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Matrox Graphics Inc. today announced the Matrox Extio™ F1240—the latest addition to its popular line of Extio remote graphics units (RGUs)—capable of driving two 30-inch displays, each at its native dual-link digital resolution of 2560 x 1600.
A fanless device, the Extio F1240 RGU provides a quiet and secure environment by separating the host computer from the monitors and other peripherals (keyboard, mouse, and audio) by up to 250 meters (820 ft) via fiber-optic cable. Extio RGUs takes advantage of PCI Express bus extension technology to deliver a user experience that parallels working with the computer situated at the user’s desk.
"The face of the professional workstation is changing as large displays become more affordable and IT managers seek solutions to issues such as security, heat, and noise," says Samuel Recine, Business Development Manager - Critical Decision Systems, Matrox Graphics Inc. "Extio RGUs—now including the Extio F1240—help address these concerns while delivering uncompromising image quality and performance."
The Extio F1240 RGU is equipped with a Matrox-designed graphics chip, 128 MB of graphics memory, dual-LC connector for fiber-optic cable, 2 digital (DVI) and 2 analog (HD-15) monitor connectors that support a variety of resolutions up to 1920x1200 and 2560x1600 (using the digital connectors only), 6 USB 2.0 ports (4 in front, 2 in back), integrated audio hardware, an optical connector for digital audio output, and analog audio connectors for a microphone input, line input, and line output. Extio is available in PCI or PCI Express (PCIe) to meet different slot requirements on host systems.
Key application areas include financial, insurance, and commodities trading systems; emergency and transportation dispatch control systems; process control systems; security systems; command-and-control systems; and other high-reliability applications in enterprise, industrial, and government systems.
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Tuesday, May 13 @ 14:47:55 EDT (6 reads)
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 The Fedora Project, a Red Hat sponsored and community-supported open source collaboration, today announced the availability of Fedora 9, the latest version of its open source operating system distribution. Fedora 9 continues to build upon a tradition of innovation as the community Linux distribution that offers the latest, cutting-edge features with continued delivery of quality and impact. It features the first non-destructive live USB with persistence, and marks the first major KDE 4-based distribution. Other highlights include improvements and enhancements for OpenJDK, GNOME 2.22, NetworkManager, PackageKit, the Anaconda installer and Firefox 3 Beta 5 browser, among others.
The Fedora 9 Live images can now be added to an existing USB key using either a Linux or Windows application, without the need to remove data, repartition or reformat the USB key, resulting in a bootable, portable Fedora system. Using the persistence feature, users can download and store data, and remove and add software as on any normal Fedora system. We believe that this non-destructive, persistent live USB system is the first of its kind, anywhere.
Fedora's KDE team, a community effort led by volunteer contributors, has integrated KDE 4 into Fedora 9. KDE 4 includes a new desktop and panel with many enhanced concepts, an integrated desktop search feature, a new visual style, and a new multimedia API and hardware integration framework. Fedora 9 also includes FreeIPA, a powerful new toolset for system administrators to manage identity policy and auditing across mixed computing environments. These additions to Fedora 9 are a testament to Fedora's focus on leading advancement in free and open source software.
Fedora community developers also integrated OpenJDK6, a completely open source implementation of Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Java SDK Standard Edition, into Fedora 9. This continues to build upon the inclusion of IcedTea, an implementation of OpenJDK, released in Fedora 8, and the Fedora community's commitment to delivering a stable, free software implementation based on OpenJDK. The work completed by these Fedora developers has already been adopted in other free and open source software communities, demonstrating the effectiveness of Fedora's policy for working cooperatively with upstream projects.
"Fedora has come a long way over the past few years with a broadening user base, influx of innovative ideas and a thriving community," said Paul Frields, Fedora project leader at Red Hat. "Fedora 8 had 35 percent more torrent downloads than Fedora 7, and there have been more than 35,000 downloads purely of our various testing releases. We have more than two million unique IP addresses regularly checking in for updates just for Fedora 8, and that number continues to increase daily."
Other Fedora 9 enhancements include improvements to NetworkManager, which now serves the needs of virtually any system owner with support for mobile broadband, multiple connections and connection editing and sharing. PackageKit is used by default for cross-distribution software package management, affording users the flexibility to enjoy the same tools with any Linux flavor. GNOME 2.22 adds new features including a helpful world time clock, better file system performance, security improvements, power management at the login screen, the ability to dynamically configure displays, better Bluetooth integration and improved podcast support.
The Fedora Project will host a Fedora Users and Developers Conference (FUDCon) from June 19-21, 2008, in Boston. A free event open to all attendees, FUDCon provides an opportunity for community members and key contributors to come together and dedicate time working on challenges of common interest, polishing code and developing new features. For more information on FUDCon, please visit http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FUDCon/FUDConF10.
For more information on Fedora 9, to download the distribution or to join in this community effort, please visit http://fedoraproject.org.
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Tuesday, May 13 @ 14:22:08 EDT (6 reads)
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 Today, Microsoft Corp. reshapes the webcam experience with the LifeCam VX-5000, a webcam with a unique bendable attachment base that molds to virtually any surface — from a notebook to a desktop — so users can take it anywhere.
For personalized flair, the LifeCam VX-5000 features a brightly colored ring around the front of the webcam in the colors Cool Blue, Lucky Green and Fire Red, allowing consumers to choose their favorite to suit their style. To complement the fresh, new look, the LifeCam VX-5000 features MSN Photo Swap, a special feature that lets consumers share digital photos in midvideo conversation and see real-time reactions as both callers view the pictures. The new webcam arrives just in time to help share summer vacation memories and keep consumers connected throughout the year.
“With the LifeCam VX-5000 we are changing the perception of webcams from boring and bulky to fun and flexible,” said Michael Cowan, product marketing manager for the Hardware Division at Microsoft. “We designed this LifeCam to match the experience its technology delivers — it’s all about fun and letting consumers share their personalities.”
Microsoft is also offering the LifeCam VX-500 and the LifeChat LX-2000 — two affordable products, each with a unique, compact design. The LifeCam VX-500 is a versatile webcam designed to fit on notebooks and desktop PCs. The LifeChat LX-2000 is a full-size headset that folds down into a small, portable shape. Both are perfect products for consumers on the go.
Photo Swap: A Feature You’ll Flip Over
Digital camera owners have on average more than 1,200 photos stored on their computer, and Photo Swap helps bring the pictures to life as a virtual photo album. Using Windows Live Messenger, consumers easily can share pictures from summer vacations or holiday gatherings. The best part is with Photo Swap they can see and hear the reaction of their friends and family — whether across town or across the country — and feel like they are sitting right next to each other.
See, Hear, Share — Easy as 1, 2, 3
The VX-5000 comes with Windows Live optimizations and the latest version of LifeCam software, making it easier than ever for users to experience a great video call. Key features and benefits include the following:
• Windows LiveCall Button, located on top of the LifeCam, allows users to open their Contact Picker (a tool showing which contacts are currently online) with one touch, so they can quickly initiate video calls to friends and family.
• LifeCam Dashboard incorporates full LifeCam navigational controls (pan, tilt, zoom, face tracking and Video Effects) within the Windows Live Messenger interface, enabling a seamless and easy navigating experience.
• World-class VGA optics with a VGA sensor, 640x480 video resolution and 1.3-megapixel still photography (interpolated) offer high picture quality.
