Legit Reviews News History
Computer Shopper Ending Print Magazine - April 09 Last Issue
Another iconic print magazine has come to an end! This time around Computer Shopper will cease publication in April 2009, but will still have their website. That ends a 30-year print history, which is crazy if you think about it.
I am writing to inform you of an important development for Computer Shopper. Effective with the April 2009 issue, SX2 Media Labs, the publisher of Computer Shopper, will cease publishing Computer Shopper magazine and focus all of our efforts on our largest and fastest-growing area: ComputerShopper.com. We did not make this decision lightly. Computer Shopper has a 30-year history as the most comprehensive guide to today’s technology. Over the years, we have evolved into a respected, world-class destination for trusted buying advice and reviews. Our readers have come to expect from us expert, labs-based reviews of the latest technology products, delivered in timely fashion and free of bias. This remains our editorial mission, and with our pure-digital focus, we’ll be able to deliver on it better than ever.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 27, 2009 - 03:30 PM
Samsung NC20 12.1" Mini-Notebook Uses VIA Nano Processor
VIA Technologies today announced that Samsung has adopted the VIA Nano processor in the new Samsung NC20 mini-notebook. Combining the power efficient 1.3+GHz VIA Nano processor with the highly-integrated VIA VX800 system media processor, the Samsung NC20 also features a stunning 1280x800 12.1" display, ensuring an outstanding video experience and enabling a full-size 12" notebook keyboard with optimized 18.5mm key spacing and larger touchpad in a highly portable device that weighs just 1.52kg.
"We are delighted that Samsung has adopted the VIA Nano processor for the Samsung NC20," said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "This is a truly ground-breaking product that sets the new industry standard for consumer mini-notes and clearly demonstrates the advanced performance of our VIA Nano processor platform."
Posted by | Fri, Feb 27, 2009 - 08:28 AM
February 27 News from Around the Web
ASUS M3A78-T AMD 790GX Socket AM2+ Motherboard Review @ PCSTATS.com and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"The ASUS M3A78-T motherboard features AMD's latest Integrated Graphics Processor, the Radeon HD 3300. The interesting point about this IGP is that it has 128MB of additional DDR3 Sideport memory just for itself. In previous reviews of 790GX motherboards we've seen that this is one of the fastest integrated graphics processors on the market, mainly because it's more like an integrated videocard than standard IGPs which are not equipped with dedicated RAM. The AMD 790GX chipset is essentially a cherry-picked Radeon HD 3200 IGP, overclocked from 500MHz to a 700MHz core clock."
Posted by | Fri, Feb 27, 2009 - 07:19 AM
Facebook Asking For Feedback for new Terms of Service
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg posted a new blog this afternoon proposing two new documents designed to resolve their need to change their Terms of Service Agreement. Facebook's plan is to replace their existing Terms of Service with a Statement of Rights and Responsibilities that follow the Facebook Principles. Take a look and offer your feedback!
We sat down to work on documents that could be the foundation of this and we came to an interesting realization—that the conventional business practices around a Terms of Use document are just too restrictive to achieve these goals. We decided we needed to do things differently and so we're going to develop new policies that will govern our system from the ground up in an open and transparent way.
Beginning today, we are giving you a greater opportunity to voice your opinion over how Facebook is governed. We're starting this off by publishing two new documents for your review and comment. The first is the Facebook Principles, which defines your rights and will serve as the guiding framework behind any policy we'll consider—or the reason we won't consider others. The second document is the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which will replace the existing Terms of Use. With both documents, we tried hard to simplify the language so you have a clear understanding of how Facebook will be run. We've created separate groups for each document so you can read them and provide comments and feedback. You can find the Facebook Principles here and the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities here. Before these new proposals go into effect, you'll also have the ability to vote for or against proposed changes.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 26, 2009 - 03:56 PM
ASUS Announces The ROG Rampage 2 GENE micro ATX Motherboard
ASUS, the world’s leading motherboard manufacturer today released the X58-based ROG (Republic of Gamers) Rampage II GENE in response to increased demand for a micro ATX gaming and enthusiast motherboard. Hailing from ASUS' world record-breaking Rampage II lineage, the Rampage II GENE boasts premium features such as MemOK! for worry-free memory upgrades, CPU Level Up for easy system performance boosts, and onboard SupremeFX X-Fi for true-to-life surround sound.
