 512MB memory configuration. Expanded productivity with multi-display technology: Featuring support for ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor technology, the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card helps users be more productive in today’s visually rich applications by expanding their on-screen real estate, putting more information at their fingertips. Silent running: Offering leading-edge performance per watt, the ATI Radeon HD 5450 redefines entry level performance and ultra-low

Legit Forums

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 11:25 PM

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EA Predicts New Orleans Saints Defeat Indianapolis Colts

According to EA Sports, Predicts the New Orleans Saints will defeat the Indianapolis Colts 35-31 at this year’s Super Bowl XLIV. For those skeptics out there, the good folks at EA, using a simulation on the Madden NFL 10 on Xbox 360, were able to accurately predict the outcome of both the NFC and AFC Championship games.

The New Orleans Saints pull the upset and march to a victory over the Indianapolis Colts with a score of 35-31 at Super Bowl XLIV, according to the official Electronic Arts simulation run by the award-winning Madden NFL 10 on Xbox 360. The first three quarters display the offensive fireworks that both teams have become known for, with the Colts leading 24-21. A nail biting fourth quarter begins with a big play, courtesy of the Saints’ special teams, when Reggie Bush returns a punt for a 42-yard touchdown. However, with minutes left in the game the duo of Joseph Addai and Peyton Manning put the Colts back on top with a go-ahead touchdown pass. With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score. Drew Brees takes home MVP honors as the Saints earn their first Super Bowl Championship title in the franchise's 46 year history.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 04:13 PM

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U.S. Transportation Secretary Warns Toyota Drivers Not to Drive Their Cars

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is telling owners of recalled Toyotas to stop driving the vehicles and get them fixed. LaHood is advising owners of the eight recalled models to park them and not drive them until they can be fixed. Most of the problems from the recall center on the Toyota’s accelerator pedals.

The affected vehicles are listed below, and if you're a current owner you can find more information about the recall here.

• 2007-10 Camry
• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia

USA Today

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 11:22 AM

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BioShock 2 to Have Midnight Launch February 9th

2K Games’ highly anticipated shooter, BioShock 2, will be available at midnight at GameStop and Best Buy stores nationwide. 2K announced the midnight openings in conjunction with a brand new trailer that debuted last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Hoping to pile some extra coal into the hype train's engine, 2K took up the whole first commercial block of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a 3-minute-15-second launch trailer. It's a cool clip, but we get the uneasy feeling that the heavy reliance on non-gameplay, first-person action is just a touch misleading. That said, it's just a couple of inches above this sentence, so you can judge for yourself.

Joystiq

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 10:49 AM

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Patriot Announces Sector 5 Series 2250MHz DDR3 Memory

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today announced the launch of its new Sector 5 Series Extreme Performance DDR3 memory. Designed specifically for overclockers and enthusiasts using Intel based platforms, the Sector 5 boasts an amazing 2250MHz with timings of 9-9-9-27. Individually hand tested on the Intel P55 chipset platform; the Sector 5 modules offer incredible performance for users looking to reach new heights in overclocking and benchmarking. Engineered for the gaming enthusiast and intense overclocker, the Sector 5 is one of the fastest modules on the market and will be offered as a 4GB kit (2 x 2GB modules) under the part number PVV34G2250LLK.

"Our goal is to provide the hardcore enthusiast with a performance module that is actually going to perform at the specified timing with stability", says Les Henry, Patriot's VP of Engineering. "Consumers can feel confident that what we advertise for our speeds and timing is true to the specifications. Additionally, users can expect headroom to reach faster speeds. We have been able to hit speeds over 2400MHz with these modules in our lab."

Legit Forums

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 09:51 AM

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AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9GHz Quad Core Processor Review

The AMD Athlon II X4 635 is the fastest quad-core processor in the Athlon II series with its overall clock frequency of 2.9GHz. With a street price of $127 and just a 100MHz boost over its predecessor is the Athlon II X4 635 worth it? Read on to see how it performs in the benchmarks and to see how it handles being overclocked on our AMD 785G test system.