• Built-in unidirectional microphone with acoustic noise cancellation delivers crystal-clear audio.
• Pan, tilt and 3X digital zoom features allow users to adjust the image to see more clearly.
LifeCam VX-500 and LifeChat LX-2000
Microsoft continues to bring friends and family together with the additional announcement of two affordable products made to enhance the computing experience: the LifeCam VX-500 and LifeChat LX-2000. With true VGA video, the LifeCam VX-500 enhances the webcam experience with brilliant video quality, and its compact design allows for easy mobility — working seamlessly with both notebooks and desktop PCs.
The LifeChat LX-2000 delivers supreme comfort as a portable, full-size headset that is perfect for music, gaming, online chatting and more. The unique collapsible design allows the headset to fold into a compact shape for easy portability — just throw it into the carrying case and go. Both the LifeCam VX-500 and the LifeChat LX-2000 can be easily used with major instant messaging programs, and the setup is quicker than ever, with no software needed.
Pricing and Availability
The LifeCam VX-5000 will be widely available in June 2008 for an estimated retail price of $49.95 (U.S.). The LifeCam VX-500 and LifeChat LX-2000 will be available in May 2008 for the following estimated retail prices:
• Microsoft LifeCam VX-500, $16.95 (U.S.)
• Microsoft LifeChat LX-2000, $29.95 (U.S.)
The LifeCam VX-5000 and LifeChat LX-2000 are available for pre-sale on Amazon.com, and all three products will be backed worldwide by a three-year limited hardware warranty from Microsoft.
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Tuesday, May 13 @ 14:19:44 EDT (9 reads)
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 Creative today announced the Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam. Small enough to fit easily in your pocket, purse or the palm of your hand, the Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam changes the way video is captured, shared and stored by making it fast, easy and fun.
A breakthrough in video camera design, the Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam, at only S$169.00, is dramatically thinner and lighter than competing video cameras. Available in silver or hot pink, the Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam is so small and lightweight that it is hard to believe it can capture such high-quality video. With the press of a button, you can record life's spontaneous moments, whether it is baby's first steps, awesome sports stunts or hilarious adventures with friends.
Craig McHugh, President and COO of Creative Labs Inc., describes how the Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam completely changes the experience of shooting and sharing video:
"When you're having a really great time and are experiencing one of life's special or funny moments, you'd love to have a video of it but you don't have your video camera with you. Your camcorder is likely stored away somewhere in a camera bag, because it's too expensive and you're afraid of breaking it. You end up missing many video opportunities and use your camcorder only for planned video shoots. When you finally do get it out to shoot something, you have to make sure you have a tape or disc and the batteries are charged before you set up your shot. Chances are you're going to miss that awesome spontaneous moment while you get your camera ready. Once you've shot the video, how are you supposed to share it with anyone? It can be a time-consuming challenge trying to figure out how to get video from your camera or tape, so it remains stuck on the camera or put away somewhere in a box of tapes or discs, and you can't share it with your family and friends.
The Creative Vado changes all of that! We're making shooting and sharing video as easy as taking pictures with a point-and-shoot portable digital camera. The Creative Vado is so small and lightweight that you can have it in your pocket so it's always there, or you can just set it on your coffee table so everyone in the family can use it. It's so inexpensive and easy to use that you don't have to worry. It's always ready to capture spontaneous moments that are once in a lifetime, the type you can't plan for in advance. The Creative Vado doesn't need tapes or discs; it can record up to two hours of high-quality video on its built-in 2GB of memory and it has a removable rechargeable battery, so you can shoot two hours of video on a single charge and you don't have to hassle with disposable batteries.
Just as the Creative Vado makes it super easy and quick to shoot video, it makes it incredibly easy and fast to get the videos off the camera. It has a built-in USB connector so you can just plug it into your PC, just like you would with a thumb drive. The Creative Vado has a software program built right into it that will prompt you to copy the video, or you can just drag the videos directly to your PC. With one easy step, the software can take you to YouTube or Photobucket so you can easily post your videos. When you want to share your videos with only friends and family, you can use Box.net, where they can either view or download a copy of the video. Box.net provides online storage and creates a web link to videos you've uploaded, so you can share them with anyone."
Creative Vado Features
* Slim, lightweight, pocket-sized design
* Built-in two-inch colour LCD screen
* Removable rechargeable battery
* 640 x 480 VGA video resolution
* Built-in USB connector for PC
* Built-in software program for posting videos to YouTube or Photobucket
* Enable friends and family to download your videos from Box.net
Pricing and Availability
The Creative Vado will be available from 12 June 2008 at the PC Show and The CREATIVE Stores at Marina Square, Plaza Singapura and International Business Park, the online store at sg.store.creative.com and authorised dealers in Singapore at the suggested retail price of S$169.00 and in colours of silver or hot pink.
Creative Vado Accessories
To customise your Creative Vado experience, equip your Pocket Video Cam with the following accessories, available at www.creative.com:
* A pouch to stow your Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam, priced at S$25.00
* Spare batteries providing up to two hours of recording or playback, priced at S$25.00
* A power adapter with charging station so your Creative Vado is ready to go when you are, priced at S$45.00
* An A/V cable for sharing your Creative Vado video on your TV screen, priced at S$15.00
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Tuesday, May 13 @ 14:15:32 EDT (10 reads)
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 Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging, announces two new additions to its line of compact photo printers: the radical SELPHY CP770 and the exciting ultra-compact CP760 Photo Printers. These sensibly sized photo printers tout a fresh, unique design which simplifies printing for all users and makes it easier to print photos instantly, almost anywhere. Whether it's baby's first steps in the nursery or grandma and grandpa's summer road trip, these compact photo printers can provide the whole family with instant memories almost anywhere -all without having to use a computer or camera to download images. These new printers are the perfect choice for anyone who wants to experience the joy of printing photos.
The Canon SELPHY CP770 compact photo printer is the cute carry-it-all solution for those looking for a small photo printer for the home or on-the-go. The SELPHY CP770 photo printer comes bundled in a basket-style storage bucket, which not only houses the printer, but also stores coordinating accessories including paper, ink cartridge and power cord. The unique design is the first of its kind and allows consumers to tote the printer virtually anywhere they need to go: summer camp, birthday parties, wedding showers, or a scrapbooking get-together.
 Canon's new design innovations were created with a focus on improving mobility and usability based on the printers' broad range of uses, including printing photos for family albums, school art projects and scrapbooks. Each printer has larger buttons arranged in a "makes-sense" layout, designed for simplicity and easier navigation through menus. The number of buttons on each printer has been reduced from 12 buttons on previous models, down to nine for more simple functionality.
"Canon wants to keep photography fun for the whole family by making it easier for children and adults to print out instant memories and share them with everyone," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "The fun design and ease of use helps make these printers the perfect gift for anyone who wants a new and convenient way to display and share their photographs."
Canon SELPHY CP770 Compact Photo Printer
The inviting "basket" design and fun colors make this printer appealing for moms, kids, grandparents or anyone who wants access to a photo printer for their entire memory portfolio. At first glance, many might not think of the SELPHY CP770 as a photo printer because its appearance is such a natural fit for a child's playroom or family living room. An on-the-spot photo printer makes a great gift for friends and family, too.