With the Rampage II GENE, ASUS has masterfully filled the micro ATX gap with its lauded ROG product line. Users can now harness the full power of the Intel® Core™ i7 processor in a chassis the fraction of the size and weight of standard desktop PCs. The Rampage II GENE’s awesome combination of overclockability, tweakability and stability enable it to even outgun other full-sized motherboards.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 26, 2009 - 11:34 AM
ZOTAC Unleashes GeForce GTX 285 Infinity Edition
ZOTAC International today unleashed the latest addition to its water-cooling ready Infinity Edition graphics card lineup – the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 285 Infinity Edition. The new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 285 Infinity Edition pairs the world’s fastest single graphics processor with a high-performance water-block for extreme performance and cooling.
“We saw that high-end enthusiasts were using water-cooling systems increase overclocking performance and lower operating temperatures. With our ZOTAC GeForce GTX 285 Infinity Edition, we’re able to offer a water-cooling ready high-performance graphics card that integrates well with existing water-cooling components at a relatively low cost,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. Underneath the water-block is a slightly tweaked GeForce GTX 285 graphics processor with 240 overclocked stream processors and 1GB of screaming-fast GDDR3 video memory. The high-speed video memory connects to the graphics processor via an ultra-wide 512-bit memory bus for speedy communications that enable the GeForce GTX 285 Infinity Edition to render games with ultra quality settings at high-resolutions.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 26, 2009 - 08:16 AM
February 26 News from Around the Web
Sapphire Radeon HD4850 X2 2Gb Video Card Review @ Tweaknews and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"So did Sapphire fill a niche void and provide a card to the consumer that wanted a dual core card without the killer huge price? You bet. This card at around US$275-$300 at the time of this review is a great deal and will have anyone enjoying the latest games with higher resolutions and quality settings while still providing decent framerates. Although this is no HD4870 X2 killer by any means, it does hold it own when it comes to your performance dollar."
Posted by | Thu, Feb 26, 2009 - 07:36 AM
Silicon Power introduces 64GB eSATA/USB SSD
Silicon Power released the availability of eSATA/USB SSD with 64GB capacity, a higher capacity handy SSD on worldwide markets. This pioneering product won Malaysia HWM magazine’s Gold Award in February, awarding it a score of 9 out of 10. The eSATA/USB SSD features eSATA and Mini USB dual interface, hot plug and play and four-channel high performance technology. The eSATA connection has a read speed of 90 MB/s and a write speed of 42MB/s, which is 8 times the write speed of the normal USB. Legit Reviews did a review on the 32GB OCZ Throttle eSATA drive already, so be sure to check that out if you are interested in one of these.
With the mentioned high speed data transfer, the new units provides the advanced controller and flash memory, shock resistance, minimum vibration, low power consumption, no noise and high reliability, enabling the operating system to work well even if it is on the move. The 64GB eSATA/USB SSD also features an integrated ECC (Error Correction Code) to ensure an accurate data transfer, as well as built-in wear leveling technology that guarantees long-term reliability and ultra-long storage lifespan. The new product is available from 8GB to 64GB capacities that are ideal for those wanting high-speed data transfer, high-capacity and portability.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 26, 2009 - 05:21 AM
Global chip market to fall 24 pct in 2009 -Gartner
Global semiconductor revenue, hit by the economic downturn, is expected to fall 24 percent to $194.5 billion in 2009, according to research firm Gartner, in a marked worsening from its December outlook. In mid-December Gartner forecast a 16 percent fall in the 2009 chip market.
"We believe that the financial crisis has reset the semiconductor market," Bryan Lewis, research vice president at Gartner, said in a statement on Wednesday. "After the 2001 recession, in which semiconductor sales plummeted by a record 32.5 percent, semiconductor sales took about four years to get back to 2000 levels." Gartner forecast the semiconductor industry would bounce back starting next year, but reach its 2008 level only in 2013. Consumer demand for electronics, from computers to digital cameras, is drying up quickly amid the financial crisis and the prospect of a lingering global recession.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 25, 2009 - 09:48 AM
Energizer to Conduct Design Seminars for OEMs on New Zinc Air Battery Technology
Energizer just shot me over an e-mail asking to see if I can stir up some readers that would be interesting in attending design seminars for OEMs that they will be holding in four cities across American on their new Zinc Air Battery technology. If your company has any interest in Zinc Air Prismatic batteries and would like to learn about using them in your product check out the full press release that is located in the forums. If you haven't heard about Zinc Air Prismatic Batteries be sure to check out our preview on them here.