"The AMD Athlon II X4 635 is the latest and greatest quad-core Athlon II processor to be released. The AMD Athlon II X4 635 comes priced at a low price of $125.99 plus shipping. Based on the Propus Die, the Athlon II X4 635 has a clock speed of 2.9GHz with a 2000MHz HT link and memory support for both DDR2 and DDR3. The chips overall clock frequency is just 100MHz faster than the AMD Athlon II X4 630, which costs $108.99 plus shipping. For an extra ~$20 you get another 100MHz speed bump, which might make some of you yawn, but at least AMD is headed in the right direction. Both the AMD Athlon II X4 630 and 635 processors are great quad-core CPUs that are ideal for someone looking for the threaded performance that only a quad-core processor can offer..."

Legit Reviews Article

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 09:25 AM

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File-Sharing Scam Targets Twitter

Beware of file sharing sites (again)! Hackers are skimming Twitter log in and password info knowing that users recycle their passwords and are using the information gleaned to do some dirty deeds. Browse smart and don't engage in risky online behavior to ensure security of your private information kids.

Twitter has identified a scheme that uses compromised file-sharing sites to steal the log on information of users. The service said it had discovered a number of compromised "torrent" sites that had been set up specifically to skim usernames and passwords.

BBC Technology News

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 09:17 AM

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Apple's iPhone OS 3.1.3 Upgrade Has a Security Fix

Apple on Tuesday issued a point update to its iPhone OS, making only a few fixes to the phone's software despite not having patched it in months. It's likely there won't be a major fix until the release of OS 3.2, which will likely coincide with the release of the iPad slated for later in March. OS 3.1.3 fixes not only the iPhone but the iPod Touch as well. According to the release notes, there are four security vulnerabilities addressed in the update. One prevents buffer overflow from a maliciously crafted mp4 audio file, which may allow for arbitrary code execution.

There are also some bug fixes. One improves the accuracy of the reported battery level on the iPhone 3GS, another resolves an issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances, and the final fix addresses a bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard. As always, Apple does not issue just upgraded files. It puts the whole disk image online and updates everything, which means a 291MB download.

InternetNews

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 07:47 AM

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February 3 News from Around the Web

Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB SATA 6Gbps Solid State Disk @ TweakTown and other reviews from around thew web can be found by visiting our forums!

"At this point do we really even need an intro for the Crucial RealSSD C300? For months Crucial has taunted us with videos, screen shots and snippets of information. At Storage Visions just days before CES we met with Crucial and they were waving a drive around; our eyes were like a dog fixated on its master swinging around a fresh piece of bacon. You can look, you can touch, you can take pictures but you can’t plug it in. Damn it man, stop with the cruelty! Today Crucial finally let a RealSSD C300 out of their grasp and somehow we managed to have it land on our doorstep. The RealSSD C300 uses Marvell’s new SATA 6Gbps solid state drive controller, the first of its kind. Crucial took Marvell’s hardware and let Crucial engineers produce the firmware for the drive."

Legit Forums

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 07:43 AM

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FurMark 1.8.0 Hot Like Hell Edition Available

We just got word that the first 2010 edition of FurMark is available for download. And this new 1.8.0 version is said to overheat your GPU(s) like hell and will help heat up your room this winter. For those who don't know what this application does, FurMark is a popular OpenGL graphics card overclocking validation utility that push to the max your graphics adapter. FurMark is a quick way to check the stability of your graphics card after an overclocking.

I updated the post-processing effect (post FX) to simulate an intense heat around the torus. I also added a new effect based on vertex displacement mapping to increase the global workload of fur rendering. The displacement mapping controls the height of fur and you’ll see some parts of the torus with very short fur. This new version is targeted to recent graphics cards with an increased rendering workload. The scores you’ll get with your graphics card will be lower than the ones got with previous versions of FurMark.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Wed, Feb 03, 2010 - 07:41 AM

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Rumor: Aliens Versus Predator Demo To Arrive This Week!

According to internet rumors, sources say that Sega & Rebellion will reportedly announced that the demo to the highly anticipated Aliens versus Predator will be released February 4, this Thursday. We expect to see the demo available on Sony's PlayStation Network (PSN), Xbox 360 Dashboard, and Steam for the PC.

Sitting down at Rebellion’s Oxford HQ to play Aliens vs Predator on a projector the size of my flat was an unnerving experience – and that’s a sentence which I’ve put together very carefully because it tells you nearly all you need to know about the game. The most important thing in it is that the game is unnerving rather than explicitly scary. It’s tense, not terrifying and that in itself marks a rather dramatic departure from Rebellion’s previous AVP game.

Bit-tech news

Posted by | Tue, Feb 02, 2010 - 05:35 PM

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