The printer is equipped with a 2.5" High-Definition LCD monitor to preview images before printing. The monitor itself has also been angled so that it can be easily viewed, even when sitting at a table that the printer is resting on. The SELPHY CP770 compact photo printer is available in a friendly apricot and crisp white color. The optional Canon NB-CP2 battery pack, makes it easier than ever to print photos while on the road or camping. The NB-CP2 battery pack can provide hours of printing power before each recharge and has a suggested retail price of $79.99.
This printer makes it easier than ever to print out priceless shots taken from a mobile phone or other handheld device2 3. The CP770 compact photo printer supports the new, must-have "IrSimple" feature4 – a high-speed infrared wireless communications standard allowing consumers to wirelessly print snapshots from their mobile phones, PDAs or other digital devices. The printer accepts a wireless infrared signal to transmit photo data from mobile phones and other devices that support this standard.
Canon SELPHY CP760 Compact Photo Printer
Easy to use, the new Canon SELPHY CP760 compact photo printer helps turn digital images into photography with a compact simple to use design to print great 4x6 inch photographs and make the most out of a digital camera. Now the whole family can crowd around the printer and easily see images on the new 2.5 inch, Thin Film Transistor (TFT) control screen which can be clearly viewed from various angles. The easy-to-view screen also lets users quickly navigate through menus and neatly preview images before printing. The addition of simplified card slots lets users plug in memory cards or print straight from the camera with a USB cord.
Portrait Image Optimize & Face Detection Without A Computer
New Portrait Image Optimize technology from Canon allows users to correct and improve their image quality all without a computer. When "red-eye" occurs in photos, the CP770 and CP760 printers can automatically determine the position of the red-eye and change the pupils back to a natural color for printing. The CP770 and CP760 printers can lighten or darken individual areas of an image, making it possible to create a photograph where the face and background are well balanced. These functions will also identify a subject's face inside an image, and correct to the ideal brightness and coloring for "brilliant" images.
New and Improved Photo Lamination
Both the CP770 and CP760 photo printers feature new overcoat technology to help reduce blurring, and fingerprint smudges. After the yellow, magenta and cyan colors have printed, a special overcoat layer is applied to the image through a proprietary lamination process. Not only does the lamination help to reduce bleeding and blurring of printed photo, it also helps to reduce the risk of water and fingerprint smudges, as well as fading that can be caused by ultraviolet light, gas and other such environmental factors.
Canon BU-30 Bluetooth Adaptor
Making it even more convenient to print images is the optional Canon BU-30 Bluetooth adaptor. Available for both the SELPHY CP770 and CP760 photo printers for a suggested retail price of $49.99, the BU-30 adaptor allows images to be sent from Bluetooth enabled devices directly to the SELPHY model to be printed.
The SELPHY CP770 and CP760 compact photo printers carry an estimated retail price of $149.99 and $99.99, respectively.
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Tuesday, May 13 @ 14:12:58 EDT (11 reads)
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HBO and Apple® today announced that programming from HBO is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Store. New HBO programs on iTunes include the Emmy Award-winning programs “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Deadwood” and “Rome,” as well as the critically acclaimed hits “Flight of the Conchords” and “The Wire.” The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online TV store with over 150 million episodes sold and features the world’s largest catalog with over 800 shows (over 20,000 episodes).
“We’re very excited to make these legendary HBO programs available on the iTunes Store,” said Henry McGee, president of HBO Video. “Whether catching up on ‘Sex and the City’ in anticipation of its upcoming movie release or reliving a favorite ‘Sopranos’ episode, we think viewers will love being able to watch these shows on their iPod or iPhone.”
“We’re thrilled to bring this incredible lineup of programming from HBO to the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “These are some of the most talked about television shows ever, as well as some of the most requested by our customers.”
“Sex and the City: The Movie” premieres in theaters on May 30, and in preparation for the movie’s debut, fans can choose any or all 94 episodes from the entire six seasons of the program.
Television shows purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store can be viewed on a Mac® or PC, iPod® nano with video, iPod classic, iPod touch, fifth generation iPod, iPhone™ or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV®. “Sex and the City,” “The Wire” and “Flight of the Conchords” are $1.99 per episode, and “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome” are priced at $2.99 per episode. iTunes customers can also choose to purchase entire seasons of their favorite programs.
Pricing & Availability
iTunes 7.6.2 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download. Purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Store requires a valid credit card from a financial institution in the country of purchase. Television shows are available in the US, UK, Canada and Germany, and video availability varies by country.
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Tuesday, May 13 @ 14:08:58 EDT (6 reads)
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Tonight at Campfire One at the Googleplex (http://code.google.com/campfire/), Google Inc. will announce a preview release of Google Friend Connect, a service that helps website owners grow traffic by enabling any site on the web to easily provide social features for its visitors.
Websites that are not social networks may still want to be social -- and now they can be, easily. With Google Friend Connect (see http://www.google.com/friendconnect following this evening's Campfire One), any website owner can add a snippet of code to his or her site and get social features up and running immediately without programming -- picking and choosing from built-in functionality like user registration, invitations, members gallery, message posting, and reviews, as well as third-party applications built by the OpenSocial developer community.
Visitors to any site using Google Friend Connect will be able to see, invite, and interact with new friends, or, using secure authorization APIs, with existing friends from social sites on the web, including Facebook, Google Talk, hi5, orkut, Plaxo, and more.
To illustrate, independent musician Ingrid Michaelson has added music features from iLike with Google Friend Connect and is now able to run the iLike OpenSocial application on her official website (www.ingridmichaelson.com). As a result, starting tonight, fans who visit Ingrid's site can connect with their friends without having to leave the site. Visitors will be able to see comments by friends from their social networks, add music to their profiles, see who is attending concerts, and enjoy other features of the iLike application, all at Ingrid's website. With Google Friend Connect, people will be able to enjoy their favorite features with their friends on any website across the web.
"We want to bring ourselves to every eyeball, not bring every eyeball to us," said Hadi Partovi, President of iLike. "Friend Connect is a significant opportunity for iLike, artists, and fans. The iLike Artist Dashboard™ will be the first content-management system that allows artists not only to post their songs, concerts, and videos to every leading social network from one dashboard, but also to simultaneously manage the content on their own websites."
Google Friend Connect has been developed to lower two barriers to the spread of social features across the web. First, many website owners want to add features that enable their visitors to do things with their friends, but the technology and resource hurdles have been too high. Second, people are tiring of needing to create new logins and profiles and recreate their friends lists wherever they go on the web. Google Friend Connect offers a solution to both these issues.
"Google Friend Connect is about helping the 'long tail' of sites become more social," said David Glazer, a director of engineering at Google. "Many sites aren't explicitly social and don't necessarily want to be social networks, but they still benefit from letting their visitors interact with each other. That used to be hard. Fortunately, there's an emerging wave of social standards -- OpenID, OAuth, OpenSocial, and the data access APIs published by Facebook, Google, MySpace, and others. Google Friend Connect builds on these standards to let people easily connect with their friends, wherever they are on the web, making 'any app, any site, any friends' a reality."
For Site Owners: Traffic and User Engagement
Without requiring coding experience, Google Friend Connect gives site owners a way to attract and engage more people by giving visitors a way to connect with friends on their websites.