The design seminars will be held the week of March 16 in Silicon Valley, CA, Newport Beach, CA, Chicago, IL and New York City, and will focus on providing device designers with the knowledge they need to utilize Zinc Air Prismatic in their new devices. Specifically, the seminars will feature an overview of the product technology, a description of the types of air management needed to allow the battery to perform at its best, an in-depth look at the battery compartment design and a window dedicated to Q&A.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 25, 2009 - 08:58 AM
February 25 News from Around the Web
Cooler Master Storm Sniper Review @ OCC and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"The Cooler Master Storm Sniper was able to beat out the Cooler Master Cosmos S case at every test except for when the GPU was at a full load reading. I am not very surprised, due to how large the fans that are installed in the Storm case there are, along with the massive amounts of room for air flow that there is."
Posted by | Wed, Feb 25, 2009 - 08:39 AM
AMD Demos Upcoming Six-core “Istanbul” Server Processor
Advanced Micro Devices today announced it recently completed live public demonstrations of its upcoming six-core 45nm AMD Opteron processor, codenamed “Istanbul.” Scheduled to launch in the second half of this year, “Istanbul” is expected to be the only x86 six-core processor available for two- and four-socket systems and higher.
The demonstration featured a live, seamless upgrade of a system based on 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors to “Istanbul” processors. “Istanbul” is socket- and thermal-compatible with currently shipping AMD Opteron processor-based systems. The AMD consistent platform approach helps reduce qualification times for OEMs and solution providers, while giving end-users the opportunity to upgrade their existing systems.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 25, 2009 - 08:15 AM
VIA AMOS-3000 is the first Pico-ITX fanless embedded box computer
VIA Technologies today announced the launch of VIA's first embedded box computer; the VIA AMOS-3000. Ideal for a variety of embedded applications, the VIA AMOS-3000 is a robust, custom-designed system based on the ultra compact and versatile VIA EPIA-P700 Pico-ITX board. Inspired by classical Chinese architecture, the VIA AMOS-3000 chassis combines heavy-duty steel, aluminum and copper in a unique heat fin design that offers superb heat dissipation. Using a total of only five mechanical pieces - top cover, bottom plate, front and rear I/O access plates and DOM module - and measuring only 13.5cm(w) x 4.5cm(h) x 13.1cm(d), the VIA AMOS-3000 is strong, durable and heat efficient, yet tiny enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The VIA AMOS-3000 can be installed easily using simple table, wall and VESA mounting options.
The VIA AMOS-3000 is based on a VIA EPIA-P700 Pico-ITX board, powered by either a 1GHz VIA C7 processor, or an Ultra Low Voltage 500MHz VIA Eden processor coupled with VIA's VX700 Unified Digital Media chipset, supporting up to 1GB of DDR2 SO-DIMM system memory. Both DVI-D and VGA outputs are supported through integrated the VIA UniChrome Pro II IGP, which also provides MPEG-2/4 and WMV9 hardware acceleration for smooth media playback. The VIA AMOS-3000 has a certified operating temperature of -20 to 60 degrees C, vibration tolerance of up to 5Grms and a shock tolerance of up to 50G.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 25, 2009 - 05:35 AM
Intel to launch new CPUs for ultra-thin notebooks
Intel plans to launch two new ultra low voltage (ULV) CPUs by the end of March this year mainly targeting the company's consumer ultra low voltage (CULV) platform for ultra-thin notebook products, according to sources at notebook makers. The two CPUs are the Core 2 Duo SU9600 with a core frequency of 1.6GHz and priced at US$289 in thousand-unit tray quantities, and Core 2 Solo SU3500 at 1.4GHz and US$262.
The two CPUs join the previously launched SU9400, SU9300, SU3300 and Celeron 723 under the CULV product line. All can be pared with the GS45 IGP chipset. In addition the sources detailed that Intel plans to separate the CULV platform into three levels – single-core entry-level which consists of Intel's ULV Celeron processor; single-core performance consisting of ULV Core 2 Solo processors; and dual-core performance with ULV Core 2 Duo processors.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 25, 2009 - 05:32 AM
iBUYPOWER Launches Gamer Fire 600 Based on Latest AMD Socket AM3 Platform
iBUYPOWER just announced a their first gaming system based on the new AMD Socket AM3 Platform - Gamer Fire 600. The Gamer Fire 600 is equipped with AMD’s Phenom II X4 810 Quad-Core CPU, the Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset Motherboard, 4 GB DDR3-1333 Memory, and the ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB PCI-Express x16 Video Card all for $799.