* Drive traffic: people who discover interesting sites can bring their friends with them, and can opt-in to publish their activities on those sites back into their social network, attracting even more visitors.
* Increase engagement: access to friends and OpenSocial applications provides more interesting content and richer social experiences.
* Less work: any site can have social components without hiring a programming team or becoming a social network.
Google Friend Connect is in a preview release, available tonight after Campfire One on a handful of whitelisted websites. All site owners interested in learning more about Google Friend Connect and signing up for the wait list can visit http://www.google.com/friendconnect/ starting tonight. In the weeks ahead we will be turning on more sites, adding more social applications, and integrating feedback from site owners and developers.
Google I/O
Learn more about Google Friend Connect, OpenSocial, and other social initiatives at Google I/O, a two-day developer gathering about building the next generation of web applications. It takes place May 28-29 at Moscone West, San Francisco. Register now for Google I/O at http://code.google.com/events/io/.
Conference Call Information
Google will host a conference call to discuss this announcement. The conference call will be held on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time (12:30 p.m. Eastern Time). To access the conference call, please dial +1 (800) 776-0087 within the United States and +1 (913) 312-1509 from international locations. Replays of both calls will be available until midnight Eastern Time, May 19, 2008 at +1 (888) 203-1112 domestically and +1 (719) 457-0820 internationally. The confirmation code for the replay of the call is 7571843.
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Monday, May 12 @ 13:34:16 EDT (26 reads)
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Creative Technology today announced the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1, the first USB 2.0 audio solution that provides users with the easiest upgrade from basic, built-in audio to the premium Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi) audio experience for their PC and notebook.
The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1's elegant black design in simple clean lines belies the state-of-the-art X-Fi technology and high quality connectivity that enhances users' aural enjoyment of their music, movies and games. Users can simply connect the device to their PC or notebook via the USB port and turn their MP3 and iTunes music into their own personal concert. The X-Fi technology also allows users to immerse themselves in full cinematic surround sound while watching their favourite DVDs or downloaded videos. Creative's EAX ADVANCED HD effects also provide realistic game play.
The X-Fi technology comprises two main features:
X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer - The X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer revitalises downloaded music and movies by restoring the details and vibrance that music and movies lost during compression. The X-Fi technology intelligently enhances all the highs and lows so everything can be heard in crystal clarity, making MP3s sound even better than CDs.
X-Fi CMSS-3D - The X-Fi CMSS-3D technology expands stereo MP3s and digital movies into virtual multi-speakers or headphones. Voices are centred in front of users with ambient sounds accurately positioned all around them, similar to a live performance.
With the built-in X-Fi technology, users of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 can now enjoy all their music, movies and games with one easy-to-use device that gives them premium cinematic sound quality and realistic surround sound effect on virtually any speaker systems or headphones.
Key Features of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
* Supports USB 2.0 for high quality 5.1 audio
* USB bus-powered
* Gold plated RCA front outputs and mini-jack surround outputs for maximum fidelity
* Optical Output for connectivity to surround sound systems
* 24-bit Playback and Recording ADC, DAC
* X-Fi audio enhancement technology
* Easily accessible Headphone out and Mic In for connecting headsets
* Convenient Volume Control with push to mute feature
* Line-in monitoring
* Host-based EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 and OpenAL support
* Creative ALchemy software that restores DS3D Games' 3D audio in Windows Vista
Pricing and Availability
The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 will be available at The CREATIVE Stores at Marina Square, Plaza Singapura and International Business Park, the online store at sg.store.creative.com and authorised dealers in Singapore in end May 2008 for S$99.00. The bundled Creative ALchemy software supports host-based EAX 4.0 and OpenAL. It restores surround sound for Windows Vista™ users and delivering the same great gaming experience. For more information about Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1, please visit www.asia.creative.com.
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Monday, May 12 @ 13:32:31 EDT (31 reads)
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 AMD today introduced the industry’s first energy-efficient x86 server processors with four processing cores and an integrated memory controller all in a low 55-watt ACP thermal envelope. Blade and rack systems based on five new low-power Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ HE (Highly Efficient) processors are now widely available from global OEMs and solution providers.
“Our new Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors were designed to help datacenter managers who see power consumption and virtualization as the keys to solving their overall performance equation,” said Randy Allen, corporate vice president and general manager, Server and Workstation Division, AMD. “These new processors which feature AMD’s advanced power management and virtualization innovations offer a compelling platform for power-conscious datacenter managers who are changing the way they think about performance.”
Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors are available in both the 2300 and 8300 Series for two-, four- and eight-way rack servers and blades. The new processors have set new performance records among comparable x86 energy-efficient processors, such as top scores for SPECfp_rate2006 in both two- and four-processor configurations, offering businesses of all sizes the exceptional scalability and efficiency benefits of AMD’s unrivaled Direct Connect Architecture.
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Monday, May 12 @ 03:02:16 EDT (37 reads)
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 Iomega Corporation today announced the worldwide introduction of the new Iomega eGo USB 2.0 Camo Portable Hard Drive, a camouflaged patterned addition to Iomega's award-winning line of stylish and sturdy portable hard drives.
Whether you're someone with an adventuresome style and spirit, an avid participant in tough travel environments, or just want to be different from the crowd, the new Iomega eGo Camo Portable Hard Drive is a fast and fun notebook hard drive that delivers on form and function. Iomega's new eGo Camo Drive has a curved chassis covered by a woodland camouflage pattern that also comes with a black Iomega Power Grip band that not only looks cool but also provides extra durability.
The new eGo Camo Portable Hard Drive also packs a lot of storage capability - the 250GB* 2.5-inch drive is USB-powered for simple operation (no power supply required), and it comes with EMC® Retrospect® HD software for automatic backups, scheduled backups, or on-demand backups. With Iomega's new 250GB eGo Camo Portable Hard Drive, users can carry up to 1,000,000 photos, over 4,625 hours of music or 375 hours of video** with confidence and a look that no other portable hard drive offers today.
Iomega's patented DropGuard™ technology protects the eGo drive from accidental damage caused by drops of up to 51 inches (129 cms), compared to portable hard drives from other manufacturers that claim drops of less than 40 inches. With the new Power Grip band on the eGo Camo Drive, this eGo portable hard drive can handle drops of up to 60 inches (152 cms), a real benefit and advantage for adventurous users.
"Unlike mundane, run-of-the-mill looking branded portable hard drives, Iomega's eGo Portable Hard Drive line features a palette of bright colors that knocks the socks off anything else in the market," said Ralf San Jose, global product manager for HDD products, Iomega Corporation. "With the new eGo Camo Portable Hard Drive, Iomega adds a style of adventure and intrigue to the eGo color kaleidoscope. No self-respecting 'camo' lover will be without it. Expect to see more exciting additions like the new Camo to the Iomega eGo drive line in the future."
Compatibility
Iomega's new eGo Camo Portable Hard Drive is compatible with Windows Vista (all versions), Windows 2000, Professional/XP Home/XP Professional/XP Professional x64, and with Mac OS X 10.1.5 or above. A USB 2.0 host connection is required for USB 2.0 speeds.
Price and Availability
The new Iomega 250GB eGo Camo Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 is now available worldwide for $149.95. (Pricing is estimated U.S. retail.) The product is available from online retailers, VARs, resellers and select retailers, as well as at www.iomega.com.
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Friday, May 09 @ 16:44:43 EDT (43 reads)
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Microsoft Corp. will play a key role in creating a ubiquitous computing environment for future citizens and businesses of Songdo International Business District (IBD). The city of the future is currently under construction in Incheon just 40 miles southwest of Seoul, South Korea. Songdo will be the first “new” city in the world designed and planned as an international business district. Microsoft has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gale International, the developer responsible for the $35 billion (U.S.) project, to collaborate to deliver technology and infrastructure and create a cutting-edge, digitally connected and environmentally sustainable city for the benefit of citizens, businesses and government.
“Designing an entirely new city from the ground up provides a unique opportunity to create an ideal technological infrastructure in which access to digital capabilities and experiences is an inherent part of the living and working environment across people’s lives,” said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, in a keynote address at the Government Leaders Forum—Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Microsoft is pleased to join with Gale International, which is working closely with the governments of Korea and Incheon and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority to help turn this exciting vision into reality.”
Microsoft, Gale International and the Korean government are working to identify the technological requirements of this state-of-the-art project. Plans include providing a common interface to connecting to government services via Windows Mobile and the Microsoft Citizen Service Platform, as well as the implementation of technologies that empower this LEED-Neighborhood Development certified city and the use of tools such as the upcoming Microsoft Surface combined with Virtual Earth to provide greater access via kiosks to information on the city as an international gateway to residents and visitors.
“I am very glad to have Microsoft as one of the major technology partners for the ubiquitous connectivity of Songdo IBD, a part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone,” said Heon-Seok Lee, commissioner of the Free Economic Zone Authority. “I am confident that Microsoft’s technologies will successfully make Songdo IBD a cutting-edge technology-enabled city, which will accelerate Incheon Free Economic Zone’s city development and investment promotion.”
The MOU announced today is a comprehensive expansion of an existing collaboration between the various parties focused on the Educational Excellence in Technology Initiative to link students, parents, educators, academic institutions, local industry and government partners in a shared vision of how students and workers can reach their potential through technology skills training in a global context. Specifically, the original agreement outlines the integration of the Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum and Microsoft IT Academy into the Songdo International School, which will be Asia’s most modern private preparatory school. It will be available there both in the school curriculum and in after-hours adult education for local citizens.
“I am glad to be able to extend and enhance our alliance with Microsoft, which further deepens and broadens our collaborative efforts with the world’s leading IT company,” said Stanley C. Gale, chairman and partner of Gale International. “I am very confident that Microsoft will help Songdo IBD set an example for other cities around the world.”
Songdo IBD, the “Gateway to Northeast Asia,” is the first new city in the world designed and planned as an international business district. This 100 million-square-foot, master-planned metropolis located within the Incheon Free Economic Zone will be connected to the Incheon International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, by a new 7.4-mile bridge and linked by subway to Seoul. It is estimated that when complete in 2015, Songdo IBD will be home to 65,000 people and that 300,000 will work there.
Songdo IBD will offer every conceivable amenity, including a world-class hospital, an international preparatory school, museums and the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. Songdo IBD will be 40 percent green space, featuring a 100-acre Central Park. It is being designed and constructed to ensure long-term environmental sustainability, thus minimizing the city’s carbon footprint. Songdo IBD was recently named a “green urbanism” pilot project by the U.S. Green Building Council. More information can be found at http://www.songdo.com.
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Friday, May 09 @ 12:58:23 EDT (39 reads)
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 �The industrial design concepts of MaxOrb EX comes from the idea of Chinese temple of heaven, we want the whole design to show the lofty spirit of the highest standards in the thermal field.� said by Thermaltake Industrial Design Manager, Bob Chung.
Thermaltake, the world�s leading brand of PC chassis, power supply and CPU cooling solution, today launches the next generation CPU air cooling solution, MaxOrb EX (P/N:CL-P0467). Extending the previous well designed enthusiast cooler, MaxOrb, MaxOrb EX seeks for maximum cooling effect and supports all mainstream and high performance processors (Intel LGA775 and AMD Socket AM2/AM2+/940/939/754).
MaxOrb EX is designed with the magical cooling copper structure, copper heatpipes, copper fins, and copper base. The radial Heat-TransferTM Technology does not only allow more efficient heat dissipation, but also decreases the pressure built around the fan blades to minimize noise output. Radial copper fins further create air channels directing the airflow to the surrounding components for additional cooling efforts; thus increasing system stability and overclocking capability.
Independent Channel Heatpipe CoolingTM Technology utilizes 6 independent copper heatpipes to evenly distribute CPU heat to all the attached fins and achieves unprecedented cooling capability with the fin stack. Mirror finished copper base further increases the heat absorption rate from processors.
Oversized blue LED fan with VR fanTM control function gives user full control over the fan speed and exhibits a unique yet subtle futuristic look that will catch the attention of all PC enthusiasts and overclockers for sure. Even though MaxOrb EX pursues the top performance, the fan noise is only 16dBA at minimum fan speed.
�MaxOrb EX has been created from the Thermaltake belief in breaking of present cooling limits.� said by Thermaltake R&D Manager. Check out the new CPU cooler, MaxOrb EX from Thermaltake now.
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Thursday, May 08 @ 17:29:06 EDT (27 reads)
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 Silencing a PC has become an important issue for many PC users, and Cooler Master’s engineers have taken this seriously, developing a slew of new products addressing issues related to noise. Today, Cooler Master announces the Hyper Z600, a finely engineered state-of-the-art passive cooler that catapults into the top echelon of noiseless CPU coolers. Extra expansion options for hardcore overclockers are also thrown in for good measure.
With zero tolerance for noise, the distinctive “X” design retains rapid heat transfer and creates a lower back pressure, forcing air to pass through quickly. Optimized fin spacing along with interlaced fins presents an ingenious method to maximizing surface areas. To top things off, the mirror finished copper-base extending into the 6 heat-pipes allows the Z600 to passively cool and take on even quad-core CPUs running up to 89W (see note).
Overclockers were also kept in mind when designing the Z600, as up to two 120mm fans can be added to opposing sides of the heat-sink in a push-pull configuration. With one 120mm fan, the Z600 transforms into a first class cooler for CPUs running beyond 89W. With two fans, the Z600 becomes an extreme cooling solution for the serious overclocker. The Hyper Z600 is compatible with all existing CPU sockets.
Specifications
Dimension: 127.28 x 127.28 x 160 mm
Material: Aluminum fins with copper-base
Heat Pipe Dimensions: φ6mm x 6
Weight: 1045g
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Thursday, May 08 @ 17:15:46 EDT (16 reads)
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Google today announced a web security product that makes it easy and affordable for companies of all sizes to provide Internet security to users in any location. Google Web Security™ for Enterprise provides real-time malware protection and URL filtering with policy enforcement and reporting. An additional feature extends the same protections to users working remotely on laptops in hotels, cafes, and even guest networks.
"One of the benefits of Google Apps is the protection it provides for communication and collaboration within businesses," said Scott Petry, director of product management, Google. "Now companies can extend that protection to more of their users' Internet activities, whether they're surfing the web at the office or the airport."
Google Web Security allows companies to secure their networks from web-based malware; enforce Internet use policies at the user, workgroup or company level; and receive comprehensive reporting on all web activities. Since employees are most vulnerable when they're working outside the office, companies have the option of adding protection for off-network users. And because the product is delivered as a service, those remote workers get the protection wherever they are, without having to sign on to their corporate network.