We take pride in our ability to always be among the first system builders to incorporate new technology in our machines,” said Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER. “It’s that agility that is allowing us to already be offering systems featuring the AM3 platform, and sharing its unparalleled 3D graphics capabilities with gamers everywhere.”
Posted by | Tue, Feb 24, 2009 - 05:30 PM
Kingston Technology Receives 1333MHz DDR3 Server Memory Validation from Intel
Kingston Technology today announced its 1333MHz DDR3 server memory modules were validated by Intel for use on its Xeon processor-based motherboards. Kingston's registered ECC server ValueRAM DIMMs are optimized to take advantage of the triple-channel architecture for Intel's newest server platforms using the new Nehalem-based Xeon processors.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 24, 2009 - 05:22 PM
NASA satellite crashes minutes after launch
A NASA satellite crashed back to Earth about three minutes after launch early Tuesday, officials said. "We could not make orbit," NASA program manager John Brunschwyler said. "Initial indications are the vehicle did not have enough [force] to reach orbit and landed just short of Antarctica in the ocean." The $273 million satellite, called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, would have collected global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere to help better forecast changes in carbon-dioxide levels and their effect on the Earth's climate.
The satellite, which would have monitored greenhouse gases to study how they affect the Earth's climate, was launched on a Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:55 a.m. PT (4:55 a.m. ET). But the payload fairing -- a clamshell-shaped structure that allows the satellite to travel through space -- failed to separate from the rocket, NASA officials said.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 24, 2009 - 10:54 AM
February 24 News from Around the Web
ASRock X58 SuperComputer Motherboard @ TweakTown and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"ASRock has been known to us here at TweakTown as producing a more rounded board aimed at the mainstream and value end of the spectrum. Never would we consider putting this motherboard maker into the hardcore and overclocking segments that ASUS, MSI and GIGABYTE has managed to push into, yet ASRock for all their trying are aiming for the top. And why not! Today’s motherboard market is cut throat. To survive you need to either have a unique product or to produce a mainstream product at the cheapest price. ASRock hasn’t produced anything unique, but they are able to keep prices down. The ASRock X58 SuperComputer aimed towards the mainstream and extreme users comes to us at a price of $294.99 USD from Newegg and at this price it’s one of the cheapest X58 boards out there. But how does it perform compared to the likes of ASUS and MSI? – Let’s find out."
Posted by | Tue, Feb 24, 2009 - 09:11 AM
Micron to cut up to 2,000 more jobs
Micron Technology is cutting as many as 2,000 more jobs because of slumping demand for its products, as the shakeout in the memory chip business continues. The largest U.S. maker of memory chips said Monday afternoon that decreased demand for specialty DRAM products has "created additional challenges" for its Boise, Idaho, manufacturing operations. As a result, Micron said it will phase out 200 millimeter (mm) wafer manufacturing operations at the company's Boise facility.
"This action will reduce employment at Micron's Idaho sites by approximately 500 employees in the near term and as many as 2,000 positions by the end of the company's fiscal year," the company said in a statement. Its fiscal year ends in August. Micron added that it has sufficient manufacturing capacity remaining and "does not expect any disruption in product supply required for customer needs."
Posted by | Tue, Feb 24, 2009 - 08:57 AM
Microsoft drops payback demand on ex-workers
Microsoft Corp has dropped an attempt to recoup some severance money from 25 recently fired workers it mistakenly overpaid. We wrote and laughed about the situation yesterday and are glad that it has been resolved and that the people get to keep the money.
The Redmond, Washington-based company, which announced a plan to cut up to 5,000 jobs in January, acknowledged on Sunday that it had tried to get the overpaid workers to return the extra money. But late on Monday, it reversed course. "This was a mistake on our part," said a Microsoft spokesman in an e-mailed statement. "We should have handled this situation in a more thoughtful manner." Microsoft is "reaching out to those impacted to relay that we will not seek any payment from those individuals," according to the statement.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 24, 2009 - 08:56 AM
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