The product is Powered by Postini™ with technology from ScanSafe, and accessible from the same administration console used for Google Apps security and compliance messaging services. Google Web Security is available in North America and Europe. Go to
http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/security/web.html for more information.
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Thursday, May 08 @ 14:20:45 EDT (56 reads)
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Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today announced the TeraStation iSCSI and TeraStation iSCSI Rackmount, Buffalo’s newest additions to its high-performance line of SMB-focused storage devices.
The new TeraStation iSCSI will be available in two styles and three capacity levels:
· Pedestal: 1 TB (TS-I1.0TGL/R5), 2 TB (TS-I2.0TGL/R5) and 4 TB (TS-I4.0TGL/R5)
· Rackmount: 1 TB (TS-RI1.0TGL/R5), 2 TB (TS-RI2.0TGL/R5) and 4 TB (TS-RI4.0TGL/R5).
iSCSI storage targets are gaining in popularity even with small to medium sized businesses. The iSCSI protocol transports simple SCSI storage commands over standard TCP/IP networks. As a result, the iSCSI targets give servers the illusion of being locally attached disks that are directly accessible by the OS. iSCSI targets can be located anywhere on the network. In addition, multiple iSCSI targets can be consolidated into one array, providing additional or more redundant storage configurations. This makes iSCSI the ideal solution for server backup or backup strategies involving remote locations.
iSCSI appliances such as Buffalo’s new TeraStation iSCSI and TeraStation Rackmount iSCSI offer SMBs the ultimate in flexibility and security for protecting remote data. Buffalo’s new iSCSI TeraStation storage devices allow organizations to experience the flexibility of iSCSI SAN technology and superior throughput performance for their storage needs with the added benefit of affordability previously reserved for consumer NAS devices.
Mirroring storage resources from one data center to a remote location for hot standby availability is a good reason why more companies deploy iSCSI SAN technologies, but storage consolidation in general plays an even bigger role.
“As companies grow and move increasing amounts of data to the datacenter for consolidation or to an off-site storage location, they experience the need for flexible and intuitive storage devices that make data storage handling simple, manageable and reliable,” said Takayuki Nishioka, CEO of Buffalo Technology, USA. “The new TeraStation iSCSI is a powerful SMB solution that delivers this extended functionality while still fitting into the budget of cost conscious SMB purchasers.”
The TeraStation iSCSI Rackmount seamlessly integrates into any structured IT environment by mounting into a relay rack or server cabinet. The product fits standard 19” racks and occupies 2U of space. 2-post and 4-post mounting brackets are available.
For those without rack or cabinet space, the pedestal style TeraStation iSCSI is ideal. Branch offices or departments in larger organizations without dedicated server closets will benefit from this form factor.
Both units feature four quick swap hard drive trays that are conveniently located behind the screwless front bezel, protecting the high speed 7,200 RPM SATA drives while simultaneously offering easy access and drive replacement. Installation and management is a snap with the intuitive Web interface and simple setup wizard. The TeraStation iSCSI features an advanced RAID system with four RAID modes: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10. A silent cooling fan helps the unit remain cool by efficiently releasing heat while a front panel LCD display indicates the status of the device. A 10/100/1000 Ethernet interface ensures that businesses can take advantage of their existing network infrastructure for effective iSCSI deployment without the need to invest in a costly Fiber Channel environment.
Backed by a limited three-year warranty and toll-free 24/7 technical support, the TeraStation iSCSI and TeraStation iSCSI Rackmount will be available in June. Estimated street prices are as follows:
Pedestal versions Rackmount versions
1TB (TS-I1.0TGL/R5) - $999 1TB (TS-I1.0TGL/R5) - $1,099
2TB (TS-I2.0TGL/R5) - $1,399 2TB (TS-I2.0TGL/R5) - $1,499
4TB (TS-I4.0TGL/R5) - $2,399 4TB (TS-I4.0TGL/R5) - $2,499
The TeraStation iSCSI and TeraStation iSCSI Rackmount can be purchased through distributors, online resellers and Buffalo’s web site. For more information about Buffalo Technology and its products, please visit the company’s Web site at www.buffalotech.com.
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Wednesday, May 07 @ 14:48:50 EDT (51 reads)
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D-Link, the end-to-end computer networking solutions provider for consumers and business, today began shipping its latest MediaLounge Player designed to operate as an Extender for Windows Media Center.
The D-Link DSM-750 provides high-speed wired or Wi-Fi streaming and sharing of High-Definition (HD) and standard definition video, movies, digital photos and music - virtually anywhere in the home, regardless of where the PC is located. Media files can be found by the DSM-750 from PCs or storage boxes (such as the D-Link DNS-323) connected to the home network and then played on the TV using the included remote control.
"The DSM-750 is our most powerful media player yet," said Daniel Kelley, senior director of marketing for D-Link Systems, Inc. "This powerful Extender for Windows Media Center not only provides an elegant way to enjoy your local media, but changes the way we navigate and view the Internet, offering content from more than 15 different providers - including sports, movies and other entertainment. When paired with PCs running Windows Media Center, the DSM-750 offers consumers the ultimate experience in digital home entertainment."
The newest MediaLounge model features the company's award-winning Wireless N technology for the fastest Wi-Fi performance on the market, incorporating both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands available with the draft 802.11n standard to optimize the experience of moving media throughout the home.
Other key features of the new MediaLounge player include cool, silent operation (no moving parts), a convenient remote control, an easy-to-navigate TV user interface for quick hassle-free browsing of digital content, high-definition video playback with digital surround sound, a USB 2.0 port to play media stored on a thumb drive or other USB-connected storage device and 10/100 Fast Ethernet connectivity.
The DSM-750 delivers the Windows Media Center experience independent of whether the host PC is being used for other uses, so you can watch a recorded TV show in the living room while your child does homework on the PC. In addition, up to five media players can be used to extend Windows Media Center simultaneously from the same PC to enjoy music in the kitchen, a photo slideshow in the bedroom, etc.
Windows Media Center makes it easy to access all media files - video, music and photos - and to use the PC as a TV tuner/digital video recorder (DVR). Windows Media Center offers online content to users from more than 15 providers accessible in the United States alone through the DSM-750.
In addition to the Extender for Windows Media Center functionality which requires Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, the DSM-750 also works with standard Windows Vista and Windows XP computers through Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect and other Universal Plug and Play (UpnP) media servers.
Media players like the DSM-750 using draft 802.11n technology allow the motion picture industry to get closer to its goal of allowing consumers to download movies directly from the studios and watch them on their TVs, according to industry research firm JupiterResearch.
Pricing and Availability
The DSM-750, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $329.99, is available now through D-Link's wide network of retailers, online resellers and D-Link's own online store, www.dlinkshop.com.
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Wednesday, May 07 @ 14:27:38 EDT (36 reads)
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NASA, Intel Corp., and SGI today announced the signing of an agreement establishing intentions to collaborate on significantly increasing the space agency's supercomputer performance and capacity.
Under the terms of a Space Act Agreement, NASA will work closely with Intel and SGI to increase computational capabilities for modeling and simulation at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
"Achieving such a monumental increase in performance will help fulfill NASA's increasing need for additional computing capacity and will enable us to provide the computational performance and capacity needed for future missions," said Ames Director S. Pete Worden. "This additional computational performance is necessary to help us achieve breakthrough scientific discoveries."
NASA Ames, Intel and SGI will work together on a project called Pleiades to develop a computational system with a capacity of one Petaflops peak performance (1,000 trillion operations per second) by 2009 and a system with a peak performance of 10 Petaflops (10,000 trillion operations per second) by 2012.
"Throughout its history, NASA has sought to explore the most compelling questions about mankind, Earth, and the worlds that await our discovery," said Robert "Bo" Ewald, chief executive officer of SGI. "SGI is proud to be part of this effort. These groundbreaking new systems powered by SGI and fueled by the latest multi-core Intel processors, offer a platform for new discoveries that will help us all achieve the most promising future for the human race. This effort is important to everyone on this planet."
This collaboration builds on the 2004 deployment of Columbia, which generated a tenfold increase in supercomputing capacity for the agency. Meeting NASA's future mission challenges will require additional computational resources to handle increasingly higher fidelity modeling and simulation. In 2009, NASA expects to increase that computing capability 16 times with the Pleiades project, and by an additional tenfold in 2012.
"Intel, working with SGI, is proud to play an important role in helping NASA expand the pursuit of scientific discovery," said Diane M. Bryant, vice president of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group and general manager or Server Platforms Group, Intel Digital Enterprise Group. "Systems such as Pleiades challenge the imagination, and guide our exploration of Earth, space, and beyond. As we approach performance that was once thought impossible to achieve, our eyes are opened even wider to the vast possibilities enabled by supercomputing."
For information about the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility, visit www.nas.nasa.gov.
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Wednesday, May 07 @ 14:25:58 EDT (38 reads)
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Microsoft Corp. today joined with industry and advocacy group leaders worldwide to launch new software that will make it easier for anyone to create documents and content that will be accessible for blind and print-disabled individuals. The new “Save as DAISY XML” add-in, designed for Microsoft Office Word 2007, Word 2003 and Word XP, will allow users to save Open XML-based text files into DAISY XML, the foundation of the globally accepted DAISY Standard for reading and publishing navigable multimedia content (http://www.daisy.org).
The “Save as DAISY XML” add-in was created through an open source project with Microsoft, Sonata Software Ltd. and the Digital Accessible Information SYstem (DAISY) Consortium and can be downloaded by Microsoft Office Word users for free at http://www.openxmlcommunity.org/daisy.
Also released today is the newest version of the DAISY Pipeline, a free downloadable transformation suite that supports the seamless conversion of DAISY XML into DAISY Digital Talking Book (DTB) format. Together these technologies provide a comprehensive solution for converting text documents into accessible formats for people with print disabilities. Users can download the DAISY Pipeline from the DAISY Project page at http://www.daisy.org/projects/pipeline/. Information about other technologies that can convert DAISY XML into DAISY DTB format and other products that support the DAISY standard is available on the DAISY Web site at http://www.daisy.org/tools/index.shtml.
Groups such as the World Health Organization and the World Blind Union estimate that more than 160 million people throughout the world are either blind or have a significant impairment to their vision. This number does not even begin to address the additional hundreds of millions of people with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities who can benefit from the rich applications of DAISY.
Global access to the “Save as DAISY XML” add-in for Microsoft Office Word is an important step forward for people with print disabilities around the world, including those in developing countries, because it will support access to information contained within billions of Microsoft Office Word documents, helping them to lead more independent and productive lives.
“This new ‘Save as DAISY XML’ functionality for Microsoft Word has the potential to break down barriers for millions of visually impaired individuals around the world and enhance the experience for virtually anyone who loves to read,” said Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group at Microsoft. “We are proud of our collaboration with the DAISY Consortium and Sonata Software to deliver valuable benefits for people with a visual impairment. This tool will make it easier for anyone — from a child writing to his or her grandparent, to a government agency providing vital information to its citizens — to create accessible content.”
“Microsoft’s initiative to put ‘Save as DAISY XML’ in Microsoft Word is the first step to bring fully accessible content to people who are blind or who have a print disability. We know that much of the information in documents today is created with Microsoft Word; this new add-in provides an unprecedented leap forward in the worldwide effort to make information available to all,” said George Kerscher, secretary general of the DAISY Consortium.
“As an advocate of technologies that help blind and low-vision individuals, and as chair of an organization managing a digital library based on DAISY XML formats, I can attest that this ‘Save as DAISY XML’ plug-in for Microsoft Office Word is a landmark development,” said Dominique Burger of BrailleNet. “The ability to generate DAISY XML content from within an application used by millions of people around the world is welcome news for all who have been pushing for such a broad-reaching solution.”
This new tool also presents the opportunity for organizations and independent software vendors to consider ways in which the technology may be employed to meet the needs of those not yet served by text-only or audio-only formats. Corporations such as insurance agencies, healthcare providers and companies that publish training manuals require a method to deliver fully accessible documents to their customers and employees with different needs. For these organizations, the “Save as DAISY XML” add-in is the breakthrough they have been waiting for.
“Because it’s part of a familiar tool, this plug-in for Microsoft Office Word significantly reduces the friction for content creators in producing accessible digital material,” said Andrew Savikas, director of publishing technology at O’Reilly Media Inc. “Support for DAISY, along with the emerging ePub standard, is an easy way for software makers to build accessibility into their products, and I hope to see others follow suit.”
“Technologies that address the specific challenges that universities and public institutions face in providing books and publications for those who cannot read standard print are in great demand,” said Sam Ogami, assistive technology expert for the California State University Office of the Chancellor. “Functionality like the new ‘Save as DAISY XML’ feature within Microsoft Office Word could greatly streamline the production — and reduce the expense — of delivering powerful and accessible content to those who need it.”
“Libraries today are often ill-equipped to provide content for people with print disabilities, and the methods they have at their disposal are antiquated,” said Helen Brazier, a member of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). “But things are beginning to change, and state-of-the-art technology like the ‘Save as DAISY XML’ add-in and the new DAISY Pipeline are making it easy and cost-effective for libraries to essentially level the information playing field for people with disabilities and do things they never before could have imagined.”
The open source nature of the Open XML to DAISY XML translation project enables technologists to utilize the source code and other resources for their own applications. As Open XML adoption continues to expand across the software industry for use on various platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac OS and the Palm OS, solution providers interested in creating their own Open XML to DAISY XML translators can reference information available through the SourceForge open source project site at http://sourceforge.net/projects/openxml-daisy.
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Wednesday, May 07 @ 14:24:46 EDT (33 reads)
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Corsair announced today lab findings that show significant increases in performance and efficiency when increasing system memory capacity from 2GB to 4GB. Testing procedures and results can be found in the application note AN804: Gaming Performance Analysis – 4GB vs. 2GB, which is now available online at:
www.corsair.com/_appnotes/AN804_Gaming_Performance_Analysis.pdf.
Corsair Gaming Performance Analysis
AN804: Gaming Performance Analysis – 4GB vs. 2GB examines the benefits on a system’s performance when upgrading from 2GB of system memory to 4GB. Taking a real-world benchmarking approach, Corsair looked specifically at:
* Frame rate improvements
* Multi-tasking scenarios
* Program load times
* Memory usage of various applications
“Frankly, we were surprised by the magnitude of many of these results,” stated John Beekley, VP of Applications Engineering at Corsair. “The gains achieved in eliminating instances of slow frame rates in games resulted in a very apparent improvement in the quality of game play. Also, the faster task switching that 4GB offers the user results in real productivity increases.”
Utilizing 4GB of memory provided significant performance benefits to the system. Minimum frame rates within popular games increased up to 46% in the tests, thereby creating a smoother and more enjoyable gaming experience. 4GB of memory led to shortened program load times and vastly more efficient multi-tasking flexibility, which can lead to more productivity for users.
4GB kits of Corsair’s award winning DOMINATOR and XMS memory are widely available from Corsair retailers and etailers. Corsair memory products are backed by a lifetime warranty. Complete customer support via telephone, email, forum and the TSXpress helpdesk are also available. For more information, see www.corsair.com.
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Tuesday, May 06 @ 18:02:36 EDT (52 reads)
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 Unorthodox, adventurous contemporary art meets on-the-go technology with the inaugural Special Art Edition Inspiron 1525 laptop, featuring two exclusive artworks by Mike Ming.
Choose from “Bunch O Surfers” or “Sea Sky,” two unique designs that reflect Mike Ming’s quest to create art that relates to broad audiences, yet speaks directly to everyone.
The laptops are available for order today, starting at $699, at www.dell.com/art.
A new Dell manufacturing technique brings alive every color and brushstroke on the laptop’s cover, creating a fluid, graffiti-inspired tattoo effect that lets style pioneers add another level of individuality to everyday life.
 The Inspiron 1525 is up to 25 percent smaller, thinner and almost a half a pound lighter than its predecessor. Consumers on the go will appreciate all of the optional wireless features that help them stay connected, whether it’s at the desk, in a room, around the house or just about anywhere in a wireless network.1
Brooklyn-based artist Mike Ming (born Michael Miyahira) brings fascination with popular culture and life experiences to the canvas. “I wanted to create a sense of energy, playfulness, sophistication and psychedelic momentum when I started this,” said Ming. “This new technique from Dell brings my inspiration—water and the energy it produces—to life and gives computer aficionados their own display of style.”
“Our customers have asked that we continue to look at other areas of life, apart from technology, to help bring a sense of uniqueness to their computers,” said Ed Boyd, vice president of Consumer Experience Design at Dell. “Mike Ming and the other artists in the series represent the shift in the level of customer design input, a trend we’re excited to see continue.”
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Tuesday, May 06 @ 13:57:15 EDT (46 reads)
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PC users love the visual realism that high-performance graphics processors give their PCs, but would rather do without the noise and power consumption typical of modern entertainment and gaming PCs. Starting today, however, they can have the best of both worlds, thanks to the new NVIDIA® platforms based on the company’s Hybrid SLI® technology. These new platforms are the foundation for a new breed of PCs that deliver a richer visual experience while reducing energy consumption and costs, fan noise, and even heat. The new technology is available immediately with new NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI and GeForce 8 Series based motherboards.
"Hybrid SLI will give consumers the extra GPU performance they need for the increasing numbers of visual PC applications such as today’s PC games," said Drew Henry, general manager of platform business at NVIDIA. "And it will give gamers and PC enthusiasts the quiet and power savings they demand. Hybrid SLI components could very well pay for themselves over the life of the PC."
The visual capabilities of typical PCs are driven by either integrated graphics on the motherboard or by higher performance, discrete graphics cards, like NVIDIA GeForce® GPUs. Unfortunately, the most common integrated graphics chips lack the performance and features needed by many popular modern 3D applications, games, and movies. Discrete graphics cards deliver a far superior visual experience, but consume more energy.
Hybrid SLI-enabled motherboards eliminate this problem by putting a GeForce GPU directly on the motherboard. This GeForce GPU has better DirectX compatibility and HD movie playback capability than the most common integrated graphics chips found in today’s PCs, but consumes less energy than a discrete graphics card. But that’s only the start.
Designed for PC enthusiasts and hard-core gamers, the HybridPower™ feature completely powers down the discrete graphics cards and switches graphics processing to the motherboard GPU in applications where major 3D horsepower is not required, such as e-mail and Web surfing. Users will appreciate the lower energy consumption, quieter PC operation, and less heat. When additional 3D horsepower is needed, it can be manually transitioned back to discrete graphics cards using HybridPower technology, which are then powered up and ready to rock the 3D world. Hybrid SLI technology can save hundreds of dollars in energy costs over the life of the PC for high-end, enthusiast-class PCs, and deliver additional graphics performance for more mainstream desktops via these two features.i
For mainstream users, a Hybrid SLI technology feature called GeForce Boost allows the user to add an additional graphics card for even more graphics horsepower. By combining the performance of the motherboard GPU and graphics card discrete GPUs, GeForce Boost increases overall graphics performance up to 50% for today’s visually intensive applications and home entertainment.
"NVIDIA continues to deliver outstanding innovation for AMD CPUs. We are especially excited that HybridPower, a feature of NVIDIA Hybrid SLI, will be introduced exclusively on AMD CPU-based platforms," said Leslie Sobon, director, product marketing, AMD. "The AMD Phenom™ X4 quad-core processors, together with this motherboard’s HybridPower features, deliver powerful performance and energy efficiency, an important combination for AMD."
The Hybrid SLI-enabled desktop PC motherboards are designed to create a balanced PC with GeForce GPUs and AMD Phenom processors. Eight models, including a newly available nForce 780a SLI motherboard, are available:
* nForce 780a SLI, nForce 750a SLI, nForce 730a, and nForce 720a
* GeForce 8300, GeForce 8200, and GeForce 8100
Currently available Hybrid SLI-enabled discrete graphics cards include:
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 and NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX (both HybridPower-capable)
* GeForce 8400 GS and GeForce 8500 GT (both GeForce Boost-capable)
Hybrid SLI-enabled PC motherboards for Intel processors and Hybrid SLI-enabled notebooks will be available in Q3 of 2008. For more information about NVIDIA Hybrid SLI technology please visit www.nvidia.com/Hybrid_SLI.
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Tuesday, May 06 @ 13:22:40 EDT (26 reads)
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Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched a new line of MasterDrive solid state drives (SSDs) that are 100% interchangeable with hard disk drives (HDDs), but are faster, lighter, use less power and are far more rugged and reliable.
MasterDrive SSDs use NAND Flash rather than magnetic platters as the storage medium, giving them many advantages over HDDs. These drives have no moving parts, and therefore are completely silent, lighter weight and more reliable than HDDs. Moreover, they consume a fraction of the power of HDDs, meaning they produce less heat and offer longer battery life in mobile computing. MasterDrive SSDs use a SATA-II (3Gbps) interface to support high bandwidth and broad compatibility with motherboards, and have a standard 2.5-inch form factor. Proprietary wear-leveling algorithms extend the life of these SSDs.
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MasterDrive MX |
Description |
MSRP |
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FTM20GK25H |
120GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec |
$699 |
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FTM60GK25H |
60GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec |
$449 |
|
FTM30GK25H |
30GB MLC 120/40 MB/sec |
$299 |
|
MasterDrive DX |
Description |
MSRP |
|
FTD60GK25H |
60GB SLC 120/70 MB/sec |
|
|
